JP4033236B2 - Steam inhaler - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vapor inhaler that sucks up and sprays liquid using vapor pressure.

  As this type of steam-type inhaler, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, a water supply tank 70, a heater 71 disposed on the side of the water supply tank 70, and between the water supply tank 70 and the heater 71 are provided. A heating chamber 74 whose lower portion communicates with the bottom of the water supply tank 70 through a water supply passage 72 and whose upper portion communicates with the upper portion of the water supply tank 70 via a steam communication passage 73, and a nozzle 75 that ejects steam generated in the heating chamber 74 to the outside. There is known a system in which a steam generating device is provided, and the suction liquid is sucked up and sprayed by steam ejected from a nozzle 75 of the steam generating device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Such a vapor inhaler has a structure in which the water supply tank 70 is separated from the tank chamber 76 and the heating chamber 74 at a distance in order to shorten the time from when the power is turned on until the spraying is started. . That is, the water in the tank chamber 76 is not heated by the heater, but the water in the tank chamber 76 is introduced into the heating chamber 74 and heated by the heater in the heating chamber 74.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-39585

  In the vapor inhaler as described above, in order to improve the efficiency of spraying, it is necessary to increase the volume of the heating chamber 74 to increase the amount of boiling, but in this case, the time until the start of spraying becomes long There is a point. Further, when the capacity of the heating chamber 74 is increased, the amount of water to be boiled in the heating chamber 74 increases. For example, if the energizing power is halved in the middle, it becomes difficult to boil water, and breathing is likely to occur.

  Therefore, the present invention was made paying attention to such problems, shortening the time from the power on to the start of spraying, ensuring a stable spray state until the end, and reducing the breathing phenomenon, It aims at providing the vapor type inhaler which implement | achieves stabilizing an atomization state.

  To achieve the above object, a steam inhaler according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a water supply tank, a heating chamber having a lower portion communicating with a bottom portion of the water supply tank, and an upper portion communicating with an upper portion of the water supply tank. A heating chamber is provided with a heater attached to the heating chamber for heating water in the heating chamber and a nozzle for jetting the steam generated in the heating chamber to the outside. And the depth of the upper part is wide, and the depth between the lower part and the upper part is narrower than the depths of the lower part and the upper part.

  In this steam inhaler, the water level of the water supply tank is preferably up to the upper part of the heating chamber.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the water in the heating chamber is heated by the heater, so that it begins to boil in the lower part with a large depth, and is accelerated and reheated in a part where the depth between the lower part and the upper part is narrow. As the water is boiled and steam is generated, a breathing phenomenon is likely to occur due to a drop in the water level, but the upper depth is wide, so the upper part plays a reservoir role to temporarily hold water, reducing the breathing phenomenon. And the atomization state is stabilized.
In addition, it is possible to shorten the time from when the power is turned on until the start of spraying, and to ensure a stable spray state until the end.

  Hereinafter, a vapor inhaler according to the present invention will be described based on embodiments. However, since the present invention has a feature in the steam generator provided in the steam inhaler, the description will focus on the steam generator.

  First, a cross-sectional view of the main part of the steam generator is shown in FIG. The steam generator is provided between a water supply tank 10, a heater 11 disposed on a side portion 10 a of the water supply tank 10, and between the water supply tank 10 and the heater 11, and a lower portion communicates with a bottom portion of the water supply tank 10. The heating chamber 12 has an upper portion communicating with the upper portion of the water supply tank 10 and a nozzle (not shown in FIG. 1) for ejecting steam generated in the heating chamber 12 to the outside.

  A characteristic configuration is that a concave portion 13 extending in the vertical direction is formed in the side portion 10 a of the water supply tank 10, and the heater 11 is disposed in the concave portion 13 in the vertical direction, and is formed between the side portion 10 a and the heater 11. The space is the heating chamber 12. That is, the heating chamber 12 is a space surrounded by the side portion 10a and the heater 11, and the heating chamber 12 is partitioned from the tank chamber 14 by the side portion 10a, and the heater 11 is attached along the side portion 10a. is there. The tank chamber 14 and the heating chamber 12 of the water supply tank 10 communicate with each other through a water supply port 15 formed at the bottom of the side portion 10a and also through a steam communication port 16 formed at the top of the side portion 10a.

