Patent Abstract:
The present invention relates to a humidifier. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a humidifier comprising: a main body including a water reservoir for storing water; an upper body disposed above the water reservoir for covering the water reservoir; and a vibration unit including a vibrator for atomizing the water in the water reservoir, wherein the upper body includes a first hinge part for hinge-coupling with the main body and a second hinge part for hinge-coupling with the vibration unit, the upper body is capable of being lifted from the main body using the first hinge part as a shaft, the vibration unit is capable of rotatably moving in the water using the second hinge part as a shaft, and the vibration unit further includes a vibrator receiving unit for the vibrator.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application claims the benefit of International Application No. PCT/KR2014/006883, filed on Jul. 28, 2014, based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0088722, filed Jul. 26, 2013 and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0019203, filed Feb. 19, 2014, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates generally to a humidifier. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A humidifier is a device for atomizing water and spraying the atomized water into the air to create a pleasant environment and a comfortable humidity for human health. The humidifier is also often used in order to relieve respiratory diseases caused by dry air. 
     Generally, ultrasonic humidifiers are widely used, and a conventional ultrasonic humidifier comprises, a water reservoir for storing water and a humidifier body which accommodates the water reservoir and includes an electric circuit. On a predetermined position of humidifier body is provided with a ultrasonic vibrator. Accordingly, when the water stored inside the reservoir is supplied on the ultrasonic vibrator, the ultrasonic vibrator atomizes the water to form a mist, and the mist is sprayed outside the humidifier. 
     After protracted use of the conventional ultrasonic humidifier, a bacteria or a mold and the like grow in the water reservoir, ultrasonic vibrator, etc., which causes the spraying of mist contaminated with the bacteria or mold. The only resolution for this problem is a frequent cleaning or sterilization of the water reservoir, ultrasonic vibrator, etc. However, the reservoir of the conventional ultrasonic humidifier has a shape to help accommodate the reservoir in the humidifier body (for example, a tank having only a small hole in the lower portion of the tank for water supply and so on). Therefore, there are several locations which are difficult for manual cleaning with hands. In addition, in the conventional ultrasonic humidifier, the ultrasonic vibrator is mostly coupled to the humidifier bed including an electric circuit, which makes it difficult to clean or sterilize. 
     In order to solve the specific problem associated with cleaning due to these factors, an ultrasonic humidifier having the ultrasonic vibrator disposed on the bottom surface of the reservoir instead of the humidifier body was developed and used. But, such an ultrasonic humidifier has a disadvantage in that only a small amount of water can be contained in the water reservoir at any time to allow placement of the ultrasonic vibrator close to the surface of the water for the ultrasonic humidifier to sufficiently atomize the water easily. 
     SUMMARY 
     It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problems of the conventional arts as a whole. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a humidifier easily cleanable by a user. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a humidifier capable of easily sterilizing all the parts that are in contact with water. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a humidifier capable of easily separating and sterilizing the parts that are in contact with water. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a humidifier with a low manufacturing cost while achieving all of the above objects. 
     The representative configuration of the present invention to achieve the above objects is as follows. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a humidifier comprising: a main body including a water reservoir for storing water; an upper body disposed above the water reservoir for covering the water reservoir; and a vibration unit including a vibrator for atomizing the water in the water reservoir, wherein the upper body includes a first lunge part for hinge-coupling with the main body and a second hinge part for hinge-coupling with the vibration unit, the upper body is capable of being lifted from the main body using the first hinge part as a shaft, the vibration unit is capable of rotatably moving in the water using the second hinge part as a shaft, and the vibration unit further includes a vibrator receiving unit for the vibrator. 
     In addition, other configurations may be provided according to the technical idea of the present invention. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a humidifier which can be easily cleaned and sterilized by a user. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a humidifier in which the parts contacted with water can be easily separated and sterilized. 
     Also, according to the present invention, there is provided a humidifier with a low manufacturing cost while achieving all of the above objects. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows an overall configuration of a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing a coupling state of the upper body and the vibration unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows a lower part of the vibration unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows a location of the vibration unit when containing a small amount of in water in the water reservoir. 
