KR101826337B1 - Cooling module having double pipe for water purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

The dual pipe cooling module for a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an inner pipe for moving the drinking water and an outer pipe for surrounding the inner pipe and moving the refrigerant, ; An evaporator case for casing the dual pipe evaporator; And a temperature sensor disposed in close contact with an outer surface of the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port of the dual pipe evaporator to sense the temperatures of the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet; Wherein a spiral refrigerant passage is formed between the outer surface of the inner tube and the inner surface of the outer tube, and the refrigerant is rotated and moved along the refrigerant passage.
According to the present invention, by generating the cold water instantaneously, it is possible to minimize the operation rate and the operation time of the refrigerant cooling apparatus, thereby reducing the amount of power used, and can continuously generate cold water of a predetermined temperature or lower. It is possible to provide a double pipe cooling module for a water purifier which can efficiently cool drinking water by a spiral-shaped refrigerant passage in the dual pipe evaporator.

Description

{COOLING MODULE HAVING DOUBLE PIPE FOR WATER PURIFIER}

The present invention relates to a dual pipe cooling module for a water purifier, and more particularly, by generating cold water instantaneously, it is possible to minimize the operating rate and operating time of the refrigerant cooling device, thereby reducing power consumption, The present invention relates to a dual pipe cooling module for a water purifier that can prevent contamination of drinking water caused by contamination of a cold water storage tank and can efficiently cool drinking water by a spiral-shaped refrigerant passage in the dual pipe evaporator .

Generally, a water purifier is a device for purifying raw water supplied from a water supply or a water tank, and is configured to remove heavy metals and other harmful substances contained in tap water through processes such as sedimentation, filtration and sterilization.

Such a water purifier can be configured to supply drinking water at room temperature, as well as to generate hot water by heating cold water or drinking water that has cooled drinking water. As a device for supplying cold water, a low-water-type cooling device for storing cold water in a cold water tank and supplying the cold water is generally used.

The low water type cooling device has a cold water tank, and an evaporator is installed in the cold water tank or an evaporator is disposed on the outer surface of the cold water tank, and the drinking water is stored in the cold water tank to cool the drinking water.

However, in the case of such a low-water cooling device, since the cooling device must be operated for a long time in order to keep the temperature of cold water mainstreamed in the cold water tank at a low temperature, there is a problem of high power consumption.

In addition, the cold water stored in the cold water tank is contaminated by the contamination of the cold water tank and supplied to the user, which is unsanitary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to instantaneously generate cold water, thereby minimizing the operating rate and operating time of the refrigerant cooling apparatus, Provided is a dual pipe cooling module for a water purifier, which can prevent contamination of drinking water caused by contamination of a cold water storage tank and can efficiently cool drinking water by a spiral-shaped refrigerant passage in the dual pipe evaporator .

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dual pipe cooling module for purifying water, comprising an inner pipe for moving drinking water, and an outer pipe for surrounding the inner pipe and moving the refrigerant, A double tube evaporator for cooling the drinking water; An evaporator case for casing the dual pipe evaporator; And a temperature sensor disposed in close contact with an outer surface of a refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet of the dual pipe evaporator and sensing a temperature of the refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet, wherein a spiral refrigerant is provided between an outer surface of the inner tube and an inner surface of the outer tube. And a refrigerant flows along the refrigerant flow path.

The spiral shape may be formed such that the outer surface of the inner tube has a thread shape, and the threaded portion of the thread is abutted or abutted against the inner surface of the outer tube.

The refrigerant and the drinking water can move in opposite directions.

The evaporator case includes a temperature sensor insertion unit into which the temperature sensor is inserted; And

And a fixing bracket coupled to the inserting portion and closely fixing the temperature sensor inserted through the inserting portion to the inlet and the outlet.

Wherein the inner tube and the outer tube of the dual tube evaporator are rotatably stacked so as to have a predetermined space at the center and the evaporator case has a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the dual tube evaporator, An additional portion may be formed.

Wherein a boundary plate is formed between the evaporator case and the compressor, the boundary plate having a groove formed in a circumferential surface thereof, and the boundary plate is disposed between the evaporator case and the compressor, A heat hole is formed by an outer case enclosing the groove portion of the plate and the water purifier and condensation on the outer surface of the evaporator case and the outer surface of the outer case is prevented by the heat of the compressor transmitted to the evaporator case side through the heat hole .

