JP2010266092A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a humidifier, eliminating the problem of decline in a function of an electric element, by actively cooling a power source substrate, or of eliminating malfunction of a sensor that senses temperature and humidity. <P>SOLUTION: The humidifier includes a body case; a floor member for sectioning inside the body case, into a space above a floor and an underfloor space; a liquid tank; a heating part for heating liquid; a liquid passage for communicating the liquid tank with the heating part; an air-blowing fan; and the power source substrate. The air-blowing fan and the power source substrate are provided in the underfloor space, and the liquid passage is recessed from the floor member to the underfloor space side. The air introduced by the air-blowing fan hits a part of the liquid passage, recessed downward and the power source substrate, and is mixed with the humidified air which is heated by the heating part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a humidifier, and more particularly to an intake flow path structure of a humidifier that effectively cools a liquid passage and a power supply substrate and prevents erroneous detection due to heating of the sensor.

  An example of a conventional humidifier is shown in FIG. The humidifier 1 is of a hybrid type, and includes a liquid tank 2, a water absorption filter 3 as a humidifying means, a blower fan 4, and the like. Then, the water in the liquid tank 2 flows out to the liquid passage 5, reaches the lower end of the water absorption filter 3, and is sucked up by the water absorption filter 3.

  When the blower fan 4 is rotated, outside air is introduced into the humidifier 1. The introduced air is heated through a heater section (not shown), and the heated air is applied to the water absorption filter 3 and is humidified by passing through the water absorption filter 3. Thereafter, the humidified air is discharged from the discharge port 6 to humidify the room.

  Further, the humidifier 1 is provided with an operation chamber 7 in which switches and the like are arranged, and a power supply board 8 on which an electric element is mounted is provided in the operation chamber 7 (see Patent Document 1).

  By the way, as described in the conventional example, the power supply substrate 8 is provided with an operation chamber 7 that is partitioned from the heating unit in order to prevent a thermal effect of the heating unit such as a heater. It is provided inside.

  However, if the power supply substrate 8 is provided in the operation chamber 7, the volume of the operation chamber 7 must be increased, which hinders the humidifier 1 from being made compact. Further, the power supply substrate 8 includes an electric element such as a diode that generates heat. If the operation chamber 7 is a narrow space, the function of the electric element may be deteriorated due to heat of the electric element that generates heat.

Japanese Patent No. 3741114

  An object of the present invention is to provide a humidifier that can eliminate the adverse effect of reducing the function of an electrical element by actively cooling a power supply board, or a humidifier that can eliminate malfunction of a sensor that detects temperature and humidity. Is to provide.

  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 floor member that divides the main body case into an upper floor space and an under floor space, a liquid tank, a heating section that heats liquid, a liquid passage that communicates the liquid tank and the heating section, A humidifier having a blower fan and a power supply board, wherein the blower fan and the power supply board are provided in the underfloor space, and the liquid passage is recessed from the floor member to the underfloor space side, and the blower fan The air introduced by the step hits a portion recessed below the liquid passage and the power supply substrate, and is mixed with humidified air heated by the heating unit.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a sensor for detecting temperature and humidity is provided in the underfloor space, and the air introduced by the blower fan hits the sensor.

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 3, the said heating part is further dented in the said underfloor space side, and the heating part dented in the said underfloor space side is divided by the partition wall from the flow path through which the said air flows. Features the configuration.

  The invention according to claim 4 is further characterized in that a part of the partition wall is a mounting plate of a motor that drives the blower fan.

  In the invention according to claim 1, the blower fan and the power supply board are provided in the underfloor space, the liquid passage is recessed from the floor member to the underfloor space side, and the air introduced by the blower fan is recessed below the liquid passage; Since the water in the liquid passage can be cooled by being applied to the power supply substrate and then mixed with humidified air heated in the heating section, the overflow of water in the liquid passage and the mineral Adhesion can be prevented. In addition, since the power supply substrate can be cooled, it is possible to prevent the function of the electric element from being deteriorated due to heat generation of the electric element. Furthermore, the operation room can be made compact by arranging the power supply board in the space under the floor, and as a result, the entire humidifier can be made compact.

