JP5375342B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low cost power-saving vending machine which prevents fluid return to a compressor and efficiently operates a heat pump. <P>SOLUTION: The vending machine includes a heating-cooling circulation circuit including a cooling circulation circuit comprising of a compressor 61, a condenser 62, a first tubule 63, a flow diverter 64, second tubules 72a, 72b, 72c, evaporators 65a, 65b, 65c, second return pipings 73a, 73b, 73c, and a first return piping 75, and a heating exchanger 66a placed in a product storage 40a. The vending machine performs efficient heat pump operations, preventing fluid return to the compressor 61 by thermally alienating the first tubule 63 and the first return piping 75 and thermally connecting the second tubules 72a, 72b, 72c and the second return piping 73a, 73b, 73c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

    The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells a product such as a beverage in a container such as a can, a bottle, a pack, or a plastic bottle after being cooled or heated in a refrigerant circuit.

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions has become a challenge with recent global warming, and energy-saving vending machines have been developed. As one of the methods, a heat pump type vending machine that uses the heat of the condenser, which has been exhausted in the past, for heating in the cabinet has been attracting attention (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In the vending machine described in Patent Document 1, when all three rooms are cooled, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is condensed in an outdoor heat exchanger, and three expansion valves A, connected in parallel, Each chamber is expanded by the expansion valve B and the expansion valve C, and is evaporated by the evaporator, the second evaporator, and the switching chamber evaporator to cool the interior of each chamber. When the hot / cold chamber is heated and the cold exclusive chamber is cooled, the expansion valve A is closed, and the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is condensed by the switching chamber condenser. The cold chamber is heated, the refrigerant is expanded by the expansion valve B and the expansion valve C, is evaporated by the evaporator and the second evaporator, and each cold dedicated chamber is cooled.

JP 2005-227833 A

However, the refrigerant circuit described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that the use of an expansion valve that can be opened and closed increases the cost. If a capillary (capillary) is used as an expansion valve for the purpose of cost reduction, it will evaporate from some evaporators if it exceeds the control range of the expansion capacity of the capillary due to differences in operating conditions such as single cooling operation, heat pump operation, and outside air temperature conditions. Due to the shortage, the liquid refrigerant may return to the compressor and cause a malfunction of the compressor.
Also, in order to suppress the return of the liquid refrigerant to the compressor, it is conceivable to thermally couple the return pipe from the evaporator and the capillary, but excess heat will enter the capillary, As a result of the reduction in the expansion capacity, there arises a problem that the cooling performance is reduced and the power consumption is increased.
In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, to efficiently perform a heat pump operation, and to provide a vending machine with low cost and low power consumption.

  In order to achieve the above object, a vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention has a product storage for cooling and heating, and selectively cools the product storage by a cooling heating setting mode. Or a vending machine that heats, a compressor that compresses the refrigerant, a condenser that is provided outside the refrigerator to condense the refrigerant, a first capillary that is connected to an outlet of the condenser and expands the refrigerant, and the first A distributor for distributing the refrigerant expanded from one narrow tube, a plurality of evaporators for connecting the solenoid valve and the second thin tube in series from the distributor, connected in parallel in the cabinet to evaporate the refrigerant, and each evaporation The second return pipe connected to the outlet side of the vessel and the first return pipe that collects the second return pipe and returns to the compressor constitute a cooling circuit, and the compressor, A heating heat exchanger disposed in a product storage together with an evaporator, and the first capillary In the vending machine in which a heating / cooling circulation circuit is constituted by the distributor, the second capillary, the evaporator, the second return pipe, and the first return pipe, the first capillary Is thermally separated from the first return pipe, and the second narrow pipe is thermally coupled to the second return pipe.

  In the vending machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, the first capillary is thermally separated from the first return pipe, and the second capillary is thermally coupled to the second return pipe. Since the liquid refrigerant passing through the second return pipe evaporates due to the heat of the second capillary tube, it is possible to suppress the return of the liquid refrigerant to the compressor and maintain the expansion performance of the first capillary tube. Therefore, it is possible to provide a vending machine that efficiently operates the heat pump, consumes less power, and consumes less power.

1 is a perspective view showing a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the vending machine shown in FIG. It is a refrigerant circuit figure concerning the example of the present invention. It is a block diagram of a control apparatus. It is a circuit diagram which shows the flow of the refrigerant | coolant of the setting mode CCC of the cooling heating which concerns on an Example. It is a circuit diagram which shows the flow of the refrigerant | coolant of the setting mode HCC of the cooling heating which concerns on an Example.

