Bottled water dispenser with a system for treating the water inside the bottle with UV radiation.

Abstract

A bottled water dispenser (1) comprising a system for treating water in a bottle (4) with UV radiation, comprising a UV radiation source (25), and including a water intake finger (5) configured to open the bottle (4) sealed by the cap (6) by pushing a valve (7) located in the center of the cap (6) into the bottle (4) or by rupturing the valve, wherein a semiconductor LED is used as the UV radiation source (25), the semiconductor LED is installed in a recess (24) formed in the end face of the water intake finger (5), so that when the bottle (4) is opened by the water intake finger (5), the source (25) is inside the bottle (4) and the radiation from the source (25) is directed to the water surface and the wall of the bottle, and the semiconductor LED is protected by quartz glass (29) covering the recess (24).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a bottled water dispenser, and more particularly to a bottled water dispenser equipped with a system for treating water in a bottle with UV radiation.

Background Art

[0002] It is known that a UV radiation source can be used by installing a UV radiation source so that UV radiation enters a bottle in order to prevent biological contamination of water in the bottle installed in a dispenser.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus for treating water in a container such as a bottle including a case and a UV radiation source disposed within the case. The case is removably connected to a hole in the container for contact with the water in the container. A light emitting component is disposed on the case and emits UV to irradiate the water in the container. However, such an apparatus is intended for batch sterilization of water and the apparatus must be removed from the container before pouring water.

[0004] A bottled water dispenser is disclosed in Patent Document 2, and it has been proposed to use a UV LED disposed at the end of a water intake finger for UV treatment of water in a bottle. This solution causes difficulties when installing an inverted bottle in the dispenser. First, the bottle must be opened before installation, which may lead to water spillage when installing the bottle and may also allow microorganisms to enter the open bottle. Second, it is quite difficult to accurately position a heavy bottle, so there is a risk that the LED will be damaged by the neck of the bottle during installation, which also closes the person's field of view of the joint during installation.

[0005] Patent Document 3 discloses another bottled water dispenser. This dispenser proposes using semiconductor LEDs that emit UV light and are positioned on the outer surface of the intake fingers for UV treatment of the water inside the bottle. However, this solution is designed for flexible (foldable) bottles, and for rigid bottles, the radiation from the LEDs located on the sides of the intake fingers is mainly directed horizontally, and the radiation is not sufficient for effective treatment of the water and air space at the top of the bottle, making it ineffective. Furthermore, in this design, several LEDs need to be placed around the intake fingers in order to effectively treat the water inside the bottle.

[0006] The closest technical solution to the proposed solution is the dispenser described in Patent Document 4. In this dispenser, a UV lamp placed within a water intake finger made of a material transparent to UV radiation is used for UV treatment of the water in the bottle. When the bottle is placed in the dispenser, the water intake finger opens the cap and enters the bottle. However, this solution has several drawbacks.

[0007] UV radiation enters the bottle through the side walls of the intake finger and is mainly directed horizontally. Therefore, to effectively process the water inside the bottle, the length of the intake finger needs to be increased, which reduces its intensity and makes it difficult to attach the bottle to the dispenser. Moreover, it may not be sufficient to effectively process the water and air space at the top of the bottle.

[0008] At the same time, known plastic materials have sufficiently low UV radiation transmittance, which necessitates an increase in the output of the UV radiation source. Furthermore, if quartz glass, which has higher transmittance, is used, the intake fingers become more expensive and, most importantly, more fragile, and therefore dangerous to use if the intake fingers are damaged.

[0009] Furthermore, using a UV lamp on the water intake finger increases the risk because the finger and, consequently, the lamp may be damaged when heavy bottles are placed on it, while the mercury vapor contained in the lamp, which is highly harmful to health, can enter the water and cause serious harm to human health if not noticed in time.

[0010] Furthermore, placing the ramp inside the intake finger significantly reduces throughput because the ramp occupies a large portion of the finger's internal space.

[0011] Dispensers with a lamp installed inside the water intake finger require a special cap, and the force required to open it is lower compared to a standard cap. Therefore, this dispenser is not very suitable for use with commonly used PET bottles sealed with SaveGuard™ type caps or similar.

