JP2020109332A - Liquid cooling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a liquid cooling apparatus capable of efficiently and rapidly cooling liquid such as hot beverages without impairing a taste and flavor by eliminating troubles due to residual liquid at a bottom in a tank.SOLUTION: A flowing liquid film type liquid cooling apparatus 1 includes: a bottomed cylindrical tank 10 in which an inlet 10a for allowing beverage to enter is opened on an upper surface; a bottomed cylindrical case 20 that is connected to and disposed below the tank 10 and includes a discharge port 20a for discharging the cooled beverage and arranged to be open on a lower surface; and a heat exchange pipe 30 accommodated in the case 20. A conical projection portion 10A that projects upward in a mountain shape is integrally projected at a center portion of a bottom surface in the tank 10, and a plurality of flow down holes 12 are formed on a plane portion 10B position at a lowest portion around the projection portion 10A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a falling liquid film type liquid cooling device that cools a liquid by dripping the liquid and exchanging heat with a cooling medium such as water.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, when a beverage such as tea or coffee extracted with hot water such as boiling water is chilled and drunk, a high-temperature beverage is poured into a large amount of ice for rapid cooling. As an example, when making iced coffee from hot coffee, it is made by putting a block of ice into hot coffee extracted with hot water by a coffee maker (hereinafter referred to as “hot coffee”). However, in this method, since coffee is diluted with ice water, there is a problem that the taste and flavor peculiar to coffee are impaired.

Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, a fluid to be treated such as hot coffee that has been put into a fluid storage tank (tank) to be treated is dropped from a drip hole, and liquid is flown along the surface of a heat exchange pipe arranged below. A falling liquid film type heat exchange device has been proposed in which droplets of a fluid to be treated flowing down while forming a film are cooled by heat exchange with a cooling medium such as water flowing through a heat exchange pipe.

JP, 2011-158239, A

However, in the falling-liquid-film heat exchange device proposed in Patent Document 1, when the liquid level of the fluid to be processed that is put into the fluid storage tank (tank) is high, the fluid to be processed is under pressure (self-weight). However, when the remaining amount becomes low and the liquid level becomes low, the fluid to be treated remains as residual liquid at the bottom of the fluid storage tank (tank) to be treated due to surface tension.

For example, when the processed fluid is hot coffee, the coffee remaining at the bottom of the processed fluid storage tank (tank) is exposed to the air and oxidizes, and this oxidized coffee mixes with the hot coffee to be added next. However, the taste and flavor of chilled coffee may be impaired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to efficiently and rapidly cool liquids such as hot beverages without compromising the taste and flavor by eliminating problems due to residual liquid in the bottom of the tank. Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid cooling device capable of achieving the above.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has a bottomed cylindrical tank (10) having an inlet (10a) for introducing a liquid to be cooled opened on the upper surface, and is connected and arranged below the tank (10). A bottomed cylindrical case (20) having a discharge port (20a) for discharging the cooled liquid on the lower surface, and a heat exchange pipe (30) housed in the case (20). A falling liquid film type liquid cooling device (1) comprising: a tank (10) having a cone-shaped protrusion (10A) projecting upward in a central portion of a bottom surface of the tank (10). A plurality of downflow holes (12) are formed in a flat surface portion (10B) located at the lowermost portion around the raised portion (10A).

According to the liquid cooling device of the present invention, a liquid to be cooled such as a hot beverage (for example, coffee, black tea, green tea, Chinese tea, etc.) put in the tank has a plurality of flow holes that are opened at the bottom surface of the tank. It is cooled by heat exchange with the cooling medium flowing through the heat exchange pipe in the process of dripping from the heat exchange pipe and flowing down while forming a liquid film along the surface of the heat exchange pipe arranged below, and is efficiently and rapidly cooled. .. In this case, the central portion of the bottom surface in the tank is integrally provided with a raised portion that is raised in a conical shape toward the center. Even if the temperature becomes low, all of the liquid flows along the slope of the raised portion to the flat surface portion, drops from the plurality of downflow holes formed in the flat surface to the heat exchange pipe, and is used for cooling. Therefore, the liquid to be cooled does not remain as a residual liquid at the bottom of the tank, the oxidized residual liquid does not mix into the liquid to be added next, and the taste and flavor of the next cooled beverage are The problem of being damaged is eliminated.

