KR19990054817A - Power Saving Operation Device and Method of Vending Machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a power saving driving apparatus and method of a vending machine, and when a sale is made within a predetermined time, the main and auxiliary heaters are driven simultaneously, and when the sale is not made within a predetermined time, only the main heater is driven to save the vending machine. If the sale is not made for a predetermined time to reduce the power consumption.

Description

Power Saving Operation Device and Method of Vending Machine

The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more particularly, to a power saving driving device and a method of a vending machine for driving the main heater only to save the vending machine if the sale is not made for a predetermined time.

In general, a vending machine is an unmanned vending machine, which includes items such as coffee, tobacco, sweets, books, etc., puts an amount corresponding to the item to be purchased, and then selects a desired item. In other words, it refers to a vending machine in which a selected item is discharged to an outlet.

Here, the vending machine that automatically sells the coffee, etc., is coupled to the main body 1, which forms the appearance of the vending machine, and the front one side and the hinge of the main body 1 as shown in FIG. It consists of the door 2 which opens and closes (1).

Outside the door 2, there is a door handle 3 used for opening and closing the door 2, a coin inlet 4 for inserting coins, and a plurality of selection keys for selecting the coffee desired by the user. Is provided with a beverage selection unit 5, a beverage outlet 6 for the selected coffee is discharged, and a coin return 7 is discharged after the coffee is discharged change is formed.

On the other hand, the internal structure of the automatic vending machine configured as described above, as shown in Figure 2, the cup column 8 is loaded with a plurality of cups, and to store each raw material to manufacture and sell various kinds of coffee The raw material container 9 mounted inside the main body 1, the raw material supply unit 10 for supplying the raw materials stored in the raw material container 9, and the raw material supply unit to guide the movement of the raw material supplied from the raw material supply unit 10 ( The raw material chute 11 installed at the lower part of 10), the hot water supply part 12 for supplying hot water, and the hot water supplied from the raw material guided through the raw material chute 11 and the hot water supply part 12 are mixed, and then through a nozzle. It consists of a beverage mixing part 13 to be discharged to the beverage discharge port (6).

Here, a heater (not shown) is installed at the hot water tank (not shown) side of the hot water supply unit 12 to heat the water stored in the hot water tank so that hot water is supplied from the hot water supply unit 12, and the heater is heated at a temperature. In accordance with the thermostat (Thermostat) (not shown) that is operated on or off is driven by receiving power supplied from the outside.

On the other hand, Figure 3 is a view showing a heater driving time for the temperature of the vending machine according to the prior art, as can be seen with reference to the drawing, the heater T1 by the thermostat so that the water stored in the hot water tank is maintained at the selling temperature Driven at temperature and stopped at temperature T2.

The vending machine according to the related art configured as described above is operated when the manager connects power to operate the vending machine, and when the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank of the hot water supply unit 12 is equal to or lower than T1 temperature (for example, 88 ° C.), The stat is turned on so that power supplied from the outside (for example, AC 220V) is supplied to the heater through the thermostat.

Next, the heater is driven by receiving the power, and as the heater is driven, the water stored in the water reservoir where heat is generated is heated.

Then, when the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank is T2 temperature (for example, 96 ℃) or more, the thermostat is turned off so that the power supplied from the outside is not supplied to the heater is stopped the heater, the heat as the heater is stopped It does not occur, the water stored in the hot water tank is not heated.

That is, as shown in Figure 3, the heater is driven at the temperature T1 by the thermostat so that the water stored in the hot water tank is maintained at the selling temperature, and is stopped at the temperature T2.

On the other hand, when the user inserts a certain amount of coins through the coin inlet (4) of the coffee vending machine, and then select the desired coffee through the beverage selection unit 5, the cup by the control signal of the controller (not shown) One of the cups fed into the column 8 is dispensed from a cup chute (not shown) and deposited in the beverage outlet 6.

Next, the raw material supply unit 10 is driven by a control signal from the control unit so that the raw material corresponding to the coffee selected by the user is guided from the raw material container 9 to the raw material chute 11 to the beverage mixing unit 13. The hot water supply unit 12 is driven by a control signal from the control unit so that hot water of the hot water container is supplied to the beverage mixing unit 13.

Next, the beverage mixing unit 13 is driven by a control signal from the controller to mix the raw material supplied from the raw material container 9 and the hot water supplied from the hot water container, and then the mixed beverage is supplied through the furnace. It is dispensed into a cup deposited in the outlet 6 so that the user can purchase the desired coffee.

