JPH08219506A - Air humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To supply a uniform and stable required amount of water by a method wherein a water feeding tank is arranged at an upper part of each of plates having an electrode, each of the plates is provided with a water feeding passage for feeding water and a water surface in the water feeding tank is kept at a predetermined level during electrical energization. CONSTITUTION: Several water feeding ports 7 with the same diameter to each other at a bottom part of a water supplying tank 4 are substantially equally spaced apart in respect to each of in organic fiber layers 6, a water level within the water supplying tank 4 is kept constant by a liquid surface adjusting meter 8, thereby equal amount of water is dripped from each of the water feeding ports 7. With such an arrangement as above, equal amount of water is distributed to each of the in organic fibrous layers 6. To both edges of each of porous SiC plates 5 are connected electrodes 10, 11, an applied voltage is added to these electrodes to cause current to flow in the SiC plates 5 and heat is generated by their resistive heat. Accordingly, a mere control of the applied electrical power amount enables a humidifying amount to be controlled and a precise humidifying having a superior responsivity can be realized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of an air humidifier in which the amount of humidification can be controlled by the amount of energization.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a method of humidifying air to be treated, there is a method of spraying fine water droplets into a flow of air to be treated by using an ultrasonic wave or a special nozzle. There is a problem, and most commonly, a resin or non-woven fabric having hydrophilicity and water retention properties is used as a humidifying medium, and water is wetted on the medium by utilizing the capillary phenomenon of the humidified medium, or water is sprayed on the medium. A gas-liquid contact type humidification method in which air to be processed is passed through the moistened medium is usually employed in addition to the external conditioner.

According to the vapor-liquid contact type vaporization humidification method, the evaporation amount of water is substantially determined by the wind velocity, temperature and humidity of the air passing through the wet medium. Therefore, if the wet state of the medium is kept substantially constant, the humidification amount is adjusted by the wind speed, temperature and humidity of the passing air.

The vaporization type humidification method in which gas and liquid are brought into contact with a wet medium has an advantage in that the amount of humidification is self-adjusted.
If the load side requires a humidification amount other than the self-adjusted humidification amount, or if it is necessary to humidify at an arbitrary acceleration, there is a problem that this cannot be dealt with. In other words, this method has no other way than adjusting the flow rate of air when it is desired to control the amount of humidification. However, if the flow rate of air is adjusted, not only humidity but also airflow velocity and temperature will change, and this will affect others. For this reason, there was no other measure than steam humidification in a system that required precise humidification control.

Further, in the conventional vaporization type humidification system, there is a problem that the temperature of the conditioned air is lowered because the humidification is carried out by the adiabatic change. Further, in a long-time operation, the antibacterial agent in the humidified medium of resin or nonwoven fabric However, there was a problem that the antibacterial effect was diminished due to the elution, and it became a breeding ground for microorganisms.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have proposed a new humidification method in which the wetting medium is composed of an electric heating element and the amount of humidification is controlled by controlling the amount of electric power supplied to the heating medium. And proposed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-94634. This uses a porous plate with a three-dimensional network structure made of sintered SiC as a wetting medium, and electricity is applied to the plate from the electrodes attached to the edges on both sides of this plate, and at the same time the plate is drawn from above. The idea is to pass water through the body.

[0007]

The humidifier using a wet medium as an electric heating element proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-340041 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-94634 can eliminate the above problems of the vaporization type humidifier. However, because of the fact that SiC as a wet medium simultaneously conducts electricity and water, when it is installed in a building as actual equipment, its principle works well, and at the same time it is safe, stable, and highly accurate. It is necessary that such humidification be performed economically.

