JP4757239B2 - Humidifier - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a humidification device that includes a roller for rotating the rotating body and the rotating body that holds the filter, absorbent.

Various humidification methods are used in humidifiers that keep indoor humidity by blowing out humid air. For example, the humidifier shown in Patent Document 1 takes in dry indoor air, humidifies and releases the taken-in air. Specifically, a filter in which a water-absorbing sheet-like material is formed in a substantially rectangular shape is rotatably held so that one of its ends is immersed in water in a water tank disposed at the bottom of the aircraft. To do. When the end of the filter is immersed in water, the filter sucks up the water in the water tank and gets wet as a whole. Then, the room air taken in the wet filter is passed through and released into the room.
JP 2003-302077 A

  By the way, in the humidifying device disclosed in Patent Document 1, when dust is contained in the air passing through the filter or the water in the water tank, the filter adheres to the filter and absorbs water. Water scale adheres to the surface. And with the filter to which dust or scale adheres, the air cannot be sufficiently passed, and the water in the water tank cannot be sucked up sufficiently, so that the performance of the humidifying device is lowered. For this reason, in order to maintain the effectiveness of the humidifier, it is necessary to periodically replace the filter and to clean the filter.

  However, in Patent Document 1, since the filter is structured to rotate directly connected to the gear motor, the user cannot easily attach and detach the filter. Therefore, maintenance such as filter replacement or cleaning cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to hold a filter, contact a rotating body that is detachably mounted, and an outer peripheral surface of the rotating body, and rotate the rotating body. By arranging both rotating shafts with the roller on a substantially vertical line and making the rotating body horizontally movable from the contact position with the roller, the roller presses the rotating body and makes sure that the rotating body is in contact with the roller. it is possible to rotate the can attach and detach the rotating body with respect to only a roller for driving rotation horizontally moving, maintenance of the filter is to provide easy that humidification device performs.

A humidifier according to the present invention includes a roller that is driven to rotate , a filter that holds a filter so that a part of the roller is immersed in water stored in a water storage section , and a rotating body that has a circular outer peripheral surface. Humidification in which the outer peripheral surface is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the roller , the roller is rotated to rotate the rotating body , the air taken in from the outside by a blower is passed through the filter, and the humidified air is blown out to the outside In the apparatus , the roller is held so as to be movable up and down, and a pressure applying unit that applies a pressure downward to the roller , and the rotary body is moved in a substantially horizontal direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the rotary body. it allows as the rotation axis of the rotating body is located substantially vertically below the rotation axis of the roller, characterized in that it comprises a mounting portion for detachably mounting the rotating body.

In the humidifying device of the present invention, the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and / or the outer peripheral surface of the roller is knurled.

  The humidifying device of the present invention further includes a housing that houses the rotating body and the roller, the blower allows air taken from outside the housing to pass through the filter, and the filter rotates the filter. The shaft is held inside the rotating body so as to coincide with the rotating shaft of the rotating body, the mounting part is provided integrally with the water storage part, and the lower part of the filter is immersed in the water storage part. The rotating body is held and can be attached to and detached from the housing.

In the present invention, the rotating body that holds the filter has a circular outer peripheral surface that is held so as to be movable up and down and is in contact with a roller to which pressure is applied downward. The transmitted rotating body rotates. Further, when the rotating body moves horizontally, the rotating shaft of the rotating body is positioned substantially vertically below the rotating shaft of the roller, and the rotating body pushes up the roller so that the rotating body and the roller come into reliable contact. . In other words, by horizontally moving the rotating body, it can be attached to and detached from the roller that rotates the rotating body.

  In the present invention, the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and / or the outer peripheral surface of the roller is knurled to prevent the contact position from slipping.

In the present invention, the rotating body is held such that the rotating shaft of the filter and the rotating shaft of the rotating body coincide with each other and a part of the filter is immersed in the water in the water storage section. The air taken from the outside through this filter by the blower. Part by rotating the filter is immersed in water, since the part of the filter is always immersed in water, to humidify the air without the filter to dry.

