JPH0125116B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an ice vending machine having an ice presence/absence detecting means, and in particular constantly detects whether or not there is ice stored in the ice storage section regardless of changes in outside temperature in summer. This invention relates to a new configuration that performs stable detection.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, when detecting the presence or absence of ice in an ice storage unit, a thermostat is attached to a part of the wall of the ice storage unit to measure the temperature of the wall, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-9646. The presence or absence of ice is determined by detecting this. When using such a thermostat in the ice storage section of an ice vending machine, the temperature of the wall will decrease if there is ice, and increase if there is no ice.
The detection temperature for the presence of ice is set to, for example, 1.5°C, and the detection temperature for the absence of ice is set to, for example, 4.0°C, and these temperatures are detected by a thermostat to display the presence or absence of ice and control the ice making section. .

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, as described above, when a thermostat is used in an ice vending machine, if the outside temperature is high, for example in the summer, and ice is not sold for a while, Since the ice feeding mechanism does not operate and the ice in the ice storage section is not stirred, the ice that gradually melts over time fuses together, causing an arching phenomenon, which causes the cavity surrounded by ice to collapse. occurs,
This cavity causes the ice to leave the thermostat, causing the thermostat to issue a no-ice signal, even though there is enough ice left in the ice bin to sell. There is a problem with malfunction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ice vending machine that can prevent the thermostat from malfunctioning when the outside temperature is high.

[Means for Solving the Problems] For this purpose, the ice vending machine of the present invention includes an ice making mechanism section 2, an ice storage section 3, an ice feeding mechanism 7, a metering device having a metering detection switch 17, It is equipped with an ice discharge mechanism 11, an ice presence/absence detecting means consisting of a thermostat 26 provided in the ice storage section 3, and a sold-out lamp _L3 that indicates that there is no ice in the ice storage section 3, and when the thermostat 26 is turned on. The normally open contact X ₄₁ of the relay X ₄ connected in series with the ON contact is connected in parallel to the ON contact, and the time required for the quantitative detection switch 17 to detect the quantitative amount when there is little ice in the ice storage section 3. a timer 28 having a shorter set time and activated together with said ice feeding mechanism 7;
Connect the normally open contact TM ₁ to the sold-out lamp L ₃ ,
The present invention is characterized in that the sold-out lamp is turned on after the normally open contact _TM1 of the timer 28 is closed.

[Function] When there is sufficient ice in the ice storage section 3, the thermostat 26 is connected to the on contact. At this time, relay _X4 connected in series to the on contact is energized, and normally open contact _X41 connected in parallel to the on contact is closed. In the summer when the outside temperature is high,
If ice leaves thermostat 26 even though ice remains in the ice storage section, thermostat 2
6 is off, but relay X ₄ has its normally open contact X ₄₁
self-maintained by thermostat 26
Since the on-contact of the will remain substantially closed,
There is no sold-out display, and the item is ready for sale. The sale was held several times and the ice storage section 3
When the amount of ice stored in the ice pack decreases, the time it takes to reach the fixed amount becomes longer, and the timer 28 is set to be shorter than the time it takes for the fixed amount detection switch 17 to detect the fixed amount. The contact TM ₁ closes, lighting up the sold-out lamp L ₃ connected to the normally open contact TM ₁ . In this way,
Prevents thermostat malfunction during summer when outside temperature is high.

[Example] Next, a case where the present invention is implemented in the ice vending machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described. Any device may be used as long as it has a feeding mechanism, a metering device having a metering detection switch, and an ice discharge mechanism, and the detailed structure of each of these mechanisms and parts can be changed as appropriate.

An example of an ice vending machine to which the present invention can be applied is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. That is, an ice-making mechanism section 2 and an ice storage section 3 are provided in a box-shaped case as a whole, and a quantitative box 4 and an ice removal chamber 5 are connected to the ice storage section 3. A door 6 is provided at the front of the ice removal chamber 5, and an ice feeding screw (ice feeding mechanism) 7 is rotatably attached to the ice storage section 3. The specific configuration of the ice storage section 3, metering box 4, and ice removal chamber 5 described above is as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 2, a saucer 10 is provided at the bottom of the metering box 4 and is configured to be rotatable in the direction of arrow A around a fulcrum 9 by a spring member 8. The action is normally configured to close the bottom of the metering box 4. An ice discharging motor (ice discharging mechanism) 11 for rotatably opening and closing the saucer 10 is attached to this quantitative box 4, and a reciprocating lever is attached to a cam body 12 provided on a shaft 11a of this ice discharging motor 11. 13 is attached. The lower end of this reciprocating lever 13 passes through the opening 14 of the saucer 10, and its tip is bent to form a locking portion 15, and furthermore, a bar-shaped pushing member 16 for pushing down the saucer is provided on the upper part. It is fixed. A quantitative detection switch 17 provided at one end of the metering box 4 detects when the saucer 10 in the closed position is removed from the closed position, and uses the detection signal to stop the drive motor GM of the ice feeding screw 7. . The one designated by the reference numeral 18 is connected to the shaft 11 during rotation of the ice discharge motor
This is a motor control switch that is operated by a cam body 12 provided in a, and controls the rotation of the ice discharge motor 11.

