JPH08235428A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve a power saving effect by prolonging the forced off time of a cooler or a heater under peak cut operation by making an upper limit set temperature at the time of cooler operation close to a lower limit set temperature or making the lower limit set temperature at the time of heater operation close to the upper limit set temperature according to approach to the time of a change into the peak cut operation. CONSTITUTION: A control part 3 executes the peak shift operation for operating a cooler 4 or the heater at the upper and lower limit set temperatures different from the time of ordinary operation and the peak cut operation for forcedly turning off the cooler 4 or the heater continuously to this peak shift operation. At such a time, the control part 3 makes the upper limit set temperature at the time of operating the cooler 4 close to the lower limit set temperature or makes the lower limit set temperature at the time of operating the heater close to the upper limit set temperature according to the approach to the time of the change into the peak cut operation during the period of the peak shift operation. Thus, the power saving effect can be sufficiently improved by prolonging the forced off time of the cooler 4 or the heater during the peak cut operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, automatic vending machines for can-type products are equipped with a cooler and a heater in the machine to sell or cool the can-type products stored in a refrigerator by thermostat cycle control (on / off control). Those that do dominate the mainstream. Particularly recently, there is known one in which a chiller or a heater is forcibly turned off by timer control to cut power consumption during a specific time period during which power demand is concentrated in one day (this is called peak cut). . In addition, prior to this peak cut, the vending machine that performs supercooling or overheating by shifting the upper and lower set temperatures for turning the cooler or heater on and off compared to during normal operation (this is called peak shift). Is also proposed.

FIG. 4 shows how the temperature inside the refrigerator changes during peak cut and peak shift operations. Note that this example is for a cooling operation. In FIG. 4, the upper limit set temperature (ON temperature) / lower limit set temperature (OFF temperature) of the cooler of the thermostat cycle control during peak shift operation are A [° C] / B [° C], respectively, and peak shift operation to peak cut operation To Z, the upper limit set temperature (ON temperature) of the cooler during peak cut operation is C [° C], and the forced off time of the cooler from time Z until the internal temperature reaches C [° C] Let be D.

[0004]

In the conventional vending machine, the internal temperature at the time Z is A [° C] to B.
Although it is in the range of [° C], its value cannot be specified, and it is, so to speak, a value left to the conclusion. For example, in FIG. 5, when the internal cold storage temperature at time Z is close to the lower limit set temperature B [° C.] as indicated by the temperature change indicated by the broken line, the forced off time D of the cooler becomes long. In this case, in the example of FIG. 5, the electric power can be sufficiently cut off because the refrigerator does not turn on without the internal temperature reaching C [° C.] during the peak cut operation.

On the other hand, when the temperature inside the refrigerator at time Z is close to A [° C.] as indicated by the temperature change shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, the forced off time of the cooler becomes short like D '. As a result, the cooler is turned on during the peak cut operation, which causes a problem that power consumption cannot be cut sufficiently.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to set an upper limit set temperature during cooling machine operation as the time to shift to peak cut operation is approached during the peak shift operation period. Is controlled so that it is close to the lower limit set temperature, and when the heater is operating, the lower limit set temperature is controlled to be closer to the upper limit set temperature, thereby increasing the forced off time of the cooler or heater during peak cut operation. It is to provide a vending machine capable of obtaining a sufficient power saving effect.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention detects the temperature inside the storage compartment where the products for sale are stored by a temperature sensor inside the storage compartment and compares the detected temperature with the upper and lower limit set temperatures. A vending machine that cools or heats the product by controlling the on / off of the cooler or the heater to sell the product, and the cooler or the heater is operated under the upper and lower limit set temperature different from the normal operation. In a vending machine provided with a control unit for executing a peak shift operation to be operated and a peak cut operation for forcibly turning off a cooler or a heater in succession to this peak shift operation, the control unit is a peak shift operation. During the period, as the time to shift to peak cut operation approaches, the upper limit set temperature during chiller operation approaches the lower limit set temperature, or the lower limit set temperature during heater operation reaches the upper limit. And controls so as to approach to a constant temperature.

[0008]

In the present invention, as the peak shift operation approaches the end, the upper limit set temperature (during cooling machine operation) or the lower limit set temperature (during heater operation) during peak shift operation is set to the lower limit set temperature or upper limit set temperature, respectively. Control to get closer. As a result, at the time of transition to the peak cut operation, the internal temperature becomes close to the lower limit set temperature (when the cooler is operating) or the upper limit set temperature (when the heater is operating), and the cooler or heater is stopped during the peak cut operation. You can keep the forced off time for a long time.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the main part of the embodiment, and this embodiment is for the case of cooling operation of an automatic vending machine. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is an internal temperature sensor, 2 is a timepiece, and these output signals are input to the control unit 3. Further, the output signal of the control unit 3 operates the cooler 4 for cooling the inside of the refrigerator.

The control unit 3 compares the in-compartment temperature detected by the in-compartment temperature sensor 1 with the upper and lower limit set temperatures of the thermostat cycle control to control the on / off of the cooler 4 so that the can-type products in the refrigerator are controlled. Keep it cool. At that time, the control unit 3 recognizes the present time by the clock 2 and controls the operation of the cooler 4 in three modes of normal operation / peak shift operation / peak cut operation according to a preset time schedule.

