IN-WALL CHILLER FOR POTABLE WATER DISPENSERS

Abstract

The in-wall chiller may include a housing having a size and shape, including a depth of approximately 3.5 inches and a width of approximately 14.5 inches, conductive for installation in a standard size wall frame. The in-wall chiller may further include one or more cooling modules disposed in the housing, which may include a chilling plate coupled to one side of a Peltier chip and a heat sink coupled to the other side, wherein the relatively low temperature transferred to the chilling plate cools water within the in-wall chiller, which may be stored for an extended duration within an insulated storage tank; the heat extracted from the cooled water being transferred to the heat sink and dissipated out from the in-wall chiller by a fan mounted thereon.

Claims

1. An in-wall chiller, comprising: a housing having a height, a width, and a depth, with at least the width and the depth being of a size and shape for select slide-in reception within a standard building frame; an inlet in the housing configured to couple with a water supply; at least one cooling module disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled therein to receive water from the water supply at a first temperature, the at least one cooling module selectively decreasing the temperature of water from the water supply from a first temperature to a second temperature relatively lower than the first temperature; and an outlet in the housing for selectively dispensing water at approximately the second temperature from the in-wall chiller for consumption.

2. The in-wall chiller of claim 1, wherein the at least one cooling module comprises a thermoelectric chiller or a miniaturized-compressor chiller having a size and shape relatively smaller than the height, the width, and the depth of the housing.

3. The in-wall chiller of claim 1, wherein the depth of the housing comprises less than approximately 3.5 to 5.5 inches and the width of the housing comprises less than approximately 16 to 24 inches.

4. The in-wall chiller of claim 3, including one or more spacers that selectively couple between an exterior vertical sidewall of the housing and a vertical mounting stud of the standard building frame and/or between an exterior horizontal sidewall of the housing and a horizontal mounting stud of the standard building frame, for flush mounting the in-wall chiller within the standard building frame.

5. The in-wall chiller of claim 4, wherein the housing, the inlet, the at least one cooling module, and the outlet comprise a standalone retrofit in-wall chiller installable within the standard building frame without relocation of the vertical mounting stud and/or the horizontal mounting stud.

6. The in-wall chiller of claim 1, wherein the at least one cooling module comprises multiple cooling modules inline or parallel with one another.

7. The in-wall chiller of claim 1, wherein the at least one cooling module comprises a preassembled cooling module including a cooling plate, a Peltier chip, and a heat sink having a cooling fan.

8. The in-wall chiller of claim 7, wherein the Peltier chip selectively receives direct current for flow therethrough to transfer heat from water at the first temperature adjacent the cooling plate to a side adjacent the heat sink and the cooling fan, thereby cooling water from the first temperature to the second temperature.

9. The in-wall chiller of claim 7, wherein the cooling fan within the housing is positioned adjacent a vent in a closure panel of the housing for discharging heat therefrom.

10. The in-wall chiller of claim 1, including a storage tank disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled with water at the first temperature and/or with water at the second temperature.

11. The in-wall chiller of claim 10, including a recirculation pump disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled with the storage tank and the at least one chilling module, for circulating water at a relatively low flow rate between the storage tank and the at least one cooling module.

12. The in-wall chiller of claim 11, including a controller operationally coupled with the recirculation pump and the at least one cooling module, the controller regulating the speed of the recirculation pump and the electrical energy delivered to the at least one cooling module for maintaining water within the in-wall chiller at a desired temperature.

13. The in-wall chiller of claim 12, including a temperature sensor coupled with the controller for monitoring a real-time water temperature within the in-wall chiller.

14. The in-wall chiller of claim 1, including a central shaft within the housing for draining water through an interior of the housing and the standard building frame to a drain.

15. The in-wall chiller of claim 1, wherein the outlet couples to a dispense outlet comprising at least one drinking fountain.

16. An in-wall chiller, comprising: a housing having a height, a width comprising less than approximately 16 to 24 inches, and a depth comprising less than approximately 3.5 to 5.5 inches, with at least the width and the depth being of a size and shape for slide-in reception of the in-wall chiller within a standard building frame; an inlet in the housing configured to receive water from a water supply; multiple cooling modules fluidly coupled inline or parallel with one another, the multiple cooling modules selectively decreasing the temperature of water within the in-wall chiller from a first temperature to a second temperature relatively lower than the first temperature; a storage tank disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled with water at the first temperature and/or with water at the second temperature; and an outlet in the housing for selectively dispensing water from the in-wall chiller at approximately the second temperature.

17. The in-wall chiller of claim 16, wherein each of the multiple cooling modules comprise a thermoelectric chiller or a miniaturized-compressor chiller having a size and shape relatively smaller than the height, the width, and the depth of the housing to collectively fit within the housing simultaneously.

