JP2015158281A - mist generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mist generator the draining operation of which is automated when stopping the operation.SOLUTION: After an operation switch 28 is operated to output an operation stop signal, a determination that water is filled in a drain tray 5 is made and then a three-way valve 22 is switched to communicate a water storage pipe 23 and a drain pipe 25 with each other, and after 20 seconds passes as a time period for all of water in a water storage chamber 8 to flow into the drain tray 5, the three-way valve 22 is switched not to communicate the water storage pipe 23 and a water supply pipe 24 with each other and the water storage pipe 23 and the drain pipe 25 with each other. Thus, with the simple operation of the operation switch 28, the water in the water storage chamber 8 can flow into the drain tray 5, and the water can drain from the water storage chamber 8 without the need for a user to pull a water supply tank 14 out of a tank storage chamber 16 and operate a drain lever after stopping the operation of an instrument body 1, resulting in improved user-friendliness.

Description

  The present invention relates to a mist generator that generates humidified air containing nanometer-size mist and negative ions and blows air.

  Conventionally, in this type, the water is flown from the water supply chamber that stores a predetermined amount of water in the water supply tank to the water storage chamber through the water passage, and the water in the water storage chamber is crushed by the mist generating means. There is a mist operation that generates metric mist and negative ions and blows humidified air containing nanometer mist and negative ions into the room, and after the mist operation is completed, the water tank is pulled out and installed in the instrument body By operating the drain lever, the flow path from the water flow path to the drain tray is opened, and the water in the water supply chamber and the water storage chamber is drained into the drain tray, leaving no water in the water storage chamber. There was something that prevented the occurrence. (For example, Patent Document 1)

JP 2012-127589 A

  However, in this conventional system, the user cannot pull out the water tank after the mist operation is completed, and the drain lever cannot be drained unless the user operates the drain lever. There was room for improvement because the water in the water supply room that stores fresh water supplied from the water supply tank was also drained with the water in the water storage room, and water that did not need to be drained was also drained.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in claim 1 of the present invention, an instrument main body, a water storage chamber installed in the instrument main body for storing water, water in the water storage chamber is crushed, and nanometer mist and minus Mist generating means for generating ions, a fan for blowing humidified air containing nanometer mist generated by the mist generating means and negative ions into the room, and a predetermined amount of water stored in the instrument body A water supply tank for storing water, a water supply chamber installed in the apparatus body for storing water supplied from the water supply tank, and connecting the water storage chamber and the water supply chamber to supply water in the water supply chamber to the water storage chamber A water flow path for inflow, a drain tray in the apparatus main body into which water drained from the water storage chamber and the water supply chamber flows, and the blower fan are driven to form the apparatus main body. A three-way valve having one end connected to a drain pipe for flowing water into the drain tray in the middle of the water flow path. The control unit is configured to switch the three-way valve so that water flows from the water supply chamber to the water storage chamber when the mist operation starts, and so that water flows from the water storage chamber to the drain tray when the mist operation is stopped. The three-way valve is switched.

  Moreover, in Claim 2, the drainage sensor which detects the water level in the said drainage tray is installed, The said control part will be the said water flow if the water level detected by the said drainage sensor at the time of the said mist operation stop is more than predetermined level. The three-way valve is switched so that the path and the drain pipe do not communicate with each other.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, a drainage sensor that detects a water level in the drainage tray is installed, and the control unit switches the three-way valve so that water flows from the water storage chamber to the drainage tray when the mist operation is stopped. After that, when the water level detected by the drainage sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined water level, the three-way valve is switched so that the water passage does not communicate and the water passage and the drain pipe do not communicate. To do.

  Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control unit notifies that the water in the drain tray is drained if the water level detected by the drain sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined water level.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the mist generating means includes a cylindrical rotating body in which a lower end is submerged in the water storage chamber, water is pumped up and scattered by rotation, a mist motor that rotationally drives the rotating body, and the rotation It is comprised by the collision body which the water scattered by rotation of the body collides.

