JP2003014262A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sanitary humidifier enabling the user to visually check that it is in humidification operation. SOLUTION: This humidifier reserves the water supplied from a water supply tank 2 in a humidifying container 3, and soaks the bottom of its water suction pipe 4 in the humidifying container 3, and rotates the water suction pipe 4 thereby sucking up the water within the humidifying tank 3 by centrifugal force, and then, sprinkles the water into an air current going outside obtained by the rotation drive of a fan 5 so as to humidify it. A hollow fiber membrane 23 wherein sucked-up water passes is arranged within the water suction pipe 4. Moreover, this is provided, at its upper part, with a sprinkling cover 24 which opens gradually downward and scatters the water having passed the above hollow fiber membrane 23 to its periphery from a lower opening after shifting it downward. Moreover, a guide member 12, which drops the scattered and collided water into the above air current after letting it flow down and has translucency allowing the visual check from outside, is arranged around the sprinkling cover 24.

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a humidifier capable of humidifying without increasing a water temperature. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a humidifier, a humidifier is driven by rotating a water absorption pipe to suck up water in a water tank and spraying water to a surrounding humidification filter through a water spray hole formed in the water absorption pipe. (JP-A-2000-7442)
No. 9). Further, as another humidifier, there is a humidifier in which fine particles obtained by supplying water to a permeable membrane and rotating the humidifier are discharged by driving a fan and humidified (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2 (1995) -210).
000-199633). However, in any of the above humidifiers, water is vaporized at a low temperature and humidified, so that the humidified state cannot be visually confirmed. Further, in the former humidifier, when it is not used, there is a possibility that water or the like attached to the humidifying filter may generate mold. [0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a humidifier that can visually confirm that humidification is being performed and that is hygienic. According to the present invention, as a means for solving the above problems, water supplied from a water supply tank is stored in a humidifying tank, and a lower end of a water absorption pipe is connected to the inside of the humidifying tank. In a humidifier that was immersed in water, rotated the water absorption pipe, sucked up the water in the humidification tank by centrifugal force, and then scattered in the outward air flow obtained by rotating the fan to humidify, The water-absorbing pipe has a hollow fiber membrane inside which allows the sucked-up water to pass therethrough, and gradually expands downward at an upper portion to move water passing through the hollow fiber membrane downward. After that, a sprinkling cover is provided to be scattered from the lower opening to the periphery, and the outer surface of the sprinkling cover is allowed to flow down the scattered and collided water, then dropped into the air flow, and visible from the outside. Guide member having translucency Is arranged. [0007] With this configuration, when the water in the humidification tank moves upward in the water absorption pipe, it is filtered through the hollow fiber membrane.
Further, the sucked-up water is directed downward by the cover and then scattered around, thereby colliding with the guide member and forming an annular pattern. This annular pattern can be visually confirmed from the outside. An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a humidifier according to this embodiment.
This humidifier generally has a configuration in which a water supply tank 2, a humidification tank 3, a water absorption pipe 4, and a fan 5 are accommodated in a humidifier body 1. The humidifier main body 1 is made of a synthetic resin material in a substantially box shape, and a handle 6 is rotatably mounted on an upper portion thereof. A step 7 is formed at the rear end of the upper surface of the humidifier main body 1, and the handle 6 rotated rearward is positioned horizontally. In this case, by forming a locking projection on the step or the handle 6 and forming a locking recess on the other side,
It is preferable that noise caused by vibration of the handle 6 during use can be prevented. A display substrate 8 is attached to an upper front part of the humidifier main body 1. The display substrate 8 is screwed to a substrate cover 10 positioned by a rib 9 on the inner surface of the upper plate. The board cover 10 is also used for fixing the water absorption motor 26 as described later. The first half inside the humidifier body 1 is a steam generation chamber 11. In the steam generation chamber 11, a guide member 12 protruding downward from the upper surface is provided. The guide member 12 has a structure in which two members on the front side and the rear side are detachably integrated by fitting concave and convex. The guide member 12 is made of a light-transmitting material, and the lower end opening is gradually inclined inward. The generated steam passes from the guide member 12 to the connection pipe 14 and then to the fan case 29 described later by air sucked from an intake port (not shown) on the front side surface, and then exhausts air formed in the center of the upper surface. Mouth 15
Is released to the outside via The filter 16 is detachably attached to a connection portion between the fan case 29 and the connection pipe 14. The filter 16 is used to remove a calcium component from passing water vapor.
