JP2020119191A - vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vending machine capable of keeping commodity temperature in a commodity storage within a desired temperature range by suppressing the intrusion of outside air heat from a heat-insulating door by virtue of an air curtain.SOLUTION: A vending machine is provided with a commodity storage having a heat insulating structure surrounded by a heat insulating member, and a front opening of the commodity storage is closed by a heat insulating door. On a front end of an upper surface duct 10 communicating with a rear surface duct 9, an air guide 20 for guiding a circulating air downward is provided to form an air curtain separated from the heat insulating door, and a ventilation channel forming member 13 is provided to divide a ventilation channel in the upper surface duct 10 into a plurality of right and left sides. The ventilation channel forming member 13 disperses the circulating air in accordance with the degree of heat intrusion from the heat insulating door, thereby reducing the difference in commodity temperature in the commodity storage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells products that are refrigerated or frozen and stored in a product storage having a heat insulating structure surrounded by a heat insulating member, and in particular, heat of outside air heat from a heat insulating door that closes the product storage. The present invention relates to an automatic vending machine capable of suppressing intrusion and keeping a difference in product temperature in a product storage within a desired temperature range.

This type of vending machine includes a main body cabinet forming an outer box. The main body cabinet is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a front surface opened by a rectangular base in a plan view and a steel plate top plate, left and right side plates, and a back plate. Inside the main body cabinet, a product storage compartment and a machine room, which are vertically divided, are provided. The product storage is a hexahedron whose front surface is opened by the upper wall, bottom wall, left and right side walls, and back wall made of a heat insulating member made of urethane foam, and a heat-insulating inner door or a plurality of layers of transparent glass that closes the front surface where the hexahedron is opened. And a heat-insulating door such as a glass door made of a face plate made of, and a heat-insulating member enclosed by a heat-insulating member. A product storage rack that stores products, an internal fan that cools the products stored in the product storage rack, a cooling unit that includes an evaporator, a rear duct, and the like are installed in the product storage container with a heat insulating structure. In the machine room, the evaporator of the cooling unit and the condensing unit of the refrigerator forming a refrigeration cycle are arranged. The condensing unit of the refrigerator is composed of a compressor, a condenser, a fan outside the storage, an expansion valve, etc., and a condenser arranged in the machine room and an evaporator of the cooling unit arranged in the product storage are connected via the expansion valve. It is connected by a refrigerant pipe. Then, the air in the product storage is cooled by the evaporator by driving the internal fan of the cooling unit, and then is blown forward from above the product storage via the rear duct to circulate in the product storage. Cool the products stored in the product storage rack.

By the way, regarding the temperature distribution of the products stored in the product storage rack in the product storage with the heat insulation structure, the product temperature gradually increases in the front-back direction from the back side of the product storage to the front side (insulating door). It is known to be distributed as This is because a back duct is arranged on the back side inside the product storage, and the ventilation duct of this back duct functions as a heat insulating layer, while on the front side of the product storage there is an air layer like a back duct. Otherwise, the invasion of outside heat from the heat insulating door adversely affects the product temperature. Therefore, it is conceivable to form an air curtain on the front side of the product storage away from the heat insulating door, and to provide an air layer between the heat insulating door and the inside of the product storage. The technique of forming the air curtain in the front opening of the product storage in the vending machine as described above is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 prevents outflow of cold air and invasion of outside air when replenishing products. That is, a heat insulating door that closes the front opening of the product storage is formed at the front left edge of the main body cabinet as a door that can be opened and closed by a hinge mechanism. By opening the front opening of the product storage, The products are replenished in the housed product storage rack. In this way, when the heat insulating door is released when replenishing the product storage rack with the products, the cold air inside the product storage will flow out of the storage while the outside air will enter the storage. .. Therefore, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 solves the problem that the cold air flows out of the storage and the outside air enters the storage when replenishing the products, and the upper part of the product storage In the front area, in the vicinity of the heat-insulating door, the circulating air, which is cooled by the evaporator by driving the fan inside the cooling unit and then blown forward from above the product storage via the rear duct, faces downward. An air guide for guiding is provided. The air guide is configured to oscillate by interfering with the heat insulating door, and when the heat insulating door closes the front opening of the product storage, air is blown forward from above the product storage via the rear duct. Cooling the products stored in the product storage rack by guiding the circulating air into the product storage, and when the heat insulating door opens the front opening of the product storage, the product storage via the rear duct. The air curtain is formed by guiding the circulating air flow blown forward from above to directly below.

Although not explicitly disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the heat-insulating door closes the front opening of the product storage (the heat-insulating door is closed), it is heat-insulating if separated from the heat-insulating door to form an air curtain. It is considered that the heat of outside air can be prevented from entering through the door.

