JP3820605B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vending machine that can instantly heat and transport canned beverages such as coffee and tea at the time of sale.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Techniques relating to vending machines that instantaneously heat and transport canned beverages at the time of sale have been proposed. In the vending machine, in order to avoid alteration of the beverage due to heat, storage until sale is performed in a state preheated to low temperature, normal temperature or relatively low temperature.
[0003]
Among them, what is stored in a preheated state is always heated to about 30 to 40 ° C., which is a temperature within a range where the internal beverage does not change, in the canned beverage being stored in the rack in the vending machine, After the coin is inserted and the merchandise selection button is pressed, the induction heating coil provided near the merchandise outlet is heated to about 60 ° C. in a short time and carried out. In this way, if preheating is performed at a relatively low temperature, the heating time at the time of sale can be shortened while preventing the quality of the product from being deteriorated, and accordingly, the time for waiting for the customer is shortened.
[0004]
Incidentally, as a conventional document relating to such a vending machine, there is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-121593 (G07F 11/70).
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional technology, even when preheating is performed, since there is a temperature difference of about 30 ° C. between the preheating temperature and the temperature at the time of sale, the heating at the time of sales takes ten and several seconds. When the customer is concentrated, there is a problem that it becomes impossible to respond. Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the heating output to shorten the heating time. However, if the heating output is increased too much, there is a risk that the can beverage may be burnt or leaked from the welded part of the can. A problem comes out.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to shorten the heating time without fear of occurrence of burning of a can or leakage from a can welded portion.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, in the vending machine according to the present invention, a product column for storing canned beverages, a pre-induction heating coil for heating the can beverage close to the product outlet in the product column, and the product column are taken out. It was decided to have a main induction heating coil for heating the resulting can beverage to the sales temperature. Further, the preliminary induction heating coil is provided in a product carry-out mechanism for taking out the can beverage from the product column. The preliminary induction heating coil is formed on a ferrite plate. In addition, preheating is performed by the preinduction heating coil to a temperature close to the sales temperature only in a predetermined time zone where customers are concentrated . Further, the time zone is determined by a sales prediction means for predicting the future sales situation based on past sales data. In addition, the excitation of the preliminary induction heating coil and the main induction heating coil is selectively switched by a changeover switch. Also, a plurality of pre-induction heating coils were provided, and they were excited in order with a time difference from each other.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the inside of a vending machine. In FIG. 1, 1 is a vending machine, 2 is a rack, 3 is a preliminary induction heating coil, 4 is a cord heater, 5 is a chute, 6 is an induction heating unit, 7 is a can beverage, 8 is a main induction heating coil, 9 is An induction heating power supply unit, 10 is a product outlet, 11 is a product inlet, and 12 is a product display label.
[0009]
Each rack 2 has four product columns A to D. In each of these product columns, a can drink is put from the product input port 11 and stored. The can beverage 7 stored in each product column is dropped from the bottom through the chute 5 to the induction heating unit 6 and placed at the position of the main induction heating coil 8. And the can beverage 7 is heated by exciting the main induction heating coil 8 by the induction heating power supply unit 9.
[0010]
The can beverage immediately adjacent to the product outlet in the product column is preheated by the preliminary induction heating coil 3 or the code heater 4 before dropping to the induction heating unit 6. That is, in a normal time zone when customers are not concentrated, a predetermined number of can drinks are preheated to 30 ° C. by the code heater 4. On the other hand, during the time of customer concentration, such as company lunch breaks and breaks, only the bottom column of the product column is preheated by the pre-induction heating coil 3 from 50 ° C to the sales temperature (about 60 ° C). I do.
[0011]
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the rack of the vending machine of the present invention. Reference numeral 2 corresponds to that of FIG. 1, 20 is a product carry-out mechanism section, 20 a is an ejector mechanism, 20 b is a shelf, and 21 and 22 are ejectors. The ejector mechanism 20a has a structure as shown in FIG. The reference numerals correspond to those in FIGS. 1 and 2, 23 is a ferrite plate, 24 is a temperature sensor composed of a thermistor, and 25 is a sold-out detection device.
[0012]
The ejector 21 and the ejector 22 are interlocked, and the ejector 21 normally supports the can beverage in the product column from below, and the ejector 22 is stored in the frame of the ejector mechanism 20a. When discharging the canned beverage from the product column, the ejector 21 is pulled toward the frame of the ejector mechanism 20a by a solenoid (not shown). At that time, one can drink supported by the ejector 21 falls, and at the same time, the ejector 22 rotates downward so that it protrudes out of the frame of the ejector mechanism 20a so that the can drink on it does not fall down. To support.
