JP2574034B2 - Vending machine cooling / heating control device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a control device for a vending machine, and more particularly to a control device in which the maximum current used is suppressed.

[Related Art] As an outlet for supplying power to a vending machine, a socket having a rated current of 15 A is generally used. This means, for example, that if the allowable current is rated at 20A, which is one rank higher, a different outlet from the type generally used and a thicker wiring will be required, and furthermore, the power supply equipment will be strengthened or the contract type will be changed. This is because the installation location of the vending machine is significantly restricted.

Therefore, in vending machines equipped with heaters and compressors that consume a large amount of current, such as vending machines that sell hot and cold beverages, priority is given to starting conditions for both loads so that the maximum operating current does not exceed 15A. And set
Control is performed so that both loads do not start at the same time.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] For example, when the operation of the compressor is prioritized, the heater is turned off during the operation of the compressor even if the heating request signal is issued, so that the refilled hot product is heated to a predetermined temperature. There is a problem that it takes a long time to be served, or if a hot beverage is sold during this time, a product that remains cold is sold. In addition, since the priorities are fixed, when the sales of hot products are more than the sales of cold products, the above-mentioned problem is more likely to occur, leading to a decrease in sales ability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-described problems, and provides a cooling / heating control device for a vending machine which does not reduce the sales ability and can keep the maximum current used within a predetermined value. The purpose is to:

[Means for Solving the Problems] A cooling and heating control device for a vending machine according to the present invention comprises a plurality of columns for accommodating commodities, and the commodities in the respective columns are cooled or heated by a compressor and a heater. In a cooling / heating control device for a machine, a frequency converter that changes the frequency of the power supply to the compressor, a phase controller that controls the current supplied to the heater, and sales of hot and cold products within a predetermined period Sales number counting means for counting the number, and priority setting for setting to preferentially cool or heat the higher number of sales of hot goods and sales of cold goods counted by the sales number counting means. Means, current detection means for detecting the input current of the vending machine, and when both the cooling device and the heating device are turned on. Controlling the inverter device or the phase control device so that the input current detected by the current detecting device is equal to or less than the predetermined value, thereby reducing the input current of the inverter device or the heater of the compressor for the non-priority product. And characterized in that:

[Operation] When one of the compressor and the heater is operated, the vending machine is operated at 100% output because the input current of the vending machine is equal to or less than a predetermined value. For example, in the case of operation of a compressor, the compressor is driven by the frequency of the commercial power supply by the frequency converter, and in the case of heating by the heater, phase control is not performed by the phase control device, and heating is performed at the rated 100%. .

On the other hand, when the operation of the compressor and the heater overlap and the input current of the vending machine exceeds a predetermined value, first,
Based on the number of units sold by the sales unit counting unit, the priority order setting unit sets whether to give priority to cooling by the compressor or heating by the heater. Under the control of the control means, when priority is given to cooling, the operation of the compressor is kept as it is, and only the current supplied to the heater is reduced by the phase control device. At 100%, the frequency converter reduces the power supply frequency to the compressor, thus reducing the input current of the vending machine below a predetermined value.

[Embodiment] Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the control device of the present invention.

1 is a main controller for centrally controlling the vending machine,
Reference numeral 2 denotes a product unloading mechanism for unloading the product. Reference numeral 3 denotes a sales number counter for individually counting the number of hot and cold products sold. The number of sales in the latest past several hours (24 hours in this embodiment) counted by the timer 4 is stored in the storage unit 1a. Is stored. Further, in the main control unit 1, a priority order setting unit 1b is provided which sets to preferentially cool or heat the larger number of hot and cold products stored in the storage unit 1a. . When the power is turned on for the first time, the cold product is preferentially cooled.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a terminal control unit that controls cooling and heating, and is controlled by the main control unit 1. Reference numeral 12 denotes an H / C switch for switching between hot / cold for a plurality of product columns (not shown). 13 is a temperature detector for detecting the hot and cold column temperature, 14 is a temperature setter for setting the temperature for the hot and cold columns, 15 is the input current of this vending machine Is a current detector that detects 15 is a compressor for cooling the product, and 16 is a heater for heating the product. Reference numeral 17 denotes a frequency conversion device for changing the power supply frequency of the compressor 5, and reference numeral 18 denotes a phase control device for controlling a current supplied to the heater 16 by phase control.

