JP2012154548A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a humidifier allowing a water supply pump to be removed from a casing and cleaned.SOLUTION: The humidifier 11 includes: the casing 13 including a humidification passage; a filter 39 arranged in the humidification passage, holding water and humidifying taken-in air; and a water supply unit 27, 31, 41 installed detachably in the casing 13 and supplying water to the filter 39. The water supply unit 27, 31, 41 includes a water storage unit 27, 31 storing water, a water supply unit 41 supplying water to the filter 39, and a conveyance means 51 conveying water from the water storage unit 27, 31 to the water supply unit 41. In the humidifier, the conveyance means 51 is constituted of a pump 51 having an impeller 57 formed of a magnetic body 58, and the pump 51 of the impeller 57 is rotationally driven by a magnetized pump driving section 63. The pump 51 is provided on the water supply unit 27, 31, 41 and the pump driving section 63 is provided on the casing 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to a filter unit type humidifier that humidifies air with a filter containing water.

  Conventionally, various filter unit type humidifiers have been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes a humidifier in which an air passage is provided on the inside upper side of a housing divided vertically by a partition wall and a tank chamber is provided on the lower side. In this humidifier, the outside air introduced from the intake port is humidified by passing through a humidifying filter disposed in the air blowing path. Further, the humidification filter is supplied with water from the tank chamber through a water absorption tube and a water supply pan by a water supply pump disposed in the middle of the water absorption tube extending inside the tank chamber.

  Patent Document 2 describes an air cleaner that humidifies air that has been cleaned by a filter unit by passing it through a vaporizing filter unit. In this vaporization filter unit, the lower part of the vaporization filter is immersed in water in a water supply tray supplied with water from a water tank using a pump, and the water is sucked up by a capillary phenomenon. Further, the pump is provided integrally with a pump joint unit disposed in the housing case.

  Patent Document 3 describes a humidifier in which air sucked from a suction port is humidified by passing through a vaporizing element disposed inside the main body and is released to the outside from a discharge port. In this humidifier, water in the water tank is pumped up by a pumping pump provided in the water pipe, and supplied to the vaporizing element through the water pipe and the shower port.

  However, in any of the humidifiers described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, since the main body is provided with a pump, the pump cannot be removed from the main body. Therefore, there is a problem that the pump cannot be cleaned, and a malfunction occurs due to accumulation of scales and the like inside.

JP 2010-19444 A JP 2010-54190 A JP 2002-48365 A

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said conventional problem, and makes it a subject to provide the humidifier which can remove and clean a pump from a casing.

In order to solve the above problems, the humidifier of the present invention is:
A casing having a humidification passage extending from the intake port to the exhaust port, a filter that is disposed in the humidification passage, retains water, and humidifies air taken in from the intake port, and is detachably installed in the casing. A water supply unit for supplying water to the filter,
The water supply unit is a humidifier comprising a water storage unit that stores water, a water supply unit that supplies water to the filter, and a transport unit that transports water from the water storage unit to the water supply unit.
The transport means comprises a pump having an impeller made of a magnetic material housed in a housing, and the impeller of the pump is driven to rotate by a magnetic pump drive unit,
The pump is provided in the water supply unit, and the pump drive unit is provided in the casing.

  Since the pump and the pump drive unit are provided separately, the pump can be removed from the casing and the impeller inside can be cleaned. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems due to the accumulation of scale and the like inside the pump.

As a specific means, it is preferable that the pump is provided in a water supply unit of the water supply unit.
Thereby, by removing a water supply unit from a casing, while cleaning a pump, the filter which a scale etc. tends to accumulate can be cleaned.

As another means, the pump may be provided in a water storage unit of the water supply unit.
Thereby, by removing the water storage unit from the casing, the pump can be cleaned, scales accumulated in the water storage unit can be removed, and problems caused by the scale being more reliably accumulated in the pump can be prevented. Further, when the water storage unit is mounted on the casing, the positional relationship between the pump and the pump drive unit is more stable.

