WO2020100841A1

WO2020100841A1 - Article dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO2020100841A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/044212
Authority: WO
Inventors: 英樹笠間; 法昭市川; 昭松本
Original assignee: サンデン・リテールシステム株式会社
Priority date: 2018-11-13
Filing date: 2019-11-12
Publication date: 2020-05-22
Also published as: JP2020080073A; KR102566895B1; KR20210068130A; JP7257131B2

Abstract

>[Problem] To provide an article dispenser wherein, with a simple configuration, two compartments can be set at different desired temperatures using a single heat exchanger. [Solution] An article dispenser is provided with: a rectangular box-shaped cabinet 4 having an open front face and comprising an article accommodation part 6 that accommodates articles therein; a door for closing the front face of the cabinet 4; and an evaporator 23d, provided to the cabinet 4, for circulating temperature-adjusting air in the article accommodation part 6 to adjust the temperature of the article accommodation part 6. The article accommodation part 6 is vertically divided by a partition wall into an upper compartment and a lower compartment. The upper compartment and the lower compartment are set to different temperature ranges. A first inlet for drawing in the temperature-adjusting air from the upper compartment and directing said air to the heat exchanger and a second inlet for drawing in the temperature-adjusting air from the lower compartment and directing said air to the heat exchanger are disposed on different surfaces among the front, back, left, and right surfaces of the compartments.

Description

Goods vending machine

The present invention relates to a circulation structure of temperature-controlled air in a warehouse in an article vending machine that automatically sells articles.

An item vending machine is used that stores multiple types of items in shelves provided in a box-shaped cabinet and automatically carries out the items selected by the purchaser. For example, the article vending machine (vending machine) described in Patent Document 1 includes a bucket (catcher bucket) that moves vertically in front of a plurality of shelves arranged in the cabinet in the vertical direction. The selected article is pushed forward from the shelf by the carry-out mechanism, and the article is carried out to the bucket moved to the front of the shelf. Then, the bucket on which the article is placed is moved to a lower position facing the article outlet provided at the bottom of the article vending machine, and the purchaser can take out the article from the article outlet. ..

In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a circulation structure of temperature-controlled air for controlling the temperature inside the goods vending machine (vending machine). In the article vending machine of Patent Document 2, a heat exchanger such as an evaporator is provided below the storage room (commodity storage), and a duct is provided at the rear of the storage room, so that the temperature-controlled air that has been heat-exchanged by the evaporator is inside the storage room. Is configured to move upward at the front part of the container, pass through the inside of the container from the front to the rear, and return to the evaporator via the rear duct to circulate.
Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a configuration of an article vending machine (vending machine) divided into an upper chamber heated by a heater and a lower chamber cooled by a cooling device by a heat insulating partition plate. . In such an article vending machine, for example, the upper chamber is heated to about 55 ° C. for hot beverages, and the lower chamber is cooled to about 5 ° C. for cold beverages.

JP, 2008-176497, A Japanese Patent No. 3720889 JP-A-2000-331232

By the way, in recent years, in an article vending machine that stores a plurality of types of articles, not only a combination such as a hot beverage and a cold beverage, but lower than the temperature of a warm beverage such as a bento but higher than the temperature of a cooled beverage. There is a demand for being able to store at different temperatures depending on the type of article, such as those that need to be stored at temperature and ordinary cooled beverages.

In the article vending machine that regulates the inside temperature to different temperatures as described above, in the structure in which the temperature-controlled air is circulated by using one heat exchanger provided below the compartment, as in Patent Document 2, Although the inside temperature is set to one set temperature, the temperature inside the refrigerator may be high and the temperature inside the refrigerator may be low due to heat entering from the outside. It is difficult to accurately maintain the desired set temperature individually.

Although it is possible to maintain different desired set temperatures by dividing the inside of the compartment and providing heat exchangers individually, at least two heat exchangers are required, which causes an increase in parts cost and heat. There is a risk that the installation space of the exchanger will increase, leading to an increase in the size of the entire article vending machine or a reduction in the size of the storage room.

In addition, when heating and cooling the upper and lower chambers with a heater and a cooling device as in Patent Document 3, for example, although each can be maintained at a desired temperature, it is lower than the heating set temperature and lower than the cooling set temperature. It is difficult to set a high temperature and maintain it accurately.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an article vending machine that can set two storage chambers to different desired temperatures by a single heat exchanger with a simple configuration. The purpose is to do.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the article vending machine of the present invention is a rectangular box-shaped cabinet having a storage chamber in which a front surface is opened and an article is stored therein, a door portion closing the front surface of the cabinet, and the cabinet. And a heat exchanger for controlling the temperature of the storage chamber by exchanging heat with the air circulating in the storage chamber, the storage chambers being different from each other vertically by a partition wall. A first intake port which is divided into an upper compartment and a lower compartment which are set in a temperature zone and which sucks the temperature-controlled air from the upper compartment and guides it to the heat exchanger, and the temperature-controlled air from the lower compartment. The second suction port that sucks and guides the heat to the heat exchanger is disposed on different surfaces of the front and rear or the left and right of the storage chamber.

