Patent ID: 7109444

Claim:
A method of operating a humidifier, the humidifier comprising a water reservoir and a fan assembly, the fan assembly comprising a fan and a motor operatively connected to the fan, the humidifier further comprising a digital display and an electronic control circuit operatively connected to the motor, the electronic control circuit comprising a timing mechanism and a push-button switch, the method comprising: powering on the humidifier in a manual mode, wherein in the manual mode the humidifier is operated at a predetermined power level regardless of ambient humidity; depressing the push-button switch to switch from the manual mode to a timed mode of operation; and repeatedly depressing the push-button switch to step through a plurality of discretely incremented pre-set time values and to select one of the plurality of discretely incremented pre-set time values in the timed mode while digitally displaying a number corresponding to the selected time value in response to each depression of the push-button switch, whereby the humidifier operates in the manual mode at the predetermined power level for the selected time value.