KR101930780B1 - Water storage tank - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a water storage tank, wherein the water storage tank comprises: a reservoir provided with an internal space capable of storing water introduced therein; And at least one flow path forming part forming a flow path through which water flows into the storage part; Wherein a portion of the flow path forming portion protrudes to form a protruding protrusion so as to subdivide a flow path having a width between the flow path forming portion and the inner wall of the storing portion, Thereby providing a technique of keeping the temperature of the cold water constant and improving the cooling efficiency.
According to the present invention, it is possible to maintain the temperature of the cold water at a constant level, and to prevent the temperature of the cold water from rising due to the instantaneous mixing of the raw water and the cold water cooled in the storage portion, .

Description

{WATER STORAGE TANK}

The present invention relates to a water storage tank.

Generally, when the water storage tank is provided in a water treatment apparatus such as a cold / hot water system or a water purifier, it can be used as a device for storing raw water introduced into the tank. The water storage tank may be provided with a cooling device for cooling the stored raw water to maintain a predetermined standard temperature, and the cold water tank technique is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 20-0381799.

In recent years, the development of water treatment devices is rapidly progressing in accordance with the miniaturization trend of household electric appliances. In order to utilize the kitchen space effectively, a miniaturized water treatment device is widely distributed in the home.

However, in order to reduce the size of the miniaturized water treatment apparatus, the capacity of the water storage tank has to be formed in a relatively small capacity as compared with the conventional water treatment apparatus, and thus the cold water temperature is difficult to keep constant.

For example, since the cold water tank of a conventional water treatment apparatus can store a large amount of water at a time, it has been possible to cool water for a long time to secure a large amount of cold water. However, a cold water tank of a miniaturized water treatment apparatus can store water In addition, when the pressure of raw water flowing into the cold water tank is high, the cold water does not stay in the tank for a sufficient period of time, and the user can provide cold water of a desired temperature There was a worry that I could not.

Therefore, it is required to develop a technology capable of supplying cold water adequately to a small storage capacity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for maintaining a constant temperature of cold water and improving cooling efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for controlling the same.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water storage tank comprising: a reservoir provided with an internal space capable of storing water introduced therein; And a cooling part for cooling the water introduced into the storage part, wherein the storage part comprises: a storage container for forming a space capable of accommodating water therein; An inlet pipe for introducing the raw water into the storage vessel; An outflow pipe for moving cold water located at a lower portion of the storage vessel to the outside; And at least one flow path forming part for forming a flow path through which water flows into the interior of the storage container; Wherein a part of the flow path forming portion is protruded so as to divide a flow path having a width between the flow path forming portion and the inner wall of the storage container to form a protruding protrusion And at least one fluid transfer hole is formed at one side of the protruding jaw. The protruding jaw not only functions to partition the inner space of the storage container in the left and right direction, The water reservoir is formed in a U-shape so that one side and the other side of the protruding jaw are opposed to each other so as to serve as a guide channel for moving downward, The water flowing from the inlet of the storage unit through which the raw water is introduced among the surfaces constituting the protruding jaw Wherein the fluid passage hole is formed on a surface farthest to the straight line distance, the flow passage forming portion is disposed to be biased toward the upper side of the storage container, and the protruding jaw is located at a position staggered with the position of the inlet pipe in the longitudinal direction of the flow passage forming portion And the rim of the flow path forming portion is in close contact with the inner wall of the storage container.

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The solution of the above-mentioned problems is merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. In addition to the exemplary embodiments described above, there may be additional embodiments described in the drawings and the detailed description of the invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, the raw water flowing into the storage part moves along the flow path formed by the flow path forming part and circulates inside the storage part for a predetermined time, so that the raw water stays in the storage part for a sufficient time, .

That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to maintain the temperature of the cold water at a constant level and to prevent the temperature of the cold water from rising due to the instantaneous mixing of the raw water and the cold water cooled in the storage portion, .

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a water storage tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a side cross-sectional view of a reservoir according to one embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a side cross-sectional view of a reservoir according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a process up to the arrival of water introduced into the storage unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a side cross-sectional perspective view of a reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the technical parts already known will be omitted or compressed for simplicity of explanation. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. However, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art.

The water storage tank 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a storage unit 100, a cooling unit, and a thermal insulation unit 600, which will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

The storage unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a storage container 110, a cover 120, a sealing member 130, an inlet pipe 140, an outlet pipe 150, (Not shown).