Further, preferably, the second intake port is provided on the front surface of the lower storage chamber, and the first intake port is provided on either or both surfaces of the upper storage chamber.

Further, preferably, the first outlet for discharging the temperature-controlled air from the heat exchanger to the upper compartment is disposed on the rear surface of the upper compartment, and the first outlet from the heat exchanger to the lower compartment. The second outlet that discharges the temperature-controlled air may be disposed on the rear surface of the lower compartment.

Further, preferably, the heat exchanger is arranged below the lower storage chamber, and extends in the up-down direction adjacent to each other between the heat exchanger and the upper storage chamber, behind the lower storage chamber. A first duct and a second duct, wherein the first duct has the first outlet in an upper portion,
The second duct has an opening to the upper chamber and an air outlet facing the lower chamber at the upper portion, and has the second outlet, and the second duct has the second blowing port. A flap that suppresses the movement of the temperature-controlled air upward from the outlet may be provided.

Further, preferably, a plurality of shelves arranged in the storage chamber side by side in the vertical direction and holding the articles, and a carry-out mechanism for carrying out the articles held on the shelves forward from the shelves based on a sales instruction. An outlet provided below the shelf of the cabinet, which is arranged movably in the vertical direction in front of the shelf inside the cabinet, receives articles carried out from the shelf forward by the carry-out mechanism, A bucket for transporting to and a space for moving the bucket in front of the shelf to be divided into upper and lower parts at upper and lower positions of the partition wall, and the auxiliary partition wall includes the upper storage chamber and the lower storage chamber. It is preferable to provide a fan for circulating air between them.

According to the present invention, the heat exchanger provided in the cabinet supplies and circulates the temperature-controlled air to the upper compartment and the lower compartment, respectively, so that the upper compartment and the lower compartment have different temperature zones. Can be set to.

The first intake port that sucks temperature-controlled air from the upper chamber to the heat exchanger and the second intake port that sucks temperature-controlled air from the lower chamber to the heat exchanger are either in front of or behind the chamber. Are arranged on mutually different surfaces, the flow path of temperature-controlled air that connects the upper compartment and the heat exchanger via the first intake port, and the heat flow to the lower compartment via the second intake port. It is possible to separately install the temperature-controlled air flow path that connects the exchanger. This makes it possible to individually set the air volume of the temperature-controlled air circulating in the upper compartment and the air volume of the temperature-controlled air circulating in the lower compartment.

Further, since the first intake port and the second intake port are arranged on different surfaces of the storage chamber, the flow paths of the temperature-controlled air passing through the respective intake ports do not interfere with each other. The area can be set large, and the upper compartment and the lower compartment can be efficiently temperature-controlled.

With this, it is possible to set the upper compartment and the lower compartment to different desired temperatures with a single heat exchanger in a compact configuration.

It is a perspective view showing a schematic external shape of an article sales machine of this embodiment. It is a longitudinal section showing the internal structure of the goods vending machine of this embodiment. It is a perspective view inside a cabinet for explaining the position of the duct for cooling air circulation. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cabinet for explaining the shape of the rear duct. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the inside of a cabinet for explaining the opening part of a duct. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | positioning of the fan and evaporator in a lower duct. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cabinet showing the circulation path of the cooling air. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the upper part of the cabinet for explaining the circulation path of the temperature-controlled air in the upper compartment when the partition wall is installed in the lower part of the second shelf. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the upper part of the cabinet for explaining the circulation path of the temperature-controlled air in the upper compartment when the partition wall is installed in the lower part of the first shelf. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cabinet which shows the circulation path of the cooling wind in the goods vending machine of other embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic external shape of the article vending machine of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the internal structure of the article vending machine.

As shown in FIG. 1, the article vending machine 1 includes a main body unit 2 for storing articles and an operation unit 3.

The main unit 2 has a box-shaped cabinet 4 which is formed in a box shape with an open front surface and has a door 5 (door portion) that covers the front opening. Further, inside the cabinet 4, an article storage unit 6 (storage room) for storing articles is provided.

The operation unit 3 is disposed adjacent to the side of the main unit 2 and includes an article selection switch and a billing unit that receives bills, coins, etc., pays out change, or setstles charges by electronic money or the like. ing. The operation unit 3 transmits a sales instruction to the main body unit 2 when the charge is settled in the charging unit and the selection operation of the article is performed by the selection switch.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inside of the door 5 of the main body unit 2 is made visible by the transparent plate 10 formed of transparent glass or resin. A rectangular article take-out port 11 (take-out port) is provided at the lower portion of the door 5. The article outlet 11 is provided with a rectangular plate-shaped outlet shutter 12. The take-out port shutter 12 is supported on the upper edge of the article take-out port 11 so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction. The take-out port shutter 12 closes the article take-out port 11 at a closed position that extends in the vertical direction, and swings the lower part rearward from this closed position, whereby the article take-out port 11 opens.

