JP3200193B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a vending machine for selling goods by cooling or heating the goods, and more particularly to a vending machine for keeping the temperature of goods in a refrigerator uniform.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing an example of a conventional vending machine, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a vending machine main body (hereinafter referred to as a main body) having an inner door 1a and an outer door 1b on a front surface, which is surrounded by a wall body 2 made of a heat insulating material, and a merchandise storage 3 is provided therein. Have been.

[0003] A plurality of serpentine columns (hereinafter, referred to as columns) 6 are vertically extended in a product storage 3, and for example, products such as soft drinks in cans are stored in a stacked manner. The goods delivered from each column 6 are delivered to the outer door 1 by a delivery shooter 7 having a large number of ventilation holes.
The product is carried out to the product outlet 1c formed in the area b. Also,
The inner door 1a is provided with a carry-out door 1d for preventing inflow of outside air, facing the product outlet 1c. Further, an evaporator 9a of a cooling device, a heater 9b of a heating device, and a circulation fan 9c are arranged below the delivery shooter 7, and other components of the cooling device and the heating device, and their control units, It is arranged in a machine room 8 provided at the lower part.

According to the vending machine having the above configuration,
Depending on the type or season of the product to be sold, the inside of the refrigerator is cooled or heated to sell a cooled product or a heated product. At this time, the driving of the cooling device and the heating device is controlled using a thermostat or the like arranged near the product immediately before sale, that is, near the lower portion of the column 6 so that the temperature in the refrigerator becomes a temperature within a predetermined allowable temperature range. are doing. Further, the air in the refrigerator is circulated by the circulation fan so that the temperature in the refrigerator becomes uniform.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional vending machine, the circulating fan always blows air in the same direction to circulate the air in the refrigerator, and the temperature near the lower portion of the column 6 has a predetermined tolerance. Since the driving of the cooling device and the heating device is controlled to be within the temperature range, the temperature difference between the upper temperature and the lower temperature in the refrigerator may increase, and the temperature in the refrigerator may be reduced. In some cases, it took time to achieve uniformity.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine which can make the temperature in a refrigerator uniform in a short time in view of the above problems.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the inside of a refrigerator is cooled or heated to a predetermined temperature in accordance with the kind of a product to be sold or the selling time of the product. In a vending machine that sells cooled or heated products, a ventilation duct that extends vertically and has communication ports with upper and lower portions of the interior at upper and lower ends, and A blower arranged to face one of the communication ports of the ventilation duct, and a first blower for detecting a temperature in an upper part of the refrigerator.
Temperature detector, a second temperature detector for detecting the temperature in the lower part of the refrigerator, and cooling / heating means arranged in the lower part of the refrigerator
And, based on the detected temperatures of the first and second temperature detectors, the temperature detected by the first temperature detector during cooling in the refrigerator.
1 is a predetermined temperature higher than the detected temperature T2 of the second temperature detector.
When the temperature becomes lower than β1, the inside of the ventilation duct
Driving the blower so that air can flow down and
The detected temperature T1 of the first temperature detector is the second temperature
It becomes higher than the detection temperature T2 of the detector by a predetermined temperature α1 or more.
When the air flows from below to above in the ventilation duct
Drive the blower as described above, and the second
The detected temperature T2 of the temperature detector is equal to the detected temperature of the first temperature detector.
When the temperature is higher than the outlet temperature T1 by a predetermined temperature β2 or more.
The air is circulated from bottom to top in the ventilation duct.
Driving the blower and detecting the temperature of the second temperature detector;
The temperature T2 is lower than the temperature T1 detected by the first temperature detector.
When the temperature falls below the constant temperature α2, the inside of the ventilation duct
A vending machine provided with a blow direction switching means for driving the blower so as to allow air to flow from below to switch the blow direction of the blower.

[0008]

According to claim 1 of the present invention, the temperature T1 of the internal upper by the first temperature detector is detected, the second
The temperature T2 of the lower part in the refrigerator is detected by the temperature detector of
Based on the temperature detected by the first and second temperature detectors,
The blowing direction of the blower is switched by the blowing direction switching means . When cooling the inside of the refrigerator, usually a ventilation duct
The blower blows the air so that air flows from top to bottom
A direction is set, and a temperature detected by the first temperature detector is set.
T1 air is circulated from bottom to top the blowing direction is switched in said ventilating duct blower when it becomes higher than a predetermined temperature α1 than the detected temperature T2 by the second temperature detector, in the refrigerator Air is circulated from the upper part to the lower part in the refrigerator. Thereby, it is separated from the cooling and heating means.
For products that are located at the top of the chamber and are difficult to reach the set temperature inside the chamber
The air cooled by the cooling / heating means
Products are directly blown through
You. Further, when the detected temperature T1 detected by the first temperature detector is lower than the detected temperature T2 detected by the second temperature detector by a predetermined temperature β1 or more , for example , when the goods are taken out, the outside air becomes empty.
The temperature in the lower part of the refrigerator rose due to air flowing into the refrigerator.
When the blowing direction of the blower is switched to the normal direction , air is circulated from top to bottom in the ventilation duct, and
Inside, air is circulated from the lower part of the chamber to the upper part.
You. This allows cooling and heating of products in the lower part of the refrigerator
The air cooled by the means is blown directly to the lower part of the warehouse
Is cooled.