  According to this invention, a three-way valve with one end connected to a drain pipe that flows water into the drain tray is installed in the middle of the water flow path, and the three-way valve is installed so that water flows from the water supply chamber to the water storage chamber at the start of mist operation. Since the three-way valve is switched so that water flows into the drainage tray from the water storage chamber when switching and mist operation is stopped, only the water in the water storage chamber can be automatically flowed into the drainage tray when the mist operation ends. This eliminates the need for the user to remove the water supply tank before and operate the drain lever, improving usability and draining only the water in the water storage chamber, so that clean water in the water supply chamber is drained. Can save water.

  In addition, a drainage sensor that detects the water level in the drainage tray is installed, and if the water level detected by the drainage sensor when the mist operation is stopped is higher than the specified water level, the three-way valve is switched so that the water passage and drainage pipe do not communicate with each other. Since the water in the water storage chamber can be prevented from flowing in spite of the presence of water above the predetermined water level in the drain tray, it is possible to reliably prevent the water from overflowing from the drain tray.

  In addition, after installing a drainage sensor that detects the water level in the drainage tray and switching the three-way valve so that water flows from the reservoir to the drainage tray when the mist operation is stopped, the water level detected by the drainage sensor exceeds the specified level. The three-way valve is switched so that the water passage does not communicate and the water passage and the drain pipe do not communicate with each other. Since the three-way valve is switched so that the indoor water does not flow into the water supply chamber and the drain tray, the clean water in the water supply chamber does not flow into the water storage chamber, and can be reliably prevented from overflowing from the drain tray.

  In addition, if the water level detected by the drainage sensor is equal to or higher than the predetermined level, the user is informed that the water in the drainage tray is drained, so that the user can easily understand that the drainage tray needs to be drained with full water. As a result, usability is improved.

  The mist generating means includes a cylindrical rotating body that submerses the lower end in the water storage chamber, pumps up the water by rotation, and scatters, a mist motor that rotates the rotating body, and water scattered by the rotation of the rotating body. Since it is composed of colliding bodies that collide with each other, a large amount of nano mist and negative ions can be generated with a simple structure that pumps the water in the water storage chamber with a rotating body and collides with the colliding body, making assembly easy Therefore, the mist generating means can be configured at low cost.

The perspective view explaining the external appearance of the instrument main body of one Embodiment of this invention Schematic configuration diagram of the embodiment Control block diagram of the embodiment The flowchart explaining the control at the time of the mist operation start of the embodiment A flowchart for explaining the control at the end of the mist operation of the embodiment

Next, a mist generator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Reference numeral 1 denotes an instrument body, which is composed of a lower case 2 constituting the lower surface of the instrument body 1 and an upper case 3 constituting the upper surface.

  4 is an air outlet for releasing humidified air generated in the instrument body 1 into the room, and 5 is a drawer handle formed in the front of the instrument body 1 so that a predetermined amount of waste water generated in the instrument body 1 can be stored. A drain tray 6 is a water supply tank door which is formed on the upper surface of the instrument main body 1 and can be freely opened and closed.

  Reference numeral 8 denotes a water storage chamber that is fixed in the instrument main body 1 and can store a predetermined amount of water, and 9 is a cylindrical rotating body that is pivotally supported by the drive shaft 10 with the lower end submerged in the water storage in the water storage chamber 8. The rotating body 9 is fixed to the end of the drive shaft 10 and a nut (not shown) at a substantially central portion, and the rotating body 9 can be cleaned by removing the nut and removing the rotating body 9.

  The rotating body 9 has a hollow inverted conical shape and gradually increases in diameter upward, and is driven by a mist motor 11 that is connected to a drive shaft 10 and rotationally drives the rotating body 9 so that the rotating body 9 rotates. The water stored in the water storage chamber 8 is pumped up by the centrifugal force of the rotation, and the water is pushed up along the outer wall and the inner wall of the rotating body 9, and the pushed up water is scattered around the outer wall of the rotating body 9. At the same time, the water pushed up along the inner wall of the rotator 9 is scattered from a plurality of unillustrated splash ports formed at the upper end of the rotator 9.

