JP7632317B2 - Humidification device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a humidifier.

Conventionally, air conditioners are installed in automobile production facilities. These air conditioners are intended to supply temperature- and humidity-controlled air to the paint booth in order to ensure the quality of the paint during the spray painting process. Typically, water spray-type humidifiers or evaporative humidifiers are used as this type of air conditioner.

A water spray humidifier is a device that humidifies the air by spraying fine water droplets from a nozzle and evaporating the moisture through heat exchange with the airflow. When using such a water spray humidifier, problems can arise such as the need for a water tank to collect excess water and a large pump to deliver water because the rate at which the sprayed water is absorbed into the air is low, and the nozzle can become clogged due to bacterial growth, requiring the nozzle to be cleaned.

In contrast, evaporative humidifiers have a structure in which water is permeated into a humidifying element and evaporated, and are therefore effective in solving the above problems with water spray humidifiers. The following Patent Document 1 describes an evaporative medium used in such evaporative humidifiers. This evaporative medium is made by stacking multiple plate-shaped humidifying elements, and is used while installed inside a housing.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-47731

When using an evaporative humidifier, dirt such as water stains adhere to the surface of the humidifier element, so the humidifier element must be cleaned periodically. In this case, if a layered evaporative media such as that described in Patent Document 1 is used, it is necessary to remove the evaporative media from the housing and then clean each humidifier element. For this reason, humidifiers that use layered evaporative media are disadvantageous in that the workload required to clean the humidifier elements is large.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and aims to provide a humidifier that is effective in reducing the workload required to clean the humidifier element.

One aspect of the present invention is
A plurality of humidification elements having a rolling shape;
a housing for housing the plurality of humidifying elements;
a water supply unit that supplies water to the humidification element housed in the housing;
Equipped with
a humidifier device, wherein the container has a ventilation opening that connects the container space with the outside, an outlet for discharging the humidifying element from the container space, and an inclined surface provided on a bottom surface so that the outlet is at a lowest point , and the humidifying element is discharged from the container space through the outlet while rolling down the inclined surface due to gravity;
is located.

In the humidifier of the above aspect, multiple humidifying elements are housed in a housing, and water is supplied to the humidifying elements from a water supply unit during air conditioning. When the humidifying elements are in a water-absorbed state, an airflow is formed in the ventilation opening of the housing, causing humidified air to flow from the housing space to the outside. Humidified air, which has a higher humidity than the air before humidification, flows out of the housing to the outside. This allows the air-conditioning environment outside the housing to be appropriately adjusted.

The humidifying element housed in the storage space of the housing is configured to be discharged from the storage space through the outlet while rolling due to gravity. With this configuration, when cleaning the humidifying element, the humidifying element housed in the storage space of the housing can be continuously discharged and collected through the outlet by its own weight. Therefore, the operation of discharging the humidifying element from the housing can be easily performed without requiring power for discharge or extra labor or effort.

As described above, the above-mentioned aspects provide a humidifier that is effective in reducing the workload required to clean the humidifier element.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an air conditioner according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the humidifier according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross-sectional structure of a housing of the humidifier of FIG. 2 . 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross-sectional structure of a conveying section of the humidifier of FIG. 2 . FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the container of FIG. 3 during air conditioning. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the container in FIG. 3 during collection and cleaning.

Preferred embodiments of the above aspects are described below.

In the humidifier of the above aspect, it is preferable that the container has an opening/closing member capable of opening and closing the exhaust port.

With this humidifier, the outlet of the housing is closed by the opening and closing member during air conditioning, and the opening and closing member opens the outlet of the housing during collection and cleaning, allowing the humidifier element to be collected.

In the humidifier of the above aspect, it is preferable that the water supply unit has a plurality of water supply pipes arranged in different areas of the storage space of the storage body, and is configured to be able to supply water independently to each of the plurality of water supply pipes.

This humidifier allows the amount of humidification outside the housing to be adjusted by independently supplying water from each of the multiple water supply pipes in the water supply section to the housing space, making it possible to finely adjust the air conditioning performance.