Further, in the liquid cooling device (1), the downflow hole (12) may widen downward.

According to the above configuration, the liquid to be cooled can smoothly drop toward the heat exchange pipe without coming into contact with or adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the downflow hole.

In addition, in this liquid cooling device (1), a radiating fin (11) may be provided on the outer periphery of the tank (10).

According to this configuration, the heat dissipation area of the tank is increased by the fins, and the heat conducted from the liquid to be cooled, which is put into the tank, to the tank is dissipated to the surroundings by the heat dissipation effect of the heat dissipation fins, so that the liquid heat exchanges. It is pre-cooled before being dropped on the pipe, and its cooling efficiency is enhanced.

In the liquid cooling device (1), the tank (10) may be made of aluminum or aluminum alloy.

According to the above configuration, since the tank is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy having a higher thermal conductivity than other metals, the heat of the liquid to be cooled is efficiently conducted to the tank and dissipated to the surroundings. The liquid is cooled efficiently and its temperature drops. Further, since aluminum or aluminum alloy has a smaller surface tension than other metals, it is difficult for the liquid to be cooled to adhere to the bottom surface of the tank due to the surface tension, and the liquid remains on the bottom surface of the tank. Will never remain as.

In the liquid cooling device (1), the case (20) may be made of synthetic resin.

According to the above configuration, the case made of a synthetic resin having a higher heat insulation effect than the metal suppresses heat conduction from the outside air into the case and suppresses the temperature rise in the case. Can be suppressed. Further, since the case made of synthetic resin is easily molded, the manufacturing cost of the case can be suppressed low.

Further, in this liquid cooling device (1), the heat exchange pipe (30) is spirally wound in multiple layers to form a loop or a cylinder, and one end (30A) of the heat exchange pipe (30) has the case (20). ) The cooling medium inflow port (30a) extends outward, and the other end (30B) extends to the outside of the case (20) to open as a cooling medium outflow port (30b). The cooling medium may flow through the pipe (30) from the lower side to the upper side.

According to this configuration, since the flow path of the cooling medium in the heat exchange pipe wound in multiple layers in a spiral shape becomes long, the heat exchange time with the cooling medium flowing through the heat exchange pipe also becomes long, and the liquid to be cooled is cooled. Are efficiently and rapidly cooled by the cooling medium.

In the liquid cooling device (1), the heat exchange pipe (30) may be made of any of glass, stainless steel, copper and copper alloy.

According to the above configuration, heat exchange between the liquid to be cooled and the cooling medium is efficiently performed via the heat exchange pipe made of copper or a copper alloy having high thermal conductivity, so that the liquid is cooled effectively and rapidly. It Further, since copper and copper alloys have high sterilization ability, there is also an effect that the liquid flowing down while forming a liquid film on the surface of the heat exchange pipe and the cooling medium flowing in the heat exchange pipe are sterilized. ..

According to the liquid cooling device according to the present invention, it is possible to solve the problem due to the residual liquid in the bottom portion of the tank, when the liquid to be cooled is a beverage such as hot coffee, the beverage without impairing its taste and flavor. The effect that it can be cooled efficiently and rapidly can be obtained.

It is the perspective view which looked at the liquid cooling device concerning the present invention from the slanting lower part. It is the perspective view which looked at the liquid cooling device concerning the present invention from the slanting upper part. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a liquid cooling device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion A of FIG. 3. (A), (b) is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view showing another form of the downflow hole. It is a perspective view which shows the tank of the liquid cooling device which concerns on this invention by cutting in half. It is a perspective view of a heat exchange pipe of the liquid cooling device according to the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a liquid cooling device according to the present invention seen obliquely from below, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same liquid cooling device seen from obliquely above, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same liquid cooling device, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of part A of FIG. 3, FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) are partial vertical cross-sectional views showing another form of the downflow hole, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the tank of the liquid cooling device according to the present invention in a half-cut state FIG. 7 and FIG. 7 are perspective views of a heat exchange pipe of the liquid cooling device.