18. The in-wall chiller of claim 16, wherein each of the multiple cooling modules include a cooling plate, a Peltier chip, and a heat sink having a cooling fan.

19. The in-wall chiller of claim 18, wherein the Peltier chip selectively receives direct current for flow therethrough to transfer heat from water at the first temperature adjacent the cooling plate to the heat sink and the cooling fan, thereby cooling water from the first temperature to the second temperature, the cooling fan within the housing being positioned adjacent a vent in a closure panel of the housing for discharging heat therefrom.

20. The in-wall chiller of claim 16, wherein the housing, the inlet, the multiple cooling modules, and the outlet comprise a standalone retrofit in-wall chiller installable within the standard building frame without relocation of a vertical mounting stud and/or a horizontal mounting stud, the housing including a central shaft for draining water through an interior of the housing to a drain.

21. The in-wall chiller of claim 16, including a recirculation pump disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled with the storage tank and at least one of the multiple chilling modules, for circulating water at a relatively low flow rate from the storage tank through at least one of the multiple cooling modules, the outlet configured to selectively fluidly couple to a dispense outlet comprising at least one drinking fountain.

22. The in-wall chiller of claim 21, including a controller operationally coupled with the recirculation pump and the multiple cooling modules, the controller regulating the speed of the recirculation pump and the electrical energy delivered to each of the multiple cooling modules for maintaining water within the in-wall chiller at a desired temperature, wherein a temperature sensor coupled with the controller and disposed within the housing is configured to relay real-time water temperature measurements to the controller.

23. The in-wall chiller of claim 22, wherein the controller governs cooling by pumping water with the recirculation pump in parallel or inline with one or more of the multiple cooling modules to govern cooling and energy efficiency in the event one or more of the multiple cooling modules fail.

24. A standalone retrofit in-wall chiller installable within a standard building frame without relocation of a vertical mounting stud or a horizontal mounting stud, comprising: a housing having a height, a width, and a depth, with at least the width and the depth being of a size and shape for slide-in reception within the standard building frame; an inlet in the housing configured to couple with a mains water supply; a cooling module disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled therein to receive water from the mains water supply at a first temperature, the cooling module selectively decreasing the temperature of the water from the mains water supply from a first temperature to a second temperature relatively lower than the first temperature; a recirculation pump disposed within the housing for recirculating water at a relatively low flow rate between a water tank and the cooling module; a controller operationally coupled with the recirculation pump and the cooling module, the controller regulating the speed of the recirculation pump and the electrical energy delivered to the cooling module for maintaining water within the in-wall chiller at a desired temperature; and an outlet in the housing for selectively dispensing water at approximately the second temperature from the in-wall chiller for consumption.

25. The in-wall chiller of claim 24, including a temperature sensor coupled with the controller for relaying a real-time water temperature within the in-wall chiller to the controller, wherein the cooling module comprises a thermoelectric chiller or a miniaturized-compressor chiller having a size and shape relatively smaller than the height, the width, and the depth of the housing.

26. The in-wall chiller of claim 24, wherein the water tank comprises an insulated storage tank having a size and shape to fit within the housing, the storage tank being fluidly coupled with water at the first temperature and/or with water at the second temperature, wherein the depth of the housing comprises less than approximately 3.5 to 5.5 inches and the width of the housing comprises less than approximately 16 to 24 inches.

27. The in-wall chiller of claim 24, wherein the cooling module comprises multiple cooling modules inline or parallel with one another, each cooling module including a cooling plate, a Peltier chip, and a heat sink having a cooling fan.

28. The in-wall chiller of claim 27, wherein the Peltier chip is configured to selectively receive direct current for flow therethrough to transfer heat from water at the first temperature adjacent the cooling plate to the heat sink and the cooling fan, thereby cooling water from the first temperature to the second temperature, the cooling fan within the housing being positioned adjacent a vent in a closure panel of the housing for discharging heat therefrom.

29. The in-wall chiller of claim 24, including a central shaft within the housing for draining water from at least one drinking fountain selectively receiving water at approximately the second temperature from the in-wall chiller, through an interior of the housing and the standard building frame, to a drain.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:

[0022] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a prior art in-wall compressor-based remote chiller installed in a supply room;

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the prior art compressor-based remote chiller installed within an attic;

[0024] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of an in-wall chiller as disclosed herein;

[0025] FIG. 4 is a front view of the in-wall chiller taken about the line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

[0026] FIG. 5 is a partial cut-away environmental perspective view of a wall having the in-wall chiller installed within a pair of vertical studs and underneath a drinking fountain; and