  In the invention according to claim 2, by providing a sensor for detecting temperature and humidity in the underfloor space and applying air introduced by the blower fan to the sensor, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, by heating the heater Sensor misdetection can be prevented.

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 3, while heating part is dented to the underfloor space side, the heating part dented to the underfloor space side is divided by the partition wall from the flow path through which air flows, The invention which concerns on Claim 1 or 2 In addition to the above effect, it is possible to reduce the adverse effect that the air flowing through the underfloor space is heated by the heating unit.

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention which concerns on Claims 1 thru | or 3, by separately using a part of partition wall as the attachment board of the motor which drives a ventilation fan, Since there is no need to provide a partition wall, the manufacturing cost can be reduced accordingly.

Whole sectional view of the humidifier of the present invention Right side view of the humidifier of the present invention Front view of the humidifier of the present invention Rear view of the humidifier of the present invention Top view of the humidifier with the liquid tank and steam cylinder removed. Bottom view of humidifier with bottom member removed The perspective view which looked at the state which removed the bottom member from diagonally downward Top view of the humidifier with the lid removed AA line sectional view of FIG. Enlarged sectional view of the float switch installed in the float chamber The perspective view of the other example which looked at the state which removed the bottom member from diagonally downward Cross section of conventional humidifier

  FIG. 1 shows an overall cross-sectional view of the humidifier of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 4 and 8 show a right side view, a front view, a rear view and a plan view of the humidifier, and FIG. 5 shows a plane showing a liquid passage. FIG. 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 9 are diagrams showing the structure in the underfloor space and the flow of air.

  The humidifier 20 is composed of an outer portion made up of a main body case 21, a lid member 22 and a bottom member 23, a liquid tank 32 for storing a humidifying liquid such as water (hereinafter referred to as water), and water. It consists of the boiler 40 etc. which evaporate.

  The main body case 21 is a member constituting most of the humidifier 20, and as shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the main body case 21 has a cylindrical shape having a front wall 21a, a right side wall 21b, a left side wall 21c, and a back wall 21d and has a bowl-shaped cross section. It is a resin member. The lid member 22 is attached to the upper part of the lid member 22 so as to be freely opened and closed, and the bottom member 23 is attached to the lower part of the lid member 22 with screws (not shown). Although the main body case 21 is described as being separate from the lid member 22 and the bottom member 23, the three members may be collectively referred to as the main body case 21.

  The main body case 21 is partitioned into a floor space 25 and a floor space 26 by a substantially horizontal floor member 24. The floor space 25 further includes a floor area P where a liquid tank 32 is further provided, and a floor where a boiler is provided. The area Q is formed, and the underfloor space 26 further forms an underfloor area R in which a liquid passage is provided and an underfloor area S in which the boiler 40 is provided.

  The floor member 24 that divides the above-floor region P and the underfloor region R is formed with a water supply portion 27, a first liquid passage 28, and a second liquid passage 29 that are recessed from the above-floor region P toward the underfloor region R. The The water supply unit 27 is a portion to which water from the liquid tank 32 is supplied, and a rod body 27a is erected.

  The first liquid passage 28 is a liquid passage having one end communicating with the water supply unit 27 and the other end communicating with the boiler 40, and supplies water from the water supply unit 27 to the boiler 40. The second liquid passage 29 is a dead end liquid passage having one end communicating with the water supply unit 27 and having a float switch 30 in the back thereof.

  An example of the float switch 30 is shown in FIG. The float switch 30 detects the presence or absence of a predetermined amount of water in the second liquid passage 29 by the float 30a containing the magnet 30b moving up and down along the column 30c in which the reed switch 30d is disposed. is there.

