US3105860A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Description

R. L. DUNN HUMIDIFIER Oct. 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 30, 1961 "IRWIN! Illlllillll INVENTOR. Z4. Dd/v/V ATTOE/VEY! R. L. DUNN HUMIDIFIER Oct. 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. A. pdA/A/ AT 7' GENE Y5 Filed March 30, 1961 United States Patent 3,105,360 HUMlDiFER Robert Lyle Dunn, 104 N Marrietta Sh, Verona, Wis. Filed Mar. 3%, 1961, Ser. No. 99,627 3 Claims. (Q. 261-70) This invention relates to humidifiers of the type which are located, for example, in the air stream being delivered by a warm air furnace.

Prior art humidifiers which utilize a plurality of moisture absorbent, evaporator plates in an air stream have not been entirely satisfactory, because of the manner in which the supply of water is fed to the plates. More particularly, these plates would periodically become dry, at least in part, which periodic and repeated drying of the absorbent plates would cause an eventual build up of precipitated lime thereon, which would reduce their capillary action.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a humidifier of the type having a plurality of moisture absorbent plates in the form of sheets of flexible material in which the moisture is supplied in such a way that complete saturation of the plates is insured and drying of the sheets, even partially, is prevented. As a result, lime is prevented from being deposited on the sheets and a particularly efficient humidifier is provided. More particularly, the water is supplied to the upper portion, such as the upper edge, of vertically disposed sheets, which water then flows and is drawn by capillary action downwardly and across the entire surface of the sheets. The excess water then collects in a pan extending across the bottom of the sheets and in which pan the bottom of each of the sheets is located. When the level in this collecting pan reaches a predetermined height, the supply of water is positively shut off and capillary action of the sheets continues to keep them wet by drawing the water back upwardly from the pan. The action is such that moisture is supplied to the sheets from both the upper and lower edges thereof. The downwardly flowing water in effect periodically washes the sheets free of any foreign debris.

Another problem in humidifiers of this general character arises in connection with the deposit of lime on various moving parts of the mechanism. This lime precipitation and accumulation occurs particularly when the water is above a certain temperature and on those parts over which a large volume of water flows. Nevertheless, it is desirable to install the humidifier in the warm air duct rather than the cold air duct because of the greater ability of warm air to pick up moisture. Float operated needle type valves for gradually changing the water flow rate have been used in some prior art humidifiers, and this type of valve mechanism is particularly susceptible to malfunction due to this lime build up on and between the movable parts.

It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide a humidifier which overcomes the above difiiculties. More particularly, the improved device utilizes a float mechanism for actuating a positive on or oil water supply valve, which mechanism is located outside of the warm air duct and in a water chamber wherein water circulation and intermingling with water in the main collecting pan does not take place to any appreciable extent. The float device is not located in the continually changing and warm water, but instead is isolated therefrom, except for a small water communication for actuating the float in accordance with the water level in the collecting pan. As a result of the above arrangement, the water which operates the float remains essentially the same which results in substantial elimination of lime precipitation on any moving parts.

Another and more specific aspect of the present inven- 2 tion provides a valve actuating mechanism of the above type which utilizes a positive on-off type of water supply valve which can be remotely located from the remainder of the humidifier unit. The valve is thereby not subjected to malfunctioning due to build up of lime deposits thereon, as in valves of the type which gradually change the flow rate, and the water supply is either fully on or completely closed. I

With the above arrangement, only the precise amount of water necessary is required and an overflowing of excess water is not necessary for maintaining the sheets in a completely saturated condition.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a moisture absorbing sheet assembly which can be readily removed and replaced in the air duct for complete and easy periodic cleaning of the sheet assembly.

It is still another and important object of the present invention to provide a humidifier of the above type which is incorporated in an integral duct unit for ready application between the warm air plenum and the cold air return plenum of a forced, Warm air furnace. In this manner, a portion of the Warm air being delivered by the furnace is diverted to the cold air plenum after passing through the humidifier. These humidifier units can be readily installed in existing heating systems.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear as this disclosure progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

'FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a humidifier made in accordance with the present invention, and as applied between the warm and cold air plenum chambers of a forced, warm air furnace;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the device shown in FIGURE 1, the duct cover being removed for clarity;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal, sectional view taken generally along line 3-3 in FIGURE 2.;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken through the sheet assembly along line 4-4 in FiGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 in FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view of the operating means shown in FIGURE 1, but on an enlarged scale, but with parts shown in section.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings, panticu-lan ly FIGURE 1, the humidifier unit H is shown as connected between the warm air plenum chamber W and the cold air return chamber R of a conventional forced, warm air furnace F. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to use in such an installation but can also be used in other air conveying ducts, such as, for example, in one which discharges directly into a large area to be humidified and/or heated.

