JP2003106728A - Container holding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power-saving, small and low-cost container holding device of holder type cold reserving device. SOLUTION: The container holding device 11 to be provided here has a holder 5 with the vacuum heat insulating structure. Since the holder 5 has the vacuum heat insulating structure, the caloric value penetrating into a container 2 held by the holder 5 can be reduced more drastically than when a heat insulating material such as styrol foam is used. As a result, a Peltier unit 23 necessary for cold reserving can be miniaturized and a fan for radiation is not necessary. Accordingly, the small-sized and low-cost container holding device 11, capable of cold reserving the container held by the holder 5, can be provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container holding device capable of holding a container such as a can or a PET bottle and keeping the beverage therein cool and / or warm.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is one in which a can or a PET bottle is placed in an airtight container and kept cold.

[0003]

On the other hand, a container which is positively kept cool by a Peltier unit has been considered. For example, a hermetically sealed beverage container has been considered in which styrofoam (styrene foam) or urethane foam (urethane foam) is used as a heat insulating material and a Peltier element (electronic freezing element) is used to cool a beverage such as juice or tea. Beverages in cans and PET bottles are poured into this heat-insulating container, which is then closed with a Peltier unit to keep the container cool.

However, in this beverage container, while the beverage can be kept cold for a long time, it takes time and effort to transfer the beverage from the can or the PET bottle to the container. For this reason, like a vehicle-mounted drink holder, it has a structure that can hold beverages in containers such as cans and PET bottles, and can cool the cans and PET bottles with a Peltier unit to keep the beverage inside. desirable.

On the other hand, in order to easily take out the held container, it is desirable to hold the can or the PET bottle in a state where a part thereof is exposed. However, if part of it goes out, the heat insulation efficiency is poor. Then, when the heat insulation efficiency decreases, the heat load of the Peltier unit increases in order to cool the heat, and the amount of heat radiated by the Peltier unit increases. For this reason, it is necessary to increase the size of a radiator such as a heat sink, or to provide a large fan to enhance the heat radiating action of the radiator, so that the entire apparatus for holding the container while cooling it becomes large. In addition, the Peltier unit also becomes larger,
Since a fan is required, power consumption is high and noise is high. Also, the product cost is high.

In view of the above, the present invention is an apparatus capable of holding a container without cooling it and keeping it cold, and adopting a compact Peltier unit to easily hold the drink. The purpose is to provide a device. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a small-sized, low-cost container holding device that consumes less power, produces less noise.

[0007]

For this reason, in the present invention, a holder for holding a can or a bottle-shaped container, which has a cylindrical portion with an opening at the top, has a vacuum heat insulating structure. It realizes a compact container holding device with improved heat insulation effect. That is, the present invention is a vacuum insulation structure,
A holder having at least a tubular portion having an opening at the top so as to be able to hold a can or bottle-shaped container, a first heat exchange section arranged inside the holder, and a holder arranged outside the holder There is provided a container holding device having a second heat exchange section that is formed and a Peltier unit that can transfer heat between the first and second heat exchange sections.

In the container holding device of the present invention, since the holder has the vacuum heat insulating structure, the heat insulating effect on the container is higher than that when the heat insulating material such as Styrofoam or urethane foam is used as the holder, and the beverage in the container is kept cool. It is possible to suppress the heat radiation amount of the Peltier unit when performing. This allows
The effect of reducing the amount of intruding heat is tremendous, being about 1/5 to 1/10. Therefore, the effect obtained by applying the vacuum heat insulating structure, which has not heretofore been adopted to the hermetically-sealed or hermetically-sealed containers, to the holder-shaped container having the upper opening is large. Therefore, the amount of heat exchange required to keep the beverage in the container cold is extremely small, the Peltier unit can be downsized, and the size of the second heat exchange section on the heat radiation side when cooling can be reduced. . Further, a cooling fan that promotes heat dissipation is also unnecessary. Therefore, a container holding device that can hold a beverage as a container and cool it efficiently can be provided as an overall compact and low-cost device, and by the present invention, a cold beverage that is kept cold without transferring the beverage to a pot. Can be easily obtained.

