UV sterilization water server

Abstract

To provide a water server with a UV sterilizing function, the water server allowing a user to easily exchange an ultraviolet LED that irradiates the inside of a drinking water tank with sterilizing ultraviolet.SOLUTION: A ultraviolet LED 13 is provided in a UV cartridge 41 attachable to and detachable from a UV cartridge mounting unit 40 provided in a housing 1. The UV cartridge 41 has a pair of power receiving terminals 49 electrically connected to an electrode of the ultraviolet LED 13, the UV cartridge mounting unit 40 has a pair of power feeding terminals 50, and a UV transmission window 30 that transmits ultraviolet irradiated from the ultraviolet LED 13 from the outside of a normal temperature water tank 6 to the inside of the same is provided in the normal temperature water tank 6.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a water server with a UV sterilization function. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, water servers have been used mainly in offices and hospitals, but in recent years, growing interest in water safety and health has led to water servers becoming more common in ordinary homes. Water servers generally have a housing, a drinking water tank located within the housing, and a drinking water outlet passage that dispenses the drinking water from the drinking water tank to the outside of the housing. By opening a valve provided in the drinking water outlet passage, delicious drinking water can be enjoyed immediately at any time, making them highly convenient (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] The drinking water tank inside the water server housing generally contains natural spring water or purified water that has been filtered through a water purification filter. However, because natural spring water and purified water do not contain chlorine, there is a possibility that bacteria will grow inside the drinking water tank if no measures are taken.

[0004] Therefore, in Patent Document 1, in order to prevent the proliferation of germs inside the drinking water tank, an ultraviolet LED is installed inside the drinking water tank, and the ultraviolet LED irradiates the inside of the drinking water tank with sterilizing ultraviolet light. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2017 / 221719 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The water server with UV sterilization function in Patent Document 1 has a detachable ultraviolet LED inside the drinking water tank to enable replacement. To replace the ultraviolet LED, the water server housing is opened, the tank lid of the drinking water tank located inside the housing is removed, and the ultraviolet LED inside the drinking water tank is removed and replaced.

[0007] If the user were to replace this UV LED, there is a possibility that foreign objects may enter the drinking water tank when the user removes the tank lid. Therefore, the UV LED replacement work must be performed by a water server company, not by the user.

[0008] However, when a water server company replaces the UV LEDs, they must either collect the water server from the user's home or visit the user's home, which is costly and places a heavy financial burden on the user.

[0009] The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a water server with a UV sterilization function that allows users to easily replace the ultraviolet LED that irradiates the inside of the drinking water tank with ultraviolet rays for sterilization. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a water server with a UV sterilization function having the following configuration. The housing and a drinking water tank disposed within the housing; a drinking water outlet path for discharging the drinking water in the drinking water tank to the outside of the housing; In a water server with a UV sterilization function, the water server has an ultraviolet LED that irradiates the inside of the drinking water tank with ultraviolet light for sterilization, The ultraviolet LED is provided in a UV cartridge that is detachable from a UV cartridge mounting portion provided in the housing, the UV cartridge has a pair of power receiving terminals electrically connected to electrodes of the ultraviolet LED; the UV cartridge mounting portion has a pair of power supply terminals that come into contact with the pair of power receiving terminals when the UV cartridge is mounted; A water server with UV sterilization function, characterized in that the drinking water tank is provided with a UV-transmitting window that allows ultraviolet rays irradiated from the ultraviolet LED to pass from the outside to the inside of the drinking water tank when the UV cartridge is attached to the UV cartridge attachment section.

[0011] In this way, the ultraviolet LED is placed on the outside of the drinking water tank so that it irradiates the inside of the drinking water tank with sterilizing ultraviolet light through a UV-transmitting window provided in the drinking water tank, and the UV cartridge containing the ultraviolet LED is detachable from the UV cartridge mounting portion provided in the housing, so that the UV cartridge can be replaced without opening the inside of the drinking water tank, and even users can easily replace the UV cartridge (ultraviolet LED).

[0012] the UV cartridge mounting portion has a cartridge insertion tube that extends from a cartridge insertion hole that opens on the outer surface of the housing through the inside of the housing toward the UV transmission window of the drinking water tank, It is preferable that the UV cartridge is configured to be inserted into the cartridge insertion tube through the cartridge insertion hole.