JP-A-2-23296

However, when an air curtain is formed apart from the heat-insulating door and an air layer is provided between the heat-insulating door and the product storage to prevent outside heat from entering through the heat-insulating door, Although the variation in the difference in product temperature in the front-back direction can be reduced, as shown below, a large variation in product temperature occurs in the left-right direction of the product storage, so that the product temperature difference is within a desired temperature range (for example, It was found that there is a problem to be solved that it cannot be maintained at ±2 degrees). That is, the temperature distribution of the products in the left-right direction in the product storage is distributed such that the product temperature gradually increases as the central region inside the product storage approaches the left and right regions (left and right side walls), and the product storage region This causes large variations in product temperature.

In this way, the product temperature gradually increases as it approaches the left and right areas (left and right side walls) from the central area of the product storage, and the product temperature greatly varies. Due to the synergistic effect with the inflowing outside air heat, the maximum amount of outside air heat invades in the front corner area of the product storage, which is defined by the insulating door and the left and right side walls, which is the boundary between the heat insulating door and the left and right side walls. Becomes On the other hand, the width of the internal fan that forms the air curtain is smaller than the width of the heat insulating door in the left-right direction, and the flow velocity of the air in the internal compartment that is blown forward from above the product storage via the rear duct is In the central area corresponding to the internal fan, the distance is early and the distance from the central area corresponding to the internal fan to the left and right is gradually decreased. Therefore, although the flow velocity of the air curtain formed by the air guide is high in the central region corresponding to the internal fan, it is separated from the central region corresponding to the internal fan to the left and right, and thus gradually decreases to the vicinity of the left and right end portions of the heat insulating door. The closer it gets, the slower it becomes, and the slowest it becomes near the left and right edges of the heat insulating door. In other words, the flow velocity of the air curtain in the front side corner area of the product storage defined by the heat insulating door and the left and right side walls that maximize the amount of outside air heat penetration is the slowest, and the outside air heat penetration is sufficiently suppressed. As a result, the product temperature varies greatly depending on the area of the product storage, and the product temperature difference cannot be kept within a desired temperature range. In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to provide a plurality of in-compartment fans in the left-right direction, but an increase in cost cannot be denied.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the object thereof is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and suppress the invasion of outside air heat from an adiabatic door by an air curtain to set a product temperature in a product storage to a desired temperature. It is to provide a vending machine that can be kept within the range.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a heat insulation surrounded by a heat insulating member and a heat insulating member that is closed by a hexahedron whose front surface is open and a heat insulating door that closes the open front surface of this hexahedron. A product storage having a structure, a product storage rack stored in the product storage, an evaporator for cooling the products stored in the product storage rack, a cooling unit having an internal fan, and a rear surface of the product storage And a rear duct having a plurality of outlets provided between the lower inlet and the upper outlet, and communicating with the upper outlet of the rear duct, and a product storage An upper surface duct that forms a ventilation path in the front-rear direction along the upper wall of the upper wall, and an air curtain that is arranged at the front end of the upper surface duct and that guides downward the air guided through the rear surface duct and the upper surface duct. In the vending machine including the air guide that forms the air guide, the air ducts in the upper surface duct are arranged as a pair in the left and right direction in a manner of dividing the ventilation path in the left and right direction, and the left and right sides on the rear end side are arranged. A ventilation passage forming member is formed by expanding the left and right widths on the front end side with respect to the width, and the air guide is arranged at the front end of the upper surface duct in a manner to form an air curtain separated from the heat insulating door. It is characterized by

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the automatic vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the air guide includes a rectifying body having a honeycomb structure.

The invention according to claim 3 is the vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the heat-insulating door is a glass door in which multiple layers of glass are stacked.

According to the vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention, the heat insulation surrounded by the hexahedron which is made of a heat insulating member and whose front surface is open, and the heat insulating member which is closed by the heat insulating door which closes the open front surface of this hexahedron A product storage having a structure, a product storage rack stored in the product storage, an evaporator for cooling the products stored in the product storage rack, a cooling unit having an internal fan, and a rear surface of the product storage And a rear duct having a plurality of outlets provided between the lower inlet and the upper outlet, and communicating with the upper outlet of the rear duct, and a product storage An upper surface duct that forms a ventilation path in the front-rear direction along the upper wall of the upper wall, and an air curtain that is arranged at the front end of the upper surface duct and that guides downward the air guided through the rear surface duct and the upper surface duct. In the vending machine including the air guide that forms the air guide, the air ducts in the upper surface duct are arranged as a pair in the left and right direction in a manner of dividing the ventilation path in the left and right direction, and the left and right sides on the rear end side are arranged. A ventilation passage forming member is formed by expanding the left and right widths on the front end side with respect to the width, and the air guide is arranged at the front end of the upper surface duct in a manner to form an air curtain separated from the heat insulating door. As a result, the flow velocity in the width direction of the air curtain is controlled so that the flow velocity in the left and right regions is faster than the flow velocity in the central region, and the invasion of outside air from the central region of the adiabatic door is suppressed while the outside air invades. The heat-insulating door that maximizes the amount and the left and right sidewalls also effectively prevent the invasion of outside air heat from the front corner area of the product storage compartment, and the heat-insulating door and the left and right sidewalls define it. It is said that the product temperature in the vicinity of the front side corner of the product storage closes to the product temperature in the central region of the product storage and the difference in the product temperature in the entire product storage can be set within a desired temperature range. It is effective. Further, since the air curtain separated from the heat insulating door does not directly contact the cool air in the product storage with the heat insulating door, it is possible to prevent dew condensation on the inner wall of the heat insulating door. When it is a glass door capable of seeing through the inside, it also has an effect of not impairing the see-through effect.

