Patent Application
20220404069
The present invention relates to a cold and hot temperature controllable tumbler for a drink accommodated in the tumbler.
A tumbler is a type of cup used to drink a drink, and its use has recently increased due to the supply and spread of drinks such as coffee. Particularly, recently, the demand for tumblers has been increasing according to the social trend of refraining from using disposable products in consideration of environmental problems.
A tumbler is generally manufactured of a material such as plastic, glass-ceramic, or stainless steel, and when a hot or cold drink is stored for a certain time, since the heat or cold generally disappears through heat exchange with the outside, there has been inconvenience related to drinking a hot or cold drink at an appropriate temperature.
Although heat or cold insulation is performed through various technologies in order to relieve such inconvenience, there has still been a problem of using a tumbler while maintaining a constant temperature of a drink for a long time.
Particularly, there has been a demand for a technology for a tumbler which is capable of decreasing a time for heating or cooling a drink according to a set temperature of the drink desired by a user and has improved thermal efficiency.
(Patent Document 1) Korean Patent No. 10-1816924
An object of the present invention is to solve the problems described above, and the present invention is directed to providing a cold and hot temperature controllable tumbler.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a temperature controllable tumbler including an inner cup which forms a space for accommodating a drink and is formed of a thermally conductive material, a frame of which an upper end is coupled to an upper edge of the inner cup to support the inner cup in a form that accommodates the inner cup, a heat conduction unit which is installed inside the frame and provides heat to the drink or receives heat from the inner cup through a lower surface and an outer circumferential surface of the inner cup, and a control unit which is installed inside the frame and controls operation of the heat conduction unit so that the drink accommodated in the inner cup has a temperature according to selection of a user.
The heat conduction unit may include a first heat conduction unit which is positioned under the inner cup, is in contact with the lower surface or at least of a part of the outer circumferential surface of the inner cup, and performs heat conduction with the inner cup and a Peltier element part which is in contact with at least a part of an outer surface of the first heat conduction unit and provides heat to the first heat conduction unit or absorbs heat from the first heat conduction unit.
The heat conduction unit may further include a second heat conduction unit which is disposed at the other side surface of the Peltier element part of which one side surface is in contact with an outer surface of the first heat conduction unit and in which a plurality of heat conduction fins are provided.
The heat conduction unit may further include a cooling unit configured to cool the second heat conduction unit disposed at one side thereof.
Thermal grease or a thermal pad that mediates heat conduction between the inner cup and the first heat conduction unit may be interposed between the inner cup and the first heat conduction unit.
A grease groove for accommodating the thermal grease may be formed in the outer circumferential surface of the inner cup.
The frame may include an upper frame which is coupled to an upper edge of the inner cup and supports the inner cup and a lower frame which is coupled to a lower end of the upper frame and forms a space inside which the second heat conduction unit is disposed.
A support holder, which is disposed around an outer side of the first heat conduction unit, supports the first heat conduction unit, and is coupled to the upper frame, may be disposed inside the upper frame to maintain a state in which the first heat conduction unit is in contact with the lower surface or the at least a part of the outer circumferential surface of the inner cup.
An empty space sealed to thermally insulate the inner cup or the first heat conduction unit from the outside may be provided between the support holder and the upper frame.
A Peltier holder, which holds the Peltier element part seated thereon so that a state in which at least a part of one side surface of the Peltier element part is in contact with the first heat conduction unit is maintained and a position of the Peltier element part is fixed, may be provided under the support holder.
The heat conduction unit further may include a cooling unit configured to cool the second heat conduction unit disposed at one side thereof, the cooling unit may be disposed inside the lower frame, and a first ventilation opening may be provided in the lower frame so that air flows by the cooling unit.
The control unit may include an input part which receives a set temperature for the drink from the user, an output part which outputs a current temperature of the drink accommodated in the inner cup or the set temperature input through the input part for the user to recognize, and a control part which controls operation of the heat conduction unit so that a temperature of the drink becomes the set temperature input through the input part.
