KR101733182B1

KR101733182B1 - Cooling and Heating Water-Filter Apparatus

Info

Publication number: KR101733182B1
Application number: KR1020150087500A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 권택율; 성기혁
Original assignee: 주식회사 리빙케어
Priority date: 2015-06-19
Filing date: 2015-06-19
Publication date: 2017-05-08
Also published as: KR20160149815A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a water jacket base having a sealed channel formed on its back surface, a water channel plate on both sides of which a purified water inlet pipe and a purified water outlet pipe are connected, a water jacket base formed to surround the purified water channel plate, A water jacket cover which is coupled to the water jacket cover by closing the jacket base, a thermoelectric module arranged to face the water jacket cover and thermoelectrically cooling or thermoelectrically heating water flowing in the flow path of the water filter channel plate, And a cooling water flow path plate in which a cooling water inflow pipe and a cooling water discharge pipe are connected to both ends of the cooling water flow path.
According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the overall volume and weight, to provide a compact structure, to supply stable cold / hot water, and to provide a water- Simplification can reduce manufacturing costs.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling and heating water-

The present invention relates to a cold / warm water purifying apparatus, and more particularly, to a cold / warm water purifying apparatus which can reduce the overall volume and weight, can supply stable cold / hot water as a compact structure, To a water purification apparatus.

The cold water hot water purifier is a water purifier which is made by passing ground water or tap water to a filter unit composed of a plurality of filters and cooling the purified water by cooling means or by heating by heating means and then storing cold water or hot water . In addition, the ion purifier is a water purifier that supplies alkaline water or acid water when the user desires, by separating purified water passing through the filter unit into acidic water and alkaline water again in the electrolytic bath. On the other hand, the cold / hot water purifier is an addition of an electrolytic cell (or an ion device) to the structure of a cold / hot water purifier to provide cold water.

Such a water purifier or ion water purifier is generally divided into a low-water purifier having an internal water reservoir and a direct water purifier directly connected to the supply water without a water reservoir. In the case of a cold water function, It is usual to have a reservoir tank.

The general cold / hot water ionizer is provided with a raw water supply valve installed on the piping line of the supply water, a heater for heating the water inside the hot water passing hot water reservoir for storing hot water, a cooling device for cooling the water inside the cold water passing cold water reservoir A pump for circulating water in the cold water passing hot water tank, a filter unit for purifying cold water or hot water and a plurality of filters, and an ion device for electrolyzing purified water to provide ionized water. That is, the ion purifier having the cold / hot water function must have a separate hot water passage / cold water tank, a heater for cooling and heating, and a cooling device for the cold / warm function.

The refrigeration system using the refrigerant gas may be applied to the cooling system used for the cold water heating water purifier, but the cooling system using the thermoelectric module may be applied instead of the conventional refrigeration system in consideration of the environmental problem and the volume. In the method using the thermoelectric module, the cold sink attached to the heat absorbing surface of the thermoelectric module is installed and cooled so as to be in contact with the bottom surface of the cooling tube. On the other hand, a heat sink is attached to the heat radiating surface of the thermoelectric module, and a cooling fan, cooling water, or the like is used for heat radiation of the heat sink.

However, the water purifier using the cooling device or the thermoelectric module inevitably uses the cold water passing hot water tank, which causes a problem that the volume of the water purifier as a whole increases. In addition, since the use of the cold water passing hot water tank requires the pump and the water level sensor, the manufacturing cost is increased. In addition, since the heater or the cooling device must be operated periodically even during a time when the user does not drink to supply cold water or hot water at a set temperature, power is wasted.

In this regard, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-0025014 discloses a water purification apparatus in which a cooling unit 100 using a thermoelectric module is installed on a connection line 30 between a free carbon filter 3 and a reverse osmosis membrane filter 4, . The thermoelectric semiconductor elements 10a and 10b are respectively installed on both sides of the connection line 30 so as to contact a cold side for absorbing heat to cool water flowing through the connection line 30, On the other hand, the heat-radiating channels 42 and 43 are provided on the hot side for radiating the heat of the thermoelectric semiconductor elements 10a and 10b. Waste water discharged from the membrane filter 4 flows into the heat dissipating channel so as to radiate heat to the thermoelectric semiconductor elements 10a and 10b. According to the present invention, since water is cooled instantly without supplying a separate cold water bottle, and the thermoelectric semiconductor elements are radiated using the wastewater discharged from the membrane filter, the structure of the water purifier can be easily formed, There is disclosed a water purification apparatus having an advantage of reducing power consumption because no separate power source for heat radiation is required.

