JPH08235425A - Operation controller for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve power saving in a peak time zone by setting a set temperature value lower than an upper limit value and higher than the set temperature value at the time of ordinary operation after turning on a tufned-off cooler when the temperature inside machine exceeds the upper limit value at the time of peak-cut operation. CONSTITUTION: When the present time is in an ordinary time zone, thermostat cycle control is performed while comparing the set temperature value inside machine with the temperature value detected by a temperature sensor 1. When the present time is out of the ordinary time zone but in a cooling time zone, thermocontrol is performed as the set temperature value. When the present time is out of the cooling time zone but in a peak time zone and the machine inside temperature at the time of peak-cut operation exceeds the upper limit value, a cooler 3 turned off up to the moment is turned on and afterwards, the set temperature value is set lower than the upper limit value and higher than the set temperature value at the time of ordinary operation. Thus, power saving in the peak time zone can be improve.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation control device for an automatic vending machine which cools or heats a product such as a canned beverage (hereinafter referred to as a can product if necessary) and sells the product.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vending machine of this type, power consumption is cut by forcibly turning off a cooler or a heater by timer control at a specific time zone during which power demand is concentrated during the day ( Is called peak cut operation). Further, prior to this peak cut operation, the set temperature of the cooler or heater is shifted from the normal set temperature to perform supercooling or overheating, so that heat is stored in preparation for the subsequent peak cut operation. (This is called peak shift operation).

Normally, the cooler and the heater are forcibly turned off during the peak cut operation. However, when the temperature inside the warehouse in which the products are stored reaches the upper limit value or the lower limit value, the operation method after that. The following two methods are possible. The temperature inside the refrigerator is controlled according to the temperature set value during normal operation. Even after the upper limit value or the lower limit value is reached, the cooler etc. is kept turned off.

[0004]

According to the method described above, at the time of peak cut, although it is desired to forcibly turn off the cooler and the heater to obtain a power saving effect, it is possible that the peak time is not reached. The chiller or the like is operated at the temperature set value in the normal time zone. Therefore, there is a problem that the cooling load or the heating load becomes large and the expected power reduction effect cannot be obtained. Further, in the method of (2), even if the internal temperature reaches the upper limit value or the lower limit value, no temperature control is performed, so the product temperature becomes too high or too low, and it is not possible to sell the product at the proper temperature. It was

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned various problems, and an object of the present invention is to enhance the power saving effect in the peak hours and to sell the products at a proper temperature. It is to provide an operation control device for a machine.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the invention is to control the cooling machine to be turned on / off by comparing the temperature of the inside of the refrigerator in which the products for sale are stored with a set value. An automatic vending machine that cools and sells products, which performs supercooling by peak shift operation before peak cut operation that turns off the cooler during peak hours of power demand. The temperature set value after turning on the cooler that was in the off state until the internal temperature exceeds the upper limit value is lower than the upper limit value and higher than the temperature set value during normal operation. is there.

A second aspect of the present invention is an automatic vending machine that heats and sells the product by comparing the temperature of the inside of the refrigerator storing the sold product with a set value and controlling the heater on / off. Prior to peak cut operation that turns off the heater during peak hours of power demand, vending machines that overheat by peak shift operation are in the off state until the temperature in the warehouse exceeds the lower limit during peak cut operation. The temperature setting value after turning on the existing heater is higher than the lower limit value and lower than the temperature setting value during normal operation.

[0008]

In the first or second aspect of the invention, the cooling load or the heating load during the peak cut operation can be made smaller than before, so that the power consumption can be reduced.
In addition, when the internal temperature exceeds the upper and lower limit values during the peak cut operation, cooling or heating is performed to some extent, so that it is possible to always provide a product that is kept near an appropriate temperature.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the first invention, and this embodiment is for the case of cooling operation of an automatic vending machine. In the figure, 1 is a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature inside the container in which can-type products are stored (which is approximately equal to the product temperature), and 6 is a timer for setting the time of peak shift operation or peak cut operation. The timer 6 also has a clock function.

Next, reference numeral 2 is a control unit which is a main part of the embodiment. The control unit 2 compares the temperature detection value of the temperature sensor 1 with each temperature set value during normal operation, peak shift operation, and peak cut operation to control ON / OFF of the cooler 3. The operation of the valve 4 such as a payout port and the internal fan 5 is controlled.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of the control unit 2 in this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a view showing changes in the internal cold storage temperature. The operation of the embodiment will be described below with reference to these drawings. It should be noted that the time zone during which the temperature inside the refrigerator is set to T ₁ is the normal time zone (the operation at that time is normal), and the time zone during which the temperature is T ₂ is the operation period (supercooling). In addition to the time zone (the operation at that time is the peak shift operation), when the internal temperature reaches the upper limit set value T ₄ , the temperature set value thereafter is set to T ₃ and the time zone during which the operation is performed is the peak time zone (that This operation is called peak cut operation. Here, there is a relationship of T ₂ <T ₁ <T ₃ <T ₄ .

In the above embodiment, in practice, a certain temperature range is set around the temperature set values T ₁ , T ₂ and T ₃ , and the cooler 3 is on / off controlled within that range. However, for the sake of convenience, it is assumed here that the temperature control is performed around the temperature set values T ₁ , T ₂ , and T ₃ without explicitly indicating the upper and lower limits of each temperature range.

