JP2022117744A - vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vending machine capable of cooling objects to be cooled that are located inside an outer door while a heat exchanger is located at a relatively high position.SOLUTION: A vending machine (1) includes: a main body (3) that store commodities; an outer door (5) that opens and closes a front side of the main body; and a temperature controller (7) that is located in the main body to adjust temperatures of the commodities. The temperature controller includes: a heat exchanger (7a) that can exchange heat between a refrigerant distributing in the temperature controller and air; and an air blower (7b) that distributes air from the front to the rear of the heat exchanger to the heat exchanger. The outer door has objects to be cooled (41b and 41c) that are at least a part of a control unit (41) that controls the vending machine. The heat exchanger is located at a position separated by a prescribed distance from a bottom edge of the main body. The objects to be cooled are located at the substantially same height as the heat exchanger when the outer door is closed and faces an air flow path (50) that flows into the heat exchanger from outside the main body by operation of the air blower.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more particularly to technology for improving the reliability of electrical components.

Generally, in a vending machine that unmannedly sells products such as beverages, a worker who replenishes products opens a front door (outer door) to replenish product storage shelves with products. The products replenished in the product storage racks in this way are gradually consumed by consumers and eventually sold out. Therefore, workers prevent products from being sold out by replenishing each vending machine with products on a regular basis.

However, if some of the products are consumed by consumers in a short period of time, it is conceivable that the products may be sold out without waiting for workers to replenish the products. In addition, since workers mainly replenish commodities that sell well depending on the season, region, etc., there are cases where they do not have the same type of commodities as the sold-out commodities when replenishing the commodities.
Therefore, a technique has been developed in which spare products can be stored in a warehouse (storage room) by forming a warehouse (storage room) inside the outer door at the bottom of the vending machine (Patent Document 1).

JP-A-04-181398

By the way, inside the outer door, there are many cases where a control device (electrical component) for controlling the entire vending machine, such as managing the degree of operation of the temperature control device and the delivery of goods and money to customers, is arranged. . This control device has a portion (body to be cooled) that generates heat when it operates using electric power, so it needs to be cooled.

However, when a warehouse is formed in the lower part of the vending machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, the position of the temperature control device becomes higher in proportion to the height of the warehouse, and the air flow near the object to be cooled. However, it is conceivable that it will change compared to when there is no warehouse. By changing the flow of air in the vicinity of the object to be cooled in this way, the amount of air passing through the object to be cooled and its vicinity decreases or the temperature of the air rises, and the cooling performance of the object to be cooled decreases. However, there is room for further improvement.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and its object is to arrange a temperature control device (heat exchanger) at a relatively high position and to install it inside the outer door. To provide a vending machine capable of cooling an object to be cooled.

In order to achieve the above object, the vending machine of the present invention comprises a main body for storing products, an outer door for opening and closing the front surface of the main body, and a door disposed on the main body for adjusting the temperature of the products. a temperature control device, wherein the temperature control device comprises a heat exchanger capable of exchanging heat between a refrigerant and air flowing through the temperature control device; a blower that circulates air from the front of the heat exchanger to the rear of the vending machine; The heat exchanger is disposed at a position spaced apart from the lower end of the main body by a predetermined distance, and the body to be cooled is positioned at substantially the same height as the heat exchanger, and the air blower operates to It is characterized in that it is arranged so as to face the flow path of the air flowing into the heat exchanger from the outside of the main body.

Preferably, the main body has a protective plate disposed in front of the heat exchanger, and a vent hole formed in the protective plate at a position facing the heat exchanger, and the body to be cooled at least part of is preferably arranged at a position facing the vent hole when the outer door is closed.

Preferably, the outer door is formed with a commodity outlet through which the commodity is provided to the customer from the vending machine, and the body to be cooled is preferably positioned immediately below the commodity outlet.
Preferably, the commodity outlet is located above the heat exchanger when the outer door is closed.

Preferably, the outer door is formed with a commodity outlet protruding toward the body for providing the commodity from the vending machine to the customer, and the body includes a commodity storage for storing the commodity. , a machine room formed below the product storage to accommodate the heat exchanger, and a partition plate separating the product storage and the machine room, and the lower rear end of the product outlet is , the front end of the partition plate may be brought close to or abutted when the outer door is closed.

Preferably, at least part of the body to be cooled is arranged laterally outside of the heat exchanger.

