JP4517559B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vending machine that stores beverages, foods, and the like that need to be cooled, and can uniformly cool the entire cooling region.
[0002]
[Prior art]
At present, so-called hot and cold vending machines that store hot drinks in the upper part and cold drinks in the lower part are widely used. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of the cooling air W of such a vending machine 500. The vending machine 500 has a configuration in which a casing 501 is divided into two upper and lower chambers of an upper hot area H and a lower cold area C by a partition 502, and a wind tunnel 503 is provided on the inner side surface of the casing 501. Cooling air W is passed through 503. The wind tunnel 503 is provided with a plurality of holes 504 through which the cooling air W is blown out into the housing 501, and a fan 505 for blowing and a cooler (not shown) are provided below the wind tunnel 503. is set up. The partition 502 is comprised from the heat insulating material.
[0003]
The air cooled by the cooler ascends in the wind tunnel 503 by the fan 505, and in the process, the cooling air W is ejected from the hole 504 into the housing 501. The wind tunnel 503 is blocked from the upper hot region H by some means at the position of the partition 502, so that the cooling air W does not advance above this. In addition, the cooling air W (shown by an arrow in the figure for convenience) blown out from the hole 504 hits the inner wall of the side casing 501 (see FIG. 5B), and then in front of the casing with a low pressure. It moves toward (see (a) of the figure). Thereby, the cold area | region C in the housing | casing 501 is cooled, and goods, such as the stored drink, are cooled.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional vending machine 500 described above, the cooling wind W ejected from the hole 504 of the wind tunnel 503 directly hits the inner wall of the casing 501 positioned opposite to the wind tunnel 503, so that the area in the vicinity (area A in the figure) However, there is a problem that a region in which the flow of the cooling air W stagnates (region B in the figure) and the products in the region B cannot be sufficiently cooled. Specifically, even if the area A is less than or equal to zero degrees, the stagnation area B can be cooled only to about 10 ° C. Further, this problem is not limited to the one with the upper and lower two-chamber structure, and occurs even with a one-chamber vending machine that ejects the cooling air W from the side in the housing 501.
[0005]
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a vending machine capable of uniformly cooling the entire cold region.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the vending machine according to the present invention, a wind tunnel is provided along the inner side wall of the casing that stores the object to be cooled, and a plurality of holes are provided in the wind tunnel and the holes are ejected from the holes. An ejection direction adjusting means for adjusting the direction of the cooling air is provided. That is, in the present invention, the jet direction of the cooling air is adjusted by the jet direction adjusting means so that no stagnation region is generated in the housing. Thereby, the inside of a housing | casing is cooled uniformly. In particular, in the vending machine having the upper and lower two-chamber structure, stagnation is likely to occur. Therefore, the present invention is suitable.
[0007]
The vending machine according to the next invention is characterized in that a wind tunnel is provided along both inner side walls of the casing for storing the object to be cooled, and a plurality of holes are provided in each of the wind tunnels. That is, as in the present invention, if the wind tunnel is provided on both sides and the cooling air is ejected from the holes, the inside of the casing is agitated relatively complexly, so that stagnation can be reduced. For this reason, the inside of a housing can be cooled uniformly.
[0008]
The vending machine according to the next invention is characterized in that, in the vending machine, the adjusting means is a fin provided corresponding to the hole. Note that it is not necessary to have one fin per hole. By using fins, stagnation can be prevented with a simple structure.
[0009]
In the vending machine according to the present invention, in the above vending machine, when the casing is further divided into two upper and lower chambers, a groove is provided in the wind tunnel, and the inside of the wind tunnel is inserted by inserting a partition insertion portion into the groove. It is characterized by blocking.
[0010]
Thereby, since a wind tunnel can be unavoidably interrupted | blocked, it can prevent reliably that upper and lower 2 chambers communicate. The degree of blocking does not have to be completely sealed, and it is sufficient that the blocking is performed to such a degree that there is no practical problem.
[0011]
The vending machine according to the next invention is characterized in that, in the above vending machine, a ventilation preventing member is further provided on both sides of a groove into which a partition formed in the wind tunnel is inserted. When the partition is put in the groove, a gap is formed on both sides of the insertion portion, and the cooling air passes through here. Therefore, the passage of the cooling air can be suppressed by providing the ventilation preventing members on both sides of the groove.
[0012]
The vending machine according to the next invention is characterized in that in the above vending machine, the vending machine further includes a lid for closing the groove into which the partition is not inserted. Since the groove into which the partition is not inserted opens, cooling air of an appropriate amount or more is ejected from here, but this can be prevented by providing a lid.
