Water Server

Abstract

To provide a water server capable of preventing beverage water from entering a drain tube from a hot water tank and allowing a user to perform a drain work.SOLUTION: A water server comprises a drain tube 32 extending from a bottom face of a hot water tank 8 to outside of a housing 1 and a drain cap 38 detachably mounted to an end part opening of the drain tube 32, the end part opening being outside the housing 1. The water server includes a water shutoff valve 33 disposed in an end part of the drain tube 32 on the hot water tank 8 side and a valve operation rod 39 extending from the water shutoff valve 33 to outside of the housing 1 so to be able to perform opening / closing operation of the water shutoff valve 33 from outside the housing 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a water server. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, water servers have been used mainly in offices and hospitals, but in recent years, water servers are becoming more common in ordinary homes due to growing interest in water safety and health. A water server generally has a housing, a cold water tank and a hot water tank located inside the housing, a cooling device that cools the drinking water in the cold water tank, and a heating device that heats the drinking water in the hot water tank, and has the convenience of being able to use cold water and hot water whenever needed by pouring drinking water from the cold water tank or the hot water tank.

[0003] This water server is always used with drinking water stored in the cold water tank and hot water tank inside the water server; however, when performing maintenance on the water server or when not using the server for an extended period of time, such as when traveling, all drinking water inside the server is drained and the server is temporarily emptied (draining the water).

[0004] To enable this water draining operation, water servers are typically provided with a drain tube 62 extending from the bottom of the hot water tank 60 to the outside of the housing 61, and a drain cap 63 that is removably attached to the end opening of the drain tube 62 on the outside of the housing 61, as shown in Figure 13 (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-171914 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, when drinking water is stored in the hot water tank 60, drinking water also enters the inside of the drain tube 62 connected to the bottom surface of the hot water tank 60. Here, the drinking water inside the hot water tank 60 is maintained at a high temperature by a heating device (not shown) provided in the hot water tank 60, whereas the drinking water inside the drain tube 62 is generally at room temperature. For this reason, it has been found that there is a possibility that foreign matter may be generated in the drinking water inside the drain tube 62.

[0007] If a foreign object occurs in the drinking water inside the drain tube 62, even if some of the drinking water seeps into the inside of the hot water tank 60 from the drain tube 62, the inside of the hot water tank 60 is at a high temperature so the drinking water will be completely sterilized and there will be no hygiene problems. However, this may affect the flavor of the drinking water in the hot water tank 60, which is not desirable.

[0008] Therefore, the inventors of the present application considered providing a water stop valve (not shown) at the end of the drain tube 62 on the hot water tank 60 side in order to prevent drinking water from entering the inside of the drain tube 62 from the hot water tank 60.

[0009] However, usually, the housing 61 of the water server is structured so that the hand cannot reach inside the housing 61, as shown in Fig. 13, to prevent the user from getting burned or getting an electric shock by putting their hand inside the housing 61. Therefore, if a water stop valve (not shown) is provided at the end of the drain tube 62 on the hot water tank 60 side, the user cannot drain the water because the water stop valve is out of reach of the user.

[0010] The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a water server that can prevent drinking water from entering the drain tube from the hot water tank and allows the user to perform the water draining operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a water server having the following configuration. A housing and A hot water tank located inside the housing; A heating device for heating the drinking water in the hot water tank; A drain tube extending from a bottom surface of the hot water tank to the outside of the housing; a drain cap that is detachably attached to an end opening of the drain tube on the outer side of the housing, a water stop valve provided at an end of the drain tube on the hot water tank side; A water server characterized by having a valve operation rod extending from the stop valve to the outside of the housing so that the stop valve can be opened and closed from outside the housing.

[0012] In this way, since a water stop valve is provided at the end of the drain tube on the hot water tank side, by closing the water stop valve while the water server is in use, drinking water can be prevented from entering the drain tube from the hot water tank. Also, since a valve operation rod is provided that extends from the water stop valve to the outside of the housing, the water stop valve can be opened and closed from the outside of the housing. Therefore, when performing maintenance on the water server or when not using the server for an extended period of time, such as while traveling, the user can open the water stop valve and drain the water without reaching inside the housing.

[0013] The drain cap cover is movable between a protection position that covers the drain cap and a protection release position that exposes the drain cap. It is preferable to adopt a configuration in which the drain cap cover is connected to the valve operating rod so that the water stop valve opens in conjunction with the operation of moving the drain cap cover from the protected position to the unprotected position, and so that the water stop valve closes in conjunction with the operation of moving the drain cap cover from the unprotected position to the protected position.

