JP2006003042A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the generation of the breeding of unwanted bacteria and malodor in a vaporization filter after operation stop. <P>SOLUTION: The humidifier comprises in a body 1, a water tank section 2 for retaining water, the vaporization filter 3 for absorbing and vaporizing water in the water tank section 2, a photocatalyst attached to the surface of the vaporization filter 3, a water supply section 4 supplying water to the water tank section 2, a blower 5 for blowing air to the vaporization filter 3; an ultraviolet lamp 7 for irradiating the vaporization filter 7 with ultraviolet rays, a control unit 6 for controlling the operation of each part, an operation switch 8 operable from the outside, and a display lamp 9 for confirming operation. In the humidifier, the ultraviolet lamp 7 is lit for irradiating the vaporization filter 3 with violet rays during operation, and the ultraviolet lamp 7 is lit for a given time even after the operation stop. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sterilization structure for a vaporizing filter of a humidifier.

  Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, a photocatalyst such as titanium oxide is applied to a filter, and the photocatalyst is activated by irradiating the filter with ultraviolet light emitted from an ultraviolet LED. There was an air purifier in which bad odor gas, toxic gas, and fine particles were removed by adsorption and the air was purified.

  Moreover, as shown in Patent Document 2, an ultraviolet lamp that irradiates ultraviolet rays is provided on a vaporizing member that absorbs and vaporizes water, and the vaporizing member is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to improve the hydrophilicity of the vaporizing member, Further, there has been a humidifier capable of keeping the vaporizing member clean by the sterilizing effect of ultraviolet rays and further promoting the release of water vapor from the vaporizing member by the heat generated by the ultraviolet lamp.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-126055

JP 2003-240283 A

  In the case of the air cleaner shown in Patent Document 1, the ultraviolet LED is lit only during operation, and the filter coated with titanium oxide or the like is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to sterilize the surface of the filter by photocatalysis. It was.

  Similarly, the humidifier shown in Patent Document 2 also sterilizes the vaporizing member by turning on the ultraviolet lamp only during operation.

  However, in both of the conventional examples, the UV lamp is turned on only when the device is in operation. After the operation is stopped, the UV lamp is turned off, so if germs remain on the filter or vaporizing member, the germs propagate on the filter or vaporizing member. In particular, in the case of a humidifier, since the vaporizing member is moistened with water, the environment is convenient for various bacteria to grow. For this reason, malodorous odors and the like are generated from the vaporizing member due to the proliferation of various germs, and there is a problem in terms of hygiene that when the operation of the apparatus is resumed in this state, a large amount of germs that have propagated on the vaporizing member are released into the air .

  In addition, when cleaning the inside of the device, there is a safety problem that if the water tank is opened while the power is turned on, the ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet lamp are directly visible.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. In claim 1, in the main body 1, a water tank part 2 that holds water, a vaporization filter 3 that absorbs and vaporizes water in the water tank part 2, and A photocatalyst attached to the surface of the vaporization filter 3, a water supply unit 4 for supplying water to the water tank unit 2, a blower 5 for blowing air to the vaporization filter 3, an ultraviolet lamp 7 for irradiating the vaporization filter 3 with ultraviolet rays, In a humidifier equipped with a control device 6 that controls the operation of each part, an operation switch 8 that can be operated from the outside, and a display lamp 9 that can confirm the operation operation, the ultraviolet lamp 7 is turned on and vaporized during operation. The filter 3 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and the ultraviolet lamp 7 is turned on for a certain period of time after the operation is stopped.

  Further, in claim 2, an ultraviolet lamp switch for switching on / off of the ultraviolet lamp regardless of the driving state is provided, and only the ultraviolet lamp can be freely turned on even when the operation is stopped by the ultraviolet lamp switch. .

  Further, according to the third aspect, the water tank part can be removed freely, a micro switch is provided inside the main body, the micro switch is turned on when the water tank part is attached, the ultraviolet lamp can be turned on, and the micro switch is turned off when the water tank part is removed. The power supply circuit to the ultraviolet lamp is cut off and turned off.

  According to claim 1 of the present invention, the germs remaining in the vaporization filter and the germs in the air around the vaporization filter can be sterilized by turning on the ultraviolet lamp for a certain period of time after the operation is stopped, and the humidifier is vaporized. It has the effect of keeping the filter hygienic at all times.

  In addition, according to claim 2, the germs of the vaporization filter generated during a long period of non-use can be sterilized by turning on the ultraviolet lamp, and the filter can always be kept hygienic even when the operation is stopped. It has the effect of eliminating the generation of bad odors when left unattended for a long time and the release of various germs at the beginning of use into the air.

  Further, according to the third aspect, when the water tank is opened, the power supply circuit to the ultraviolet lamp is cut off, so that the power supply to the ultraviolet lamp can be surely cut off. There is an effect that can be surely avoided.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the figure, 1 is a main body of a humidifier. Reference numeral 2 denotes a water tank section for holding water. The water tank section 2 is detachably housed in the main body 1 so that the vaporization filter can be replaced and the inside of the water tank can be cleaned.

  3 is a vaporization filter that absorbs and vaporizes the water in the water tank 2 and is processed into a non-woven fabric to increase the vaporization area and is folded into a bellows shape. Many are open.

