JP2001093039A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine using a hydrocarbon refrigerant for preventing the deterioration of a global environment, and for improving the safety by preventing an explosion even when the refrigerant leaks. SOLUTION: A hydrocarbon refrigerant is used for a cooling device 6. When the leakage of the refrigerant is detected by a refrigerant leakage detecting device 7, the supply of a power to various equipment is stopped. Therefore, even when the leaks, the circulation of the refrigerant in the cooling device 6 is stopped. Thus, the refrigerant can be prevented from continuously leaking, and the refrigerant can be prevented from being inflamed with any electric equipment as the source of inflammation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine for selling goods such as cans or bottled beverages and beverage containers filled with beverages.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a refrigeration circuit of a vending machine of this type uses a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerant or a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerant. However, although the CFC refrigerant and the HCFC refrigerant have physical and chemical properties suitable for a refrigeration circuit, they destroy the ozone layer and deteriorate the global environment. Replacement with fluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants is urgent.

[0003]

However, HFCs
Refrigerants have the property of promoting global warming, and there is a problem that using an HFC refrigerant in a refrigeration circuit is not desirable for the global environment.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine using a hydrocarbon refrigerant that does not deteriorate the global environment. Further, the present invention provides a vending machine with improved safety so as not to explode even if a refrigerant leaks.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vending machine for circulating a refrigerant in a cooling device and cooling a cooling chamber for storing goods. A hydrocarbon refrigerant such as propane, isobutane, or a mixture of various hydrocarbon refrigerants is used. Accordingly, a hydrocarbon refrigerant that does not deteriorate the global environment is used as the refrigerant of the cooling device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the first aspect, the refrigerant leakage detecting means for detecting the leakage of the refrigerant and the cooling device based on the refrigerant leakage detection signal from the refrigerant leakage detecting means. And control means for stopping power supply to various devices including the control unit. Thus, in the event that the refrigerant leaks from the cooling device, the power supply to various devices is stopped to reduce the risk of ignition.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the second aspect, a ventilation fan for a machine room that ventilates air in the machine room in a machine room in which a compressor, a condenser, and the like of the cooling device are arranged. And the refrigerant leakage detection means, and the control means is configured to operate the machine room ventilation fan based on a refrigerant leakage detection signal from the refrigerant leakage detection means. Accordingly, in addition to the effect of claim 2, in the unlikely event that refrigerant leaks from the cooling device into the machine room, the machine room ventilation fan operates to ventilate the machine room, and the leaked refrigerant is discharged outside the vending machine. The explosion limit is not exceeded.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the second or third aspect, the cooling chamber is provided with an indoor cooling fan and the refrigerant leakage detecting means, and the control means is configured to control the refrigerant leakage. The indoor cooling fan is set to be operated based on a refrigerant leak detection signal of the detecting means. Accordingly, in addition to the operation of the second or third aspect, in the event that the refrigerant leaks from the cooling device into the cooling chamber, the indoor cooling fan operates to agitate the air in the cooling chamber.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the vending machine further includes an alarm device for issuing an alarm, and the control means includes a refrigerant for the refrigerant leak detection means. The alarm device is set to be activated based on the leak detection signal. Thus, in addition to the effect of any one of claims 2 to 4, in the event that refrigerant leaks from the cooling device, an alarm is issued from the alarm device to the outside of the vending machine.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, a heating chamber provided with an electric heater is installed separately from the cooling chamber in which a refrigerant circulates. are doing. Thus, even if the refrigerant leaks from the cooling device, the refrigerant does not enter the heating chamber, so that the risk of ignition by the electric heater can be avoided.

According to a seventh aspect, in the vending machine according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, a refrigerant adsorbent is provided in the cooling chamber. Thus, in the event that the refrigerant flows into the cooling chamber from the cooling device, the refrigerant that has flowed in is adsorbed by the refrigerant adsorbent.

[0012]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of a vending machine according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of the vending machine, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the vending machine, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the control unit of the vending machine, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control unit of the vending machine.

