JPH07225039A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a humidifier capable of easily exhausting air staying in a hollow structure to the outside of the structure. CONSTITUTION:A non-porous high polymer film hollow structure 1 includes therein an exhaust member 3 which is to couple a breathing member 3a which transmits only air therethrough and a hollow pipe 3b for transporting air transmitted through the breathing member 3a, an end of the exhaust member 3 being extended to the outside of the hollow structure 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a humidifier using a non-porous polymer membrane. For more details,
The present invention relates to a humidifier capable of easily discharging air staying in a sealed hollow body made of a non-porous polymer membrane.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional natural evaporative humidifiers have the advantage that they require less initial cost and running cost than humidifiers such as electric heating type, water spray type, and ultrasonic type, but have the disadvantage of low humidifying capacity. Have. That is,
The humidifying capacity of the natural evaporation type humidifier is proportional to the surface area of the humidifying water, but the conventional method of impregnating the sponge, cloth, etc. with the humidifying water can secure a sufficient surface area of the water. could not.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem of the surface area of water, a method has been proposed in which a hollow body is prepared using a hydrophobic porous polymer membrane and the membrane is modularized into a humidifier. Part (JP-A-60-17133).
7 publication). The hydrophobic porous polymer membrane has a large number of small pores and has a property of allowing water vapor to pass through the small pores, while the membrane itself is hydrophobic, so that water (liquid)
Has the property of not permeating. As a membrane module using this membrane, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, a band-shaped hollow body 1a is formed by using a hydrophobic porous polymer membrane,
An example is a membrane module 6b in which this is bent in a meandering shape to form a multilayer. In the figure, 2 is a supply pipe for supplying humidifying water into the hollow body 1a,
Is disposed at one end side in the longitudinal direction of the hollow body 1 and communicates with the inside of the hollow body 1a. Reference numeral 5 denotes a discharge pipe for discharging the humidifying water from the hollow body 1a, which is arranged on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the hollow body 1a and communicates with the inside of the hollow body 1a. 4 is a hollow body 1
It is a corrugated gap material for securing a flow passage space for blown air when a is a membrane module 6b. By thus forming the hollow body into a membrane module, the humidifier can be made compact, and at the same time, a sufficient surface area of water can be secured. In this configuration, the hollow body 1
When the humidifying water is supplied into a and air is blown to the membrane module 6b, the blown air comes into contact with the surface of the hollow body 1a and is humidified by the steam generated in the hollow body 1a.

As described above, the humidifier using the hydrophobic porous polymer membrane has an excellent humidifying ability as compared with the conventional natural evaporation type humidifier. However, this humidifier has a problem that when used for a long period of time, the membrane deteriorates and water leaks from the hollow body. That is, when the humidifier is used for a long period of time, impurities such as calcium carbonate contained in tap water generally used as humidifying water will adhere to the hydrophobic porous polymer membrane. This attachment causes the membrane to lose its hydrophobicity and causes water leakage. Therefore, this humidifier had a short life. Therefore, in place of the hydrophobic porous polymer membrane, application of a non-porous polymer membrane such as a hydrophilic polymer membrane or an ion exchange membrane is being studied. This membrane has molecular size micropores and has the property that water vapor is diffused to the air side by the micropores. On the other hand, the micropores do not allow water to permeate, so water leaks unless the membrane is damaged. It is a film with excellent water barrier properties that does not generate water. The water vapor transmission performance of this membrane is equivalent to or higher than that of the hydrophobic porous polymer membrane, and therefore its practical application is expected.

[0005]

As described above, this non-porous polymer membrane has excellent properties as compared with the hydrophobic porous polymer membrane. However, since this membrane has a property of allowing water vapor to pass therethrough but not allowing air to pass therethrough, a hollow body formed using this membrane has a problem that air stays therein. That is, even if an attempt is made to inject the humidifying water into the hollow body formed by using the non-porous polymer membrane, the air in the hollow body does not stay and is not discharged, so that the water injection becomes difficult. Further, even if the air in the hollow body is successfully removed and water is injected, the air dissolved in the humidifying water during use of the humidifier vaporizes with the temperature rise and stays in the hollow body. Due to this retention, the water vapor permeability of the membrane is reduced, and the hollow body is damaged by the retained air pressure, resulting in a short life of the humidifier.

