ULTRASONIC SPACE-STERILIZING HUMIDIFIER

Abstract

Provided is a large-capacity ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier using an aqueous hypochlorous acid solution, wherein contaminants in humidified air are prevented from becoming included in humidifying water, the hypochlorous acid concentration, in the humidified air is sufficiently maintained and a space-sterilizing effect is adequately exhibited.

The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier comprises a storage tank 2 storing an aqueous solution of hypochlorous acid, an ultrasonic generator 3 installed inside the storage tank 2, generating a hypochlorous acid-containing mist, an air duct 8 extending upwards from the ultrasonic generator 3, blowing means 4 for blowing the mist into the air duct 8, water-catching means 9 provided near the bottom end of the air duct 8, for collecting water droplets that have become adsorbed onto the inside wall of the air duct 8, and a discharge tube 11 mounted on the water-catching means 9, by which adsorbed waiter droplets are discharged to the outside.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier comprising: a storage tank that stores an aqueous solution of hypochlorous acid, an ultrasonic generator that is installed inside the storage tank and generates a hypochlorous acid-containing mist, an air duct that extends upwards from the storage tank, water-catching means provided near the bottom end of the air duct, which is a donut-shaped pan through the center section of which air passes, for collecting water droplets that have become adsorbed onto the inside wall of the air duct, blowing means for blowing the hypochlorous acid-containing mist into the air duct, and a discharge tube mounted on the water-catching means, by which water droplets that have become adsorbed onto the inside wall of the air duct are discharged to the outside so that they do not flow into the storage tank.

2. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the water-catching means is an S-shaped trap formed in the air duct.

3. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 1, wherein adsorption-promoting means that causes adsorption of water droplets on the surface is mounted in the air duct, at a location above the water-catching means.

4. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 3, wherein the adsorption-promoting means is a longitudinal plate mounted inside the air duct.

5. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 3, wherein the adsorption-promoting means is a helical plate mounted inside the air duct.

6. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 1, comprising a waste water tank, the discharge tube being connected to the waste water tank.

7. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 2, wherein adsorption-promoting means that causes adsorption of water droplets on the surface is mounted in the air duct, at a location above the water-catching means.

8. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 7, wherein the adsorption-promoting means is a longitudinal plate mounted inside the air duct.

9. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 7, wherein the adsorption-promoting means is a helical plate mounted inside the air duct.

10. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 2, comprising a waste water tank, the discharge tube being connected to the waste water tank.

11. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 3, comprising a waste water tank, the discharge tube being connected to the waste water tank.

12. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 4, comprising a waste water tank, the discharge tube being connected to the waste water tank.

13. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 5, comprise a waste water tank, the discharge tube being connected to the waste water tank.

14. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 7, comprising a waste water tank, the discharge tube being connected to the waste water tank.

15. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 8, comprising a waste water tank, the discharge tube being connected to the waste water tank.

16. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier according to claim 9, comprising a waste water tank, the discharge tube being connected to the waste water tank.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] FIG. 1 is a side view of an ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier representing an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] FIG. 2 is a side view and a longitudinal section diagram of water-catching means representing an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] FIG. 3 is a side view of water-catching means representing another embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] FIG. 4 is a side view and a longitudinal section diagram of water droplet adsorption-promoting means representing an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] FIG. 5 is a side view and a longitudinal section diagram of water droplet adsorption-promoting means representing another embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] FIG. 6 is a side view representing an embodiment of the present invention, based on a duct system.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0045] The present invention will now be described by way of embodiments thereof.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 1, the basic structure of the main body of the ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier of the present invention houses devices composing the humidifier main body, including a storage tank 2 that stores humidifying water comprising an aqueous solution of hypochlorous acid, an ultrasonic generator 3 installed in the storage tank 2, that generates hypochlorous acid-containing mist, blowing means 4 that blows the hypochlorous acid-containing mist, a control valve 5 that controls supply of the humidifying water, and a waste water tank 6 that stores waste water containing contaminants, in an enclosure 1, the blowing means 4, ultrasonic generator 3 and control valve 5 being integrally controlled by a controller 7. The present invention basically does not require an air filter, but for environments with high levels of dirt, a simple, easily maintained filter may be mounted on the gas inlet of the blowing means 4, for preliminary removal of contaminants with large particle sizes.

