JPH0824335A - Inhalator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an inhalator, which can start inhalation rapidly, and which is small in size and power consumption and which can adjust the quantity to be atomized. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with a changeover switch 9a able to be switched over in three stages of OFF, half wave load and full load, the 'off' terminal of the changeover switch 9a is opened, the 'half wave load' terminal is connected through a diode (d), the 'full load' terminal is directly connected to one terminal of a heater 13, and an AC power source 16 is connected between the common terminal of the changeover switch 9a and the other terminal of the heater.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steam type inhaler.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a steam type inhaler, water is introduced from a water tank to a heating chamber of a small capacity and steam generated by heating the heating chamber is used in order to shorten the time until the start of inhalation. There is a type to do. Further, in order to further reduce the time until the start of inhalation, two heaters are provided and two heater connections are switched, and one heater connection is switched. Initially, two heater connections are made, and then one heater connection is made. What is switched to connection, series resistance is connected to the heater, and this resistance can be switched between short circuit / connection.
Some switches the power of the heater by switching to the series connection later.

[0003]

The above-described conventional inhaler requires a means for automatically switching the heating capacity, that is, a detector and a switching device, which is expensive. In addition, there is a problem that the amount of atomization cannot be changed according to preference because of automatic switching. Further, the method of using two heaters is expensive, and the method of inserting a resistor in series with the heater has a problem that the resistance generates heat and has a large shape, resulting in wasted power consumption.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to start inhalation in a short time, to increase the atomization amount without increasing the size and wasteful power consumption. The purpose is to provide a vessel.

[0005]

The inhaler of the present invention comprises an inhalation liquid tank for accommodating inhalation liquid, an inhalation liquid nozzle for sucking up and spraying the inhalation liquid from the inhalation liquid tank, and an inhalation liquid nozzle opposed thereto. , A steam nozzle that supplies steam to this steam nozzle, a heater that heats the bottom of this steam tank, a power supply circuit that supplies power to this heater, and a water supply that supplies water to the steam tank. A tank and a switching circuit for manually switching the power supplied from the power supply circuit to the heater into three stages of no load, full load, and half-wave load are provided.

In this inhaler, the heater is not loaded with a power source,
Since the load can be manually switched to three stages of full load and half-wave load, when the power is turned on, the heating of the heater is large at full load, and the suction start can be accelerated. Further, the atomization amount can be adjusted by manually selecting the full load and the half-wave load arbitrarily. Further, the selection between the full load and the half-wave load is made by, for example, passing a diode or short-circuiting the diode, and wasteful power consumption due to switching does not occur.

[0007]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an inhaler in which the present invention is implemented. The main body case 1 of this inhaler is a case body having an upper opening and a bottom, and has a rotatable ejection portion 11 at one end on the upper side. A cover body 12 having a window hole 12a through which the ejection portion 11 protrudes is detachably fitted above the case body 1. Further, the recess 1 is provided at an appropriate position of the main body case 1.
a is provided, and the inhalation liquid tank 8 is provided in the recess 1a so as to be removable. Inside the body case 1 (bottom part), a flat plate-shaped heater (a positive temperature coefficient thermistor) via a support plate part 1b.
13 is fixed, and a tank unit 14 is arranged above the heater 13. The tank unit 14 is a unit that integrally includes a water supply tank 2 that stores water, a pressure adjustment ventilation path 3, and a second heating chamber 4.