However, the prior art is practically impossible to implement. The reasons are as follows.

Due to the characteristics of the thermoelectric module (thermoelectric semiconductor device), cooling and heat dissipation are simultaneously performed. In order to increase the cooling performance and supply the instantaneous cooling water, water must be continuously supplied to the heat- In the prior art, the membrane filter 4 functions to remove fine particles remaining in the water that has passed through the pre-carbon filter 3, and the water that has not passed through the membrane filter 4 passes through the outlet 7 In the prior art, it has been disclosed that heat is dissipated on the heat-radiating surface of the thermoelectric module by using wastewater which can not pass through the membrane filter 4. However, since the wastewater from the membrane filter is relatively small in quantity, it is insufficient to dissipate the heat dissipation surface of the thermoelectric module.

The performance of a thermoelectric device appears as a temperature deviation between the cooling side and the heating side depending on specifications of the supplied DC power source. The higher the voltage is, the larger the amount of current is, and the temperature deviation becomes larger at this time. However, it can be seen that the increase ratio of the calorific value on the side of the heat generation is two times or more larger than the increase rate of the heat absorption value on the relatively cooling side. This is because the Joule heat (heat generated in proportion to the amount of current) acts, and the larger the temperature deviation, the larger the entropy increases.

Therefore, the amount of wastewater discharged from the membrane filter 4 is very small, so that the water flowing in the heat-dissipating channels 42 and 43 for dissipating heat on the heat dissipating surface of the thermoelectric module is not only wastewater that can not pass through the membrane filter, ) Should be additionally supplied. Also, in order to effectively dissipate heat, the amount of water to be added must be very large. In this case, the amount of water that is actually consumed through the filter is considerably larger than the amount used for drinking water, and the filter must be replaced frequently. This approach is very unreasonable and difficult to apply to real products.

As described above, it can be seen that the prior art is practically impossible to implement in consideration of the driving characteristics of the thermoelectric module (thermoelectric semiconductor device).

As a result, it is possible to reduce the overall volume and weight, to provide a stable and reliable supply of cold and hot water, and to reduce manufacturing costs by simplifying components. There is an urgent need for a cold /

Korean Patent Publication No. 2009-0025014 (published on March 10, 2009) Korean Patent Publication No. 2004-0053818 (published on June 24, 2004)

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cold / warm water purification apparatus which is simple in structure, eco-friendly and can reduce power consumption, can reduce the overall volume and weight and can supply stable cold / hot water as a compact structure, And to provide a cold / combined water purification apparatus capable of reducing costs.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a cold and warm water purifying device according to the present invention, comprising: a sealed flow path formed on the back surface; a purified water flow path plate having water inlet pipes and purified water discharge pipes connected to both ends of the flow path; A water jacket cover which is coupled to the water jacket base to be coupled with the water jacket cover, a thermoelectric module for thermoelectrically cooling or thermoelectrically heating water flowing in the flow path of the water filter channel plate, And a cooling water flow path plate in which a cooling water flow path is formed to cool the heat generated in the thermoelectric module, and cooling water inflow pipes and cooling water discharge pipes are connected to both ends of the cooling water flow path.

And a reinforcing grid frame disposed on the opposite side of the water jacket cover engaging surface of the water jacket base.

The cooling water channel plate may further include a cooling water channel plate cover disposed in close contact with one surface of the thermoelectric module in a direction in which the thermoelectric module is disposed.

A bimetal may be formed on the front surface of the water jacket cover.

The casing may further include both the purified flow path plate, the water jacket base, the water jacket cover, the thermoelectric module, and the cooling water flow path plate.

The casing may include an upper casing and a lower casing, and the upper casing may include a connector board.

The purified flow path plate may be made of silicon.

The purified water passage plate may be made of stainless steel.

The stainless steel purified water flow path plate may have a structure in which the upper plate and the lower plate are coupled by an O ring to form a flow path therein.

The water jacket cover may be formed to have a smaller size on the plane than the thermoelectric module so that the peripheral end portion thereof can be disposed with a certain distance in the direction toward the inside of the peripheral end portion of the thermoelectric module.

