JP2008107012A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a humidifier capable of performing indoor humidification even in a place where it is difficult to get water, and further protecting equipment and the like from humidification. <P>SOLUTION: This humidifier 10 comprises an indoor water storage tank 20 for storing rainwater W, and a humidifying means 31 for naturally evaporating the rainwater W stored in the indoor water storage tank 20 into a room 4. As the rainwater W is stored in the indoor water storage tank 20, the water can be gotten even at the top of a mountain and a mountain-ringed region where the water supply is difficult. As the rainwater W in the indoor water storage tank 20 is naturally evaporated by the humidifying means 31, the water evaporated in the room 4 does not include metallic components such as calcium, and wrong operation of the equipment 5 and the like caused by humidification can be prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a humidifier used to humidify a room, and more particularly to a humidifier such as a communication machine room using rainwater.

Communication machine rooms, communication stations, communication relay stations, precision electronic equipment rooms and the like (hereinafter referred to as communication machine rooms) are always cooled by air conditioners for dust prevention and equipment cooling. In addition, the communication machine room is generally humidified by a humidifier in order to prevent malfunction of the device due to static electricity caused by excessive drying due to the dehumidifying effect of the cooling. The following Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known as an example of an apparatus for humidifying a room. In these devices, water is atomized using the vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator to humidify the room.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-48364 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-125648

  However, the humidifier using ultrasonic waves is premised on ensuring the supply of water, and there is a problem that it is not possible to humidify the communication machine room etc. in the mountains or mountainous areas where it is difficult to supply water. It was. In addition, in the case of humidifiers that use ultrasonic waves, metal components such as calcium contained in tap water evaporate with water, so metal components adhere to communication devices installed indoors, causing the device to malfunction. There is a problem.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a humidifier that can perform indoor humidification even in a place where it is difficult to secure water, and can protect equipment and the like from humidification.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 comprises a water storage tank for storing rainwater, and a humidifying means for naturally evaporating rainwater stored in the water storage tank indoors. Device.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the humidifying device according to the first aspect, the water storage tank is provided with a drain for discharging rainwater staying at the bottom.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the humidifying device according to the first or second aspect, the humidifying means has a water absorbing member that absorbs rainwater in the water storage tank, and a part of the water absorbing member is in the room. It is characterized by being exposed to.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the humidifying device according to the third aspect, the humidifying means has a fan that blows air toward the water absorbing member exposed in the room. .

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the humidifying device according to the third or fourth aspect, the humidifying unit is configured such that a portion of the water absorbing member immersed in the rainwater of the water storage tank is sequentially rotated by the rotation of the water absorbing member. It is characterized by being configured to be exposed.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the humidifier according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the water storage tank is communicated with an outdoor water storage tank for storing rainwater from a roof.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the humidifying device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, on the upstream side of the water storage tank, flow path switching for preventing inflow of rainwater starting to descend into the water storage tank is provided. Means is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, rainwater is stored using a water storage tank, so that it is possible to secure water even on a mountain or mountainous area where it is difficult to supply water. Since the rainwater in the water tank naturally evaporates by the humidifying means, the water evaporated in the room does not contain metal components such as calcium, and it is possible to prevent malfunction of the equipment due to humidification.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the drain is provided at the bottom of the water storage tank, dirty rainwater accumulated at the bottom can be discharged, and rainwater without dirt can be used for indoor humidification.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the humidifier has a water absorbing member that absorbs rainwater, and a part of the water supply member is exposed indoors. Evaporation can be promoted, and indoor humidification can be sufficiently performed.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since the humidifying means has the fan that blows air toward the water absorbing member, it is possible to further promote natural evaporation into the room of rainwater.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the water absorbing member is immersed in the rain water of the water storage tank by the rotation of the water absorbing member so that the portion of the water absorbing member is sequentially exposed to the room. A part will always be located indoors, and natural evaporation of the rainwater from a water absorption member is accelerated | stimulated.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, since the indoor water tank communicates with the outdoor water tank that collects rainwater from the roof, the outdoor water tank can be used even when the volume of the indoor water tank is small. Thus, sufficient rainwater can be supplied to the indoor water tank, and rainwater in the indoor water tank can be secured for a long time.

