JPH09119759A - Drink cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the time required for cooling drink at the initial in a bottle type drink cooler. SOLUTION: This drink cooler comprises a refrigerator 15 having a compressor 11, a condenser 12, an expansion valve 13 and an evaporating tube 6, a drink tank 3 wound with the tube 11 in close contact with the outer periphery of the body, a heat-sensitive pipe 7 so mounted in contact with the upper end of the tube 11 as to be disposed along the outer periphery of the body of the tank 3 at the upper end of the body of the tank 3 to contain a temperature sensor 8 therein, and a controller 9 for controlling the refrigerator 15 based on the output signal of the sensor 8. The refrigerator 15 is so constituted as to supply refrigerant from the outer periphery of the tank 3 at the lower end side to the tube 6. The tube 6 has different sectional shapes at the upper and lower parts of the outer periphery of the tank 3 in such a manner that the lower part 6a has a circular section and the upper part 6b has a flat section, and is so wound that the flat surface is brought into contact with the outer periphery of the tank.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bottle type beverage cooler equipped with a compression type refrigerating device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Beverage coolers include, for example, Shokai 6
A bottle-type beverage chiller equipped with a compression-type refrigerating device as described in JP-A-2-38571 is generally known.

FIG. 3 shows an outline of the structure of a conventional bottle type beverage cooler. The main part of this beverage chiller is the compressor 1
1, a condenser 12, a compression type refrigerating device 15 provided with an expansion valve (not shown) and an evaporation pipe 6; and a beverage tank 3 that stores drinking water 5 and has a spout valve 10 at the bottom thereof. Has been done. An evaporation pipe 6 is wound around the outer periphery of the beverage tank 3 so as to be in close contact therewith, and the outside thereof is further covered with a heat insulating material 2.

The gas-liquid mixed refrigerant whose temperature has been lowered by the expansion valve is supplied to the evaporation pipe 6 from the lower end side of the outer periphery of the body of the beverage tank 3 and is supplied to the internal drinking water via the side wall of the body of the beverage tank 3. After heat exchange and vaporization, it flows into the compressor 11 from the upper end side of the outer periphery of the body of the beverage tank 3, passes through the condenser 12, and returns to the expansion valve. A heat-sensitive pipe 7 is attached by welding or the like to a portion near the upper end of the evaporation pipe 6, and one end of an aluminum-made heat transfer plate 14 is closely fixed to the outside of the heat-sensitive pipe 7. The other end of the heat transfer plate 13 is closely fixed to the vicinity of the upper end of the outer periphery of the body of the beverage tank 3.
A temperature sensor 8 composed of a resistance temperature detector is provided in the heat-sensitive pipe 7.
The refrigeration system 15 is controlled by the output signal of the temperature sensor 8.

The process of cooling drinking water with this beverage cooler will be described below. When the operation of the refrigerating apparatus 15 is started, the refrigerant in the gas-liquid mixed state whose temperature is lowered by the expansion valve is supplied to the evaporation pipe 6 from the lower end side of the outer periphery of the body of the beverage tank 3, and through the side wall of the body of the beverage tank 3. Drinking water inside 5
It heats up and evaporates and flows toward the upper end. While the temperature of the drinking water 5 inside the drinking tank 3 is high, the refrigerant completely vaporizes in the lower part of the drinking tank due to heat exchange with the drinking water, loses its cooling capacity, and is compressed from the vicinity of the upper end of the drinking tank 3. Return to vessel 11. As the temperature of the drinking water 5 gradually decreases, the region of the gas-liquid mixed state of the refrigerant expands above the evaporation pipe 6 so that cooling is performed even through the wall surface of the upper part of the body of the drinking tank. . In this way, when the region of the gas-liquid mixed state of the refrigerant reaches the upper end of the evaporation pipe 6, the heat sensitive pipe 7 attached near the upper end of the evaporation pipe 6 is cooled, and this is detected by the internal temperature sensor 8. When it is detected, the control device 9 operates to temporarily stop the operation of the refrigerating device 15.

Even if the gas-liquid mixed region of the refrigerant reaches the upper end of the evaporation pipe 6, it is not possible to completely cool all the drinking water in the beverage tank 3 in a short time. When stopped, the temperature of the drinking water inside the beverage tank 3 is transmitted to the heat-sensitive pipe 7 via the heat transfer plate 14, and the temperature rises. This is detected by the internal temperature sensor 8, and the control device 9 operates to restart the operation of the refrigerating device 15. After the operation is restarted, the drinking water inside the beverage tank has already been cooled to some extent, so that the region in the gas-liquid mixed state of the refrigerant reaches the upper end of the evaporation pipe 6 in a shorter time than the previous time. Then, the refrigerating apparatus 15 is stopped again. By repeating such an operation 3 to 4 times, the beverage tank 3 is gradually removed.
The entire drinking water inside is cooled to a predetermined temperature.

