Humidifier with flushing system

Claim 1

In a humidifier having a fluid reservoir, fluid inlet means in communication with said reservoir for introducing a fluid into said reservoir, valve control means in association with said fluid inlet means for regulating the fluid flow into said reservoir, a rotatable fluid absorption means adapted to be contacted by the air which is to be humidified, said absorption means being positioned over said reservoir and having a part in contact with said fluid in said reservoir, the improvement comprising a fluid transfer component rotatable with said absorption means, said fluid transfer component including scoop means adapted to contact said fluid in said reservoir for removing a portion of said fluid during rotation of said absorption means, said fluid transfer component being a wheel rotatable with said fluid absorption means about an axis and carrying said scoop means, said scoop means constituting a plurality of radially disposed and equal angularly spaced scoops each including a blade part and an upturned end part, the blade parts of said scoops being joined at said wheel axis and extending radially outwardly therefrom and terminating adjacent the outer circumferential periphery of said wheel in said upturned end parts, said wheel carried over said reservoir and having a lower portion of its said outer circumferential periphery in contact with said fluid in all rotative positions of said wheel, each scoop during rotation of said wheel about its said axis having a fluid-gathering and carrying position in which the scoop enters the fluid in the reservoir and removes a portion of the fluid which is retained between the blade and upturned end part of the scoop and a discharge position in which the blade and upturned end part of the scoop are inverted to cause said retained fluid to flow toward said wheel axis and over the inverted blade and upturned end part of the joining lower inverted scoop, a drain receptacle means located to one side of said wheel and at the outer circumferential periphery of the wheel under said inverted upturned end part of the joining lower scoop to catch the fluid as it flows over said upturned end part.