A cylindrical cover body (tank cap) 21 is detachably fitted to the water supply tank 2 and the upper opening. A first water passage 5 having a check valve 51 is provided at the lower portion (bottom portion) of the water supply tank 2 so as to project therefrom. Horizontal flange plate portions 22 are projectingly provided on both sides of the first water passage 5, and are arranged on the heater 13 via packing 13a. That is, a small capacity first heating chamber 6 is formed which has the heater 13 as a bottom portion, is surrounded by the packing 13 a, has the horizontal flange plate portion 22 as an upper wall, and communicates with the first water passage 5. Similarly, the large-capacity second heating chamber 4 (the lower opening is provided with the steam nozzle 42 at the upper portion) 4 has the heater 13 at the bottom via the packing 13a. The lower part of the second heating chamber 4 and the upper part of the water supply tank 2 are communicated with each other via a pressure adjusting ventilation passage 3. Further, the first heating chamber 6 and the second heating chamber 4 are
It communicates via a second water passage (pipe) 7. That is,
The second water passage 7 has one end communicating with the first heating chamber 6,
By connecting the other end to the upper part of the second heating chamber 4, the first
The hot water boiled in the heating chamber 6 is sent to the second heating chamber 4. Further, a suction liquid tube 81 is fitted and arranged in the water supply liquid tank 8.
One tip nozzle (intake liquid nozzle) 82 is arranged corresponding to the vapor nozzle 42.

On the front surface of the main body case 1, there is provided a knob 9 for switching between three stages of nose, throat and cutting. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a power supply switching circuit for the heater of the inhaler of the embodiment. The changeover switch 9a has switching terminals for "OFF", "Half-wave load", and "Full load". The "OFF" terminal is in an open state, and the "Half-wave load" terminal is connected to the anode of the diode d. The cathode of d is the heater 13
Is connected to one end. "Full load" terminal is heater 1
3 is connected to one end. The normally closed contact 15a of the thermostat 15 is connected in parallel with the diode d. The common terminal of the changeover switch 9a is connected to one end of the AC power supply 16, and the other end of the heater 13 is connected to the other end of the AC power supply 16. As described above, in the connected power supply switching circuit, when the changeover switch 9a is "off", no alternating current flows through the heater 13 and heat is not generated. When the changeover switch 9a is turned on to "full load", the AC power supplied from the AC power supply 16 to the heater 13 has both positive and negative cycles, and the heater 13 is supplied with relatively large power and heats rapidly. When the change-over switch 9a is turned on to the "half-wave load", the AC voltage from the AC power supply 16 is given to the heater 13 by the positive half-wave through the change-over switch 9a and the diode d. In the negative half cycle,
Since the diode d has a reverse polarity, no alternating current flows. In this case, since the electric power is supplied only by the positive half-wave, the heater 13 is not heated as much as the "full load".

Even if the changeover switch 9a is turned on to the "half-wave load", if the temperature in the tank is still low, the normally closed contact 15a of the thermostat 15 remains closed, and the diode d is short-circuited. Therefore, AC power is applied to the heater 13 from the AC power supply 16 in both positive and negative waves. When the temperature in the tank rises and reaches a predetermined value or more, the thermostat 15 operates and the normally closed contact 15a turns "off". As a result, when the change-over switch 9a is turned on to the "half-wave load", it is given to the heater 13 only for a positive half cycle. In this way, when the thermostat 15 does not operate, that is, when the temperature inside the tank is low, the diode d is forcibly short-circuited so that the heater 13 is supplied with the full load power,
At the temperature at which the thermostat 15 operates, the "half-wave load" can be selected there.

For throat and nose inhalers, a smaller amount of vapor is needed for the nose than for the throat, so use "half-wave load" for inhalation and "full load" for throat. Good to do. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the power supply switching circuit to the heater of the inhaler of the embodiment. The changeover switch 9c has switching terminals for "half-wave load" and "full load", and is a "half-wave load".
The terminal is connected to the anode of the diode d, and the cathode of the diode d is connected to one end of the heater 13.
The “full load” terminal is connected to one end of the heater 13. This change-over switch 9c is turned on to the "full load" terminal side when the nose adapter 17 is not attached, and when the nose adapter 17 is attached to the main body case, the change-over switch 9c is changed to "half". It is designed to be input to the "wave load" terminal side.

