JPH10188112A - Temperature controller for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the temperature of merchandise as desired by a demander at all times by comparing the temperature of hot air or cold air to be blown to stored merchandise with the article temperature of vending merchandise arranged proximately to an ejecting port and controlling the temperature of heating source or cooling source from that compared value. SOLUTION: A temperature sensor 41 is attached to a cooling source 26, and the temperature of hot air or cold air from a heating source 25 or the cooling source 26 is detected. Besides, an article temperature sensor 42 is attached proximately to a merchandise ejecting port 30 of storage rack 28, and the article temperature of merchandise to be vended is detected. Then, the article temperature detected by the article temperature sensor 42 is compared with the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 41 and from that compared value, the operation of heating source 25 or cooling source 26 is controlled. When any contact of temperature sensor 41 or article temperature sensor 42 is turned off, for example, the operation of heating source 25 or cooling source 26 is stopped and when the contacts of both the temperature sensor 41 and the article temperature sensor 42 are turned on, the operation of heating source 25 or cooling source 26 is started.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a temperature control device for a vending machine, and more particularly to a temperature control device for a vending machine that sells products while controlling the temperature of products stored in storage shelves in the main body of the vending machine. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a vending machine controls the temperature of a product such as a can containing coffee or the like stored in a plurality of storage shelves provided in the vending machine main body. To sell.

[0003] In this vending machine, the product temperature is controlled by providing a large number of product temperature sensors on a storage shelf, and controlling the product to a temperature suitable for a consumer's preference based on the product temperatures detected by these product temperature sensors. .

[0004] However, the number of products sold differs depending on the preference of the consumer. Some products on storage shelves are sold out, but most products on other storage shelves are still unsold.

[0005] When there are not enough products in the storage shelf of such a vending machine, the products are sequentially supplied. However, if the temperature of the products is controlled, the temperature detected by the product temperature sensor depends on the number of the supplied products. It will be different.

Therefore, in some cases, the heating source is excessively heated, and in other cases, the cooling source is excessively cooled, so that there is a problem that the temperature of the product cannot be accurately controlled.

Another problem is that the temperature of the product cannot be controlled accurately due to structural defects of the vending machine, failure of the temperature controller, temperature sensor, and temperature sensor of the product.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a temperature control device for a vending machine which solves the above problem.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine for selling products stored in a storage shelf in a vending machine main body while controlling the temperature, wherein the vending machine is disposed in the vending machine main body. A heating source or a cooling source, a temperature sensor for detecting a hot air temperature or a cold air temperature for sending hot air or cold air from the heating source or the cooling source to the product stored in the storage shelf, and a product outlet of the storage shelf. A temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the product to be sold, which is located in close proximity to the product, compares the temperature detected by the temperature sensor with the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and determines the heating source or cooling source based on the comparison value. A temperature controller for a vending machine, comprising: a temperature controller for controlling operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the contact of either the temperature sensor or the product temperature sensor is turned off, the operation of the heating source or the cold heat source is stopped, and both the temperature sensor and the product temperature sensor are operated. It is an object of the present invention to provide a temperature control device for a vending machine characterized by starting operation of a heating source or a cooling source when a contact is turned on.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a temperature control apparatus for a vending machine, wherein the heating source or the cold source controls time-division temperature.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a temperature control device for a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a vending machine 1 generally used.
It indicates 0. The main body 11 of the vending machine 10 includes a storage 12 dedicated to heating, a storage 13 dedicated to cooling, a storage 14 shared by heating and cooling, and the like. Usually, a plurality of storage shelves are provided in these storages 12, 13 and the like, and products such as cans containing coffee are stored in the storage shelves, and the products are sold from the sales outlet 15 while controlling the temperature. ing.

The vending machine body 11 has a front door 21,
An internal door 22 and the like are provided. The storage vaults 12, 13, 14 of the vending machine body 11 are formed by a ceiling wall, a bottom wall 23 and a back wall 24 (not shown) of the vending machine main body 11, the inner door 22, and the like.
And so on.

