KR20110124858A - Beverage cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A beverage cooling device is provided to cool beverages to different temperatures by employing air cooling and water cooling methods together. CONSTITUTION: A beverage cooling device comprises a body(12) which is open on top and stores cooling water, a cover(11), a first pipe(30) which is arranged in the upper side of the body and allows beverage to be cooled through heat exchange with the air inside the cover, a refrigerant pipe(40) which is arranged inside the body and allows refrigerant cooled outside the body to cool the cooling water, and a second pipe(20) which allows beverage to be cooled through heat exchange with the cooling water.

Description

Beverage chiller {BEVERAGE COOLING DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a beverage chiller, and more particularly, to a beverage chiller capable of cooling different kinds of beverages to an optimized temperature by using an air-cooled and water-cooled chilling method together.

In general, in order to cool a beverage such as beer or wine, the beverage is cooled in a refrigerator. Recently, a liquid in a liquid state, not a beverage in a container, is passed through a cooling system.

Such a cooling system is generally composed of a container of heat insulating material, the cooling water filled in the inside, and a cooling tube disposed through the inside from the outside of the container, the beverage passing through the cooling tube passes through the portion filled with the cooling water endothermic process Can be cooled to a desired temperature.

Figure 1 is a side sectional view showing a cooling system according to the prior art. The beverage introduced into the container 1 is cooled through the heat exchange process with the coolant 3 while flowing from the upper side to the lower side along the cooling tube 2.

The cooling pipe 2 extends to the outside of the container 1 with an inlet disposed at the top and an outlet disposed at the bottom. In addition, in order to improve the heat exchange performance, the cooling pipe 2 is spirally connected from the top to the bottom of the container 1.

In addition, the lower portion of the front portion of the container 1 is formed with a discharge port 4 to be drawn out to be discharged in a cooled state in a cup or another container. The valve 5 is generally provided for opening and closing to the outlet 4.

By the way, in the case of having such a structure, there is a problem that only one type of beverage can be cooled to only one predetermined temperature by one cooling device.

In addition, it is practically difficult to control the set temperature freely, and according to the limitation of the container size, the required cooling effect may not be obtained or more power is consumed than necessary.

On the other hand, when the beverage is to be cooled to a temperature near the freezing point of water, the temperature of the cooling water is too low, there is also a problem that the cooling water occurs.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage cooling apparatus that can be used in combination with a water-cooled type so that different types of beverages can be cooled to an optimized temperature, respectively.

In addition, the object is to provide a beverage cooling device having a simpler structure and a high cooling efficiency while maintaining the maintenance.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a beverage cooling apparatus having a structure that does not freeze even if the cooling water is supercooled.

Beverage cooling apparatus according to the present invention forms an appearance and stores the cooling water therein, the cover disposed on the upper side of the body, the beverage is disposed in the upper space of the body and flows along the inside heat exchange with the air inside the cover The first pipe to be cooled, the refrigerant pipe disposed inside the body, and the coolant flows to cool the coolant, and the beverage is disposed in the lower space of the body and flows along the inside to exchange heat with the coolant. It provides a beverage cooling device comprising a second pipe to be cooled. Therefore, by using the air-cooled and water-cooled together, there is an advantage that the beverage can be cooled to different temperatures and easy to maintain.

In addition, the beverage cooling device according to the present invention, the first pipe, the second pipe and the refrigerant pipe is formed in a coil shape, the second pipe provides a beverage cooling device disposed inside the refrigerant pipe. Thus, a beverage chiller having a high heat exchange efficiency is provided.

In addition, the beverage cooling device according to the present invention, the first pipe provides a beverage cooling device is coupled to the cover. Therefore, a beverage cooling device excellent in maintainability is provided.

In addition, the beverage cooling apparatus according to the present invention further comprises an opening formed in the front upper portion of the body, the inlet and outlet of the first pipe and the inlet and outlet of the second pipe is drawn through the opening of the beverage cooling device To provide.

In addition, the beverage cooling device according to the present invention, the second pipe provides a beverage cooling device consisting of two or more pipes. Therefore, there is an advantage that can cool various kinds of beverages.

In addition, the beverage cooling device according to the present invention is disposed inside the body, and provides a beverage cooling device further comprises a freezing preventing means for preventing the freezing of the cooling water. Therefore, in the water-cooled beverage cooling can be effectively cooled to a lower temperature.