The liquid cooling device 1 according to the present embodiment employs a falling liquid film system as a cooling system, and a hot beverage such as tea or coffee extracted with hot water that is a liquid to be cooled (hereinafter, referred to as “hot”). As an example of the "beverage"), hot coffee extracted with hot water (hot coffee) is cooled to make cold coffee (hereinafter referred to as "ice coffee"). As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the liquid cooling device 1 has a bottomed cylindrical tank 10 having a charging port 10a for charging hot coffee, which is opened on the upper surface, and is connected to the tank 10 below the tank 10. It is composed of a bottom cylindrical case 20 and a heat exchange pipe 30 housed in the case 20.

Hereinafter, details of the tank 10, the case 20, and the heat exchange pipe 30, which are the respective constituent elements, will be described.

<Tank>
The tank 10 is integrally molded in a bottomed cylindrical shape with aluminum or an aluminum alloy having a higher thermal conductivity than other metals, and has a ring plate shape on the outer periphery of the upper portion as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6. A plurality of (five in the illustrated example) radiating fins 11 are integrally formed in the vertical direction at appropriate intervals. A fitting groove 10b having a constant width is formed on the outer circumference of the lower end of the tank 10 over the entire circumference. For the sake of convenience, the radiation fins 11 are not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, at the center of the bottom surface of the tank 10, there is integrally provided a conical protrusion 10A protruding upward in a mountain shape. In the ring-shaped flat surface portion 10B located at the lowermost part of the periphery, a plurality (eight in the illustrated example) of the downflow holes 12 are provided in the circumferential direction so as to penetrate in the vertical direction at equal angular pitches (45° pitch). .. Here, as shown in detail in FIG. 4, each of the downflow holes 12 expands downward. Specifically, each of the downflow holes 12 connects a straight circular hole 12a opened on the flat surface portion 10B of the bottom surface in the tank 10 and a hemispherical hole 12b formed below the circular hole 12a. The diameter of the hemispherical hole 12b is set to be larger than the diameter of the circular hole 12a.

By the way, as the flow-down holes that spread downward, those shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) may be used. That is, the downflow hole 12' shown in FIG. 5(a) is formed by connecting a straight circular hole 12a' having the same diameter and a tapered hole 12b' that extends downward from the middle of the circular hole 12a'. The entire flow-down hole 12″ shown in FIG. 5(b) is formed as a tapered hole that widens downward.

<Case>
The case 20 is integrally molded in a cylindrical shape with a bottom by a synthetic resin, and a lower end of the case 20 is integrally formed with a funnel-shaped guide portion 20A having a diameter reduced downward. Has a circular hole-shaped discharge port 20a through which the cooled coffee is discharged. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, on the bottom surface of the case 20, three rectangular plate-shaped leg portions 20B for mounting the liquid cooling device 1 on a table (not shown) or the like are circumferentially arranged. It is integrally projected at an angular pitch (120° pitch).

As shown in FIG. 3, the case 20 configured as described above has the upper end thereof fitted into the fitting groove 10b formed over the entire circumference of the lower end of the tank 10 from below, whereby the tank 20 It is connected to the lower end of 10. In other words, the tank 10 is connected while being mounted on the upper part of the case 20 by fitting the fitting groove 10b formed on the outer circumference of the lower end part thereof to the outer circumference of the upper end part of the case 20.

<Heat exchange pipe>
As shown in FIG. 7, the heat exchange pipe 30 has a cylindrical shape or a loop shape or a tubular shape formed by spirally winding a copper pipe having a high thermal conductivity in a multilayer shape, and one end 30A thereof is It rises vertically from the lower end of the heat exchange pipe 30 and is then bent at a right angle, and its end face is opened as a cooling medium inlet 30a for the tap water W as a cooling medium to flow in. In addition, the other end 30B of the heat exchange pipe 30 extends straight from the upper end of the heat exchange pipe 30 in a tangential direction, and the end face thereof is a cooling medium outlet 30b for the tap water W as a cooling medium to flow out. It is open as

As shown in FIG. 3, the heat exchange pipe 30 configured as described above is accommodated inside the case 20 in a vertically standing state, and one end 30A vertically rising from the lower end portion thereof and extending horizontally is As shown in FIG. 2, it extends through the notch 20b formed in the upper part of the case 20 to the outside of the case 20, and the end face thereof is open as the cooling medium inlet 30a as described above. .. The other end 30B extending horizontally in the tangential direction from the upper end of the heat exchange pipe 30 extends through the notch 20c formed in the upper portion of the case 20 to the outside of the case 20, as shown in FIG. The end surface thereof is open as the cooling medium outlet 30b as described above. In this embodiment, since tap water W is used as the cooling medium, the cooling medium inflow port 30a of the heat exchange pipe 30 is connected to a water tap not shown.