The article storage unit 6 inside the cabinet 4 is configured by arranging a plurality of (for example, six) shelves 13a to 13f that are open at the front and are spaced apart in the vertical direction. The lowermost shelf 13f in the article storage unit 6 has a large vertical storage space, and stores relatively large vertical articles such as 500 ml PET bottle beverages, while the uppermost first shelf 13a is up and down. The storage space is small in the direction, and relatively small articles are stored. The shelves 13a to 13f are respectively inserted from the front with the door 5 opened and arranged in the cabinet 4.

Further, the article storage unit 6 of the present embodiment is detachably provided with the internal partition wall 40 formed in a flat plate shape by a heat insulating material. When the internal partition 40 is mounted inside the cabinet 4, the article storage unit 6 is partitioned by the internal partition 40 into two chambers, an upper chamber 6a and a lower chamber 6b. These two

compartments

6a and 6b are set so that their temperature zones are different from each other. For example, of the six shelves 13a to 13f, the upper storage chamber 6a having the first shelves 13a and the second shelves 13b from the top to the second has the inner temperature set to about 20 ° C., While storing lunches and the like, the lower storage chamber 6b having the lower four shelves 13c to 13f has a storage temperature of 4 ° C. and stores beverages and the like. On the other hand, when the in-compartment partition 40 is removed from the cabinet 4, the article storage unit 6 becomes one storage chamber and is set to have substantially the same temperature zone.

The internal partition 40 is arranged in the cabinet 4 by inserting it from the front into rails (not shown) provided on the left and right inner wall surfaces of the cabinet 4. The cabinet 4 is provided with rails so that the internal partition 40 can be selectively located at the lower part of any of the

shelves

13a, 13b, and 13c from the top to the third level.

Also, each of the shelves 13a to 13f is provided with a plurality of carry-out mechanisms 14 arranged in the left-right direction. The carry-out mechanism 14 is composed of, for example, a mechanism for rotating a spiral metal rod or a belt conveyor. Articles are stored in the shelves 13a to 13f side by side in the front-rear direction for each of the carry-out mechanisms 14, and are carried out by being pushed out one by one in front of the shelves 13a to 13f by the operation of an arbitrary carry-out mechanism 14. ..

A space in which the bucket 30 moves (hereinafter referred to as a bucket moving space 21) is provided between the front ends of the shelves 13a to 13f and the transparent plate 10 which is the front surface of the door 5.

The bucket 30 has a length that is substantially the same as the left-right direction of the shelves 13a to 13f, and is arranged so as to be vertically movable in the bucket moving space 21. The bucket 30 is vertically moved by an actuator (not shown) provided inside the cabinet 4, and can be moved to a position where the rear end portion of the bottom plate 31 of the bucket 30 is substantially at the same height as the bottom plates of the shelves 13a to 13f. In addition, the top plate 32 of the bucket 30, which will be described later, can be moved so as to be located below the bottom surface of the shelf 13f at the bottom when it is moved to the bottom. The position of the bucket 30 that has moved to the lowermost position is the standby / unloading position. At this standby / unloading position, the article outlet 11 is located in front of the bucket 30, and the outlet shutter 12 is opened to open the bucket 30. It is possible to put your hands inside.

Further, the bucket moving space 21 inside the cabinet 4 is provided with an auxiliary partition wall 41 for vertically partitioning the bucket moving space 21. The auxiliary partition wall 41 is formed in a plate shape with a transparent resin or the like. The auxiliary partition wall 41 is arranged so as to be vertically movable in the bucket moving space 21 along guides (not shown) provided on the left and right inner wall surfaces of the front portion of the cabinet 4, for example. When the bucket 30 is located below the auxiliary partition wall 41, the auxiliary partition wall 41 is located at the same vertical position as the internal partition wall 40, and partitions the bucket moving space 21 into upper and lower parts. Therefore, the auxiliary partition wall 41 is provided so that the upper storage chamber 6a and the lower storage chamber 6b do not communicate with each other in the bucket moving space 21. On the other hand, when the bucket 30 moves upward from below the auxiliary partition wall 41, the auxiliary partition wall 41 is placed on the top plate 32 of the bucket 30 and moves above the internal partition wall 40 together with the bucket 30. The bucket 30 can be moved to the upper storage chamber 6a side.