It is preferable that the water storage unit and the water supply unit are detachably provided integrally with the casing.
Thereby, since a water storage unit, a water supply unit, a filter, and a pump can be removed from a casing simultaneously, cleanability improves.

It is preferable that the water storage unit and the water supply unit are detachably provided on the casing.
Thereby, when cleaning a pump, what is necessary is just to remove either a water storage unit or a water supply unit from a casing, and can improve work efficiency.

The water supply unit has a flow path of water transported from the water storage unit by a transport means, and the flow path is detachably engaged with a transport groove integrally provided in the water supply unit. It is preferable to consist of a water supply cover.
Thereby, at the time of cleaning of a filter, a water supply cover can be isolate | separated from a conveyance groove | channel, and the inside of a flow path can be cleaned. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the occurrence of problems due to the accumulation of scales and the like.

In a state where the water supply unit is mounted on the casing, it is preferable that the opening at the upper end of the water supply unit is closed with a water supply unit cover disposed in the casing.
When taken out from the casing, the upper end is opened, so that the inside of the water supply unit can be easily cleaned, and the number of parts of the water supply unit can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

It is preferable that the axis of the magnetic body of the pump is provided in a direction in which the water supply unit is attached to and detached from the casing.
As a result, the magnetic pole around the axis of the magnetic body and the magnetic pole of the pump drive that attracts the magnetic pole are unlikely to be displaced when the water supply unit is attached to or detached from the casing. Can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, since the pump and the pump driving unit are provided separately, the pump can be removed from the casing and disassembled to clean the impeller inside. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems due to the accumulation of scale and the like inside the pump.

The perspective view seen from the front of the humidifier by the embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view which shows the state which removed the tank, the tray, and the dripping unit from the humidifier of FIG. The disassembled perspective view of the humidifier of FIG. The expansion perspective view of the dropping unit and tray which show the state which decomposed | disassembled the centrifugal pump of FIG. AA sectional view taken on the line AA of FIG. The partial expanded sectional view along the BB line of FIG. (A) And (B) is the elements on larger scale which show the modification which provided the centrifugal pump in the tray. (A) is a sectional view of a humidifier showing a modified example in which a water storage container is used as a water storage unit, and the water storage container and the dropping unit are provided so as to be detachable integrally. . Sectional drawing of the humidifier which shows the modification which provided the water storage container and dripping unit of FIG. 8 so that attachment or detachment was possible separately.

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

In FIG. 1, the perspective view which looked at the humidifier 11 which concerns on embodiment of this invention from the front is shown.
As shown in FIG. 2, the humidifier 11 includes a main body 12, a tank 27 for storing water, a tray 31 that accommodates the tank 27 and is detachably disposed at the lower side of the main body 12, The filter 39 which hold | maintains the water supplied via 31 and the dripping unit (water supply unit) 41 which installs this filter 39 are provided. The tank 27 and the tray 31 constitute a water storage unit. The water storage unit and the dripping unit 41 further constitute a water supply unit.

  The main body 12 has a casing 13. The casing 13 includes a front cover 14 disposed on the downstream side of the humidifying passage, a rear cover 15 disposed on the upstream side of the humidifying passage, and a base 16 that supports the front cover 14 and the rear cover 15 (see FIG. 3). It consists of. A rectangular opening 17 is provided on the side surface of the casing 13.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a lattice-like exhaust port 14 a that exhausts air inside the humidifier 11 to the outside of the machine is formed on the upper surface of the front cover 14.

  An intake port 15 a made up of a plurality of slits for taking air into the humidifier 11 is formed on the back surface of the rear cover 15.

  A main fan 18 is rotatably installed above the base 16, and an involute passage 19 that guides the blown air to the exhaust port 14 a is formed around the main fan 18. The front side of the involute passage 19 is covered with an involute cover 20 having a circular hole, and a suction passage to the main fan 18 is formed between the involute cover 20 and the front cover 14. A drip unit (water supply unit) cover 21 that closes the upper end of the drip unit 41 is provided below the involute passage 19.