  Reference numeral 5 denotes a blower that blows air to the vaporization filter 3.

  Reference numeral 13 denotes a cartridge-type water tank that is detachable from the main body 1 and contains water to be replenished. 4 is a water supply unit that supplies water from the water tank 13 to the water tank unit 2, and 11 is a valve mechanism that prevents water in the water tank 13 from spilling when the water tank 13 is attached or detached.

  Reference numeral 7 denotes an ultraviolet lamp for irradiating ultraviolet rays, and an ultraviolet LED is used here.

  In addition, a photocatalyst is attached to the surface of the vaporizing filter 3 and an ultraviolet lamp 7 is provided in the vicinity thereof so that the surface of the vaporizing filter 3 can be irradiated with the ultraviolet lamp 7. In the drawing, it is installed only on one side of the vaporization filter 3, but it is also possible to increase the effect by installing it on both sides so as to sandwich the vaporization filter 3.

  A control device 6 controls the operation. 8 is an operation switch for turning ON / OFF the operation of the humidifier of the main body 1, 9 is a display lamp for displaying the ON / OFF state of the operation, and 10 is an ultraviolet lamp when not operating as a humidifier. It is an ultraviolet lamp switch for lighting.

  12 is a micro switch that can turn on / off the power supply circuit to the ultraviolet lamp 7. When the water tank part 2 is correctly mounted on the main body 1, the convex part is provided on the water tank part 2. The micro switch 12 is turned on when the switch of the micro switch 12 is pushed in and the water tank 2 is removed.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  When water is put into the water tank 13 and installed in the main body 1, the water in the water tank 13 passes through the water supply unit 4 having the valve mechanism 11 and is supplied so that the water level in the water tank unit 2 is constant. The water tank unit 2 has a vaporization filter 3 that sucks up and holds the water in the water tank unit 2.

  When the operation switch 8 is pressed in this state, the display lamp 9 is turned on and the blower 5 starts to rotate, air is sent to the vaporizing filter 3, and water is vaporized by the vaporizing filter 3 to humidify the air.

  Simultaneously with the operation, the ultraviolet lamp 7 is also turned on, and the vaporizing filter 3 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays. The vaporization filter 3 irradiated with ultraviolet rays is also added with the effect of a photocatalyst, so that various germs in the air sent from the blower 5 are sterilized when passing through the vaporization filter 3, and when passing through the vaporization filter 3, Sterilize remaining bacteria.

  When the operation switch 8 is operated again, the operation of the humidifier stops. However, the ultraviolet lamp 7 continues to irradiate the vaporizing filter 3 with ultraviolet rays only for a predetermined time t set in the control device 6 even after stopping, and completely disinfects germs remaining on the vaporizing filter 3. In addition, when the humidifier is not used for a long time, when germs are generated on the vaporizing filter and propagated and bad odor is generated, or by operating the ultraviolet lamp switch 10 before the occurrence, the ultraviolet lamp 7 is operated for a certain period of time. It can be turned on to sterilize the vaporization filter 3 to suppress the propagation of various germs and the generation of malodor.

  In addition, when the water tank 2 is removed for cleaning or other reasons by the microswitch 12 attached to the inside of the main body 1, the microswitch 12 is turned off and the power supply circuit to the ultraviolet lamp 7 is turned off, so that the ultraviolet ray is surely turned off. The lamp 7 can be turned off, and the danger of directly viewing the ultraviolet rays with the naked eye can be avoided.

It is a main body side surface schematic front view which shows one Example of this invention. It is a schematic side sectional view showing an example of the present invention. It is a schematic side sectional view showing an example of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the ultraviolet lamp by one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Water tank part 3 Evaporation filter 4 Water supply part 5 Air blower 6 Control apparatus 7 Ultraviolet lamp 8 Operation switch 9 Display lamp 10 Ultraviolet lamp switch 11 Valve mechanism 12 Micro switch 13 Water tank

Claims (3)

Inside the main body (1), a water tank part (2) for holding water, a vaporization filter (3) for absorbing and vaporizing the water in the water tank part (2), and a photocatalyst attached to the surface of the vaporization filter (3) A water supply unit (4) for supplying water to the water tank unit (2), a blower (5) for blowing air to the vaporization filter (3), and an ultraviolet lamp (7 for irradiating the vaporization filter (3) with ultraviolet rays (7) ), A control device (6) for controlling the operation of each part, an operation switch (8) that can be operated from the outside, and a humidifier equipped with a display lamp (9) for confirming the operation operation, during operation, A humidifier characterized in that the ultraviolet lamp (7) is turned on to irradiate the vaporization filter (3) with ultraviolet rays, and the ultraviolet lamp (7) is turned on for a certain period of time after the operation is stopped. Provided with an ultraviolet lamp switch (10) for switching on / off the ultraviolet lamp (7) regardless of the state of operation, the ultraviolet lamp switch (10) can freely turn on only the ultraviolet lamp even when the operation is stopped. The humidifier according to claim 1. The water tank part (2) can be removed, the micro switch (12) is provided inside the main body (1), and when the water tank part (2) is attached, the micro switch (12) is turned on and the ultraviolet lamp (7) can be turned on. The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein when the water tank part (2) is removed, the microswitch (12) is turned off and the ultraviolet lamp (7) is turned off.

Images