JPH02148392A - Automatic vending machine for hot commodity - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve safety and to smoothly deliver a canned commodity to a heating device and eject the commodity from the machine under simple control by heating the canned commodity by means of an induction heating coil provided in a chuter which can be tilted freely. CONSTITUTION:A canned commodity 5 ejected from a commodity housing section is sent to a top-opened induction heating coil 9 provided in a chuter 7 through a tiltable commodity chuter 7 or fixed chuter 6. Then the heated commodity 5 is sent to a commodity taking-out port by the downward tilting of the chuter 7. When such constitution is used, mischief, electric shocks, and burns can be prevented and the safety of this vending machine can be improved. At the same time, canned commodities can be delivered to the heating device and ejected to the commodity taking-out port smoothly.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for heating a product containing a beverage such as coffee or tea in a can (hereinafter referred to as "canned product J") in a machine during a sales operation. This invention relates to a hot product vending machine that sells hot products.

[Conventional technology]

The hot product vending machine mentioned above is equipped with a product heating device in the form of a cylindrical induction heating coil adjacent to the product outlet, and cans stored at room temperature or refrigerated temperature can be stored in the product storage area. It is already known that in the process of transporting the canned product toward the product removal port, the product is first introduced into an induction heating coil and heated to the selling temperature, and then the canned product is removed from the induction heating coil and sent to the product removal port. be.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, the configuration in which the product heating device is disposed adjacent to the product take-out port as described above has a drawback such as an overload.

(1) Since the product heating device is installed near the product take-out port, it is easy to be tampered with by inserting your hand through the product take-out port, and there is a risk of burns or electric shock if your hands touch the product heating device when it is heated. There are still safety issues, such as:

(2) Since the product heating device is located near the product take-out port, the product delivery route from the product storage area to the product heating device is long, and since it is composed of a cylindrical induction heating coil, it is difficult to leave it as it is. In this case, the transferred posture of the canned product taken out from the product storage section is disturbed while it reaches the induction heating coil, and the product is not properly thrown into the induction heating coil, so it is necessary to take special means for controlling the product posture.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and by skillfully utilizing a chute for transporting canned products discharged from a product storage section toward a product takeout port, and disposing a product heating device here, This is a hot product that improves safety by preventing mischief, electric shocks, and burns, and enables smooth receiving, handing, and unloading of canned products to a product heating device without the need for special product posture control. The purpose is to provide vending machines.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, in the vending machine of the present invention, a saddle-shaped induction heating coil with an open top that receives and heats canned products is installed below the product storage part. It is mounted on a tilting type product delivery chute that has been installed, and the chute is normally held in an upward position to guide the canned product discharged from the product storage section to the induction heating coil, and after heating, the chute is tilted to a downward position to release the product. shall be configured so that it is sent from the induction heating coil to the product removal port.

[Effect]

In the above configuration, the saddle-shaped induction heating coil is mounted with its open side facing upward in a recess formed near the tilting fulcrum of the swinging chute, and the chute is tilted upward or downward by a tilting drive unit such as a solenoid. Tilt operation is performed.

On the other hand, at all times, including when the product is on standby for sale and when the product is being heated, the tiltable product ejecting chute is held in an upward position, and the chute itself blocks the product path leading to the product ejection port. Therefore, even if a hand or the like is inserted into the machine through the product outlet, the chute itself functions as a baffle plate, and the induction heating coil cannot be directly touched from outside the machine.

Additionally, when a can product is dispensed from the product storage section while the chute is held in an upward position, the can product falls onto the tilting chute, lands on the chute, moves down the slope of the chute, and enters the induction heating coil. Depressed and accepted. When the induction heating coil is energized for a predetermined period of time under timer control, the canned product is heated from the storage temperature in the refrigerator (for example, room temperature, refrigerated temperature) to the sales temperature (about 60'C). Furthermore, when the tilting chute is tilted downward after induction heating, the canned product received in the induction heating coil rolls out of the induction heating coil due to its own weight, rolls on the chute, and is sent out toward the product outlet. Ru.

In other words, the tilting type product delivery chute not only has the original function of sending the products taken out from the product storage section toward the product takeout port, but also prevents mischief while waiting for sales, and can It also functions as a guide to guide the product to the induction heating coil.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the entire vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the tilting type product delivery chute in FIG. 1.

In the figure, 1 is a cabinet of the vending machine, 2 is its front door, 3 is a product outlet opening in the front door 2, 4 is a serpentine product storage area consisting of multiple columns housed in the cabinet 1, and 5 is a canned product. Note that the canned product 5 is stored in the machine at a low temperature, room temperature, or in a preheated state.

