GB1600027A

GB1600027A - Humidifiers and vaporisers

Info

Publication number: GB1600027A
Application number: GB4656677A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Pack A L
Current assignee: Pack A L
Priority date: 1977-11-09
Filing date: 1977-11-09
Publication date: 1981-10-14
Also published as: FR2408796A1

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO HUMIDIFIERS AND VAPORISERS (71) We, ALLEN LENNARD PACK and PHILIP PACK, both British subjects of 103a Ashley Gardens, Thirleby Road, London, S.W. 1., England and 22 Rokesby Place, Harrow Road, Wembley, Middlesex, England, respectively, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The invention relates to devices suitable for vaporising water in order to increase the humidity, or other liquids in order to achieve other useful functions.

Throughout this specification the term 'humidifier' is used as a shorthand to cover 'humidifier or vaporiser'.

Conventional humidifiers for domestic use or for use in relatively small rooms usually comprise a narrow trough like reservoir for suspension on a radiator adjacent a side surface thereof and a sheet of absorbent material in the trough which has a lower edge portion submerged in water provided in the reservoir.

Disadvantages of existing non-mechanical domestic humidifiers are that they can over humidify due to the high vapour pressure resulting from high local air temperature causing: 1. problems with condensation when intermittent heating is used as is the case generally and especially when radiators are located in front of windows, 2. too rapid drying out of the reservoir and thus of the element necessitating very frequent topping up of the reservoir and causing damage to the element.

Since such existing humidifiers have to be positioned on a radiator and as radiators are frequently located out of the way the humidifier is often overlooked and thus dries up.

Moreover they are unsuitable for many forms of electric heaters. They can also be unsightly and although not fixed to a radiator they are generally not taken to be portable.

The invention provides a humidifier or vaporiser formed from one or a plurality of evaporating elements, the, or each, element comprising: a) a head portion having an extensive surface area for exposure to ambient atmosphere, the head portion being made of a material which is capable of absorbing liquid by capillary action and being supported by a material which is sufficiently pliable to allow the head portion, or parts thereof, to be bent to assume different desired portions or configurations, and is substantially non-liquid absorbent and sufficiently rigid to support the liquid absorbent material, when saturated, in any position or configuration of the head portion, and, b) an elongate stem or base portion which extends from, and is narrow in relation to, the head portion for insertion in a container for liquid, which stem or base portion is made of a material which is capable of absorbing liquid by capillary action and is supported by a material which is substantially non-liquid absorbent and sufficiently rigid to support the liquid absorbent material when saturated.

The head portion of such element may be given a pleasing decorative shape, especially that of a flower, and the base or stem portion is received in a container of water, for example a vase. In this way the humidifier or vaporiser or a number of such humidifiers or vaporisers provide an ornamental display, usually in the form of artificial flowers, plants or leaves, which also act as humidifying elements.

Portions of the evaporating elements, for example those shaped as petals, can be readily bend to assume different positions to give a more natural appearance.

The head portion of the aforesaid element is preferably made of a laminated sheet comprising a layer of support material and a layer of water absorbent material on one or usually both sides of such layer of support material.

The support layer preferably comprises foil of a rust proof metal, for example aluminium foil.

The base or stem portion will comprise liquid absorbent capillary material which may be wrapped around a wire. Preferably the liquid absorbent material of the stem is covered by a waterproof material, for example a plastic sheath which limits evaporation to only the enlarged surface area of the evaporating elements. There are basically two different feed systems to the evaporating elements as indicated in Figure 2 below which are direct and indirect systems. The choice between the two systems is dependent upon the type of flower and type of materials used, but generally the indirect method will be required. If the direct system is used the stem need not be laminated.

The base of the stem shall be open in order to allow the water into the feed system.

The invention also includes a humidifier or vaporiser as aforesaid of which the base or stem portion extends into the container and the head portion is positioned above the container.

