JP4732955B2 - humidifier - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a humidifier.

  Conventionally, as a humidifier, it has a structure equipped with a liquid leakage prevention part to prevent the hot water contained in the inner container from leaking to the outside at the time of falling, supplying steam to the outside by opening the steam inlet hole Is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-11925 A

  However, in the conventional humidifier, a liquid leakage preventing portion for preventing liquid leakage at the time of falling and a gas venting portion when the internal pressure increases are provided independently. For this reason, a seal structure such as packing is required at each part, which complicates the structure, increases the number of processing steps, and increases the cost.

  Then, this invention makes it a subject to provide the humidifier which has the liquid leak prevention part provided with not only a seal structure but the internal pressure rise prevention structure in the middle of a vapor | steam flow path.

An inner container in which the liquid is stored;
Heating means for generating a vapor by heating the liquid contained in the inner container;
A lid formed with a steam flow path that leads to the outside after closing the upper opening of the inner container and causing the generated steam to flow through the steam flow path through the steam ejection nozzle.
With
In the steam flow path, a liquid leakage prevention part is formed in a region from the inner container to the steam ejection nozzle,
The liquid leakage prevention part is
An internal pressure rise prevention structure for allowing the internal air of the inner container to flow outside;
A seal structure for preventing outflow of steam other than the steam ejection nozzle and the internal pressure rise prevention structure;
With
The lid is
Plug, passage of said plug body is accommodated respectively, and, a lid body with a cap member formed with closable gas hole by said plug body,
Covering the lid body, consisting of the vapor ejection nozzle, and a lid cover provided with a safety valve,
The safety valve is provided in the vicinity of the steam ejection nozzle, and causes the internal steam to flow out to the outside by increasing the internal pressure of the inner container exceeding an allowable value.
The internal pressure rise prevention structure is composed of the plug body and the gas hole of the cap member,
The seal structure is provided on the cap member, and is configured so as to be able to flow the steam passing through the passage portion and sealing the space between the lid cover and the steam ejection nozzle.
A suction port located on the side opposite to the direction in which the steam is ejected from the steam ejection nozzle is formed on the side wall constituting the steam flow path.

  With this configuration, the liquid leakage prevention portion, the internal pressure rise prevention structure, and the seal structure can be integrated in the middle of the steam flow path, and the structure can be simplified and manufactured at low cost.

  According to the present invention, since the liquid leakage prevention portion, the internal pressure rise prevention structure, and the seal structure can be integrated in the middle of the steam flow path, the structure can be simplified and manufactured at low cost.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 and 2 show a humidifier according to this embodiment. This humidifier includes a body 1 and a lid 2. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the side on which the hinge structure that supports the lid 2 so that it can be opened and closed is described as the rear, and the opposite side as the front.

  The body 1 has a shoulder member 3 attached to an upper opening of a cylindrical outer body, and an inner container 4 is inserted into the center hole from above the shoulder member 3 to hang it, and is disposed in a lower opening of the outer body. The bottom side of the inner container 4 is fixed from the bottom member 5 that has been prepared. A heater or the like (not shown) is provided on the bottom surface of the inner container 4 so that water stored in the inner container 4 can be boiled to generate steam. On the front upper surface of the shoulder member 3, an operation display panel (not shown) is formed, and various switches and the like for selecting an activation and an operation mode are provided.

  The lid body 2 is obtained by molding a synthetic resin material, and generally includes a lid body 6 and a lid cover 7 as shown in FIGS.

  The lid body 6 has a bottomed cylindrical shape, and a hinge portion 9 is formed at the rear portion of the peripheral wall 8. The hinge portion 9 is reinforced by a plurality of reinforcing ribs 9a, and has a configuration in which pins (not shown) are press-fitted into through holes formed in the extending portions 9b on both sides. An escape portion 10 is formed on the front side of the hinge portion 9. The escape portion 10 is provided with a protruding portion that constitutes a concave portion of the lid cover 7 described later. A flange 8a is formed at the upper end of the peripheral wall 8 except for the front portion. Locking claws 8b are formed at four locations on the collar portion.

  Further, a notch recess 8c is formed in the peripheral wall 8 of the lid body 6 at a position corresponding to a suction port 20a of the lid cover 7 described later.