In addition, the beverage cooling device according to the present invention, the freezing prevention means provides a beverage cooling device that is a spray device for sucking and spraying the cooling water.

In addition, the beverage cooling apparatus according to the present invention is disposed outside the case and in communication with the refrigerant pipe to cool the refrigerant, a controller for controlling the operation of the heat exchanger, and disposed in the body of the cooling water It provides a beverage cooling device further comprising a temperature sensor for transmitting a temperature signal to the controller. Therefore, there is an advantage that can effectively control the temperature and power saving.

In addition, the beverage cooling apparatus according to the present invention provides a beverage cooling apparatus in which the temperature of the beverage to be cooled is determined by the number of windings of the first pipe, the second pipe, and the refrigerant pipe. Therefore, cooling can be performed at an appropriate temperature difference for each of the air cooling and water cooling methods.

Beverage cooling apparatus according to the present invention configured as described above has the advantage that can be cooled to different temperatures by using a cooling method of the air and water cooling method while having a simple structure.

In addition, in the cooling unit of the water-cooling method, while cooling to a temperature close to 0 ℃, the cooling water does not freeze, there is an effect that can be cooled with a large temperature difference with the air cooling method, respectively.

In addition, it has an effect of saving energy while maintaining excellent maintainability.

1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a beverage cooling apparatus according to the prior art.
Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a beverage cooling apparatus according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the beverage cooling device according to the present invention is combined with the refrigerant cooling device.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a beverage cooling apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a cooling unit of the beverage cooling apparatus according to the present invention. Cooling water 50 is stored in the lower part of the case. In order to cool the cooling water 50, the refrigerant pipe 40 is disposed in the lower portion of the case in a coil shape. More preferably, the coolant pipe 40 is disposed to form a coil shape in proximity to the inner wall of the lower case.

In addition, the inlet and outlet of the refrigerant pipe 40 are respectively drawn out of the case and connected to the compressor and the condenser disposed outside. Therefore, the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant pipe 40 absorbs energy from the inside of the case, receives energy from the outside, undergoes a heat exchange process, and then returns to the inside of the case to absorb heat to cool the beverage.

The cooling water 50 is made of a material that is slowly released by preserving long-term cold air in a low temperature state, and generally uses water.

Apart from the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant pipe 40, the cooling water 50 itself does not play a role of a refrigerant that absorbs heat again by exchanging heat from the outside. Therefore, the cooling water 50 is preferably selected as a material having a property of absorbing the surrounding hot or cold air well for a long time.

In addition, the case constituting the appearance of the cooling unit may be divided into an inner case and an outer case. Therefore, it is preferable that the inside of the case, that is, the inner case directly receives the coolant 50, and includes a heat insulating material between the outer case. As the heat insulating material is disposed in the case, heat transfer between the inside and the outside of the case may be minimized, thereby minimizing the problem of loss of cooling efficiency.

In addition, the heat insulating material may be glass fiber, polystyrene foam or urethane foam, etc., the glass fiber is attached to the resin bonded to the extremely thin glass fiber, there is a difference in the heat insulation effect depending on the thickness of the fiber can be used properly selected. In addition, the polystyrene foam is a polysaturated polystyrene resin, which is easy to handle and easy to form. In addition, urethane foam is a foam produced by the reaction of isocyanate and polyol, and has excellent heat insulating properties.Insulating material is formed by foaming by inflowing into the liquid between the outer and inner cases when forming the insulating material. do.

The case 10 formed of the heat insulating material is preferably made of a cover 11 and a body 12. When the case is separated into a cover and a body as described above, the cover 11 can be easily detached and thus maintainability such as cooling water 50 exchange is improved, and as shown below, the arrangement of the air-cooling method is easier. Done.

According to the concept of the present invention, the manner in which the beverage is cooled while circulating is used in combination of air-cooling and water-cooling. Accordingly, the second pipe 20 passing through the coolant 50 is disposed in the lower space of the body 12, and the first pipe 30 passing through the upper space of the body 12 adjacent to the cover 11 is disposed. Is placed.

In the case of the second pipe 20, it is preferable that the second pipe 20 has a coil shape inside the refrigerant pipe 40. It is possible to adjust the degree of heat exchange in the cooling water 50 according to the number of times the second pipe 20 is wound, which is the temperature of the beverage discharged from the second pipe according to the number of times the winding of the second pipe 20 It means you can adjust it.