  12 is a cylindrical porous body that is positioned on the outer periphery of the rotating body 9 at a predetermined interval and rotates together with the rotating body 9. The porous body 12 includes a large number of slits, metal meshes, and punching metal on its entire peripheral wall. A porous portion 13 as an impact body made of, for example, is installed, and the rotating body 9, the mist motor 11 and the porous portion 13 constitute a mist generating means.

  The mist motor 11 that constitutes the mist generating means is driven, and the water in the water storage chamber 8 is pumped up by the centrifugal force generated by rotating the rotating body 9 and air is scattered, so that water droplets that have passed through the porous portion 13 are generated. By being crushed, water particles are refined to produce nanometer (nm) mist, and a large amount of negative ions are generated by the Leonard effect of water particles.

  14 is a cartridge-type water supply tank capable of storing a predetermined amount of water therein, 15 is a water supply lid attached to the tip of the water supply tank 14, and 16 is a tank storage capable of storing the water supply tank 14 in the instrument body 1. A chamber 17 is a water supply chamber provided with a projection 18 at the lower part of the tank storage chamber, on which the water supply lid 15 can be installed. The water supply tank 14 is stored in the tank storage chamber 16, and the water supply lid 15 is not shown in the figure. When the inlet is lifted by the protrusion 18, the water in the water supply tank 14 can be supplied to the water supply chamber 17.

  19 is a water supply sensor that is installed in the water supply chamber 17 and detects the water level when the float moves up and down. When the water level in the water supply chamber 17 decreases and falls below a predetermined water level, an ON signal is output and the water level increases. When the water level exceeds a predetermined level, an OFF signal is output to check the water level in the water supply chamber 17.

  20 is a blower fan that is driven at a predetermined number of rotations, blows out indoor air sucked from a suction port (not shown) on the back of the instrument body 1, passes through the water storage chamber 8 and blows air from the blower port 4, Humidified air containing nanometer-sized mist and negative ions generated in the water storage chamber 8 is supplied into the room.

  21 is a water passage constituted by piping connecting the water storage chamber 8 and the water supply chamber 17, 22 is a three-way valve installed in the middle of the water passage 21, and the water passage 21 is connected to the water storage chamber 8 and A water storage pipe 23 that connects the three-way valve 22 and a water supply pipe 24 that connects the water supply chamber 17 and the three-way valve 22 are configured.

  It should be noted that the water storage chamber 8 and the water supply chamber 17 are installed at the same height in the instrument body 1, so that the three-way valve 22 is switched so that the water storage tube 23 and the water supply tube 24 communicate with each other. The water in the water supply chamber 17 is supplied into the water storage chamber 8, and the height of the water surface of the water supply chamber 17 and the height of the water surface of the water storage chamber 8 are the same.

  Reference numeral 25 denotes a drain pipe having one end connected to the three-way valve 22 and allowing water in the pipe to flow into the drainage tray 5. By switching the three-way valve 22, the water storage pipe 23 and the water supply pipe 24 or the drain pipe 25 can communicate with each other. It becomes.

  26 is a proximity sensor type drainage sensor that is installed on the side surface of the drainage tray 5 and can switch the ON / OFF state depending on whether or not the magnet 27 is connected to detect the water level in the drainage tray 5. When the magnet 27 is separated from the drainage sensor 26, an ON signal is output to detect the full water, and the three-way valve 22 is switched so that the water does not flow into the drainage tray 5, so that the water overflows from the drainage tray 5. Since it can prevent, the installation surface of the instrument main body 1 is not wetted.

  28 is an operation switch provided on the operation unit 7, 29 is an operation lamp which is turned on when the operation switch 28 is operated to indicate that it is in an operating state, and when the operation switch 28 is operated, the mist motor 11 and the air blower are operated. Mist operation start and stop instruction signals for driving the fan 20 at a predetermined rotational speed are output.