  Reinforcing ribs 6 a are formed in a lattice shape on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the lid body 6. The reinforcing rib 6a can maintain a desired rigidity while suppressing the amount of resin to be used and reducing the weight.

  The bottom wall of the lid body 6 is provided with a liquid leakage prevention unit 11 for preventing liquid leakage at the time of falling. This liquid leakage prevention part 11 forms an annular wall 13 on the upper surface of a pedestal part 12 formed separately from the reinforcing rib, and accommodates plugs 15 in conical holes 14 formed at two locations inside thereof, It is closed by a disk-shaped cap member 16. The liquid leakage prevention unit 11 is formed on one end side of a vapor flow path 20 to be described later, functions as a passage through which the vapor flows in a normal state, and prevents liquid leakage during a fall.

  The conical hole 14 is formed so that the inner diameter dimension gradually decreases as it goes downward. A plurality of guide ribs 17 extending in the vertical direction are arranged in parallel in the circumferential direction on the conical surface of each conical hole 14. The plug body 15 has a truncated cone shape and is supported in the conical surface by the guide rib 17 while being accommodated in the conical hole 14. In this state, a gap through which steam can flow is formed between the conical surface of the plug 15 and the conical surface of the conical hole 14. The cap member 16 is formed with gas holes 16 a having different inner diameters at positions corresponding to the respective conical holes 14. These gas holes 16a are closed by the upper end surface of the plug 15 when the humidifier falls, and prevent water leakage to the outside. On the upper surface of the cap member 16, reinforcing ribs 16b are formed in a lattice shape, and through holes 16c are formed at two locations. The cap member 16 can be attached by screwing a screw into the screw hole 11a formed in the liquid leakage preventing portion 11 through the through hole 16c. A step portion 16d is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the cap member 16, and an annular packing 16e is disposed there. The packing 16e attaches the lid cover 7 to the lid body 6 to prevent leakage of steam from an extra portion of the steam chamber formed by the lid cover 7.

  Further, a reflux hole 6b is formed in the bottom wall of the lid body 6 at a position corresponding to the other end side of the steam channel 20 described later. The reflux hole 6b is opened and closed by a reflux valve 27a. The recirculation valve 27a closes the recirculation hole 6b when the internal pressure is high, that is, when the internal container 4 is heated and the water stored therein is boiled to increase the internal pressure. On the other hand, when energization to the heater is stopped and the internal pressure decreases, the heater moves downward by its own weight and opens the reflux hole 6b.

  A bottom plate 18 is fixed to the lower surface of the bottom wall of the lid body 6 with screws via an annular packing 6c. A plurality of vapor holes 18a are formed in the center portion of the bottom plate 18, and water vapor flows from the inner container 4 to the lid body 6 side.

  The lid cover 7 includes a front surface panel portion 19 and a vapor channel 20 covered by a substantially lattice-shaped communication panel portion (not shown) on the rear side. The front panel 19 is provided with an opening / closing lever 19a and a lock knob 19b for maintaining the lid 2 in a closed state with respect to the body 1. The operation position of the lock knob can be recognized at a glance by changing the color of the lock display portion 19c or the like (for example, it may be switched to red at the lock position).

  The steam flow path 20 covered with the communication panel has a groove shape formed in an arc shape in plan view, and has a cross-sectional shape raised at the center of the bottom surface portion, from one end side in the circumferential direction toward the other end side. It is formed to become deeper gradually.

  A nozzle mounting portion 21 is formed on one end side of the steam channel 20, and a steam ejection nozzle 22 is mounted there. The middle part of the steam ejection nozzle 22 is bent, and in a state where the steam ejection nozzle 22 is mounted on the nozzle mounting part 21, the front end part gradually approaches the bottom surface side from the surface parallel to the bottom surface of the steam channel 20 toward the front end. Thereby, the steam ejected from the steam ejection nozzle 22 flows along the bottom surface of the steam flow path 20.

  The nozzle mounting portion 21 is substantially cylindrical and has a guide wall 23 with a part cut away, a press-fit hole 24 drilled in the center thereof, and a pair of locking pieces formed in the vicinity of the guide wall 23. 25. The press-fitting hole 24 has a stepped shape with different inner diameter dimensions, and is positioned by contacting the lower end of the press-fitted steam jet nozzle 22. The locking piece 25 is formed with a claw portion 25 a that locks to the tip of the steam jet nozzle 22 at the tip.

