KR20050016388A - Dehumidifying product - Google Patents

Abstract

The dehumidification article has a support 2 of sheet material and a plurality of chambers 12 held only by the support on one side, each chamber containing a solvent and at least partially limited by a vapor permeable and liquid impermeable membrane. . The chambers are preferably elongate and substantially parallel to each other. The dehumidification article has a storage form with the outermost portion of the support around the chamber, and an expanded form of operation as shown.

Description

Dehumidifier {DEHUMIDIFYING PRODUCT}

The present invention relates to products and methods for absorbing water vapor to dehumidify air in a limited but not limited space.

Moisture or water vapor in the air is often undesirable because it damages moisture sensitive materials such as foodstuffs, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, household items and cloths or adversely affects the operation of moisture sensitive devices. This problem can occur in areas with particularly high humidity levels, such as countries with high temperature and high humidity.

Therefore, it is often desirable to dehumidify the air. Traditional methods of dehumidifying air include the use of mechanical cooling equipment and absorbent materials such as silica gel.

Typically, methods employing cooling equipment involve cooling the air to a predetermined temperature below its dew point so that the water can condense from the air and drain the water. Thereafter, the air can be reheated to the intended warm temperature. Techniques that include an absorbent material may include a continuous operating system such that water is absorbed by the absorbent in a first cycle and then heat is removed from the absorbent by applying heat in a second cycle.

Typically, these techniques suffer from several drawbacks that require large heavy equipment such as compressors, fans and heaters that are interconnected by a network of pipes so that water vapor is continuously absorbed from the air. In general, such systems are inadequate for operation in limited or limited space. Moreover, the costs associated with such systems make it impossible to use in a home environment.

In an attempt to overcome the drawbacks associated with using the aforementioned systems in limited or limited space, other techniques have been developed that include exposing air to absorbent material. In particular, portable compact devices with sealed vapor permeable containers containing absorbent material have been employed for dehumidifying air in limited or confined spaces, especially in home environments.

Although absorbent materials such as silica gel can be employed in these devices, silica gel typically absorbs up to 30% of the water weight, so in order to increase the lifetime and improve the efficiency of the device, it is advisable to employ absorbers with higher water vapor capacity. need. Suitably, absorbent solubilizers such as calcium chloride, which can absorb 4 to 5 times the weight of water, may be employed in such devices. Upon absorption of water vapor, the solubilizer dissolves to form a liquid.

Although these devices somehow solve the problem associated with absorbing water vapor in limited or confined spaces, especially in home environments, such devices are large and lack the aesthetics of design.

1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the dehumidification product of the present invention in use form;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the components of the drying chamber of FIG. 1.

3 is a perspective view of the dehumidification product of FIG. 1 in a folded form;

4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a dehumidifying article in some storage form;

According to a first aspect, the present invention comprises a support of a sheet material and a plurality of chambers held only by a support on one side, each chamber containing a solvent and at least partially limited by a vapor permeable and liquid impermeable membrane. do.

Preferably, the chamber is elongate. Such chambers are preferably substantially parallel to each other.

Preferably, the dehumidifying article has a stowed configuration with the outermost part of the support around the chamber and an operating form with the support not around the chamber.

Preferably, the chamber is removably mounted on the support, for example to allow individual replacement once saturated.

The dehumidifying article has the advantage that the performance of the dehumidifying article can be adjusted by adding a chamber to or detaching the chamber from the support. Alternatively, the membrane may have cushioning means for adjusting its air passage. The damping means may, for example, be a mechanical shock absorber of a recovery or sliding type.

In general, in the operating form, the support is generally planar. However, this does not always have to be the case. The dehumidification article may be arranged to rest on the molded article in use and follow its shape. Nevertheless, the support is not around the chamber. The chamber is fully exposed on one side of the support.

The support can be a flexible sheet material so that it can be rolled into storage.

In another embodiment, the support may be made of a self-supporting sheet material, but has a bend line so that it can be bent into a storage form. In such embodiments, the cross section of the dehumidified article in storage form is preferably triangular, rectangular (preferably square) or hexagonal.

The bend line can be thinned by scoring. This can be accomplished from the molding process or by a separate scoring step. Alternatively, the sheet material may be sufficiently soluble so that it is not necessary to thin the bend lines.

Preferably, the chambers are spaced apart in the storage form by an amount that the chambers pack together in a space efficient manner.

Preferably, when employing an elongate chamber, the chamber is preferably a prism having 3 to 10 sides, most preferably 3 to 6 sides.