In the humidifier of the above aspect, it is preferable that a cleaning tray is provided for cleaning the humidifier element, the cleaning tray is provided at a lower position than the discharge port of the housing, and the humidifier element discharged from the storage space of the housing through the discharge port is moved into the cleaning tray by its own weight.

When the humidifying element stored in the storage space of the storage body is discharged through the discharge port, it falls directly into the cleaning tray under its own weight. This allows the humidifying element collected in the cleaning tray to be quickly cleaned directly in the cleaning tray.

In the humidifier of the above aspect, the housing has an insertion port for inserting the humidification element into the housing space,
It is preferable to provide a transport device that transports the humidification element transferred into the cleaning tray back to the container from the input port.

With this humidification device, after cleaning is completed in the cleaning tray, the humidification elements can be transported from the cleaning tray to the inlet of the container by the transport device. This makes it possible to automatically return the cleaned humidification elements from the cleaning tray to the container using the transport device.

In the humidifier of the above aspect, the conveying device includes a conveying member having a screw blade spirally arranged around an axis, a cylindrical housing that accommodates the conveying member, and a drive unit that drives the conveying member to rotate around the axis,
The housing has an inlet opening for receiving the humidifier element and an outlet opening for discharging the humidifier element;
It is preferable that the conveying device is configured to convey the humidification element received from the inlet opening of the housing to the outlet opening while sliding against the screw blades of the conveying member when the drive unit rotates the conveying member.

With this humidifier, the humidifier element introduced through the inlet opening of the housing is transported to the outlet opening of the housing by the transport member while the drive unit of the transport device rotates and drives the transport member. At this time, the humidifier element slides against the screw blade, so that dirt such as limescale remaining on the surface of the humidifier element can be physically removed by the screw blade. This allows the humidifier element to be washed not only in the cleaning tray but also in the transport device, increasing the degree of cleaning of the humidifier element.

In the humidifier of the above aspect, it is preferable that the transport device is provided with a cleaning brush inside the cylinder of the housing, and is configured to bring the humidifier element into contact with the cleaning brush when transported by the transport member.

This humidifier improves the cleaning condition of the humidifier element by bringing a cleaning brush into physical contact with the humidifier element being transported by the transport member inside the cylindrical housing of the transport device. For example, the cleaning brush can efficiently remove dirt such as limescale that remains on the surface of the humidifier element and cannot be removed by the sliding between the screw blades of the transport member and the humidifier element.

The following describes a specific embodiment of the humidifier described above with reference to the drawings.

In the drawings illustrating this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the height direction of the container constituting the humidifier when it is placed on a horizontal surface is indicated by arrow X, the horizontal direction in which air passes through the container is indicated by arrow Y, and the direction perpendicular to both the height direction and horizontal direction of the container is indicated by arrow Z.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in Fig. 1, an air conditioner 101 according to the first embodiment is used in a paint booth B in a painting process in which an automobile-related product W is painted. In the paint booth B, a part of the air is exhausted to the outside by an exhaust fan 3 to prevent volatilized organic solvents from concentrating. Therefore, the air conditioner 101 is configured to take in fresh outside air, condition it, and then supply air to the paint booth B by an air supply fan 2 in order to make up for the shortage of air caused by the exhaust in the paint booth B. The air conditioner 101 includes a humidifier 1 and, although not shown, includes a heating section that heats the air and a cooling section that cools the air.

As shown in FIG. 2, the humidifier 1 of the first embodiment is an evaporation type that uses humidifier elements 10. The humidifier 1 includes a plurality of humidifier elements 10, a container 20, a water supply unit 30, a cleaning device 40, and a transport device 50.

The humidifying element 10 is a humidifying component used to increase the humidity in the air. The humidifying element 10 has water absorbency, which allows it to absorb and retain water, and transpiration, which allows the absorbed water to evaporate. In this embodiment, the humidifying element 10 is spherical and has a shape that allows it to roll. There are no particular limitations on the material of the humidifying element 10, but typically, it is preferable to use a resin material or a fiber material that has water absorbency and transpiration properties and is easy to roll.