[0013] In this way, the UV cartridge is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube through the cartridge insertion hole on the outer surface of the water server housing, so the UV cartridge can be replaced without opening the water server housing, making it easy for users to replace the UV cartridge.

[0014] the pair of power supply terminals are disposed on the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube so as to face inward, It is preferable to adopt a configuration in which the pair of power receiving terminals are arranged on opposite sides of the outer periphery of the UV cartridge so as to be sandwiched between the pair of power supply terminals when the UV cartridge is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube.

[0015] In this way, when the UV cartridge is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube, a pair of power receiving terminals of the UV cartridge are sandwiched between a pair of power supply terminals of the cartridge insertion tube, thereby stabilizing the contact state between the power receiving terminals and the power supply terminals.

[0016] In this case, it is preferable to adopt a configuration in which the contour shape of the outer periphery of the UV cartridge and the contour shape of the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube are rotationally asymmetric so that the UV cartridge can be inserted into the cartridge insertion tube only at a specific angular position where the pair of power supply terminals and the pair of power receiving terminals correspond to each other, and cannot be inserted at any other angular position.

[0017] This configuration reliably prevents the user from accidentally reversing the polarity of the pair of power receiving terminals on the UV cartridge and the polarity of the pair of power supply terminals on the cartridge insertion tube when inserting the UV cartridge into the cartridge insertion tube. In other words, the UV LED will not light up if the polarity of the voltage applied to its electrodes is reversed. Furthermore, because the UV LED is located at the insertion point of the UV cartridge into the cartridge insertion tube, it is difficult to visually determine whether the UV LED is on or off when the UV cartridge is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube. Therefore, if the UV cartridge is mistakenly inserted with the polarity reversed, the user may use the water dispenser without realizing that the UV LED is not lit. To address this issue, adopting a configuration in which the contour shapes of the outer periphery of the UV cartridge and the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube are asymmetrical, as described above, would prevent the outer periphery of the UV cartridge from interfering with the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube when the user mistakenly reverses the polarity. This makes it possible to reliably prevent the positive and negative polarities of the voltage supplied to the ultraviolet LED from being accidentally reversed, thereby enabling the ultraviolet LED to be turned on reliably.

[0018] the housing has a cylindrical portion extending in a vertical direction and a top plate provided at an upper end of the cylindrical portion, The drinking water tank has a tank lid arranged opposite to the underside of the top plate, The tank lid is provided with the UV-transmitting window, The cartridge insertion tube may be configured to extend from the cartridge insertion hole, which opens in the upper surface of the top plate of the housing, through the inside of the housing toward the UV transmission window.

[0019] It is preferable that the UV cartridge has a configuration having an end plate to which the ultraviolet LED is fixed, a hollow cylindrical portion extending axially from the end plate, and a heat dissipation vent hole formed by penetrating the hollow cylindrical portion in a direction perpendicular to the axis.

[0020] In this way, the heat generated by the ultraviolet LED is discharged through the inside of the hollow cylinder and the heat dissipation vents, so the ultraviolet LED is less likely to become hot and it is possible to prevent a decrease in brightness due to heat from the ultraviolet LED. [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] In the water server with UV sterilization function of this invention, an ultraviolet LED is placed on the outside of the drinking water tank so that it irradiates the inside of the drinking water tank with sterilizing ultraviolet light through a UV-transmitting window provided in the drinking water tank, and the UV cartridge containing the ultraviolet LED is attachable and detachable to a UV cartridge mounting portion provided in the housing, so that the UV cartridge can be replaced without opening the inside of the drinking water tank, and users can easily replace the UV cartridge (ultraviolet LED). [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] Cross-sectional view of a water server with UV sterilization function according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] A cross-sectional view of the room temperature water tank, cold water tank, and hot water tank in Figure 1, seen from the front. [Figure 3] Cross-sectional view along line III-III in Figure 2 [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view along line IV-IV in Figure 2 [Figure 5] Enlarged cross-sectional view of the UV cartridge in Figure 2 [Figure 6] Cross-sectional view along line VI-VI in Figure 5 [Figure 7] 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating the process of inserting and removing the UV cartridge shown in FIG. 5 from the cartridge insertion tube. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Figure 1 shows a water server with UV sterilization function according to an embodiment of the present invention. This water server includes a housing 1 installed on floor F, a raw water tank 2 for storing tap water as raw water, a replaceable water purification filter cartridge 3, a raw water pipe 4 connecting the raw water tank 2 and the water purification filter cartridge 3, an electric pump 5 installed midway along the raw water pipe 4, a room-temperature water tank 6, a cold water tank 7, and a hot water tank 8 (see Figure 2) located within the housing 1, a room-temperature water outlet 10 (see Figure 3) for dispensing drinking water from the room-temperature water tank 6 to the outside of the housing 1, a cold water outlet 11 for dispensing drinking water from the cold water tank 7 to the outside of the housing 1, a hot water outlet 12 (see Figure 4) for dispensing drinking water from the hot water tank 8 to the outside of the housing 1, and an ultraviolet LED 13 (see Figure 2) for irradiating the inside of the room-temperature water tank 6 with ultraviolet light for sterilization.

