The present subject matter relates to a disinfecting machine, and more specifically, to
an ultrasonic disinfecting and humidifier machine that allows circulation of
disinfector across an area or volume.
10
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
There are four major types of mechanical humidifiers. Steam humidifiers boil water
and release the warm steam into a room. Impeller humidifiers utilize a fast rotating
disk in combination with a comb to first liberate large droplets of water and then
15 break the droplets into smaller diffusible drop lets that are introduced into the room.
Evaporative systems use a wick that is positioned in a water source. The water
migrates along the wick by capillary action and evaporates into the air. A blower may
be used to increase the rate of evaporation. Ultrasonic humidifiers use a submerged,
vibrating metal diaphragm or ultrasonic board to impart mechanical energy to the
20 water. The use of ultrasonic energy results in the formation of an atomized mist
above the surface of the rest environment. In ultrasonic humidifiers, an electronic
component called a transducer which is capable of transforming electrical energy into
mechanical energy for generating a cool mist is used. More specifically, the
transducer includes a vibrating part called a nebulizer which vibrates quietly at
25 greater than 1.5 million times per second in order to convert water into a fine, cool
mist.
3
5 Humidifiers using a nebulizer for generating a cool mist are more commonly referred
to as ultrasonic humidifiers and are the latest advance in the humidifier field.
Ultrasonic humidifiers usually incorporate a removable water tank or container for
holding a supply of water. The tank contains a valve which controls the flow of water
from the tank into a reservoir at the bottom of the humidifier. The nebulizer for
10 converting the water into a fine, cool mist is usually located at the bottom. When the
water tank is fully or partly empty, it is simply lifted out, taken to a source of water
such as a water faucet, refilled and then returned for subsequent use.
Ultrasonic humidifier technology has been used in humidifier products in the
15 consumer market for several years. When this technology was first introduced, it was
a big success in the market. Retailers and customers were impressed by the visible
mist that was emitted from these units, they were safe to use, yet they were cool-tothe-touch. After several years of consumption and dominance in the market, the
problems of the ultrasonic humidifiers became known to the public, and the market of
20 these humidifiers had gone down drastically. The major problem encountered in the
usage of the ultrasonic humidifiers had been “Dust”. This comes during the
evaporation process (changing from a liquid to a gas), this happens after the microdroplets of water leaves the unit and evaporates in the air, allowing small amounts of
water born contaminants i.e., primarily calcium to drop to the floor, and ultimately
25 creating a dusty coating on surfaces. The ultrasonic humidifiers slowly started again
4
5 with the added use of a mineral filtration cartridge or RO to remove contaminants
from the water before they become air-borne. This also helped reduce some of the
cleaning requirements of the ultrasonic transducer disk. Also, during the last several
years, some manufacturers have also added a method to warm the ultrasonic mist,
with a heating element device to warm the water before the ultrasonic atomization
10 takes place.
The method employed to evacuate the atomized micro droplets of water from the
ultrasonic humidifier makes use of a small blower fan, blowing the droplets out of the
unit to be dispersed into the room or in an open area.
15
What is needed in the art therefore, is a machine using the most optimal kind of
humidifiers available and adopted to process and augment the technology
cycle/operation integrated therein in the most effective manner, thereby greatly
helping overcome the problems and the limitations associated with the machines and
20 technology known in state-of-the-art, and serving an innovative product with area of
applications immensely vast and diverse.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
According to an embodiment of the present subject matter, an ultrasonic disinfecting
humidifier machine for disinfecting surfaces or rooms is provided. The disinfecting
25 machine includes a chamber; a mist generator containing mixture of water and
5
5 disinfector placed at the bottom of the chamber; a tube having a passage in fluid
communication with the chamber; and a duct having an inlet and an outlet, and the
duct being in fluid communication with passage by way of a passage outlet. The
ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine further includes a fan positioned in the
duct and disposed between the duct inlet and the passage outlet, such that the tube is
10 arranged to extend at an angle to the direction of air flow through the chamber and
the duct, and having the passage outlet formed along wall of the duct, with the angle
being acute when measured from top of the chamber to the fan. Furthermore, the fan
is configured to propel air through the chamber and over the passage outlet such that
mist in the chamber may be drawn into the air flow from the duct.
15 According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the mist generator is
an ultrasonic transducer.
According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the disinfector is
sodium hypochlorite.
According to another embodiment of the present subject matter, the disinfector is
20 phenyl.
According to yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, the duct is
positioned above the chamber.
According to yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, the duct is
directed parallel from the fan.
6
5 According to yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, the fan is
positioned above the chamber.
