JPH0729061A - Canned commodity heating device for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a canned commodity heating device which detects information about the temperature of the commodity, the capacity of a can and the material of a can vessel required for control at the time of induction-heating a sold commodity on the way of a carrying-out path be forehand at a carrying-out standby position in a commodity storage part, and heats the canned commodity up to the proper temperature of a hot commodity by energizing-controlling an induction heating coil based on the information at the time of selling operation. CONSTITUTION:In the induction heating type canned commodity heating device which heats the canned commodity 6 up to the proper temperature of hot sale by energizing the induction heating coil 7 after conducting the canned commodity 6 from a commodity rack 2 to the induction heating coil 7 installed on the way of the carrying-out path connected to a commodity take-out port, a weight sensor 11, a temperature sensor 12 and a magnetic sensor 13 are incorporated at a position opposed to the canned commodity 6A to be sold next time standing by at the carrying-out position of the commodity rack 2, and the temperature of the commodity, the capacity of the can and the material of the can vessel are detected at the this position, and simultaneously, a control part 14 determines necessary induction heating time, etc., based on this information, and controls the energization of the induction heating coil 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is applied to a vending machine for canned products such as canned coffee and heats a canned product carried out from a product storage section to an appropriate temperature for hot sale on the way of a carry-out route leading to a product take-out port. The present invention relates to a can product heating device for a vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A can product carried out from a product storage section of a vending machine is guided to an induction heating type product heating device arranged in a product outlet, and the can product is quickly brought to a hot selling temperature before being taken out from the product outlet. A can product heating device for an automatic vending machine, which is heated to be sold as a hot product, is known in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-100791.

Further, the induction heating coil of such a product heating device is installed in the middle of a product transport path leading from the carry-out end of the product storage section to the product take-out port, and the can product moved to this transport path is subjected to the induction heating coil. The same applicant as the present invention has proposed a Japanese Patent Application No. 4-220541, in which the can product is sent to the product outlet after being guided into the container and induction heated.

In the conventional vending machine, when a can product is sold as a hot product, the can product does not deteriorate at room temperature or in a beverage in a product storage unit installed in a product storage separate from the cold room. Preheat to about 30 ℃ and store it (the quality of the beverage inside the can deteriorates if the can product is stored in a high temperature state), and guide the product taken out from the product storage unit at the time of sale to the induction heating device. It should be heated quickly.

[0005]

By the way, while the optimum temperature for selling hot products is around 60 ° C., the types of can products sold by vending machines are diverse and have different can capacities. Some products are sold as cold products such as carbonated soft drinks (Steel cans are used for coffee, whereas aluminum cans are generally used for carbonated drinks can products). Therefore, when heating the product carried out from the product storage unit at the time of sale, the following control is required for the product heating device.

(1) The temperature inside the product and the product temperature are not constant as compared with the steady state immediately after replenishing the product storage unit with a new product from the outside (for example, when the outside temperature is low like in winter, the product temperature is low). The product temperature is lower than the preheating temperature (30 ° C) for a while immediately after replenishing the product storage section)
Therefore, it is necessary to control the induction heating time according to the product temperature of the can product when the product is sold.

(2) In addition, in order to heat can products having different can capacities to a temperature suitable for sale, it is necessary to control the induction heating time according to the contents of the can products. (3) When a can product with an aluminum can, such as a carbonated drink, is heated, carbon dioxide gas in the can expands and the internal pressure rises excessively, which may cause the aluminum can to burst. Therefore, if aluminum canned products (carbonated beverages) are mixed with other steel canned products due to incorrect input when replenishing products, as a measure to prevent can rupture, the product outlet as it is without performing induction heating at the time of sale. It is necessary to send it to and sell it.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides information on the product temperature, the can capacity, and the material of the can container necessary for controlling the induction heating of the sold product on the way of the carry-out route. Detected in advance at the carry-out standby position in the storage unit,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel can product heating device that heats a can product to an appropriate temperature for hot sale by controlling energization of an induction heating coil based on the above information during a sales operation.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows. (1) Product temperature detection means for measuring the temperature of the next-sales can product waiting at the carry-out position of the product storage section, and the product discharge by determining the required induction heating time of the can product based on the detection signal of the means. A control means is provided for controlling energization of the induction heating coil installed on the way of the path. As the above-mentioned product temperature detecting means, a temperature sensor is incorporated at a position facing a can product for next sale which stands by at the carry-out position of the product storage section.