  Specifically, a hollow column 30c is erected and a reed switch 30d is disposed in the hollow part of the column 30c. In addition, a float 30a having a magnet 30b incorporated therein is fitted to the outer periphery of the support column 30c so as to be movable up and down, and a circular stopper member 30f fixed with screws 30g is attached above the support column 30c.

  When the float 30a having no predetermined amount of water in the second liquid passage 29 is in the lower position, the reed switch 30d is opened, the energization to the heater 44 described later provided in the boiler 40 is cut off, To prevent.

  A liquid tank 32 is provided in the above-floor region P above the water supply unit 27. The liquid tank 32 is a resin member having a tank body 33 and a water supply cap 34 that can be screwed into and removed from the water supply opening of the tank body 33. An open / close valve 35 is attached to the water supply cap 34. The on-off valve 35 is supported so as to be movable up and down and is urged in the valve closing direction by a spring (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid tank 32 is placed on the water supply unit 27 in an inverted state. When the liquid tank 32 is placed on the water supply unit 27, the on-off valve 35 of the water supply cap 34 is pushed upward by a rod body 27 a standing at the center of the water supply unit 27 and opened.

  When the on-off valve 35 is opened, air is introduced into the liquid tank 32, and the internal water flows out to the water supply unit 27 by the amount of the introduced air. The water flowing out to the water supply unit 27 then reaches the boiler 40 via the first liquid passage 28, and reaches the boiler 40 until the water level at which no air is introduced into the liquid tank 32, and the steam described later. A predetermined amount of water is supplied into the dish 41.

  A handle 36 is provided on the outer side surface of the main body case 21, and a transparent window 37 (FIG. 2) through which the amount of water in the liquid tank 32 can be visually recognized is provided on the right side wall 21 b of the main body case 21. Furthermore, an operation chamber 38 in which various switches are arranged is provided on the front wall 21a of the humidifier 1.

  The operation chamber 38 is provided with a power switch 38a, an operation mode switch 38b, and a timer switch 38c (FIG. 3). By selecting the operation mode switch 38b, a signal of a sensor 48 that detects temperature and humidity, which will be described later, is provided. Thus, the temperature of the heater 44 is controlled, and humidification control is performed so that the indoor humidity becomes a set value. As shown in FIG. 4, a connector 39 is provided on the back wall 21 d of the humidifier 1.

  The floor area Q is provided with a boiler 40 which is a heating unit for heating water. The boiler 40 includes a steam tray 41, a steam cylinder 42, and a steam cap 43. The steam tray 41 is supplied with a predetermined amount of water supplied from the first liquid passage 28. A heater 44 that heats water is disposed at least at the bottom, and the water in the steam tray 41 is heated and evaporated. Further, the steam pan 41 is provided in a form that is recessed from the floor area Q to the floor area S side, and six screw protrusions 41a are integrally formed on the outer periphery thereof. The steam pan 41 is fixed to a screw hole 41b provided in 41a by using a screw (not shown).

  The steam cylinder 42 is a cylindrical member erected above the steam dish 41 and is attached in such a manner that the lower end part is fitted to the upper end part of the steam dish 41, and the steam generated in the steam dish 41. Lead upward. The steam cap 43 is a member fitted to the upper part of the steam cylinder 42, and has an exhaust port 45 on the upper surface thereof. The steam generated in the steam tray 41 and guided by the steam cylinder 42 is passed through the exhaust port 45 to the room. To discharge.

  FIG. 9 shows a cross section of the steam cylinder 42 and the like seen from the line AA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the steam cylinder 42 has an inner cylinder 42a and an outer cylinder 42b, and an internal space 42c is formed between the inner cylinder 42a and the outer cylinder 42b.