According to a further embodiment of the present subject matter, an ultrasonic
disinfecting humidifier machine includes a chamber; an ultrasonic transducer placed
at the bottom of the chamber; a tube having a passage in fluid communication with
10 the chamber; and a duct positioned above the chamber, with the duct having an inlet
and an outlet, and being in fluid communication with passage by way of a passage
outlet. The ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine further includes a fan
positioned above the chamber and flow air in the chamber from the duct inlet and
passage through the duct outlet, such that the tube is arranged to extend at an angle to
15 the direction of air flow through the chamber, and having the passage outlet formed
above the chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
For the purposes of illustration, there are shown in the drawings certain embodiments
20 of the present subject matter. It should be understood, however, that the subject
matter is not limited to the precise arrangements, dimensions, and mechanisms
represented. Further, like numerals indicate like elements throughout the drawings.
FIG. 1 represents a schematic of an ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine in
accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
25
7
5 FIG. 2 represents a schematic of an ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine in
accordance with another embodiment of the present subject matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
The present subject matter may have a variety of modifications and may be embodied
10 in a variety of forms, and specific embodiments will be described in more detail with
reference to the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the embodiments of
the present subject matter are not intended to be limited to the specific forms, but
include all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and
scope of the present subject matter.
15
Referring to FIG. 1, an air is drawn into a fan (11) and is exhaust by the fan to a
chamber. The propelled air stream is passed in the chamber and a tube positioned
above the water chamber. The water chamber may include an inlet (3) for water from
a reservoir that is configured to keep the water level in the chamber relatively
20 constant. An ultrasonic transducer (7) may be placed at the bottom of the chamber
and is configured to produce an atomized mist in the area of the chamber above the
surface of the water. One or more inlets may be positioned above the water surface to
allow air to be drawn into the chamber and up through the tube. The relatively low
pressure of the propelled air results in a negative pressure at the top of the tube. The
25 air and atomized mist in the tube in turn migrates into a duct and is entrained with the
8
5 propelled air. This allows for an important characteristic in the form of an additional
feature of whole-room circulation in combination with the ultrasonic humidifier. The
atomized droplets of water, with the use of a ducted fan, are propelled outwardly and
through across a room or a building, thereby providing better evaporation range and
whole-room disinfecting. This whole-room circulation effectively distributes the mist
10 evenly around the entire room. The ultrasonic mist is entrained into the airstream
using the Bernoulli’s Principle stating that the velocity and pressure are inversely
proportional to each other. If one end of the tube is inserted into high stream air, the
air will be drawn through the tube.
15 These and other advantages of the present subject matter will be apparent to those
skilled in the art from the foregoing specification. Accordingly, it is to be recognized
by those skilled in the art that changes or modifications may be made to the above
described embodiments without departing from the broad inventive concepts of the
subject matter. It is to be understood that the present subject matter is not limited to
20 the particular embodiments of the invention described hereinabove, but is intended to
include all changes and modifications that are within the scope and spirit of the
subject matter.
9
5 Below is the table highlighting various components along with their corresponding
reference numerals, as used in the embodiments of the present subject matter
described hereinabove:
Reference Numeral Component Name
1 Electrical circuit box
2 On/off switch
3 Liquid inlet
4 Liquid level sensor
5 Outlet
6 Overflow outlet
7 Ultrasonic Transducer
8 Sensor
9 Mist/fog outlet
10 Liquid inlet door
11 Air Fan

We Claim:

1. An ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine comprising:
a chamber;
a mist generator (7) containing mixture of water and a disinfector placed at
the bottom of said chamber;
10 a tube having a passage in fluid communication with said chamber;
a duct having an inlet (3) and an outlet (5), said duct being in fluid
communication with passage by way of a passage outlet (6);
a fan (11) positioned in said duct and disposed between said duct inlet (3) and
said passage outlet (6); wherein said tube is arranged to extend at an angle to
15 the direction of air flow through said chamber and said duct, and having said
passage outlet (6) formed along wall of said duct, said angle being acute when
measured from top of said chamber to said fan (11); and
wherein said fan (11) is configured to propel air through said chamber and
over said passage outlet (6) such that mist in said chamber may be drawn into
20 the air flow from said duct.
2. The ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
mist generator (7) is an ultrasonic transducer.
25 3. The ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
disinfector is sodium hypochlorite.
11
5 4. The ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
disinfector is phenyl.
5. The ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
duct is positioned above said chamber.
10
6. The ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
duct is directed parallel from said fan (11).
7. The ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
15 fan (11) is positioned above said chamber.
8. An ultrasonic disinfecting humidifier machine comprising:
a chamber;
an ultrasonic transducer (7) placed at the bottom of said chamber;
20 a tube having a passage in fluid communication with said chamber;
a duct positioned above said chamber, said duct having an inlet (3) and an
outlet (5), and being in fluid communication with passage by way of a passage
outlet (6);
12
5 a fan (11) positioned above said chamber and flow air in said chamber from
said duct inlet (3) and passage through said duct outlet (5), wherein said tube
is arranged to extend at an angle to the direction of air flow through said
chamber, and having said passage outlet (6) formed above said chamber.