JP2008134888A - vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To independently adjust the temperature of each storage chamber by one cooling cycle housed in one case by changing over an air passage by a damper, in an automatic vending machine having the plurality of storage chambers. <P>SOLUTION: This automatic vending machine has: the plurality of storage chambers; an automatic vending machine main body 10 having a machine chamber 15 partitioned from the plurality of storage chambers by partition plates 14; a plurality of fans equipped inside the plurality of storage chambers; and a cooling unit stored in the machine chamber 15. The partition plates 14 of the plurality of storage chambers respectively have main body side blowoff ports 16, 17 and main body side suction ports. The cooling unit has a cooling chamber 44 wherein at least an evaporator 42 is surrounded by a heat insulation material. The cooling chamber 44 has unit side blowoff ports 45, 46 and unit side suction ports opposite to the main body side blowoff ports 16, 17 and the main body side suction ports. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a storage structure for a cooling unit of a vending machine, and more particularly to a vending machine that can be stored in a predetermined state with a simple structure in a vending machine having a plurality of storage chambers.

  Normally, a can vending machine has a compressor and a condenser at the bottom of the vending machine main body, and an evaporator is placed in each storage chamber. Therefore, the evaporator is supported only by piping on the inlet side and outlet side. In addition, since only the evaporator is in a very unstable state when the cooling unit is detached, especially in a vending machine equipped with a plurality of storage chambers, there are a plurality of unstable evaporators, making it difficult to remove and remove. Serviceability was bad.

  As a vending machine that solves this problem, a vending machine has been proposed in which a compressor, a condenser, a decompression means, and an evaporator are all housed in a cassette-type cooling unit and stored in a machine room (patent) Reference 1).

  The conventional vending machine will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional vending machine. As shown in FIG. 5, the vending machine main body 1 includes one storage chamber 3 and a machine chamber 4 that are partitioned by a partition plate 2. A case 5 containing all cooling cycle components (not shown) is housed inside the machine room 4.

  The partition plate 2 is provided with a wind guide port 6 for introducing cool air of the cooling cycle into the storage chamber 3, and a blowout port for blowing the cool cycle air into the storage chamber 3 at a position facing the air guide port 6 of the case 5. 7 is provided.

  Further, a sealing member 8 is provided between the periphery of the air guide port 6 and the periphery of the blowout port 7, and the case 5 is pressed against the partition plate 2 by the base plate 9 so that the seal member 8 is disposed around the air guide port 6. And the periphery of the air outlet 7.

  The operation of the vending machine configured as described above will be described below.

  During cooling of the vending machine, cooling air blown out by a cooling cycle and a fan (not shown) housed in the case 5 is blown out from the blowout port 7 through the air guide port 6 and into the storage chamber 3.

  As a result, the inside of the storage chamber 3 is cooled. At this time, the case 5 is pressed against the partition plate 2 by the base plate 9, and the seal member 8 is in close contact with the periphery of the air inlet 6 and the periphery of the outlet 7. Therefore, the cooling air does not leak into the machine room 4.

Further, when taking out the cooling cycle from the vending machine main body 1 at the time of service, all the components of the cooling cycle are stored in the case 5, and there are no unstable parts, so that the workability can be improved.
JP 2001-351162 A

  However, most vending machines are provided with a plurality of storage chambers 3. In such vending machines, the sales load of goods causes an imbalance in the cooling load, and the storage chambers that require cooling and the cooling chambers are not cooled. Unnecessary storage room is generated.

  When trying to apply the conventional configuration to such a configuration, it is impossible to distribute cooling air to each chamber as necessary, so by performing a cooling operation until all the cooling chambers are below a predetermined temperature, Products in the cooling chamber that do not require cooling become overcooled and may freeze.