The storage container 110 may be provided with an internal space capable of storing the water introduced therein. One side of the storage container 110 is connected to the inlet pipe 140 and the raw water moved through the inlet pipe 140 can be introduced into the storage container 110.

One surface of the storage container 110 is coupled with the cover 120, thereby making it possible to form a space capable of accommodating water inside the storage container 110. At this time, a sealing member 130 is positioned along the rim of the storage container 110 between the surface where the storage container 110 and the cover 120 are coupled, and the water stored therein is prevented from leaking out of the storage container 110 It can be sealed.

The outflow pipe 150 may be coupled through one side of the first flow path forming part 160 and the second flow path forming part 170 so that the cold water located in the lower part of the storage container 110 flows through the outflow pipe (150). ≪ / RTI >

At least one passage forming portion is located inside the storage container 110 to form a passage through which the water flowing into the storage container 110 moves. The first flow path forming portion 160 is located on the upper side of the inner space of the storage container 110 and the second flow path forming portion 170 is located on the lower side of the first flow path forming portion 160. However, The number of the flow path forming portions can be changed in various ways as follows.

If a plurality of flow path forming portions are provided, the flow rate of the water introduced into the storage container 110 can be further reduced as the flow path forming portion increases, It is possible to prevent the mixing of the cold water.

The cold water may be mainly located below the storage container 110 due to the difference in temperature between the storage container 110 and the raw water, so that the plurality of flow path forming parts are preferably disposed in the upper direction of the storage container 110, .

The flow path forming portion can be divided into upper and lower portions of the inner space of the storage container 110 as both ends thereof are fixedly contacted with the respective inner walls of the storage container 110. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the first flow path forming portion 160 and the second flow path forming portion 170 may divide the inner space of the storage portion 100 into upper and lower portions.

When the first flow path forming portion 160, the second flow path forming portion 170 and the storage container 110 are formed of a metal material, the first flow path forming portion 160 and the second flow path forming portion 170 may be coupled to the inner wall of the storage container 110 by a spot welding method. However, the method of fixing the flow path forming part to the inner wall of the storage container 110 is not limited to the method of fixing the passage forming part and the material of the storage container 110 Various modifications will be possible.

In another embodiment, when the storage container 110 is manufactured by an injection method, the material of the storage container 110 may be made of synthetic resin or other known injection resin.

At this time, a fixing member (not shown) for fixing the first flow path forming portion 160 and the second flow path forming portion 170 can be formed on the inner wall of the storage container 110, The first flow path forming portion 160 and the second flow path forming portion 170 can be fixed to the inner wall of the storage container 110.

As an example of the coupling method using the fixing member, a fitting method in which a groove is formed at one side of the fixing member and a channel forming portion is coupled and fixed to the formed groove may be applied. However, in addition to the above- A coupling scheme may be applied.

A portion of the flow path forming portion may protrude to form a protruding protrusion so as to subdivide the flow path having a width between the flow path forming portion and the inner wall of the storage container 110. [ The upper space of the storage container 110 which is firstly divided in the up-and-down direction by the first flow-path forming portion 160 is secondarily partitioned in the left-right direction by the first protrusion 161, W1, a second flow path W2, and a third flow path W3.

That is, in one embodiment, the first flow path W1, the second flow path W2, and the third flow path W3 are opposed to one surface of the first flow path forming portion 160 and one surface of the first flow path forming portion 160 Which is the width of the inner wall of the storage container 110, and in which water can move.

In one embodiment, the projecting step may be formed integrally with the flow path forming part, or may be formed of a separate material coupled to the flow path forming part. Any method may be employed as long as at least a part of the flow path forming portion can be formed as a protruding structure in order to partition the inner space of the storage container 110 in the left and right direction.

At this time, the protruding direction of the protruding protrusion may protrude upward or downward from the storage container 110.

The first fluid transfer hole h1 may be formed at one side of the first protrusion 161 according to an embodiment of the present invention and the fluid transfer hole may be formed by changing the number of the fluid transfer holes according to the first fluid transfer hole h1.

Here, the position where the first fluid transfer hole h1 is formed is located on the plane which is the longest distance from the inlet port of the first protruding protrusion 161, So that it is possible to extend the time as much as possible.

In one embodiment, one side and the other side of the first projecting step 161 are opposed to each other and are formed in a U-shape so that the fourth flow path W4 through which the water passing through the first fluid transfer hole h1 moves .