According to the dual pipe cooling module for a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention, the instantaneous cold water is generated, thereby minimizing the operating rate and running time of the refrigerant cooling apparatus, thereby reducing power consumption, Provided is a dual pipe cooling module for a water purifier, which can prevent contamination of drinking water caused by contamination of a cold water storage tank and can efficiently cool drinking water by a spiral-shaped refrigerant passage in the dual pipe evaporator .

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a dual pipe cooling module for a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view showing a dual tube evaporator according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the fixing of the temperature sensor to the double tube evaporator by the fixing bracket according to the present invention.
4 is a view for explaining a filter seat according to the present invention.
5 is a view for explaining dew condensation prevention by the boundary plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which: FIG.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described on the basis of embodiments best suited for understanding the technical characteristics of the present invention, and the technical features of the present invention are not limited by the illustrated embodiments, And that the present invention may be implemented with other embodiments. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. In order to facilitate the understanding of the embodiments described below, in the reference numerals shown in the accompanying drawings, among the constituent elements that perform the same function in the respective embodiments, the related constituent elements are indicated by the same or an extension line number.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a dual pipe cooling module for a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a dual pipe cooling module 1 for a water purifier according to the present invention includes a dual pipe evaporator 100, an evaporator case 200, and temperature sensors 302 and 304.

Drinking water and a coolant are supplied to the dual pipe evaporator 100 and heat exchanged with each other to cool the drinking water by the coolant. The dual pipe evaporator 100 may have a shape that is rotationally stacked so as to have a certain space in the center.

The drinking water supplied to the dual pipe evaporator 100 is supplied to the dual pipe evaporator 100 via the water inlet 114 and cooled by the refrigerant and then discharged through the water outlet 116 from the dual pipe evaporator 100 .

The internal structure of the dual tube evaporator 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

The evaporator case 200 may include the evaporator upper case 210 and the evaporator lower case 220. A filter seating part 260 may be formed in the evaporator case 200 and the filter seating part 260 may be formed to correspond to a predetermined central space formed by rotational lamination of the dual pipe evaporator 100.

The temperature sensors 302 and 304 are disposed on the outer surface of the evaporator inlet of the dual tube evaporator 100 and the evaporator outlet, that is, the portion of refrigerant and drinking water flowing into the dual tube evaporator 100. With this arrangement, the first temperature sensor 302 and the second temperature sensor 304 measure the temperature of the evaporator inlet and the evaporator outlet, respectively. The cooling degree of the drinking water can be controlled by the control according to the temperature measurement.

The first and second temperature sensors 302 and 304 are inserted into the first temperature sensor inserting unit 230 and the second temperature sensor inserting unit, respectively, so that the first and second fixing brackets 252, 254 to the double tube evaporator 100, which will be described with reference to FIG.

The refrigerant cooling device 400 for cooling the refrigerant supplied to the dual pipe evaporator 100 may include a compressor 410, a condenser 420, and an expansion device 430.

The compressor (410) compresses the low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant supplied from the dual-pipe evaporator (100) into a high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant.

The condenser 420 dissipates the high-temperature heat contained in the refrigerant that has passed through the compressor 410 to the outside and condenses the compressed refrigerant. In addition, the condenser 420 may further include a condensing fan for increasing condensation efficiency.

The expansion device 430 changes the condensed refrigerant into a low-temperature low-pressure liquid, and the cold refrigerant can be supplied to the dual-pipe evaporator 100 by the above process.

The low-temperature, low-pressure liquid refrigerant supplied to the dual-pipe evaporator 100 is phase-changed into a gas by heat exchange with the drinking water, and then supplied to the compressor 410.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the dual pipe evaporator 100, the water inlet portion 114 and the water outlet portion 116 are located at the upper and lower portions, respectively, so that the drinking water flows in a predetermined direction To the lower direction).