  A base 23 is formed below the base 16 to support the tray 31 so as to be detachable in the horizontal direction. The base 23 is composed of a pair of rectangular parallelepiped boxes extending in a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the main body 12, and the tray 31 is attached to and detached from the main body 12 while being in sliding contact with the side surface of the base 23 through the opening 17.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the tank 27 is a known tank that extends in the vertical direction and stores water therein. The tank 27 receives water from the tray 31 via a connection port 28 provided on the bottom surface when mounted on the tray 31. To supply.

  The tray 31 includes a tank mounting portion 32 that holds the tank 27 detachably in the vertical direction, and a dropping unit mounting portion 33 that holds the dropping unit 41 detachably in the vertical direction. The tank mounting portion 32 has a substantially box shape extending in the vertical direction with the upper end opened. The dripping unit mounting portion 33 extends in the horizontal direction from the surface of the tank mounting portion 32 facing the casing 13 toward the inside of the casing 13. A communication hole 34 is provided at the lower edge of the surface of the tank mounting portion 32 facing the casing 13 (see FIG. 4), and water flowing from the tank 27 into the tank mounting portion 32 is dripped through the communication hole 34. The unit mounting portion 33 can be stored. Further, the rear wall 35 of the dropping unit mounting portion 33 forms a centrifugal pump disposing portion 37 that is adjacent to the tank mounting portion 32 and protrudes rearward. The centrifugal pump disposing unit 37 is configured such that a centrifugal pump (conveying means) 51 described later is located in a state where the dropping unit 41 is mounted on the dropping unit mounting unit 33.

  The filter 39 is configured by, for example, stacking or folding materials having water content such as nonwoven fabric.

  The dripping unit 41 has a plurality of dripping holes 45 (see FIG. 5) extending in the longitudinal direction, a dripping portion 46 formed of a rectangular container for dripping water onto the filter 39 positioned below, and both sides of the dripping portion 46. A leg portion 47 suspended from the leg portion 47, a placement plate 43 on which the filter 39 is placed and a plurality of circular holes 42 are formed, and water stored in the dropping unit mounting portion 33. A centrifugal pump 51 that pumps up to the dropping unit 46 is provided.

  The centrifugal pump 51 according to the present invention is disposed under the leg 47 close to the tank mounting portion 32 of the dropping unit 41. The centrifugal pump 51 includes an impeller housing 52 that sucks water stored in the dripping unit mounting portion 33, an impeller 57 that is housed in the impeller housing 52 and that rotates around an axis to pump water, and the impeller housing 52 An impeller housing cover 61 to be engaged is provided.

  The impeller housing 52 includes a suction port 54 that is bent downward from a circular intermediate portion 53 that engages with the impeller housing cover 61, and a discharge port 55 that extends upward from the intermediate portion 53.

  The impeller 57 is composed of a disk-like magnetic body 58 having magnetism of N and S poles alternately in the circumferential direction, and a stirring portion 59 that rises in a cross shape in front view from the surface of the impeller housing 52 of the magnetic body 58. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 6, the impeller 57 is rotationally driven by a magnetic force attracting a pump drive unit 63 disposed inside the base 23 so as to face the impeller 57. The pump driving unit 63 includes a rotating body 64 having magnetism of N and S poles alternately in the circumferential direction, and a known motor 65 that rotates the rotating body 64. Specifically, since the rotating body 64 of the pump drive unit 63 and the magnetic body 58 of the impeller 57 are opposed to each other, the rotating body 64 and the magnetic body 58 are attracted by the mutual magnetic force.

  The impeller housing cover 61 is integrally formed with the dropping unit 41 and has a thin cylindrical shape with one end closed.