With this configuration, a product delivery chute is provided below the product storage section 4 in the machine for rollingly delivering the canned product 5 taken out from the product storage section toward the product takeout port 3. This product delivery chute consists of a fixed chute 6 installed at the back of the machine and a tilting chute 7 connected to the front of the fixed chute 6. Here, the tilting shooter 7 rotates around the tilting fulcrum 7a at the rear end of the tilting drive unit 8.
The tilting operation is performed by driving between an upward position shown by a solid line and a downward position shown by a chain line. Further, a recess 7b is formed in the vicinity of the tilting fulcrum 7a in the chute 7, and a saddle-shaped induction heating coil 9 (this saddle-shaped induction heating coil (proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-170149 by the same applicant) is mounted with its open side facing upward. In addition, 1
0 is a high frequency source device of the induction heating coil 9. Also,
As shown in FIG. 2, the above-mentioned tilting drive section 8 is composed of a combination of, for example, an electromagnetic solenoid 8a, a link 8b, and a return spring 8C, and the shooter 7 is tilted upward or downward under excitation control of the solenoid 8a. Be manipulated.

Next, the heating and unloading operations of the canned product 5 with the above configuration will be explained. First, in the sales standby state, the tilting shooter 7
is held in the upward position shown by the solid line in the figure. In this state, the chute 7 itself blocks the product delivery path inside the machine leading to the product takeout port 3, and even if you insert your hand or the like from outside the machine through the product takeout port 3, the chute 7 becomes an obstacle and the induction heating coil 9 On the other hand, when a canned product 5 is dispensed from the product storage section 4 by a sales command in this state, the product carried out from the rear column is placed in the fixed chute 6. landed on top,
The induction heating coil 9 rolls on the chute while it is in an inverted position.
He is depressed and accepted.

On the other hand, the canned goods carried out from the front column land on the tilting chute 7, are transferred along the inclined surface of this chute, and are received by the induction heating coil 9. In this case, the top surface of the induction heating coil 9 is open, and the canned goods 5 rolling on the inclined surface of the chute 6 or 7 will surely fall into the induction heating coil 9 and be received without the need for special posture control. be done.

On the other hand, when the canned product 5 is received by the induction heating coil 9, it is detected by a non-contact sensor (not shown), and based on this, the induction heating coil 9 receives power from the high frequency power supply 10 through timer control or the like. It is energized for a predetermined period of time and induction heats the canned product 5 to a suitable sales temperature as a hot product. Note that the principle of induction heating is well known and its explanation will be omitted here.

When this heating operation is completed, the tilting chute 7 is tilted from the upward position (actual 4 m) to the downward position (chain line) by driving the drive unit 8. As a result, the induction heating coil 9 also moves with the chute 7. Together, lean forward into a posture.
Therefore, the canned product 5 that has been received and held by the induction heating coil 9 until now is now held by the induction heating coil 9 as shown by the chain line.
The product rolls out, moves along the inclined surface of the chute 7, and is delivered to the product outlet 3.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the hot product vending machine according to the present invention is configured as described above, it exhibits an advantageous effect.

(+) The tiltable product delivery chute is always held in an upward position, including when it is on standby and when the product is being heated, and the chute itself blocks the product delivery path inside the machine that leads to the product ejection port. Even if you insert your hand from outside the machine, it will not directly touch the induction heating coil or be tampered with, so there is no risk of getting burned or electrocuted by touching the heating coil.

(2) In addition to its original product delivery function, the Ill mobile product delivery chute also functions as a guide to guide canned products discharged from the product storage section to the induction heating coil.

Therefore, no special posture control means is required, and the received light of the dispensed product can be transferred to the induction heating coil and the product can be smoothly carried out to the product takeout port with a simple mechanism.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a hot product vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the swinging product delivery chute in Fig. 1. In Fig. 6, 1: Cabinet of the vending machine. , 3: Product outlet, 4:
Product storage section, 5: Canned products, 7: 1-driven product delivery chute, 9: Open-top induction heating coil.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A product heating device will be installed along the product delivery route inside the aircraft.
In a hot product vending machine, the canned product discharged from the product storage section in response to a sales command is guided to a product heating device to be heated, and then transported to the product takeout port, with the top surface for receiving and heating the canned product open. A saddle-shaped induction heating coil is mounted on a tilting product delivery chute located below the product storage section, and the chute is normally held in an upward position to guide the canned products discharged from the product storage section to the induction heating coil. A hot product vending machine characterized in that after heating, the chute is tilted in a downward position to send the product from an induction heating coil to a product outlet.