JP2006266606A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a humidifier capable of eliminating a user's uneasiness by preventing an upper and lower limit liquid level detector from detecting the upper limit in a normal use range using a partition plate. <P>SOLUTION: The humidifier comprises a humidifier body case; a humidifying liquid tank serving as a liquid storage part; a boiler for evaporating liquid; a heating means for heating the liquid; a liquid passage allowing the liquid tank and the boiler to communicate with each other; the partition plate provided in the liquid passage to detour the flow of liquid; and the upper and lower limit liquid level detector for detecting upper and lower limits. The partition plate is provided with an upper limit detection forbidding means for forbidding upper limit detection of the upper and lower limit liquid level detector. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a humidifier, and more particularly to a humidifier that disables upper limit detection of an upper and lower limit liquid level detection device in a state in which liquid does not overflow from a humidifier provided with a partition plate.

  A conventional humidifier is shown in FIG. The humidifier 1 is formed by placing a water tank 3 and a steam hood 4 above a body case 2 that also serves as a support. The main body case 2 has a boiler 7 including a water supply unit 5, a liquid passage 6, an evaporating dish 8, and the like, and supplies water supplied to the water supply unit 5 to the boiler 7 through the liquid passage 6.

  A heater 9 is provided on the outer periphery of the evaporating dish 8 to heat and evaporate water in the evaporating dish 8. The liquid passage 6 is provided with a float switch 10 which is an upper and lower limit liquid level detection device for detecting the upper and lower limits of the water in the liquid passage 6, and water is placed in the liquid passage 6 where the float 11 indicates the lower limit value. In a state where there is no fixed amount, or when there is a predetermined amount or more of water in the liquid passage 6 where the float 11 indicates the upper limit value, the energization to the heater 9 is stopped.

  The water tank 3 has an open / close valve on the lid, and is placed on the main body case 2 in an inverted state. When the water tank 3 is placed on the main body case 2, the water in the water tank 3 is supplied to the water supply unit 5 of the main body case 2, supplied to the boiler 7 through the liquid passage 6, heated by the heater 9, and steam Turn into.

  The steam generated in the boiler 7 is supplied into the room from the exhaust hole 14 through the steam cylinder 13 formed in the center of the steam hood 4 and humidifies the room.

  However, since the conventional humidifier 1 has a structure in which the heat of the boiler 7 is transmitted to the water tank 3 through the liquid passage 6 and the water supply unit 5, the water in the liquid passage 6 and the water tank 3 is warmed. As a result, the water in the water tank 3 may be pushed out and overflow from the main body case 2. Of course, in this case, the float 11 of the float switch 10 reaches the upper limit, and the energization to the heater 9 is stopped. Therefore, the subsequent overflow is reduced, but the overflow from the main body case 2 cannot be prevented. .

  In order to eliminate such a problem, as shown in FIG. 9, there has been proposed one in which a partition wall 15 made of a partition plate is provided in the liquid passage 6 on the boiler 7 side. The partition wall 15 closes the upper part of the liquid passage 6 and flows water by detouring from below to above. By providing the partition wall 15, the heat of the boiler 7 is directly passed through the liquid passage 6 and directly into the water tank 3. Therefore, it is possible to prevent water from overflowing from the main body case 2 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  By the way, when using a heater in winter, etc., the air in the room is often dried, so a humidifier is often used together. In such a case, the water in the water tank 3 is warmed by the heat of the heater, More water than usual may be pushed out to the water supply unit 5.

In this case, water does not overflow from the main body case 2 and there is no particular problem even if the humidifier is used as it is. However, the float 11 reaches the upper limit, the float switch 10 is activated, and a warning light (not shown) is lit. This may cause a problem of stopping energization of the heater 9, which gives anxiety to the user. Such a problem cannot be solved even if the partition wall 15 is provided.
Utility model registration No. 2596487

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a humidifier that does not give anxiety to a user by preventing the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device from performing upper limit detection in a normal use range using a partition plate. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following configuration.

  In the invention according to claim 1, a main body case, a liquid tank as a liquid storage unit, a boiler for evaporating the liquid, a heating means for heating the liquid, a liquid passage communicating the liquid tank and the boiler, and provided in the liquid passage In a humidifier equipped with a partition plate that bypasses the flow of the liquid and an upper and lower limit liquid level detection device that detects upper and lower limits of the liquid passage, an upper limit that disables upper limit detection of the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device on the partition plate A configuration in which a detection impossible means is provided.

  With this configuration, the upper / lower limit liquid level detection device does not detect the upper limit in the normal use range using the partition plate. Further, when the user uses without providing a partition plate, the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device reliably detects the upper limit in the liquid passage, and stops energizing the heater.

