JP2023032735A - humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a humidifier which can efficiently perform humidification by jetting water from a nozzle.SOLUTION: A humidifier includes: a hollow body 13 provided with an air inflow port 11 and an outflow port 12; a moisture absorption member 14 which is disposed facing the inflow port 11 in the hollow body 13 and has air permeability; a nozzle 15 which jets water to be sprayed to the moisture absorption member 14; and a blower 16 which causes air to flow from the inflow port 11 into the hollow body 13, pass through the moisture absorption member 14, and sends the air from the outflow port 12 to a space to be humidified.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a humidifying device for humidifying a space such as a room.

Humidifiers are used in various facilities such as residences, office buildings, factories, schools, and hospitals. There is a type of humidifier that humidifies by evaporating water supplied to a humidifying element (evaporation filter) (see Patent Document 1). There is a problem of clogging of humidifying elements with scale (white powder). As a type that does not cause this problem, there is a type that humidifies by causing water to collide with a plate or the like to generate splashes, and a two-fluid nozzle type that vigorously sprays water together with air from the nozzle (see Patent Document 2).

JP 2008-261585 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-139403

Here, the type that generates water splashes cannot efficiently absorb water into the air, and can be used for purposes other than humidification, such as humidification associated with ventilation equipment. Not suitable for its main purpose. Also, the two-fluid nozzle type is more efficient in absorbing water into the air than the type that generates water splashes, but the air pressure must be adjusted to match the water pressure.
In order to solve these problems, it is conceivable to blow water from a nozzle into the air sent to the humidification target space by a blower or the like so that the air contains moisture. This enables more efficient humidification than using water spray, and does not require adjustment of air pressure to match water pressure.

However, the inventors have verified that the method of blowing water from a nozzle does not provide sufficient humidification depending on the size, temperature, etc. of the space to be humidified.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a humidifying apparatus capable of efficiently humidifying by blowing water from a nozzle.

A humidifying device according to the present invention that meets the above object comprises a hollow body provided with an air inlet and an air outlet, and an air-permeable moisture absorbing member S disposed inside the hollow body facing the inlet. a nozzle for blowing water to be blown onto the moisture absorbing member S; and an air blower for causing air to flow into the hollow body from the inlet, pass through the moisture absorbing member S, and be sent from the outlet toward the space to be humidified. and

The humidifying device according to the present invention comprises a hollow body provided with an air inlet and an air outlet, an air-permeable moisture absorbing member S disposed in the hollow body facing the air inlet, and a moisture absorbing member S Since it is provided with a nozzle for blowing out the water to be sprayed, and an air blower that makes air flow into the hollow body from the inlet, passes through the moisture absorbing member S, and sends it out from the outlet toward the space to be humidified, the air that has flowed into the hollow body is provided. can pass through the moisture absorbing member S and contain the moisture in the moisture absorbing member S, and it is possible to efficiently perform humidification by blowing water from the nozzle.

It is an explanatory view of a humidification device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the humidification operation by the same humidification apparatus. (A) and (B) are explanatory diagrams showing states of a moisture absorbing member and a lid material attached in a hollow body, respectively. 4 is a block diagram showing connections of control means; FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the backwashing operation|movement by the humidification apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the drainage operation by the same humidification apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the washing operation by the same humidification apparatus.

Next, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings for better understanding of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a humidifying device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a hollow body 13 provided with an air inlet 11 and an air outlet 12, and an air inlet 11 inside the hollow body 13. a moisture absorbing member 14 (moisture absorbing member S) arranged opposite to the water absorbing member 14; 14 and a fan 16 that sends the air from the outflow port 12 toward the space to be humidified. A detailed description will be given below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hollow body 13 is in the shape of a cylinder with a bottom, and is housed in a housing 17 with its axis arranged vertically. A lid member 19 is attached to the upper end of the hollow body 13 . The lid member 19 has a sealing member such as an O-ring to prevent water droplets or the like in the hollow body 13 from leaking out of the hollow body 13 . By removing the lid member 19 from the hollow body 13, the inside of the hollow body 13 becomes visible.

The hollow body 13 has an air inlet 11 and an air outlet 12 formed in the side wall thereof. 21 are connected. The outflow port 12 is provided at a position higher than the inflow port 11 . A blower 16 that is also arranged inside the housing 17 is attached to the cylindrical body 20 that is arranged inside the housing 17 . A part of the cylindrical body 21 protrudes from the housing 17, and a duct 24 is connected to the protruding part. Dampers 25 and 26 are provided inside the cylindrical body 20 and inside the cylindrical body 21, respectively.