The humidifying elements 10 may be not only spherical, but may also be polyhedral, close to a sphere, etc., as long as they have a shape that allows them to roll. All of the multiple humidifying elements 10 may have the same shape, or the multiple humidifying elements 10 may include humidifying elements 10 of different shapes.

(Container Structure)
2 illustrates an example in which a rectangular parallelepiped housing 20 is installed on a horizontal surface. The housing 20 is a main body case that houses a plurality of humidifying elements 10. The housing 20 has a housing space 21 for the humidifying elements 10, a retaining fence 22 provided on both side wall portions in the second direction Y, an inlet 25 formed in an opening in an upper wall portion in the first direction X, and an outlet 26 formed in an opening in one side wall portion in the third direction Z.

In this embodiment, the humidifying element 10 is accommodated in almost the entire area of the storage space 21 of the housing body 20 in the three directions X, Y, and Z. However, in FIG. 2, for the sake of convenience, in order to clarify the internal structure of the storage space 21 of the housing body 20, the humidifying element 10 is shown accommodated only in the lower area of the storage space 21 of the housing body 20 in the height direction X.

The retaining fence 22 of the housing 20 is configured by arranging a number of shaft portions 23, each of which extends in the first direction X, in the third direction Z at intervals 24. At this time, the interval 24 between two adjacent shaft portions 23 is dimensioned so as to prevent the passage of the humidifying element 10. This interval 24 serves as a ventilation opening that connects the storage space 21 of the housing 20 with the outside. For this reason, hereinafter, this interval 24 will be described as the ventilation opening 24.

The inlet 25 of the housing 20 is an opening for inserting the humidifying elements 10 into the housing space 21, and has an opening shape that allows the humidifying elements 10 to pass through. A plurality of humidifying elements 10 are inserted through this inlet 25 to fill the housing space 21. At this time, the size of the housing space 21 of the housing 20 is appropriately set according to the dimensions and number of the humidifying elements 10 to be used.

The exhaust port 26 of the housing 20 is an opening for discharging the humidifying element 10 from the housing space 21, and has an opening shape that allows the humidifying element 10 to pass through. This exhaust port 26 is preferably provided at the lowest point of the side wall portion so that the humidifying element 10 can be smoothly discharged from the housing space 21 by its own weight.

The container 20 has an opening/closing member 27 as an opening/closing door capable of opening and closing the exhaust port 26. The opening/closing member 27 has a pivoting opening/closing structure and is connected to the lower end of the container 20 via a hinge portion 27a (see FIG. 3). Therefore, the exhaust port 26 is closed or opened by the opening/closing member 27 pivoting about the hinge portion 27a. When the opening/closing member 27 is in a closed position that closes the exhaust port 26, the opening/closing member 27 prevents the humidifying element 10 from being discharged through the exhaust port 26. On the other hand, when the opening/closing member 27 is in an open position that opens the exhaust port 26, the multiple humidifying elements 10 are sequentially discharged through the exhaust port 26 by their own weight.

The opening and closing structure of the opening and closing member 27 is not limited to a rotating type, but may be a sliding type. The opening and closing operation of the opening and closing member 27 may be performed automatically by an actuator or the like, or may be performed manually by an operator holding the opening and closing member 27.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom surface of the housing 20 is provided with an inclined surface 20a that is inclined so that the outlet 26 is at the lowest point. Therefore, the multiple humidifying elements 10 roll in the housing space 21 due to gravity and gather near the outlet 26, and are discharged through this outlet 26 in succession.

Of the two retaining fences 22 of the housing 20, the one located closer to the intake fan 2 (see FIG. 1) is the downstream retaining fence 22, and the other is the upstream retaining fence 22. Therefore, the ventilation opening 24 provided in the upstream retaining fence 22 is the inlet ventilation opening 24A, and the ventilation opening 24 provided in the downstream retaining fence 22 is the outlet ventilation opening 24B. When the intake fan 2 is operating, an air flow is formed in the housing space 21 of the housing 20 from the ventilation opening 24A toward the ventilation opening 24B.