1 shows an automatic vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a front view seen from the customer service side of the automatic vending machine, and (b) is a front view with a front door removed. It is a side surface sectional view of the vending machine of FIG. It is a perspective view of a goods conveyance device. The back duct and the top duct are shown, (a) is a perspective view of the rear duct and the top duct in cooperation with each other as seen obliquely from above, and (b) is a perspective view of the cooperation portion of the back duct and the top duct as seen from below obliquely. is there. A back duct is shown, (a) is a perspective view of a back duct, and (b) is the exploded view. The assembly of an upper surface duct and an air guide is shown, (a) is a perspective view of the assembly, and (b) is its exploded view. It is an exploded view of an upper surface duct. It is an exploded view of an air guide. It is a disassembled perspective view of the support body which comprises an air guide. It is the perspective view which looked at the support body of FIG. 9 from the back side. It is a side surface sectional view of an air guide.

Preferred embodiments of a vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show an automatic vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vending machine illustrated here is a general-purpose vending machine that stores and sells regular products such as boxed products and irregular products such as bags as products. In the following description, “front” and “left and right” refer to the view from the customer service side of the vending machine.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this vending machine includes a main body cabinet 1 forming an outer box. As shown in FIG. 1(b), the main body cabinet 1 has a front surface opened by a base 1a having a rectangular shape in plan view, a top plate 1b made of a steel plate, left and right side plates 1c, and a back plate 1d (see FIG. 2). It is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Inside the main body cabinet 1, the partition member 2 is sandwiched and the left side is formed as a product storage main body section 3 and the right side is formed as a charging section storage section 4.

The product storage main body 3 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open front surface. In the product storage main body 3, a product storage 31 and a machine room 32 are vertically divided. The product storage 31 has a hexahedron whose front surface is opened by an upper wall 311, a bottom wall 312, a back wall 313, a left wall 314 (see FIG. 2) and a partition member 2 as a right wall, which are made of a heat insulating member made of urethane foam. Is a chamber of a heat insulating structure surrounded by a front door 5 that closes the open front surface of the hexahedron.

The front door 5 has a size large enough to close the front opening of the product storage main body 3, and has hinge shafts provided at the upper and lower ends on the left end side in a vertically protruding manner on the left side of the main body cabinet 1. It is swingable by being held by a hinge mechanism provided on the front upper edge and the left front edge of the base 1a. Further, a window 51 having a large opening is formed on the front surface of the front door 5, and a face plate 52 made of a plurality of layers of transparent glass is fitted into the window 51, and a glass door having a heat insulating function by the plurality of layers of the face plate 52. It is formed as (insulating door). Further, the front door 5 has a product outlet 53 formed below the face plate 52. The commodity take-out port 53 is provided with a flapper 53a whose upper end is rotatably supported and hangs down. The flapper 53a has a heat insulating property by attaching a heat insulating material.

The billing unit storage unit 4 in the main body cabinet 1 is a room for storing components such as a coin identification device, a bill identification device, a main controller of a vending machine, a power supply box, and an earth leakage breaker, and is formed as a room temperature chamber. ing. The front opening of the charging unit storage unit 4 is closed by a front door 40 that is openably and closably attached by a hinge mechanism (not shown) provided at the front right edge of the main body cabinet 1. The front door 40 has hinge shafts, which are provided at both upper and lower ends on the right end side and protrude in the vertical direction, are held by a hinge mechanism provided on the right front upper edge of the main body cabinet 1 and the right front edge of the base 1a. Can be swung by. The front door 5 and the front door 40 are hinged doors by having hinge mechanisms provided on the left and right sides of the main body cabinet 1. On the front surface of the front door 40, a coin insertion slot 41, a bill insertion slot 42, a return lever 43, a display 44, a coin return slot 45, a product selection section 46 including a numeric keypad and an enter key, a recording medium (IC) mounted with electronic money. An antenna unit 47 for a card, a mobile phone, etc., and a key lock device 48 are provided. The display unit 44 displays various kinds of information such as the input information input from the product selection unit 46, the state of sale, the inserted amount of money, the change of coins, and the cancellation of bills. The key lock device 48 locks the front door 40 and the front door 5 in a closed state, and by locking the front door 40 in a state where the double door type front door 5 is closed, the front door 40 and the front door 5 are locked in a closed state. It is a thing.

As shown in FIG. 2, a product storage rack 6, a cooling unit 7, a product transfer device 8, a back duct 9 and a top duct 10 are installed in a product storage box 31 having a heat insulating structure.

