Food vending machine

Abstract

A food vending machine comprises a cabinet body, a refrigerating device and a heating mechanism, the cabinet body is provided with multiple rows / columns of storage boxes arranged in order, a box opening of each storage box is movably connected with a meal taking door, and the refrigerating device is used for refrigerating the internal space of all the storage boxes; the cabinet also comprises a plurality of first driving devices, and the plurality of first driving devices are installed in the cabinet body. The heating mechanism comprises a plurality of heating devices, each heating device is connected into the cabinet body in a sliding mode, and one heating device is arranged on the rear side of each row / column of storage boxes. And one first driving device drives one heating device to move along the corresponding row / column storage box so as to heat food in one storage box of the row / column storage box. Compared with the prior art, the heating devices of the vending machine are connected into the cabinet body in a sliding mode, one heating device is shared in one row / column, the using amount of the heating devices is remarkably reduced, the equipment manufacturing cost is reduced, and the price competitiveness of products is effectively improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of food vending machine technology, and specifically relates to a food vending machine. Background Technology

[0002] With the prevalence of fast-paced lifestyles, vending machines are increasingly used in office buildings, train stations, shopping malls, and other locations. Existing technologies, such as multi-compartment vending machines, utilize multiple independent storage units to process food items in parallel. For example, invention patent CN222482778U proposes a multi-compartment vending machine solution. In this solution, each storage unit has an independent heating mechanism, resulting in higher heating efficiency compared to traditional vending machines and improving the user experience. However, the inclusion of a heating mechanism in each storage unit increases the equipment's cost and reduces its market competitiveness. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a food vending machine.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention discloses a food vending machine, including a cabinet, a refrigeration device and a heating mechanism. The cabinet is provided with storage boxes arranged in multiple rows / columns. Each storage box has a food dispensing door movably connected to its opening. The refrigeration device is used to cool the internal space of all storage boxes.

[0005] It also includes a plurality of first drive devices, which are installed inside the cabinet;

[0006] The heating mechanism includes multiple heating devices, each of which is slidably connected to the cabinet body, and one heating device is provided on the rear side of each row / column of storage boxes;

[0007] One of the first driving devices drives one of the heating devices to move along the corresponding row / column storage box to heat the food in one of the storage boxes of that row / column storage box.

[0008] Preferably, each of the storage boxes is provided with a microwave heating port on the side away from the food pick-up door, and the microwave heating port is provided with a microwave waveguide insulation plate that seals it.

[0009] The heating device is a microwave heating device.

[0010] Preferably, the first side of the storage box is provided with multiple air inlets;

[0011] A heat exchanger is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the first side. The heat exchanger extends through both ends. One port of the heat exchanger is arranged opposite to a plurality of air inlets. A fan is fixedly connected to the other port of the heat exchanger. The air blowing surface of the fan faces the inner cavity of the heat exchanger.

[0012] The heat exchanger is equipped with a media input interface and a media output interface.

[0013] Preferably, the fan in each of the storage boxes is independently controlled.

[0014] Preferably, all heat exchangers in each row / column storage box are arranged on the same side and connected in series.

[0015] Preferably, the first side is provided with a plurality of air outlets, and the plurality of air outlets are located on the side of the heat exchanger.

[0016] Preferably, the heat exchanger is provided with multiple parallel guide vanes.

[0017] Preferably, the cabinet body has a first guide rail on the rear side of each row / column of storage boxes. The first guide rail is arranged along the length of the corresponding row / column of storage boxes, and each heating device is slidably connected to one of the first guide rails.

[0018] The first driving device is used to drive the corresponding heating device to move along the first guide rail.

[0019] Preferably, the first guide rail is provided with a first connecting plate, and the first connecting plate is slidably connected to the first guide rail;

[0020] A second driving device is fixedly connected to the first connecting plate. The second driving device is used to drive the corresponding heating device to move towards and away from the storage box.

[0021] Preferably, the first connecting plate is provided with a second guide rail, the second guide rail is arranged horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the first guide rail, the heating device is slidably connected to the second guide rail, and the second driving device is used to drive the corresponding heating device to move along the second guide rail.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0023] The heating device is slidably connected to the cabinet, with one heating device shared by one row / column. This significantly reduces the number of heating devices required, lowers equipment manufacturing costs, and effectively enhances the product's price competitiveness. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the food vending machine in Example 1;

[0025] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram of a food vending machine from another perspective;

[0026] Figure 3 for Figure 23D exploded view of each row of storage boxes and heating devices;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a three-dimensional exploded view of the second driving device and the heating device;

[0028] Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional exploded view of the storage box.

