JP4992333B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine using a cooling device using a combustible refrigerant.

  In recent years, from the viewpoint of protecting the earth's ozone layer, the use of refrigerants containing chlorine atoms, such as refrigerant CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) -12 or HCFC (hydrochlorofluorocarbon) -22, which has been used in the refrigeration cycle of the cooling device has been regulated. However, conversion to an HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) refrigerant that does not contain chlorine atoms and does not destroy the ozone layer is in progress.

  Conventionally, in vending machines mainly using HCFC-22, R407C, which is a mixed refrigerant of HFC refrigerant, is adopted and sold as an alternative refrigerant.

  However, currently used HFC refrigerants such as R407C do not destroy the ozone layer, but because of their high global warming potential, they become insufficient refrigerants against global warming, and efforts to reduce refrigerant leakage and disposal Refrigerant recovery at the time is performed. Therefore, natural refrigerants such as HC (hydrocarbon) and CO2 (carbon dioxide gas) are drawing attention as a refrigerant having a low global warming potential instead of HFC.

  Because HC refrigerants are flammable, safety is an issue when used as refrigerants in refrigeration cycles in cooling devices. Consideration for refrigerant leakage and thorough handling of refrigerants during service and disposal is necessary.

  For this reason, there is an example of a refrigerator equipped with a display panel and an alarm device for issuing an alarm when a refrigerant leak of a combustible refrigerant is detected, and an instruction means for instructing how to respond (for example, see Patent Document 1). .

  In addition, there is a refrigerator disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 2) that can reduce the refrigerant leakage to the inside and avoid the risk of ignition and explosion even if a flammable refrigerant leaks.

  In addition, there is a vending machine that detects a refrigerant leak in a warehouse and discharges the leaked refrigerant from an exhaust port provided with a damper (for example, see Patent Document 3).

  In addition, there is a disclosure of a vending machine equipped with an exhaust means for exhausting outside the vending machine body (for example, see Patent Document 4).

On the other hand, the CO2 (carbon dioxide) refrigerant has a high pressure, and the pressure at room temperature is about 6 times that of the conventional R407C refrigerant, and is 6.4 MPa at a saturation pressure of 25 ° C. The high pressure during operation is about 10 MPa, and it is necessary to thoroughly handle the refrigerant at the time of service and disposal like the flammable refrigerant.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-111061 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-42817 JP 2001-134827 A JP 2003-178362 A

  However, in vending machines, it is of course necessary to deal with refrigerant leakage in normal use conditions, but there is the greatest concern for ensuring safety when discharging refrigerant from the cooling system during service or disposal. First of all, it is fundamental for ensuring safety that an operator correctly recognizes and handles the type of refrigerant.

  Currently, the compressor type name and refrigerant name are indicated on the compressor by a label, and a warning is also displayed when a flammable refrigerant is used. In the case of products, the indication is made in a place where the back of the product can be easily seen in consideration of the case of service / disposal. However, in the case of parts such as a cooling device or a compressor for service replacement, depending on the viewing direction It may be overlooked because the display is not visible.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and even when natural refrigerants such as flammable refrigerants and carbon dioxide refrigerants are used as refrigerants in the refrigeration cycle, it is intended to call attention at the time of service or disposal, and to prevent accidents. The purpose is to provide a highly safe vending machine with reduced risk.

  In order to solve the conventional problems, the vending machine of the present invention has a cooling device including a compressor, a condenser, and a natural refrigerant disposed in a machine room, and the compressor can be distinguished from a plurality of directions. This is provided with a compressor provided with a discriminating means. This makes it possible to increase the visibility of the compressor at the time of service or disposal, and to raise the alert to the natural refrigerant.

  In the vending machine of the present invention, a cooling device including a compressor, a condenser, and a natural refrigerant is disposed in a machine room, and the compressor is covered with a compressor cover. The machine is on, or at least one of the refrigerant display and warning display is displayed. Thus, even when the compressor is not directly visible on the compressor cover, it is possible to increase alerting to the compressor and the natural refrigerant at the time of service or disposal.