  30 is a control composed of a microcomputer that receives the detection value detected by each sensor and the signal transmitted from each switch provided on the operation unit 7 and outputs and controls the operation of each unit and the opening and closing of the valve. The control unit 30 includes a time measuring unit 31 that counts the time elapsed since the start of the mist operation or the switching of the three-way valve 22 was output. Reference numeral 32 denotes a speaker for sounding and notifying a sound corresponding to the output signals of the ON / OFF state of the water supply sensor 19 and the drainage sensor 26.

Next, the control at the start of the mist operation in the present embodiment will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
First, the control unit 30 determines whether the operation switch 28 on the operation unit 7 is operated and an operation start signal is output (step S101). If the operation switch 28 is operated and an operation start signal is output, The operation lamp 29 on the unit 7 is turned on, the valve of the three-way valve 22 is switched so that the water storage pipe 23 and the water supply pipe 24 communicate with each other, and counting of the time elapsed by the time measuring means 31 is started (step S102). Then, the water in the water supply chamber 17 in which the water supplied from the water supply tank 14 is accumulated flows into the water storage chamber 8. If the operation switch 28 is not operated in step S101, the control unit 30 repeats the determination in step S101.

  When the three-way valve 22 is switched so that the water storage pipe 23 and the water supply pipe 24 communicate with each other in step S102, the control unit 30 has passed 20 seconds after the three-way valve 22 counted by the time measuring means 31 is switched. (Step S103), if 20 seconds have elapsed, the process proceeds to the next step, and if 20 seconds have not elapsed, the determination in Step S103 is repeated.

  If 20 seconds have elapsed since the switching of the three-way valve 22 counted by the timing means 31 in step S103, the control unit 30 determines whether the water supply sensor 19 is in an OFF state (step S104). If the water supply sensor 19 is in the OFF state, it is assumed that sufficient water has been supplied into the water storage chamber 8 and the mist motor 11 and the blower fan 20 are driven to start the mist operation (step S105), and the water supply sensor 19 is in the ON state. If so, it is determined that sufficient water has not been supplied into the water storage chamber 8 and water is empty in the water supply tank 14, the operation lamp 29 on the operation unit 7 is turned off, and a warning sound is emitted from the speaker 32. Thus, it is notified that there is no water in the water supply tank 14 and it is empty (step S106).

  In addition, after it is informed in step S106 that there is no water in the water supply tank 14 and it is empty, the control unit 30 continues to determine whether or not the water supply sensor 19 is in an OFF state. If the water supply tank 14 is extracted from the appliance main body 1 without operating and outputting a stop signal, water is supplied into the water supply tank 14 and then installed in the tank storage chamber 16 again, the control unit 30 sets the water supply sensor 19 to the OFF state. If it judges that it became, it will progress to step S105 and will start mist driving | operation.

  As described above, when the operation switch 28 on the operation unit 7 is operated and an operation start signal is output, the valve of the three-way valve 22 is switched so that the water storage pipe 23 and the water supply pipe 24 communicate with each other. Since the driving of the mist motor 11 and the blower fan 20 is started when the water supply sensor 19 is in the OFF state, the mist operation is performed after confirming that a predetermined amount or more of water has been reliably stored in the water storage chamber 8. If the water supply sensor 19 is in the ON state, the operation lamp 29 and the speaker 32 notify that the water supplied to the water supply chamber 17 is insufficient and the water supply tank 14 is empty. Therefore, it is possible to prompt the user to supply water into the water supply tank 14.

Next, the operation after completion of the mist operation will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
First, the control unit 30 determines whether the operation switch 28 on the operation unit 7 is operated and the operation stop signal is output during the mist operation (step S201), and the operation switch 28 is operated and the operation stop signal is output. For example, the driving of the mist motor 11 and the blower fan 20 is stopped (step S202). If the operation switch 28 is not operated, the determination of step S201 is repeated.