On the other hand, in the dual-pipe evaporator 100, the refrigerant can flow in the direction from the refrigerant inlet 124 to the refrigerant outlet 126 (from the bottom to the top in FIG. 1). In this case, the drinking water and the refrigerant flow in opposite directions in the dual pipe evaporator 100.

The heat exchange efficiency between the drinking water and the refrigerant can be maximized and the amount of the drinking water to be cooled can be increased when the drinking water and the refrigerant flow in opposite directions as compared with the case where the drinking water and the refrigerant flow in the same direction .

Unlike the cold water storage type cooling module, the dual pipe cooling module according to the present invention minimizes the operation rate and the operation time of the refrigerant cooling device 400 by instantaneously generating cold water by using the dual pipe evaporator 100, The use amount can be reduced, the cold water below the predetermined temperature can be continuously generated, and the contamination of the drinking water caused by the contamination of the cold water storage tank can be prevented.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing a dual tube evaporator according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the dual tube evaporator 100 according to the present invention includes an inner tube 110 and an outer tube 120.

The inner pipe 110 is for moving the drinking water, and the drinking water is formed so as to be able to be taken in or out through the input / output unit 112.

The outer tube 120 is for moving the refrigerant and is formed to surround the inner tube 110. The refrigerant flows through an interval between the inner tube 110 and the outer tube 120 and enters or exits through the refrigerant inlet /

A spiral refrigerant passage 130 may be formed between the inner pipe 110 and the outer pipe 120. In this case, the refrigerant rotates along the refrigerant passage 130 and moves.

The spiral shape may be formed by the outer surface of the inner tube 110 having a threaded shape and the threaded portion 118 of the threaded thread may be in contact with or adjacent to the inner surface of the outer tube 120.

When the refrigerant rotates and flows due to the spiral shape, the refrigerant flows while rotating on the outer surface of the inner tube 110, and the refrigerant flows while flowing evenly through the outer surface of the inner tube 110, And the drinking water flowing in the inner pipe 110 can be cooled uniformly.

The inner surface of the inner pipe 110 may have a thread shape corresponding to the outer surface of the inner pipe 110. In this case, the contact area between the inner pipe 110 and the drinking water flowing through the inner pipe 110 is widened, The heat exchange between the drinking water and the inner pipe 110 can be more actively performed.

That is, the drinking water can be cooled more effectively by the thread shape of the outer surface of the inner tube 110 and the thread shape of the inner surface of the inner tube 110 corresponding to the thread shape.

The inner pipe 110 is made of stainless steel and the electrolytic or chemical polishing process is applied to the inner surface of the inner pipe 110 so that the inner pipe 110 and the drinking water Can be improved.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the fixing of the temperature sensor to the double tube evaporator by the fixing bracket according to the present invention.

3, a temperature sensor insertion portion 262 is formed at a portion of the evaporator case 200 adjacent to the refrigerant inlet / outlet port 122 of the dual pipe evaporator 100. As shown in FIG. When the temperature sensor 300 is inserted through the temperature sensor inserting part 262, the fixing bracket 250 is engaged with the peripheral part of the inserting part 262 to connect the temperature sensor 200 to the double pipe evaporator 100 Tightly. The fixing bracket 250 and the peripheral portion of the insertion portion may be coupled by a fixing bolt 260 or the like.

The fixing bracket 250 may include an elastic portion 256 and the elastic portion 256 abuts against the temperature sensor 300 to push the temperature sensor 300 toward the double pipe evaporator 100 . The elastic member 246 fixes the temperature sensor 300 in a state of being closely attached to the dual pipe evaporator 100. [

In order to increase the heat insulation performance of the dual pipe evaporator 100, urethane foam may be applied to the inner space of the evaporator case 200. In this case, a separate member is disposed through the temperature sensor inserting section 262 and then urethane foam is applied to secure the space in which the temperature sensor 300 is disposed. When the separate member is removed after the urethane foaming, the temperature sensor 300 may be disposed in the space occupied by the separate member.

In order to firmly fix the temperature sensor 300, an additional component may be welded and fixed to a part of the double pipe evaporator 100 to which the temperature sensor 300 is closely fixed.