The unit as shown for illustrative purposes in the drawings comprises a generally rectangular duct D, in cross section, which conducts air in the direction of the arrow, more specifically, from the warm air plenum to the cold air return plenum. This duct may be mounted in any convenient location, that is, on either side of the furnace, and has a series of flanges 1 around its inlet opening and -a series of flanges 2 around its outlet opening whereby the duct may be easily attached to the plenum chambers in any well-known and suitable manner as by screws 3. Thus, the duct places the Warm air plenum in communication with the cold air plenum and a portion of the warm air is diverted throughout the humidifier and back to the cold air return plenum.

:The humidifier assembly also includes the evaporator plate assembly PA which is inserted in the duct through the door 4 and is of such size as to substantially extend across the cross-sectional area of the duct. A water supply manifold SM is located transversely across the top side of the duct and by means of which water is supplied evenly across the entire width of the sheet assembly PA, as will more fully appear.

A float chamber PC is secured to the outside of the duct D and is in communication via conduit C with the collecting pan 5 which forms the bottom of the sheet assembly. An electrical, mercury-type switch S is pivotally mounted at 6 in a housing 7 which is secured to the outside of the duct and immediately above the float chamber so as to be actuated by the vertically shiftable float 81ocated in the float chamber. When the switch S is in the position shown by full lines in FIGURE 6, the circuit is closed between the electric wires 9 and 16. The switch S is limited in its downward swinging by a stop 11 on the housing 7. When the float 3 rises to the dotted line posi tion shown in FIGURE 6, the switch is tilted to the dotted line position to open the circuit and de-energize the solenoid operated water valve to be described. Electric wires 14 extend from the mercury switch to the solenoid operated on-ofl" water supply valve 15, and supply lines L1 and L2 lead to the electric power source (not shown).

The water supply valve may be located at any convenient location and remote from the rest of the unit and has been shown here for purposes of illustration as being mounted on a water pipe P from which it receives water. A water supply conduit 16 leads from the discharge side of the valve to the water supply manifold SM.

Then general operation of the unit is that when the water in the collecting pan 5 of the sheet assembly reaches a predetermined level, the water in the float chamber is at a corresponding level because of the connecting conduit C, and the float 8 has then risen to a point where it tips the pivotally mounted mercury switch to thereby break the circuit and cause de-energization of the solenoid 18. The normally closed water supply valve thereby closes, thus stopping the flow of water to the supply manifold SM. Conversely, when the water supply in the collecting pan drops below the predetermined level, the mercury switch is permitted, under the influence of gravity, to fall back to its original position, thereby causing energiza-tion of the solenoid and consequent opening of the water supply valve. Water then flows to the supply manifold until a suflicient amount has filled the collecting pan 5 to again raise the float.

The supply manifold consists of a tubular member 20 which is closed on both ends and has a series of apertures 21 extending downwardly along its lower side. This tube is in fluid receiving communication with the supply conduit 16 and thus water discharges downwardly from each of the apertures 21'. An aperture is provided for each sheet and is disposed centrally along the width thereof, as will appear. The tube 20 is secured by welding, for example, to a mounting plate 22, the central part of which is formed as an inverted V-shaped portion 23. The side flanges 24-, 25 of the mounting plate are adapted to he slid into complementary groove members 26, 27, respectively, which together define a transversely extending slot 28 in the top of the duct. By simply withdrawing the manifold axially from the grooves 26 and 27, the manifold can be completely removed for inspection, repair, or cleaning when necessary.

The sheet assembly PA consists of an upper plate support member in the form of a pan 3t) which has a corrugated bottom, the corrugations extending longitudinally in the duct. In each of the lowermost portions of these corrugations is a slot 31 through each of which a moisture absorbent sheet 32 extends. The upper edges of these sheets are held in the pan by means of the rod 33, one of which is located in each of the corrugations and over which the absorbent and flexible sheets are trained. The lower side of the sheet assembly is comprised of a collecting pan 5 which is rigidly secured to the upper pan by the four corner posts 36, providing an open framework. The lower end of the absorbent sheets are supported in the collecting pan by means of their respective simply by pulling the snugly fitting clamping portions 40 oif the collecting pan edges.

The collecting pan includes a threaded fitting -42 ex-- tending downwardly therefrom by means of which the conduit C can easily be disconnected from the sheet assembly for quick removal of the latter from the duct.