When there is no canned beverage in the product column, the sold-out detection device 25 jumps outward by a spring force and switches the microswitch to detect that the canned beverage in the product column is sold out.
[0013]
A ferrite plate 23 is provided on the upper surface of the ejector 21, and the preliminary induction heating coil 3 is provided thereon. In addition, a temperature sensor 24 for detecting the temperature of the canned beverage being preheated is provided at the center of the preinduction heating coil 3. Thus, by providing the preliminary induction heating coil 3 on the upper surface of the ejector 21, it is not necessary to secure a special mounting space for the preliminary induction heating coil 3, and in addition, one can drink near the product carry-out port of the product column Only can be heated efficiently. Further, since the ferrite plate is provided under the preliminary induction heating coil 3, the frame body of the ejector mechanism 20a is not unnecessarily heated, and the heating efficiency is further improved in this respect.
Such a preliminary induction heating coil 3 is provided in each product column in which canned beverages to be heated and sold are placed.
[0014]
Next, heating control will be described.
FIG. 4 is an induction heating circuit diagram. Reference numeral 8 corresponds to that in FIG. 1, 3A to 3D are preliminary induction heating coils provided in the respective product columns, 30 is an AC power source, 31 is a rectifier circuit, 32 is an induction heating control circuit, and 33 is a drive circuit. , 34 is an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), and 35 to 39 are changeover switches.
[0015]
By switching the changeover switches 35 to 39, any one of the main induction heating coil 8 and the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D is selected and connected. For example, when the changeover switch 35 is switched to the main induction heating coil 8 side, the main induction heating coil 8 is connected to the power source regardless of the state of the other changeover switches 36 to 39, and the changeover switch 35 is switched to the opposite side. When the changeover switches 36 to 39 are turned on one by one in order, the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D are sequentially connected to the power source.
[0016]
In this way, a resonance circuit is formed with the resonance capacitor C by turning on and off the IGBT 34 in a state where any one of the main induction heating coil 8 and the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D is connected to the power source. A large high frequency current flows through the main induction heating coil 8 or the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D to generate a high frequency magnetic field. Due to the high frequency magnetic field, eddy current flows through the can of the can beverage 7 (FIG. 1), Joule heat is generated, and the can beverage 7 is heated.
[0017]
The induction heating control circuit 32 performs on / off control of the IGBT 34 by outputting an oscillation signal to the drive circuit 33. When the IGBT 34 is turned on and off once at a certain time, a large pulse is applied to the main induction heating coil 8 or the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D due to the resonance action of the main induction heating coil 8 or the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D and the resonance capacitor C. Current flows. Thereafter, it is detected that the voltage across the main induction heating coil 8 or the preliminary induction heating coils 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> D has dropped to 0, and the next oscillation signal is output to the drive circuit 33. By repeating such an operation, a pulsed high-frequency current is caused to flow through the main induction heating coil 8 or the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D.
[0018]
The drive circuit 33 has a function of amplifying the oscillation signal output from the induction heating control circuit 32 and applying it to the gate of the IGBT 34 to perform on / off control.
In FIG. 4, the preliminary induction heating coils 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> D and the main induction heating coil 8 are selectively switched by the changeover switch 35 so that they are not simultaneously excited, but the changeover switch 35 is omitted. Thus, the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D and the main induction heating coil 8 may be excited simultaneously. By doing so, it is necessary to increase the current capacity of the power supply, but it is possible to perform preliminary heating while heating by the main induction heating coil 8.
[0019]
The preliminary heating by the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D is performed slightly before the time zone in which customers are concentrated within one day. For example, in a vending machine installed in a company, customers are concentrated before the start of work, during breaks, and during lunch breaks. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the preheating control is started slightly before those time periods.
[0020]
Next, how to perform the preheating control will be described.
FIG. 6 is a control timing chart of the preliminary induction heating coil and the code heater.
When the preheating control start time comes, the code heater 4 (FIG. 1) that has been turned on is turned off, the changeover switch 35 in FIG. 4 is changed to the preinduction heating coil side, and the changeover switch 36 is turned on. The preliminary induction heating coil 3A of the column A is excited for a certain time. Next, the changeover switch 36 is turned off, the changeover switch 37 is turned on, and the preliminary induction heating coil 3B of the column B is excited for a predetermined time. Thereafter, similarly, the pre-induction heating coils 3C and 3D of the column C and the column D are sequentially excited. In the example shown in FIG. 6, switching is performed so that two or more preliminary induction heating coils are not excited simultaneously. However, in some cases, two preliminary induction heating coils are simultaneously excited. There can also be a partial period.
