1. A method of dispensing a volatile active into the surrounding environment, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a fragrance dispenser having a housing, a fan disposed within the housing and having a airflow director, first and second chambers disposed within the housing, and first and second fragrances disposed in the first and second chambers, wherein the first and second chambers include first and second shutters covering first and second outlets, and first and second heaters, respectively;
activating the first heater to volatilize the first fragrance for a first period of time;
simultaneously activating the fan and the opening the first shutter to dispense the volatilized first fragrance from the first chamber into the surrounding atmosphere;
activating the second heater to volatilize the second fragrance for a second period of time; and
simultaneously activating the fan and opening the second shutter to dispense the volatilized second fragrance from the second chamber into the surrounding atmosphere.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first period of time is between about 1 minute to about 3 hours and wherein the second period of time is between about 1 minute to about 3 hours.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the fan operates for a third period of time between about 1 sec and about 1 hour.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first heater deactivates, the fan activates and directs airflow into the first chamber, and the first shutter opens at substantially the same time.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein a portion of at least one chamber is lined with a material that prevents absorption of the volatile material by an interior wall of the chamber.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the material is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, copper, and polytetrafluoroethylene.
7. A method of dispensing a volatile material into the surrounding environment, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a fragrance dispenser having a housing, a fan disposed within the housing and having a airflow director, first and second chambers disposed within the housing, and first and second fragrances disposed in the first and second chambers, wherein the first and second chambers include first and second shutters covering first and second outlets, and first and second heaters, respectively;
activating the first heater to volatilize the first fragrance disposed within the first chamber, wherein the first shutter is closed so as to not allow fragrance to escape from the first chamber;
maintaining the first heater in the activated state for a first period of time;
deactivating the first heater;
opening the first shutter to allow the flow of fragrance-laden air out of the first chamber;
positioning the fan to direct airflow through the first chamber;
activating the fan for a second period of time;
deactivating the fan and closing the first shutter to prevent airflow out of the first chamber;
activating the second heater to volatilize the second fragrance disposed within the second chamber, wherein the second shutter is closed so as to not allow fragrance to escape from the second chamber;
maintaining the second heater in the activated state for a third period of time;
deactivating the second heater;
opening the second shutter to allow the flow of fragrance-laden air out of the second chamber;
positioning the fan to direct airflow through the second chamber;
activating the fan for a fourth period of time; and
deactivating the fan and closing the second shutter to prevent airflow out of the second chamber.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first and third periods of time are substantially the same and between about 1 minutes and about 3 hours.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the second and fourth periods of time are substantially the same and between about 1 second and about 1 hour.
10. The method of claim 7 repeated at least once.
11. The method of claim 7, further including the step of providing a fifth rest time period about 30 minutes after the fourth deactivating step and before repeating the process.
12. The method of claim 7, wherein the first and second periods of time overlap with each other.
13. The method of claim 7, further including the step of operating the airflow director in conjunction with the fan, the heaters, and the shutters to allow or prevent airflow through the first chamber.
14. The method of claim 7, wherein the fan is activated for a shorter period of time with respect to the period of time for which the shutters are in the open position.
15. An apparatus for dispensing a volatile active into the surrounding environment, comprising:
a housing having first and second chambers;
a fan disposed within the housing;
an airflow director disposed adjacent the fan for directing airflow into only one of the first or second chambers at a time;
first and a second containers having first and second fragrances disposed therein and first and second wicks in communication with the first and second fragrances and extending into the first and second chambers, respectively, wherein the first and second inserts disposed in a central portion thereof; and
first and second heaters disposed adjacent the first and second inserts to transfer heat to the first and second inserts, respectively.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, further including first and second outlets associated with the first and second chambers, respectively, wherein shutters are associated with each of the first and second outlets to open and close same.
17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the airflow director comprises a slidable shield that is movable from a first position that directs airflow into the first chamber and blocks airflow into the second chamber, to a second position that directs airflow into the second chamber and blocks airflow into the first chamber.
18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the inserts comprise a heat conductive material.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the heaters are disposed on a top wall of the housing and releasably engage the inserts when the containers are inserted into the housing.
20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the airflow director comprises a plurality of louvers covering inlets positioned on an inner wall disposed between the fan and the first and second chambers, wherein the louvers open and close to allow or prevent airflow between same.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A multi-wavelength optical source generator comprising:
a gain part generating a plurality of lights through a plurality of gain waveguides;
a reflective part transmitting or reflecting lights provided from each of the plurality of gain waveguides according to a wavelength; and
a multiplexing part multiplexing a plurality of lights transmitted and outputted through the reflective part.
2. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 1, where each of the plurality of gain waveguides comprises:
a core on a substrate; and
a clad on the core.
3. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 2, wherein the reflective part comprises a plurality of amorphous silicon waveguides that are optically coupled with the plurality of gain waveguides, respectively.
4. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of amorphous silicon waveguides comprises:
a silicon oxide layer on the substrate;
a lower amorphous silicon clad layer on the silicon oxide layer;
an amorphous silicon core on the lower amorphous silicon clad layer; and
an upper amorphous silicon clad layer on the amorphous silicon core.
5. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of amorphous silicon waveguides is formed with a ridge type waveguide.
6. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of amorphous silicon waveguides comprises a reflective Bragg diffraction grating region.
7. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 1, wherein the multiplexing part comprise an amorphous silicon Multi Mode Interference (MMI) that optically couples the plurality of lights.
8. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 1, wherein the multiplexing part comprises a Concave Grating (CG) which optically couples the plurality of lights.
9. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 8, further comprising an amplifying part amplifying an output light of the CG according gain current.
10. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 9, wherein the amplifying part is formed in a compound semiconductor region where the gain part is formed.
11. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 10, further comprising an anti reflection coating layer on a vertical section where a light amplified by the amplifying part is outputted.
12. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 1, further comprising a high reflection coating layer on a vertical section of the gain part.
13. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 12, wherein the high reflective coating layer, the gain part, and the reflective part constitute a distributed Bragg reflector laser diode outputting a plurality of single mode lights.
14. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 1, further comprising an amplifying part amplifying an output of the multiplexed light outputted from the multiplexing part.
15. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 14, further comprising an anti reflection coating layer on a vertical section of the amplifying part.
16. The multi-wavelength optical source of claim 14, wherein the reflective part and the multiplexing part comprise an amorphous silicon waveguide and the gain part and the amplifying part comprises a compound semiconductor waveguide.