(2) Can capacity detection means for measuring the internal capacity of the next-sales can product waiting at the carry-out position of the product storage section, and the required induction heating time of the can product based on the detection signal of the can capacity detection means. A control means is provided for controlling energization of the induction heating coil which is determined and installed on the way of the product discharge route. As the can capacity detecting means, a weight sensor is incorporated in a product stopper of a product dispensing mechanism which is installed at the carry-out end of the product storage unit and holds a can product for the next sale at the sale standby position.

(3) Material determining means for detecting the can material of the next-sales can product waiting at the carry-out position of the product storage section, and when the can product is an aluminum can based on the determination result of the means. A control means is provided for stopping energization of the induction heating coil installed on the way of the product discharge route. Then, as the material determining means, a magnetic sensor is incorporated at a position facing a can product standing by at the carry-out position of the product storage section.

[0012]

In the above structure, the temperature sensor, the weight sensor, and the magnetic sensor are incorporated in the carry-out end of each product storage unit, for example, each column of the serpentine type product rack. On the other hand, at the time of waiting for sale, the next-sale products lined up in the front row among the canned products stored in the product rack in a line in the upper and lower rows are held by the product delivery mechanism and held at the carry-out position.

In this product storage state, various kinds of information about products to be sold next time are detected as follows. First, the product temperature of the can product is accurately detected by a temperature sensor (such as a thermistor) that comes into contact with the can container of the product at the carry-out standby position.
Also, the can capacity for one product is detected by a weight sensor incorporated in the stopper of the product dispensing mechanism. Here, the product load applied to the weight sensor is proportional to the number of product inventories stacked in the column of the product rack. Therefore, by counting the number of product inventories with another counting means as the sales progress, The weight per product, that is, the can capacity can be easily obtained. Further, the magnetic sensor determines whether the material of the can container is a steel can or an aluminum can.

When a hot product sales command is given, the control unit controls the induction heating coil necessary to heat the can product to a temperature suitable for sale based on the information obtained through the sensors of the selected columns. While determining the energizing time,
When the canned product carried out from the product storage section is carried into the induction heating coil on the way of the carrying-out route, the induction heating coil is energized and controlled according to the energization time determined above, and the canned product is taken after the induction heating. Send to the exit. In this case, the induction heating coil is energized only when the next can product is judged to be a steel can, and when the can product is judged to be an aluminum can (carbonated beverage), induction heating is performed. In order to avoid the rupture of the aluminum can due to the above, the can product delivered from the product storage unit is sent to the product outlet as it is without energizing the induction heating coil.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of an entire vending machine equipped with an induction heating device. In the figure, 1 is a vending machine cabinet, 2 is a serpentine-type product rack (product storage unit) installed in the cabinet 1 cabinet, and 3 is a product installed in the middle position of the front outer door of the cabinet 1. The take-out port 4 is the carry-out end of the product rack 2 and the product take-out port 3
A belt conveyor type product transport mechanism 5 laid in the machine in a linked manner with and is an induction heating type product heating device installed in a carry-out passage between the end of the transport mechanism 4 and the product outlet 3. With this configuration, when a hot product sales command is given, the can product 6 is dropped out of the selected product rack 2 and is subsequently lifted up and transferred by the transfer mechanism 4 to the inside of the product heating device 5 from its end. When the product is heated to an appropriate temperature for sale, the outlet gate (not shown) of the product heating device 5 is opened and the product is delivered to the product outlet 3.