  According to invention of Claim 7, since the flow-path switching means which prevents the inflow of the rain water which begins to fall into the water storage tank is provided in the upstream of the water storage tank, the soil and the leaf of the tree which accumulated on the roof etc. It is possible to prevent foreign substances such as from flowing into the water storage tank together with rainwater.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
1 and 2 show Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the code | symbol 1 has shown buildings, such as a communication station building located in a mountainous area. The roof 2 of the building 1 is inclined right and left with respect to the top, and the rain W that has fallen flows down the inclined surface of the roof 2 and is guided to the rain gutter 6. An air conditioner 3 is disposed in the upper part of the room 4 of the building 1. In the room 4, devices 5 such as a communication device are installed. The temperature of the room 4 is kept at an appropriate temperature by cooling the devices 5 that generate heat with the cold air from the air conditioner 3. The humidity in the room 4 is appropriately maintained by the humidifying means 31 of the humidifying device 10 described later.

  The humidifier 10 has two water storage tanks, an outdoor water storage tank 11 disposed outdoors and an indoor water tank 20 disposed in the room 4. The outdoor water tank 11 is disposed adjacent to the building 1. The rain gutter 6 is connected with a water conduit 12 extending vertically toward the outdoor water storage tank 11. The downstream end of the water conduit 12 extends to the bottom of the outdoor water storage tank 11. The outdoor water storage tank 11 is open at the top, and a lid 14 is attached to the opening to prevent foreign matter from entering. A discharge port 15 is formed at the lowermost part of the outdoor water storage tank 11, and a drain 16 is provided at the discharge port 15 for discharging the sewage accumulated at the bottom. An overflow drain pipe 17 for discharging excess rainwater W is attached to the side of the outdoor water storage tank 11. In the outdoor water storage tank 11, a first drain pipe 18 for discharging excess rainwater W that has flowed into the outdoor water storage tank 11 is provided. The first drain pipe 18 has an upstream end located at the bottom of the outdoor water storage tank 11 and a downstream end located in the overflow drain pipe 17. The first drain pipe 18 has a function of discharging the dirty rain water W staying at the bottom into the overflow drain pipe 17 when the surface of the rain water W in the outdoor water storage tank 11 reaches the height H1. ing.

  An indoor water tank 20 is disposed in the room 4. The outdoor water storage tank 11 and the indoor water storage tank 20 communicate with each other via a communication pipe 23, and rainwater W in the outdoor water storage tank 11 is guided to the indoor water storage tank 20 through the communication pipe 23. A discharge port 21 is formed at the lowermost part of the indoor water storage tank 20, and a drain 22 for discharging dirty rainwater W collected at the bottom is provided at the discharge port 21. In the indoor water tank 20, the 2nd drain pipe 24 which discharges the excess rain water W which flowed into the indoor water tank 20 is provided. The second drain pipe 24 has an upstream end located at the bottom of the indoor water storage tank 20 and a downstream end located in the overflow drain pipe 17. The second drain pipe 24 has a function of discharging the dirty rain water W staying at the bottom into the overflow drain pipe 17 when the water level of the rain water W in the indoor water tank 20 reaches the height H2. ing. A third drain pipe 25 is attached to the side of the indoor water tank 20. The third drain pipe 25 is located at a position where the upstream end is slightly higher than the height H <b> 2, and the downstream end is located inside the overflow drain pipe 17. The third drain pipe 25 has a function of preventing the rainwater W in the indoor water tank 20 from overflowing from the water tank 20. The upper end 26 of the indoor water tank 20 is higher than the upper end of the outdoor water tank 11 by a height H. At the upstream end of the communication pipe 23, the height from the bottom of the outdoor water storage tank 11 is H3. By setting the position of the upstream end of the communication pipe 23 in this way, dirty rainwater W staying at the bottom of the outdoor water storage tank 11 is prevented from flowing into the indoor water storage tank 20. In this way, foreign matter such as soil and leaves that are mixed in the rainwater W that has started to fall is retained at the bottom of the outdoor water storage tank 11, but the communication pipe 23 causes such foreign substances to enter the indoor water storage tank 20. Since it prevents inflow, it functions as a flow path switching means.

  The upper part of the indoor water tank 20 is opened toward the room 4, and dehumidified water from the air conditioner 3 flows into the indoor water tank 20 through the pipe 30. Humidification means 31 is provided at the opening of the indoor water tank 20. The humidifying means 31 includes a cloth belt 32 as a water absorbing member, a roller 33, and a fan 34. The rollers 33 are disposed in the indoor water tank 20 and the room 4, respectively. The roller 33 disposed in the room 4 is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown). The fabric belt 32 is made of, for example, a material such as a cotton fabric having good water absorption. The cloth belt 32 formed in an annular shape is hung so as to come into contact with each roller 33, and is moved (rotated) in the vertical direction by a driving roller 33, similarly to the belt conveyor. The moving speed of the fabric belt 32 can be controlled by a controller (not shown) that controls the motor. The lower half of the cloth belt 32 is immersed in the rain water W in the indoor water tank 20, and the upper half is exposed in the room 4. Air is blown onto the portion of the fabric belt 32 exposed to the room 4 by the fan 34 in order to promote natural evaporation of the rainwater W absorbed by the fabric belt 32.

