Abstract:
A freestanding humidifier is provided with a movable base tray which is adapted to slide into and out of the bottom rear portion of the humidifier housing. The base tray is contoured to receive a pair of large volume water tanks which can be easily removed, refilled and reinstalled on the base tray. A large diameter fan is mounted in the humidifier and positioned to exhaust air in a substantially horizontal flow path from the humidifier into the ambient surroundings.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/722,558 filed Oct. 3, 2005, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to household humidifiers and in particular to a high-capacity front-exhausting humidifier having a sliding tray for facilitating removal and installation of water tanks.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Prior Developments  
         [0005]     High capacity household humidifiers require the use of large water tanks for providing a large supply of water for wetting the filters and wicks used to humidify a room over extended periods of time. Typical conventional high capacity humidifiers mount a single large water tank in an upper region of the humidifier housing.  
         [0006]     This type of water tank mounting makes it difficult for an operator to remove and install the water tank. That is, an operator must reach down through the top of the humidifier housing to access a single large capacity tank holding 5 or 10 gallons of water. If the tank is empty, the tank may not be too difficult to remove, but if it holds several gallons of water weighing over eight pounds per gallon, the tank quickly becomes too heavy to freely and easily manipulate. This problem is particularly severe when an operator must try to lift and position a large tank of water through the top of a humidifier housing.  
         [0007]     Another drawback of conventional humidifiers is the excessive wetting of the area immediately surrounding the humidifier housing. Conventional humidifiers typically blow moist air upwardly from the top of the humidifier housing. While this eventually humidifies the entire room, the limited horizontal component of air flow can cause an excessive concentration of water vapor and water droplets around the humidifier.  
         [0008]     Accordingly, a need exist for a high capacity household humidifier which facilitates the installation and removal of relatively large capacity water tanks, and which improves air flow so as to reduce or eliminate the excessive wetting of surfaces surrounding the humidifier and to quickly fill a room with moist air.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The present invention has been developed to meet the needs noted above by mounting one or more high capacity water tanks in the bottom of a humidifier casing. A sliding tray or platform is provided with a set of wheels or castors to allow the platform to be easily rolled into and out of the humidifier housing. The platform is configured to receive one, two or more water tanks and to automatically open the water tanks upon their proper placement on the platform.  
         [0010]     Because the platform is located close to the ground, an operator need not lift a heavy water tank over the top of the humidifier casing and then lower it into the humidifier housing. In a preferred embodiment, two separate water tanks are provided so as to reduce by half the maximum weight of water that need be manipulated.  
         [0011]     Another advantage of the present invention is the use of a front exhausting fan which blows moist are directly and substantially horizontally across a room. It has been found that this type of exhaust results in very quick humidification of an entire room and reduces or eliminates the wetting of surfaces around the humidifier. These advantages are further enhanced by the use of a single, high flow rate fan as opposed to prior designs which use two or more smaller fans with lower flow rates.  
         [0012]     Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts through the several views.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     In the drawings:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a humidifier constructed in accordance with the invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a top front perspective view of the humidifier of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the humidifier of  FIG. 1  showing a portion of the top cover;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a view of  FIG. 3 , with top and bottom back covers removed;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a top rear perspective view of the humidifier of  FIG. 4 , showing the water tanks mounted on a sliding or rolling base tray and removed from within the bottom of the humidifier;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a bottom view of the water tank of  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is a rear perspective view of the humidifier of  FIG. 5  with the water tanks removed and the base tray extended outwardly showing the details of the pump and water tank mounting sockets and water reservoir; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is an exploded schematic view of a humidifier configured in accordance with the invention; 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0022]     The present invention will now be described in conjunction with the drawings, beginning with  FIGS. 1 and 3  which show a household humidifier  10  constructed in accordance with the invention. Humidifier  10  includes an outer housing formed of a bottom front panel  12  and a top front panel  14  having a large slotted front grill  16  formed therein for promoting free flow of moisturized air. The housing further includes a pair of side panels  18  and a top cover  20 . A base or bottom is also provided, as discussed below.  
         [0023]     As seen in  FIG. 2 , the top cover  20  includes a moisture control knob  22  and a fan speed switch  24 . As seen in  FIG. 3 , the humidifier housing further includes a bottom back cover  26  and a top back cover  28 . The back covers  26  and  28  are designed to be easily and quickly removed without the aid of tools. Snap-fit connectors or tongue and groove sliding connections may be used to attach and detach the back panels to and from the humidifier  10 . The humidifier is powered via power cord  27 .  