Next, FIG. 1 shows the commodity heating apparatus and its control system. First, as the product heating device 5, an induction heating coil 7 in which a coil conductor is wound in a saddle shape in a product unloading path.
Is connected to the high frequency power source 8 and is provided. On the other hand, the product stopper 9a of the product dispensing mechanism 9 installed at the exit end of the product rack (serpentine type product rack) (the products 6 are carried on the product stopper in a line in the vertical direction),
Also, the product guide plate 10 facing the product delivery mechanism 9 across the product passage faces the weight sensor 11, which faces the next sale product 6A waiting at the carry-out position as shown in the drawing.
A temperature sensor 12 and a magnetic sensor 13 are incorporated. Each sensor 11-13 is combined with a control unit (microcomputer) 14 to form an energization control system for the induction heating coil 7. In addition, 14a is a heating time determining means for obtaining an induction heating time required for heating the can product to a proper selling temperature based on the detection signals from the temperature sensor and the weight sensor, and 14b is a timer.

With such a structure, the next-sale products 6A lined up at the bottom of the product rack 2 are placed on the product stopper 9a of the product dispensing mechanism 9 and are retained and retained at the carry-out standby position.
At the standby position, information such as the product temperature, the can capacity, and the material of the can container regarding the product 6A to be sold next time is detected by the above-mentioned respective controls 11 to 13. That is, the product temperature of the can product 6A is measured by the temperature sensor 12 such as a thermistor that contacts the can container, and the magnetic sensor 13 determines whether the can container 6A is a steel can or an aluminum can (non-magnetic). judge. Furthermore, the can capacity of the can product 6, that is, the weight of one can is measured as follows. That is, the weight sensor 11 attached to the product stopper 9a of the product dispensing mechanism 9 has the total weight of the canned products 6 stored in the product rack 2 arranged in a line in the upper and lower rows (the product load applied to the weight sensor 11 is within the product rack). It is confirmed from the experimental results that it is almost proportional to the remaining number of canned products lined up in). Therefore, if the remaining number of the canned products 6 stored in the product rack 2 is N, the can capacity of the canned product (weight per canned product) is V, and the product load detected by the weight sensor 11 is M, M is a functional formula M =
It is represented by f (V, N). Here, the remaining capacity N of the can product 6 is counted by another counting means (the remaining capacity is obtained by subtracting the number of stocks put into the product rack 2 at the time of product replenishment for each sale) to determine the can capacity V as a function. Formula V = f (N,
It can be easily obtained from M).

Next, the actual product selling operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when a hot product sales command is given, each of the above-mentioned sensors 11 to 1 is
Various information about the next sale product 6A obtained in 3 is controlled by the control unit 1
4, the heating time determination means 14a calculates and determines the induction heating time required for heating to the appropriate temperature for sales (60 ° C.) as a hot product based on the following heating characteristics. That is, in FIG. 4, the input of the induction heating coil 7 (see FIG. 1) is 3
As KW, a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the induction heating time (second) and the can capacity (g) required to raise the can product 6 by 20 ° C., and FIG. 5 uses an induction heating coil with an input of 3 KW. It is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the rising temperature (° C deg) and the heating time when induction heating a can product having a can capacity of 190 g,
Both are obtained from the experimental results. On the other hand, as described with reference to FIG. 2, in the product rack 2, the product delivery mechanism 9 operates based on the sales instruction and the can product 6 that has been waiting at the delivery position.
When A is carried out and then carried into the induction heating coil 7 of the commodity heating device 5 by the carrying operation of the carrying mechanism 4, the control unit 1
The induction heating is started by giving an energization command to the high frequency power source 8 from 4, and when the previously determined induction heating time T elapses, the induction heating coil 7 is deenergized and the exit gate is further opened to produce the can product. It is sent to the outlet 3.

On the other hand, when it is determined by the magnetic sensor 13 that the next can product 6A to be sold is an aluminum can (product containing carbonated soft drink) at the carry-out standby position of the product storage unit, the induction heating cold 7 is energized. Without carrying out, the can product 6A carried out from the product rack 2 is transported inside the machine and sent to the product outlet 3 as it is. As a result, the trouble that the aluminum can bursts due to induction heating can be avoided.

[0020]

As described above, in the product heating apparatus of the present invention, various information such as product temperature, can capacity, can container material, etc. necessary for controlling induction heating of can products is stored in the product storage unit. The following effects can be obtained by directly detecting from the can product for next sale waiting at the carry-out position through various sensors such as a temperature sensor, a weight sensor, and a magnetic sensor incorporated in.

