JP2001348093A - Drink server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drink server wherein temperatures of whole drink transfer pipe can be maintained nearly uniformly by efficiently cooling or heating drinks without using a mechanical agitating means and the size of the drink server can be minimized. SOLUTION: A cooling frame 25, as a heat transfer member, and a cylindrical body 26 are provided at the central portion within a heat-insulated server body 11 which is formed into a casing like shape to receive water 41. A heat pipe 29, for example, is provided, as a heat transfer element, to cool the frame 25 and cylindrical body 26, and liquid and vapor is move in the heat pipe 29 by utilizing Peltier effect of an electronic heat-exchanging equipment 30 to cool the water 41 through the heat pipe 29 and cylindrical body 26. A transfer pipe 37 of drink e.g. draft beer is vertically spirally provided along the cylindrical body 26 set in the vertical direction to cool the draft beer sent from the outside, and while the beer is being transferred through the pipe 37, and it is poured from a pour cock 40.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage server used to cool or heat a beverage sent from a beverage supply source such as a draft beer keg.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, draft beer servers have been used for cooling and discharging draft beer sent from draft beer barrels, for example. As a conventional draft beer server, a heat transfer plate is provided on the back of the server body with heat insulation structure, electronic cooling means for cooling the heat transfer plate by using the Peltier effect is provided on the back of the server body, and on the front side inside the server body A cooling pipe is spirally arranged in the vertical direction, a stirring blade driven by a stirring motor arranged outside the server main body is provided at the center of the cooling pipe, and a spout cock communicating with the cooling pipe is provided on the front side of the server main body. Configurations have been proposed.

According to the conventional draft beer server described above, the water in the server body is cooled by pouring water into the server body and cooling the heat transfer plate by the electronic cooling means. It is cooled while passing through the spiral cooling pipe, and the cooled draft beer can be discharged from the discharging cock. And since the heat transfer plate is arranged on the back surface of the server body, the water near the heat transfer plate is cooled and becomes ice, and the cooling plate side of the cooling pipe, that is,
A temperature difference is generated between the ice side and the separation side with respect to the cooling plate, that is, the separation side with respect to the ice, and the cooling effect of draft beer is inferior. The overall temperature in the main body is made uniform.

[0004]

However, when a mechanical stirring means is used as in the above-mentioned conventional example, it is not only expensive but also easily broken and requires maintenance. In addition, since ice is formed from one side of the heat transfer plate in the server body, water on the remote side with respect to the heat transfer plate is hardly cooled, the amount of ice is reduced, and the cooling efficiency of the entire server body, that is, cooling pipes And the cooling efficiency of draft beer is inferior. Furthermore, since the cooling pipe is arranged in a spiral shape with the cooling pipe offset to the front side in the server main body, the diameter of the spiral is reduced by itself, so that the height of the spiral is increased to obtain a desired transfer distance of draft beer. , The size of the entire server increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems.
By arranging the beverage transfer tube in a spiral around it,
Without using mechanical stirring means, the beverage can be efficiently cooled or heated by allowing the temperature of the entire beverage transfer pipe to be substantially uniform, and therefore,
The beverage can be set at an appropriate temperature, and the cost can be reduced. Further, when a desired beverage transfer distance is obtained, the whole can be reduced in size, and therefore, convenience such as carrying around can be achieved. It is another object of the present invention to provide a beverage server capable of reducing the installation space.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a beverage server according to the present invention is formed in a housing shape and has a heat-insulating server body capable of storing a liquid, and a central portion in the server body. Provided, having a vertical cylindrical body, cooling the liquid, or a heat transfer member for heating,
Electronic heat exchange means for cooling or heating the heat transfer member by utilizing the Peltier effect, and helically arranged along the tubular body of the heat transfer member, and drinks from outside into the server main body. It is provided with a beverage transfer pipe for guiding, and a pouring cock capable of discharging a beverage cooled or heated by the beverage transfer pipe.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, another beverage server according to the present invention is provided with a heat transfer element capable of cooling or heating a heat transfer member by moving liquid and vapor in the above-described configuration.

In the above configuration, in order to cool the beverage, a heat pipe is used as a heat transfer element, an electronic heat exchange means is provided on an upper portion of the server main body, and the heat pipe is cooled by utilizing the Peltier effect. Can be configured.