A method of controlling only the temperature of the drinking water 5 inside the beverage tank 3 and controlling the refrigerating device 15 is conceivable, but since there is a temperature distribution inside the beverage tank 3,
In that method, there is a disadvantage that the freezing of the drinking water in the lower part of the drinking tank 3 starts before the temperature of the drinking water in the upper part falls to a predetermined temperature. Therefore, in the beverage chiller having the bottle type structure as described above, it is indispensable to detect the temperature of the evaporation tube and control the refrigerating apparatus.

[0008]

In the conventional beverage chiller as described above, the operation and stop of the refrigerating device must be repeated in a short cycle until the entire beverage in the beverage tank is cooled to a predetermined temperature. Therefore, there is a problem in that it takes a long time to cool, and it is not preferable in terms of durability of the refrigeration system.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to improve the cooling capacity of the upper beverage in the beverage tank to shorten the time required for cooling and to extend the operation cycle of the refrigerating device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage chiller capable of improving the durability of a refrigeration system.

[0010]

The beverage cooler of the present invention comprises:
A compression type refrigerating device provided with a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporation pipe, a beverage tank in which the evaporation pipe is wound in close contact with the outer periphery of the body, and a contact with the vicinity of the upper end of the evaporation pipe. Together with the heat sensitive pipe which is attached to the vicinity of the upper end of the body side wall of the beverage tank or through a good thermal conductor and accommodates a temperature sensor inside, and of the refrigerating apparatus based on the output signal of the temperature sensor. And a controller for controlling the operation, wherein the refrigerating device is configured to supply the refrigerant to the evaporation pipe from the lower end side of the outer periphery of the beverage tank, and the evaporation pipe is at the upper part and the lower part of the beverage tank. It is characterized in that it is composed of a plurality of portions having different contact areas between the beverage tank and the evaporation pipe per unit area on the outer peripheral surface of the beverage tank, and the contact area at the lower part is smaller than the contact area at the upper part.

Further, the evaporation pipe is composed of two parts having different cross-sectional shapes in the upper part and the lower part of the beverage tank, the lower part has a circular cross section, and the upper part has a flat cross section, and the flat surface is the outer circumference of the beverage tank. If it is wound so as to come into contact with, it is possible to obtain an evaporation tube satisfying the above conditions.

The process of cooling drinking water with this beverage cooler will be described below.

When the operation of the refrigerating apparatus is started, the refrigerant in the gas-liquid mixed state whose temperature is lowered by the expansion valve is supplied to the evaporation pipe from the lower end side of the body of the beverage tank, and is internally supplied via the side wall of the body of the beverage tank. Heat exchanges with the drinking water of, and gradually flows to the upper end while vaporizing. While the water temperature inside the beverage tank is high, the refrigerant completely vaporizes at the bottom of the evaporation tube, loses its cooling capacity, and returns from the upper end of the beverage tank to the compressor. As the water temperature inside the beverage tank gradually decreases, the gas-liquid mixed region of the refrigerant expands to the upper part of the evaporation pipe,
Cooling is provided through the side wall of the upper portion of the beverage tank. In the upper part of the beverage tank, the contact area between the beverage tank and the evaporation pipe per unit area on the outer peripheral surface of the beverage tank is larger than that in the lower part, so the amount of heat exchange between the refrigerant and the drinking water per unit area increases. As a result, the speed at which the region of the refrigerant in the gas-liquid mixed state expands upward becomes slow. Therefore,
Cooling is performed for a sufficient time in the upper part of the beverage tank before the region of the refrigerant in the gas-liquid mixed state reaches the upper end of the evaporation pipe. In addition, as a result of the contact area of the evaporation pipe being set to be relatively small in the lower portion of the beverage tank, icing does not occur in the lower portion during this period. When the gas-liquid mixed region of the refrigerant reaches the upper end of the evaporation pipe, the heat-sensitive pipe is attached in contact with the upper end of the evaporation pipe, so that the heat-sensitive pipe is cooled and stored in the heat-sensitive pipe. The temperature sensor that is present detects the temperature of the heat-sensitive pipe and activates the control device to temporarily stop the refrigeration system.

