KR20090127576A - Portable humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A portable humidifier is provided to maintain uniform humidity in a wide space. CONSTITUTION: A portable humidifier comprises a case(120), a porous ceramic structure(110), a water supply unit(150), a fan(130), and a power unit. An inlet port and an outlet port are formed in the case. The porous ceramic structure is arranged within the case. The water supply unit supplies water to the porous ceramic structure. The fan sends air toward the porous ceramic structure. The power unit is connected with the fan.

Description

Portable humidifier

The present invention relates to a portable humidifier, and more specifically, a small amount of electricity consumption, to maintain a wider space in a uniform humidity, more hygienic, easy to carry and can be conveniently used without restriction of places, fine moisture particles The present invention relates to a portable humidifier that allows a user to feel comfortable by spraying.

There is a growing interest in the quality of air in the indoor environment where most of the time is spent, and its importance is emphasized.

Factors that determine the quality of indoor air are, in addition to odors and harmful gases, room temperature and humidity that can make the room pleasant and directly affect health.

In particular, in a place where many people live in an office or an enclosed space, it is difficult to control pleasant moisture, and according to the sensitivity to humidity, there is a difference in the required humidity for each individual. Therefore, a small humidifier is used for each individual. This is preferred.

In addition, even when driving a vehicle that does not have a separate moisture supply device for a long time can be a great help to a small humidifier convenient to carry and operate.

In general, a humidifier is a device that sucks dry air into the inside by using a blower to discharge humid air.

In this case, in order to supply moisture to the dry air, the humidifier is provided with various means for evaporating or vaporizing water.

Ultrasonic vibrators used in most humidifiers, for example, excite water molecules and transform them into tens of microns of particles.

However, in the case of using such an ultrasonic vibrator, since the size of the moisture particles discharged to the outside is large, it cannot be moved far, and it is difficult to maintain a wide space at a uniform humidity.

In addition, the portable humidifier equipped with an ultrasonic vibrator has to operate the vibrator and the blower, so the electricity consumption is high, and the vibrator needs to be cleaned periodically, and foreign substances may be deposited in the water tank for a long time to release unclean components. Due to the frequent failure of the vibrator has a problem that the life of the humidifier is shortened.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of electricity consumption, to maintain a uniform humidity in a large space, more hygienic, easy to carry and can be conveniently used without limitation of the place The present invention provides a portable humidifier that allows the user to feel comfortable by spraying fine moisture particles.

In order to achieve the above object,

Portable humidifier according to an aspect of the present invention, the inlet port and the discharge port formed case; A porous ceramic structure disposed in the case and having a pore size of 1 μm to 200 μm; A water supply unit supplying water to the porous ceramic structure; A fan blowing toward the porous ceramic structure; And a power supply unit connected to the fan.

As described above, the portable humidifier according to the present invention is low in electricity consumption, can maintain a uniform humidity in a large space, more hygienic, easy to carry and can be conveniently used without restriction of places, fine moisture particles Spraying allows the user to feel comfortable.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a portable humidifier according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a portable humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a porous ceramic structure constituting a portable humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The portable humidifier 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed in the case 120 and the case 120 in which the inlet and outlet ports are formed, respectively, and the porous ceramic structure 110 storing a large amount of moisture therein. ).

In addition, the portable humidifier 100 is disposed in the case 120, the water supply unit 150 for supplying water to the porous ceramic structure 110, the fan mounted on the case, and blows toward the porous ceramic structure ( 130 and a power supply unit (not shown) connected to the fan, wherein the fan 130 may be mounted at an inflow port side of the case 120, and a battery or the like may be used as the power supply unit.

The water supply unit 150 may be detachably mounted in the case 120 using a conventional water tank, and the porous ceramic structure 110 receives water from the water supply unit 150 and stores the water. Some areas are disposed in the case 120 so as to be immersed in the water supply unit 150.