         FIG. 5  shows a location of the vibration unit when containing a large amount of water in the water reservoir. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram showing a state where the upper body is lifted up from the main body according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a reference diagram regarding a situation where the water reservoir, the lower part of the vibration unit and the separating plate are being sterilized. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following detailed description of the present invention is made with reference to accompanying drawings illustrating specific embodiments of the present invention. These embodiments are described in detail to the extent that it is sufficient for a person skilled in the art to practice the present invention. Although embodiments of the present invention are different from each other, it should be understood that these are not necessarily exclusive to each other. For example, specific shapes, structures and characteristics as described herein can be practiced by modifying one embodiment to another without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, it is to be understood that locations and configurations of the individual components of the embodiments can be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the following detailed description is intended to be non-limitative, and the scope of the present invention should be taken to encompass the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. Similar reference numerals in the drawings represent the same or similar components in various aspects. 
     In the following, to allow those skilled in the art to easily practice the present invention, several preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Preferred Embodiments of the Present Invention 
       FIG. 1  shows an overall configuration of a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a humidifier  10  comprises an upper body  100 , a main body  200  and a vibration unit  300 . 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the upper body  100  may include a prescribed electric circuit (not shown) for the humidifier therein, and may further include a fan  110 , a first hinge part  120 , a second hinge part  130  and a separating plate  140 . The upper body  100  can be disposed over a water reservoir  210  of the main body  200  to be described later, if desired, thereby covering it. 
     The electric circuit of the upper body  100  may be used to start or stop the vibration of a vibrator in the vibration unit  300  to atomize water (W) in the water reservoir  210 . Also, the electric circuit may control the fan  110  to rotate as well when the vibrator is vibrating. The control state of the electric circuit can be determined by an operation state of a switch (not shown) attachable to the upper body  100 , main body  200  and so on. The other structure of the electric circuit may be similar to that of the electric circuit of the conventional ultrasonic humidifier. In the meantime, it may be preferable that the electric circuit is included in the upper body  100 ; however, it can be included in the main body  200 , if needed. 
     The fan  110  can rotate to intake external air into the water reservoir  210  and spray it to the outside of the water reservoir  210  (i.e. the outside of the humidifier  10 ) while including a mist generated in the water reservoir  210 , in addition, a filter not shown) associated with the fan  110  can be disposed. The filter can purify the external air provided into the water reservoir  210 . Meanwhile, the fan  110  may be preferably included in the upper body  100 ; however, it can be included in the main body  200 , if needed. 
     The first hinge part  120  may be a component for hinge-coupling the upper body  100  and the main body  200 . Accordingly, a user can lift up the upper body  100  from the main body  200  using the first hinge part  120  as a shaft. If the upper body  100  is lifted up from the main body  200 , the vibration unit  300 , which may be directly coupled to the upper body  100 , can be lifted up together with the upper body  100  as it will be described in detail later. Such a structure allows a user to easily take out the water reservoir  210  from the main body  200  without separating the vibration unit  300 . 
     The second hinge part  130  may be a component for hinge-coupling the upper body  100  and the vibration unit  300 . Accordingly, the vibration unit  300  can move upward or downward while rotating in the water in the water reservoir  210  using the second hinge part  130  as a shaft according to the water level. The movement of the vibration unit  300  will later be described in more detail. 
     A variable resistance (not shown) can be included in the second hinge part  130 . The variable resistance may be configured to vary its resistance in accordance with the angle of the vibration unit  300  at the second hinge part  130 . Accordingly, the gradient of the vibration unit  300  or the height of the vibrator ( 312  in  FIG. 3 ) in the vibration unit  300  in the water reservoir  210  (which approximates the water level in the water reservoir  210 ) can be calculated based on the resistance value of the variable resistance, and the electric circuit may inform the user of the timing of the water replenishment with reference to it. This information may be especially useful when the main body  200  or the water reservoir  210  is made of an opaque material. The case in which the variable resistance is used to check the water level is illustrated herein, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It is possible to also use a water level sensor of the vibration unit  300  or the like as will be described later. 
