JP2000104960A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve safety of a humidifier. SOLUTION: A humidifier 30, which heats water in a heating tank 21 with a heater 11 and carries out humidification with steam thereby generated is provided with a temperature sensor 16 in the humidifier 30 and, when the detected temperature exceeds 80 deg.C of a predetermined level for a given period of time of 60 seconds, humidifying operation is stopped as malfunction of the humidifier 30. Thus, the humidifier 30 can be prevented from being deformed and deteriorated due to superheating, and safety for use can be secured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a humidifier that heats and evaporates water in a heating tank with a heater and humidifies a room or the like with the steam, and more particularly to detecting an abnormality in the humidifier.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A humidifier of this type has an outer case made of a synthetic resin, heats and evaporates humidifying water stored in a heating tank in the appliance, and discharges steam at that time out of the appliance. This controls the indoor humidity. The heating of the water is carried out by controlling the energization of a heater embedded in the bottom of the heating tank. In general, this heater varies depending on the amount of humidification of the appliance, but a heater capable of obtaining an output of about 110 W to 400 W is usually used.

[0003]

By the way, in the humidifier having the above structure, when the control component or the control element for controlling ON / OFF of the heater energization is deteriorated or damaged, and the normal control cannot be performed, There is a possibility that the heater may be in a state of being always energized. In particular, when the heater is energized for a long time at a high output of 400 W as described above, the inside of the device becomes an unexpectedly high temperature, and there is a risk that the synthetic resin outer case and other components are deformed or deteriorated by heat. There was sex.

[0004] However, there are few conventional devices provided with a safety device for protecting the humidifier body from such abnormal situations, and some devices use a high-limit switch (for example, a thermostat) or the like. It is also known that the heater is turned off directly when the overheating tank reaches an abnormal temperature.However, since the operating point of the high limit switch varies, the deformation and deterioration due to heat as described above must be ensured. Prevention was difficult and costly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a temperature sensor in a device, detect an abnormality of the device based on the detected temperature, and cut off the power supply to the heater. It is to provide a highly safe humidifier.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, in the humidifier according to the first aspect, the water in the heating tank is heated by a heater and humidified by the steam. Is provided with a temperature sensor, and when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor exceeds a predetermined value for a certain period of time, the humidifying operation is stopped as an abnormality of the humidifier.

In a humidifier according to a second aspect of the present invention, the water in the heating tank is heated by a heater and humidified by the steam, the humidifier being provided with a temperature sensor, and a temperature detected by the temperature sensor. Is 80 ° C or higher and the state is 6
When the humidifier continued for 0 second or more, the humidifying operation was stopped as an abnormality of the humidifier.

Further, in the humidifier according to the third aspect, the water in the heating tank is heated by a heater and humidified by the steam, the humidifier being provided with a temperature sensor, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. When the temperature was 80 ° C. or more and the state continued for 60 seconds or more, the humidifying operation was stopped as an abnormality of the humidifier, and an error was displayed.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a steam humidifier (hereinafter, referred to as a humidifier) according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an outer case made of synthetic resin constituting a main body of the humidifier 30. An operation panel 5 for performing a humidifying operation is provided on one side of the outer case. Reference numeral 4 denotes an upper cover of the outer case 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes a water supply tank made of a transparent container for storing water for humidification. A cap 19 with a valve for supplying water to a water tank 20, which will be described later, is attached to the bottom. Reference numeral 2 denotes a duct for guiding the water vapor generated in the water tank 20 to the outside of the equipment, and an outlet 18 is provided at the top.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the humidifier 30.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes the above-mentioned water tank, in which water for humidification supplied from the water supply tank 3 is stored. A heater 11 is buried at the bottom of the left side of the water tank 20 with a partition plate 22 therebetween to form a heating tank 21 for heating and evaporating water in the tank, and the duct 2 for guiding steam is disposed above the heating tank 21. ing.

The heater 11 is provided with an output 290
W first heater 11a and output 110W second heater 11
The circuit configuration is such that each of them can be controlled independently. Therefore, by appropriately switching these two heaters 11a and 11b and energizing, four stages (110W, 200W, 290W) corresponding to the set tatami number selected by the tatami number select switch 7 described later.
W, and 400 W). However, the heater output of 200 W is achieved by alternately intermittently energizing the 290 W first heater 11 a and the 110 W second heater 11 b for a certain period of time.

A float switch 15 for detecting the amount of water in the water tank 20 is provided in the water tank 20. The float switch 15 is located near the heating tank 21 in which the heater 11 is embedded. A temperature sensor 16 for detecting the ambient temperature is mounted.

Further, a humidifier 30 is provided inside the outer case 1.
A control board 12 mounted with a control circuit for performing the operation is mounted, and a humidity sensor 13 for detecting humidity and a room temperature sensor 14 for detecting room temperature are mounted on the board.
Has been implemented.

FIG. 3 shows the operation panel 5 in detail.