[0027] FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of a pair of drinking fountains coupled to an in-wall chiller installed thereunder and coupled to atmosphere by a vent therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] As shown in the exemplary drawings for purposes of illustration, one embodiment of an in-wall chiller for portable water dispensers is referenced with respect to numeral 42 in FIGS. 3-5. In this respect, FIGS. 3 and 4 more specifically illustrate the in-wall chiller 42 (e.g., a solid-state thermoelectric chiller or a miniaturized-compressor) in the form of a standalone unit that includes a generally rectangular housing 44 having a height 46, a width 48, and a depth 50 conducive for fitting within a standard frame 52 of a building wall 54, such as shown in FIG. 5, to eliminate the need for constructing a special wall or cavity. This may allow for easy installation of the in-wall thermoelectric remote chiller 42 in a wall that may not have been originally designed to accommodate such a chiller. Moreover, it may also reduce the complexity of new building designs as special walls or cavities may not be required. Advantageously, this allows chilled drinking fountains to be installed in locations where it would otherwise not be possible to install a drinking fountain with known compressor-based remote chillers.

[0029] In terms of installation, the in-wall chiller 42 may have the depth 50 sized to accommodate installation into a variety of standard wall frame sizes. For example, in one embodiment, the depth 50 may be approximately 6 inches or less to accommodate installation into a standard wall frame formed by 2-by-6 inch studs. In an alternative embodiment, the depth 50 may be approximately 4 inches or less to accommodate installation into a standard wall frame formed by 2-by-4 inch studs. In either case, the depth 50 of the in-wall chiller 42 should be of a size that is approximately equal to or less than the width of the studs forming the framed wall. This maximizes the size of the housing 44, while providing enough accommodation to install the housing 44 within the wall 54. Moreover, the width 48 may be of a size that permits mounting to adjacent studs of the frame 52. In one embodiment, a distance 56 (FIG. 5) between a pair of generally parallel vertical studs 58, 60 may be about 16 inches or 24 inches, depending on the size of the frame 52. Although, of course, the distance 56 could vary, depending on the desired frame attributes in and around the drinking fountain 10. Moreover, the width 48 of the in-wall thermoelectric chiller 42 could also vary in size. In either embodiment, the chiller 42 may include one or more spacers (not shown) to facilitate flush mounting between the vertical studs 58, 60. Specifically, in one embodiment, the width 48 of the housing 44 may be 14.5 inches or less.

[0030] Referring back to FIGS. 3 and 4, the standalone housing 44 may include an inlet configured for connection of the in-wall chiller 42 to a water supply 62 (e.g., a mains water supply or other building water delivery piping) such as by way of a standard connection to an inlet conduit 64. The inlet conduit 64 may couple to one of a series of cooling modules 66 that provide cooling to the incoming water as it enters the housing 44 or afterward. In one embodiment, the series of cooling modules 66 may include one or more thermoelectric cooling modules. Alternatively, the series of cooling modules 66 may also include one or more miniaturized compressor cooling modules. To this end, the series of cooling modules 66 may include other devices known for cooling liquid and having a size and shape for mounting within the housing 44, as disclosed herein. A one-way check valve may regulate the water entering the in-wall chiller 42, such as in response to dispensing from the drinking fountain 10.

[0031] In the embodiment shown with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4, the in-wall chiller 42 includes three of such cooling modules 66, 66′, 66″. Although, of course, the in-wall chiller 42 may include more or less of the cooling modules 66, depending on the size (e.g., considering potential in-wall size constraints) and/or desired use (e.g., desired chilling capacity). For example, the in-wall chiller 42 illustrated in FIG. 5 includes three of the cooling modules 66 to serve the drinking fountain 10. It may be desired, for example, that the in-wall chiller 42 include six of the cooling modules 66 for service of two drinking fountains, such as the drinking fountains 10 and 10′ in FIG. 6. In this respect, any number of the cooling modules 66 may be cascaded together to impart lower temperatures to the water therein as needed and/or desired.

[0032] Each of the cooling modules 66 may be a preassembled unit that includes a chilling plate 68, at least one thermoelectric Peltier chip and a heat sink 70 with a cooling fan 72 positioned thereover. In operation, the cooling modules 66 operate by the Peltier effect, i.e., when direct current (“DC”) electricity flows through the Peltier chip, heat is transferred from one side to the other. In effect, the Peltier chip cools one side of the cooling module 66 adjacent the chilling plate 68 and near the water flow therein while heating the other side adjacent the heat sink 70. Heat from the heat sink 70 is drawn away from the thermoelectric cooling module 66 during operation by way of the cooling fan 72 to help maintain the “hot” side of the thermoelectric cooling module 66 at ambient temperature while the chilling plate 68 (i.e., the “cool” side of the Peltier chip) goes below ambient temperature to cool the underlying water therein. Each of the cooling fans 72 may be positioned toward the front of the housing 44 and adjacent a vent 74 (FIG. 6) formed in an outwardly accessible closure panel 76 that closes off the interior of the in-wall chiller 42. The closure panel 74 may screw into the housing 44 and be selectively removable to gain access to the components inside the housing 44 once installed in the frame 52, such as for repair and/or maintenance.