The air filter 140 may further include an air filter 140 for purifying the air flowing into the inflow port of the case 120. The air filter 140 may be electrically connected to a driving unit (not shown) of the fan 130. A control unit (not shown) for adjusting the rotation speed and a humidity sensor (not shown) electrically connected to the control unit for measuring the humidity of the indoor air may be further included.

Here, the porous ceramic structure 110 (refer to FIG. 2) may be manufactured in a honeycomb shape to increase the contact area with the atmosphere.

Portable humidifier 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include an air filter 140 for purifying the air sucked from the outside, the air filter 140 is the discharge port side or the fan 130 of the case It can be mounted on the suction side of the).

Here, the air filter 140 may be a variety of filters, for example, conventional dust removal filter, harmful gas (formaldehyde or VOC gas) adsorption filter, antibacterial filter and the like can be used.

In addition, the air filter 140 may be filled with a filler that generates various aromas, such as aroma or phytoncide.

The humidification process in the portable humidifier 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings.

The porous ceramic structure 110 constituting the portable humidifier 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed so that a partial region is immersed in the water supply unit 130, and thus the porous ceramic structure 110 has a high porosity and capillary pressure. Due to the large amount of moisture contained therein.

At this time, the pores of the porous ceramic structure 110 is very fine because the size is formed of several tens of micrometers to several hundred micrometers, the porosity is very high, corresponding to 40 to 80% of the volume of the porous ceramic structure 110.

 Portable humidifier 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention uses the natural evaporation principle in the porous ceramic structure (110).

The porous ceramic structure 110 includes fine pores as described above, and may contain a large amount of water due to its high porosity.

At this time, since the porous ceramic structure 110 has a honeycomb shape, not only the contact area with the atmosphere is large, but also the specific surface area of the micropores is very large, and the contact area with the atmosphere is increased.

That is, since the porous ceramic structure 110 has a large pore and honeycomb shape, the contact area with the air is increased, so that evaporation is naturally performed smoothly, so that the water can be supplied to the air passing through the porous ceramic structure 110. do.

Meanwhile, outside air is sucked into the case 120 through the fan 130 mounted on the case 120, and the sucked air is blown toward the porous ceramic structure 110 through the fan 130.

At this time, the air passing through the porous ceramic structure 110 contains water in the form of fine particles, and is discharged to the outside through the discharge port of the case 120.

The porous ceramic structure 110 may be rotated by a separate driving unit (not shown), and by rotating the porous ceramic structure 110, the moisture is uniformly distributed therein, and the first porous through the rotation Not only a portion of the ceramic structure 110 but also the remaining region may be submerged in water to increase the amount of water absorption.

In addition, the portable humidifier 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit and a humidity sensor to measure the humidity of the indoor environment, and then adjust the rotational speed of the porous ceramic structure in comparison with the required indoor humidity. The moisture content of the air discharged into the room may be adjusted by adjusting the rotation speed of the fan 130.

Hereinafter, the porous ceramic structure 110 constituting the portable humidifier according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

In the present embodiment, the porous ceramic structure 110 may be a porous ceramic paper having a honeycomb structure including a ceramic plate paper 111 and ceramic corrugated paper 112 attached to the ceramic plate paper 111.

In this embodiment, by manufacturing the porous structure using the ceramic paper, there is an advantage that the mass production and easy control of pore characteristics (eg pore size and porosity, etc.) due to high productivity is possible. Ceramic plate-like and corrugated papers (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "ceramic papers") may be produced using ceramic fibers.

In this embodiment, the ceramic fiber used in the manufacture of the ceramic paper generally has a diameter of 1 micron to 20 microns, and the average length thereof is preferably 0.1 mm to 10 mm. If the length is less than 0.1 mm, the strength of the ceramic paper may be lowered. If the length is more than 10 mm, it is difficult to uniformly disperse the fibers in the slurry, which is a raw material, causing unevenness of the paper.

