In-wall chiller for potable water dispensers

Abstract

The in-wall chiller may include a housing having a size and shape, including a depth of approximately 3.5 inches and a width of approximately 14.5 inches, conductive for installation in a standard size wall frame. The in-wall chiller may further include one or more cooling modules disposed in the housing, which may include a chilling plate coupled to one side of a Peltier chip and a heat sink coupled to the other side, wherein the relatively low temperature transferred to the chilling plate cools water within the in-wall chiller, which may be stored for an extended duration within an insulated storage tank; the heat extracted from the cooled water being transferred to the heat sink and dissipated out from the in-wall chiller by a fan mounted thereon.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An in-wall chiller, comprising:
 a housing having a height, a width, and a depth, with at least the width and the depth being of a size and shape for select slide-in reception within a standard building frame;   an inlet in the housing configured to couple with a water supply;   at least one cooling module disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled therein to receive water from the water supply at a first temperature, the at least one cooling module selectively decreasing the temperature of water from the water supply from a first temperature to a second temperature relatively lower than the first temperature; and   an outlet in the housing for selectively dispensing water at approximately the second temperature from the in-wall chiller for consumption.   
     
     
         2 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling module comprises a thermoelectric chiller or a miniaturized-compressor chiller having a size and shape relatively smaller than the height, the width, and the depth of the housing. 
     
     
         3 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 1 , wherein the depth of the housing comprises less than approximately 3.5 to 5.5 inches and the width of the housing comprises less than approximately 16 to 24 inches. 
     
     
         4 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 3 , including one or more spacers that selectively couple between an exterior vertical sidewall of the housing and a vertical mounting stud of the standard building frame and/or between an exterior horizontal sidewall of the housing and a horizontal mounting stud of the standard building frame, for flush mounting the in-wall chiller within the standard building frame. 
     
     
         5 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 4 , wherein the housing, the inlet, the at least one cooling module, and the outlet comprise a standalone retrofit in-wall chiller installable within the standard building frame without relocation of the vertical mounting stud and/or the horizontal mounting stud. 
     
     
         6 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling module comprises multiple cooling modules inline or parallel with one another. 
     
     
         7 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling module comprises a preassembled cooling module including a cooling plate, a Peltier chip, and a heat sink having a cooling fan. 
     
     
         8 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 7 , wherein the Peltier chip selectively receives direct current for flow therethrough to transfer heat from water at the first temperature adjacent the cooling plate to a side adjacent the heat sink and the cooling fan, thereby cooling water from the first temperature to the second temperature. 
     
     
         9 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 7 , wherein the cooling fan within the housing is positioned adjacent a vent in a closure panel of the housing for discharging heat therefrom. 
     
     
         10 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 1 , including a storage tank disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled with water at the first temperature and/or with water at the second temperature. 
     
     
         11 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 10 , including a recirculation pump disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled with the storage tank and the at least one chilling module, for circulating water at a relatively low flow rate between the storage tank and the at least one cooling module. 
     
     
         12 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 11 , including a controller operationally coupled with the recirculation pump and the at least one cooling module, the controller regulating the speed of the recirculation pump and the electrical energy delivered to the at least one cooling module for maintaining water within the in-wall chiller at a desired temperature. 
     
     
         13 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 12 , including a temperature sensor coupled with the controller for monitoring a real-time water temperature within the in-wall chiller. 
     
     
         14 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 1 , including a central shaft within the housing for draining water through an interior of the housing and the standard building frame to a drain. 
     
     
         15 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 1 , wherein the outlet couples to a dispense outlet comprising at least one drinking fountain. 
     
     
         16 . An in-wall chiller, comprising:
 a housing having a height, a width comprising less than approximately 16 to 24 inches, and a depth comprising less than approximately 3.5 to 5.5 inches, with at least the width and the depth being of a size and shape for slide-in reception of the in-wall chiller within a standard building frame;   an inlet in the housing configured to receive water from a water supply;   multiple cooling modules fluidly coupled inline or parallel with one another, the multiple cooling modules selectively decreasing the temperature of water within the in-wall chiller from a first temperature to a second temperature relatively lower than the first temperature;   a storage tank disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled with water at the first temperature and/or with water at the second temperature; and   an outlet in the housing for selectively dispensing water from the in-wall chiller at approximately the second temperature.   
     