Inside the main unit 2, a machine room 22 is provided below the article storage section 6. The machine room 22 is provided with a condenser 23a in a cooling device that circulates a refrigerant, a condenser fan 23b, and a compressor 23c. The front part and the rear part of the machine room 22 communicate with the outside. A lower duct 24 is provided between the machine room 22 and the lowest shelf 13f. The lower duct 24 is provided with an evaporator 23d (heat exchanger) in the cooling device and a fan 23e for the evaporator 23d. The fan 23e is disposed behind the evaporator 23d and generates a flow of air from the front of the lower duct 24 toward the rear. A heat insulating material is provided inside the cabinet 4 excluding the machine room 22 in order to suppress heat exchange with the outside. Further, the transparent plate 10 of the door 5 preferably has a high heat insulating property.

The rear portion of the lower duct 24 communicates with the rear duct 25 that extends vertically behind the article storage unit 6. Further, an upper duct 26 extending in the front-rear direction is provided above the article storage unit 6.

The front opening of the upper duct 26 opens toward the upper part of the bucket moving space 21. Further, an air guide plate 27 is provided at the upper edge of the front opening of the upper duct 26 so as to incline downward at an angle of, for example, 45 degrees.

On the other hand, a back panel 28 is provided at the front end of the lower duct 24. The back panel 28 extends in the vertical direction and partitions the lower duct 24 and the bucket moving space 21 in front of the lower duct 24. Further, the upper portion of the back panel 28 has an inclined portion 28a that inclines rearward toward the upper side. A plurality of ventilation holes 28c are provided in the inclined portion 28a. The vent holes 28c are holes having a diameter of about several millimeters, which are provided side by side in the front, rear, left, and right, for example, at intervals of about 1 cm, over substantially the entire area of the inclined portion 28a.

The bucket moving space 21 that guides the air in the lower compartment 6b to the lower duct 24 to the vent hole 28c of the back panel 28 corresponds to the second intake port of the present invention.

Further, an electric heater 45 is provided in the upper duct 26, and a heater fan 46 that generates a flow of air from inside the upper duct 26 toward the front is provided.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inside of the cabinet 4 for explaining the position of the duct for circulating the cooling air. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the interior of the cabinet 4 as viewed rearward for explaining the shape of the rear duct 25. FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the interior of the cabinet 4 for explaining the opening of the duct. 3 to 5, the shelves 13a to 13f, the partition for vertically partitioning the article storage unit 6 and the lower duct 24, the back panel 28, and the bucket 30 are omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, inside the cabinet 4, in addition to the lower duct 24, the rear duct 25, and the upper duct 26,

side ducts

50a and 50b are further provided on the left and right of the article storage unit 6, respectively. ing.

The

side ducts

50a and 50b are arranged so as to extend in the vertical direction along the left and right side walls of the cabinet 4, and have a left side duct 50a and a right side duct 50b. The lower portions of the left and

right side ducts

50a and 50b respectively have rectangular

lower opening portions

51a and 51b that open toward the lower duct 24. The upper portions of the left and

right side ducts

50a, 50b have four

side opening portions

52a, 52b, 52c, 52d facing the upper storage chamber 6a or the lower storage chamber 6b. The

side openings

52a, 52b, 52c, 52d are arranged side by side in the up-down direction, and the first side opening 52a located at the uppermost position is the upper duct 26 and the uppermost first shelf 13a. It is arranged in the up and down position between. The second side opening 52b, which is located second from the upper side, is arranged at a vertical position between the first shelf 13a and the second shelf 13b which is second from the upper side. The third side opening 52c located at the third position from the upper side is arranged at a vertical position between the second shelf 13b and the third shelf 13c located at the third position from the upper side. The fourth side opening 52d located at the bottom of the

side openings

52a, 52b, 52c, 52d is located at the upper and lower positions between the third shelf 13c and the fourth shelf 13d which is fourth from the top. Is located in.

The rear duct 25 is divided into three parts on the left and right, and has a left rear duct 25a (first duct), a central rear duct 25b (second duct), and a right rear duct 25c (first duct). .. Each of the

rear ducts

25a, 25b, 25c has an upper end opening to the upper duct 26 and a lower end opening to the lower duct 24. The openings 56 at the upper ends of the left rear duct 25a and the right rear duct 25c correspond to the first outlet of the present invention. Of the three

rear ducts

25a, 25b, 25c, the central rear duct 25b located in the central portion in the left-right direction has three rectangular rear opening portions 53a facing the article storage portion 6, that is, opening toward the front. , 53b, 53c. The

rear openings

53a, 53b, 53c have substantially the same left-right length as the central rear duct 25b, and are arranged side by side in the vertical direction. Of the three

rear openings

53a, 53b, 53c, the uppermost first rear opening 53a is arranged between the first shelf 13a and the second shelf 13b. The second rear opening 53b located second from the top is arranged between the second shelf 13b and the third shelf 13c. Of the

rear opening portions

53a, 53b, 53c, the third rear opening portion 53c located at the lowest position is arranged between the third shelf 13c and the fourth shelf 13d. Further, the central rear duct 25b is provided with a rear opening 57 facing the article storage unit 6 above the first shelf 13a.