A heating source 25 such as a heater for heating the product and a cooling source 2 such as a cooler are provided on a bottom wall 23 of the storage 12 or the like.
6 are attached. Fans 27 are attached to the front of the heating source 25 and the cooling source 26, and a plurality of storage shelves 2 provided at the upper part of the storage 12 or the like for supplying hot air or the like from the heating source 25.
8 to be sent. Although not shown, the storage shelf 28 stores products such as cans containing coffee.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a circulation duct provided on the back wall 24, and reference numeral 30 denotes a product outlet provided below the inner door 22;
Reference numeral 5 denotes the merchandise outlet provided below the front door 21.

A temperature sensor 41 is attached to the cooling source 26, and detects the temperature of hot air or cold air from the heating source 25 or the cooling source 26. A detected temperature signal detected by the temperature sensor 41 or the like is supplied to a CPU (not shown).
The heating source 25, the cooling source 26
It is supposed to control the operation.

A product temperature sensor 42 is mounted near the product outlet 30 of the storage shelf 28, detects the product temperature of the product to be sold, sends a detected temperature signal to the temperature controller, and sends the detected temperature signal to the temperature controller. 25, the operation of the cooling source 26 is controlled.

A case in which the temperature of a product in the storage 12 or the like is controlled by using the vending machine 10 having such a configuration will be described.

First, the basic operation of the temperature control device of the vending machine 10 will be described.

The optimum temperature for heating products sold by the vending machine 10 is generally about 58 ° C., and the optimum temperature for cooling is about 3 ° C. The hot air temperature of the heating source 25 for obtaining the optimum temperature is approximately 90 ° C. at the maximum, and the cooling source 2
The cooling temperature of 6 is at least about 10 ° C.

Therefore, the temperature sensor 41 for detecting the temperature of the heating source 25 or the cooling source 26 has a maximum of 100
If the temperature exceeds this temperature range, that is, if the temperature exceeds 100 ° C or -3 ° C, those contacts are turned off and the heating source 25 or the cooling source 26 is overheated or supercooled. Is to be prevented.

The product temperature sensor 42 for detecting the temperature of the product at the product discharge port 30 has a maximum of 100 ° C. and a minimum of −10 ° C., and a value exceeding this temperature range, ie, 100 ° C., minus When the temperature exceeds 10 ° C., those contacts are turned off so that the product is not overheated or overcooled.

When controlling the heating temperature of the vending machine 10 under such basic conditions, a storage, for example, 1
4, the product is stored, the heating source 25 is heated, and the fan 27 is turned to circulate hot air inside the storage 14.

The hot air is sent from the bottom of the storage 14 to the ceiling through the gap of the storage shelf 28 as shown by the arrow.
Returning to the heating source 25 via the duct 29 on the back, the commodity is heated to a temperature of approximately 58 ° C.

The temperature of the hot air near the heating source 25 is
1 and the product temperature near the product outlet 30 is detected by the product temperature sensor 42, and these detection signals are sent to the temperature controller.

When the temperature of the hot air is 70 ° C., the temperature of the product is 45 ° C. due to the difference in the transmission speed of the hot air temperature.
When the temperature of the hot air is 90 ° C., the temperature of the heat heating source 25 is controlled within a temperature range of 58 ° C. so that the temperature of the product falls within the temperature control range of 65 ° C.
Bring to 5 ° C.

It is assumed that a product of the vending machine 10 whose temperature is controlled in this way, for example, a coffee can is sold well, and a certain product, for example, a cocoa can is not sold.

The vending machine 10 is supplied with commodities on a regular basis, a large number of commodities with good sales are supplied to the storage shelf 28, and a small quantity of commodities with poor sales are supplied with the storage shelf. 28.

When the heating temperature of the storage 14 to which the product is supplied is controlled as described above, the door and the like are opened and closed, and the product is supplied, so that the internal temperature of the storage 14 is reduced.
Since the atmospheric temperature is about 25 ° C., the heating source 25 of the vending machine 10 keeps heating.

