JP2005227832A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption and to prevent articles from deteriorating due to warming in a vending machine which cools or warms and vends articles such as canned beverages. <P>SOLUTION: The vending machine is composed of: a cooling system 140 which is arranged to cool an article storage box and in which a hydrocarbon-based natural refrigerant is charged; and a warming system 180 which has gas cooler 194 and 196 arranged at the bottom in the article storage box to warm the article storage box and also has a 1st evaporator 184, arranged outside the article storage box, and 2nd evaporators 198 and 200, arranged at an upper part in the article storage box, connected in parallel through a means of switching flow passages of the refrigerant and in which carbon dioxide is charged. Thus the cooling system 140 and the warming system 180 are respectively improved in system efficiency, thereb reducing the power consumption and also preventing the articles from deteriorating owing to the warming. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells products such as can drinks after cooling or heating.

  In recent years, demands for reducing power consumption for vending machines have increased.

  One of the conventional means for reducing power consumption of vending machines is one that uses waste heat generated by cooling (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The conventional vending machine will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 3 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of a conventional vending machine. As shown in FIG. 3, the heat source side unit 22 having the compressor 10 and the heat source side heat exchanger 20 and the use side units 36, 38, and 40 having the use side heat exchangers 30, 32, and 34 are provided. The heat exchanger 20 is branched and connected to the refrigerant discharge pipe 50 and the refrigerant suction pipe 52 of the compressor 10 via switching valves 54 and 56. A high pressure gas pipe 60 branchedly connected to the refrigerant discharge pipe 50, a low pressure gas pipe 62 branchedly connected to the refrigerant suction pipe 52, and a liquid pipe 64 connected to the heat source side heat exchanger 20 are provided. The use side heat exchangers 32 and 34 are branched and connected to the high pressure gas pipe 60 and the low pressure gas pipe 62 through switching valves 70, 72, 74 and 76, respectively, and the use side units 36, 38 and 40 are respectively connected to the vending machine. It is arranged in each warehouse.

  The operation of the vending machine configured as described above will be described below.

First, when all the interiors are cooled, the switching valves 54, 72, and 76 are opened and the switching valves 56, 70, and 74 are closed, so that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 10 passes through the refrigerant discharge pipe 50. Then, after flowing through the heat source side heat exchanger 20 acting as a condenser, it is distributed to the respective use side heat exchangers 30, 32, 34 acting as an evaporator via the liquid pipe 64, and flows again in the low pressure gas pipe 62. It merges and is sucked into the compressor 10 through the refrigerant suction pipe 52. Thereby, all the interiors are cooled. Next, when the inside of the cabinet in which the use side units 36 and 38 are arranged is cooled and the inside of the cabinet in which the use side units 40 are arranged is heated, the switching valves 54, 72 and 74 are opened and switched. By closing the valves 56, 70, 76, a part of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 10 flows through the heat source side heat exchanger 20 acting as a condenser via the refrigerant discharge pipe 50, and the remaining refrigerant is a high-pressure gas. The refrigerant that has condensed in each heat exchanger flows to the utilization side heat exchangers 30 and 32 that act as evaporators via the liquid pipe 64 and flows again through the utilization side heat exchanger 34 that acts as a condenser via the pipe 60. The low-pressure gas pipes 62 join together and are sucked into the compressor 10 through the refrigerant suction pipe 52. Thereby, the interior in which the use side units 36 and 38 are disposed is cooled, and the interior in which the utilization side unit 40 is disposed is heated.
JP 2001-84447 A

  However, the above-described conventional configuration has a problem that the use-side heat exchanger acts as both an evaporator and a condenser, resulting in insufficient capability in either cooling or heating. In addition, there is a problem that it is necessary to perform heating assistance with an auxiliary heater when the ability is insufficient during heating, and the power consumption cannot be significantly reduced.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems and to provide a vending machine capable of reducing power consumption.

  Moreover, the said conventional structure had the subject that the goods in the whole chamber | room will be heated at the time of heating, and the goods warmed for a long time will deteriorate.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that prevents deterioration of products due to heating.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the vending machine of the present invention is a vending machine that has a plurality of product storages, cools or heats the products put in the product storages, and sells them from a sales outlet. A cooling system in which the product storage can be cooled, and a heating system in which the inside of the product storage can be heated. The evaporator of the heating system is disposed outside the product storage. The first evaporator and the second evaporator disposed in the upper part of the product storage are connected in parallel, and have means for switching the refrigerant flow path, and control cooling and heating independently. Thus, each capacity can be optimized, cooling and heating can be performed without excess and deficiency, and when the product reaches the selling temperature, the first evaporator of the heating system is connected to the second evaporator. By switching to the evaporator, The Upon warming to cool-compartment upper simultaneously, by a temperature gradient in the refrigerator, to prevent deterioration of the product due to heating.