As described above, the humidifier using the non-porous polymer membrane has a drawback derived from the membrane. However, as described above, the humidifier using this membrane has the advantages that it has a large humidification capacity, is simple in structure, and is compact, and is also advantageous in terms of cost. Also,
No accidents such as water leakage will occur. Therefore, it is strongly desired to solve the problem of stagnant air originating from the non-porous polymer membrane and put it into practical use.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, has an excellent humidifying ability, can easily inject water into the membrane module, and does not retain air in the membrane module. The purpose is to provide a humidifier.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a hermetically sealed hollow body made of a non-porous polymer membrane and a humidifying water which communicates with this hollow body. A supply pipe, a blower for blowing and contacting the humidified air with respect to the outer periphery of the hollow body, and a humidifier provided with a discharge means for discharging the humidified air, wherein the hollow body is
A structure in which an exhaust member formed by connecting a ventilation member that allows only gas to permeate and a hollow pipe for transporting gas that has permeated through the ventilation member is built in, and the end of the exhaust member is extended outside the hollow body Take

[0009]

In other words, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the humidifier of the present invention has an exhaust member, in which a ventilation member that allows only gas to permeate and a hollow pipe for gas transportation are connected, disposed inside the hollow body. The end portion of the exhaust member extends outside the hollow body. According to this structure, the staying air in the hollow body is taken in from the exhaust member arranged in the hollow body, and is discharged to the outside of the hollow body from the end portion of the exhaust member extending outside the hollow body. Therefore, when pouring the humidifying water into the hollow body, the staying air in the hollow body is
Since it is discharged in accordance with the injection, it becomes easy to inject the humidifying water into the hollow body. Further, even if the temperature of the humidifying water rises and the dissolved air is vaporized when the humidifier is used, the vaporized air is discharged outside the hollow body at any time by the exhaust member, so that the air does not stay in the hollow body. In the present invention, the end of the exhaust member extending outside the hollow body includes not only one end but also both ends. The ventilation member allows only gas to permeate and does not allow water to permeate, so that the humidifying water does not leak out of the hollow body through the exhaust member.

Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the humidifier of the present invention.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a band-shaped hollow body made of a non-porous polymer membrane, the longitudinal direction of which is bent in a meandering manner through a corrugated interstitial material 4 to form a membrane module 6. The hollow body 1 is installed in the blower pipe 7 with its width direction aligned with the longitudinal direction of the blower pipe 7 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface). Reference numeral 2 is a supply pipe for supplying the humidifying water 8 into the hollow body 1, one end of which is connected to the hollow body 1 from one end side in the longitudinal direction of the hollow body 1, Is in communication with.
Further, the other end of the supply pipe 2 penetrates the pipe wall of the blower pipe 7 and extends outside the pipe to supply a humidifying water supply tank (not shown).
Connected with. Reference numeral 5 denotes a discharge pipe for discharging the humidifying water 8 to the outside of the hollow body 1, one end of which is from the other end in the longitudinal direction of the hollow body 1 on the side opposite to the connecting side of the supply pipe 2. And communicates with the inside of the hollow body 1. The other end of the exhaust pipe 5 extends through the pipe wall of the blower pipe 7 to the outside of the pipe, and the opening / closing valve 11 is attached to the portion located outside the pipe. An exhaust member 3 is formed by connecting the ventilation member 3a and the hollow pipe 3b. The exhaust member 3 is inserted into the hollow body 1 along the meander of its longitudinal direction,
Both ends of the exhaust member 3 extend to the outside through the membranes forming the hollow body 1 from the vicinity of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the hollow body 1. Explaining the exhaust member 3 in more detail, the ventilation member 3a has a solid columnar shape, and both ends thereof are fitted into the ends of the hollow pipe 3b to connect the both 3a and 3b. Further, this connection is made by connecting the hollow pipes 3b to both ends of the exhaust member 3.
Are connected so that the hollow pipes 3b are located at the both ends, and the hollow pipes 3b at both ends thereof penetrate the constituent film of the hollow body 1 and extend to the outside of the hollow body 1. The ventilation member 3a is positioned at the bent portion of the hollow body 1 bent in a meandering shape, which is a place where air is likely to stay. As described above, 7 is a blower tube in which the hollow body 1 is installed, and extends in the vertical direction in the drawing. For the convenience of the drawings, the blowing means and the deriving means are not shown.