Further, as described above, the container holding device of the present invention can reduce the size of the Peltier unit and does not require a cooling fan, so that it is possible to realize a container holding device which is power-saving and has low noise. And because it is power saving, it is also possible to drive the Peltier unit using a small and simple power supply unit, and it is possible to drive the Peltier unit with a vehicle-mounted battery or a handheld simple battery. The container holding device of the present invention is also suitable as a portable device.

Further, since the container holding device of the present invention has a small amount of heat exchange in the Peltier unit, a simple plate-shaped second heat exchange portion can be adopted instead of a heat sink or the like in which a plurality of fins are arranged. Therefore, by disposing the second heat exchange portion along at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the holder, the container holding device can be made more compact.

In the container holding device of the present invention, the first heat exchange section can be arranged on the bottom surface of the holder. However, for that purpose, an opening for arranging the Peltier unit or the heat transfer section is required at the bottom of the holder. Providing an opening in the bottom of the holder can be problematic in sealing the vacuum insulation structure in its vicinity. On the other hand, the Peltier unit is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the holder, the first heat exchange unit is arranged inside the holder, and the heat transfer unit arranged so as to traverse the opening causes the Peltier unit and the first unit to be separated from each other.
By adopting the configuration in which the heat exchange part is connected, a cup-shaped holder having a closed bottom can be adopted, and a holder having a vacuum heat insulating structure can be easily manufactured. In addition, the sealed portion is reduced, and the heat insulation performance of the holder is highly reliable. Further, when the cup-shaped holder is used, it is easy to attach the first heat exchange section, the second heat exchange section and the Peltier unit from the opening of the holder and combine them.

With such a structure, the first heat exchange portion can be arranged not on the bottom portion of the cup but on the opening side, that is, on the upper portion of the opening. With this, the upper portion of the container can be cooled, so that the entire beverage in the container can be naturally cooled by the convection due to the temperature difference generated in the beverage in the container. For example, the first heat exchanging portion is formed in a plate shape, is arranged along at least a part of the inner peripheral surface of the holder, and the first heat exchanging portion and the Peltier unit are arranged by the heat transfer portion arranged so as to straddle the opening. Can be connected. On the other hand, by disposing the second heat exchanging portion, which is a heat dissipating portion, in the lower portion of the holder, it is possible to secure a distance from the first heat exchanging portion and prevent the heat flow from being short-circuited.

Further, in the container holding device of the present invention, a lid for sealing at least a part of the opening of the cup-shaped holder having the closed bottom portion is provided, and the lid is used for the first heat exchange portion and the second heat exchange portion.
It is also possible to hold the heat exchange part and the Peltier unit. This makes it easy to hold the container with respect to the holder and is suitable for cooling the upper portion of the container to keep the beverage in the container uniform.

Further, by mounting a cover having a ring-shaped flexible portion protruding inside the holder, it is possible to prevent heat from entering between the holder and the container by the cover and causing a heat load. it can. In addition, the effect of securely holding the container in the holder is obtained by the cover.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a container holding device according to the present invention. The container holding device 11 of the present example is a holder 5 that can hold a can or bottle-shaped container 2 to be kept cold, and this holder 5
A first heat exchanging portion 21 arranged on the inner side 17 of the holder, a second heat exchanging portion 22 arranged on the outer side 18 of the holder 5,
And a Peltier unit 23 capable of transferring heat between the second heat exchange section 22 and the second heat exchange section 21. The Peltier unit 23 operates by receiving power supply from the power supply unit 6 installed outside.

