JPH04267498A - Cooling and heating control device for vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent merchandise from becoming warm when a refrigerator and a heater of a can beverage vending machine are forcedly stopped for a fixed time as an electric power peak measure in the summer season. CONSTITUTION:A control port 1 performs the on-off control of a refrigerator 4 and a heater 5 with an electronic thermostat 2 based on the set temperature inputted from a keyboard 3, and from before the fixed time of a time zone to stop these forcedly, the temperature is controlled at the set temperature lower (cooled merchandise) than and higher (heated merchandise) than the set temperature at the time of the regular operation and in preparation for the forced stop, the temperature of the merchandise is made higher or lower. Thus, even when the merchandise temperature rises or reduces more or less during the forced stop, the merchandise can be sold at the temperature equal to the normal time.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to a vending machine that cools or heats and sells canned beverages, etc., and forcibly stops the refrigerator or heater only during a certain period of time.
This invention relates to a cooling/heating control device that maintains product temperature during forced stop periods.

0002

[Conventional technology] Vending machines with built-in refrigerators and heaters forcibly stop the refrigerators and heaters at preset times to reduce power consumption as a measure against peak power consumption during the summer. There is something designed to do this. In that case, conventionally, control is performed to simply stop the electricity supply to the refrigerator or heater during that time period.

0003

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, if the refrigerator or heater is forcibly stopped for a certain period of time, there is a risk that the temperature inside the product storage room will deviate from the temperature range necessary to maintain the product temperature during that time. will cause inconvenience to customers by selling lukewarm products. The purpose of this invention is to provide a cooling/heating control device for a vending machine that prevents problems in maintaining product temperature even when the refrigerator or heater is forcibly stopped as a power countermeasure. be.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides means for setting a preset temperature that is lower or higher than the set temperature during normal operation by a certain temperature range, and A means is provided for controlling the temperature in the product storage chamber using this preset temperature at a certain time before the time period in which the product storage chamber is to be forcibly stopped.

[0005] The preset temperature is set lower than the set temperature during normal operation when cooling the product, and higher when heating the product. The thermostat that controls the temperature inside the product storage room is an electronic thermostat (hereinafter referred to as "electronic thermostat") that can be freely set. It is best to input the settings into the memory of

[0006]

[Operation] In this invention, before forcibly stopping the refrigerator or heater, the product is set at a preset temperature that is lower for cooling and higher for heating by a certain temperature range than the set temperature during normal operation. The temperature in the storage room is controlled to keep the products moderately supercooled or superheated. This allows, for example, 1
If the forced stop time is about an hour, the temperature of the product will not become lukewarm. Then, once the forced stop time period has passed, temperature control is performed again at the normal set temperature.

[0007]

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention in a canned beverage vending machine that sells products by cooling and heating will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a block diagram of the control device, in which 1 is a control unit consisting of a microcomputer that controls the entire vending machine, 2 is an electronic thermometer installed in the product storage room, and 3 is various types of data stored in the memory in the control unit 1. 4 is a refrigerator (MC) that supplies refrigerant to the evaporator in the product storage room, and 5 is a heater installed in the product storage room.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the control device. First, before starting up the vending machine, use the keyboard 3 to set the preset temperature of the product storage room during normal operation, as well as the preliminary settings that are a certain temperature range (2°C) lower for chilled products and higher for heated products. A temperature is set and input (step S1). Next, the start time and end time of the time period in which the operation of the refrigerator 4 and the heater 5 are to be forcibly stopped, and the time a certain period of time (for example, 1 hour) before the start time are set and input using the keyboard 3 ( Step S2).

Therefore, when the vending machine starts operating, the control section 1 constantly compares the time measured by the built-in clock means with the above-mentioned time set in the memory, and forcibly stops the refrigerator 4 and heater 5. It is checked whether it is one hour before the time (step S3). Then, until that time, the refrigerator 4 is
And the heater 5 is controlled to be turned on and off (step S4). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that it is one hour before the forced stop time of the refrigerator 4 and heater 5, the
Temperature control is performed using preliminary set temperatures of low (cooled products) and high (heated products) temperatures. Then, it is checked whether the start time of the forced stop time zone has arrived (step S6), and if so, the refrigerator 4 and heater 5 are forcibly stopped (step S7).

As described above, in the embodiment, the temperature in the product storage chamber is controlled at a temperature 2° C. lower or higher than the normal set temperature for one hour prior to the forced stop of the refrigerator 4 and heater 5, and the product is kept at a temperature corresponding to that amount. Because it is supercooled or overheated,
Even if the product temperature rises or falls slightly during a forced stop, it is possible to sell products at a temperature comparable to that during normal operation.

[0011]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, it is possible to sell products at a temperature that will not dissatisfy customers even if the refrigerator and heater are forcibly stopped for a certain period of time, so it is possible to reduce power consumption with peace of mind even during peak power periods such as summer. can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Control section 2 Electronic thermostat 3 Keyboard 4 Refrigerator 5 Heater

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A vending machine that has a built-in refrigerator or heater, controls on/off of these to maintain a set temperature in a product storage chamber, and forcibly stops the refrigerator or heater only during a certain period of time. A means for setting a preliminary set temperature that is lower or higher than the set temperature of the product by a certain temperature range, and a means for setting the temperature in the product storage room using this preliminary set temperature at a certain time before the time period when the refrigerator or heater is to be forcibly stopped. 1. A control/heating control device for a vending machine, characterized by comprising a control means.