Water server

Abstract

To provide a water server which can suppress a transportation cost low and can be easily used by a user.SOLUTION: A housing 1 comprises a lower housing 1B provided on a floor face F, and an upper housing 1A fitted to the lower housing 1B in a vertically slidable manner. A cold water tank 2 and a cold water spout 3 are provided in the upper housing 1A so as to integrally move up and down with the upper housing 1A. Before setting up, the server is transported in a server contracted state in which the housing 1 is contracted by descending the upper housing 1A. After setting up, the server is used in a server extended state in which the housing 1 is extended by ascending the upper housing 1A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a water server.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, water servers have mainly been used in offices, hospitals, etc. However, in recent years, due to the increasing concern about water safety and health, water servers are becoming popular in ordinary households as well. A water server generally has a housing, a cold water tank disposed inside the housing, a cooling device for cooling the drinking water in the cold water tank, and a cold water outlet for pouring out the low-temperature drinking water in the cold water tank to the outside of the housing, and has the convenience of being able to use delicious cold water at any time (for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Water servers are generally manufactured overseas. When transporting overseas-manufactured water servers to the domestic market, a large number of individually packaged water servers are often loaded into standard-sized marine containers (such as 40-foot containers), and transported in container units.

[0005] Here, when loading a large number of water servers into a marine container, in order to prevent the piping inside the water server from being loaded with stress or the compressor of the water server from malfunctioning, the water server needs to be loaded in an upright state without being laid down. At this time, if the total height when stacking multiple upright water servers corresponds to the height dimension of the internal dimensions of the container, the water servers can be efficiently loaded into the marine container. However, since the water server is dimensioned for the convenience of the user, the total height when stacking multiple upright water servers generally does not correspond to the height dimension of the internal dimensions of the container, and there is a problem that efficient loading is difficult.

[0006] In recent years, moreover, the delivery fees for delivering (secondary transportation) water servers to users have been soaring in the country. The delivery fees in the country increase step by step as the total dimension of the three sides of the delivered item increases by 20 cm, and furthermore, the rate of increase in the delivery fees for every 20 cm increase in the total dimension of the three sides is often such that the larger the total dimension of the three sides, the larger the increase. Here, when delivering a water server, since the height dimension of the water server is large, the total dimension of the three sides becomes large, and there is a tendency for the delivery cost to be particularly high.

[0007] Therefore, in order to reduce the delivery cost of the water server, it is conceivable to take a method of reducing the height dimension of the housing of the water server. However, if the height dimension of the housing of the water server is reduced, the position of the cold water outlet will be lowered accordingly, and the usability of the water server will deteriorate.

[0008] The problem to be solved by this invention is to provide a water server with a low transportation cost and good usability for the user.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a water server having the following configuration. A housing, A cold water tank disposed inside the housing, A cooling device for cooling the drinking water in the cold water tank, A cold water outlet for pouring out the low-temperature drinking water in the cold water tank to the outside of the housing, In a water server having: The housing is composed of a lower housing installed on the floor surface and an upper housing that is vertically slidably fitted to the lower housing, The cold water tank and the cold water outlet are provided on the upper housing so as to move up and down integrally with the upper housing, Before the server is installed, the upper housing is lowered and the server is transported in a server contracted state in which the housing is contracted. After the server is installed, the upper housing is raised and the server is used in a server extended state in which the housing is extended. A water server characterized by this.

[0010] In this way, since the housing of the water server is composed of a lower housing installed on the floor surface and an upper housing that is vertically slidably fitted to the lower housing, before the server is installed, the upper housing is lowered and the server is transported in a server contracted state in which the housing is contracted, thereby reducing the transportation cost of the water server. On the other hand, after the server is installed, by raising the upper housing and extending the housing, the position of the cold water outlet can be raised, and it is possible to ensure the usability of the water server for the user.

[0011] An upper housing side connected part fixed to the upper housing, A lower housing side connected part fixed to the lower housing, A connecting distance variable mechanism that connects between the upper housing side connected part and the lower housing side connected part and changes the connecting distance between the upper housing side connected part and the lower housing side connected part, and further has. It is preferable to adopt a configuration in which the upper housing side connection part is arranged below the lower housing side connection part so that the upper housing rises when the connection distance between the upper housing side connection part and the lower housing side connection part becomes shorter.

