JPH05166054A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a vending machine which can cool or heat the commodities and also can prevent the deterioration of quality of the commodities together with reduction of the power consumption. CONSTITUTION:A sales history data storage means 17 stores the sales history data on the sales time, the sales column numbers, etc. A cooling/heating temperature deciding means 18 totalizes the time band-based sales data to calculate the sales rate of each commodity storing chamber in each time band and changes the set temperature in order to reduce the cooling or heating degree in the time band where a small number of sold commodities is estimated. The energization of a compressor 2 or a heater 4 is controlled based on each set temperature so that the power consumption is reduced. Furthermore the temperature changing range of commodities is reduced and the quality of commodities are never deteriorated since the drive of the compressor 2 or the heater 4 is never stopped.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine for selling products such as canned beverages in a cooled or heated state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an automatic vending machine for selling products such as canned beverages is provided with a product accommodating chamber for accommodating a large number of commodities in its main body, and a cool air is provided in the product accommodating chamber at its lower part. Alternatively, a machine room for supplying hot air is provided. A cooling cycle or a heater including a cooler, a compressor, etc. is provided in the machine chamber, and the generated cool air or hot air is configured to be sent to the product storage chamber by a fan device. It is designed to be cooled or heated to the approximate temperature.

[0003]

By the way, in this type of vending machine, the sales of the products may greatly differ depending on the installation place and the time zone. For example, vending machines installed at stations, parks, amusement parks, etc. do not sell any products at night, and those installed at companies, such as lunch breaks or breaks, have a time when the products can be sold. It is constant.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional vending machine, the cooling cycle and the heater are fully operated all day long. Therefore, for example, even when the product is not sold at all, the product can be cooled with high capacity or It was heating up and wasting power wastefully.

In this case, for example, at night when the product is hardly sold, it is conceivable to stop the operation of the cooling cycle and the heater to save power. However, when the cooling cycle or the heater is operated or stopped in this way, a large temperature change (up and down of temperature) of the product (beverage) is repeated, which deteriorates the quality of the product (beverage). There is a problem that it becomes.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to cool or heat a product, to save power, and to prevent quality deterioration of the product as much as possible. There is a vending machine that can do this.

[0007]

The vending machine according to the present invention comprises:
Cooling / heating means for cooling or heating the products contained in the main body, data collecting means for collecting the number of products sold by time zone and collecting sales data by time zone, and based on the sales data by time zone It is characterized in that it is provided with operation control means for controlling so as to reduce the degree of cooling or heating by the cooling / warming means during a time period when it is predicted that the number of products sold will be small.

In this case, it is effective to configure the operation control means so as to change the set temperature of the cooling and heating means based on the sales data for each time zone.

When the cooling / heating means is provided with a cooling cycle, the operation control means may be arranged to change the rotation speed of the compressor in the cooling cycle based on the sales data for each time period. good.

Further, when the cooling / warming means is provided with a heater, the operation control means may be configured to change the input power to the heater based on the sales data for each time period.

[0011]

According to the above means, the data collecting means collects the number of products sold for each time zone and collects the sales data for each time zone. This time-slot sales data makes it possible to predict when a product is often sold or when it is not sold at a location where a vending machine is installed.

Then, the operation control means, based on the sales data by time zone collected by the data collection means,
During the time period when it is predicted that the number of products sold will be small, the degree of cooling or heating by the cooling and heating means for cooling or heating the products is controlled so as to reduce the power consumption without human intervention. Useless waste can be suppressed. Further, since it reduces the degree of cooling or heating, it does not stop the driving of the cooling and heating means,
It does not cause a large temperature change of the product.

In this case, if the set temperature of the cooling / warming means is changed based on the sales data for each time period, it is possible to reduce the power consumption during the time period when the number of products sold is expected to be small. ..

Further, when the product is cooled by the cooling cycle, if the number of revolutions of the compressor in the cooling cycle is changed based on the sales data for each time zone, the number of products sold is predicted to be small. It is possible to reduce the number of times the compressor is started and stopped during the specified time period, and it is possible to reduce the power loss associated with the start and stop.

Further, when the product is heated by the heater, if the input power to the heater is changed based on the sales data for each time zone, it is predicted that the number of products sold is also small. It is possible to reduce the power consumption during the specified time period.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In addition, this embodiment is claimed in claim 2.
It corresponds to. First, although not shown in detail, the structure of an automatic vending machine for selling canned beverages will be briefly described.

The main body of the vending machine has a rectangular box shape, and has a commodity storage chamber in the upper part and a machine chamber in the lower part. For example, four product-accommodating chambers are provided side by side in the main body, and each product-accommodating chamber is provided with four or eight columns. For example, products such as canned beverages are designed to be stored in a large number for each type in each of the columns, and at the lower end of each column,
A bend mechanism 1 (see FIG. 1) for discharging the products one by one is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cooling cycle including a cooler and a compressor 2 for cooling the products by supplying cold air to each of the four product storage chambers in the machine room. And a fan device 3 corresponding to each product storage chamber. Further, this machine room is provided with a heater 4 for supplying warm air to each of the product storage chambers to heat the products.