The second flow path forming portion 170 may be disposed at the lower end of the first flow path forming portion 160 and the first flow path forming portion 160 may be disposed at the lower end of the first flow path forming portion 160. [ A portion of the second flow path forming portion 170 protrudes to form the second protruding protrusion 171 so as to subdivide the flow path having the width between the first flow path forming portion 170 and the second flow path forming portion 170. In one embodiment, a separate space is formed between the first flow path forming part 160 and the second flow path forming part 170, and the above-mentioned separate space is formed in the second protruding step 171 To the fifth flow path (W5), the sixth flow path (W6), and the seventh flow path (W7).

The protruding direction of the second protruding protrusion 171 may protrude upward or protrude in the upward direction in which the first flow path forming portion 160 is located.

One side and the other side of the second projecting step 171 are formed opposite to each other, so that the eighth flow path W8 in which the water passing through the second fluid transfer hole h2 moves can be formed. In another embodiment, the second flow path forming portion 170 is formed in a flat plate-like structure having no projecting step formed on one surface thereof, and a second fluid transfer hole h2 is formed on one side of the second flow path forming portion 170 .

The second fluid transfer hole h2 may be formed in one side of the second protrusion 171 according to an embodiment of the present invention and the number of the fluid transfer holes formed may be changed freely according to the implementation.

At this time, the second fluid transfer hole h2 is adjacent to the inner wall of the inner wall of the storage container 110 that is relatively close to the straight line distance from the second fluid transfer hole h2 on the basis of the position of the second fluid transfer hole h2 . In one embodiment, the second fluid transfer hole h2 is formed at a relatively large distance from the first fluid transfer hole h1, so that the circulation time of the water flowing in the storage container 110 can be maximally extended.

The rims of the first flow path forming portion 160 and the second flow path forming portion 170 may be in contact with the inner wall of the storage container 110 according to one embodiment. That is, the rims of the first flow path forming portion 160 and the second flow path forming portion 170 are in close contact with the inner surface of the storage container 110 and the inner surface of the cover 120, thereby blocking a separate bypass path And the inner space of the storage container 110 can be surely partitioned in the left-right direction.

Therefore, the water that has passed through the first fluid transfer hole h1 must pass through the fourth flow path W4 to move to the lower portion of the storage container 110, and the water passing through the second fluid transfer hole h2 It is necessary to pass through the eighth flow path W8 to move downward.

That is, the first protruding protrusion 161 and the second protruding protrusion 171 serve not only to partition the inner space of the storage container 110 in the left and right direction, As shown in FIG.

The cover 120 according to one embodiment may be made of a stainless steel material which does not rust and is harmless to the human body and has excellent thermal conductivity, but may be made of other known materials.

The cooling unit according to an embodiment of the present invention can cool the water introduced into the storage container 110 and the cooling unit includes the cold sink unit 200, the thermoelectric module unit 300, the heat sink unit 400, And an air blowing fan 500.

One side of the cold sink part 200 may be in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the cover 120, and the other side may be coupled with the thermoelectric module part 300. Since the cold sink unit 200 transmits the heat of the thermoelectric module unit 300 to the cover 120, the cold sink unit 200 can be made of a metal material having a high heat transfer efficiency, and the thermoelectric module unit 300 and the cold It is preferable that a thermal grease is applied to the bonding surface with the sink portion 200 to increase thermal conductivity.

The thermoelectric module part 300 may be constituted by a thermoelectric element in which an endothermic reaction occurs on one side and an exothermic reaction occurs on the other side when electricity is applied. In an embodiment, since the endothermic reaction of the thermoelectric module unit 300 is performed on the surface bonded to the cold sink unit 200, the water stored in the storage container 110 can be cooled.

The heat sink unit 400 may be joined to a surface of the thermoelectric module unit 300 where an exothermic reaction occurs to release heat of the thermoelectric module unit 300. The heat sink part 400 may have a conventional heat sink structure that radiates heat through a contact area with air.

The air blowing fan 500 is coupled to one surface of the heat sink unit 400 and can blow out air to the heat sink unit 400. That is, air introduced from outside into the heat sink unit 400 by the blowing fan 500 can cool the heat sink unit 400.

However, it is needless to say that other than the configuration of the cooling unit mentioned in one embodiment, it is applicable to a person skilled in the art, as long as it is a known cooling means capable of cooling the water stored in the storage container 110 to a constant temperature.

