CN115985012A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vending machine. The vending machine is provided with: an inner door provided to open and close a front opening of a commodity storage compartment having a heat insulation structure inside a main body cabinet, the inner door normally closing the front opening to allow an internal atmosphere of the commodity storage compartment to be cooled; and a commodity carrying-out door of a heat insulating structure, which is provided to open and close a commodity carrying-out port formed in the inner door, and which normally closes the commodity carrying-out port, and which, when pushed by a commodity discharged from the commodity storage box, opens the commodity carrying-out port to allow the commodity to be carried out to the commodity taking-out area, and the commodity carried out to the commodity taking-out area is taken out through a commodity taking-out port formed in an outer door that opens and closes an opening in a front surface of the main body cabinet, thereby selling the commodity, wherein the automatic vending machine is provided with a blower fan that sends air to the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door that closes the commodity carrying-out port.

Description

Automatic vending machine

Technical Field

The invention relates to an improvement of a vending machine.

Background

Conventionally, a vending machine that sells, as a commodity, a beverage or the like contained in a container such as a can or a plastic bottle has a main body cabinet as a main body of the vending machine. The main body cabinet is formed as a rectangular heat insulating case having an opening on a front surface, a commodity storage is provided inside the main body cabinet, and an outer door and an inner door are provided on the front surface of the main body cabinet.

The commodity storage has a heat insulating structure. The commodity storage container cools the stored commodities by cooling the internal atmosphere with an evaporator or the like provided therein.

The outer door is used for opening and closing the front surface opening of the main body cabinet. The inner door has a heat insulating structure for opening and closing a front surface of the commodity storage. A commodity carrying-out port is formed in the inner door, and a commodity carrying-out door is swingably provided to open and close the commodity carrying-out port.

The commodity carrying-out door is a heat-insulating door having a heat-insulating structure, normally closes the commodity carrying-out opening, and swings forward when pressed by the commodity discharged from the commodity storage compartment, thereby opening the commodity carrying-out opening and allowing the commodity to be carried out to the commodity taking-out area of the outer door. The commodity carried out to the commodity taking out area in this way is taken out through a commodity taking out port formed in the outer door, and the commodity is sold (see, for example, patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2015-18386

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the above-described vending machine, the commodity carrying-out door normally closes the commodity carrying-out port, but dew condensation may occur on the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door because the internal atmosphere of the commodity storage compartment is cooled.

The dew condensation water generated on the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door and dripping from the commodity carrying-out door closing the commodity carrying-out port can be guided to a predetermined evaporation pan through a water guide pipe or the like, but when the commodity carrying door is pushed by a commodity discharged from the commodity storage compartment and swings forward, the dew condensation water remaining on the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door may drip forward and stay at the bottom of the commodity taking-out area.

If the dew condensation water is accumulated at the bottom of the commodity takeout area as described above, the dew condensation water adheres to the commodity which is then discharged from the commodity storage and carried out to the commodity takeout area through the commodity carrying-out port, and the surface of the commodity is wet, which may make the user feel uncomfortable.

In order to prevent dew condensation from occurring on the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door, it is conceivable to provide a heater on the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door, but the heat of the heater may be transmitted to the inside of the commodity storage box, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of heat loss.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic vending machine capable of reducing the amount of dew condensation water generated on the front surface of a product carrying-out door.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic vending machine according to the present invention includes: a heat insulation door which is provided to open and close a front opening of a commodity storage compartment having a heat insulation structure inside a main body of the vending machine, and which normally closes the front opening to allow an internal atmosphere of the commodity storage compartment to be cooled; and a thermally insulated commodity carrying-out door provided to open and close a commodity carrying-out port formed in the thermally insulated door, the commodity carrying-out port being normally closed, and the commodity carrying-out port being opened to allow the commodity to be carried out to a commodity carrying-out area when pushed by a commodity discharged from the commodity storage box, and the commodity carried out to the commodity carrying-out area being taken out through a commodity taking-out port formed in a front door that opens and closes a front opening of the vending machine main body, whereby the commodity is sold, the vending machine being characterized by including a blower fan that sends air to a front surface of the commodity carrying-out door that closes the commodity carrying-out port.

