Patent Publication Number: US-2011048237-A1

Title: Air cleaning humidifier

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2009-0080319, filed on Aug. 28, 2009 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     Embodiments relate to an air cleaning humidifier equipped with a disc assembly and capable of cleaning and humidifying the interior air. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, a humidifier is used to maintain a proper level of humidity in an interior space and thereby prevent a variety of respiratory ailments. 
     There are various types of humidifiers employing different methods. In particular, a vaporizing-type humidifier, has been recently developed, has a disc assembly and operates in a manner that air cleaned by an air cleaning filter is passed through the disc assembly soaked with water and discharged to the outside through a discharge port, during which natural humidification is performed. 
     The vaporizing-type humidifier selectively carries out an air cleaning and humidifying mode performing both air cleaning and humidifying simultaneously, and an air cleaning mode performing air cleaning only. 
     During the air cleaning mode, while the cleaned air is being passed through the disc assembly provided for the air humidifying function by a ventilation fan mounted at the humidifier, the wind velocity may be reduced due to resistance of the disc assembly. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, it is an aspect to provide an air cleaning humidifier which minimizes interference or resistance between cleaned air and a disc assembly mounted to the humidifier to perform the humidifying function while the cleaned air is being passed through the disc assembly by a ventilation fan. 
     Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
     The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing an air cleaning humidifier including a body frame having an air discharge port; a water tub disposed in the body frame; a ventilation fan generating an air current in the body frame; and a disc assembly arranged around the ventilation fan and rotated with a part thereof submerged in the water tub, wherein the disc assembly includes a ring portion forming a circumferential body thereof and a cut portion formed by cutting out a part of the ring portion and disposed adjacent the air discharge port. 
     The cut portion may be formed by cutting out a part of the ring portion in a fan-shape. 
     The air cleaning humidifier may further include a driving unit driving the disc assembly to transmit a rotational force to the disc assembly. 
     The disc assembly may include a side plate equipped with a gear unit, and the driving unit may be engaged with the gear unit. 
     The driving unit may rotate the disc assembly forward and backward in a manner that only the ring portion of the disc assembly is submerged in the water tub while the cut portion is not submerged. 
     The air cleaning humidifier may further include a supporting member formed in the water tub to support the disc assembly. 
     A center of rotation of the disc assembly may be axially aligned with a center of rotation of the ventilation fan, and the disc assembly may be received in the body frame so that thickness portions of the disc assembly and the ventilation fan are overlapped with each other. 
     The disc assembly may include an opening having a greater diameter than an outer diameter of the ventilation fan so that the disc assembly fan may be inserted in the disc assembly. 
     The disc assembly may include at least two side plates, a plurality of discs disposed between the side plates, and spacers to maintain predetermined intervals among the discs. 
     The body frame may include an air suction port formed at a rear surface thereof to draw air. 
     The cut portion may be disposed nearest to the air discharge port when an air cleaning mode is selected. 
     The body frame may further include a heater to heat the air humidified by the disc assembly. 
     The body frame may further include a sterilizer to sterilize the air humidified by the disc assembly. 
     The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing an air cleaning humidifier including a body frame having an air suction port and an air discharge port; a water tub connected to a lower part of the body frame; a disc assembly rotated while partially submerged in the water tub; and a ventilation fan rotated in the state of being aligned with a center of rotation of the disc assembly, to draw in air through the air suction port and discharge the air through the air discharge port, wherein the disc assembly includes a cut portion formed by cutting out a part of a circumference of the disc assembly so that an air current generated by the ventilation fan is smoothly moved to the air discharge port. 
     The air cleaning humidifier may further include a driving unit that rotates the disc assembly forward and backward in a manner that the cut portion of the disc assembly is not submerged in the water tub. 
     The driving unit may include a step motor which rotates the disc assembly forward and then backward by a predetermined input angle. 
     As described above, the air cleaning humidifier according to the exemplary embodiments may be able to minimize interference between an air current generated by a ventilation fan and a disc assembly by having a cut portion at the disc assembly. Accordingly, the ventilation efficiency may be enhanced. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing the exterior appearance of an air cleaning humidifier according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the air cleaning humidifier shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing an assembled state of a disc assembly of the air cleaning humidifier; 
         FIG. 4  is a side-sectional view of the disc assembly of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of the disc assembly of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a partially enlarged view of the disc assembly of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 7A  through  FIG. 7E  are sectional views showing the rotational operation of the disc assembly. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing the exterior appearance of an air cleaning humidifier according to an embodiment.  FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the air cleaning humidifier shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the air cleaning humidifier  1  includes a body frame  10  defining the exterior appearance thereof, a water tub  20  disposed in the body frame  10  to store water, a disc assembly  30  rotated while partially submerged in the water tub  20 , and a ventilation device  40  blowing air to the disc assembly  30 . 