According to the present invention configured as described above,
A tubular body of a heat transfer member is provided in a vertical direction at a central portion in the server main body, and the heat transfer member is cooled by electronic heat exchange means,
Or, by heating, cooling, or cooling the liquid around it by the heated cylindrical body substantially uniformly, or heating to make ice, it is possible to obtain a columnar and relatively large amount of ice, Moreover, since the beverage transfer pipe is spirally arranged along the cylindrical body, the temperature of the entire beverage transfer pipe can be made substantially uniform without using mechanical stirring means. Can be cooled or heated quickly and efficiently. Also, by arranging the beverage transfer tube in a spiral around the tubular body of the heat transfer member as described above, the spiral diameter of the beverage transfer tube can be increased, so that a desired beverage transfer distance is obtained. In addition, the spiral height of the beverage transfer tube can be set low, and the overall size can be reduced.

[0010] Further, by providing a heat transfer element capable of cooling or heating the heat transfer member by transferring liquid and vapor, cooling or heating of the heat transfer member can be speeded up.
The soaking, that is, the heat transfer effect can be improved.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a draft beer server according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the draft beer server, and FIG. FIG.

In FIG. 3, 1 is a draft beer barrel filled with draft beer, 2 is a carbon dioxide gas cylinder filled with carbon dioxide to be supplied into the draft beer barrel 1, and 3 is a draft beer sent from the draft beer barrel 1 is cooled. 1 is a draft beer server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The draft beer server 3 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the server main body 11 is formed in a housing shape. As an example, the bottom plate 12 has a square shape, a back plate 13 provided on each side of the bottom plate 12, left and right side plates 14 and 15, a front plate 16, and a top cover 17. Bottom plate 12,
The back plate 13, the side plates 14, 15 and the front plate 16 are filled with a heat insulating material 20 such as urethane foam in inner and outer shells 18 and 19 made of metal, resin or the like. Has become. The top cover 17 has a rectangular recess 21 formed in the center, an engagement portion 22 formed in the upper four sides, a bottom plate 23 formed in a square frame shape, and a square hole 24 formed therein. I have. The top cover 17 has its engaging portion 22 detachably engaged with the upper edge of the outer shell 18 inside each side.

A heat transfer member is attached to the lower surface of the bottom plate 23 of the top cover 17. As an example of the heat transfer member, a square cylindrical cooling tubular body 26 made of a similar material is vertically welded to the lower surface of a cooling pedestal 25 made of a metal material having excellent heat conductivity such as aluminum by welding or the like. A cooling pedestal 25 is attached to the lower surface of the bottom plate 23 by a fastener 28 such as a bolt via a rectangular frame-shaped packing 27.
The cooling tubular body 26 is set along the inner edge of the hole in the bottom plate 23 and the inner edge of the packing 27. The cooling tubular body 26 is disposed so that its lower end is located slightly above the bottom plate 12 of the server body 11.
The inside and outside are communicated with each other at an open portion between the cooling tubular body 26 and the bottom plate 12. A plurality of flat heat pipes 29 as heat transfer elements are attached to the inner surfaces of the cooling pedestal 25 and the cooling tubular body 26 in a contact state. In the present embodiment, the two peat pie pipes 29 are mounted on the cooling pedestal 25.
Are located at the center of each surface of the cooling tubular body 26, are extended to reach the lower end of the cooling tubular body 26, and are attached to the respective surfaces in a contact state. The heat pipe 29 has a known configuration, and as an example, liquefied chlorofluorocarbon gas or alternative chlorofluorocarbon is placed inside a decompressed pipe, and liquefied chlorofluorocarbon gas or the like cooled at the upper part is lowered, heat is absorbed at the lower part and heated. The amount of CFCs vaporized rises.

An electronic heat exchanger 30 is provided on a cooling pedestal 25 by utilizing the holes 24 of the top cover 17. The electronic heat exchange device 30 is configured to cool the cooling pedestal 25, the heat pipe 29, and the cooling tubular body 26 by utilizing the Peltier effect. An example will be described. One side surface of the heat absorbing heat conductor 32 is applied to the heat absorbing surface side of the Peltier element 31, and the heat dissipating fins 33 and the heat dissipating fan 34 are sequentially provided on the heat dissipating surface side of the Peltier element 31. , A ventilation member 35 is provided. The electronic heat exchanger 30 is housed in the top cover 17 with the heat radiating fan 34 positioned upward, and is mounted such that the heat absorbing heat conductor 32 contacts the cooling pedestal 25.