  Next, the operation in the first embodiment will be described. When rain falls on the roof 2 of the building 1, the rainwater W flows down the roof 2 and is guided to the gutter 6. Since the water conduit 12 is connected to the rain gutter 6, the rain water W from the rain gutter 6 is stored in the outdoor water storage tank 11 through the water conduit 12. Thereby, even if it is building 1 such as a communication station building in a mountainous area where water supply is not maintained, water can be secured. Since the outdoor water storage tank 11 and the indoor water storage tank 20 communicate with each other through the communication pipe 23, the rainwater W stored in the outdoor water storage tank 11 flows into the indoor water storage tank 20 through the communication pipe 23 and is stored. The Although it is difficult to increase the volume of the indoor water storage tank 20 due to the installation space of the indoor 4, the outdoor water storage tank 11 is usually used as the indoor water storage tank. It can be significantly larger than 20. Accordingly, a large amount of rainwater W can be stored in the outdoor water tank 11, and the rainwater W can be supplied from the outdoor water tank 11 to the indoor water tank 20 over a long period of time.

  When the level of the rainwater W in the outdoor water storage tank 11 exceeds H1 due to heavy rain or the like, excess rainwater W is discharged from the first drain pipe 18 into the overflow drain pipe 17. Here, since the upstream end of the first drain pipe 18 is located at the bottom of the outdoor water storage tank 11, the dirty rainwater W at the bottom is preferentially discharged. Further, since the drain 16 is provided at the discharge port 15 located at the bottom, dirty rainwater W including mud at the bottom can be discharged from the drain 16 at the time of periodic inspection by an operator. .

  The water level of the rainwater W stored in the indoor water tank 20 is the same as the water level of the outdoor water tank 11 due to the function of the communication pipe 23, and when the water level of the rainwater W in the outdoor water tank 11 becomes high due to heavy rain or the like, The water level of the water tank 20 also rises. When the liquid level of the indoor water storage tank 20 exceeds the height H <b> 2, excess rainwater W is discharged from the second drain pipe 24 into the overflow drain pipe 17. Here, since the upstream end of the second drain pipe 24 is located at the bottom of the indoor water storage tank 20, the rainwater W having a dirty bottom is preferentially discharged. Moreover, since the drain 22 is provided in the discharge port 21 located in the bottom part, the dirty rainwater W containing mud etc. of a bottom part can be discharged | emitted from the drain 22 at the time of the regular check by an operator, etc. . Since the upper end 26 of the indoor water storage tank 20 is higher than the upper end of the outdoor water storage tank 11 by a height H, the rain water W in the indoor water storage tank 20 must overflow through the third drain pipe 25 without fail. 17 is discharged into the room 4 and does not flow into the room 4.

  The rainwater W stored in the indoor water tank 20 is absorbed by the cloth belt 32 of the humidifying means 31 and comes into contact with the air in the room 4 by the movement of the cloth belt 32. Thereby, the rain water W absorbed by the cloth belt 32 is naturally evaporated in the air, and the room 4 is humidified. Since air is blown to the fabric belt 32 exposed to the interior 4 by the fan 34, natural evaporation from the fabric belt 32 is promoted, and the interior 4 is sufficiently humidified. The air conditioner 3 is provided in the room 4, and the room 4 is dried due to the dehumidifying effect. However, the humidity in the room 4 is kept optimal by natural evaporation of the rainwater W from the cloth belt 32. Therefore, excessive drying of the room 4 by the air conditioner 3 is suppressed, static electricity is less likely to occur, and malfunction of the devices 5 due to static electricity is also prevented. In addition, since humidification of the room 4 uses natural evaporation of the rainwater W, even if the rainwater W contains a metal component such as calcium, the metal component is contained in the room 4 like humidification using ultrasonic waves. It does not evaporate, and malfunction of the equipment 5 due to adhesion of metal components is also prevented.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which is a modification of the humidifying means. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is the structure of the humidifying means, and the configuration of the other parts conforms to that of the first embodiment. Is omitted. The same applies to other embodiments described later.

  In FIG. 3, the code | symbol 35 has shown the water absorption roller as a water absorption member. The water absorption roller 35 has a cylindrical shape, and is rotated in one direction around an axis by a motor (not shown). The rotation speed of the water supply roller 35 can be controlled by a controller (not shown) that controls the motor. The surface of the water absorption roller 35 is made of a material that easily absorbs rainwater W. The lower half of the water absorption roller 35 is immersed in the rain water W in the indoor water storage tank 20, and the upper half is exposed in the room 4. Air is blown by a fan 34 to a portion of the water absorption roller 35 exposed to the room 4.

