JP4997885B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine that includes a glass door that allows a product that is actually sold to be visually recognized from the outside, and that has a plurality of product racks vertically arranged to store a large number of products horizontally in the front-rear direction. The present invention relates to a vending machine that enables not only uniform cooling in each stage but also zone cooling.

  Conventionally, it has been equipped with glass doors that allow the products that are actually sold to be visually recognized from the outside, and has multiple product racks that store a large number of products arranged horizontally in the front-rear direction to automatically cool the stored products. The machine is known. In such a thing, while providing the 1st duct which has arranged an evaporator and a fan in the lower part in one side in a warehouse, the 2nd duct connected to the 1st duct is provided in the top part in a warehouse, A number of jets are formed in the first duct, and jets are formed only on the front side in the second duct. The air inside the cabinet is guided into the duct by a fan, cooled by an evaporator, Cold air is blown from the outlet of the first duct and the outlet of the second duct toward the product stored in the rack, and the blown cold air flows downward along the wall surface of the front glass door, and is again sucked by the fan. Then, it has been proposed to cool the entire interior of the warehouse, that is, all the products by repeating the guiding into the duct (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, as another method of cooling the interior (product), ducts communicating with each other are installed on both the upper and lower sides of the interior to form an air passage in the shape of a ring, and the suction duct that faces the interior of the lower duct The evaporator and the fan are arranged, and a large number of jets are formed in the ducts on both sides, and the jets are formed only on the front side in the upper duct and sucked by the fans. The interior air sucked from the mouth is cooled by an evaporator, guided into the ring-shaped air passage, and cold air is blown from the outlets of the ducts on both sides and the outlet of the upper duct toward the product stored in the product rack. The blown cold air flows downward along the wall of the front glass door, and is repeatedly sucked from the suction port by the fan and then guided into the ring-shaped air passage, thereby cooling the entire interior of the warehouse, that is, all the products. To do Have been proposed by the present applicant (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP-A-10-241028 (FIGS. 1 to 6) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-109081 (FIG. 6)

  As described above, the conventional vending machine has both the duct provided on one side (or both sides) in the warehouse and the duct provided at the top of the interior in communication with the duct. The cold air blown from the outlet flows along the wall of the front glass door toward the lower suction port and is guided into the duct by the fan, so heat loss to the outside air increases through the glass door. There was a difficulty.

  Also, the distance between each jet outlet and the lower suction port varies, and the flow of cold air is not controlled, and the product gradually returns to the lower suction port, so the product temperature tends to vary. In addition, the airflow that has been blown over the entire interior is blown only to the front part of each stage that is susceptible to the heat of outside air, for example, and the blown cold air is directed toward the suction port without much contact with the front glass door. It was not possible to perform a chilling zone cooling.

  The technical problem of the present invention is to enable not only uniform cooling in each stage but also zone cooling.

The vending machine according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a product storage comprising a housing with an open front surface, a product rack provided in a plurality of stages in the product storage and capable of storing a number of products horizontally arranged in the front-rear direction, and a product storage In a vending machine having a glass door attached to the front opening and capable of visually observing a product to be sold from the outside, and cooling the stored product with cold air cooled by an evaporator of a cooling device, A U-shaped duct that follows both the side wall and the bottom wall is provided inside, and a plurality of vent holes are arranged in the front-rear direction at positions corresponding to each stage of the product rack on the opposite side surfaces of the U-shaped duct. In the U-shaped duct, the evaporator and the fan of the cooling device are arranged so that the cold air flows from the one side to the other side in the U-shaped duct. Suction each vent of each As also configure each vent other side of the U-shaped duct as each spout freely further provided detachably with closable shield plate at least a portion of the spout of the plurality of ejection ports, the shielding plate By closing some of the spouts and opening a specific spout, cool air is blown from the specific spout, and the blown cold air is not in contact with the front glass door so much that the above-mentioned in the same stage. Zone cooling is performed to the suction port .