According to the present invention, the rotating body that holds the filter is in rolling contact with a roller that rotates the rotating body by horizontal movement , so the rotating body and the roller can be easily separated, and maintenance such as filter replacement or cleaning is possible. The effect which becomes. Further, since the roller is applying pressure downward to be vertically movable holding is positioned substantially directly above the rotating body, Ru granted in pairs rotating body substantially directly below direction roller pressing force GaHitoshi etc.. As a result, the roller transmits a stable rotational force to the rotating body, and the rotating body is stably rotated. Further, since the roller that is held so as to be movable up and down substantially directly above the rotating body and the rotating body is in rolling contact with the rotating body, when the rotating body is moved horizontally, the rotating body is positioned slightly in the horizontal direction. Even if it deviates, there is an effect that it can be brought into rolling contact with the roller. In addition, when the rotating body is brought into contact with the roller, the rotating body is moved horizontally, so that the variation in contact between the roller and the rotating body can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a rotary drive structure of the present invention is applied to a humidifier will be described with reference to the drawings. The humidifying device of this embodiment humidifies the room in which the humidifying device is arranged by using a water absorbing filter having water absorbency. Specifically, the water stored at the bottom of the main body of the humidifier is absorbed by a water absorption filter, and the taken-in room air is humidified by passing through the water absorption filter. Thereafter, the humidified air is blown into the room to humidify the room.

  FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a humidifier according to the present embodiment. FIG.2 and FIG.3 is the front view which saw through a part of humidification apparatus.

  The humidifier 1 includes a housing 10 that forms the appearance of the humidifier 1. The housing 10 includes a front surface, a back surface, a side surface, a top surface, and a bottom surface. On the back surface of the housing 10, an intake port 10 a that takes in external air is formed. The air purification filter 2 is attached to the intake port 10a. The air purifying filter 2 is configured to remove dust contained in air when taking air from the intake port 10a.

  An air passage 10b is formed inside the housing 10 along the front surface. The air passage 10 b is formed from approximately the center of the housing 10 to the upper side, and communicates with the air outlet 10 c formed on the upper surface of the housing 10.

  A blower 3 is disposed below the blower passage 10 b and at a position facing the air purification filter 2. The blower 3 has a motor 3a and a fan 3b. And the air blower 3 takes in air from the inlet 10a by rotating the fan 3b, and sends out the taken-in air to the ventilation path 10b. The air sent out to the ventilation path 10b is blown out to the exterior from the blower outlet 10c.

  A water storage container 5 is detachably mounted on the housing 10 between the air purification filter 2 and the blower 3. The water storage container 5 is a container that can store a certain amount of water and has a length that is substantially the same as the width of the front surface and the back surface of the housing 10, and has an open top surface and a substantially bowl-shaped cross section. In addition, a groove 10 d that engages with the water storage container 5 is formed at the bottom of the housing 10 horizontally along the front surface and the back surface of the housing 10. The water storage container 5 is slidable along the groove 10d. Further, an opening (not shown) is formed on the side surface of the housing 10, and the water storage container 5 can move horizontally along the groove 10 d and can be taken out from the opening on the side surface of the housing 10. Thereby, the water storage container 5 can be attached to and detached from the housing 10.

  In addition, a tank mounting portion 5 a to which the water supply tank 8 can be mounted from above is provided at one end of the water storage container 5. The water supply tank 8 is a box type capable of storing water therein, and is mounted on the tank mounting portion 5a to supply water to the water storage container 5 so that a substantially constant amount of water is stored in the water storage container 5. It has become.

  A pair of arms 6 are provided on both side walls along the length direction of the water storage container 5 so as to face each other. The pair of arms 6 has a substantially triangular shape and is formed with a U-shaped notch 6a at the apex. The rotating drum 4 is attached to the notch 6a.

  The rotating drum 4 includes a rim 4a, a hub 4b, and a connecting rod 4c. The rim 4a is an annular body made of resin and is knurled. The hub 4b is located at the center of the rim 4a and has a protruding rotating shaft 4d. The connecting rod 4c connects the rim 4a and the hub 4b, and is provided at an interval of approximately 90 degrees. A space is formed between the rim 4a and the hub 4b by the connecting rod 4c. The water absorption filter 7 is held in this space. The water absorption filter 7 is made of a material having water absorption, for example, a polystyrene foam. The water absorption filter 7 rotates together with the rotating drum 4.