  Therefore, when the lower end portion of the steam ejection nozzle 22 is press-fitted into the press-fitting hole 24 along the guide wall 23, the tip portion of the steam ejection nozzle 22 elastically deforms the locking piece 25 to the side, and the lower end portion is the press-fitting hole. By contacting the stepped portion of 24, the shape of the locking piece 25 is restored and the claw portion 25a is locked to the tip portion, thereby completing the mounting operation. Since the vapor jet nozzle 22 only needs to be pushed in, it can be easily mounted.

  In addition, a safety valve 26 is provided in the vicinity of the portion where the steam ejection nozzle 22 is mounted. The safety valve 26 is formed of an elastic material such as rubber, and when the pressure in the inner container 4 rises beyond an allowable value, the umbrella portion is elastically deformed and automatically opened, and the internal steam flows out to the outside. .

  On the other end side of the steam flow path 20, when dew condensation water is generated in the steam flow path 20, a recirculation part 27 is formed to recirculate the dew condensation water to the inner container 4 side. The reflux part 27 is cylindrical and has a vertically long opening at the lower end.

  In addition, a rectangular water storage recess 28 is formed in the vicinity of the hinge portion on the side wall constituting the steam flow path 20. The water storage recess 28 is for preventing the condensed water remaining in the steam flow path 20 from being collected and scattered around when the lid 2 is opened.

  Further, a lattice-shaped suction port 20 a is formed on the side wall of the steam channel 20 at a position opposite to the ejection direction of the steam ejection nozzle 22. The suction port 20a sucks external air when the steam is ejected from the steam ejection nozzle 22 so that the steam can flow smoothly.

  A hinge cover portion 29 that covers the hinge portion 9 of the lid body 6 is formed at the rear portion of the lid cover 7. Further, the edge of the lid cover 7 extends downward and is fitted to the upper edge of the peripheral wall 8 of the lid body 6. A locking recess (not shown) is formed on the inner surface of the edge, and a locking claw 8b formed on the lid body 6 is locked, so that the lid cover 7 can be attached to the lid body 6.

  Next, the operation of the humidifier configured as described above will be described.

  In a state where the lid 2 is opened and water is accommodated in the inner container 4, water is boiled by supplying power from an AC power source (not shown) and energizing the heater. The generated steam enters the lid body 2 through a steam hole 18a formed in the center portion of the bottom plate 18. The vapor that has entered further passes through a conical hole 14 formed in the lid body 6, flows through a gap formed between the plug body 15 and the guide rib 17, and reaches the vapor chamber. Then, it continues to flow from the gas hole 16 a formed in the cap member 16 to the steam ejection nozzle 22, and is ejected from the steam ejection nozzle 22 into the steam flow path 20. The steam ejected to the steam channel 20 flows along the bottom surface of the steam channel 20, and after being lowered in temperature to some extent, passes through the communication panel and is discharged to the outside. At this time, the reflux valve 27a maintains the state where the reflux hole 6b is closed by the increase of the internal pressure. If the internal pressure further increases, the safety valve 26 is opened and the increase in the internal pressure is suppressed.

  Further, when used for a long time, condensed water may be generated in the steam channel 20. The generated condensed water is temporarily stored in the reflux section 27 because the steam flow path 20 is formed so as to be inclined from the one end side toward the reflux section 27 on the other end side. Therefore, every time a predetermined time elapses from the start of use of the humidifier, the energization to the heater is forcibly stopped to reduce the internal pressure by suppressing the generation of steam. Thereby, the reflux valve 27a is moved down by its own weight to open the reflux hole 6b, and the condensed water is refluxed into the inner container 4. By forming the steam flow path 20, the dew condensation water that tends to remain can be easily refluxed into the inner container 4 without complicating the structure.