According to the vending machine of the present invention, the body to be cooled is positioned at substantially the same height as the heat exchanger while the heat exchanger is arranged at a position spaced apart from the lower end of the main body by a predetermined distance. Since it is arranged facing the flow path of the air flowing into the heat exchanger, it is possible to cool the object to be cooled using the air that cools the heat exchanger while forming a warehouse below the heat exchanger. can. As a result, it is possible to cool the object to be cooled, which is arranged inside the outer door, while arranging the heat exchanger at a relatively high position.

1 is a front perspective view of a vending machine according to the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of area A in FIG. 1; It is a front view of an outer door. It is a rear view of an outer door. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the vending machine taken along the line I-I in FIG. 3;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
For convenience of explanation, when viewed from the inside of the vending machine, the direction in which the later-described outer door faces outward is forward, the right hand direction is right when viewed from the front, and the approximately upward direction when viewed in the direction of gravity is upward. , the opposite directions to the right and up are defined as rearward, leftward and downward, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a front perspective view of a vending machine 1 according to the present invention with the outer door open. The vending machine 1 is a device capable of unmanned supply of products such as beverages to customers. This vending machine 1 comprises a main body 3 and an outer door 5. - 特許庁

The main body 3 is capable of storing products while controlling the temperature so as to keep the products at a predetermined temperature, and providing products specified by the customer. The main body 3 has a commodity storage 11 , a lower storage room 13 and a partition 15 . The commodity storage 11 is a storage that can store commodities. The product storage box 11 has a replenishment port 11a at its upper portion and a carry-out port 11b at its lower portion. Therefore, the commodity storage shed 11 stores the commodities replenished by the worker through the replenishment port 11a by arranging them substantially vertically according to the types of commodities, and can discharge the commodities specified by the customer from the carry-out port 11b. .

Referring to FIG. 2, a front view of area A in FIG. 1 is shown. The lower storage room 13 is a space extending in the front-rear direction, which is the lower part of the main body 3 and is formed below the product storage 11 . Specifically, the lower storage chamber 13 has an upper surface 13a formed by the lower end of the product storage box 11, left and right side surfaces 13b formed by the inner surfaces 9a of the legs 9, and a lower surface 13c formed by the bottom surface of the main body 3. Thus, the rear surface 13d is formed by the front surface of the rear plate 3b forming the rear end surface of the main body 3 respectively. The partition 15 is a plate member disposed, for example, in the center of the lower storage chamber 13 in the vertical direction. It is fixed to the side surface 13b via a rail (not shown) extending to the side surface 13b. Therefore, the lower storage room 13 is vertically partitioned by the partition table 15 to form a machine room 21 and a warehouse 23 .

The machine room 21 is a space formed above the lower storage room 13 , that is, below the commodity storage 11 . In the machine room 21, a temperature control device 7 is mounted on a partition 15 that can be operated by power supply to adjust the temperature in the product storage 11. In other words, the main body 3 It is arranged at a position spaced apart from the lower end by a predetermined distance. Therefore, the product storage box 11 can store the stored products while controlling the temperature by the temperature control device 7 . The configuration of the temperature control device 7 will be described later.

The warehouse 23 is a space formed below the lower storage room 13 , that is, below the main body 3 . This warehouse 23 is a space used for storing, for example, spare products to be replenished in the product storage 11 and equipment for disaster response.

Referring to FIG. 3, a front view of the outer door 5 is shown. Also, referring to FIG. 4, a rear view of the outer door 5 is shown. The outer door 5 includes a sample chamber 31, a coin slot 32, a bill slot 33, a lock lever 34, an amount indicator 35, a change return slot 36, a product outlet 37, a small window 38, a control device 41, a coin mech 42, It has a safe 43 , a first proximity plate 45 and a second proximity plate 47 . Further, the outer door 5 has a vent hole 5a formed in the center of the lower end in the left-right direction so as to be recessed upward from the lower end. In addition, description about the vent 5a is mentioned later.

The sample chamber 31 is a space that is formed rearward from the front surface of the outer door 5 and whose front side is covered by a transparent resin window 31a (not shown). In this sample room 31, product selection buttons 31b are arranged so as to protrude forward from a window 31a, and a plurality of types of samples 31c imitating the shapes of products are displayed above the corresponding product selection buttons 31b. It is possible. The coin slot 32 is for inserting coins when a customer purchases a product, and the bill slot 33 is for inserting banknotes.