In the vending machine, the blowing fan is provided at a top plate portion of the commodity takeout area, and the top plate portion of the commodity takeout area is located outside an opening/closing operation area of the commodity take-out door.

In the vending machine, the top plate may be provided with a plurality of the blowing fans in a left-right direction.

In the vending machine according to the present invention, the control unit drives the air blowing fan when the internal atmosphere of the commodity storage compartment is cooled, and stops driving the air blowing fan when the front opening of the vending machine main body is opened by the front door.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, since the blower fan sends air to the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door which closes the commodity carrying-out opening, it is possible to supply new air for replacement before the air in the vicinity of the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door becomes a dew point temperature or lower and dew condensation occurs, and it is possible to reduce the occurrence of dew condensation. This has the effect of reducing the amount of dew condensation water generated on the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door 12.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of an automatic vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view showing an internal structure of the vending machine as an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system characteristic of the vending machine as an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a side sectional view showing an enlarged main part of the automatic vending machine shown in fig. 1 and 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a peripheral structure of the commodity takeout area shown in fig. 4 and the like.

Fig. 6 is a side sectional view showing an enlarged main part of the automatic vending machine shown in fig. 1 and 2.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the blower fan drive control executed by the control unit shown in fig. 3.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the automatic vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 and 2 each show an automatic vending machine as an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the automatic vending machine, and fig. 2 is a side sectional view showing an internal configuration of the automatic vending machine.

The vending machine exemplified here is a vending machine that sells beverages or the like contained in containers such as cans and plastic bottles as commodities in a cooled state, and includes a main body cabinet 1 as a main body of the vending machine.

The main body cabinet 1 is a rectangular housing having an opening 1a in a front surface thereof. A commodity storage 2 is provided inside the main body cabinet 1 so as to face the opening 1 a. The product storage 2 is used for storing products in a state of being cooled to a desired temperature, and the product storage 2 has a heat insulation structure. Further, the commodity storage 2 is provided therein with a commodity rack 3, a back surface duct 4, an evaporator 5a, and a circulation fan 6.

The commodity shelf 3 is provided in a storage area 2a of the commodity storage 2 and stores commodities so that the commodities are oriented in a predetermined direction. The rear duct 4 forms an air passage 4a on the rear surface side of the commodity storage 2, the air passage being defined from the storage area 2 a. The rear duct 4 extends in the vertical direction, and has a lower opening 4b at a lower portion and an upper opening 4c at an upper portion.

The evaporator 5a is provided in front of the lower opening 4b of the rear surface duct 4. The evaporator 5a constitutes a refrigeration cycle 5 together with a compressor 5b, a condenser 5c, and an expansion mechanism 5d disposed in a machine room 7 at a lower portion of the commodity storage 2, and cools air passing through the evaporator to a desired temperature. That is, the evaporator 5a constitutes a cooling unit that cools the internal air of the commodity storage 2 together with the compressor 5b and the like.

The circulation fan 6 is provided in front of the evaporator 5 a. The circulation fan 6 is a circulation mechanism that is driven in accordance with a command provided from a control unit 40 described later and circulates the internal air of the commodity storage 2 between the storage area 2a and the air passage 4a.

An inner door 10 and an outer door 20 are provided on the front surface of the main body cabinet 1. The inner door 10 has a size sufficient to cover the front opening 2b of the commodity storage 2, and is an insulated door disposed openably and closably at one side edge of the main body cabinet 1.

The inner door 10 is provided with a commodity carrying-out port 11 and a commodity carrying-out door 12. The commodity carry-out port 11 is a plurality of openings provided corresponding to the commodity racks 3 in the commodity storage 2. The commodity carrying-out door 12 is provided for each commodity carrying-out port 11, and an upper end portion of the commodity carrying-out door 12 is pivotally supported so as to swing in the front-rear direction. The commodity carrying-out door 12 has a heat insulating structure. The commodity carrying-out door 12 normally closes the commodity carrying-out port 11 by its own weight or the like, and swings forward while being pressed by a commodity discharged from the corresponding commodity shelf 3 of the commodity storage 2, thereby opening the commodity carrying-out port 11 and allowing the commodity to be carried out to a commodity taking-out area 27, which will be described later, provided in the outer door 20.