Preferably, the dehumidification article has 3 to 10 chambers, most preferably 3 to 6 chambers. In the case where the dehumidifier is of the type that can be bent, the number of chambers is preferably equal to the number of sides the dehumidifier has in storage form.

Each chamber preferably has a surface in contact with the support and at least one surface protruding forward from the surface, the at least one surface comprising an opening covered by a membrane (hereinafter referred to as a membrane window). It is preferable. The cross section of each chamber can be, for example, semicircular, triangular or rectangular (preferably square). Preferred chambers are triangular prisms. Preferably, the upper surface protruding upward of the chamber has a membrane window. The lower surface projecting forward may have a membrane window if desired. It is preferable that the third surface does not normally contact the support.

Preferably, the membrane of each chamber and the solvent are in contact. Preferably, each chamber is filled with a little or slightly more so that the membrane engages or slightly deforms with the solvent.

The membrane may be pressurized to assess the gel state of the solubilizer to determine the saturation of the solubilizer in the chamber. Alternatively, it may be desirable for the solubilizer to contain a color change solvent that acts as an indicator of the saturation of the solubilizer.

In certain dehumidification products, the chambers need not all be identical. The chambers may be of different sizes (though preferably all have the same size). The chambers may all contain the same solubilizer but different amounts, or may have different preliminary levels of presaturation. The chamber may have membrane windows of different areas. The chamber may employ different membranes with different permeability. It should be noted that if all chambers are identical, saturation will be reached at the same time. However, if the chambers are different, saturation can be reached at different times. If only one chamber early reaches saturation, the chamber can be detached for replacement, and while the dehumidification product still provides dehumidification by the other chamber or chambers.

Preferably, the solubilizer is capable of absorbing water at least equivalent to its own weight at 25 ° C.

Preferably, the solubilizer forms a liquid or gel upon absorption of water vapor to allow the liquid to seep out. Preferred solubilizers include calcium chloride and / or manganese chloride because they show only acceptable water absorption capability and are not relatively corrosive.

Suitably, the above-mentioned solubilizer may be mixed with a binder such as starch, a perfume and an antibacterial agent or other solvents selected from the combination thereof.

Preferably, the support is made of a plastic material, preferably a thermoplastic material such as polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene and polypropylene.

Preferably, the chamber comprises a plastic material, preferably a thermoplastic material such as polyvinyl chloride, polyester, polypropylene and polyethylene. Preferably, the chamber may be formed preferably by a molding process, preferably from a sheet of plastic material (eg by vacuum molding) or from a polymer material in the molten state (eg by injection molding). The openings are preferably formed in a molding process or are formed sequentially and then closed by a film.

Many suitable membranes are commercially available and / or disclosed in the literature. Preferably, a material is selected that can tolerate at least 500 g, more preferably 1,000 g and most preferably 2,000 g of water vapor / m ² / day. Suitable membranes may consist of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyesters and polyamides.

The membrane can be secured to the chamber by an adhesive seal or a heating seal.

The dehumidification article may preferably have a form that can be suspended from one end of the dehumidification article. The form may, for example, be a hole for receiving a hook of the wall. Alternatively, it is preferred that it is itself in the form of a hook. Any such type of form is preferably formed by the support or by the support itself.

The chamber may be formed with a lateral flange, and the support may be formed with a tang protruding from one side of the support, such that the chamber may slide to a position on the support by axial sliding movement, whereby the lateral flange may be tangled. Is placed underneath.

Preferably, the dehumidifying article is adapted to maintain its storage state without the support of separate parts, such as holding bands or secondary packaging. This can be done by inherent properties or by a mechanical device such as a press stud.

In the storage form, the outwardly facing surface of the support is preferably printed with, for example, trademark marks, graphics, descriptions and the like. It is desirable that there is no printed secondary packaging. However, it may be appropriate for the dehumidifying product to be packaged in vapor and liquid impermeable packaging to have a maximum shelf life and / or for customer's utility. Such packaging may be a transparent film. Alternatively, a release cover strip may be provided on top of each membrane window instead of such a membrane, which cover strip is removed for use.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method for absorbing water vapor from a place, preferably an enclosed place, the method comprising the steps of: a) transforming the dehumidifying product of the first embodiment from its storage form into its working form And b) disposing the dehumidifying product in said place (in any order).

The present invention will now be further described as an example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The dehumidifying article shown in FIG. 1 has a support 92 of self-supporting thermoplastic sheet material. The support is almost rectangular and has four bends 4, all of which are parallel to the short side 5 at the bottom of the support and are substantially horizontal in use. The sheet material at the bend is thinned by the scoring step. By the bend line, the support may appear to be divided into four identical rectangular zones 6 (with the lower section 6'with two curved lower corners apart) and an upper suspension at the top of the support Zone 8 has an envelope flap shape and has a hole 10 near its apex.