  In the invention according to claim 2, the upper limit detection impossibility means is a rib provided on the partition plate, and the rib moves to the upper limit position of the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device when the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device moves up. The structure that regulates the upward movement. And with such a simple structure, the upper limit detection of an upper / lower limit liquid level detection apparatus is made impossible more reliably.

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 3, the said rib is provided in multiple or cyclic | annular form, and is the structure which is the same height. And by this structure, the float which is an upper / lower limit liquid level detection apparatus is hold | maintained in a horizontal state, and the trouble which a float inclines and detects an upper limit eliminates.

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 4, a partition plate has a horizontal partition located above the drooping partition located in the said liquid channel and the said upper-lower limit liquid level detection apparatus, The said rib is the said upper-lower limit from the said horizontal partition. A structure that hangs down above the liquid level detection device. With this configuration, it becomes easy to form ribs that cannot detect the upper limit together with the conventional partition wall.

  In the invention according to claim 1, the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device is provided with an upper limit in the normal use range using the partition plate by providing the partition plate with an upper limit detection disabling unit that disables the upper limit detection of the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device. Detection can be prevented, and the user's anxiety can be eliminated. In addition, when the user uses it without providing a partition plate, the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device reliably detects the upper limit in the liquid passage, so that safety can be maintained as before and the reliability of the humidifier can be maintained. Can increase the sex.

  In the invention according to claim 2, the upper limit non-detectable means is a rib provided on the partition plate, and when the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device moves up, the rib regulates the upward movement to the upper limit position of the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device. By doing so, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, since the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device can be created with a simple configuration, the production cost can be kept low. Upper limit detection can be disabled more reliably.

  In the invention according to claim 3, by making the ribs plural or annular and at the same height, in addition to the effects of the inventions according to claims 1 and 2, the float which is the upper and lower limit liquid level detecting device is inclined and the upper limit is detected. It is possible to prevent erroneous detection of being performed, and it is possible to more reliably disable upper limit detection.

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 4, a partition plate is formed from the hanging partition which closes the upper direction of a liquid path, and the horizontal partition located above an upper / lower limit liquid level detection apparatus, and a rib detects an upper / lower limit liquid level from a horizontal partition In addition to the effects of the inventions according to claims 1 to 3, the conventional partition walls and ribs can be integrally formed by forming the apparatus so as to hang down above the apparatus, thereby facilitating its creation. Production cost can be reduced.

  1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a liquid passage without a partition plate, and FIG. 3 is the same view as FIG. 2 in which the liquid passage is covered with a partition plate. 4 to 6 show a plan view, a side view, and a bottom view of the partition plate, and FIG. 8 shows an enlarged sectional view of the float switch.

  The humidifier 20 includes a resin main body case 21, a liquid tank 40 for storing a humidifying liquid such as water placed above the main body case 21, and a steam hood 50 that is also disposed above the main body case 21. .

  The main body case 21 is a resin member located below the humidifier 20, and has a liquid passage 22 and a boiler 30, and supplies water in the liquid tank 40 to the boiler 30 via the liquid passage 22. Heat the water and evaporate. The peripheral wall upper end portion 29 of the main body case 21 is formed higher than the upper surface of the liquid passage 22, and even if water overflows from the liquid passage 22, the water does not overflow from the main body case 21 if the amount is small.

  The liquid passage 22 includes a water supply portion 23 for flowing out water in the liquid tank 40, a first communication passage 28, a reservoir portion 24 in which a float switch 27, which will be described later, which is an upper and lower limit liquid level detection device, and a reservoir portion 24. It consists of the 2nd communicating path 25 which connects the boiler 30. FIG.

  The water supply part 23 is the shallowest part compared with the reservoir part 24 and the 2nd communicating path 25, is made into a substantially circular view planarly as shown in FIG. 2, and forms the rod body 26 which protruded upwards in the center. . When the liquid tank 40 is placed above the main body case 21, an opening / closing valve 43 described later provided in the liquid tank 40 is opened by the rod body 26, and water in the liquid tank 40 flows out to the water supply unit 23.

  The first communication passage 28 is a part of the liquid passage 22 that communicates the water supply unit 23 and the reservoir 24, and is the deepest part same as the reservoir 24, and guides the water in the water supply unit 23 to the reservoir 24. . A first guide groove 67 having a short length is formed in the vicinity of the reservoir 24 of the first communication passage 28 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the first communication passage 28 as shown in FIG. 60 side end portions 62a of the first hanging partition walls 62 are accommodated.

