This invention relates to a water cooler with a filter, and more particularly to a water cooler with an inner tank nested within an outer tank in order to maximize the amount of filtered water available for cooling.
In connection with a conventional water cooler, water is supplied to the user in a separate bottle with a sealed top opening. The bottle is typically opened and quickly inverted onto the water cooler. Alternatively, some water coolers have a mechanism for opening the sealed top as the bottle is inverted and placed on the water cooler. In addition, some conventional water coolers have a separate filter positioned in the water cooler between the opening of the bottle and a cooling tank within the water cooler and downstream from the bottle.
Such a prior art water coolers are shown, for example, in Flax U.S. Pat. No. 7,882,705, O'Brien U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,662, Rundle et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,322, Charbonneau et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,666, and Bowler United States Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0070153.
The water cooler of the present invention includes a base, a lower housing supported on the base with a cooling tank therein, a tray tank supported on the lower housing above the cooling tank, an outer tank supported above the tray tank, and an inner tank supported on an upper opening of the outer tank and nested within the outer tank. The cooling tank has a top inlet tube in liquid communication with the tray tank and an outlet delivery tube connected to a spigot for delivery of water to the user. The cooling tank has a cooling apparatus, particularly a Peltier cooler, for cooling water in the cooling tank.
The tray tank, supported on the lower housing, has an upper draft surface or surfaces that lead to a tray tank outlet that is connected to the top inlet tube of the cooling tank. The outer tank, supported on the tray tank, has a lower opening that is in fluid communication with the draft surface of the tray tank. The outer tank also has an upper opening.
The inner tank is supported by the upper opening of the outer tank and is nested within the outer tank. The inner tank has a top opening and a bottom opening. A filter is supported in the bottom opening, and the filter is positioned above the draft surface of the tray tank. A lid covers both the top opening of the inner tank and the upper opening of the outer tank.
In operation, the lid is removed and water is poured directly into the inner tank through the top opening. The water flows through the filter and onto the draft surface of the tray tank. The water then flows through the tray tank outlet, through the inlet tube of the cooling tank, and into the cooling tank. As more water is poured into the inner tank, the water backs up from the draft surface of the tray tank into the outer tank until the water level in the inner tank and the outer tank are at the same level. Consequently, all of the water in the outer tank is filtered and available for immediate supply through the tray tank to the cooling tank. The head pressure in the outer tank and inner tank force the cooled water in the cooling tank through the outlet delivery tube and to the spigot for delivery to the user.
The construction of the water cooler of the present invention with the inner tank and bottom filter nested within the outer tank provides a construction in which water is directly poured into the inner tank without the necessity of inverting a water bottle with the accompanying possibility of spillage. In addition, the nested construction assures that water poured into the inner tank flows through the filter into the tray tank, into the cooling tank, and then fills the outer tank to provide a reservoir of filtered water within the outer tank for rapid delivery to the tray tank and then to the cooling tank.
The nested construction of the inner tank in the outer tank allows easy access to both for cleaning. The lid closes the top opening of the inner tank and the upper opening of the outer tank and allows air to escape from the outer tank as the inner tank is being filled. In addition, the lid allows air into the outer tank and the inner tank as water is removed through the spigot.
Further objects, features and advantages will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings and the appended claims.
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The lower housing 14 supports the tray tank 16 and the outer tank 18. The outer tank 18 has an upper opening 40 and a lower opening 42. The engagement between the edges of the tray tank 16 and the lower opening 42 of the outer tank 18 is a watertight tongue and groove joint. While the outer tank 18 and the tray tank 16 are shown as separate elements, the outer tank 18 and the tray tank 16 could be formed as a single element supported by the housing 14. The inner tank 20 has top opening 44 and is supported by the upper opening 40 of the outer tank 18 (
The outlet 17 in the bottom of the tray tank 16 (
In operation, the lid 24 is removed from the water cooler 10 and unfiltered water is poured into the inner tank 20. The water passes through the filter 22 at the bottom 19 of the inner tank 20. From the filter, the water initially passes through the tray tank outlet 17, through the inlet tube 32, and into the cooling tank 30. As the cooling tank 30 fills, air in the cooling tank 30 escapes through relief tube 36 and through relief opening 37 in the tray tank 16. Once the cooling tank 30 is filled, the water backs up into the tray tank 16 and fills the tray tank 16 until the water level in the inner tank 20 equalizes with the water level in the outer tank 18. As more water is added to the inner tank 20, the water level in the outer tank 18 rises until the levels in the inner tank 20 and the outer tank 18 are equal.
The head of water in the outer tank 18 provides pressure for delivering water from the cooling tank 30 through the outlet delivery tube 34 and out of the spigot 28. As water is withdrawn from the cooling tank 30 through the spigot 28, additional water is delivered from the outer tank 18 into the cooling tank 30. As the level in the outer tank 18 is lowered, the water in the inner tank 20 flows through the filter 22 to equalize the water level between the inner tank 20 and the outer tank 18. As the water level in the inner tank 20 and the outer tank 18 is lowered, the lid 24 allows air into both the inner tank 20 and the outer tank 18 in order to equalize air pressure above the water.
While this invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that variations and modifications can be affected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described herein and as described in the appended claims.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/568,369, filed on Oct. 5, 2017, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62568369 | Oct 2017 | US |