On the other hand, of the three

rear ducts

25a, 25b, 25c, the left rear duct 25a located on the left side and the right rear duct 25c located on the right side are directed toward the article storage unit 6 between the lower duct 24 and the upper duct 26. It has no opening to open.

Rear flaps 54a, 54b, 54c for opening and closing the

rear openings

53a, 53b, 53c are provided on the rear upper edges of the

rear openings

53a, 53b, 53c, respectively. The

rear flaps

54a, 54b, 54c have a left-right width that is substantially the same as the left-right width of the central rear duct 25b, and the lower portion thereof rotates back and forth within the central rear duct 25b with the upper portion as the center of rotation.

The

rear flaps

54a, 54b, 54c are biased by a spring or the like (not shown) so that their lower ends rotate forward. The

rear flaps

54a, 54b, 54c are configured to have a smaller vertical dimension than the

rear openings

53a, 53b, 53c. Therefore, even if the

rear flaps

54a, 54b, 54c close the

rear opening portions

53a, 53b, 53c, the

rear opening portions

53a, 53b, 53c are not completely closed, and the

rear flaps

54a, 54b, 54c are located below the

rear flaps

54a, 54b, 54c. There is an opening. Therefore, the

rear openings

53a, 53b, 53c are configured so as to be in a normally open state in which at least a part is opened. The

rear flaps

54a, 54b, 54c are rotatable rearward until their lower ends contact the rear wall of the cabinet 4. When the lower ends of the

rear flaps

54a, 54b, 54c are in contact with the rear wall, the

rear flaps

54a, 54b, 54c vertically shield the central rear duct 25b at the contact positions.

The upper side edges of the

side openings

52a, 52b, 52c, 52d are provided with

side flaps

55a, 55b, 55c, 55d for opening and closing the

side openings

52a, 52b, 52c, 52d, respectively. The side flaps 55a, 55b, 55c, 55d are configured such that the

side openings

52a, 52b, 52c, 52d are closed by a spring or the like not shown.

When the internal partition 40 is selectively inserted into the lower part of any one of the third to

upper shelves

13a, 13b, 13c, the

upper side openings

52a, 52b closest to the internal partition 40, The side flaps 55a, 55b, 55c, 55d are rotated laterally so that the

openings

52c, 52d are opened, and the lower

rear flaps

54a, 54b, 54c closest to the internal partition 40 are in contact with the rear wall. Thus, it is configured to be rotated rearward. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, when the internal partition wall 40 is installed between the second shelf 13b and the third shelf 13c from the top, the left and right side flaps 55b second from the top. Rotates outward in the left-right direction to open the second side opening 52b, while the second rear flap 54b from the top rotates rearward to open the second rear opening 53b largely. It prevents the cooling air from moving upward from the rear flap 54b in the central rear duct 25b.

In the cabinet 4,

temperature sensors

58a, 58b, 58c are provided near the upper sides of the first shelf 13a, the second shelf 13b, and the third shelf 13c, respectively.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the arrangement of the fan 23e and the evaporator 23d in the lower duct 24. FIG. 6 is a view of the inside of the lower duct 24 as viewed from above.

As shown in FIG. 6, the fan 23e provided behind the evaporator 23d in the lower duct 24 is composed of four fans 23f to 23i arranged side by side. Further, the lower duct 24 is provided with

partition walls

60a, 60b, 60c for guiding cooling air. The partition wall 60a partitioning the front and rear of the evaporator 23d is provided with the cooling air passing through the ventilation hole 28c of the back panel 28 in front of the lower duct 24 and the lower openings of the

side ducts

50a, 50b communicating with the side of the lower duct 24. The cooling air that has passed through the

portions

51a and 51b is configured to be guided to the front of the evaporator 23d. Further, the partition wall 60b is provided between the evaporator 23d and the fan 23e so that the cooling air passing through the evaporator 23d is separately guided to the two

right fans

23h and 23i and the two

left fans

23f and 23g. Is configured. The partition wall 60c is provided between the fan 23e and the rear duct 25, and of the four

fans

23f, 23g, 23h, and 23i, the central two

fans

23g and 23h guide the cooling to the rear of the lower duct 24. The wind is guided to the central rear duct 25b. The cooling air guided rearward by the left fan 23f is partly guided to the central rear duct 25b, while the remaining part is guided to the left rear duct 25a. The cooling air guided rearward by the right fan 23i is partly guided to the central rear duct 25b, while the remaining part is guided to the right rear duct 25c.

The operation of the four fans 23f to 23i is controlled by a control unit (not shown) provided inside the cabinet 4.