(Structure of water supply section)
2 , the water supply unit 30 has a function of supplying water to the multiple humidification elements 10 housed in the housing space 21 of the housing body 20. This water supply unit 30 includes three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33, three solenoid valves 35, a common pipe 36, an auxiliary pump 37, a flow rate adjustment valve 38, and a pressure gauge 39.

The three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33 are configured so that their downstream portions in the water flow direction are arranged in the storage space 21 of the storage body 20. The downstream portion of the first water supply pipe 31 is arranged in the lower region of the storage space 21 in the first direction X. The downstream portion of the third water supply pipe 33 is arranged in the upper region of the storage space 21 in the first direction X. The downstream portion of the second water supply pipe 32 is arranged in the intermediate region between the first water supply pipe 31 and the third water supply pipe 33 in the first direction X of the storage space 21. In this way, the downstream portions of the three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33 are arranged in different regions of the storage space 21 of the storage body 20.

Each solenoid valve 35 is provided on the upstream side of each of the three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33 so as to be able to open and close the flow path. The common pipe 36 is a common pipe connected to the upstream ends of the three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33. Therefore, pressurized water can flow into each of the three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33 through the common pipe 36.

When all three solenoid valves 35 are open, water is supplied in parallel from the common pipe 36 to the three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33. When all three solenoid valves 35 are closed, the supply of water from the common pipe 36 to the three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33 is stopped. When only a selected part of the solenoid valves 35 is open, water is supplied from the common pipe 36 only to the water supply pipe among the three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33 that corresponds to this selected solenoid valve 35. In this way, the water supply unit 30 is configured to be able to supply water independently to each of the three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33.

The auxiliary pump 37 is connected to the common pipe 36. This auxiliary pump 37 is a backup pump that is used when the water pressure of the common pipe 36 that is connected to the water supply source is insufficient. At this time, the water pressure of the common pipe 36 is detected by a pressure gauge 39. The flow rate adjustment valve 38 is provided in the common pipe 36. This flow rate adjustment valve 38 is configured to be able to adjust the flow rate of water flowing through the common pipe 36.

3, the first water supply pipe 31 is branched into three branch pipes 31a whose downstream portion extends parallel to each other in the third direction Z. Like the first water supply pipe 31, the second water supply pipe 32 is branched into three branch pipes 32a whose downstream portion extends parallel to each other in the third direction Z, and the third water supply pipe 33 is branched into three branch pipes 33a whose downstream portion extends parallel to each other in the third direction Z. Each of the branch pipes 31a, 32a, and 33a is provided with a plurality of water injection holes 34, and water is injected from the plurality of water injection holes 34 into the storage space 21. The water injected from the plurality of water injection holes 34 is supplied to the plurality of humidification elements 10 housed in the storage space 21 and absorbed by the plurality of humidification elements 10.

The number of water supply pipes and branch pipes constituting the water supply unit 30 is not limited to those shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and can be changed as appropriate as necessary. In order to supply water as evenly as possible to the multiple humidification elements 10, it is preferable to increase the number of water supply pipes and branch pipes.

(Structure of the cleaning device)
2, the cleaning device 40 is a device for collecting and cleaning a plurality of humidification elements 10 that have been used for humidification. The cleaning device 40 includes a cleaning tray 41 and a chemical tank 42.

The cleaning tray 41 is a container used for cleaning the humidifying elements 10. This cleaning tray 41 is provided directly below the discharge port 26, which is lower than the discharge port 26 of the housing 20. Therefore, the humidifying elements 10 discharged from the storage space 21 of the housing through the discharge port 26 are moved into the cleaning tray 41 by their own weight. This allows multiple humidifying elements 10 to be collected in the cleaning tray 41.

