JP3684911B2 - Vending machine and its emergency power supply unit - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vending machine for disaster countermeasures and a vending machine capable of carrying out a product by connecting an emergency power supply unit from the outside when a commercial commercial power supply in the area is stopped due to a disaster. The present invention relates to an emergency power supply unit that applies and carries out products.
[0002]
[Prior art]
First, an electrical system of a general vending machine is shown in FIG. In the figure, 1 is a commercial power supply (AC100V), 2 is an illumination lamp, 3 is a cooling / heating unit, 4 is a DC power supply device that obtains a predetermined DC output voltage (for example, DC24V and DC8V) using the commercial power supply 1 as an input power supply, 5 is a main control unit for sales control, 6 is a product selection unit including a product selection button, 7 is a money handling device (coin mechanism, bill validator), 8 is a bend mechanism (a product based on a sales command using an electromagnetic solenoid or the like as an actuator) A product carry-out mechanism for paying out products from a selected column of the storage rack), and a power cord plug drawn from the main body of the vending machine is connected to an outlet of the commercial power source 1 for operation. As is well known, the bend mechanism 8 restrains and holds the product stored in the product storage rack in the storage position in the sales standby state, and operates to carry out the product by the energization control of the actuator based on the sales command.
[0003]
Here, the illuminating lamp 2, the cooling / heating unit 3, and the bend mechanism 8 are connected to a commercial power source 1 (AC100V), and the main control unit 5, the product selection unit 6, the money handling device 7 and the like are connected via the DC power source device 4. Connected to the commercial power source 1. In some cases, the bend mechanism 8 employs a motor as an actuator.
[0004]
On the other hand, with regard to the aforementioned vending machines, in order to continue to sell products even if the commercial power supply 1 fails, a storage battery is installed in the machine as an emergency standby power supply and sold automatically when the commercial power supply fails. There has already been proposed a vending machine of a system in which the power source of the machine is switched from a commercial power source to a storage battery so that it can be continuously sold, and is known in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-68576, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-116379, and the like.
[0005]
Here, FIG. 6 is an electrical system diagram disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-116379. In the machine, an uninterruptible power supply 12 that is a unitized combination of a storage battery 9, a power failure detection device 10, and a changeover switch 11 is provided. Equipped with a control unit 13 (including the main control unit 5, the product selection unit 6, and the money handling device 7 in FIG. 5), and a bend when the commercial power supply 1 is unexpectedly interrupted for a short time in the meantime. Electric power is supplied to the mechanism 8 so that the product can be continuously sold.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the vending machine equipped with a storage battery in the machine as a countermeasure against power failure as described above and capable of continuously selling products using the storage battery as a power source when the commercial power supply is stopped, There is a problem. That is,
(1) The secondary batteries currently in use are generally lead-acid batteries, and have a large weight and occupied space. In addition, in order to use a storage battery in a vending machine, there are many management problems such as charging during normal times and maintenance.
[0007]
(2) In order to perform sales control similar to normal times, the control unit 13 related to sales control from the storage battery 9, even if equipment with large power consumption such as a cooling / heating unit and an illumination lamp is excluded when the commercial power supply is stopped. It is necessary to supply power to both the bend mechanism 8 and the power consumption of the storage battery as a matter of course.
[0008]
On the other hand, the capacity of the storage battery 9 that can be installed in the vending machine is limited, and there is no problem with a short-time power failure of the commercial power supply that can occur normally. If the power line outage is prolonged due to the suspension of the lifeline, sales of vending machines will be continued with the battery running out before the recovery of the power system due to repeated sales operations using storage batteries as the power source, leaving the product inventory in the machine. There is a possibility that the function will stop.
