JPH1114106A - humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] To provide a humidifier that prompts a user to clean an evaporating dish when a large amount of evaporation residue (scale) adheres to the evaporating dish. SOLUTION: In a humidifier for heating and boiling water in an evaporating dish 4 by a heater 5 and blowing it out as steam to humidify the room, a temperature sensor 6 for detecting a temperature rise of the evaporating dish 4; A storage device for storing the accumulated use time of the main body 1 and a humidifier which compares and determines the temperature rise value of the evaporating dish 4 detected by the temperature sensor 6 and the accumulated use time stored in the storage device with a predetermined value set in advance. A warning lamp 11 and a warning buzzer 12 for notifying when at least one of the temperature rise value of the evaporating dish 4 or the cumulative use time has reached a predetermined value. ing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a humidifier for humidifying a room by steam generated by heating and boiling water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a humidifier of this type, water in a water supply tank is supplied to an evaporating dish through a rubber hose, and the evaporating dish is heated by a heater, thereby boiling the water in the evaporating dish to generate steam. Then, the steam is released to the outside to humidify the room.

[0003]

In the humidifier configured as described above, when water evaporates, impurities contained in the water remain in the evaporating dish as evaporation residues (scale).
Therefore, when the humidifier is used for a long time, a large amount of evaporation residue adheres to the inner bottom and the inner wall of the evaporating dish. When the amount of adhesion increases, heat transfer from the heater to the water in the evaporating dish becomes worse, the amount of humidification decreases, and the heating efficiency of the heater decreases, resulting in a problem of wasting power. The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and has as its object to obtain a humidifier that prompts a user to clean an evaporating dish when a large amount of evaporation residue adheres to the evaporating dish. .

[0004]

The humidifier according to the present invention comprises:
In a humidifier that heats and boiles water in the evaporating dish with a heater, blows it out as steam, and humidifies the room, a temperature sensor that detects a rise in the temperature of the evaporating dish,
A storage device for storing the accumulated use time of the humidifier body, and comparing the temperature rise value of the evaporating dish by the temperature sensor and the accumulated use time stored in the storage device with a predetermined value set in advance to operate the humidifier. A microcomputer for controlling, and a notifying unit for notifying when one of the temperature rise value of the evaporating dish or the accumulated use time stored in the storage device reaches a predetermined value, the determination result of the microcomputer. is there.

Further, the microcomputer temporarily forcibly terminates the use of the humidifier when the temperature rise value detected by the temperature sensor or the accumulated use time stored in the storage device reaches a predetermined value.

Further, the storage device stores the time during which the power cord is connected to the power outlet as the accumulated use time.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a humidifier control circuit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the humidifier. 1 and 2, 1 is a humidifier main body, 2 is a water tank, 3 is a rubber hose, 4 is an evaporating dish, 5
Is a heater for heating the evaporating dish 4, and 6 is a heater for heating the evaporating dish 4.
And a temperature sensor 7 for detecting a rise in the temperature of the evaporating dish 4, which takes in external air and passes the external air to the vapor discharge port 8 through the internal space of the main body where the temperature sensor 6 is installed. A blower 9 for blowing air is a microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as a microcomputer) for controlling the entire humidifier, and has a timekeeping function, a storage function, and a determination function.
10 is a power switch for turning on / off the operation of the humidifier, 1
Reference numeral 1 denotes a warning lamp for notifying a warning by light, 12 a warning buzzer for notifying a warning by sound, and 13 a reset switch for canceling the operation of the warning lamp 11 and the warning buzzer 12.

Next, FIG. 3 for explaining the operation in the first embodiment having the above configuration is a flowchart showing the operation in the first embodiment.
When the power switch 10 is turned on, the microcomputer 9 detects the power switch and turns on the heater 5 attached to the evaporating dish 4.
Heating is performed by starting energization of the battery, and humidification is performed. At the same time, in step 2, the microcomputer 1 starts counting the time (use time) during which the power switch 10 is “ON”, and writes and saves it in a storage device in the microcomputer 9. Then, in step 3, the microcomputer 1 determines whether the usage time written in the storage device has reached a predetermined threshold value. The threshold in this case is
The use time is set assuming a use time in which a large amount of scale adheres to the evaporating dish 4, for example, a use time of one month. In this case, the threshold value is set to 480 hours. In step 3, N
In the case of O, the process proceeds to step 4, where the microcomputer 9
A comparison is made between the detection value of the temperature sensor 6 detecting the temperature rise of the evaporating dish 4 and a preset threshold value of the temperature rise value of the evaporating dish 4. The threshold value in this case is set in consideration of security, and here, the threshold value is set to 113 ° C. If the determination result is NO in both step 3 and step 4, the process returns to step 2 and the same flow is repeated thereafter.