In this structure, the opening / closing valve 11 installed on the discharge pipe 5 is closed to allow the humidifying water 8 to flow into the blower pipe 7.
It is supplied from the humidifying water supply tank (not shown) installed outside to the inside of the hollow body 1 through the supply pipe 2, and the inside thereof is filled. At this time, the air in the hollow body 1 is introduced into the hollow pipe 3b through the ventilation member 3a, and is exhausted by being guided to the outside of the hollow body by the hollow pipe 3b. Therefore, the humidifying water 8 can be smoothly injected. Then, when the humidified water 8 is filled in the hollow body 1 and the humidified air is blown into the blower pipe 7 from the front side to the back side in the vertical direction of the drawing by the fan or the like, it is generated from the inside of the hollow body 1. The steam to be humidified humidifies the air to be humidified into humidified air, which is led out by a humidified air lead-out means (not shown) provided at the back of the blower pipe 7 and supplied to the room or the like to be humidified.
At the time of this air blowing, the dissolved air in the humidifying water 8 vaporizes as the temperature rises, but this vaporized air also passes through the ventilation member 3a and is introduced into the hollow pipe 3b, and outside the hollow body 1 at any time in the same manner as above. Is discharged. Therefore, even when air is blown, the air does not stay inside the hollow body 1, so that the permeation of steam by the staying air through the membrane is not hindered, and the hollow body 1 is not damaged by the pressure of the staying air. Also,
As described above, since the ventilation member 3a is positioned at a place where the air in the hollow body 1 is likely to stay, the exhaust efficiency of the staying air is high. When using the humidifier, the water inside the hollow body 1 does not flow. That is, when the humidifier is operated, the humidifying water 8 does not need to flow inside the hollow body 1, and the amount reduced by evaporation is replenished in the hollow body 1 by the head pressure of the tank. When the humidifier is not used for a long period of time, the valve 11 is opened to drain all the water in the hollow body 1. In this configuration, for example,
When the membrane module 6 is attached to the vicinity of the outlet of a blower pipe of an air conditioner such as an air conditioner or a heater, it is not necessary to separately provide a blower, and the blower of the air conditioner can be used.

Next, the exhaust member which is a characteristic part of the humidifier of the present invention will be described.

As described above, the exhaust member is constructed by connecting the ventilation member and the hollow pipe for transporting the gas that has permeated the ventilation member. This configuration may be, for example, the following (A) to (C) depending on the shape of the ventilation member.
There are three modes. (A) Connection between a solid cylindrical ventilation member and a hollow pipe. (B) Connection between a hollow pipe-shaped ventilation member and the hollow pipe. (C) Connection between a seal-like ventilation member and a hollow pipe.

FIG. 2 shows a connection mode between the solid cylindrical ventilation member (A) and the hollow pipe. In the figure, 1
Is a hollow body, and 3 is an exhaust member configured by connecting a solid cylindrical ventilation member 3a and a hollow pipe 3b. As described above, by forming the ventilation member 3a into a solid columnar shape, its structural strength is improved, crushing of the ventilation member due to external pressure does not occur, and moldability becomes excellent. As shown in the drawing, the outer diameter of the ventilation member 3a is smaller than the inner diameter of the hollow pipe 3b, the end of the ventilation member 3a is fitted into the end of the hollow pipe 3b, and the both 3a, 3b are connected. Has been done. Further, the hollow pipes 3b are connected so as to be located at both ends of the exhaust member 3. The exhaust member 3 penetrates the inside of the hollow body 1 along its longitudinal direction, and both ends of the exhaust member 3 (ends of the hollow pipe 3b) extend outside the hollow body 1. 8 is
This indicates humidifying water, and the arrow indicates the flow of air in the hollow body 1. As indicated by the arrow, the air in the hollow body 1 is introduced into the hollow pipe 3b through the solid cylindrical ventilation member 3a, and is discharged to the outside of the hollow body 1 through the hollow pipe 3b. It

FIG. 3 shows a connection mode of the hollow pipe-shaped ventilation member and the hollow pipe, which is the connection mode of (B). Reference numeral 3c indicates a hollow pipe-shaped ventilation member, and other parts are designated by the same reference numerals. As shown in the figure, the inner diameter of the ventilation member 3c is larger than the outer diameter of the hollow pipe 3b, the end of the hollow pipe 3b is fitted into the end of the ventilation member 3c, and the both 3b, 3c are connected. . As described above, by forming the ventilation member 3c into a hollow pipe shape, the thickness of the portion through which air permeates is reduced, and the air permeability is improved. Contrary to the above example, a hollow pipe-shaped ventilation member 3c having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the hollow pipe 3b is used, and this end portion is connected to the hollow pipe 3b.
The exhaust member 3 fitted and connected to the end may be used.