[0012] Such bottles are typically made of rigid plastic and are 3-gallon or 5-gallon (11-liter or 19-liter) in size. Unlike so-called collapsible bottles, they retain their shape once filled with water. Such bottles have a neck with an outer diameter of approximately 6 centimeters and are usually closed with a cap. The cap has an internal hole with a diameter of approximately 18 millimeters in the center, which is closed by either a valve that is pushed into the bottle or a burst valve that bursts open. When such a bottle is placed in a dispenser, it is attached to a water intake finger, which opens the bottle by either pushing the valve into the bottle or bursting the valve, depending on the type of cap.

[0013] When opening such a bottle, the intake finger presses its end against the valve or stubble with a force of 10 to 30 kilograms (100 to 300 N). Considering that the outer diameter of the intake finger corresponds to the inner hole of the cap (approximately 18 mm), intake fingers for this type of bottle are usually made of durable plastic such as ABS. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0014] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016083271 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-210256 [Patent Document 3] Utility Model No. 3174477 Specification [Patent Document 4] International Publication No. 2016157124 [Overview of the Initiative]

[0015] The object of the present invention is to enhance the reliability of the dispenser, ensure efficient treatment of the water in the bottle when it is placed in the dispenser by using a UV radiation source placed inside the bottle when it is placed in the dispenser, and ensure automatic opening of the bottle when it is placed in the dispenser. Automatic opening of the bottle when it is placed in the dispenser helps prevent external microbial contamination from entering the water in the bottle when it is placed in the dispenser.

[0016] This objective is achieved by a bottled water dispenser equipped with a system for treating water in a bottle with UV radiation, comprising a UV radiation source and a water intake finger configured to open a bottle sealed by a cap by pushing a valve located in the center of the cap into the bottle or by rupturing the valve, wherein a semiconductor LED is used as the UV radiation source, the semiconductor LED is installed in a recess formed in the end face of the water intake finger, so that when the bottle is opened by the water intake finger, the source is inside the bottle and the radiation from the source is directed toward the water surface and the bottle wall, and the semiconductor LED is protected by quartz glass covering the recess.

[0017] The dispenser may further include a frame structure fixed to the end face of the water intake finger. This frame structure makes it easier to open a cap having a rupture valve that may be useful when the cap is made of a denser plastic.

[0018] The frame structure can be made in the form of rods forming a pyramid, and the top of the pyramid is located on the axis of the water intake finger above the end surface of the water intake finger. At the same time, the number of rods forming the pyramid is at least three. This frame structure has sufficient strength to rupture the cap valve, but does not significantly obscure the UV radiation source.

[0019] The upper part of the water intake finger can be made of metal. The fact that the upper part of the water intake finger is made of metal not only increases its strength but also improves the heat removal from the UV radiation source.

[0020] Preferably, quartz glass is installed in a recess below the upper surface of the water intake finger. Thus, the quartz glass is better protected from damage or accidental scratches.

