Moist heat heater
By introducing adjustable-height non-contact potentiometric water level sensors and gas flow sensors into the humidifier, the adaptability problem of different medicine container types is solved, enabling accurate detection of liquid level and air flow, improving equipment safety and reducing medical costs.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- HAWPIN ELECTRIC
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-14
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-02
AI Technical Summary
Existing non-contact potential water level sensors for humidifiers are difficult to adapt to the differences in the position of floats or buoys of different brands of medicine containers, resulting in inaccurate detection. They also cannot detect the air flow state inside the medicine container, posing a safety hazard, and are costly.
It employs an adjustable-height non-contact potential water level sensor and a gas flow sensor to accurately monitor the liquid level and air flow in the medicine container by sensing changes in capacitance and detecting gas flow. It can be combined with expansion modules to adapt to different container types and is equipped with safety gates and alarm systems.
It improves the adaptability and safety of the humidifier, reduces the frequency of medicine container replacement, reduces medical costs, and enhances the safety and stability of the equipment.
Smart Images
Figure CN224316405U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of medical devices, and in particular to a moisture heater. Background Technology
[0002] Currently used medical moisture heaters, such as the one disclosed in Taiwan Patent Publication TWM635923U, present a safety protection structure for a moisture heater. This structure includes at least one moisture heater with a housing. A container seat is positioned above the housing, and the heater is housed within the container seat. A control system is located within the housing and connected to the heater to control its operation. At least one set of non-contact potential level sensors is positioned on the upper side of the container seat and connected to the control system. These non-contact potential level sensors can detect the upper and lower limits of the liquid level, float position, or buoy position within the medicine container, issuing alarms and stopping operation as needed. This adds an extra layer of safety protection against potential medicine spillage and container dry burning.
[0003] The aforementioned humidifier primarily uses a non-contact potentiometric level sensor to detect the upper and lower limits of the liquid level, buoy position, or float position within the medicine container, issuing alarms and halting operation as needed. Regardless of whether the non-contact potentiometric level sensor uses an infrared detector, laser detector, or camera, its principle is to directly detect the water level to determine the presence of water in the medicine container. However, this type of buoy or float-type medicine container has the following problems:
[0004] First, since medicine containers are consumables, they need to be replaced after a period of use. However, the design of the float or buoy position inside different models of medicine containers from different brands is not the same. This makes it difficult for the non-contact potential water level sensor to accurately detect and protect the water level of medicine containers from different brands.
[0005] Secondly, because the design of the float or float position in the medicine container of the moisture heaters of different brands is not the same, they cannot be used together. This will limit the use of moisture heaters everywhere and increase the medical costs for patients, making them impractical and uneconomical.
[0006] Third, during use, factors such as water vapor, chemicals, scale, or scratches caused by container deterioration can make the view inside the medicine container less clear. This will make it difficult for the non-contact potential water level sensor to detect and protect accurately, and it will have to be replaced frequently.
[0007] Fourth, the aforementioned medical moisture heaters can only detect the water level in the medicine container, and cannot safely detect or control the airflow within the container, thus limiting their safety application and protective effect.
[0008] Therefore, a moisture heater is urgently needed to solve the above problems. Utility Model Content
[0009] The purpose of this invention is to provide a moisture heater that is highly adaptable and has high safety performance.
[0010] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a humidifier that includes at least a housing, a container base, a heater, a control system, a non-contact potential water level sensor, and an expansion module: the container base is disposed above the housing, the heater is disposed inside the container base, and the control system is disposed inside the housing; a container slot is disposed above the container base, a safety gate is disposed in front of the container slot, and the non-contact potential water level sensor is disposed above the rear side of the container base, the non-contact potential water level sensor having at least one set of sensing elements disposed vertically, and both the sensing elements and the heater are connected to the control system; the expansion module is disposed on one side of the housing and connected to the control system.
[0011] Preferably, the non-contact potential water level sensor is a height-adjustable structure, so that the height of the sensing element can be adjusted to accommodate various types of medicine containers for adjusting the low and high water level positions.
[0012] Preferably, the non-contact potential water level sensor is provided with a bracket, at least one receiving groove is provided on the front side of the bracket, and the sensing element is disposed in the receiving groove.
[0013] Preferably, the sensing element of the non-contact potential water level sensor is an elastic structure, which allows the sensing element of the non-contact potential water level sensor to be tightly attached to the outer side wall of the medicine container, thereby improving the accuracy and stability of the sensing element in detecting the water level.
[0014] Specifically, the receiving groove is a sliding groove, and the sensing element is a slider structure. An elastic element is provided between the sensing element and the receiving groove, and the front end of the sensing element extends out of the receiving groove.
[0015] Preferably, the humidifier is equipped with a gas flow sensor for safe gas flow detection.
[0016] Specifically, the gas flow sensor is an external gas flow sensor, and the gas flow sensor is connected to the expansion module.