In the vending machine of the present embodiment, a product storage room 2 for storing cans or bottled beverages and a machine room 3 arranged below the product storage room 2 are formed inside the vending machine main body 1. Have been.

The product storage room 2 is divided into a cooling room 4 and a heating room 5 by a movable partition 2a, and stores cooled and heated products, respectively. The movable partition 2a can be moved to an arbitrary position, and the ratio of the cooling chamber 4 and the heating chamber 5 can be arbitrarily changed.

The machine room 3 is provided with a compressor 6a, a condenser 6b, and a condenser fan 6c of a cooling device 6 constituting a refrigeration circuit, and is provided with a machine room ventilation fan 3a and a refrigerant leak detecting device 7. And a hole 3b communicating with the outside of the vending machine main body 1.

The cooling chamber 4 is provided with an indoor cooling fan 4a for circulating indoor air and a refrigerant leak detecting device 7, and an evaporator 6d of the cooling device 6 is provided.
A refrigerant adsorbent 8 is disposed on the side and upper surfaces. In this case, the indoor cooling fan 4a is always operating during the operation of the vending machine.

The heating chamber 5 is provided with an electric heater 5a,
The inside of the heating chamber 5 is heated to a constant temperature by the electric heater 5a.

The cooling device 6 includes a compressor 6a, a condenser 6b, a condenser fan 6c, and a cooling chamber 4 arranged in the machine room 3.
Are connected by piping to the evaporator 6d arranged at the same time. In this case, a hydrocarbon refrigerant flows through the cooling device 6, and the cooling device 6 is piped outside the heating chamber 5.

Each of the refrigerant leak detecting devices 7 outputs an output signal to the control unit 9 when detecting the refrigerant. The refrigerant leak detection device 7 in the cooling chamber 4 is located downstream of the evaporator 6d of the air circulating in the room, and the refrigerant detection device 7 in the machine room 5 is a compressor 6a and a condenser 6b of the air flowing in the room.
Are arranged on the downstream side.

The refrigerant adsorbent 8 is made of, for example, an absorbent such as molecular sieve, and has a function of adsorbing the refrigerant flowing into the cooling chamber 4.

Further, an alarm device 1a is provided outside the vending machine main body 1, and the alarm device 1a emits a warning sound and a warning light toward the outside of the vending machine when activated.

The controller 9 receives a detection signal from each of the refrigerant leak detectors 7 as described above, and, based on the detection signal,
It controls the power supply to various devices such as the compressor 3a and the electric heater 5a of the vending machine, and also controls the operation / stop of the machine room ventilation fan 3a, the room cooling fan 4a, and the alarm device 1a.

In the vending machine configured as described above, the cooling chamber 4 is cooled by heat exchange between the evaporator 6d and the air in the cooling chamber 4. Here, a case where the refrigerant leaks from the cooling device 6 will be described.

If the refrigerant leaks from the evaporator 6d or its vicinity, the refrigerant flows into the cooling chamber 4. The refrigerant circulates in the cooling chamber 4 together with the air in the cooling chamber 4 by the indoor cooling fan 4 a, is adsorbed by the refrigerant adsorbents 8 on the bottom, side, and upper surfaces, and is removed from the inside of the cooling chamber 4. here,
When a refrigerant leaks in an amount exceeding the adsorbing capacity of the refrigerant adsorbent 8 and the refrigerant is detected by the refrigerant leak detection device 7 in the cooling chamber 4, and the refrigerant leaks in the machine room 3 and the refrigerant leak detection device in the machine room 3 The operation of the control unit 9 when the refrigerant is detected by the control unit 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the refrigerant leakage is detected by the refrigerant leakage detecting device 7 (S1), the compressor is stopped (S2), and the flow of the refrigerant in the cooling device 6 is stopped. Next, the machine room ventilation fan 3a is operated (S3) to ventilate the inside of the machine room 3 and discharge the refrigerant in the machine room 3 to the outside of the vending machine. Here, when the refrigerant is detected by the refrigerant leakage detection device 7 in the cooling chamber 4 (S4), the indoor cooling fan 4
a is continuously operated (S5), and the air in the cooling chamber 4 is agitated so that the refrigerant does not partially accumulate. Thereafter, the power supply to the various devices of the vending machine is stopped (S6). At this time, the machine room ventilation fan 3a and the room cooling fan 4a are still operating. Next, the alarm device 1a is operated (S7), and a danger is aroused outside the vending machine.

