JP4507382B2 - Vending machine control method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for controlling a vending machine in which the inside of a warehouse is divided into a plurality of chambers to have different temperature zones, and more specifically, heat transfer between a heating chamber and a cooling chamber is reduced when a product is sold with a partition plate opened. The present invention also relates to a method for controlling a vending machine that can save energy for heating or cooling.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, in order to urge the vending machine users to purchase products, the front door of the main body case and the insulated door are formed as perspective doors so that the products in the warehouse and their sales operations can be seen from the outside. Various vending machines are provided. As an example of such a vending machine, for example, the present applicant has disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-302140.
[0003]
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional vending machine according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-302140, and FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the inside of the main body case. First, the overall configuration of the vending machine will be described with reference to FIG. The main body case 1 stores and stores products and carries them out as necessary. The main body case 1 includes an outer door 2 having a transparent plate 2a and an inner door 3 having a transparent plate 3a so as to be freely opened and closed. . Further, the main body case 1 includes a product storage rack 4 in which racks 4a for storing products in a line in the front and rear are arranged in the upper and lower rows and the left and right rows.
[0004]
The product storage rack 4 includes a box rack 4a, a spiral rack (not shown), a conveyor rack (not shown), and the like that are formed so as to send out products forward based on a sales command. Each rack 4 a is mounted on a plurality of shelves 5 provided in the main body case 1.
[0005]
In addition, the interior of the main body case 1 is divided into an upper chamber 7 and a lower chamber by a partition plate 6 as a heat insulating panel in order to divide the storage temperature range of the product (for example, two chambers for hot beverage and cold beverage). Insulated into chamber 8. The partition plate 6 is closed in a normal sales standby state, and is opened when the bucket 10 of the XY transport mechanism 9 is moved above the partition plate 6 by a sales command and receives a product from the rack 4a. And after receiving goods, if it moves below the said partition plate 6, it is comprised so that it may close. The partition plate 6 is opened and closed by a partition plate opening / closing mechanism (not shown), and the opened / closed state is detected at the time of product sales by a detection switch (not shown).
[0006]
The temperature zones of the chambers 7 and 8 divided by the partition plate 6 are set by a hot / cold changeover switch (not shown). For example, when the upper chamber 7 is set as a hot chamber and the lower chamber 8 is set as a cold chamber, the partition plate opening / closing mechanism is operated, the partition plate 6 is closed, and the chambers 7 and 8 are thermally insulated. A heating device and a cooling device (not shown) provided in the chambers 7 and 8 are appropriately turned ON / OFF. The internal temperature is detected by a temperature sensor (not shown) provided in each of the chambers 7 and 8 so that the specified temperature is maintained.
[0007]
The hot air from the heating device and the cold air from the cooling device are circulated in the chambers 7 and 8 by operating unillustrated internal fans provided in the chambers 7 and 8. Further, when the inner door 3 is opened, such as when a product is loaded, the internal fans in the chambers 7 and 8 are temporarily stopped to prevent the release of hot air and cold air to the outside. If the upper chamber 7 and the lower chamber 8 are set as cold chambers, only the cooling device and the internal fan (not shown) provided in the lower chamber 8 are operated to load the inner door 3 when loading goods. When the door is opened, the internal fan is temporarily stopped.
[0008]
Inside the inner door 3 is provided an XY transport mechanism 9 with the front surface of each rack 4a as the XY coordinate plane. Although not shown in detail in the XY transport mechanism 9, an X-axis transport mechanism that horizontally moves a bucket 10 that receives a product delivered from the box rack 4a, and the X-axis transport mechanism is a Y-axis. A Y-axis transport mechanism that moves in the vertical direction along the rail 20 is controlled by a control unit (not shown).