  According to the vending machine of the present invention, in the vending machine that has a plurality of product storages, cools or heats the products put in the product storages, and sells them from the sales outlet, Consists of a cooling system that can be cooled and a heating system that can heat the inside of the product storage. By independently controlling cooling and heating, each capacity can be optimized and there is no excess or deficiency The first evaporator in which the cooling and heating can be performed and the power consumption is reduced and the evaporator of the heating system is disposed outside the product storage and the upper part in the product storage By connecting the second evaporators arranged in parallel to each other and providing means for switching the flow path of the refrigerant, there is an effect of preventing deterioration of the product due to heating.

  The invention of the vending machine according to claim 1 is a vending machine that has a plurality of product storages, cools or heats the products put in the product storages, and sells them from a sales outlet. A cooling system in which the product storage can be cooled, and a heating system in which the inside of the product storage can be heated. The evaporator of the heating system is disposed outside the product storage. One evaporator and a second evaporator disposed in the upper part of the product storage are connected in parallel, and have means for switching the flow path of the refrigerant, and by independently controlling cooling and heating Optimizing each capacity, cooling and heating can be performed without excess and deficiency, and when the product reaches the selling temperature, the first evaporator of the heating system is replaced with the second evaporator. Heat the lower part of the cabinet by switching to At the same time a-compartment upper cooling, by a temperature gradient in the refrigerator, to prevent deterioration of the product due to heating.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the inverter compressor according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the compressor constituting the cooling system and the compressor constituting the heating system has operating frequency conversion means. By increasing the operating frequency only when cooling capacity or heating capacity is required at the maximum, such as at startup, and decreasing the operating frequency when stable, it suppresses extreme evaporating temperature drop and rapid fluctuations. System efficiency can be improved.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, heat exchange is performed between the condenser constituting the cooling system and the evaporator constituting the heating system, which are respectively disposed outside the commodity storage. The system efficiency can be improved.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when at least one of the goods storage is in the heating mode, the center of the goods storage in the heating mode The upper part of the product storage is used as a preliminary heating layer, and the lower part of the product storage is divided into a sales warming layer. By dividing the layer clearly, temperature control becomes easy, and deterioration of the product due to heating can be prevented more effectively.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein different refrigerants are used in the cooling system and the heating system, and the optimum refrigerant is used in each system. As a result, system efficiency can be improved.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 5, wherein a hydrocarbon-based natural refrigerant is used as a refrigerant for a cooling system, and carbon dioxide is used as a refrigerant for a heating system. By using natural refrigerants that are optimal for the system, the system efficiency is improved, the ozone layer of the earth is not destroyed, and global warming is prevented.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the rotary compression according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the compressor constituting the heating system performs multi-stage compression having a plurality of cylinders. By compressing in multiple stages, the compression ratio in one compression is reduced and the compression efficiency is improved, and the reliability of the compressor is improved by lowering the compressor outlet temperature.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, about the same structure as the past, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vending machine cooling system and a heating system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the front of the vending machine.

  FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the heating system of the vending machine according to the embodiment as viewed from the right side of the vending machine.

  In FIG. 1, the vending machine 110 has a product storage 120 dedicated to cooling on the upper left side, product storages 122 and 124 capable of switching between cooling and heating on the middle and right sides of the upper part, and a machine room 126 on the lower part. doing. Each product storage 120, 122, 124 is insulated from the outside and the machine room 126 by a heat insulating wall 130. Similarly, each product storage 120, 122, 124 is insulated by the heat insulating walls 132, 134 so as to have a desired temperature space. It becomes. Each merchandise storage 120, 122, 124 stores sales merchandise 136 such as canned beverages.

  In addition, the cooling system 140 includes a compressor 142, a condenser 144, electromagnetic valves 146, 148, 150 that can open and close a flow path, capillary heat transfer tubes 152, 154, 156 as decompression means, 120 in each commodity storage, The evaporators 158, 160, 162 arranged in 122, 124 are connected to an annular circuit by piping, and here, R600a (isobutane), which is a kind of hydrocarbon-based natural refrigerant, is enclosed to constitute a cooling cycle. ing. Blower fans 164, 166, 168, 170 are provided on the condenser 144 and the evaporators 158, 160, 162 side.

  Further, the heating system 180 includes a compressor 182, a first evaporator 184, electromagnetic valves 185, 186, 187, 188 and 189 that can open and close the flow path, and expansion as decompression means that can open and close the flow path. The valves 190, 191 and 192, the gas cooler disposed in the lower part of the product storage 122 and 124, and the second evaporators 198 and 200 disposed in the upper part are connected to an annular circuit by piping. Here, R744 ( Carbon dioxide) is enclosed to form a heating cycle. Blower fans 202 and 204 are provided on the evaporators 198 and 200 side.