     The body frame  10  includes a main body  11  that is a framework of the air cleaning humidifier  1 , a front cover  12  forming the front exterior appearance of the air cleaning humidifier  1 , a rear cover  13  forming the rear exterior appearance of the air cleaning humidifier  1 , and a discharge grill  14  disposed at an upper side of the body frame  10  and formed with an air discharge port  14   c.    
     The main body  11  is equipped with various components including the water tub  20 , the disc assembly  30  and the ventilation device  40 , serving as a framework that supports the entire air cleaning humidifier  1 . 
     The water tub  20  has a space to hold water. A lower part of the disc assembly  30  is disposed in a water holding part  21  of the water tub  20  to be submerged in water. That is, the disc assembly  30  is soaked in the water stored in the water holding part  21  of the water tub  20 . In addition, a water supply part  22  is provided to the water tub  20  to be supplied with water from a water tank that will be described later. 
     The disc assembly  30  has a substantially ring shape. 
     The ventilation device  40  includes a ventilation motor  41  supplying a driving force, and a ventilation fan  42  receiving the driving force from the ventilation motor  41  and thereby generating an air current. The ventilation fan  42  generates the air current inside the air cleaning humidifier  1  so that air is drawn in through an air suction port  13   a  and then discharged through the air discharge port  14   c.    
     A heater  15  is mounted at an upper part of the main body  11 . The heater  15  heats humidified air being discharged to the outside, when necessary, thereby producing warm humidified air. 
     A sterilizer  16  is mounted at both sides of an upper part of the main body  11  to exterminate harmful germs from the humidified air, such that clean humidified air is discharged to the outside of the air cleaning humidifier  1 . 
     The front cover  12  has a substantially rectangular shape and is connected to a front side of the main body  11 . A surface of the front cover  12  may be decorated with various pictures or figures. An operation unit  12   a  is formed at an upper part of the front cover  12  in order for operation of the air cleaning humidifier  1 . 
     The operation unit  12   a  has various buttons to allow a user to operate the air cleaning humidifier  1 . The operation unit  12   a  may be a button-operated type or a touch-operated type. 
     The rear cover  13  is connected with a rear side of the frame body  11 , including a water tank receiving part  13   b  to receive a water tank  50 . Also, a plurality of the air suction ports  13   a  are formed at the rear cover  13 , such that dry air of the interior space is drawn in through the air inlets  13   a.    
     The water tank receiving part  13   b  is protruded from a rear surface of the rear cover  13  and opened at an upper side. An inner cover  13   c  is mounted in the water tank receiving part  13   b  and then the water tank  50  is received on the inner cover  13   c.    
     The water tank  50  stores water to be used for humidification and supplies a proper quantity of the water to the water holding part  21  of the water tub  20  through the water supply part  22 . The water tank  50  is mounted in the form of a cassette in the air cleaning humidifier  1 . 
     After the water tank  50  is mounted in the air cleaning humidifier  1 , an upper part of the water tank  50  is covered with a water tank cover  51 . A filter  60  is mounted at an inner rear surface of the water tank receiving part  13   b  so as to remove impurities from the air drawn in from the outside. 
     The discharge grill  14  is connected to the upper side of the body frame  10  and is divided into an external discharge grill  14   a  mounted at the outer part of the body frame  10  and an internal discharge grill  14   b  mounted at the inner part of the external discharge grill  14   a.    
     Hereinafter, the disc assembly according to the exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 3 to 6 .  FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the disc assembly.  FIG. 4  is a side-sectional view of the disc assembly of  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 5  is a front view of the disc assembly of  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 6  is a partially enlarged view of the disc assembly of  FIG. 3 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 to 6 , in the air cleaning humidifier  1  according to the embodiment, the disc assembly  30  is arranged to surround the ventilation fan  42  in a manner that a center of rotation A of the disc assembly  30  is almost aligned with a center of rotation B of the ventilation fan  42 . 