A tumbler according to the present invention has an effect of decreasing a time for heating or cooling a drink accommodated in the tumbler, suppressing generation of a temperature difference between a lower side and an upper side of the drink in the tumbler, and improving ease of use.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to facilitate specific understanding of the present invention.
Since the present invention allows various changes and many embodiments, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments, and it is to be appreciated that all changes, equivalents, and substitutes that fall within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention are encompassed in the present invention.
Although the terms “first,” “second,” and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a second element could be termed a first element, and a first element could similarly be termed a second element without departing from the scope of the present invention. The term “and/or” includes any one or any combination among a plurality of associated listed items.
When an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it will be understood that the element can be directly connected or coupled to another element, or other elements may be present therebetween. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, it will be understood that there are no intervening elements.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit the present invention. The singular forms are intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the present specification, it should be understood that the terms “comprise,” “include,” or the like, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have meanings which are the same as meanings generally understood by those skilled in the art. Terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having meanings that are consistent with their meanings in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined here.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate overall understanding of the invention, like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.
A temperature controllable tumbler (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “tumbler”) 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention referenced in
First, the inner cup 100 of the tumbler 10 forms a space 110 capable of accommodating a drink. In addition, the inner cup 100 may be formed of a thermally conductive material in order to adjust a temperature of the drink accommodated in the inner cup 100. In addition, the inner cup 100 may be formed of a corrosion resistant material.
Accordingly, the inner cup 100 may receive heat conducted through the first heat conduction unit 410 to heat a drink accommodated in the inner cup 100, or conversely, a drink accommodated in the inner cup 100 may be cooled while heat is conducted to the first heat conduction unit 410.
In addition, as shown in
As referenced in
In this case, in addition to the form with the grease grooves 109 formed in a vertical direction as illustrated in
The heat conduction unit 400 further referenced in
The heat conduction unit 400 provides heat to the drink through a lower surface and the outer circumferential surface 105 of the inner cup 100 to raise a temperature of the drink accommodated in the inner cup 100 or receives heat from the inner cup 100 to lower the temperature of the drink.
The heat conduction unit 400 may include the first heat conduction unit 410 and a Peltier element part 440 and may further include a second heat conduction unit 420 and a cooling unit 430.
The first heat conduction unit 410 is positioned under the inner cup 100 and in contact with the lower surface or at least a part of the outer circumferential surface 105 of the inner cup 100, and heat conduction is performed between the first heat conduction unit 410 and the inner cup 100. That is, the first heat conduction unit 410 receives heat from the Peltier element part 440 and transfers the heat to the inner cup 100 in a heat conduction manner in order to heat a drink and heats the drink of the inner cup 100.
In addition, in order to cool a drink, the first heat conduction unit 410 may also receive heat from the inner cup 100 and transfer the heat to the Peltier element part 440.
In addition, as described above, thermal grease 490 or a thermal pad that mediates heat conduction between the inner cup 100 and the first heat conduction unit 410 may also be interposed between the inner cup 100 and the first heat conduction unit 410.
When the thermal grease is interposed between the inner cup 100 and the first heat conduction unit 410 as described above, the outer circumferential surface 105 of the inner cup 100 may be a simple curved surface as illustrated in
Since the first heat conduction unit 410 allows heat exchange with the inner cup 100 or heat conduction therebetween to be performed through not only the lower surface but also the outer circumferential surface of the inner cup 100, a time for which a drink in the inner cup 100 is heated or cooled decreases, and an increase in temperature deviation between an upper portion and a lower portion of the drink in the inner cup 100 can be suppressed.
Since surfaces of the Peltier element part 440, the first heat conduction unit 410, and the inner cup 100 are pressed against each other, and heat exchange or heat transfer is performed through heat conduction, in order to improve heat conduction efficiency in the heat transfer process, generation of an air layer should be suppressed.
