JP2001208465A - Beverage cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To transfer heat by contact between a drinking water container and a heat conductive material, so that heat transfer efficiency is low. In addition, cans and PET bottles have various shapes at the bottom, and a sufficient contact surface cannot be obtained, so that heat conduction efficiency is further reduced. In addition, in the case of keeping cold, since cooling can be performed only from the bottom, convection does not occur inside the container, and the beverage at the top of the container cannot be cooled. SOLUTION: This invention proposes a heat retention / cooling device characterized in that a heat sink and a blowing device are provided in a heat conduction part, and heat of a Peltier element is put on the wind and blown onto a beverage container to keep the temperature and cool. .

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is suitable for drinking beverages such as juice, coffee, tea, and mineral water in cans and plastic bottles for a long time in offices, homes, automobiles, and the like. It relates to an insulated cooler for keeping the temperature.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to keep warm or cool beverages in cans or PET bottles, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-61032, a heat conductive material is attached to a Peltier element to form a coaster. It has been known.

[0003]

In a conventional coaster-type insulated cooler using a heat conductive material, a container for drinking water,
Heat transfer efficiency is low because heat is transferred by contact of a heat conductive material. Further, cans and PET bottles have various shapes at the bottom, and a sufficient contact surface cannot be obtained, so that the heat transfer efficiency is further reduced. In addition, in the case of keeping the cool, the chill can be cooled only from the bottom, so that convection does not occur inside the container, and the beverage at the top of the container cannot be cooled. Due to such problems, it was not possible to sufficiently keep cold and warm.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has a Peltier element for cooling and heating a can or a plastic bottle holding a beverage therein, and a Peltier element for the Peltier element. A power supply for supplying a current is provided, and a heat sink for transmitting heat generated in the Peltier element by the cooling or heating to the can or the plastic bottle, and a wind is blown on an object for heat retention and cooling,
Furthermore, the present invention proposes a heat-retaining cooler for beverages in which the wind is circulated to enhance the cooling and heat-retaining effects.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention proposes a heat-retaining cooler which is provided with a heat sink and an air blower in a heat conducting portion, and keeps heat and cools by applying heat of a Peltier element to the wind and spraying it on a beverage container.

[0006]

The cold air and the hot air generated by the Peltier element are transmitted to the beverage container using the air as a medium, so that the beverage can be efficiently kept cold and warm.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows the entire vertical cross section of the heat insulation / cooling device and the flow of air, and FIG. 2 is an electrical block diagram. First,
The overall configuration of the present invention will be described. Power is supplied to the DC jack indicated by reference numeral 11 from an AC adapter, a cigar socket (not shown), or the like of the automobile, and the power switch 9 is closed.
When the changeover switch 10 is switched to the “cooling” side, the temperature of the upper surface of the Peltier device 1 decreases due to the Peltier effect, and the temperature of the lower surface increases. On both sides of the Peltier element 1,
A heat sink 2 made of a material having good thermal conductivity such as aluminum or copper is attached. The heat sink 2 attached to the upper surface is cooled by the temperature of the Peltier element 1 being lowered.

A blower 4 is provided above the heat sink 2.
(In this embodiment, a DC brushless fan) is provided, and has a function of passing air through the gap between the fins 12 of the cooled heat sink 2. Reference numeral 6 indicates an internal air flow. The heat sink 2 has a structure in which thin fins 12 are arranged roughly vertically, and has a structure through which air easily passes. The cooled air (hereinafter referred to as “cool air”) passing through the gap between the fins 12 of the heat sink 2 is cooled by heat exchange with the heat sink 2 and becomes a beverage container 3 (a container of soft drink made of plastic bottles or cans). ) Is sent to the site where. The cool air passes between the side of the beverage container 3 and the inner wall 7. At this time, the entire container 3 is cooled by the cool air flowing evenly on the side surface of the container 3,
A high heat exchange effect can be obtained. Further, since the medium is air, a stable effect can be obtained regardless of the shape of the container 3.

The cool air that has passed between the container 2 and the inner wall 7 passes through a hole 13 provided above the inner wall 7 and passes between the inner wall 7 and the outer wall 8. At this time, the outer wall 8 is made of a heat insulating material such as urethane so that the cool air does not warm. Alternatively, it is desirable to attach a heat insulating material to the outside of the outer wall 8. The cool air passes through the gap between the fins 3 of the heat sink 2 again by the suction effect of the blower 4, is cooled again, and repeats the above operation.

On the other hand, since a large amount of heat is generated on the lower surface of the Peltier device 1, it is necessary to exhaust heat. The generated heat is transmitted to the heat sink 2 installed for exhaust heat. A blower 5 is provided below the heat sink 2, and blows outside air to the heat sink 2. The heat of the heat sink 2 is transmitted to the outside air and discharged to the outside of the beverage heat and cooler. At this time, contrary to the cooling side, by separating the intake and the exhaust of the outside air, the heated air is not taken in again, and the exhaust heat efficiency can be improved.

When the user wants to keep the warm beverage warm, he can change the direction of the current flowing through the Peltier device 1 by switching the changeover switch 10 to the “thermal retention” side.
The upper surface becomes hot and the lower surface becomes cold. After that,
It becomes the same by simply switching between “cold” and “heat”, so that the beverage can be kept warm.

[0012]

By adopting such a circulation structure,
The cool air once cooled will be reused, and it will be possible to cool the air more efficiently than directly cooling the outside air and spraying it on the container. Since the actual cooling ability is small, the current flowing through the Peltier element is also small, which is useful for reducing power consumption.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an insulated cooler for beverages.

FIG. 2 is an electrical block diagram

[Explanation of Codes] Peltier device 2. Heat sink 3. Beverage container 4. Top blower 5. Bottom blower 6. 6. Air flow Inner wall 8. Exterior wall 9. Power switch 10. Changeover switch 11. DC jack 12. Heat sink fins 13. Hole in the inner wall

Claims (1)

[Claims] A Peltier device for cooling and heating a can or a plastic bottle holding a beverage therein, and a power supply for supplying a current to the Peltier device, wherein the cooling or heating generates a Peltier device. A heat sink for transferring heat to the can or plastic bottle,
An insulated cooler for beverages, characterized in that the object to be cooled is blown with wind, and the wind is circulated to enhance the effect of cooling and keeping warm.