In particular, it is necessary to ensure a uniform and stable required amount of water, to compensate for the operating accuracy of supplying electric power according to the load, and to ensure insulation and safety against danger such as fire. The present invention is intended to solve such a problem.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in an air humidifier configured to generate steam from a plate-like body of a porous ceramic by energizing and passing water through the plate-like body. The strips are placed in the air passage in the casing with the plate surface vertically, electrodes are attached to both side edges of the strip, and the required number of strips with electrodes are placed in the casing. The electrodes of each plate are connected to the bus bar via a fuse, and a water tank is placed above these plate with electrodes and water is passed from this water tank to each plate. An air humidifier is provided, which is provided with a water passage for controlling the water level in the water supply tank to maintain a water level in the water tank at a predetermined level during energization.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The construction and operation of the air humidifier of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the embodiments of the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an air humidifier of the present invention in a schematic cross section, and FIG. 2 shows a cross section taken along line II-II of FIG. As shown in the figure, the humidifier of the present invention has a rectangular casing 3 having an air inlet 1 and an air outlet 2 in the front and rear, a water tank 4 in the upper stage, and a plurality of porous ceramic plate-like bodies in the lower stage. 5 is installed.

Each porous ceramic plate 5 has a sintered S
It is a porous plate-like body made of iC (hereinafter referred to as a porous SiC plate). This porous SiC plate 5 contains 9% SiC.
It is a high temperature sintered body of 8% or more and its pore size is 0.8 to 3.0.
mm range, porosity more than 80%, specific resistance 3-18Ω ・ cm
I am using one in the range. Those satisfying this condition have good heat generation due to energization, and good water wettability and water flowability.

The porous SiC plates 5 are placed in the casing 3 at substantially equal intervals in parallel with the air passages, the inorganic fiber layer 6 is provided in contact with the upper surface thereof, and the water supply port provided at the bottom of the water supply tank 4 is provided. Many 7 are positioned above the inorganic fiber layer 6. The inorganic fiber layer 6 is a layer of insulating fiber such as rock wool, glass wool or kaolin wool, and the water supplied from the water supply port 7 is once impregnated into the entire inorganic fiber layer 6. Insulating inorganic porous materials, ceramics, etc. can be used instead of the inorganic fibers as long as they can be entirely impregnated with water.

A large number of water supply ports 7 at the bottom of the water supply tank 4 are arranged at substantially equal intervals with respect to the respective inorganic fiber layers 6, and the water level in the water supply tank 4 is a liquid level controller 8. To maintain a constant amount of water, or if the water supply pressure is constant, install an orifice (shown by 29 in FIG. 5 to be described later) that matches the flow rate at the time of design so that an equal amount of water is supplied from each water supply port 7. Is dropped, whereby an equal amount of water is distributed to each inorganic fiber layer 6.
The water impregnated in each inorganic fiber layer 6 is
Flows evenly into the pores of the porous SiC plate 5 in contact with. Excessive water flowing down from the porous SiC plate 5 is simply stored in a water receiver 18a (Fig. 3) provided at the bottom of a protective cover 18 (described later) covering the porous SiC plate 5, and from this water receiver 18a. The water that flows out is collected in the water receiving pan 9 at the bottom of the casing 3 and discharged from the drainage port 9a to the outside of the casing.

Electrodes 10 and 11 (FIG. 1) are joined to both side edges of each porous SiC plate 5, and a current flows in the SiC plate 5 by applying an applied voltage to the electrodes.
Heat is generated by the resistance heat. The electrodes 10 and 11 are bonded so as to cover the entire area of both side surfaces of the porous SiC plate 5,
It is connected to the bus bars 14 and 15 by means of connecting fittings 12 and 13 provided on the upper part thereof. At that time, a fuse 16 is provided between one of the connecting fittings 12 and the bus bar 14.
When an overcurrent flows through the porous SiC plate 5 or an abnormal temperature rise occurs, the fuse 16 is blown to cut off the current.