[0012] In this way, when the water server is in use, the support of the upper housing becomes stable. That is, when raising the upper housing by changing the connection distance between the upper housing side connection part fixed to the upper housing and the lower housing side connection part fixed to the lower housing, it is also possible to configure the upper housing to rise when the connection distance is increased. However, in such a configuration, when the water server is in use, since the connection distance variable mechanism is in a long extended state, the support of the upper housing may become unstable. On the other hand, if it is configured so that the upper housing rises when the connection distance is shortened, when the water server is in use, since the connection distance variable mechanism is in a short contracted state, the support of the upper housing can be made stable.

[0013] As the connection distance variable mechanism, a screw type jack having a screw shaft, a nut part engaged with the screw shaft, and a motion conversion mechanism for converting the axial movement of the nut part into the vertical relative movement between the upper housing side connection part and the lower housing side connection part can be adopted.

[0014] In this way, after raising the upper housing, it is possible to prevent the upper housing from descending due to the friction between the screw shaft and the nut part. Therefore, when the water server is in use, the support of the upper housing by the connection distance variable mechanism becomes stable.

[0015] Also, as the connection distance variable mechanism, a gas spring that applies a biasing force in the tensile direction between the upper housing side connection part and the lower housing side connection part can be adopted.

[0016] In this way, since the upper housing can be raised by utilizing the biasing force of the gas spring, the operation of raising the upper housing is easy.

[0017] The cooling device includes a compressor that compresses a refrigerant, a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor and outside air, an expansion valve that decompresses the refrigerant passing through the heat exchanger to lower the temperature, and a cooling pipe that performs heat exchange between the low-temperature refrigerant passing through the expansion valve and the cold water tank. The compressor, the heat exchanger, the expansion valve, and the cooling pipe are all provided so as to move up and down integrally with the upper housing. The upper housing has a pair of upper side plates facing each other left and right, a front panel attached to close a front opening between the front ends of the pair of upper side plates, and a top plate attached to close an upper end opening between the upper ends of the pair of upper side plates. The heat exchanger is a net plate-shaped member attached to cover a rear opening formed between the rear ends of the pair of upper side plates. The heat exchanger is provided to protrude downward from the upper housing to a position lower than the height corresponding to the lower ends of the pair of upper side plates. A configuration can be adopted in which the portion of the heat exchanger protruding downward from the upper housing is arranged to face the outside of the rear surface of the lower housing.

[0018] In this way, since the heat exchanger attached to cover the rear opening of the upper housing has a portion protruding downward from the upper housing, a large heat dissipation area of the heat exchanger can be ensured. Also, since the portion of the heat exchanger protruding downward from the upper housing is arranged to face the outside of the rear surface of the lower housing, it is possible to prevent a part of the heat exchanger from being covered by the lower housing and the heat exchange efficiency from decreasing.

[0019] This invention is preferably applied to a water server in which the height dimension of the housing in the server extended state is 1100 mm or more, and the height dimension of the housing in the server contracted state is 900 mm or less.

[0020] By doing so, since the height dimension of the housing in the server contraction state is 900 mm or less, it becomes possible to stack water servers standing upright in two or more heights in a general-sized marine container. Further, since the height dimension of the housing in the server extension state is 1100 mm or more, when using the water server, the height of the cold water outlet can be made sufficiently high, ensuring the usability of the water server.

Effect of the Invention

[0021] The water server of this invention is composed of a lower housing installed on the floor surface and an upper housing that fits slidably up and down to the lower housing. Therefore, before installing the server, by lowering the upper housing and transporting it in the server contraction state where the housing is contracted, the transportation cost of the water server can be kept low. On the other hand, after installing the server, by raising the upper housing and extending the housing, the position of the cold water outlet can be raised, ensuring the usability of the water server for the user.