[0021] In some embodiments, the dispenser further includes a water intake pipe, and the water intake finger is provided with a channel made such that the end of the inlet pipe can pass through this channel towards the inside of the bottle, and the length of the inlet pipe is sufficient for the end of the water intake pipe to reach the bottom of the bottle.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing the appearance of a first embodiment of a water dispenser in a bottle. [Figure 2] It is a diagram showing the inside of a water dispenser in a bottle. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing the cross section of the water intake finger. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing a graph of the change in the microbiological contamination level of water in a bottle without using UV radiation. [Figure 5] A graph showing changes in the level of microbiological contamination in a bottle with periodic switching of a UV radiation source. [Figure 6] A diagram showing an embodiment of a water intake finger. [Figure 7] A diagram showing an embodiment of a water intake finger. [Figure 8] A diagram showing a second embodiment of a bottled water dispenser. [Figure 9] A diagram showing another possible embodiment of the dispenser. [Figure 10] A diagram showing another possible embodiment of the dispenser. [Figure 11] A diagram showing an embodiment of a water intake finger. [Figure 12] A diagram showing two types of bottle caps. [Figure 13] A diagram showing another embodiment of the dispenser.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0023] 1. Dispenser 2. Case 3. Bottle receptacle 4. Bottle 5. Water intake finger 6. Bottle cap 7. Cap valve 8. Storage tank 9. Cooling device 10. Cold water outlet (from the tank) 11. Room temperature water outlet (from the tank) 12. Solenoid valve 13. Common outlet for distributing water 14. Warm water tank 15. Heating device 16. UV radiation source in the storage tank 17. Air channel (of the finger) 18. Water channel (of the finger) 19. Water hole (in the finger) 20. Air hole (in the finger) 21. Water outlet (inside the finger) 22. Air inlet (inside the finger) 24. (In the finger) recess 25. UV radiation source (semiconductor LED) 26. Circuit board 27. Wire 28. (For wires) Tunnel 29. Quartz glass 30. Water intake finger, Embodiment 2 31. Frame Structure 32. Rod 33. Water intake finger, Embodiment 3 34. The top of the metal finger 35. Control device 36.Power supply 37. Dispenser, Embodiment 2 38. Case 39. Bottle holder 40. Water intake finger 41. Outlet valve 42. Pipeline 43.UV radiation source 44. Air channels 45. Dispenser, Embodiment 3 46. ​​Mount 47. Water intake finger 48. Outlet valve 49. Stand 50.UV radiation source 51. Cable 55. Dispenser, Embodiment 4 56. Case 57. Storage tanks 58. Pump 59. Pipeline 60. Cooling device 61.Cold water outlet 62. Room temperature water outlet 63. Solenoid valve 64. Solenoid valve 65.Common Exit 66. Hot water tank 67.Heating device 68. Solenoid valve 70. Water intake finger 71. Water intake pipe 72. Channels within the entrance finger 73. Flexible Pipelines 74. Flange 75.UV radiation source 76. Recess 78. Circuit board 79. Quartz glass 80. Wire 81. Tunnel 82. Control device 83.Power supply 84. UV radiation source inside storage tank 85. Dispenser (Embodiment 5) 86. Storage tanks 87. Outlet valve 88. Bottle holder 89. Water intake finger 90. Air Channel 91. Water Channel 92.UV radiation source 93.UV radiation source 94. Air filter [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0024] First Embodiment Figure 1 shows the outside of a bottled water dispenser, and Figure 2 shows the inside of a bottled water dispenser. This dispenser is designed to use 3 or 5-gallon (11 or 19-liter) bottles of drinking water. Dispenser 1 includes a case 2, the top of which has a bottle holder 3 for placing an inverted bottle 4. At the center of the bottle holder 3 is a water intake finger 5, which opens the bottle 4 by bursting the valve on the cap 6 or by pushing this valve into the bottle 4 when the bottle 4 is placed inside dispenser 1. When a new bottle 4 is placed inside dispenser 1, the bottle 4 is placed upside down with the neck facing downwards in the bottle holder 3. At the same time as the bottle 4 is placed, the cap 6 of the bottle 4 comes into contact with the water intake finger 5, and the water intake finger 5 bursts the valve located at the center of the cap 6 or pushes this valve into the bottle 4.

[0025] The water intake finger 5 is connected to an internal storage tank 8 equipped with a cooling device 9. The internal storage tank 8 has two outlets 10 and 11, one for chilled water 10 and the other for room temperature water 11. The chilled water outlet 10 and the room temperature water outlet 11 are connected via a solenoid valve 12 to a common outlet 13 of the dispenser for distributing water. A hot water tank 14 equipped with a heating device 15 is also connected to the room temperature water outlet 11. The hot water tank 14 is connected via a solenoid valve 12 to the common outlet 15 of the dispenser 1.

[0026] To maintain the purity of the water in dispenser 1, several additional UV radiation sources 16 are installed inside the storage tank 8. The UV radiation sources 16 inside the storage tank 8 help maintain the microbiological purity of the water in the tank 8. Semiconductor LEDs in the UV-C range are used as UV radiation sources 16 inside the storage tank 8. Periodically turning on these sources 16 helps maintain the microbiological purity of the water in the storage tank 8. Since there is always a certain amount of microorganisms in the storage tank 8, reaching it from the ambient air and, in some cases, from the water in the bottles, the number of microorganisms could exceed acceptable levels for drinking water if the water in the tank 8 is not regularly treated with UV radiation.