[0014] This prevents a situation in which a user does not realize that they have forgotten to open the stop valve when draining the water from the water server, making it impossible to drain the water from the water server, and also prevents a situation in which a user inadvertently opens the stop valve during normal use of the water server and leaves it as it is.

[0015] That is, to drain the water from the water server, two operations are required: removing the drain cap and opening the stop valve. If it is assumed that the operation of removing the drain cap and the operation of opening the stop valve can be performed completely independently, the user may forget to open the stop valve when removing the drain cap, and may not realize that the valve is closed, resulting in a situation where the water server cannot be drained. In response to this problem, if the above configuration is adopted, when the drain cap cover is moved from the protection position (the position that covers the drain cap) to the protection release position (the position that exposes the drain cap) in order to remove the drain cap during the water server draining operation, the stop valve opens in conjunction with the movement of the drain cap cover, thereby preventing a situation where the user does not realize that they have forgotten to open the stop valve and is unable to drain the water from the water server.

[0016] In addition, during normal use of the water server, the water stop valve must be kept closed to prevent drinking water from entering the drain tube from the hot water tank. At this time, even if the water stop valve is opened, drinking water does not flow out of the drain tube if the drain cap is attached, and there is no visible change, so there is a possibility that the user may inadvertently operate the valve operation rod and open the water stop valve. If the water stop valve is left open, drinking water may enter the drain tube from the hot water tank, and after being exposed to room temperature in the drain tube, the drinking water may again enter the hot water tank. In response to this problem, if the above configuration is adopted, when the user moves the drain cap cover from the protection release position (position exposing the drain cap) to the protection position (position covering the drain cap) so that the drain cap is covered by the drain cap cover during normal use of the water server, the water stop valve closes in conjunction with the movement of the drain cap cover, so that it is possible to prevent a situation in which the user opens the water stop valve inadvertently and leaves it as it is.

[0017] a cold water tank located inside the housing; and a cooling device for cooling the drinking water in the cold water tank. The cooling device includes a compressor installed inside the housing, a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between a high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor and outside air, an expansion valve that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant that has passed through the heat exchanger to lower its temperature, and a cooling pipe that exchanges heat between the low-temperature refrigerant that has passed through the expansion valve and the cold water tank, The heat exchanger is a mesh-like member in which a refrigerant pipe through which the refrigerant flows is arranged in a meandering manner so as to cover an opening on the rear surface of the housing, A configuration may be employed in which a support bracket is attached to the heat exchanger to support an end portion of the valve operating rod outside the housing.

[0018] In this way, the valve operating rod is supported at two points, the stop valve and the support bracket, making it possible to operate the stop valve stably. Effect of the Invention

[0019] The water server of this invention is provided with a water stop valve at the end of the drain tube on the hot water tank side, so that by closing the water stop valve while the water server is in use, drinking water can be prevented from entering the drain tube from the hot water tank. Also, a valve operating rod is provided that extends from the water stop valve to the outside of the housing, so that the water stop valve can be opened and closed from the outside of the housing. Therefore, when performing maintenance on the water server or when not using the server for an extended period of time, such as while traveling, the user can open the water stop valve and drain the water without reaching inside the housing. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic diagram of a water server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] A cross-sectional view of the normal temperature water tank, cold water tank, and hot water tank of the water server shown in Figure 1, viewed from the front [Diagram 3] Cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Figure 2. [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Figure 2. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a part of the water server housing in FIG. 1, seen from the rear side. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the heat exchanger in FIG. 5 is omitted. [Figure 7] A cross-sectional view of the drain tube and its surroundings shown in Figure 6, viewed from above [Figure 8] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the drain cap cover shown in FIG. 6 has been moved from a protection position to a protection release position. [Figure 9] A cross-sectional view of the drain tube and its surroundings shown in Figure 8, viewed from above. [Figure 10] FIG. 9 shows the drain cap shown in FIG. 8 removed from the drain tube. [Figure 11]A cross-sectional view of the drain tube and its surroundings shown in Figure 10, viewed from above. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic diagram of a water server according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a drain tube of a conventional water server; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] A water server according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 1. This water server has a housing 1, a raw water tank 2 for storing drinking water such as tap water, a replaceable water purification filter cartridge 3, a raw water pipe 4 that connects the raw water tank 2 and the water purification filter cartridge 3, an electric pump 5 provided midway along the raw water pipe 4, and a room temperature water tank 6, a cold water tank 7, and a hot water tank 8 (see Fig. 2) located inside the housing 1.