Brief Explanation of the Drawings

[0022]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] Figs. 1 to 3 show a water server according to an embodiment of the present invention. This water server includes an elongated housing 1 that is slender in the vertical direction, a cold water tank 2 (see Fig. 3) disposed inside the housing 1, a cold water outlet 3 (see Fig. 1) for pouring out low-temperature drinking water in the cold water tank 2 to the outside of the housing 1, a hot water tank 4 (see Fig. 3) disposed inside the housing 1, and a hot water outlet 5 (see Fig. 1) for pouring out high-temperature drinking water in the hot water tank 4 to the outside of the housing 1

[0024] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the housing 1 is composed of a lower housing 1B installed on the floor surface F and an upper housing 1A that is vertically slidably fitted to the lower housing 1B. The lower housing 1B has a pair of lower side plates 6 (see Fig. 5) facing each other left and right, a bottom plate 7 fixed to the lower ends of the pair of lower side plates 6, and a lower back plate 8 connecting the rear ends of the pair of lower side plates 6. The bottom plate 7 is a plate-like member provided parallel to the floor surface F and is attached so as to cover the lower end opening between the pair of lower side plates 6

[0025] The upper housing 1A includes a pair of upper side plates 9 facing each other left and right (see FIG. 5), a front panel 10 attached to close the front opening between the front ends of the pair of upper side plates 9, a top plate 11 attached to close the upper end opening between the upper ends of the pair of upper side plates 9, and an upper back panel 12 connecting the upper rear ends of the pair of upper side plates 9 to each other.

[0026] A front door 13 for opening and closing the lower front part of the housing 1 is attached between the front panel 10 and the bottom plate 7. By opening and closing this front door 13, it is possible to perform the replacement operation of the water bottle 14 (see FIG. 3) accommodated in the lower housing 1B. As shown in FIG. 3, inside the lower housing 1B, there are provided a bottle holder 15 for setting the water bottle 14 and a pump 16 for pumping water from the water bottle 14 set in the bottle holder 15 to the cold water tank 2 and the hot water tank 4. The space between the water bottle 14 and the cold water tank 2 is connected by a raw water pumping pipe (not shown) via the pump 16.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, a tank fixing plate 17 is fixed inside the upper housing 1A. The tank fixing plate 17 is horizontally provided inside the upper housing 1A, and the cold water tank 2 and the hot water tank 4 are fixed to the tank fixing plate 17. The front end portion of the tank fixing plate 17 is screwed to the front end bending portion 9a (see FIG. 4) formed at the front ends of the pair of left and right upper side plates 9, and the rear end portion of the tank fixing plate 17 is screwed to the rear end bending portion 9b (see FIG. 4) formed at the rear ends of the pair of left and right upper side plates 9. By these screw fixings, the tank fixing plate 17 is fixed to the upper housing 1A. The front end bending portion 9a and the rear end bending portion 9b are portions formed by bending the front end and the rear end of the upper side plate 9 inward in the left - right direction.

[0028] The cold water outlet 3 and the hot water outlet 5 are attached to the tank fixing plate 17 in a state of being exposed forward from the front panel 10. The cold water outlet 3 and the hot water outlet 5 may be attached to the front panel 10. The cold water outlet 3 and the cold water tank 2 are connected via a cold water outlet pipe (not shown). By opening the cold water outlet 3, the low-temperature drinking water in the cold water tank 2 is poured out from the cold water outlet 3 through the cold water outlet pipe. The hot water outlet 5 and the hot water tank 4 are connected via a hot water outlet pipe 18. By opening the hot water outlet 5, the high-temperature drinking water in the hot water tank 4 is poured out from the hot water outlet 5 through the hot water outlet pipe 18.

[0029] A cooling device 20 for cooling the drinking water in the cold water tank 2 is attached to the cold water tank 2. The drinking water in the cold water tank 2 is maintained at a predetermined low temperature (for example, 10 °C or lower) by the cooling device 20. The cooling device 20 includes a compressor 21, a heat exchanger 22, an expansion valve 23, and a cooling pipe 24. The compressor 21, the heat exchanger 22, the expansion valve 23, and the cooling pipe 24 are connected by refrigerant pipes so that the refrigerant passes through and circulates in order.

[0030] The compressor 21 is fixed to a compressor fixing plate 25. The compressor fixing plate 25 is horizontally provided below the tank fixing plate 17 inside the upper housing 1A. As shown in FIG. 4, the front flange portion 25a provided at the front end of the compressor fixing plate 25 is screwed to the front bent portions 9a of the pair of left and right upper side plates 9, and the rear flange portion 25b provided at the rear end is screwed to the rear bent portions 9b of the pair of left and right upper side plates 9. By these screw fixings, the compressor fixing plate 25 is fixed to the upper housing 1A.