[0027] A control device 35 and a power supply 36, which ensure the operation of dispenser 1, are also installed inside case 2.

[0028] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the water intake finger 5. The water intake finger 5 is located in the center of the bottle receiving section 3. The water intake finger 5 has two internal channels: an air channel 17 through which air from the dispenser 1 enters the bottle 4, and a water channel 18 through which water from the bottle 4 enters the dispenser 1. The upper part of the water intake finger 5 has two holes: a water hole 19 and an air hole 20. The lower part of the water intake finger 5 has a water outlet 21 from the water channel 18 and an air inlet 22 to the air channel 17.

[0029] The UV radiation source 25 is installed on the end face of the intake finger 5. The UV radiation source 25 is installed in a recess 24 formed on the end face of the intake finger 5. The UV radiation source 25 is a UV-C emitting semiconductor LED installed on a substrate 26. Power is supplied to the UV radiation source 25 via a wire 27 that passes through a tunnel 28 formed inside the intake finger 5. The recess 24 in which the UV radiation source 25 is located is closed from above by quartz glass 29. The UV radiation source 25 treats the water and air in the bottle with UV radiation. Since the greatest increase in the number of microbial contaminations occurs at the bottle wall and the water-air boundary of the bottle, the radiation from the radiation source 25 is directed upward, toward the water surface, and toward the bottle wall.

[0030] Microbiological contamination of bottled drinking water is known to increase after the bottle is opened. Initially, microbiologically pure water can exceed 100,000 CFU / ml (colony-forming units / milliliter) of microbiological contamination 14 days after opening. In contrast, the sanitary standard for drinking water is 1,000 CFU / ml or less.

[0031] As an example, Figure 4 shows the results of measuring microbiological contamination in an opened bottle without using UV radiation to suppress the occurrence of microbiological contamination. The X-axis represents the number of days after the bottle was opened, and the Y-axis represents the level of microbiological contamination in CFU / ml. It can be seen that the level of microbiological contamination may already exceed acceptable sanitary standards one week after the bottle is opened.

[0032] Ultraviolet radiation is known to be electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths just below the visible light spectrum (400-780 nm). UV radiation is divided into three groups: UV-A with wavelengths of 315-400 nm, UV-B with wavelengths of 280-315 nm, and UV-C with wavelengths of 200-280 nm. Along with the visible spectrum, the sun also emits ultraviolet light. However, unlike UV-A and UV-B rays, the UV-C portion is almost completely absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. This is why microorganisms have not been able to develop adequate UV-C resistance mechanisms. Therefore, the most effective portion of UV radiation for killing these organisms is UV-C, which has an inactivation peak at 254 nm. Damage to microorganisms caused by UV-C radiation occurs directly at the DNA level. UV-C irradiation of DNA molecules causes holes to form in the thymine bases. Therefore, the enzymes responsible for unwinding and copying DNA during replication can no longer function. This prevents microorganisms from reproducing and causing infection. Therefore, UV-C radiation has a bacteriostatic effect and is not primarily bactericidal. All waterborne enteric pathogens can be inactivated by ultraviolet light when exposed to sufficient doses. Different microorganisms exhibit different sensitivities to UV-C radiation.

[0033] Experiments have shown that regular water treatment is sufficient to steadily reduce microbiological contamination in 19-liter bottles, and that the UV radiation source can be relatively low-power.

[0034] Figure 5 shows the results of changing the microbiological contamination of water when a UV radiation source was turned on for 10 minutes once every hour, with the optical intensity of the source set to 30 mW at an average irradiation frequency of 270 nm. Therefore, the relatively weak radiation from a UV radiation source placed in a water bottle can significantly reduce the possibility of microbiological contamination of the water in the dispenser and the risk of distributing contaminated water to consumers.

[0035] The dispenser operates as follows: When a new full bottle 4 is placed, the bottle 4 is inverted and lowered into the bottle receiving section 3, thereby placing the neck of the bottle 4 on the intake finger 5. In this case, the intake finger 5 first contacts the valve 7 of the cap 6, and then, as the bottle 4 descends further, it opens the bottle by either bursting the valve 7 or pushing the valve into the bottle 4. After the intake finger 6 is in the bottle 4, water from the bottle 4 begins to flow into the dispenser 1 through the water channel 18 of the intake finger 5, and air from the dispenser 1 flows into the bottle 4 through the air channel 17 of the intake finger, replacing the water flowing out of the bottle 4.

