JPH0371904B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a humidifier for atomizing a liquid such as water or a chemical solution and mixing it with outside air.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, there is a humidifier shown in FIG.

This humidifier consists of a lower chamber member (hereinafter referred to as "lower chamber") 2 to which an ultrasonic transducer 1 is attached, and an upper chamber member (hereinafter referred to as "upper chamber") removably fitted to the upper part of the lower chamber member (hereinafter referred to as "lower chamber"). ) 3 constitute a chamber 4, and one end 6a of an air passage pipe 6 in which an air passage 5 for taking in air to be supplied to the chamber 4 is formed is connected to an air intake port in which a film 7 is housed. A fan 10 driven by a motor is accommodated in a fan room 9 provided in the middle of the air passage pipe 6, and the other downward end 6b of the air passage pipe 6 is connected to the air passage pipe 6.
Air inlet 1 provided on the top surface of the upper chamber 3
1 and attached to the outer periphery of the other end 6b so as to be movable up and down.
b and the air inlet 11, and its connecting pipe 12
The upper chamber 3 is pressed and fixed onto the lower chamber 2 via the connecting pipe 12 by a spring 13 which presses the upper chamber 3 downward.

This humidifier uses an ultrasonic vibrator 1 to vibrate and atomize a liquid 14 such as water or a chemical solution stored in a lower chamber 2, and at the same time, a fan 10 extracts outside air. From inlet 8 to filter 7
through the air passage 5, and the sucked air is passed through the air passage 5.
The air is allowed to flow into the internal space 4a of the chamber 4 through the atomizer, the air is mixed with the mist of the atomized liquid 14, and the mixture is sprayed from the spray port 15 of the upper chamber 3.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

When this kind of humidifier is used for a long time, water scale, dust, germs, etc. adhere to the inside of the chamber 4, the air passage 5, the filter 7, the air intake port 8, the fan room 9, and the fan 10. It is easy to accumulate and mold etc. can easily occur.

Therefore, it is necessary to periodically remove the upper chamber 3 and clean the inside of the chamber 4 and the air intake port 8 by wiping or disinfecting it, and also remove the filter 7 and clean it or replace it with a new filter 7. There is.

However, with conventional humidifiers, it is almost impossible to clean the inside of the air passage 5, the inside of the fan room 9, the fan 10, etc.;
Dust, germs, mold, etc. are easily sprayed to the outside from the spray nozzle 15, which poses serious problems in terms of hygiene, such as harming the health of the user and making the sprayer unsuitable for medical use.

In addition, in conventional humidifiers, the upper chamber 3 is pressed and fixed onto the lower chamber 2 using special fixing means such as the connecting tube 12 and spring 13, which requires a large number of parts and assembly man-hours. The structure is complicated and the cost is high. Also, connect the connecting pipe 12 with the spring 1
Although the upper chamber 3 is removed by pushing upward against the pressure of the upper chamber 3, there is a problem in that the operation of attaching and detaching the upper chamber 3 is troublesome.

Therefore, when cleaning the inside of the air passage, the present invention provides
It is an object of the present invention to provide a humidifier whose upper chamber can also be easily removed.

[Means to solve the problem]

To achieve the above object, the humidifier of the present invention includes a humidifier body, a lower chamber member having a vibrator for atomizing liquid, and an upper part removably fitted to the upper part of the lower chamber member. a chamber member constituted by a chamber member; an air passage provided in the humidifier body to take in air to be supplied to the internal space of the chamber member; and a chamber member that is detachably attached to a predetermined position of the humidifier body. and an air passage cover, and when the air passage cover is attached to a predetermined position of the humidifier main body, the air passage is covered by the air passage cover, and the upper chamber member is covered by the air passage cover to the lower chamber member. When the air passage cover is removed from a predetermined position of the humidifier body, the air passage is opened and the upper chamber member is released from being fixed.

