JP3545198B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells products such as canned beverages by cooling or heating them.
[0002]
[Prior art]
1 to 3 show a vending machine of this type. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the vending machine with a front door opened, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged front view of the vending machine main body shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged front view showing a state where a partition plate is mounted in the vending machine shown in FIG. 1.
[0003]
1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a heat-insulating vending machine main body having an open front surface, reference numeral 2 denotes a partition plate that vertically partitions an internal space of the vending machine main body 1 into a machine room MC and a storage room SC, and reference numeral 3 denotes a storage room. A plurality of (six in the figure) product columns arranged side by side in the SC, reference numeral 4 denotes a partition plate for dividing the inside of the storage room SC into a cooling area and a heating area, and reference numeral 5 denotes a vending machine body 1. This is a front door that covers the front opening so that it can be opened and closed. Incidentally, FIG. 1 does not show the heat-insulating inner door that opens and closes the opening of the storage room SC of the vending machine main body 1.
[0004]
This vending machine includes a cooling device, a heating device, a blowing fan for circulating cooling air, and a blowing fan for circulating heating air, which are not shown. The cooler has an electric compressor, a condenser, an expansion means, and an evaporator. The electric compressor, the condenser, and the expansion means are arranged in the machine room MC, and the evaporator and the blower fan are provided in the storage room SC. It is arranged on one lower side. Further, the heater has an electric heater, and the electric heater and the blower fan are arranged on the other lower side of the storage room SC.
[0005]
Each product column 3 is composed of a plurality of front and rear serpentine columns, and includes a pair of left and right side plates 3a, a plurality of guide plates 3b for placing products, which are installed above the side plates 3a, and a lower portion of the guide plate 3b between the side plates 3a. A plurality of curved plates 3c which are provided on the side and form a plurality of meandering storage passages arranged side by side, and a product discharge which is provided at a lower end of each storage passage and discharges the lowest order product in the storage passage one by one. Machine (not shown), and a chute plate 3d erected below the product unloader between the side plates 3a. At the upper end of each product column 3, there is provided an engaging portion 3e such as a roller which is movably engaged with a guide rail L1 provided on the upper surface of the storage room SC. Further, a guide rail L2 that guides the lower end of each product column 3 in the front-rear direction is provided on the lower surface of the storage room SC. That is, each product column 3 can be individually moved in the front-rear direction along the guide rails L1 and L2, and can be extracted from the storage room SC and replaced with another product column. Further, a large number of holes are formed in the side plate 3a, the curved plate 3c, and the chute plate 3d constituting each of the product columns 3, and as will be described later in detail, the inside of the product column 3 in the cooling area in the storage room SC is provided. The product is cooled by the cooling air flowing through the hole, and the product in the product column 3 in the heating area in the storage room SC is heated by the heated air flowing through the hole.
[0006]
The partition plate 4 has a heat insulating property and is arbitrarily inserted from the front side of the vending machine main body 1 into gaps G (five in the illustrated example) formed between the adjacent product columns 3. The inside of the storage room SC is divided into a cooling area and a heating area by the plate 4 on the left and right. That is, the sizes of the cooling region and the heating region can be appropriately selected according to the insertion position of the partition plate 4.
[0007]
In the vending machine described above, one of the left and right sides of the partition plate 4 can be used as a cooling area and the other of the left and right sides can be used as a heating area with the partition plate 4 inserted at the position shown in FIG. The air cooled by the cooler circulates around the product column 3 in the cooling area, whereby the product in the product column 3 to be cooled is cooled by the cooling air and sold as a cold product. . On the other hand, the air heated by the heater circulates around the product column 3 in the heating area, whereby the products in the product column 3 to be heated are heated by the heated air. And sold as hot goods.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in this kind of vending machine which sells a part of stored goods as a cold product and sells the rest as a hot product, the vending machine is stored in a product column 3 for efficient cooling and heating. In general, a method of cooling or heating only those products that are close to sale, that is, only the products stored in the lower part of the product column 3 among the products that have been sold.
[0009]
In order to adopt this lower centralized cooling / heating system in the structure of the vending machine described above, in each of the cooling region and the heating region divided into right and left by the partition plate 4, the cooling region and the heating region are formed between the adjacent product columns 3a. It is necessary to prevent the cooling air or the heated air from escaping upward through the vertically elongated gap G. In other words, the cooling air or heated air flowing into the product column 3 loses heat to the product and does not cause energy loss, but the cooling air or heated air flowing into the gap G does not lose heat to the product. Ascending leads to energy loss.