On the other hand, if the determination result of either step 3 or step 4 is YES, the microcomputer 9 determines that the amount of scale attached to the evaporating dish 4 has reached a predetermined level or more in step 5 and The user is notified of the necessity of cleaning by operating the warning lamp 11 and the warning buzzer 12 by light and sound. Then, in step 6, it is determined whether or not the reset switch 13 has been pressed. When the reset switch 13 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step 7, where the warning lamp 3 and the warning buzzer 4 are turned off. Finally, the microcomputer 1 turns off the power switch 10 in step 8.
Is determined, if NO, the process returns to step 2, and if YES, the microcomputer 1 ends the operation.

As described above, one of the temperature rise value of the evaporating dish 4 by the temperature sensor 6 and the cumulative use time of the humidifier stored in the storage device of the microcomputer 9 is determined by a predetermined value (threshold value). When the alarm reaches the warning lamp 11 and the warning buzzer 12
So that both visual and auditory alerts are given,
The user knows that the amount of scale attached to the evaporating dish 4 has become large, and immediately starts removing the scale. Therefore, the humidifier can always be used in a normal state, and the heater 5 can be used. Since the heating efficiency is improved, power can be saved, the amount of scale attached to the evaporating dish 4 can be properly grasped, and abnormal heating of the evaporating dish is eliminated, so that the life of the evaporating dish 4 can be extended. it can.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the second embodiment of the present invention. In the case of the second embodiment, the basic operation is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
When the accumulated time of use stored in the storage device of the microcomputer 9 reaches a predetermined value (threshold) set in advance, or in the determination of step 4, the detection value of the temperature sensor 6 is set to a predetermined value in the evaporating dish. When a predetermined value (threshold value) of the temperature rise value of 4 is reached, the microcomputer 1 adds a step 4a for turning off the power supply to the heater 5 for heating the evaporating dish 4 and temporarily terminating the humidification.

Another difference is that in step 6, when the reset switch 13 is pressed, the microcomputer 1 adds a step 6a for turning on the heater 8 and starting humidification again. In this way, if the humidification is temporarily forcibly terminated, the user is required to clean the evaporating dish 4 without fail, so that the necessity of cleaning can be appealed to the user more strongly.

Embodiment 3 Further, in the first embodiment, the microcomputer 9 counts only the time during which the power switch 10 is turned “ON” and uses the counted time as the accumulated use time. However, the time during which the power cord of the main body 1 is plugged into the power outlet is used. May be stored in the RAM area of the microcomputer 9 as a cumulative use time, and this time may be compared with a predetermined value (threshold) determined in advance. By doing so, the heater 5 is kept in a state where the water remains in the evaporating dish 4.
Even when the microcomputer 9 is not used for a long time and is left unused for a long period of time, the microcomputer 9 counts the usage time, so that it is possible to detect the adhesion of water residue.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, when any one of the temperature rise value of the evaporating dish by the temperature sensor and the cumulative use time of the humidifier reaches the preset threshold value, The humidifier can always be used in a normal state, and the heating efficiency of the heater is improved, thereby saving power. At the same time, the amount of evaporation residue adhering to the evaporating dish can be properly grasped, and abnormal heating of the evaporating dish is eliminated, so that there is an effect that the life of the evaporating dish can be extended.

According to the second aspect, in addition to the same effects as those of the first aspect, the temperature sensor detects a predetermined temperature rise value, and when the accumulated use time reaches a predetermined value, Since the humidification is temporarily stopped, the user cannot use the evaporating dish unless the evaporating dish is cleaned, so that the user can be strongly informed of the necessity of cleaning.

Further, according to the third aspect, in addition to obtaining the same effect as the first aspect, the time during which the power cord is plugged into the power outlet is used as the cumulative use time.
Even if the evaporating dish is left unused for a long period of time without water, the microcomputer counts the usage time, making it possible to cope with the adhesion of water deposits. There is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a humidifier control circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a humidifier according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 body of humidifier, 4 evaporating dish, 5 heater, 6 temperature sensor, 9 microcomputer, 10 power switch, 11
Warning lamp, 12 warning buzzer, 13 reset switch.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Arai 2-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Naoki Ueda 2-6-Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo No. 2 Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A humidifier for heating and boiling water in an evaporating dish by a heater and blowing it out as steam to humidify the interior of a room, wherein a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature rise of the evaporating dish and a humidifier body are used. A storage device for storing the integrated time, and a microcomputer for controlling the operation of the humidifier by comparing and determining the temperature rise value of the evaporating dish detected by the temperature sensor and the used integrated time stored in the storage device with a predetermined value set in advance. A humidifier comprising: a notifying unit for notifying when at least one of the temperature rise value of the evaporating dish and the accumulated use time reaches a predetermined value. 2. The microcomputer according to claim 1, wherein the microcomputer temporarily forcibly terminates the use of the humidifier when the temperature rise value detected by the temperature sensor or the accumulated use time stored in the storage device reaches a predetermined value. The humidifier according to 1. 3. The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the storage device stores a time during which the power cord is connected to the power outlet as a cumulative use time.