Information
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Patent Grant
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6244576
-
Patent Number
6,244,576
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Date Filed
Tuesday, November 9, 199924 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, June 12, 200123 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 261 28
- 261 29
- 261 30
- 261 721
- 261 73
- 261 81
- 261 82
- 261 141
- 261 142
- 261 DIG 65
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International Classifications
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Abstract
A mist humidifier has a lower space receiving a main water tank for storing water and an upper space divided into an evaporative cavity and a blower cavity. The evaporative cavity is divided into a first water chamber for storing water fed from main water tank having a float ball safety valve, a second water chamber for receiving a nebulizer for vaporizing water for creating cool mist, a third water chamber for receiving a heater for heating water for creating a hot mist, and a water supply tube provided on the bottom of the first water chamber in fluid communication with the second and third water chambers so as to keep all water chambers at a constant equal level, whereby a mist having a temperature at a constant level is discharged into the environment when the humidifier is activated.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of humidifiers and more particularly to a humidifier capable of discharging mist having a temperature at a constant level.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, humidifiers are used to increase humidity in the room in the continental climate areas. A conventional humidifier comprises a nebulizer (or a heater) for converting water into a fine cool (or hot) mist, and a blower for carrying the cool (or hot) mist out of the humidifier into the environment to be humidified wherein a water tank having an orifice on the bottom is vertically provided on a cavity of the lower space below the top of base. The cavity is served for retaining a liquid supplying to a cool (or hot) mist cavity and a valve is provided between the cavity for holding the water tank thereon and the cool (or hot) cavity. The opening or closing of the valve is controlled by the discharged liquid level of the cool (or hot) cavity. As such, the substantial amount of water supplied by the tank is varied up and down, i.e., not at a constant amount so that the temperature of mist discharged from the conventional humidifier can not be kept in constant. Further, mist is generated in the lower part of the space having a considerably height difference with the top adjacent to the inlet of discharging tube. As such, a high power motor is required to pump mist upwardly to reach to the inlet of discharging tube. In view of this, this prior art humidifier is not economical in saving energy and requires a relatively large motor and blower which in turn occupies a significant amount of space. It is known that water tank only occupies one fourth of the humidifier. As a result, a frequent liquid supplying operation is inevitable thus bothering user a lot.
Another drawback of this prior art humidifier is the manual water supplying operation because the only orifice of water tank is provided in the bottom. In other words, there is no top orifice on the water tank so user must periodically take empty water tank out of the cavity for supplying water therein.
Additionally, the cavity is always retaining liquid therein when the humidifier not used, micro-organism may easily grow in the bottom of the cavity thus not hygienic.
Furthermore, a combination of cool and warm mist is not available in most conventional humidifiers because most commonly used high frequency ultrasonic transducers having a nebulizer are not designed to operate in a high temperature environment. In other words, a shortened life is anticipated if it does operate in such condition. One may use a nebulizer capable of operating in high temperature. However, the high cost of buying such nebulizer makes it impractical in fact.
Thus, it is desirable to provide an improved humidifier in order to overcome the above drawbacks of prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mist humidifier wherein cool and hot water tanks both have a minimum level of water and water is supplied to cold and hot water tanks in a continuous minimum way as such mist discharged from humidifier having a temperature at a constant level.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mist humidifier wherein a nebulizer is properly disposed in a position free from affect of the high temperature of heater thus prolonging the life cycle of the nebulizer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mist humidifier further comprising a hose in the discharge outlet for directing mist to a woman's face for beautifying the face.
It is still further object of the present invention to provide a mist humidifier wherein the water tank has an inlet in a suitable position for facilitating the water supplying in an automatic manner for easing operation.