The housing 17 is designed so that the bottom is breathable. By the operation of the blower 16, the air outside the housing 17 flows into the housing 17, and the blower 16 takes in the air inside the housing 17 and blows the air toward the inlet 11 as shown in FIG. At this time, the damper 25 opens the cylindrical body 20 by the wind pressure of the air blown from the blower 16, and the air blown from the blower 16 advances substantially horizontally from the inlet 11 into the hollow body 13. It flows in and moves inside the hollow body 13 towards the outlet 12 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3A, a plate-like moisture absorbing member 14 having air permeability capable of absorbing (capturing) moisture is arranged vertically in the hollow body 13 . As shown in FIG. 3A, a pair of supporting members 27 and 28 are fixed to the side wall of the hollow body 13, and the moisture absorbing member 14 is shown in FIGS. As shown, the lower end is in contact with the bottom of the hollow body 13, and both side ends are fitted and fixed to supports 27 and 28, respectively.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the moisture absorbing member 14 is provided at the same height as the inlet 11 so as to face the inlet 11. are arranged substantially perpendicular to each other. Therefore, most of the air that has flowed into the hollow body 13 from the inlet 11 due to the operation of the blower 16 hits the moisture absorbing member 14 from the front.

Inside the hollow body 13, a plate-shaped moisture absorbing member 29 (moisture absorbing member T ) is provided. As with the moisture absorbing member 14 , the moisture absorbing member 29 is also fixed by fitting both ends thereof into supports 27 and 28 , respectively, with the lower end contacting the bottom of the hollow body 13 .

In this embodiment, the moisture absorbing members 14, 29 are each rectangular and arranged in close proximity (or in the vicinity) facing each other. The moisture absorbing members 14 and 29 can be composed of aggregates or non-woven fabrics of at least one or more of resin fibers, metal fibers and glass fibers. The materials of the moisture absorbing members 14, 29 may be the same or different.
In the present embodiment, the moisture absorbing members 14 and 29 have a porosity of 70% or more (preferably 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more) of 99% or less, and a thickness of 10 mm or more and 50 mm or less (preferably 15 mm). 40 mm or less, more preferably 20 mm or more and 30 mm or less). The water absorbing members 14 and 29 may be arranged so that their lower ends do not come into contact with the bottom of the hollow body 13 .

A nozzle 15 is fixed to the side wall of the hollow body 13 as shown in FIG. The nozzle 15 has a blowout portion that diffuses and blows out water and is located on the side of the inlet 11 in the hollow body 13 with respect to the moisture absorbing member 14, near the inlet 11 (above the inlet 11 in this embodiment). ). The hollow body 13 can store water (tap water in the present embodiment) at the bottom, and stores the water blown out from the nozzle 15 . Note that the illustration of the nozzle 15 is omitted in FIG.

Inside the hollow body 13, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3(B), a semicircular plate-like object is horizontally arranged in contact with the upper end of the moisture absorbing member 14 at a position higher than the inlet 11. A lid member 30 is provided. The lid member 30 is located in the region of the hollow body 13 on the side of the inlet 11 with respect to the moisture absorbing member 14 . A space portion 31 (space portion C) surrounded by the portion and a portion of the bottom surface of the hollow body 13 (that is, a portion of the hollow body 13) is formed.

Nozzle 15 blows water into space 31 . When the blower 16 is in operation, the water blown out from the nozzle 15 joins the air flowing into the hollow body 13 from the inlet 11 by the blower 16, and most of the water is carried to the moisture absorbing member 14 by the air. The remaining water adheres to the lid member 30 or accumulates at the bottom of the hollow body 13, for example.
By providing the lid member 30, the water (not water vapor but liquid water) blown out from the nozzle 15 flows into the cylindrical body 21 and the duct 24 through the outlet 12 compared to the case where the lid member 30 is not provided. can be suppressed.

Moisture absorbing member 29 has an upper end portion higher than the upper end portion of moisture absorbing member 14 (in this embodiment, higher than the upper surface of lid member 30), and the upper region of the surface facing moisture absorbing member 14 is The arrangement and size of the moisture absorbing member 29 are adjusted so as to contact the lid member 30 . Thereby, the moisture absorbing member 29 absorbs water from the nozzle 15 passing through the contact portion between the moisture absorbing member 14 and the lid member 30 and prevents the water from flowing into the cylindrical body 21 and the duct 24 . Since the inflow of water causes the propagation of fungi and the like, in the present embodiment, the cover member 30 and the moisture absorbing member 29 suppress the propagation of fungi and the like into the cylindrical body 21 and the duct 24. .