The moisture absorbent flexible sheets 32 are shown for purposes of illustration as being comprised of Turkish towel fabric formed as a loop and which loop passes over its respective pair of vertically aligned upper rods 33 and lower rods 37. The number of these sheets may be varied, depending on the cubic footage of the building to be humidified, and, of course, the means of mounting or material used for these sheets may also be varied. With this particular unit, however, the entire assembly may be quickly removed from the duct and immersed in a clean ing fluid ior complete cleaning thereof.

It will be noticed that the cross-sectional area of the sheet assembly is such that it substantially fills the crosssectional area of the duct to thereby insure complete coverage of the air passing thereby. As previously mentioned, each aperture is located generally centrally of the width of its respective sheet, thereby insuring complete saturation across the width of the sheet. The corrugations securely hold the rods in proper spaced apart relationship, and furthermore act as distributing channels I for distributing water all across the top edge of the sheets.

Resume T he action of the water being supplied to the sheets is such that even the uppermost portion and corners of the sheets are thoroughly saturated. The moisture works its way downwardly over the sheets both by gravity and by capillary action, thereby insuring complete saturation of the entire sheet surface. fills to a predetermined level at which time the float actuates the mercury switch to shut off further water supply. After the water has been shut oil, the sheets are maintained in a moist condition by the capillary action of the water working its way back upwardly over the surface of flowing action of the Water along the sheets acts to flush any foreign material downwardly into the collecting pan, and the sheets are kept saturated and in a clean condition,

thereby contributing to a particularly eflicient evaporator unit.

The float chamber is completely separated from the collecting pan and the only communication therewith is via the conduit C. The water in the float chamber remains unchanged and very little circulation between the water in the float chamber and the collecting pan occurs. As a result, the water in the float chamber is maintained at a much cooler temperature than that in the collecting pan, and the water in the float chamber is not being continually changed. This results in the substantial elimination of any lime deposits in the float chamber. Thus, the float can always act freely, and particularly the upwardly extending rod 50 of the float can always pass freely through the guide tube 52 which is secured to the cover of the float chamber.

The water supply valve is either completely on or com- Eventually, the correcting pan pletely closed and thereby the water is either being admitted full force to the manifold or not at all. There is no throttling action on the water flow and no spraying or dripping of water. This positively acting valve is not subject to malfunctioning as is a needle-type valve found in other prior art devices.

Only the amount of water to be evaporated is fed to the unit and a continually flowing and overflowing water supply is eliminated. The present humidifier requires no overflow conduit or drains for excess water.

The sheet assembly can easily be removed by simply disconnecting the coupling 43 of the conduit C, and sliding the assembly horizontally out the opened door, the fitting 42 sliding in the open-ended slot 42:: in the bottom of the duct. It can then be completely cleaned or repaired when necessary.

With the present invention, a humidistat is not necessary to control the humidity, although one may be supplied as optional equipment, if desired. However, the present humidifier is sized according to the cubic footage in the building to be humidified. For example, in a 10,000 cubic foot home, for a desirable six changes of air per hour and for a maximum relative humidity of 45 percent at an outside temperature of 30 above zero, about seven evaporator sheets of the type described and of a size about 7 inches by 8 /2 inches, would be suitable.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention.

I claim:

1. A humidifier unit comprising, an air passage duct, a series of generally vertically disposed and moisture :absorbent evaporator sheets in said duct whereby air passing through said duct will pass said sheets to pick up moisture therefrom, water supply means adjacent an upper portion of said duct and adapted to supply water to said sheets adjacent the upper portions thereof whereby said water will flow downwardly over said plates, a water collecting pan at the bottom portions of said sheets and in which the latter are located whereby the water in said pan may be drawn upwardly by said sheets due to capillary action thereof, an on-oii water valve for said water supply means, actuating means for said water valve and mounted on the outside of said duct, and a float mechanism including a float chamber mounted on the outside of said duct and having a detachable conduit connection with said collecting pan which places the latter in water communication with said chamber, said conduit connection being located beneath both the chamber and the collecting pan, said mechanism also including a float in said chamber and engageable with said actuating means for causing operation thereof, whereby when the water level in said collecting pan rises above a predetermined level, said float will cause operation of said actuating means to shut off said water valve.