That is, it is preferable that the generation of the air layer between the Peltier element part 440, the first heat conduction unit 410, and the inner cup 100 be suppressed. To this end, the thermal grease 490 having a higher thermal conductivity than air is interposed between the first heat conduction unit 410 and the inner cup 100. Accordingly, the thermal grease may be interposed between the Peltier element part 440 and the first heat conduction unit 410 and interposed between the Peltier element part 440 and the second heat conduction unit 420.
The Peltier element part 440 is in contact with at least a part of an outer surface of the first heat conduction unit 410 and provides heat to the first heat conduction unit 410 or receives heat from the first heat conduction unit 410. That is, a portion of the Peltier element part 440 in contact with the first heat conduction unit 410 is heated or cooled according to control of a control part of the control unit.
When the portion of the Peltier element part 440 in contact with the first heat conduction unit 410 is heated to heat a drink to a set temperature, a portion of the second heat conduction unit 420 in contact with the Peltier element part 440 is cooled. Conversely, when the portion of the first heat conduction unit 410 in contact with the Peltier element part 440 is cooled to cool a drink to a set temperature, the portion of the second heat conduction unit 420 in contact with the Peltier element part 440 is heated.
Since heating or absorbing heat of a Peltier element is already known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
One side of a surface of the Peltier element part 440 is in contact with the outer surface of the first heat conduction unit 410, and the second heat conduction unit 420 is disposed at the other side of the Peltier element part 440. The second heat conduction unit 420 may cool the Peltier element part 440. A plurality of heat conduction fins 422 are provided on the second heat conduction unit 420. When the plurality of heat conduction fins 422 are provided, since a surface in contact with air increases, a cooling efficiency due to air is increased.
The cooling unit 430 is provided to cool the second heat conduction unit 420 disposed at one side thereof. Air introduced from the outside by the cooling unit 430 passes the heat conduction fins 422 of the second heat conduction unit 420 and is discharged back to the outside.
The cooling unit 430 includes a cooling fan which is rotated to air-cool the second heat conduction unit 420 and a cooling motor which rotates the cooling fan.
As a temperature difference between the portion at which the Peltier element part 440 is in contact with the first heat conduction unit 410 and the portion at which the Peltier element part 440 is in contact with the second heat conduction unit 420 decreases, thermal efficiency increases. Accordingly, the cooling unit 430 operates to cool the second heat conduction unit 420 according to control of the control unit which will be described below.
As further referenced in
The frame 200 includes an upper frame 210 and a lower frame 220 coupled to the upper frame 210 from below.
The upper frame 210 is coupled to an upper edge of the inner cup 100 to support the inner cup 100. The upper frame 210 may be formed of a material having durability and corrosion resistance.
A support holder 230, which is disposed around an outer side of the first heat conduction unit 410 and supports the first heat conduction unit 410, is disposed inside the upper frame 210 to maintain a state in which the first heat conduction unit 410 is in contact with the lower surface or at least a part of the outer circumferential surface of the inner cup 100.
Since the support holder 230 is disposed to support the first heat conduction unit 410, the first heat conduction unit 410 may maintain a stable posture.
In addition, there is an embodiment with spacers 232, which secure spaces so that at least a part thereof is spaced apart from the first heat conduction unit 410 to suppress heat loss of the first heat conduction unit 410, to be provided in an inner circumferential surface of the support holder 230.
When there are the spacers 232, since an area in which the support holder 230 is in contact with the first heat conduction unit 410 decreases while supporting the first heat conduction unit 410, it is preferable because heat loss due to heat conduction between the first heat conduction unit 410 and the support holder 230 can be suppressed.
In addition, a sealed empty space 250 may be provided between the support holder 230 and the upper frame 210 in order to insulate the inner cup 100 or the first heat conduction unit 410 from the outside. The empty space 250 may be in a vacuum state. When the empty space 250 is provided, since heat conduction from the inner cup 100 or the first heat conduction unit 410 to the outside is suppressed, insulation efficiency can be improved.
A Peltier holder 240, which holds the Peltier element part 440 to maintain a state in which at least a part of one side surface of the Peltier element part 440 is in contact with the first heat conduction unit 410 and to fix a position of the Peltier element part 440, may be provided under the support holder 230.