[0024] The housing 1 has a tubular portion 14 extending in the vertical direction, a top plate 15 provided at the upper end of the tubular portion 14, and a bottom plate 16 provided at the lower end of the tubular portion 14. The raw water tank 2 is detachably set on the top plate 15. A raw water inlet 17 is provided on the top plate 15 at the upstream end of the raw water pipe 4.

[0025] The raw water tank 2 is provided with a tank on-off valve 18. The tank on-off valve 18 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 15, and that connects the inside of the raw water tank 2 to the raw water inlet 17 when the raw water tank 2 is set on the top plate 15. The electric pump 5 draws raw water from the raw water tank 2 side and discharges it toward the water purification filter cartridge 3, thereby transferring the raw water in the raw water pipe 4 from the raw water tank 2 side to the water purification filter cartridge 3 side. A purified water pipe 19 connects the water purification filter cartridge 3 and the room temperature water tank 6, and purified water filtered by the water purification filter cartridge 3 is introduced into the room temperature water tank 6 through the purified water pipe 19.

[0026] As shown in Figure 2, the room temperature water tank 6 has a cylindrical tank body 20 with a bottom and an open top, and a tank lid 21 attached to the top opening of the tank body 20. The tank lid 21 is disposed facing the underside of the top plate 15 of the housing 1. The room temperature water tank 6 contains air and purified water filtered by a water purification filter cartridge 3 (see Figure 1) in two layers, one above the other. The room temperature water tank 6 is provided with a water level sensor 22 that detects the water level in the room temperature water tank 6, and the electric pump 5 (see Figure 1) is controlled based on the output signal of this water level sensor 22.

[0027] As shown in Figure 3, a room temperature water outlet passage 10 that outlets purified water in the room temperature water tank 6 to the outside of the housing 1 is connected to the bottom of the room temperature water tank 6. A room temperature water outlet valve 23 is provided midway along the room temperature water outlet passage 10. When the room temperature water outlet valve 23 is opened, the purified water in the room temperature water tank 6 is pushed out by its own weight and is discharged to the outside of the housing 1 through the room temperature water outlet passage 10.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, 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 tank connecting pipe 24, and purified water is introduced from the room temperature water tank 6 to the cold water tank 7 through the tank connecting pipe 24. A cooling device 25 that cools the purified water in the cold water tank 7 is attached to the cold water tank 7. The purified water in the cold water tank 7 is kept at a predetermined low temperature (for example, 10°C or below) by the cooling device 25.

[0029] A cold water outlet passage 11, which outlets the purified water in the cold water tank 7 to the outside of the housing 1, is connected to the bottom of the cold water tank 7. A cold water outlet valve 26 is provided midway along the cold water outlet passage 11. When the cold water outlet valve 26 is opened, the purified water in the cold water tank 7 is pushed out by the weight of the purified water in the room temperature water tank 6 located above the cold water tank 7, and is poured out through the cold water outlet passage 11. At this time, the same amount of purified water as that poured out from the cold water tank 7 flows into the cold water tank 7 from the room temperature water tank 6 through the tank connecting pipe 24, and the cold water tank 7 is always kept full.