FIG. 4 shows a mode of connecting the seal-like ventilation member and the hollow pipe, which is the mode (C).
3d is a seal-like ventilation member. Other than this, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions. As shown in the figure, the opening of the hollow pipe 3b located inside the hollow body 1 is closed by the seal-like ventilation member 3d, and the two 3b and 3d are connected to each other. In this way, if the seal-like ventilation member 3d is used,
The structure of the exhaust member 3 becomes simple.

Next, the hollow pipe and the ventilation member, which are the constituent members of the exhaust member, will be described.

First, the hollow pipe is made of a non-permeable material that is impermeable to gas such as air and water. Examples of such materials include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, nylon, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluororubber, isoprene rubber, butyl rubber, natural rubber and silicone. Among these, it is preferable to use silicone from the viewpoints of durability, processability, flexibility and the like. The size of the hollow pipe is appropriately determined depending on the size and type of the membrane module, but is usually in the range of 1 to 5 mm outer diameter, 0.5 to 3 mm inner diameter, and 10 to 500 mm length. Is used.

As described above, the ventilation member is made of a material that allows only gas to pass therethrough and does not allow water to pass therethrough. An example of this material is a hydrophobic porous polymer. Specifically, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polycarbonate, polyester, PT
Examples thereof include fluororesins such as FE. Also, a sintered body of these resins or the like can be used. These resins or their sintered bodies can be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds.

Next, the formation of the ventilation member using the above material is carried out, for example, as follows. That is,
The above-mentioned solid columnar ventilation member can be produced by filling a hollow tube such as an aluminum tube with the above material and sintering it, and then extracting the sintered body from the hollow tube. Also,
The hollow pipe-shaped ventilation member is, for example, a double tube in which a thin aluminum tube is inserted into a large diameter aluminum tube, and the double tube is provided between the thin aluminum tube outer circumference and the thick aluminum tube inner circumference. It can be produced by filling the above material with the above and sintering and then extracting this sintered body from the double tube. The seal-like ventilation member can be manufactured by filling a molding die of a predetermined shape with the above material, sintering it, and then removing the die. The size of the ventilation member thus obtained is appropriately determined depending on the type of the ventilation member, the size of the membrane module, and the like. For example, in the case of a solid cylindrical ventilation member, the outer diameter is usually 1 to 5 mm and the inner diameter is 0.5 to 4 m.
m, and the length is in the range of 10 to 100 mm.

As the ventilation member, those having the following range of air permeability, average pore diameter and porosity are used.

First, the air permeability is 0.1 to 10 cc /
cm²Sec, preferably 0.2 to 8 cc / cm²
-Set to the range of sec. That is, 0.1 cc /
cm ²・ If it is less than sec, exhaust from the membrane module
It tends to be difficult to perform effectively, and conversely,
10 cc / cm²・ When exceeding sec, humidifying water goes outside
This is because there is a risk of leakage. In addition, this air permeability is
The unit area was measured based on JIS P 8117.
It is a value converted per unit time.

The average pore diameter is set in the range of 0.2 to 10 μm, preferably 0.4 to 5 μm. That is, if it is less than 0.2 μm, the air permeability tends to be low and the exhaust efficiency of the staying air tends to be poor, and conversely, if it exceeds 10 μm, the humidifying water may leak to the outside.

The porosity is set in the range of 20 to 95%, preferably 30 to 90%. This is 20%
If it is less than 100%, the exhaust efficiency of the staying air tends to be deteriorated. On the contrary, if it exceeds 95%, it tends to be crushed by the external pressure and the air permeability may be reduced.