However, in the case of welding, heat is transferred to the double pipe evaporator 100, so that the inner pipe 110 and the outer pipe 120 of the double pipe evaporator 100 may be deformed. There is a problem that the drinking water and the refrigerant can not flow properly. In addition, there is a problem that the coating process for preventing rust may become difficult.

Further, when the temperature sensor 300 is closely fixed to an adhesive or the like, it may affect the temperature sensing of the temperature sensor 300, and when the urethane foam is heated, the temperature sensor 300 may contact the double tube evaporator 100 and the like.

There may be a method in which the circumference of the dual tube evaporator 100 and the temperature sensor 300 disposed on the outer surface of the dual tube evaporator 300 are simultaneously wound and the temperature sensor 300 is tightly fixed to the double tube evaporator 100. However, There is a problem in that it is not easily assembled due to interference with the heat insulating material.

Therefore, it is preferable that the temperature sensor 300 is closely fixed by the temperature sensor insertion part 262 and the fixing bracket 250. In addition, according to the above-described method, when the temperature sensor 300 needs to be replaced due to a failure or the like, the temperature sensor 300 can be easily replaced by disassembling the fixing bracket 250 .

4 is a view for explaining a filter seat according to the present invention.

As described above, the dual tube evaporator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be rotationally stacked so as to have a predetermined space in the center, and the evaporator case 200 can have a shape corresponding to the certain space .

In this case, a filter seating part 260 may be formed in the evaporator case 200, and a filter 600 may be seated in the filter seating part 260.

By forming the filter seating part 260, the water purifier to which the double pipe cooling module 1 according to the present invention is applied can be downsized.

Meanwhile, the outer case 500 may be disposed outside the dual pipe cooling module 1 according to the present invention.

5 is a view for explaining dew condensation prevention by the boundary plate.

Referring to FIG. 5, a compressor 410 for compressing a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant into a high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant and radiating heat may be disposed under the evaporator case 200.

A boundary plate 240 may be disposed between the evaporator case 200 and the compressor 410 and a concave depression 242 may be formed on the peripheral surface of the boundary plate 240.

5, when the side surface outer case of the outer case 500 is disposed and the peripheral surface of the boundary plate 240 is in contact with the side surface outer case, the groove portion 242 and the side outer case Holes may be formed.

Heat generated in the compressor 410 through the heat holes is transferred to the evaporator case 200 to prevent condensation on the outer surface of the evaporator case 200 and on the outer surface of the side outer case.

That is, since the dual pipe evaporator 100 is disposed in the evaporator case 200, condensation may occur on the outer surface of the evaporator case 200 and on the outer surface of the outer side case adjacent to the evaporator case 200, The condensation can be prevented by the heat transmitted through the holes.

Hereinafter, the performance data of the water purifier to which the double pipe cooling module for purifier according to the present invention is applied will be examined. Embodiment 1 relates to a water purifier to which a double tube cooling module for a water purifier according to the present invention is applied, and Comparative Example 1 relates to a water purifier to which a general low water cooling device is applied.

Average intake temperature (℃) Daily power consumption (Wh) Example 1 7.0 296.6 Comparative Example 1 7.9 460.6

Table 1 shows the average intake temperature and daily power consumption of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1. < tb > < TABLE >

Referring to Table 1, in Example 1, the water intake average temperature was lower and the daily power consumption was lower than that in Comparative Example 1. The water purifier to which the double pipe cooling module for a water purifier according to the present invention was applied, And it was found that it was superior in terms of consumption.

Initial start-up time (minutes) Cooling operation rate (%) 24 hours total discharge (Wh / 24h) Example 1 8 4 200 Comparative Example 1 80 15 500

Table 2 shows the initial operation time, the cooling operation rate, and the EER cumulative amount of the first embodiment and the first comparative example.

The initial operation time was set at 25 ° C (water before being purified) in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 under the conditions of an ambient temperature of 25 ° C and a humidity of 75% Is terminated, that is, the time until the operation of the coolant cooler is stopped.

For reference, the operation of the refrigerant cooling apparatus is controlled such that, when the temperature of the drinking water is 12 ° C in the case of Embodiment 1, the operation is stopped when the refrigerant cooling apparatus starts to operate at 2 ° C, And the operation was stopped at 4 ° C.