A transparent window 17 engraved with a scale is provided in the upper half of the operation panel 5 so that the water level of the water supply tank 3 set in the vessel can be visually checked and confirmed from outside. . In the lower half of the operation panel 5, various switches and a display unit required for the humidifying operation are provided.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 6 denotes an operation switch for turning on / off the humidification operation. Numeral 7 is a tatami mat select switch, which switches the humidification mode to mini-6 tatami-10 by pressing the switch.
Tatami mat-14 tatami mats can be sequentially switched to four stages, the left display of the switch, the corresponding humidification mode LE
D lights up. At this time, the heater output of the heating tank 21 is 110 W, 200 W, 290 W, corresponding to the humidification mode.
It switches to 400W sequentially.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an operation changeover switch. When the switch is depressed, a continuous operation for continuously humidifying with a set heater output and an automatic operation for maintaining the humidity at a set value by intermittent humidification (40% -50% -60) %) Can be switched alternately. The display on the left side of the switch shows L of the corresponding operation mode.
ED lights up.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a sleep switch for timer operation.
After the time, the humidification operation is automatically stopped. The good night switch 9 also serves as a child lock function, and is kept in a child lock state when pressed for three seconds, and the functions of the tatami mat select switch 7 and the operation changeover switch 8 are locked. During child lock, the key display on the left side of the operation switch 6 is lit. A water supply display is provided on the left side of the good night switch 9 to indicate the remaining amount of the stored water in the water tank 20.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the humidifier 30.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 10 denotes a microcomputer mounted on the control board 12 (hereinafter, referred to as a microcomputer). The microcomputer 10 includes a ROM, a RAM, a timer, and the like, and has external terminals such as switches and LEDs mounted on the operation panel 5, a humidity sensor 13, a room temperature sensor 14, a float switch 15, and a temperature sensor 1.
6, heater 11 and the like are connected. The room temperature sensor 14 is for correcting the output of the humidity sensor 13 according to the room temperature.

Next, the control operation of the humidifier 30 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, it is determined in step S1 whether the operation of the humidifier 30 has been started. The start of operation is determined by depressing the operation switch 6 or detecting an ON point during automatic operation (in the present embodiment, the ON point is set to current humidity <set humidity + 5%).

When the operation is started, the microcomputer 10 determines in step S2 based on the input information of the switches (such as the tatami mat select 7 and the operation changeover switch 8) and the sensors (such as the humidity sensor 13 and the room temperature sensor 14). Humidification control is performed by controlling the energization of the heater 11.

During the humidification control, the microcomputer 10 controls the temperature sensor 1
The temperature inside the device (in this embodiment, the temperature around the heating tank 21) is constantly monitored from the detection output of No. 6. If the temperature in the device has risen to 80 ° C. or higher in the determination of step S3, a 60-second timer is set, and the humidification control is continued. Step S
If a temperature lower than 80 ° C. is confirmed in step 3, step S
At 60, the timer for 60 seconds is reset, and thereafter the humidification control is continued. If the state in which the temperature in the device is 80 ° C. or more continues for 60 seconds, it is determined that the humidifier 30 is abnormal in step S4, the operation is stopped in step S5, and an error is displayed. In the present embodiment, an error display is made by blinking all displays of the tatami mat selection on the operation panel 5 simultaneously. By displaying the error, the user can immediately and surely detect the abnormality of the appliance.

The temperature of 80 ° C. in the tool set in the above process is a temperature at which the synthetic resin outer case 1 and other components are not deformed or deteriorated (for example, the heat resistance of the synthetic resin case is about 115 ° C.). And a temperature that cannot be generated under normal humidification control. Therefore, even if an abnormality occurs in the heater 11 system and the temperature inside the tool rises sharply, the operation can be stopped reliably at the predetermined temperature of 80 ° C., so that deformation and deterioration due to overheating can be reliably prevented.

[0029]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a humidifier in which water in a heating tank is heated by a heater and humidified by the steam is provided with a temperature sensor in the humidifier. When the detected temperature exceeds a predetermined value for a predetermined time, the humidifying operation is stopped as an abnormality of the humidifier. Therefore, even if an abnormality occurs in the heater and the energized state by the high heater output is continued, the predetermined value is maintained. At this temperature, the operation of the humidifier is reliably stopped, so that abnormal heating is prevented and safety in use is ensured. Further, by using the temperature sensor for abnormality detection, there is no large variation in the operation stop temperature.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the humidifier in which water in the heating tank is heated by the heater and humidified by the steam, a temperature sensor is provided in the humidifier and the detected temperature is 80 ° C. When the above and continued for 60 seconds or more,
Since the humidifying operation is stopped as an abnormality of the humidifier, deformation and deterioration due to heat can be prevented even in an outer case made of synthetic resin and having relatively low heat resistance.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in a humidifier for heating water in a heating tank with a heater and humidifying the steam, a temperature sensor is provided in the humidifier.
When the detected temperature is 80 ° C. or more and continues for 60 seconds or more, the humidifier operation is stopped as an abnormality of the humidifier, and an error is displayed. Therefore, the user can immediately recognize the abnormality of the device from the display. In addition, it is possible to reliably detect, and the safety in use is further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a humidifier according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the humidifier.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation panel of the humidifier.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the humidifier.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing humidification control of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 heater 21 heating tank 30 humidifier

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Noboru Takahashi 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka F-term in SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. 3L055 BC01 CA04 DA09 DA14

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A humidifier that heats water in a heating tank with a heater and humidifies the steam using a heater. The humidifier includes a temperature sensor. When the temperature detected by the temperature sensor exceeds a predetermined value for a predetermined time, humidification is performed. A humidifier characterized in that the humidification operation is stopped as an abnormality of the humidifier. 2. A humidifier in which water in a heating tank is heated by a heater and humidified by the steam, wherein a temperature sensor is provided in the humidifier, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is 80 ° C. or higher and the state is the same. Humidifier characterized in that when humidification continues for 60 seconds or more, the humidifier operation is stopped as an abnormality of the humidifier. 3. A humidifier in which water in a heating tank is heated by a heater and humidified by the steam, wherein a temperature sensor is provided in the humidifier, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is 80 ° C. or higher and the state of the temperature sensor Humidifier characterized in that when humidification continues for 60 seconds or more, the humidifier is stopped as a humidifier abnormality and an error is displayed.