     The disc assembly  30  may include a first side plate  31  adjoining the rear cover  13  when received in the main body  11 , a second side plate  32  adjoining the front cover  12  when received in the body frame  11 , and a plurality of discs  33  disposed between the first and the second side plates  31  and  32 . 
     An opening  30   a  is formed through the first side plate  31 , the second side plate  32 , and the plurality of discs  33  to have a greater diameter than an outer diameter of the ventilation fan  42 . In other words, the disc assembly  30  substantially has a ring shape and is connected with the main body  11  as the ventilation fan  42  is inserted in the opening  30   a  of the disc assembly  30 . More specifically, the disc assembly  30  is received in the main body  11  so that a thickness portion T 1  of the disc assembly  30  is overlapped with a thickness portion T 2  of the ventilation fan  42 . The discs  33  include a plurality of disc members deposited at predetermined intervals. The discs  33  may each have a penetration hole (not shown) corresponding to a connection member  31   a  formed at the first side plate  31  such that the connection member  31   a  is fitted around the connection member  31   a.  The second side plate  32  may also have a penetration hole (not shown) corresponding to the connection member  31   a  to be fit around the connection member  31   a.  In addition, spacers  34  are provided among the first side plate  31 , each of the discs  33 , and the second side plate  32 , thereby adjusting the interval between the respective discs  33 . 
     The disc assembly  30  is connected to a driving unit  70  that generates a rotational force at the disc assembly  30 . To this end, the driving unit  70  may include a driving motor  71 , and a driving gear  72  connected with a gear unit  32   a  of the second side plate  32 . As the driving gear  72  of the driving unit  70  is engaged with the gear unit  32   a  of the second side plate  32 , the driving force of the driving unit  70  is transmitted to the disc assembly  30 . 
     The driving gear  72  may be disposed lower than the center of rotation A of the disc assembly  30  in order to avoid interference with the driving unit  70  during connection and separation of the disc assembly  30  with respect to the air cleaning humidifier  30 . 
     Additionally, a supporting member  80  may be formed inside the water tub  20  to support the disc assembly  30 . The supporting member  80  may be removably provided at both inner sides of the water tub  20 . The supporting member  80  is rotatably formed to support the disc assembly  30  and guide the disc assembly  30  to be more stably rotated by the driving gear  72 . The support member  80  may include a roller disposed higher than a water level. 
     Furthermore, a cut portion  30   b  is formed at the disc assembly  30  so as to prevent deterioration of the velocity of the air current generated by the ventilation fan  42 . The cut portion  30   b  may be formed by cutting out a part of circumferences of the first side plate  31 , to form a space S, the second side plate  32  and the discs  33  substantially by a fan-shape. 
     More specifically, the cut portion  30   b  is formed by cutting out a part of a ring portion  30   c  constituting the circumferential body of the disc assembly  30 . Therefore, the cut portion  30   b  includes a first sectional surface P 1  and a second sectional surface P 2  formed into a rectangular plane by partially cutting out the ring portion  30   c  of the disc assembly  30 . A cut-out area of the disc assembly  30  is thus generated between the first and the second sectional surfaces P 1  and P 2 . 
     By passing through the cut portion  30   b  of the disc assembly  30 , the air current generated by the ventilation fan  42  may be moved to the air discharge port  14   c  with a reduced resistance. 
     The cut portion  30   b  of the embodiment has a fan-shape according to the drawings. However, considering that the cut portion  30   b  formed by partially cutting the ring portion  30   c  aims to prevent deterioration of the velocity of the air current moving to the air discharge port  14   c,  it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the cut portion  30   b  may have any other shape designed through analysis of the air current. 
     The driving unit  70  rotates the disc assembly  30  in a manner that the cut portion  30   b  of the disc assembly  30  is not submerged in the water tub  20  because the humidifying performance may be deteriorated if the cut portion  30   b  which is incapable of absorbing water is submerged in the water tank  20 . The rotational operation of the disc assembly  30  will be explained later. 
     Hereinafter, the operation of the air cleaning humidifier according to the embodiment will be described. 
     First, when the air cleaning humidifier  1  is started, water stored in the water tank  50  is supplied to the water tub  20 . The water supplied from the water tank  50  is stored in the water receiving part  21  passing through the water supply part  22 . Here, quantity of the water stored in the water receiving part  21  may be adjusted to have a regular water level  21   a.  Part of the disc assembly  30  is submerged in the water because the ring-shaped disc assembly  30  is disposed to be partly lower than the water level  21   a  of the water tub  21 . 
