High flow rate humidifier with baffle plates

A high flow rate humidifier comprising:

• a mixer housing having a mixing chamber therein,
• jet nozzle means in said housing for receiving a pressurized gas and projecting a stream of high velocity gas towards said mixing chamber,
• means adjacent said jet nozzle means for aspirating a liquid into said mixer housing adjacent said jet nozzle means, thereby entraining liquid in said projected stream,
• evaporation enhancing means interposed between said nozzle means and said mixing chamber in the path of the stream projected from said nozzle means for passing said high velocity projected stream to said mixing chamber and causing coalescence of liquid entrained in said jet stream into coalesced particles that are transported into said mixing chamber and for increasing evaporation of water to provide humidified gas in said mixing chamber, said evaporation enhancing means comprising an evaporation chamber defined at least in part by first and second closely spaced plates each having a plurality of perforations,
• said first plate comprising:
• a first perforated disc,
• a first integral continuous upstanding skirt projecting from a first side of said first disc in a direction perpendicular to the plane of said disc and having a free edge,
• said second plate comprising:
• a second perforated disc,
• a second integral continuous upstanding skirt projecting from a first side of said second disc and having a free edge,
• said first and second discs being juxtaposed with said first side of said first disc facing said first side of said second disc and with said free edges of said first and second skirts in contact with one another so that said first and second discs are mutually spaced by the combined depth of said first and second skirts, said first and second discs and said contacting skirts collectively defining said evaporation chamber, and
• means for discharging humidified gas from said mixing chamber.