In the vending machine of the present invention, when the cooling device starts operation and the fan rotates, the internal air is sucked into the U-shaped duct from the suction port on one side of the U-shaped duct, and the inside of the U-shaped duct The air is cooled by an evaporator on the way while it flows, and becomes cold air, blown from the jet outlet on the other side of the U-shaped duct toward the product in the corresponding stage, and directly led to the suction port in the same stage. In this way, since the jet outlet and the suction port are arranged facing the positions corresponding to each stage, the distance between the jet outlet and the suction port for each stage is constant, and the distance between them. However, it is shorter than before and the airflow can be controlled. Therefore, uniform cooling at each stage is facilitated, and contact between the blown cool air and the front glass door is reduced, and heat loss to the outside air through the glass door can be reduced.
Furthermore, a shield plate capable of closing at least some of the plurality of jet nozzles is provided in a detachable manner, and the particular jet port is opened by closing a part of the jet ports with the shield plate. Since cold air is blown from the jet port and the blown cold air can be directed to the suction port in the same stage without much contact with the front glass door, an energy saving effect can be obtained.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on illustrated embodiments.
1 is a perspective view showing a U-shaped duct which is a main part of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state in which the glass door is closed, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which a U-shaped duct is assembled in the housing of the product storage case from an angle different from FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion P (jet port) of the U-shaped duct, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the flow of cold air viewed from an oblique direction during normal operation, and FIG. 8 is a diagram during the normal operation. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the flow of cold air seen from above, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the flow of cold air seen from above during the zone cooling operation.

  The vending machine 100 according to this embodiment includes a product storage 1 composed of a housing having a front opening as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, and a plurality of products in each product storage stage 1. 2, a product rack 3 that can be stored horizontally in the front-rear direction, Y-axis (elevating) rails 4, 5 that are arranged on the left and right of the front edge in the product storage 1 and extend in the vertical direction, and a Y-axis rail 4 X-axis (horizontal) rail 6 which is guided by 5 and 5 and can freely move up and down, bucket 7 for taking out designated products guided by these Y-axis rails 4, 5 and X-axis rail 6 in the vertical and horizontal directions, and product storage It has the glass door 8 which can be visually recognized from the exterior which is attached to the front-surface opening part of the store | warehouse | chamber 1, and actually sells.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 to 6, U-shaped ducts 11 that follow both side walls 1 a and 1 b and the bottom wall 1 c are arranged in the product storage 1, and both side edges in the longitudinal direction thereof are arranged. It is fixed to the side walls 1a, 1b and the bottom wall 1c by spot welding or the like. The U-shaped duct 11 is formed with a plurality of vent holes 14 and 15 arranged in the front-rear direction at positions corresponding to the steps of the product rack 3 on the opposite side surfaces 12 and 13, respectively. Inside the bottom portion 16 (hereinafter referred to as “connecting duct”), an evaporator and a fan of a cooling device (not shown) are arranged so that cold air flows from one side portion to the other side portion. Each vent hole 14 on the side surface portion serves as a suction port (hereinafter referred to as “suction port”), and each vent hole 15 on the other side surface portion of the U-shaped duct serves as a spout (hereinafter referred to as “vent hole”). The side 15 is referred to as a “jet port”. Accordingly, one side portion of the U-shaped duct 11 is configured as a suction duct 17 and the other side portion of the U-shaped duct 11 is configured as an ejection duct 18, and the suction duct 17 and the ejection duct 18 are connected by the connection duct 16. ing. Here, the cover 19 that covers the evaporator and the fan of the cooling device is integrated with the connecting duct 16 so that the evaporator and the fan are arranged in the air passage formed of the U-shaped duct 11. However, it goes without saying that the evaporator and the fan may be arranged anywhere in the air path connecting the suction port 14 and the jet port 15 located at the lowermost end.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the spout 15 is composed of a plurality of round spouts 15 a positioned rearward in all stages, and a single rectangular spout 15 b that is shifted forward by a spout guide 21. However, from the uppermost stage to the third stage, as shown in an enlarged view of the P part, the rear round spout 15a can be closed by a shielding plate 23 that is detachably attached to the shielding guides 22a and 22b. When the shaped jet port 15a is closed, cold air is blown out only from the front rectangular jet port 15b at that stage. Here, an example has been described in which the round jet port 15a from the uppermost stage to the third stage can be closed, but a part of the jets may be configured to be closed at all stages. Alternatively, all the jets may be independently closed. When all the jet outlets can be closed independently, the zone cooling position in the same stage can be changed.