  The rotating drum 4 is configured to be rotatable and detachably mounted on the arm 6 by fitting the rotating shaft 4d into the notch 6a of the arm 6 from above. When the rotating drum 4 is mounted on the arm 6, the rotating drum 4 and the arm 6 are designed so that the lower part of the rotating drum 4 is slightly separated from the bottom surface of the water storage container 5. Thereby, the lower part of the water absorption filter 7 held by the rotating drum 4 is immersed in the water stored in the water storage container 5. The rotating drum 4 holding the water absorption filter 7 is rotatable, and by this rotation, the entire circumference of the water absorption filter 7 is sequentially immersed in the water in the water storage container 5 and the entire water absorption filter 7 can be wetted. The air is humidified by passing the air through the water-absorbed portion of the water absorption filter 7.

  As described above, the arm 6 that supports the rotating drum 4 is provided in the water storage container 5 that moves horizontally. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rotating drum 4 is movable from the side surface of the housing 10 in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the rotating shaft 4 d and is detachable from the housing 10. Note that FIG. 2 shows a state in which a housing without a rotating drum is viewed from the front. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the casing on which the rotating drum is mounted is viewed from the front. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the rotating drum 4 attached to the housing 10 is interposed between the air purification filter 2 and the blower 3, and the air that has passed through the air purification filter 2 passes through the water absorption filter 7. It is like that.

  The housing 10 is provided with a drive mechanism 9 that rotationally drives the rotating drum 4 substantially vertically above the rotating drum 4 mounted on the housing 10. FIG. 4A is a front view of the drive mechanism when the rotating drum is not attached to the housing. FIG. 4B is a front view of the drive mechanism when the rotating drum is mounted on the housing.

  The drive mechanism 9 has a plate-like base 91. The base 91 is fixed to the housing 10 so as to face the air purification filter 2 above the rotating drum 4. A drive motor 92 is fixed to a surface (hereinafter referred to as a back surface) of the base 91 opposite to the air cleaning filter 2. The drive motor 92 has a motor shaft (not shown) protruding from the front surface of the base 91.

  A support plate 93 is provided on the front surface of the base 91. The support plate 93 has a motor shaft of a drive motor 92 protruding from the front surface of the base 91 at one end, and the other end (hereinafter referred to as the lower end) swings around the motor shaft as a fulcrum. Supported around the axis.

  A spring receiver 91 a is provided on the front surface of the base 91 above the support plate 93. A spring 96 is interposed between the spring receiver 91a and the lower end of the support plate 93 in a compressed state. The spring 96 urges the support plate 93 downward. The support plate 93 swings a predetermined angle against one end of the motor shaft of the drive motor 92 inserted against the bias of the spring 96 as a fulcrum.

  Further, a guide 97 that engages with the lower end of the swinging support plate 93 is provided on the front surface of the base 91. The guide 97 prevents the displacement of the support plate 93 when swinging.

  The drive mechanism 9 has a drive gear 94 and a roller portion 95. The drive gear 94 is attached to the tip of the motor shaft of the drive motor 92 protruding from the base 91 and the support plate 93. The drive gear 94 is rotated by the rotation of the motor shaft.

  The roller unit 95 includes a roller 95 a and is supported near the lower end of the support plate 93. The roller 95a is made of rubber, and the outer peripheral surface is knurled. The roller portion 95 has a gear (not shown) that rotates coaxially with the roller 95 a and meshes with the drive gear 94. FIG. 4 shows a state where the gear is covered with the cover 95b. The gear rotates when the drive gear 94 rotates, and thereby the coaxial roller 95a also rotates.

  The drive gear 94 is attached to the motor shaft of the drive motor 92, and the roller portion 95 is attached to the support plate 93 that swings around the axis of the motor shaft. Therefore, the support plate 93 is the motor of the drive motor 92. Even when the shaft swings around the fulcrum, the meshing state of the drive motor 92 and the gear of the roller unit 95 is maintained, and the roller 95a is rotatable.

  When the rotary drum 4 is moved horizontally and brought close to the roller 95a in a state where the rotary drum 4 is not attached to the housing 10, the drive mechanism 9 configured as described above has a roller as shown in FIG. The lowermost part of 95a comes into contact with the uppermost part of the rotating drum 4. Further, in the state where the rotating drum 4 is mounted on the housing 10, the drive mechanism 9 has the rotating shaft of the roller 95a and the rotating shaft of the mounted rotating drum 4 on substantially the same vertical line as shown in FIG. It is supposed to be located.