[0022] The housing 1 has a cylindrical portion 9 extending in the vertical direction, a top plate 10 provided at the upper end of the cylindrical portion 9, and a bottom plate 11 provided at the lower end of the cylindrical portion 9. The cylindrical portion 9 has a pair of left and right side plates 12, a front plate 13 connecting the front edges of the side plates 12, and a rear plate 14 connecting the rear edges of the side plates 12. The raw water tank 2 is detachably set on the top plate 10. A raw water inlet 15 at the upstream end of the raw water pipe 4 is provided on the top plate 10.

[0023] The raw water tank 2 is provided with a tank on-off valve 16. The tank on-off valve 16 is an on-off valve that blocks communication between the inside and outside of the raw water tank 2 when the raw water tank 2 is lifted from the top plate 10, and that connects the inside of the raw water tank 2 to the raw water inlet 15 when the raw water tank 2 is set on the top plate 10.

[0024] The electric pump 5 sucks in drinking water from the raw water tank 2 side and discharges the drinking water to the water purification filter cartridge 3 side, thereby transferring the drinking water in the raw water pipe 4 from the raw water tank 2 side to the water purification filter cartridge 3 side. The water purification filter cartridge 3 and the room temperature water tank 6 are connected by a water purification pipe 17, and the drinking water filtered by the water purification filter cartridge 3 is introduced into the room temperature water tank 6 through the water purification pipe 17.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 2, the room temperature water tank 6 contains air and drinking water filtered by the water purification filter cartridge 3 in two upper and lower layers. The room temperature water tank 6 is provided with a water level sensor 18 that detects the water level in the room temperature water tank 6, and the electric pump 5 (see Fig. 1) is controlled based on the output signal of this water level sensor 18.

[0026] 3, a room temperature water outlet pipe 19 is connected to the bottom surface of the room temperature water tank 6. A room temperature water outlet valve 20 that outlets the drinking water in the room temperature water tank 6 to the outside of the housing 1 is provided on the room temperature water outlet pipe 19.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 2, the cold water tank 7 is disposed below the room temperature water tank 6. The cold water tank 7 and the room temperature water tank 6 are connected via a cold water tank connecting pipe 21, and drinking water is introduced from the room temperature water tank 6 to the cold water tank 7 through the cold water tank connecting pipe 21. A cooling device 22 that cools the drinking water in the cold water tank 7 is attached to the cold water tank 7. The drinking water in the cold water tank 7 is kept at a predetermined low temperature (for example, below 10°C) by the cooling device 22.

[0028] 1, the cooling device 22 has a compressor 23, a heat exchanger 24, an expansion valve 25, and a cooling pipe 26. The compressor 23, the heat exchanger 24, the expansion valve 25, and the cooling pipe 26 are connected by refrigerant piping so that the refrigerant passes through and circulates in order.

[0029] The compressor 23 is installed inside the housing 1 (on the upper surface of the bottom plate 11 in the figure). The compressor 23 draws in the refrigerant from the cooling pipe 26, compresses the refrigerant to increase the temperature of the refrigerant, and discharges the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant to the heat exchanger 24. The heat exchanger 24 is a mesh-like member in which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 23 flows through a serpentine refrigerant pipe that is arranged to cover the opening on the back of the housing 1, and cools and condenses the refrigerant by exchanging heat between the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor 23 and the outside air. The expansion valve 25 receives the refrigerant that has passed through the heat exchanger 24, and reduces the pressure of the refrigerant to lower its temperature. The cooling pipe 26 receives the refrigerant that has become low-temperature and low-pressure by the expansion valve 25, and exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the cold water tank 7. The cooling pipe 26 is wound around the outer periphery of the cold water tank 7 in a spiral shape. The cooling pipe 26 may be provided to pass through the inside of the cold water tank 7 and penetrate the wall of the cold water tank 7.

[0030] A cold water outlet pipe 27 is connected to the bottom surface of the cold water tank 7. A cold water outlet valve 46 is provided on the cold water outlet pipe 27 to outlet the low-temperature drinking water in the cold water tank 7 to the outside of the housing 1. When the cold water outlet valve 46 is opened to outlet the low-temperature drinking water, an amount of drinking water equal to the amount of the outlet drinking water flows from the room temperature water tank 6 through the cold water tank connecting pipe 21 into the cold water tank 7, so that the cold water tank 7 is always kept full.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 4, the hot water tank 8 is disposed below the room temperature water tank 6. The hot water tank 8 and the room temperature water tank 6 are connected via a hot water tank connecting pipe 28, and drinking water is introduced from the room temperature water tank 6 to the hot water tank 8 through the hot water tank connecting pipe 28. A heating device 29 that heats the drinking water in the hot water tank 8 is attached to the hot water tank 8. The drinking water in the hot water tank 8 is kept at a predetermined high temperature (for example, 80°C or higher) by the heating device 29.