The product storage racks 6 are vertically arranged in a plurality of stages (five in the illustrated example). Each product storage rack 6 is provided with a product delivery mechanism for delivering the products stored in line in the front-rear direction according to the customer's selection. In this embodiment, a spiral mechanism 63 is provided as a product delivery mechanism. There is. The spiral mechanism 63 comprises a spirally wound spiral 61 extending in the front-rear direction and a drive unit 62 that is transmission-coupled to the spiral 61 and has a built-in drive motor for rotationally driving the spiral 61. The spiral mechanism 63 sequentially drives the spiral 61 by the drive unit 62 to convey the products held between the spiral pitches from the rear side to the front side and pays them out. It is formed as a column. The product storage rack 6 is formed with a plurality of product columns formed by the spiral mechanism 63 in the left-right direction. A display plate (not shown) on which a number indicating the number of the product column is written is provided at the front end of each spiral mechanism 63.

The cooling unit 7 is arranged below the multi-tiered product storage racks 6 installed in the product storage 31. The cooling unit 7 includes an evaporator 71 and an internal fan 72. The cooling unit 7 circulates the air in the product storage 31 cooled by the evaporator 71 by driving the internal fan 72 from the rear duct 9 through the inside of the product storage 31 to the product storage rack 6. It cools the stored products. In addition to cooling the products stored in the product storage rack 6, the internal fan 72 of the cooling unit 7 also installs an air curtain at a position near the front of the product storage 31 via a rear duct 9 and an upper duct 10 which will be described later. To form.

In the machine room 32 partitioned by the product storage 31 and the bottom wall 312, the evaporator 71 of the cooling unit 7 and a condensing unit 320 of a refrigerator forming a refrigeration cycle are arranged. The condensing unit 320 of the refrigerator includes a compressor 321, a condenser 322, an outdoor fan 323, an expansion valve (not shown), and the like, and the compressor 321 and the condenser 322 are connected by a refrigerant pipe. The condenser 322 and the evaporator 71 of the cooling unit 7 arranged in the product storage 31 are connected by a refrigerant pipe via an expansion valve.

The product transfer device 8 is provided in the front area of the product storage rack 6 arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction, and includes a Y-axis transfer part 81 and a transfer bucket 82 as shown in FIG. There is. The transport bucket 82 is provided with left and right side plates 821 and 821 that form left and right side walls (the right side plate 821 is hidden and not visible in FIG. 3) and a bottom plate 822 that forms a bottom wall. It is formed in a shape. Further, the left and right side plates 821 include a light projecting module 823 and a light receiving element, each of which has a light projecting element of a product detection switch (photoelectric sensor) for detecting a product dispensed from the product column of the product storage rack 6 to the bottom plate 822. The light receiving modules 824 are arranged so as to face each other, and cover members 825 and 825 for protecting the light projecting module 823 and the light receiving module 824 are provided.

The Y-axis transport unit 81 moves the transport bucket 82 along the Y-axis direction, that is, the vertical direction. The Y-axis transfer unit 81 is located in the front area of the machine room 32 behind the product outlet 53, which is a lower position of the transfer bucket 82 vertically displaced from the product storage racks 6 in the vertical direction during standby. A Y-axis module that is moved to a standby position (see FIG. 2) and moved to a position facing the step of the product storage rack 6 that includes a product column for paying out products at the time of product sales, while being moved to the standby position after receiving the products. I have it.

The Y-axis module is formed by connecting left and right frame members 811 and 811 installed at the front end portion in the product storage 31 via mounting brackets 8110 and a connecting shaft 812a pivotally supported by the frame members 811 and 811. The left and right drive pulleys 812 and 812 (see FIG. 2: the left drive pulley 812 is visible in FIG. 2) are wound around the left and right side plates 821 and 821 of the transfer bucket 82, and the other end is connected to the one end. Timing belts 813 and 813, to which balance weights 814 and 814 are connected, and a drive unit 815 having a built-in drive motor that drives the drive pulleys 812 and 812 via a gear reduction mechanism. The balance weight 814 is covered with the cover member 8111 and is shown by a dotted line in FIG.

The timing belts 813 and 813 are formed as toothed belts, and the drive pulleys 812 and 812 around which the timing belts 813 and 813 are wound are also formed as toothed pulleys. The balance weights 814 and 814 connected to the other ends of the timing belts 813 and 813 balance the weight on the side of the transport bucket 82 suspended on one end of the timing belts 813 and 813, and the weight on the side of the transport bucket 82. It is set to a slightly lighter weight.