Next, the function and effect of the liquid cooling device 1 configured as above will be described.

In the liquid cooling device 1 according to the present invention, when hot coffee is introduced into the tank 10 from the introduction port 10a opened on the upper surface of the tank 10, the hot coffee flows into a plurality of run-down openings opened on the bottom surface of the tank 10. The liquid drops from the holes 12 and flows down while forming a liquid film along the surface of the heat exchange pipe 30 arranged below.

Here, tap water W as a cooling medium flows through the heat exchange pipe 30. That is, the tap water W flows from the cooling medium inflow port 30a of the heat exchange pipe 30 into the heat exchange pipe 30 as shown by the arrows in FIGS. Flowing in a loop from below (lower side) to above (upper side) while swirling, and in the process, the hot coffee is efficiently and rapidly cooled by heat exchange with the hot coffee. Then, the tap water W that has been used for cooling the hot coffee and has a high temperature is discharged from the cooling medium outlet 30b of the heat exchange pipe 30 to the outside of the heat exchange pipe 30, and, for example, the extraction of the next hot coffee. Used as preheated water in, or used as wash water in the kitchen.

By the way, in the present embodiment, the central portion of the bottom surface in the tank 10 is integrally provided with the raised portion 10A that is raised in a conical shape toward the center. Even if the liquid level becomes low and the liquid level becomes low, all of the hot coffee flows to the flat surface portion 10B along the slope of the raised portion 10A, and from the plurality of downflow holes 12 formed in the flat surface 10B to the heat exchange pipe 30. It falls and is used for cooling hot coffee. Therefore, hot coffee does not remain as a residual liquid in the bottom of the tank 10, and the oxidized residual liquid does not mix with the hot coffee that is next charged into the tank 10. The problem that the taste and flavor are impaired is solved.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, each downflow hole 12 spreads downward, so that hot coffee falling from each downflow hole 12 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the downflow hole 12. It can drop smoothly toward the heat exchange pipe 30 without dripping or adhering. Here, the size and number of each downflow hole 12 are optimally set in consideration of the amount of hot coffee and the cooling time. Further, the flow rate of the tap water W flowing through the heat exchange pipe 30 is also set in the same manner, but in the present embodiment, the ratio of the amount of hot coffee and the amount of tap water W is set to 1:2.

Further, in the present embodiment, since a plurality of (5) radiating fins 11 are integrally formed on the outer periphery of the tank 10, the radiating area of the tank 10 is increased by the radiating fins 11 and the hot coffee put in the tank 10 is increased. The heat conducted from the tank 10 to the tank 10 is dissipated to the surroundings by the heat dissipation effect of the heat dissipation fin 11. Therefore, the hot coffee is cooled in advance before being dropped into the heat exchange pipe 30, and the cooling efficiency can be improved.

Then, the coffee cooled through the above process is discharged to the outside of the case 20 from the discharge port 20a opened on the lower surface of the case 20.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the tank 10 is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy having a higher thermal conductivity than other metals, the heat of the hot coffee is efficiently conducted to the tank 10 and the heat radiation fins 11 cause the heat to flow. Dissipated to the surroundings, the hot coffee is cooled efficiently and its temperature drops. Further, since aluminum or aluminum alloy has a smaller surface tension than other metals, it is difficult for hot coffee to adhere to the bottom surface of the tank 10 due to surface tension, and the hot coffee remains on the bottom surface of the tank 10. It does not remain as a liquid.