The chemical tank 42 is a tank that stores cleaning chemicals. The chemicals stored in this chemical tank 42 are supplied into the cleaning tray 41 through the supply pipe 42a as needed. This allows the multiple humidification elements 10 collected in the cleaning tray 41 to be chemically cleaned with the chemicals. The post-cleaning waste liquid that accumulates in the cleaning tray 41 is discharged through the outflow pipe 41b.

The cleaning tray 41 is preferably configured so that its bottom surface 41a slopes downward toward the entrance opening 52a of the housing 52 of the transport device 50 described below. This allows the humidification elements 10 that have completed cleaning to be guided along the bottom surface 41a of the cleaning tray 41 to the entrance opening 52a of the housing 52.

In addition, when cleaning the multiple humidification elements 10 collected in the cleaning tray 41, a physical cleaning process using a cleaning brush or the like may be used in addition to or instead of a chemical cleaning process using chemicals.

(Structure of the conveying device)
2, the transport device 50 is a device for transporting the multiple humidification elements 10 that have been transferred into the cleaning tray 41 back to the housing 20 from the input port 25. This transport device 50 is called a "screw conveyor" and includes a transport member 51 having a screw blade 51b (see FIG. 4), a housing 52, a drive unit 53, and an input tray 54.

The housing 52 is a cylindrical member that houses the conveying member 51. The housing 52 is arranged so that the first direction X is the cylindrical axis direction. The housing 52 has an inlet opening 52a at its lower end in the first direction X for receiving the humidifying element 10, and an outlet opening 52b at its upper end in the first direction X for discharging the humidifying element 10.

In addition, an injection tube 52c for injecting cleaning water is provided between the upper end and the lower end of the housing 52 in the first direction X. When the humidifying element 10 is transported inside the cylindrical housing 52 by the transport member 51, the humidifying element 10 is cleaned by the cleaning water injected from the injection tube 52c.

The drive unit 53 has the function of rotating the conveying member 51 around the axis of the rotation shaft 51a. In this embodiment, the drive unit 53 is disposed above the housing 52 and is connected to the rotation shaft 51a of the conveying member 51.

The input tray 54 has a bottom surface 55 that communicates with the outlet opening 52b of the housing 52 and slopes downward to the input port 25 of the storage body 20, and a side wall 56 that is erected to surround the bottom surface 55. Therefore, the humidifying element 10 discharged from the outlet opening 52b of the housing 52 rolls on the bottom surface 55 of the input tray 54 toward the input port 25 of the storage body 20. Then, the humidifying element 10 that has reached the input port 25 of the storage body 20 moves into the storage space 21 through the input port 25. At this time, the side wall 56 prevents the humidifying element 10 from moving to a position outside the bottom surface 55 of the input tray 54.

As shown in FIG. 4, the conveying member 51 has a screw blade 51b that is spirally arranged around the axis of the rotating shaft 51a. As a result, when the drive unit 53 rotates the conveying member 51 in the first direction D, the conveying device 50 is configured to convey the humidifying element 10 received from the inlet opening 52a of the housing 52 to the outlet opening 52b while sliding against the screw blade 51b of the conveying member 51.

The conveying device 50 is provided with a cleaning brush 57 inside the cylindrical housing 52, and is configured to bring the humidifying element 10 into contact with the cleaning brush 57 when it is conveyed by the conveying member 51.

Next, with reference to Figures 5 and 6, we will explain the state of the humidifier 1 configured as above during air conditioning and during collection and cleaning.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the humidifier 1, multiple humidifier elements 10 are housed in the housing space 21 of the housing 20, and water is supplied to the humidifier elements 10 from three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33 of the water supply unit 30 during air conditioning. When the humidifier elements 10 are in a water-absorbing state, an airflow is formed in the ventilation opening 24 of the housing 20, and the humidified air flows from the housing space 21 of the housing 20 to the outside. At this time, the humidified air, which has a higher humidity than the air before humidification, flows out from the housing 20 to the outside. This allows the air-conditioning environment outside the housing 20 to be appropriately adjusted.