[0013]
In the vending machine according to the next invention, in the above vending machine, the inside of the partition is hollowed to form a wind tunnel structure, and the partition is inserted into the groove so that the cooling air in the wind tunnel is generated from the air inlet provided in the insertion portion. The cooling air is injected from an opening provided on the front side of the housing.
[0014]
That is, in the present invention, the cooling wind can be ejected from above the body to be cooled by providing the partition with a wind tunnel structure. For this reason, stagnation in the housing is prevented, uniform cooling is possible, and cooling efficiency is improved.
[0015]
In the vending machine of the present invention, the interior of the partition is made into a hollow tunnel structure, and the partition is inserted into the groove so that the cooling air in the wind tunnel is introduced from the air inlet provided in the insertion portion, and the casing Since cooling air is ejected from the opening provided on the front side, stagnation in the housing is prevented, uniform cooling is possible, and cooling efficiency is improved.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. The constituent elements of this embodiment include those that can be easily replaced by those skilled in the art or those that are substantially the same.
[0017]
(Embodiment 1)
1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a vending machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. In this vending machine 100, a wind tunnel 3 is formed on one inner wall 2 of a casing 1 that stores a beverage or food that is a body to be cooled, and a plurality of holes 4 that eject cooling air are formed in the wind tunnel 3. Yes. A plurality of grooves 6 into which the partitions 5 are inserted are formed in the wind tunnel 3. A cooler (not shown) and a fan 7 are provided in the lower chamber 3 a of the wind tunnel 3. The wind tunnel 3 is formed by attaching a plate material to the housing 1 by a joining method such as spot welding. Although not shown, a tubular body having a rectangular cross section may be attached to the inner wall of the housing.
[0018]
Further, another wind tunnel 8 is provided on the ceiling of the housing 1 in a form connected to the wind tunnel 3. The wind tunnel 8 has a mountain-shaped guide 9 formed therein, has a convex shape on the front side, and an opening 10 at the end. The partition 5 is usually composed of only a heat insulating material, but may be an integrated wind tunnel as shown in FIG. That is, the partition 5 has a hollow inside and is formed with a mountain-shaped guide 11 similar to the above, and further has an opening 12 through which cooling air is blown out at the front end. The opening 12 may be a mere opening as shown in the figure, or may be provided with a fin for flowing cooling air below. Further, an air inlet 13 is formed at a portion (insertion portion 5 a) that intersects the wind tunnel 3 of the partition 5.
[0019]
A dedicated lid 14 is attached to a portion of the wind tunnel 3 where the partition 5 is not inserted. The lid 14 can be inserted into the groove 6. Specifically, the rail portion 15 is inserted through the notch 6 a of the groove 6, and the lid is covered with the surface plate 16. Although not shown, the configuration of the lid 14 is not limited to that shown in FIG. That is, it is sufficient if the unused groove 6 can be closed, and a structure in which a plate material is bolted may be used.
[0020]
In the wind tunnel 3, fins 17 for restricting the blowing direction of the cooling air are provided for each hole 4. The fins 17 are attached to a plate material slightly thinner than the plate material forming the wind tunnel 3 with relatively simple joining means such as spot welding. The fin 17 is bent to adjust the angle after a plate material is attached so as to close the hole 4. The angle may be the same for all the fins 17 or may be set toward a portion where stagnation occurs based on the shape of the housing 1 or the like.
[0021]
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the fin 18 may be formed by pressing so that the fin 18 is bent without being punched when the hole 4 is formed. Also in this case, all the angles of the fins 18 may be the same or adjusted. Although not shown, the fin 17 may be attached to the inner wall surface 2 of the housing 1 by spot welding because it is sufficient if the ejection direction can be regulated. Further, it may be provided on the outer surface of the wind tunnel 3. As described above, the fins 17 may be provided corresponding to the holes 4, and the fins 17 may be provided for each hole 4, the single fin 17 may be associated with the plurality of holes 4, or the single hole 4. A plurality of fins 17 can be made to correspond to each other.
[0022]
Moreover, FIG. 4 is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of the insertion part of a partition and a wind tunnel. Moreover, in this vending machine 100, as shown to the figure, the ventilation prevention member 19 is installed in the both sides of the entrance and back of the groove | channel 6. As shown in FIG. This ventilation prevention member 19 passes cooling air such as polyurethane foam, rubber, wood, etc. linearly between the partition (specifically, the insertion portion 5a into the partition groove) and the inner wall of the wind tunnel 3 (two in the figure). Anything can be used as long as it can prevent the occurrence of a dotted line.