[0047] The air duct 8 connected to the upper wall of the storage tank 2 extends directly upward, the humidified air being blown in the transverse direction from a discharge port 13 at the top end. Also, near the bottom end of the air duct 8, there is mounted water-catching means 9 for catching water droplets that have become adsorbed onto the inside wall of the air duct 8, and a discharge tube 11 for discharge of water to the outside is mounted on the water-catching means 9, and is connected to a removable waste water tank 6. The enclosure 1 shown in FIG. 1 is directly installed at a suitable location of an indoor room, and since the humidifier of the present invention is designed to actively adsorb contaminant-containing water droplets in humidified air on the inside wall of the air duct 8, a longer air duct 8 produces a greater effect of removing contaminants. Therefore, when the enclosure 1 is directly installed in an indoor room, the height of the discharge port 13 is preferably designed to be located near the ceiling, ensuring an air duct 8 length of about 2 meters.

[0048] Since the humidifier of the present invention has an excellent sterilizing effect, it is preferably operated year-round for hygienic reasons, but certain periods, such as the summer season, will have excessive increase in humidity which may result in discomfort. Therefore, a known type of humidity sensor may be mounted to detect humidity, and the output controlled by a controller 7 to maintain a set desired humidity, allowing a hygienic, comfortable air environment to be maintained throughout the year.

[0049] As described in Patent Literature 1, the aqueous solution of hypochlorous acid used for the present invention may be obtained by direct production of hypochlorous acid in the storage tank 1 by known means, but for greater extendibility for adding additional humidifiers, and easy maintenance, an aqueous hypochlorous acid solution production apparatus 12 may be installed in a separate and independent manner from the humidifier main body housed in the enclosure 1, the aqueous solution of hypochlorous acid produced by the aqueous hypochlorous acid solution production apparatus 12 being supplied to the humidifier main body, as shown in FIG. 1. In the humidifier shown in FIG. 1, therefore, a design is employed in which the aqueous hypochlorous acid solution production apparatus 12 and the storage tank 2 are connected by tubing via a control valve 5, and the control valve 5 is controlled by a controller 7 to provide a constant supply to the storage tank 2 depending on the amount of consumption of the aqueous solution of hypochlorous acid. Also, the time required for water supply can be reduced if water is directly supplied to the aqueous hypochlorous acid solution production apparatus 12 through a water pipe.

[0050] Regarding hypochlorous acid, the bactericidal activity of hypochlorous acid is pH-dependent, its maximum bactericidal activity being exhibited in the weakly acidic range of pH 5 to 6, which is not harmful to the human body. Moreover, hypochlorous acid is an unstable substance and undergoes decomposition as time progresses, while it also has poor persistence as the presence of contaminants that produce organic materials or metal ions in aqueous solution accelerate its decomposition, and therefore it is a well-known microbicide that is widely used for sterilization of tap waiter and food, being a disinfectant with high safety for the human body.

[0051] Moreover, since the sterilizing property is by oxidation reaction alone, being a very simple action of removing electrons from substances (oxidizing them), its targets include a wide range of microorganisms, viruses, allergens and odorous substances, and it does not result in resistant microbes. For example, for food poisoning, it has inactivating potency against O-157, Salmonella bacteria, Legionella bacteria, norovirus, influenza virus, multidrug-resistant microbe (MRSA), etc., and even allows sterilization of spore forming bacteria (such as Bacillus cereus and Bacillus anthracis), for which ethanol and invert soaps are ineffective. It also has inactivating potency against pollen hypersensitivity allergens, and its properties suggest that it is also capable of inactivating various other types of allergens. It also has very high ability to decompose odorous substances and can powerfully oxidize ammonia, methylmercaptan, etc., and is therefore an optimal chemical agent for use in space sterilization.