The outer door 20 has a size sufficient to cover the opening 1a of the front surface of the main body cabinet 1, and is a front surface door disposed openably and closably at one side edge of the main body cabinet 1 at a position forward of the inner door 10. The outer door 20 swings in the front-rear direction to open and close the opening 1a in the front surface of the main body cabinet 1. The outer door 20 is provided with a commodity outlet 21, a commodity selection unit 22, a coin insertion port 23, a bill insertion port 24, a coin return port 25, a display chamber 26, and the like.

The commodity takeout port 21 is a rectangular opening through which a user takes out a commodity carried out to the commodity takeout area 27, and is opened and closed by a commodity takeout door 28. The product selection unit 22 has a plurality of keys and the like for the user to select a product. The coin inlet 23 is an opening into which coins are inserted. The bill insertion slot 24 is an opening for inserting bills. The coin return opening 25 is an opening for returning the inserted coin or returning change.

The display chamber 26 is configured to display a plurality of commodity samples (not shown) therein, and has a rectangular shape with an open front surface. The opening in the front surface of the display chamber 26 is covered with a transparent resin panel 26a to prevent foreign matter from entering from the outside, and the inside can be visually confirmed through the resin panel 26 a.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system characteristic of the vending machine as an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the vending machine according to the present embodiment includes, in addition to the above-described configuration, a money handling device 31, a discharge mechanism 32, an interior temperature sensor 33, an open/close detection unit 34, a blower fan 35, and a control unit 40.

The money handling device 31 is called a coin mechanism or a bill validator, and discriminates coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 23 or bills inserted from the bill insertion slot 24 and supplies the discrimination result to the control unit 40.

The discharge mechanism 32 is provided for each commodity rack 3, and is driven in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 40, thereby discharging a commodity from the commodity rack 3 in which it is provided. The in-compartment temperature sensor 33 is disposed inside the commodity storage compartment 2, and is a detection means for detecting the internal temperature of the commodity storage compartment 2 (in-compartment temperature). Information on the in-warehouse temperature detected by the in-warehouse temperature sensor 33 is supplied to the control unit 40 as a temperature signal.

The opening/closing detection unit 34 is a detection unit that detects whether or not the opening 1a in the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 is opened by the outer door 20. That is, the opening/closing detection unit 34 is turned off to output an off signal to the control unit 40 when the opening 1a in the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 is closed by the outer door 20, and is turned on to output an on signal to the control unit 40 when the opening 1a in the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 is opened by the outer door 20.

As shown in fig. 4, the blower fan 35 is provided in the top plate portion 27c constituting the commodity takeout area 27. As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the article takeout area 27 is composed of a pair of left and right side plate portions 27a, and a pair of upper and lower bottom portions 27b and top plate portions 27c that connect the side plate portions 27a to each other, and the article takeout area 27 is provided in the outer door 20 so as to face the article takeout opening 21. The commodity takeout area 27 is configured to place the commodity carried out through the commodity carrying-out port 11 on the bottom portion 27b.

A plurality of the blowing fans 35 are provided in the left-right direction. These blowing fans 35 are driven in accordance with instructions given from the control unit 40, and air is blown by the driving from the vent holes 27d formed in the top plate portion 27c toward the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door 12 that closes the commodity carrying-out port 11.

The top plate portion 27c extends obliquely so as to gradually incline upward as it goes rearward, and is disposed at a portion outside the swing region of the commodity-carrying-out door 12 when the commodity-carrying-out door 12 swings forward, as shown in fig. 6. That is, the blower fan 35 is provided in the top plate portion 27c of the commodity takeout area 27, and the top plate portion 27c of the commodity takeout area 27 is located outside the opening/closing operation area of the commodity carrying-out door 12.