The guide member 12 (front side) in the steam generation chamber 11 is visible through a notch 13 formed in the main body and a light-transmitting front panel 17 provided on the front. However, the guide member 12 and the front panel 17 may be translucent, colored transparent, or the like as long as the state of water spray from the water absorption pipe 4 can be checked. The water supply tank 2 is disposed on the rear side of the humidifier main body 1 and stores normal-temperature water. The amount of stored water is
It can be confirmed by a water level gauge (not shown) provided on the rear side surface of the humidifier body 1. The humidifying tank 3 is arranged at a lower front part of the humidifier main body 1 and communicates with the water supply tank 2 via a water supply pipe 19. The water level in the humidification tank 3 is kept constant,
The temperature of the water in the humidifying tank 3 is adjusted to a predetermined temperature by a temperature sensor 20 and a heater 21 provided on the bottom surface. The water-absorbing pipe 4 has a substantially conical tip, and has a water-absorbing port 22 formed in the center thereof. A hollow fiber membrane 23 is housed in the body of the water absorption pipe 4. The water moving upward in the water absorption pipe 4 is filtered when flowing into the hollow portion of the hollow fiber membrane 23, and flows out through the opening 4a provided in the upper outer peripheral portion. A skirt-shaped watering cover 24 is attached to the upper part of the water absorbing pipe 4 so as to gradually spread downward. The water absorption pipe 4 is rotated by driving a water absorption motor 26 housed in the motor housing chamber 25. The water absorption pipe 4 can be attached to and detached from the rotating shaft of the water absorption motor 26. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the socket 101 is integrated with the rotation shaft of the water absorption motor 26. Socket part 101
Has an engagement groove 102 formed on the outer peripheral surface near the upper end flange portion,
An O-ring 103 is provided on the lower peripheral surface. Balls 104 are provided at a plurality of locations on the upper outer peripheral wall of the water absorbing pipe 4 so as to be able to protrude and retract from the inner peripheral surface, and an O-ring 105 is provided on the outer peripheral surface.
The ball 104 is attached to and detached from the socket portion 101 by engaging and disengaging the engagement groove 102. A slider 106 is disposed on the outer peripheral portion of the water absorbing pipe 4 so as to be vertically movable. The slider 106 prevents the ball 104 from dropping out of the engagement groove 102 at the upper movement position, and allows it at the lower movement position. Therefore, the slider 106 is moved downward to separate the water absorbing pipe 4 from the rotating shaft of the water absorbing motor 26,
If the front side of the guide member 12 and the front panel 17 are removed, replacement can be easily performed. Motor accommodation room 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes a board cover 10 used for mounting the display board 8 and a motor mounting cover 27. The water absorption motor 26 has a step-shaped cushion member 28 at the center of the upper and lower surfaces.
And are positioned and held by the covers 10 and 27 via the. The fan 5 includes a water absorption pipe 4 and a water supply tank 2.
And is accommodated in the fan case 29.
The fan 5 is driven to rotate by a fan motor 30 disposed outside and rear of the fan case 29. The front side of the fan case 29 is connected to the connection pipe 14 and communicates with the exhaust hole via an upper surface opening. Next, the operation of the humidifier having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Water is supplied to the water supply tank 2, a predetermined amount of water flows into the humidification tank 3, and the power is turned on. Then, a humidification mode is selected by operating an operation unit (not shown) (step S1). In the case of “standard”, the control temperature is 50 ° C., the rotation speed of the fan 5 and the rotation speed of the water absorption pipe 4 are 1000 r.
pm (steps S5 to S7). In the case of “strong”, the control temperature is set to 60 ° C. (Steps S2 to S4). "weak"
In the case of, the control temperature is set to 40 ° C.
rpm (steps S8 to S10). In the case of “silent”, the control temperature is raised to 60 ° C., and the rotation speed of the fan 5 and the water absorption pipe 4 is set to 500 rpm (step S1).