A fixed partition plate 19 projecting from the door 6 side and a movable partition plate 21 projecting from the back wall 20 are arranged in the ice removal chamber 5 so as to partition the ice removal chamber 5. The fixed partition plate 19 has a locking part 22 bent in an inverted L shape at the tip thereof, and the movable partition plate 2
In the normal state, the tip end of 1 is brought into contact with the locking part 22 by the action of the weight 23, and the fixed partition plate 19
It is becoming connected to. A door switch 24 attached to a part of the case 1 is turned on and off by opening and closing the door 6, and the ice removal chamber 5 is provided with an ice removal container 25.

A thermostat 2 is installed on the wall 3a of this ice storage section 3.
6 is provided, and the presence or absence of ice in the ice storage section 3 is detected by this thermostat. A heater 27 for heating the thermostat 26 is installed on the opposite side of the wall 3a corresponding to the thermostat 26.
However, this heater 27 is not necessarily necessary for the present invention. In an ice vending machine having such an ice detection means, when the outside temperature rises, even if the heater 27 is not energized, if the ice in the ice storage section 3 separates from the thermostat 26, the thermostat 26 is activated. It turns off, outputs a no-ice signal, and displays a sold-out indication. Next, when the ice making mechanism section 2 operates and ice enters the ice storage section 3 again, the thermostat 26 is turned on and outputs a signal indicating that there is ice, allowing the ice to be sold.

However, in the ice vending machine, even though there is enough ice in the ice storage section 3 to sell it as described above, the ice does not reach the thermostat 2.
However, if this happens in the summer when the outside temperature is high, the thermostat 26 will turn off and malfunction regardless of the heater 27, that is, even when the heater 27 is not energized. Sometimes I put it away.

In the present invention, in order to prevent such malfunction of the thermostat 26 when the outside temperature rises, in the ice vending machine described above, the quantitative detection switch 1 is
7 was invented based on the fact that the time it takes to detect a fixed amount depends on the amount of ice stored in the ice storage section 3.

Next, a case where the present invention is implemented in the ice vending machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

First, a description will be given of the operation at low temperatures in which the thermostat 26 does not turn off unless the heater 27 is energized. In this case, the relay _X4 , which will be described later, is not involved in the operation. In series with the heater 27 there is provided a normally open contact TM ₁ of a timer 28 which is energized together with the ice feed screw 7 . When there is enough ice in the ice storage section 3, the ice feeding screw 7 sends the amount of ice to the quantitative box 4.
Since ice is supplied to the ice storage section in a short time, it takes about 30 seconds for the ice tray 10 to move out of the closed position when the predetermined amount is reached, and for the quantity detection switch 17 to switch from contact NO to contact NC. If there is less ice within 3 hours, it will take about 50 seconds to reach a certain level. Therefore, the timer 28 is set to about 45 seconds.
With this configuration, when the amount of ice stored in the ice storage section 3 is small, the timer 28 is activated rather than the contact of the quantitative detection switch 17 switching from NO to NC.
The normally open contact TM ₁ is turned on first, and the electromagnetic relay X ₃ is energized and self-holding via its normally open contact X ₃₁ and the heater 27 is energized. At this time, the drive motor GM continues to rotate to release the ice, and when the fixed amount is reached, the contact of the fixed amount detection switch 17 switches from NO to NC, energizes the relay X ₁ and releases the ice through its normally open contact X ₁₁ . On the other hand, the normally open contact _X12 opens to stop the rotation of the drive motor GM. Its normally open contacts X ₁₃ by turning on relay X ₁
When the lamp is closed, the ice discharge motor 11 starts rotating and guides the ice to the outlet.
L ₂ is on and sold out lamp L ₃ is off. When the ice discharge motor 11 rotates, the motor control switch 1
8 is switched from contact NC to NO, and relays X ₁ and X ₂ and timer 28 are demagnetized and reset. relay
When the normally open contact _X21 is opened in conjunction with the reset of _X2 , the on-sale lamp _L2 is turned off, and when the normally closed contact _X22 is closed, the sold-out lamp _L3 is turned on. Ice release motor 11
then turn the motor control switch 18 again from contact NO.
Switch to NC and stop. Therefore, the thermostat 26 is turned off by energizing the heater 27 following the closing of the normally open contact TM ₁ of the timer 28, and the relay X ₃ is demagnetized by the demagnetization of the timer 28, and the heater 2 is turned off.
7 is stopped. Next, when the ice making mechanism section 2 operates, ice accumulates in the ice storage section 3 and the thermostat 2
6 is turned on, the sales lamp L ₂ lights up, and the product is ready for sale. In this way, the heater 27 is energized to heat the thermostat 26 by taking advantage of the fact that when the amount of ice becomes low, the operation time of the quantitative detection switch 17 is longer than a predetermined time. Malfunctions can be prevented.