[0032] A hot water outlet pipe 30 is connected to the top surface of the hot water tank 8. A hot water outlet valve 31 is provided on the hot water outlet pipe 30 to outlet the high-temperature drinking water in the hot water tank 8 to the outside of the housing 1. When the hot water outlet valve 31 is opened to outlet the high-temperature drinking water, an amount of drinking water equal to the amount of the outlet drinking water flows from the normal temperature water tank 6 through the hot water tank connecting pipe 28 into the hot water tank 8, so that the hot water tank 8 is always kept full. A drain tube 32 is connected to the bottom surface of the hot water tank 8. The drain tube 32 is a pipe that extends from the bottom surface of the hot water tank 8 to the outside of the housing 1.

[0033] FIG. 5 is an oblique view of the drain tube 32 and its vicinity as viewed from the rear side of the housing 1, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the state in which the heat exchanger 24 (a mesh-like component in which refrigerant pipes are arranged in a serpentine manner to cover the opening on the rear side of the housing 1) is omitted from FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the drain tube 32 and its vicinity as viewed from above in FIG. 6.

[0034] 6, a water stop valve 33 is provided at the end of the drain tube 32 on the hot water tank 8 side. The water stop valve 33 is a two-way valve configured to be able to switch between open and closed states by rotating a handle 34 about a horizontal axis. As the water stop valve 33, a ball valve can be used that switches from a closed state to an open state by rotating the handle 34 90 degrees in one circumferential direction, and switches from an open state to a closed state by rotating the handle 34 90 degrees in the other circumferential direction.

[0035] The drain tube 32 has a valve connection part 35 that extends downward from the bottom surface of the hot water tank 8 and connects to the inlet of the stop valve 33, and a drain tube main body part 36 that extends rearward from the outlet of the stop valve 33 to the outside of the housing 1. The valve connection part 35 is a part for connecting the hot water tank 8 and the stop valve 33, and is shorter than the drain tube main body part 36. The end part of the drain tube main body part 36 on the outer side of the housing 1 is inserted and fixed in a through hole provided in a flange part 37 formed by bending along the rear edge of the side plate 12. The end part of the drain tube main body part 36 on the outer side of the housing 1 may be fixed to the heat exchanger 24 (see FIG. 5). A drain cap 38 is detachably attached to the end opening of the drain tube main body part 36 on the outer side of the housing 1.

[0036] 6 and 7, a valve operation rod 39 extending from the stop valve 33 to the outside of the housing 1 is connected to the stop valve 33 so that the operation of opening and closing the stop valve 33 can be performed from outside the housing 1. The valve operation rod 39 is a rod-shaped member extending horizontally from the handle 34 of the stop valve 33 toward the outside of the housing 1. The end of the valve operation rod 39 on the stop valve 33 side is connected to the handle 34 of the stop valve 33, and the end of the valve operation rod 39 on the outside of the housing 1 is rotatably supported by a support bracket 40 attached to the heat exchanger 24 (see FIG. 5).

[0037] As shown in Fig. 6, a drain cap cover 41 is attached to the end of the valve operating rod 39 on the outer side of the housing 1. The drain cap cover 41 is provided so as to be movable between a protection position (see Fig. 6) in which the drain cap 38 is covered and a protection release position (see Fig. 8) in which the drain cap 38 is exposed. Here, the drain cap cover 41 is connected to the valve operating rod 39 so that the water stop valve 33 opens in conjunction with an operation of moving the drain cap cover 41 from the protection position (see Fig. 6) to the protection release position (see Fig. 8), and the water stop valve 33 closes in conjunction with an operation of moving the drain cap cover 41 from the protection release position (see Fig. 8) to the protection position (see Fig. 6).

[0038] The stop valve 33 is supported by a valve fixing bracket 43 fixed to an inward flange 42 inside the housing 1. The valve fixing bracket 43 has a horizontal plate 44 extending parallel to the valve operation rod 39 from the portion supporting the stop valve 33, and an end plate 45 connected at a right angle to the horizontal plate 44. The support bracket 40 is fixed to the heat exchanger 24 by being fastened to the end plate 45 of the valve fixing bracket 43 via the heat exchanger 24.