  In such a steam generator, the water W in the tank chamber 14 flows into the heating chamber 12 through the water supply port 15, is heated and boiled by the heater 11, and the generated steam enters the tank chamber 14 through the steam communication port 16. Furthermore, it is ejected to the outside of the apparatus from a nozzle (see reference numeral 17 in FIG. 3) provided at an appropriate position above the water supply tank 10.

  Since such a steam generator has a structure in which the heating chamber 12 and the heater 11 are provided in a space-saving manner, it can be miniaturized as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the conventional apparatus as shown in FIG. 9 is disadvantageous in terms of miniaturization because the heating chamber and the heater 11 are arranged away from the water supply tank 10 as shown in FIG. In addition, the code | symbol 17 in FIG. 2 is a nozzle.

  Further, since both the water supply port 15 and the steam communication port 16 are merely provided with holes in the side portion 10a (that is, the side wall of the water supply tank 10), the water supply path 72 and the steam communication port in the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. Compared to the passage 73, the distances a and b are considerably shorter. Therefore, water evaporates efficiently to the end. Moreover, it is difficult for water to remain in the water supply port 15 after spraying, and the water supply port 15 is not clogged with scales. Further, there is little thermal loss at the steam communication port 16, and the thermal efficiency is good. Further, in this embodiment, the depth of the heating chamber 12 (the distance between the heater 11 and the side portion 10a of the water supply tank 10) changes in the vertical direction, and the interval C1 from the lower part to the vicinity of the central part is near the central part. Is set to be larger than the interval C2 from the top to the top. This point will be described next.

  A specific example of the depth of the heating chamber 12 is shown in FIG. FIG. 3A shows a cross-sectional view of the main part of the steam generator with a heater, and FIG. 3B shows a side view of the steam generator with the heater removed as seen from the heater side. In the example of FIG. 3, the depth of the heating chamber 12 is changed to three steps, and the depth of the lower part where the water supply port 15 is located and the upper part where the steam communication port 16 is located are wide, and between the lower part and the upper part. The depth of the portion (middle) is narrower than the depths of the lower part and the upper part, and the sectional shape of the heating chamber 12 has a three-stage structure. Here, the water supply port 15 is formed substantially at the center of the bottom of the side portion 10a, and two steam communication ports 16 are formed on both sides of the upper portion of the side portion 10a. The bottom of the tank chamber 14 of the water supply tank 10 is gently inclined downward toward the heating chamber 12 (that is, the water supply port 15).

  In the example of FIG. 3, the depth of the lower and upper portions of the heating chamber 12 is wide, the depth of the middle is narrower than the depth of the lower and upper portions, and the bottom of the tank chamber 14 is inclined downward toward the heating chamber 12. is doing. According to this structure, the water that has started to boil in the lower part of the heating chamber 12 is reheated in the middle of being narrower than the depth of the lower part and the upper part, and steam is generated, so that the atomization efficiency is good. Also, with the generation of steam, a breathing phenomenon is likely to occur due to a drop in the water level, but the upper part of the heating chamber 12 has a large depth, so that the upper part plays a reservoir role to temporarily hold water and reduces the breathing phenomenon. And the atomization state is stabilized. Furthermore, even if the water level in the tank chamber 14 is lowered, it is possible to secure a sufficient amount of water to the end so as not to cause an unstable atomization such as breathing.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the heater 11 includes two heating elements 21 and 22 arranged vertically along the side portion 10 a of the water supply tank 10, and the heating element 21 generates heat in the upper part of the heating chamber 12. The element 22 corresponds to the lower part of the heating chamber 12. The heater 11 is fixed to the side portion 10a by passing, for example, screws through the eight mounting holes 23a and 24a formed around the heater 11 and screwing into the corresponding holes 23b and 24b formed in the water supply tank 10. . In FIG. 5, the thermostat 30 used for energization switching to the heater 11 may be attached on a heat transfer plate 33 fixed to the heater 11 with screws 32 via a heat insulating sheet 31, or directly on the heater 11. You may attach. In addition, as the heat insulation sheet 31, what is necessary is just to make it difficult to convey heat a little and to adjust the heat supply to the thermostat 30, and a semi heat insulation sheet, a light heat insulation sheet, a small heat insulation sheet, etc. are included.