[0030] As shown in Figure 4, the hot water tank 8 is disposed below the room temperature water tank 6. The hot water tank 8 and room temperature water tank 6 are connected via a tank connecting pipe 27, and purified water is introduced from the room temperature water tank 6 to the hot water tank 8 through the tank connecting pipe 27. A heating device 28 that heats the purified water in the hot water tank 8 is attached to the hot water tank 8. The purified water in the hot water tank 8 is kept at a predetermined high temperature (for example, 80°C or higher) by the heating device 28.

[0031] A hot water outlet passage 12 that outlets the purified water in the hot water tank 8 to the outside of the housing 1 is connected to the top surface of the hot water tank 8. A hot water outlet valve 29 is provided midway along the hot water outlet passage 12. When the hot water outlet valve 29 is opened, the purified water in the hot water tank 8 is pushed out by the weight of the purified water in the room temperature water tank 6 located above the hot water tank 8, and is poured out through the hot water outlet passage 12. At this time, the same amount of purified water as that poured out from the hot water tank 8 flows into the hot water tank 8 from the room temperature water tank 6 through the tank connecting pipe 27, and the hot water tank 8 is always kept full.

[0032] As shown in Figure 5, the ultraviolet LED 13 is disposed opposite a UV-transmitting window 30 provided on the tank lid 21 of the room-temperature water tank 6. The ultraviolet LED 13 is an LED that emits deep ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 275 nm, which has a sterilizing effect. The UV-transmitting window 30 is formed of transparent quartz glass so that the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet LED 13 passes from the outside to the inside of the room-temperature water tank 6. The outer periphery of the UV-transmitting window 30 is held by a window holding plate 31.

[0033] The window retaining plate 31 is a component for attaching the UV-transmitting window 30 to a window mounting hole 32 formed in the tank lid 21. The window retaining plate 31 has a threaded cylindrical portion 33 that is inserted into the window mounting hole 32 from the inside to the outside of the room-temperature water tank 6, and a flange portion 34 that faces the inner surface of the room-temperature water tank 6 around the periphery of the window mounting hole 32. An annular seal member 35 is fitted between the flange portion 34 and the inner surface of the room-temperature water tank 6 around the periphery of the window mounting hole 32. An annular nut member 36 is threadedly engaged with the portion of the threaded cylindrical portion 33 that protrudes outward from the room-temperature water tank 6. The window retaining plate 31 is fixed to the tank lid 21 by sandwiching the periphery of the window mounting hole 32 between the nut member 36 and the flange portion 34. Use of this window retaining plate 31 prevents foreign matter from entering the room-temperature water tank 6 with the seal member 35, and also ensures reliable fixation of the UV-transmitting window 30.

[0034] The ultraviolet LEDs 13 are provided in a UV cartridge 41 that is detachably attached to a UV cartridge attachment section 40 provided on the top plate 15 of the housing 1. The UV cartridge attachment section 40 has a cartridge insertion tube 43 that extends from a cartridge insertion hole 42 that opens on the upper surface of the top plate 15 of the housing 1, through the inside of the housing 1, toward the UV transmission window 30, and the UV cartridge 41 is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube 43 from the cartridge insertion hole 42. The insertion end of the UV cartridge 41 into the cartridge insertion hole 42 protrudes from the end of the cartridge insertion tube 43 on the UV transmission window 30 side. The ultraviolet LEDs 13 are disposed at the insertion end of the UV cartridge 41 into the cartridge insertion tube 43.

[0035] The UV cartridge 41 has an end plate 44 to which the ultraviolet LEDs 13 are fixed, a hollow cylindrical portion 45 extending axially from the end plate 44, heat dissipation vent holes 46 formed by penetrating the hollow cylindrical portion 45 in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and a second end plate 47 provided at the end of the hollow cylindrical portion 45 opposite the end plate 44. The second end plate 47 is formed to protrude outward from the outer periphery of the hollow cylindrical portion 45 and abuts against the peripheral edge of the entrance of the cartridge insertion hole 42. A rubber O-ring 48 is attached to the outer periphery of the end of the hollow cylindrical portion 45 on the second end plate 47 side to provide a seal between the outer periphery of the hollow cylindrical portion 45 and the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube 43.

