MXPA98005311A - A refrigeration system of a refrigerated loading container - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigeration system for cargo containers comprising an ice hopper, against the wall from which the air to be cooled is flowed through a flow duct, and at least one fan to generate the flow of cooling air and placed above the lowest level of the ice hopper, characterized by at least a portion of the flow duct that is formed by an interspace placed between an ice hopper wall and a screen, and between the screen and an insulated wall constituting an internal wall of the cargo vessel and extending downwardly from the fan or fans to the lowest level of the ice hopper and then upwards beyond the wall of the ice hopper

Description

A REFRIGERATION SYSTEM OF A REFRIGERATED LOADING CONTAINER The present invention relates to containers or cargo containers intended to transport articles in pieces, and in particular to a refill container for the transport of frozen or refrigerated articles. Specifically, the invention relates to a novel cooling system intended for said loading containers. In order to maintain the temperature of articles in frozen or refrigerated pieces during air transport, insulated cargo containers having some type of refrigeration equipment are used. Since the electrically driven cooling systems consume a lot of energy, and since there is a lack of space inside the airplanes, thus making the installation complicated and annoying the connection and disconnection systems of the refrigeration systems, the use of such systems due to practical reasons. There is also a risk that the power supply will be disconnected and the cooling systems will break down, in which case the items may be damaged or ruined. Additionally, said refrigeration and freezing systems operated per compressor are relatively heavy and expensive. It is mainly due to these rakes, that the use of so-called carbon dioxide ice as a cooling medium is preferred, carbon dioxide ice, in a known manner, has a limited operating time, which, however, is sufficient for most applications, and under which should not be exposed and no interruptions. The problems associated with these cargo containers involve obtaining a flow of cooling air that allows a uniform distribution of cold around the articles in pieces in the cargo containers, so that the desirable temperature of all the articles in pieces within the same. maintain, and prevent the occurrence of autoflu or cooling air at a time when the fans are turned off. In conventional containers, the guide of the air streams through the charge is made in such a casual manner that the main portion of the cooling air will in some cases flow mainly close along the wall, under the which is placed the cooling medium. It can also happen that the cooling air flows by itself in one direction, which is contrary to what is desirable - that is, that the cooling air comes out on the floor, picking up on it. In this case, local temperatures that are so low as to damage the load, are found. The above structures are provided with the cooling system itself, ie, a box containing carbon dioxide ice, certain flow ducts around this box, and optional ventilation equipment, placed against a wall of the cargo container adjacent to or directly against the roof of the cargo container. In order to achieve an improved loading space, it is desirable to have the cooling system placed in a wall adjacent to the floor of the cargo container. In cargo containers of the type having a "cut" longitudinal corner, i.e., a wall is broken at the bottom of its transition to the ground in order to allow placement of the cargo container against an arched outer wall of a aircraft, it is desirable to place the cooling system in this corner. These cargo containers are conventional in themselves, regardless of the presence of the cooling system. Some advantages in charging could be obtained, if it were possible to house a cooling system against this broken lower portion of the wall. In cargo containers of the type that have a cooling system placed in the upper part, the ice hopper, made of laminated metal, is surrounded by an interspace or duct chamber between the ice hopper and an isolated wall, surrounding, which is then partially a portion of the cargo container wall. In this interspace, the cooling air is circulated, the ice hopper wall serving as a transmission element between the circulating air and the cold inside the ice hopper. The carbon dioxide ice is placed in the ice hopper through a lid placed on the outside of the cargo vessel, from which a short duct extends to the ice hopper. This duct only occupies a relatively small portion of the cooling wall surface, through which the cooling air flows and, therefore, does not substantially affect the cooling efficiency. By placing the cooling system in the bottom against the broken portion of the wall, and in view of the convenience of a system that is as compact as possible, there will be no space available to the cooling ducts or cooling chambers that are They extend around the complete ice box, said space, however, being available in case of a superior placement. In order to obtain a opening, which is large enough to allow the rapid filling of ice into the ice box, and within a given space, this lid will be long and low, so that this lid would also interfere with the flow surfaces to a degree, so that no flow would be obtainable around the entire ice box. In view of the above, it will be necessary to look for a totally new solution regarding the design of the refrigeration system. The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the aforementioned problems. This purpose is achieved through a refrigeration system as is identical in the patent claims, which also indicate the particular characteristics of the invention. The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cargo container or container provided with a cooling system of the invention; Figure 2 is a broken perspective view, partly in cross section, of the cargo container portion of Figure 1, comprising the invention; and Figure 3 is a cross section, taken substantially? along the plane III-III of Figure 2. In Figure 1, there is shown a modality of a cargo container 1 having a conventional general configuration and comprising, in principle, a well-insulated box of a peralelopeiped configuration having a side door or cover 2, through which the load, normally piece goods, can be placed in and removed from the cargo container 1. On the side of the door 2, a compartment having a cover 3 is provided, said compartment housing the cooling air circulation equipment. It contains, among other things, the battery pack, which supplies power to the cooling air circulation fans 4 and to the thermostat arrangement (not shown) which monitors the temperature of the charging vessel 1 and which serves to connect and disconnect the 4 circulation fans. Although the present invention is primarily intended for cargo containers used in the aerial transport of articles in frozen or refrigerated pieces, it will be noted that it can also be used in conjunction with other types of cargo containers. The loading container 1 of figure 1 belongs to a type having a longitudinal "interrupted" corner or broken on the bottom 6 of the loading container 1. Through this arrangement, the cargo container can be placed in the lower cargo deck of an aircraft and relatively close to the arched outer wall thereof. The invention, however, will be effective regardless of the configuration of the corner and the subsequent positioning of the loading container. The cargo container 1 is composed of separate elements, such as, for example, each wall forms a unit, as well as a roof, bottom, etc. , and these elements in this way are easily replaced in the case of damage or other problems. Figures 2 and 3 show the cargo container element, which constitutes a wall 8 of the cargo container 1 as well as comprises the cooling system 9. The wall 8 comprises a member 10 that is vertical in the normal orientation of the loading container 1, and a lower member 5 which, as mentioned, is broken or biased inwardly in the manner illustrated. Wall 8 and broken member 5, as well as the other walls, floor and roof of the cargo container, comprise external and internal panels, eg, sheet aluminum having intermediate insulation and which is surrounded by a frame of aluminum profile, all in a conventional way.