However, the vending machine according to the related art has a problem in that the heater is driven by the thermostat even when no sales are made for a predetermined time by the user, so that power is unnecessarily wasted.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, while driving the main and auxiliary heaters at the same time during the initial operation and sales operation, while driving only the main heater during the power saving operation is not made for a predetermined time The purpose is to provide a power saving operation device and method of a vending machine that can reduce the power consumption.

In order to achieve the above object, a power saving driving device for a vending machine selects a desired beverage after a user inputs an amount corresponding to a desired beverage, and accordingly, the raw material is supplied from the raw material container and hot water from the hot water container. In the vending machine that is supplied with the drink desired by the user is sold, the temperature sensing unit for detecting the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank, and the main and auxiliary so that the temperature detected by the temperature sensing unit is above a predetermined temperature While outputting a control signal for driving the heater at the same time, if the sale is not made within a predetermined time by counting the time and outputs a control signal for driving only the main heater, if the sale is made within a predetermined time the main heater and the auxiliary heater A control unit for outputting a control signal for driving at the same time, the control signal from the control unit Switching unit for switching the power supplied from the outside to the thermostat for the main heater or the thermostat for the main heater and the thermostat for the auxiliary heater, the on or off operation depending on the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank Main and auxiliary heater thermostat for supplying or cutting off power from, characterized in that consisting of the auxiliary heater driven by the power supplied through the thermostat for the main heater.

In addition, the power saving operation method of the vending machine according to the present invention for achieving the above object, if the user selects the desired beverage after inputting the amount corresponding to the desired beverage, the raw material is supplied from the raw material container at the same time and the hot water container A vending machine in which hot water is supplied from and a user's desired drink is sold, the temperature sensing step of detecting the temperature of the water stored in the hot water container, and the main and auxiliary so that the temperature detected in the temperature sensing step is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature. In the initial operation step for driving the heater, in the initial operation step, if the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank is equal to or greater than the predetermined temperature, the sales time determination step of determining whether the sale is made within a predetermined time by counting the time and the predetermined time in the sales time determination step Sales operation step for driving the main and auxiliary heaters when it is determined that the sale is made in time And a power saving operation step of driving only the main heater when it is determined that the sale is not made within a predetermined time in the selling time determining step.

1 is a view showing the exterior of a typical vending machine,

2 is a view showing the internal structure of a general vending machine,

3 is a view showing a heater driving time with respect to the temperature of the vending machine according to the prior art,

4 is a schematic block diagram of a power saving driving device of a vending machine according to the present invention;

5 is a view showing a heater driving time for the temperature of the power saving driving device of the vending machine according to the present invention,

6 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the power saving operation method of the vending machine according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

24: temperature sensing unit 30: control unit

43: switching unit 44: the main heater thermostat

45: thermostat for the auxiliary heater 46: the main heater

47: auxiliary heater

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the apparatus and method for power saving operation of the vending machine in the present invention.

In Fig. 4, the same components as those in the conventional construction are given the same names, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

4 is a schematic block diagram of a power saving driving device of a vending machine according to the present invention. As can be seen from the drawings, the power saving driving device of the vending machine according to the present invention includes a coin mechanism 20 and a beverage selection. Part 22, temperature sensing unit 24, control unit 30, raw material supply unit 40, hot water supply unit 41, beverage mixing unit 42, switching unit 43, the main heater thermostat 44 It consists of a thermostat for the auxiliary heater 45, the main heater 46, and the auxiliary heater 47.

In FIG. 4, the coin mechanism 20 detects whether or not the money (details, coins or banknotes) inputted into the vending machine is defective and the input amount of money, and outputs a corresponding detection signal, and the beverage selection unit 22 When the user selects the desired coffee, a corresponding key signal is output.

Then, the temperature detector 24 detects the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank of the hot water supply unit 41 and outputs a corresponding detection signal, the control unit 30 is the input amount detected through the coin mechanism 20 When the coffee is selected through the beverage selection unit 22 in a state in which the sales amount of coffee is exceeded, the cup is ejected from the cup column, and then a control signal for supplying raw materials and hot water corresponding to the selected coffee is output.