Exemplary embodiments of a vending machine according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.
1 and 2, in the perspective view and the cross-sectional view of the vending machine, the vending machine includes a main body cabinet 10 formed as a rectangular heat insulator having an open front surface and an exterior provided on the front surface thereof. The door 20 and the inner door 30 and the inside of the main body cabinet 10 are partitioned and formed by the bottom plate 11 in two upper and lower stages, and the upper part is partitioned by, for example, two heat insulating partition plates 40w, three independent product storages 40a, 40b, 40 c, a machine room 50 for storing the cooling / heating unit 60 for cooling or heating the product storage units 40 a, 40 b, and 40 c at the lower part, and the inside of the outer door 20, and in the product storage units 40 a, 40 b, 40 c And a control means 90 for controlling the cooling and heating operation of the vending machine by the temperature sensors Ta, Tb and Tc.

More specifically, the outer door 20 is used to open and close the front opening of the main body cabinet 10 and is not shown in the figure. Product display room, selection button for selecting the product to be sold, money slot for inserting money, product outlet 21 for taking out the paid-out product, etc. Is arranged.
The inner door 30 opens and closes the front surfaces of the product storage units 40a, 40b, and 40c to keep the products in the interior warm. The inner door 30 is a box-shaped structure that is divided into upper and lower stages and has a heat insulator inside. The upper inner door 30a is pivoted at one end to the outer door 20, and the other end is engaged with the outer door 20, and the upper inner door 30a is opened at the same time as the outer door 20 is opened to facilitate replenishment of goods. It is to make. The lower inner door 30b is in a closed state when one end pivots on the main body cabinet 10 and the other end is hooked on the main body cabinet 10 with a latch (not shown) and the outer door 20 is opened. This prevents the cooled or heated air in the storage boxes 40a, 40b, and 40c from flowing out, and can be opened as needed during maintenance.

The product storage units 40a, 40b, and 40c are for storing products such as canned beverages and beverages containing plastic bottles while maintaining the desired temperature, and the capacity of the storage units is the product storage units 40c, 40a. , 40b in a large manner. In this embodiment, the product storage 40a is also used for cooling and heating, and the product storages 40b and 40c are dedicated to cooling. The product storage racks 40a, 40b, and 40c store the products in a manner that they are arranged in the vertical direction, and are provided with a product storage rack R that includes a product delivery mechanism for discharging the products one by one in response to a sales signal. There is a product carry-out chute 42 for carrying the discharged product S to the sales port 21 of the outer door through a carry-out door 31 installed in the inner door 30b.
The cooling / heating unit 60 cools or heats the product S in the product storage rack R by circulating the cooled or heated air in each warehouse according to the cooling / heating setting mode. It has a heating / cooling part and a heating part. The cooling unit includes a compressor 61, a three-way solenoid valve 68, a condenser 62, an internal heat exchanger 67, a first capillary (narrow tube) 63, a flow divider 64, a first return pipe 75, and an accumulator in the machine room 50. 69, the evaporators 65a, 65b, and 65c are disposed in the respective internal storage units 40a, 40b, and 40c, and the second crossing over the machine room 50 and the respective internal storage units 40a, 40b, and 40c. Capillaries (fine tubes) 72a, 72b, 72c and second return pipes 73a, 73b, 73c are arranged and connected by refrigerant pipes. In addition to the cooling / heating unit, the heating / cooling unit includes an external heat exchanger 76 in the machine room 50, a heating / heat exchanger 66a in the internal storage 40a, and is connected by a refrigerant pipe. Configured. The heating unit is composed of heaters 80a and 80b installed in the storages 40a and 40b.