  And the lower end part of the inner cylinder 42a is fitted in the upper end part of the said steam tray 41, and the lower end part of the outer cylinder 42b is provided in the form contact | abutted to the said floor member 24. FIG. Furthermore, a quadrangular prism body 42d is formed in the internal space 42c between the inner cylinder 42a and the outer cylinder 42b. The quadrangular columnar body 42d is formed so as to be erected from the floor member 24, and the inside thereof is opened to the underfloor space S, and outside air from the blower fan 51 described later is introduced.

  A first opening 42e communicating with the internal space 42c is provided above the quadrangular prism body 42d. A second opening 42f is provided above the inner cylinder 42a so as to communicate the inner space 42c and the inner cylinder 42a. As shown in the figure, the outside air from the black arrow (7) is black. As shown by the painted arrow (8), the air enters the inner space 42c from the first opening 42e, and then enters the inner cylinder 42a from the second opening 42f as shown by the black arrow (9). It is mixed with the rising steam as indicated by the solid arrow (10), lowers the temperature of the steam and becomes humidified air having an appropriate temperature and humidity, and is supplied into the room through the exhaust port 45.

  Next, the air channel structure and the like of the present invention will be described. This channel structure is formed over the underfloor region R and the underfloor region S of the underfloor space 26 as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the air inlet 46 for taking in outside air is provided at the lower center of the right side wall 21 b of the main body case 21. A filter 46 a is disposed inside the intake port 46.

  The area where the air inlet 46 opens is the underfloor area R and the area where the first liquid passage 28 and the second liquid passage 29 are formed to be recessed in the underfloor area R. The air introduced through 46 a hits the recessed portions of the first liquid passage 28 and the second liquid passage 29, cools the water in the first liquid passage 28 and the second liquid passage 29, and the first liquid passage 28. And the adverse effect of the water in the second liquid passage 29 being heated by the heat of the boiler 40 and overflowing is reduced. Further, by reducing the water temperature, for example, the adhesion of minerals to the float 30a portion or the like is prevented, and by cooling the float 30a portion, the float 30a portion can be disposed in the vicinity of the boiler 40, thereby making the whole compact. Will be able to.

  Further, a support member 47 is attached to the recessed portions of the first liquid passage 28 and the second liquid passage 29, and a sensor 48 capable of detecting temperature and humidity is attached to the support member 47. The air introduced from the intake port 46 cools the water in the first liquid passage 28 and the second liquid passage, hits the sensor 48, and cools the sensor 48 as well. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the adverse effect that the sensor 48 malfunctions due to the temperature in the underfloor region R.

  A power supply board 49 is provided in the underfloor region R. The attachment position is between the operation chamber 38 and the water supply unit 27 and is provided substantially parallel to the operation chamber 38. Various electric elements such as a diode, a relay, and a transformer are attached to the power supply board 49. By the way, there is an electric element that generates heat, for example, a diode or the like. If no heat countermeasures are taken, the temperature of the power supply board 49 becomes high and the function of the electric element may be lowered. Can be reduced. In the present invention, the power supply board 49 is also cooled by applying air introduced from the air inlet 46 to the power supply board 49 as described later.

  As described above, the steam pan 41 of the boiler 40 is recessed in the underfloor region S and, as shown in FIG. 6, the back wall 21 d side that is the left side of the recessed portions of the first liquid passage 28 and the second liquid passage 29. It is arranged near and surrounded by a partition wall 50. The partition wall 50 is a heat-resistant member made of, for example, PPS, and surrounds the entire portion of the steam pan 41 that is recessed in the under-floor region S, including the screw protrusion 41a, in a substantially rectangular shape, so that heat is transmitted to the outer periphery as much as possible. It is preventing. The partition wall 50 divides the underfloor region S into a region S1 where the steam pan 41 is located and a region S2 where the square column 42d is provided on the left side wall 21c side of the humidifier 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, an operation chamber 38 is formed in the front wall 21 a in the underfloor region R, and the power source is arranged in parallel with the operation chamber 38 on the rear wall 21 d side of the operation chamber 38. A substrate 49 is provided. Further, the first liquid passage 28 and the second liquid passage are provided near the center between the power supply substrate 49 and the partition wall 50, and the blower fan 51 and the motor 52 are provided on the left side wall 21c. Provided on the side. A sirocco fan is used as the blower fan 51.