[0010]
Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the side surfaces of the product column 3 facing the gap G is provided to prevent the cooling air or the heated air flowing into the gap G from rising along the gap G. Stretchable urethane sponge members 6 are arranged facing each other along the depth direction of the product column 3 so as to contact each other.
[0011]
Even in such a configuration, the partition plate 4 can be inserted into the gap G while the sponge member 6 is contracted, and after the partition plate 4 is extracted, the sponge member 6 is returned to the original state and re-contacted with each other. However, since the sponge member 6 is easily damaged and deteriorated by sliding contact when the partition plate 4 is inserted or extracted, the resilience of the sponge member 6 deteriorates when the insertion and extraction of the partition plate 4 are repeatedly performed. As a result, even if the partition plate 4 is pulled out, the sponge member 6 returns to the original state, mutual contact cannot be performed satisfactorily, and a rise in cooling air or warming air is allowed.
[0012]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to accurately perform a lower centralized cooling / heating method even when a partition plate is repeatedly inserted and extracted into a gap between product columns. It is to provide a vending machine that can be executed.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of product columns arranged side by side in a storage room of a vending machine main body, and a cooling region and a heating space in a storage room in a state of being inserted into a gap between adjacent product columns. A vending machine that includes a partition plate for dividing the region into left and right, cools products in a product column in a cooling region, and heats and sells products in a product column in a heating region. On the side of the gap side of the column, a wind-shielding member mainly composed of a densely packed elastic fiber is provided along the depth direction of the product column, and the wind-shielding member allows cooling air or heating flowing into the gap between the product columns. The main feature is that air is prevented from rising along the gap.
[0014]
According to this vending machine, it is possible to prevent the cooling air or the heated air flowing into the gap between the product columns from rising along the gap by the wind shielding member. In addition, the partition plate can be inserted into an arbitrary gap between the product columns while bending the fiber dense material of the wind shielding member. Even in the inserted state, the contact between the partition plate and the fiber dense material is maintained. Even if cooling air or warming air flows into the gap into which the plate is inserted, the rise of the air can be blocked by the dense fibers in contact with the side surfaces of the partition plate. Further, when the partition plate is pulled out from the gap, the fiber dense substance in the bent state is restored by its own elasticity, and returns to the state of being in contact with each other again. Since the wind-shielding member is mainly composed of densely packed elastic fibers, the wind-shielding member (densely packed elastic fibers) can be used even if the partition plate is repeatedly inserted into and removed from the gap between the product columns. There is no possibility that the resilience of the device is impaired.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
4 to 6 relate to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged front view showing a state in which a partition plate corresponding to FIG. 3 is mounted, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a wind shielding member shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a view showing a mounting structure of the wind shield member shown in FIG.
[0016]
Incidentally, the entire configuration of the vending machine of the present embodiment is the same as the vending machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 except for the configuration of the wind shielding member 11 and the mounting structure thereof, which will be described in detail later. The description of the parts will be omitted, and reference numerals shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be referred to in the following description.
[0017]
4 to 6, reference numeral 3 denotes a product column, reference numeral 3a denotes a pair of left and right side plates of the product column 2, reference numeral 3c denotes a curved plate of the product column 3, and reference numeral G denotes a vertically elongated product formed between the adjacent product columns 3. The gap, symbol 4 is a partition plate inserted freely into and out of the gap G, and symbol 11 is a wind shielding member.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 5, the wind shielding member 11 is a band-shaped substrate 11a attached to the gap side surface of the product column 3, and a dense body of elastic fibers provided on one surface of the band-shaped substrate 11a along the length direction. 11b. Synthetic or natural fibers having excellent resilience are preferably used as the elastic fibers constituting the fiber dense product 11b. Further, it is desirable that the fiber density be as high as possible in order to block air flow.
[0019]
The wind shield members 11 are arranged on the side surfaces of the respective product columns 3 facing the gap G so as to face each other along the depth direction of the product columns 3 so that the fiber dense materials 11b are in contact with each other. As shown in FIG. 6A, a method for attaching the wind shielding member 11 to the side surface of the product column 3 is to attach the flat back surface of the band-shaped substrate 11a to the side surface on the gap G side of the product column 3 via the adhesive AM. As shown in FIG. 6 (B), a circular or rectangular hole provided on the side of the product column 3 on the gap G side of the product column 3 is provided with a circular or rectangular cross-section projection 11a1 provided on the back surface of the band-shaped substrate 11a. A method of press-fitting into 3a1, a method of combining both, and the like can be appropriately adopted.