[0036] A pair of power receiving terminals 49 are provided on the outer periphery of the hollow cylinder portion 45 of the UV cartridge 41. The pair of power receiving terminals 49 are electrically connected to a pair of electrodes of the ultraviolet LEDs 13 via electrical wiring (not shown) incorporated inside the hollow cylinder portion 45. A pair of power supply terminals 50 that contact the pair of power receiving terminals 49 are arranged facing inward on the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion cylinder 43 of the UV cartridge mounting portion 40. The power supply terminals 50 are incorporated in terminal mounting holes that penetrate the cartridge insertion cylinder 43 from the inside to the outside. The portions of the pair of power supply terminals 50 located outside the cartridge insertion cylinder 43 are connected to a DC voltage power source via electrical wiring (not shown).

[0037] 6 , the pair of power receiving terminals 49 are arranged on opposite sides of the outer periphery of the UV cartridge 41 so as to be sandwiched between the pair of power supply terminals 50 when the UV cartridge 41 is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube 43. A protrusion 51 is provided on the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube 43, and an axial groove 52 is provided on the outer periphery of the hollow cylindrical portion 45 of the UV cartridge 41 at a position corresponding to the protrusion 51. By providing this protrusion 51 and axial groove 52, the contour shape of the outer periphery of the UV cartridge 41 and the contour shape of the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube 43 are made as rotationally asymmetrical, such that the UV cartridge 41 can be inserted into the cartridge insertion tube 43 only at a specific angular position where the pair of power supply terminals 50 and the pair of power receiving terminals 49 correspond to each other, and cannot be inserted at any other angular position.

[0038] The room temperature water tank 6 shown in Figure 1 stores purified water that has been filtered through a water purification filter cartridge 3. Because the purified water does not contain chlorine, there is a possibility that bacteria will grow inside the room temperature water tank 6 if no measures are taken. To address this issue, the water server described above, as shown in Figure 2, irradiates the inside of the room temperature water tank 6 with sterilizing ultraviolet light from an ultraviolet LED 13, making it possible to prevent the growth of bacteria inside the room temperature water tank 6.

[0039] The ultraviolet LED 13 needs to be replaced when the cumulative lighting time of the ultraviolet LED 13 reaches a predetermined time. If the water server company were to replace the ultraviolet LED 13, the company would have to collect the water server from the user's home or visit the user's home, which would be costly and would place a heavy financial burden on the user.

[0040] Regarding this problem, in the above-mentioned water server, as shown in Figure 5, the ultraviolet LED 13 is positioned outside the room temperature water tank 6 so that it irradiates the inside of the room temperature water tank 6 with sterilizing ultraviolet light through a UV-transmitting window 30 provided in the room temperature water tank 6, and the UV cartridge 41 containing the ultraviolet LED 13 is detachable from the UV cartridge mounting portion 40 as shown in Figure 7, so that the UV cartridge 41 can be replaced without opening the inside of the room temperature water tank 6, and even users can easily replace the UV cartridge 41 (ultraviolet LED 13).

[0041] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 7, this water server is configured so that the UV cartridge 41 is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube 43 through the cartridge insertion hole 42 that opens on the outer surface of the water server's housing 1. This means that the UV cartridge 41 can be replaced without opening the water server's housing 1, and users can easily replace the UV cartridge 41.

[0042] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, this water server has a pair of power supply terminals 50 arranged facing inward on the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube 43, and a pair of power receiving terminals 49 arranged on opposite sides of the outer periphery of the UV cartridge 41.When the UV cartridge 41 is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube 43, the pair of power receiving terminals 49 of the UV cartridge 41 are sandwiched between the pair of power supply terminals 50 of the cartridge insertion tube 43, ensuring stable contact between the power receiving terminals 49 and the power supply terminals 50.

[0043] As shown in Figures 5 and 7, this water server can reliably prevent the positive and negative terminals of the pair of power receiving terminals 49 of the UV cartridge 41 from being inverted when the user inserts the UV cartridge 41 into the cartridge insertion tube 43. In other words, the ultraviolet LED 13 will not light up if the positive and negative terminals of the voltage applied to its electrodes are reversed. Furthermore, because the ultraviolet LED 13 is located at the insertion portion of the UV cartridge 41 into the cartridge insertion tube 43, it is difficult to visually determine whether the ultraviolet LED is lit when the UV cartridge 41 is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube 43. Therefore, if the UV cartridge 41 is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube 43 with the positive and negative terminals reversed, the user may not realize that the ultraviolet LED 13 is not lit and may use the water server in that state. To address this issue, in the above-mentioned water server, as shown in Figure 6, the contour shape of the outer periphery of the UV cartridge 41 and the contour shape of the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube 43 are rotationally asymmetrical, so that if the user accidentally reverses the positive and negative poles, the outer periphery of the UV cartridge 41 will interfere with the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube 43, making it impossible to insert the UV cartridge 41 into the cartridge insertion tube 43. This makes it possible to reliably prevent the positive and negative poles of the voltage supplied to the ultraviolet LED 13 from being accidentally reversed, and ensures that the ultraviolet LED 13 will light up.

