VENDING MACHINE AND METHOD FOR DEFROSTING

摘要

A method (200) includes sensing an exposure of a refrigerated compartment of a vending machine to ambient air (202) and, in response, sensing an initial temperature of the refrigerated compartment (204, 206). The method also includes, responsive to sensing the exposure to ambient air, selecting a procedure from a plurality of procedures according to the sensed initial temperature, and controlling a refrigeration system of the vending machine using the selected procedure during an initial period (204, 206). The method may include sensing a current temperature of the vending machine and, once the refrigerated compartment reaches a second predetermined temperature (210), controlling the refrigeration system according to the sensed current temperature (304, 308), monitoring an operational characteristic of a compressor of the refrigeration system, and performing a defrost procedure according to the monitored operational characteristic (306, 310).