The lock lever 34 is a lever used when opening and closing the outer door 5 . The lock lever 34 is housed in the outer door 5 by being pushed backward with the grip portion 34a extending leftward, and the outer door 5 can be locked and unlocked by inserting a key into the lock 34b and turning it. can. The amount display device 35 is a digital panel capable of displaying the amount of money inserted from the coin slot 32 or bill slot 33 . The change return slot 36 is a return slot for ejecting coins of change to be returned to the customer when the customer purchases a product cheaper than the money inserted from the coin slot 32 or bill slot 33, for example.

The commodity outlet 37 is an outlet for carrying out the commodity purchased by the customer. That is, the customer can take out the product selected by pressing the product selection button 31b from the product storage 11 through the product take-out port 37. FIG. The small window 38 is an opening formed in the outer door 5 at a position corresponding to the warehouse 23, and can be closed with a lid 38a or locked/unlocked with a lock 38b. As a result, the small window 38 can open the warehouse 23 without opening the outer door 5 by unlocking the lock 38b and removing the lid 38a.

The control device 41 is a device that controls the entire vending machine 1, such as management of the degree of operation of the temperature control device 7 and delivery of merchandise and money to customers. Specifically, the control device 41 has a controller 41a, a control section (cooled body) 41b, and a switching power supply section (cooled body) 41c. The controller 41a is detachably installed inside the outer door 5, and is operated by an operator who manages the vending machine 1 to take out money in the safe 43 and products in the product storage 11, and to It is an operation device that can control the

The control unit 41b is a device that controls the entire vending machine 1 based on information input from the controller 41a. The switching power supply unit 41c is a step-down device capable of stepping down the power supplied from the power supply (not shown) of the vending machine 1 to a voltage corresponding to the controller 41a, the control unit 41b, and each device controlled by the control unit 41b. is. The control unit 41b and the switching power supply unit 41c need to be cooled because they generate heat when operated.

The coin mech 42 is a device capable of sorting the coins inserted into the coin slot 32 by the customer by type and storing the coins by type. The coins stored in the coin mech 42 are also used by customers as change. In addition, the lower end of the coin mech 42 is positioned above the partition table 15 . The safe 43 is a safe capable of receiving and storing coins that could not be stored in the coin mech 42 .

Referring to FIG. 5, a cross-sectional view of the vending machine 1 taken along line I--I in FIG. 3 is shown. A vent hole 5a formed at the lower end of the outer door 5 opens from the front of the outer door 5 toward the warehouse 23. - 特許庁Therefore, the main body 3 can introduce outside air through the air vent 5 a without opening the outer door 5 .

The temperature control device 7 has, for example, a refrigerant circuit (not shown) for circulating a refrigerant, a condenser (heat exchanger) 7a, and a fan (air blower) 7b. The condenser 7a is a heat exchanger through which refrigerant flows, and is capable of exchanging heat between the refrigerant and the air passing from the front to the rear. The fan 7b is a blower arranged behind the condenser 7a, and can circulate air from the front to the rear by operating.

Therefore, the temperature control device 7 can move the air positioned in front of the condenser 7a rearward by operating the fan 7b, and heat is generated by the air moved by the fan 7b and the refrigerant in the condenser 7a. The refrigerant can be cooled by exchanging. By cooling the refrigerant in this way, an evaporator (not shown) that can exchange heat with the air in the product storage 11 is cooled, and the air in the product storage 11 can be cooled.

A protection plate 22 is arranged in front of the temperature control device 7 . The protective plate 22 is a flat plate member arranged to cover the front side of the machine room 21 . A ventilation hole 22a is formed in the protection plate 22 at a position corresponding to the front of the condenser 7a (see FIG. 1). As a result, the front portion of the temperature control device 7 is protected by the protection plate 22 from, for example, dust mixed in with the outside air, and the air can be circulated to the condenser 7a through the vent hole 22a.