[Effect]

In the humidifier configured as described above, the air passage can be opened by opening the air passage cover.
Cleaning such as wiping, cleaning, and disinfection of the inside of the air passage can be performed completely and easily. Since the air passage cover also serves as a fixing means for the upper chamber, the upper chamber can be easily removed and cleaned together with the air passage by simply opening the air passage cover.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of a humidifier to which the present invention is applied for medical use will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

First, the humidifier 21 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 includes a humidifier main body 22, an ultrasonic transducer 23 which is an example of a transducer, lower and upper chambers 24 and 25, and a chemical solution. A chamber member (hereinafter referred to as "chamber") 27 having a tank 26, an air passage 28, an air passage cover 29, a filter room 30, a filter 31, and a fan room 32.
and Sirotskovan 33, which is an example of Juan,
Fan drive motor 34 and air inflow adjustment valve 35
It has the following main structures.

The lower chamber 24 has an open upper end, and the lower chamber 24 is connected to the humidifier main body 2.
It is fitted and held from above into a concave chamber holding portion 37 provided on one side of 2.

And the bottom 24a of this lower chamber 24
An ultrasonic transducer 23 is attached to.

The chemical tank 26 has an open upper end and a diaphragm 38 attached to the bottom. This chemical solution tank 26 is inserted into the lower chamber 24 from above, and is removably mounted on the upper end flange 24b of the lower chamber 24 by means of gaskets 39 fitted to both upper and lower surfaces of the outer periphery of the upper end flange 26a. There is.

The upper chamber 25 is open at the lower end,
The lower end portion 25a is removably placed on the gasket 39, and the lower end flange 25b provided on three surfaces of the outer periphery of the lower end portion 25a is fitted into the inner periphery of the upper open end 37a of the chamber holding portion 37. . A cover engaging portion 2 is formed in a substantially U-shaped recess in a portion of the upper wall 25c of the upper chamber 25.
5d, and an air inlet 40 and a spray port 41 are provided on the bottom surface of the cover engaging portion 25d and the upper wall 25c. Note that the upper wall 25c of the upper chamber 25 has large and small oxygen supply ports 42a, 42b.
and a chemical solution replenishment port 42c, which are closed by removable caps 43a, 43b, and 43c. Further, a drainage hose 44 whose one end is connected to the bottom 24a of the lower chamber 24 is led out of the humidifier main body 22, and the drainage hose 44 is connected to the bottom 24a of the lower chamber 24.
The tip 44a of the humidifier body 22 is removably locked in an upward vertical direction to a hose locking part 45 attached to the outside of the humidifier main body 22.

The chamber 27 is configured as follows,
The upper chamber 25 and the chemical tank 26 are removable. Then, the working water 4 is contained in the lower chamber 24.
6 is accommodated, and a chemical solution 47 is accommodated in the chemical solution tank 26.

The fan room 32 is provided on a side surface 22a of the humidifier body 22 opposite to the chamber 27, and a motor shaft 34a of a fan drive motor 34 installed inside the humidifier body 22 is inserted into the fan room 32. It is prominent. A sirotsko fan 33 is attached to the motor shaft 34a with screws 48 so that it can be attached and detached from the directions of arrows a and a' in FIG.

A horizontal groove 51 connecting between the cover engaging portion 25d of the upper chamber 25 and the fan room 32 is formed on the upper surface 22b of the humidifier body 22, and the air passage cover 29 is inserted into the groove 51. It is horizontally fitted in a removable manner from above. And, the upper wall 29a of this air passage cover 29,
One side wall 29b and partition wall 29c integrally provided in parallel on the lower surface, and the bottom surface 51 of the groove 51.
A horizontal cylindrical space surrounded by the fan room 32 and the air inlet 40 of the upper chamber 25
The air passage 28 connects the Note that the bottom surface 51 of the groove 51 is partially inside the air passage 28.
An air distribution port 52 provided on the top a communicates with an internal space 53 of the humidifier body 22 in which a fan drive motor 34, an oscillation unit (not shown) of the ultrasonic vibrator 23, etc. are housed.

The tip of the air passage cover 29 is configured as a chamber fixing part 29d that is engaged from above into the cover engaging part 25d of the upper chamber 25 and presses and fixes the upper chamber 25 from above.

A fan cover 54 that covers the fan room 32 from the side is provided vertically and integrally at the bottom of one end of the air passage cover 29, and the fan cover 54 has an air suction port 5 into the fan room 32.
5 is provided. In addition, this fan cover 5
An arcuate wall 54a integrally provided on the inner surface of the humidifier body 22 and an arcuate wall 32a integrally provided on the humidifier main body 22.
The spiral outer circumferential wall of the fan room 32 is constructed by the above.