As shown in FIG. 6, when cleaning the multiple humidifying elements 10 in the humidifying device 1, first, the three solenoid valves 35 (see FIG. 2) of the water supply unit 30 are controlled to a closed state to stop the supply of water from the three water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33. After that, the outlet 26 of the housing 20 is opened by the opening and closing member 27. At this time, the humidifying elements 10 housed in the housing space 21 of the housing 20 are discharged from the housing space 21 through the outlet 26 while rolling according to gravity, and are collected as they are in the cleaning tray 41 located directly below the outlet 26. As a result, the humidifying elements 10 housed in the housing space 21 of the housing 20 can be continuously discharged and collected from the outlet 26 by their own weight. If the humidifying elements 10 are discharged from the outlet 26 by their own weight, the operation of collecting the humidifying elements 10 from the housing 20 can be easily performed without requiring power for discharge, extra labor, or effort.

The multiple humidification elements 10 collected in the cleaning tray 41 are cleaned in the cleaning tray 41. The multiple humidification elements 10 that have been cleaned are then reloaded from the cleaning tray 41 into the storage space 21 of the storage body 20 using the transport device 50.

As described above, according to the humidifier 1 of the first embodiment, when cleaning the humidifier element 10, the humidifier element 10 can be discharged from the outlet 26 of the housing 20 by its own weight, so that the workload required for cleaning the humidifier element 10 can be reduced. For example, compared to a stacked structure in which multiple plate-shaped humidifier elements are stacked and installed inside the housing, the humidifier element 10 can be easily collected.

According to the humidifier 1 of the first embodiment, the exhaust port 26 of the housing 20 is closed by the opening/closing member 27 during air conditioning, while the exhaust port 26 of the housing 20 is opened by the opening/closing member 27 during collection and cleaning, allowing the collection operation of the humidifier element 10 to be performed.

According to the humidifier 1 of the first embodiment, the amount of humidification outside the housing 20 can be adjusted by independently supplying water from each of the multiple water supply pipes 31, 32, and 33 of the water supply unit 30 to the housing space 21 of the housing 20, making it possible to finely adjust the air conditioning performance.

According to the humidifier 1 of the first embodiment, when the humidifier elements 10 housed in the housing space 21 of the housing body 20 are discharged through the discharge port 26, they are transferred directly into the cleaning tray 41 by their own weight. Therefore, the humidifier elements 10 collected in the cleaning tray 41 can be quickly cleaned directly in the cleaning tray 41.

According to the humidifier 1 of the first embodiment, after cleaning is completed in the cleaning tray 41, the humidifier elements 10 can be transported from the cleaning tray 41 to the inlet 25 of the storage body 20 by the transport device 50. Therefore, the task of returning the cleaned humidifier elements 10 from the cleaning tray 41 to the storage body 20 can be performed automatically using the transport device 50.

According to the humidifier 1 of the first embodiment, while the drive unit 53 of the conveying device 50 rotates and drives the conveying member 51, the humidifying element 10 introduced from the inlet opening 52a of the housing 52 is conveyed to the outlet opening 52b of the housing 52 by the conveying member 51. At this time, the humidifying element 10 slides against the screw blade 51b, so that dirt such as water stains remaining on the surface of the humidifying element 10 can be physically removed by the screw blade 51b. As a result, the humidifying element 10 can be cleaned not only by the cleaning tray 41 but also by the conveying device 50, so that the degree of cleaning of the humidifying element 10 can be increased.

According to the humidifier 1 of the first embodiment, the cleaning condition of the humidifier element 10 can be improved by bringing the cleaning brush 57 into physical contact with the humidifier element 10 being transported by the transport member 51 inside the cylindrical housing 52 of the transport device 50. For example, the cleaning brush 57 can efficiently remove dirt such as limescale that remains on the surface of the humidifier element 10 and cannot be removed by the sliding between the screw blades 51b of the transport member 51 and the humidifier element 10.