[0020]
In a state in which the wind shield members 11 are arranged opposite to the side surfaces of the respective product columns 3 facing the gap G (see the left side portion in FIG. 4), the cooling air or the warming air flowing into the gap G is a densely packed fiber that comes into contact with each other. The object 11b blocks the upward movement.
[0021]
The partition plate 4 is inserted into an arbitrary one of the plurality of gaps G from the front side of the vending machine main body 1, and the insertion partitions the inside of the storage room SC into a cooling area and a heating area.
[0022]
When the partition plate 4 is inserted into the gap G, as shown in the right part of FIG. 4, the fiber dense objects 11b that come into contact with each other bend outwardly against their own elasticity. The contact with the side surface of the partition plate 4 is maintained. Therefore, even if the cooling air or the warming air flows into the gap G into which the partition plate 4 is inserted, the rise of the air is blocked by the densely packed fibers 11b contacting the side surfaces of the partition plate 4.
[0023]
When the partition plate 4 is pulled out from the gap G, the bent fiber mass 11b that has been bent is restored by its own elasticity, and returns to the state of being in contact with each other again as shown in the left part of FIG.
[0024]
As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the wind shielding member 11 mainly composed of the dense material 11b of the elastic fiber is provided on the side surface of each of the product columns 3 facing the gap G along the depth direction of the product column 3 and the fibers. Since the densely packed objects 11b are opposed to each other so as to be in contact with each other, it is possible to reliably prevent the cooling air or heated air flowing into the gap G from rising due to the mutually contacting fiber densely packed materials 11b.
[0025]
Further, the partition plate 4 can be inserted into an arbitrary gap G between the product columns 3 while bending the fiber dense material 11b of the wind shielding member 11, and even in the inserted state, the side surface of the partition plate 4 and the fiber assembly 11b can be inserted. Therefore, even if cooling air or warming air flows into the gap G into which the partition plate 4 is inserted, the rise of these air is ensured by the dense fiber mass 11b contacting the side surface of the partition plate 4. Can be blocked.
[0026]
Further, since the dense fiber body 11b of the wind shielding member 11 is made of elastic fiber having excellent resilience, the insertion and withdrawal of the partition plate 4 into and from the gap G between the product columns 3 can be repeated. The resilience of the dense fiber mass 11b is not impaired, and the wind-shielding function is maintained well over a long period of time, so that the centralized cooling and heating of the lower portion can be performed very well and accurately. Can be.
[0027]
In the above-described embodiment, straight fibers are exemplified as the fibers constituting the densely packed fiber. However, the fibers may be three-dimensionally curved, and short fibers and long fibers may be used. The mixture may be used as a fiber compact.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, according to the present invention, since the wind shielding member is mainly composed of densely packed elastic fibers, even if insertion and extraction of the partition plate into the gap between the product columns are repeatedly performed, The resilience of the wind shielding member (a densely packed elastic fiber) is not impaired, so that the desired wind shielding function can be maintained well over a long period of time, and the centralized cooling and heating of the lower portion can be extremely reduced. It can be executed well and accurately.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine with a front door opened. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged front view of the vending machine main body shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a view showing a vending machine shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged front view showing a state of the partition plate corresponding to FIG. 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a wind shield member shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a view showing an attachment structure of the wind shield member shown in FIG.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vending machine main body, SC ... Storage room, 3 ... Product column, G ... Gap, 4 ... Partition plate, 11 ... Wind-blocking member, 11a ... Band-shaped board, 11b ... Fiber dense substance.

Claims (3)

Equipped with a plurality of product columns arranged side by side in the storage room of the vending machine main body, and a partition plate that divides the storage room into a cooling region and a heating region left and right while being inserted into a gap between adjacent product columns. In a vending machine that cools products in a product column in a cooling region and heats and sells products in a product column in a heating region,
On the side of the gap side of each product column, a wind shielding member mainly composed of a densely packed elastic fiber is provided along the depth direction of the product column, and the cooling air or the cooling air flowing into the gap between the product columns is provided by the wind shielding member. To prevent the heated air from rising along the gap,
A vending machine characterized in that: The wind shield member is disposed so as to be in contact with each of the side surfaces of the product column facing the gap,
The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein: The wind shielding member is composed of a band-shaped substrate attached to the side surface of the product column and a densely packed elastic fiber provided on the band-shaped substrate,
The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

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