And filter room 30 is fan cover 5
4, and a filter 31 is removably housed in this filter room 30.

An air intake port 57 is provided in a filter cover 56 that covers the filter room 30 from the side. The filter cover 56 is detachably and rotatably attached to a pair of hinges 58 integrally provided at the lower end of the outer peripheral wall 30a of the filter room 30, and is attached to the outer peripheral wall 30a by a screw 59 with a knob.
Fixed to 0a.

A pair of fulcrum shafts 60 are integrally provided at the lower end of the fan cover 54, and the pair of fulcrum shafts 60 are connected to a pair of fulcrum bearings 61 integrally provided at a position near the lower end of the side surface 22a of the humidifier main body 22. It is rotatably attached in a removable state. Therefore, the air passage cover 29 integrated with the fan cover 54 is removable from the humidifier body 22, and the pair of fulcrum shafts 60 are attached to the humidifier body 22.
It is installed so that it can be opened and closed in the directions of arrows b and b' in Fig. 3 with the center at the center. And this air passage cover 2
9 is fixed to the humidifier main body 22 by a pair of rotary lock knobs 62 which are cover fixing means attached to the upper surface 22b of the humidifier main body 22. A pair of click locking portions 63 are integrally provided on the upper wall 29a of the air passage cover 29 to which a pair of lock knobs 62 are locked.

The air inflow adjustment valve 35 is arranged directly above the air inflow port 40 of the upper chamber 25. This air inflow amount adjustment valve 35 has an upper end knob 64
Air passage cover 29 by male thread 65 having
It is screwed into a female screw 66 provided on the upper wall 29a, and by adjusting the rotation of the knob 64, the air inflow amount adjusting valve 35 can be adjusted to move up and down in the direction of distance from the air inlet 40. can.

A handle 67 that can be pulled upward is attached to the humidifier main body 22.

Next, the operation of the humidifier 21 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be explained.

First, when using the humidifier 21, please refer to Fig. 2~
As shown in FIG. 4, the air passage cover 29, which is integrated with the fan cover 54, is rotated in the direction of arrow b in FIG. Vessel body 22
The fan room 32 is fitted into the groove 51 and the fan room 32, and the lid is closed to cover these, thereby forming an air passage 28 in the groove 51.

Then, the chamber fixing portion 29d of the air passage cover 29 is attached to the cover engaging portion 29 of the upper chamber 25.
5d from above, move the pair of lock knobs 62 of the humidifier main body 22 as indicated by the arrow c in FIG.
direction to lock onto the pair of click locking portions 63 of the air passage cover 29.

As a result, the air passage cover 29 integrated with the fan cover 54 is pressed down from above by the pair of lock knobs 64 and fixed to the humidifier main body 22, and the chamber fixing portion 29d of the air passage cover 29 is fixed to the upper chamber 25. Press down from above to secure. At this time, the lower end 25a of the upper chamber 25 is pressed onto the gasket 39 of the chemical liquid tank 26, and the chemical liquid tank 26 is fixed on the lower chamber 24 together with the upper chamber 25.

After the above preparations for use, the mist hose 69 is connected to the spray port 41, and the patient puts on a mask (not shown) at the tip of the mist hose 69.

Then, in this state, the power is turned on and the ultrasonic vibrator 23 is vibrated, and the fan drive motor 34 rotates the Sirotskov fan 33.

Then, the vibration of the ultrasonic transducer 23 is propagated to the chemical liquid 47 in the chemical liquid tank 26 via the working water 46 in the lower chamber 24 and the diaphragm 38, and this chemical liquid 47 is excited and atomized, and the chemical liquid 47 is atomized into the upper chamber 25. A mist of the chemical solution 47 is generated in the internal space 25e.

On the other hand, due to the rotation of the Sirotskov fan 33, the first
As shown by arrow A in FIGS. 3 and 4, outside air passes through the filter 31 in the filter room 30 from the air intake port 57, and is sucked into the fan room 32 from the air suction port 55. The sucked air is then blown from the fan room 32 into the air passage 28, flows into the internal space 25e of the upper chamber 25 from the air inlet 40, and is mixed with the mist of the chemical solution 47. .