2. A humidifier unit comprising, an air passage duct, a closable door in said duct, an evaporator sheet assembly removably mounted in said air duct whereby air passing through said duct will pass through said assembly to pick up moisture therefrom, said assembly being removable from said duct through said door; said assembly comprising, an upper pan and a lower collecting pan secured together as a unit, a plurality of generally vertically disposed moisture absorbent evaporator sheets extending between said pans, said sheets having an upper portion located in said upper pan for receiving water, and said sheets having lower portions located in said lower collecting pan whereby water moving downwardly over said sheets is collected in said lower pan and then can be pulled upwardly by capillary action of said sheets; water supply means adjacent an upper portion of said duct and adapted to supply water to said upper portions of said sheets whereby said water will flow downwardly over said sheets; and operating means including a float mechanism located outside said duct and for operating said water supply means, conduit means placing said collecting pan in water communication with said float mechanism, and a disconnect coupling in said conduit to permit complete removal of said assembly through said door.

3. An evaporator sheet assembly for a humidifier and adapted to be inserted directly in and removable from the air passage of an air duct, said assembly comprising, substantially horizontally disposed upper and lower pans secured together as a unit, a plurality of generally vertically disposed moisture absorbent evaporator sheets extending between said pans, said sheets each comprising an endless loop, said upper pan having a series of parallel corrugations in its bottom, a slot in the lower part of each of said corrugations and through which an upper portion of a corresponding loop extends into said upper pan for receiving water therefrom, a rod located in each of said corrugations and extending through said upper portions of a corresponding loop to retain the latter in said upper pan, and said sheets having a lower portion located in said lower pan, means for holding said lower portions in said pan and maintaining said loops taut, whereby water moving downwardly over said sheets is collected in said lower pan and then can the pulled upwardly by capillary action of said sheets.

References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 246,781 Jennings Sept. 9, 1881 872,330 Cunningham Dec. 3, 1907 1,132,679 Murray et al. Mar. 23, 1915 1,367,701 Haynes Feb. 8, 1915 1,418,296 Gohmann June 6, 1922 1,928,912 Scherer et al. Oct. 3, 1933 1,962,532 Strong June 12, 1934 1,983,294 Huttenmiller Dec. 4, 1934 2,158,543 Jensen May 16, 1939 2,268,540 Andrews Jan. 6, 1942 2,285,725 Kneedler June 9, 1942 2,303,948 Morris Dec. 1, 1942 2,804,067 Elgin Aug. 27, 1957 3,033,193 Rathman May 8, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 464,147 France Oct. 27, 1913 127,977 Great Britain June 10, 1919

Claims (1)

1. A HUMIDIFIER UNIT COMPRISING, AN AIR PASSAGE DUCT, A SERIES OF GENERALLY VERTICALLY DISPOSED AND MOISTURE ABSORBENT EVAPORATOR SHEETS IN SAID DUCT WHEREBY AIR PASSING THROUGH SAID DUCT WILL PASS SAID SHEETS TO PICK UP MOISTURE THEREFROM, WATER SUPPLY MEANS ADJACENT AN UPPER PORTION OF SAID DUCT AND ADAPTED TO SUPPLY WATER TO SAID SHEETS ADJACENT THE UPPER PORTIONS THEREOF WHEREBY SAID WATER WILL FLOW DOWNWARDLY OVER SAID PLATES, A WATER COLLECTING PAN AT THE BOTTOM PORTIONS OF SAID SHEETS AND IN WHICH THE LATTER ARE LOCATED WHEREBY THE WATER IN SAID PAN MAY BE DRAWN UPWARDLY BY SAID SHEETS DUE TO CAPILLARY ACTION THEREOF, AN ON-OFF WATER VALVE FOR SAID WATER SUPPLY MEANS, ACTUATING MEANS FOR SAID WATER VALVE AND MOUNTED ON THE OUTSIDE OF SAID DUCT, AND A FLOAT MECHANISM INCLUDING A FLOAT CHAMBER MOUNTED ON THE OUTSIDE OF SAID DUCT AND HAVING A DETACHABLE CONDUIT CONNECTION WITH SAID COLLECTING PAN WHICH PLACES THE LATTER IN WATER COMMUNICATION WITH SAID CHAMBER, SAID CONDUIT CONNECTION BEING LOCATED BENEATH BOTH THE CHAMBER AND THE COLLECTING PAN, SAID MECHANISM ALSO INCLUDING A FLOAT IN SAID CHAMBER AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID ACTUATING MEANS FOR CAUSING OPERATION THEREOF, WHEREBY WHEN THE WATER LEVEL IN SAID COLLECTING PAN RISES ABOVE A PREDETERMINED LEVEL, SAID FLOAT WILL CAUSE OPERATION OF SAID ACTUATING MEANS TO SHUT OFF SAID WATER VALVE.

Images