JPH0737852B2 - humidifier - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a humidifier that generates water vapor to increase indoor humidity.

(Prior Art and Issues) Currently, a humidifier that increases the indoor humidity by ultrasonically vibrating water in a container by ultrasonic waves and causing fine water particles to fly out into the air is commonly used. Is used for.

However, in the above humidifier, in order to prevent transmission of ultrasonic vibrations to water and leakage of water to the storage portion of the ultrasonic vibrator, the water storage portion usually has a complicated structure. , Difficult to clean. Therefore, there is a problem that the bacteria in the water container cannot be removed sufficiently. Further, since the water temperature rises due to the ultrasonic vibration, bacteria are easily proliferated in the accommodating portion, and the water is contaminated with the bacteria. For this reason,
When humidified by ultrasonic vibration, bacteria are released into the room together with water particles, which is unsanitary.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a humidifier that can hygienically humidify a room.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the humidifier of the present invention includes a container 4 accommodating a water-absorbing polymer material 6 and water absorbed in the container 4 via the container 4. Heater 5 for heating and vaporizing
And a humidifier main body 2 in which the heater 5 and the container 4 are provided, the humidifier main body 2 includes an outer tank 2b having an upper opening and a heat insulating material 7 in the outer tank 2b. And an inner tank 2a made of a metal having an upper opening fixed via the inner tank 2a.
The upper opening of the container is the desorption port 20 of the container 4, the heater 5 is provided on the inner bottom of the inner tank 2a, and the heater 4 is inserted from the desorption port 20 along the inner side surface of the inner tank 2a. The side surface is close to the inner side surface of the inner tank 2a, and the container 4 is placed on the heater 5 so as to be separable from the inside.

Further, it is preferable that the upper lid 3 which covers the desorption port 20 from above and has the blowing nozzle 12 through which the steam from the container 4 is blown is pivotally attached to the upper end of the outer tank 2b so as to be openable and closable.

Further, it is preferable that the container 4 is a disposable pack 15 in which a predetermined amount of the water-absorbent polymer material 6 is stored in advance and the upper end is openably sealed before use.

(Operation) In the humidifier of the present invention, since the container is attachable to and detachable from the heater, the container can be easily cleaned. Alternatively, the container can be a disposable heat-resistant pack. For this reason, the container is always kept clean,
It is possible to prevent the water in the container from being contaminated with bacteria.

Moreover, when humidifying, the container heats the supplied water by a heater to vaporize it and humidifies it with the generated steam, so the particles of water discharged into the room are sterilized by high temperature heating for vaporization. Clean without bacteria.

Further, since the water is in a state of being absorbed by the water-absorbent polymer material contained in the container, it does not convect in the container even when heated, and only the water near the heater can be locally heated. it can. Therefore, the process from the start of heating to the generation of steam can be performed in a short time, and the thermal efficiency is extremely excellent.

Furthermore, when the above-mentioned container is equipped with an upper lid having a nozzle for blowing water vapor, the water vapor can be blown out in a certain direction from the nozzle, which is convenient for use.

(Example) Below, the Example of this invention is described with reference to drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

The main body 2 of the humidifier 1 includes an outer tank 2b having an upper opening, and this outer tank.
Upper opening-shaped inner tank 2a fixed inside 2b via a heat insulating material 7
And is formed as a heat retaining container for increasing the thermal efficiency of the heater 5 described later. The upper opening of the inner tank 2a serves as a desorption port 20 for the container 4. The inner tank 2a is made of stainless steel or
The outer tank 2b is formed of a metal such as an Al alloy, and the outer tank 2b is formed of stainless steel, an Al alloy, or a heat-resistant synthetic resin.

A disk-shaped heater 5 is provided on the inner bottom of the main body 2 (inner bottom of the inner tank 2a).
Is provided. The heater 5 is an appropriate heating means such as electric resistance. The heater 5 may have a cylindrical shape or a rectangular tube shape and may be provided on the inner peripheral side portion of the main body 2. Further, it may be provided not only on the inner surface side of the inner tank but also on the outer surface side of the inner tank 2a.