The transport bucket 82 moves vertically along a guide rail (not shown) formed of two rails extending in the vertical direction and arranged in a convex manner inside the left and right frame members 811 and 811. It is configured. In this case, two pairs of upper and lower rollers (not shown) are attached to the rear side of the left and right side plates 821 and 821 of the transport bucket 82, respectively. The two pairs of upper and lower rollers are located between the two guide rails, and the two pairs of upper and lower rollers are arranged in contact with the two guide rails. As a result, the transfer bucket 82 is smoothly moved up and down. In addition, the same relationship as the relationship between the pair of upper and lower rollers provided on the left and right side plates 821 and 821 of the transport bucket 82 and the two guide rails arranged in a convex manner inside the frame members 811 and 811. Further, the balance weights 814 and 814 are also provided with a plurality of rollers, and the guide rails corresponding to the plurality of rollers are provided so as to be convex inside the left and right frame members 811 and 811.

In addition, in this embodiment, since the standby state of the transfer bucket 82 is set behind the product outlet 53 and in the front area of the machine room 32 as shown in FIG. It communicates with the product outlet 53. Therefore, a box-shaped heat insulating member 315 (shown in black in FIG. 2) having an open upper surface and a front surface is provided so as to surround the transfer bucket 82 at the standby position, and the periphery of the product outlet 53 and the product outlet 53 are provided. The flapper 53a that opens and closes is also configured to have heat insulation.

Now, the rear duct 9 and the upper duct 10 are shown in FIG. 4, (a) of FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the associated rear duct 9 and the upper duct 10 as seen obliquely from above, and (b) of FIG. 4 is the rear duct. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the cooperation portion between the upper surface duct 10 and the upper surface duct 9 as viewed obliquely from below.

The rear duct 9 is arranged along the vertical direction on the back wall 313 of the product storage 31. The upper surface duct 10 communicates with the upper outlet of the rear surface duct 9 and forms a ventilation passage in the front-rear direction along the upper wall 311 of the product storage 31. At the front end of the upper surface duct 10, an air guide 20 is provided which guides the air guided through the rear surface duct 9 and the upper surface duct 10 downward to form an air curtain.

The rear duct 9 is shown in FIG. 5, (a) of FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rear duct 9, and (b) of FIG. 5 is an exploded view thereof. The back duct 9 is an assembly of a partition plate 91 and two left and right heat insulating members 92, 92. The partition wall plate 91 is made of a flat metal plate, and partitions the inside of the commodity storage case 31 in the front area and the ventilation path formed between the rear area, that is, the back wall 313 of the main body cabinet 1. .. A lower inlet 911 is formed in the lower portion of the partition plate 91 by a notch, and a plurality of outlets 91a provided between the lower inlet 911 and the upper edge are provided in accordance with the steps of the product storage rack 6. ing. Abutment pieces 912 and 912 are formed on the left and right side edges of the partition plate 91 by cutting and raising, and the placing pieces 913 and 913 are placed on the upper and lower end portions of the left and right side edges of the partition plate 91 by cutting and raising the abutting pieces 912 and 912. 913 are formed respectively. The two left and right heat insulating members 92, 92 define a space serving as a ventilation path between the partition wall plate 91 and the back wall 313 of the main body cabinet 1, and have a long rectangular shape made of a urethane foam heat insulating material. Is formed.

The rear duct 9 is formed at the upper and lower end portions of the left and right side edges of the partition plate 91 by arranging the inner wall surfaces of the two left and right heat insulating members 92, 92 in close contact with the contact pieces 912, 912 of the partition plate 91. The placed pieces 913 and 913 are placed on the front surfaces of the heat insulating members 92 and 92. In this case, double-sided tape is attached to the back side of the mounting pieces 913, 913 formed at the upper and lower end portions of the left and right side edges of the partition plate 91, and the heat insulating members 92, 92 are attached by the double-sided tape. The partition plate 91 and the partition plate 91 are integrated into a module as the rear duct 9. The rear duct 9 thus modularized is attached to the back wall 313 of the main body cabinet 1 by a double-sided tape attached to the rear faces of the heat insulating members 92, 92. With the rear duct 9 arranged along the back wall 313 of the main body cabinet 1, a space surrounded by the partition plate 91, the two left and right heat insulating members 92, 92 and the back wall 313 of the main body cabinet 1 is a ventilation path. And the upper edge portion of the partition plate 91 is formed as the upper outlet port 914. The spacer 915 arranged at the edge of the lower inlet 911 of the partition plate 91 is provided between the partition plate 91 and a wind tunnel (not shown) that covers the evaporator 71 and the internal fan 72 of the cooling unit 7. It fills a gap.

6 shows an assembly of the upper duct 10 and the air guide 20, FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the assembly in which the air guide 20 is assembled to the upper duct 10, and FIG. 6B is the upper duct. FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the air guide 20 removed from FIG. Further, an exploded view of the upper surface duct 10 is shown in FIG. 7, and an exploded view of the air guide 20 is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the upper surface duct 10 includes a partition plate 11 and closing plates 12 and 12, and a plurality of (four in this embodiment) ventilation path forming members 13 are fixed to the partition plate 11. ing. The partition plate 11 is made of a flat metal plate, and partitions the inside of the product storage 31 in the lower region from the upper region, that is, the ventilation path formed between the upper wall 311 of the main body cabinet 1. .. The partition plate 11 is formed by rectangular partition wall 111, left and right sidewalls 112 and 112 bent at right angles from the left and right ends of the partition wall 111, and free ends of the left and right sidewalls 112 and 112 bent outward at right angles. And a flange portion 113, 113, and a downwardly inclined connecting portion 114 (see also FIG. 4B) is provided at the rear end of the partition wall portion 111. A connecting piece 114a (shown by a dotted line in FIG. 4B) formed by being bent in the vertical direction is provided at an end edge of the connecting portion 114. The closing plates 12 and 12 are for closing the voids formed in the cooperation portion of the back duct 9 and the upper duct 10, and are appropriately formed according to the shape of the voids.