[0029] Figure 6 for Figure 1 A sectional view of the cabinet;

[0030] Figure 7 for Figure 6 A magnified view of a section at point A in the middle;

[0031] Figure 8 A three-dimensional structural diagram of a heat exchanger;

[0032] Figure 9 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the food vending machine in Example 3;

[0033] Cabinet 100; Storage box 110; Food retrieval door 111; Microwave heating port 112; Microwave waveguide insulation board 113; Air inlet 114; Air outlet 115; Heat exchanger 116; Medium input interface 1161; Medium output interface 1162; Guide vane 1163; Fan 117; Heat exchange space 118; Connecting through hole 1181; Air inlet through hole 1182; First guide rail 120; First connecting plate 130; Second guide rail 131; Storage box module 140.

[0034] Refrigeration unit 200;

[0035] Heating mechanism 300; heating device 310; waveguide 311; magnetron 312; cooling fan 313; microwave power supply 314; second connecting plate 315;

[0036] First drive unit 400;

[0037] Second drive unit 500; motor 510; lead screw 520; threaded sleeve 530. Detailed Implementation

[0038] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0039] Example 1

[0040] A food vending machine, see Figures 1-8 It includes a cabinet 100, a refrigeration unit 200, and a heating mechanism 300. The cabinet 100 is equipped with multiple rows / columns of orderly arranged storage boxes 110, such as... Figure 1 As shown, there are three rows of storage boxes 110, arranged in a neat, one-to-one correspondence. Each storage box 110 has a movably connected food dispensing door 111. The refrigeration unit 200 can use either compressor refrigeration or water cooling, providing cool air to the interior of all storage boxes 110 after cooling, thus achieving cooling for each box. This is the standard setup of existing food vending machines, and further details are omitted.

[0041] In this embodiment, three first driving devices 400 are also included, which are fixedly connected inside the cabinet 100. The heating mechanism 300 includes three heating devices 310, each of which is slidably connected inside the cabinet 100. A heating device 310 is provided on the rear side of each row of storage boxes 110. One first driving device 400 drives one heating device 310 to move along the corresponding row of storage boxes 110 to heat the food in one of the storage boxes 110 in that row.

[0042] After a user places an order, the first drive unit 400 in the corresponding column drives the heating device 310 to move to the rear of the corresponding storage box 110 to heat the food. By configuring one movable heating device 310 at the rear of each storage box 110, the number of heating devices 310 is significantly reduced compared to configuring a heating device 310 for each storage box 110, thus lowering equipment manufacturing costs and effectively improving the product's price competitiveness. Food can be heated within the storage box 110 without the need for handling, avoiding problems such as food falling due to unreliable handling mechanisms. In practice, after a user places an order and locks a pickup time in the application, the heating device 310 automatically calculates the time, preheats and keeps the food warm, so that when the customer arrives at the equipment to pick up their food, they can directly scan the code and take the food without waiting for the heating time to complete.

[0043] It is understood that, in the above-described embodiment, a heating device 310 can be installed at the rear of each column of storage boxes 110, or at the rear of each row of storage boxes 110. Each heating device 310 heats the food inside the storage boxes 110 of its corresponding row. In practice, the choice between installing the heating devices along rows or columns can be made based on actual equipment cost requirements and heating efficiency requirements. For example, in this embodiment, there are 3 storage boxes in a row and 12 storage boxes in a column. To save costs, one heating device can be installed at the rear of each column of storage boxes; to improve heating efficiency, one heating device can be installed at the rear of each row of storage boxes.

[0044] In this embodiment, the heating device 310 and the first driving device 400 corresponding to each row of storage boxes 110 have the same structure. The following description will focus on one of them.

[0045] The cabinet 100 has a first guide rail 120 on the rear side of each row of storage boxes 110. The first guide rail 120 is arranged vertically, and each heating device 310 is slidably connected to one of the first guide rails 120. The first driving device 400 is used to drive the corresponding heating device 310 to move along the first guide rail 120, so that it can move to the rear side of the corresponding storage box 110 to heat the food inside.

[0046] The first driving device 400 can be specifically a motor and a transmission structure. The transmission structure can be a belt drive, a gear and rack drive, a lead screw drive, etc., to drive the heating device 310 to move along the first guide rail 120.

[0047] Furthermore, a first connecting plate 130 is provided on the first guide rail 120. The first connecting plate 130 is slidably connected to the first guide rail 120 via a slider, and moves up and down under the action of the first driving device 400. A second driving device 500 is fixedly connected to the first connecting plate 130. The second driving device 500 is used to drive the corresponding heating device 310 to move closer to and further away from the storage box 110. When the heating device 310 needs to move, the second driving device 500 drives the heating device 310 away from the storage box 110, which can prevent the heating device 310 from getting too close to the storage box 110 and causing interference in subsequent movements; then the storage box 110 moves up / down, and then moves closer to the storage box 110.