  In addition, by independently cooling a plurality of storage chambers using a plurality of cooling cycles, it becomes possible to cope with an imbalance of the cooling load, but a plurality of cooling cycles are required, which only increases the cost. On the contrary, there was a risk that workability would deteriorate.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and by cooling a plurality of storage chambers independently by one cooling cycle stored in one cassette, it is cheaper and supports a wide variety of models. The purpose is to provide a vending machine with high serviceability.

  In order to solve the above conventional problems, a vending machine according to the present invention includes a plurality of storage rooms, a vending machine body including a machine room partitioned from a plurality of storage rooms by partition plates, and a plurality of storage rooms. And a cooling unit that is housed in the machine room and includes at least a cooler. The partition plates of the plurality of storage rooms each have a main body side outlet and a main body side suction port. The cooling unit includes a cooling chamber in which at least a cooler is surrounded by a heat insulating material, and the cooling chamber includes a unit-side air outlet and a unit-side air inlet, facing the main body-side air outlet and the main body-side air inlet. is there.

  Thus, the cool air in the cooling chamber can be distributed to the plurality of storage chambers independently by operating and stopping the fans in the respective storage chambers.

  Also, a blower damper that opens and closes the main body side blowout port or the unit side blowout port and a suction damper that opens and closes the main body side suction port or the unit side suction port are provided.

  By closing the damper when the corresponding storage room does not need to be cooled, the cool air in the cooling room does not leak into the storage room and does not flow out to other storage rooms. Adjustment is possible.

  Further, at least one of the plurality of storage chambers is provided with an air passage partition that divides the air passage on the fan suction side into a cooling air passage on the main body side outlet side and a heating air passage on the storage chamber side, and a heating air passage. A heating damper that opens and closes, and a heating means are provided.

  As a result, serviceability can be improved even in a vending machine that heats a product.

  In addition, a seal member made of an elastic body is provided between the periphery of the unit-side air outlet and the periphery of the main body-side air outlet and between the unit-side air inlet and the periphery of the main body-side air inlet.

  Thus, the cooling chamber, the storage chamber, and the machine room are isolated by the seal member, and the cool air in the cooling room does not leak into the machine room, and the cooling efficiency can be increased.

  Also, an elevating means for moving the cooling unit toward the partition plate in the machine room is provided, and when the cooling unit is moved in the partition direction by the elevating means, the cooling chamber and the partition plate are in close contact, or the seal member is blown out to the unit side. The amount of movement is such that it is in close contact with the periphery of the mouth, the periphery of the main body side outlet, the periphery of the unit side suction port, and the periphery of the main body side suction port.

  Thereby, the airtightness of the cooling chamber, the storage chamber, and the machine chamber is further increased, and the cooling efficiency can be further increased.

  Further, the cooling unit is a cassette type unit housed in one box.

  As a result, the cooling unit is integrally stored in one cassette, so that the cooling unit can be easily attached and detached during service.

  The vending machine according to the present invention can cool and heat a plurality of storage chambers independently by a cooling unit stored in a single box, and can improve serviceability for a wider range of models. .

  The invention according to claim 1 is a vending machine main body including a plurality of storage chambers, a machine room partitioned from a plurality of storage chambers by a partition plate, a plurality of fans provided in the plurality of storage chambers, and a machine Each of the plurality of storage chambers is provided with a main body side outlet and a main body side inlet, and the cooling unit includes at least a cooler. It has a cooling chamber surrounded by heat insulating material, and the cooling chamber has a unit-side air outlet and a unit-side air inlet that face the main body-side air outlet and the main body-side air inlet. Since the cool air can be independently distributed to a plurality of storage rooms, a vending machine with high serviceability corresponding to a wider range of models can be obtained.