The common terminal of the change-over switch 9c is connected to the AC power source 1 through the switch 9b for turning the power on and off.
6 is connected to the other end of the heater 13, and the other end of the heater 13 is connected to the AC power source 16
Is connected to the other end of. In the power source switching circuit configured as described above, when the power source switch 9b is "OFF", AC power is not applied to the heater 13 and heat is not generated. When the power switch 9b is set to "ON" and the nose adapter 17 is not attached, the AC power supplied from the AC power supply 16 to the heater 13 has both positive and negative cycles, and the heater 13 receives relatively large power. And rapidly and to a relatively high temperature.

When the nose adapter 17 is attached to the main body case 1, in response to the attachment, the changeover switch 9c is turned on to the "half-wave load" terminal side, and the AC voltage from the AC power supply 16 is positive. Only half waves are given to the heater 13 through the change-over switch 9c and the diode d. In the negative half-wave, as described above, the diode d has the opposite polarity, so that no alternating current flows. In this case, the heater 13 is not heated as much as the "full load" because the power is supplied only by half waves.
Therefore, in this case, it is suitable for inhalation to the nose.

Next, in the circuit of FIG. 3, the changeover switch 9
A specific example of switching the “nose” and the “throat” of c will be described below. FIG. 4 shows a case where the switch 9c is switched by the knob 9. If the knob is off,
When the power switch 9b is turned off and the knob 9 is set to "nose", the power switch 9b is turned "on", the changeover switch 9c is turned on to the "half-wave load" terminal side, and the knob 9 is turned "throat". ", The power switch 9b is turned on and the changeover switch 9c is turned on to the" full load "terminal.

In FIG. 5, the nose adapter 17 is attached to the main body case 1.
It is an example of a mechanism for switching from "full load" to "half-wave load" when mounted on. The adapter 17 is mounted, and the tip 17a (corresponding to the portion A in FIG. 4) of the limit switch 1
Limit switch 1 through the waterproof cover 19 on top of 8
8 is turned on, and the limit switch 18 substitutes the switching of the changeover switch 9c to the "half-wave load".

FIG. 6 shows another example of the switching mechanism, in which a magnet 31 is embedded in the tip 17a of the adapter 17 so that the adapter 17
When is attached to the case main body 1, the hall element (or reed switch) 32 responds by the approach of the magnet 31 to the hall element 32, thereby turning on the changeover switch 9c to the "half-wave load" terminal side. is there. FIG. 7 shows still another example of the switching mechanism, in which mounting of the adapter 17 is detected by the infrared sensor 33.

[0017]

According to the present invention, since the input power source to the heater can be manually switched to the half-wave load and the full load, the time before the start of suction can be shortened and can be realized by one heater, and the fog can be achieved. The amount can be easily adjusted manually. Further, in the case of common use for the nose and the throat, conventionally, a part of the steam was allowed to escape from the adjustment window when using the nose, but it is possible to eliminate the waste of steam and the trouble of adjustment.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a cross-sectional view of an inhaler in which the present invention is implemented.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a power supply switching circuit for the heater of the inhaler of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a power supply switching circuit of an inhaler showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a switching mechanism of the power supply switching circuit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of a switching mechanism of the power supply switching circuit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing still another example of the switching mechanism of the power supply switching circuit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing still another example of the switching mechanism of the power supply switching circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 9a Changeover switch 13 Heater 16 AC power supply d Diode

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] August 30, 1994

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A suction liquid tank for storing the suction liquid, a suction liquid nozzle for sucking and spraying the suction liquid from the suction liquid tank, a steam nozzle provided opposite to the suction liquid nozzle, and a steam for the steam nozzle. A steam tank for supplying the steam tank, a heater for heating the steam tank, a power supply circuit for supplying electric power to the heater, a water supply tank for supplying water to the steam tank, and a power supply for supplying power to the heater from the power supply circuit. An inhaler comprising: a switching circuit that manually switches between three stages of no load, full load, and half-wave load. 2. The switching circuit forces the full load until the steam tank rises to a predetermined temperature, and when the steam tank rises to a predetermined temperature, allows selection between the full load and the half-wave load. Inhaler as described.