JP2005273929A - Dispenser of potable water - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dispenser of potable water manufacturable at low cost and having improved reliability in a dispenser cooling and supplying the potable water. <P>SOLUTION: This dispenser of the potable water comprises a compressor 31, a condenser 32, a decompresser 34, an evaporator temperature sensor 36 forming a refrigerating cycle by connecting, in series, an evaporator 35 and an evaporator 37 and detecting the temperature TE of the evaporator 35, and a water temperature sensor 24 detecting the temperature TW of the potable water W stored in a water tank 5. The compressor 31 is drivingly controlled based on the temperatures TE and TW detected by the evaporation temperature sensor 36 and the water temperature sensor 24. Since the inside of a refrigerator 1 is cooled by the evaporator 35 and the potable water W flowing into the cooling water tank 5 is cooled by the evaporator 37. As a result, the potable water W can be safely stored while suppressing the propagation of miscellaneous germs and properly cooled cool water can be supplied by pushing down a cool water fill-out valve 10 for opening operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a dispenser that cools and supplies drinking water.

When dispensers that supply drinking water supply tap water, since the tap water itself is sterilizable by chlorine added to the tap water for sterilization, the growth of microorganisms in the tap water is suppressed, which is a problem. It is rare to become. However, in the case of drinking water such as mineral water, chlorine for sterilization is not added to the drinking water, and the proliferation of microorganisms in the drinking water is an important problem.
Therefore, it is equipped with an evaporator (cooler) in the refrigerator that contains the container filled with drinking water and the tank that temporarily stores the drinking water, and cools the drinking water to suppress the growth of germs and store it safely. There is also a drinking water dispenser that is supplied (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-11-190577

However, the gas refrigerant compressed by the compressor is converted into liquid refrigerant by the condenser, the refrigerant flow path is switched by the refrigerant circulation path switching solenoid valve provided in the middle of the refrigerant pipe, and the evaporator and tank provided in the refrigerator are provided. Cooling is performed by circulating a refrigerant in one of the evaporators, but this method has a configuration in which a refrigerant circulation path switching solenoid valve is provided, leading to an increase in equipment manufacturing cost and reliability. There is a risk of lowering.
In view of the above circumstances, the present invention relates to a dispenser that cools and supplies drinking water, and an object thereof is to provide a drinking water dispenser that reduces device manufacturing costs and improves reliability.

In order to achieve the above object, a dispenser for drinking water according to claim 1 of the present invention is a dispenser for drinking via a cold water tank that cools and stores drinking water supplied from a drinking water container accommodated in a refrigerator. A compressor that compresses the gas refrigerant into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas; a condenser that cools the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant into a liquid refrigerant; and a decompressor that reduces the pressure of the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant A drinking water dispenser comprising: a first evaporator for removing heat from the surroundings and evaporating into a gas refrigerant; and a second evaporator for cooling the cold water tank. ,
The compressor, the condenser, the decompressor, the first evaporator, and the second evaporator are connected in series to form a refrigeration cycle.
Moreover, the dispenser of the drinking water according to claim 2 of the present invention is the beverage stored in the cold water tank according to claim 1 described above, the evaporator temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the first evaporator. Drinking water temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the water, and control means for driving the compressor based on the temperatures detected by the evaporator temperature detection means and the drinking water temperature detection means are provided.

  A dispenser of drinking water according to claim 3 of the present invention is the dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the refrigerator is provided with a blower for circulating the air cooled by the first evaporator, and the control means is The blower is driven based on the temperature detected by the evaporator temperature detecting means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the compressor, the condenser, the decompressor, and the first of the dispenser provided for drinking via the cold water tank that cools and stores the drinking water supplied from the drinking water container accommodated in the refrigerator. Since the refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting the evaporator and the second evaporator in series, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the drinking water dispenser and improve the reliability.
According to the invention of claim 2, the evaporator temperature detecting means for detecting the first evaporator temperature, the drinking water temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the drinking water stored in the cold water tank, and the evaporator temperature detection. Since the control means for driving the compressor based on the temperature detected by the means and the drinking water temperature detecting means is provided, the refrigerator is provided with the first evaporator and the drinking water flowing into the cold water tank is second Since it is cooled by the evaporator, it can be stored safely by suppressing the proliferation of miscellaneous bacteria in the drinking water, and appropriately cooled cold water can be supplied by opening the lever by depressing the lever of the cold water dispensing valve.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the refrigerator is provided with the blower for circulating the air cooled by the first evaporator, and the control means drives the blower based on the temperature detected by the evaporator temperature detection means. Therefore, the drinking water of the drinking water container accommodated in the refrigerator can be cooled efficiently.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a dispenser for drinking water according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration when the present invention is applied to a drinking water dispenser. A cold water tank 5 and a hot water tank 8 are provided below a drinking water container 2 such as a BIB (bag in box type container) housed in a refrigerator 1. The pipe 4 is communicated from the lower part of the drinking water container 2 via the three-way connector 3 to the upper part of the cold water tank 5 and the pipe 6 having the electromagnetic valve 7 interposed between the upper part of the hot water tank 8 and the cold water tank 5 And a hot water tank 8 are communicated with each other by a pipe 9. The drinking water W packed in the drinking water container 2 is led to the cold water tank 5 and the hot water tank 8 by its own weight, and the drinking water W is cooled by an evaporator (second evaporator) 37 attached to the cold water tank 5. Cold water (eg, 4 ° C. to 7 ° C.) is used, and the drinking water W is heated by the heater 21 attached to the hot water tank 8 to obtain hot water (eg, 80 ° C.). Then, when the cold water is opened by pushing down the lever of the cold water discharge valve 10 communicating with the lower part of the cold water tank 5, the drinking water W is poured by its own weight, and the hot water is communicated with the upper part of the hot water tank 8. When the lever of the hot water pouring valve 11 is pushed down to open it, the drinking water W is poured by its own weight. Further, a drain pipe 14 provided at the lower part of the hot water tank 8 with a solenoid valve 13 interposed in a pipe 12 branched from the vicinity of the cold water outlet valve 10 of the pipe communicating from the lower part of the cold water tank 5 to the cold water outlet valve 10. Communicating with