[0039] The draining operation of the water server will be described. First, during normal use of the water server, the drain cap cover 41 is in the protection position (a position covering the drain cap 38) as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In this state, the water stop valve 33 is closed, so that drinking water in the hot water tank 8 does not enter the drain tube 32 (the drain tube main body 36). When draining water, the drain cap cover 41 is first rotated to the protection release position (a position exposing the drain cap 38) as shown in Fig. 8. At this time, the valve operating rod 39 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the drain cap cover 41, so that the water stop valve 33 opens, and as shown in Fig. 9, the drinking water in the hot water tank 8 enters the drain tube 32. After that, the drain cap 38 is removed from the end of the drain tube 32 as shown in Figs. 10 and 11. This allows the drinking water in the hot water tank 8 to be discharged to the outside of the housing 1 through the drain tube 32.

[0040] 6, the water server of the above embodiment is provided with a water stop valve 33 at the end of the drain tube 32 on the hot water tank 8 side, so that by closing the water stop valve 33 while the water server is in use, drinking water can be prevented from entering the inside of the drain tube 32 (drain tube main body 36) from the hot water tank 8. This makes it possible to prevent drinking water from entering the inside of the drain tube 32 and causing foreign matter to be generated in the drinking water.

[0041] In addition, to prevent a user from reaching inside the housing 1 and getting burned or electrocuted, this water server is constructed so that hands cannot reach inside the housing 1 as shown in Fig. 5, but since a valve operation rod 39 is provided that extends from the stop valve 33 to the outside of the housing 1 as shown in Fig. 6, the valve operation rod 39 can be used to open and close the stop valve 33 from outside the housing 1. Therefore, when performing maintenance on the water server or when not using the server for an extended period of time, such as while traveling, the user can open the stop valve 33 and drain the water without reaching inside the housing 1.

[0042] In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, this water server has drain cap cover 41 connected to valve operation rod 39, which prevents a situation in which a user does not realize that they have forgotten to open stop valve 33 when draining the water from the water server and is unable to drain the water from the server, and also prevents a situation in which a user mistakenly opens stop valve 33 and leaves it as it is during normal use of the water server.

[0043] That is, to drain the water from the water server, two operations must be performed: removing drain cap 38 as shown in Fig. 6, and opening stop valve 33. If we assume that drain cap cover 41 is not provided at the end of valve operation rod 39, and the operation of removing drain cap 38 and the operation of opening stop valve 33 (rotating valve operation rod 39) can be performed completely independently, there is a possibility that when a user removes drain cap 38, the user may forget to open stop valve 33 and not realize that it is still closed, which could result in a situation where the water server cannot be drained.

[0044] To address this problem, in the water server of this embodiment, when draining the water server, the drain cap cover 41 is moved from the protected position (the position shown in Figures 6 and 7) to the unprotected position (the position shown in Figures 8 and 9) in order to remove the drain cap 38, and the water stop valve 33 opens in conjunction with the movement of the drain cap cover 41, thereby preventing a situation in which the user does not realize that they have forgotten to open the water stop valve 33 and is unable to drain the water from the water server.

[0045] During normal use of the water server, the water stop valve 33 must be kept closed to prevent drinking water from entering the drain tube 32 from the hot water tank 8. Even if the water stop valve 33 is opened at this time, if the drain cap 38 is attached, drinking water will not flow out of the drain tube 32 and there will be no visible change, so there is a possibility that a user may inadvertently operate the valve operating rod 39 and open the water stop valve 33. If the water stop valve 33 is left open, drinking water may enter the drain tube 32 from the hot water tank 8, and after being exposed to room temperature in the drain tube 32, the drinking water may enter the hot water tank 8 again.

[0046] To address this problem, in the water server of this embodiment, when the user moves the drain cap cover 41 from the unprotected position (the position shown in Figures 8 and 9) to the protected position (the position shown in Figures 6 and 7) so that the drain cap 38 is covered by the drain cap cover 41 during normal use of the water server, the water stop valve 33 closes in conjunction with the movement of the drain cap cover 41, thereby preventing a situation in which the user inadvertently opens the water stop valve 33 and leaves it in that state.