The upper surface duct 10 is inserted into the product storage 31 in such a manner that the collar portions 113, 113 are oriented in the front-rear direction along the upper wall 311 of the main body cabinet 1, and the upper surface duct 10 is tilted so as to be in a forward tilted posture. After inserting the connecting piece 114a provided at the end edge of the connecting portion 114 into the upper outlet 914 of the rear duct 9, the upper surface duct 10 is returned to the horizontal posture, and the connecting piece 114a is the rear surface of the partition plate 91 of the rear duct 9. Since the connecting piece 114a is placed on the back surface of the partition plate 91 of the back duct 9, both are screwed together. Then, the flange portions 113, 113 of the upper surface duct 10 are screwed to the upper wall 311 of the main body cabinet 1. Then, the closing plates 12, 12 are screwed to the rear end portions of the left and right side walls 112, 112 of the upper surface duct 10. The closing plates 12 and 12 close the gaps formed between the upper outlet 914 of the rear duct 9 and the rear edges of the left and right side walls 112 and 112 of the upper duct 10 to prevent the circulating air from flowing out. As a result, between the partition wall portion 111 of the upper surface duct 10 and the upper wall 311 of the main body cabinet 1 is communicated with the upper outlet port 914 of the rear duct 9 and a ventilation path in the front-rear direction along the upper wall 311 of the product storage 31. Is formed. It should be noted that on the upper wall 311 of the main body cabinet 1, a flat plate mounting metal fitting (not shown) is attached so as to screw the flange portions 113, 113 of the upper surface duct 10.

The air passage forming member 13 fixed to the partition plate 11 of the upper duct 10 divides the air passage in the upper duct 10 into a plurality of left and right directions, is long in the front-rear direction, and has an L-shaped longitudinal section. Made of bent steel plate. In this embodiment, the ventilation passage forming member 13 includes a pair of first ventilation passage forming members 131L and 131R and a pair of left and right ventilation passage forming members 132L and 132R that sandwich the center of the ventilation passage in the upper surface duct 1. Therefore, the first ventilation path forming members 131L and 131R and the second ventilation path forming members 132L and 132R are partition walls of the upper surface duct 10 in such a manner that the left and right widths on the front end side are widened relative to the left and right widths on the rear end side. It is fixed to the plate 11. In this way, by the first ventilation path forming members 131L and 131R and the second ventilation path forming members 132L and 132R in which the left and right widths of the front end are expanded with respect to the left and right widths of the rear end, The flow velocity in the width direction of the ventilation passage is controlled so that the flow velocity in the left and right regions is faster than the flow velocity in the central region.

As shown in FIG. 8, the air guide 20 includes a rectifying body 21 and a support body 22. The rectifying body 21 guides the circulating air downward to form an air curtain, and is made of a synthetic resin having a honeycomb structure. The rectifying body 21 has honeycomb-shaped pores elongated in the left-right direction in the vertical direction, the front and rear surfaces thereof are parallel to each other, and the upper surface of the rectifying body 21 is inclined downward with respect to the horizontal bottom surface. The height t1 of the front surface of the rectifying body 21 is larger than the height t0 of the rear surface of the rectifying body 21. The difference between the height t1 of the front surface of the rectifying body 21 and the height t0 of the rear surface of the rectifying body 21 is formed smaller than the height of the left and right side walls 112, 112 of the upper duct 10, and the inclined surface 21a of the rectifying body 21 has the inclined surface 21a. It is configured so as to face the exit of the ventilation passage.

The support 22 is installed at the front end of the upper surface duct 10 in a state in which the rectifying body 21 is stored, and includes a first support member 23 and a second support member 24 made of a thin steel plate as shown in FIG. 9. The first support member 23 is long in the left-right direction and includes a base portion 231 having substantially the same size (height dimension) as the height t0 of the rear surface of the rectifying body 21. The first support member 23 is provided with a plurality of arms 232 (three on the left and right sides and the center in this embodiment) distributed from the lower edge of the base 231 to the front, and at the free ends of the arms 232. A hook 232a is formed. Further, the first support member 23 is provided with a collar portion 233 formed by bending the upper edge of the base portion 231 toward the rear. The second support member 24 includes a base portion 241 that is long in the left-right direction and that is larger (higher size) than the height t1 of the front surface of the rectifying body 21. Left and right ends of the base 241 are bent rearward to form left and right side walls 242 and 242, and engagement pieces 242a and 242a protruding rearward are provided near upper ends of the left and right side walls 242 and 242. Further, the second support member 24 is provided with a flange portion 243 formed by bending the upper edge of the base portion 241 toward the front.

