High-Pressure Humidifier Atomization Without Standing Water
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing humidification systems face issues such as bacterial growth in standing water reservoirs, corrosive steam, high energy consumption, and large water droplet sizes due to low pressure water injection, which lead to inefficiencies and safety concerns in residential humidification.
Innovation Solution
A high pressure water injection humidifier system using a low volume high pressure pump driven by a stepper motor, with a wand pipe and precision orifices to atomize water into a mist, eliminating the need for a standing water reservoir and incorporating filtration and leak detection to ensure safe and efficient humidification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If water is injected at low pressure (50-100 psi) as in conventional humidifiers, then the system is simple to operate, but the water droplet size becomes relatively large reducing humidification efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the water injection pressure parameter from conventional low pressure (50-100 psi) to high pressure (500-1500 psi), which fundamentally alters the water droplet size and humidification efficiency. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by achieving both high productivity through fine atomization and acceptable system complexity through the use of a high-pressure pump and precision orifice.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs hydraulic principles by using a high-pressure pump to force water through a precision orifice, creating a controlled high-velocity water jet that atomizes into fine droplets. This hydraulic approach enables efficient humidification at high pressure while maintaining system simplicity through straightforward mechanical components.
2Reliability
If a standing water reservoir is used to maintain water supply, then the system is easy to operate, but bacterial growth and mold proliferation occur creating health hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the standing water reservoir from the system, replacing it with a continuous flow architecture where water is pumped directly from the supply line through the atomization chamber and discharged. This extraction removes the breeding ground for bacteria and mold while maintaining ease of operation through automatic continuous flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous water flow through the system, where water constantly moves from the supply line through the pump and atomization chamber without stagnation. This continuous action prevents bacterial growth and mold proliferation while maintaining simple operation through automatic flow control.
3Productivity
If steam generation is used for humidification, then water vapor is effectively introduced into the air stream, but corrosive effects and high energy consumption occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of high water pressure into a beneficial atomization mechanism. The high-pressure water jet through the precision orifice naturally atomizes into fine droplets that evaporate efficiently, eliminating the need for energy-intensive steam generation while achieving effective humidification. The potential harm of high pressure is transformed into the benefit of fine droplet formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the thermal mechanical system of steam generation with a hydraulic mechanical system of high-pressure atomization. Instead of using heating elements to convert water to steam, the system uses a high-pressure pump and precision orifice to create fine water droplets that evaporate in the air stream, significantly reducing energy consumption while maintaining effective humidification.
4Productivity
If high pressure water injection (1000 psi) is used with a precision orifice, then fine atomization is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the water flow into fine droplets through the precision orifice, achieving superior atomization quality. The segmentation of water into microscopic droplets enhances evaporation efficiency and humidification performance while the modular design of the pump and orifice assembly keeps the overall device complexity manageable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides effective and safe humidification by maintaining filtered water quality, reducing energy consumption, and producing a precise constant volume flow of atomized water, addressing the issues of bacterial growth, steam corrosion, and large droplet sizes, while ensuring system reliability and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The wand pipe further comprises a plurality of exit nozzles where each nozzle includes a precision orifice that atomizes the pressurized water into a mist
Implementation Method 2
A high pressure water injection humidifier system using a low volume high pressure pump
Implementation Method 3
injects that mist into an operational airflow of the heating system
Data Source
AI summary
A high pressure water injection humidifier includes a high pressure pump driven by a stepper motor, which provides pressurized water to a plurality of exit nozzles, each exit nozzle having a precision orifice that atomizes the pressurized water into a mist, where the volume rate of the mist is dependent only on the motor speed and the diameter of the precision orifice. Proper nozzle flow can be determined by monitoring the torque of the stepper motor.