[0048] The first connecting plate 130 is provided with a second guide rail 131, which is arranged horizontally along a direction perpendicular to the first guide rail 120. The heating device 310 is slidably connected to the second guide rail 131 by a slider.

[0049] The second drive device 500 includes a motor 510, a lead screw 520, and a threaded sleeve 530. The motor 510 is fixedly connected to the first connecting plate 130, the lead screw 520 is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor 510, and the threaded sleeve 530 is fixedly connected to the heating device 310 and drives the lead screw.

[0050] The heating device 310 includes a waveguide 311, a magnetron 312, a cooling fan 31, and a microwave power supply 314. The waveguide 311 is slidably connected to the first connecting plate 130 via a second connecting plate 315, with its microwave heating port 112 facing the microwave waveguide insulation plate 113 described below. The magnetron 312 is mounted on the waveguide 311, and its microwave emitting head is located inside the waveguide 311. The cooling fan 31 is mounted on the magnetron 312. The microwave power supply 314 is fixedly connected to the rear side of the first connecting plate 130. There is space between the waveguide 311, magnetron 312, cooling fan 31, and microwave power supply 314 to allow the waveguide 311, magnetron 312, and cooling fan 31 to move away from the storage box 110. This heating device 310 is a conventional heating device and will not be described in detail here.

[0051] To ensure sealing and cooling effects, the internal space of the storage box 110 should be a relatively sealed space. To allow microwaves to enter the storage box 110 for heating, each storage box 110 has a microwave heating port 112 on its side away from the food retrieval door 111. The microwave heating port 112 is sealed by a microwave-guided insulation plate 113, which is detachably connected to the rear side of the storage box 110 by screws. With this microwave-guided insulation plate 113, microwaves can penetrate and be guided into the storage box 110. The plate absorbs little to no microwave energy, ensuring heating efficiency. The plate also has insulation properties, preventing cold air from entering the storage box 110. For example, the microwave-guided insulation plate 113 can be a plastic plate that is permeable and absorbs almost no microwaves.

[0052] In this embodiment, the refrigeration structure of each row of storage boxes 110 is the same, and one row will be described below.

[0053] Each storage box 110 in a row has a sealed heat exchange space 118 on its right side (or left side). A connecting hole 1181 connects two adjacent heat exchange spaces 118, and an air inlet hole 1182 is located at the top of the uppermost heat exchange space 118. The right side (hereinafter referred to as the mounting surface) of each storage box 110 has multiple air inlets 114 and multiple air outlets 115. The air inlets 114 connect the inner cavity of the storage box 110 to the heat exchange space 118. A heat exchanger 116 is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the mounting surface of the storage box 110. The heat exchanger 116 extends through both ends. One port of the heat exchanger 116 is opposite to the multiple air inlets 114, and the other port of the heat exchanger 116 is fixedly connected to a fan 117, with the fan 117 blowing towards the inner cavity of the heat exchanger 116. The multiple air outlets 115 are located beside the heat exchanger 116. The heat exchanger 116 is provided with a medium input interface 1161 and a medium output interface 1162. The refrigeration device 200 is connected to the medium input interface 1161 of the uppermost heat exchange space 118 through an air inlet 1182, and the medium output interface 1162 is connected to the medium input interface 1161 of the adjacent heat exchange space 118 through a connecting duct 1181, thereby connecting the storage boxes 110 in series. When the refrigeration device 200 supplies cold air to a row of storage boxes 110, the cold air is blown into the series-connected heat exchangers 116, and the fan 117 is activated to blow cold air into the heat exchangers 116. The cold air enters the storage box 110 through the air inlet 114, thereby cooling the inside of the storage box 110. After the cold air is blown into the storage box 110, the hot air inside can flow out through the air outlet 115, so that the air circulates between the storage box 110 and the heat exchange space 118.

[0054] The cooling channels of a row of storage boxes 110 are connected in series, which is simpler in structure compared to a separate cooling design for each storage box 110. Multiple air inlets 114 serve as channels for cold air to enter the storage boxes 110. This ensures that cold air can enter the storage boxes 110 and achieve the cooling function, while greatly reducing microwave reflections out of the heating space, ensuring heating efficiency and a better user experience. However, the air inlets 114 are relatively small, obstructing the flow of cold air into the storage boxes 110. Therefore, a fan 117 is installed to blow more cold air into the storage boxes 110, improving the cooling effect; once the cold air enters the storage boxes 110, it is blown to a deeper position, resulting in more even cooling.