An aluminum sheet 11 ice box or other suitable material is positioned so as to come up against the broken member 5 and a small portion of the vertical wall member 10, The ice box 11 extends along the length or depth complete of loading container 1. A lid 12 in the lower portion of the vertical wall member 8 allows external ice to be filled into the ice hopper 11. Since it is difficult to use the broken member 5 of the cargo container for the rational loading of the articles into pieces in the cargo container 1, it is understandable to try to keep the cooling system as small as possible, and in this way use the maximum broken member 5. In this way, the ice hopper itself has a configuration, such as that of its walls, to say the outer wall 13, is connected to the lower portion of the wall member 10 and the bottom 14 thereof is connected to the broken member 5. , while the upper wall 15 thereof extends substantially perpendicularly, away from the wall member 10 from a point directly above the upper edge of the lid 12, and the inner wall 16 thereof is parallel to the outer wall 13 . The walls 1? at the end of the ice hopper 11 are parallel to the adjacent walls of the cargo vessel 1 and provided with additional insulation to prevent the cold from inside the ice hopper 11 from dissipating towards parts of the cargo vessel, where it may not fulfill its purpose. At the front edge of the broken member 5, in the loading container 1, bottom 6, as illustrated in Figure 3, an insulated wall extends upwards, in parallel with the wall member 10 to a somewhat above the wall 16 of the ice hopper 11, but with a distance thereto, and substantially at a right angle to the wall 18, an upper insulated wall 19 extends with a distance to the upper wall 15 of the remote ice hopper from this wall to the cargo vessel wall 8, but not the way to it. A pair of fans 4 are arranged in the wall 18 immediately below the location of the upper wall 19. A panel 20 extends from the upper wall 19 upwards towards the roof of the loading container 1 with a small distance to the wall 8. In the interspace provided between the wall 16 of the ice hopper 11 and the wall 18, it is placed a screen, the screen extending downwards and dividing the interspace 21, so that a pipeline 23 is formed starting from the fans 4 and downwardly towards the broken member 5 and around the lower edge of the screen and upwards between the ice hopper wall 16 and the screen 22, further between the upper wall 15 of the ice hopper and the insulated upper wall 19, and between the wall 8 and the panel 20 upwards towards the roof of the loading container 1. On the side of the wall 18 facing the interior of the loading container 1, vertical spacer elements are provided in the form of rails 24, the rails retaining the articles in free pieces of the wall 18, in particular in the fans 4. A strip 25 of horizontal seal, made, for example, of rubber, can be arranged above the fans 4, see Figure 3. The function of the invention is as follows: In the starting situation, hopper 11 is carried with dioxide ice of carbon having a temperature of about -78 ° C, and the cargo container is then filled with refrigerated or frozen products. The thermostat inside the cover 3 is adjusted to the temperature that is to be kept inside the charging container 1, and the condition of the batteries is checked, so that sufficient energy is available for the operation of the fans.