The water jacket cover has a protruding fastening portion formed on a side surface of the water jacket cover, and a coupling groove is formed on a side surface of the water jacket base. The water jacket cover and the water jacket base are coupled by the engagement of the protruding fastening portion and the coupling groove .

The present invention relates to a cold and warm water purification apparatus capable of reducing the overall volume and weight, being capable of supplying stable cold / hot water as a compact structure, simplifying components, So that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

1 is a schematic view showing an upper part of a cold / warm water purifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the overall components of a cold / warm water purifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a lower part of a cold / warm water purifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a schematic view illustrating an arrangement of the purified flow path plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating an assembled state of a stainless steel purified water passage plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a schematic view showing a water jacket cover and a thermoelectric module disposed according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a schematic view showing a joint portion of a water jacket cover and a water jacket base according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, specific values are only examples.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an upper part of a cold / warm water purifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing general components of a cold / And FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a lower part of the water-cooling / water-purifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of a water purification apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a water purification apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention; A water jacket base 170 formed to enclose the water channel plate 110, a water jacket cover 120 coupled to the water jacket base 130, and a water jacket cover 120 disposed to face the water jacket cover A thermoelectric module 130 for thermoelectrically cooling or thermoelectrically heating water flowing in the flow path of the purified water flow path plate and a cooling water flow path for cooling the heat generated in the thermoelectric module, And a cooling water flow path plate 150 to which the inlet pipe and the cooling water discharge pipe are connected.

The cooling water channel plate 150, the cooling water channel plate cover 140, the thermoelectric module 130, the water jacket cover 120, the purified water flow path plate 130, A water jacket base 170 and a reinforcing grid frame 180 are stacked in this order on the lower casing 160 and the upper casing 190 is disposed on the lower casing 160 above the reinforcing grid frame 180. [ As shown in FIG.

The water purification unit 100 according to the present invention instantaneously heats or cools the purified water flow path plate 110 surrounded by the water jacket cover 120 and the water jacket base 170 by the thermoelectric module 130, Hot water or cold water can be produced smoothly and stably without a separate storage tank of cold water.

That is, in the thermoelectric module 130 of the cold / warm water purifying apparatus 100 according to the present invention, at least two or more thermoelectric modules are arranged in a planar state, and the thermoelectric modules are electrically connected in series or in parallel And a circuit is formed so that the direction of the current applied to the thermoelectric module can be reversed so that the thermoelectric module can be switched between the heating surface and the cooling surface It is possible to heat or cool the purified flow path plate 110 by switching the surface as occasion demands.

For reference, the thermoelectric module 130 is an element that can not be driven by a general AC current, and a general AC current must be converted into a DC current and supplied. In this case, a power supply module (not shown) for converting AC current to DC current and supplying the AC current to the thermoelectric module 130 may be additionally disposed. When the AC current is directly converted to DC, The unit price can be drastically lowered. However, at this time, the commercial AC 220V power supply should be converted to a voltage of DC 300V (260V at the time of load), so that the configuration should be adjusted to the voltage applied to the thermoelectric module 130 and the combination thereof.

Generally, thermoelectric module is used at less than 30V, and at the stage of commercialization, the product is configured with a power supply system of 50V or less due to the limitation of the power supply module. As the thermoelectric module becomes more and more usable, it occurs when a large number of thermoelectric modules are connected and used instead of single or two or four connections. The problem is the power supply.

First, when power is supplied in the conventional way, if the voltage is lowered (50 V or less), the current value is increased, and when the current value is high, a product having a high allowable current value of various electric and electronic components should be used. Second, when the voltage is high, there is no high-voltage AC-DC converter in the existing product. However, when it is manufactured by necessity, the product which is insulated at the side edge of the thermoelectric module is manufactured considering the safety of the user Can be used.

That is, since the thermoelectric module 130 is constructed so that the side edges of each thermoelectric module can be insulated at the module level to meet the insulation distance standard, the insulation module for the safety assurance is not required separately from the power supply module. The size and configuration cost of the power supply module can be drastically reduced. Also, the design flexibility of the power supply module can be easily secured, and product development can be facilitated.

In addition, since the thermoelectric module 130 has an insulating space (Creepage) between the N-type device and the P-type device on the outer and outer surfaces of the upper and lower electrodes, Flexibility can be ensured.