  Further, the product storage 1 is configured so that a heat insulating partition plate 24 can be attached to several upper stages as shown in FIG. 5, and the space inside the product storage is vertically divided by the heat insulating partition plate 24, so that the upper space Can be used as a heating chamber.

  In the vending machine of the present embodiment configured as described above, when the cooling device starts operation and the fan rotates, the air in the cabinet is one of the U-shaped ducts 11 as indicated by arrows in FIGS. The air is sucked into the duct from the suction port 14 of the side portion, that is, the suction duct 17, and is cooled by the evaporator on the way while flowing through the U-shaped duct 11, that is, the connecting duct 16. That is, the air is blown from the jet outlet 15 (round jet outlet 15a and square jet outlet 15b) of the jet duct 18 toward the product in the corresponding stage, and is directly led to the suction port 14 in the same stage.

  Thus, in this embodiment, since the jet nozzle 15 and the suction port 14 are arrange | positioned facing the position corresponding to each step | level, the distance between the jet port 15 and the suction port 14 for every step | level. Is constant, and the distance between them is shorter than in the past, and the airflow can be controlled. Therefore, uniform cooling at each stage is facilitated, and contact between the blown cold air and the front glass door 8 is reduced, and heat loss to the outside air through the glass door 8 can be reduced.

  Further, since the rear round jet 15a of the plurality of jets 15 is configured to be closed by the shielding plate 23, the rear round jet 15a is closed by the shielding plate 23, and the front square jet 15 is closed. If only 15b is opened, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 9, the cold air is blown only to the front part that is easily affected by the heat of the outside air, and the blown cold air is not brought into contact with the front glass door 8 so much. It can be directed to the suction port 14 in the same stage, and zone cooling is possible. Thereby, the energy-saving effect is acquired further.

It is a perspective view which shows the U-shaped duct which is the principal part of the vending machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the state which closed the glass door of the vending machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view showing the state where the glass door of the vending machine concerning one embodiment of the present invention was opened. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. It is a perspective view which shows the state which assembled | attached the U-shaped duct in the housing | casing of the goods storage of the vending machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention from the angle different from FIG. It is P section (jet opening part) enlarged view of the U-shaped duct of the vending machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the flow of the cold air seen from the diagonal direction at the time of normal operation of the vending machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the flow of the cold air seen from upper direction at the time of normal operation of the vending machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the flow of the cold air seen from the top at the time of the zone cooling operation of the vending machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Goods storage 1a, 1b Both sides wall of goods storage 1c Bottom wall of goods storage 2 Goods 3 Goods rack 8 Glass door 11 U-shaped duct 12,13 Both sides of U-shaped duct 14 Ventilation hole (suction port)
15 Ventilation hole (jet outlet)
15a Round jet (some jets)
16 Bottom of U-shaped duct (connecting duct)
17 One side of U-shaped duct (suction duct)
18 Other side of U-shaped duct (jet duct)
22a, 22b Shield guide 23 Shield plate 100 Vending machine

Claims (1)

A product storage comprising a housing having an open front surface, a product rack provided in a plurality of stages in the product storage and capable of storing a number of products horizontally arranged in the front-rear direction, and the product storage In a vending machine that has a glass door that is attached to the front opening and that can actually be viewed from the outside, and cools the stored product with cold air cooled by the evaporator of the cooling device,
A U-shaped duct that follows both side walls and the bottom wall is provided in the product storage, and a plurality of passages are provided at positions corresponding to the steps of the product rack on opposite side surfaces of the U-shaped duct. In the U-shaped duct, the evaporator and the fan of the cooling device are arranged so that cold air flows from the one side to the other side through the bottom. Each of the vents on one side of the U-shaped duct is configured as a suction port, and each of the vents on the other side of the U-shaped duct is configured as a spout. A shield plate capable of closing at least a part of the spouts is detachably provided, the part of the spouts is closed by the shield plate, and a specific spout is opened, so that cold air is blown from the specific spout. The blown cold air on the front glass Vending machine, characterized in that to perform the zone cooling to direct to the suction port of the same in the stage without much contact with the door.

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