[0009]
On the other hand, when a disaster occurs and lifelines such as electricity, water, and gas are stopped, the supply of beverages and food to disaster victims in the disaster area becomes an urgent issue. Beverages and food vending machines installed in the machine store beverages and food in the machine, so in the event of an emergency when the lifeline stops, the vending machine is opened and stored in the machine. If it can be taken out, the vending machine can be used as a beverage and food supply terminal. However, in the conventional power failure countermeasure vending machine described above, since the power consumption of the storage battery for maintaining the sales function at the time of the power failure is relatively large, the battery runs out at an early stage. Can not be used as a sufficient source.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is not to permanently install a storage battery that is problematic in terms of cost, maintenance, and power supply capacity, but in an emergency when the lifeline is down due to the occurrence of a disaster, Vending machines for disaster countermeasures that allow managers to carry out products stored in vending machines using a simple battery-powered emergency power supply unit and provide them to local disaster victims. , And its emergency power supply unit.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the vending machine and its emergency power supply unit are configured as follows.
[0012]
(1) In a vending machine that operates and sells products by supplying power from a commercial power source during normal times, a connector for connecting a battery-type emergency power supply unit from the outside in the event of a commercial power outage emergency Connect the interrupt wiring individually drawn out from the actuator of the bend mechanism equipped in each column of the product storage rack to the connector, and supply power to the specified column actuator from the emergency power supply unit connected to the connector in an emergency, The bend mechanism is driven to carry out the product from the product storage rack (Claim 1). Specifically, the emergency power supply unit is connected in consideration of prevention of mischief during normal times and workability in an emergency. The connector is disposed on the back side of the outer door (claim 2).
[0013]
(2) On the other hand, the emergency power supply unit according to the present invention, which is applied to the vending machine described in (1) above and carries goods out of the warehouse in an emergency, has a battery, a push button type operation switch, a battery in the unit case. A portable type with a built-in timer inverter connected to the output side of the inverter, a timer circuit, and a cable with a connector pulled out from the unit case. It is assumed that the power supply unit is configured as follows.
[0014]
As an embodiment, the unit case includes a plurality of selection buttons corresponding to each product storage column of the vending machine, and a cable with a multiple connector corresponding to each selection button, and the connector is connected to the vending machine. There is a configuration in which an interrupted wiring of each actuator is connected to a connector to which the actuator is connected, and a product to be carried out is selected by a button operation of the unit (claim 4).
[0015]
In the above case, the vending machine administrator uses the key to open the vending machine's outer door in the event of an emergency when the lifeline stops due to a disaster, and then plugs the cord connector of the portable power supply unit into the vending machine. When connected to the connector on the back of the outer door and the power switch of the power supply unit is turned ON here, the bend mechanism of the specified column is activated by the power supply from the power supply unit and the product can be taken out of the warehouse. . Therefore, without adding a major modification to the conventional vending machine, the interrupt wiring drawn out from the actuator of the bend mechanism (electromagnetic solenoid, etc.) and the connector for connecting the emergency power supply unit are added for each column. With this, it is possible to easily deal with emergency delivery of goods for disaster countermeasures. Moreover, in this case, the battery of the power supply unit only supplies power to the actuator (electromagnetic solenoid, etc.) of the bend mechanism for an extremely short time (about 100 mmsec), and does not supply power to other sales control units. Since only a small amount of power is required, a dry battery can be used as the battery of the power supply unit.
[0016]
If an inverter with an input voltage of DC 12 V and an output voltage of AC 100 V, for example, is used as an inverter provided in the emergency power supply unit, eight 1.5 V AA batteries, preferably a decrease in battery voltage due to energization It has been confirmed in actual machine tests that the bend mechanism can be operated without any practical trouble by connecting about 10 in series in consideration of the above.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the examples shown in FIGS.
FIG. 1 shows a circuit diagram of a basic embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 14 denotes an electromagnetic solenoid as a drive actuator of a bend mechanism installed for each column of a multi-column type product storage rack mounted on a vending machine, and # 1 to #n represent column numbers, respectively. . Each electromagnetic solenoid 14 has a relay contact 15 that is turned on by a command output from the main control unit 5 (see FIG. 5) based on a product selection command given to the product selection unit 6 in FIG. It is connected to a commercial power supply (AC 100 V) via a contact 16 (the contact is closed for a predetermined time, for example, 100 mmsec for each sales operation).
