JPH11257695A - Humidifier with water cleaning function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce cost by passing water through ion exchange fibers to remove ion components contaminating the inside of a humidifier thereby preventing inner contamination. SOLUTION: A compound or polymer, e.g. a compound or amine containing sulfonic acid, carbonic acid or phosphoric acid, is imparted to the surface of polyolefin based or polyester based fibers in order to capture metal ions, e.g. sodium, potassium and calcium ions. In particular, carbonic acid and phosphoric acid capture calcium ions surely through chelation. The ion exchange fiber is employed by 0.1-20 milliequivalent, preferably by 1-10 milliequivalent. It is preferably used in the form of sheet or filter. More specifically, it is placed in the form of a filter on a water injection passage or rested in the form of a sheet on a water tank. It is replaced by a new one after a specified quantity of water is treated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a humidifier having water purifying means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Humidifiers conventionally used for home use and the like are roughly classified into electric humidifiers, centrifugal humidifiers, ultrasonic humidifiers and the like, and others using a moisture permeable membrane. The centrifugal type sucks water by a motor and generates fog, and the ultrasonic type generates fine water droplets by ultrasonic waves, but in order to spray bacteria etc. together, gradually use a heating method and other sterilization methods in combination Methods are becoming mainstream.

In the electric heating method, water is heated to generate water vapor. In this method, ion components dissolved in water are gradually accumulated in a humidifier. In other methods, the water inside the humidifier is gradually lost due to the evaporative action during the unused period, and the ionic components dissolved in the water accumulate similarly.

[0004] The ionic components to be accumulated include metal cations such as sodium, potassium, calcium, aluminum, iron and zinc, and anions such as phosphate ion, nitrate ion, sulfate ion and chloride ion. These components precipitate as salts as the concentration increases. In particular, calcium carbonate or calcium phosphate having low solubility easily precipitates and contaminates the inside of the humidifier, and becomes a hotbed of mold and bacteria, so that measures have to be taken.

A method for removing ionic components in water is as follows.
Although a method using an ion-exchange resin is generally used, in the case of a granular or powdery ion-exchange resin, a low-concentration ion component is quickly used, and particularly in a humidifier for home use or the like,
A water purifying means which has a large removal capacity in a small space and can be supplied at low cost could not be provided.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a low-cost humidifier in which water used in the humidifier is purified to remove in advance ionic components in the water contaminating the inside of the humidifier, thereby preventing internal contamination. An object of the present invention is to provide a humidifier having water purifying means.

[0007]

As a result of investigations by the present inventors, the above problem has been solved by a humidifier characterized by having a cleaning means for purifying water with ion exchange fibers.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail.
Ion-exchange fiber is a fiber in which a compound or polymer having an acidic group such as sulfonic acid, carboxylic acid or phosphoric acid, or a compound or polymer having a basic functional group such as amine is grafted on the surface of the fiber. Is a generic term for Acid groups such as sulfonic acid and carboxylic acid release protons when cations such as sodium ion, potassium ion and calcium ion are present, and capture these metal cations. In particular, carboxylic acid and phosphoric acid groups are chelate coordinated with calcium ions to reliably capture them. When primary, secondary, and tertiary amines are provided, anions such as chloride ions, nitrate ions, and phosphate ions can be captured.

At this time, the advantage that the substrate is a fiber is as follows.
The large specific surface area allows for ion exchange within a short period of time, and the fact that it can be used as a sheet or the like allows easy application to filter materials and the like. If a surface graft reaction to fibers such as a nonwoven fabric is used, sheet-like continuous production is possible, so that ion-exchange fibers can be supplied at low cost. The filter material in which the ion exchange fibers are arranged in a sheet shape removes ions contained in the water to be purified by flowing the water to be purified vertically or parallel to the sheet or by immersing it in water.

As a method for grafting a functional group to a fiber such as a nonwoven fabric, there are a graft polymerization method using radiation, an electron beam, and an ultraviolet ray, and a method of treating the fiber with gaseous sulfuric anhydride.
Other methods for obtaining ion-exchange fibers include treating an acrylate polymer fiber with an alkali or the like, hydrolyzing acrylic acid or methacrylic acid ester on the fiber surface, and obtaining a carboxylic acid group. Many methods are known, such as a method of adding acetylene or the like to a polymer main chain constituting a fiber and then oxidizing the polymer to obtain a carboxylic acid.

As the fibers of the ion exchange fibers, various kinds of inexpensive fibers such as polyolefin fibers such as polypropylene and polyethylene, polyester fibers, acrylate and methacrylate fibers, rayon, vinylon and nylon can be used. The amount of the functional group to be imparted is generally given by the ion exchange equivalent per unit weight. You.

Domestic humidifiers are small in size and require an ion exchange method that is fast, has sufficient capacity in a small space at low cost. Further, since it is necessary to replace the used ion exchange fiber, it is preferable to use the sheet or filter rather than the fiber. More specifically, the filter is placed on a water injection path in the form of a filter, or used in the form of a sheet and left standing in a water tank. Of course, other functions such as an antibacterial action and a deodorizing action can also be imparted to the ion exchange fiber.

[0013]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples, but it should not be construed that the invention is limited thereto without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Example Fine fibers made of polypropylene were weighed at 100 g / m2.
^It was processed into ^two sheets and then applied by an ultraviolet graft polymerization method so that the amount of acrylic acid grafted was 5 mmol / g. 2m ² sheet made of this ion exchange fiber
The mixture was placed in a 2 liter water tank of a heated humidifier having a humidifying capacity of 300 ml / hour. With this humidifier, 300 liters of water having a calcium ion concentration of about 100 mg / liter was evaporated, and the state of contamination in the tank was examined. No deposition of contaminants was found.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE The ion exchange fiber was not allowed to stand in the water tank in the humidifier used in the example, but 300 liters of water used in the example was evaporated. Contamination was confirmed.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A humidifier capable of preventing contamination in the water tank was obtained by simple means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A humidifier having a purifying means for purifying water with ion exchange fibers.