[0023]
That is, since the upper part of the partition 5 is a hot region, it is not preferable that the cooling air travels above the partition 5. However, although slight leakage is allowed, the gap between the partition 5 and the inner wall of the wind tunnel 3 is linear. When the cooling air leaks from, a considerable amount enters the hot region. For this reason, this ventilation prevention member 19 makes the movement path of the cooling air labyrinth-like (the alternate long and short dash line in the figure) and makes it difficult to leak, thereby reducing the heating efficiency of the hot area and the cooling efficiency of the cold area. Decline can be prevented. The ventilation preventing member 19 may be provided only at one of the entrance and the back of the groove 6.
[0024]
Next, the flow of cooling air in the vending machine 100 will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of cooling air in a plan view. Specifically, FIG. 4A shows a case where cooling air is jetted from the hole, and FIG. 4B shows a case where cooling air is jetted from the partition 5 also serving as a wind tunnel. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the air cooled by a cooler (not shown) rises in the wind tunnel 3 by the fan 7. The rising cooling air W is sequentially ejected from the hole 4 up to the upper portion, and the ejection direction is restricted by the fins 17 provided in the wind tunnel 3. Specifically, in order to eliminate the stagnation portion, the cooling air W is ejected toward the front of the housing 1.
[0025]
The cooling air W that has been ejected to cool the product falls down below the housing 1 and is sucked again from the suction port of the fan 7 and cooled and circulated. On the other hand, the insertion portion 5a of the partition 5 is located so as to block the inside of the wind tunnel 3. However, air is introduced from the air introduction port 13 provided in the insertion portion 5a and advances through the partition 5, and is formed by the mountain-shaped guide 11. The course is changed forward, and the cooling air W is ejected from the opening 12 toward the front surface of the housing 1. This cooling air descends, cools the product, and cools and circulates again.
[0026]
As described above, in this vending machine 100, the fan 17 is provided in the wind tunnel 3 and the cooling air W ejected from the hole 4 is directed to the stagnation region to eliminate the stagnation. For this reason, the cold area | region in the housing | casing 1 of the vending machine 100 can be cooled uniformly. Note that this effect can be applied not only to the case where the vending machine 100 has a two-room structure having a cold area and a hot area, but also to a one-room structure.
[0027]
Since the stagnation region is affected by the structure of the housing, the angle of the fins 17 is adjusted after the position is specified. The fin 17 may have a curved surface by twisting in addition to the case where the fin 17 has an angle in one direction. Thereby, the cooling air can be controlled in detail.
[0028]
Further, in this vending machine 100, by inserting the partition 5, the insertion portion 5a blocks the inside of the wind tunnel 3, so that the cooling air W does not advance above the partition 5, that is, to the hot region. For this reason, the user inevitably partitions the hot area and the cold area simply by inserting the partition 5, and it is possible to prevent the hot area and the cold area from being inadvertently connected.
[0029]
Further, a dedicated lid 14 is attached to the groove 6 in which the partition 5 is not inserted, and this lid 14 is attached to all except the groove 6 in which the partition 5 is inserted. Therefore, if the position of the partition 5 is changed temporarily, the lid 14 Remains and the specific groove 6 is open, the user is forced to attach the lid 14. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a large amount of cooling air from flowing out of the groove 6 and perform appropriate cooling. Although not shown, a hole for ejecting the cooling air W may be provided in the lid 14.
[0030]
In the case of a partition that does not have a wind tunnel structure, it is unavoidable to prevent the cooling air from entering the hot region by being inserted into the groove 6. Further, the partition and the wind tunnel may be separate structures, and both may be combined to form a plate.
[0031]
Further, when the partition 5 is not provided, that is, when the entire vending machine 100 is set to the cold region, the cooling air W from the wind tunnel 3 reaches the wind tunnel 8 on the ceiling and is regulated by the guide 9 of the wind tunnel 8 to be opened. 10 is ejected. The jetted cooling air W is cooled again and circulated.
[0032]
(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a vending machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The vending machine 200 is characterized in that the wind tunnels 201 and 202 are provided on both sides of the inner wall 2 of the housing 1. Others are the same as the vending machine 100 of the first embodiment. In the vending machine 200, a plurality of holes 4 for ejecting the cooling air W are formed in the wind tunnels 201 and 202 on both sides. Further, it is preferable to provide the fin 17 for each hole 4 in the wind tunnels 201 and 202. The fin 17 is attached to the hole 4 in the same manner as shown in FIGS. The wind tunnels 201 and 202 communicate with each other via an upper wind tunnel 203, and a mountain-shaped guide 204 is provided in the internal wind tunnel 203.
[0033]
The partition 205 is inserted into the grooves 6 formed in the wind tunnels 201 and 202 on both sides. Further, the wind tunnels 201 and 202 communicate with each other at the lower part of the housing 1 and a box 208 in which a fan 207 and a cooler (not shown) are provided is attached to the communication pipe 206. Although the lid 14 is not shown in the figure, it is inserted into the predetermined groove 6 as described above.