1 to S13). When the control temperature and the rotation speeds of the fan 5 and the water absorption pipe 4 are determined in this manner, the water temperature in the humidifying tank 3 is controlled based on the temperature t detected by the temperature sensor 20.
On / off control of energization of the heater 21 is performed so as to be c. That is, if the detected temperature t exceeds the control temperature Tc,
The power supply to the heater 21 is stopped (turned off) (step S1).
5) When the detected temperature t becomes equal to or lower than the control temperature Tc, the heater 21 is turned on (step S16). Further, the rotation speeds of the fan 5 and the water absorption pipe 4 are set to the determined values (steps S17, S18). When the water absorption motor 26 is driven, the water absorption pipe 4 rotates, and the water in the humidification tank 3 is sucked by centrifugal force. The sucked water rises while being filtered by the hollow fiber membrane 23, flows out of the opening 4 a, is turned downward by the sprinkling cover 24, is sprinkled in the outer diameter direction from the lower opening, and collides with the guide member 12. I do. As a result, an annular pattern is formed on the guide member 12 by the colliding water droplets. This annular pattern is formed by the guide member 12 and the front panel 1.
7 has translucency, so that it is visible from the outside. Therefore, it is possible to recognize at a glance that the humidifier is being driven and humidifying. The water droplet that has collided with the guide member 12 flows down according to gravity and falls as a water droplet from the lower opening. When the fan motor 30 is driven, the fan 5 rotates, and outside air is sucked into the steam generation chamber 11 through the intake hole. The sucked air is absorbed by the water absorption pipe 4
And between the guide member 12 and mainly the watering cover 24
The water vapor generated when scattered from the air is guided to the fan case 29 via the connection pipe 14. At this time, the calcium component is removed from the water vapor by the filter 16.
The water vapor guided into the fan case 29 is discharged to the outside through the exhaust port 15. The released water vapor is filtered when passing through the hollow fiber membrane 23 and the filter 16, so that it is very sanitary. As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the water scattered by the cover provided on the upper part of the water absorption pipe collides with the guide member and can be visually recognized from the outside. Whether or not humidification is being performed can be visually confirmed. In addition, the filtration can be performed by the hollow fiber membrane provided in the water absorption pipe, which is very sanitary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a humidifier according to the present embodiment. 2 (a) is a partially enlarged exploded sectional view showing a structure for attaching and detaching a water absorbing pipe shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 (b) is an assembled sectional view thereof. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing humidification control by the humidifier according to the embodiment. [Description of Signs] 1 Humidifier body 2 Water supply tank 3 Humidification tank 4 Water absorption pipe 5 Fan 6 Handle 7 Step 8 Display board 9 Rib 10 Board cover 11 Steam generation chamber 12 Guide member 15 Exhaust port 16 Filter 17 Front panel 19 Water supply pipe 20 Temperature sensor 21 Heater 23 Hollow fiber membrane 24 Sprinkling cover 26 Water absorption motor 27 Motor mounting cover 28 Cushion member

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    (72) Inventor Masaaki Tobe             1-20-5 Tenma, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Elephant             In Mahobobin Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Sadaaki Yokota             1-20-5 Tenma, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Elephant             In Mahobobin Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinji Iriya             1-20-5 Tenma, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Elephant             In Mahobobin Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3L055 BB03 CA06 DA07 DA09 DA11

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. Water supplied from a water supply tank is stored in a humidification tank, and a lower end of a water absorption pipe is immersed in water in the humidification tank.
A humidifier configured to rotate the water absorption pipe, suck up water in the humidification tank by centrifugal force, and then scatter and humidify the airflow toward the outside obtained by the rotation drive of the fan, wherein the water absorption pipe comprises: Inside, it has a hollow fiber membrane that allows sucked-up water to pass through, and gradually expands downward at the top to move water passing through the hollow fiber membrane downward, and then A sprinkling cover that scatters from the part to the periphery, and after the water that has scattered and collided flows down the outer periphery of the sprinkling cover, it is dropped into the air flow, and has a translucency that can be visually recognized from the outside. A humidifier comprising a guide member.