On the other hand , when heating the inside of the refrigerator,
The blower so that air flows through the duct from bottom to top
Is set, and the temperature T2 detected by the second temperature detector is changed to the temperature T1 detected by the first temperature detector.
When it becomes lower than a predetermined temperature α2 than, for example, under the trade transportable
When the air goes out, the outside air flows into the chamber and
Degrees air is circulated from the top to bottom of the blower in the blowing direction is switched <br/> said ventilation duct when lowered, the air flow toward the upper part from the internal bottom portion in the refrigerator Is done.
As a result, cooling / heating means
The heated air is blown directly to the lower
Get heated. Also, the temperature detected by the second temperature detector
When T2 becomes higher than the temperature T1 detected by the first temperature detector by a predetermined temperature β2 or more, the blowing direction of the blower is switched to the normal direction, and the air blows downward in the ventilation duct.
Air is circulated from above to inside, and from inside
Air toward the lower portion of Ru is distribution. This allows cooling and heating
It is located at the upper part of the refrigerator away from
For products that are difficult to
Air is blown directly through the ventilation duct,
Is heated.

[0010]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a vending machine according to one embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration related to internal temperature control. The external perspective view of the vending machine in the present embodiment is almost the same as that shown in FIG.

That is, in the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a vending machine main body (hereinafter referred to as a main body) having an inner door 1a and an outer door 1b on a front surface, which is surrounded by a wall 2 made of a heat insulating material. A goods storage 3 is provided. The inner door 1a is configured such that the upper part 1a1 and the lower part 1a2 are separated from each other so that only the upper part 1a1 can be opened and closed. I can do it.

The merchandise storage 3 has a plurality of serpentine columns (hereinafter, referred to as columns) 6 extending in the vertical direction, and stores therein, for example, canned soft drinks and the like in a stacked manner. The goods delivered from each column 6 are delivered to the outer door 1 by a delivery shooter 7 having a large number of ventilation holes.
The product is carried out to the product outlet 1c formed in the area b. Also,
The inner door 1a is provided with a carry-out door 1d for preventing inflow of outside air, facing the product outlet 1c. In addition, product storage 3
A machine room 8 is provided at a lower part of the device, and a cooling device, a heating device, a control device, and the like, which will be described later, are provided.

Further, a plurality of cold storage materials 41 and heat storage materials 42 are arranged on the inner wall surface of the commodity storage 3, and an evaporator 113 b (described later) is provided between the cold storage material 41 and the inner wall surface, and the heat storage material 42. The heater 121b is arranged between the inner wall and the inner wall. In addition, a partition plate 5 extending in the vertical direction is provided between the column 6 and the cold storage material 41 and the heat storage material 42 disposed on the back of the refrigerator, and a ventilation duct 5A is formed by the partition and the rear of the refrigerator. I have. In addition, communication ports 5a and 5b having a predetermined opening area are formed in the upper and lower portions of the partition plate 5, respectively.

On the other hand, in FIG. 4, reference numeral 11 denotes a cooling device.
Compressor 111, compressor drive circuit 112, evaporator 11
3a, 113b, expansion valve 114, condenser 115, fan 116 for cooling condenser 115, fan drive circuit 117 for driving fan 116,
And a solenoid valve 118a, 118b and a flow control valve 119, which are connected by a pipe as is well known to form a refrigeration circuit. Further, in this refrigeration circuit, the evaporator 113a and the evaporator 113b are connected in parallel,
The flow rate of the refrigerant to 113a, 113b is controlled by solenoid valves 118a, 118b and a flow control valve 119.

The above-mentioned evaporator 113a is arranged in front of the lower communication port 5b of the partition plate 5, the evaporator 113b is arranged between the cold storage material 41 and the wall 2, and the other components are the machine room 8
Is located within.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a heating device, which is constituted by heaters 121a and 121b and a heater driving circuit 122. The heater 121a and the evaporator 113a are provided in front of the lower communication port 5b of the partition plate 5, and the heater 121b is connected to the heat storage material 42 and the wall. The heater drive circuit 122 is disposed between the body 2 and the heater drive circuit 122.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a circulating fan, which is capable of switching the rotation direction provided with a condenser starting motor.
It is arranged below the delivery shooter 7 in the commodity storage 3 so as to face the communication port 5b with the 3a and the heater 121a interposed therebetween. A circulation fan drive circuit 14 drives the circulation fan 13 in a rotation direction based on a control signal from a temperature control unit 18 described later.