A fan 62f is installed at the rear of the condenser 62. The fan 62f sucks air from the front opening of the machine chamber 50, sucks heat of condensation by the condenser 62, and absorbs exhaust heat of the compressor 61. Thus, the air is exhausted to the rear opening of the machine room 50.
The internal heat exchanger 67 is a structure in which the high temperature side pipe 67a and the low temperature side pipe 67b are thermally connected and the periphery thereof is covered with a heat insulating material, and the high heat from the condenser 62 and the cold heat from the evaporator are removed. This is to improve the cooling efficiency by heat exchange.
The evaporators 65a, 65b, and 65c are for cooling the product storages 40a, 40b, and 40c, and are installed in the lower part of each storage. The heating heat exchanger 66a is installed after the evaporator 65a and heats the product storage 40a. The evaporators 65a, 65b, 65c and the heating heat exchanger 66a are surrounded by a wind tunnel 67 in each product storage 40a, 40b, 40c, a fan 65f is installed behind them, and a duct 67d is installed behind them. It is installed. As for cooling and heating in the product storage, the air cooled or heated by the evaporators 65a, 65b, 65c and the heating heat exchanger 66a is blown to the product S in the product storage, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. It is performed by collecting from the duct 67d.

The evaporators 65a, 65b, and 65c are so-called fin-and-tube heat exchangers, and the cooling capacity of the heat exchanger is mainly determined by the length (number) of tubes (pipes) of the heat exchanger. It is done. The capacity of the evaporators 65a, 65b, 65c is substantially proportional to the volume of the product storages 40a, 40b, 40c, and the evaporator installed in the product storage 40b having the smallest storage capacity. The capacity of 65b is the smallest, and the evaporators 65a and 65c have the same capacity.
The first capillary 63 is for expanding the refrigerant, and is composed of a copper thin tube having an inner diameter of 0.7 mm and a length of 3.5 m. The first capillary 63 may be an expansion valve.
The second capillaries 72a, 72b, 72c are for adjusting the amount of refrigerant flowing through the evaporators 65a, 65b, 65c, and are inversely proportional to the fluid resistance (capacity of the heat exchanger) of the evaporators 65a, 65b, 65c. Thus, the piping paths, that is, the second capillaries 72a and the evaporator 65a, the second capillaries 72b and the evaporator 65b, and the second capillaries 72c and the evaporator 65c are installed so as to have substantially the same fluid resistance. It has been done. Specifically, the second capillaries 72a, 72b, and 72c are formed of narrow tubes having higher resistance than the first capillary 63, and the second capillaries 72a and 72c are copper tubes having an inner diameter of 0.8 mm and a length of 2 m. The second capillary 72b having a large fluid resistance is a copper capillary having an inner diameter of 0.8 mm and a length of 3 m.

The second return pipes 73a, 73b, and 73c are pipes connected from the outlet side of the evaporators 65a, 65b, and 65c. The second return pipes 73a, 73b, and 73c are disposed in the machine chamber 50 across the bottom plate 11 and combined to form the first return pipe. The pipe 75 is connected. The second return pipes 73a, 73b, 73c are thermally connected to the second capillaries 72a, 72b, 72c, respectively, and the periphery thereof is covered with a heat insulating material 74.
The first return pipe 75 is a pipe that connects a pipe that is a collection of the second return pipes 73a, 73b, and 73c and the internal heat exchanger 67 internal cooling side pipe 67b, and is electrically connected to the first capillary 63. Are spaced apart from each other.
The three-way solenoid valve 68 is for switching the refrigerant route between the single cooling operation and the heat pump operation. The refrigerant flows from the compressor 61 to the condenser 62 side, and the refrigerant flows from the compressor 61 to the heating heat exchanger 66a. Switch between passages.

The external heat exchanger 76 is used during the heat pump operation, further condenses the refrigerant condensed in the heating heat exchanger 65a, and lowers the inlet temperature to the first capillary 63 to improve the efficiency of the refrigerant circuit. Is for. The external heat exchanger 76 is disposed behind the condenser 62 and exhausts the heat of condensation to the outside by the fan 62f.
The accumulator 69 is a sealed container for allowing the refrigerant evaporated from the evaporators 65 a, 65 b, and 65 c to flow in, gas-liquid separation to store the liquid refrigerant, and returning the gas refrigerant to the compressor 61. The accumulator 69 is also a container for storing the refrigerant remaining in the refrigerant circulation of the circuit.
The heaters 80a and 80b are installed in front of the evaporators 65a and 65b. When the inside of the cooling side is cooled to an appropriate temperature in the cooling and heating simultaneous operation, the heaters 80a and 80b are refrigerants. It is used when heating the inside of the cabinet independently of the circuit.