The end of the pipe is withdrawn so that the second pipe 20 can communicate with the outside of the case. Preferably, the second inlet 23 and the second outlet 21 are disposed in the body 12, and more preferably, the second outlet 21 is formed in the case so that the user can easily put the beverage in the container. Located in the front.

The second valve 22 is disposed at the end of the second outlet 21 so as to control the flow. Therefore, the user can operate the operation portion of the second valve 22 having the shape of a cock or a lever to put the cooled beverage discharged from the second outlet 21 into the drinking container.

On the other hand, the first pipe 30 is further disposed on the upper portion of the case so that the beverage can be cooled by air cooling. Like the second pipe 20, the first pipe 30 is formed in a coil shape to increase heat exchange efficiency, but unlike the second pipe 20, the first pipe 30 is disposed in air, which is a space above the body 12. There is a difference. The air in the upper space is cooled by the coolant 50 to be in a cooled state than the air outside the case 10.

According to this arrangement, since the second pipe 20 is capable of direct heat exchange through endothermic action of the cooling water 50, it is possible to discharge the beverage at a lower temperature, and the first pipe 30 has a relatively low heat transfer efficiency. Since it is disposed in the air, it is possible to discharge the beverage at a relatively high temperature. Therefore, it should be noted that the two beverages can be discharged at different temperatures by cooling by using the air-cooled and water-cooled methods as described above.

The first pipe 20 is also provided with a first inlet 33 and the first outlet 31 which is drawn out to the outside of the case 10 to enable the inflow and outflow of the beverage to the outside. Preferably, the first outlet 31 is disposed in front of the case 10. Of course, the first outlet 31 may be formed adjacent to the second outlet 21.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 2, the first pipe 30 is coupled to the upper portion of the body 12, but the first pipe 30 may be coupled to the cover 11. Therefore, since the first pipe 30 may be separated together when the cover 11 is separated, the maintainability is improved. Therefore, the cover 11 is provided with a coupled air-cooled first pipe 30, the body 12 is presented a concept in which the water-cooled second pipe 20 and the refrigerant pipe 40 is combined.

As such, relatively high temperature cooling is possible in the upper space of the body 12 adjacent to the cover 11, and relatively low temperature cooling is possible in the lower space of the body 12.

In addition, a first valve 32 is disposed at the side of the first outlet 31 to control the flow of the beverage, and when the user wants to discharge the beverage cooled to a relatively high temperature, the first valve 32 is opened to open the first valve 32. It can be discharged through the one outlet (31).

On the other hand, the refrigerant pipe 40 preferably extends through the rear or side of the upper case 11 so as to be connected to the compressor, the condenser and the evaporator which is an external heat exchanger. In addition, the first inlet 33 and the second inlet may be formed to be drawn in the rear or front of the case 10, as shown in Figure 2, it is possible to adjust the height with the outlet 21, 31 appropriately according to the selection Of course.

As described above, an example of cooling different beverages to different temperatures will be described below. White wine flows on the second pipe 20 side of the water cooling system, and red wine flows on the first pipe 30 side of the air cooling system. White wine is about 5 ~ 10 ℃, red wine is preferably drink in the range of 15 ℃ ~ 20 ℃. Therefore, the white wine is cooled in the water-cooled second pipe 20 capable of cooling to a relatively low temperature, and the red wine is cooled in the first pipe 30 capable of cooling to a relatively high temperature. The red and white wine is just an example of a beverage cooled to different temperatures along the first pipe 30 and the second pipe 20, the beverage is juice or beer, depending on the desired temperature Of course it can flow.

On the other hand, as the case 10 is made of a heat insulating material, the temperature on the side of the first pipe 30 may be further lowered, and the cooling temperature required by the air cooling method is about 5 ° C. to 10 ° C. higher than the cooling temperature of the water cooling method. Is required.

As described above, the adjustment of the temperature to be cooled may be set according to the number of turns of the first pipe 30 and the second pipe 20. In addition, it is to be understood that the temperature of the beverage to be cooled is the temperature of the beverage discharged from the outlets 21 and 31, not the temperature inside the respective cooling pipes 20 and 30. Therefore, when the temperature of the cooling water 50 stored in the body 12 is around 0 ° C., the beverage discharged from the second outlet 21 may exhibit a temperature of about 5 ° C. to about 10 ° C.