[0055] Furthermore, the fan 117 of each storage box 110 is independently controlled. Thus, when a user is retrieving food, the fan 117 of the corresponding storage box 110 stops rotating. Taking advantage of the small size of the air inlet 114, virtually no cold air enters the storage box 110, effectively suspending cooling for that storage box 110, reducing heat loss, significantly lowering energy consumption, and improving equipment energy efficiency. In addition, even if the heat exchangers 116 of a row of storage boxes 110 are connected in series, opening one storage box 110 will not affect the cooling of the other storage boxes 110.

[0056] Furthermore, the heat exchanger 116 is equipped with multiple parallel guide vanes 1163, which can guide the cold air into the storage box 110, greatly reducing the impact of turbulence and improving the cooling effect.

[0057] Example 2

[0058] A food vending machine is provided, which is basically the same in structure as the vending machine of Embodiment 1, except that, in Reference Document 1, cold air is directly supplied to the heat exchanger 116, while this embodiment uses the following structure for cooling.

[0059] The guide plate 1163 of the heat exchanger 116 is a heat dissipation fin. Each heat exchanger 116 has internal flow channels. The medium input interface 1161, all internal flow channels of the guide plate 1163, and the medium output interface 1162 are sequentially connected. All heat exchangers 116 in each row of storage tanks are connected in series to form a cooling medium flow channel. The cooling medium of the refrigeration device 200 is a liquid, such as water. The cooling medium flows in from the aforementioned cooling medium flow channel, passes through the channel, and then flows out, circulating continuously. After the fan 117 blows across the guide plate 1163, heat is absorbed by the guide plate 1163, lowering the temperature and thus providing cool air to the storage tank 110. In this embodiment, a liquid is used as the cooling medium. The guide plate 1163 removes heat from the air in the heat exchange space, resulting in faster cooling and more uniform cooling effect in each storage tank 110.

[0060] Example 3

[0061] A food vending machine, which is basically the same in structure as the vending machine in Example 1, except that the three rows of storage boxes in Example 1 are a module. See [link to example]. Figure 9 In this embodiment, there are two sets of storage box modules 140.

[0062] It is understandable that the number of storage box modules 140 can also be set to other quantities, and the number of storage box rows in each group of storage box modules 140 can also be set as needed.

[0063] Obviously, the above embodiments of the present invention are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, and are not intended to limit the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make other variations or modifications based on the above description. It is neither necessary nor possible to exhaustively describe all embodiments here. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A food vending machine, comprising a cabinet, a refrigeration unit, and a heating mechanism, wherein the cabinet is provided with multiple rows / columns of storage boxes arranged in an orderly manner, each storage box having a movably connected food dispensing door at its opening, and the refrigeration unit is used to refrigerate the internal space of all storage boxes, characterized in that: It also includes a plurality of first drive devices, which are installed inside the cabinet; The heating mechanism includes multiple heating devices, each of which is slidably connected to the cabinet body, and one heating device is provided on the rear side of each row / column of storage boxes; One of the first driving devices drives one of the heating devices to move along the corresponding row / column storage box to heat the food in one of the storage boxes of that row / column storage box.

2. The food vending machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the storage boxes is provided with a microwave heating port on the side away from the food pick-up door, and the microwave heating port is provided with a microwave waveguide insulation plate to seal it; The heating device is a microwave heating device.

3. The food vending machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: The storage box has multiple air inlets on its first side; A heat exchanger is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the first side. The heat exchanger extends through both ends. One port of the heat exchanger is arranged opposite to a plurality of air inlets. A fan is fixedly connected to the other port of the heat exchanger. The air blowing surface of the fan faces the inner cavity of the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is equipped with a media input interface and a media output interface.

4. The food vending machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The fan in each of the storage boxes is independently controlled.

5. The food vending machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: All heat exchangers in each row / column storage box are installed on the same side and connected in series.

6. The food vending machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first side is provided with a plurality of air outlets, which are located on the side of the heat exchanger.

7. The food vending machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The heat exchanger is equipped with multiple parallel guide vanes.

8. The food vending machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cabinet contains a first guide rail on the rear side of each row / column of storage boxes. The first guide rail is arranged along the length of the corresponding row / column of storage boxes, and each heating device is slidably connected to one of the first guide rails. The first driving device is used to drive the corresponding heating device to move along the first guide rail.

9. The food vending machine according to claim 8, characterized in that: The first guide rail is provided with a first connecting plate, which is slidably connected to the first guide rail; A second driving device is fixedly connected to the first connecting plate. The second driving device is used to drive the corresponding heating device to move towards and away from the storage box.

10. The food vending machine according to claim 9, characterized in that: The first connecting plate is provided with a second guide rail, which is arranged horizontally along a direction perpendicular to the first guide rail. The heating device is slidably connected to the second guide rail, and the second driving device is used to drive the corresponding heating device to move along the second guide rail.

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