  In the second embodiment configured as described above, the rainwater W absorbed on the surface of the water absorption roller 35 is naturally evaporated into the room 4 by the air from the fan 34, and the room 4 is humidified. When the water absorption roller 35 is used, the installation space in the vertical direction is small as in the case of the cloth belt, so that the humidifying means can be made compact.

(Embodiment 3)
4 and 5 show Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In FIG. 4, a flow path switching means 40 that switches the flow direction of the rainwater W is provided in the middle of the water conduit 12 that guides the rainwater W from the rain gutter 6 to the outdoor water storage tank 11. The flow path switching means 40 includes a rain sensor 41, a timer 42, a controller 43, a switching valve (electromagnetic switching valve) 44, and a rainwater discharge pipe 45. The rain sensor 41 is attached to the roof 2 and has a function of detecting rain. The timer 42 has a function of measuring the time after rain starts based on the signal from the rain sensor 41. When the measurement time from the timer 42 becomes the same as the preset time, the controller 43 operates the electromagnetic switching valve 44 to change the flow path of the rainwater W from the rainwater discharge pipe 45 side to the water conduit 12 side. It is supposed to switch. That is, the flow path switching means 40 discards the rainwater W that has begun to fall to the outside via the rainwater discharge pipe 45, and guides only the rainwater W after a certain period of time has elapsed from the start of getting down to the outdoor water storage tank 11.

  In Embodiment 3 configured as described above, foreign matters such as soil and leaves are accumulated on the roof 2, so that they are mixed in the rainwater W that starts to fall. Since the flow path switching means 40 is provided in the middle of the water conduit 12, the rainwater W that has begun to fall is passed through the rainwater discharge pipe 45 by turning on the electromagnetic switching valve 44 for a predetermined time. Throw away outdoors. Thereafter, the electromagnetic switching valve 44 is turned off by the controller 43, and the rain water W from the rain gutter 6 flows into the outdoor water storage tank 11. Therefore, only relatively clean rainwater W flows into the outdoor water storage tank 11, and the frequency of drainage of dirty rainwater W by the drain 16 can be reduced.

  As described above, the first to third embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and there are design changes and the like within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention. However, it is included in this invention. For example, in Embodiments 1 to 3, rain water W from the outdoor water storage tank 11 is supplied to the indoor water storage tank 20. Can be humidified. Further, if the temperature of the rainwater W in the indoor water tank 20 is increased, the natural evaporation of the rainwater W into the room 4 is promoted. It is good also as a structure which promotes 4 humidification.

It is a schematic diagram of the building where the humidifier concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention is arranged. It is sectional drawing of the humidification apparatus of FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing of the humidification apparatus concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the building where the humidification apparatus concerning Embodiment 3 of this invention is arrange | positioned. It is a block diagram of the flow-path switching means in the humidification apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Building 2 Roof 3 Air conditioner 4 Room 5 Equipment 6 Rain gutter 10 Humidifier 11 Outdoor water tank 12 Water conduit 15 Discharge port 16 Drain 17 Overflow drain pipe 18 First drain pipe 20 Indoor water tank (water tank)
23 Communication pipe (flow path switching means)
24 Second drain pipe 25 Third drain pipe 31 Humidification means 32 Cloth belt (water absorbing member)
33 roller 34 fan 35 water absorption roller (water absorption member)
40 Flow path switching means 41 Rain sensor 42 Timer 43 Controller 44 Switching valve (electromagnetic switching valve)

Claims (7)

  A humidifying device comprising: a water storage tank for storing rainwater; and a humidifying means for naturally evaporating rainwater stored in the water storage tank.   The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the water storage tank is provided with a drain for discharging rainwater staying at the bottom.   3. The humidification according to claim 1, wherein the humidifying means includes a water absorbing member that absorbs rainwater in the water storage tank, and a part of the water absorbing member is exposed to the room. apparatus.   The humidifying device according to claim 3, wherein the humidifying means has a fan that blows air toward the water absorbing member exposed in the room.   The said humidification means is comprised so that the site | part immersed in the rain water of the said water storage tank of this water absorption member may be sequentially exposed in the said room by rotation of the said water absorption member. Humidifier.   The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the water tank is in communication with an outdoor water tank that collects rainwater from a roof. The flow path switching means for preventing the inflow of rainwater starting to descend into the water storage tank is provided on the upstream side of the water storage tank, according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Humidifier.

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