The air that has flowed into the hollow body 13 from the inlet 11 by the operation of the blower 16 passes through the space 31 and passes through the moisture absorbing members 14 and 29 in order, as shown in FIG. The air absorbs water (including water vapor) blown out from the nozzle 15 while passing through the space 31, and further absorbs water contained in the water absorbing member 14 when passing through the water absorbing member 14. . Excess water not absorbed by the air (did not ride on the airflow) is captured by the water absorbing member 29 . Air that has absorbed water (containing moisture) flows out of the hollow body 13 from the outlet 12, passes through the cylindrical body 21, is sent to the humidification target space via the duct 24, and is sent to the humidification target space. supply.

The damper 26 puts the cylindrical body 21 into a state in which air flows due to the wind pressure of the air passing through the cylindrical body 21 . When the blower 16 stops, the damper 25 rotates by its own weight to close the cylinder 20, and the damper 26 rotates by its own weight to close the cylinder 21, as shown in FIG.

In the vicinity of the hollow body 13, a water level sensor Lo32 and a water level sensor Hi33 for detecting the water level of the water accumulated at the bottom are provided. The bottom of the hollow body 13 is connected to the nozzle 15 at its downstream end and to the upstream end of a circulation circuit 36 provided with a thermal valve (an example of an on-off valve) 34 and a pump 35 . As shown in FIG. 2, the water accumulated at the bottom of the hollow body 13 is taken into the circulation circuit 36 by the operation of the pump 35 while the thermal valve 34 is open, and the pump 35 and the thermal valve 34 are driven in order. After passing through, it is blown into the hollow body 13 from the nozzle 15 .

An air blowing portion of the blower 16 is provided with a heater 37 which is an example of heating means for heating the air flowing into the hollow body 13 from the inlet 11 . The water blown out from the nozzle 15 is vaporized by the heat of the air heated by the heater 37, so that the water blown out from the nozzle 15 is stably taken into the air. In the present embodiment, it is possible to switch between a normal humidification operation in which the blower 16 and the pump 35 are operated and the heater 37 is stopped, and a heater humidification operation in which the blower 16, the pump 35 and the heater 37 are operated. In the following description, simply referring to the "humidification operation" means both the normal humidification operation and the heater humidification operation.

In addition, a water supply pipe 38 for supplying tap water from a water supply pipe to the circulation circuit 36 is connected to a region between the pump 35 and the thermal valve 34 of the circulation circuit 36, and the downstream side of the connection portion of the water supply pipe 38 in the same region. is connected to a drain pipe 39 capable of sending out the water circulating in the circulation circuit 36 to the outside. The water supply pipe 38 is provided with an on-off valve for switching between an open state in which tap water (water from the outside) can flow into the water supply pipe 38 and a closed state in which tap water cannot flow in from the water pipe. An exemplary solenoid valve 40 and two check valves 41 that prevent water from flowing from the circulation circuit 36 to the water supply pipe 38 are mounted.

The drain pipe 39 is provided with a thermal valve, which is an example of an on-off valve that switches between an open state in which water from the circulation circuit 36 can flow into the drain pipe 39 and a closed state in which water cannot flow from the circulation circuit 36 . A valve 42 is attached.
As shown in FIG. 4, the solenoid valve 40 and the thermal valve 42 are connected to a control means 43 to which the blower 16, the water level sensor Lo 32, the water level sensor Hi 33, the thermal valve 34, the pump 35 and the heater 37 are connected. . The control means 43 can be configured with an electronic device such as a CPU and a memory, and controls the blower 16, the pump 35 and the heater 37, controls the solenoid valve 40 and the thermal valves 34, 42 by sending command signals. Each state is switched.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the circulation circuit 36 has an area between the pump 35 and a check valve 44 provided on the upstream side of the pump 35 for removing objects such as dust from the water flowing through the circulation circuit 36 . Filtration means 45 are provided. A drain pipe 46 for discharging water flowing through the circulation circuit 36 to the outside is connected to the filtering means 45 , and a check valve 47 for preventing the water in the drain pipe 46 from flowing toward the filtering means 45 . is provided.