Next, the control operation of the vending machine having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S1, the H / C switch 12
Each column is set to hot or cold, and then the heating temperature and cooling temperature for the hot column and the cold column are set by the temperature setting unit 14 in step S2. When these settings are performed, in step S3, under the control of the terminal control unit 11, it is determined whether the temperature of the hot column and the cold column detected by the temperature detector 13 has reached the temperature set by the temperature setting unit 14. On / off control of the compressor 15 and the heater 16 is performed. At this time, the compressor 15 is driven by the frequency of the commercial power supply by the frequency conversion device 17, and the heater 16 is not controlled by the phase control device 18, that is, outputs 100%.

In step S4, the presence or absence of sale is determined. If there is a sale, in step S5, the number of units sold for each of the hot and cold products is counted by the sales counter 3 and stored in the storage unit 1a. In step S6, the detection of the current detector 15 determines whether the input current of the vending machine exceeds, for example, 15A. If the input current is less than 15A,
Returning to step S3, the same control is performed thereafter, except that both the compressor 15 and the heater 16 are turned on and the input current becomes 15 A
If it exceeds, in step S7, based on the number of hot products and cold products sold in the past 24 hours stored in the storage unit 1a, by the priority setting unit 1b,
A determination is made whether to preferentially cool or heat. As described above, since the cold product is initially cooled preferentially, the process proceeds to step S8, the current supplied to the heater 16 is controlled by the phase control device 18, and then the process returns to step S3. By
Set the heater 16 so that the input current of the vending machine is 15 A or less.
Is controlled in phase.

By the way, when the input current exceeds 15 A after 24 hours from the start of the operation of the vending machine, the priority product is determined in step S7, but more hot products are sold in the past 24 hours than cold products. If so, the hot product is set as the priority product, and in step S9, the drive frequency of the compressor 15 is reduced by the frequency conversion device 17 so that the input current of the vending machine becomes 15 A or less, and the cooling capacity is reduced. Is done.

[Effect of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when the compressor and the heater are operated simultaneously, one of the compressor and the heater is not stopped, and the input current of the vending machine becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value. As described above, since one of the input currents is reduced, it is possible to prevent the product from taking a long time to reach the predetermined temperature as in the related art. Also, when one of them is stopped, the compressor or the heater is preferentially operated based on the number of sales in the past. For example, when the cold product is sold well, the compressor is preferentially driven. Therefore, it does not hinder sales of cold products.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram showing an embodiment of a cooling / heating control device for a vending machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the device shown in FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main control part, 1a ... Storage part, 1b ... Priority setting part, 2 ... Commodity unloading mechanism, 3 ... Sales counter, 4 ... Timer, 11 ... Terminal control part, 12 ... … H / C switch, 13… Temperature detector, 14… Temperature setting device, 15… Current detector, 15… Compressor, 16… Heater, 17… Frequency converter, 18… Phase control apparatus.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cooling / heating control device for a vending machine, comprising a plurality of columns for storing products, wherein the products in each column are cooled or heated by a compressor and a heater, wherein a frequency of a power supply to the compressor is changed. Frequency converter, a phase control device for controlling the current supplied to the heater, a sales unit counting unit for counting the sales units of the hot and cold products within a predetermined period, and the sales unit counting unit. Priority setting means for setting so as to preferentially cool or heat the product with the larger number of hot products sold and the number of cold products sold; current detecting means for detecting the input current of the vending machine; When both the cooling device and the heating device are turned on, the input current detected by the current detection means is equal to or less than the predetermined value. Control means for controlling the inverter device or the phase control device to reduce the input current of the compressor inverter device or the heater with respect to the non-priority product, and a control device for cooling and heating of the vending machine. .