  The blower fan 51 and the motor 52 are provided on the opposite side of the first liquid passage 28 on the left side wall 21c via the mounting plate 53, the mounting plate 53 is parallel to the left side wall 21c, and the blower fan 51 is placed on the left side. It is located between the face wall 21c and the attachment plate 53, and the motor 52 is attached in a form located on the first liquid passage 28 side.

  Then, the power supply board 49 and the partition wall 50 divide the underfloor region R between the first liquid passage 28, the second liquid passage 29 and the motor 52, the left side wall 21 c and the mounting plate 53. It is divided into a region R2 where the blower fan 51 is provided and a region R3 between the operation chamber 38 and the power supply substrate 49. The floor member 24 to which the blower fan 51 is attached forms a fan storage part 51a protruding upward, and is attached in a form in which approximately half of the blower fan 51 is stored in the fan storage part 51a.

  The mounting plate 53 does not extend to the location of the power supply board 49, and a through hole portion 54 through which air flows is provided between the mounting plate 53 and the power supply board 49, and the region R1 and the region R2 are separated. Communicate. The mounting plate 53 is formed in a form continuous with the partition wall 50, and constitutes a part of the partition wall 50. Thus, by using the mounting plate 53 of the blower fan 51 as a part of the partition wall 50, the number of parts can be reduced.

  That is, the partition wall 50 partitions the region S1 and the region R1 almost completely, and the mounting plate 53 partitions the region R1 and the region R2 almost completely except for the through-hole portion 54. Therefore, the adverse effect that the heat of the boiler 40 is transmitted to the region R1 and the region S2 is prevented, thereby reducing the erroneous detection of the sensor 48 and the adverse effect on the electric elements of the power supply board 49, and the air from the intake port 46 is reduced. Then, a route is formed that reaches the blower fan 51 through the region R1, the through hole portion 54, and the region R2, and further flows from the region S2 to the quadrangular prism body 42d.

  The power supply substrate 49 partitions the region R2 and the region R3 for the time being, but does not completely partition them. Further, the blower fan 51 is a sirocco fan, and part of the sirocco fan is housed in a fan housing part 51a provided on the floor member 24, so that the blower fan 51 is efficiently disposed in the narrow region R2 that is the side of the humidifier. Can be arranged. Further, the width from the region R2 to the region S2 is gradually narrowed, so that the air flow from the blower fan 51 can be accelerated and air can be efficiently blown to the quadrangular prism body 42d.

  FIG. 11 shows a modified example of that of FIG. In this example, the end of the power supply board 49 on the intake port 46 side is brought close to the intake port 46 side, and the whole is inclined in plan view. By inclining the power supply board 49 toward the intake port 46 in this manner, the flow of air introduced from the intake port 46 and flowing as shown by arrows (3) and (4) to the through hole portion 54 is smoother. Can be.

  The flow of air by the blower fan 51 will be described with reference to FIG. When the blower fan 51 is driven, air is filtered from the air inlet 46 by the intervening filter 46a as indicated by arrows (1) and (2) and introduced into the region R1. The air introduced into the region R1 hits the first liquid passage 28 and the second liquid passage 29 formed to be recessed in the region R1, cools the water in the first liquid passage 28 and the second liquid passage 29, and first The adverse effect of the water in the liquid passage 28 and the second liquid passage 29 being heated by the heat of the boiler 40 and overflowing is reduced.

  Further, the air introduced into the region R1 hits the sensor 48 and cools the sensor 48 as well. As a result, the adverse effect of the sensor 48 malfunctioning due to the temperature in the region R1 is reduced.