  The reservoir 24 is the deepest part compared to the water supply unit 23 and the second communication passage 25, and is substantially circular in a plan view as shown in FIG. 2, and a float switch 27, which is an upper and lower limit liquid level detection device, is provided at the center thereof. Deploy. The outline is shown in FIG.

  The float switch 27 detects the upper and lower limits of the water in the reservoir 24 when the float 27a containing the magnet 27b moves up and down along the column 27c in which the reed switch 27d is disposed.

  That is, a hollow column 27 c is erected at the center of the reservoir 24. A reed switch 27d is disposed in the hollow portion of the column 27c. Further, a float 27a having a magnet 27b therein is fitted to the outer periphery of the support 27c so as to be movable up and down, and a circular stopper member 27f fixed with screws 27g is attached above the support 27c.

  When the float 27a in which there is no more water than the predetermined amount in the liquid passage 22 occupies the lower limit position, or when the float 27a in which the water in the reservoir 24 becomes higher than the predetermined position occupies the upper limit position, the reed switch 27d opens and the boiler 30 The heater 32, which will be described later, provided in is cut off, and the boiler 30 is prevented from emptying and overflowing from the liquid passage 22.

  That is, the float switch 27 has a function as a safety device for preventing overflow caused by emptying when there is no water in the liquid tank 40 or forgetting to install the partition plate 60 described later. And it is normally used at the standard water level L as shown in FIG.

  The second communication passage 25 is a part of the liquid passage 22 that communicates the reservoir 24 and the boiler 30, approximately half of the reservoir 24 side is the same depth as the reservoir 24, and the other half is the liquid passage 22. Among them, it is a rectangular portion in plan view having the second depth, and supplies water in the liquid tank 40 to the boiler 30. As shown in FIG. 2, a second guide groove 68 having a short length in the direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the second communication path 25 is formed at the approximate center of the second communication path 25. The side end 63a of the two hanging partition walls 63 is accommodated.

  The boiler 30 includes a steam tray 31 that receives water and a heater 32 that is disposed on the outer periphery of the steam tray 31, and heats the water in the steam tray 31 by the heater 32. The heated water in the steam tray 31 becomes steam and is discharged from the exhaust hole 53 provided in the steam hood 50 to humidify the room.

  The liquid tank 40 is a resin member having a tank body 41 and a water supply cap 42 that can be screwed into and removed from the water supply opening of the tank body 41. The water supply cap 42 is provided with a water supply nozzle 44 to which an on-off valve 43 is attached. The on-off valve 43 is supported so as to be vertically slidable with respect to a bearing 45 installed in the water supply nozzle 44 and is urged by a spring 46 in the valve closing direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid tank 40 is placed on the main body case 21 in an inverted state. When the liquid tank 40 is placed on the main body case 21, the water supply cap 42 is positioned above the water supply unit 23. Then, the on-off valve 43 of the water supply cap 42 is pushed upward by the rod body 26 erected at the center of the water supply unit 23 and opened.

  When the on-off valve 43 is opened, air is introduced into the liquid tank 40, and the internal water flows out to the water supply unit 23 by the amount of the introduced air. The water flowing out to the water supply unit 23 then reaches the boiler 30 via the reservoir 24 and the second communication passage 25, and reaches the boiler 30 and the liquid passage 22 and the steam tray to the standard water level L, which is the level at which air is not introduced into the liquid tank 40. 31 is filled with water.

  When the water in the steam tray 31 is heated by the heater 32 and discharged as steam, the water in the liquid passage 22 is reduced and the standard water level L is lowered. When the standard water level L is lowered, the lower end of the water supply cap 42 is opened to the atmosphere, and air is introduced into the liquid tank 40. Then, since the internal water flows out to the water supply unit 23 by the amount of the introduced air, the standard water level L is maintained as long as there is water in the liquid tank 40.

  The steam hood 50 is a resin member having a steam cylinder 51 having a circular cross section at the center and surrounding the outer periphery with a hood cover 52. The lower end of the steam cylinder 51 enters the boiler 30 and has an exhaust hole 53 above it. The steam generated in the steam tray 31 moves up in the steam cylinder 51 and is discharged into the room through the exhaust hole 53. .

  In the region where the steam hood 50 is disposed, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a hood guide 55 is formed which is erected in a vertical direction at opposite positions in the front-rear direction and serves as a side wall surface that supports the steam hood 50. Further, on the inner surface, rail portions 56 each having a rectangular cross section having the same height as the hood guide 55 and facing the front and rear direction are formed.