     The separating plate  140  serves as a bottom plate of the upper body  100  to cover the electric circuit in the upper body  100  and protect it from the mist generated from the water in reservoir  210 . The separating plate  140  is exposed to the mist at any time, it should be cleaned/sterilized frequently. Accordingly, it is preferable that the separating plate  140  is configured to be separable from the upper body  100  so that it is cleaned or sterilized separately. Also, the separating plate  140  is preferably made of a heat-resistant material such as metal or glass (for example, stainless steel) which can facilitate cleaning or sterilization. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the main body  200  is the main portion of the humidifier  10 , which may include the water reservoir  210  for storing water therein and for providing a space required for the stored water to become a mist by the vibrator. The water reservoir  210  has a shape in which the upper part thereof is wide and open to make it easy to clean and does not have electrical components which would not allow any contact with the water. So, the user can wash the water reservoir  210  everywhere here and even boil water with it. In this case, the water reservoir  210  can be separated with and taken out from the main body  200 , if needed. On one side of the water reservoir  210 , a mist outlet  211  may be formed, which discharges the mist in the water reservoir  210  to the outside. The user can fill the water reservoir  210  with water and heat the water reservoir  210  to boil the water in order to sterilize the water reservoir  210 . To this end, the water reservoir  210  is preferably made of a heat-resistant material such as metal or glass (for example, stainless steel) which can facilitate cleaning or sterilization. 
     On the other hand, a heat generation unit (not shown) may be further included under the water reservoir  210  to directly boil the water in the water reservoir  210 . The heat generation unit is made of coils and the like and generates heat when supplied with electricity to heat the water in the water reservoir  210 . The electric circuit can cooperate with a separate switch (not shown) for an operation of the heat generation unit. But, in the case where the water reservoir  210  can be separated from the main body  200  and handled separately, the user can sterilize the water reservoir  210  by simply boiling the water filled inside the water reservoir  210  using a household burner and the like.  FIG. 7  is a reference diagram illustrating such a situation. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the water reservoir  210  can be sterilized together with the separating plate  140  and the lower part  310  of the vibration unit  300 , which will be described later. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the vibration unit  300  is disposed for the water stored in the water reservoir  210  and performs a function of creating an oscillation in the water to atomize it. The vibration unit  300  may include a lower part  310  and an upper part  320 . The lower part  310  can include or accommodate the vibrator ( 312  of  FIG. 3 ) for vibrating the water, and the upper part  320  is coupled to the second hinge part  130  to suspend the vibration unit  300  to float on the water as a whole while supporting the lower part  310 . Meanwhile, the vibration unit  300 , especially the lower part  310 , may further include a water level sensor (not shown) to inform the user about whether the water is required to be replenished by detecting water at a predetermined location. The water level sensor can provide a prescribed electric signal to the above-described electric circuit to perform a function of start and stop the vibration of the vibrator  312 . That is, a control function that starts the vibration of the vibrator  312  if water is detected and stops the vibration of the vibrator  312  if water is not detected may be performed. 
     In the following, a coupling state of the upper body  100  and the upper part  320  of the vibration unit  300  is described referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In  FIG. 1 , the arrow indicates a flowing route of the external air incoming via the fan  110 .  FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing a coupling state of the upper body and the upper part of the vibration unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     As shown, the upper part  320  of the vibration, unit  300  can be coupled to the predetermined position of the upper body  110  through the intermediation of the second hinge part  130 . The position is preferably on the incoming route of the external air indicated by the arrow. While it is important for the vibration unit  300  to be hinge-coupled to the upper body  100  in the present invention, the hinge-coupling part of the second hinge part  130  and so on are the parts in which cleaning or sterilization is relatively difficult compared to the part of the separating plate  140  of the upper body  100 . Accordingly, it is preferable to locate it on the incoming route of the external air for the incoming external air to block the approach of the mist to the second hinge part  130  and so on in some degree. 
     In the same context, as shown in  FIG. 2 , it is preferable that the vibration unit  300  has a structure that the protrusion  327  of the upper part  320  thereof is inserted to the groove  317  of the lower part  310  thereof to be combined with each other. Such a configuration helps the user clean the upper part  320  of the vibration unit  300  which is difficult to separate and sterilize by minimizing the indented portions. In the meantime, it is preferable that H 1  or H 2  part of the upper part  320  as shown is sufficiently and constantly apart from the water in the water reservoir  210  by the support of the second hinge part  130 . 