The Peltier element 31 is supplied with a current from a power supply unit 36 provided on the server main body 11 to cause heat transfer from the lower heat absorbing surface to the upper heat radiating surface due to the Peltier effect. The heat absorbing heat conductor 32 is cooled. When the radiating fan 34 is driven by the supply of power, the outside air is discharged upward from the radiating fan 34 through the radiating fins 33, and the heat moved to the radiating fins 33 by the Peltier effect is dissipated by the outside air. It has become.

Inside the server body 11, a draft beer transfer pipe 37 made of stainless steel or the like and having excellent heat conductivity is arranged in a vertical direction along the outer peripheral portion of the cooling cylinder 26 at a position separated from the cooling cylinder 26. The draft beer transfer pipe 37 is arranged spirally in the back plate 13, the side plate 14,
15. The front plate 16 is supported by being engaged with an arcuate engagement portion 39 of a support plate 38 made of stainless steel or the like fixed inside each central portion of the front plate 16. One end of the draft beer transfer pipe 37 is connected to the base of a pouring cock 40 provided through the upper part of the front plate 16 of the server main body 11, and the other end of the draft beer transfer pipe 37 is connected to the back plate 13 of the server main body 11. It protrudes from the lower part to the server main body 11 in a watertight state. Water 41 is put in the server main body 11, and the whole draft beer transfer pipe 37 is immersed in the water 41.

As shown in FIG. 3, a dispense head 42 is mounted on the upper part of the draft beer barrel 1, and a discharge port 43 of the dispense head 42 and an external outlet of one end of the draft beer transfer pipe 37 are connected by a discharge pipe 44. Connected to the inlet 45 of the dispense head 42,
Is connected, and the other end of the carbon dioxide gas supply pipe 46 is connected to the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 2 via a pressure reducing valve 47. The electronic heat exchanger 30 and the power supply unit 36 can be covered with a decorative cover (not shown) having a heat radiation hole.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. As described above, the cooling gantry 25 and the cooling tubular body 26 are cooled by driving the electronic heat exchange device 30. At this time, if only the cooling pedestal 25 and the cooling tubular body 26 are used, it takes time to cool below the cooling tubular body 26, but in the present embodiment, the cooling pedestal 25
Along with cooling the end of the heat pipe 29 through
By repeating a cycle in which the upper vapor (gas) liquefies and descends in the heat pipe 29 and is heated by the endotherm to become vapor (gas) and descends below, the entire cooling tubular body 26 is rapidly cooled. And can be cooled almost uniformly. The water 41 can be cooled by this cooling, and ice is formed inside the cooling tubular body 26 or inside and outside, so that the water 4 outside the cooling tubular body 26 can be cooled.
1 can be further cooled.

Then, from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 2 to the pressure reducing valve 4
7. Supply carbon dioxide into the draft beer barrel 1 via the carbon dioxide supply pipe 46 and the inlet 45 of the dispense head 42,
The draft beer in the draft beer barrel 1 is pressurized by carbon dioxide gas and sent to the draft beer transfer pipe 37 of the draft beer server 3 via the outlet 43 and the outlet pipe 44. The draft beer sent into the draft beer transfer pipe 37 is rapidly cooled while being spirally transferred along the draft beer transfer pipe 37, and is supplied to the pouring cock 40. Therefore, draft beer cooled by opening and closing the pouring cock 40 can be discharged.