Reference numerals 15a and 15b denote temperature detectors, which are arranged so as to be able to detect the upper and lower temperatures in the goods storage 3, respectively. Reference numeral 16 denotes a timer, which includes a crystal oscillator, a digital counter, and the like, and outputs digital data representing a standard time in seconds. Reference numeral 17 denotes a dip switch for setting whether to cool or heat the inside of the refrigerator. Reference numeral 18 denotes a temperature control unit, which comprises a well-known CPU or the like, reads the detected temperatures of the temperature detectors 15a and 15b, the standard time output from the timer 16, and the set value of the DIP switch 17, and based on these, reads the cooling device. 1
1. Drive control of the heating device 12 and the circulation fan drive circuit 14 is performed, and temperature control is performed so that the temperature in the commodity storage 3 becomes a predetermined temperature.

In the present embodiment, the cooling device 11 is used so as to utilize the power in the late night power time zone where the power demand is small and to reduce the power consumption in the time zone where the power demand is high.
The driving of the heating device 12 and the circulation fan 13 is controlled so that the temperature in the product storage 3 becomes a predetermined temperature. That is, since the midnight power time zone is currently 8 hours from 23:00 in the night to 7:00 in the next morning,
These times are set in advance in the program of the temperature control unit 18, and energy for maintaining the temperature in the refrigerator is stored in the cold storage material 41 or the heat storage material 42 during the late night power hours when the power demand is small, so that the power demand during the daytime, It reduces power consumption in vending machines during busy hours.

When cooling or heating the inside of the refrigerator,
The temperature detectors 15a and 15b detect the upper and lower temperatures in the refrigerator, and based on these temperatures, the circulation fan 1
3 is switched. This eliminates a difference in temperature between the upper and lower portions of the inside of the refrigerator, allows the inside of the refrigerator to have a uniform temperature in a short time, and reduces unnecessary power consumption.

That is, at the time of cooling the inside of the refrigerator, the temperature controller 18 controls the cooling device 11 and the circulation fan 1 during the midnight power hours.
3 is driven. At this time, in the drive control of the circulation fan 13, the blowing direction is switched based on the temperature T1 in the upper part of the refrigerator and the temperature T2 in the lower part of the refrigerator detected by the temperature detectors 15a and 15b. Normally, the circulation fan 13 is rotated so that air flows through the ventilation duct from bottom to top.
When the temperature T1 in the upper part of the refrigerator becomes lower than the temperature T2 in the lower part of the refrigerator by a predetermined temperature β1 or more (T1 ≦ T2−β1), the air blowing direction of the circulation fan 13 is switched, and the inside of the ventilation duct is changed from top to bottom. The circulation fan 13 is rotated such that air flows through the circulation fan 13. Further, when the temperature T1 in the upper part of the refrigerator becomes higher than the temperature T2 in the lower part of the refrigerator by a predetermined temperature α1 or more (T1
The air blowing direction of the circulation fan 13 is switched to ≧ T2-α1), and the circulation fan 13 is rotated so that air flows from the bottom to the top in the ventilation duct. As a result, the cooled air accumulates in the lower portion of the refrigerator, so that the cool air accumulated in the lower portion of the refrigerator flows through the ventilation duct to the upper portion of the refrigerator, and the cold air cools the products in the refrigerator while cooling the products in the refrigerator. To the lower part. In addition, the collision of circulating air does not occur in the refrigerator, and the law of natural body flow, that is, cool air moves toward the lower part and accumulates in the lower part, and warm air moves toward the higher part and moves to the higher part. Using the law of accumulation, the interior of the refrigerator can be cooled efficiently and in a short time,
While keeping the product temperature in the refrigerator uniform,
The power consumption required for cooling the inside of the refrigerator can be reduced.