The ceramic fiber used in this embodiment is a material containing aluminum and / or silicon, specifically, one selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, silica-alumina, aluminosilicate, alumino borosilicate, mullite and glass fiber. Although the above is mentioned, it is not limited to this.

The ceramic paper of the present invention may further include 0.1 parts by weight to 100 parts by weight of organic fibers based on 100 parts by weight of the ceramic fiber. Examples of the organic fibers that can be used in the present invention include natural fibers such as conifer pulp, wood fibers or hemps; And synthetic fibers such as nylon, rayon, polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene, aramid or acrylic, and one or more of the above may be used. Such organic fibers are preferably included in an amount of 0.1 parts by weight to 100 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the ceramic fiber. If the content is less than 0.1 part by weight, it is difficult to maintain the tensile strength of the ceramic paper, making it difficult to corrugate during the manufacturing process. If the content is more than 100 parts by weight, the porosity of the ceramic structure is excessively increased to reduce the strength. There is.

The ceramic paper of the present invention may further include 1.0 parts by weight to 50 parts by weight of the binder together with the aforementioned ceramic fibers and organic fibers. In the present invention, it is preferable to use an organic binder. For example, an epoxy binder, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), polyacrylamide (PAM), polyethylene oxide (PEO), methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, tablets Starch, dextrin, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral, polymethyl (meth) acrylate, polyethylene glycol, paraffin, wax emulsion, and microcrystalline wax.

Such a binder is preferably included in the ceramic paper in an amount of 1.0 to 50 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the ceramic fiber. If the content is less than 1.0 part by weight, there is a fear that the bonding strength between the fibers is lowered, if it exceeds 50 parts by weight, the flowability and adhesion of the ceramic paper is increased, workability is lowered and the strength of the ceramic structure may be lowered. .

In this embodiment, the porous ceramic structure is formed on the ceramic fiber, characterized in that it comprises a primary coating layer containing one or more components selected from the group consisting of silicon, aluminum and zirconium.

The primary coating layer serves as a buffer layer or a primer layer between the ceramic paper and the secondary coating layer, and more specifically, serves to protect the ceramic fiber and to enhance adhesion with the secondary coating layer.

The component constituting the primary coating layer contains at least one selected from the group consisting of silicon, aluminum and zirconium, and more specifically, is cured by silica, silane, siloxane, alumina, zirconia, aluminum silicate, sol-gel process. It may include one or more selected from the group consisting of a compound capable of enhancing the wet strength of the ceramic paper and a curable polymer.

In the present embodiment, from the viewpoint of excellent affinity with the components constituting the secondary coating layer (eg, aluminum phosphate, etc.), the primary coating layer more preferably includes silica or aluminum silicate, but is not limited thereto.

The porous ceramic structure includes a secondary coating layer formed on the surface of the primary coating layer, which serves as an inorganic binder for maintaining the bond between the ceramic fibers. The secondary coating layer includes an aluminum component and a phosphorus component. In this case, the atomic ratio (P / Al) of phosphorus and aluminum included in the secondary coating layer is preferably 3 to 50.

When the said atomic ratio is less than 3, there exists a possibility that a coating layer may not be formed smoothly, and when it exceeds 50, a fiber surface may be damaged and a strength may fall. Although not particularly limited, the secondary coating layer preferably includes aluminum phosphate, and more preferably, two phases of Al (PO ₃ ) ₃ (aluminum metaphosphate) and AlPO ₄ (aluminum orthophosphate) are present in a mixed state. Do.

Another component of the second coating layer may include only an aluminum component. That is, by coating an appropriate amount of alumina sol having a solid content of 5 to 30%, drying it sufficiently at 100 ° C., and heat-treating it at 900 to 1200 ° C., the alumina coating film is formed on the silica coating film formed on the bond between the fiber surface and the fiber, thereby increasing the mechanical strength of the fiber. As well as being formed, the bonding strength between the fibers is improved, and above all, a chemically stable alumina coating film is formed on the fiber surface, thereby providing corrosion resistance to an acid or basic aqueous solution.