The holder 5 is a cup-shaped holder having an opening 4 at the upper portion 3, and has a bottom portion 7 and a tubular side wall 9 that rises upward from the edge of the bottom portion 7. The inner wall serving as the inner peripheral surface 5a and the outer wall serving as the outer peripheral surface 5b of the holder 5 are made of stainless steel, and the inside sealed by the inner wall and the outer wall is a vacuum, and has a vacuum heat insulating structure. Further, an opening 8 is formed in the center of the bottom portion 7 for disposing the Peltier unit 23. Further, the first heat exchange part 21 is connected to the inside of the bottom part 7, and the second heat exchange part 22 is arranged to the outside of the bottom part 7. With these, the Peltier unit 2
When the inside of the holder 5 is cooled, the first heat exchanging portion 21 operates as a heat absorbing portion and the second heat exchanging portion 22 operates as a heat radiating portion. On the other hand, when heating the inside of the holder 5, the first heat exchange section 21 is
The second heat exchange section 22 operates as a heat absorption section. In the following, the case where the container holding device 11 of the present example is used as a cooler will be described as an example, but it is also possible to use the heat retainer 21 and 22 by reversing the functions of the heat exchangers 21 and 22.

The first heat exchange portion 21 of this embodiment is a plate material having good heat conductivity such as copper, and is in contact with the bottom 2a of the container 2 such as a can or a PET bottle inserted in the holder 5, and the container 2 is interposed therebetween. To cool the beverage inside. The second heat exchange section 22 of this example is
The heat sink has a plurality of fins 26 so that a sufficient heat radiation effect can be obtained. The side surface of the second heat exchanging portion 22 is covered by the base 27 that supports the holder 5, so that a finger or the like does not touch the second heat exchanging portion 22 by mistake, and the outside air is exposed to the fins. 26
The space to contact is secured.

Therefore, when a bottle-shaped container 2 such as an aluminum can, a steel can, or a PET bottle is inserted into the holder 5 of the cold insulator 11 of this embodiment, the bottom 2a of the container 2 comes into contact with the first heat exchange section 21. In addition, many parts of the container 2 are surrounded by the holder 5. The holder 5 has a vacuum heat insulating structure, and has a much higher heat insulating efficiency than that of expanded polystyrene or urethane foam. For example, comparing the amount of heat entering the holder made of expanded polystyrene having a thickness of about 20 mm and the holder 5 having a thickness of about 4 mm and having a vacuum heat insulating structure, the holder 5 of this example has The amount of heat entering can be reduced to about 1/5. Therefore, if the Peltier unit is configured with a holder of heat insulating material such as Styrofoam and uses the Peltier unit to cool the beverage in the container, the heat absorption amount is 10 W or more, and accordingly the heat radiation amount is 40 to 60 W or more. Therefore, the Peltier unit becomes large and it is necessary to provide a fan for heat dissipation. For this reason, a device for keeping a single beverage container cold becomes large and impractical.

On the other hand, in the case of the holder 5 having the vacuum heat insulating structure of the present embodiment, the amount of heat absorption is drastically reduced, so that the Peltier unit 23 can be made compact as shown in FIG. 1 and the fan is unnecessary. For this reason, it becomes possible to make the size and cost suitable as a device for keeping a single beverage container cold.
Also, regarding the thickness of the holder 5, the holder 5 having a vacuum heat insulating structure can be made about 1/5 thinner than the case where a heat insulating material such as styrofoam is used, so that the container holding device can be made compact and its design can be improved. The degree of freedom of can be increased. Further, the problem of noise related to the fan can be solved in advance.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a cooler using a Peltier unit of the type in which the container 2 is placed in the holder 5. The holder-type cooler 11 can keep the beverage in the container 2 as it is without transferring the beverage, and can be taken while holding the container 2 in the holder 5 or taken out by holding the upper portion of the container 2. The container holding device 11 is capable of keeping cold, which is easy to use.