Then, a gas mixture (medical mist) in which the mist of the chemical solution 47 and air are mixed is transferred to the upper chamber 2.
The mist flows out from the spray port 41 of No. 5 in the direction of arrow B, and is inhaled by the patient through the mist hose 69 and the mask.

At this time, the air inflow amount adjustment valve 35 is moved up and down to adjust the amount of air inflow from the air inlet 40 into the internal space 25e of the upper chamber 25, so that the mist of the chemical solution 47 and the air are mixed. The mixing ratio and the amount of mixed gas flowing out from the spray port 41 can be varied.

For patients who require supplemental oxygen, an oxygen supply pipe (not shown) can be connected to the upper chamber 25.
Oxygen is supplied to the internal space 25e of the upper chamber 25 by connecting the oxygen supply port 42a, 42b to either of the oxygen supply ports 42a, 42b of the upper chamber 25 to supply oxygen to the patient. As shown by the dotted line,
The air inflow port 40 can be throttled or closed by the air inflow amount adjusting valve 35.

In addition, as shown by arrow C in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, a portion of the air blown by the Sirotskov fan 33 is transferred from the air distribution port 52 to the humidifier main body 2.
Air is blown into the internal space 53 of the fan drive motor 34, the oscillation unit, etc.

Next, when cleaning the humidifier 21 after use,
After releasing the fixed state of the air passage cover 29 by rotating the pair of lock knobs 62 in the direction of arrow c' in FIG. Arrow in figure 3
b' direction to open the lid, or
As shown in the figure, one fulcrum shaft 60 is removed from a pair of fulcrum bearings 61, and the air passage cover 29, which is integrated with the fan cover 54, is opened so as to be completely removed from the humidifier main body 22.

As a result, the air passage 28 and the fan room 3
2 is completely opened over their entire length, the fixed state of the upper chamber 25 is released, and the upper chamber 25 and the chemical tank 26 can be easily removed from the humidifier main body 22 above the lower chamber 24. I can do it. Also, Sirotskovan 33
By removing the screw 48 fixing the fan to the motor shaft 34a, the Sirotskov fan 33 can be easily removed from inside the fan room 32 in the direction of the arrow a'. Alternatively, if the screws 59 fixing the filter cover 56 are removed and the filter cover 56 is opened in the direction of arrow b' in FIG. 3 around the pair of hinges 58, or if it is removed from the pair of hinges 58,
The filter 31 in the filter room 30 can also be easily removed.

As described above, the upper chamber 25 and the chemical tank 2
6, air passage 28, air passage cover 29, filter room 30, filter 31, fan room 3
2. By completely disassembling the white fan 33, fan cover 54, and filter cover 56, cleaning, cleaning, and disinfection can be performed completely and easily.

Note that the inside of the lower chamber 24 is cleaned after removing the tip 44a of the drain hose 44 from the hose locking part 45 and laying it down sideways, and draining the working water 46 inside the lower chamber 24 through the drain hose 44. .

Next, modifications of this humidifier 21 will be sequentially explained.

First, in the first modification shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, an air passage 28 having a U-shaped cross section is formed along the inside of a handle 71 that is integrally provided on the upper surface 22b of the humidifier main body 22. , when the air passage cover 29 is removably attached to the handle 71 in order to cover the entire length of the air passage 28 with the air passage cover 29,
Chamber fixing part 29d integrally provided at the tip
The cover engaging portion 25d on the outer periphery of the air inlet 40 of the upper chamber 25 can be fixed by pressing it from above, and the other structure is as shown in Figs.
The structure is almost the same as the embodiment shown in FIG.

Therefore, this first modification has a structure in which the handle 71 also serves as an air passage pipe.

Next, in the second modified example shown in FIG. A pair of lock knobs 6 provided on the side surface 22a are detachably inserted into the side surface 22a of the humidifier main body 22 in the directions of arrows a and a'.
It is fixed at 2.

Next, in the third modification shown in FIG. 7, the air passage cover 29 and the fan cover 54 are separated,
The air passage cover 29 is attached to the upper surface 22 of the humidifier main body 22.
The fan cover 5 is removably fitted into the air passage 28 provided in the air passage 28 from the directions of arrows d and d'.
4 was removably fitted into the fan room 32 provided on the side surface 22a from the directions of arrows a and a', and the air passage cover 29 and fan cover 54 were provided on the upper surface 22b and side surface 22a of the humidifier main body 22. It is fixed by a pair of lock knobs 62.