[0009]
The bucket 10 that has received the product delivered from the rack is moved to the vicinity of the lower center by the XY transport mechanism 9 formed as described above, and the product of the outer door 2 is passed through the flapper 32 of the inner door 3. It is comprised so that goods may be carried out from the outlet 33. FIG.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional control method of the vending machine, when the partition plate 6 is opened and hot products are sold, the heating device of the upper chamber 7 and the internal fans of the chambers 7 and 8 are kept operating. Therefore, there is a problem that heat transfer between the chambers 7 and 8 is large and a large amount of energy is required to return the interior to the specified temperature after the partition plate 6 is closed.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and is a vending machine that reduces heat transfer between a heating chamber and a cooling chamber when opening a partition plate and sells products, and can save energy for heating or cooling. It aims at providing the control method of a machine.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, a control method for a vending machine according to the present invention includes a partition plate formed to be freely opened and closed by dividing the interior into a plurality of chambers, and a plurality of columns arranged in upper and lower rows and left and right rows. The product storage racks arranged above and below the partition plate, the product delivery device for receiving the product delivered from the column of the product storage rack, and delivering it to the product outlet, and partitioned by the partition plate A heating device provided in one chamber, a cooling device provided in another chamber partitioned by the partition plate, and a chamber separated by the partition plate, respectively. A vending machine provided with an internal fan that circulates in each room, and opens and closes the partition plate when the product in the column positioned above the partition plate is received and unloaded by the product unloading device. System In the method, the items in the column located above the partition plate before receiving unloaded by the article carrying-out device, the temperature setting of the upper chamber of said partition plate is determined whether or not the hot When the temperature setting of the upper chamber is hot, the heating device or the cooling device is used only when the product in the column located above the partition plate is received and carried out by the product carrying-out device. After stopping the operation of at least one of them and stopping the operation of the internal fan for the device, the partition plate is opened to carry out the product carry-out operation, and after the product carry-out operation, the partition plate is closed. the resume operation of the device and the internal fan has stopped the operation, when the temperature setting of the upper chamber is not hot, the child stops the operation of the heating device or the cooling device Without and without stopping the operation of the in-compartment fan for the apparatus, in which to perform the merchandise unloading operation.
[0013]
Hereinafter, a control operation for temporarily stopping the heating device and the upper and lower internal fans will be described by taking as an example a vending machine that divides the interior into two chambers, an upper chamber (heating chamber) and a lower chamber (cooling chamber). After starting the sales command from the main control unit, it is determined whether or not the product is sold in the column above the partition plate. If the product is sold in the column above the partition plate, the heating device is temporarily stopped. On the other hand, if the product is not for sale in the column above the partition plate, the product take-out device is moved to the front of the column to carry out the received product and enter a standby state.
[0014]
After the heating device is temporarily stopped, the upper and lower internal fans are temporarily stopped, the partition plate is opened, and the track of the product carry-out device is secured. Then, the merchandise carry-out device is moved in front of the predetermined column to carry out the received merchandise, and when the merchandise carry-out device moves from the upper chamber to the lower chamber, the partition plate is closed.
[0015]
When the partition plate is closed and both chambers are thermally insulated, the operation of the heating device and the upper and lower internal fans is resumed to enter a standby state. Thus, by temporarily stopping the operation of the heating device and the upper and lower internal fans when the partition plate is opened, heat transfer between both chambers can be reduced, and heating to return the internal temperature to the specified temperature. Or you can save cooling energy.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.
[0017]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views schematically showing a configuration inside a main body case, and FIG. 4 is a vending machine. It is a flowchart which shows this control operation. In the following description, members that are the same as or correspond to those already described are assigned the same reference numerals and redundant description is omitted, and only different points will be described.
[0018]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the open detection switch 40 and the close detection switch 41 are for detecting the open / closed state of the partition plate 6. The H / C switch 42 is for switching the temperature zone of the upper chamber 7 or the lower chamber 8 to hot or cold. The inner door switch 43 is for detecting the open / closed state of the inner door 3. Note that the bucket 10 moves left and right on the X-axis rail 11.