  FIG. 6 shows a circuit configuration example including the heater 11, the thermostat 30, and the like. In this circuit, the lower heating element 22 of the heater 11 is directly connected to one side of the AC 100 V 35, the upper heating element 21 is connected via the thermostat 30, and the other circuit is connected to the two circuits 3 through the fuse 36. A contact energization switch 37 is connected. The contact P1 of the energization switch 37 is for throat inhalation, and the contact P2 is for nasal inhalation. According to this circuit, when the switch 37 is set to the contact point P1 for throat inhalation and the power is turned on, the heating elements 21 and 22 are energized regardless of whether the thermostat 30 is on or off. On the other hand, when the switch 37 is set to the contact P2 for nasal inhalation and the power is turned on, the heating elements 21 and 22 are initially energized while the thermostat 30 is on, but the temperature of the heater 11 rises and the thermostat 30 is turned on. Is turned off, the upper heating element 21 is turned off, and the energization power to the heater 11 is halved.

  FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the heater surface temperature and the energization time when the heater 11 is energized by the circuit as shown in FIG. When inhaling the throat, it is possible to inhale for a short time with a strong mist with a large amount of spray, and when inhaling the nose, it is possible to inhale for a long time with a soft mist with a small amount of spray.

  Next, the structure of the whole vapor | steam type inhaler incorporating the above steam generators is shown in FIG. 8 (main part sectional drawing). Here, the steam generator 1 is fixed at a predetermined position of the main body case 40 of the inhaler, and the coil spring 46 for releasing the steam pressure when the steam pressure in the tank chamber 14 becomes abnormally high in the water supply tank 10. And a cap 41 having a safety valve 47 is fitted. A nozzle (steam nozzle) 17 protruding from the steam generator 1 (that is, the water supply tank 10) is a suction nozzle 44 attached to an end of a tube 43 extending into a suction liquid cup 42 detachably disposed in the main body case 40. And inhalation liquid is accommodated in the inhalation liquid cup 42. Both nozzles 17 and 44 are positioned in the spray guide 45.

  The steam generated in the steam generator 1 is ejected from the steam nozzle 17 by the steam pressure. At this time, since the tip of the suction nozzle 44 becomes a negative pressure, the suction liquid in the suction liquid cup 42 is sucked up through the tube 43, becomes a mist by the steam pressure from the steam nozzle 17, and is sprayed from the spray guide 45. The

It is principal part sectional drawing of the steam generator which concerns on one Example. It is the top view (a) of the steam generator of the Example, and the top view (b) of the conventional steam generator as a comparison. It is principal part sectional drawing (a) which shows an example of the cross-sectional shape of the water supply tank side part in a steam generator, and the side view (b) which looked at the steam generator of the state which removed the heater from the heater side. It is a front view of the heater in a steam generator. It is a side view which shows the example of attachment of the thermostat to a heater. It is a circuit diagram which consists of a heater, a thermostat, etc. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the energization time at the time of throat inhalation and nasal inhalation obtained by the circuit shown in FIG. 6, and a heater surface temperature. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows an example of the vapor | steam type inhaler incorporating a vapor | steam generator. It is principal part sectional drawing of the steam generator which concerns on a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Water supply tank 10a Side part 11 Heater 12 Heating chamber 13 Recessed part 15 Water supply port 16 Steam communication port 21, 22 Heating element 30 Thermostat W Water

Claims (2)

Generated in the water supply tank, a heating chamber whose lower part communicates with the bottom of the water tank, and an upper part communicates with the upper part of the water tank, a heater attached to the heating chamber to heat the water in the heating chamber, and the heating chamber In a steam inhaler comprising a steam generating device provided with a nozzle that ejects the steam generated outside,
The heating chamber has a lower depth and an upper depth, and a depth between a lower portion and an upper portion is smaller than a lower depth and an upper depth.   The steam inhaler according to claim 1, wherein the water level of the water supply tank extends to the upper part of the heating chamber.

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