  The invention according to claim 2 is provided with a blowing damper that opens and closes the main body side outlet or unit side outlet, and a suction damper that opens and closes the main body side inlet or unit side inlet. When it is not necessary to cool the storage room, the damper can be closed to prevent the cold air in the cooling room from leaking into the storage room and flowing out of the other storage room. It becomes possible, and it can be set as the vending machine with high temperature quality of goods.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, at least one of the plurality of storage chambers has an air passage partition that partitions the fan suction side air passage into a cooling air passage on the main body side outlet side and a heating air passage on the storage chamber side. And a heating damper that opens and closes the heating air passage and a heating means can improve serviceability even in vending machines that heat products and support a wider range of models. A vending machine with high serviceability can be obtained.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sealing member made of an elastic body between the periphery of the unit side outlet and the periphery of the main body side outlet, and between the periphery of the unit side inlet and the periphery of the main body side inlet. With this, the cooling chamber and the storage chamber are separated from the machine room by the sealing member, and the cooling air does not leak into the machine room, so that the cooling efficiency can be increased and the vending machine is highly efficient. be able to.

  The invention according to claim 5 is provided with elevating means for moving the cooling unit toward the partition plate in the machine room, and when the cooling unit is moved in the partition direction by the elevating means, the cooling chamber and the partition plate are in close contact with each other, Alternatively, the amount of movement is such that the seal member is in close contact with the periphery of the unit-side air outlet, the periphery of the main body-side air outlet, the periphery of the unit-side air inlet, and the periphery of the main body-side air inlet. The airtightness between the chamber and the machine room is higher, the cooling efficiency can be higher, and a more efficient vending machine can be obtained.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the cooling unit is a cassette type unit housed in one box, the cooling unit is integrally housed in one cassette, and the cooling unit can be attached and detached during service. Can be made simpler and more serviceable.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

  In addition, the operation and action of the same configuration as the conventional one is the same, and the description is omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a vending machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention during cooling of a first storage chamber. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the vending machine according to the embodiment when the first storage chamber is being heated. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vending machine according to the embodiment when the first storage chamber is cooled and stopped in heating. FIG. 4 is a front view showing a state in which the door of the vending machine according to the embodiment is opened.

  1 to 4, the vending machine main body 10 includes a first storage chamber 12 and a second storage chamber 13 which are partitioned by a barrier 11 at an upper portion, and a first storage chamber 12 and a second storage portion which are partitioned by a partition plate 14 at a lower portion. A machine room 15 partitioned from the storage room 13 is provided.

  Main body side blowing ports 16 and 17 and main body side suction ports 18 and 19 (not shown) are opened in the partition plate 14 of each of the storage chambers 12 and 13.

  In the first storage chamber 12 and the second storage chamber 13, fans 20 and 21 for stirring the air in the storage chambers, and a heater 22 for heating the storage chambers downstream of the wind flow of the fans 20 and 21. And 23. Further, the suction side of the fans 20 and 21 is sucked by cooling air passages 26 and 27 (not shown) and heating air passages 28 and 29 (not shown) by air passage partitions 24 and 25 (not shown). It is divided into air passages 30 and 31, cooling dampers 32 and 33 (not shown) in the cooling air passages 26 and 27, and heating dampers 34 and 35 (not shown) in the heating air passages 28 and 29. The suction air passages 30 and 31 (not shown) are provided with suction dampers 36 and 37 (not shown).

  The machine room 15 is housed in a case 38 and stores a cooling cycle 43 including a compressor 39, a condenser 40, a decompression means 41, and an evaporator 42. The case 38 surrounds at least the evaporator 42. The cooling chamber 44 is formed of a heat insulating material.

  The cooling chamber 44 has unit side outlets 45 and 46 and unit side inlets at positions facing the main body outlets 16 and 17 and the main body inlets 18 and 19 when the case 38 is stored in the machine room 15. 47 and 48 (not shown), and the storage chambers 12 and 13 and the cooling chamber 44 communicate with each other.

  Further, seal members 49 are provided around the unit-side outlets 45 and 46 and around the unit-side suction ports 47 and 48.