  As a result, when the rotating drum 4 is mounted on the housing 10, the rotating drum 4 comes into contact with the lower portion of the roller 95 a of the drive mechanism 9 by being moved horizontally. Then, by further horizontal movement, the roller 95a is pushed upward, and the rotating shaft of the rotating drum 4 is positioned on substantially the same vertical line as the rotating shaft of the roller 95a. In this case, the roller 95a comes into firm contact between the roller 95a and the rotating drum 4 by the elastic force of the spring 96. Then, when the motor shaft of the drive motor 92 of the drive mechanism 9 rotates, the drive gear 94 rotates, and the gear of the roller portion 95 and the roller 95a also rotate. As the roller 95a rotates, the rotating drum 4 also rotates.

  As described above, the rotating drum 4 and the roller 95a that rotates the rotating drum 4 are not directly connected but are in contact with each other only on the outer peripheral surface. The roller 95a can be easily brought into contact with the rotating drum 4, and the rotating drum 4 can be rotated.

  Next, in the humidifying device 1 configured as described above, an operation when the rotating drum 4 is attached to and detached from the housing 10 and an operation when the humidifying device 1 is used will be described.

  The humidifier 1 can be operated with the rotating drum 4 mounted on the arm 6 and water stored in the water storage container 5. When the rotating drum 4 is mounted on the housing 10, the rotating drum 4 is in contact with the roller 95 a of the drive mechanism 9 that rotates the rotating drum 4 on the outer peripheral surface substantially vertically above. In this state, when the humidifier 1 is driven, the drive motor 92 and the blower 3 of the drive mechanism 9 are driven.

  When the drive motor 92 of the drive mechanism 9 is driven, the motor shaft rotates. Thereby, the drive gear 94, the gear of the roller part 95, and the roller 95a rotate. Then, the rotating drum 4 that is in rolling contact with the roller 95a rotates. As the rotating drum 4 rotates, the water absorption filter 7 held by the rotating drum 4 also rotates. The lower part of the water absorption filter 7 is immersed in the water in the water storage container 5 and rotates while absorbing the water in the water storage container 5.

  In addition, when the blower 3 is driven, air is taken in from the intake port 10a and passes through the air purification filter 2 and the water absorption filter 7 that has absorbed water. The air is humidified by passing through the water absorption filter 7 that has absorbed water. And the humidified air is sent out to the ventilation path 10b, and is blown out from the blower outlet 10c. Thereby, the room is humidified.

  Since the rotating drum 4 is immersed in the water of the water storage container 5, the outer peripheral surface is easily slipped by water, but the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum 4 and / or the roller 95a is knurled. The sliding on the contact surface between the rotating drum 4 and the roller 95a is reduced, and the rotating is stably performed.

  Moreover, when taking out the rotating drum 4 from the housing | casing 10, the water storage container 5 is moved to a horizontal direction. In this case, since the water storage container 5 is provided with an arm 6 that supports the rotary drum 4, the rotary drum 4 moves horizontally together with the water storage container 5. Since the rotating drum 4 is positioned on and substantially in contact with the roller 95a of the drive mechanism 9, the rotating drum 4 moves away from the contacting roller 95a when the rotating drum 4 moves horizontally. Thereby, the rotating drum 4 can be taken out from the housing 10 together with the water storage container 5 supported via the arm 6. And it becomes possible to remove the rotating drum 4 from the arm 6, and maintenance, such as replacement | exchange or cleaning of the water absorption filter 7 which the rotating drum 4 hold | maintains, can be performed.

  When the rotating drum 4 is mounted on the housing 10, the rotating drum 4 is mounted on the arm 6, the water storage container 5 is moved horizontally, and is mounted on the housing 10. The rotating drum 4 moves horizontally together with the water storage container 5 and comes into contact with the lower part of the roller 95a of the drive mechanism 9. Further, by further moving horizontally, the roller 95a is pushed upward, and the rotation shaft of the rotating drum 4 is positioned on substantially the same vertical line as the rotation shaft of the roller 95a. As a result, the rotating drum 4 comes into rolling contact with the roller 95a that rotates the rotating drum 4, and becomes rotatable. In this state, the humidifier 1 can be used.