When the refrigeration system first stops, the drinking water in the upper part of the cooling tank is not completely cooled yet. For this reason, when the refrigeration system stops and the circulation of the refrigerant stops, the heat-sensitive pipe is attached in contact with the vicinity of the upper end of the side wall of the body of the beverage tank or via a good thermal conductor. The temperature of the drinking water is transmitted to the heat-sensitive pipe through the attachment part and detected by the temperature sensor, and the control device is operated to restart the operation of the refrigeration system. When the operation of the refrigeration system is restarted, the gas-liquid mixed region of the refrigerant again expands upward from the lower part of the evaporation tube. At this stage, since the water temperature in the beverage tank has already dropped to a considerable extent, the region of the gas-liquid mixed state of the refrigerant expands to the upper part of the evaporation pipe in a much shorter time than the first time. When the gas-liquid mixed region of the refrigerant expands to the upper part of the evaporation pipe, the water temperature in the beverage tank is higher in the upper part than in the lower part, and the contact area between the beverage tank and the evaporation pipe is lower in the upper part. Therefore, the speed at which the region of the refrigerant in the gas-liquid mixed state expands upward becomes slightly slower. As a result, the drinking water in the middle part and the upper part of the drinking tank is cooled again. In this way, when the region of the gas-liquid mixed state of the refrigerant reaches the upper end of the evaporation pipe, the refrigeration system is stopped again by the control device.

Following the above process, in the case of a general beverage cooler having an internal capacity of 3 liters and an inner diameter of about 160 mm, normally, one long cycle operation cycle and one short cycle operation cycle are used. The entire inside of the beverage tank is cooled below a predetermined temperature. As a result, after the short operating cycle, even if the water temperature at the top of the beverage tank is transmitted to the heat-sensitive pipe,
The control device does not operate, and thereafter, the refrigeration system is intermittently operated for a short period of time in a steady operation state in which the drinking water is replenished as the drinking water is consumed or the time elapses.

[0016]

1 (a) and 1 (b) show the structure of a beverage chiller according to the present invention, wherein (b) is
It is a YY section sectional view of (a). In the figure, 3 is a beverage tank, 15 is a refrigerating device, 11 is a compressor, 12 is a condenser, 1
3 is an expansion valve, 6 is an evaporation pipe, 7 is a heat-sensitive pipe, 8 is a temperature sensor, and 9 is a controller.

A vertically long metallic beverage tank 3 is installed in the housing 1, a pouring valve 10 is attached to a side surface of the housing 1, and the pouring valve 10 is a pipe at the bottom of the drinking tank 3. It is connected. An evaporation pipe 6 is tightly wound around the outer periphery of the body of the beverage tank 3, and the evaporation pipe 6 is of a compression type together with a compressor 11, a condenser 12 and an expansion valve 13 housed in the bottom of the housing 1. The refrigerating device 15 is configured. The heat-sensitive pipe 7 is attached by welding near the upper end of the body of the beverage tank 3 along the outer periphery of the body, and at the same time, is welded to the upper end surface of the evaporation pipe 6. A rubber tube 16 is inserted into the heat-sensitive pipe 7, and a temperature sensor 8 made of a resistance temperature detector is housed in the rubber tube 16. A heat insulating material 2 is filled between the beverage tank 3 and the evaporation pipe 6 and the housing 1. In addition, a control device 9 that controls the refrigerating device 15 based on the output signal of the temperature sensor 8 is housed inside the housing 1.

The evaporation pipe 6 is composed of two portions 6a and 6b having different cross-sectional shapes in the upper half and the lower half on the outer periphery of the body of the beverage tank 3, and the lower evaporation pipe 6a has a circular cross section. However, the upper evaporation pipe 6b has a flat cross section, and is wound so that the flat surface contacts the outer peripheral surface of the body of the beverage tank 3.

Next, the process of cooling drinking water with this beverage cooler will be described. First, when the beverage tank 3 is filled with the drinking water 5 and the operation of the refrigerating device 15 is started,
The gas-liquid mixed refrigerant whose temperature has dropped in the expansion valve 13 is supplied to the lower evaporation pipe 6a from the lower end side of the body of the beverage tank 3,
Heat is exchanged with the drinking water 5 inside through the side wall of the body of the beverage tank 3, and it flows toward the upper end side while vaporizing. While the water temperature inside the beverage tank 3 is high, the refrigerant completely vaporizes in the region of the lower evaporation pipe 6a, loses its cooling capacity, and the beverage tank 3
Return to the compressor 11 from the upper end of the. As the temperature of the drinking water 5 gradually lowers, the region of the gas-liquid mixed state of the refrigerant expands to the inside of the upper evaporation pipe 6b, and cooling is performed also through the upper side wall of the beverage tank 3. become. Since the cross section of the upper evaporation pipe 6b is flat and the flat surface is wound so as to contact the outer circumference of the body of the beverage tank 3, the evaporation pipe per unit area of the outer peripheral surface of the beverage tank 3 Since the contact area is large, the speed at which the refrigerant region in the gas-liquid mixed state expands upward becomes slow. In this way,
After cooling for a sufficient time in the upper part of the beverage tank 3, the region of the gas-liquid mixed state of the refrigerant reaches the upper end of the evaporation pipe 6b. As a result, when the heat-sensitive pipe 7 is cooled, the rubber tube 16 is inserted into the heat-sensitive pipe 7 and it is difficult for the heat to be transferred from the heat-sensitive pipe 7 to the temperature sensor 8, so that there is a certain time delay. After that, the temperature sensor 8 detects the temperature of the heat-sensitive pipe 7, and the controller 9
Is operated to stop the refrigeration system 15 once.