  The base plate 50 provided in the machine room 15 is installed so that it can be raised and lowered in the machine room 15 by elevating means (for example, by rotation of the crank type lever 51), and the base plate 50 moves to the partition plate 14 side. As a result, the seal member 49 comes into close contact with the periphery of the main body side outlets 16 and 17 and the periphery of the main body side suction ports 18 and 19.

  The operation of the vending machine configured as described above will be described below.

  First, an example where the storage chamber is set to cooling will be described with respect to a case where the first storage chamber 12 is set to cooling. When the first storage chamber 12 is set to be cooled, the cooling damper 28 and the suction damper 36 are opened and the heating damper 34 is closed, so that the air in the first storage chamber 12 is sucked from the suction air passage 30 to the main body side suction port. 18, flows through the unit side suction port 47 and is sucked into the cooling chamber 44, flows from the unit side outlet 45 and the main body side outlet 18 through the cooling air passage 26, and is stirred into the first storage chamber 12 by the fan 20. And cooled.

  At this time, when the first storage chamber 12 reaches a predetermined temperature and cooling becomes unnecessary, the suction damper 36 and the cooling damper 32 are closed, and the cold air is stirred into the first storage chamber 12. Absent.

  Further, if the cooling damper 32 or the suction damper 36 in the first storage chamber is open when the first storage chamber 12 is not cooled and the second storage chamber 13 is cooling, the air in the first storage chamber 12 is opened. May be sucked into the second storage chamber 13 through the cooling chamber 44 and the temperature in the first storage chamber 12 may rise. In the present embodiment, since the cooling damper 32 and the suction damper 36 are closed while the cooling of the first storage chamber 12 is stopped, the air in the first storage chamber 12 does not flow to the second storage chamber 13. Temperature fluctuation can be suppressed.

  Therefore, the inside of the first storage chamber 12 can be maintained at a predetermined temperature by opening and closing the suction damper 36 and the cooling damper 32.

  Next, an example in which the storage room is set to warm will be described for the case where the first week room 12 is set to warm. When the first storage chamber 12 is heated, the cooling damper 28 and the suction damper 36 are closed and the heating damper 34 is opened, so that the air in the first storage chamber 12 is heated by the fan 20 by the fan 20. When the heater 22 is energized, the warm air is stirred into the first storage chamber 12 and heated.

  At this time, when the first storage chamber 12 reaches a predetermined temperature and heating is not necessary, the first storage chamber 12 is not heated by not energizing the heater 22.

  Therefore, the inside of the first storage chamber 12 can be kept at a predetermined temperature by turning on and off the heater 22.

  Further, when the cooling cycle 43 is in operation, the lever 51 is raised, so that the base plate 50 is moved to the partition plate 14 side, and the seal member 49 is connected to the main body side blowing ports 16 and 17 and the main body side suction port. Due to the close contact with the periphery of 18 and 19, the cool air in the cooling chamber 44 does not leak into the machine chamber 15.

  And when it is necessary to remove the cooling cycle 43 at the time of service of the vending machine, the base plate 50 moves in the opposite direction to the partition plate 14 by tilting the lever 51, the partition plate 14 and the seal member 49 are separated, The case 38 containing the cooling cycle 43 can be removed. At this time, since all the components of the cooling cycle 43 are stored in the case 38 and there are no unstable components, the case 38 can be easily taken out from the machine room 15.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, even in a vending machine having a plurality of storage chambers, each chamber can be independently cooled and heated by one cooling cycle 43 stored in one case 38, so that it is cheaper. Therefore, it can be a vending machine with high serviceability corresponding to a wide range of models.

  In the present embodiment, a vapor compression cooling cycle comprising a compressor 39, a condenser 40, a pressure reducing means 41, and an evaporator 42 is used as the cooling cycle. However, any cycle provided with a cooler may be used. Similar effects can be obtained.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the description has been made assuming that there are two storage chambers. However, if there are a plurality of storage chambers, the same effect can be obtained in three or four chambers, and of course the effect can be achieved even when there is one storage chamber. can get.