Next, the hollow body which is the main constituent part of the humidifier of the present invention will be described. This hollow body is usually
It is formed in a substantially strip shape to form a membrane module. Examples of the membrane module include the meandering membrane module as described above. A perspective view of the membrane module 6 is shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a band-shaped hollow body formed of a non-porous polymer membrane such as polyvinyl alcohol or an ion exchange membrane, and a supply pipe 2 and a discharge pipe 5 are arranged at both longitudinal ends thereof. . Further, the exhaust member 3 is inserted in the hollow body 1 along the meandering in the longitudinal direction thereof, and as shown in the drawing, both ends of the exhaust member 3 are
The hollow body 1 extends outside the hollow body 1 from the vicinity of both ends in the longitudinal direction. As described above, by forming the hollow body 1 into a membrane module, the humidifier can be made compact without reducing the surface area (water surface area) of the hollow body. Inside the hollow body 1, a spacer 9 for securing a flow passage space for humidifying water is usually provided as shown in FIG.
Has been inserted. As the material of the spacer 9,
Soft rubber such as silicone rubber can be used. Also,
The size of the spacer is appropriately determined depending on the size of the membrane module and the like, but normally the thickness is 0.5 to
It is preferable to use one having a height of 5 mm and a linear convex portion in the range of 0.5 to 3 mm.

Further, as the membrane module, in addition to the meandering membrane module 6 described above, a spiral module 6a as shown in FIG. 6 can be cited. This membrane module 6a
Is a spiral-shaped product in which the band-shaped hollow body 1 is wound into a so-called sushi roll shape with the corrugated spacing member 4 interposed therebetween. The corrugated spacing member 4 serves to secure a flow passage space for blown air in the membrane module 6a. Reference numeral 8 is a mold for supporting the membrane module. Then, if water is stored in the spiral module 6a and the humidified air (dry air) 10a is blown as shown in the figure, it is humidified by the steam generated from inside the hollow body 1 to generate the humidified air 10b. be able to.

Further, examples of the membrane module include flat membrane modules, hollow fiber modules, tubular modules, plate-type modules and the like, in addition to the above two types of membrane modules.

Next, the constituent materials of the hollow body 1 will be described.

First, as the non-porous polymer membrane which is a main constituent material of the hollow body 1, for example, a hydrophilic polymer membrane made of a material such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyether urethane, cellulose acetate, or an ion exchange membrane is used. can give.
Among these, it is preferable to use an ion exchange membrane having excellent moisture permeability and durability.

The thickness of this ion exchange membrane is usually 0.1 to
It is in the range of 500 μm, preferably 0.5 to 300 μm. And if it is in the range of the water content and the water vapor transmission coefficient shown below, it will not specifically limit.

First, the water content is calculated by the following equation (1), and is usually 10 to 250%, preferably 20 to 160%.

[0033]

[Equation 1]

The water vapor permeability coefficient is 5 to 200 g.
/ M ² · hr · mmHg range, preferably 10-18
It is in the range of 0 g / m ² · hr · mmHg. This range is a sufficient range for a membrane used in a humidifier.
The water vapor permeability coefficient is a value obtained by converting the amount of water vapor permeation through the membrane when pure water is used and the conditioned air is blown at a constant linear velocity, in terms of unit membrane area, unit time, and unit vapor pressure. Specifically, pure water at 20 ° C. is supplied to the primary side across the ion exchange membrane, and conditioned air (20 ° C. × 10% RH) is blown to the secondary side at a linear velocity of 5 m / s, It can be calculated by measuring the reduction amount of pure water on the primary side.

Examples of the type of ion exchange group of the above ion exchange membrane include cation exchange groups of sulfonic acid and sulfonate group, carboxylic acid and carboxylate group, phosphoric acid and phosphate group, acidic hydroxyl group and acidic hydroxyl group. Examples thereof include types and types of anion exchange groups such as primary to tertiary amino groups and quaternary ammonium groups. Among these, the carboxylate groups represented by the following general formulas are preferable from the viewpoint of water vapor permeability, water absorption, moisture release and the like.

-COOM

In the above formula, M is an alkali metal. Among the carboxylate groups, the alkali metals having Na ⁺ and K ⁺ are particularly preferable.

The non-porous polymer membrane such as the ion exchange membrane or the hydrophilic polymer membrane can be used alone,
For the purpose of improving the film strength and the like, the film and other materials may be combined and used in combination. In this case also, the problem of air retention in the hollow body occurs. Therefore, in the present invention, “made of non-porous polymer film” is intended to include a non-porous polymer film alone and a composite film obtained by combining the non-porous polymer film with another material to form a composite film.

Examples of the composite film include a polymer composite film of a non-porous polymer film and a hydrophobic porous polymer film.