In addition, the controller 30 outputs a control signal for driving the main heater 46 and the auxiliary heater 47 so that the temperature detected by the temperature sensing unit 24 is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, while counting the time. If the sale is not made within a predetermined time, a control signal for simultaneously driving the main heater 46 and the auxiliary heater 47 is output.

In addition, the switching unit 43 switches the power supplied from the outside by the control signal of the control unit 30 to the main heater thermostat 44 or the main heater thermostat 44 and the auxiliary heater thermostat ( 45), the main heater thermostat 44 and the auxiliary heater thermostat 45 is turned on or off in accordance with the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank of the hot water supply unit 41 to switch from the switching unit 43 Supply or cut off power.

In addition, the main heater 46 is driven by receiving power from the outside through the main heater thermostat 44 to generate heat, the auxiliary heater 47 from the outside through the thermostat 45 for the auxiliary heater It is driven by receiving power and generates heat.

Here, the main and auxiliary heaters 46 and 47 are each made of 500W, which is half of that if the conventional heater is, for example, 1000W.

On the other hand, Figure 5 is a view showing the heater driving time for the temperature of the power saving operation device of the vending machine according to the present invention, as can be seen with reference to the drawing, the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank during the initial operation is T2 temperature After the main and auxiliary heaters are driven to the ideal state, the main and auxiliary heaters are driven at the temperature T1 to maintain the sales temperature, and the heaters are stopped at the temperature T2. During the power saving operation, the water temperature stored in the hot water tank is returned to the sales temperature. The main heater is driven at the temperature T1 to be maintained, the main heater is stopped at the temperature T2, and the main and auxiliary heaters are driven at the temperature T1 so that the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank is maintained at the sales temperature during the sales operation. Stop the main and auxiliary heaters at temperature.

In other words, during the initial operation to prepare for sale and the sale operation to perform the sale, the main and auxiliary heaters are simultaneously driven to maintain the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank at the sale temperature. It drives to save the vending machine by maintaining the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank to the selling temperature.

6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a power saving operation method of a vending machine according to the present invention. As can be seen from the drawing, the power saving operation method of the vending machine according to the present invention includes the steps of initializing the vending machine ( S10, step S15 of detecting the temperature, step S20 of determining whether the detected temperature is above a predetermined temperature, step S25 of driving the primary and auxiliary heaters if it is determined that the temperature is not higher than a predetermined temperature, predetermined Step S30 of counting the time if it is determined to be higher than the temperature, step S35 of determining whether the sale is made within the predetermined time, step S40 of driving the main heater and the auxiliary heater if it is determined that the sale is made within the predetermined time, and If it is determined that the sale is not made within a predetermined time, the step S45 is performed to drive the main heater.

Hereinafter, an apparatus and method for saving power to a vending machine according to the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

First, when commercial AC power is supplied to the vending machine from the outside, the control unit 30 initializes the vending machine (S10), and the temperature detecting unit 24 senses the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank and correspondingly detects the signal. The control unit 30 outputs the control to the controller 30 (S15).

Next, when the controller 30 receives the detection signal and determines whether the detected temperature is greater than or equal to a predetermined temperature (S20), if the controller 30 determines that the detected temperature is not greater than or equal to a predetermined temperature, the controller 30 drives the main heater 46 and the auxiliary heater 47. Outputs a control signal to the switching unit 43.

Subsequently, the switching unit 43 is powered from the outside by the control signal, and the thermostats 44 and 45 for the primary and auxiliary heaters are turned on as the temperature of the hot water tank is lowered, so that the switching unit 43 is turned on. Power from the main and auxiliary heaters 46 and 47 is supplied.

Next, as power is supplied to the main and auxiliary heaters 46 and 47, the main and auxiliary heaters 46 and 47 are driven to generate heat, and the water stored in the hot water soil is heated by the generated heat (S25). ).

That is, as shown in Figure 5 during the initial operation, the main and auxiliary heaters are driven so that the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank is equal to or higher than the temperature T2 (for example, 96 ° C) and then the main and auxiliary heaters are stopped at the T2 temperature. On the other hand, the primary and auxiliary heaters are driven at the T1 temperature (eg, 88 ° C) to perform the initial operation of maintaining the selling temperature.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the detected temperature is greater than or equal to the predetermined temperature as a result of the determination in step S20, the controller 30 counts the time (S30) and determines whether the sale is made within the predetermined time (S35). When it is determined that the sale is made, a control signal for driving the primary and auxiliary heaters 46 and 47 is output to the switching unit 43.