[0044] 5, this water server employs a UV cartridge 41 having an end plate 44 to which the ultraviolet LEDs 13 are fixed, a hollow cylinder 45 extending axially from the end plate 44, and heat dissipation vent holes 46 formed by penetrating the hollow cylinder 45 in a direction perpendicular to the axis, so that heat generated by the ultraviolet LEDs 13 is discharged through the inside of the hollow cylinder 45 and the heat dissipation vent holes 46. Therefore, the ultraviolet LEDs 13 are less likely to become hot, and it is possible to prevent a decrease in brightness due to heat from the ultraviolet LEDs 13.

[0045] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, an example was described in which a room temperature water tank 6 is placed facing the underside of the top plate 15 of the housing 1 and a UV-transmitting window 30 is provided in the room temperature water tank 6. However, it is also possible to configure the cold water tank 7 to be placed facing the underside of the top plate 15 of the housing 1 and to provide a UV-transmitting window 30 in the cold water tank 7.

[0046] In addition, in the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, an example was given in which the UV-transmitting window 30 was provided on the tank lid 21, but the UV-transmitting window 30 can also be configured to be provided on the side or bottom of the tank body 20 of the drinking water tank.

[0047] In addition, in the above embodiment, the cartridge insertion hole 42 opening on the outer surface of the housing 1 is described as opening on the top surface of the top plate 15 of the housing 1, as shown in Figure 3. However, it is also possible to adopt a cartridge insertion hole 42 opening on the front or side of the housing 1, and configure the UV cartridge 41 to be inserted into that cartridge insertion hole 42.

[0048] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the outer periphery of the UV cartridge 41 and the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube 43 have a non-rotationally symmetrical contour shape with a protrusion 51 at one location on the circumference. However, other shapes such as a trapezoidal shape or a teardrop shape can also be used as the contour shape.

[0049] In addition, in the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, a purified water server was used as an example in which raw water from raw water tank 2 is filtered using a water purification cartridge placed inside housing 1, and the filtered purified water is stored in room temperature water tank 6, cold water tank 7, and hot water tank 8. However, this invention can also be applied to a bottle-exchange water server in which an exchangeable bottle filled with drinking water such as natural water or RO water is set in housing 1, and the drinking water from the exchangeable bottle is introduced into a low-temperature drinking water tank (cold water tank) placed inside housing 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1 chassis 6. Room temperature water tank (drinking water tank) 10 Room temperature water outlet (drinking water outlet) 13 UV LED 14 Cylinder 15 Top plate 21 Tank lid 30 UV transmission window 40 UV cartridge mounting section 41 UV cartridge 42 Cartridge insertion hole 43 Cartridge insertion tube 44 End plate 45 Hollow cylinder part 46 Ventilation holes 49 Power receiving terminal 50 Power supply terminal

Claims

1. A housing (1), a drinking water tank (6) disposed within the housing (1); a drinking water outlet (10) for discharging drinking water from the drinking water tank (6) to the outside of the housing (1); In the water server with UV sterilization function, an ultraviolet LED (13) is provided to irradiate the inside of the drinking water tank (6) with ultraviolet light for sterilization, The ultraviolet LED (13) is provided in a UV cartridge (41) that is detachable from a UV cartridge mounting portion (40) provided in the housing (1), The UV cartridge (41) has a pair of power receiving terminals (49) electrically connected to electrodes of the ultraviolet LED (13), The UV cartridge mounting portion (40) has a pair of power supply terminals (50) that come into contact with the pair of power receiving terminals (49) when the UV cartridge (41) is mounted, The drinking water tank (6) is provided with a UV transmission window (30) that transmits ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet LED (13) from the outside to the inside of the drinking water tank (6) when the UV cartridge (41) is attached to the UV cartridge attachment portion (40), The UV cartridge mounting portion (40) has a cartridge insertion tube (43) that extends from a cartridge insertion hole (42) that opens on the outer surface of the housing (1) through the inside of the housing (1) toward the UV transmission window (30) of the drinking water tank (6), The UV cartridge (41) is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube (43) through the cartridge insertion hole (42), The pair of power supply terminals (50) are arranged facing inward on the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube (43), The pair of power receiving terminals (49) are arranged on opposite sides of the outer periphery of the UV cartridge (41) so as to be sandwiched between the pair of power supply terminals (50) when the UV cartridge (41) is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube (43).