Above the temperature control device 7 , that is, the upper surface 13 a of the lower storage chamber 13 is formed by a lower end wall (partition plate) 11 c that forms the lower end of the product storage box 11 . On the other hand, the outer door 5 is provided with a first proximity plate 45 at upper and lower positions substantially corresponding to the lower end wall 11 c , and a second proximity plate 47 is provided below the first proximity plate 45 . The first proximity plate 45 extends in the horizontal direction at substantially the same vertical position as the lower end wall 11 c , and the rear end forms the lower rear end 37 a of the product outlet 37 . As a result, when the outer door 5 closes the front surface of the main body 3, the lower rear end 37a of the product outlet 37 is close to the front end of the lower end wall 11c. The lower rear end 37a may be formed so as to abut against the front end of the lower end wall 11c when the outer door 5 closes the front surface of the main body 3, or to abut or be close to the protection plate 22. may

The second proximity plate 47 is a flat plate member disposed above the small window 38 and at substantially the same height as the partition 15 and extending in the left-right direction. The second proximity plate 47 protrudes rearward from the outer door 5 toward the partition 15 . The front end of the partition 15 (the second projecting portion 52 described later) is positioned at the front end of the lower storage chamber 13, and when the outer door 5 closes the front surface of the main body 3, the front end is positioned at the second proximity plate. 47 is closely spaced with a predetermined gap such that, for example, a hand cannot pass through.

Thereby, the partition table 15 and the second proximity plate 47 can partition the machine room 21 and the warehouse 23 so that hands cannot enter when the outer door 5 closes the front surface of the main body 3 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lid 38a of the small window 38 from being broken and the controller 41a to be illegally operated by a person with the purpose of mischief or the like. Moreover, since the second proximity plate 47 has a predetermined gap with respect to the partition 15 , air can be allowed to flow between the second proximity plate 47 and the partition 15 .

According to FIG. 4, the ventilation hole 22a formed in the protection plate 22 is positioned such that at least a part of the front side of the control section 41b of the control device 41 overlaps vertically and horizontally.
As a result, the air supplied to the condenser 7a through the ventilation hole 22a is supplied through the controller 41b and its vicinity. On the other hand, the switching power supply unit 41c is positioned to the right (outside) of the right end of the ventilation hole 22a, that is, at a position not overlapping the front of the ventilation hole 22a. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the switching power supply unit 41c from blocking the front of the ventilation hole 22a.

Returning to FIG. 5 , a flow passage 50 through which air can flow is formed between the vent 5 a of the outer door 5 and the temperature control device 7 . The flow path 50 is formed by a first projection 51 projecting rearward from above the vent 5a and a second projection 52 projecting forward from the machine chamber 21 corresponding to the front end of the partition 15. It is a passage formed in a substantially S shape when viewed from above.

By forming the flow passage 50 in this way, the air introduced into the main body 3 from the vent 5a of the outer door 5 moves backward from the vent 5a, then moves forward again and rises. It is supplied to the condenser 7a through the control section 41b, the switching power supply section 41c, and the vicinity thereof. That is, the control unit 41b is arranged facing the flow path 50, which is the flow path of the air flowing into the condenser 7a, and the control unit 41b and the switching power supply unit are operated using the air supplied to the condenser 7a. 41c can be cooled.

As described above, in the vending machine 1 according to the present invention, the main body 3 for storing products, the outer door 5 covering the front surface of the main body 3 so as to be openable and closable, and the door 5 provided on the main body 3 to adjust the temperature of the products. and a temperature control device 7, wherein the temperature control device 7 includes a condenser 7a capable of exchanging heat between a refrigerant flowing through the temperature control device and air, and a condenser 7a A fan 7b for circulating air from the front to the rear of the condenser 7a is provided in the container 7a, and the outer door 5 is a control unit that is at least a part of a control device 41 that controls the vending machine 1. 41b and a switching power supply unit 41c, the condenser 7a is disposed at a position spaced apart from the lower end of the main body 3 by a predetermined distance, and the control unit 41b and the switching power supply unit 41c are positioned at approximately the same height as the condenser 7a. , and faces a flow path 50, which is a flow path for air flowing into the condenser 7a from the outside of the main body 3 by the operation of the fan 7b.

Therefore, while the condenser 7a is arranged at a predetermined distance from the lower end of the main body 3, the control unit 41b and the switching power supply unit 41c are positioned at approximately the same height as the condenser 7a and face the flow passage 50. Since it is arranged, for example, the control unit 41b can be cooled using the air that cools the condenser 7a while forming the warehouse 23 below the condenser 7a.

By the way, the vending machine 1 is often installed outdoors and is generally exposed to the elements. In particular, it is conceivable that the lower part of the vending machine 1 may be flooded due to a typhoon or the like. Therefore, considering the vending machine 1 according to the present invention, the temperature control device 7, the coin mech 42, the control section 41b, the switching power supply section 41c, etc. (generally referred to as "electrical components") are separated from the lower end of the main body 3 by a predetermined distance. By arranging it at the position, it is possible to suppress damage to the electrical components due to water intrusion.