The water jacket base 170 and the water jacket cover 120 are integrally coupled to each other so that the water passage plate 110 is heated or cooled by the thermoelectric module 130, And the mechanical stiffness is complemented to prevent deformation and breakage.

The water jacket base 170 is formed with through holes 172 and 173 so that the purified water flow pipe 112 and the purified water discharge pipe 113 of the purified water flow path plate 110 can be inserted into the water jacket base 170, The purified water flow path plate 110 is stably fixed to the water jacket base 170 by inserting the purified water inlet pipe 112 and the purified water outlet pipe 113 of the water outlet 110 into the through holes 172 and 173, have.

122b, 122c, and 122d are formed on the side surface of the water jacket cover 120 to engage with the water jacket base. A coupling groove 174 is formed on the side surface of the water jacket base 170 Respectively. Therefore, the water jacket cover 120 and the water jacket base 170 are engaged by the engagement of the protruding engagement portion 122c and the engagement groove portion 174.

On the opposite surface of the water jacket cover (120) to the water jacket cover (120) coupling surface, the expansion and contraction of the water jacket base (170) is repeated by heating and cooling to further reinforce the mechanical rigidity of the water filtration flow path plate A reinforcing grid frame 180 can be disposed. A plurality of grid holes 182 and 183 are formed in the reinforcing grid frame 180 so that the purified water inlet pipe 112 and the purified water discharge pipe 113 of the purified water flow path plate 110 are connected to the grid holes 182 and 183 So that the reinforcing grid frame 180 itself can be stably fixed to the upper surface of the water jacket base 170 while being exposed to the outside of the reinforcing grid frame 180.

The cooling water flow path plate 150 has a cooling water inlet 152 and a cooling water outlet 153. The cooling water flowing through the cooling water flow path plate 150 through the cooling water inlet 152 and the cooling water outlet 153 And serves to cool heat generated when one surface of the thermoelectric module 130 facing the thermoelectric module 130 becomes the heating surface.

The cooling water flow path plate 150 further includes a cooling water flow path plate cover 140 disposed in close contact with one surface of the thermoelectric module 130 in a direction in which the thermoelectric module 130 is disposed. The cooling channel plate cover 140 changes the heating surface and the cooling surface according to the direction of current so that the thermal deformation of the cooling channel plate 150 by the thermoelectric module 130, It is possible to contribute to the improvement of the performance of the cold / warm water purifying apparatus 100 by preventing breakage due to the temperature difference.

The bimetal 141 is formed on the front surface of the water jacket cover 120 and the front protrusion 111 of the purified water flow path plate 110 and the front protrusion 121 of the water jacket cover 120, When the temperature of the water inside the purified water flow path plate 110 is overheated to an appropriate level or higher, the electric current supplied to the thermoelectric element 130 is cut off, thereby preventing overheating of the combined cooling and heating water purification apparatus 100. A safety device including a sensor and a circuit such as a thermocouple, a thermistor (NTC, PTC) or the like is further provided around the bimetal 141 to prevent the thermoelectric element 130 from overheating, As shown in Fig.

The upper and lower casings 160 and 190 are connected to the water passage plate 110, the water jacket base 170, the water jacket cover 120, the thermoelectric module 130, And the cooling water channel plate 150 are integrated with each other to form the cold / warm water purifying apparatus 100.

The lower casing 160 is formed with fixing grooves 162 and 163 so that the cooling water inlet 152 and the cooling water outlet 153 of the cooling water flow path plate 150 are fixed and exposed to the outside, A bimetal seating portion 161 is formed on the front surface of the casing 160 so that the bimetal 141 formed on the water jacket cover 120 can be seated.

The upper casing 190 is formed with a connector board 191 electrically connected to the thermoelectric module 130 so that the thermoelectric module 130 having at least two or more small thermoelectric modules coupled to each other And a circuit configuration such as current direction conversion can be easily implemented.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an arrangement of the purified water passage plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an assembled state of the stainless steel purified water passage plate according to an embodiment of the present invention have.

Referring to these drawings, the purified water flow path plate 110 is formed on an upper portion of a structure in which a cooling water flow path plate 150, a cooling water flow path plate cover 140, a thermoelectric module 130 and a water jacket cover 120 are sequentially stacked And is replaceable in some cases.