Inside the main body 2, a container 4 in which a water-absorbent polymer material 6 described later is housed and to which water for humidification is supplied is loaded along the inner peripheral surface of the main body 2 and placed on the heater 5. Has been done.
The outer surface of the container 4 is close to the inner surface of the inner tank 2a. Therefore, the container 4 can be loaded and unloaded from the upper opening of the main body 2 onto the heater 5 on the bottom surface of the main body tank, and after the humidifier 1 is used, only the container 4 can be taken out of the main body 2 and washed. There is. It should be noted that it is convenient to load or unload the main body 2 by providing a handle or a hanging tool on the upper end of the container 4. In addition, the container 4 conducts heat when heating,
From the viewpoint of handling during cleaning, it is usually formed of stainless steel, Al alloy, heat-resistant tempered glass, or the like.

An upper lid 3 is pivotally attached to the upper end of the main body 2 so as to be openable and closable, while a locking piece 9 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the upper lid 3 to engageably engage with an engaging portion 8 of the upper end of the main body 2. There is. The upper lid may be detachably attached to the upper portion of the main body.

The upper lid 3 is formed with a discharge hole 10 for discharging the steam generated in the main body 2 to the outside. Body 2 of emission hole 10
In the vicinity of the side opening, a fan 11 for vigorously discharging water vapor to the outside is provided. In addition, a steam blowing nozzle 12 is rotatably attached to the outer opening of the discharge hole 10. On the other hand, a vent hole 13 is formed through the upper lid 3 so that the outside air can be introduced into the main body 2. The upper lid 3 and the nozzle 12 are usually molded from heat-resistant synthetic resin.

Examples of the water-absorbent polymer material 6 contained in the container 4 include sodium polyacrylate, a graft polymer of starch and acrylic acid, a saponified product of a copolymer of vinyl acetate and methyl acrylate, and acetic acid. Examples thereof include saponified products of vinyl and maleic anhydride copolymers and saponified products of iso-butylene and maleic anhydride copolymers. Organic substances such as pulp, inorganic substances such as silica, and in some cases, disinfectants, bactericides, antibacterial agents or aromatic agents can be appropriately added to these water-absorbing polymer materials.

To use the humidifier 1 of this embodiment, first, a predetermined amount of the water-absorbing polymer material 6 is placed in the container 4, water is added, and the water is absorbed by the polymer material. Next, the container 4 containing the absorbed water is loaded into the main body 2, placed on the heater 5, and the upper lid 3 is closed and then heated. At this time, if the heater 5 is preheated before loading the container 4, steam can be generated more quickly. The water-absorbent polymer material 6 may be put into the container 4 placed on the heater 5, and then water may be put therein. Moreover, when heating the container 4, you may supply water between the main body 2 and the container 4, and may heat it via water.

As described, since the absorbed water does not cause convection, the water in the vicinity of the heater 5 (that is, the bottom of the container 4) is locally heated and vaporized in a short time to generate water vapor. On the other hand, the water-absorbent polymer material that has been heated and has lost water absorbs water rapidly from the adjacent material, so that water is constantly supplied to the vicinity of the heater 5 and steam is continuously generated. In this way, the absorbed water is vaporized from the bottom side of the container 4, and the water moves along the water-absorbing polymer material 6 sequentially from the upper side to the bottom side of the container 4, and the added water is initially added. Vaporization continues until there is no more.

The generated water vapor is accelerated by the fan 11 and is blown from the blowout nozzle 12 toward the nozzle 12 to humidify the room.

It should be noted that the fan 11 of this embodiment may not be mounted, and the generated water vapor may be directly discharged from the blowing nozzle 12 without being accelerated.

Further, in the present embodiment, the container 4 which is washed and reused after use is described, but the container 4 is not limited to this, and a disposable container formed of a heat resistant sheet may be used.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a disposable pack 15 in which a predetermined amount of the water-absorbent polymer material 6 is stored and sealed in a container formed of the heat-resistant sheet 14 may be used. To use this pack, open the top of pack 15 and then
Water may be added to absorb the water in the pack 15, and the whole pack may be charged into the humidifier body and heated. After using an appropriate number of times, the entire pack may be discarded.

According to the humidifier 1 of this embodiment, the water container 4 can be easily taken out from the main body 2 and washed. Alternatively, a disposable container 4 formed of a heat resistant sheet can be used. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the water in the container 4 from being contaminated with bacteria. Moreover, since the water in the container 4 is heated to a high temperature to be vaporized and humidified by the generated steam, the indoor space can be humidified.