At the stage when the refrigeration system 15 is first stopped,
The drinking water on top of the drinking tank 3 is not yet completely cooled. Therefore, when the refrigerating device 15 is stopped and the circulation of the refrigerant is stopped, the temperature of the drinking water in the upper part of the beverage tank 3 is transmitted to the heat-sensitive pipe 7 via the welded portion, and after a certain time delay, the temperature sensor 8 is activated. The temperature of the heat-sensitive pipe 7 is detected, the control device 9 is operated, and the operation of the refrigerating device 15 is restarted.

After the second cycle of operation of the refrigerating apparatus is performed, as described in the latter part of the means section, a steady operation state is entered.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the beverage chiller according to the present invention and a conventional beverage chiller are compared with respect to the process of cooling the drinking water and the operating condition (ON-OFF) of the refrigerating apparatus. In the figure, the vertical axis represents the water temperature at a position where the distance from the water surface is 30% of the depth to the bottom surface in the center of the beverage tank, and the horizontal axis represents the elapsed time from the start of operation of the refrigeration system. . Also, A
Indicates a change in water temperature by the beverage chiller according to the present invention, and B indicates a change in water temperature by the conventional beverage chiller. In the beverage chiller according to the present invention, the water temperature drops close to the target temperature θ in the first long cycle operation cycle, and reaches the target temperature θ in the next short cycle operation cycle. On the other hand, in the conventional beverage chiller, after the operation cycle of a short cycle is repeated three more times, the target temperature θ is reached with a delay of ΔT from A.

[0023]

In the beverage chiller of the present invention, the contact area of the evaporation pipe in the upper portion of the beverage tank is made larger than that in the lower portion, so that the heat exchange amount in the upper portion of the beverage tank is increased and the operation cycle is relatively small. It becomes possible to cool drinking water with. It has become possible to reduce the time required to cool the drinking water first. Further, as a result of the operation cycle of the refrigeration system being lengthened, the effect of improving the durability of the refrigeration system can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a beverage chiller according to the present invention. (A) shows a vertical sectional view, (b) shows a horizontal sectional view of the YY portion.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example in which a beverage chiller according to the present invention and a conventional beverage chiller are compared in the process of cooling drinking water.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional beverage cooler.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Housing, 2 ... Insulation material, 3 ... Beverage tank,
5 ... drinking water, 6 ... evaporation pipe, 6a ... lower evaporation pipe, 6b ... upper evaporation pipe, 7 ... heat sensitive pipe, 8 ...
..Temperature sensor, 9 ... Control device, 11 ... Compressor, 12 ... Condenser, 13 ... Expansion valve, 15 ...
Refrigerator, 16 ... Rubber tube.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A compression type refrigerating apparatus provided with a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporation pipe, a beverage tank in which the evaporation pipe is wound in close contact with the outer periphery of a body, and an upper end of the evaporation pipe. Part of the beverage tank, and a contact with the vicinity of the upper end of the side wall of the body of the beverage tank or via a good thermal conductor, and a heat-sensitive pipe for accommodating a temperature sensor inside, based on the output signal of the temperature sensor. And a control device for controlling the operation of the refrigerating apparatus, the refrigerating apparatus is configured to supply a refrigerant to the evaporation pipe from the lower end side of the outer periphery of the beverage tank, the evaporation pipe, the beverage tank The upper part and the lower part of the beverage tank are composed of multiple parts where the contact area between the beverage tank and the evaporation pipe per unit area on the outer peripheral surface of the beverage tank is different, and the contact area at the lower part is smaller than the contact area at the upper part. Characterizing Charge cooler. 2. The evaporation pipe is composed of two parts having different cross-sectional shapes at an upper part and a lower part of an outer peripheral surface of the beverage tank, a lower part has a circular cross-section, and an upper part has a flat cross-section. The beverage chiller according to claim 1, wherein the flat surface is wound so as to contact the outer periphery of the beverage tank.