[0018]
Here, according to the present invention, an interrupt wiring (lead wire) 17 is drawn out from each end terminal of each electromagnetic solenoid 14, and a connector (socket corresponding to each electromagnetic solenoid 14 is individually connected to the interrupt wiring 17. ) 18 is connected. The connectors 18 are arranged in the order of the column numbers described above, and are installed on the back side of the outer door of the vending machine as will be described later.
[0019]
In addition, this vending machine can be used as an emergency means for emergency delivery of in-flight inventory products to provide victims with an emergency when the lifeline including the power system is shut down due to a disaster. A power supply unit 19 is prepared. The power supply unit 19 is a small portable power supply unit that is always kept by the administrator of the vending machine, and a battery (for example, 1.5V dry battery) 20 is built in the unit case 19a as a power source. A cord connector (plug) 22 is provided to be plugged into the socket 18 on the vending machine side described above on the cable 21 drawn from the unit case 19a. Reference numeral 23 denotes a push button type operation switch that also serves as a power switch.
[0020]
Here, the outline of the emergency power supply unit 19 and its internal circuit are shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). That is, the circuit of the emergency power unit includes an inverter 24 that outputs AC 100 AC using the battery 20 as an input power source (DC 12 V), a timer 25 that operates for a limited time (about 100 mmsec) when the operation switch 23 is turned on, and an output of the inverter 24 The timer 25 has a time return contact 25a provided on the side. Reference numeral 26 denotes a compensation capacitor that compensates for a voltage drop caused by energization of the battery 20, and 27 denotes a noise killer for absorbing noise.
[0021]
Next, FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the disaster countermeasure vending machine equipped with the connector 18. In the figure, 30 is a cabinet of a vending machine, 31 is an outer front door, 32 is a heat-insulated inner door, 33 is a serpentine-type product storage rack mounted in the cabinet 30 (a serpentine-type product storage rack is a well-known Each column of the rack is equipped with a bend mechanism that is operated by operation of an electromagnetic solenoid at each column of the rack), 34 is a product discharge shooter, and 35 is a product outlet. On the back side, the connectors 18 connected to the above-described interrupt wirings 17 (see FIG. 1) are arranged on the connector board 36 in a concentrated manner.
[0022]
With this configuration, in the event of an emergency when the lifeline including the commercial power system has stopped due to a disaster such as an earthquake disaster, the vending machine administrator uses the key to open the vending machine outer door 31 and prepare it in advance. The cord connector 22 of the portable emergency power supply unit 19 is plugged into the interrupt wiring connector 18 drawn from the actuator of the column bend mechanism corresponding to the desired product on the board 36 arranged on the back surface of the outer door 31. When the button of the operation switch of the power supply unit 19 is pressed after connection, the AC output (AC100V) of the inverter 24 is supplied to the battery 20 incorporated in the unit as a power source through the cable 21, the connector 22/18, and the interrupt wiring 17 in FIG. In addition to the electromagnetic solenoid 14 of the bend mechanism shown, this causes the bend mechanism to operate and removes the product from the column. Out roll forward through discharge chute 34 of FIG. Further, when a current is supplied to the electromagnetic solenoid 14 for a predetermined time (for example, 100 mmsec) necessary for the product carry-out operation, the timer contact 25a is turned off by the time limit operation of the timer 25, and one carry-out operation is automatically ended. That is, the battery 20 is not exhausted more rapidly than necessary. In addition, by repeatedly performing this operation, it is possible to carry out the commodity continuously from the same column. Furthermore, if the same operation is performed by replacing the cord connector 22 of the power supply unit 19 with the connector 18 corresponding to another column on the terminal board, different types of products can be carried out from another selected column.
[0023]
Next, an improved embodiment relating to the emergency power supply unit 19 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). In this embodiment, the unit case 19a of the emergency power unit 19 is provided with a plurality of selection buttons 28 that also serve as power switches corresponding to the number of vending machine selections, and the unit case 19a corresponds to each selection button 28. And a multi-pin cord connector 22 connected to the cord 21. Further, the power supply unit includes a relay circuit 29 so that each timer contact 25a interposed in each line branched from the output side of the inverter 24 is selectively turned ON for a predetermined time in accordance with the operation of the selection button 28. ing.