Further, in the cold storage device 11 of this embodiment, the cooling fan can be omitted and the Peltier unit can be made compact.
Low power consumption. Therefore, it becomes possible to use a vehicle-mounted battery as a power source or a battery as a power source, and it becomes a cold storage device suitable for vehicle-mounted or portable.
For example, it is useful as an in-vehicle product. If direct current power is used as a power source from a cigar socket or the like, a DC-DC converter may be provided in the power supply unit 6. On the other hand, by adopting an AC-DC converter for the power supply unit 6, it can be easily used at home or office.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 2 shows a different example of the present invention. In the present invention, since the heat insulating efficiency is enhanced by the holder 5 having the vacuum heat insulating structure, the fin 26
Even if a plate-shaped second heat exchange section 22 is used instead of, sufficient performance can be secured. In the cold storage device 12 shown in FIG.
The heat exchanging portion 22 is made of a plate material having good thermal conductivity, such as aluminum or copper. The second heat exchange portion 22 of this example is parallel to the bottom portion 7 of the holder 5 and is located in the Peltier unit 2
3 is provided with a bottom portion 31 connected to 3, and a tubular portion 32 that rises from the edge portion of the bottom portion 31 along the outer peripheral surface 5b of the holder 5, and is attached so as to cover the side wall 9 from the bottom portion 7 of the holder 5. ing. Therefore, the container holding device (cooling device) can be made more compact. Further, since a heat sink having a plurality of fins is unnecessary, it can be provided at a lower cost.

In this cooler 12, a metal inner cylinder 30 which is removable and has excellent heat transfer performance is inserted into the holder 5 and comes into contact with the first heat exchange section 21 to act as a heat absorption section. I am letting you. Since the inner cylinder 30 has a function of increasing the contact area with the container 2 and cooling from the upper portion of the container 2, it is easy to cool the container 2. In particular, when considering the plastic bottle container 2, unlike the aluminum can and the like, the container itself has low thermal conductivity and it is difficult to cool the beverage inside, but with the cold storage device 12 of this example, from the top to the bottom of the container. Since it can be cooled over time, the cooling efficiency also increases. Further, even if the beverage drips from the container 2, the inner cylinder 30 receives the beverage and the inner cylinder 3
0 can be pulled out from the holder 5 and washed with water. Therefore, it is easy to keep the inside of the holder 5 clean.

A case 33 is provided so as to cover the outside of the second heat exchange portion 22 with an appropriate gap, and a second case is provided along the outer peripheral surface 5b of the holder 5.
The heat exchange section 22 is not directly touched, and the second heat exchange section 22 is surely brought into contact with the outside air by providing the opening 33a and the like.

Further, the design is such that the first heat exchange section 21 and the second heat exchange section 22 are arranged in parallel, and the holder 5 having a vacuum heat insulation structure having excellent heat insulation is provided between them. Therefore, heat will not short circuit and performance will not deteriorate. Also,
The bottom portion 31 of the second heat exchange portion 22 is the ring-shaped spacer 3
Space is secured by 4.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 3 shows a further different example of the present invention. The cold storage device 13 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B includes a holder 35 having a closed bottom portion 7, a cover 38 is attached to the upper portion 3 of the holder 35, and the Peltier unit 2 is attached to the cover 38.
3, the 1st heat exchange part 21, and the 2nd heat exchange part 23 are hold | maintained. Therefore, by attaching the cover 38 to the holder 35, the cold insulation device 13 according to the present invention including the Peltier unit 23, the first heat exchange portion 21, the second heat exchange portion 22, and the vacuum heat insulating holder 35. Can be obtained.

In this cooler 13, the Peltier unit 23 is arranged above or above the holder 35, and the first heat exchange section 21 is arranged inside 17 of the cover 38, that is, above inside the holder 15. Further, the second heat exchange portion 22 is arranged below the first heat exchange portion 21 on the outer circumference of the holder 35.