[0036] To position the UV radiation source 25 inside the bottle 4, the source 25 is placed on the upper end surface of the water intake finger 5. Therefore, when the bottle 4 is opened by the water intake finger 5, the source 25 is inside the bottle 4. To prevent damage to the UV radiation source 25 when opening the bottle 4, the source is placed in a recess 24 and covered with quartz glass 29.

[0037] When the internal storage tank 8 is filled with water, the water blocks the air inlet 22 of the air channel 17, preventing air from entering the bottle 4, and thus stopping the flow of water from the bottle 4. When water is dispensed from the dispenser 1, the water level in the storage tank 8 drops, which opens air access to the bottle 4, and water begins to flow from the bottle 4 to the dispenser 1 until the rising water level once again blocks the supply of air to the bottle 4.

[0038] During the dispenser's operation, the control device 35 switches on the UV radiation source 25 installed in the water intake finger 5 at predetermined intervals to prevent microbiological contamination of the water in the bottle. The control device 35 also controls the operation of an additional UV radiation source 16 installed in the storage tank 8 to prevent microbiological contamination within it.

[0039] The presence of an additional UV radiation source 16 in the storage tank 8 improves the microbiological condition of the dispenser. However, the additional UV radiation source 16 in the dispenser cannot replace the UV radiation source 25 in the bottle. Firstly, the more contaminated the water entering the dispenser, the stronger the UV radiation needed to treat the water in the dispenser. Therefore, as the contamination of the water in the bottle increases, for example, in the case of a long interruption of dispenser operation which may reach more than a month, the installed capacity of the UV radiation source in the dispenser may not be sufficient for reliable water treatment. Secondly, when water is distributed to consumers, the water distributed from the dispenser is replaced by water from the bottle. At the same time, the mixing of water from the bottle and water in the dispenser allows some of the microbiologically contaminated water from the bottle to bypass treatment with UV radiation in the storage tank 8 and reach consumers immediately. In particular, when distributing room temperature water to consumers, room temperature water is taken from the upper layer of water in the storage tank 8, and water from the bottle also enters the upper layer of water in the storage tank 8.

[0040] As shown in Figure 3, such a water intake finger 5 can be opened with either a valve that pushes into the bottle or a burst valve. Examples of such caps are shown in Figures 12a and 12c. When the cap 6 is opened by pushing the valve 7 into the bottle, in Figure 12a, the outermost edge of the water intake finger 5 comes into contact with the edge of the valve 7, pushing the valve 7 into the bottle 4. Then, when the cap is opened with the burst valve in Figure 12c, the upper part of the water intake finger 5 comes into contact with the burst valve and bursts.

[0041] Figure 6 shows another embodiment of the intake finger. Compared to the intake finger 5 shown in Figure 3, the intake finger 30 further includes a frame structure 31 fixed to the end face of the intake finger 30. The frame structure 31 is made in the form of four rods 32 forming a pyramid, the top of which is located on the axis of the intake finger 30 above its end face. The frame structure 31 makes it easier to open the bottle 4 having a cap 6 containing a burst valve. When opened, the pointed end of the frame structure contacts the center of the valve, and force is applied to the tip, whose area is significantly smaller than the area of ​​the end face of the finger, so that the tip easily bursts the cap valve.

[0042] To enable the water intake finger 30 to open the cap 6 having a valve 7 that it presses, the height of the frame structure 31 is made smaller than the depth of the valve 7. Therefore, when opening such a cap, the water intake finger 30 contacts the valve 7 with the edge of its end face, pushing the valve 7 into the bottle. In this case, the top of the pyramid or the tip of the frame structure does not reach the bottom of the valve 7 and does not participate in opening the bottle. The frame structure 31 is made of relatively thin rods with open spaces between them, so it does not interfere with UV radiation from the supply source 25 located below.

