EP0092527B1

EP0092527B1 - Device for humidifying air in space heating apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP0092527B1
Application number: EP83830051A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gilberto Frascari
Original assignee: Vanelli Sandro
Current assignee: Vanelli Sandro
Priority date: 1982-04-16
Filing date: 1983-03-09
Publication date: 1985-08-14
Also published as: ATE14921T1; IT1192891B; IT8203401A0; DE3360547D1; EP0092527A3; EP0092527A2

Abstract

The air humidifier device 11 is designed to be placed inside groups that deliver hot air, such as convectors 1, unit heaters and the like, and it comprises a container 12 for water crossed, at least in part, by tubular elements 18 through the inside of which hot air can pass. The inner surface of the container 12 is partially faced with panels 21 of a porous absorbing material. The said tubular elements 18 have overhead a concave cover 19, the concavity of which faces downwards and this is designed to direct the hot air towards the surface of the water in the container 12.

Description

The invention relates to a device for humidifying the air used in heating apparatus which can, in particular, be advantageously used in heating equipments wherein the heating elements are constituted by convectors or other heathers.
As is known, provision is not generally made by the heating equipment manufacturers for any device able to humidify the heated air which often is of a relative humidity such as to give the persons present in the heated area excessive dryness in their respiratory organs.
A method frequently adopted to overcome the above problem consists in periodically opening the windows in said area in order to recreate comfortable ambient conditions. This solution is obviously not trouble free and is one that causes an increase in the running costs.
Another method that is used quite extensively is to place a container filled with water on the heating element which is inside a covering metal box. This type of solution is not devoid of problems since the said container smothers the circulation of the air between the upper part of the heating element and the apertures through which the hot air is admitted into the environment, thereby decreasing the output of the plant. Furthermore, checking the amount of water present and topping up the water necessitates removing one of the panels enclosing the convector, that is, performing operations that are not easy.
With regard to the last technical solution mentioned above the DE-OS 1925080 shows an humidifying apparatus in which blowers are provided to force the air circulation and water intake element accessible from the outside is also provided. I n this case the heating apparatus results extremely complex and expensive and requires a specific construction of the box shaped body which covers the heating apparatus so to support the different operative elements of the humidifying apparatus.
Ambient humidifiers for space heating apparatus provided with electrical resistances for causing the water contained in special vessels to evaporate, are also known. The said devices give rise to a consumption of electricity that is not inconsiderable and, in addition, are somewhat costly because of their complexity.
The object of this invention is, therefore, to make available an ordinary non-costly device for humidifying the air that is able to be fitted easily to any convector or unit heater, or to be incorporated therein at the time the convector or unit heater is being manufactured.
A further object of the invention is to make available a device of the aforementioned type in which it is particularly easy both to check the amount of humidification water present and to top it up.
These and other objects too are all attained by the device according to the invention, for humidifying air in space heating apparatus comprising groups for generating hot air, said device being incorporated in each of said groups in a position between the exit of the hot air into the space and a corresponding heating element, and furthermore comprising at least one container connected to a water intake element accessible from the outside of the said apparatus, characterized by at least one tubular element penetrating the said container at least partially and being in peripheral contact with the water therein, through the inside of which tubular element hot air coming from the said heating element is able to pass, and by panels of porous absorbing material covering at least a part of the inner surface of the said container.
The characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the description that follows of one preferred embodiment, given purely as an unlimited example on the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Fig. 1 shows, diagrammatically and partially in sectional form, a convector provided with the device according to the invention for humidifying the air;
- Fig. 2 shows, in a sectional view along a plane 11-11, the device depicted in Fig. 1;
- Fig. 3 and 4 show, in a lateral diagrammatic view partially in section form, one detail in Fig. 1 depicted in two different operating conditions.