FIG. 3 schematically shows this conduction relationship. As shown in the drawing, each porous SiC plate 5 is connected in parallel to two bus bars 14 and 15 arranged in parallel. At that time, one of the bus bars 14 is connected via a fuse 16.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 1 and specifically shows a state in which the electrodes 10 and 11 are joined to the side surface of the porous SiC plate 5. Further, as seen in FIG. 4 and FIG. 3 described above, the SiC plate with the electrode is covered with a protective cover 18 having an opening in the center. That is, each porous SiC plate 5 is covered with a protective cover 18 so as to have an opening 19 in the center so that the wide surface side of the SiC plate 5 is almost exposed, and the electrodes 10 and 11 are covered. is there. The protective cover 18 is made of a material having insulation and heat resistance. Flame retardant silicone rubber is used in the illustrated example. Further, the bus bars 14 and 15 are also provided with a protective cover 20 shown by a broken line in FIG.
21 is covered.

FIG. 5 shows more specifically the equipment arrangement inside the casing of another example of the humidifier of the present invention in which the number of porous SiC plates 5 is increased. In the case shown, humidified air is taken out from the air intake 2 on the front side of the casing 3, and treated air is taken in from an air intake (not shown) on the rear side. A thermostat 22 is mounted near the air outlet 2 to detect the temperature on the outlet side. As will be described later, when the detected temperature exceeds the set value, the power supply is cut off.

Reference numeral 23 in the drawing denotes a power supply box, and the bus bars 14 and 15 are energized from the power supply box 23, but a main fuse 25 is attached between the bus bar 14 and the power supply side terminal 24. A main circuit breaker (not shown) is provided in the power supply box, and controllers such as a thyristor and a PID indicator controller are also provided. When installing the humidifier of the present invention in an air conditioner, a power supply box 2
3 can be installed outside the air conditioner.

The water supply tank 4 is supported in the casing 3 so as not to come into contact with a conductive material such as a porous SiC plate or a bus bar, and a water supply pipe 26 to the water supply tank 4 is provided with a solenoid valve 27. Further, a strainer 28 and an orifice 29 are attached. A ventilation pipe 30 is attached to the water supply tank 4, and the ventilation pipe 30 is open to the atmosphere.

On the other hand, each porous SiC plate 5 is hollowly supported by a supporting member 17 made of an insulating and heat resistant material (trade name: Teflon). Although not shown, the bus bar is also covered with the same Teflon material (or flame-retardant silicone rubber), and is joined to the casing by a Teflon support material so that its load is supported.

FIGS. 6 to 8 show examples of connections for energizing each porous SiC plate 5. FIG. 6 shows an example of parallel connections using AC100V, and FIG. 7 shows a series-parallel connection using AC200V (single phase). FIG. 8 shows an example of combined use wiring, and FIG. 8 shows an example of connected use in series and parallel using AC200V (three phases). In each case, a fuse 16 is interposed for each porous SiC plate 5 as shown in the figure.

Water supply and power supply to the air humidifier of the present invention having the above structure are performed as follows.

[Water Supply] Tap water or pure water is introduced into the water supply tank 4 from the water supply pipe 26. When the power supply for water supply is turned on, the solenoid valve 27 is activated to start water supply, and the strainer 2
In addition to removing the impurities that accompany in 8,
Thus, the amount of water adjusted to the required amount of water per humidifier is introduced into the water supply tank 4. The liquid level controller 8 sends an operation signal to the electromagnetic valve 27 so as to maintain the liquid level within a certain range, and the operation of this electromagnetic valve 27 keeps the liquid level at a predetermined level.

The water in the water supply tank 4 is supplied to each water supply port 7 at the bottom.
Is evenly dispersed on each porous SiC plate 5. At that time, the inorganic fiber layer 6 placed on the SiC plate is
Helps water to flow down the entire surface of the board. In addition, the water not used for humidification is provided by the water receiver 18 at the bottom of the protective cover 18.
Although it collects in a, the protective cover 18 covering the sides of the SiC plate has a function of sucking up water by a capillary phenomenon, and therefore it is also useful for supplying water from the accumulated water in the water receiver 18a to the SiC plate from below.

[Power Supply] On the other hand, the power supply to the porous SiC plate 5 is turned on after confirming that the liquid level controller 8 detects a constant liquid level. . For this reason, the liquid level controller 8 and the power supply device are interlocked. Further, when the liquid level controller 8 detects a level below the dangerous area, the power is cut off.