     
         17 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 16 , wherein each of the multiple cooling modules comprise a thermoelectric chiller or a miniaturized-compressor chiller having a size and shape relatively smaller than the height, the width, and the depth of the housing to collectively fit within the housing simultaneously. 
     
     
         18 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 16 , wherein each of the multiple cooling modules include a cooling plate, a Peltier chip, and a heat sink having a cooling fan. 
     
     
         19 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 18 , wherein the Peltier chip selectively receives direct current for flow therethrough to transfer heat from water at the first temperature adjacent the cooling plate to the heat sink and the cooling fan, thereby cooling water from the first temperature to the second temperature, the cooling fan within the housing being positioned adjacent a vent in a closure panel of the housing for discharging heat therefrom. 
     
     
         20 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 16 , wherein the housing, the inlet, the multiple cooling modules, and the outlet comprise a standalone retrofit in-wall chiller installable within the standard building frame without relocation of a vertical mounting stud and/or a horizontal mounting stud, the housing including a central shaft for draining water through an interior of the housing to a drain. 
     
     
         21 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 16 , including a recirculation pump disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled with the storage tank and at least one of the multiple chilling modules, for circulating water at a relatively low flow rate from the storage tank through at least one of the multiple cooling modules, the outlet configured to selectively fluidly couple to a dispense outlet comprising at least one drinking fountain. 
     
     
         22 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 21 , including a controller operationally coupled with the recirculation pump and the multiple cooling modules, the controller regulating the speed of the recirculation pump and the electrical energy delivered to each of the multiple cooling modules for maintaining water within the in-wall chiller at a desired temperature, wherein a temperature sensor coupled with the controller and disposed within the housing is configured to relay real-time water temperature measurements to the controller. 
     
     
         23 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 22 , wherein the controller governs cooling by pumping water with the recirculation pump in parallel or inline with one or more of the multiple cooling modules to govern cooling and energy efficiency in the event one or more of the multiple cooling modules fail. 
     
     
         24 . A standalone retrofit in-wall chiller installable within a standard building frame without relocation of a vertical mounting stud or a horizontal mounting stud, comprising:
 a housing having a height, a width, and a depth, with at least the width and the depth being of a size and shape for slide-in reception within the standard building frame;   an inlet in the housing configured to couple with a mains water supply;   a cooling module disposed within the housing and fluidly coupled therein to receive water from the mains water supply at a first temperature, the cooling module selectively decreasing the temperature of the water from the mains water supply from a first temperature to a second temperature relatively lower than the first temperature;   a recirculation pump disposed within the housing for recirculating water at a relatively low flow rate between a water tank and the cooling module;   a controller operationally coupled with the recirculation pump and the cooling module, the controller regulating the speed of the recirculation pump and the electrical energy delivered to the cooling module for maintaining water within the in-wall chiller at a desired temperature; and   an outlet in the housing for selectively dispensing water at approximately the second temperature from the in-wall chiller for consumption.   
     
     
         25 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 24 , including a temperature sensor coupled with the controller for relaying a real-time water temperature within the in-wall chiller to the controller, wherein the cooling module comprises a thermoelectric chiller or a miniaturized-compressor chiller having a size and shape relatively smaller than the height, the width, and the depth of the housing. 
     
     
         26 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 24 , wherein the water tank comprises an insulated storage tank having a size and shape to fit within the housing, the storage tank being fluidly coupled with water at the first temperature and/or with water at the second temperature, wherein the depth of the housing comprises less than approximately 3.5 to 5.5 inches and the width of the housing comprises less than approximately 16 to 24 inches. 
     
     
         27 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 24 , wherein the cooling module comprises multiple cooling modules inline or parallel with one another, each cooling module including a cooling plate, a Peltier chip, and a heat sink having a cooling fan. 
     
     
         28 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 27 , wherein the Peltier chip is configured to selectively receive direct current for flow therethrough to transfer heat from water at the first temperature adjacent the cooling plate to the heat sink and the cooling fan, thereby cooling water from the first temperature to the second temperature, the cooling fan within the housing being positioned adjacent a vent in a closure panel of the housing for discharging heat therefrom. 
     
     
         29 . The in-wall chiller of  claim 24 , including a central shaft within the housing for draining water from at least one drinking fountain selectively receiving water at approximately the second temperature from the in-wall chiller, through an interior of the housing and the standard building frame, to a drain.