As described above, according to the vending machine of the present embodiment, since the hydrocarbon refrigerant is used for the cooling device 6, it causes destruction of the ozone layer or global warming like the conventional fluorocarbon refrigerant. No, it does not degrade the global environment.

Further, when the leakage of the refrigerant is detected by the refrigerant leakage detecting device 7, the compressor 3a is stopped.
Even if the refrigerant leaks, the flow of the refrigerant in the cooling device 3 is stopped and the refrigerant does not continue to leak.

Further, since the power supply to the various devices is stopped, the leaked refrigerant is not ignited by using the electric device as the ignition source. In addition, since the cooling device 6 is provided outside the heating chamber 5, even if the refrigerant leaks, the refrigerant does not flow into the heating chamber 5 and ignites the leaked refrigerant using the electric heater 5a as an ignition source. Not even.

Further, since the refrigerant adsorbent 8 is provided in the cooling chamber 4, even if the refrigerant leaks in the cooling chamber 4, the refrigerant adsorbs to the refrigerant adsorbent 8 and removes the refrigerant in the cooling chamber 4. be able to.

Further, the machine room ventilation fan 3a is provided, and when the leakage of the refrigerant is detected by the refrigerant leakage detection device 7, the machine room ventilation fan 3a is operated, so that the refrigerant is filled in the machine room 3. Before it reaches the flammable concentration. In addition, when the leakage of the refrigerant is detected by the refrigerant leakage detection device 7 in the cooling chamber 4, the indoor cooling fan 4a
Is continuously operated to stir the air in the cooling chamber 4, so that the leaked refrigerant does not accumulate in a part of the cooling chamber 4 to reach the flammable concentration.

The warning device 1a and the warning light 1b are activated when the refrigerant leakage is detected by the refrigerant leakage detecting device 7, so that people around the vending machine can immediately recognize the leakage of the refrigerant. Can raise danger.

As described above, even in the event that the refrigerant leaks from the cooling device 6, the leakage of the refrigerant is immediately stopped, the ignition source that ignites the leaked refrigerant is eliminated, and the leaked refrigerant is removed, discharged, and stirred. As a result, the flammable concentration can be prevented from being reached, and furthermore, danger is urged to the outside of the vending machine, so that safety can be improved.

In this embodiment, the product storage room 2
Is divided into a cooling chamber 4 and a heating chamber 5, but the same operation and effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained even with a configuration including only the cooling chamber 4 as shown in FIG. 5.

In this embodiment, the machine room 3 is ventilated by the machine room ventilation fan 3a. However, the machine room 3 may be ventilated by the condenser fan 6c.

In this embodiment, the vending machine for selling canned or bottled beverages is shown. However, the vending machine for injecting beverages into containers and selling them, as well as other cooling devices, are provided. A similar effect can be obtained by applying the present invention to a vending machine using an electric device.

In the present embodiment, the machine room ventilation fan 3a, the room cooling fan 4a, and the alarm device 1a are all provided, and the control unit 9 controls the devices 3a, 4a, 1a based on the refrigerant leakage signal. Each device 3a, 4
At least one of a and 1a, for example, only the machine room ventilation fan 3a may be provided and controlled based on a refrigerant leakage signal. Furthermore, the control unit 9 may only stop the power supply to various devices based on the refrigerant leakage signal without providing the devices 3a, 4a, and 1a.

In the present embodiment, the cooling chamber 4 is provided with the refrigerant adsorbent 8, but the cooling chamber 4 may not be provided.

In this embodiment, the vending machine is not operated during the normal operation of the vending machine. However, the normal operation such as operating the compressor 6a in conjunction with the compressor 6a is described. At that time, the machine room ventilation fan 3a may be operated.