On the other hand, at the time of heating the inside of the refrigerator, the temperature controller 18 controls the heating device 12 and the circulation fan 1 during the midnight power time period.
3 is driven. At this time, in the drive control of the circulation fan 13, the temperature detectors 15a, 15
The air blowing direction is switched based on the temperature T1 in the upper part of the refrigerator and the temperature T2 in the lower part of the refrigerator detected by 5b. Normally, the circulation fan 13 is rotated so that air flows through the ventilation duct from top to bottom. Further, when the temperature T2 of the lower part of the refrigerator becomes higher than the temperature T1 of the upper part of the refrigerator by a predetermined temperature β2 or more (T1 + β2 ≦ T2), the air blowing direction of the circulation fan 13 is switched, and the air is blown from the bottom to the top in the ventilation duct. The circulation fan 13 is rotated so as to circulate. Furthermore, the temperature T2 at the lower part of the refrigerator is a predetermined temperature α higher than the temperature T1 at the upper part of the refrigerator.
When the temperature is lowered by two or more (T1−α2 ≧ T2), the air blowing direction of the circulation fan 13 is switched, and the circulation fan 13 is rotated so that air flows from the top to the bottom in the ventilation duct. As a result, the warmed air accumulates in the upper portion of the refrigerator, so that the warm air accumulated in the upper portion of the refrigerator flows through the ventilation duct to the lower portion of the refrigerator, and the warm air flows to the upper portion of the refrigerator while heating the products in the refrigerator. Reach. In addition, there is no collision of circulating air in the refrigerator, and it is possible to efficiently heat the refrigerator in a short time using the law of natural body flow, and to maintain a uniform product temperature in the refrigerator. It is possible to reduce the power consumption required for heating the inside of the refrigerator.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the cool storage material 41 is cooled or the heat storage material 42 is heated in the late night power time zone where the power demand is small, and the energy required during the time zone where the power demand is high is provided. In addition to being able to store enough, the temperature in the refrigerator and the temperature of the product in the refrigerator can be made uniform in a short time in a limited midnight power time zone, and the power consumption required for driving the cooling device 11 and the heating device 12 can be reduced. Can be reduced.

The configuration of this embodiment is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the present embodiment, the cold storage material 41
And applied to a vending machine that cools or heats the inside of a refrigerator using late-night electric power, but is not limited to this, and is applied to a vending machine that does not include the cold storage material 41 and the heat storage material 42. It is needless to say that almost the same effect can be obtained by applying the method.

[0025]

As described above, according to claim 1 of the present invention ,
According to this, based on the temperature in the upper part of the inside of the refrigerator detected by the first temperature detector and the temperature in the lower part of the refrigerator detected by the second temperature detector, the blowing direction of the blower is changed by the blowing direction switching means. Is switched, and the air in the upper part of the refrigerator and the air in the lower refrigerator are circulated through the ventilation duct, so that the inside of the refrigerator does not collide with the circulating air. It can be heated, and the product temperature in the refrigerator can be kept uniform.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration related to internal temperature control in one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vending machine main body, 1a ... Inner door, 1b ... Outer door, 1c ...
Commodity take-out, 1d ... Export door, 2 ... Wall, 3 ... Commodity storage, 41 ... Cooling material, 42 ... Heat storage material, 5 ... Partition plate, 5
a, 5b: communication port, 5A: ventilation duct, 6: serpentine column, 7: delivery shooter, 8: machine room, 11
... cooling device, 111 ... compressor, 112 ... compressor drive circuit, 113a, 113d ... evaporator, 114 ... expansion valve, 115 ... condenser, 116 ... fan, 117 ... fan drive circuit, 118a, 118b ...
Solenoid valve, 119 ... Flow control valve, 12 ... Heating device, 121a, 112d
... heater, 122 ... heater drive circuit, 13 ... circulation fan,
14: circulation fan drive circuit, 15a, 15b: temperature detector, 16: timer, 17: dip switch, 18:
Temperature control unit.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07F 5/00-9/10 F25D 11/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] Claims: 1. Cooling or heating the inside of a refrigerator to a predetermined temperature according to the type of a product to be sold or the selling time of the product, etc.
In a vending machine for selling cooled or heated products, a ventilation duct extending vertically and having communication ports with upper and lower portions of the interior at upper and lower ends, and the ventilation duct A blower disposed opposite to one of the communication ports, a first temperature detector for detecting a temperature in an upper part of the refrigerator, a second temperature detector for detecting a temperature in a lower part of the refrigerator, Based on cooling / heating means arranged at the lower part of the inside, and the detected temperatures of the first and second temperature detectors ,
During cooling in the refrigerator, the detected temperature T1 of the first temperature detector is
The predetermined temperature β is higher than the detected temperature T2 of the second temperature detector.
When it is lowered by 1 or more, the inside of the ventilation duct goes from top to bottom
Driving the blower so that air flows, and
The detection temperature T1 of the first temperature detector is the second temperature detection.
That the temperature is higher than the detected temperature T2 of the vessel by a predetermined temperature α1 or more.
So that air can flow from bottom to top in the ventilation duct
At the time of heating the inside of the refrigerator, the second temperature
The detected temperature T2 of the detector is the detected temperature of the first temperature detector.
When the temperature becomes higher than the temperature T1 by a predetermined temperature β2 or more,
The air is blown so that air flows from bottom to top in the wind duct.
And the detected temperature T of the second temperature detector.
2 is a predetermined temperature higher than the detected temperature T1 of the first temperature detector.
When the temperature drops by more than α2, the inside of the ventilation duct
A vending machine provided with a blow direction switching means for driving the blower such that air flows therethrough to switch a blow direction of the blower.