Next, the switching unit 43 is switched so that the power supplied from the outside by the control signal is supplied to the primary and secondary heater thermostats 44 and 45, and the primary and secondary heater thermostats 46 and 47. ) Is turned on or off by the temperature of the hot water tank, and power is supplied or cut off to the main and auxiliary heaters 46 and 47.

Then, as power is supplied to or disconnected from the main and auxiliary heaters 46 and 47, the main and auxiliary heaters 46 and 47 are driven or stopped to maintain the selling temperature shown in FIG. 5 (S40).

That is, the user inputs an amount corresponding to the desired coffee and then selects the desired coffee through the beverage selection unit 22, and the detection signal and the key output from the coin mechanism 20 and the beverage selection unit 22. When the raw material supplied by the signal and the hot water supplied by the hot water supply unit 41 are mixed by the beverage mixing unit 420 and then discharged into the beverage and the user purchases the desired coffee within the predetermined time, FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the main and auxiliary heaters are driven at the temperature T2, while the main and auxiliary heaters are stopped at the temperature T1 to perform the selling operation in which the temperature of the water stored in the hot water soil is maintained at the selling temperature.

On the other hand, if it is determined in the step S35 that the sale is not made within a predetermined time, the controller 30 outputs a control signal for driving only the main heater 46 to the switching unit 43, and the switching unit. The switch 43 is switched so that power from the outside is supplied to the thermostat 44 for the main heater by the control signal.

Next, as the main heater thermostat 44 is turned on or off by the temperature of the hot water tank, the power is supplied or cut off to the main heater 46, and the power is supplied or cut off to the main heater 46. Accordingly, the main heater 46 is driven or stopped to maintain the selling temperature shown in FIG. 5 (S45).

That is, when the time when the sale is made after a predetermined time, as shown in Figure 5, while driving only the main heater at the temperature T2, and stops at the temperature T1 to perform a power saving operation to maintain the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank at the selling temperature Perform.

Next, the control unit 30 counts the time to determine whether the sale is made within a predetermined time, and if it is determined that the sale is made within the predetermined time, simultaneously driving the main and auxiliary heaters, while determining that the sale is not made within the predetermined time. Repeat steps to drive only the main heater.

On the other hand, the present invention has been described by way of example a heater for heating the water stored in the hot water tank in a vending machine for selling beverages such as coffee, but is not limited to this, it is natural that it is applicable to a vending machine equipped with a heater.

As described above, the power saving operation apparatus and method of the vending machine according to the present invention has the effect of reducing the power consumption by driving only the main heater to save the vending machine when the sale is not made for a predetermined time.

Claims (1)

In the vending machine where the user inputs the amount corresponding to the desired beverage and selects the desired beverage, the raw material is supplied from the raw material container and hot water is supplied from the hot water container accordingly. Outputs a control signal for simultaneously driving the main and auxiliary heaters such that the temperature sensed by the temperature sensing unit is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, while controlling the time to control only the main heater if no sales are made within a predetermined time. A controller which outputs a control signal and outputs a control signal for simultaneously driving the main heater and the auxiliary heater when a sale is made within a predetermined time; Switching unit for switching the power supplied from the outside by the control signal from the control unit to the thermostat for the main heater or the thermostat for the main heater and the thermostat for the auxiliary heater; A thermostat for main and auxiliary heaters that is turned on or off according to the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank to supply or cut power from the switching unit; A main heater driven by being supplied with power through the main heater thermostat; Power saving driving device of the vending machine, characterized in that consisting of the auxiliary heater driven by the power supplied through the thermostat for the auxiliary heater. In the vending machine where the user inputs the amount corresponding to the desired beverage and selects the desired beverage, the raw material is supplied from the raw material container and hot water is supplied from the hot water container accordingly. A temperature sensing step of sensing a temperature of water stored in the hot water tank; An initial operation step of driving the main and auxiliary heaters such that the temperature sensed in the temperature sensing step is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature; A sales time determination step of determining whether a sale is made within a predetermined time by counting time when the temperature of the water stored in the hot water tank is greater than or equal to a predetermined temperature in the initial operation step; A selling operation step for driving the main and auxiliary heaters when it is determined that the sale is made within a predetermined time in the selling time determining step; And a power saving operation step for driving only the main heater when it is determined that the sale is not made within a predetermined time in the selling time determination step.