  In the present embodiment, the crank-type lever 51 is used as the lifting means. However, any means may be used as long as it has a function of moving the base plate 50 up and down. For example, the base plate 50 may be bolted from the partition plate 14 side. The base plate 50 can be lifted and lowered with a smaller force by passing the screw and tightening the bolt to raise and lower the base plate 50 by projecting the bolt under the base plate 50.

  In the present embodiment, the means for raising and lowering the base plate 50 has been described as means for bringing the seal member 49 into close contact with the main body side blowing ports 16 and 17 and the main body side suction ports 18 and 19. When the seal member 50 is compressed due to deterioration, the sealing effect is lowered. For example, a magnet is put in the seal member 50 and the magnets are sucked around the main body side outlets 16 and 17 and the main body side suction ports 18 and 19. By using a material (for example, iron) to be sealed, it can be more easily and reliably sealed.

  Further, the same effect can be obtained regardless of whether the fan 20 is stopped during cooling or heating.

  As described above, the vending machine according to the present invention can distribute the cold air in the cooling chamber to each storage chamber by switching the air path using the damper, and thus can be applied to all devices having a plurality of storage chambers. .

The longitudinal cross-sectional view in which the 1st storage chamber of the vending machine by Embodiment 1 of this invention is cooling Longitudinal sectional view when the first storage chamber of the vending machine of the embodiment is being heated Longitudinal sectional view when the first storage chamber of the vending machine of the same embodiment is cooled and stopped in heating. Front view of the vending machine door of the embodiment opened Vertical section of a conventional vending machine

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vending machine main body 12 1st storage chamber 13 2nd storage chamber 14 Partition plate 15 Machine room 16, 17 Main body side outlet 18, 19 Main body side inlet 20, 21 Fan 22, 23 Heater 24, 25 Airway partition 26 , 27 Cooling air passage 28, 29 Heating air passage 34, 35 Heating damper 36, 37 Suction damper 44 Cooling chamber 45, 46 Unit side outlet 47, 48 Unit side inlet 49 Seal member

Claims (6)

  A plurality of storage rooms, a vending machine main body provided with a machine room partitioned from the plurality of storage rooms by a partition plate, a plurality of fans provided in the plurality of storage rooms, and stored in the machine room, at least A cooling unit provided with a cooler, and each of the partition plates of the plurality of storage chambers is provided with a main body side outlet and a main body side suction port, and the cooling unit includes at least the cooler as a heat insulating material. A vending machine comprising a cooling chamber enclosed in a box, and a unit-side air outlet and a unit-side air inlet that face the main body-side air outlet and the main body-side air inlet in the cooling chamber.   The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a blowing damper that opens and closes the main body side outlet or the unit side outlet, and a suction damper that opens and closes the main body side inlet or the unit side inlet.   In at least one of the plurality of storage chambers, the air passage on the fan suction side is divided into a cooling air passage on the main body side outlet and a heating air passage on the storage chamber side, and the heating air passage is opened. The vending machine according to claim 2, further comprising a heating damper that closes and a heating means.   The sealing member which consists of an elastic body between the circumference | surroundings of a unit side blowing outlet, the circumference | surroundings of a main body side blowing outlet, the circumference | surroundings of a unit side suction inlet, and the circumference | surroundings of a main body side suction inlet is provided. The vending machine according to any one of the above.   Elevating means for moving the cooling unit in the machine room in the direction of the partition plate is provided, and when the cooling unit is moved in the partition direction by the elevating means, the cooling chamber and the partition plate are in close contact, or the seal member is blown out to the unit side. The automatic movement according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the movement amount is set so as to be in close contact with the periphery of the mouth, the periphery of the main body side outlet, the periphery of the unit side suction port, and the periphery of the main body side suction port. Vending machine.   The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the cooling unit is a cassette type unit housed in a single box.

Images