[0052] A mode of the water-catching means of the present invention will now be described. The water-catching means of the present invention is provided near the bottom end of the air duct 8 in order to collect water droplet containing contaminants, that have been adsorbed onto the inside wall of the air duct 8, and the water-catching means shown in FIG. 2 forms a donut-shaped pan, by an inner tube 15 with a smaller diameter than the inside wall of the air duct 8, and a base plate 16 blocking the bottom section of the gap formed between the inside wall of the air duct 8 and the inner tube 15, the interior of the inner tube 15 allowing free passage of gas.

[0053] When water droplets including contaminants become adsorbed on the inside wall of the air duct 8 above the pan, they fall down through the inside wall and are thus collected in the pan, and since the drainage pipe 11 is connected to the pan, the water droplets pooled in the pan can be discharged to the outside together with the contaminants, without flowing into the storage tank 2. If the base plate 16 is inclined to the side of connection with the drainage pipe 11 as shown in FIG. 2, the water can be smoothly directed to the drainage pipe 11.

[0054] The water-catching means shown in FIG. 3 will now be described. For the water-catching means, two mutually inverted U-shaped tubes are combined near the bottom end of the air duct 8, forming an overall curved lateral S-shape, or S-shaped trap, and the drainage pipe 11 is connected at the lowermost part of the U-shape at the lower part of the S-shaped trap.

[0055] In this case as well, similar to the pan described in FIG. 2, all of the water droplets including contaminants that have fallen through the inside wall of the air duct 8 collect at the location of the S-shaped trap that is connected to the drainage pipe 11, so that they can all be discharged to the outside without the contaminant-containing water droplets flowing into the storage tank 2.

[0056] When directly provided in the air duct 8 at the location where the water-catching means is provided, it is preferably located as near as possible to the bottom end of the air duct 8, and especially when providing a donut-shaped pan as shown in FIG. 2, it does not need to be provided directly In the air duct 8 but may be provided directly in the main body section of the humidifier, at a lower location than the bottom end of the air duct 8.

[0057] The drainage pipe 11 is directly connected to a sink pipe, etc., in order to allow constant drainage of waste water, but if the freely removable waste water tank 6 is housed in the enclosure 1 and the drainage pipe 11 is connected to the waste water tank 6, as shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to hygienically dispose of the waste water while also removing the contaminants precipitated in the waste water tank 6 for measurement of the level of pollution of the air environment, or for detailed analysis of the contaminants to help prevent spread of infectious disease. The waste water tank 6 is easy to maintain if it can ensure a volume that can be processed once every month or so.

[0058] A mode of the water droplet adsorption-promoting means of the present invention will now be described. While the present invention allows a considerable portion of contaminant-containing water droplets to be adsorbed onto the inside wall of the air duct 8, if a humidifier with an even greater capacity is desired, it may not be possible to adequately ensure the air duct 8 length, and mere adsorption onto the inside wall of the air duct 8 may be insufficient. In such cases, therefore, in order to more reliably remove contaminants, it is effective to mount the adsorption-promoting means that adsorbs the water droplets at a location of the air duct 8 further above the water-catching means, for active adsorption of the water droplets.

[0059] More specifically, adsorption of water droplets can be promoted by mounting adsorption-promoting means comprising a member that can adsorb the water droplets, such as a plate with a given surface area, at a location of the air duct 8 further above the water-catching means, to enlarge the section that adsorbs the water droplets. To first explain the adsorption-promoting means illustrated in FIG. 4, this adsorption-promoting means has a plurality of longitudinal plates 21 mounted so as to protrude in a concentric manner from the inside wall toward the center section of the air duct 8, to form a very wide adsorption area on the surfaces of the longitudinal plates 21, thereby allowing even more water droplets to be adsorbed. Also, since the bottom end of each longitudinal plate 21 is cut at an incline toward the inside wall side of the air duct 8, all of the water droplets that have been adsorbed on the longitudinal plate 21 are guided along the inside wall side of the air duct 8 and fall down through the inside wall of the air duct 8, and therefore even when the donut-shaped pan shown in FIG. 2 has been employed as the water-catching means, the water droplets passing through the center section do not drip down into the storage tank 2 and can be reliably collected by the water-catching means. Moreover, since the plates 21 are mounted in the longitudinal, direction they do not inhibit airflow in the air duct 8.