[0039]

As described above, according to the vending machine of the first aspect, since the hydrocarbon refrigerant is used as the refrigerant for the cooling device, the ozone layer can be destroyed or depleted as in the case of the conventional CFC-based refrigerant. It does not cause global warming and does not degrade the global environment.

According to the vending machine of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, in the event that the refrigerant leaks from the cooling device, the power supply to various devices is stopped. The leaked refrigerant is not ignited by using the device as an ignition source, and safety can be improved.

According to the vending machine of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, in the event that refrigerant leaks from the cooling device into the machine room, the fan for the machine room ventilation is operated. The refrigerant can be discharged before it reaches the flammable concentration due to being filled in the machine room, and safety can be improved.

According to the vending machine of the fourth aspect, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, in the event that the refrigerant leaks from the cooling device, the indoor cooling fan operates to agitate the air in the cooling room. As a result, the leaked refrigerant does not accumulate in a part of the cooling chamber and does not reach the flammable concentration, and safety can be improved.

According to the vending machine of the fifth aspect, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, in the event that the refrigerant leaks from the cooling device, an alarm is issued from the alarm device to the outside of the vending machine. Therefore, it is possible to prompt a person around the vending machine to recognize the leakage of the refrigerant and to raise a danger, thereby improving safety.

According to the vending machine of the sixth aspect, in addition to the effect of any one of the first to fifth aspects, even if the refrigerant leaks from the cooling device, the refrigerant can be introduced into the heating chamber. Since the inflow does not occur, the leaked refrigerant is not ignited by using the electric heater as an ignition source, and safety can be improved.

According to the vending machine of the seventh aspect, in addition to the effect of any one of the first to sixth aspects, the refrigerant adsorbing material is provided in the cooling chamber, so that the cooling device should be used instead of the cooling device. When the refrigerant flows into the cooling chamber, the flowing refrigerant is adsorbed by the refrigerant adsorbent and the refrigerant in the cooling chamber can be removed, thereby improving safety.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a vending machine showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a vending machine.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a control unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control unit.

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of a vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vending machine main body, 1a ... Alarm device, 3 ... Machine room, 3
a ventilation fan for machine room, 4 cooling room, 4a cooling fan for room, 5 heating room, 5a electric heater, 6 cooling device, 6a compressor, 6b condenser, 6d evaporator, 7 ...
Refrigerant leak detection device, 8: refrigerant adsorbent, 9: control unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3E044 AA01 CC10 DB20 DD10 EB01 EB08 EB09 FB05 FB11 3L045 AA02 AA04 BA01 CA02 DA02 EA01 GA07 HA01 KA09 LA05 LA09 LA17 LA18 PA02 PA03 PA04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine which circulates a refrigerant in a cooling device and cools a cooling chamber for storing goods, wherein a hydrocarbon refrigerant such as propane or isobutane or a refrigerant mixed with various hydrocarbon refrigerants is used as the refrigerant. Vending machine characterized by the fact that 2. A refrigerant leakage detecting means for detecting leakage of the refrigerant, and a control means for stopping power supply to various devices including the cooling device based on a refrigerant leakage detection signal of the refrigerant leakage detecting means. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A machine room in which a compressor, a condenser and the like of the cooling device are arranged, a machine room ventilation fan for ventilating air in the machine room and the refrigerant leak detecting means are provided, and the control means includes: 3. The vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the machine room ventilation fan is set to be operated based on a refrigerant leak detection signal of the refrigerant leak detection means. 4. The cooling chamber includes a cooling fan and a refrigerant leak detection unit, and the control unit includes:
The vending machine according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the indoor cooling fan is set to be operated based on a refrigerant leak detection signal of the refrigerant leak detecting means. 5. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an alarm device for issuing an alarm, wherein said control means is set to activate said alarm device based on a refrigerant leak detection signal from said refrigerant leak detection means. The vending machine according to claim 4. 6. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a heating chamber provided with an electric heater is provided separately from the cooling chamber in which a refrigerant circulates. 7. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a refrigerant adsorbent is provided in the cooling chamber.