In FIG. 2, it is first determined whether the current time is in the normal time zone, and if it is the normal time zone (S1
YES), the temperature sensor 1 temperature setpoint in the refrigerator as T ₁
The thermostat cycle control (hereinafter, simply referred to as "thermo control") is performed while comparing with the temperature detection value by S (S
2). If it is not the normal time zone in step S1 (S
1 NO), it is determined whether it is a cooling time zone.
Then, if the time zone narrowing cooled (S3 YES), performs the thermo control the temperature setpoint as T ₂ (S4).

If it is not the cooling time zone in step S3, that is, if it is the peak time zone (S3
NO), the inside temperature to determine if exceeds the temperature set point T ₄ limit. If it does not exceed (S5
NO), the cooler 3 is continuously turned off (S7). Further, when exceeding the temperature set point T ₄ is (S5 YES), lower than T _4, and performs the thermo control high T ₃ than T ₁ as a temperature setpoint (S6).

The flowchart of FIG. 2 is repeatedly executed at regular time intervals. If the peak time period is exceeded and the normal time period is resumed, the temperature control value T _{1 is} entered for thermo control (S1 YES, S2). As a result of the above-described control, the temporal change of the internal cold storage temperature becomes as shown in FIG. 3, for example.

According to this embodiment, when the temperature inside the refrigerator reaches the upper limit temperature set value T ₄ during the peak cut operation, the temperature set value T ₃ higher than the temperature set value T ₁ during the normal operation is used. Since the chiller is operated in, the cooling load can be reduced and the power consumption can be reduced as compared with the case where the temperature is controlled immediately by the temperature set value T _{1 in} the normal operation. Further, compared to the case where the cooler is continuously turned off even when the temperature set value T ₄ is reached, it is possible to prevent the product temperature from significantly increasing and to provide a product close to an appropriate temperature.

Although the above embodiment is for the cooling operation by the cooler 3, the present invention is of course applicable to the heating operation by the heater, and this case corresponds to the embodiment of the second invention. FIG. 4 shows the temperature change in the refrigerator in this embodiment. T ₁ is the temperature set value during normal operation, T ₂ is the temperature set value during peak shift operation, and T ₄ is the lower limit temperature during peak cut operation. The set value, T _3, is the temperature set value after the internal temperature reaches T ₄ during the peak cut operation. Where T ₄ <
There is a relationship of T ₃ <T ₁ <T ₂ . The apparatus configuration in this embodiment is a heater (not shown) controlled by the control unit 2 in FIG.
Is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention except that it is operated.

As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, when the peak cut operation is performed, the heater temperature is turned off to lower the internal temperature of the refrigerator, and when the temperature reaches the lower limit value T ₄ , it is higher than T _4. The heater is heated by setting T ₃ which is a temperature lower than the temperature set value T ₁ during normal operation as a set value. Then, after that, when the time zone of the normal operation comes, the heater is turned on / off at the temperature set value T ₁ .

According to this embodiment, when the temperature inside the refrigerator reaches the lower limit temperature set value T ₄ during the peak cut operation, the temperature set value T ₃ lower than the temperature set value T ₁ during the normal operation is used. Since the heater is operated in step ₁ , the heating load can be reduced and power consumption can be reduced as compared with the case where the temperature is immediately controlled by the temperature set value T ₁ during normal operation. Further, compared with the case where the heater is kept turned off even when the temperature set value T ₄ is reached, it is possible to prevent the product temperature from significantly lowering and to provide a product close to an appropriate temperature.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the vending machine for cooling or heating can products is described, but the present invention is applicable to all vending machines for cooling or heating products for sales. It is also applicable to, for example, a vending machine for products in bottles or paper packs.

[0021]

As described above, according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the cooling load or the heating load at the time of peak cut can be made smaller than before, so that the power consumption at the time of peak cut operation is reduced to save power. The effect can be enhanced. Further, since the temperature of the product is controlled even during the peak cut operation, it is possible to provide the product with a temperature close to an appropriate temperature and enhance the product sales power of the vending machine.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of an embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of a control unit in the embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing changes in the internal cold storage temperature in the embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a change in internal cold storage temperature according to an embodiment of the second invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Temperature Sensor 2 Control Unit 3 Cooling Machine 4 Valve 5 Fan in Room 6 Timer

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Yu Nishioka 1-3-1, Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Within Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (72) Toshihisa Furuta 1-1, Tanabe Shinden, Kawasaki-ku, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Electric Incorporated (72) Inventor Shozo Iwamoto 1-1, Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An automatic vending machine, which cools and sells a product by comparing the temperature of the inside of a refrigerator in which the sold product is stored with a set value to control a cooler to be turned on / off, Prior to the peak cut operation that turns off the cooler during peak hours, the vending machine that performs supercooling by peak shift operation was in the off state until then because the internal temperature exceeded the upper limit during peak cut operation. An operation control device for a vending machine, wherein a temperature set value after turning on the cooler is lower than the upper limit value and higher than the temperature set value during normal operation. 2. An automatic vending machine that heats and sells the product by comparing the temperature of the inside of the storage of the product for sale with a set value and controlling the heater on / off, and the peak of the power demand. Prior to the peak cut operation that turns off the heater during the time period, in a vending machine that overheats by peak shift operation, the heater that was in the off state until the inside temperature exceeded the lower limit value during peak cut operation An operation control device for a vending machine, wherein a temperature set value after being turned on is higher than the lower limit value and lower than the temperature set value during normal operation.