On the other hand, the supplied goods and the storage shelves 2
8, there is a product remaining, and the supplied product is at 25 ° C.
The remaining commodities remain at about 58 ° C. due to their heat storage effect.

Therefore, if the heating of the heating source 25 is continued, there is no problem with the supplied product, but the temperature of the remaining product is heated as the internal temperature of the storage 14 increases, and the temperature of the product is increased to 80.degree.
The temperature rises to about 5 ° C., and the product cannot be maintained at an appropriate temperature.

When the temperature difference between the product temperature sensor 42 and the temperature sensor 41 becomes 15 ° C. or more, this is determined by a temperature controller as shown in FIG. , 58 DEG C. (S1) and (S2).

By stopping the heating source 25, the temperature in the vicinity of the heating source 25 decreases to 70 ° C. and 55 ° C. over time.

On the other hand, the temperature of the remaining commodities also decreases to 55 ° C. and 56 ° C. with the passage of time. When the temperature difference between the article temperature sensor 42 and the temperature sensor 41 is within 5 ° C., the temperature controller discriminates and controls the heating source 25 to maintain the product at 58 ° C. (S3), (S4).

By controlling the heating temperature, the storage shelf 28 is controlled.
When the temperature of the product drops, the heating source 25 is heated again to maintain the proper temperature of the product.

In the above heating control, when the temperature difference between the heating source 25 and the product becomes 15 ° C. or more, the heating source 25 is operated and stopped at certain time intervals as shown in FIG. 4 instead of immediately stopping the heating source 25. Time-sharing operation control may be performed to prevent the temperature in the storage from suddenly lowering (S21), (S2
2).

By such a heating control, it is possible to prevent a sudden drop in the temperature of the remaining products already heated, and to raise the temperature of the supplied products so that the temperature of the products sold in large quantities can be quickly adjusted to an appropriate temperature. it can.

Next, when controlling the cooling temperature of the commodity by the vending machine 10, as in the case of the heating temperature control, the commodity is stored in the storage 14 and the cooling source 26 is operated to cool the commodity. , The fan 27 is turned to circulate the cool air inside the storage 14.

The cool air is circulated through the storage 14 to cool the storage shelf 28 so that the product temperature is maintained at approximately 3 ° C.

The cooling temperature near the cooling source 26 is detected by a temperature sensor 41, and the product temperature near the product outlet 30 is detected by a product temperature sensor 42, and these detection signals are sent to a temperature controller.

When the temperature of the cold air is minus 10 ° C., the temperature of the product is 10 ° C., and the temperature of the cold air is minus 20 ° C.
In this case, the temperature of the cooling source 26 is controlled within the temperature range of 20 ° C. so that the temperature of the product falls within the temperature control range of 3 ° C., and finally the temperature of the product to be sold is maintained at 3 ° C.

In the vending machine 10 whose temperature is thus controlled, the quantity of commodities supplied periodically varies depending on the amount of sales.

The supply of the different commodities enables the storage 14
The internal temperature of the cooling source rises to about 25 ° C.
Cooling operation is continued.

On the other hand, the product remaining at 5 ° C.
To a lesser degree, the supplied product is at about ambient temperature of 25 ° C.

Therefore, if the cooling of the cooling source 26 is continued, the temperature of the remaining commodities is further cooled down to 0 ° C. and −2 ° C., and it becomes impossible to maintain an appropriate temperature of the commodities.

When the temperature difference between the product temperature sensor 42 and the temperature sensor 41 exceeds 20 ° C., this is determined by the temperature controller as shown in FIG. (S31), (S32).

By stopping or intermittently operating the cooling source 26, the temperature in the vicinity of the cooling source 26 becomes slightly high with the passage of time.