2. 2. The water server with UV sterilization function according to claim 1, wherein the contour shape of the outer periphery of the UV cartridge (41) and the contour shape of the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube (43) are rotationally asymmetric so that the UV cartridge (41) can be inserted into the cartridge insertion tube (43) only at a specific angular position where the pair of power supply terminals (50) and the pair of power receiving terminals (49) correspond to each other, and the UV cartridge cannot be inserted at any other angular position.

3. The housing (1) has a cylindrical portion (14) extending in the vertical direction and a top plate (15) provided at the upper end of the cylindrical portion (14), The drinking water tank (6) has a tank lid (21) arranged opposite to the underside of the top plate (15), The tank lid (21) is provided with the UV-transmitting window (30), The cartridge insertion tube (43) extends from the cartridge insertion hole (42) that opens on the upper surface of the top plate (15) of the housing (1) through the inside of the housing (1) toward the UV transmission window (30).

3. The water server with UV sterilization function according to claim 1 or 2.

4. 4. The water server with UV sterilization function according to claim 1, wherein the UV cartridge (41) has an end plate (44) to which the ultraviolet LEDs (13) are fixed, a hollow cylindrical portion (45) extending axially from the end plate (44), and a heat dissipation vent (46) formed by penetrating the hollow cylindrical portion (45) in a direction perpendicular to the axis.

5. A housing (1), a drinking water tank (6) disposed within the housing (1); a drinking water outlet (10) for discharging drinking water from the drinking water tank (6) to the outside of the housing (1); In the water server with UV sterilization function, an ultraviolet LED (13) is provided to irradiate the inside of the drinking water tank (6) with ultraviolet light for sterilization, The ultraviolet LED (13) is provided in a UV cartridge (41) that is detachable from a UV cartridge mounting portion (40) provided in the housing (1), The UV cartridge (41) has a pair of power receiving terminals (49) electrically connected to electrodes of the ultraviolet LED (13), The UV cartridge mounting portion (40) has a pair of power supply terminals (50) that come into contact with the pair of power receiving terminals (49) when the UV cartridge (41) is mounted, The drinking water tank (6) is provided with a UV transmission window (30) that transmits ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet LED (13) from the outside to the inside of the drinking water tank (6) when the UV cartridge (41) is attached to the UV cartridge attachment portion (40), The UV cartridge mounting portion (40) has a cartridge insertion tube (43) that extends from a cartridge insertion hole (42) that opens on the outer surface of the housing (1) through the inside of the housing (1) toward the UV transmission window (30) of the drinking water tank (6), The UV cartridge (41) is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube (43) through the cartridge insertion hole (42), The water server with UV sterilization function is characterized in that the contour shape of the outer periphery of the UV cartridge (41) and the contour shape of the inner periphery of the cartridge insertion tube (43) are rotationally asymmetric so that the UV cartridge (41) can be inserted into the cartridge insertion tube (43) only at a specific angular position where the pair of power supply terminals (50) and the pair of power receiving terminals (49) correspond to each other, and cannot be inserted at any other angular position.

6. The housing (1) has a cylindrical portion (14) extending in the vertical direction and a top plate (15) provided at the upper end of the cylindrical portion (14), The drinking water tank (6) has a tank lid (21) arranged opposite to the underside of the top plate (15), The tank lid (21) is provided with the UV-transmitting window (30), The cartridge insertion tube (43) extends from the cartridge insertion hole (42) that opens on the upper surface of the top plate (15) of the housing (1) through the inside of the housing (1) toward the UV transmission window (30). The water server with UV sterilization function according to claim 5.