  Further, a flow path 67 for guiding water pumped up by the centrifugal pump 51 to the dropping section 46 is provided above the impeller housing cover 61. The flow path 67 includes a conveyance groove 68 that is integrally formed with the dropping unit 41 and extends vertically, and a water supply cover 69 that is separably engaged with the conveyance groove 68.

  Next, the operation of the humidifier 11 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  When a switch (not shown) of the humidifier 11 is turned on, the main fan 18 rotates and air is sucked from the intake port 15a. The air taken into the main body 12 is discharged into the room from the exhaust port 14a through a humidification passage indicated by an arrow in FIG. That is, the air sucked into the main body 12 first passes through the filter 39, and the water contained in the filter 39 is vaporized and mixed in the air, so that the air is humidified. The humidified air is guided upward by the wall surface of the front cover 14, is sucked into the main fan 18 through the opening of the involute cover 20, and is discharged into the room through the involute passage 19 from the exhaust port 14 a. Thereby, the room can be humidified.

  Further, when the rotary body 64 of the pump drive unit 63 is rotationally driven to supply water to the filter 39, the impeller 57 of the centrifugal pump 51 rotates as shown in FIG. Thereby, the water stored in the dropping unit mounting portion 33 is sucked from the suction port 54 and discharged from the discharge port 55 through the stirring portion 59 of the impeller 57. The discharged water is conveyed to the dropping unit 46 through the flow path 67 and dropped into the filter 39 from the dropping hole 45 of the dropping unit 46. The water dropped on the filter 39 is returned to the dropping unit mounting portion 33 through the circular hole 42 of the mounting plate 43.

  Since water passes through the centrifugal pump 51 and the flow path 67 of the present embodiment, there is a possibility that a scale or the like may accumulate. For this reason, in order to clean the centrifugal pump 51 and the flow path 67, first, the tray 31 is taken out from the opening 17 while being brought into sliding contact with the base 23. At this time, the tank 27 attached to the tray 31, the dropping unit 41, and the filter 39 attached to the dropping unit 41 are also taken out at the same time. The dropping unit 41 and the dropping unit mounting part 33 are separated by lifting the dropping unit 41 upward from the dropping unit mounting part 33 of the removed tray 31.

  Then, by pulling the impeller housing 52 of the centrifugal pump 51 outward from the impeller housing cover 61, the engagement between the impeller housing 52 and the impeller housing cover 61 is released, and the impeller housing 52 and the impeller 57 are separated from the impeller housing cover 61. Can be separated. Thereby, since the impeller housing 52, the impeller 57, and the impeller housing cover 61 can each be cleaned, generation | occurrence | production of the malfunction by a scale etc. accumulating in the inside of the centrifugal pump 51 can be prevented. Furthermore, since the water supply cover 69 can be separated from the conveying groove 68 of the flow path 67, the inside of the flow path 67 can be cleaned, and scales and the like can be prevented from accumulating more reliably. Moreover, since the dripping unit 41 is removed from the casing 13, the centrifugal pump 51 can be cleaned and the filter 39 in which scales and the like are easily accumulated can be cleaned. And since the upper end of the dripping part 46 obstruct | occluded by the dripping unit cover 21 of the base 16 is opening, when removing from the casing 13, while the dripping part 46 is easy to clean, Manufacturing cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts.