To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention provides a mist humidifier comprising a body for storing liquid; a nebulizer for converting liquid into a fine cool mist, and a blower for drawing ambient air into the body in order to create an air stream to carry mist out of the humidifier wherein the body is divided into a lower space receiving a main water tank for storing liquid and an upper space which further divided into an evaporative cavity and a blower cavity. Evaporative cavity is divided into a first water chamber for storing water fed from main water tank having a float ball safety valve, a second water chamber for receiving nebulizer which functioned as vaporizing water for creating cool mist, a third water chamber for receiving heater which functioned as heating water for creating a hot mist, and a water supply tube provided on the bottom of the first water chamber in fluid communication with the second and third water chambers so as to keep all water chambers at a constant equal level. By utilizing this, a mist having a temperature at a constant level is discharged from humidifier when humidifier is activated.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of a mist humidifier of the present invention illustrating the generation of cool mist;
FIG. 2
is same as view of
FIG. 1
illustrating the generation of cool mist and warm mist;
FIG. 3
is a partial view of
FIG. 1
illustrating water is completely drawn from water chambers once cool and warm mist generation operations are stopped simultaneously;
FIG. 4
is a top view of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 5
is a top sectional view taken along line
5
—
5
of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 6
is a partial top sectional view of a second embodiment of a mist humidifier of the present invention; and
FIG. 7
is a longitudinal sectional view of a third embodiment of a mist humidifier of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to
FIGS. 1-5
, there is shown a mist humidifier constructed in accordance with the invention comprising a body
10
, a main water tank
14
, a vapor discharge portion
20
, a blower cavity
22
, a blower
36
, a motor
32
, a transformer
34
, a pump
38
, a manual water inlet
60
wherein the vapor discharge portion
20
is divided into a plurality of independent water chambers being in fluid communication with one another as shown in
FIGS. 1-2
. The water chambers comprise a first water chamber
28
for storing water fed from main water tank
14
having an overflow cavity and a float ball safety valve integrally formed therein, a second water chamber
26
for vaporizing water by employing a vibration technique in order to create cool mist, and a third water chamber
27
for heating water in order to create a warm mist. In detail, the first water chamber
28
is divided into a sub chamber
28
A for storing water and a buffer chamber
28
B having a float ball safety valve
30
submerged therein wherein water is first pumped by pump
38
from main water tank
14
and then water flows to buffer chamber
28
B through overflow orifice
280
which in turn supplies to second and third water chambers
26
and
27
. A nebulizer
261
is provided in the bottom of second water chamber
26
and a heater
271
is provided in the third water chamber
27
for creating a warm mist respectively. A funnel shaped buffer passageway
21
is provided in the outlet of funnel shaped discharge opening
37
in the blower cavity
22
for creating an indirect air flow effect. Such configuration is aimed at obtaining a desired temperature in the moment when mist leaving the outlet
54
. The cool air discharged from opening
37
is first buffered in the funnel shaped buffer passageway
21
and then mixed with hot vapor generated in the third water chamber
27
such that the temperature of mixed mist is increased to a desired level. Further, the funnel shaped buffer passageway
21
functions as directing water drop, generated when cool mist is impinged thereon, to the second water chamber
26
not to the third water chamber
27
having hot vapor contained therein thereby preventing hot vapor generated in third water chamber
27
from being decreased in temperature when mixed with cool mist coming from the second water chamber
26
. As a result, a mist having a temperature at a constant level is discharged from humidifier when humidifier is activated. Cool and hot water chambers
26
and
27
are provided concentrically as illustrated in
FIGS. 1
,
2
,
3
, and
5
. Such arrangement has the advantages such as keeping the water stored in the chambers to a minimum level, a faster hot and cold mist mixing speed is obtained because they are adjacent, and most importantly, for example, keeping temperature of cool water chamber
26
below 60° C. An insulation layer
262
is enclosed between cold water chamber
26
and hot water chamber
27
for keeping water temperature of the water chamber
26
in a desired low level as such nebulizer
261
can operate in a safe low temperature, thereby prolonging the life cycle of the electronics in nebulizer
261
as well as employing a relaively low cost nebulizer.
With respect to the float ball safety valve
30
in the buffer chamber
28
B of first water chamber
28
, it is designed that float ball safety valve
30
is open if water in the buffer chamber
28
B has not reached a predetermined level which in turn deactivates nebulizer
261
and heater
271
for preventing from operating when there is no water in the first water chamber
28
. It is also designed that the operation of the pump
38
submerged in main water tank
14
is controlled by a safety device (not shown). The float ball safety valve
30
further provided by the invention is aimed at providing an additional safety protection. In other words, this is a double safety arrangement.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, a power switch
48
and a selector switch
50
are provided on the top panel of the housing of humidifier
10
being electrically connected to transformer
34
for controlling the on/off of humidifier and selecting operating voltage respectively, thereby adjusting the output power of motor
32
and nebulizer
261
and heater
271
which in turn regulates the amount of discharged mist.
In an important feature of the invention, the water supply tubes
281
,
282
are provided on the bottom of the first water chamber
28
being in fluid communication with the second and third water chambers
26
and
27
, respectively. In other words, a very small consumption of water due to the mist generation will cause water to automatically feed from first water chamber
28
to second and third water chambers
26
and
27
instantly. As an end, the water level of all water chambers are always kept at a constant equal level during the operation. By utilizing this, the temperature of the mist discharged from the discharging tube
54
is always kept in a constant level. It is remarkably used for beautifying woman's face.
In another important feature of the invention, the bottom of first water chamber
28
is lower than that of second and third water chambers
26
and
27
. Further, an outlet
44
B (
FIG. 5
) is provided in the bottom of buffer chamber
28
B having a diameter smaller than that of the inlet
44
A thus enabling water to feed to water chamber
26
and
27
in operation as shown in
FIGS. 1-2
. It is designed that water in all water chambers flow back to main water tank
14
when humidifier is not operated, i.e., no water retained in water chambers
26
,
27
, and
28
. It means that the water chambers
26
-
28
are always kept clean when not used. Further, motor
32
will continue to operate a predetermined period of time for drying the water chambers after humidifier is stopped so as to forestall the growth of micro-organisms in the water chambers.