In this case, the fan unit 3 also serves as a supply of warm air, and by switching the damper, cold air is supplied to all the storage chambers in the summer, for example (hereinafter referred to as "cold specification"). In winter, two of the four product storage rooms are cold-designed, and hot air is supplied to the remaining two rooms (hereinafter referred to as "hot-designed"). Therefore, the cooling and heating means referred to in the present invention is constituted by the cooling cycle, the heater 4, the fan device 3 and the like.

On the other hand, a main door is provided on the front surface of the main body. As shown in part in FIG. 1, on the front side of the main door, there are provided a product sample display section, a coin slot, an amount indicator 5, a sales panel 6, a product outlet, and the like.
Among these, the sale panel 6 is configured to include a selection switch, a sellable lamp, a sold-out lamp, a lamp being sold, a change-out lamp, and the like.

Further, a main control box 7, a coin mechanism 8, a terminal control unit 9 and the like are provided on the back side of the main door, connected to each other by a serial data line 10. Of these, the main control box 7 includes a main control unit 11 including a microcomputer or the like for controlling each mechanism, and an operation panel 12 having a display and operation keys for the administrator of the vending machine to perform totaling and setting. Is configured.
The price display 5 and the sales panel 6 are connected to the main control box 7 and controlled. The main control box 7 has a clock function.

The terminal control section 9 controls the relay drive section 13. The relay drive unit 13 drives the bend mechanism 1 and the fluorescent lamp 14 provided in the product sample display unit and the like, and also drives the total counter 15, and further, the compressor 2, the heater 4 and the fan device. The cold temperature control unit 16 that performs the control No. 3 is driven.

In this case, when the product storage chamber is of cold specification, the compressor 2 and the fan device 3 are controlled to switch on and off so that the temperature in the product storage chamber reaches a predetermined set temperature, while When the storage chamber is of a hot specification, the heater 4 and the fan device 3 are controlled to be turned on and off so that the temperature inside the product storage chamber also reaches a predetermined set temperature.

The main control box 7 is further connected to a sales history data storage means 17 and a cooling / heating set temperature determining means 18. As will be described later in detail, the sales history data storage means 17 is configured to store data such as the time when a product is sold and its column number. Then, the cooling / heating set temperature changing means 18 totalizes the number of products sold by time zone based on the data stored in the sales history data storage means 17, and based on the time zone sales data. During a time period when it is predicted that the number of sold products will be small, the set temperature in the product storage chamber is changed to increase in the cold specification and decrease in the hot specification.

Therefore, the sales history data storage means 17 is provided.
Further, the cooling / heating set temperature determining means 18 functions as the data collecting means in the present invention, and the cooling / heating set temperature determining means 18, the main control box 7, the terminal control section 9, the relay drive section 13 and the cooling / cooling control section 16 are used. That is, the operation control means according to the present invention is configured.

Next, the operation of the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the procedure for collecting time-based sales data will be described. Sales history data storage means 17
Stores the sales history data as shown in FIG. 3 every time a product is sold. Incidentally, this FIG.
Is displayed in hexadecimal.

That is, first, when the power supply of the vending machine is turned on and the sale is started, the time is stored.
Now, when a coin is inserted by the purchaser, the coin mechanism 8 transmits data on the type and number of inserted coins to the main control unit 11, and the main control unit 11 displays the amount on the amount display 5. The display is turned on, and the sale possible lamp of the sale panel 6 is turned on. At the same time, the main control unit 11 writes the identification code A0 of the start of sale, and also writes the coin insertion time and the insertion amount into the sales history data storage means 17.
In the example of FIG. 3, coin insertion time is 1991 (hexadecimal "13" indicates 19 and "5B" indicates 91), August 5
It is 14:10 on the day. In addition, the amount of money inserted is 0 for 500 yen coins, 1 for 100 yen coins, 2 for 50 yen coins,
One 10-yen coin (210 yen in total).

When the purchaser looks at the product sample and selects a product and operates the corresponding selection switch, the main control unit 11 sends a data signal of the column number corresponding to the operated selection switch to the terminal control unit. Send to 9. Then, the terminal control unit 9 transmits a signal for turning on the relay corresponding to the column number to the relay drive unit 13, and the relay drive unit 13 drives the bend mechanism 1 to eject the selected product. . Also,
At the same time, the main control unit 11 subtracts the sales amount from the input amount and displays the remaining amount on the amount display 5, and if the return lever is operated, the coin mechanism 8 is driven to return the remaining amount.