[0033] While the embodiments disclosed herein utilize Peltier chips to cool water within the in-wall chiller 42, other types of coolers may be used in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein. Although, in particular, the Peltier chips include some advantages over vapor-compression refrigeration because Peltier chips have no moving parts, no circulating liquid, relatively long life span, invulnerability to leaks, a particularly relatively small size, and a flexible shape.

[0034] The chilling power of the in-wall chiller 42 as disclosed herein may be relatively less than a traditional compressor-based chiller. In this respect, it may be desired to store water within the in-wall chiller 42 in an insulated storage tank 78, such as during non-use of the drinking fountain 10. In essence, the insulated storage tank 78 operates as a thermal energy storage reservoir. The addition of the insulated storage tank 78 allows the in-wall chiller 42 to slowly build up a reservoir of cold water over a relatively long time period, such as during the nighttime when the drinking fountain 10 is typically not in use. In one embodiment, the insulated storage tank 78 may include a large enough capacity to provide chilled water throughout the day, which may permit nighttime refilling.

[0035] A recirculation pump 80 may cycle water from the insulated storage tank 78 through the cooling modules 66 at a relatively low flow rate and at select intervals to maintain the desired water temperature within the insulated storage tank 78. For example, as shown best in FIG. 4, the recirculation pump 80 may draw water in from the insulated storage tank 78 and into the cooling module 66 for further cooling therein. Water then travels from the cooling module 66 to the cooling module 66′ by way of an insulated flexible tube 82 therebetween for additional cooling. Water from the cooling module 66′ is then displaced to the cooling module 66″ by way of an insulated flexible tube 82′, for additional cooling. The water in the cooling module 66″ is eventually displaced back out to the insulated storage tank 78 to complete the recirculation cycle. In this respect, the water temperature may drop several degrees Fahrenheit with each pass through a respective thermoelectric cooling module 66. Thus, cascading multiple of the cooling modules 66 in series increases the temperature drop between when the water is pumped out of the insulated storage tank 78 to its return.

[0036] Of course, the in-wall chiller 42 may include any number of cooling modules 66, recirculation pumps 80, and/or insulated flexible tubes 82. For example, for larger installations and/or for installations that utilize multiple of the drinking fountains 10 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 6), one or more of the pumps 80 may be used with one or more cascaded set of the cooling modules 66 to enhance cooling rate and efficiency to ensure the temperature of the water within the insulated storage tank 78 stays consistent.

[0037] A temperature sensor 84 may be coupled to the insulated storage tank 78 to monitor the water temperature therein by way of real-time temperature measurements. Information from the temperature sensor 84 may be relayed to a controller 86. In this respect, the controller 86 may operate the pump 80 and/or one or more of the cooling modules 66 based on the temperature reading provided by the temperature sensor 84. For example, the controller 86 may regulate the speed of the pump 84 (including turning it “on” and/or “off” as needed), and may regulate the independent cooling rate of each of the cooling modules 66 (including turning one or more “on” and/or “off” as needed). For example, the controller 86 may decrease the cooling rate by decreasing the amount of energy delivered (e.g., DC) in real-time. Alternative or in addition to, the controller 86 may turn one or more of the cooling modules 66 “off” and/or “on” to regulate the cooling rate of water re-circulated therein. Of course, the controller 86, each of the cooling modules 66, 66′ 66″, the pump 80, and the temperature sensor 84 may receive energy from a power supply 88 coupled thereto.

[0038] In an alternative embodiment, instead of having the separate recirculation pump 80, each of the cooling modules 66 may include an integrated recirculation pump 80. This would allow each of the cooling modules 66 to be plumbed in parallel (as opposed to in series as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) relative to the insulated storage tank 78 and to provide redundant chilling in case one of the cooling modules 66 fails.

[0039] In another alternative, as shown with respect to FIG. 5, the in-wall chiller 42 may include a central shaft 90 that allows water to empty from the drinking fountain 10, out through a drain 92 therein and into a drain pipe 94 to pass vertically through the in-wall chiller 42 to a building drain 96. This is a solution to a common problem wherein installers of remote chillers known in the art must reroute such a drain pipe inside the wall (e.g., behind the inner wall 16), again requiring special closets or internal rooms to house the equipment. Thus, permitting the drain pipe 94 to couple directly to the central shaft 90 for passage of drain water through the in-wall chiller 42 to the building drain 96 beneficially maintains the in-wall chiller 42, and related components, within the vertical studs 58, 60 of the framed wall 54.

[0040] Although several embodiments have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited, except as by the appended claims.