  Further, the condenser 144 and the evaporator 184 are configured to exchange heat by means of heat exchange means such as a heat pipe (not shown).

  Further, in FIG. 2, for example, air passages 210 and 212 are provided so that the upper part becomes the preliminary heating layer 214 and the lower part becomes the sales heating layer 216 with the approximate center of each product storage 122 and 124 as a boundary. It is configured to divide.

  The operation of the vending machine configured as described above will be described below.

  First, when cooling the product storage 120, by opening the electromagnetic valve 146 and closing the electromagnetic valves 148 and 150, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 142 flows as shown by the arrows and flows into the condenser 144. The heat is indirectly exchanged with the outside air blown by the fan 164 and liquefies itself, passes through the open electromagnetic valve 146, is decompressed by the capillary heat transfer tube 152, and flows into the evaporator 158.

  Here, heat is indirectly exchanged with the air in the space in the product storage box 120 blown by the fan 166, and the cycle of vaporizing itself and returning to the compressor 142 is repeated.

  In this way, the air in the space in the product storage box 120 is gradually cooled, and the sales product 136 in contact with the cooling air is gradually cooled to reach a desired temperature.

  It should be noted that when the product storage boxes 122 and 124 are cooled, the solenoid valves 148 and 150 are opened, and the cooling operation is performed in the same manner, so that the description thereof is omitted here.

  On the other hand, when heating the product storage 124, the solenoid valve 188 is opened, the solenoid valves 150, 186, 189 are closed, and the expansion valves 190, 192 are fully closed, so that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 182 is Flows in the direction of the arrow, passes through the open solenoid valve 188, flows into the gas cooler 196, and indirectly exchanges heat with the air in the space in the lower part of the product storage 124 blown by the fan 170. The temperature in the storage 124 is increased.

  Further, the refrigerant is decompressed by the expansion valve 191 and flows into the evaporator 184.

  The gas cooler 196 here operates as a condenser.

  In this embodiment, since the refrigerant of the heating system is carbon dioxide, a gas cooler and an expansion valve which can be fully closed are used. Therefore, an electromagnetic valve that can be opened and closed is used. Moreover, the expansion valve which can be fully closed was used also as the electromagnetic valve which can be opened and closed.

  By repeating the heating cycle in this manner, the air in the space in the product storage 124 is gradually heated, and the sales product 136 that comes into contact with the heated air is gradually heated and reaches a desired temperature.

  Further, after the sales product 136 reaches a desired temperature, the solenoid valve 189 is opened, the solenoid valve 187 is closed, and the expansion valve 191 is fully closed, so that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 182 is indicated by an arrow indicated by a dotted line. And flows through the open electromagnetic valve 188 and flows into the gas cooler 196 and indirectly exchanges heat with the air in the lower part of the product storage box 124 blown by the fan 170 to liquefy itself. The pressure is reduced by the expansion valve 192 and flows into the second evaporator 200. Further, the air in the space in the upper part of the product storage box 124 blown by the fan 204 is indirectly heat-exchanged, so that the products for sale 136 in the upper part of the product storage box 124 that come into contact with the cooled air gradually. To be cooled. Thus, by heating the lower portion and simultaneously cooling the upper portion, it is possible to create a temperature gradient in the product storage 124 and to prevent deterioration of the sales product 136 due to heating. In addition, since the same operation | movement is performed also when the goods storage 122 is heated, description is abbreviate | omitted here.

  In the present embodiment, the product storage 120 is dedicated to cooling, but it may be a product storage that can be switched between cooling and heating. In that case, naturally, the gas cooler and the second evaporation of the heating system are used. The container will be disposed in the commodity storage 120.

  In this way, by performing cooling and heating by independent systems, it becomes possible to optimize the respective capacities, and cooling and heating can be performed without excess or deficiency.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, R600a is used as the refrigerant of the cooling system 140 and R744 is used as the refrigerant of the heating system 180, so that high efficiency can be obtained in each system, and the earth's ozone layer destruction and Global warming can be prevented. Moreover, the compressor 182 can be reduced in size by using R744 as a refrigerant of the heating system 180.

  In the present embodiment, the hydrocarbon-based natural refrigerant used in the cooling system 140 is R600a, but other refrigerants such as R290 or a mixed refrigerant of R600a and R290 are also conceivable.