  The plan view shape of the steam hood 50 is a shape between the two opposing hood guides 55 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and a slightly smaller size, and a rail portion between the two opposing hood guides 55. It moves up and down along 56. The vertical movement is performed with a handle 54 formed on the inner side surface of the steam hood 50. When the steam hood 50 is stored and disposed, the bottom end portion 57 abuts on the upper surface of the partition plate 60 to prevent the partition plate 60 from being lifted.

  The partition plate 60 is a resin member composed of a horizontal partition wall 61 and a suspended partition wall, as shown in FIG. 4 in its plan view, FIG. 5 in its side view, and FIG. 6 in its bottom view.

  The horizontal partition wall 61 is a generally rectangular plate-like member having a short rectangular portion 61a at one end, a rectangular portion 61b at a substantially central portion, and a long rectangular portion 61c at the other end as a whole. As shown in FIG. 3, the short rectangular portion 61 a covers a part of the first communication passage 28, a rectangular portion 61 b covers the entire upper portion of the reservoir 24, and the long rectangular portion 61 c is a second communication passage. Cover the entire top of 25.

  The hanging partition wall includes a first hanging partition wall 62 and a second hanging partition wall 63, and the first hanging partition wall 62 is a flat plate member that hangs below the short rectangular portion 61 a, and is formed between the reservoir 24 and the water supply unit 23. It is located in the 1st communicating path 28 in the middle, and prevents that the heat of the boiler 30 is transmitted from the reservoir part 24 to the water supply part 23.

  The second hanging partition wall 63 is a flat plate member that hangs below the long rectangular portion 61 c, and is located in the second communication path 25 between the reservoir 24 and the boiler 30, and the boiler via the second communication path 25. 30 heat is prevented from being transferred to the reservoir 24. That is, the first hanging partition wall 62 and the second hanging partition wall 63 have a function of suppressing mixing of hot and cold water. It should be noted that only one of the first and second suspended partitions 62 and 63, which are the hot / cold water mixing inhibiting means, may be used.

  Below the rectangular portion 61b, as shown in FIG. 6, three circular ribs 64 as upper limit non-detectable means are formed at equal intervals on the same circumference. The circumference of the rib 64 is larger than the stopper member 27f of the float switch 27 and smaller than the float 27a, and all the heights are the same, and the tip of the float 27a of the float switch 27 is moved upward to the upper limit position. And control with. The height of the rib 64 is lower than that of the first hanging partition wall 62 and the second hanging partition wall 63.

  Each rib 64 is provided with an auxiliary rib 65 for reinforcement. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, small reinforcing ribs 69 are suspended on the lower surface of the horizontal partition wall 61 over the entire circumference. The shape of the rib 64 may be any shape as long as the upward movement of the float 27a to the upper limit position can be restricted regardless of whether the shape is a rectangle or a polygon.

  FIG. 7 shows a modification of the rib 64. In this example, the ribs 64 are annularly formed at the same height. By adopting such a shape, the float 27a can be kept horizontal and stable. Moreover, since the strength of the rib 64 can be increased, the auxiliary rib 65 can be dispensed with.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a substantially rectangular protrusion 66 is formed on the upper surface of the horizontal partition wall 61. The height of the protrusion 66 is set such that when the steam hood 50 is attached to the hood guide 55, the bottom end portion 57 of the steam hood 50 contacts the upper surface of the protrusion 66 and the partition plate 60 does not float. . In addition, the shape of the protrusion 66 may be any shape as long as the floating of the circular equal partition plate 60 can be restricted.

  The partition plate 60 is attached to the liquid passage 22 as follows. That is, the partition plate 60 is placed on the liquid passage 22 so that the short rectangular portion 61 a of the partition plate 60 faces the first communication passage 28 of the liquid passage 22, and the inside of the first guide groove 67 of the first communication passage 28. The side end portion 62 a of the first hanging partition wall 62 is fitted to the second guide passage 68, and the side end portion 63 a of the second hanging partition wall 63 is fitted to the upper surface of the partition plate 60. Applying force, the partition plate 60 is pushed into the liquid passage 22.

  Then, in the partition plate 60, the side end portion 62 a of the first hanging partition wall 62 is fitted in the first guide groove 67 of the first communication passage 28, and the side end portion 63 a of the second hanging partition wall 63 is fitted in the second communication passage 25. It fits in the 2nd guide groove 68, and is attached in the form which covers the upper surface of the liquid channel 22. At that time, the bottom end portion of the horizontal partition wall 61 is engaged with the step portion 33 formed on the upper surface of the liquid passage 22, so that the upper surface of the partition plate 60 and the liquid passage 22 are substantially the same.