The control unit includes a cooling device including four

fans

23f, 23g, 23h, and 23i and an electric heater 45 based on the detection values of the

temperature sensors

58a, 58b, and 58c and the temperature set by a temperature setting device (not shown). By controlling the operation of the heater fan 46 and the heater fan 46, the temperature of each of the upper compartment 6a and the lower compartment 6b is controlled. For example, when a lunch box is stored in the upper chamber 6a and a beverage is stored in the lower chamber 6b, the upper chamber 6a is set to 20 ° C and the lower chamber 6b is set to 4 ° C.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the cabinet 4 showing the circulation path of the cooling air. FIG. 7 is a diagram in which a circulation path of cooling air is added to FIG. 4 by an arrow. 8 and 9 are vertical cross-sectional views of the upper part of the cabinet 4 for explaining the circulation path of the warm air in the upper compartment 6a. FIG. 8 shows a case where the internal partition 40 is installed in the lower part of the second shelf 13b, and FIG. 9 shows a case where the internal partition 40 is installed in the lower part of the first shelf 13a.

As shown in FIG. 7, by operating the compressor 23c and the fan 23b of the cooling device and operating the fans 23e (23f to 23i) in the lower duct 24, the cooling cooled through the evaporator 23d is performed. The wind flows from the lower duct 24 into the lower portion of the rear duct 25 (25a, 25b, 25c). The cooling air that has flowed into the left rear duct 25a and the right rear duct 25c of the rear duct 25 moves to the upper duct 26 from the openings 56 at the upper portions of the left rear duct 25a and the right rear duct 25c, respectively. Is moved from the rear to the front and flows into the upper portion of the bucket moving space 21. Since the bucket moving space 21 is vertically divided by the auxiliary partition wall 41, the cooling air that has flowed into the upper part of the bucket moving space 21 moves rearward above the internal partition wall 40 to form an internal partition wall. It flows into the side opening 52b that is open above 40. In FIG. 7, since the auxiliary partition wall 41 is installed in the lower part of the second shelf 13b which is the second from the top, the second side opening which is the second from the top among the side openings 52a to 52d. 52b opens. Then, the cooling air moves downward in the left and

right side ducts

50a and 50b and moves to the front surface of the evaporator 23d of the lower duct 24. As described above, the upper storage chamber 6a above the internal partition 40 uses the left rear duct 25a, the right rear duct 25c, and the left and

right side ducts

50a and 50b to circulate the cooling air, and the upper storage chamber 6a. The articles stored in the first shelf 13a and the second shelf 13b therein are cooled. In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, when the auxiliary partition wall 41 is installed in the lower part of the second shelf 13b from the top, the side opening 52b that is open above the partition wall 40 in the refrigerator is of the present invention. The

rear openings

53b and 53c, which correspond to the first intake port and open below the internal partition 40, correspond to the second outlet of the present invention.

On the other hand, the cooling air that has flowed into the central rear duct 25b of the rear ducts 25 is divided into upper and lower portions by the rear flaps 54b that are opened rearward by the internal partition 40, so that the opening operation is performed. The upward movement of the rear flap 54b is restricted. As a result, all of the cooling air that has flowed into the central rear duct 25b flows into the lower compartment 6b, and in particular, most of it flows into the lower compartment 6b from the lower rear opening 53b that is closest to the internal partition 40. The cooling air that has flowed into the lower compartment 6b moves forward in the lower compartment 6b, moves downward in the bucket moving space 21, and flows into the front portion of the lower duct 24 from the ventilation hole 28c of the back panel 28. .. In this way, the lower compartment 6b below the internal partition 40 utilizes the space below the auxiliary partition 41 in the central rear duct 25b and the bucket moving space 21 to circulate the cooling air, and the lower compartment 6b. The articles stored in the inner shelves 13c to 13f are cooled.

Further, the control unit compares the current temperature with the set temperature, and when it is necessary to heat the upper compartment 6a, the left and

right fans

23f and 23i are stopped and the electric heater 45 and the heater fan 46 are operated. Let

As shown in FIG. 8, when the internal partition 40 is installed in the lower part of the second shelf 13 b, the air in the upper duct 26 heated by the electric heater 45 is discharged from the front opening of the upper duct 26. It moves to the bucket moving space 21 above the auxiliary partition wall 41, moves the upper storage chamber 6a from the front to the rear, and the first rear opening portion 53a or the rear portion which is the rear opening portion above the internal partition wall 40. It passes through the central rear duct 25b above the opening 57 and the internal partition 40, and moves to the rear of the upper duct 26. In this way, by stopping the left and