  Further, if the amount of water in the inner container 4 decreases, it is detected by a water level sensor (not shown) and the like is notified by turning on an LED of the display panel or the like (a buzzer may sound) and energizing the heater. Stop. The user opens the lid 2 and supplies water. At this time, there is a possibility that condensed water stays in the steam flow path 20 of the lid 2. However, a water storage recess 28 is formed in the lid 2, and all the condensed water is collected in the water storage recess 28. Therefore, it does not scatter around. Then, when the lid body 2 is returned to the original closed position, the condensed water collected in the water storage recess 28 flows down to the reflux portion 27. Since the internal pressure is reduced by opening the lid 2, the reflux valve 27 a is moved down by its own weight and the reflux hole 6 b is in an open state, so that the condensed water flowing down to the reflux part 27 remains as it is. Reflux into vessel 4.

  Furthermore, when the opened lid body 2 is suddenly closed, the internal pressure may increase suddenly, and the plug body 15 moves upward with the rapid increase in internal pressure, causing the gas hole 16a to pass through. May close. As described above, the gas holes 16a are formed in two places, and the inner diameters of the two are different. Therefore, since one gas hole 16a is always opened and the internal pressure is lowered, as a result, both gas holes 16a are opened, and the internal pressure does not increase in the closed state.

  When the humidifier falls, the plug 15 moves on the conical surface of the conical hole 14 and closes the gas hole 16a at the upper end surface. For this reason, the water in the inner container 4 does not flow out to the outside.

It is the perspective view seen from the back side in the state where the lid of the humidifier concerning this embodiment was opened. It is a disassembled perspective view except the shoulder member of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the cover body of FIG. It is a top view which shows the cover body of FIG. It is a top view which shows the cover main body of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the cover body of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the cover body of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Body 2 ... Lid 3 ... Shoulder member 4 ... Inner container 5 ... Bottom member 6 ... Lid main body 6a ... Reinforcement rib 6b ... Recirculation hole 6c ... Packing 7 ... Lid cover 8 ... Peripheral wall 8a ... Gutter 8b ... Locking claw 8c ... Notch recess 9 ... Hinge part 9a ... Reinforcing rib 9b ... Extension part 10 ... Relief part 11 ... Liquid leak prevention part 11a ... Screw hole 12 ... Base part 13 ... Annular wall 14 ... Conical hole 15 ... Plug body 16 ... Cap Member 16a ... Gas hole 16b ... Reinforcement rib 16c ... Through hole 16d ... Step part 16e ... Packing 17 ... Guide rib 18 ... Bottom plate 18a ... Steam hole 19 ... Surface panel part 19a ... Opening / closing lever 19b ... Lock knob 19c ... Lock display part 20 ... Steam passage 20a ... Suction port 21 ... Nozzle mounting portion 22 ... Steam ejection nozzle 23 ... Guide wall 24 ... Press-fitting hole 25 ... Locking piece 25a ... Claw portion 26 ... Safety valve 27 ... Recirculation portion 27a ... Recirculation valve 28 ... Reservoir recess 29 ... Hin The cover

Claims (1)

An inner container in which the liquid is stored;
Heating means for generating a vapor by heating the liquid contained in the inner container;
A lid formed with a steam flow path that leads to the outside after closing the upper opening of the inner container and causing the generated steam to flow through the steam flow path through the steam ejection nozzle.
With
In the steam flow path, a liquid leakage prevention part is formed in a region from the inner container to the steam ejection nozzle,
The liquid leakage prevention part is
An internal pressure rise prevention structure for allowing the internal air of the inner container to flow outside;
A seal structure for preventing outflow of steam other than the steam ejection nozzle and the internal pressure rise prevention structure;
With
The lid is
Plug, passage of said plug body is accommodated respectively, and, a lid body with a cap member formed with closable gas hole by said plug body,
Covering the lid body, consisting of the vapor ejection nozzle, and a lid cover provided with a safety valve,
The safety valve is provided in the vicinity of the steam ejection nozzle, and causes the internal steam to flow out to the outside by increasing the internal pressure of the inner container exceeding an allowable value.
The internal pressure rise prevention structure is composed of the plug body and the gas hole of the cap member,
The seal structure is provided on the cap member, and is configured so as to be able to flow the steam passing through the passage portion and sealing the space between the lid cover and the steam ejection nozzle.
The humidifier characterized by forming in the side wall which comprises the said steam flow path the suction port located in the opposite side to the jet direction of the steam ejected from the said steam ejection nozzle.

Images