[0031] The compressor 21 shown in Fig. 3 sucks the refrigerant from the cooling pipe 24, compresses the refrigerant to raise the temperature of the refrigerant, and discharges the refrigerant that has become high-temperature and high-pressure to the side of the heat exchanger 22. The heat exchanger 22 is a net plate-shaped member in which the pipeline through which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 flows is arranged in a meandering manner along the back surface of the upper housing 1A, and cools and condenses the refrigerant by performing heat exchange between the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor 21 and the outside air. The expansion valve 23 receives the refrigerant that has passed through the heat exchanger 22, decompresses the refrigerant, and lowers the temperature. The cooling pipe 24 receives the refrigerant that has become low-temperature and low-pressure by the expansion valve 23, and performs heat exchange between the refrigerant and the cold water tank 2. The cooling pipe 24 is spirally wound around the outer periphery of the cold water tank 2. The cooling pipe 24 may be provided so as to penetrate the wall surface of the cold water tank 2 so as to pass through the inside of the cold water tank 2.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 4, the heat exchanger 22 is attached so as to cover the back opening formed between the rear end bent portions 9b of the pair of upper side plates 9. Further, as shown in Fig. 2, the heat exchanger 22 is provided so as to protrude downward from the upper housing 1A to a position lower than the height corresponding to the lower ends of the pair of upper side plates 9. The portion of the heat exchanger 22 protruding downward from the upper housing 1A is arranged so as to face the outside of the upper portion of the lower back plate 8 (see Fig. 3) of the lower housing 1B.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 3, a heating device 26 for heating the drinking water in the hot water tank 4 is attached to the hot water tank 4. The drinking water in the hot water tank 4 is maintained at a predetermined high temperature (for example, 80 °C or higher) by the heating device 26.

[0034] Here, as shown in Fig. 3, the cold water tank 2, the hot water tank 4, the cold water outlet 3 (see Fig. 1), the hot water outlet 5, the compressor 21, the heat exchanger 22, the expansion valve 23, and the cooling pipe 24 are provided so as to move up and down integrally with the upper housing 1A when the upper housing 1A slides up and down with respect to the lower housing 1B.

[0035] This water server has, as a mechanism for moving the upper housing 1A vertically with respect to the lower housing 1B, an upper housing side connected part 30 fixed to the upper housing 1A, a lower housing side connected part 31 fixed to the lower housing 1B, and a connection distance variable mechanism 32 that connects between the upper housing side connected part 30 and the lower housing side connected part 31 and changes the connection distance between the upper housing side connected part 30 and the lower housing side connected part 31. The connection distance variable mechanism 32 has an operation part 33 operated by a user. By the user operating this operation part 33, the connection distance between the upper housing side connected part 30 and the lower housing side connected part 31 is changed, and as a result, the upper housing 1A can be moved vertically with respect to the lower housing 1B.

[0036] Here, the upper housing side connected part 30 is arranged below the lower housing side connected part 31. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 9, when the connection distance between the upper housing side connected part 30 and the lower housing side connected part 31 becomes long, the upper housing 1A descends, and as shown in FIG. 3, when the connection distance between the upper housing side connected part 30 and the lower housing side connected part 31 becomes short, the upper housing 1A ascends.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 6, the upper housing side connected part 30 is a pair of left and right horizontal rails extending in the front - rear direction fixed to the lower surface of the compressor fixing plate 25 with screws. The upper housing side connected part 30 is fixed to the upper housing 1A via the compressor fixing plate 25. The lower housing side connected part 31 is a pair of left and right horizontal rails extending in the front - rear direction fixed with nuts 35 to the upper end parts of four support rods 34 extending upward from the four corners of the bottom plate 7. The lower housing side connected part 31 is fixed to the bottom plate 7 of the lower housing 1B via the support rods 34. Through - holes 36 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) for slidably penetrating the support rods 34 are formed in the compressor fixing plate 25 and the upper housing side connected part 30.