At this time, the main control section 11 stores the sales column number (for example, 14th) in the sales history data storage means 17,
The sales amount (“64”, that is, 100 yen), the remaining amount, and the return amount are written in this order, and further, the sale end time and the sale end identification code A1 are written. Thus, the sales history data as shown in FIG. 3 is stored in the sales history data storage means 17. This data is created each time a product is sold and is stored in order.

When such sales history data is collected for, for example, two days, the cooling / heating set temperature determining means 18 aggregates the sales data for each time period and changes the set temperature. Be seen. As shown in FIG. 2, the time-series sales data is totaled by totaling, for each column, how many products are sold per hour over two days. It should be noted that FIG. 2 shows an example of totaling the number of sales in one column (first column) for August 5th and 6th. Also, in this case, since it is the summer season, all the product storage rooms are of cold specifications.

When such totaling is performed for all columns, next, the sales volume ratio by time zone is obtained for each of the commodity storage chambers composed of 4 or 8 columns. This sales volume ratio indicates what percentage of the total sales volume of the merchandise storage room for two days is the volume sold, and for example, the example (1
In the product storage room consisting of column # 8), as shown in the parentheses, it is required to be 1.7% from 0:00 to 1:00 and 0% from 1:00 to 2:00. Thereby, the trend of the number of products sold by time zone is obtained, and it is predicted that no products will be sold at 1 to 5 o'clock (from midnight to midnight), for example.

Finally, the shift temperature for each time zone is obtained from the obtained sales rate for each time zone. This shift temperature indicates how much the set temperature is to be corrected from the temperature preset by the administrator,
In the case of the cold specification, it shows how much the set temperature of each product storage chamber is raised from a preset temperature (for example, 3 ° C.). In this case, the shift temperature is set according to the sales volume ratio as shown in FIG. 4, for example, 10 degrees at 0 to 3% and 9 degrees at 3 to 5%. It is determined.

Thus, in the example of FIG. 2, the set temperature between 0 o'clock and 5 o'clock is 13 ° C. and the set temperature between 5 o'clock and 6 o'clock is 1.
During the time period when the number of products sold is expected to be small, such as 2 ° C., the cooling / heating set temperature determining means 18
The set temperature is automatically changed to be higher, so
The compressor 2 and the fan device 3 are controlled to be turned on and off so that the temperature inside the product storage chamber becomes the set temperature.
If the difference in set temperature between one time zone and the next time zone becomes too large, correction may be performed so that the difference becomes small. Even in the case of hot specifications, the set temperature can be reduced by the shift temperature in the same way.
The heater 4 and the fan device 3 are controlled based on that.

According to this embodiment, the cooling / heating set temperature determining means 18 sets the set temperature of the product accommodating chamber during the time period when the number of sold products is predicted to be small, and the set temperature during cold specification. It will be revised in the direction to raise it, and to lower it when using hot specifications. As a result, the degree of cooling or heating of merchandise is automatically reduced during times when it is predicted that the number of merchandise sold will be small, and wasteful power consumption is suppressed without human intervention. Power saving is achieved. Moreover, in this case, since the shift temperature is set according to the hourly sales rate, it is possible to finely change the temperature setting.

Further, in this case, since the degree of cooling or heating of the product is merely reduced and the drive of the compressor 2 or the heater 4 is not stopped, a large temperature change (up and down of temperature) of the product storage chamber. Is not repeated, and the temperature change of the product (beverage) is small. Therefore, the problem that the quality of the product is deteriorated does not occur.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
6 and FIG. It should be noted that this embodiment is claimed in claim 3.
And 4 are supported. In addition, here, the same parts as those of the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted, and only different points will be described below.

In the vending machine according to this embodiment, instead of changing the set temperature in the first embodiment, the cooling cycle (compressor 2) or the cooling or heating capacity of the heater 4 is changed. It is configured to control so as to reduce the degree of cooling or heating of the product (product storage chamber) during a time period when it is predicted that the number of products sold will be small.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the compressor 2 in the cooling cycle has a variable rotation speed by frequency control by the cooling capacity changing means 21 composed of an inverter device. Further, the heater 4 has a variable input voltage, in this case, an applied voltage, by the phase control by the heating capacity changing means 22.

The cooling capacity changing means 21 and the heating capacity changing means 22 receive a frequency command or a voltage command from the cooling / temperature control unit 16 and control the compressor 2 and the heater 4 by this. Further, in this case, the cold temperature control unit 16 is directly connected to the main control box 7 (main control unit 11) by the serial data line 23.

In this embodiment, cooling / heating capacity determining means 24 is provided in place of the cooling / heating set temperature determining means 18 in the first embodiment. As will be apparent from the description of the operation later, the cooling / heating capacity determination means 24 sets the rotation speed of the compressor 2 or the applied voltage of the heater 4 according to the sales volume ratio based on the sales data by time zone. To do so.