     When the user selects an air cleaning and humidifying mode through the operation unit  12   a,  the ventilation fan  42  and the disc assembly  30  are simultaneously driven. Therefore, cleaned air is passed through the disc assembly  30  which is rotating and is then discharged out through the air discharge port  14   c.    
     The process of the air cleaning and humidifying mode will be more specifically described. The driving force of the driving unit  70  is transmitted from the driving gear  72  to the disc assembly  30 , and accordingly the disc assembly  30  is rotated. 
     Since the ventilation fan  42  is inserted in the opening  30   a  of the disc assembly  30  having the ring shape, the disc assembly  30  is rotated along the outer circumference of the ventilation fan  42 . The rotation of the ventilation fan  42  generates an air current within the air cleaning humidifier  1 . Specifically, the air current is formed as air is drawn in through the air suction port  13   a  formed on the rear surface of the air cleaning humidifier  1 , passed through the filter  60 , drawn into the ventilation fan  42  and then discharged to the outside through the disc assembly  30 . 
     That is, since the thickness portion of the ventilation fan  42  and the thickness portion of the discs  33  are overlapped with each other, the air current discharged from the ventilation fan  42  is blown to the disc assembly  30 . While the blown air current is passing through the plurality of discs  33 , the water soaked in the discs  33  is vaporized, thereby humidifying the air current. The humidified air is discharged out of the body frame  10  through the air discharge port  14   c.    
     Here, since the disc assembly  30  has the cut portion  30   b  formed by cutting a part of the ring portion  30   c,  the air current generated by the ventilation fan  42  may cause less interference with or resistance to the disc assembly  30  when moving to the air discharge port  14   c.    
     The disc assembly  30  is driven in a state wherein only the ring portion  30   c  of the disc assembly  30  is submerged in the water tub  20  but the cut portion  30   b  is not submerged. 
     That is, when the driving unit  70  approaches the first sectional surface P 1  of the cut portion  30   b  as shown in  FIG. 7A , the driving unit  70  rotates the disc assembly  30  by about 120° in a forward direction D 1  so that the cut portion  30   b  of the disc assembly  30  approaches nearest to the discharge grill  14  as shown in  FIG. 7B . 
     From the state of  FIG. 7B , the driving unit  70  further rotates the disc assembly  30  by about another 120° in the forward direction D 1  so that the second sectional surface P 2  of the cut portion  30   b  approaches the water level  21  a in the water tub  20  as shown in  FIG. 7C . 
     When the disc assembly  30  is rotated to the position as shown in  FIG. 7C , the driving unit  70  transmits the driving force to rotate the disc assembly  30  in a backward direction D 2 , so that the cut portion  30   b  of the disc assembly  30  approaches nearest to the discharge grill  14  as shown in  FIG. 7D . 
     When the disc assembly  30  is disposed as shown in  FIG. 7D , the driving unit  70  rotates the disc assembly  30  again by about 120° in the backward direction D 2  so that the first sectional surface P 1  of the cut portion  30   b  approaches the water level  21   a  in the water tub  20  as shown in  FIG. 7E . 
     Accordingly, when the first sectional surface P 1  approaches the driving unit  70  as shown in  FIG. 7E , the driving unit  70  rotates the disc assembly  30  again by about 120° in the forward direction D 1  and repeatedly performs the above-described processes. 
     The driving unit  70  may include a step motor in order to rotate the disc assembly  30  in the forward direction D 1  and then in the backward direction D 2  in accordance with input angles. 
     According to the above structure, the cut portion  30   b  of the disc assembly  30  is always maintained out of the water tub  20  during rotation of the disc assembly  30  in the forward direction D 1  or backward direction D 2 . Therefore, deterioration of the humidifying performance of the disc assembly  30  caused when the cut portion  30   b  is submerged in the water tub  20  may be prevented. 
     If the air cleaning mode for only air cleaning is selected, a process of correcting the position of the disc assembly  30  may be further performed so that the cut portion  30   b  is disposed nearest to the air discharge port  14   c.  This is performed to minimize interference between the air current generated by the ventilation fan  42  and the disc assembly  30 . Accordingly, volume of the air current is increased and the air current is quickly supplied to the interior space. 
     As is apparent from the above description, an air cleaning humidifier according to the embodiment is capable of minimizing interference between an air current generated at a ventilation fan and a disc assembly by forming a cut portion at the disc assembly. 
     Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.