(1) Since the canned products lined up in the front row in the product storage unit are locked and held at a predetermined carry-out standby position by the product delivery mechanism, the various sensors described above are accommodated in the product storage unit corresponding to this position. By incorporating it, the product temperature of the next sale product, the can capacity, and the material of the can container (steel can,
The type of aluminum can) can be accurately detected and determined. (2) Various information such as the product temperature, can capacity, and container material for the next product to be sold will be known in the standby state, and at the time of sales, the induction heating time required before the can product reaches the heating device based on this information. Can be determined. This point,
If various sensors are incorporated in the product heating device and various information about the can product is obtained after waiting for the product heating device, confirmation of the relative positioning of the can product and the sensor carried into the heating device, and The detection time of the product temperature is required, and the total sales operation time including the induction heating time is lengthened by that amount to make the customer wait, but the present invention can solve such a problem.

(3) Even when an aluminum can such as a carbonated drink is mixed with other steel cans due to an incorrect input at the time of product replenishment, the aluminum can is detected in advance at the carry-out standby position of the product storage unit, and the selling operation is performed. Since the product is sometimes delivered to the product outlet with the power supply to the product heating device stopped, the risk of rupturing the aluminum can due to induction heating can be reliably avoided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control system diagram of a commodity heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire vending machine equipped with the product heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a product sales operation according to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the capacity of canned products and the induction heating time.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the induction heating time and the rising temperature of can products.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Product rack 3 Product outlet 4 Product transport mechanism 5 Induction heating type product heating device 6 Can product 6A Next sale product 7 Induction heating coil 8 High frequency power supply 9 Product delivery mechanism 9a Product stopper 11 Weight sensor 12 Temperature sensor 13 Magnetic sensor 14 Control Department

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshihisa Furuta 1-1, Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A can product delivered from a product storage unit of a vending machine is guided to an induction heating coil installed on the way of a delivery route leading to a product outlet, and the induction heating coil is energized to deliver the can product. In an induction heating type can product heating device that heats to an appropriate temperature for hot selling, a product temperature detecting means for measuring the product temperature of the next selling can product waiting at the carry-out position of the product storage section,
A can product heating device for a vending machine, comprising control means for determining a required induction heating time for a can product based on a detection signal of the means and controlling energization of an induction heating coil. 2. The can product heating device according to claim 1,
A can product heating device for a vending machine, wherein the product temperature detecting means is a temperature sensor incorporated in a position facing a can product to be sold next time which stands by at the carry-out position of the product storage section. 3. A can product delivered from a product storage section of a vending machine is guided to an induction heating coil installed on the way of a delivery path leading to a product outlet, and the induction heating coil is energized to deliver the can product. In an induction heating type can product heating device that heats to an appropriate temperature for hot sale, a can capacity detection unit that measures the inner capacity of the next can product that is waiting at the carry-out position of the product storage unit, and a detection signal of the unit. A can product heating device for a vending machine, which is provided with control means for determining a required induction heating time for the can product based on the above, and for controlling energization of the induction heating coil. 4. The can product heating device according to claim 3,
In the vending machine, the can capacity detecting means is a weight sensor installed at the carry-out end of the product storage unit and incorporated in the product stopper of the product dispensing mechanism that holds the next-sales can product in the standby position. Can product heating device. 5. The can product carried out from the product storage section of the vending machine is guided to an induction heating coil installed on the way of the carry-out route leading to the product outlet, and the induction heating coil is energized to carry the can product. In an induction heating type can product heating device that heats to an appropriate temperature for hot sale, the material determination means for detecting the can material of the next sale can product waiting at the carry-out position of the product storage part, and the determination result of the means A can product heating device for a vending machine, which is provided with a control means for stopping the power supply to the induction heating coil when the can product is an aluminum can. 6. The can product heating device according to claim 5,
A can product heating device for a vending machine, wherein the material determining means is a magnetic sensor incorporated in a portion facing a can product waiting at the carry-out position of the product storage section.