7. 7. The water server with UV sterilization function according to claim 5, wherein the UV cartridge (41) has an end plate (44) to which the ultraviolet LEDs (13) are fixed, a hollow cylindrical portion (45) extending axially from the end plate (44), and a heat dissipation vent (46) formed by penetrating the hollow cylindrical portion (45) in a direction perpendicular to the axis.

8. A housing (1), a drinking water tank (6) disposed within the housing (1); a drinking water outlet (10) for discharging drinking water from the drinking water tank (6) to the outside of the housing (1); In the water server with UV sterilization function, an ultraviolet LED (13) is provided to irradiate the inside of the drinking water tank (6) with ultraviolet light for sterilization, The ultraviolet LED (13) is provided in a UV cartridge (41) that is detachable from a UV cartridge mounting portion (40) provided in the housing (1), The UV cartridge (41) has a pair of power receiving terminals (49) electrically connected to electrodes of the ultraviolet LED (13), The UV cartridge mounting portion (40) has a pair of power supply terminals (50) that come into contact with the pair of power receiving terminals (49) when the UV cartridge (41) is mounted, The drinking water tank (6) is provided with a UV transmission window (30) that transmits ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet LED (13) from the outside to the inside of the drinking water tank (6) when the UV cartridge (41) is attached to the UV cartridge attachment portion (40), The UV cartridge mounting portion (40) has a cartridge insertion tube (43) that extends from a cartridge insertion hole (42) that opens on the outer surface of the housing (1) through the inside of the housing (1) toward the UV transmission window (30) of the drinking water tank (6), The UV cartridge (41) is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube (43) through the cartridge insertion hole (42), The housing (1) has a cylindrical portion (14) extending in the vertical direction and a top plate (15) provided at the upper end of the cylindrical portion (14), The drinking water tank (6) has a tank lid (21) arranged opposite to the underside of the top plate (15), The tank lid (21) is provided with the UV-transmitting window (30), The water server with UV sterilization function is characterized in that the cartridge insertion tube (43) extends from the cartridge insertion hole (42) opening on the upper surface of the top plate (15) of the housing (1) through the inside of the housing (1) toward the UV-transmitting window (30).

9. The water server with UV sterilization function described in claim 8, wherein the UV cartridge (41) has an end plate (44) to which the ultraviolet LED (13) is fixed, a hollow cylindrical portion (45) extending axially from the end plate (44), and a heat dissipation vent (46) formed by penetrating the hollow cylindrical portion (45) in a direction perpendicular to the axis.

10. A housing (1), a drinking water tank (6) disposed within the housing (1); a drinking water outlet (10) for discharging drinking water from the drinking water tank (6) to the outside of the housing (1); In the water server with UV sterilization function, an ultraviolet LED (13) is provided to irradiate the inside of the drinking water tank (6) with ultraviolet light for sterilization, The ultraviolet LED (13) is provided in a UV cartridge (41) that is detachable from a UV cartridge mounting portion (40) provided in the housing (1), The UV cartridge (41) has a pair of power receiving terminals (49) electrically connected to electrodes of the ultraviolet LED (13), The UV cartridge mounting portion (40) has a pair of power supply terminals (50) that come into contact with the pair of power receiving terminals (49) when the UV cartridge (41) is mounted, The drinking water tank (6) is provided with a UV transmission window (30) that transmits ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet LED (13) from the outside to the inside of the drinking water tank (6) when the UV cartridge (41) is attached to the UV cartridge attachment portion (40), The UV cartridge (41) is a water server with UV sterilization function, characterized in that it has an end plate (44) to which the ultraviolet LED (13) is fixed, a hollow cylindrical portion (45) extending axially from the end plate (44), and a heat dissipation vent (46) formed by penetrating the hollow cylindrical portion (45) in a direction perpendicular to the axis.

11. The UV cartridge mounting portion (40) has a cartridge insertion tube (43) that extends from a cartridge insertion hole (42) that opens on the outer surface of the housing (1) through the inside of the housing (1) toward the UV transmission window (30) of the drinking water tank (6), The water server with UV sterilization function according to claim 10, wherein the UV cartridge (41) is inserted into the cartridge insertion tube (43) through the cartridge insertion hole (42).

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