The control unit 40 controls the operation of the vending machine collectively according to the program and data stored in the storage unit 41, and the control unit 40 includes a sales operation control unit 40a and a management operation control unit 40b.

The sales operation control unit 40a collectively controls processing related to sales of the products. Specifically, when money is inserted into the money handling device 31 through the coin insertion slot 23 or the banknote insertion slot 24, the corresponding key of the product selection unit 22 is activated at a point in time when the inserted money reaches a selling price or higher. When the key of the activated product selection unit 22 is pressed, the sales operation control unit 40a operates the discharge mechanism 32 provided in the corresponding product rack 3 to perform an operation of discharging one product.

The management operation control unit 40b collectively controls processing related to management of the product. Specifically, the management operation control unit 40b drives the compressor 5b and the circulation fan 6 to approximate the internal temperature of the commodity storage 2 detected by the in-storage temperature sensor 33 to a preset temperature, thereby performing an operation of cooling the commodities stored in the commodity racks 3 to a desired temperature state. The management operation control unit 40b provides a drive command to the blower fan 35 to drive the blower fan 35.

The control Unit 40 may be realized by software that is a program executed by a Processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), or may be realized by hardware such as an IC (Integrated Circuit), or may be realized by both software and hardware.

In the automatic vending machine having the above-described configuration, the management operation controller 40b of the controller 40 drives the compressor 5b and drives the circulation fan 6 so that the internal temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 33 becomes similar to the preset temperature, and thereby the air in the storage area 2a of the product storage 2 enters the ventilation path 4a from the lower opening 4b, and after passing through the ventilation path 4a, is sent out to the storage area 2a from the upper opening 4c, and circulates so as to pass through the products stored in the product shelves 3. That is, the air cooled by the evaporator 5a passes through the ventilation duct 4a and then passes through the commodity shelf 3, thereby cooling the commodity stored in the commodity shelf 3. Thereby, the commodities housed in the commodity shelf 3 are cooled.

When the internal atmosphere of the commodity storage 2 is cooled, the management operation control unit 40b provides a drive command to the blower fan 35 to drive the blower fan 35. As shown in fig. 4, by driving the air blowing fan 35 in this manner, air can be blown out through the vent hole 27d to the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door 12 that closes the commodity carrying-out port 11.

The control unit 40 that drives the compressor 5b, the circulation fan 6, and the blower fan 35 in this manner performs the following blower fan drive control.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the blower fan drive control executed by the control unit 40 shown in fig. 3. In this blower fan drive control, the management operation control unit 40b of the control unit 40 determines whether or not the opening 1a of the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 is opened, that is, whether or not the on signal output from the opening/closing detection unit 34 is input, is detected by the opening/closing detection unit 34 (step S101). If the opening 1a that opens the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 is not detected (step S101: no), the control section 40 repeats the process.

On the other hand, when detecting that the opening 1a of the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 is opened (yes in step S101), the management operation control unit 40b transmits a drive stop command to the blower fan 35 to stop driving the blower fan 35 (step S102).

The control unit 40b for controlling the operation of stopping the driving of the blower fan 35 determines whether or not the opening detection unit 34 detects the closing of the opening 1a in the front surface of the main body cabinet 1, that is, whether or not the off signal output from the opening detection unit 34 is input (step S103). If it is not detected that the opening 1a of the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 is closed (step S103: NO), the control unit 40 repeats the process.

When the closing of the opening 1a in the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 is detected in step S103 (yes in step S103), the management operation control unit 40b determines whether or not the compressor 5b is being driven (step S104). When the compressor 5b is driven (yes in step S104), the management operation control unit 40b transmits a drive command to the blower fan 35 to drive the blower fan 35 (step S105), and then returns the process to end the current process.

As described above, according to the automatic vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the air blowing fan 35 provided in the top plate portion 27c of the commodity takeout area 27 located outside the opening/closing operation area of the commodity carrying-out door 12 blows air to the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door 12 that closes the commodity carrying-out port 11, it is possible to supply new air for replacement before the air in the vicinity of the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door 12 becomes the dew point temperature or lower and dew condensation occurs, and it is possible to reduce the occurrence of dew condensation. This can reduce the amount of dew condensation water generated on the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door 12.

