JP2002150417A - Refrigerator system for cup-type vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To contribute to maintenance control by providing a means capable of detecting abnormal conditions, where a condenser is choked by dust, cotton dust and the like, without having to pull out the condensing unit of a refrigerator from its inside, when an vending machine is inspected. SOLUTION: A sensor and a control means for detecting the choked condition in the condenser 18 caused by the dust and the like, to output an alarm are provided in the condensing unit 14 of the refrigerator mounted on the vending machine, either of a hair pin tube part 18b of the condenser, temperature sensors 21, 22 for detecting the temperatures in a delivery pipe part 18c or a gas volume sensor 23 for detecting exhaust gas volume passing through the condenser is used as the sensor, and an alarm signal is output from the control means, so as to notify that cleaning timing for the consensing unit arrival time, when the sensor detects abnormality.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a refrigerator device mounted on a cup-type vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, the configuration of a cup-type vending machine to which the present invention is applied is shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). In the figure,
1 is a vending machine cabinet (the front door is not omitted), 2 is a bend stage, 3 is a cup supply mechanism, 4 is a beverage container containing syrup and the like, 5 is syrup, carbonated water, and dilution water. A cooling water tank for cooling a syrup-based beverage such as an ice maker, 6 an ice machine, 7 a wind guide case accommodating a condensing unit of a refrigerator described later, and 7a a dust filter of a suction opening opened in the front of the wind guide case 7. is there.
In the drawing, reference numeral 8 denotes a carbon dioxide gas cylinder, 9 denotes a raw material canister containing powdered beverage raw materials, coffee beans and the like, 10 denotes a coffee mill, 11 denotes a coffee extractor, 12 denotes a coffee residue collecting bucket, and 13 denotes a bend stage 2. Is a collection bucket of drain overflowing with water. Although not shown in the drawing, an exhaust port leading to the wind guide case 7 is opened on the back surface of the cabinet 1.

FIG. 4 is a structural view of the refrigerator described above, 14 is a condensing unit of the refrigerator, 15 is an evaporator housed in the cooling water tank 5 (see FIG. 3), and 16 is an icemaker 6 ( FIG. 3) is a refrigerant pipe leading to the evaporator. Here, the condensing unit 14 is an assembly in which a compressor 17, a fin tube type condenser 18, a blower fan 19 and the like are mounted on a unit base 20, and the condensing unit 14 is
Is installed in the air guide case 7 shown in FIG. 3 with the fan 19 facing the exhaust port of the cabinet. Here, the fin tube type condenser 18 has a structure in which the refrigerant pipe is arranged in a meandering shape and combined with a large number of radiation fins, 18a is the radiation fin, and 18b is the refrigerant protruding laterally from the frame side plate. 3 shows a hairpin tube section of a tube.

The operation of such a refrigerator is well known and its description is omitted. However, during operation of the refrigerator, the air inside the cabinet 1 is sucked into the baffle case 7 by the air blown by the fan 19, and is shown in the direction of arrow P in the figure. After cooling the compressor 17 and the condenser 18 by passing air through it, the exhaust gas is exhausted from the rear outlet of the cabinet through the fan 19 to the outside of the refrigerator. The generated heat of condensation of the refrigerant is removed.

[0005]

By the way, the above-mentioned vending machine refrigerator has the following problems in terms of maintenance management. That is, when the refrigerator is operated for a long time,
Dust, cotton dust and the like are sucked into the air guide case 7 from the surroundings together with the air, and the dust and the dust are attached to the suction port of the air guide case or the fins 18a of the condenser 18.
And cause clogging. Moreover,
When the clogging occurs in the condenser 18 as described above, the flow rate of the cooling air flowing through the condensing unit 14 is reduced due to the airflow resistance. The refrigeration capacity decreases, and as a result, the refrigerator enters a continuous operation state and the power consumption increases.

In order to solve such a problem, a routeman (serviceman) who regularly patrols the vending machine at the location cleans the inside of the refrigerator and cleans the inside of the refrigerator, the suction port of the wind tunnel case 7 and the condenser 18. It removes dust and cotton dust clogging the fins. However, as shown in FIG. 3, in the cup-type vending machine, the condensing unit 14 of the refrigerator has the wind guide case 7 provided in the back of the refrigerator.
, The clogged state of the condenser 18 cannot be visually inspected from outside. Furthermore, in order to clean the condensing unit 14, the condensing unit needs to be pulled out from the air guide case 7 forward, which requires a lot of work. For this reason, in many cases, the condensing unit is actually left without cleaning for a long time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and eliminate the trouble of pulling out a condensing unit of a refrigerator from the inside of a refrigerator at the time of inspection of a vending machine. It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator of a cup-type vending machine which is equipped with a means for detecting an abnormal state clogged with dust, cotton dust and the like so as to contribute to the maintenance and management thereof.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a condensing unit of a refrigerator device mounted on a cup-type vending machine includes a compressor, a fin tube type condenser, and a fan. Equipped with the condensing unit housed in a baffle case arranged inside the cabinet, and the air in the cabinet sucked into the baffle case by blowing air from the fan is passed through the compressor and condenser to the outside of the cabinet. The discharger includes a sensor and a control unit that detect a state in which the condenser is clogged and output an alarm indicating that a cleaning time has come (claim 1).