[0017] Specifically, the gas flow sensor is disposed inside the housing and connected to the control system.
[0018] Specifically, the gas flow sensor is an airflow sensor or a wind speed sensor.
[0019] Specifically, the gas flow sensor is a sensing mechanism consisting of a valve and infrared light. The airflow pushes the valve plate to allow the infrared light to sense the gas flow.
[0020] Compared with existing technologies, the humidifier provided by this utility model is equipped with a non-contact potential water level sensor. The non-contact potential water level sensor uses the inductive capacitance of water to detect whether there is liquid inside the non-metallic part of the medicine container. When no liquid is close to the potential water level sensor, due to the existence of distributed capacitance, the non-contact potential water level sensor has a certain static capacitance to ground. When the water level in the medicine container slowly rises and approaches the non-contact potential water level sensor, the parasitic capacitance of the liquid will couple to this static capacitance, making the final capacitance value of the sensor larger. By detecting and judging the aforementioned change in capacitance signal, it is possible to accurately detect whether the liquid level in the medicine container has reached the upper or lower limit value, and issue an alarm and stop operation in a timely manner. In this way, an extra layer of safety protection is added to the potential problems of medicine overflow and container dry burning, minimizing the probability of medicine overflow and container dry burning, and ensuring the safe use of medical equipment.
[0021] Furthermore, the moisture heater of this invention can be used with various medicine containers, eliminating the compatibility issues of float or buoy positions within the medicine container. Moreover, through the potential-level control structure formed by the aforementioned non-contact potential-level sensor, even if the visibility inside the medicine container becomes less clear due to factors such as water vapor, medicine, scale, or container deterioration and scratches, the water level can still be accurately determined. This extends the service life of the medicine container, reduces the expenditure on medical consumables for patients, and allows all medical institutions to seamlessly upgrade their equipment. This reduces the cost of equipment upgrades for medical institutions, increases their willingness to upgrade safety equipment, and improves overall medical quality and safety.
[0022] Furthermore, the humidifier of this invention may be equipped with an expansion module for a gas flow sensor of a medicine container, which may be integrally formed with the humidifier or may be an external expansion structure to meet different usage requirements. Attached Figure Description
[0023] Figure 1This is a top view of the first embodiment of the moisture heater of this utility model.
[0024] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Partial sectional view.
[0025] Figure 3 This is a partial cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the moisture heater of this utility model.
[0026] Figure 4 This is a partial cross-sectional view of the third embodiment of the moisture heater of this utility model.
[0027] Figure 5 This is the first action diagram showing the combination of a medicine container and the moisture heater of this creation.
[0028] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 Another perspective.
[0029] Figure 7 This is the second action diagram showing the combination of a medicine container and the moisture heater of this utility model.
[0030] Figure 8 The first embodiment of the gas flow sensor for the humid heater of this utility model.
[0031] Figure 9 The second embodiment of the gas flow sensor for the humid heater of this utility model.
[0032] Figure 10 yes Figure 9 Partial sectional view.
[0033] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:
[0034] Humidity heater 1, housing 11, container base 12, container slot 121, safety gate 122, heater 13, non-contact potential water level sensor 15, sensing element 151, bracket 152, receiving slot 153, expansion module 16, medicine container 2 Detailed Implementation
[0035] To further understand this utility model, the preferred embodiment of the moisture heater of this utility model is as follows: Figures 1 to 10 As shown, the humidifier 1 includes at least a housing 11, a container base 12, a heater 13, a control system 14, a non-contact potential water level sensor 15, and an expansion module 16.
[0036] The container seat 12 is located above the housing 11, and the heater 13 is located inside the container seat 12. The heater 13 is prior art and is well known to those skilled in the art, so it will not be described in detail here.
[0037] The control system 14 is located inside the housing 11. The control system 14 is connected to all electronic devices of the humid heater 1 so as to control the operation of the heater 11, external devices of the expansion module 16, alarms and various functions through the control system 14.
[0038] like Figures 1-4 As shown, a container slot 121 is provided above the container base 12, and a safety gate 122 is provided in front of the container slot 121. A non-contact potential water level sensor 15 is located above and behind the container base 12. The non-contact potential water level sensor 15 has at least one set of sensing elements 151 arranged vertically, and the sensing elements 151 are connected to the control system 14. Thus, when the control system 14 detects the presence or absence of water in the corresponding medicine container 2 based on the change in capacitance signal emitted by the sensing elements 151 of the non-contact potential water level sensor 15, it will issue a corresponding water level overflow alarm or water level low alarm (e.g., audible alarm, light alarm, and wireless alarm) and initiate safety procedures such as power-off of the heater 13 to ensure the safe use of the humid heater 1 and to give patients, medical staff, and caregivers more time to respond.