As referenced in the drawings, the lower frame 220 is coupled to a lower end of the upper frame 210, and a space in which the second heat conduction unit 420 is disposed is formed inside the lower frame 220.
In addition, the cooling unit 430 may be disposed inside the lower frame 220. A cooling holder 223 which allows the cooling unit 430 to be stably seated is provided inside the lower frame 220. The cooling unit 430 is stably fixed to the lower frame 220 due to the cooling holder 223.
In addition, first ventilation openings 221 through which air flows by the cooling unit 430 may be provided in the lower frame 220. In addition, there is an embodiment with second ventilation openings 225 to be further provided under the lower frame 220.
For reference, although not illustrated in the drawings, there is a possible and preferable form with a cover, which is detachably fitted to an upper side of the upper frame 210 to isolate a drink in the inner cup 100 from the outside in a sealed form, to be provided.
As further referenced in
The control unit 300 may be waterproofed through waterproof coating, encapsulation, or sealing to be protected from water or moisture which may be introduced from the outside. The control unit 300 includes an input part 320, a control part 310, and an output part 330.
The input part 320 receives a set temperature for a drink in the inner cup 100 from the user. A value or an input signal input from the input part 320 is transmitted to the control part 310. The control part 310 controls the heat conduction unit 400 to cool or heat the drink according to the set temperature input through the input part 320.
The output part 330 may output or display a current temperature of a drink accommodated in the inner cup 100 or a set temperature input through the input part 320 according to control of the control part 310 so that the user can recognize the temperature. An example of the output part 330 may be a display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display.
For example, the output part 330 may display a temperature of a drink currently accommodated in the inner cup 100 in units of degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.
In addition, when the user touches a temperature increase button or temperature decrease button of the input part 320, the output part 330 may output an increased or decreased value in units of predetermined temperatures according to a set temperature according to control of the control part 310.
For example, when a set temperature is 70.0 degrees, and the user touches the temperature increase button once, a temperature of 70.5 degrees increased by 0.5 degrees which is a unit of a set temperature increase and decrease value may be displayed.
Similarly, when a set temperature is 10 degrees for cooling, and the temperature decrease button is touched once, a temperature of 9.5 degrees may be displayed, and when the temperature decrease button is touched twice, a temperature of 9.0 degrees may be displayed.
In addition, a drink in the inner cup 100 has a set temperature according to control of the control part 310, and the output part 330 may also display the temperature according to control of the control part 310 for the user to recognize.
The control part 310 controls operation of the heat conduction unit 400 so that a temperature of a drink becomes a set temperature input through the input part 320. To this end, the control part 310 may be electrically connected to the input part 320, the output part 330, and the Peltier element part 440 and also connected to a temperature sensor and receive a measured temperature from the temperature sensor.
The temperature sensor may be disposed in the inner cup 100 in order to sense a temperature of a drink in the inner cup. The control part 310 compares the temperature of the drink sensed by the temperature sensor and a set temperature input by the user and controls operation of the Peltier element part 440 to cool or heat the drink.
A power supply part supplies power to operate the Peltier element part and the control unit and may be provided as a battery type in the lower frame, or power may be received from the outside through a plug.
As described above, in the temperature controllable tumbler according to the present invention, since heat exchange or heat conduction is performed between the first heat conduction unit and not only the lower surface but also the outer circumferential surface of the inner cup, a cooling or heating time of a drink in the inner cup can decrease, and a temperature deviation between an upper portion and a lower portion of the drink in the inner cup can be suppressed from being generated or increasing.
Accordingly, there are advantages of decreasing a time for heating or cooling a drink accommodated in the tumbler and improving ease of use.
While the present invention has been specifically described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, since only exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described, it should not be understood that the present invention is limited by the embodiments, and the scope of the present invention should be understood as the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2020-0018153 | Feb 2020 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2020/017720 | 12/7/2020 | WO |