[0034]
In the vending machine 200, the air cooled by the cooler branches at the communication pipe 206 and rises in the wind tunnels 201 and 202 on both sides. In this process, the cooling air W is ejected from the hole 4. At this time, the ejection direction is restricted by the fins 17, and the cooling air W is blown into the stagnation region. As a result, stagnation in the cold region is eliminated, and the product can be cooled uniformly. In the vending machine 200 according to the second embodiment, even if the fins 17 are omitted, since the cooling air W is ejected from both sides, the cooling air W is agitated in the housing 1, so that the inside is uniform. Can be cooled.
[0035]
On the other hand, the cooling air W is introduced into the partition 205 from the air inlet 209 provided in the insertion portion 205 a with respect to the groove 6 of the partition 205, and is ejected from the opening 211 by the mountain-shaped guide 210. The jetted cooling air W descends and cools the product. Further, the cooling air W does not reach the upper hot region from the partition 205. In the case where the vending machine 200 is configured only in the cold region, cooling is performed using the wind tunnel 203 on the ceiling.
[0036]
According to the vending machine 200 described above, the same effect as the vending machine 100 of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the cooling efficiency can be improved by providing the wind tunnels 201 and 202 on both sides of the casing 1 and from both sides. Since the cooling air W is ejected, stagnation can be effectively prevented. Furthermore, stagnation can be further prevented by providing the fin 17 for each hole 4.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the vending machine according to the present invention, a wind tunnel is provided along the inner wall of the casing that stores the object to be cooled, and a plurality of holes are provided in the wind tunnel, and the cooling air blown out from the holes is provided. Since the ejection direction adjusting means for adjusting the direction is provided, stagnation in the casing is prevented, and the inside of the casing can be cooled uniformly.
[0038]
Further, in the vending machine according to the present invention, the wind tunnel is provided along both inner side walls of the casing that stores the object to be cooled, and the stagnation in the casing is reduced by providing a plurality of holes in each of the wind tunnels. And uniform cooling.
[0039]
Further, in the vending machine of the present invention, the fins provided corresponding to the holes are used as the adjusting means, so that stagnation can be prevented with a simple configuration and uniform cooling can be performed.
[0040]
In the vending machine of the present invention, when the casing is divided into two upper and lower chambers, a groove is provided in the wind tunnel, and the inside of the wind tunnel is blocked by inserting a partition insertion portion into the groove. Can be reliably prevented from communicating.
[0041]
Moreover, in the vending machine of this invention, since the ventilation prevention member was provided in the both sides of the groove | channel which inserts the partition formed in the wind tunnel, the fall of cooling efficiency can be prevented.
[0042]
Moreover, in the vending machine of this invention, since it has the lid | cover which closes the groove | channel which does not insert a partition, it can prevent that cooling air blows out more than an appropriate amount.
[0043]
In the vending machine of the present invention, the interior of the partition is made into a hollow tunnel structure, and the partition is inserted into the groove so that the cooling air in the wind tunnel is introduced from the air inlet provided in the insertion portion, and the casing Since cooling air is ejected from the opening provided on the front side, stagnation in the housing is prevented, uniform cooling is possible, and cooling efficiency is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a vending machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of a fin.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing details of the insertion part between the partition and the wind tunnel.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the flow of cooling air in a plan view.
FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a vending machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of cooling air of the vending machine.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 Vending Machine 1 Case 2 Inner Wall 3 Wind Tunnel 4 Hole 5 Partition 6 Groove 7 Fan 14 Lid 17 Fin

Claims (6)

A wind tunnel provided along the inner wall of the housing for storing the object to be cooled ;
A partition that blocks the inside of the wind tunnel and divides the casing into two upper and lower chambers;
With
The vending machine is characterized in that a plurality of holes and a plurality of grooves into which the partition can be inserted are formed, and ventilation preventing members are provided on both sides of the groove into which the partition is inserted . The vending machine according to claim 1 , wherein the wind tunnel is provided along both inner side walls of the casing . The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the wind tunnel has an ejection direction adjusting means for adjusting the direction of cooling air ejected from the hole . The vending machine according to claim 3 , wherein the ejection direction adjusting means is a fin provided corresponding to the hole . The vending machine according to claim 4 , further comprising a lid that closes a groove into which the partition is not inserted . The partition is hollow inside, has an air introduction port communicating with the wind tunnel in the insertion portion, has an opening on the front side of the housing, and is inserted into the groove to insert the air from the air introduction port. 6. The vending machine according to claim 5, wherein cooling air in the wind tunnel is introduced and ejected from the opening toward the front side of the casing .

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