With this, the sales history data storage means 17, the cooling / heating capacity determining means 24, etc. function as the data collecting means of the present invention, and the cooling / heating capacity determining means 24, the main controller 11, The operation control means is composed of the cold temperature control unit 16, the cooling capacity changing means 21, the heating capacity changing means 22, and the like.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. The sales history data storage means 17 is the first
The sales history data is collected and stored in the same manner as in the above embodiment. When the sales history data is collected for two days, the cooling / heating capacity determining means 24 collects the sales data for each time zone and determines the cooling or heating capacity.

As shown in FIG. 6, also in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the sales data for each time zone is totaled,
For each product storage room, the sales volume ratio by time zone is required. In this case, if the product storage room is cold specification, the sales quantity for all product storage rooms that are cold specification. The rate is required. And
As shown in FIG. 6, the frequency of the drive current of the compressor 2 is determined according to this sales volume ratio. In this case 0
There is almost no sales from 7:00 to 5:00
z, the frequency is determined such that the cooling degree is lowered (the rotation speed of the compressor 2 is lowered) in a time zone in which the number of products sold is predicted to be small, such as 20 Hz between 5 am and 7 am. As a result, the compressor 2 is driven at that frequency.

Further, in the hot room type product storage room, the sales volume ratio for each time zone of each product storage room is obtained, and according to the sales volume ratio, as shown in FIG.
The voltage applied to the heater 4 is determined. In this case as well, the applied voltage is determined so that the degree of heating is lowered (the applied voltage is lowered) in a time zone in which the number of products sold is predicted to be small, such as 10 V from 0 am to 5 am. Therefore, the heater 4 is energized at the voltage value.

According to the present embodiment as described above, the cooling / heating capacity determining means 24 drives the compressor 2 at a low rotation speed during the cold specification during a time period when the number of products sold is expected to be small. become. As a result, similarly to the well-known air conditioner control, the number of times the compressor 2 is started and stopped can be reduced, and the power loss associated with the start and stop can be reduced. Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, it is possible to save power without manpower. Furthermore, since the temperature change of the product (beverage) does not have to be repeated repeatedly and the temperature change of the product storage room is not repeated repeatedly, the quality of the product may be deteriorated. Can also be prevented.

Further, even in the hot specification, the voltage applied to the heater 4 is reduced during the time period when the number of products sold is expected to be small, so that the power consumption can be reduced. Even in this case, there is no problem that the quality of the product deteriorates.

In each of the above embodiments, the sales history data storage means 17, the cooling / heating set temperature determining means 18, and the cooling / heating capacity determining means 24 are provided outside the main control box 7. These functions may be realized by the software and hardware configuration of the main control unit 11.

Alternatively, the time-series sales data may be collected by day of the week, weekly, or monthly, and the control may be changed by day of the week, weekly, or monthly. However, the present invention may be variously controlled within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention, such as fine control in a unit of several tens of minutes or rough control in a unit of several hours. Can be modified.

[0049]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the vending machine of the present invention, it is determined that the number of products sold is small based on the time-sale sales data in which the number of products sold by time is summarized. Since it is controlled so as to reduce the degree of cooling or heating by the cooling / warming means in the predicted time zone, it is possible to achieve power saving without human intervention,
Moreover, it has an excellent effect that the quality deterioration of the product can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of sales data by time zone, sales rate, and shift temperature.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of sales history data.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a sales volume ratio and a shift temperature.

FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of sales data by time zone, sales volume ratio, and cooling / heating capacity.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the drawing, 2 is a compressor, 3 is a fan device, 4 is a heater, 7 is a main control box, 9 is a terminal control unit, 10, 23.
Is a serial data line, 11 is a main control unit, 13 is a relay drive unit, 16 is a cooling / heating control unit, 17 is sales history data storage means, 18 is cooling / heating set temperature determining means, 21 is cooling capacity varying means, and 22 is A heating capacity varying means, 24 is a cooling / heating capacity determining means.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cooling and heating means for cooling or heating a product housed in the main body, a data collecting means for collecting the sales number of products by time zone and collecting sales data by time zone, and the time zone. An automatic vending machine comprising: an operation control unit that controls to reduce the degree of cooling or heating by the cooling and heating unit during a time period when it is predicted that the number of products sold will be small based on separate sales data. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the operation control means is configured to change the set temperature of the cooling / warming means based on the sales data by time zone. 3. The cooling and heating means is provided with a cooling cycle, and the operation control means is configured to change the rotation speed of the compressor of the cooling cycle based on sales data by time zone. The vending machine according to claim 1. 4. The cooling / warming means includes a heater, and the operation control means is configured to change the input power to the heater based on time-slot sales data. Vending machine described.