In still another aspect of the invention the water chamber
28
is divided into a plurality of compartments being in fluid communication with one another. As such, nebulizer
261
functions as converting water into a fine cool mist in second water chamber
26
and heater
271
functions as heating water for generating a fine hot mist instantly once activated. It is to be understood that hot mist and cool mist are insulated each other in respective chamber which has the advantage of saving more energy when changing the desired cool or hot mist mode as compared with prior art technique.
FIG. 6
illustrates a second embodiment of the invention having a similar configuration with that of the first embodiment except second water chamber
26
and third water chamber
27
are spaced apart a suitable distance so as to provide a better protection to the operation of nebulizer
261
.
FIG. 7
illustrates a third embodiment of the invention having a similar configuration with that of the first embodiment except an automatic water supplying device is provided in addition to the manual water inlet
60
. The automatic water supplying device comprises a pipe
62
for supplying water from a source (not shown) to main water tank
14
and a water level detector
64
provided in the main water tank
14
. A solenoid valve
66
is provided for controlling the on/off of pipe
62
. That is, a start signal is generated by the detector
64
when the water level is lowered to a predetermined minimum level. Then the solenoid valve
66
is activated to open in response to the start signal for supplying water from outside source to the main water tank
14
through pipe
62
. To the contrary, a stop signal is generated by the detector
64
when the water level rises to a predetermined maximum level. Then the solenoid valve
66
is activated to close in response to the stop signal for stopping water supplying to the main water tank
14
through pipe
62
.
While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.
Claims
- 1. A mist humidifier capable of discharging mist having a temperature at a constant level, comprising:is a body for storing liquid; a nebulizer; a warm mist discharge outlet; and a blower for drawing ambient air into the body in order to create an air stream to discharge from an outlet of a funnel shaped discharge opening thereof; wherein the body is divided into a lower space receiving a main water tank for storing liquid and an upper space divided into an evaporative cavity and a blower cavity; the evaporative cavity is divided into a first water chamber for storing water fed from the main water tank having a float ball safety valve, a second water chamber for receiving the nebulizer for converting water into a fine cool mist, a third water chamber for receiving a heater for heating water for generating a hot mist; and a water supply tube provided on a bottom of the first water chamber in fluid communication with the second and the third water chambers so as to keep the water chambers at a constant equal level, whereby a mist having a temperature at a constant level is discharged from the warm mist discharge outlet when the humidifier is activated.
- 2. The mist humidifier of claim 1, wherein water levels of the second and the third water chambers are controlled by a water level of the first water chamber.
- 3. The mist humidifier of claim 1, wherein water stored in the water chambers flows back to the main water tank when the humidifier is deactivated.
- 4. The mist humidifier of claim 1, wherein a small consumption of water during the mist generation causes water to feed from the first water chamber to second and third water chambers instantly.
- 5. The mist humidifier of claim 1, wherein a bottom end of the warm mist discharge outlet comprises a funnel shaped buffer passageway above the second water chamber and adjacent to the outlet of the funnel shaped discharge opening in the blower cavity for creating an indirect mist and air mixture flow prior to discharging to the warm mist discharge outlet.
- 6. The mist humidifier of claim 5, wherein the funnel shaped buffer passageway functions as directing water drops generated when the cool mist is impinged thereon to the second water chamber, thereby preventing the hot mist in the third water chamber from mixing with the cool mist coming from the second water chamber.
- 7. The mist humidifier of claim 1, wherein the first water chamber is divided into a sub water chamber having an overflow orifice and a buffer chamber having a float ball safety valve submerged therein wherein water coming from the main water tank flows to the buffer chamber through the overflow orifice which in turn flows to the second and the third water chambers.
- 8. The mist humidifier of claim 1, wherein the second water chamber and the third water chamber are spaced apart a predetermined distance so as to provide thermal protection to the nebulizer.
- 9. The mist humidifier of claim 1, wherein the second and the third water chambers are provided concentrically with the second water chamber enclosed by the third water chamber.
- 10. The mist humidifier of claim 1, wherein water is supplied to the main water tank continuously when the humidifier is activated.
- 11. The mist humidifier of claim 1, further comprising an automatic means for supplying water to the main water tank continuously when the humidifier is activated.
- 12. The mist humidifier of claim 11, wherein the automatic means comprises a pipe for supplying water from an external source to the main water tank, a water level detector provided in the main water tank, and a solenoid valve provided on the pipe for controlling an activation of the pipe.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0123456 A2 |
Jan 2000 |
EP |