[0043] Figure 7 shows another embodiment of the intake finger. The main difference between this embodiment and the embodiments shown in Figures 2 and 3 is that, as with the previous embodiments, the main part of the intake finger 33 is made of plastic, but the upper part 34 is made of metal, such as stainless steel. The fact that the upper part 34 of the intake finger is made of metal increases, on the one hand, the strength of the part of the intake finger that supports the main load when opening the bottle, and on the other hand, improves heat removal from the UV radiation source. Second Embodiment

[0044] Figure 8 shows a desktop embodiment of the dispenser. The dispenser 37 includes a case 38, the top of which has a bottle holder 39 for placing an inverted bottle 4. At the center of the bottle holder 39 is an intake finger 40, which opens the bottle 4 by pushing the valve of the cap into the bottle 4 when the bottle 4 is placed inside the dispenser 37. Unlike dispenser 1, this dispenser 37 is designed to distribute only room temperature water and does not have an internal storage tank. The intake finger 40 is connected to an outlet valve 41 by a pipeline 42. Air is connected to an air filter and enters the bottle 4 through an air channel 44 of the intake finger, which has a check valve.

[0045] A UV radiation source 43 is installed at the end of the intake finger 40, and the UV radiation source is connected to a control device (not shown) and a power supply (not shown) installed in the case 38. The control device provides a switch to periodically turn on the UV radiation source in order to maintain the microbiological purity of the water in the bottle 4. In this design, the presence of the UV radiation source in the bottle is particularly useful because the water from the bottle goes directly to the consumer and does not undergo additional UV treatment in the dispenser. Otherwise, the design of the intake finger 40 with the UV radiation source 43 is no different from the intake finger 5 in the first embodiment of the dispenser shown in Figure 3. Third Embodiment

[0046] Figure 9 shows another possible embodiment of the dispenser. In this embodiment, the dispenser 45 consists of a fastener 46 that attaches to the neck of the bottle 4, a water intake finger 47, and an outlet valve 48 connected to the water intake finger 47, with the water intake finger 47 and the outlet valve 48 being connected together. The dispenser 45 is directly fixed to the neck of the bottle 4, which is placed on a stand 49 at an angle of approximately 45 degrees from the vertical, with the neck facing downwards. In this embodiment, the dispenser 45 is first placed on the neck of the bottle 4 with its neck facing upwards, while the water intake finger 47 opens the bottle 4 and pushes or punches out the cap valve 6. After the dispenser 45 is placed on the neck of the bottle 4, the bottle 4 is turned upside down and placed on the stand 49. The stand 49 also includes a control device (not shown) and a power supply (not shown) to ensure the operation of a UV radiation source 50 installed on the end face of the water intake finger 47. After the bottle 4 is placed on the stand, the dispenser 45 is connected to the stand with an electrical cable 51. Otherwise, the design and operation of dispenser 45 are the same as those of the dispenser shown in Figure 8. Fourth Embodiment

[0047] Figure 10 shows another possible embodiment of the dispenser. The main difference between the dispenser 55 shown in Figure 10 and the dispenser 1 shown in Figure 2 is that the bottle 4 is located at the bottom of the case 56 with its neck facing upwards. In this configuration, water from the bottle 4 is supplied to the storage tank 57 using a water pump 58 connected to the storage tank 57 by a pipeline 59. Otherwise, the design of the dispenser 55 is similar to the design of the dispenser in Figure 2. The internal storage tank 57, equipped with a cooling device 60, has a chilled water outlet 61 and a room temperature water outlet 62. The chilled water outlet 61 and the room temperature water outlet 62 are connected via solenoid valves 63, 64 to a common outlet 65 for distributing water. Also connected to the room temperature water outlet 62 is a hot water tank 66 equipped with a heating device 67. The hot water tank 66 is connected to the common outlet 65 of the dispenser 55 via a solenoid valve 68.

[0048] Case 56 also houses a control device 82 and a power supply 83 to ensure the operation of the dispenser 55.

[0049] The design of the intake finger 70 is shown in Figure 11. Since the intake finger 70 is above the water level in the bottle 4 when the bottle 4 is placed neck up, the dispenser further includes an intake pipe 71 which is inserted into the bottle 4 through a channel 72 made in the intake finger 70 after the bottle 4 has been opened with the intake finger 70. The inlet pipe 71 is long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle 4. The intake pipe 71 is connected to the pump 58 using a flexible pipeline 73.