AC100V or AC200V is used as a power source, and power corresponding to a humidification load is applied in a system using a PID indicator controller and a thyristor. The instruction signal to the PID indicator controller is input from the humidity detector installed on the load side. The PID indicator controller compares the set value with the detection signal of the humidity detector, outputs a control signal to the thyristor in the direction in which the detection signal approaches the set value, and based on the control signal, between the electrodes of the porous SiC plate 5. Apply power. At that time, the protective cover 18 covering the porous SiC plate ensures insulation between the support member and the support member. In addition, the protective cover 18
Leakage can be prevented by sufficiently separating the lower edge from the water receiver 9 of the casing.

The humidifier for conducting electricity and passing water as in the present invention causes an abnormal temperature rise of the porous SiC plate 5 when an accidental trouble such as empty cooking due to water interruption, insufficient amount of water or air volume, and excessive current occurs. There is a risk. Such an abnormal temperature rise may cause a fire. In order to prevent these troubles and accidents, in the humidifier of the present invention, the fuse 16 that detects an abnormal temperature rise of the porous SiC plate 5 or the amount of current and shuts off the current
When the thermostat 22 which is provided on the leeward side near the air intake port detects an abnormal temperature of air, it shuts off the power supply device. Then, the power for the humidifying operation is turned on after confirming that the liquid level controller 8 detects a predetermined liquid level, and if the liquid level is in the dangerous area, the power is shut off. In addition, the fan and the power supply device are interlocked with each other, and after confirming whether or not the wind is flowing, the power is turned on.

[0029]

As described above, the air humidifier of the present invention has an excellent effect that the amount of humidification can be controlled only by controlling the amount of applied electric power. Therefore, precise humidification with good response can be realized. . Further, since the water supply and the electric power supply are performed stably and safely, unexpected troubles can be avoided and the safety standard can be sufficiently cleared. From this, in particular, the humidifier of the present invention can exert great power as a humidifier for a clean room or a large-scale space where precise humidity control is required.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of a humidifier of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing an arrangement state of a porous SiC plate.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway front view showing another example of the humidifier of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of connection between a porous SiC plate and a fuse.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another connection example of a porous SiC plate and a fuse.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing still another connection example of a porous SiC plate and a fuse.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Air Inlet 2 Air Outlet 3 Casing 4 Water Tank 5 Porous Plate (Porous SiC Plate) 6 Inorganic Fiber Layer 7 Water Inlet 8 Liquid Level Controller 9 Water Receptor 9a Drainage Port 10, 11 Electrode 12, 13 Connection fittings 14,15 Busbar 16 Fuse 17 Supporting material 18 Insulating protective cover (for porous SiC plate) 18a Water receiver under protective cover 19 Opening of protective cover 20,21 Insulating protective cover (for electrodes and busbar) 22 Thermostat 23 Power supply box 24 Power supply side terminal 25 Main fuse 26 Water supply pipe 27 Solenoid valve 28 Strainer 29 Orifice 30 Ventilation pipe

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An air humidifier in which water vapor is generated from a plate-like body of a porous ceramic by energizing and passing water through the plate-like body, and the plate-like body is provided in an air passage in a casing. The surfaces are arranged vertically, the electrodes are attached to both side edges of this plate, and the required number of plates with electrodes are installed in the casing via insulators. The electrodes are electrically connected to the bus bar through a fuse, and a water tank is arranged above these plate-like bodies with electrodes, and a water passage for passing water from the water tank to each plate is provided. An air humidifier, characterized in that it is provided with a liquid level adjusting means for maintaining the water surface of the device at a predetermined level during energization. 2. The air humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the plate-like body with electrodes is covered with an insulating protective cover so that most of the area on the wide surface side is exposed. 3. The liquid level adjusting means starts energizing the plate after confirming that the water level of the water supply tank is at a predetermined level, and energizes the plate when a level below the predetermined level is detected. The air humidifier according to claim 1 or 2, which performs an operation of stopping.