  When the driving of the mist motor 11 and the blower fan 20 is stopped in step S202, the control unit 30 determines whether the drain sensor 26 is in an OFF state (step S203), and if the drain sensor 26 is in an OFF state. Assuming that the drain tray 5 is not full, the three-way valve 22 is switched so that the water storage pipe 23 and the drain pipe 25 communicate with each other, and counting by the time measuring means 31 is started (step S204), and the water in the water storage chamber 8 is drained. Flow into the tray 5. If the drain sensor 26 is in the ON state in step S203, the control unit 30 turns off the operation lamp 29 and emits a warning sound from the speaker 32 (step S205), so that the drain tray 5 is full. Inform the user that there is, and urge the user to take out the drain tray 5 from the appliance body 1 and drain the water in the bathroom.

  When the water storage pipe 23 and the drain pipe 25 are connected in step S204 and counting by the time measuring means 31 is started, the control unit 30 determines whether the drain sensor 26 is turned on (step S206), and the drain sensor 26 is turned on. If the drainage tray 5 is full, the water storage pipe 23 and the water supply pipe 24 and the three-way valve 22 are switched so that the water storage pipe 23 and the drainage pipe 25 do not communicate with each other. By turning off the light and sounding a warning sound from the speaker 32 (step S207), the user is informed that the inside of the drain tray 5 is full, and the drain tray 5 is taken out from the appliance body 1 to drain the water in the bathroom. Encourage you to.

  If the drainage sensor 26 is OFF in step S206, the control unit 30 determines whether the count started by the time measuring means 31 in step S204 has passed 20 seconds (step S208), and the count has passed 20 seconds. For example, assuming that all the water in the water storage chamber 8 has flowed into the drainage tray 5, the water storage pipe 23 and the water supply pipe 24, and the water storage pipe 23 and the drainage pipe 25 are switched so that the three-way valve 22 is switched, The drying operation for drying the inside of the water storage chamber 8 is started by blinking the operation lamp 29 and driving the blower fan 20 at a predetermined rotational speed for a predetermined time (step S209). On the other hand, if the count in the time measuring means 31 has not elapsed in step S208, it is determined again in step S206 whether the drainage sensor 26 is in the ON state.

  In addition, after the inside of the drainage tray 5 becomes full in step S205 and step S207, the control unit 30 continues to determine whether the drainage sensor 26 is in an OFF state, so that the user can operate the instrument main body without operating the operation switch 28. If the drainage tray 5 is extracted from the inside of the apparatus 1 to drain the water and the drainage tray 5 is installed in the appliance body 1 again, the control unit 30 determines that the drainage sensor 26 is in the OFF state. When the three-way valve 22 is switched so as to communicate with the drain pipe 25 and the elapsed time of 20 seconds, which is the time during which all the water in the water storage chamber 8 can be drained, is counted by the time measuring means 31, the process proceeds to step S209 and the drying operation is performed. To start.

  As described above, when the operation switch 28 is operated and an operation stop signal is output, the three-way valve 22 is switched so that the water storage pipe 23 and the drain pipe 25 communicate with each other after determining whether the drain tray 5 is full. Then, when 20 seconds, which is the time during which all the water in the water storage chamber 8 can flow into the drainage tray 5 lapses, the water storage pipe 23 and the water supply pipe 24 and the water storage pipe 23 and the drainage pipe 25 are not communicated with each other. Since the valve is switched, the water in the water storage chamber 8 can be caused to flow into the drainage tray 5 simply by operating the operation switch 28, and the user can stop the operation of the main body 1 from the tank storage chamber 16 by the user. Since the water in the water storage chamber 8 can be drained without pulling 14 and operating the drain lever, the usability is improved.

  In addition, since only the water in the water storage chamber 8 flows into the drainage tray 5, the clean water in the water supply chamber 17 is not drained and can be used in the next operation. It can be carried out.