  In order to mount the dropping unit 41 on the casing 13 after the centrifugal pump 51 has been cleaned, first, the impeller 57 is accommodated in the impeller housing 52 and the impeller housing 52 and the impeller housing cover 61 are engaged. When the flow path 67 is separated, the water supply cover 69 is attached to the conveyance groove 68. Next, the dropping unit 41 is fitted into the dropping unit mounting portion 33 of the tray 31 from above, and the tank 27 is similarly fitted into the tank mounting portion 32. The tray 31 is moved in the horizontal direction toward the inside of the main body 12 through the opening 17 while bringing the dropping unit mounting portion 33 into sliding contact with the base 23. And the tank mounting part 32 contacts the casing 13 and closes the opening 17, whereby the mounting of the tank 27, the tray 31 and the dropping unit 41 to the main body 12 is completed. At this time, since the centrifugal pump 51 is positioned at a position facing the pump driving unit 63, the rotating body 64 of the pump driving unit 63 and the magnetic body 58 of the impeller 57 face each other, and the rotating body 64 and the magnetic body 58 are Are attracted by each other's magnetic force, and the rotating body 64 is driven to rotate, whereby the magnetic body 58, that is, the impeller 57 is rotatably arranged. Further, since the axis of the magnetic body 58 is provided in the direction in which the tray 31 is attached to and detached from the casing 13, the magnetic pole around the axis of the magnetic body 58 and the magnetic pole of the rotating body 64 remove the tray 31 from the casing 13. Since it is difficult for position shift to occur when attaching and detaching, it is possible to prevent malfunction of the centrifugal pump 51 due to position shift.

  The humidifier 11 of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

  The centrifugal pump 51 is provided in the dropping unit 41 in the above embodiment, but is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a configuration is adopted in which only the impeller housing 52 including the suction port 54 is provided in the dropping unit 41, and the impeller 57 and the impeller housing cover 61 are provided in the tray 31. However, the same effect can be obtained. Thereby, the positional relationship between the centrifugal pump 51 and the pump drive unit 63 is further stabilized.

  In the above embodiment, the centrifugal pump 51 is used as the conveying means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an axial pump driven by a pair of magnetic bodies attracted by magnetism may be adopted.

  The tank 27 and the tray 31 are provided separately in the above embodiment, but are not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, the tank 27 and the tray 31 may be integrated, and a water storage container (water storage unit) 71 that stores water supplied to the filter 39 may be detachably provided on the casing 13. The water storage container 71 is installed on the lower side of the dripping unit 41, contains water therein, and is provided with a cover 73 at the upper end. The cover 73 is formed with an opening 73 a for drawing out the flow path 67. A centrifugal pump 51 is provided at the bottom of the water storage container 71 so as to face the pump drive unit 63. A flow path 67 extending downward from the dropping unit 41 in the water storage container 71 is fitted to the discharge port 55. A return pipe 72 extending inward is formed in the cover 73 of the water storage container 71, and water dripped from the filter 39 returns to the water storage container 71 via the return pipe 72 and circulates. Yes. Moreover, the opening 73a of the water storage container 71 is covered with a lid 74 that rotates around the hinge 74a (see FIG. 8B).

In this embodiment, since the flow path 67 extends to the centrifugal pump 51 in the water storage container 71 and the dropping unit 41 is placed on the cover 73 of the water storage container 71, the dropping unit 41 and the water storage container 71 are casing. It can be removed integrally from 13 or attached integrally to the casing 13. With this configuration, the cleanability of the water storage container 71, the dropping unit 41, the filter 39, and the centrifugal pump 51 is improved. The dropping unit 41 and the water storage container 71 removed from the casing 13 can be separated by opening the lid 74 and lifting the dropping unit 41 upward. Then, the centrifugal pump 51 can be taken out from the water storage container 71 and cleaned. By providing the dripping unit 41 and the water storage container 71 integrally, the number of parts can be reduced and the manufacturing cost of the humidifier 11 can be reduced.
In this embodiment, the centrifugal pump 51 is provided in the water storage container 71, but the centrifugal pump 51 may be provided in the dropping unit 41. At this time, the pump drive unit 63 is disposed in the casing 13 so as to face the impeller 57 of the centrifugal pump 51.