As described above, the cooling tubular body 26 is provided vertically at the central portion in the server main body 11, and the cooling tubular body 2 is provided.
6 can be instantaneously and almost entirely cooled by the heat pipe 29, and a relatively large amount of ice can be obtained in the form of a column. In addition, the draft beer transfer pipe 37 is disposed along the cooling tubular body 26. Since the draft beer transfer pipe 37 is provided in a spiral shape in the vertical direction, the whole draft beer transfer pipe 37 can be cooled almost uniformly at all times. Therefore, draft beer transferred in the draft beer transfer pipe 37 can be efficiently cooled and poured out, and further, since no mechanical stirring means is required, the cause of failure is reduced and durability is improved. And cost reduction can be achieved. Draft beer transfer pipe 3
The spiral diameter of the draft beer transfer pipe 37 can be increased by spirally arranging the draft beer 7 around the cooling tubular body 26 in the vertical direction, so that the installation area is reduced when a desired draft beer transfer distance is obtained. Needless to say, the draft height of the draft beer transfer pipe 37 can also be set low, so that the overall size can be reduced. Therefore, convenience such as carrying can be achieved. Can be reduced. Furthermore, since the electronic heat exchange device 30 is arranged at the upper part, the installation area can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the heat pipe 29 is provided inside the cooling pedestal 25 and the cooling tubular body 26. However, the heat pipe 29 is provided outside the cooling pedestal 25 and the cooling tubular body 26, or on both sides. Can be provided. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the electronic heat exchange device 30 is disposed below the server main body 11 and the thermosiphon is attached to the inside or outside, or both sides of the tubular body 26, although it is used for cooling draft beer. The heat-absorbing side and the heat-dissipating side are reversed by passing a current through the Peltier element 31 of the electronic heat exchange device 30 in the opposite direction, and the liquid is heated under the thermosiphon to elevate the vapor (gas). By constituting so as to be absorbed, heated, liquefied and lowered, the desired beverage to be transferred in the transfer pipe 37 by heating the tubular body 26 and the water 41 can also be heated. Further, instead of the water 41, a polymer liquid, an antifreeze solution, a decay-preventing solution, or the like can be used. Further, in the above embodiment, the heat pipe 29 or the thermosiphon is used to rapidly cool or heat the heat transfer member. However, when rapid cooling and heating are not required, It is also possible to cool or heat by the electronic heat exchange device 30 without using. other than this,
Various design changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the basic technical concept thereof.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, a tubular body of a heat transfer member is provided vertically at the center of the server body, and the heat transfer member is cooled or heated by electronic heat exchange means. Then, the surrounding liquid is cooled almost uniformly by the cooled or heated tubular body, or ice is formed by heating, so that a relatively large amount of ice can be obtained,
Moreover, since the beverage transfer pipe is spirally arranged along the cylindrical body, the temperature of the entire beverage transfer pipe can be made substantially uniform without using mechanical stirring means. Can be efficiently cooled or heated. Therefore, the temperature of the beverage can be set to an appropriate temperature, and moreover, the cause of failure can be reduced and the durability can be improved. Also, by arranging the beverage transfer tube in a spiral around the tubular body of the heat transfer member as described above, the spiral diameter of the beverage transfer tube can be increased, so that a desired beverage transfer distance is obtained. In addition, the spiral height of the beverage transfer tube can be set low, and the overall size can be reduced.

Further, by providing a heat transfer element capable of cooling or heating the heat transfer member by moving the liquid and the vapor, the cooling or heating speed of the heat transfer member can be increased.
The soaking, that is, the heat transfer effect can be improved. Therefore, the beverage can be further efficiently cooled or heated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing an example applied to a draft beer server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the same draft beer server.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of use of the same draft beer server.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Draft Beer Server 11 Server Main Body 25 Cooling Stand (Heat Transfer Member) 26 Cooling Tubular Body (Heat Transfer Member) 29 Heat Pipe (Heat Transfer Element) 30 Electronic Heat Exchanger 31 Peltier Element 37 Draft Beer Transfer Pipe (Beverage Transfer Pipe) ) 40 Dispensing cock 41 Water (liquid)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazuyoshi Takahashi 2-2-224 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Nastor Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuo Kato 2-2-2, Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Nastor Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Atsushi Koga 2-2-2, Higashishinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Nastor Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tadahiro Ogawa 2-2-2, Higashishinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Nastor (72) Inventor Makoto Takeda 546-8 Shinanomachi, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa F-term (reference) 3E082 BB01 BB03 CC01 EE02 FF09 3L045 AA04 BA01 CA01 DA04 FA01 PA04

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A server body formed in a housing shape and having a heat insulating structure capable of storing a liquid, and a vertical cylindrical body provided in a central portion in the server body to cool the liquid. Or a heat transfer member for heating, electronic heat exchange means for cooling or heating the heat transfer member by utilizing the Peltier effect, and helically disposed along the tubular body of the heat transfer member. A beverage server comprising: a beverage transfer pipe that guides a beverage from the outside into the server main body; and a pouring cock that can dispense a beverage cooled or heated by the beverage transfer pipe. 2. The beverage server according to claim 1, further comprising a heat transfer element capable of cooling or heating the heat transfer member by moving the liquid and the vapor. 3. The beverage server according to claim 2, wherein the heat transfer element is a heat pipe, the electronic heat exchange means is provided on an upper part of the server main body, and the heat pipe is cooled by utilizing a Peltier effect. .