  The state where the partition plate 60 is attached is shown in FIG. When the partition plate 60 is attached, the bottom end portion of the first hanging partition wall 62 is located below the bottom surface of the water supply unit 23, and the bottom end portion of the second hanging partition wall 63 is close to the boiler 30 of the second communication passage 25. It is located below the bottom of the shallower side.

  Therefore, the flow of water is a flow detoured up and down as indicated by arrows. As a result, since the heat from the boiler 30 is not directly transmitted to the water supply unit 23, the water in the liquid passage 22 and the tank main body 41 is rapidly expanded, and the expanded water is prevented from overflowing from the main body case 21. it can. When water in the liquid passage 22 increases and water is about to overflow from the liquid passage 22, the partition plate 60 serves as an overflow prevention wall. Even if a slight amount of water overflows from the liquid passage 22, the peripheral wall upper end portion 29 of the main body case 21 is higher than the upper surface of the partition plate 60, so that the water does not overflow from the main body case 21.

  In addition, when the partition plate 60 is attached to the liquid passage 22, the rib 64 that hangs down below the rectangular portion 61b is positioned to face the upper surface of the float 27a, and comes into contact with the upper surface of the float 27a when the float 27a is near the upper limit position. The upper movement of the float 27a is restricted.

  In other words, since the float switch 27 does not detect the upper limit in the normal use range of the humidifier, there is no extra concern for the user. This structure is particularly effective for the liquid tank 40 exposed type having a low outer wall shown in FIG. 1 and a small humidifier.

  The first hanging partition wall 62 and the second hanging partition wall 63 are eliminated, and the rib 64 has the same length as the first hanging partition wall 62 and the second hanging partition wall 63, so that the rib 64 has the first hanging partition wall 62 and the second hanging partition wall 62. A function similar to that of the hanging partition wall 63 may be provided.

  The invention of the present application is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and it is needless to say that the design can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the invention.

It is a humidifier of this invention, Comprising: Sectional drawing of the AA line of FIG. Plan view of the liquid passage without the partition plate of the present invention The same plan view as FIG. 2 with the partition plate over the liquid passage Plan view of the partition plate of the present invention Side view of the partition plate of the present invention Bottom view of the partition plate of the present invention Bottom view of another partition plate of the present invention Enlarged sectional view of the float switch of the present invention Cross section of conventional humidifier

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Humidifier 21 ... Main body case 22 ... Liquid passage 23 ... Water supply part 24 ... Reservoir part 25 ... 2nd communicating path 26 ... Rod body 27 ... Float Switch 27a ... Float 27b ... Magnet 27c ... Post 27d ... Reed switch 27f ... Stopper member 27g ... Screw 28 ... First communication path 29 ... Upper end of peripheral wall 30 ..Boiler 31 ... Steam pan 32 ... Heater 33 ... Step part 40 ... Liquid tank 41 ... Tank body 42 ... Water supply cap 43 ... Open / close valve 44 ... Water supply nozzle 45 ... Bearing 46 ... Spring 50 ... Steam hood 51 ... Steam cylinder 52 ... Hood cover 53 ... Exhaust hole 54 ... Handle 55 ... Hood guide 56 ... Rail Part 57 ... Bottom end 0 ... partition plate 61 ... horizontal partition 61a ... short rectangular part 61b ... rectangular part 61c ... long rectangular part 62 ... first hanging partition 62a ... side edge 63 ... -2nd drooping partition wall 63a ... side edge part 64 ... rib 65 ... auxiliary rib 66 ... projection body 67 ... 1st guide groove 68 ... 2nd guide groove

Claims (4)

A main body case, a liquid tank as a liquid storage unit, a boiler for evaporating liquid, a heating means for heating the liquid, a liquid passage communicating the liquid tank and the boiler, and a partition provided in the liquid passage for bypassing the flow of the liquid In a humidifier comprising an upper and lower limit liquid level detection device for detecting upper and lower limits of the plate and the liquid passage, an upper limit detection disabling unit for disabling upper limit detection of the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device is provided on the partition plate. A humidifier. The upper limit non-detectable means is a rib provided on the partition plate, and when the upper / lower limit liquid level detection device moves upward, the rib regulates the upward movement to the upper limit position of the upper / lower limit liquid level detection device. The humidifier according to claim 1. The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the rib is provided in a plurality or in a ring shape and has the same height. The partition plate has a hanging partition located in the liquid passage and a horizontal partition located above the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device, and the rib is above the upper and lower limit liquid level detection device from the horizontal partition. The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the humidifier is suspended.

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