The first heat exchange portion 21 of this example is a holder 35.
Is a plate-shaped heat transfer plate curved along the inner peripheral surface 5a of the holder 35, and is connected to the Peltier unit 23 by a heat transfer portion 36 that is arranged to cross or straddle the opening 4 of the holder 35. The second heat exchange portion 22 is the outer peripheral surface 5b of the holder 35.
Is a plate-shaped heat transfer plate that is curved along the outer peripheral surface 5b of the holder, and is protected by a cover 40 that is curved along the outer peripheral surface 5b with an appropriate gap.

In the cold storage device 13 of this example, the Peltier unit 23 and the first heat exchange portion 21 have the opening 4 of the holder 35.
Is arranged in the upper part 3 which has become the second heat exchange part 2
2 is arranged on the outer peripheral surface 5b of the holder 35. Therefore, the opening for attaching the Peltier unit 23 to the bottom portion 7 of the holder 35 is not necessary, and the holder 35 having the bottom portion 7 without the opening is adopted. In order to provide the opening at the bottom, it is necessary to seal the vacuum heat insulating structure along the periphery of the opening, whereas in the cooler 13 of this example, this is not necessary. Therefore, the labor for manufacturing the holder 35 can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be kept low. Also,
If the holder 35 has a bottom 7 without a closed opening,
Since the portion to be sealed is eliminated, the vacuum heat insulating structure has high reliability and the heat insulating performance is further improved, so that a more compact and low cost cold storage device can be obtained.

As described above, in the cold storage device 13 of this embodiment, by utilizing the shape of the heat insulating holder 35 having an opening on the upper side, the Peltier unit 23 is installed on the upper side, and even if it does not penetrate the holder 35, the inside thereof The 1st heat exchange part 21 is arrange | positioned at. Further, this arrangement has an advantage that the Peltier unit 23, the first heat exchanging portion 21, and the second heat exchanging portion 22 can be attached to the opening 4 of the holder 35, so that the assembly is easy.

Further, the first heat exchange section 21 is attached to the holder 35.
The upper part of the container 2 is cooled. Therefore, even if the container 2 having a poor heat transfer property such as a plastic bottle is cooled from above,
There is also an effect that the entire beverage can be efficiently cooled by convection.

In addition, the first heat exchange section 21 is placed above and the second heat exchange section 21 is placed above.
Since the heat exchanging portions 22 of the first heat exchanging portion 21 and the second heat exchanging portions 22 can be arranged separately in the upper and lower portions, such as below the holder 35.
It is easy to secure a distance between the heat exchange unit 22 and the heat exchange unit 22. For this reason,
It is possible to more efficiently prevent the first heat exchange section 21 and the second heat exchange section 22 from being short-circuited by the flow of heat.

Further, in the cooler 13 of this embodiment, the upper end of the cover 38 attached to the upper portion of the holder 35 is a ring-shaped flexible portion 39 protruding inside the holder 35. When the container 2 is inserted into the holder 35, the flexible portion 39 comes into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the container 2, so that the holder 35
Outside air or heat from the outside can be prevented from entering the inside of the holder, and cold air inside the holder 35 can be prevented from leaking outside. Therefore, the device 1 having higher thermal efficiency and higher cold insulation performance
It is 3. Further, since the flexible portion 39 has an effect of pressing the container 2 against the holder 35, when the container holding device is used in an environment where the container holding device vibrates or shakes, such as in a car, the rattling of the container and the It is possible to prevent accompanying noise.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 4 shows a further different example of the present invention. This cold storage device 14 also uses a holder 35 having no opening in the bottom portion 7. The Peltier unit 23 is attached to the outside of the upper portion of the cold storage device 14 and the inside of the holder 35 is inserted through a heat transfer portion 36 arranged so as to cross the opening 4. The 1st heat exchange part 21 is arrange | positioned at. This cooler 14
Has a heat sink (second heat exchange portion) 22 provided with a plurality of fins 26 on the side of the holder 35, and a handle 42
Are covered by. The structure of this handle 42 is the second
The heat exchanger 22 and the Peltier unit 23 are formed to surround the bottom portion 7 of the holder 35, and the handle 42 allows the entire cooler 14 to be safely held. There is. It should be noted that the handle 42 is provided with an opening 42a so that heat can be released from the second heat exchange section 22.

(Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 5 shows a further different example. The cooler 15 of this example also employs a holder 35 having no opening in the bottom portion 7, and has a lid 45 that seals at least a part of the opening 4 of the holder 35. The lid 45 of the present example has an opening 45d at the center thereof through which the drinking spout 2d of the plastic bottle 2 protrudes, and the second heat exchange section 22, the Peltier unit 23, and the first heat exchange are provided on the back surface of the lid 45. The part 21 and the part 21 are attached in this order from the top. When the lid 45 is closed, the second heat exchanging unit 22 holds the holder 35.
Has a cylindrical portion 48 extending along the outer peripheral surface 5a thereof, and the first heat exchange portion 21 has a cylindrical portion 47 extending inside the holder 35 when the lid 45 is closed. Therefore, when the lid 45 is placed with the container 2 in the holder 35, the upper portion of the container 2 is cooled by the first heat exchanging section 21, so that the beverage due to the convection due to the temperature difference generated in the beverage in the container 2 The whole can be cooled naturally, and its heat is held by the holder 3
The heat can be released from the second heat exchange portion 22 arranged outside the heat exchanger 5.

In the above example, a stainless steel vacuum insulation structure holder is used, but it is also possible to use a vacuum insulation structure holder made of glass or the like. Further, the shape and height of the holder 5 or 35, and the length and shape of the first and second heat exchanging portions are merely examples, and needless to say, are not limited to the above examples.

[0037]

As described above, in the container holding device of the present invention, the holder having the upper portion capable of holding the container has the vacuum heat insulating structure to reduce the amount of heat entering.
We provide a holder-type cooler or warmer that is compact and consumes less power. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a convenient container holding device capable of keeping cold or warming the whole container without transferring the beverage.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a container holding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the container holding device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a container holding device having a holder having a closed bottom portion.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing still another example of the container holding device.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing still another example of the container holding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 containers 3 upper 4 opening 5,35 holder 5a inner peripheral surface 5b outer peripheral surface 7 Bottom 8 Opening 9 Side wall 11-15 Container holding device 21 First heat exchange section 22 Second heat exchange section 23 Peltier Unit 38 cover 39 flexible part 42 handle 45 lid

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A holder having a vacuum heat insulating structure, which has at least a tubular portion having an opening at the top so as to hold a can or a bottle-shaped container, and a first holder arranged inside the holder. A container holding device having a heat exchange section, a second heat exchange section arranged outside the holder, and a Peltier unit capable of transferring heat between the first and second heat exchange sections. 2. The container holding device according to claim 1, wherein the second heat exchange portion is plate-shaped and is arranged along at least a part of an outer peripheral surface of the holder. 3. The holder according to claim 1, wherein the holder has a cup shape having a closed bottom portion, the Peltier unit is attached to an outer peripheral surface of the holder, and the first heat exchange portion is the holder. Placed on the inner side of
A container holding device connected to the Peltier unit by a heat transfer portion arranged so as to cross the opening. 4. The container holding device according to claim 3, wherein the first heat exchange section is arranged above the holder. 5. The container holding device according to claim 4, wherein the second heat exchanging portion is arranged below the holder. 6. The heat exchange section according to claim 3, wherein the first heat exchange section is plate-shaped, is arranged along at least a part of an inner peripheral surface of the holder, and the heat transfer section is arranged so as to straddle the opening. Container holding device. 7. The holder according to claim 1, wherein the holder has a cup shape with a closed bottom, and further has a lid that seals at least a part of the opening, and the lid has the first portion. Container holding device holding the heat exchange part, the second heat exchange part, and the Peltier unit. 8. The container holding device according to claim 1, wherein a cover having a ring-shaped flexible portion protruding inside the holder is mounted.