[0050] To prevent microbiological contamination after the bottle is opened, a UV radiation source 75 is installed on the end face of the intake finger 70. The UV radiation source 75 is installed in a recess 76 formed on the end face of the intake finger 70. The UV radiation source 75 is a semiconductor LED installed on a substrate 78. The recess 76 in which the UV radiation source 75 is placed is covered with quartz glass 79. Power is supplied to the UV radiation source 75 via a wire 80 that passes through a tunnel 81 formed inside the intake finger 70.

[0051] To maintain the purity of the water inside the dispenser, several UV radiation sources 84 are also installed in the storage tank 57. The UV radiation sources 84 in the storage tank 57 help maintain the microbiological purity of the water in the tank 57.

[0052] When a new bottle 4 is placed in the dispenser 55, the bottle 4 is first opened by the intake finger 70 by pushing it through the cap 6, and then the intake finger 70 is secured to the neck of the bottle 4, for example, using a flange 74. After that, the intake pipe 71 is passed through the channel 72 of the intake finger 70, and the intake pipe 71 is connected to the pump 58 by a flexible pipeline 73. Fifth Embodiment

[0053] Figure 13 shows another possible embodiment of the dispenser. In this embodiment, the dispenser 85 comprises a storage tank 86 with an outlet valve 87, a bottle holder 88 installed on top of the storage tank 86, and a water intake finger 89 installed in the center of the funnel of the bottle holder 88.

[0054] The water intake finger 89 has two internal channels: an air channel 90 through which air from the dispenser 85 enters the bottle 4, and a water channel 91 through which water from the bottle 4 enters the dispenser 85. To clean the outside air entering the dispenser, the dispenser 85 is equipped with an air filter 94.

[0055] The UV radiation source 92 is installed in a recess formed in the end face of the water intake finger 89. The UV radiation source 92 is a semiconductor LED. The recess in which the UV radiation source 92 is installed is covered from above with quartz glass. The UV radiation source 92 is connected to an external control device and power supply. The control device ensures that the UV radiation source 92 is periodically switched on to maintain the microbiological purity of the water in the bottle 4.

[0056] To maintain the microbiological purity of the water in the storage tank 86, several additional UV radiation sources 93 are installed inside the storage tank. The additional UV radiation sources 93 are also connected to a control unit and power supply.

[0057] Therefore, the proposed invention makes it possible to position a UV radiation source within a bottled water dispenser to effectively handle the water and air space within the bottle while maintaining the function of automatic bottle opening using a water intake finger when the bottle is placed inside the dispenser.

Claims

1. A bottled water dispenser (1) comprising a system for treating water in a bottle (4) with UV radiation, comprising a UV radiation source (25), and including a water intake finger (5) configured to open the bottle (4) sealed by the cap (6) by pushing a valve (7) located in the center of the cap (6) into the bottle (4) or by rupturing the valve, wherein a semiconductor LED is used as the UV radiation source (25), the semiconductor LED is installed in a recess (24) formed on the end face of the water intake finger (5), so that when the bottle (4) is opened by the water intake finger (5), the source (25) is inside the bottle (4) and the radiation from the source (25) is directed to the water surface and the wall of the bottle, and the semiconductor LED is protected by quartz glass (29) covering the recess (24).

2. The dispenser according to claim 1, further comprising a frame structure (31) fixed to the end face of the water intake finger (5).

3. The dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the frame structure (31) is manufactured in the form of rods (32) that form a pyramid, and the top of the pyramid is located on the axis of the water intake finger (30) above the surface of the end face of the water intake finger (30).

4. The dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the number of rods (32) constituting the pyramid is at least three.

5. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the upper part (34) of the water intake finger (33) is made of metal.

6. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the quartz glass (29) is installed in the recess (24) below the upper surface of the water intake finger (5).

7. The dispenser according to claim 1, further comprising a water intake pipe (71), wherein the water intake finger (70) is provided with a channel (72) such that the end of the water intake pipe (71) can pass through the channel (72) inside the bottle (4), and the length of the water intake pipe (71) is sufficient for the end of the inlet pipe (71) to reach the bottom of the bottle (4).

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