Examples of the hydrophobic porous polymer film include films made of materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polycarbonate, and fluororesins such as PTFE. Among these, PTFE is preferable from the viewpoint of film-forming property, durability and the like.

This polymer composite film, as shown in FIG.
It can be produced by adhering and integrating the non-porous polymer film 1c and the hydrophobic porous polymer film 1d.
As this sticking method, a method of heating and melting and fusing,
Examples thereof include a method using an adhesive such as an epoxy resin. At this time, from the viewpoint of water vapor permeability, it is preferable to use point bonding that partially bonds at intervals of, for example, 5 to 10 mm, instead of completely adhering and integrating. In the figure, 1b is
1 shows a hollow body formed from a polymer composite film.

Further, the polymer composite membrane and a material that allows water and water vapor to freely pass therethrough may be used in combination. Examples of such a material include woven and non-woven fabrics made of natural fibers, chemical fibers, metal fibers and the like. This compounding also includes a method of sticking by fusion or adhesion. Also, like the above, this sticking is not completely stuck and integrated, but for example, point bonding which partially joins at intervals of 5 to 10 mm is preferable. By this combination, it becomes possible to further improve the film strength,
It has a long life.

Next, a method of manufacturing the humidifier of this embodiment will be described. The humidifier as shown in FIG. 1 can be manufactured using the above materials, for example, as follows.

First, the exhaust member 3 is manufactured. That is,
A material such as a hydrophobic porous polymer is filled in an aluminum tube and sintered. Then, the sintered body is extracted from the aluminum tube to produce the ventilation member 3a. Then, both ends of the ventilation member 3a are fitted into the end portions of the hollow pipe 3b to connect the both, and the exhaust member 3 is manufactured. On the other hand, a belt-shaped non-porous polymer membrane, two hollow pipes serving as a supply pipe and a discharge pipe, and a spacer as necessary are prepared. Then, a spacer and an exhaust member are arranged on the non-porous polymer membrane along the longitudinal direction of the membrane. At this time, both ends of the exhaust member 3 are positioned outside the membrane. In this state, the film is bent in the width direction to cover the spacer and the like. Then,
The edges of the film, or both ends of the exhaust member 3 and the contacting part of the film are bonded with a commonly used adhesive such as epoxy resin. Also,
At the time of this bonding, the above two hollow pipes are attached to each end of the membrane in the longitudinal direction to form a supply pipe and a discharge pipe. In this way, the substantially band-shaped hollow body 1 can be manufactured. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the substantially strip-shaped hollow body 1 is bent in a meandering shape with a corrugated intervening material to produce a membrane module 6.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the membrane module 6 is installed in the blower pipe 7, and the ends of the supply pipe 2 and the discharge pipe 3 located outside the hollow body 1 are connected to the blower pipe 7. Penetrate the wall and extend outside the tube. Further, the opening / closing valve 11 is attached to the portion of the exhaust pipe 3 located outside the blower pipe 7. In this way, the humidifier as shown in FIG. 1 can be manufactured. As described above, the air blower is
Although a fan, a blower, etc. are used, it is not necessary to provide them separately when attaching a humidifier to the blower pipe of an air conditioner.

[0046]

As described above, in the humidifier of the present invention, the exhaust member in which the ventilation member that allows only gas to permeate and the hollow pipe for transporting the gas that permeates the ventilation member are connected to each other is provided in the hollow body. And the end of the exhaust member extends outside the hollow body. With this configuration, the staying air in the hollow body is taken in from the portion of the exhaust member located inside the hollow body, and is discharged to the outside of the hollow body from the end of the exhaust member extending outside the hollow body. Therefore, when pouring the humidifying water into the hollow body, the staying air in the hollow body is discharged by the exhaust member according to the pouring, so that the pouring of the humidifying water into the hollow body becomes easy. Further, even if the temperature of the humidifying water rises and the dissolved air is vaporized when the humidifier is used, the vaporized air is discharged to the outside of the hollow body at any time by the exhaust member, so that the air does not stay in the hollow body. Therefore, the decrease in the water vapor permeability of the non-porous polymer membrane due to the retained air is suppressed, and the excellent performance of this membrane is maintained. Further, since the accumulated air pressure is not generated, the hollow body is not damaged and the humidifier has a long life. Further, if the ventilation member is positioned at a place where air is likely to stay in the hollow body, the discharged efficiency of the staying air can be further improved. The ventilation member allows only the gas staying in the hollow body to pass therethrough and does not allow water to pass therethrough, so that the humidifying water does not leak to the outside of the hollow body through the exhaust member so that the humidifying water is not wasted. Become. As described above, the humidifier according to the present invention completely eliminates the harmful effects of the stagnant air inside the hollow body and sufficiently exerts the excellent humidifying ability of the non-porous polymer membrane. Therefore, by using the humidifier of the present invention, it becomes possible to easily inject the humidifying water and to sufficiently humidify the room at a low cost for a long period of time.