On the other hand, the temperature of the remaining commodities rises with time. If the temperature difference between the temperature of the product and the vicinity of the cooling source 26 is within 10 ° C., the temperature controller discriminates and controls the cooling source 26 to maintain the product at 3 ° C. (S33), (S34).

By controlling the cooling temperature, the storage shelf 28 is controlled.
When the temperature of the product rises, the cooling source 26 is cooled again to maintain the proper temperature of the product.

In the above temperature control, the temperature sensor 41,
If any of the contact points of the product temperature sensor 42 is open, the heating source 25 may be overheated and the cooling source 26 may be overcooled, so that these are not operated (S41).
(S42) When the contacts of both sensors are closed, normal operation can be performed because the sensor is in the safe operation range (S4).
3), (S44).

In this way, the heating source 25 or the cooling source 26 can be protected and the product can be kept at an appropriate temperature by preventing overheating or overcooling of the product.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the temperature of the product on the storage shelf can be accurately controlled by the temperature sensor near the heating source or the cooling source and the one product temperature sensor near the product outlet.

Further, according to this temperature controller, even if there is a defect or failure in the vending machine main body, the sensor in the refrigerator, or the like, it is possible to accurately control the product temperature using the temperature sensor and one product temperature sensor. it can.

[0055]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine which sells products stored in a storage shelf in a vending machine main body while controlling the temperature, wherein a heating source or a cooling source arranged in the storage is provided. A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of hot air or cold air sent from the heating source or the cooling source to the products stored in the storage shelf; and a product temperature of the product to be sold which is arranged in close proximity to the product outlet of the storage shelf. Temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the heating source or the cooling source based on the comparison value between the temperature detected by the temperature sensor and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. The temperature of the product sold by the vending machine can always be provided according to the demand of the consumer.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the contact of either the temperature sensor or the product temperature sensor is turned off, the operation of the heating source or the cold heat source is stopped, and both the temperature sensor and the product temperature sensor are operated. Since the operation of the heating source or the cooling source is started when the contact is turned on, the heating source or the cooling source can be reliably protected and the product can be maintained at an appropriate temperature.

Since the heating source or the cooling source according to the third aspect of the present invention is controlled in a time-division manner, the heating or cooling of the product can be accelerated so that the product sold in large quantities can always be maintained at an appropriate temperature.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway sectional view showing an outline of a temperature control device of a vending machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an outline of a vending machine generally used.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the temperature control of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing another temperature control in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing still another temperature control of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing still another temperature control of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vending machine 11 Vending machine main body 12 Storage for exclusive use of heating 13 Storage for cooling and common use 14 Storage for common use for heating and cooling 15 Sales outlet 21 Front door 22 Internal door 23 Bottom wall 24 Back wall 25 Heat source 26 Cooling Source 27 Juan 28 Storage shelf 29 Duct 30 Merchandise outlet 41 Temperature sensor 42 Material temperature sensor

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kenji Endo 1-6 Ota Toshiba-cho, Ibaraki-shi, Osaka Toshiba Abu E Co., Ltd. Osaka Office

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine which sells products stored in a storage shelf in a vending machine main body while controlling the temperature, comprising: a heating source or a cooling source arranged in the vending machine main body; Alternatively, a temperature sensor for detecting hot air temperature or cold air temperature for sending hot air or cold air from a cooling source to the product stored in the storage shelf, and a product product to be placed and sold in close proximity to a product outlet of the storage shelf. An article temperature sensor for detecting the temperature, and a temperature controller for comparing the article temperature detected by the article temperature sensor with the temperature detected by the temperature sensor and controlling the operation of the heating source or the cooling source based on the comparison value. Temperature control device for a vending machine. 2. The temperature controller stops the operation of the heating source or the cooling source when either the contact of the temperature sensor or the product temperature sensor is turned off, and turns on the heating when the contact of both the temperature sensor or the product temperature sensor is turned on. The temperature control device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the heat source or the cold heat source is started. 3. The temperature control device for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the heating source or the cooling source controls the temperature in a time-sharing manner.