The humidifier 1 of the first embodiment is advantageous in that it does not require a water tank to receive excess water or a large pump to deliver water, as is the case with water spray humidifiers, and does not require cleaning of the nozzle.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and its modified examples, and various applications and modifications are possible without departing from the purpose of the present invention. For example, the following forms can be implemented by applying the above-described embodiment and its modified examples.

In the above embodiment, a case has been illustrated in which multiple humidifying elements 10 are sequentially discharged through the discharge port 26 by their own weight when the opening/closing member 27 is in the open position, but a push-out member (not shown) may be additionally provided to facilitate the discharge of multiple humidifying elements 10. By pressing the humidifying elements 10 via this push-out member, it is possible to assist the discharge of the humidifying elements 10.

In the above embodiment, an example was given of a case where the housing 20 is provided with an opening/closing member 27 capable of opening and closing the exhaust port 26. However, for example, when adopting a structure in which air conditioning is performed while the humidifying element 10 is continuously discharged from the exhaust port 26, the opening/closing member 27 may be omitted and the exhaust port 26 may be kept open at all times.

In the above embodiment, a case where what is called a screw conveyor is used as the conveying device 50 is illustrated, but what is called a belt conveyor can also be used instead of the screw conveyor.

In the above embodiment, the case where the collected humidifying elements 10 are washed and reused is illustrated, but if necessary, the collected humidifying elements 10 may be discarded without being washed. In this case, the cleaning device 40 and the transport device 50 can be omitted, making it possible to keep the equipment costs low.

In the above embodiment, a humidifier 1 that generates conditioned air for use in the painting booth B of the painting process is illustrated, but the uses of the humidifier 1 are not limited to this, and the structure of the humidifier 1 can also be applied, as necessary, to other processes or humidification techniques in other fields where humidification processing is highly required.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 humidifier 10 humidifier element 20 container 24, 24A, 24B ventilation opening 25 inlet 26 outlet 27 open/close member 30 water supply section 31, 32, 33 water supply pipe 41 cleaning tray 50 transport device 51 transport member 52 housing 52a inlet opening 52b outlet opening 53 drive unit 57 cleaning brush

Claims (7)

A plurality of humidification elements having a rolling shape;
a housing for housing the plurality of humidifying elements;
a water supply unit that supplies water to the humidification element housed in the housing;
Equipped with
The humidifier device is configured such that the storage body has a ventilation opening that connects the storage space with the outside, an exhaust outlet for discharging the humidifying element from the storage space , and an inclined surface provided on the bottom surface so that the exhaust outlet is at the lowest point , and the humidifying element is discharged from the storage space through the exhaust outlet while rolling down the inclined surface due to gravity. The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the container has an opening/closing member that can open and close the outlet. The humidifier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the water supply unit has a plurality of water supply pipes arranged in different regions of the storage space of the storage body, and is configured to be able to supply water independently to each of the plurality of water supply pipes. The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a cleaning tray for cleaning the humidifier element, the cleaning tray being disposed lower than the outlet of the housing, and the humidifier element discharged from the storage space of the housing through the outlet is moved into the cleaning tray by its own weight. The container has an insertion port for inserting the humidifying element into the storage space,
The humidifier according to claim 4 , further comprising a transport device that transports the humidifier element transferred into the cleaning tray back to the container from the input port. The conveying device includes a conveying member having a screw blade spirally arranged around an axis, a cylindrical housing that accommodates the conveying member, and a drive unit that drives the conveying member to rotate around the axis,
The housing has an inlet opening for receiving the humidifier element and an outlet opening for discharging the humidifier element;
The humidifier device according to claim 5, wherein the conveying device is configured to convey the humidifier element received from the inlet opening of the housing to the outlet opening while sliding against the screw blades of the conveying member when the drive unit rotates the conveying member. The humidifier according to claim 6, wherein the transport device is provided with a cleaning brush inside the housing tube, and is configured to bring the humidifier element into contact with the cleaning brush when transported by the transport member.

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