On the other hand, when water is vaporized, the water absorbed by the water-absorbent polymer material 6 is heated, so that the thermal efficiency is extremely high and water vapor can be generated quickly.

Further, it is convenient to attach the lid 3 provided with the steam outlet nozzle 12 to the heater main body 2 since the steam can be blown out in a specific direction.

(Effect of the Invention) In the present invention, the humidifier main body 2 includes an outer tank 2b having an upper opening,
The outer tank 2b is provided with an upper opening metal inner tank 2a fixed via a heat insulating material 7, and the upper opening of the inner tank 2a serves as a desorption port 20 for the container 4, 5 is provided at the inner bottom portion of the inner tank 2a, and the outer surface of the container 4 loaded from the desorption port 20 along the inner surface of the inner tank 2a is close to the inner surface of the inner tank 2a. Is mounted on the heater 5 so that it can be separated from and adjacent to the heater 5, the following advantageous effects can be obtained.

That is, the container 4 and the inner tank 2a can be easily cleaned by inserting and removing the container 4 from the attachment / detachment port 20 of the inner tank 2a.
The container 4 can be a disposable pack 15, which is convenient for handling and hygienic. Further, the bottom portion of the inner tank 2a is heated by the radiant heat to the lower side of the heater 5, and the inner tank 2a is made of metal and has excellent heat conductivity, so the heat of the bottom portion is transferred to the side wall portion of the inner tank 2a. Is this inner tank
Since the outer surface of 2a is covered with the heat insulating material 7, the heat of the inner tank 2a is mainly radiated to the inner surface side, and the outer surface of the container 4 is close to the inner surface of the inner tank 2a.
Radiant heat from the inner tank 2a to the inner surface side is efficiently transmitted to the side wall portion of the container 4, so that the radiant heat upward of the heater 5 directly heats the bottom portion of the container 4 and moves downward. Radiant heat can also be efficiently transferred to the container 4.
Then, the place where steam is generated in the container 4 is mainly the container 4
Although it is near the bottom of the container, since the side wall of the container 4 is indirectly heated by the heater 5 as above, the inside of the inner tank 2a is kept in a so-called greenhouse state, and the water-absorbing polymer material in the container 4 is kept. The entire 6 is kept at a certain temperature, water vapor generated near the bottom of the container 4 is condensed in the course of passing upward through the water-absorbing polymer material 6, and is absorbed again by the water-absorbing polymer material 6. In addition, the entire heating of the container 4 for preventing such reabsorption can be prevented.
It can be efficiently performed by using the heater 5 which is provided on the inner bottom portion of 2a and directly heats the bottom portion of the container 4 directly.
As a result, the structure can be simplified, the number of parts can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, the upper lid 3 that covers the desorption port 20 from above and includes the blowing nozzle 12 through which the water vapor from the container 4 is blown out
Is rotatably attached to the upper end of the outer tank 2b so as to be openable and closable.
It is possible to provide the structure without obstructing the structure for enabling the detachable exchange from the detachable port 20.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a disposable pack. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Humidifier, 2 ... Main body, 3 ... Lid, 4 ... Container, 5 ... Heater, 6 ... Water-absorbing polymer material, 10 ... Exhaust hole, 11 ... Fan,
12 ... Blowout nozzle.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A container (4) containing a water-absorbing polymer material (6) and a heater (5) for heating and vaporizing water absorbed in the container (4) through the container (4). And a humidifier main body (2) in which the heater (5) and the container (4) are provided, the humidifier main body (2) includes an outer tank (2b) having an upper opening, An upper opening metal inner tank (2a) fixed via a heat insulating material (7) in the outer tank (2b), and the upper opening of the inner tank (2a) is a container (4) The heater (5) is provided at the inner bottom of the inner tank (2a), and the inner tank (2a)
The outer surface of the container (4) loaded from the desorption port (20) along the inner surface of the container is close to the inner surface of the inner tank (2a), and the container (4) is placed on the heater (5). A humidifier that is placed so that it can be separated from the surface. 2. An upper lid (3) which covers the desorption port (20) from above and has a blowing nozzle (12) from which the water vapor from the container (4) is blown, which can be opened and closed at the upper end of the outer tank (2b). The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the humidifier is pivotally attached. 3. The container (4) is a disposable pack (15) in which a predetermined amount of a water-absorbent polymer material (6) is stored in advance and the upper end is opened and sealed before use. The humidifier according to claim 1.