[0038] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the connection distance variable mechanism 32 includes a first arm 37 and a second arm 38 that are rotatably and cross - connected, and a screw shaft 39 that changes the crossing angle between the first arm 37 and the second arm 38. An operation portion 33 (see FIG. 7) for rotating the screw shaft 39 is detachably provided at an end of the screw shaft 39.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 6, the pair of the first arm 37 and the second arm 38 are provided on the left and right with the compressor 21 therebetween. As shown in FIG. 5, the lower ends of the first arms 37 are connected by a first - arm lower - end connecting frame 41, and the lower ends of the second arms 38 are connected by a second - arm lower - end connecting frame 42. Similarly, the upper ends of the first arms 37 are connected by a first - arm upper - end connecting frame 43 (see FIG. 7), and the upper ends of the second arms 38 are connected by a second - arm upper - end connecting frame 44 (see FIG. 7).

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, the first - arm lower - end connecting frame 41 is fixed to the lower surface of the compressor fixing plate 25 with screws via a spacer 45. A bearing portion 46 that rotatably supports the screw shaft 39 and is immovable in the axial direction is provided on the first - arm lower - end connecting frame 41. A nut portion 47 that is screw - engaged with the screw shaft 39 is provided on the second - arm lower - end connecting frame 42. The upper end of the first arm 37 is supported by the lower - housing - side connected portion 31 so as to be movable in the front - rear direction. The lower end of the second arm 38 is supported by the upper - housing - side connected portion 30 so as to be movable in the front - rear direction. The upper end of the second arm 38 is rotatably supported by the lower - housing - side connected portion 31. The first arm 37 and the second arm 38 constitute a motion conversion mechanism 40 that converts the axial movement of the nut portion 47 with respect to the screw shaft 39 into the vertical relative movement between the upper - housing - side connected portion 30 and the lower - housing - side connected portion 31.

[0041] Before installing the water server, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the upper housing 1A is lowered and the housing 1 is transported in a contracted server state in which it is contracted. The height dimension of the housing 1 from the floor surface F in this contracted server state is set to 900 mm or less. Therefore, when manufacturing the water server overseas and packing and transporting the water server to the domestic market, it is possible to stack the water servers at two or more levels inside a standard-sized marine container (such as a 40-foot container). Also, in the domestic market, it is possible to keep the delivery cost low when delivering (secondary transportation) the water server to the user.

[0042] After the above water server is delivered and installed at the user's home or the like, the user rotates the operation unit 33 shown in FIG. 9 to raise the upper housing 1A and extend the housing 1 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and uses the water server in the extended server state. The height dimension of the housing 1 from the floor surface F in this extended server state is set to 1100 mm or more (at this time, the height H of the cold water outlet 3 and the hot water outlet 5 shown in FIG. 1 from the floor surface F is 800 mm or more). Note that the front door 13 is removed from the housing 1 in the contracted server state shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and then, after raising the upper housing 1A to the extended server state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it is attached to the housing 1.

[0043] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, this water server is composed of a lower housing 1B installed on the floor surface F and an upper housing 1A that is vertically slidably fitted to the lower housing 1B. Therefore, before installing the server, as shown in FIG. 8, by lowering the upper housing 1A and transporting the housing 1 in a contracted server state in which it is contracted, the transportation cost of the water server can be kept low. On the other hand, after installing the server, as shown in FIG. 2, by raising the upper housing 1A and extending the housing 1, the position of the cold water outlet 3 (see FIG. 1) can be raised, and it is possible to ensure the usability of the water server for the user.

[0044] In addition, in this water server, the support of the upper housing 1A in the state of using the water server is stable. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, when the upper housing 1A is lifted by changing the connection distance between the upper housing side connected part 30 fixed to the upper housing 1A and the lower housing side connected part 31 fixed to the lower housing 1B, for example, when the upper housing side connected part 30 is arranged above the lower housing side connected part 31 and the connection distance between the upper housing side connected part 30 and the lower housing side connected part 31 is increased, the upper housing 1A can be configured to rise. However, when configured in this way, during the use of the water server, since the connection distance variable mechanism 32 is in a long extended state, the support of the upper housing 1A may become unstable. On the contrary, as in the above embodiment, when the upper housing side connected part 30 is arranged below the lower housing side connected part 31 and the upper housing 1A is configured to rise when the connection distance between the upper housing side connected part 30 and the lower housing side connected part 31 is shortened, during the use of the water server, since the connection distance variable mechanism 32 is in a short contracted state, the support of the upper housing 1A can be made stable.