[0021]
When the temperature of the pre-heated can beverage reaches the upper limit temperature, that is, the selling temperature (about 60 ° C.) while repeating such a cycle several times, excitation of the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D is stopped. Then, when the temperature of the can beverage that has been preheated thereafter is cooled to the lower limit temperature, preheating is started again. In this case, the degree of heating may be lower than the initial temperature. The time for exciting the coils 3A to 3D once is shortened.
[0022]
Thereafter, when there is a sales request within the customer concentration time zone, the ejector 21 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is operated to drop the preheated can beverage onto the induction heating unit 6 (FIG. 1), and about 60 After heating up to the sales temperature of ° C., the product is taken out to the product outlet 10. At this time, since it is only necessary to add a small amount of heat to the can beverage, the can beverage can be heated very quickly as compared with conventional heat sales.
[0023]
When pre-heating is in progress when a sales request is made, pre-heating is immediately stopped, the can beverage requested for sales is transferred to the induction heating unit 6, and the main induction heating coil 8 is excited to the sales temperature. Heat. As soon as the can beverage is heated to the sales temperature and taken out to the product outlet 10, the pre-induction heating coil 3 of the product column in which the can beverage is contained is immediately excited to give priority to the pre-heating of the next can. To do it.
[0024]
Further, when the same can beverage is continuously sold, the alternate sales mode is forcibly set so that the product is alternately carried out from another product column containing the same type of can beverage. In this way, it is preferable to increase the efficiency by making the preheating time as long as possible.
[0025]
On the other hand, when there is a sales request in a time zone other than the customer concentration time zone, the cord heater 4 is used to preheat a plurality of pieces at a low temperature without using the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D of each product column. Then, it is heated to the selling temperature by the main induction heating coil 8.
[0026]
Next, heating control by the main induction heating coil 8 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a system block diagram of the vending machine. In FIG. 8, 40 is a main control unit, 41 is a cooling / warming control unit, 42 is a product selection control unit, 43 is a product carry-out control unit, 44 is a currency identification control unit, 45 is an induction heating control unit, and 46 is a serial. This is a signal transmission bus.
[0027]
The main controller 40 comprehensively controls each part of the vending machine. The cooling / warming control unit 41 controls the cooling and warming (other than induction heating) of the products in the vending machine. The product selection control unit 42 determines which of the product selection buttons has been pressed and notifies the main control unit 40 of it. The product carry-out control unit 43 controls the product carry-out from the product column to the induction heating unit 6 or directly to the product take-out port 10. The currency identification device 44 identifies the currency put into the vending machine and notifies the main control device 40 of the result. The induction heating control unit 45 controls induction heating performed by the preliminary induction heating coil 3 and the induction heating coil 8.
[0028]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a heating control procedure.
Step 1: It is determined whether or not the product to be heated can be sold.
Step 2: If the sale is possible, it is determined whether or not the product to be heated is selected by the product selection button.
Step 3... When selected, a selection signal indicating that the heating target product has been selected is transmitted from the product selection control unit 42 to the main control unit 40.
[0029]
Step 4 ... A product carry-out signal for carrying out the selected product is transmitted from the main control unit 40 to the product carry-out control unit 43.
Step 5... Then, after the solenoid of the corresponding product column is driven, a product carry-out signal is also transmitted from the main control unit 40 to the induction heating control unit 45.
Step 6: The induction heating control unit 45 determines whether or not a product carry-out signal has been received.
[0030]
Step 7: Upon receipt, it is determined whether or not there is a product on the induction heating coil 8.
Step 8... If there is, the induction heating control unit 45 starts induction heating.
Step 9: After reaching a predetermined temperature, the induction heating is stopped.
Step 10: The heated product is carried out to the product take-out port 10.
[0031]
As described above, the induction heating control unit 45 enters that the product unloading signal is output in addition to the presence of the product on the induction heating coil 8 as a condition for starting the induction heating. As a result, even if there is an erroneous detection of a product due to a failure of the product detection switch of the induction heating coil 8 or the like, induction heating is not started by itself, and the safety and reliability of the apparatus are increased.