As will be described later, in the present invention, by using the inorganic binder precursor solution in forming the primary and secondary coating layers, uniform coating using the capillary effect of the porous ceramic molded body (ceramic paper) is possible. The difficulty of pore control due to the application can be solved. In addition, the binder precursor having excellent reactivity may be chemically bonded to the ceramic fiber to improve the bonding strength between the fibers, thereby imparting excellent mechanical strength to the structure.

The primary and / or secondary coating layer may also further comprise one or more kinds of magnesium, calcium and boron containing compounds in view of further improvement of interfiber bonding strength. The component partially replaces aluminum ions and the like included in the coating layer, thereby increasing the bonding strength of the inorganic binder and improving thermal stability at high temperature.

Examples of the boron-containing compound that can be used in the present invention are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include boric acid. Such components are preferably included in an amount of 0.1 parts by weight to 10 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the components constituting the primary or secondary coating layer, but is not limited thereto.

Each coating layer may further include an appropriate amount of oxide ceramic powder particles such as clay, alumina, zeolite, silica, zirconia and / or titania for the purpose of improving the mechanical strength of the ceramic structure and controlling the pore properties. The impregnation step of the oxide ceramic powder particles may be impregnated with the coating liquid after dispersing a certain amount of ceramic powder particles in the coating liquid during the manufacturing step of the ceramic paper, that is, the primary coating or the secondary coating process.

Looking at the manufacturing process of the porous ceramic structure having such a structure,

Ceramic fiber, such as aluminosilicate or mullite, and a pulp, an organic binder, etc. are mixed, and a ceramic plate-shaped pattern is manufactured.

In this case, the ceramic plate-shaped paper is corrugated to produce ceramic corrugated paper, and the ceramic corrugated paper is attached to the ceramic plate-shaped paper to prepare porous ceramic paper.

The ceramic honeycomb is manufactured by winding the porous ceramic paper in a roll shape. At this time, the diameter of the ceramic honeycomb can be adjusted to match the size of the humidification system.

In addition, the thickness of the ceramic honeycomb should be as thin as possible, but if too thin, the workability is inferior, so 10 mm to 25 mm is appropriate, but this is related to the cell density of the honeycomb and should be appropriately adjusted. In general, if the cell density is high, the specific surface area in contact with air is increased, and the amount of water generated is increased. However, if the cell density is too high, pressure drop occurs, which makes it difficult to discharge sufficient air.

The ceramic honeycomb prepared as described above is impregnated with an inorganic binder such as silica sol or alumina sol, dried and heat-treated at a temperature of 600 ° C. to 1200 ° C. to prepare a porous ceramic structure.

The water absorption and water transfer rate of the porous ceramic structure for application as a humidifying medium are closely related to the pore size, pore distribution, and overall porosity.

That is, in order to achieve excellent water absorption and water transfer to the upper portion of the ceramic structure, the pore size distribution of the ceramic structure should be 95% or more of the total pore of 1 μm to 200 μm or less, and more preferably 20 μm to 150 μm. Or less, more preferably 30 µm to 100 µm or less.

 When there are many pores with a pore size of less than 1㎛, water absorption is made only at the water contacting part, and moisture is not delivered to the upper part quickly, so that the humidification capacity is lowered. The overall strength is lowered, which adversely affects workability.

In addition, the overall porosity should be 40% to 80% or less, more preferably 50% to less than 75%, more preferably 60% to less than 70%.

If the overall porosity is less than 40%, water absorption and moisture transfer are not good, so it cannot function as a humidifying medium, and if it exceeds 80%, the overall strength of the ceramic structure is lowered, which adversely affects workability.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the porous ceramic structure may include at least one selected from the group consisting of cordierite, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, and aluminum titanate.

The porous ceramic structure is manufactured by extrusion method after mixing an inorganic binder, an organic binder, a pore-forming agent, a lubricant and water with powder such as cordierite, silicon carbide, silicon nitride and aluminum titanate.