[0045] In addition, as the connection distance variable mechanism 32, as shown in FIG. 7, this water server employs a screw jack having a screw shaft 39, a nut part 47 engaged with the screw shaft 39, and a motion conversion mechanism 40 that converts the axial movement of the nut part 47 into the relative vertical movement between the upper housing side connected part 30 and the lower housing side connected part 31. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, after the upper housing 1A is lifted, the descent of the upper housing 1A can be prevented by the friction between the screw shaft 39 and the nut part 47. Therefore, during the use of the water server, the support of the upper housing 1A by the connection distance variable mechanism 32 is stable.

[0046] Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, this water server has a heat exchanger 22 attached to cover the rear opening of the upper housing 1A and having a portion protruding downward from the upper housing 1A. Therefore, a large heat dissipation area of the heat exchanger 22 can be ensured. Also, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the server extended state, the portion of the heat exchanger 22 protruding downward from the upper housing 1A is arranged to face the outside of the lower rear panel 8 of the lower housing 1B. Thus, it is possible to prevent a part of the heat exchanger 22 from being covered by the lower housing 1B and the heat exchange efficiency from decreasing.

[0047] Further, since the height dimension of the housing 1 in the server contracted state shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 of this water server is 900 mm or less, it is possible to stack the water servers standing upright in two or more heights in a general-sized marine container. Also, since the height dimension of the housing 1 in the server extended state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is 1100 mm or more, when using the water server, the height H (see FIG. 1) of the cold water outlet 3 can be made sufficiently high, and the usability of the water server can be ensured.

[0048] In the above-described embodiment, as a screw jack for changing the connection distance between the upper housing side connected portion 30 and the lower housing side connected portion 31, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, the first arm 37 and the second arm 38 that are rotatably crossed and connected, and the screw shaft 39 and the nut portion 47 for changing the crossing angle between the first arm 37 and the second arm 38 have been described as an example. However, as shown in FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b), a first upper link arm 51 having an upper end rotatably connected to the lower housing side connected portion 31, a first lower link arm 52 having an upper end rotatably connected to the lower end of the first upper link arm 51 and a lower end rotatably connected to the upper housing side connected portion 30, a second upper link arm 53 having an upper end rotatably connected to the lower housing side connected portion 31, a second lower link arm 54 having an upper end rotatably connected to the lower end of the second upper link arm 53 and a lower end rotatably connected to the upper housing side connected portion 30, and a screw shaft 39 and a nut portion 47 for changing the crossing angle (the crossing angle between the second upper link arm 53 and the second lower link arm 54) between the first upper link arm 51 and the first lower link arm 52 (a pantograph type jack) can also be adopted.

[0049] Also, as shown in FIGS. 12(a) and 12(b), as a connection distance variable mechanism 32 for changing the connection distance between the upper housing side connected portion 30 and the lower housing side connected portion 31, it is also possible to adopt a gas spring 55 that applies a biasing force in the tensile direction between the upper housing side connected portion 30 and the lower housing side connected portion 31. By doing so, since the upper housing 1A can be raised using the biasing force of the gas spring 55, the operation of raising the upper housing 1A is easy. In this case, it is preferable to provide a locking means (not shown) for locking the upper housing 1A in the raised position.

[0050] This water server also has stable support for the upper housing 1A in the state of using the water server, similar to the above-described embodiment. That is, as shown in FIGS. 12(a) and 12(b), when the upper housing 1A is lifted by changing the connection distance between the upper housing-side connected part 30 fixed to the upper housing 1A and the lower housing-side connected part 31 fixed to the lower housing 1B, for example, when the upper housing-side connected part 30 is arranged above the lower housing-side connected part 31 and the connection distance between the upper housing-side connected part 30 and the lower housing-side connected part 31 is lengthened, the upper housing 1A can be configured to rise. However, in such a case, when the water server is in use, since the connection distance variable mechanism 32 is in a long extended state, the support of the upper housing 1A may become unstable. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 12(a) and 12(b), when the upper housing-side connected part 30 is arranged below the lower housing-side connected part 31 and the upper housing 1A is configured to rise when the connection distance between the upper housing-side connected part 30 and the lower housing-side connected part 31 is shortened, when the water server is in use, since the connection distance variable mechanism 32 is in a short contracted state, the support of the upper housing 1A can be made stable.