[0019]
Further, the hot air heated by the heating device 44 circulates in the upper chamber 7 by the internal fan 45, and the temperature of the upper chamber 7 is detected by the internal temperature sensor 46. Below the main body case 1, a condenser 47, a solenoid valve 48, an evaporator 49, an internal fan 50, and the like constituting the refrigeration cycle equipment are provided. The temperature of the evaporator 49 is detected by the evaporator temperature sensor 51, and the temperature of the lower chamber 8 is detected by the internal temperature sensor 52.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 1, the partition plate opening / closing mechanism 60 includes an opening / closing motor 61 that drives a drive mechanism (not shown) of the partition plate 6, an open detection switch 40 that detects an open state of the partition plate 6, and A close detection switch 41 for detecting the closed state of the partition plate 6 is provided. The partition plate opening / closing mechanism 60, the H / C changeover switch 42, the heating device 44, the internal fans 45, 50, and the like are connected to the main body control unit 58. The main body control unit 58 is connected to a main control unit (not shown) that controls the entire vending machine by a communication line.
[0021]
Next, the control operation of the vending machine as the main part of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. After the sales command is started from the main control unit (step S10), it is determined whether or not the temperature setting of the upper chamber 7 by the H / C changeover switch 42 is hot (step S11). If the temperature setting of the upper chamber 7 is hot (Yes in step S11), it is determined whether or not the product is sold in the column above the partition plate 6 (step S12), and the temperature setting of the upper chamber 7 is not hot (step S12). If both chambers are cold) (No at Step S11), the XY transport mechanism 9 moves the bucket 10 to the front of the column to carry out the received goods (Step S20), and enters a standby state (Step S11). S19).
[0022]
If the temperature setting of the upper chamber 7 is hot and the product is sold in a column above the partition plate 6 (Yes at Step S12), the heating device 44 is temporarily stopped (Step S13). On the other hand, if the product is not sold in the column above the partition plate 6 (No in step S12), the bucket 10 is moved in front of the column by the XY transport mechanism 9 to carry out the received product (step S20). ), A standby state is set (step S19).
[0023]
After temporarily stopping the heating device 44 (step S13), the upper and lower internal fans 45 and 50 are temporarily stopped (step S14), the partition plate 6 is opened by the partition plate opening / closing mechanism 60 (step S15), and XY The track of the transport mechanism 9 is secured. Then, the bucket 10 is moved forward by a predetermined column by the XY transport mechanism 9 to carry out the received goods (step S16). When the bucket 10 moves from the upper chamber 7 to the lower chamber 8, the partition plate opening / closing mechanism The partition plate 6 is closed by 60 (step S17).
[0024]
When the partition plate 6 is closed and the two chambers 7 and 8 are insulated, the operation of the heating device 44 and the internal fans 45 and 50 is resumed (step S18), and the standby state is set (step S19). Thus, the heat transfer between the chambers 7 and 8 is reduced by temporarily stopping the operation of the heating device 44 and the internal fans 45 and 50 when the partition plate 6 is opened.
[0025]
As described above, according to the control method of the vending machine according to this embodiment, when the product is sold with the partition plate 6 opened, the operations of the heating device 44 and the internal fans 45 and 50 are temporarily stopped. Thus, the heat transfer between the two chambers 7 and 8 can be reduced, and the heating or cooling energy for returning the interior to the specified temperature can be saved.
[0026]
In the above embodiment, it has been described that only the heating device 44 is temporarily stopped in step S13 shown in FIG. 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cooling device side such as the evaporator 49 is temporarily stopped. Also good.