The porous ceramic structure prepared as described above has about 99% of pores distributed in a narrow range of about 10 μm to 25 μm in pore size, and the overall porosity is 40% to 45%.

In the case of the ceramic structure using ceramic paper, the pore size is distributed in various sizes from small to 1 μm to large to 200 μm. Since most of the pores are 30 μm or more and porosity is more than 60%, water absorption and water transfer are On the other hand, the ceramic structure of the extrusion method using a ceramic powder has a disadvantage that the water absorption and moisture transfer rate is rather slow.

On the other hand, the porous ceramic structure constituting the portable humidifier according to the present invention may further include an antimicrobial coating layer. When the humidification system is used for a long time, water moss or various foreign substances are deposited on the ceramic structure, and in order to prevent harmful foreign substances generated from the humidification operation from being discharged to the outside during the humidification operation, for example, primary coating Alternatively, after the second coating, a photocatalyst such as silver nano or titanium dioxide (TiO 2) may be coated.

The ceramic structure is very porous due to its microstructure, and thus has a specific surface area, which has an advantageous supporting property for immediately applying an antimicrobial coating.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention described above are disclosed for purposes of illustration, and those skilled in the art having various ordinary knowledge of the present invention may make various modifications, changes, and additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention. And additions should be considered to be within the scope of the following claims.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a portable humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a porous ceramic structure constituting a portable humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (16)

A case in which an inlet port and an outlet port are respectively formed; A porous ceramic structure disposed in the case and having a pore size of 1 μm to 200 μm; A water supply unit supplying water to the porous ceramic structure; A fan blowing toward the porous ceramic structure; And Portable humidifier including a power supply connected to the fan. The method of claim 1, And the porous ceramic structure is arranged such that a portion of the porous ceramic structure is submerged in the water supply unit. The method of claim 1, Portable humidifier, characterized in that it further comprises an air filter for purifying the air flowing into the inlet port of the case. The method of claim 1, And a control unit electrically connected to the driving unit of the fan and adjusting a rotational speed of the driving unit. The method of claim 4, wherein And a humidity sensor electrically connected to the controller, the humidity sensor measuring humidity of indoor air. The method of claim 1, The porous ceramic structure is a portable humidifier, characterized in that the pores having a size of 1㎛ ~ 200㎛ more than 95% of the total pores. The method of claim 6, The porous ceramic structure is a portable humidifier, characterized in that the porosity is 40% ~ 80%. The method of claim 1, The porous ceramic structure is a portable humidifier, characterized in that the porous ceramic paper comprising a ceramic plate-shaped paper and ceramic corrugated paper attached to the plate-shaped paper. The method of claim 8, The porous ceramic paper is a portable humidifier, characterized in that it comprises a ceramic fiber and inorganic binder having an average length of 0.1 mm to 10 mm. The method of claim 9, And a ceramic fiber comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of alumina fiber, aluminosilicate fiber, alumino borosilicate fiber, mullite fiber and glass fiber. The method of claim 8, The porous ceramic paper is formed on the paper and the primary coating layer containing one or more selected from the group consisting of silicon compounds, aluminum compounds and zirconium; And a secondary coating layer formed on the primary coating layer and containing an aluminum compound and a phosphorus compound. The method of claim 11, wherein Portable humidifier, characterized in that the secondary coating layer of the porous ceramic paper made of alumina. The method of claim 8, The porous ceramic paper is a portable humidifier, characterized in that it further comprises inorganic particles distributed on the surface or inside the pores. The method of claim 11, wherein Wherein each coating layer further comprises a boron-containing compound. The method of claim 1, The porous ceramic structure is at least one selected from the group consisting of cordierite, silicon carbide, silicon nitride and aluminum titanate. The method of claim 1, The porous ceramic structure is a portable humidifier, characterized in that it comprises an antimicrobial coating layer made of silver nano or titanium dioxide.

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