1a is a door of the refrigerator 1, and 1b is a shelf on which the drinking water container 2 is placed. 9a is a steam vent hole that occurs when the drinking water W runs out and the water level in the hot water tank 8 falls, 14a is a drain pipe 14 plug, 15 is a steam vent pipe, and a drinking water container is provided so that the drinking water W does not overflow. A boil prevention thermo 16 is provided that folds back in a U shape at a position higher than 2, and stops heating the heater 21 when boiling of the drinking water W is detected at its tip. In addition, when the hot water tank 8 is detected to be empty, the heater 21 stops heating to prevent the empty water from being discharged, and the temperature sensor 23 that detects the temperature of the hot water and outputs a temperature signal includes the hot water tank. 8, a water temperature sensor 24 that detects the temperature of cold water (drinking water W) and outputs a temperature signal is provided in the cold water tank 5.
FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a refrigeration cycle when the present invention is applied to a drinking water dispenser. The compressor 31 compresses the gas refrigerant into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas, and the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant is cooled to liquid. A condenser 32 that serves as a refrigerant, a dryer 33 that removes and purifies dust and moisture in the liquid refrigerant, a capillary tube (decompressor) 34 that lowers the pressure of the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant, and the liquid refrigerant generates heat from the surroundings. The evaporator (first evaporator) 35 that takes and evaporates to become a gas refrigerant and cools the inside of the refrigerator 1 (for example, about 5 ° C.), and the liquid refrigerant also takes heat from the surroundings and evaporates to become a gas refrigerant to become cold water. An evaporator (second evaporator) 37 that cools the drinking water W in the tank 5 (for example, 4 ° C. to 7 ° C.) and a liquid refrigerant and a gas refrigerant are separated and only the gas refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 31. Header 38 and refrigerant pipe for circulating refrigerant 9 respectively show fan 40 for circulating air in the refrigerator 1, which is cooled by the evaporator 35. The compressor 31, the condenser 32, the dryer 33, the capillary tube 34, the evaporators 35 and 37, and the header 38 are connected in series with a refrigerant pipe 39 to form a refrigeration cycle.

Then, the refrigerant flows in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure, compressed by the compressor 31, cooled and liquefied by the condenser 32, purified by the dryer 33, depressurized by the capillary tube 34, and part of the refrigerant by the evaporator 35. Evaporates in the refrigerator 1, and the remaining refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator 37 to cool the cold water (drinking water W) in the cold water tank 5, and the gaseous refrigerant that has passed through the header 38 is sucked into the compressor 31. The Thus, the refrigeration cycle is repeated as the compressor 31 is driven. Moreover, the air in the refrigerator 1 efficiently heat-exchanges the evaporator 35 by the forced ventilation of the air blower 40, and is cooled.
FIG. 3 shows a control block diagram when the present invention is applied to a drinking water dispenser. The temperature setting device 60 inputs the set temperature of the drinking water dispenser, and the temperature of the cold water (drinking water W) in the cold water tank 5. A water temperature sensor (drinking water temperature detection means) 24 that detects and outputs a temperature signal, an evaporator temperature sensor (evaporator temperature detection means) 36 that detects the temperature of the evaporator 35 and outputs a temperature signal, and the drinking water W A control unit 100 (control means) that performs cooling and heating control, and a blower 40 that blows the cool air in the refrigerator 1 cooled by the compressor 31 and the evaporator 35 that constitute the refrigeration cycle by a signal output from the control unit 100. A power source 120 that applies a voltage to the memory, a memory 102 that stores control data for the dispenser of drinking water, and a clock generated by a reference clock generator (not shown) is counted to determine the time (for example, 10 min) by measuring the has a timer 103 for stopping the compressor 31.