[0047] In addition, as shown in Figure 5, this water server has a configuration in which a support bracket 40 that supports the outer end of the housing 1 of the valve operation rod 39 is attached to the heat exchanger 24. Therefore, the valve operation rod 39 is supported at two points, the stop valve 33 and the support bracket 40, making it possible to operate the stop valve 33 stably.

[0048] In the above embodiment, a purified water server that introduces drinking water filtered by the water purification filter cartridge 3 into the cold water tank 7 and hot water tank 8 has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a water server that introduces drinking water from a replaceable raw water bottle 50 into the cold water tank 7 and hot water tank 8, as shown in Fig. 12, for example. In the following, parts corresponding to the above embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0049] The water server shown in Fig. 12 has a housing 1, a cold water tank 7 and a hot water tank 8 located inside the housing 1, and a raw water inlet pipe 51 that introduces drinking water from a raw water bottle 50 to the cold water tank 7. The raw water bottle 50 is placed on the top plate 10 of the housing 1 with the water outlet facing downward. The raw water bottle 50 is filled with drinking water such as natural water or RO water. A float valve 52 that opens and closes depending on the water level in the cold water tank 7 is provided at the end of the raw water inlet pipe 51 on the cold water tank 7 side.

[0050] The hot water tank 8 is disposed below the cold water tank 7. The hot water tank 8 and the cold water tank 7 are connected via a tank connecting pipe 53, and drinking water is introduced from the cold water tank 7 to the hot water tank 8 through the tank connecting pipe 53.

[0051] A drain tube 32 extending from the bottom of the hot water tank 8 to the outside of the housing 1 is connected to the bottom of the hot water tank 8, and a drain cap 38 is detachably attached to the end opening of the drain tube 32 on the outside of the housing 1. The drain tube 32 is provided with a water stop valve 33, a valve operating rod 39, a drain cap cover 41, etc., similar to those in the above embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1 Case 7. Cold Water Tank 8. Hot Water Tank 22 Cooling device 23 Compressor 24 Heat exchanger 25 Expansion valve 26 Cooling pipe 29 Heating device 32 Drain tube 33 Water stop valve 38 Drain cap 39 Valve operating rod 40 Support bracket 41 Drain cap cover

Claims

1. A housing (1), A hot water tank (8) located inside the housing (1); a heating device (29) for heating the drinking water in the hot water tank (8); a drain tube (32) extending from a bottom surface of the hot water tank (8) to the outside of the housing (1); and a drain cap (38) that is detachably attached to the outer end opening of the drain tube (32) of the housing (1). a water stop valve (33) provided at an end of the drain tube (32) on the hot water tank (8) side; a valve operating rod (39) extending from the water stop valve (33) to the outside of the housing (1) so that the water stop valve (33) can be opened and closed from the outside of the housing (1); a drain cap cover (41) that is movable between a protection position that covers the drain cap (38) and a protection release position that exposes the drain cap (38); The water server is characterized in that the drain cap cover (41) is connected to the valve operating rod (39) so that the water stop valve (33) opens in conjunction with the operation of moving the drain cap cover (41) from the protection position to the protection release position, and the water stop valve (33) closes in conjunction with the operation of moving the drain cap cover (41) from the protection release position to the protection position.

2. A housing (1), A hot water tank (8) located inside the housing (1); a heating device (29) for heating the drinking water in the hot water tank (8); a drain tube (32) extending from a bottom surface of the hot water tank (8) to the outside of the housing (1); and a drain cap (38) that is detachably attached to the outer end opening of the drain tube (32) of the housing (1). a water stop valve (33) provided at an end of the drain tube (32) on the hot water tank (8) side; a valve operating rod (39) extending from the water stop valve (33) to the outside of the housing (1) so that the water stop valve (33) can be opened and closed from the outside of the housing (1); A cold water tank (7) located inside the housing (1); and a cooling device (22) for cooling the drinking water in the cold water tank (7), The cooling device (22) includes a compressor (23) installed inside the housing (1), a heat exchanger (24) for exchanging heat between a high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor (23) and outside air, an expansion valve (25) for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant that has passed through the heat exchanger (24) to lower its temperature, and a cooling pipe (26) for exchanging heat between the low-temperature refrigerant that has passed through the expansion valve (25) and the cold water tank (7); The heat exchanger (24) is a mesh-like member in which a refrigerant pipe through which the refrigerant flows is arranged in a meandering manner so as to cover an opening on the rear surface of the housing (1), A water server characterized in that a support bracket (40) for supporting an outer end of the valve operating rod (39) outside the housing (1) is attached to the heat exchanger (24).

Images