Advantages of a humidifier or vaporiser according to the invention are that the aforesaid problems with over-humidification, especially when considering intermittent heating, are greatly reduced due to lower vapour pressure conditions existing around the element and are more controlled due to the element responding to the actual room conditions as against the local relatively high temperature conditions around radiators. As the humidifier can be a decorative item, e.g. constructed as an artificial flower or number of flowers the humidifier can be located in a noticeable position and thus the risk of its reservoir not being topped up is greatly reduced. Moreover the humidifier may be used with all electric or indeed any other type of heating systems as the humidifier is not attached to the heater.

Therefore instead of the relatively unsightly conventional humidifiers mentioned earlier a humidifier according to the invention can be a decorative item, such as an artificial flower or a bunch of flowers and since the petals become moist they can give a pleasant and realistic flower effect. The humidifier, when in the form of a vase of flowers or a single flower, can be easily moved from room to room and positioned anywhere humidification is required, unlike the earlier mentioned conventional humidifiers which have to be fixed to a radiator.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 illustrates lamination for humidifiers according to the invention, Figures 2A and B illustrate components of two embodiments of humidifiers according to the invention, Figures 3A and B illustrate laminated evaporating elements shaped as flower petals, Figures 4A to D illustrate some typical distribution heads. Figure 4A being a 6 petal flower, Figure 4B being a section along line A-A in Figure 4A, Figure 4C being a 10 petal flower, Figure 4D being a section along line B-B in Figure 4C, Figure 5A is a plan of a typical flower type humidifier, Figure 5B is a section through a typical flower type humidifier, Figure 5C illustrates an alternative lower section for the stem of Figure 5B, Figure 5D is a section on line B-B in Figure 5B, and, Figures 6A and 6B illustrate two further embodiments of flower humidifiers according to the invention.

Referring to Figure 1, reference numerals 1A, 5A indicate capillary material, numerals 2A, 4A indicate an adhesive and numeral 3A indicates a rust proof foil, support material.

The layers 2A, 4A may alternatively be a double sided adhesive tape, or may be formed during a single Polythene extrusion process, the layers 2A, 4A being extruded Polythene material forming the bond.

Figure 2A indicates a direct feed type of humidifier embodying the invention in which the feed system 1 and the laminated evaporating element 2 are formed integrally from the same capillary material 3. The feed system need not be laminated with a more rigid support material as indicated by the two outer elements. Where used the support material 4 is laminated with the capillary material as illustrated in Figure 1. The stem portion which acts as a feed system, is encased by a water nonpermeable sheath 5 providing a support system therefor. Alternatively or additionally a central wire may form the support system. The stem portion is positioned in container 6 for water or other liquid 7.

Figure 2B indicates an indirect feed humidifier in which the feed system 1 and the evaporating elements 2 are formed from separate capillary material joined together by a distribution head 8 formed from the end of the feed system or alternatively formed from the end of the feed system built up with sufficient capillary material to give the required transfer area.

Figure 3A indicates separate 'petal' evaporating elements for an indirect feed humidifier and Figure 3B indicates a number of elements in one lamination for an indirect feed humidifier wherein the lower section(s) would be joined to the distribution head.

In Figure 4A and 4B the evaporating elements 11 are formed around the top of the feed system 14. A secondary distribution system 13 is formed around the outer surface of the evaporating elements and the top of the feed system. The whole head is held together by a twine 12. The distribution head and feed system is covered by water non-permeable sheath 15. In Figures 4C and 4D the diameter of the feed system is increased to give a greater contact area with the evaporating element.

In Figure 5, laminated evaporating elements 21 for an indirect feed humidifier are made from a wet-strength capillary paper made by Wiggins Teape Ltd (quality used for plastic base surface paper) Ref. 3184, colour 'Signal Red'. The colour shall be permanent with no migration of colour throughout the element when saturated. The paper for this example shall be 125 glum2 weight and shall satisfy the following tests: 1. Klemm Test - minimum 40 mm water in 10 minutes, 2. Gurlez Test 6-12 second, 3. Acidity Extract 6-8 PH, 4. Wet-strength 4.5 Newtons per 15 mm.