Next, specific examples will be described together with comparative examples.

[0048]

SPECIFIC EXAMPLE 1 A spiral module made of an ion exchange membrane was manufactured as follows.

That is, first, a polyethylene film having a thickness of 25 μm is prepared, and an electron accelerator is used for 10
Irradiated with an electron beam of megarad. On the other hand, methacrylic acid 12
0 part by weight (hereinafter abbreviated as "part") and 0.12 part of ferrous sulfate were dissolved in 160 parts of methanol. Then, this solution was heated to 73 ° C., and a polyethylene film irradiated with an electron beam was immersed in this heated solution for 15 minutes to perform graft polymerization. Then, this polyethylene film is heated to 70 ° C.
The sample was washed with distilled water in Example 1 and dried in air. Then, this film was immersed in a potassium chloride solution (concentration: 30% by weight) at 60 ° C. for 24 hours or more, and then cut into a width of 22 cm and a length of 5 m to prepare an intended ion exchange membrane.

On the other hand, the thickness of 1 mm and the height of the linear protrusion is 1 m.
m rubber spacer was prepared. Also, the average particle size is 30
A PTFE regenerated powder (KT-400H, manufactured by Kitamura Co., Ltd.) of μm was filled in an aluminum tube having an inner diameter of 2 mm and sintered (380
C.), and then the sintered body was extracted from the aluminum tube to produce a solid cylindrical ventilation member. This ventilation member has an average pore diameter of 3 μm, a porosity of 60%, and an air permeability of 5 cc / cm ² · sec.
It has the characteristics of. And with this ventilation member, an inner diameter of 1.5
mm, and an outer diameter of 3.0 mm were connected to a silicone tube to produce an exhaust member. At this time, both ends of the exhaust member are
The silicone tube was positioned. The exhaust member and the rubber spacer were arranged on the ion exchange membrane such that both ends of the exhaust member were located outside the membrane. Then, this film was bent in the width direction to cover the spacers and the like, and then the edges of the film were bonded with an epoxy resin to produce a band-shaped hollow body. In addition, at the time of the above-mentioned bonding, a polyethylene tube having an inner diameter of 5 mm was attached to each end of the hollow body in the longitudinal direction to form a supply pipe and a discharge pipe. Then, this hollow body was wound into a so-called sushi roll shape through a polyethylene wave-shaped gap material having a wave height of 5 mm and a pitch of 10 mm, and this wound body was carried by a polyvinyl chloride formwork. Then, a spiral module 6a having a film area of 2 m ² as shown in FIG. 6 was produced.

The discharge pipe was closed and pure water adjusted to 40 ° C. was supplied to the spiral module. The supply of the humidifying water could be smoothly performed in a short time of 90 seconds. Next, to this spiral module, conditioned air of 40 ° C. and 10% RH adjusted by a dehumidifier and another humidifier was blown by a blower at a linear velocity of 1 m / s. Then, the humidification performance of the spiral module was investigated by measuring the decrease amount of the humidifying water per unit time. As a result, this spiral module is 3000g in the early stage of ventilation.
The humidifying performance was / hr. Further, when the conditioned air was blown continuously under the above conditions, the humidifying capacity after 500 hours was 2500 g / hr and the humidifying capacity after 1000 hours was 2000 g / hr. From this, it can be seen that this membrane module has less deterioration in humidification performance.

[0052]

Comparative Example 1 An exhaust member having only the ventilation member and having the same characteristics as in Example 1 was used. A spiral module was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except for this. It took 280 seconds to inject the humidifying water into the spiral module.