[0051] In the above-described embodiment, a water server of a type in which a replaceable water bottle 14 is installed at the lower part of the housing 1 has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a water server of a type in which a replaceable water bottle 14 is installed at the upper part (for example, the upper surface of the top plate 11) of the housing 1. Further, the present invention may be applied to a water purification type water server that has a raw water tank for storing tap water of a household instead of the replaceable water bottle 14, filters the water in the raw water tank with a water purification cartridge arranged inside the housing 1, and stores and cools the filtered purified water in the cold water tank 2.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0052] 1 Housing 1A Upper housing 1B Lower housing 2 Cold water tank 3 Cold water outlet 9 Upper side plate 10 Front panel 11 Top plate 20 Cooling device 21 Compressor 22 Heat exchanger 23 Expansion valve 24 Cooling pipe 30 Upper housing side connected part 31 Lower housing side connected part 32 Connection distance variable mechanism 39 Screw shaft 40 Motion conversion mechanism 47 Nut part 55 Gas spring F Floor surface

Claims

1. A housing (1), A cold water tank (2) disposed inside the housing (1), A cooling device (20) for cooling the drinking water in the cold water tank (2), A cold water outlet (3) for pouring out the low-temperature drinking water in the cold water tank (2) to the outside of the housing (1), In a water server having the above, The housing (1) is composed of a lower housing (1B) installed on the floor surface (F) and an upper housing (1A) that fits slidably up and down on the lower housing (1B), The cold water tank (2) and the cold water outlet (3) are provided on the upper housing (1A) so as to move up and down integrally with the upper housing (1A), Before the server is installed, the upper housing (1A) is lowered and the housing (1) is transported in a server contracted state in which the housing (1) is contracted. After the server is installed, the upper housing (1A) is raised and the housing (1) is used in a server extended state in which the housing (1) is extended. A water server characterized by this.

2. An upper housing side connected part (30) fixed to the upper housing (1A), A lower housing side connected part (31) fixed to the lower housing (1B), A connecting distance variable mechanism (32) that connects between the upper housing side connected part (30) and the lower housing side connected part (31) and changes the connecting distance between the upper housing side connected part (30) and the lower housing side connected part (31). It further has, The upper housing side connected part (30) is disposed below the lower housing side connected part (31) so that the upper housing (1A) rises when the connecting distance between the upper housing side connected part (30) and the lower housing side connected part (31) becomes shorter. The water server according to claim 1.

3. The connecting distance variable mechanism (32) is a screw type jack having a screw shaft (39), a nut part (47) engaged with the screw shaft (39), and a movement conversion mechanism (40) for converting the axial movement of the nut part (47) with respect to the screw shaft (39) into the vertical relative movement of the upper housing side connected part (30) and the lower housing side connected part (31). The water server according to claim 2.

4. The connecting distance variable mechanism (32) is a gas spring (55) that applies a biasing force in the tensile direction between the upper housing side connected part (30) and the lower housing side connected part (31). The water server according to claim 2.

5. The cooling device (20) includes a compressor (21) that compresses a refrigerant, a heat exchanger (22) that performs heat exchange between the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor (21) and outside air, an expansion valve (23) that decompresses the refrigerant passing through the heat exchanger (22) to lower the temperature, and a cooling pipe (24) that performs heat exchange between the low-temperature refrigerant passing through the expansion valve (23) and the cold water tank (2). The compressor (21), the heat exchanger (22), the expansion valve (23), and the cooling pipe (24) are all provided so as to move up and down integrally with the upper housing (1A). The upper housing (1A) has a pair of upper side plates (9) facing each other left and right, a front panel (10) attached to close the front opening between the front ends of the pair of upper side plates (9), and a top plate (11) attached to close the upper end opening between the upper ends of the pair of upper side plates (9). The heat exchanger (22) is a net plate-shaped member attached to cover the rear opening formed between the rear ends of the pair of upper side plates (9). The heat exchanger (22) is provided to protrude downward from the upper housing (1A) to a position lower than the height corresponding to the lower ends of the pair of upper side plates (9). The water server according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a portion of the heat exchanger (22) protruding downward from the upper housing (1A) is arranged to face the outside of the rear surface of the lower housing (1B).

6. The water server according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the height dimension of the housing (1) in the server extended state is 1100 mm or more, and the height dimension of the housing (1) in the server contracted state is 900 mm or less.

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