  Next, the operation of the refrigeration cycle of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step 1, control of the control unit 100 is started. Specifically, the evaporator 35 temperature TE is read from the temperature signal output from the evaporator temperature sensor 36, and the cold water (potable water W) temperature TW of the cold water tank 5 is read from the temperature signal output from the water temperature sensor 24 (step 2). In the case of a temperature preset by the temperature setting device 60, for example, TE ≧ 4 ° C. (step 3), the compressor 31 and the blower 40 are driven (step 4), and TE ≦ −13 ° C. (step 5). Drive until When TE ≦ −13 ° C., the blower 40 is stopped (step 6), the cold water (drinking water W) temperature TW is confirmed, and when TW ≦ 4 ° C. (step 13), the temperature is 10 The compressor 31 is driven until it is continued for a minute (step 14) and then stopped (step 15), and the evaporator 35 temperature TE and the cold water (drinking water W) temperature TW are read again (step 2).

If TE ≧ 4 ° C. is different in step 3, and TW ≧ 7 ° C. (step 11), the compressor 31 is driven (step 12), and TW ≦ 4 ° C. (step 13) is continued for 10 minutes (step 14). ), The compressor 31 is driven and then stopped (step 15), and the evaporator 35 temperature TE and the cold water (drinking water W) temperature TW are read again (step 2).
Further, when TE ≧ 4 ° C. in Step 3 and TW ≧ 7 ° C. in Step 11 are different, the evaporator 35 temperature TE and the cold water (drinking water W) temperature TW are set without driving the compressor 31 and the blower 40. Reading (step 2) is repeated.
In this way, the compressor 31, the condenser 32, the decompressor 34, and the drinking water dispenser in which the evaporator 35 and the evaporator 37 are connected in series to form a refrigeration cycle, the evaporation for detecting the temperature TE of the evaporator 35. Compressor temperature sensor 36, water temperature sensor 24 for detecting temperature TW of drinking water W stored in cold water tank 5, and compressor TE based on temperatures TE and TW detected by evaporator temperature sensor 36 and water temperature sensor 24 Since the control unit 100 for driving 31 is provided, the interior of the refrigerator 1 is cooled by the evaporator 35 and the drinking water W flowing in the direction of the arrow in the piping system in FIG. Therefore, it can be stored safely by suppressing the proliferation of various germs in the drinking water W, and appropriately cooled cold water can be supplied when the lever of the cold water pouring valve 10 is depressed and opened. Kill. Further, since the refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting the compressor 31, the condenser 32, the decompressor 34, and the evaporator 35 and the evaporator 37 in series, a refrigerant circulation path switching electromagnetic valve is provided in the middle of the refrigerant pipe 39. Therefore, it is possible to provide a drinking water dispenser with reduced device manufacturing costs and improved reliability.

  Further, since the refrigerator 1 is provided with the blower 40 that circulates the air cooled by the evaporator 35, and the control unit 100 drives the blower 40 based on the temperature TE detected by the evaporator temperature sensor 36, the refrigerator The drinking water W of the drinking water container 2 accommodated in 1 can be efficiently cooled.

The schematic structure of the dispenser of the drinking water which is embodiment of this invention is shown. 2 shows a refrigeration cycle of the drinking water dispenser shown in FIG. 2 shows a control block of the drinking water dispenser shown in FIG. The flowchart of the freezing cycle of the drinking water dispenser shown in FIG. 1 is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Drinking water container 3 Three-way connector 4 Piping 5 Cold water tank 8 Hot water tank 9 Piping 10 Cold water pouring valve 11 Hot water pouring valve 12 Piping 21 Heater 23 Temperature sensor 24 Water temperature sensor 31 Compressor 32 Condenser 33 Dryer 34 Capillary tube DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 35 Evaporator 36 Evaporator temperature sensor 37 Evaporator 38 Header 39 Refrigerant pipe 40 Blower 60 Temperature setting apparatus 100 Control part 102 Memory 103 Timer 120 Power supply part

Claims (3)

A dispenser for drinking through a cold water tank that cools and stores drinking water supplied from a drinking water container accommodated in a refrigerator, the compressor compressing a gas refrigerant into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas, and A condenser that cools the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant into a liquid refrigerant; a decompressor that lowers the pressure of the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant; and the liquid refrigerant that takes heat from the surroundings to evaporate to become a gas refrigerant. In a drinking water dispenser comprising a first evaporator for cooling and a second evaporator for cooling the cold water tank,
A drinking water dispenser comprising a compressor, a condenser, a decompressor, a first evaporator, and a second evaporator connected in series to form a refrigeration cycle. Evaporator temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the first evaporator, drinking water temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of drinking water stored in the cold water tank, the evaporator temperature detecting means and the drinking water temperature The drinking water dispenser according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that drives the compressor based on the temperature detected by the detection unit. The refrigerator is provided with a blower for circulating the air cooled by the first evaporator, and the control means drives the blower based on the temperature detected by the evaporator temperature detection means. The drinking water dispenser according to claim 1 or 2.

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