right fans

23f and 23i and operating the electric heater 45 and the heater fan 46, the upper storage chamber 6a above the internal storage partition 40 has a central rear portion above the internal storage partition 40. Hot air is circulated using the duct 25b to heat the articles stored in the first shelf 13a and the second shelf 13b in the upper storage chamber 6a.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the partition 40 in the refrigerator is installed in the lower part of the first shelf 13 a, the air in the upper duct 26 heated by the electric heater 45 is discharged from the front opening of the upper duct 26. It moves to the bucket moving space 21 above the auxiliary partition wall 41, moves the upper storage chamber 6a from the front to the rear, and the rear opening 57, which is the rear opening above the internal partition 40, the internal partition 40. It passes through the central rear duct 25b above the upper part and moves to the rear part of the upper duct 26. In this way, even when the partition 40 in the refrigerator is installed in the lower part of the first shelf 13a, the left and

right fans

23f and 23i are stopped, and the electric heater 45 and the heater fan 46 are operated, whereby the partition 40 in the refrigerator 40 is operated. In the upper storage chamber 6a above, the warm air is circulated using the central rear duct 25b above the internal partition 40, and heats the articles stored in the first shelf 13a in the upper storage chamber 6a.

Note that in FIG. 8, the left and right side flaps 55b that open and close the left and right second side openings 52b, and in FIG. 9, the left and right side flaps 55a that open and close the left and right first side openings 52a. Is opened and pushed into the

side ducts

50a and 50b. However, since the left and

right fans

23f and 23i in the lower duct 24 are stopped, cooling air is not supplied from the left and right

rear ducts

25a and 25c to the upper storage chamber 6a via the upper duct 26. In other words, air does not flow in the order of the left and right

rear ducts

25a, 25c, the upper duct 26, the first or

second side openings

52a, 52b, the left and

right side ducts

50a, 50b, the lower duct 24, The air circulating in the upper compartment 6a cannot flow out from the first or

second side openings

52a, 52b. Therefore, even if the first side opening 52a or the second side opening 52b is opened, the upper chamber 6a can be heated by the electric heater 45. Further, the central rear duct 25b is closed (closed) at that position because the

rear flaps

54a, 54b for opening and closing the first or second rear opening

portions

53a, 53b are pushed open in the central rear duct 25b. Therefore, the cooling temperature control air cannot be supplied from the lower duct 24 into the upper chamber 6a.

As described above, in this embodiment, the rear duct of the cabinet 4 for supplying the cooling air to the upper compartment 6a and the lower compartment 6b is provided in the rear part of the cabinet 4, and the cooling air is supplied to the side portion of the cabinet 4 from the upper compartment 6a. Since the

side ducts

50a and 50b for discharging are provided, the cooling air is circulated between the upper chamber 6a and the lower duct 24 having the evaporator 23d independently of the circulation path of the cooling air in the lower chamber 6b. Can be circulated. Then, by controlling the rotation speeds of the four

fans

23f, 23g, 23h, and 23i, the air volume of the cooling air circulating in the upper compartment 6a and the air volume of the cooling air circulating in the lower compartment 6b are respectively controlled, The temperatures of the upper compartment 6a and the lower compartment 6b can be efficiently set. In particular, since the rear duct 25 and the

side ducts

50a and 50b are arranged on different surfaces (rear side and left and right sides of the cabinet 4), it is possible to secure a large passage cross-sectional area and improve cooling efficiency. You can

Then, each of the upper compartment 6a and the lower compartment 6b set to different temperatures can be cooled by using one evaporator 23d provided in the lower duct 24. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be suppressed, and the size of the cabinet 4 can be reduced or the size of the article storage unit 6 can be increased, as compared with a case where an evaporator for the upper compartment 6a is newly provided in the upper portion of the cabinet 4. Can be promoted.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above embodiment, the

side ducts

50a and 50b are provided on the left and right of the upper and

lower chambers

6a and 6b, but the side ducts may be provided on only one of the left and right sides.

In the above embodiment, the rear flaps 54a to 54c may be rotated by an actuator, and the rotation angle of the actuator may be controlled. By controlling the rearward rotation angle of the rear flaps 54a to 54c to a large extent, the rear opening portion in which the rear flaps 54a to 54c that have pivoted rearward are disposed in the cooling air moving upward in the central rear duct 25b. A large amount of cooling air flows from 53a to 53c between the shelves 13a to 13f and 13a to 13f where the rear openings 53a to 53c are located.

Therefore, the control unit controls the rotation angles of the rear flaps 54a to 54c on which the

temperature sensors

58a, 58b, 58c are located based on the temperatures detected by the

temperature sensors

58a, 58b, 58c, so that the shelf 13a is controlled. It is possible to control the inflow amount of the cooling air for each .about.13c so as to be accurately controlled by the set temperature.