As shown in FIG. 11, the first support member 23 mounts the flange portion 233 on the front upper surface of the partition wall portion 111 constituting the partition wall plate 11 of the upper surface duct 10 and screws the collar portion 233 in a superposed state. The second support member 24 is fixed to the upper surface duct 10 by screwing the engaging pieces 242a, 242a of the left and right side walls 242, 242 on the outside of the left and right side walls 112, 112 of the upper surface duct 10 and screwing them together. It is fixed to 10. In this case, the lower edge of the base 241 of the second support member 24 is engaged with the hook 232a provided at the tip of the arm 232 of the first support member 23 in a manner of being placed on the arm 232. FIG. 10 shows the support 22 in which the first and second support members 23 and 24 are fixed to the upper surface duct 10 as described above. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the support 22 as viewed from diagonally above the rear side. As can be seen from FIG. 10, the support 22 has a space surrounded by the base 231 of the first support member 23, the base 241 of the second support member 24, and the left and right side walls 242 and 242 of the second support member 24. Then, the rectifying body 21 is stored in this space. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the rectifying body 21 is arranged such that the inclined surface 21 a faces rearward, that is, the rectifying body 21 faces the outlet of the ventilation passage of the upper surface duct 10. The rectifying body 21 is assembled by mounting the first support member 23 on the upper surface duct 10 and placing it on each arm 232 of the first support member 23. The air guide 20 is integrally attached to the upper surface duct 10 by fixing the engaging pieces 242a, 242a of the left and right side walls 242, 242 of the support member 24 to the upper surface duct 10. Further, the flange portion 243 of the second support member 24 is screwed to a mounting member (not shown) attached to the upper wall 311 of the main body cabinet 1 in the same manner as the flange portions 113 and 113 of the upper surface duct 10.

In the vending machine having the above-mentioned configuration, the main control device of the vending machine arranged in the billing unit storage section 4 performs the money processing or the settlement processing of the input currency, the product cooling operation, and the product sales accompanying the product selection. Controls the processing of the vending machine such as control processing.

During the product cooling operation in the vending machine having such a configuration, the compressor 321, the external fan 323 of the condensing unit 320 of the refrigerator, and the internal fan 72 of the cooling unit 7 are driven. The refrigerant compressed by the driving of the compressor 321 reaches the condenser 322 through the refrigerant pipe, radiates heat in the condenser 322, and reaches the expansion valve (not shown). The refrigerant that has reached the expansion valve adiabatically expands, reaches the evaporator 71, is evaporated in the evaporator 71, and is sucked by the compressor 321 to circulate in the refrigeration cycle. On the other hand, the air in the product storage 31 passes through the periphery of the evaporator 71 by driving the internal fan 72 and is cooled by exchanging heat with the refrigerant passing through the evaporator 71. The cooled air flows into the lower inlet 911 of the rear duct 9 through the wind tunnel of the cooling unit 7 and rises in the ventilation path of the rear duct 9, and then from the upper outlet 914 of the rear duct 9 into the upper duct 10. Leading to. The cooled air that rises in the ventilation passage of the back duct 9 is blown into the product storage 31 through a plurality of outlets 91a provided in the partition plate 91. The air blown out from the air outlet 91a circulates so as to pass through the inside of the product storage 31 and again around the evaporator 71 to cool the products stored in the product storage rack 6.

The air that has reached the upper surface duct 10 from the rear surface duct 9 is divided into a plurality of left and right directions by the ventilation path forming member 13 in the process of passing through the ventilation path of the upper surface duct 10 and reaches the air flow guide 21 of the air guide 20. The air that has reached the rectifying body 21 of the air guide 20 is guided downward by the rectifying body 21 and is sucked by the internal fan 72 to circulate. The air guided downward by the rectifying body 21 of the air guide 20 forms an air curtain separated from the front door (heat insulating door) 5. The air curtain separated from the front door (heat insulating door) 5 suppresses the invasion of outside air heat from the front door (heat insulating door) 5.

Here, in the upper surface duct 10, an air passage forming member 13 that divides the air passage into a plurality of left and right directions is disposed, and the first air passage forming members 131L and 131R that configure the air passage forming member 13 and Since the second ventilation path forming members 132L and 132R are arranged in such a manner that the left and right widths on the front end side are widened relative to the left and right widths on the rear end side, the width direction of the ventilation path in the upper surface duct 10 Is controlled so that the flow velocities in the left and right regions are faster than the flow velocity in the central region, and the air curtain formed by the air guided downward by the rectifying body 21 of the air guide 20 also has a flow velocity in the central region. On the other hand, the flow velocity in the left and right regions is controlled to be faster. As a result, the front door (insulating door) 5 and the left side wall 314 (see FIG. 2) that suppress the intrusion of the outside air heat from the central region of the front door (insulating door) 5 and maximize the outside air heat penetration amount, and It is possible to effectively suppress the entry of heat from the outside air from the front-side corner area of the product storage 31 defined by the partition member 2 as the right side wall. Therefore, the product temperature near the front corner of the product storage 31 defined by the front door (insulating door) 5, the left side wall 314 (see FIG. 2) and the partition member 2 as the right side wall is the product storage. It is possible to make the difference in the product temperature in the entire product storage 31 within the desired temperature range close to the product temperature in the central region of 31.