As described above, when the temperature of the cooling water 50 is set to a temperature of 0 ° C. or less, the cooling water may form ice crystals or completely freeze, which may make it difficult to control the cooling of the beverage. Therefore, it is preferable to provide an icing preventing device 51 so that the cooling water 50 does not icing.

The freezing prevention device 51 is disposed at the bottom center of the body 12, the efficiency is high. The icing preventing device 51 may be made of a screw that rotates by a motor to flow the coolant, or to prevent overcooling by heating the electric heater. More preferably, the freezing prevention device 51 is composed of an injection device for sucking and spraying the cooling water 50. Therefore, when the icing preventing device 51 is disposed on the body 12 in this way, the icing of the cooling water 50 can be prevented, thereby reducing the cooling efficiency.

On the other hand, Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing a beverage cooling apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 3, it should be noted that, unlike FIG. 2, all of the paths flowing out of the case 10 of the pipe through which the beverage and the refrigerant flow are disposed in the upper part of the case 10.

Therefore, it is preferable that an opening is formed in the front upper portion of the lower case 12 so that the outlets 21 and 31 and the inlets 23 and 33 can be drawn out. The inlet and the outlet are drawn out adjacent to the opening, and the first inlet 33 and the second inlet 23 extend downward to communicate with the bottom of the housing 70. In addition, the first discharge port 31 and the second discharge port are drawn out through the openings and extend outward from the upper side of the housing 70.

As described above, when the inlets 23 and 33 are disposed in front, the arrangement of the beverage cooling device becomes easy, and as the inlets 23 and 33 are disposed below, the amount of the beverage discharged by the discharge pressure is appropriately controlled. You can do it.

In addition, the first pipe 30 is formed to be coupled to the cover 11. Therefore, when the cover 11 is separated from the lower case 12, it should be noted that since the first pipe 30 and the cover 11 are separated together, ease of maintenance is provided. According to this concept, it is preferable that the outlet 31 of the first pipe and the outlet 21 of the second pipe form a coupling portion with the valve 22 and 32 side that are coupled to the housing 70. That is, when the connection portion between the valve side and the outlet is formed in the space between the case 10 and the housing 70, there is an advantage that the ease of maintenance is improved.

Therefore, according to the concept that the outlet 31 of the first pipe and the outlet 21 of the second pipe are detachable from the valves 22 and 32, the end of the pipe is coupled in such a manner as to be press-fitted with the inlet of the valve. It is preferable to be.

In addition, in the embodiment of Figure 3 the piping of the refrigerant is formed to extend from the rear upper portion of the case 10 to the external cooling and compression device. Therefore, both the inlet and the outlet of the refrigerant pipe and the pipe are located at the upper portion of the case 10 and provide reliability and ease of maintenance for the refrigerant receiving of the case 10.

On the other hand, the second pipe 20 immersed in the cooling water 50 may be made of one strand as shown in the drawing, but two pipes may be made together, and in some cases, the first pipe 30 and the second pipe 20 All may consist of two or more piping. According to this concept, the type of beverage that can be cooled by the number of pipes may be increased.

Discharge ports 21 and 31 of the beverage are disposed on the front surface of the housing 70 forming the entire outline so that the valves 22 and 32 can be controlled. In addition, the lower portion of the outlet (21, 31) is a cup support 71 is formed, so that if you want to discharge the beverage to be contained in the drinking container can be easily supported.

In addition, a device for cooling the refrigerant is formed at the rear of the case 10 and accommodated in the housing 70. The refrigerant is discharged from the refrigerant pipe 40, compressed by the compressor 61, cooled through the condenser and the expansion valve, and then cooled again to the refrigerant pipe 40, and the endothermic process is repeated in the case 10. Done.

However, the cooling device of the refrigerant may use a thermoelectric element instead of using the relationship between the volume and temperature of the fluid such as the compressor and the condenser as described above. The Peltier element is used as the thermoelectric element, and the Peltier element means an element that absorbs heat on one side and generates heat on the other side in accordance with a current flowing by connecting end portions of different metals.

