JPH06266944A - Energy saving controller for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To save energy for cooling/heating operations at an automatic vending machine which preserves articles inside while cooling or heating them for sale. CONSTITUTION:A cooling/heating control part 3 heats the inside of a heating object through heaters 5 and cools the inside of a cooling object through an electric compressor 4. Then, respective inside temperatures are controlled to respectively designated temperatures. On the other hand, a main control part 2 detects the illuminance of sunlight through an illuminance sensor 1 and when the detected illuminance is higher than a first reference value, the main control part regards it is hot and sends a command to the cooling/heating control part 3 so that the inside temperature of the heating object can be shifted lower than the normally set temperature. On the other hand, when the detected illuminance is lower than a second reference value lower than the first reference value, the main control part regards it is cold and sends a command to the cooling/heating control part 3 so that the inside temperature of the cooling object can be shifted higher than the normally set temperature.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention controls an energy saving (abbreviated as energy saving) by changing the temperature of cooling / heating inside a vending machine (abbreviated as vending machine) according to the illuminance of sunlight. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a vending machine that cools or heats goods in a plurality of refrigerators and stores them for sale, the set temperature in each refrigerator for cooling and heating control is constant on a sunny day or a rainy day. It was

[0003]

By the way, since it is generally hot on a sunny day, products that are well cooled are preferred, and products that are heated and sold (hot products) need not be heated too much. Also, it's generally cool on a rainy day, so I like products that are well warmed,
Products that are cooled and sold (cold products) do not need to be cooled too much.

However, as described above, the conventional vending machines sell the over-heated hot products on sunny days and sell them on rainy days because the set temperatures for heating or cooling the interior of the vending machine are constant irrespective of the weather. Since they sell cold products that are too cold, they all waste energy.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an energy-saving control device for a vending machine that can solve this problem.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an energy-saving control device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a means for heating the inside of a refrigerator to a predetermined set temperature (heater 5, cooling / heating control section 3, etc.). ), The vending machine which stores the goods in the store and sells them, means for detecting the illuminance of sunlight (illuminance sensor 1 and the like), and when the detected illuminance is higher than a reference value, It is provided with means for shifting the set temperature in the refrigerator downward (main controller 2, cooling / heating controller 3, etc.).

Further, the energy-saving control device of claim 2 is provided with means for cooling the inside of the refrigerator to a predetermined set temperature (electric compressor 4, cooling / heating control section 3, etc.), and stores the goods in this refrigerator. In an automatic vending machine to be sold for sale, means for detecting the illuminance of sunlight (illuminance sensor 1 and the like), and means for upwardly shifting the set temperature in the refrigerator when the detected illuminance is lower than a reference value ( The main control unit 2, the cooling / heating control unit 3, etc.) are provided.

[0007]

When the illuminance of the sunlight is provided, if the detected illuminance is equal to or higher than the first reference value, it is considered to be hot and the set temperature in the chamber to be heated is shifted downward so that the detected illuminance is the first. If it is less than or equal to the second reference value that is lower than the reference value of, the set temperature in the refrigerator to be cooled is shifted upward to save energy.

[0008]

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 5 is a heater provided in each interior of the vending machine to be heated, 4 is an electric compressor for sending refrigerant to an evaporator (cooler) not shown provided in each interior of the cooling target, 3 Turns on the heater 5 and the electric compressor 4 while detecting the temperature inside each vending machine by a temperature sensor (not shown) so that the inside of each vending machine becomes a set temperature.
This is a cooling / heating control unit that performs ON / OFF control.

Next, 1 is an illuminance sensor for detecting the illuminance of sunlight, 2 is a value detected by the illuminance sensor 1, and
It is a main control unit that gives the set temperature change information to the heating control unit 3. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the main control unit 2 of FIG. 1, and S1 to S4 show the steps. Referring to FIG. 2, the main control unit 2 detects the illuminance of sunlight through the illuminance sensor 1 (S1) and determines whether the illuminance is equal to or higher than a first reference value (in other words, whether it is fine or not). Yes (S2). If the illuminance is equal to or higher than the first reference value (branch Y), the cooling / heating control unit 3 is instructed to lower the preset temperature in the chamber to be heated by a preset value from the preset preset temperature. Send and shift the temperature in the storage to the lower side (S2
A).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that the illuminance is not equal to or higher than the first reference value (branch N), whether the illuminance is equal to or lower than the second reference value lower than the first reference value (in other words, cloudy or rainy). (Or night) or not (S3). If the illuminance is equal to or lower than the second reference value (branch Y), the cooling / heating control unit 3 is instructed to increase the set temperature in the refrigerator to be cooled from the preset normal set temperature by a predetermined value. Send,
The temperature in the relevant compartment is shifted to the higher side (S3A).
On the other hand, if the illuminance is not equal to or less than the second reference value in step S3 (branch N), a command is sent to the cooling / heating control unit 3 to set the preset temperature in each chamber to a preset normal preset temperature, Avoid the above-mentioned shift of the temperature in each compartment.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the illuminance of sunlight is detected,
If the detected illuminance is equal to or higher than the first reference value, it is considered to be hot and the set temperature of the interior of the heating target is shifted to the lower side, and the detected illuminance is equal to or lower than the second reference value which is lower than the first reference value. In that case, since it is considered to be cool, the set temperature inside the refrigerator to be cooled is shifted to the higher side, so that more energy saving of the vending machine can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Illuminance sensor 2 Main control unit 3 Cooling / heating control unit 4 Electric compressor 5 Heater

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An automatic vending machine which is provided with means for heating the inside of a storehouse to a predetermined set temperature and which stores and sells products in the storehouse, and means for detecting the illuminance of sunlight and this detected An energy-saving control device for a vending machine, comprising: a unit that shifts the set temperature in the refrigerator downward when the illuminance is higher than a reference value. 2. An automatic vending machine which is provided with means for cooling the inside of a storehouse to a predetermined set temperature and which stores and sells products in the storehouse, and means for detecting the illuminance of sunlight and the detected An energy-saving control device for a vending machine, comprising means for upwardly shifting the set temperature in the refrigerator when the illuminance is lower than a reference value.