In Fig. 1 is shown globally at 1 a convector, hereinafter also referred to as a group for the delivery of hot air, delimited at the front by a covering wall or front panel 2, and at the rear by a back panel 3.
A base wall 4 in the convector 1 supports, in a way not shown, a horizontal heating element 5, through which passes internally hot water taken thereto and therefrom via pipes 6 and 7, respectively, the former shown on the left and the latter on the right in Fig. 1, terminating at a non-illustrated boiler.
The actual heat exchanging surface of the heating element 5 is constituted by a plurality of vertical metal strips 8, placed side by side perpendicularly to the panels 2 and 3.
A plurality of apertures 9, one at the side of the other and virtually rectangular, delimited by grids 10 and spread at regular intervals over the full width of the said panel 2, are provided in the region of the upper part of the panel 2. Above the heating element 5 a humidifier device 11 is provided, supported in a way that is not shown by the panel 3.
The said device 11 comprises a container 12 that extends parallel to the base wall 4 with the flat part thereof perpendicular to the panels 2 and 3, and this is open at the top and is defined on the four sides by two lateral walls 13 perpendicular to the panels 2 and 3, and by two walls 14 and 15 parallel to the latter and each facing one of the said two panels 2 and 3.
In a base wall shown at 16, the container 12 is provided with three circular apertures 17 spread uniformly thereover. Above each aperture 17, as can also be seen in Fig. 2, is placed a vertical tubular element 18 of truncated cone shape. The periphery of the widest end of this mates with the edge of the corresponding aperture 17, to which it is imperviously connected. The upper extremity of each of the tubular elements 18 is located beneath the apex of the container 12, and is topped by a concave cover or deviation element 19 that is supported in a way not shown, with the concavity pointing downwards. The dimensions of the cover 19 are such as to leave, between it and the lateral walls 13, 14 and 15 of the container 12, a virtually annular passage shown at 20.
Two panels 21 of felt, sponge or some other porous absorbing material are firmly attached to the inner surfaces of the container 12 on the walls 14 and 15, over the full transverse extension thereof, stretching from the base of the latter up to a lever higher than that of the cover 19.
The righthand upper part of the panel 2 is provided with a virtually square opening 22, to one of the lower horizontal sides of which is pivoted, in a way not shown, a lower corner edge 23 of a water intake element 24, comprising a box 25 whose shape is virtually prismatic (see in this connection Fig. 3 and 4). The said box 25 is delimited on two sides by two triangular walls 26 and 27 perpendicular to the panel 2, the sides of which converging towards the said corner edge 23 are jointed by the wall 28 (shown on the left in Fig. 3) and by the wall 29 (shown on the right in Fig. 4). In proximity of the corner edge 23, the wall 28 is provided with a non-illustrated hole, to which is connected one extremity of a tube 30 whose other extremity is connected to the container 12.
A level indicator 31, constituted by a vertical cylindrical container 32 that is closed at the bottom and is made of transparent material, is connected, low down, to the bottom part of the container 12 via a connecting pipe 33, and is housed inside the convector 1 in the region of a vertical display slit that is not shown but is made in the panel 2. The surface of the cylindrical container 32 is provided with a non-illustrated graduated scale, and internally with a float 34 designed to indicate on the said graduated scale the amount of water present in the container 12.
In use, the intake of water into the container 12 is effected through the box 25, once it has been made to rotate around the corner edge 23 in order to carry it from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4. During the operation of the convector 1, part of the air heated by the heating element 5 passes, while moving upwards towards the apertures 9, inside the tubular elements 18 and is deviated by the cover 19 towards the surface of the water present in the container 12 and towards the panels 21 which, due to capillarity phenomena, are damp even in the areas over which the water does not glide. The hot air, thus humidified, then reaches the environment, passing through the apertures 9.
Naturally, leaving unchanged the principles of the invention, numerous are the modifications it would be possible to make to the device as described without in any way deviating from the framework of protection afforded to the invention.
For example, in order to increase the evaporation surface of the panels 21, the container 12 can be of any shape, or be substituted by a number of smaller containers, side by side and interconnected, all having the inner lateral walls faced with absorbing material. Furthermore, the number and the shape of the tubular elements 18 can differ from what has been stated by way of an example, and the said porous absorbing material facing can be placed, additionally or alternatively to that provided on the inner surface of the container 12, on the periphery of the said tubular elements 18.

Claims

1. Device for humidifying air in space heating apparatus, comprising groups (1) for generating hot air, said device being incorporated in each of said groups in a position between the exit of the hot air into the space and a corresponding heating element (5), and furthermore comprising at least one container (12) connected to a water intake element (24) accessible from the outside of the said apparatus, characterized by at least one tubular element (18) penetrating the said container (12) at least partially and being in peripheral contact with the water therein, through the inside of which tubular element (18) hot air coming from the said heating element (5) is able to pass, and by panels (21 ) of porous absorbing material covering at least a part of the inner surface of the said container (12).

2.Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said tubular element (18) penetrates the said container (12) between two areas at a different level.

3. Device according to Claim 2, characterized by at least one hot air deviation device (19) facing an upper extremity of the said tubular element (18) and forcing the hot air across said panels (21 ) and the surface of the water in the said container (12).

4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said water intake element (24) is placed at a covering wall (2) of each of the said groups (1) and comprises a box (25) connected to the said container (12).

5. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by a water level indicator (31 ) in each of the said groups (1) connected to the said container (12) and being visible from the outside of the said groups (1).