[0032]
In the above embodiment, the preliminary heating by the preliminary induction heating coils 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> D has been described in the case where the preliminary heating is performed in a fixed time zone such as a company break, a break time, and a lunch break, but a sales prediction device is provided, Based on the past sales data, a time zone in which the daily customers are concentrated may be predicted, and preliminary heating by the preliminary induction heating coils 3A to 3D may be performed in the time zone.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the preliminary induction heating coil 3 was provided in the ejector 21, you may provide in the shelf 20b facing it. In this way, if the preliminary induction heating coil 3 is provided on the shelf 20b, the weight of the can beverage contained in the commodity column is not directly applied to the shelf 20b, so that the preliminary induction heating coil 3 is not easily damaged.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the vending machine of the present invention, the can beverage near the product outlet in the product column is pre-heated by the pre-induction heating coil. Due to its short length, it is possible to prevent the beverage from being altered even when preheated to a high temperature. As a result, the heating time at the time of sale can be increased, and the heating time can be shortened without risking the occurrence of can burning or the like.
[0034]
Further, if the preliminary induction heating coil is provided in an ejector for discharging canned beverages from the commodity column, it is not necessary to secure a special mounting space for the preliminary induction heating coil, and the structure is simplified. Only canned beverages near the product outlet of the column can be heated efficiently.
[0035]
Moreover, if the preliminary induction heating coil is formed on the ferrite plate, the frame body of the product carry-out mechanism part is not heated unnecessarily, and the can beverage can be heated more efficiently and safely. .
[0036]
And also, only in a predetermined time period a customer focus, since to carry out the preheating in the preliminary induction heating coil to a temperature close to the sale temperature, during which time since the rotation of the products is earlier, was pre-heating the product The time to leave in the state is shortened, and the beverage is less likely to be altered. As a result, the preheating can be performed up to a temperature close to the sales temperature, and the heating time at the time of sales can be made very short.
[0037]
Furthermore, if the time of the customer's concentration on that day is predicted by the sales predicting means, and the preliminary heating by the preliminary induction heating coil is automatically performed when that time is reached, the customer's concentration time is fixed. When it is not decided, preheating can be performed automatically and optimally.
[0038]
Furthermore, if the excitation of the preliminary induction heating coil and the main induction heating coil is selectively switched with a changeover switch, or if the excitation is performed with a time difference between the preliminary induction heating coils, a plurality of The induction heating coils are not excited simultaneously. As a result, the current capacity of the power source can be kept small, and the resonance conditions of the resonance circuit formed by the resonance capacitor C (FIG. 4) and each induction heating coil are not greatly shifted, and the excitation current is stabilized. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the inside of a vending machine. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a rack of the vending machine of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an ejector mechanism of the vending machine of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between a customer concentration time zone and preheating control. FIG. 6 is a control timing chart of a preinduction heating coil and a cord heater. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a heating control procedure. System block diagram [Explanation of symbols]
1 Vending Machine 2 Rack 3 Preliminary Induction Heating Coil 4 Code Heater 5 Chute 6 Induction Heating Unit 7 Can Beverage 8 Main Induction Heating Coil 9 Induction Heating Power Supply Unit 10 Product Exit 11 Product Inlet 12 Product Display Label 20 Product Unloading Mechanism Unit 21, 22 Ejector 23 Ferrite plate 24 Temperature sensor 25 Sold-out detection device 30 AC power supply 34 IGBT
35-39 changeover switch 40 main control unit 41 cooling / heating control unit 42 product selection control unit 43 product carry-out control unit 44 money identification control unit 45 induction heating control unit 46 serial signal transmission bus

Claims (6)

A product column for storing canned beverages, a pre-induction heating coil for heating the canned beverage close to the product outlet in the product column, and a main induction heating coil for heating the canned beverage taken out from the product column to a sales temperature; A vending machine having preheating to a temperature close to the sales temperature by the preliminary induction heating coil only in a predetermined time zone in which customers are concentrated . 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the preliminary induction heating coil is provided in a product carry-out mechanism for taking out the can beverage from the product column. 3. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the preliminary induction heating coil is formed on a ferrite plate. The time period, the vending machine according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the determining the sale predicting means for predicting future sales status based on historical sales data. 5. The vending machine according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 , wherein the excitation of the preliminary induction heating coil and the main induction heating coil is selectively switched by a changeover switch. 6. The vending machine according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 , wherein a plurality of pre-induction heating coils are provided and are excited in order with a time difference.

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