Humidifier assembly

A humidifier assembly comprising:

• A. a housing defining at least a pair of operative apertures for the passage of gas therethrough comprising oppositely disposed and spaced end walls, a connecting rear wall therebetween adapted to be secured to a hot gas heating system, and a front section having an opening therein;
• B. an open-topped reservoir means slidably received in said housing in a given position through said opening and accessible at the front of said housing for removal and replacement;
• C. a rotatable fluid carrier subassembly rotatably received in a given position in said housing between said end walls with a portion thereof adapted to contact fluid within said reservoir means via the open top therefore, said reservoir means and said fluid carrier subassembly each being removable from said housing separately from each other;
• D. means for rotating said fluid carrier subassembly;
• and
• E. means for operatively connecting said rotating means with said fluid carrier subassembly, said reservoir means including an outwardly extending flange and said housing including an inwardly extending flange, said reservoir flange being supported by said housing flange when said reservoir is in said given reservoir position and adapted to fall downwardly past said housing flange for removal and replacement of said reservoir means when horizontally displaced from said housing flange by a horizontal displacement insufficient either to dislocate said fluid carrier subassembly from said given subassembly position or to reposition said reservoir in its entirety in front of said front section;
• whereby gas to be humidified enters said housing through one of said apertures, passes through said fluid carrier subassembly to absorb moisture therefrom, and exits said housing through another of said apertures.

A humidifier assembly comprising:

• A. a housing assembly for use with an associated hot gas heating system, said housing assembly comprising oppositely disposed and spaced end support walls and connecting front and rear walls therebetween, said housing assembly defining a pair of operative apertures for gaseous communication with the heating system, said front wall having an opening therein remote from the top thereof, said rear wall and said heating system each having a port therein, said ports being in gaseous communication with each other, said rear wall port comprising one of said operative apertures, said end walls each having an upper surface defining a drop-in recess;
• B. reservoir means, said reservoir means being slidably received in said housing assembly through said opening and accessible at the front of said housing for removal and replacement for the storage of fluid;
• C. cover means positioned on said housing assembly adjacent the top thereof and defining with said housing assembly and said reservoir an interior chamber communicating with said operative apertures;
• D. a driving member secured to one of said end walls and comprising a rotatable drive shaft and drive means for rotating said drive shaft;
• E. a first gear disposed within said chamber and operatively connected to said drive shaft for rotation therewith;
• and
• F. a rotatable fluid carrier subassembly removably positioned in a given position within said chamber so as to have a portion thereof contacting the fluid within said reservoir means, said carrier subassembly comprising a rotatable shaft, at least one hydrophilic member carried by and spaced from said carrier shaft for rotation therewith, and a second gear mounted on said carrier shaft for rotation therewith and in meshing engagement only with said first gear, said carrier subassembly being positioned in said given position within said chamber by the receipt of end segments of said carrier shaft within said recesses, said recesses and said gears being ineffective at any time to restrict movement of said carrier subassembly upwardly from or downwardly into said given position and said carrier subassembly being removable from said housing assembly and insertable into said given position without interference of any element of said humidifier assembly except said cover means;
• whereby rotation of said drive shaft causes rotation of said carrier subassembly and gas passing between said operative apertures passes through said hydrophilic member and absorbs moisture therefrom.