[0060] To explain the adsorption-promoting means illustrated in FIG. 5, this adsorption-promoting means has a helical plate 22, formed by twisting a rectangular plate, mounted inside the air duct 8, which likewise allows a wide adsorption area to be formed. Moreover, since the bottom end of the helical plate 22 is cut into an inverted V shape, all of the water droplets that have been adsorbed onto the helical plate 22 can be guided to the inside wall side of the air duct 8, similar to the mode illustrated in FIG. 4. When this adsorption-promoting means is mounted, a tornado-like helical vortex is generated in the airflow in the air duct 8 by the helical plate 22, such that heavy water droplets that have aggregated due to contaminants become separated outward by centrifugal force, allowing the water droplets to be efficiently adsorbed.

[0061] In all of the above-described adsorption-promoting means, the ability to remove contaminants is increased by the length of the section where the adsorption-promoting means is mounted, and therefore the plate length, etc., in the adsorption-promoting means may be appropriately adjusted for the capacity desired for the humidifier. The modes of the adsorption-promoting means are not limited to those illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, as the effect of the adsorption-promoting means can be exhibited as long as it comprises a member allowing adsorption of water droplets on the surface.

[0062] The mode illustrated in FIG. 1 assumes an enclosure 1 installed in an indoor room, that performs direct atomization from the discharge port 13 into the indoor room for humidification and sterilization, but when it is installed in a large space, it may be difficult in some cases for the humidified air to reach to the corner areas of the space. In such cases, therefore, it is highly effective to employ a so-called, duct system, as shown in FIG. 6, wherein the enclosure 1 of the humidifier is installed outside of the indoor room and air is sucked into the indoor room from an intake duct 25, while an air duct 8 is connected to a duct 23 to guide humidified air, which is discharged through a plurality of blowing ports 24 provided in the ceiling. The ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier of the present invention may also be applied to such a duct system, without any particular problems.

[0063] Due to its construction, a duct system is prone to adsorption of contaminants and is difficult to clean, and therefore has the disadvantage of being associated with proliferation of mold and saprophytic bacteria. In addition, if it is attempted to blow highly humid air through the duct, the humid air will further aid proliferation of mold and saprophytic bacteria, very possibly resulting in high levels of proliferation of mold and saprophytic bacteria in the duct. When humidified air is supplied with a duct system, therefore, it is necessary to blow highly clean humidified air with a powerful sterilizing property.

[0064] In this regard, since the humidifier of the present invention has contaminants such as mold and saprophytic bacteria removed in advance so that virtually no contaminants are included in the humidified air, the possibility of contaminants being adsorbed on the inside of the duct 23 is very low even when the air duct 8 is connected to the duct 23. Furthermore, even when mold or saprophytic bacteria are included in the duct 23 for some reason, the concentration of hypochlorous acid in the humidified air is sufficiently high so as to kill the mold or saprophytic bacteria, and thus even when the apparatus is idle for long periods there is extremely less potential for proliferation inside the duct 23, and the humidifier may be hygienically used.

[0065] When a duct system is employed, it is possible to effectively exhibit high extensibility by separately providing the aqueous hypochlorous acid solution production apparatus 12 from the humidifier main body housed in the enclosure 1. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, multiple humidifiers can be connected to a single aqueous hypochlorous acid solution production apparatus 12 installed outside the indoor room, thereby allowing humidifiers for different rooms such as indoor room A and indoor room B to be easily and economically installed, for easier application to large-scale facilities.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0066] As described above, since the ultrasonic space-sterilizing humidifier of the present invention allows humidified air containing no contaminants and containing hypochlorous acid, which has an excellent microbicidal effect, to be supplied in a large volume to an indoor space, for humidification and sterilization of the indoor space, and is also easy to maintain, it is especially suitable for use in large spaces with high requirements for humidification and sterilization, such as patient rooms at medical facilities.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0067] 1: Enclosure, 2: storage tank, 3: ultrasonic generator, 4: blowing means, 5; control, valve, 6: wastewater tank, 7: controller, 8: air duct, 9: water catching means, 10: adsorption-prompting means, 11; drainage pipe, 12: aqueous hypochlorous acid solution production apparatus, 21: longitudinal plate, 22: helical plate, 23: duct.