In a state in which a predetermined amount or more of water is accumulated at the bottom of the hollow body 13, the control means 43 opens the thermal valve 34 and closes the solenoid valve 40 and the thermal valves 42 and 51, as shown in FIG. Then, the air blower 16 and the pump 35 are operated to perform the humidification operation. At this time, the water accumulated at the bottom of the hollow body 13 flows into the circulation circuit 36 due to the suction pressure of the pump 35 , circulates in the circulation circuit 36 , and is blown out from the nozzle 15 .

During the humidifying operation, all the water at the bottom of the hollow body 13 that has reached the filtering means 45 is directed to the pump 35 by the suction pressure of the pump 35 , so that it is not sent to the drain pipe 46 . Here, the filtering means 45 has a filter (not shown) that catches dust and the like from water flowing from the bottom of the hollow body 13 toward the pump 35 . Therefore, the water at the bottom of the hollow body 13 is sent to the nozzle 15 through the pump 35 after dust and the like are removed by the filtering means 45 . This prevents the pump 35 from malfunctioning and the nozzle 15 from clogging.

When the water at the bottom of the hollow body 13 continues to be blown out from the nozzle 15 and sent to the humidification target space and becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the control means 43 detects this from the measured value of the water level sensor Lo32, and the pump 35 is operated. While the operation is continued and the thermal valve 34 is opened, the electromagnetic valve 40 is opened to allow the water from the water pipe to flow into the circulation circuit 36 via the water supply pipe 38 by the water pressure of the water pipe, and to be blown out from the nozzle 15. to

At this time, by continuing the operation of the blower 16, it is possible to increase the amount of water at the bottom of the hollow body 13 while continuing the humidification operation. When the water level sensor Hi33 detects that the water in the bottom of the hollow body 13 has increased to a predetermined amount, the electromagnetic valve 40 is closed by the control means 43 while the pump 35 is operating. The humidifying operation is restarted by circulating the water in the bottom of the hollow body 13 through the circulation circuit 36 without the water flowing into the hollow body 13 .

In addition, the control means 43 can store the results of the humidification operation, and on the day when the humidification operation is performed, at a predetermined time, a backwash operation is performed to remove dust and the like trapped in the filter of the filtration means 45. do. In the backwashing operation, as shown in FIG. 5, the blower 16 and the pump 35 are stopped, the thermal valve 34, the thermal valve 42, and the thermal valve 51 are closed, the electromagnetic valve 40 is opened, and the water is discharged from the water pipe. of water flows into the circulation circuit 36 via the water supply pipe 38 . The dust and the like trapped in the filter of the filtering means 45 is removed from the filter by the water that flows into the circulation circuit 36 and passes through the filtering means 45 through the pump 35, and is discharged to the outside through the drain pipe 46 together with the water. . The drain pipe 46 is provided with a hopper 48 that prevents water from flowing back from the outside.

After the backwashing operation, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. , passes through filter means 45 and pump 35 in sequence, and is discharged to the outside via drain pipe 39 to empty the bottom of hollow body 13 . Hereinafter, the operation for emptying the bottom of the hollow body 13 will be referred to as the draining operation.

After that, the upstream end is connected to the circulation circuit 36, nozzles 49 and 50 are attached to one branched downstream end and the other branched downstream end, respectively, and a thermal valve 51, which is an example of an on-off valve, is installed. The cleaning operation of the water absorbing members 14 and 29 is performed using the provided cleaning pipe 52 . The nozzle 50 is arranged to blow water onto the moisture absorbing member 14 in the space 31, and the nozzle 49 is positioned on the opposite side of the space 31 with respect to the moisture absorbing members 14 and 29 in the hollow body 13, The direction is adjusted so as to blow water onto the absorbing member 29 . As shown in FIG. 4, the thermal valve 51 is connected to the control means 43, and the control means 43 is connected to an operation terminal 53 through which operations such as humidification operation are performed.

In the cleaning operation, the control means 43 closes the thermal valve 42 , opens the thermal valves 34 , 51 and the solenoid valve 40 and activates the pump 35 . As a result, water from the water pipe is blown out from the nozzle 15 and the nozzles 49 and 50 via the water supply pipe 38 and the circulation circuit 36, and the bottom of the empty hollow body 13 is filled with water. When the water level sensor Hi33 detects that the water at the bottom of the hollow body 13 has increased to a predetermined amount, the control means 43 closes the electromagnetic valve 40 and the thermal valve 34, and the water at the bottom of the hollow body 13 is 7, it is taken into the circulation circuit 36, passes through the filtering means 45 and the pump 35 in order, flows into the washing pipe 52, and is blown out from the nozzles 49, 50. As shown in FIG.

