EP-4735802-A1 - HUMIDIFIER

EP4735802A1EP 4735802 A1EP4735802 A1EP 4735802A1EP-4735802-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a humidifier. The humidifier according to the present disclosure includes: a case having an inlet and an outlet, the case having a flow path through which air, drawn in through the inlet, flows to the outlet; a blower fan disposed in the case and generating a flow of air that flows through the flow path; a humidification water tank disposed in the case and generating humidified air; a heater disposed in the flow path and heating air; and a blade disposed in the flow path, wherein a portion of the flow path is formed between the case and the humidification water tank, and the blade is disposed between the case and the humidification water tank to branch the flow path, wherein a length of a first surface of the blade facing the humidification water tank is greater than a length of a second surface of the blade facing the case.

Inventors

SOHN, Youngwook
LEE, SEUNGHYUN
KWON, Boan
LEE, JIHYE

Assignees

LG Electronics Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240703

Claims (20)

A humidifier comprising: a case having an inlet and an outlet, the case having a flow path through which air, drawn in through the inlet, flows to the outlet; a blower fan disposed in the case and generating a flow of air that flows through the flow path; a humidification water tank disposed in the case and generating humidified air; a heater disposed in the flow path and heating air; and a blade disposed in the flow path, wherein a portion of the flow path is formed between the case and the humidification water tank, and the blade is disposed between the case and the humidification water tank to branch the flow path, wherein a length of a first surface of the blade facing the humidification water tank is greater than a length of a second surface of the blade facing the case.
The humidifier of claim 1, wherein the blade is formed in an airfoil shape.
The humidifier of claim 1, wherein a width of the blade gradually increases and then decreases toward a top.
The humidifier of claim 1, wherein the blade comprises: a leading edge which is one end where air is introduced; and a trailing edge which is another end where the air is discharged, wherein a position of the trailing edge of the blade is higher than a position of an upper end of the humidification water tank.
The humidifier of claim 1, wherein the first surface of the blade facing the humidification water tank is convex toward the humidification water tank.
The humidifier of claim 5, wherein the second surface of the blade facing the case is flat.
The humidifier of claim 1, wherein the heater is located more upstream of an air flow path than the blower fan.
The humidifier of claim 1, further comprising a duct guide guiding air, introduced through the inlet, to the blower fan, wherein the duct guide comprises: a duct inlet at which the heater is disposed; and a duct shell extending from the duct inlet and defining a duct flow path.
The humidifier of claim 8, wherein an area of the duct flow path gradually increases toward the blower fan.
The humidifier of claim 1, further comprising a middle grill disposed at an upper side of the blade, wherein the middle grill comprises: a first middle opening communicating with a first middle flow path formed between the blade and the humidification water tank; a second middle opening communicating with a second middle flow path formed between the blade and the case; and an inner opening communicating with an internal space of the humidification water tank.
The humidifier of claim 10, wherein the middle grill comprises a grill support seated at an upper end of the blade, wherein the first middle flow path extends between the grill support and the humidification water tank, and the second middle flow path extends between the grill support and the case.
The humidifier of claim 10, wherein the humidification water tank comprises a water tank opening that opens at a top, wherein a position of the first middle opening and a position of the second middle opening are higher than a position of the water tank opening.
The humidifier of claim 10, wherein the middle grill comprises: a first middle grill portion having the first middle opening; and a second middle grill portion having the second middle opening, wherein the first middle grill portion comprises a first drain formed between first middle openings and guiding residual water to the internal space of the humidification water tank, and the second middle grill portion comprises a second drain extending along an inner circumference of the case and guiding the residual water to the first drain.
The humidifier of claim 13, wherein the middle grill comprises a grill inner end extending downward and located further inside in a horizontal direction than the upper end of the humidification water tank, wherein the grill inner end is connected to the first drain.
The humidifier of claim 13, wherein the first drain and the second drain are inclined downward toward the humidification water tank.
The humidifier of claim 1, further comprising a tank disposed above the humidification water tank and having an open top, wherein a discharge flow path, through which humidified air flows, is formed between the case and the tank.
The humidifier of claim 16, wherein the case comprises: an upper case having an open top and spaced outward from the tank; and a top cover disposed at the open top of the upper case, wherein the discharge flow path is formed between the upper case and the tank, and the top cover comprises the outlet through which the humidified air is discharged, and a water supply hole formed at an upper side of the tank.
The humidifier of claim 17, wherein the top cover comprises a cover guide extending radially upward from an upper end of the tank, wherein the cover guide is spaced upward from an upper end of the upper case, and the outlet is formed between the upper end of the upper case and the cover guide.
The humidifier of claim 18, wherein an upper surface of the cover guide is convex, and a lower surface of the cover guide is concave.
The humidifier of claim 18, wherein the top cover comprises a cover plate spaced apart from the upper surface of the cover guide, the cover plate covering the water supply hole.

Description

HUMIDIFIER The following disclosure relates to a humidifier, and more particularly to a natural evaporative humidifier without a humidifying filter. A humidifier is a device for vaporizing water to discharge humidified air with high moisture content. The humidifier may generate humidified air by vaporizing water using natural vaporization, heating vaporization, and ultrasonic vibration. Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0167091 discloses a humidifier including: a housing; a water tank accommodated in the housing and storing water; a humidifying filter absorbing water pumped from the water tank; and a blower fan configured to vaporize the water absorbed by the humidifying filter. The existing humidifier has a problem in that the humidifying filter is contaminated due to fungi, bacteria, and the like harbored in the humidifying filter that absorbs and retains water. In addition, there is also a problem in that the fungi, bacteria, and the like harbored in the humidifying filter cause an odor in the humidifier. Further, it is cumbersome for users to regularly clean the humidifier in order to maintain the hygiene of the humidifying filter. Moreover, there is a problem in that during evaporation, the stored water absorbs heat from its surroundings, such that temperature at the periphery of the humidifier is reduced in the humidification process. In addition, noise is generated by the blower fan that rotates at a high speed to evaporate the water absorbed by the humidifying filter. Furthermore, due to the characteristics of the evaporative humidifier, it takes a long time to increase the humidity at the periphery of the humidifier. Related art: Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0167091 (published on December 20, 2022). FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a combined exploded view of a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a blower module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a combined exploded view of a blower module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a blower module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a blower module according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a combined exploded view of a humidification water tank according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a combined exploded view of a grill module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a middle grill mounted on a blower module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a grill module mounted on a blower module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional perspective view of FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of S1 of FIG. 12. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 15 is a combined exploded view of a portion of a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a top cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a portion of a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 18 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to designate the same or similar components, and a redundant description thereof will be omitted. The suffixes, such as “module” and “unit,” for elements used in the following description are given simply in view of the ease of the description, and do not have a distinguishing meaning or role. In addition, it will be noted that a detailed description of known arts will be omitted if it is determined that the detailed description of the known arts can obscure the embodiments of the present disclosure. Further, the accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand various technical features and it should be understood that the embodiments presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. As such, the present disclosure should be construed to extend to any alterations, equivalents and substitutes in addition to those which are particularly set out in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to disti