On the other hand, preferably the beverage cooling apparatus according to the present invention further comprises a controller (64). The controller 64 controls the cooling process of the refrigerant to cool it to maintain the temperature of the set beverage.

Therefore, it is more preferable that a temperature sensor is provided inside the case 10 for proper control of the controller 64. According to the concept of the present invention, a method of cooling a beverage by using a combination of air cooling and water cooling is proposed, so that the temperature sensor is disposed on the cover 11 and the body 12, respectively.

The temperature signal sensed by the temperature sensor is input to the controller 64, and when the temperature signal is higher than the set temperature, the compressor and a cooling device such as a condenser or a thermoelectric element are operated to cool the refrigerant, and the temperature is lower than the set temperature. In this case, the cooling operation will be stopped.

The temperature of the beverages respectively cooled by the air cooling and water cooling methods in the case 10 is influenced by the temperature of the refrigerant flowing inside the refrigerant pipe 40. However, according to the concept of the present invention, the temperature of the beverage discharged through the outlets 21 and 31 is accurately controlled by the number of windings of the first pipe 30, the second pipe 20 and the refrigerant pipe 40. Can be. That is, as the number of windings increases, the area for heat exchange and the residence time become longer, so that the temperature of the beverage can be further lowered, so that the number of windings of the pipes 20 and 30 and the refrigerant pipe 40 are appropriately adjusted. Accurately deplete the temperature of the refrigerant.

On the other hand, the beverage is cooled in a water-cooled manner according to the degree of being spaced apart from the refrigerant pipe 40 of the cylindrical second pipe 20 which is spirally wound and disposed inside the refrigerant pipe 40 having a substantially cylindrical shape. The temperature can be controlled.

By using the air-cooled and water-cooled together by the beverage cooling device according to the present invention configured as described above, cooling is possible in accordance with the temperature of the different beverages, there is an advantage that it is possible to drink at a temperature optimized for the type of beverage.

In addition, it is possible to control the set temperature appropriately according to the type of beverage, there is an advantage to prevent the waste of excessive power, it is possible to cool the beverage efficiently without freezing the cooling water even at a temperature close to 0 ℃.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail based on the embodiment and the accompanying drawings. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited by the above embodiments and drawings, and the scope of the present invention will be limited only by the contents described in the claims below.

10 ... case 11 ... cover
12 ... body 20 ... second pipe
21 ... 2nd outlet 22 ... 2nd valve
23 ... 2nd inlet 30 ... 1st pipe
31 ... 1st outlet 32 ... 1st valve
33.Inlet 1 40.Refrigerator
50 ... Coolant 51 ... Ice freeze protection
61.Compressor 62 ... Condenser
63.Fan 64 ... Controller
70 ... housing 71 ... coaster

Claims (9)

A body having an upper opening and storing coolant therein;
A cover disposed above the body;
A first pipe disposed in an upper space of the body and cooling water flowing through the inside by heat exchange with air in the cover;
A refrigerant pipe disposed inside the body and having a refrigerant cooled outside of the body to cool the cooling water; And,
And a second pipe disposed in the lower space of the body, and the beverage flowing along the inside thereof is cooled by heat exchange with the cooling water.
The method of claim 1,
The first pipe, the second pipe and the refrigerant pipe is made of a coil shape,
The second pipe is a beverage cooling device disposed inside the refrigerant pipe.
The method of claim 1,
It further comprises an opening formed in the front upper portion of the body,
The inlet and outlet of the first pipe and the inlet and outlet of the second pipe is drawn out through the opening.
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
And the first pipe is coupled to the cover.
The method of claim 1,
The first pipe or the second pipe is a beverage cooling device consisting of two or more pipes.
The method of claim 1,
It is disposed inside the body, the beverage cooling apparatus further comprises; ice preventing means for preventing the freezing of the cooling water.
The method of claim 6,
The freezing preventing means is a beverage cooling device that is a spray device for sucking and spraying the cooling water.
The method of claim 1,
A housing accommodating the body and the refrigerant cooling means therein and forming an appearance; And,
A valve coupled to the front upper portion of the housing and controlling a flow of the beverage flowing out of the first pipe and the second pipe;
And the valve is detachable in a manner of press-fitting with the first pipe and the second pipe.
The method of claim 1,
And a temperature of the beverage to be cooled is determined by the number of turns of the first pipe, the second pipe, and the refrigerant pipe.

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