  The vending machine of the present invention has a cooling device including a compressor, a condenser, and a natural refrigerant disposed in a machine room, and the compressor includes a compressor provided with a discriminating unit that can discriminate from a plurality of directions. Thus, it is possible to increase the visibility of the compressor at the time of service or disposal, increase the alert to natural refrigerants, and reduce the risk of accidents.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, a cooling device including a compressor, a condenser, and a natural refrigerant is disposed in a machine room, and the compressor includes a compressor provided with discrimination means that can discriminate from a plurality of directions. In this way, it is possible to increase the visibility of the compressor at the time of service or disposal, and to raise alerts to the use of natural refrigerants. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the risk of accidents due to mishandling of refrigerants that are not recognized.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the vending machine according to claim 1, in which a refrigerant display or a warning display is provided as a discriminating means that can be discriminated from a plurality of directions. The visibility of the compressor can be enhanced, and the alert to the use of the natural refrigerant can be further enhanced by the display. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the risk of accidents due to mishandling of refrigerants that are not recognized.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling device in which a cooling device including a compressor, a condenser, and a natural refrigerant is disposed in a machine room, and the compressor is covered with a compressor cover. Or at least one of a refrigerant display and a warning display is displayed. Thereby, even if the compressor is not directly visible on the compressor cover, it is possible to increase alerting to the compressor and the refrigerant at the time of service or disposal. Therefore, by displaying the refrigerant display and warning on the compressor cover, it is possible to avoid the risk of forgetting to release the refrigerant because the compressor cannot be seen, or mistaking the handling without recognizing the refrigerant used and leading to an accident.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a side sectional view of a vending machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In the figure, the storage chamber 1 has a semi-hermetic structure by a heat insulating material. The storage shelf 2 stores and stores products such as canned beverages and beverages contained in PET containers, and the cooler 3 cools the products stored in the storage shelf 2. The machine room 4 is a machine room isolated from the storage room 1 and is formed in the lower part of the main body, and stores the compressor 5, the condenser 6 and the condenser fan 7. The compressor 5 is provided with discriminating means 8 that can discriminate from a plurality of directions. Since the compressor 5 is generally black paint with good heat dissipation effect, a yellow tape is wound around the compressor 5 so as to stand out as the discrimination means 8. The cooling device 9 cools the inside of the storage chamber 1 by connecting the compressor 5, the condenser 6, the decompression device (not shown) and the cooler 3 sequentially by piping to constitute a refrigeration cycle. The natural refrigerant 10 is a refrigerant sealed in the cooling device 9, and is a hydrocarbon refrigerant having a flammability such as R290 single refrigerant, R600a single refrigerant or a mixed refrigerant containing them, or a carbon dioxide gas refrigerant. The internal fan 11 is a DC power-driven fan provided in the storage chamber 1, and the duct 12 is a circulation duct for returning cool air blown to the storage shelf 2 by the internal fan 11.

  The rear vent hole 13 at the rear of the machine room 4 is a vent hole for discharging the wind of the condenser fan 7. The protective net 14 on the back surface behind the machine room 4 can be removed, and the refrigerant can be collected and discharged from the back of the machine room 4.

  The operation of the vending machine configured as described above will be described.

  When the product stored in the storage shelf 2 is cooled, the cooling device 8 is operated, and the cool air cooled by the cooler 3 by the internal fan 11 is circulated. The cool air cools the product stored in the storage shelf 2 by the internal fan 11, returns to the cooler 3 again through the duct 12, and repeats cooling.

  At this time, the natural refrigerant 10 sealed in the cooling device 9 is compressed by the compressor 5 to become a high-temperature and high-pressure gas, and is liquefied by being cooled by the condenser fan 7 in the condenser 6. The liquefied natural refrigerant 10 is decompressed by a decompression device (not shown), evaporated by the cooler 3 and gasified. When gasifying, the cooler is cooled by the latent heat of vaporization, and cool air is circulated by the internal fan 11 to cool the product.

  The natural refrigerant 10 is sealed and sealed in the cooling device 9, but when the pipe is damaged due to vibration of the pipe and the refrigerant leaks unexpectedly in the machine room 4, it is quickly diffused by the condenser fan 7 and is a flammable refrigerant. But the concentration of flammable gas in the air can be quickly reduced. The condenser fan 7 is a brushless motor driven by a DC power source, and can be used safely with no ignitability against combustible gas, and can also reduce power consumption. The air taken in from the front surface of the machine room 4 passes through the condenser 6, flows toward the compressor 5 by the condenser fan 7, passes through the rear vent hole 13, and is discharged to the outside.