Alternatively, the rear flaps 54a to 54c may be configured to rotate by a member such as a bimetal that deforms according to temperature. As a result, the rear flaps 54a to 54c can be rotated in accordance with the preset temperature, and the cooling air flowing from the rear opening portions 53a to 53c into the upper compartment 6a or the lower compartment 6b with a simple structure. It is possible to control the temperature of each of the shelves 13a to 13c by controlling the air flow rate.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the auxiliary partition wall 41 may be provided with an auxiliary partition wall fan 65 for generating a flow of air from below to above. By operating this auxiliary partition wall fan, cooling air can be supplied from the lower compartment 6b to the upper compartment 6a to cool the inside of the upper compartment 6a. As described above, in the article vending machine including the auxiliary partition wall fan 65, even if the left rear duct 25a and the right rear duct 25c for guiding the cooling air from the lower duct 24 to the upper compartment 6a are removed or the flow passage area is reduced. Good.

Further, the auxiliary partition wall fan 65 is provided, and the rotation direction of the fan 23e is set so as to move the air in the lower duct 24 from the rear to the front, so that the cooling air is blown from the front in the upper compartment 6a and the lower compartment 6b. It may be moved rearward and discharged from the

side ducts

50a and 50b.

In this way, even in the article vending machine configured such that the cooling air moves from the front to the rear in the upper compartment 6a and the lower compartment 6b, the cooling air in the upper compartment 6a is guided to the lower duct 24 by the

side ducts

50a and 50b. It is possible to guide, and the circulation paths for the cooling air in the upper compartment 6a and the lower compartment 6b can be provided independently. Then, by controlling the rotation speeds of the fan 23e and the auxiliary partition wall fan 65, it is possible to respectively control the temperatures of the upper compartment 6a and the lower compartment 6b.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the lower storage chamber 6b is cooled by the cooling device, but warm air is circulated by a heating device such as a heater instead of the cooling device, and the lower storage chamber 6b is different from the upper storage chamber 6a. The present invention may be applied to an article vending machine of a type heated to a temperature.

The present invention can also be applied to an article vending machine that stores and sells various items such as beverages, sweets, and bento. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be widely applied to an article vending machine having a configuration in which a plurality of shelves are vertically arranged in a storage room in a cabinet and can be partitioned into upper and lower storage rooms by a partition wall.

1 Merchandise vending machine 4 Cabinet 5 Door (door part)
6 Article storage (storage room)
6a Upper storage chamber 6b Lower storage chambers 13a to 13f Shelf 14 Unloading mechanism 21 Bucket moving space (second intake port)
23d Evaporator (heat exchanger)
25a Left rear duct (first duct)
25b Central rear duct (second duct)
25c Right rear duct (first duct)
30 Bucket 40 Internal Partition 41

Secondary Partition

52a, 52b, 52c, 52d Side Opening (First Intake Port)
53a, 53b, 53c Rear opening (second outlet)
54a, 54b, 54c Rear flap (flap)
56 Opening (first outlet)
65 Auxiliary bulkhead fan (fan)

Claims

A rectangular box-shaped cabinet having a storage room in which a front surface is opened and which stores articles therein,
A door that closes the front of the cabinet,
A goods vending machine provided with the cabinet, comprising: a heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the air circulating in the storage chamber to control the temperature of the storage chamber,
The compartment is divided into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, which are set in different temperature zones by a partition wall,
The first chamber has a first intake port that takes in temperature-controlled air from the upper chamber and leads to the heat exchanger, and a second port that takes in temperature-controlled air from the lower chamber and leads to the heat exchanger. An article vending machine, characterized in that the article vending machines are arranged on front and rear surfaces or right and left surfaces different from each other.
The second intake port is provided on the front surface of the lower compartment,
The article vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the first intake port is provided on either or both surfaces of the upper storage chamber.
The first outlet for discharging the temperature-controlled air from the heat exchanger to the upper compartment is arranged on the rear surface of the upper compartment,
The article vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the second outlet that discharges the temperature-adjusted air from the heat exchanger to the lower compartment is disposed on the rear surface of the lower compartment.
The heat exchanger is arranged below the lower compartment,
Behind the lower compartment, a first duct and a second duct that extend vertically are formed adjacent to each other between the heat exchanger and the upper compartment,
The first duct has the first outlet in the upper portion,
The second duct has an opening to the upper storage chamber at the top and has the second outlet port facing the lower storage chamber,
The article vending machine according to claim 3, wherein the second duct is provided with a flap that suppresses the movement of temperature-controlled air upward from the second outlet.
A plurality of shelves arranged in the storage chamber side by side in the vertical direction, for holding the articles,
A carry-out mechanism that carries out the articles held on the shelf based on a sales instruction from the shelf to the front,
It is arranged movably in the vertical direction in front of the shelves inside the cabinet, receives articles carried forward from the shelves by the carry-out mechanism, and to an outlet provided under the shelves of the cabinet. A bucket to transport,
An auxiliary partition for partitioning a space in which the bucket moves in front of the shelf into upper and lower parts at upper and lower positions of the partition,
The article vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the auxiliary partition wall is provided with a fan that circulates air between the upper compartment and the lower compartment.