  Furthermore, by providing the air passages 210 and 212 with the approximate center of the product storage boxes 122 and 124 as a boundary, the air heated by the gas coolers 194 and 196 rises from the bottom of the product storage boxes 122 and 124 to the approximate center and winds. The air is sucked into the passage 212, passes through the gas coolers 194 and 196 again, circulates, and the air cooled by the second evaporators 198 and 200 descends from the upper part of the product storage boxes 122 and 124 to substantially the center and enters the air passage 210. It is sucked and passes again through the second evaporators 198, 200 and circulates. As a result, it is possible to divide the product storage boxes 122 and 124 so that the upper part becomes the preliminary heating layer 214 and the lower part becomes the sales warming layer 216, and a temperature gradient can be applied more effectively. It is possible to prevent deterioration of the sales product 136 due to temperature.

  In this embodiment, the air passages 210 and 212 are provided as one of means for dividing the preliminary heating layer 214 and the sales heating layer 216, but a partition, an air curtain, or the like may be used.

  Further, when the compressor 182 constituting the heating system 180 is a compressor that performs two-cylinder two-stage compression, the compression ratio in one compression can be reduced, and the compression efficiency can be improved. At the same time, the compressor outlet temperature can be lowered, and the reliability of the compressor can be improved.

  Furthermore, the compressors 142 and 182 are inverter compressors having operating frequency conversion means, so that the operating frequency can be reached in a short time to reach the desired product 136 at a desired temperature, such as when starting up or when the product is introduced. When the desired temperature is reached, the operating frequency can be lowered, thereby reducing the extreme evaporating temperature drop and rapid fluctuations and improving the system efficiency.

  Further, by exchanging heat between the condenser 144 and the evaporator 184, the system efficiency can be improved, and the evaporator 184 can be defrosted effectively.

  As described above, in the vending machine according to the present embodiment, the evaporators 158, 160, and 162 are disposed on the inner bottoms of the product storage units 120, 122, and 124 so that the product storage units 120, 122, and 124 can be cooled. Gas coolers 194 and 196 are disposed on the inner bottoms of the product storage units 122 and 124 so that the product storage units 122 and 124 can be heated, and the product storage units 122 and 124. The second evaporators 198 and 200 are disposed in the upper part of the inside, and are composed of a heating system 180 filled with carbon dioxide, and heat the condenser 144 and the first evaporator 184 disposed outside the product storage. By having the means to exchange, the system efficiency of each of the cooling system 140 and the heating system 180 can be improved, and the power consumption can be reduced.

  Further, by providing the air passages 210 and 212 so that the upper part is the preliminary warming layer 214 and the lower part is the sales warming layer 216 with the approximate center of the product storage boxes 122 and 124 as the boundary, the products sold by heating The deterioration of 136 can be prevented.

  As described above, the vending machine according to the present invention can prevent the product from being deteriorated by heating, and can be applied to a device having a heating function.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cooling system and a heating system of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Vertical sectional view of the heating system of the vending machine according to the embodiment Refrigerant circuit diagram of a conventional vending machine

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 Vending machine 120,122,124 Goods storage 136 Sales goods 140 Cooling system 142 Compressor 144 Condenser 158, 160, 162 Evaporator 180 Heating system 182 Compressor 184 First evaporator 185, 186, 187, 188, 189 Solenoid valve 190, 191, 192 Expansion valve 194, 196 Gas cooler 198, 200 Second evaporator 210, 212 Air passage 214 Pre-heating layer 216 Sales heating layer

Claims (7)

In a vending machine that has a plurality of product storages, cools or heats the products put in the product storages, and sells them from a sales outlet, and a cooling system arranged to cool the product storages; And a heating system arranged so that the inside of the product storage can be heated, and an evaporator of the heating system is disposed in the upper part in the product storage and a first evaporator disposed outside the product storage A vending machine in which a second evaporator disposed in parallel is connected, and means for switching a refrigerant flow path is provided in one of the first evaporator and the second evaporator. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the compressor constituting the cooling system and the compressor constituting the heating system is an inverter compressor having an operation frequency conversion means. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means for exchanging heat between a condenser constituting the cooling system and an evaporator constituting the heating system respectively disposed outside the commodity storage. When at least one of the product storages is in a heating mode, with the approximate center of the product storage in the heating mode as a boundary, the upper part of the product storage is a preheating layer, and the lower part of the product storage is The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising means for dividing into a sales warming layer. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein different refrigerants are used in the cooling system and the heating system. The vending machine according to claim 5, wherein a hydrocarbon-based natural refrigerant is used as a refrigerant of the cooling system, and carbon dioxide is used as a refrigerant of the heating system. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the compressor constituting the heating system is a rotary compressor that performs multi-stage compression having a plurality of cylinders.

Images