Then, in the liquid cooling device 1 according to the present embodiment, the case 20 is made of synthetic resin, and since the synthetic resin has a higher heat insulating effect (lower thermal conductivity) than metal, it is made of synthetic resin. Heat conduction from the outside air to the inside of the case 20 is suppressed by the formed case 20, and an increase in temperature inside the case 20 is suppressed. As a result, the temperature rise of the cooled coffee can be prevented. Further, the molding of the case 20 made of synthetic resin is facilitated and the manufacturing cost thereof can be kept low.

Further, in the liquid cooling device 1 according to the present embodiment, the heat exchange pipes 30 are spirally wound in multiple layers to form a cylindrical shape, and one end 30A thereof extends to the outside of the case 20 to cool the cooling medium. The other end 30B extends to the outside of the case 20 and opens as a cooling medium outlet 30b. Therefore, the flow path of the tap water W in the heat exchange pipe 30 wound in a spiral shape in multiple layers becomes long, the heat exchange time with the tap water W flowing in the heat exchange pipe 30 also becomes long, and as a result, the hot water is hot. Coffee is efficiently and rapidly cooled by tap water W.

Here, the heat exchange pipe 30 is made of copper or a copper alloy, and since the heat conductivity of copper or the copper alloy is higher than that of other metals, hot coffee and tap water W are passed through the heat exchange pipe 30. The heat is efficiently exchanged with the hot coffee, resulting in effective and rapid cooling of the hot coffee. Further, since copper and copper alloy have high sterilization ability, it is said that hot coffee flowing down while forming a liquid film on the surface of the heat exchange pipe 30 and tap water W flowing in the heat exchange pipe 30 are sterilized. The effect is also obtained. In addition to the above, the heat exchange pipe 30 may be made of glass or stainless steel.

In addition, the liquid cooling device 1 according to the present embodiment is composed of the tank 10, the case 20, and the heat exchange pipe 30, which can be easily disassembled. Therefore, the liquid cooling device 1 can be disassembled and cleaned. It can be performed easily, and the disassembled tank 10, case 20 and heat exchange pipe 30 can be easily assembled.

As is clear from the embodiments described above, according to the liquid cooling device 1 of the present invention, the hot water as a hot beverage can be solved without compromising the troubles due to the residual liquid at the bottom of the tank 10 without impairing the taste and flavor. The effect that coffee can be cooled efficiently and rapidly is acquired.

In the present embodiment, the case where the hot beverage that is the liquid to be cooled by the liquid cooling device 1 is hot coffee has been described as an example, but the hot beverage may be any other beverage including green tea, matcha tea, or the like. May be

Further, in the above embodiment, the tap water W is used as the cooling medium, but the cooling medium may be any water other than the tap water W or containing the refrigerant.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to application to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims and the specification and drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid cooling device 10 Tank 10A Raised part of tank 10B Flat part of tank 10a Tank input port 11 Radiating fin 12 Downflow hole 20 Case 20a Case discharge port 30 Heat exchange pipe 30A One end of heat exchange pipe 30B Others of heat exchange pipe End 30a Cooling medium inlet of heat exchange pipe 30b Cooling medium outlet of heat exchange pipe

Claims (7)

A cylindrical tank with a bottom, in which a charging port for charging the liquid to be cooled is opened on the upper surface,
A bottomed tubular case connected and arranged below the tank, the discharge port for discharging the cooled liquid being open on the lower surface;
A heat exchange pipe housed in the case;
A falling liquid film type liquid cooling device comprising:
At the center of the bottom surface in the tank, a conical ridge protruding upward in a mountain shape is integrally projected, and a plurality of downflow holes are formed in the flat surface portion located at the lowest portion around the ridge. A liquid cooling device characterized by the above. The liquid cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the downflow hole widens downward. The liquid cooling device according to claim 1, wherein a radiation fin is provided on the outer periphery of the tank. The liquid cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the tank is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The liquid cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the case is made of synthetic resin. The heat exchange pipe is spirally wound in multiple layers to form a loop or a cylinder, one end of which extends outside the case to open as a cooling medium inlet, and the other end of which is outside the case. 6. The liquid cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling medium flows from the lower side to the upper side of the heat exchange pipe, the cooling medium flowing out to the heat exchange pipe. .. 7. The liquid cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchange pipe is made of glass, stainless steel, copper, or a copper alloy.