Next, in summer when the outside temperature rises, if ice leaves the thermostat 26 even though there is still ice left in the ice storage section 3, the thermostat 26 will turn off even if the heater 27 is not heated. In order to prevent the amount of remaining ice from increasing,
Even when the thermostat 26 is turned off, the circuit is kept in the on state of the thermostat by a relay, and only the fact that the remaining amount of ice is low is detected and a sold-out display is performed. That is, thermostat 26
An electromagnetic relay X ₄ is provided in series with the ON contact of the relay, and a normally open contact X ₄₁ of the relay X ₄ is provided in parallel with this ON contact. First, when ice accumulates in the ice storage section 3, the thermostat 26 is turned on.
Relay X ₄ is energized to close its normally open contact X ₄₁ for self-holding. The on-sale lamp _L2 is turned on and the product is in a sales state. Furthermore, even though there is enough ice left in the ice storage unit to sell, the ice has moved away from the thermostat 26 and the outside temperature is high, so the thermostat 26 turns off regardless of whether the heater 27 is energized. If the switch is switched to , relay _X4 is self-holding type, so it continues to be in the selling state. In this way, when ice is sold one after another and the amount of ice stored in the ice storage section 3 decreases, and it takes 45 seconds or more to measure the amount using the quantitative detection switch 17 during the sales cycle, the normally open contact of the timer 28 TM ₁
turns on and keeps relay _X3 energized. next,
When a predetermined amount of ice is measured by the metering device due to the continuous rotation of the drive motor GM, the metering detection switch 17 switches from contact NO to NC, energizes the relay _X1 , and self-holds. The ice discharge motor 1 is driven by the operation of the relay X ₁ , and during this time, the on-sale lamp L ₂ is turned on by the relay X ₂ . The ice release motor 11 connects the motor control switch 18 to the contact NC.
Switch to NO to continue rotation. As a result, relays X ₁ and X ₂ and timer 28 are demagnetized. At this time,
Since the thermostat 26 that detected the decrease in the ice storage amount in the ice storage section 3 is also turned off, the relays X ₃ and X ₄
is also demagnetized, the on-sale lamp L ₂ goes out and the sold-out lamp L ₃ lights up. The ice release motor 11 rotates further and switches the motor control switch 18 from contact NO.
Switch to NC and stop.

In Fig. 4, S is the power switch, SL
is a lock solenoid for preventing the movable partition plate 21 (FIG. 2) from opening when the drive motor GM is activated, and CS is a well-known coin selector. Also,
X ₁₄ is the normally open contact of relay X ₁ , X ₂₃ and X ₂₄ are the relays
X ₂ normally open contacts, X ₂₅ normally closed contacts of relay X ₂ , X ₃₂
is the normally open contact of relay X ₃ , X ₃₃ and X ₃₄ are the normally closed contacts of relay X ₃ , and X ₄₂ is the normally closed contact of relay X ₄ .

[Effects of the Invention] Since the ice vending machine of the present invention is equipped with the relay X ₄ and its normally open contact X ₄₁ that operate as described above, it is possible to prevent ice from remaining in the ice storage section during the summer when the outside temperature is high. If ice leaves thermostat 26 despite the presence _of ice, thermostat 26 will turn off, but relay X ₄ is self-retained by its normally open contact Since the condition is maintained, it is possible to prevent the thermostat from malfunctioning during the summer when the outside temperature is high.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of an ice vending machine that can implement the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the main parts of FIG. 1, and FIG. The enlarged perspective view shown in FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 2... Ice making mechanism section, 3... Ice storage section, 7... Ice feeding screw (ice feeding mechanism), 11... Ice discharging motor (ice discharging mechanism), 17... Quantitative detection switch,
26...Thermostat, 28...Timer,
TM ₁ ... Normally open contact of timer, L ₃ ... Sold out lamp, X ₄ ... Relay, ON... On contact of thermostat, X ₄₁ ... Normally open contact of relay.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Ice making mechanism section 2, ice storage section 3, and ice feeding mechanism 7
and a quantitative device having a quantitative detection switch 17,
An ice discharge mechanism 11, an ice presence/absence detection means consisting of a thermostat 26 provided in the ice storage section 3, and a sold-out lamp that indicates that there is no ice in the ice storage section 3.
L ₃ and a normally open contact of relay X ₄ connected in series to the ON contact ON of the thermostat 26.
While connecting X ₄₁ in parallel to the on-contact ON,
A normally open contact TM ₁ of a timer 28 which has a set time shorter than the time required for the quantitative detection switch 17 to detect a fixed quantity when the ice in the ice storage section 3 is low and is energized together with the ice feeding mechanism 7. Connected to the sold-out lamp L ₃ and the normally open contact of the timer 28
An ice vending machine characterized in that the sold-out lamp is turned on after TM ₁ is closed.