  Further, since the region R1 is partitioned by the partition wall 50, the mounting plate 53, and the power supply board 49, the air flows in the direction of the through hole portion 54 as indicated by the arrow (3), and the air flows toward the through hole portion 54. In the middle of flowing, it hits the power supply board 49 as indicated by an arrow (4), and the electric element attached to the power supply board 49 is cooled. As a result, the adverse effect that the function of the electric element deteriorates due to heat generation of the electric element is reduced.

  Thereafter, the air enters the region R2 through the through-hole portion 54, reaches the blower fan 51 as indicated by an arrow (5), and is pushed out by the blower fan 51 as indicated by an arrow (6). Thus, it is introduced into the quadrangular prism body 42d.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9, the air introduced into the quadrangular prism body 42d as indicated by the arrow (7) enters the internal space 42c from the first opening 42e as indicated by the arrow (8), and then the arrow (9 ) Enters the inner cylinder 42a from the second opening 42f and is mixed with the rising steam as indicated by the white arrow (10) in the inner cylinder 42a, and lowers the temperature of the steam while maintaining an appropriate temperature and humidity. It becomes humidified air and is supplied into the room through the exhaust port 45.

  By the way, since the right side wall 21b and the left side wall 21c are arcuate, the main body case 21 can be provided with a blower fan 51 that takes up a space in the center between the right side wall 21b and the left side wall 21c. The entire humidifier 20 can be made more compact. Further, the humidifier 20 has rounded corners on its outer periphery, and even when it is carried with the handle 36, the humidifier 20 is hard to be broken and hardly damaged.

  The invention of the present application is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed in design without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, in the above description, a boiler type humidifier has been described. It can also be applied to an ultrasonic transmission type.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Humidifier 21 Main body case 21a Front wall 21b Right side wall 21c Left side wall 21d Rear side wall 22 Lid member 23 Bottom member 24 Floor member 25 Floor space P, Q Floor area 26 Floor space R, S Floor area 27 Water supply part 27a Rod 28 First liquid passage 29 Second liquid passage 30 Float switch 30a Float 30b Magnet 30c Post 30d Reed switch 30f Stopper member 30g Screw 32 Liquid tank 33 Tank body 34 Water supply cap 35 On-off valve 36 Handle 37 Transparent window 38 Operation chamber 38a Power switch 38b Operation mode switch 38c Timer switch 39 Connector 40 Boiler 41 Steam pan 41a Screw projection 41b Screw hole 42 Steam cylinder 42a Inner cylinder 42b Outer cylinder 42c Inner space 42d Square pillar body 42e First opening 42f Second opening 4 Steam cap 44 heater 45 exhaust port 46 inlet 46a filter 47 supporting member 48 Temperature and humidity sensor 49 power supply board 50 partition wall 51 air blowing fan 51a fan storage unit 52 motor 53 mounting plate 54 through hole portions

Claims (4)

Humidification having a main body case, a floor member that divides the main body case into an upper floor space and an under floor space, a liquid tank, a heating section that heats the liquid, a liquid passage that communicates the liquid tank and the heating section, a blower fan, and a power supply board A vessel,
The blower fan and the power supply board are provided in the underfloor space,
The liquid passage is recessed from the floor member to the underfloor space side,
The air introduced by the blower fan hits a portion recessed below the liquid passage and the power supply substrate, and is mixed with humidified air heated by the heating unit.   The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein a sensor for detecting temperature and humidity is provided in the underfloor space, and air introduced by the blower fan hits the sensor.   The said heating part is dented in the said underfloor space side, The heating part dented in the said underfloor space side is divided by the partition wall from the flow path through which the said air flows, The Claim 1 or Claim characterized by the above-mentioned. Item 3. A humidifier according to Item 2.   The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a part of the partition wall is a mounting plate of a motor that drives the blower fan.

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