Humidifier

Claim 2

A humidifier for adding moisture to air, comprising an housing, an inlet for dry air and an outlet for moistened air in said housing, a unique elastic evaporator partition means having upper and lower ends and secured at its upper and lower ends in said housing between said inlet and said outlet and dividing said housing into an inlet area and an outlet area, passage means in said elastic evaporator partition means through which air passes in flowing from said inlet to said outlet, said passage means at least partially immersed in water in said housing to restrict the area of said passage means open to flow of air therethrough, passage of air through said passage means causing said elastic evaporator partition means to flex elastically with each cycle of operation of said humidifier and thus vibrate rapidly to prohibit accumulation of mineral deposits and the like thereon, and said air as it flows through said passage means forcibly displacing said water and inducing turbulence of said water to effect contact of substantially all of said air with said water to humidify said air.

Claim 3

A humidifier as in claim 1, wherein said passage means comprises a plurality of elongate slots through the lower edge portion of said elastic evaporator partition means.

Claim 4

A humidifier as in claim 2, wherein said housing has a bottom, opposite end walls, opposite side walls, and a removable cover, said inlet being in one end wall and said outlet in the other end wall.

Claim 5

A humidifier as in claim 3, wherein said elastic evaporator partition means comprises a pair of said portions and an end portion joined together in a V-shape, said end portion being at the point of said V-shape and said side portions diverging toward the inlet to said housing and sealed to said one end wall on opposite sides of said inlet.

Claim 6

A humidifier as in claim 4, wherein a baffle plate is in said housing across said outlet in spaced relationship thereto to prevent droplets of water from passing into the outlet.

Claim 7

A humidifier as in claim 5, wherein said end wall of said evaporator partition means is in abutting contact with said baffle plate.

Claim 8

A humidifier as in claim 6, wherein said elastic evaporator partition means is of the same height as the side and end walls of said housing.

Claim 9

A humidifier as in claim 7, wherein seal means is on the inside of said cover in sealing contact with said side and end walls of said housing and with the top edge of said elastic evaporator partition means.

Claim 10

A humidifier as in claim 8, wherein said elastic evaporator partition means comprises a sheet of elastomer material secured on a wire frame.

Claim 11

A humidifier as in claim 9, wherein a float valve is mounted in said housing in operative relationship to an inlet for water to control the level of water in said housing.

Claim 12

A humidifier as in claim 10, wherein a blower is in said inlet, said blower connected to operate with the furnace blower.

Claim 13

A humidifier as in claim 11, wherein a humidstat is mounted in the cold air plenum of the furnace and is connected with the motor of said blower in said inlet to control the operation of the blower in response to the humidity of air returning to said furnace.

Claim 14

A humidifier as in claim 1, wherein the tops of the restricted passage means through said elastic evaporator partition means are spaced above the level of water in the humidifier and the bottoms of said restricted passage means are spaced below the level of water in said humidifier, the spacing of the tops of said passage means above the level of water being such that upon initial flow of air through said passage means, the pressure in the inlet area increases to a point sufficient to displace water through said passage means to the outlet areas to cause the level of water in the outlet areas to rise above the tops of the passage means thus closing off the passage means and resultinG in an increase in pressure in the inlet area, said increased pressure in the inlet area forcibly displacing the water from the passage means and thus relieving the pressure in the inlet area so that the water flows back through the passage means by gravity and again closes off the passage means to effect repetition of a cycle of operation, the alternate closing of the passage means and forcible displacement of water therefrom resulting in rapid vibration of the evaporator partition means and substantial turbulence of the water to thoroughly moisten or humidify the air and to dislodge and prevent accumulation of mineral deposits on the evaporator partition means.