In each of the four rectangular zones, the support has an elongate chamber 12 containing the desiccant. The four zones and chambers are hereinafter referred to as "dry zones" and "dry chambers". Each drying chamber is an elongated equilateral triangular prism. Thus, it has the same three triangular faces. One side abuts the support and the other two sides protrude forward and terminate at the vertex line 14. There is a rim or flange 16 around the entire perimeter of each chamber. Each rectangular cooling zone 6 is formed with a tang 18 raised from the plane of the support, and as shown in FIG. 1, the side edges of the flange 16 are arranged below these tangs to support the drying chamber. Fix it to Each chamber has three tangs, a pair of lower tangs each disposed towards each corner of the chamber, and a single tang on the other side of the chamber in a central position. The flange 16 is frictionally engaged with the tang so that the drying chamber is restricted from accidental sliding in its drying zone. For this purpose, the dimensions of the flange and the tang are such that the tang is slightly elastically displaced by the flange.

Each drying chamber is generally of a self-supporting molded plastic construction. However, the surfaces projecting forward from the support each have a membrane window. In this embodiment, it is a large rectangular opening 19 (achieved by a molding operation or sequentially) covered by the vapor permeable and liquid impermeable membrane 20 of TYVEK®. As shown in Figure 2, a single sheet of TYVEK is used for ease of manufacture. The sealing of the membrane can be done by adhesive or heat application. The solvent is then introduced into the chamber to completely fill the chamber with the solvent in contact with the membrane 20 and the third wall is closed by a vapor and liquid impermeable ordinary plastic film 22. The solubilizer maintains contact with the membrane 20.

The solubilizer is calcium chloride in granule form in this example.

Thus, if four chambers are provided, they slide to a position on the support to form the expanded operating configuration shown in FIG. This structure can be bent in square box form 24 in the unfolded or storage state shown in FIG. 3 for storage and transportation. It will now be appreciated that the support extends around the chamber. The chambers are cleverly packed or nested together inside the "packaging" of the support. This nesting correlates with both the triangular cross section of the chamber and the parallel but spaced relationship on the support. The upper suspension zone 8 lies above the lowest drying zone 6 ′ of the support. If desired, small hooks or bent tabs may extend through the hole 10 to effect the fixation in a simple manner. Alternatively, simple attachment devices such as press studs or VELCRO® pads can be used.

In the structure of FIG. 3, the support provides sufficient free surface area for advertising and information purposes. All you want to offer additional products at sale is an inexpensive clean plastic membrane that is impermeable to steam around the product. Thus, expensive and expensive secondary packaging is minimized.

4 illustrates a second embodiment different from the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 only in the following aspects.

There are only three elongate drying chambers 6 in the form of triangle prisms.

The dehumidifier in storage form is a triangular prism.

Each drying chamber has only one membrane window 18. This membrane window is in use on the upper surface of the two upwardly protruding surfaces of the chamber.

The three drying chambers have different permeable membranes, so that they do not reach saturation at the same time.

In the upper suspension zone 8 of the support there is an integral hook 26 instead of a hole.

Claims (13)

A dehumidifying article having a support of a sheet material and a plurality of chambers held only by a support on one side, each chamber containing a solvent and at least partially limited by a vapor permeable and liquid impermeable membrane. The dehumidifying product according to claim 1, wherein the chamber is elongate. 3. The dehumidifying product of claim 2, wherein the elongate chambers are substantially parallel to each other. 4. The dehumidifying product according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the dehumidifying article has a storage form having a support outermost portion around the chamber, and an operating form in which the support portion is not around the chamber. 5. The dehumidifying article according to claim 4, wherein said support is a self-supporting sheet material having a bend line so that it can be bent in a storage form. The dehumidifying article according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the support is a flexible sheet material so that it can be rolled into a storage form. 7. The dehumidifying product according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the chamber is a prism having 3 to 10 sides. The dehumidifying product according to any one of claims 1 to 7, having 3 to 10 chambers. The dehumidifying product according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the chambers are not all identical. 10. The dehumidifying product according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the chamber is detachably mounted on a support. In a method for absorbing water vapor from a place, preferably a closed place, A method comprising placing a dehumidified product as claimed in claim 1 in the place. A dehumidifying article described substantially herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. A method of absorbing water vapor substantially described herein with reference to the drawings and the detailed description.