The material of the purified water flow path plate 110 is not particularly limited as long as it is a material which can easily form a flow path on the backside or inside of the plate. For example, it is made of a metal material such as aluminum, stainless steel, a rubber material such as silicone, It can be made of selected material.

Here, the preferred material of the water passage plate 110 is a silicon material, and deformation and breakage of the water passage plate 110 can be minimized as compared with other materials even under a low temperature condition and a high temperature condition.

Meanwhile, the purified water passage plate may be formed of stainless steel. The purified water passage plate made of stainless steel has the purified water inlet pipe 212 and the purified water outlet pipe 213 formed at both ends thereof in the same manner as the purified water passage plate 110, The upper plate 210 and the lower plate 216 are coupled by an O ring 215 to form a flow path therein.

The top plate 210 may be provided with a plurality of (for example, three, four, three, four, three, four, five, The protruding support 214 can be formed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a water jacket cover and a thermoelectric module disposed according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows a water jacket cover according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig.

Referring to these drawings, the water jacket cover 120 is formed in a smaller size in plan view than the thermoelectric module 130, and the peripheral end portion of the water jacket cover 120 is spaced apart from the peripheral end portion of the thermoelectric module 130 by a predetermined distance D1, and D2. By forming the water jacket cover 120 in a planar size smaller than the thermoelectric module 130, a buffer space for thermal deformation due to the heating surface of the thermoelectric module 130 and the cooling surface is provided, Can be prevented.

The protruding engagement portion 122c and the engagement groove portion 174 are formed in a planar manner at the engagement portion of the water jacket cover 120 and the water jacket base 170, that is, at the engagement portion of the protruding engagement portion 122c and the engagement groove portion 174. [ By forming the engaging groove 174 so that the water jacket cover escape hole 174a is formed between the thermoelectric module 130 and the thermoelectric module 130. The thermal jacket cover 120 is heated or cooled directly by the thermoelectric module 130, A buffer space is provided to prevent cracking of the thermoelectric module 130 and further improve the stability of the cold /

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, such as specific constituent elements, and limited embodiments and drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above- And various modifications and changes may be made thereto by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, belong to the scope of the present invention .

100: Combined water purification system
110: purified water flow plate
120: Water jacket cover
130: thermoelectric module
140: Cooling water flow plate cover
150: cooling water flow path plate
160: Lower casing
170: Water jacket base
180: Reinforced grid frame
190: upper casing

Claims

A purified flow path plate in which a sealed flow path is formed on the back surface and a purified water inlet pipe and a purified water discharge pipe are connected to both ends of the flow path;
A water jacket base formed to surround the water passage plate;
A water jacket cover to which the water jacket base is joined and closed;
A thermoelectric module disposed to face the water jacket cover and thermally cooling or thermoelectrically heating the water flowing in the flow path of the purified water passage plate; And
A cooling water flow path is formed in the inside of the thermoelectric module so as to cool the heat generated by the thermoelectric module and a cooling water inflow pipe and a cooling water discharge pipe are connected to both ends of the cooling water flow path;
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the water jacket cover is formed in a size smaller than a plane of the thermoelectric module so that a peripheral end thereof can be disposed with a certain distance in a direction toward the inside of a peripheral end of the thermoelectric module,
The water jacket cover has a protruding fastening portion formed on a side surface of the water jacket cover. The water jacket base and the water jacket base are coupled by the engagement of the protruding fastening portion and the coupling groove portion, ,
Wherein a water jacket cover escape hole is formed between the projecting engagement portion and the engagement groove portion in a planar manner at the engagement portion between the projecting engagement portion and the engagement groove portion.

The method according to claim 1,
And a reinforcing grid frame disposed on an opposite surface of the water jacket cover engagement surface of the water jacket base.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the cooling water flow path plate further comprises a cooling water flow path plate cover disposed in close contact with one surface in a direction in which the thermoelectric module is disposed.

The method according to claim 1,
The water jacket The bimetal is formed on the front of the cover.

The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a casing containing both the purified flow path plate, the water jacket base, the water jacket cover, the thermoelectric module, and the cooling water flow path plate.

6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the casing comprises an upper casing and a lower casing, and a connector board is formed in the upper casing.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the purified water passage plate is made of silicon.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the purified water passage plate is made of stainless steel.

9. The method of claim 8,
The stainless steel purified water flow path plate has a structure in which an upper plate and a lower plate are coupled by an O ring to form a flow path therein.

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