[0039] The non-contact potential water level sensor 15 has an adjustable height structure. For example... Figures 2-4 As shown, the non-contact potential water level sensor 15 is provided with a bracket 152. At least one receiving groove 153 is provided on the front side of the bracket 152, and a sensing element 151 is disposed in the receiving groove 153. The bracket 152 is an adjustable bracket with adjustable height, so that the height of the sensing element 151 can be adjusted to accommodate various types of medicine containers 2 for low and high water level adjustments.
[0040] The sensing element 151 of the non-contact potential water level sensor 15 is an elastic structure. For example... Figure 4 As shown, the receiving groove 153 is a sliding groove, and the sensing element 151 is a slider structure. An elastic element 154 is provided between the sensing element 151 and the receiving groove 153, and the front end of the sensing element 151 extends out of the receiving groove 153. In this way, the sensing element 151 can be tightly attached to the outer side wall of the medicine container 2, so as to improve the accuracy and stability of the sensing element 151 in detecting the water level.
[0041] like Figure 2 , 6 As shown in Figure 10, the expansion module 16 is located on one side of the housing 11 and connected to the control system 14. Various expansion devices can be connected through the expansion module 16.
[0042] like Figures 8-10As shown, the humidifier 1 is equipped with a gas flow sensor 17, which is an external gas flow sensor (e.g., Figure 8 As shown), the gas flow safety test of the medicine container 2 is performed through the connection expansion module 16. Or as... Figure 9 and 10 As shown, the gas flow sensor 17 can be installed inside the housing 11 and connected to the control system 14. It is connected to the medicine container 2 through an external pipeline to perform gas flow safety detection in the medicine container 2. The specific configuration depends on the application requirements and is not limited to any particular type. The gas flow sensor 17 can be an airflow sensor or a wind speed sensor, or a sensing mechanism consisting of a valve and an infrared sensor. The airflow pushes the valve plate to allow the infrared sensor to detect the gas flow. The specific configuration depends on the application requirements and is not limited to any particular type.
[0043] like Figures 5-7 As shown, in use, the user simply inserts the medicine container 2 into the container slot 121 through the safety gate 122 of the container base 12. This allows the sensing element 151 of the non-contact potential water level sensor 15 to press against the outer wall of the medicine container 2. After the medicine container 2 is filled with medicine, when the water level exceeds the low water level sensing element 151, the heater 13 can be automatically or manually activated to perform heating and humidification. When the control system 14 detects that the low water level sensing element 151 is empty, it will issue a waterless alarm and stop the heater 13 to prevent the medicine container 2 from drying out. When the control system 14 detects that the high water level sensing element 151 contains water, it will issue an overflow alarm and stop the heater 13. This allows the user to quickly check the status of the medicine filling in the container and remove any obstacles, ensuring the safe use of the humidifier. This constitutes the core of this invention.
[0044] The above-disclosed examples are merely preferred embodiments of the present utility model and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present utility model. Therefore, any equivalent changes made in accordance with the scope of the present utility model application shall still fall within the scope of the present utility model.
Claims
1. A moisture heater, characterized in that, It includes at least a housing, container base, heater, control system, non-contact potentiometric water level sensor, and expansion modules. The container seat is disposed above the housing, the heater is disposed inside the container seat, and the control system is disposed inside the housing; a container slot is disposed above the container seat, a safety gate is disposed in front of the container slot, and a non-contact potential water level sensor is disposed above the rear side of the container seat. The non-contact potential water level sensor has at least one set of sensing elements disposed in the vertical direction, and the sensing elements and the heater are both connected to the control system; the expansion module is disposed on one side of the housing and connected to the control system.
2. The humidifier according to claim 1, characterized in that, The non-contact potential water level sensor described herein has an adjustable height.
3. The humidifier according to claim 1, characterized in that, The non-contact potential water level sensor is provided with a bracket, and at least one receiving groove is provided on the front side of the bracket, and the sensing element is disposed in the receiving groove.
4. The humidifier according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sensing element of the non-contact potential water level sensor is an elastic structure.
5. The humidifier according to claim 3, characterized in that, The receiving groove is a sliding groove, and the sensing element is a slider structure. An elastic element is provided between the sensing element and the receiving groove, and the front end of the sensing element extends out of the receiving groove.
6. The humidifier according to claim 1, characterized in that, The humidifier is equipped with a gas flow sensor for safe gas flow detection.
7. The humidifier according to claim 6, characterized in that, The gas flow sensor is an external gas flow sensor, and the gas flow sensor is connected to the expansion module.
8. The humidifier according to claim 6, characterized in that, The gas flow sensor is located inside the housing and connected to the control system.
9. The humidifier according to claim 6, characterized in that, The gas flow sensor mentioned above is an airflow sensor or a wind speed sensor.
10. The humidifier according to claim 6, characterized in that, The gas flow sensor is a sensing mechanism consisting of a valve and infrared light. The airflow pushes the valve plate so that the infrared light can sense the gas flow.