The sensor may be a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the hairpin tube of the condenser (Claim 2) or a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the discharge tube of the condenser (Claim 3). Alternatively, one of the air volume sensors (claim 4) for detecting the air volume of the exhaust air passing through the condenser is used, and a warning signal is output from the control means when the sensor detects an abnormality.

In the above configuration, the fin tube type condenser of the refrigerator condensing unit is clogged with dust, cotton dust and the like sucked during the operation of the vending machine. Rises, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor arranged in the hairpin tube or discharge tube rises significantly compared to the normal operation, or the amount of cooling air flowing through the condenser decreases, and If the detection value of the arranged air volume sensor is greatly reduced as compared with the normal operation, an alarm signal is output from the control unit that has taken in the abnormal signal to turn on an alarm lamp or the like. As a result, the routeman can know the arrival of an appropriate cleaning time without pulling out the condensing unit when patrol and inspection of the vending machine installed at the location.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. In the drawings of the embodiment, the same members corresponding to those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. That is, in the illustrated embodiment, the hairpin tube portion 18b of the condenser 18 is used as a means for detecting an abnormal state in which the condenser 18 is clogged by dust, cotton dust, or the like with respect to the condensing unit 14 of the refrigerator. Alternatively, reference numerals 21 and 22 are assigned to the refrigerant discharge pipe portion 18c.
2 or an air flow sensor 23 is disposed on the exhaust side of the condensing unit 14, and the output of the sensor is taken into the control unit 24 shown in FIG. Further, the control unit 24 compares the input signal from the sensor with a set value (reference value) determined based on the temperature and air flow during normal operation, and issues an alarm signal when the deviation exceeds an allowable value. The alarm is output to activate an alarm (display lamp notifying that the cleaning time has come) 25.

By checking the operating state of the alarm device 25 when the routeman makes a tour of the location of the vending machine, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of pulling out the condensing unit 14 from the air guide case 7 and to reduce the trouble of the condensing machine. It is possible to know the arrival of a proper cleaning time for the cleaning unit.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, a condition in which a condenser of a refrigerator condensing unit equipped with a vending machine is clogged is detected and an alarm indicating that a cleaning time has come is output. A sensor and a control means, the temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the hairpin tube portion of the condenser, the temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the discharge tube portion of the condenser, or the amount of exhaust air passing through the condenser When a vending machine at a location is patroled or inspected, the routeman can use the refrigeration unit by using any one of the airflow sensors that performs the above-described operation and outputting an alarm signal from the control unit when the sensor detects an abnormality. Without pulling out the condensing unit from the refrigerator, it is possible to determine whether or not the condensing unit needs to be cleaned. Contribute to the proper maintenance and management of the location.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a condensing unit of a refrigerator showing a position of a sensor for detecting occurrence of clogging of a condenser according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control system diagram for outputting an alarm indicating that a cleaning time has come based on a detection signal of a sensor in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a cup-type vending machine to which the present invention is applied, (a) is a front view showing a layout of an internal mechanism with a front door removed, and (b) is a plan view.

4 is a configuration perspective view of a refrigerator device mounted on the vending machine of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vending machine cabinet 5 Cooling water tank 6 Ice maker 7 Refrigerator condensing unit air guide case 14 Refrigerator condensing unit 17 Compressor 18 Condenser 18a Fin 18b Hairpin pipe part 18b Discharge pipe part 19 Fan 21,22 Temperature sensor 23 Air flow sensor 24 Control unit 25 Alarm

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator of a cup type vending machine equipped with a cooling water tank for beverages and an ice maker in the machine, wherein the condensing unit of the refrigerator is equipped with a compressor, a fin tube type condenser and a fan. Then, the condensing unit is housed in a baffle case arranged in the cabinet of the cabinet, and the air in the cabinet sucked into the baffle case by the ventilation of a fan is passed through a compressor and a condenser to be discharged out of the cabinet. A refrigerator for a cup-type vending machine, comprising: a sensor for detecting a state in which the condenser is clogged and outputting an alarm indicating that a cleaning time has come, and control means. . 2. The refrigerator device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of a hairpin tube portion of the condenser, and an alarm is issued from the control means when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor rises abnormally. A refrigerator for a cup-type vending machine, which outputs a signal. 3. The refrigerator device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of a discharge pipe of the condenser, and an alarm is issued from the control means when the detected temperature of the temperature sensor rises abnormally. A refrigerator for a cup-type vending machine, which outputs a signal. 4. A refrigerating machine according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is an air volume sensor for detecting the air volume of the exhaust air passing through the condenser, and the control means is provided when the air volume detected by the air volume sensor drops abnormally. A refrigerator for a cup-type vending machine, which outputs an alarm signal.