By reducing the amount of dew condensation water generated on the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door 12 in this manner, even when the commodity carrying-out door 12 is pushed by a commodity discharged from the commodity storage 2 and swings forward, dew condensation water that splashes toward the bottom portion 27b of the commodity taking-out area 27 can be reduced, and as a result, dew condensation water can be prevented from adhering to the surface of the commodity.

Further, according to the above-described vending machine, when the internal atmosphere of the product storage 2 is cooled, the control unit 40 drives the blower fan 35, and when the opening 1a in the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 is opened by the outer door 20, the control unit 40 stops driving the blower fan 35, so that when the product rack 3 of the product storage 2 is replenished with a product or the like, driving of the blower fan 35 is stopped, and wasteful driving of the blower fan 35 is suppressed, whereby power consumption can be reduced.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the following processes may be performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the plurality of blower fans 35 are provided in the top plate portion 27c of the commodity takeout area 27, but in the present invention, the location of the blower fan is not particularly limited as long as air can be sent to the front surface of the commodity carrying-out door that closes the commodity carrying-out port.

In the above-described embodiment, the plurality of blowing fans 35 are provided, but in the present invention, a single blowing fan may be provided instead of the plurality of blowing fans.

Although not particularly mentioned in the above embodiment, in the present invention, a member having a structure in which the placement surface of the commodity is made higher than the bottom portion and water or the like is poured into the tank, such as a drip board, may be laid on the bottom portion of the commodity takeout area.

Description of the reference numerals

1: a main body cabinet; 1a: an opening; 2: a commodity storage; 2b: a front surface opening; 3: a commodity shelf; 4: a back side duct; 5a: an evaporator; 5b: a compressor; 5c: a condenser; 5d: an expansion mechanism; 6: a circulating fan; 7: a machine room; 10: an inner door; 11: a commodity carrying-out port; 12: a commodity carrying-out door; 20: an outer door; 21: a commodity outlet; 22: a commodity selection unit; 23: a coin input port; 24: a paper money insertion opening; 25: a coin return port; 26: a display room; 27: a commodity takeout area; 27a: a side plate portion; 27b: a bottom; 27c: a top plate portion; 27d: a vent hole; 28: a commodity take-out door; 31: a money handling device; 32: a discharge mechanism; 33: an in-warehouse temperature sensor; 34: an open/close detection unit; 35: an air supply fan; 40: a control unit; 40a: a sales operation control unit; 40b: a management operation control unit; 41: a storage section.

Claims (4)

1. A vending machine is provided with:

a heat insulation door which is provided to open and close a front opening of a commodity storage compartment having a heat insulation structure in an interior of a main body of the vending machine, and normally closes the front opening to allow an internal atmosphere of the commodity storage compartment to be cooled; and

a commodity carrying-out door of a heat insulating structure provided so as to open and close a commodity carrying-out port formed in the heat insulating door, the commodity carrying-out port being normally closed, and the commodity carrying-out port being opened to allow the commodity to be carried out to a commodity carrying-out area when pressed by the commodity discharged from the commodity storage,

the commodity carried out to the commodity taking out area is taken out through a commodity taking out port formed on a front surface door for opening and closing a front surface opening of the vending machine main body, thereby selling the commodity,

said vending machine is characterized in that it comprises,

the commodity carrying out door is provided with a blowing fan for blowing air to the front surface of the commodity carrying out door for closing the commodity carrying out port.

2. The vending machine of claim 1,

the blower fan is provided at a top plate portion of the commodity takeout area, and the top plate portion of the commodity takeout area is located outside an opening/closing operation area of the commodity carrying-out door.

3. The vending machine of claim 2,

the top plate is provided with a plurality of the blowing fans in the left-right direction.

4. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the vending machine is provided with a control unit that drives the air blowing fan when the internal atmosphere of the commodity storage compartment is cooled, and stops driving the air blowing fan when the front surface opening of the vending machine main body is opened by the front surface door.

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