[0024]
On the vending machine side, each interrupt wiring 17 drawn from the electromagnetic solenoid (actuator) 14 of the bend mechanism for each column of the product storage rack is connected to a single multi-pin connector 18 together. A cord connector 22 on the power supply unit side is inserted into the connector 18 and connected together.
[0025]
According to such a configuration, as in the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 3, when the product is carried out, the cord connector 22 of the emergency power supply unit 19 is placed on the connector board 36 (see FIG. 2) arranged on the outer door of the vending machine. Thus, it is possible to save the trouble of selecting the connector 18 to be connected and to carry out a desired product from the vending machine simply by selecting and pressing the selection button 28 at the power supply unit 19.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the vending machine of the present invention, instead of an emergency power storage battery (uninterruptible power supply) as a conventional power failure countermeasure, a battery-type emergency power supply unit is externally provided in an emergency. An emergency power supply unit that is equipped with a connector for connection in the machine, and that is connected to an interrupt wiring individually drawn out from an actuator of a bend mechanism provided in each column of the product storage rack, and connected to the connector in an emergency. By supplying power to the specified column actuator and driving the bend mechanism to carry out the product from the product storage rack, automatic storage batteries that are costly, costly, maintenance and management costs are automatically added to the vending machine. Even if the local lifeline is stopped due to a disaster without the permanent installation of the vending machine, the administrator can open the vending machine door. By simply connecting a portable emergency power supply unit to the connector of the interrupt wiring that leads to the actuator and operating it, products stored in the product storage rack in the machine can be taken out freely, which enables automatic sales. The machine can be used as a terminal to provide beverages and foods in the event of a large-scale disaster.
[0027]
Moreover, the disaster-prevention vending machine according to the present invention does not require permanent installation of a storage battery that occupies a large space in the machine, and requires only a simple interrupt wiring and its connection connector to be extensively modified. In addition, it can be easily implemented in existing vending machines and can be promoted in terms of cost.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an electric circuit diagram of a vending mechanism of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front external view showing a configuration of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the block diagram of the emergency power supply unit by the Example of invention, (a) is an external view of the whole unit, (b) is the circuit diagram of a unit. [FIG. 4] It is a block diagram of the Example different from FIG. Fig. 5 is a block diagram of the electrical system of a conventional vending machine. Fig. 6 is a power supply for a conventional vending machine with a built-in storage battery as a power failure countermeasure. System block diagram [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Commercial power supply 4 DC power supply device 5 Main control part 6 Goods selection part 7 Money processing apparatus 8 Bend mechanism 14 Electromagnetic solenoid (actuator)
17 Interrupt wiring 18 Connector (socket)
19 Emergency power supply unit 19a Unit case 20 Battery 21 Cable 22 Connector (plug)
23 Operation switch 24 Inverter 28 Selection switch 31 Outer door of vending machine 33 Product storage rack 36 Connector board

Claims (4)

In a vending machine that sells products by supplying power from a commercial power source during normal times, a connector for connecting a battery-powered emergency power supply unit from the outside is provided in the machine in the event of a commercial power outage, and the product is stored in the connector. Connect the interrupt wiring individually drawn from the actuator of the bend mechanism installed in each column of the rack, and power the specified column actuator from the emergency power supply unit connected to the connector in the event of an emergency to drive the bend mechanism A vending machine characterized in that the product is taken out from the product storage rack. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a connector for connecting an emergency power supply unit is disposed on the back side of the outer door. The emergency power supply unit has a battery, an operation switch, an inverter that converts the battery into an alternating current that operates the actuator of the bend mechanism using the battery as an input power source, a timer contact connected to the output side of the inverter, and a timer circuit The emergency power supply unit applied to the vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the power supply unit is a portable power supply unit in which a cable with a connector is pulled out from a unit case. The emergency power supply unit according to claim 3, wherein the unit case includes a plurality of selection buttons corresponding to each product storage column of the vending machine, and a cable with a multiple connector corresponding to each selection button, An emergency power supply unit, which is connected to the connector to which the interrupt wiring of each actuator of the vending machine is connected, and the item to be taken out is selected by the button operation of the unit.

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