In this embodiment, the peak shift operation mode is set at 9:00 to 13:00, the peak cut operation mode is set at 13:00 to 16:00, and the normal operation mode is set at other times. In the normal operation mode, the upper limit set temperature of the thermostat cycle control is 8 [° C] and the lower limit set temperature is 4 [° C].
On the other hand, in the peak shift operation mode, the upper limit set temperature is 5
Start the thermostat cycle control at [° C] and lower limit set temperature 1 [° C], and shift to the peak cut operation mode 1
3 to 2 hours before 3 o'clock, the upper limit set temperature is 4 [° C], 2-1
The control is performed by gradually lowering the upper limit set temperature to 3 [° C.] before the time, and to 2 [° C.] for the last 1 hour. The lower limit set temperature remains constant at 1 [° C].

FIG. 2 shows how the temperature inside the refrigerator changes in this peak shift operation mode, and FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a program for performing this control. The contents of the peak shift operation will be described below with reference to these figures.

In FIG. 3, first, the peak shift (PS
It is determined whether or not the operation mode is the operation mode (S1), and if it is not the peak shift operation mode, the process ends. In the peak shift operation mode, the lower limit set temperature of the thermostat cycle control is set to 1 [° C] (S2).

In the subsequent steps, it is the time of transition from the peak shift operation mode to the peak cut operation mode.
As approaching at 3 o'clock, the upper limit set temperature is increased from 5 [° C] to 2
Sequentially decrease to 1 ° C at every 1 ° C (S3 ~ S
6). Here, Y indicates the current time. Specifically, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the upper limit set temperature is 5 [° C.] 3 hours or more before 13:00, 4 [° C.] 3 to 2 hours before, 3 [° C.] 2 to 1 hour before, and 2 at the last 1 hour. Change it to [° C].

Next, under the upper limit set temperature corresponding to the current time Y as described above, when the temperature T in the refrigerator exceeds the upper limit set temperature, the cooler 4 is turned on (S7), and the inside of the refrigerator is turned on. When the temperature T exceeds the lower limit set temperature, the cooler 4 is turned off (S8) to perform thermostat cycle control. Note that this program is assumed to be repeatedly operating from the start to the end in a large loop. Further, in the peak cut operation mode after 13:00, the temperature inside the refrigerator is 10
While the temperature is lower than [° C], the operation of the cooler 4 is forcibly stopped to suppress the power consumption, and after the internal temperature exceeds 10 [° C], the normal operation mode is entered.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the peak shift operation mode, the upper limit set temperature of the thermostat cycle control is gradually decreased as the time to shift to the peak cut operation mode is approached. For this reason,
As shown in FIG. 2, at 13:00 which is the transition time, the upper limit set temperature (2 [° C.]) becomes close to the lower limit set temperature (1 [° C.]), and the inside temperature is 1 [° C.] to The value is in the range of 2 [° C], which is extremely close to the lower limit set temperature (1 [° C]). Therefore, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 5, the time until the upper limit set temperature C is reached in the next peak cut operation mode, that is, the forced off time of the cooler 4 becomes long, and the power consumption in the peak cut operation mode is sufficiently increased. Can be reduced.

Although the above embodiment is for a cooling operation, the present invention can be applied to a heating operation of a product by a heater (not shown). In this case, the upper limit set temperature (off temperature) of the heater in the peak shift operation mode is fixed, and the lower limit set temperature (on temperature) of the thermostat cycle control is sequentially increased as the time to shift to the peak cut operation mode is approached. I'll let you. As a result, the internal cold storage temperature at the time of shifting to the peak cut operation can be brought close to the upper limit set temperature, and the forced OFF time of the heater during the peak cut operation can be lengthened to reduce power consumption.

In the above embodiments, the vending machine for cooling or heating can-based products is described, but the present invention is applicable to all vending machines for cooling or heating products for sale. For example, it can be applied to a vending machine for products in bottles or paper packs.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, as the peak shift operation approaches the end, the upper limit set temperature (cooler operation) or the lower limit set temperature (heater operation) is set to the lower limit. The control is performed so as to approach the temperature or the upper limit set temperature. As a result, at the time of transition from peak shift operation to peak cut operation,
The temperature inside the refrigerator is close to the lower limit temperature (when the cooler is operating) or the upper limit temperature (when the heater is operating), and the forced off time for stopping the cooler or the heater during the peak cut operation can be maintained for a long time. . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the power consumption during the peak cut operation and enhance the power saving effect, as compared with the conventional case where the internal temperature at the transition time is left as it is. In addition, the calculation and comparison processing by the control unit during peak shift operation is simple,
There is no inconvenience that would significantly increase the manufacturing cost of the vending machine.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of changes in internal cold storage temperature in a peak shift operation mode according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control contents of a peak shift operation mode of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of changes in internal cold storage temperature according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of changes in internal cold storage temperature according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Internal temperature sensor 2 Clock 3 Controller 4 Cooler

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Yu Nishioka 1-3-1, Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Tokyo Electric Power Company (72) Inventor No. 1 Shinden Tanabe, Kawasaki-ku, Kanagawa No. 1 in Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Kakiuchi 1-1, Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A temperature inside a refrigerator in which products for sale are stored is detected by a temperature sensor inside the refrigerator, and the detected temperature is compared with upper and lower set temperatures to control a cooler or a heater on / off. An automatic vending machine that cools or heats products and sells them.The peak shift operation that operates the cooler or the heater under the upper and lower limit set temperature different from the normal operation, and the peak shift operation continuously. In a vending machine equipped with a control unit that executes a peak cut operation forcibly turning off a cooler or a heater, the control unit cools as a peak shift operation period approaches a transition time to a peak cut operation. The control is performed so that the upper limit set temperature during machine operation approaches the lower limit set temperature, or the lower limit set temperature during heater operation approaches the upper limit set temperature. Dynamic vending machine.