The refrigerant circuit configuration of the cooling / heating unit 60 will be described in detail with reference to the refrigerant circuit diagram of FIG. The refrigerant circuit configuration includes a cooling circulation circuit 60a that only cools the inside of the cabinet and a heating / cooling circulation circuit 60b that simultaneously performs heating and cooling inside the cabinet (performs a heat pump operation).
The cooling circuit 60a is connected to the flow divider 64 via the compressor 61, the three-way solenoid valve 68, the condenser 62, the high heat side pipe 67a of the internal heat exchanger 67, and the first capillary 63. 64, each solenoid valve 70a, 70b, 70c and each second capillary 72a, 72b, 72c are connected in parallel and connected to each of the evaporators 65a, 65b, 65c, and the outlets of the evaporators 65a, 65b, 65c. The second return pipes 73a, 73b, 73c are connected from the side, and these are assembled and connected to the first return pipe 75, and the compressor is connected to the internal heat exchanger 67 via the cold side pipe 67b and the accumulator 69. The circuit returns to 61.

On the other hand, the heating / cooling circulation circuit 60b is connected from the compressor 61 to the three-way solenoid valve 68 to the heating heat exchanger 66a, and from the heating heat exchanger 66a to the external heat exchanger 76 and the high heat side piping in the internal heat exchanger 67. 67a, the solenoid valve 70b, the second capillary 72b, the evaporator 65b and the solenoid valve 70c, which are connected to the flow divider 64 via the first capillary 63 and connected in parallel from the flow divider 64, and the second capillary 72c, Connected to the evaporator 65c, the second return pipes 73b, 73c are connected from the outlet side of the evaporators 65b, 65c, and these are assembled and connected to the first return pipe 75, inside the internal heat exchanger 67. This is a circuit that returns to the compressor 61 via the cold side piping 67b and the accumulator 69.
As the refrigerant, carbon dioxide is used as a refrigerant used within a critical pressure, for example, a fluorocarbon refrigerant.
The control means 90 controls the cooling or heating of the product storages 40a, 40b, and 40c in the cooling / heating setting mode. As shown in FIG. 4, a CPU and a memory are provided inside, and control such as opening and closing of an electromagnetic valve of the refrigerant circuit is performed in accordance with a cooling / heating setting mode determined by setting of a cooling / heating setting mode setting SW91. The cooling and heating setting mode indicates the cooling or heating operation of the product storage units 40a, 40b, and 40c by C and H. From the left side of the product storage unit (40a, 40b, 40c), for example, all In the case of cooling, the CCC mode is described, and in the case where only the left product storage is heated, the HCC mode is described. Further, the control means 90 controls the compressor 61, the three-way solenoid valve 68, and the solenoid valves 70a, 70b, 70c based on the temperatures detected by the interior temperature sensors Ta, Tb, Tc, and the interior temperature by the thermocycle operation. Is maintained at an appropriate temperature.

  When the cooling and heating setting mode is set to the CCC mode in such a configuration, the control unit 90 switches the three-way electromagnetic valve 68 so that the refrigerant flows to the condenser 62 side, opens the electromagnetic valves 70a, 70b, and 70c, and the refrigerant Operate alone. At this time, the refrigerant circulates as shown by a thick line in the refrigerant circuit diagram of FIG. As shown in the figure, the high-temperature refrigerant compressed by the compressor 61 is condensed in the condenser 62 to become a liquid refrigerant, is exhausted through the high-temperature side pipe 67a of the internal heat exchanger 67, and is discharged to the first capillary. The gas flow is expanded at 63 to form a low-temperature gas-liquid two-phase flow, and is divided into three directions by the flow divider 64. Since the three parallel refrigerant paths have substantially the same fluid resistance by the second capillaries 72a, 72b, 72c, As a result, the refrigerant distributed to the refrigerant flows into the evaporators 65a, 65b, and 65c and evaporates, so that the product storage boxes 40a, 40b, and 40c are cooled at the same speed. The refrigerant that has become gas passes through the second return pipes 73a, 73b, and 73c, and is heat-exchanged with the second capillaries 72a, 72b, and 72c. At this time, the refrigerant still in liquid form in the second return pipes 73a, 73b, 73c evaporates to become a gas. Then, the first return pipe 75 returns to the compressor 61 via the internal heat exchanger 67 internal cooling / heating side pipe 67 b and the accumulator 69. At this time, since heat exchange is not performed between the first return pipe 75 and the first capillary 63, the expansion performance of the first capillary 63 does not deteriorate. As a result, the return of the liquid refrigerant to the compressor 61 is suppressed and the predetermined cooling performance is maintained, so that an increase in power consumption is suppressed.