  As described above, in the humidifying device 1 of the present embodiment, the rotating drum 4 that holds the water absorption filter 7 comes into contact with the roller 95a of the drive mechanism 9 on the outer peripheral surface, and the roller 95a is driven to rotate. Force is transmitted to rotate. That is, since the rotating drum 4 is not directly connected to the roller 95a, the rotating drum 4 can be easily attached to and detached from the roller 95a.

  The rotating drum 4 is mounted on the housing 10 so that the rotating shaft of the rotating drum 4 is positioned substantially vertically below the rotating shaft of the roller 95a by moving horizontally. In other words, since the roller 95a comes into contact with the roller 95a almost directly above the rotating drum 4, even when the rotating drum 4 is slightly displaced in the horizontal direction and mounted on the housing 10, the roller 95a can be brought into contact with the roller 95a.

  Further, since the roller 95a is positioned almost directly above the rotating drum 4, the pressing force of the roller 95a against the rotating drum 4 is substantially directly below, and the roller 95a can apply pressure to the rotating drum 4 evenly. As a result, the roller 95a transmits a stable rotational force to the rotary drum 4, and the rotary drum 4 rotates stably.

  Further, since the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum 4 is knurled, slippage with the roller 95a that comes into contact can be reduced, and the rotating drum 4 can be reliably rotated. Furthermore, since the drive mechanism 9 is disposed substantially directly above the rotary drum 4, water in the water storage container 5 attached to the rotary drum 4 does not drip into the drive mechanism 9, and the drive mechanism 9 is damaged due to water. Can be prevented.

  In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the rotational drive structure of this invention is applied and demonstrated to a humidification apparatus, it is also applicable to the air cleaner which cleans an air purifying filter automatically other than a humidification apparatus, for example. it can. This air purifier rotates the air purifying filter and shakes off dust adhering to the air purifying filter, or wipes off the dust by contacting the brush. In this case, the air purifying filter is held on a detachable rotating drum as in the above-described structure. If the dirt is severe, the rotating drum is removed from the housing as described above, and the filter is maintained.

  Further, the structure of the drive mechanism 9 that rotates the rotating drum 4 is not limited to the structure of the above-described embodiment. For example, the lowermost part of the roller 95a is located below the uppermost part of the rotating drum 4 when mounted on the housing 10, but the lowermost part of the roller 95a and the uppermost part of the rotating drum 4 are It may be on the same horizontal line. The rotating drum 4 is attached to the arm 6 so that the arm 6 can be attached to and detached from the housing 10. However, only the rotating drum 4 can be attached to and detached from the housing 10. Good.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been specifically described above, but each configuration, operation, and the like can be changed as appropriate, and are not limited to the above-described embodiment.

It is side surface sectional drawing of the humidification apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is the front view which saw through a part of humidification device. It is the front view which saw through a part of humidification device. (A) is a front view of the drive mechanism when the rotating drum is not mounted on the casing, and (b) is a front view of the driving mechanism when the rotating drum is mounted on the casing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Humidifier 3 Blower 4 Rotating drum 5 Water storage container 6 Arm 7 Water absorption filter 9 Drive mechanism 10 Case 95 Roller part 95a Roller

Claims (3)

A roller that is driven to rotate, and a filter that holds a filter so that a part of the roller is immersed in the water stored in the water storage unit, and an outer peripheral surface of the rotating member is circular. In the humidifying device for rotating the rotating body by rotating the roller, allowing the air taken in from the outside by the blower to pass through the filter, and blowing out the humidified air to the outside ,
The roller is held movably up and down,
A pressurizing unit that applies pressure downward to the roller;
By moving the rotating body in a direction substantially perpendicular to the rotating shaft of the rotating body and in a substantially horizontal direction, the rotating body is positioned so that the rotating shaft of the rotating body is positioned substantially vertically below the rotating shaft of the roller. A humidifying device comprising a mounting portion that is detachably mounted. The humidifying device according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body and / or the outer peripheral surface of the roller is knurled. A housing for housing the rotating body and the roller;
The blower passes the air taken from the outside of the housing through the filter,
The filter is held inside the rotating body so that the rotation axis of the filter coincides with the rotation axis of the rotating body,
The mounting portion is provided integrally with the water storage portion, holds the rotating body so that a lower portion of the filter is immersed in the water storage portion, and is configured to be detachable from the housing. The humidifier according to claim 1 or 2 .

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