     On the other hand, by hinge-coupling the vibration unit  300  to the upper body  100  through the intermediation of the second hinge part  130 , and preventing the second hinge part  130  from being dropped down under the vibration unit  300 , due to the upward directional torque in the vibration unit  300  resulting from the auxiliary operation of the hinge or the frictional force at the hinge, the size of the portion of the vibration unit  300  which is submerged in the water (for example, a vibrator receiving unit ( 311  of  FIG. 3 ) of the vibration unit  300  which will be described later) can kept as small as possible. 
     Now, the lower part  310  of the vibration unit  300  is described referring to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  shows the lower part of the vibration unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     As shown, the lower part  310  may include a vibrator receiving unit  311  and a vibrator  312  on one side thereof. The vibrator receiving unit  311  may be for a temporary or non-temporary placement of the vibrator  312 , or it can be combined with the vibrator  312 . The vibrator receiving unit  311  may have a structure (for example, a structure that is hollow inside) or a material (for example, a material having a lower density than water) with buoyancy in water. On the other hand, the vibrator  312  can be any one of the types of conventional ultrasound vibrators. The vibrator  312  may start or stop the vibration in accordance with the electric signal received from the electric circuit of the upper body  100  through the wiring (not shown) inside the lower part  310  and the upper part  320 . 
     The lower part  310  may include at least one terminal  315  on the other side thereof. And, an electrical connection means (not shown) corresponding to the terminal  315  may be formed at a portion of the upper part  320  coupled to the lower part  310 . The terminal  315  or the electrical connection means may be connected to the wiring (not shown) inside the lower part  310  and the upper part  320  as described above. 
     Furthermore, in order to make the lower part  310  and the upper part  320  detachable from each other, the lower part  310  and the upper part ( 320 ) may include materials with magnetic force for the coupling portion with each other, or include a coupling structure by the frictional force such as protrusions and grooves. 
     The lower part  310  of the vibration unit  300  can be boiled in water in the same manner as the separating plate  140  and the like, if well packaged, due to the simple electrical structure. 
     Importantly, the vibrator receiving unit  311  can be formed to be bent from the bottom part  310  to the position where the vibration unit  300  is coupled to the upper body  100  (that is, the position of the second hinge part  130 ), as shown. This configuration is very advantageous for preventing the vibrator  312  from exposure to the water during the flotation of the vibration unit  300  due to the buoyancy when containing a large amount of water in the water reservoir  210  (the vibrator  312  should be submerged in the water while it is vibrating and it is preferable that the vibrator  312  is submerged in the water even while it is not vibrating). 
       FIG. 4  shows a location of the vibration unit when containing a small amount of water in the water reservoir, and  FIG. 5  shows a location of the vibration unit when containing a large amount of water in the water reservoir. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , in either case that a small or large amount of water is contained in the water reservoir  210 , due to the specific structure of the lower part  310  of the vibration unit  300  according to the present invention, the vibrator receiving unit  311  is disposed under the water surface and the vibrator  312  can atomize water. 
       FIG. 6  is a diagram showing a state where the upper body is lifted up from the main body in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     When a user lifts up the upper body  100  from the main body  200 , the vibration unit  300  coupled to the tipper body  100  is lifted from the main body  200  as well. Accordingly, when the user supplies the water reservoir  210  with water or cleans or sterilizes the water reservoir  210 , the user does not need to separate the vibration unit  300 . Furthermore, the above characteristics serve the convenience of separating the water reservoir  210  easily from the main body  200  in the direction of the arrow and handling it comfortably. 
     While there has been described herein the present invention with reference to the specific components, embodiments, and drawings, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that they are only intended to aid the overall understanding of the present invention, not to limit the present invention to those embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be made to the invention in view of the above description. 
     Accordingly, the idea of the present invention should not be limited to the embodiments described above, and it is intended that the present invention encompass the appended claims and the equivalents and modifications thereof as well.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5