  If the cooling device 9 has a problem such as refrigerant leakage, the cooling device 9 will be replaced. However, since the yellow tape is wound around the compressor 5 so as to be conspicuous as the discriminating means 8, the conventional refrigerant is used. The distinction from the cooling device is obvious, and attention can be given to the fact that the refrigerant is different from the conventional one in the replacement work of the cooling device 9 and the handling such as transportation and packing.

  Also, when disposing of vending machines, conventional refrigerants (HFC, etc.) are collected, but the natural refrigerant 10 has little impact on the environment, so it is gradually released to the atmosphere with safety ensured. Then, the refrigerant is discharged from the cooling device 9. At that time, the model name / refrigerant name is displayed on the compressor 5 with a label or the like as in the conventional case, and the confirmation is made and the refrigerant is properly processed. Since the yellow tape is wound around the compressor 5 so as to be conspicuous as the means 8, the distinction from the conventional cooling device using the refrigerant is obvious at a glance, and attention can be given to the fact that the refrigerant is different.

  As an example of the discriminating means 8, a yellow tape is attached to the compressor 5. However, a fluorescent tape may be used, and a plurality of labels may be attached to different positions on the outer surface of the compressor 5. Furthermore, it may be determined by adding paint other than black to a part of the compressor.

  As described above, in the vending machine according to the present embodiment, the cooling device 9 including the compressor 5, the condenser 6, and the natural refrigerant 10 is arranged in the machine room 4, and the compressor 5 can be distinguished from a plurality of directions. This is provided with a compressor 5 provided with a simple discriminating means 8, thereby improving the visibility of the compressor 5 at the time of service or disposal and increasing the alert to the use of the natural refrigerant 10. Can do. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the risk of accidents due to mishandling of refrigerants that are not recognized.

(Embodiment 2)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the vending machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a main part of the vending machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, the discriminating means 8a is provided with at least one of a refrigerant indication and a warning indication so that the indication can be discriminated even when the compressor 5a is viewed from a plurality of directions.

  The refrigerant display includes “refrigerant name, refrigerant number, chemical name, chemical formula, characteristics of refrigerant” and the like. On the other hand, the warning display includes “surprise mark, flammable mark, danger / warning display, high pressure caution, handling caution” and the like. By sticking the tape with these indications to the outline of the compressor 5a, the indications can be distinguished from a plurality of directions.

  Note that, as an example of the determination unit 8a, a tape displayed on the compressor 5a is attached, but a plurality of labels may be attached to different positions on the outer surface of the compressor 5a.

  As described above, the vending machine according to the present embodiment is provided with at least one of the refrigerant display and the warning display on the determination means 8a that can be determined from a plurality of directions. Can be enhanced, and the alert to the use of the natural refrigerant 10 can be enhanced. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the risk of accidents due to mishandling of refrigerants that are not recognized.

(Embodiment 3)
The third embodiment of the vending machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a vending machine according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

  In the figure, a natural refrigerant 10 is a refrigerant enclosed in a cooling device 9a, and is a hydrocarbon refrigerant having flammability such as R600a single refrigerant or a mixed refrigerant containing them. R600a has a low pressure and the pressure at room temperature is about ¼ that of the conventional R407C refrigerant, and is 0.35 MPa at a saturation pressure of 25 ° C. In particular, under low temperature conditions, the refrigerant R600a has a large amount of melt into the refrigerating machine oil, and there is a concern that the refrigerant circulation amount is small and the refrigerating capacity is reduced. Therefore, the compressor 5b is covered with the compressor cover 15 in order to prevent the wind of the condenser fan 7 from hitting the compressor 5b and to prevent a temperature drop at low temperatures. In the cooling device 9a in which the compressor 5b is covered with the compressor cover 15, the compressor cover 15 indicates that the compressor is contained therein or displays at least one of a refrigerant display and a warning display. The compressor cover 15 may be an iron plate, but foamed polypropylene, foamed polystyrene, urethane foam or the like can be used to obtain a more heat insulating effect.