As described above, according to the automatic vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention, the hexahedron which is made of a heat insulating member and has an open front surface is closed by the heat insulating door (front door 5) which closes the open front surface of the hexahedron. A product storage box 31 having a heat insulating structure surrounded by a heat insulating member, a product storage rack 6 stored in the product storage box 31, and an evaporator 71 for cooling the products stored in the product storage rack 6; A cooling unit 7 having an internal fan 72, and a plurality of air outlets arranged vertically on the back surface of the product storage 31 and provided between a lower inlet 911 and an upper outlet 914. A rear duct 9 having 91a, an upper duct 10 that communicates with an upper outlet 914 of the rear duct 9 and forms an air passage in the front-rear direction along the upper wall 311 of the product storage 31; An automatic vending machine provided with a front end and an air guide 20 that guides downwardly the air guided through the rear duct 9 and the upper duct 10 to form an air curtain. An air passage which is arranged as a pair in the left and right inside the upper surface duct 10 in a manner of dividing the inner air passage into a plurality of parts in the left-right direction, and in which the left-right width on the front end side is widened with respect to the left-right width on the rear end side. Since the air guide 20 includes the forming member 13 and is arranged at the front end of the upper surface duct 10 so as to form an air curtain separated from the heat insulating door (front door 5), The flow velocity is controlled so that the flow velocity in the left and right regions is faster than the flow velocity in the central region, and the outside air heat penetration amount is maximized while suppressing the outside air heat penetration from the central region of the heat insulating door (front door 5). It is also effective to infiltrate outside air heat from the front corner area of the product storage 31 defined by the heat insulating door (front door 5) and the left and right side walls (the left side wall 314 and the partition member 2 as the right side wall). The product temperature near the front corner of the product storage 31 defined by the heat insulating door (front door 5) and the left and right side walls (the left side wall 314 and the partition member 2 as the right side wall). This brings about an effect that the difference in the product temperature in the entire area of the product storage can be set within a desired temperature range by approximating the product temperature in the central area of the storage. Further, since the air curtain separated from the heat insulating door (front door 5) does not allow the cool air in the product storage 31 to directly contact the heat insulating door (front door 5), the heat insulating door (front door 5) is Condensation can be prevented from occurring on the inner wall, and there is also an effect that the transparent effect is not impaired when the heat insulating door (front door 5) is a glass door capable of seeing through the inside.

In the above-described embodiment, the front door 5 made of a glass door (heat insulating door) into which the face plate 52 made of a plurality of layers of transparent glass is fitted as a heat insulating door that closes the front opening of the product storage 31. However, the invention is also applicable to a heat insulating inner door that closes the front opening of the product storage 31 as in the invention described in Patent Document 1. Therefore, the vending machine according to the present invention is not limited to the one shown in the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Main body cabinet, 2... Partition member, 3... Product storage main body part, 5... Front door (insulating door), 6... Product storage rack, 7... Cooling unit, 9... Rear duct, 10... Top duct, 20... Air guide, 21... Rectifier, 31... Merchandise storage, 71... Evaporator, 72... Internal fan.

Claims (3)

A hexahedron that is made of a heat insulating member and has an open front surface, and a product storage having a heat insulating structure surrounded by a heat insulating member that is closed by a heat insulating door that closes the open front surface of this hexahedron, and is stored in this product storage A product storage rack, an evaporator for cooling the products stored in the product storage rack, a cooling unit having an internal fan, and a lower inlet port which is arranged on the back surface of the product storage along the vertical direction. And a rear duct having a plurality of outlets provided between the upper outlet and the upper outlet, and an upper surface that communicates with the upper outlet of the rear duct and forms a longitudinal ventilation path along the upper wall of the product storage In a vending machine provided with a duct and an air guide which is arranged at a front end of the upper surface duct and which guides air guided through the rear surface duct and the upper surface duct downward to form an air curtain, The ventilation passages in the upper surface duct are divided into a plurality of parts in the left-right direction, and are arranged as a pair in the left and right direction in the upper surface duct, and the left-right width on the front end side is widened relative to the left-right width on the rear end side. An automatic vending machine, comprising a ventilation passage forming member, wherein the air guide is arranged at a front end of an upper surface duct in a manner to form an air curtain separated from a heat insulating door. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the air guide includes a rectifying body having a honeycomb structure. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the heat insulating door is a glass door in which glass is laminated in multiple layers.

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