The adhesive ((2) and (4) in Figure 1) shall be water insoluble, odourless, white or clear and preferably a contact adhesive suitable for bonding aluminium foil to capillary type paper.

The rust proof foil for the laminated elements (petals) 21 is 0.06 mm soft tempered aluminium foil which may require scarring of the surface to improve adhesion depending upon adhesive used.

The feed system 22 is a plain heavyweight 'wet-strength' capillary paper rolled to form a circular section stem and bound along its length with a suitable water resilient material and in this case twine at 5 mm spacing is used. The top of this stem forms an internal surface for contact with the evaporating elements (petals) and forms part of the standard distribution head as indicated in Figure 4. The secondary distribution 23 is made of light medium weight plain 'wet-strength' capillary paper wrapped around the base of the petals 21 and the top of the feed system. The base of the petal is fixed firmly to the distribution head using, in this case, twine. The stem and distribution is sheathed in a suitable green plastic tube 24 to give the desired aesthetic effect and structural support to the evaporating element. The petal is bent to give the desired flower effect. The flower may be decorated by artificial leaves and artificial flower parts, e.g. stamen, pistil ovary, calyx etc. In addition, waterproof colour may be added to parts of the petals to give a desired flower effect.

The components stated in the above example may be used to make the humidifier as indicated in Figure 6B with the exclusion of a separate stem and distribution head, the same capillary material forming the evaporating element and feed system.

In use as a humidifier the element, in the form of an artificial flower, is placed in a container of water or other liquid, for example some form of vase, possibly with other similar elements. Water is drawn up the stem portions of the flowers by capillary action and evaporates into the ambient air which passes across the relatively large surface area of the head or bud portion of the elements. In this way there is provided a decorative display of artificial flowers which also acts to provide a degree of humidity in the air in a room without leading to problems of excessive condensation. Further, because of the pleasing aesthetic properties of this humidifier it can be located where it is easily seen thereby reducing the risk of it drying up due to not being topped up regularly.

This humidifier can be used with any form of heating and is also portable so that it can be easily moved from room to room and can even be located in a vase of natural flowers and be of particular use in hospitals where dry air in winter is a problem.

Figure 6A illustrates a part section through a 'Lily' type flower. In this case the laminated evaporating elements 31 are cut to form Lily petals. In this example the flower is supported by a central wire 32 and not the water nonpermeable sheath 33. A standard distribution head is used with an indirect feed system.

Figure 6B illustrates a direct feed humidifier or vaporiser in the form of leaves. The example shows one enlarged section through a leaf 42 with a continuous lamination. Alternatively although the capillary material will be continuous, the support material in the lamination need only be included in the evaporating element 41. In the example illustrated the water non-permeable sheath 43 also forms the support system for the plant.

The following refinements and applications may be used with this type of humidifier or vaporiser: 1.'Base exchange' resins or other chemicals may be provided in the base of the stem as indicated in Figure 5B in order to reduce the amount of hardening solids in the water forming on the elements. The lower part of the feed system 22 is cut and 25 mm of the water nonpermeable sheath 24 is filled with the base exchange resins 26, e.g. Amberlite MB-1 and MB-3 made by Rohm and Haas Ltd. A rust proof gauze 27 is fixed to the end of the stem in order to contain the resins.

2. Certain fragrance or vapours may be obtained by mixing with water or by direct attachment to the base of the stem in a suitable container, water soluble fragrant deodorant, medicinal or fly killing materials.

3. Novelty flowers may be made using nonpermanent dyes in the capillary material to give a changing colour and a chromatographic effect. An example of this may be a plain white flower changing to yellow, orange, red, mauve, blue, lavender and pink. In this case, yellow, red and blue dyes would be located in sequence within the stem. This application is basically for novelty and amusement as the humidifying effect is reduced due to hardening and clogging up of the ends of the petals due to the migration of the dye.

4. Instead of using capillary paper the feed system may be made from a wick type material made from natural or plastic fibres and in particular the same type of fibres as used in the reservoir of certain fibre tip pens.