  The refrigerant display includes “refrigerant name, refrigerant number, chemical name, chemical formula, characteristics of refrigerant” and the like. On the other hand, the warning display includes “surprise mark, flammable mark, danger / warning display, handling caution” and the like. As an indication that the compressor is included, there is a display such as “There is a compressor in this”. By sticking a label with these indications to the outer shell of the compressor cover 15, even when the compressor 5b is not visible, the indication of the compressor and the refrigerant can be made at the time of service or disposal processing.

  As a display method on the compressor cover 15, there is a method of displaying the material itself with unevenness by stamping or pressing with immortal ink, in addition to labeling.

  As described above, in the vending machine of the present embodiment, in the cooling device 9a in which the compressor 5b is covered with the compressor cover 15, the compressor 5b is contained in the compressor cover 15, or the refrigerant display and the warning display. With this, at least one display of the above is provided, thereby raising the alert to the presence of the compressor 5b and the use of the natural refrigerant 10 even when the compressor 5b is not visible at the time of service or disposal. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the risk of not being aware of the presence of the compressor, not recognizing the refrigerant used and mishandling it, leading to an accident.

(Embodiment 4)
Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the vending machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a vending machine according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

  In the figure, a natural refrigerant 10 is a refrigerant sealed in a cooling device 9b, and is a hydrocarbon refrigerant having a flammability such as an R290 single refrigerant, an R600a single refrigerant or a mixed refrigerant containing them, or a carbon dioxide refrigerant. It is. The cooling device 9b is provided with a mark 16 at the time of refrigerant discharge in the pipe of the cooling device 9b.

  When disposing of vending machines, conventional refrigerants (HFC, etc.) are recovered, but natural refrigerant 10 has very little impact on the environment. The refrigerant is discharged from the device 9b. At that time, since the mark 16 at the time of refrigerant discharge is displayed at the place where the refrigerant is discharged, the refrigerant discharge processing can be performed appropriately. Discharge from two places, the high-pressure piping and low-pressure piping of the compressor, is common, but it is a cooling device that uses electromagnetic valves, electric expansion valves, check valves, etc., and the high and low pressures are completely cut. In such a case, it may be insufficient to discharge the refrigerant from the two locations of the high-pressure piping portion and the low-pressure piping portion of the compressor, and it may be difficult to find an appropriate refrigerant discharge location.

  Therefore, the refrigerant discharge operation can be performed safely and securely by attaching the mark 16 at the time of refrigerant discharge to the place where the refrigerant is discharged, and displaying the refrigerant discharge place on the label.

  As described above, the vending machine according to the present embodiment is provided with the marker 16 at the time of refrigerant discharge in the piping of the cooling device 9b, and this makes it possible to clarify the discharge location when discharging the refrigerant at the time of service or disposal. Thus, the operator can be informed and appropriate processing of the natural refrigerant 10 can be promoted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent accidents caused by residual refrigerant due to insufficient refrigerant discharge by mistaken refrigerant discharge locations.

  As described above, the vending machine according to the present invention can increase the safety when handling the refrigerant by urging attention to the refrigerant at the time of service or disposal even if the natural refrigerant is used. It can also be applied to applications such as refrigeration / refrigeration showcases using natural refrigerants and commercial refrigeration / refrigerators.

Side sectional view of the vending machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the vending machine by Embodiment 2 of this invention Sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the vending machine by Embodiment 3 of this invention Sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the vending machine by Embodiment 4 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage room 4 Machine room 5, 5a, 5b, 5c Compressor 6 Condenser 8, 8a Discriminating means 9, 9a, 9b Cooling device 10 Natural system refrigerant 15 Compressor cover 16 Mark at the time of refrigerant | coolant discharge | release

Claims (3)

  In a vending machine with a storage room for storing products in the upper part of the main body and a machine room isolated from the storage room in the lower part of the main body, a cooling device comprising a compressor, a condenser and a natural refrigerant is placed in the machine room. The vending machine is characterized in that the compressor is provided with discriminating means capable of discriminating from a plurality of directions.   2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a refrigerant display or a warning display is performed as a discrimination means that can discriminate from a plurality of directions.   In a vending machine with a storage room for storing products in the upper part of the main body and a machine room isolated from the storage room in the lower part of the main body, a cooling device comprising a compressor, a condenser and a natural refrigerant is placed in the machine room. A vending machine characterized in that in the cooling device in which the compressor is covered with a compressor cover, at least one of a refrigerant display and a warning display is displayed in the compressor cover.

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