[0053]

Comparative Example 2 A spiral module made of an ion exchange membrane was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. After injecting pure water into the membrane module, open / close valves were provided at both end portions located outside the exhaust member. Then, the humidifying performance was examined in the same manner as in Example 1 with the valve closed. as a result,
This spiral module is 300
The humidifying performance was 0 g / hr. Further, when the conditioned air was blown continuously, the humidifying capacity after 500 hours was 500 g / hr and the humidifying capacity after 1000 hours was 300 g / hr. Then, when the valve was opened, 1.4 liters of air was trapped. From this, it can be seen that the air vaporized from the humidifying water was retained in the spiral module, and as a result, the humidifying ability decreased over time.

[0054]

Specific Example 2 A spiral module was produced in the same manner as in Specific Example 1 except that a hydrophilic polymer membrane (made of polyether urethane) was used instead of the ion exchange membrane. The membrane area of this membrane module was 2 m ² . When pure water was injected into this membrane module, water was injected 90 times.
It could be done smoothly in a short time of a second. The humidification performance of this spiral module was examined in the same manner as in Example 1. This spiral module exhibited a humidifying performance of 2800 g / hr in the early stage of blowing air. When humidified air was blown continuously, the humidifying capacity after 500 hours was 2300 g / hr, which was 100%.
The humidifying capacity after 0 hour was 1800 g / hr. From this, it can be seen that this membrane module has less deterioration in humidification performance.

[0055]

SPECIFIC EXAMPLE 3 A PTFE film was prepared as a hydrophobic porous polymer film. This film has a thickness of 15 μm, an average pore diameter of 3.0 μm and a porosity of 90%. This P
The TFE film and the ion exchange membrane used in Example 1 were point-bonded with an epoxy resin at 2 mm intervals to prepare a polymer composite membrane. Using this polymer composite film, a spiral module having a film area of 2 m ² was produced in the same manner as in Example 1.

When pure water at 40 ° C. was injected into this membrane module, water could be injected smoothly in a short time of 90 seconds. The humidification performance of this spiral module was examined in the same manner as in Example 1. This spiral module is 2000
It showed a humidification performance of g / hr. When humidified air was blown continuously, the humidifying capacity after 500 hours passed was
It was 1600 g / hr, and the humidifying capacity after 1000 hours was 1000 g / hr. From this, it can be seen that this membrane module has less deterioration in humidification performance.

[0057]

SPECIFIC EXAMPLE 4 A composite film was prepared in the same manner as in Specific Example 3.
In addition to this, nylon mesh with a thickness of 200 μm (interval 1 m
m) was fused to the side of the ion exchange membrane at intervals of 2 mm to prepare a composite membrane. Using this composite membrane, a spiral module having a membrane area of 2 m ² was produced in the same manner as in Example 1.

When pure water at 40 ° C. was injected into this membrane module, water could be injected smoothly in a short time of 90 seconds. The humidification performance of this spiral module was examined in the same manner as in Example 1. This spiral module is 2000
It showed a humidification performance of g / hr. When humidified air was blown continuously, the humidifying capacity after 500 hours passed was
It was 1600 g / hr, and the humidifying capacity after 1000 hours was 1000 g / hr. From this, it can be seen that this membrane module has less deterioration in humidification performance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a humidifier of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an exhaust member used in the humidifier of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another configuration of the exhaust member used in the humidifier of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another configuration of an exhaust member used in the humidifier of the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a membrane module of the humidifier of the above embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another membrane module of the humidifier of the above embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing a state in which a spacer is inserted in the hollow body.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a hollow body using a polymer composite film.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a conventional humidifier.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Hollow body 2 Supply pipe 3 Exhaust member 3a Vent member 3b Hollow pipe

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A hermetically sealed hollow body made of a non-porous polymer membrane, a supply pipe communicating with the hollow body and supplying humidifying water into the hollow body, and humidified air to the outer periphery of the hollow body. A humidifier provided with a blowing unit that blows air into contact with the humidifying air, and a discharging unit that discharges humidified air, wherein the hollow body transports the gas that permeates only the gas and the gas that permeates through the ventilation member. A humidifier characterized by including an exhaust member connected to a hollow pipe for extending the end of the exhaust member outside the hollow body. 2. The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation member is a ventilation member formed by shaping a hydrophobic porous polymer material into a predetermined shape and sintering it. 3. The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation member portion of the exhaust member is positioned at a place where the air stays inside the hollow body. 4. The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the hermetically sealed hollow body is formed in a substantially strip shape and is wound in a spiral shape with a corrugated intervening material interposed. .