The cooling operation rate is expressed as "cooling operation time / (cooling operation time + idle time)" as a percentage. The cooling operation time refers to the time during which the refrigerant cooling apparatus is operated, and the rest period refers to the time during which the refrigerant cooling apparatus is stopped. The cooling operation time and the resting time were measured when the end and start of cooling were repeated and the cooling cycle of the refrigerant cooling apparatus was stabilized.

The 24 hour non-discharge water accumulation amount is a measurement of electricity consumption under the condition of no discharge for 24 hours when the cooling cycle is stabilized.

Referring to Table 2, in Example 1, as compared with Comparative Example 1, the initial operation time was short, the cooling operation rate was low, and the 24 hour non-discharge total amount was small. Therefore, the water purifier using the double pipe cooling module for purifier according to the present invention not only provides the user with the cold drinking water faster than when the power is applied after the power supply is cut off for a long time, but also the power consumption is very low.

Residue (cup) Operation time (minutes) Power consumption (W) Power (Wh) Electricity consumption per watt (Wh / cup) Example 1 8 9 160 24 3.0 Comparative Example 1 13 80 95 126 9.7

Table 3 shows the relationship between the amount of water taken in the cooling drinking water of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, the operating time of the refrigerant cooling apparatus for obtaining the residual water, the power consumption of the refrigerant cooling apparatus, the amount of power used for obtaining the above- . The temperature of the cooling drinking water was set to 10 ° C or less.

Referring to Table 3, although the power consumption of Example 1 is higher than that of Comparative Example 1, the operation time of Example 1 is much shorter than that of Comparative Example 1, and the power consumption of Example 1 is higher than that of Comparative Example 2 Small.

Although the amount of water intake in Example 1 is slightly smaller than that in Comparative Example 1, the amount of electric power is much smaller than that of Comparative Example 1, Respectively.

According to the above data, the water purifier to which the dual pipe cooling module for water purifier according to the present invention is applied consumes a small amount of electric power, and in particular, uses less electric power to make the same amount of cooling drinking water.

1: Dual pipe cooling module for water purifier
100: double tube evaporator
200: evaporator case
300: Temperature sensor
400: Refrigerant cooling device

Claims (6)

A double pipe evaporator for cooling the drinking water by the coolant, the inner pipe for moving the drinking water, and the outer pipe for surrounding the inner pipe and for moving the coolant;
An evaporator case for casing the dual pipe evaporator; And
A temperature sensor disposed in close contact with an outer surface of the evaporator inlet of the dual pipe evaporator and the evaporator outlet to sense the temperature of the evaporator inlet and the evaporator outlet;
, ≪ / RTI &
The evaporator case includes:
A temperature sensor insertion unit into which the temperature sensor is inserted; And
A fixing bracket coupled to the insertion portion and closely fixing the temperature sensor inserted through the insertion portion to the inlet and the outlet;
Further comprising:
A spiral-shaped refrigerant passage is formed between the outer surface of the inner tube and the inner surface of the outer tube, the refrigerant is rotated and moved along the refrigerant passage,
Wherein the fixing bracket further comprises an elastic means for contacting the temperature sensor to push the temperature sensor toward the double pipe evaporator. The method according to claim 1,
In the spiral shape,
Wherein the outer surface of the inner tube has a threaded shape and the threaded portion of the threaded portion is formed by abutting or abutting the inner surface of the outer tube. The method according to claim 1,
And the refrigerant and the drinking water move in opposite directions to each other. delete The method according to claim 1,
The inner tube and outer tube of the dual tube evaporator are rotationally stacked so as to have a predetermined space in the center, and the evaporator case has a shape corresponding to the external shape of the dual tube evaporator,
And the filter seat is formed by the evaporator case formed corresponding to the predetermined space. The method according to claim 1,
A compressor for compressing a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant into a high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant and radiating heat is disposed in the lower portion of the evaporator case,
A boundary plate is formed between the evaporator case and the compressor,
A heat hole is formed by an outer case surrounding the groove portion of the boundary plate and the outside of the water purifier,
And condensation on the outer surface of the evaporator case and the outer surface of the outer case is prevented by the heat of the compressor transmitted to the evaporator case through the heat hole.

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