         [0024]     As seen in  FIG. 4 , the bottom and top back panels  26 ,  28  of  FIG. 3  have been removed to clearly show a large fibrous water-absorbent honeycomb filter  30  mounted along the upper rear portion of the housing. Filter  30  can be formed of a natural paper material or a wicking type material, such as felt or or other woven or nonwoven material. As seen in  FIGS. 3 and 8 , a dust filter  31  is removably mounted with a grooved sliding, clamped, or latched fit with the inner surface of the top back cover  28 , directly upstream of the honeycomb filter  30 . Dust filter  31  removes dust and airborne particulates before they reach and clog the honeycomb filter  30 .  
         [0025]     A pair of removable, plastic-molded water tanks  34  is shown in  FIG. 4  mounted side-by-side in the bottom of the humidifier. The tanks  34  are carried by a sliding or rolling base tray  36 . As seen in  FIG. 5 , each tank  34  is formed with an integral carry handle  37 . The tanks are sized to carry about seven and one half gallons of water each, for a total of fifteen gallons. Of course, the tanks can be sized to carry any desired amount of water such as two, three, five, ten or even fifteen gallons each, depending on the space available in the humidifier housing.  
         [0026]     As seen in  FIG. 6 , each water tank  34  is fitted with a spring-biased valve assembly  38 . An outwardly spring-biased plunger or poppet  40  on each valve  38  is adapted and positioned to engage a respective upwardly-projecting valve actuator  42  ( FIG. 7 ) located in the bottom of the base tray  36 . When a water tank  34  is properly mounted on the base tray  36 , each sliding plunger  40  is depressed inwardly into tank  34  by an upwardly projecting actuator  42  to unseat a valve and allow water to flow freely from within each tank into a reservoir  44  molded into the floor of base tray  36 .  
         [0027]     To ensure proper positioning of the water tanks  34  on the base tray  36 , an asymmetrical recess  46  ( FIG. 7 ), keyed to receive the bottom sidewall contour  45  ( FIG. 6 ) of the tanks  34 , is formed in the floor of the base tray  36 . Each recess  46  matches the shape of the outer contour or outer sidewall  45  of each asymmetrical bottom sidewall portion  48  of each water tank  34 . The recesses  46  provide for a secure nested mounting of the water tanks  34 , and through guided alignment ensure engagement between the valve actuators  42  and the valve plungers  40 .  
         [0028]     As further seen in  FIG. 7 , reservoir  44  communicates with the inlet or intake  50  of water pump  52 . Pump  52  is mounted on the base tray  36  and moves in-and-out of the humidifier along with the base tray. The pump  52  pumps water from the reservoir  44  upwardly through a pair of hoses  54  to a pair of spray nozzles located adjacent the front face of honeycomb filter  30 . When the pump  52  is turned on, water from reservoir  44  is sprayed onto the front face of the honeycomb filter  30  ( FIGS. 4 and 8 ).  
         [0029]     As seen in  FIG. 8 , a fan  60  having a single large diameter fan blade array is driven by an electrical motor  61 . When motor  61  is turned on, the fan  60  draws air through the open grill in the top back panel  28 , through the dust filter  31 , and through the water-saturated honeycomb filter  30 .  
         [0030]     Air passing through the honeycomb filter  30  picks up moisture and is exhausted out the front of the humidifier through the front grill  16 . By using a single large diameter fan blade array having a substantially horizontal axis of rotation, the moist air is quietly dispersed throughout the surrounding room in a uniform, substantially horizontal flow which quickly diffuses throughout the room without producing any wet spots.  
         [0031]     It can be appreciated that a user need not lift the water tanks  34  from within the humidifier  10  when the tanks need to be refilled and replaced. Rather, the user need only slide or snap off the bottom back panel  26  and pull the base tray  36  outwardly by handle grip  63  ( FIG. 7 ). Rollers or wheels  64  ( FIG. 8 ) mounted on the base tray  36  (or alternatively on a rolling platform  65  which supports the base tray  36 ) roll within recessed tracks  66  ( FIG. 7 ) formed in the bottom base or floor  68  of the housing or on platform  65  ( FIG. 8 ). This rolling action greatly reduces resistance to movement and facilitates removal and installation of the water tank  34 .  
         [0032]     The housing fan and metal internal components of the humidifier are preferably made of stainless steel to prevent rusting. The base tray  36 , bottom base  68  and top cover  20  are advantageously molded from plastic material to further avoid rusting.  
         [0033]     As further seen in  FIG. 8 , a fan mounting frame  70  is mounted between the side panels  18  to support and position the fan  60  and fan motor  61 . A filter frame  72  is also mounted between side panels  18  to support and position the filters  30 ,  31  in a centered position. A horizontal partition member  74  mounted between the fan  60  and water tanks  34  provides additional support to the humidifier  10 , and aids in channeling and concentrating moist air through the front grill  16 .  
         [0034]     There has been disclosed heretofore the best embodiment of the invention presently contemplated. However, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.