The heat insulating portion 600 may be formed on one side so as to receive the outer circumferential surface of the storage container 110. The heat insulating part 600 may be combined with the storage container 110 to prevent heat exchange between the storage container 110 and the outside and the heat insulating part 600 may be made of an insulating material so as to minimize heat transfer with the storage container 110 . An inlet pipe 610 for connecting the inlet pipe 140 and an outlet pipe 620 for connecting the outlet pipe 150 may be formed on the upper side of the heat insulating portion 600.

Hereinafter, the movement of water introduced into the storage unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG. In Fig. 4, the arrow indicates the moving direction of the water.

First, when raw water flows into the interior of the storage container 110 through the water supply pipe 140, the water circulates through the upper section defined by the first flow path forming unit 160 and then passes through the first fluid transfer hole h1 . Specifically, the raw water is circulated through the first flow path W1, the second flow path W2, and the third flow path W3, and is moved in the downward direction of the storage container 110 through the first fluid transfer hole h1 do.

At this time, the water that has passed through the first fluid transfer hole h1 necessarily passes through the fourth flow path W4, and the fifth flow path W5, the sixth flow path W6, and the seventh flow path W7 are moved And passes through the second fluid transfer hole h2.

A plurality of flow paths having different widths are formed in the space between the first flow path forming part 160 and the second flow path forming part 170 by the first flow path forming part 160 and the second projecting step 171 The sixth protrusion 171 protrudes in the direction of the first flow path forming portion 160 to form a narrow passage as compared with the other flow paths.

Accordingly, the water introduced into the storage container 110 through the water supply pipe 140 flows through the first flow path W1, the second flow path W2, the third flow path W3, And the speed of the water passing through the first fluid transfer hole h1 passes through the sixth flow path W6 and further decelerated.

The water that has undergone the second deceleration is further decelerated as it passes through the second fluid transfer hole h2 and the eighth flow path W8 so that the raw water originally introduced through the water inlet pipe 140 flows into the reservoir 110 It may take a considerable time to mix with cold water located on the lower side, and the raw water may be cooled while staying in the storage container 110 for a sufficient time.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to keep the temperature of the cold water constant regardless of the size of the storage part, and to prevent the temperature of the cold water from rising due to the instantaneous mixing of the raw water and the cold water cooled in the storage part, Is improved.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. And the scope of the present invention should be understood as the following claims and their equivalents.

10: Water storage tank
100:
110: Storage container
120: cover
130: sealing member
140: Input piping
150: Outflow pipe
160: First flow forming portion
161: first protruding jaw
170: Second flow path forming portion
171: second protruding jaw
200: Cold sink part
300: thermoelectric module part
400: Heat sink part
500: blowing fan
600:
610: Hole for incoming piping
620: Hole for water piping
h1: the first fluid transfer hole
h2: the second fluid transfer hole
W1: First Euro
W2: Second Euro
W3: 3rd Euro
W4: Fourth Euro
W5: 5th euro
W6: 6th Euro
W7: Seventh Euro
W8: Eighth Euro

Claims (5)

As a water storage tank,
A storage unit having an internal space capable of storing water introduced therein; And
And a cooling unit for cooling the water introduced into the storage unit,
Wherein the storage unit comprises:
A storage container for forming a space capable of accommodating water therein;
An inlet pipe for introducing the raw water into the storage vessel;
An outflow pipe for moving cold water located at a lower portion of the storage vessel to the outside; And
At least one flow path forming portion forming a flow path through which water flows into the interior of the storage container; Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the flow path forming portion is formed by projecting a portion of the flow path forming portion so as to divide the flow path having a width between the flow path forming portion and the inner wall of the storage container,
Wherein at least one fluid transfer hole is formed through one side of the protruding jaw,
The protruding jaw not only serves to partition the inner space of the storage container in the left and right direction but also serves as a guide channel for moving the water located on the upper side of the storage container downward, And the other side is formed in a U-shape so as to face each other, thereby forming a flow passage through which the water passing through the fluid transfer hole moves,
The fluid transfer hole is formed on the surface of the protruding jaw which is farthest from the inlet port of the storage unit in which the raw water is introduced, the longest distance from the inlet port of the storage unit to maximize the circulation time of the water flowing in the storage container,
Wherein the flow path forming portion is disposed to be biased toward the upper side of the storage container,
Wherein the protruding jaw is protruded at a position staggered with the position of the inlet pipe in the longitudinal direction of the flow path forming portion,
And the rim of the flow path forming portion is in close contact with the inner wall of the storage container
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