  In FIG. 9, the further modification of the water storage container 71 is shown. In the humidifier 11, a partition wall 75 that vertically separates the inside of the casing 13 is provided, and a dripping unit 41 is housed above the partition wall 75 and a water storage container 71 is housed below. A lid 76 that closes the upper opening is detachably attached to the water storage container 71. The lid 76 is formed with a water supply pipe 77 and a return pipe 72 that are engaged with the discharge port 55 and extend to the upper surface. The water supply pipe 77 communicates with the flow path 67 through the water absorption pipe side hole 78 of the partition wall 75, thereby conveying water from the centrifugal pump 51 to the dropping unit 46. A return pipe side hole 79 is formed above the return pipe 72 of the partition wall 75, and water dripped from the filter 39 flows into the return pipe 72 through the circular hole 42 and the return pipe side hole 79.

  In the present embodiment, since the dropping unit 41 is separately provided on the upper side of the partition wall 75 and the water storage container 71 is separately provided on the lower side, the dropping unit 41 and the water storage container 71 are separately removed from the casing 13 or attached to the casing 13. Can be attached separately. The water storage container 71 removed from the casing 13 can be cleaned after the lid 76 is opened and the centrifugal pump 51 is taken out. Moreover, since only the water storage container 71 should be removed from the casing 13 when cleaning the centrifugal pump 51, work efficiency can be improved.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the centrifugal pump 51 is provided in the water storage container 71, but instead, a pump is provided in the dropping unit 41 above the partition wall 75, and the water in the water storage container 71 is supplied to the water supply pipe 77 and the flow path. The same effect can be obtained by adopting a configuration of conveying to the dropping unit 46 via 67. At this time, the pump drive unit 63 is disposed in the casing 13 so as to face the impeller 57. In addition, a pump is not limited to the centrifugal pump 51, You may employ | adopt the various pumps driven by the force of attraction.

  In the present embodiment, water is dropped from the dropping unit 46 located above the dropping unit 41 to the filter 39 located below, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a water supply tray (not shown) for storing the water transported from the water storage container 71 via the centrifugal pump 51 is provided in the lower part of the dripping unit 41, and capillary action occurs from the lower edge of the filter immersed in the water supply tray. Therefore, the same effect can be obtained even if a configuration in which water is sucked upward in the filter is adopted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Humidifier 13 Casing 14a Exhaust port 15a Inlet port 21 Cover for dripping unit (water supply unit) 27 Tank (water storage unit, water supply unit)
31 trays (water storage unit, water supply unit)
39 Filter 41 Dripping unit (water supply unit, water supply unit)
51 Centrifugal pump (pump, conveying means)
52 Impeller housing (housing)
57 Impeller 58 Magnetic body 63 Pump drive part 67 Flow path 68 Conveying groove 69 Water supply cover 71 Water storage container (water storage unit)

Claims (8)

A casing having a humidification passage extending from the intake port to the exhaust port, a filter that is disposed in the humidification passage, retains water, and humidifies air taken in from the intake port, and is detachably installed in the casing. A water supply unit for supplying water to the filter,
The water supply unit is a humidifier comprising a water storage unit that stores water, a water supply unit that supplies water to the filter, and a transport unit that transports water from the water storage unit to the water supply unit.
The transport means comprises a pump having an impeller made of a magnetic material housed in a housing, and the impeller of the pump is driven to rotate by a magnetic pump drive unit,
A humidifier, wherein the pump is provided in the water supply unit, and the pump drive unit is provided in the casing.   The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the pump is provided in a water supply unit of the water supply unit.   The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the pump is provided in a water storage unit of the water supply unit.   The humidifier according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the water storage unit and the water supply unit are detachably provided integrally with the casing.   The humidifier according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the water storage unit and the water supply unit are separately detachably provided on the casing.   The water supply unit has a flow path of water transported from the water storage unit by a transport means, and the flow path is detachably engaged with a transport groove integrally provided in the water supply unit. The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the humidifier comprises a water supply cover.   The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an opening at an upper end of the water supply unit is closed with a water supply unit cover disposed in the casing in a state where the water supply unit is mounted on the casing. .   The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an axis of a magnetic body of the pump is provided in a direction in which the water supply unit is attached to and detached from the casing.

Images