Next, in a fourth modified example shown in FIG.
4 and the air passage cover 29 integrated with the fan room 3.
2 and groove 51 in a removable manner from the directions of arrows d and d', and the pair provided on the upper surface 22b of the humidifier body 22 is fixed with a lock knob 62.

Next, in the fifth modification shown in FIG. 9, the fan room 32 and the air inlet 4 of the upper chamber 25 are
0 is provided on the front 22c (or back) of the humidifier main body 22, and the air passage cover 29 integrated with the fan cover 54 can be attached to and removed from the air passage 28 and the fan room 32 from the directions of arrows e and e'. The lacquerware main body 22 is fitted with a pair of lock knobs 62 provided on the front 22c (or back) of the lacquerware main body 22 to be fixed. In this case, the chamber fixing part 29d of the air passage cover 29 is engaged with the cover engaging part 25d provided on the front 25f (or back) of the upper chamber 25 from the direction of arrow e, thereby fixing the upper chamber 25. do.

Note that the first to fifth modifications described above can also provide the same effects as the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various effective changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the medical humidifier shown in the embodiments, but can also be applied to household humidifiers.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention is configured as described above,
This produces the following effects.

Since the inside of the air passage can be completely and easily cleaned by wiping, washing, disinfecting, etc., it is possible to prevent water scale, dust, bacteria, etc. from accumulating in the air passage, and to prevent mold from forming. There is no danger that water scale, dust, germs, mold, etc. will be sprayed to the outside. Therefore, it is very hygienic and there is no risk of harming the user's health. Furthermore, it can be safely used for medical purposes even in patients with weakened resistance.

Moreover, by simply opening the air passage cover to clean the inside of the air passage, not only can the inside of the air passage be opened, but also the chamber can be easily removed and the inside of the chamber can be opened. The degree of contamination inside the air passage and the chamber can be known at a glance, and for this reason, the need for cleaning inside the air passage and the chamber can be easily and reliably known, and both inside the air passage and inside the chamber can be known easily and reliably. Cleaning work can be done easily.

Furthermore, since the air passage cover also serves as a fixing means for fixing the upper chamber onto the lower chamber, there is no need for special fixing means (connecting pipe 12 and spring 13) for the upper chamber as in conventional humidifiers. . Therefore, the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be reduced, and the structure can be simplified and costs reduced.
In addition, since the air passage provided in the humidifier body is covered by an air passage cover that is detachably attached to a predetermined position on the humidifier body, a single cylindrical air passage member with a closed loop cross section is formed. The structure for forming a closed air passage in the humidifier body is also simpler than in the case of forming an air passage whose cross section is in the shape of a closed loop.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 9 show embodiments of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a partially exploded humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a perspective view of the entire humidifier shown in Fig. 1 when in use, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken in the - arrow direction of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken in the - arrow direction of Fig. 2. FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the first modification, FIG. 5B is an exploded perspective view of the first modification, and FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9 are views of the second, third, and third modifications. It is a perspective view which showed the 4th and 5th modification. FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional example. In addition, in the symbols used in the drawings, 21...humidifier, 22...humidifier main body, 23...
...Ultrasonic transducer (vibrator), 24...Lower chamber, 25...Upper chamber, 25d...Cover engaging portion, 27...Chamber, 28...Air passage, 29...Air passage cover, 29d... ...Chamber fixing part, 62... Lock knob (cover fixing means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A humidifier comprising a humidifier body, a lower chamber member having a vibrator for atomizing liquid, and an upper chamber member detachably fitted to the upper part of the lower chamber member. comprising a chamber member, an air passage provided in the humidifier body to take in air to be supplied to the internal space of the chamber member, and an air passage cover detachably attached to a predetermined position of the humidifier body, When the air passage cover is attached to a predetermined position on the humidifier main body, the air passage is covered by the air passage cover, and the upper chamber member is fixed onto the lower chamber member by the air passage cover, and the air passage is The humidifier is configured such that when the passage cover is removed from a predetermined position of the humidifier body, the air passage is opened and the upper chamber member is released from being fixed.