When needed, the battery packs are replaced. When the temperature inside the charging container rises to the set value of the thermostat, the fans will start, providing a circulation of cooling air. In this way, the fans 4 suck the air upwards from the floor area through the interspaces or flow ducts provided by means of the rails 24, since the rails 24 keep the free items from the wall 18. The strip Seal 25 is sealably projected against the articles in pieces, thus preventing the air from being sucked into the fans 4 directly from above, which closes the air passage from above. Then, the fans 4 push the air down through the duct 23 around the lower edge of the screen 22 and upwards, the air brushing the walls 16 and 15 of the ice hopper, thus being cooled, then passing upwards. to the ceiling in the interspace between panel 20 and wall 8. Air flows through the ceiling and is sucked down through the interstices provided between the articles and the surrounding walls, which will normally be provided with corresponding spacers. to the elements 24 spacers and then provide flow ducts for the cooling air. The items are placed on some kind of platform on the floor, the platform allowing the flow of air through it. When the temperature has dropped to the set level, the fans 4 stop. In previous structures, where the fans are placed in a low position relative to the ice hopper, and close to it, it frequently happens that the fans freeze, preventing them from starting again. It is also normal for the cooling air to flow out through the fans in the low position, thus giving rise to the self-circulation of air, the air flowing outwards through the bottom of the cargo vessel, where the temperature it increases and the air rises. Then, too, the fans will freeze due to the extremely cold air emanating from the ice. In the present invention, the fans 4 are positioned with such a distance to the ice hopper 11, that the temperature of the fan will be the same as the temperature inside the charging vessel 1, so that the fans will not freeze. Secondly, a clamping against the flow will be created by the screen 22 in the interspace 21, since the air of Refrigeration, relatively heavy, will be collected in interspace 21, thus preventing autocirculation. The present invention, in this way, will provide a cooling system, primarily intended for air-mode containers, the cooling system providing a uniform and safe circulation and control of the cooling air in said cargo containers, while the system itself Refrigeration has received a placement and size that, in many aspects, are convenient.

Claims (5)

1. - A refrigeration system for cargo containers comprising an ice hopper, against the wall from which the air to be cooled is flowed through a flow duct, and at least one fan to generate the flow of the cooling air and positioned above the lowest level of the ice hopper, characterized by at least a portion of the flow duct that is formed by an interspace placed between an ice hopper wall and a screen, and between the screen and an insulated wall constituting an internal wall of the cargo vessel and extending downwardly from the fan or fans to the lowest level of the ice hopper and then upward beyond the wall of the ice hopper.

2 . - The cooling system of claim 1, characterized by the screen extending downward toward the bottom of the interspace, but at a distance from it.

3. The cooling system of claim 1 or 2, characterized by the flow duct which is formed in part by an interspace between a panel and the adjacent wall of the loading container, interspace ending in the vicinity of the roof of the cargo container.

4. The cooling system of any of the preceding claims, characterized by the fan or fans that are placed in the insulated wall, and by the insulated wall on the side facing the interior of the cargo vessel that is provided with spacer elements.

5. The cooling system of claim 4, characterized by one of the spacer elements which is a strip of elastic material and placed substantially horizontally on the upper edge of the insulated wall.