  Further, after the operation switch 28 is operated and the operation stop signal is outputted, the ON / OFF state of the drainage sensor 26 is judged, and if the drainage tray 5 is full, the three-way valve 22 is switched to change the inside of the water storage chamber 8. Since the water is prevented from flowing into the water supply chamber 17 and the drainage tray 5 and the operation lamp 29 and the speaker 32 notify that the drainage tray 5 is full of water, the clean inside of the water supply chamber 17 after the mist operation is stopped. The water does not flow into the water storage chamber 8, and it is possible to reliably prevent the water from overflowing from the drain tray 5, and the user can know that the water in the drain tray 5 needs to be drained.

  In this embodiment, the water supply sensor 19 is installed in the water supply chamber 17 to determine the water level of the water storage chamber 8. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a water level sensor may be installed in the water storage chamber 8 or a water supply tank. The method of judging the water level in the water storage chamber 8 based on the weight of 14 may be used.

  Moreover, although it is judged whether 20 seconds have passed since the time when the three-way valve 22 was switched in a predetermined direction in step S103 or step S208 of this embodiment, the time measuring means is based on the capacity of the water storage chamber 8 or the drain tray 5. The time counted at 31 is appropriately changed to detect that a predetermined amount of water has been stored in the water storage chamber 8 and that the drainage tray 5 is full.

  Further, the control at the time of starting and stopping the mist operation used in the description of the present embodiment is an example, and the control content depends on the structure of the three-way valve 22 and the notification method of the operation switch 28 and the operation lamp 29 on the operation unit 7. Therefore, the numerical values can be changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Instrument main body 4 Air outlet 5 Drain tray 8 Water storage chamber 9 Rotating body 11 Mist motor 13 Porous part 14 Water supply tank 17 Water supply chamber 20 Blower fan 21 Water flow path 22 Three-way valve 25 Drain pipe 26 Drain sensor 30 Control part

Claims (5)

  An instrument main body, a water storage chamber installed in the instrument main body for storing water, a mist generating means for crushing water in the water storage chamber to generate nanometer-sized mist and negative ions, and generated by the mist generating means A blower fan that blows humidified air containing nanometer-size mist and negative ions into the room, a water supply tank that is stored in the device body and stores a predetermined amount of water therein, and the water supply that is installed in the device body A water supply chamber for storing water supplied from a tank, a water passage for connecting the water storage chamber and the water supply chamber to allow water in the water supply chamber to flow into the water storage chamber, and being drained in the apparatus body. A control system for carrying out a mist operation in which humidified air generated by the mist generating means is blown from a drain tray into which water flows and a blower fan that drives the blower fan and is formed in the instrument body. A three-way valve having one end connected to a drain pipe for flowing water into the drain tray in the middle of the water flow path, and the front controller is configured to start the mist operation from the water supply chamber to the water storage chamber. The mist generating device, wherein the three-way valve is switched so that water flows, and the three-way valve is switched so that water flows from the water storage chamber to the drain tray when the mist operation is stopped.   A drainage sensor for detecting the water level in the drainage tray is installed, and the control unit is configured such that when the water level detected by the drainage sensor when the mist operation is stopped is equal to or higher than a predetermined water level, the water flow path and the drain pipe are The mist generator according to claim 1, wherein the three-way valve is switched so as not to communicate.   A drainage sensor for detecting a water level in the drainage tray is installed, and the control unit switches the three-way valve so that water flows from the water storage chamber to the drainage tray when the mist operation is stopped, and then the drainage sensor 3. The three-way valve is switched so that the water passage does not communicate and the water passage does not communicate with the drain pipe when the detected water level is equal to or higher than a predetermined water level. Mist generator.   The said control part alert | reports that the water in the said drain tray will be drained if the water level detected by the said drain sensor is more than predetermined level, The mist generator of Claim 2 or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The mist generating means is submerged at the lower end in the water storage chamber, pumped up by water and scattered, a mist motor for rotating the rotator, and scattered by rotation of the rotator. A mist generator characterized by comprising a colliding body with which water collides.

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