Automatic vending machine
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automatic vending machines control cooling based on the upper part of the product storage column temperature, leading to temperature deviations in the lower part, potentially selling products outside the appropriate temperature range.
Innovation Solution
An automatic vending machine with a cooling device, temperature measuring unit for the lower space, and a control unit that executes partial or entire cooling operations to maintain the lower space temperature within a set range, ensuring products are sold at the correct temperature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If uniform cooling is applied to the entire product storage column, then overall temperature is maintained, but energy is wasted cooling regions that do not require it
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by directing cool air only to the specific region that requires cooling rather than uniformly cooling the entire storage column. The damper selectively channels cool air to either the upper part or lower part based on which region's temperature first reaches its control threshold, reducing energy waste while maintaining temperature uniformity where needed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively maintains the lower space temperature within the set range, preventing the sale of products not in an appropriate temperature state, especially for items with narrow temperature requirements.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling device which cools the inside of the product storage chamber
Implementation Method 2
a lower part temperature measuring unit which measures a temperature of a lower space inside the product storage chamber
Data Source
AI summary
Automatic vending machine which cools products for sale. Sale of products not in an appropriate temperature state is prevented. A cooling device executes a partial cooling operation for cooling the product located on a lower side of the plurality of products stored in a product storage chamber when lower space temperature T1 inside the chamber becomes higher than upper-limit value TSu of set temperature range (S1→S2). Then, when the lower space temperature T1 is decreased to a lower-limit value TSL of the set temperature range, the automatic vending machine executes an entire cooling operation for cooling all the plurality of products (S3→S4). Furthermore, when the lower space temperature T1 becomes higher than upper-limit value TSu of the set temperature range during execution of the entire cooling operation, the automatic vending machine stops the entire cooling operation to execute the partial cooling operation (S5→S6).