Further, the main body 3 has a protective plate 22 disposed in front of the condenser 7a, and a vent hole 22a formed in the protective plate 22 at a position facing the condenser 7a. The control unit 41b, which is a part of the control unit 41b, is arranged at a position facing the ventilation hole 22a when the outer door 5 is closed. The control unit 41b can be directly cooled by the air supplied to the condenser 7a.

Further, the outer door 5 is formed with a product outlet 37 for providing products from the vending machine 1 to the customer. Furthermore, since the product outlet 37 is positioned above the condenser 7a when the outer door 5 is closed, the path from the main body 3 to the product outlet 37 and the control unit 41b and the switching power supply unit 41c to the condenser 7a can be prevented from intersecting with the path of Thereby, cooling air can be smoothly supplied to the condenser 7a.

The outer door 5 is formed with a product outlet 37 for providing products from the vending machine 1 to the customer, protruding rearward (main body side). , a machine room 21 formed below the product storage 11 to accommodate the condenser 7a, and a lower end wall 11c separating the product storage 11 and the machine room 21, and a lower part of the product outlet 37. The rear end 37a is close to or in contact with the front end of the lower end wall 11c when the outer door 5 is closed. Temperature control performance can be improved.

In addition, since the switching power supply unit 41c is arranged outside the condenser 7a in the left-right direction, the front of the condenser 7a is prevented from being covered by the condenser 7a, and the inflow of air into the condenser 7a is suppressed. can be improved.

Although the description of the title of the invention according to the present invention is finished above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be changed without departing from the gist of the invention.

For example, in the present embodiment, when the outer door 5 closes the front surface of the main body 3, the partition 15 and the second proximity plate 47 are arranged so that they are close to each other with a predetermined gap that prevents a hand from passing through. However, the partition 15 and the second proximity plate 47 are provided with a plurality of openings at the other end or both ends of the partition 15 or the second proximity plate 47 to create a structure that allows ventilation. You may make it contact|abut.

Further, in the present embodiment, the control unit 41b and the switching power supply unit 41c are arranged at positions spaced apart from the lower end of the main body 3 by a predetermined distance. If there is a device or the like that needs to be cooled (an object to be cooled) other than the control unit 41b and the switching power supply unit 41c, it can be arranged at a position spaced apart from the lower end of the main body 3 by a predetermined distance.

1 vending machine 3 main body 5 outer door 7 temperature controller 7a condenser (heat exchanger)
7b fan (blower)
11 product storage 11c lower end wall (partition plate)
21 machine room 22 protective plate 22a ventilation hole 37 product outlet 37a lower rear end 41 control device 41b control unit (body to be cooled)
41c switching power supply (body to be cooled)

Claims (6)

a body for storing products;
an outer door that opens and closes the front surface of the main body;
A vending machine comprising a temperature control device disposed on the main body for adjusting the temperature of the product,
The temperature control device is
a heat exchanger capable of exchanging heat between refrigerant and air flowing through the temperature control device;
a blower that circulates air through the heat exchanger from the front to the rear of the heat exchanger;
The outer door is
Having a cooled body that is at least part of a control device that controls the vending machine,
The heat exchanger is arranged at a position spaced apart from the lower end of the main body by a predetermined distance,
The object to be cooled is located at substantially the same height as the heat exchanger and is arranged to face the flow path of the air flowing into the heat exchanger from the outside of the main body by the operation of the blower. vending machine. The body is
a protection plate disposed in front of the heat exchanger;
a ventilation hole formed at a position of the protection plate facing the heat exchanger;
2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein at least part of said body to be cooled is arranged at a position facing said air vent when said outer door is closed. The outer door is formed with a product outlet for providing the product from the vending machine to a customer,
3. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein said body to be cooled is positioned immediately below said product outlet. 4. The vending machine according to claim 3, wherein said commodity outlet is located above said heat exchanger when said outer door is closed. The outer door is formed with a product outlet for providing the product from the vending machine to a customer, protruding toward the main body,
The main body includes
a commodity storage for storing the commodity;
a machine room formed below the product storage and housing the heat exchanger;
a partition plate that separates the product storage and the machine room,
5. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the lower rear end of the product outlet is close to or abuts on the front end of the partition plate when the outer door is closed. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein at least part of said body to be cooled is arranged laterally outside of said heat exchanger.

Images