The water blown from the nozzle 50 is sprayed onto the moisture absorbing member 14 to clean the moisture absorbing member 14, and the water blown from the nozzle 49 is blown onto the moisture absorbing member 29 to clean the moisture absorbing member 29. - 特許庁This prevents the moisture absorption members 14 and 29 from being scaled. The water at the bottom of the hollow body 13 that has flowed into the circulation circuit 36 is not sent from the filtering means 45 to the drain pipe 46 due to the suction pressure of the pump 35 , but is all sucked into the pump 35 .

After the cleaning operation has been performed for a predetermined time, the thermal valve 51 is closed and the thermal valve 42 is opened so that the water at the bottom of the hollow body 13 is circulated by the pump 35 as shown in FIG. It is discharged outside via the circuit 36 and the drain pipe 39 (drainage operation). Next, the backwashing operation is performed after the cleaning operation and the draining operation, which are shorter in time than the first cleaning operation, are sequentially performed. After that, the control means 43 closes the electromagnetic valve 40, operates the pump 35, opens the thermal valve 42 to perform a water discharge operation, and operates the heater 37 and the blower 16 to blow warm air to the moisture absorbing member 14, 29 to dry the moisture absorbing members 14, 29, then the pump 35 is stopped, the heater 37 is stopped, and a drying operation is performed in which the moisture absorbing members 14, 29 are further dried by cold air. By drying the moisture absorbing members 14 and 29 by the drying operation, the generation of mold and the like in the moisture absorbing members 14 and 29 and the inside of the hollow body 13 is suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hollow body 13 is provided with an overflow pipe 54 for taking in excess water when the amount of water at the bottom of the hollow body 13 exceeds a predetermined amount. Water taken into the overflow pipe 54 is discharged outside via the hopper 48 .

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all modifications of conditions that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are within the scope of the present invention.
For example, the moisture absorbing member T and the lid member may not be provided in the hollow body, and the moisture absorbing member S (and the moisture absorbing member T when provided with the moisture absorbing member T) may not be plate-shaped.
Also, the heating means may not be provided. If a heating means is provided, the heating means may be something other than a heater, for example a heat exchanger connected to a heat pump.
Then, the blower can be provided downstream of the hollow body along the air flow.

10: Humidifier, 11: Inlet, 12: Outlet, 13: Hollow body, 14: Moisture absorption member, 15: Nozzle, 16: Blower, 17: Housing, 19: Lid material, 20, 21: Cylindrical body, 24: Duct, 25, 26: Damper, 27, 28: Support, 29: Moisture absorbing member, 30: Lid material, 31: Space, 32: Water level sensor Lo, 33: Water level sensor Hi, 34: Thermal valve , 35: pump, 36: circulation circuit, 37: heater, 38: water supply pipe, 39: drain pipe, 40: solenoid valve, 41: check valve, 42: thermal valve, 43: control means, 44: check valve, 45: filtering means, 46: drainage pipe, 47: check valve, 48: hopper, 49, 50: nozzle, 51: thermal valve, 52: cleaning pipe, 53: operation terminal, 54: overflow pipe

Claims (5)

a hollow body provided with an air inlet and an air outlet;
an air-permeable moisture absorbing member S disposed inside the hollow body facing the inlet;
a nozzle for blowing water to be sprayed onto the moisture absorbing member S;
and a blower that causes air to flow into the hollow body from the inflow port, pass through the moisture absorbing member S, and send the air out from the outflow port toward the space to be humidified. 2. A humidifying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said hollow body is provided with a breathable moisture absorbing member T downstream of said moisture absorbing member S along the flow of air. . 3. The humidifying device according to claim 1, wherein the hollow body is provided with a lid member in contact with the moisture absorbing member S, and the moisture absorbing member S is positioned on the inflow port side of the hollow body. , a space portion C surrounded by the moisture absorbing member S, the lid member and a part of the hollow body is formed, and the nozzle blows water into the space portion C. The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the moisture absorbing member S is plate-shaped and comprises at least one of resin fiber, metal fiber and glass fiber. . 5. The humidifier according to claim 1, further comprising heating means for heating air flowing into said hollow body from said inlet.

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