Further, when the cooling heating setting mode is set to the CHC mode in which the central chamber is heated, the control means 90 switches the three-way electromagnetic valve 68 so that the refrigerant flows to the condenser 62 side, and the electromagnetic valves 70b and 70c are switched. The electromagnetic valve 70a is closed and the heater 80b is energized. At this time, the refrigerant is in a state where the refrigerant is prevented from flowing into the evaporator 65b, and other than that, the refrigerant circulates in a circuit similar to the thick line in FIG. Therefore, the above effects can be obtained.
When the cooling heating setting mode is set to the HCC mode in which the left chamber is heated, the control means 90 switches the three-way electromagnetic valve 68 so that the refrigerant flows to the heating heat exchanger 66a side, and the electromagnetic valve 70b, 70c is opened, the electromagnetic valve 70a is closed, and the heat pump operation is performed. At this time, the refrigerant circulates as indicated by a thick line in the refrigerant circuit diagram of FIG. As shown in the figure, the high-temperature refrigerant compressed by the compressor 61 flows into the heating heat exchanger 66a, is condensed, and heats the commodity storage 40a. The high-temperature refrigerant condensed in the heating heat exchanger 66 a is further condensed in the external heat exchanger 76, heat exchanged in the high heat side pipe 67 a in the internal heat exchanger 67, and the temperature is lowered in the first capillary 63. Inflated. Since the refrigerant expanded by the first capillary 63 becomes a low-temperature gas-liquid two-phase flow, and is divided by the flow divider 64, the parallel refrigerant paths by the second capillaries 72b and 72c have substantially the same fluid resistance. As a result of the equally distributed refrigerant flowing into the evaporators 65b and 65c and evaporating, the product storage boxes 40b and 40c are cooled at the same speed. The refrigerant that has become gas passes through the second return pipes 73b and 73c, and is heat-exchanged with the second capillaries 72b and 72c. At this time, the refrigerant still in liquid form in the second return pipes 73b and 73c evaporates into a gas. Then, the first return pipe 75 returns to the compressor 61 via the internal heat exchanger 67 internal cooling / heating side pipe 67 b and the accumulator 69. At this time, since heat exchange is not performed between the first return pipe 75 and the first capillary 63, the expansion performance of the first capillary 63 does not deteriorate. As a result, the return of the liquid refrigerant to the compressor 61 is suppressed and the predetermined cooling performance is maintained, so that an increase in power consumption is suppressed.

  As described above, the vending machine according to the present invention is suitable for cooling or heating a product such as a beverage contained in a container such as a can, a bottle, a pack, or a plastic bottle in a refrigerant circuit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Main body cabinet 20 Outer door 30 Inner door 40a, 40b, 40c Product storage 60 Cooling / heating unit 61 Compressor 62 Condenser 63 1st capillary (capillary tube)
65a, 65b, 65c Evaporator 66a Heating heat exchanger 68 Three-way solenoid valve 70a, 70b, 70c Solenoid valve 72a, 72b, 72c Second capillary 73a, 73b, 73c Second return pipe 75 First return pipe 76 External heat exchanger 90 Controller 91 Cooling and heating setting mode selection SW

Claims (1)

A vending machine that has a product storage for cooling and heating, and selectively cools or heats the product storage by a cooling heating setting mode for cooling and heating,
A compressor that compresses the refrigerant, a condenser that is provided outside the refrigerator and condenses the refrigerant, a first capillary tube that is connected to an outlet of the condenser and expands the refrigerant, and distributes the refrigerant expanded from the first capillary tube A distributor, a solenoid valve and a second thin tube connected in series from the distributor, a plurality of evaporators provided in the cabinet and connected in parallel to evaporate the refrigerant, and a second connected to the outlet side of each evaporator A cooling circulation circuit is configured with the first return pipe and the first return pipe that collects the second return pipe and returns to the compressor.
The compressor, the heating heat exchanger disposed in the commodity storage together with the evaporator, the first capillary, the distributor, the second capillary, the evaporator, and the second In the vending machine that constitutes the heating and cooling circuit with the return pipe of the first and the first return pipe,
The vending machine, wherein the first thin tube is thermally separated from the first return pipe, and the second thin tube is thermally coupled to the second return pipe.

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