[0027]
Moreover, although the vending machine which divided | segmented the inside into two chambers of the upper chamber 7 and the lower chamber 8 was demonstrated to the example, this invention is applicable similarly to the vending machine divided | segmented into three or more rooms.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the control method of the vending machine according to the present invention, the partition plate formed to be freely opened and closed by dividing the interior into a plurality of chambers, and the plurality of columns are arranged in the upper and lower stages and the left and right columns. A product storage rack disposed above and below the partition plate, a product delivery device for receiving a product delivered from a column of the product storage rack, and delivering the product to a product outlet, and partitioned by the partition plate a heating device provided in a room with a cooling device provided in another room separated by the partition plate, respectively provided in each room, separated by the partition plate, the respective hot air or cold air A vending machine that circulates in a room, and opens and closes the partition plate when the product in the column located above the partition plate is received and unloaded by the product unloading device. control In law, the items in the column located above the partition plate before receiving unloaded by the article carrying-out device, the temperature setting of the upper chamber of said partition plate is determined whether or not the hot When the temperature setting of the upper chamber is hot, only when the commodity in the column located above the partition plate is received and unloaded by the commodity unloading apparatus, the heating apparatus or the cooling apparatus After stopping the operation of at least one of them and stopping the operation of the internal fan for the device, the partition plate is opened to perform the product carry-out operation, and after the product carry-out operation, the partition plate is closed. the resume operation of the device and the internal fan has stopped the operation, when the temperature setting of the upper chamber is not hot, it to stop the operation of the heating device or the cooling device Ku, and without stopping the operation of the in-compartment fan for the apparatus, since to carry out the goods unloaded operation, when the temperature setting of the upper chamber is hot, the position above the partition plate When the product in the column to be received is received and transported by the product unloading device, the heat transfer between both chambers can be reduced when the partition plate is opened, and the heating or cooling energy for returning the interior to the specified temperature is saved. it can. In addition, if the temperature setting of the upper chamber is not hot, the product will be transported by opening the partition plate without stopping the operation of the heating or cooling device and the internal fan. , It saves energy generated when re-driving.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration inside a main body case.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration inside a main body case.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the vending machine.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional vending machine.
FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the inside of the main body case.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case 2 Outer door 3 Inner door 4 Goods storage rack 6 Partition plate 7 Upper chamber 8 Lower chamber 9 XY conveyance mechanism 10 Bucket 40 Open detection switch 41 Close detection switch 42 H / C changeover switch 43 Inner door switch 44 Heating devices 45, 50 Internal fan 46, 52 Internal temperature sensor 47 Condenser 49 Evaporator 58 Main body control unit 60 Partition plate opening / closing mechanism 61 Opening / closing motor

Claims (1)

A partition plate formed to be freely opened and closed by dividing the interior into a plurality of chambers;
A product storage rack in which a plurality of columns are arranged in upper and lower stages, left and right rows, and arranged above and below the partition plate;
A product unloading device for receiving the product dispensed from the column of the product storage rack and unloading it to the product take-out port;
A heating device provided in a chamber partitioned by the partition plate;
A cooling device provided in another chamber partitioned by the partition plate;
An internal fan that is provided in each chamber partitioned by the partition plate and circulates hot air or cold air into the respective chambers;
With
In the control method of the vending machine configured to open and close the partition plate when the product in the column located above the partition plate is received and unloaded by the product unloading device,
Before receiving and unloading the commodity in the column located above the partition plate by the commodity unloading device, it is determined whether the temperature setting of the chamber above the partition plate is hot ,
When the temperature setting of the upper chamber is hot, only when the commodity in the column located above the partition plate is received and unloaded by the commodity unloading apparatus, the heating apparatus or the cooling apparatus And stopping the operation of the internal fan for the device, and then opening the partition plate to perform the product carry-out operation, and closing the partition plate after the product carry-out operation, Resuming the operation of the equipment and the internal fan that had stopped the operation,
When the temperature setting of the upper chamber is not hot, without stopping the operation of the heating device or the cooling device, and, without stopping the operation of the in-compartment fan for the apparatus, goods unloaded A method for controlling a vending machine, characterized in that the operation is performed.

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