1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an evaporative humidifier having a wick assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wick assembly that includes a wick element and a rivet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Humidifiers are useful in raising the humidity of air inside homes, particularly during periods of dry weather during the winter and heat inside a home causes the relative humidity within the home to be lowered to an uncomfortable level. Under these circumstances, it is beneficial to introduce moisture into the air. Several types of humidifiers for increasing humidity in a room are well known in the art, and include steam-type, ultrasonic, warm-air and evaporative humidifiers.
Certain humidifiers, and in particular the evaporative type, generally include a housing having an inlet, an outlet, and a reservoir for holding water, a water absorbing material seated partially submerged in the water of the reservoir, and a fan that is connected to the housing for creating an airflow. The water absorbing material is generally known as a wick in the art and is adapted to draw water in the upper non-emersed part by capillary action. The airflow created by the fan is directed to pass through the upper non-emersed portion of the wick to humidify the air in the room. The wicks tend to accumulate minerals from the water which blocks the capillary action of the wick. Accordingly, the performance of the wick degrades over time requiring replacement of the wick.
Portable humidifiers are currently manufactured with different performance capacities to suit a consumer's particular needs. The retailers that carry humidifiers are generally required out of necessity to offer a line of humidifiers having different performance characteristics. Since humidifiers that have a higher performance capacity generally require a larger wick, retailers must stock a plurality of different size wicks to satisfy the demands of all consumers. Replacement wicks are traditionally a bulky and expensive inventory for retailers to maintain because the wicks are expensive to purchase, do not turn over very often, and take up a lot of shelf space. In addition, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that very often by the time the consumer needs to replace the wick element, the packaging on the wick looks old and shoddy.
Another general problem associated with humidifiers is that the devices create noise which can be disturbing to the user. Most of the noise attributed to the humidifier is attributed to the airflow through the device. Generally the noise levels generated by the humidifier will increase with the volume of airflow passing through the device.