5. It may be possible to use a wide range of capillary materials for the evaporating element including plastics. However it is important that a permanent dye is used with the exception of 3 above.

6. It may be possible to form the lamination as described in Figure 1 during manufacture of the capillary material.

7. Certain complex flower designs may require the use of stitching to give the desired effect.

8. Certain flowers may require the evaporating element to be made from a support material of rust proof wire wrapped with capillary material to form evaporating elements.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A humidifier or vaporiser formed from one or a plurality of evaporating elements, the or each element comprising: a) a head portion having an extensive surface area for exposure to ambient atmosphere, the head portion being made of a material which is capable of absorbing liquid by capillary action and being supported by a material which is sufficiently pliable to allow the head portion, or parts thereof, to be bent to assume different desired portions or configurations, and is substantially non-liquid absorbent and sufficiently rigid to support the liquid absorbent material, when saturated, in any position or configuration of the head portion, and, b) an elongate stem or base portion which extends from, and is narrow in relation to, the head portion for insertion in a container for liquid, said stem or base portion being made of a material which is capable of absorbing liquid by capillary action and is supported by a material which is substantially non-liquid absorbent and sufficiently rigid to support the liquid absorbent material when saturated.

2. A humidifier or vaporiser as claimed in claim 1 in the form of an artificial flower, wherein the head portion has a number of petal like sections, each formed separately or all formed from the same material.

3. A humidifier or vaporiser as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the head portion is made of a laminated sheet comprising a layer of support material and a layer of liquid absorbent material on one or both sides of such layer of support material.

4. A humidifier or vaporiser as claimed in claim 3, wherein the support layer of the evaporating element comprises foil of a rust proof metal.

5. A humidifier or vaporiser as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the base or stem portion comprises liquid absorbent capillary material surrounding a wire.

6. A humidifier or vaporiser as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the circumferential surface of the liquid absorbent material of the stem or base portion is covered by a material which substantially limits evaporation from the humidifier or vaporiser to the aforesaid enlarged surface area portion.

7. A humidifier or vaporiser as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the stem or base portion and the head portion are formed from the same piece of capillary material.

8. A humidifier or vaporiser as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the stem or base portion and the enlarged area portion are formed from separate pieces of capillary material.

9. A humidifier or vaporiser element as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a dye which becomes liquid when wet is provided in the absorbent material of the stem or base portion.

10. A humidifier or vaporiser element as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a material which provides a desired effect when wet, e.g. a dye, or a fragrant, deodorant, medicinal or a fly killing material, is located within the stem or base portion of the element.

11. A humidifier or vaporiser as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a material which provides an increase in lifespan of the humidifier or vaporiser by reducing the solids in the liquid is located within the base of the stem.

12. A humidifier or vaporiser as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the support material of the evaporating element comprises rust proof wire.

13. A humidifier or vaporiser substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

14. A humidifier or vaporiser as claimed in any preceding claim located in a container for water or other liquid with the base or stem portion of the humidifier or vaporiser extending into the container and the enlarged surface area portion positioned above the container.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. effect. 8. Certain flowers may require the evaporating element to be made from a support material of rust proof wire wrapped with capillary material to form evaporating elements. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A humidifier or vaporiser formed from one or a plurality of evaporating elements, the or each element comprising: a) a head portion having an extensive surface area for exposure to ambient atmosphere, the head portion being made of a material which is capable of absorbing liquid by capillary action and being supported by a material which is sufficiently pliable to allow the head portion, or parts thereof, to be bent to assume different desired portions or configurations, and is substantially non-liquid absorbent and sufficiently rigid to support the liquid absorbent material, when saturated, in any position or configuration of the head portion, and, b) an elongate stem or base portion which extends from, and is narrow in relation to, the head portion for insertion in a container for liquid, said stem or base portion being made of a material which is capable of absorbing liquid by capillary action and is supported by a material which is substantially non-liquid absorbent and sufficiently rigid to support the liquid absorbent material when saturated.