GB2336200A

GB2336200A - Portable temperature-controlled room

Info

Publication number: GB2336200A
Application number: GB9820222A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stuart C Shreeve; Limited Kolna
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-10-09
Filing date: 1998-09-18
Publication date: 1999-10-13
Also published as: GB9820222D0

Abstract

A temperature-controlled room having wall, roof and floor panels and a door (14) in one wall panel, all comprising moulded fibre glass skins with a thermally insulating core, and a refrigeration unit accommodated in a housing (16) forming part of a wall panel, the panels fitting together via strip seals, as by means of cam locks, so as to be repeatedly assemblable for use and disassemblable for transport and storage.

Description

2336200 A_ Portable Tem2nWe-Conirofied Room This invention relates to a

portable temperature-controlled room. typically a cold room.

There is a requirement, for example at large shows, exhibitions and the like, for the availability of a temperature-contolled room, typically for the storage of food and drink. Such rooms are usually required only for temporary use.

Portable temperature-controlled rooms are available with walls having sheet metal skins between which heat-insulating material is sandwiched. In general, these rooms are not waterproof and cannot be used outside. Such rooms are available in Idt form, but once assembled cannot readily be disassembled, and after first use have to be winched onto and taken away on a lorry if required for re-use elsewhere. The lack of ability fbr disassembly also means that such rooms cannot readily be stored, and also cannot be thoroughly disinfected and cleaned, e. at panel joints, between usages.

An object of the present invention is to provide a portable temperaturecontrolled room which does not suffer from the disadvantages of known such rooms.

According to the invention, there is provided a temperature-controlled room comprising a plurality of moulded fibre glass skin panels with a thermally insulating core forming the side, roof and floor of the room, inclusive of an access door in one side wall, the panels being assemblable for use and disassemblable for transport andlor storage, and a temperature-control unit demountably fitting to one of the panels.

Preferably, the temperature-control unit, e.g. a refrigeration unit, demountably fits to one of the wall panels. For this purpose, one wall panel is preferably integrally moulded with a housing for the temperature-control unit, and is referred to hereinafter as the housing panel. The housing preferably lies on the outside of the perimeter of the assembled room as defined by the floor and roof panels and may extend substantially the full height of the housing panel in which it is incorporated, to enable it also to serve for the storage of electric cabling and the like when the room is not in use.

Dimensionally, the housing panel for the temperature-control unit preferably matches the dimensions of other wall panels, so that it can be assembled in any side of the room, excepting possibly that having the access door.

Preferably, M- order to ensure that the room is waterproof and thus suitable for use outside in all weather conditions, the wall panels abut edge to edge through strip seals, typically silicon foam seals. Similar strip seals are preferably also used where the roof and floor panels meet the side walls, the roof and floor panels having perimeter edge flanges or edge channels within which the perimeters of the top and bottom of the side walls are received.

Preferably, the exterior face of the roof panel, or roof panel parts if the roof is made up of more than one panel, is slightly sloped so that rain water will drain towards a gutter. In a preferred arrangement using two roof panel parts which niat via a strip seal, a channel for serving as a gutter is moulded into one such roof panel, and the exterior faces of the two panels slightly slope towards the channel. Conveniently, in this arrangement, the exterior faces of the two panels also slightly slope towards one side of the room, where the gutter drains into a downpipe. By orientating the roof panel appropriately with respect to the housing panel having a full height housing for the temperature control unit, it is possible to accommodate the downpipe within the said housing. at the bottom of which water from the downpipe empties onto the ground.

One side wall of the room is preferably adapted to receive and be jointed to a steel box frame set in fibre glass, within which an openable, fibre glass door, of similar construction to the panels is mounted.

Most preferably, the door frame also dimensionally matches the dimensions of a wall panel, so that it can fit in place in any side of the room, except possibly that having the temperature control unit, in place of a wall panel.

The side walls of the room are therefore preferably made up of four similar moulded corner panels and one or more moulded wall panels for connecting between each pair of corner mouldings, a door frame with door taking the place of a wall panel on one side of the room and a wall panel with a housing for a temperature control unit (housing panel) taking the place of a standard wall panel on another side of the room.

The panels preferably secure together by means of cam locks, for example operable by an Allen key. These cam locks, when tightened, conveniently compress the strip seals between the panels, which seals not only serve to ensure a watertight assembly but also take up tolerances in the straightnesses of the edges of the panels.

The floor of the room may be formed by a single panel, or two or more panel parts which mate together.

One convenient temperature control unit has a refrigeration unit which has a spaced evaporator and condenser interconnected by supports which accommodate connecting pipework. These supports may conveniently be received and fixed into slots cut in the top edge of a housing panel before the roof panel is fitted, locating the evaporator on the interior of the room and the condenser on the exterior. An interior light may be mounted on a cover for the evaporator.

The invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a portable cold room, made up of fibre glass moulded panels; Figure 2 shows a floor panel; Figures 3A and 3B show a side wall panel; Figure 4 shows a door frame; Figures 5A and 5B show a corner panel; Figures 6 and 7 respectively show male and female roof panel parts; Figure 8 shows a joint between the roof panel parts; and Figure 9 is an outline plan view of the complete room.

Referring first to Figure 1, there is shown a portable cold room made up of thermally hmiating panels. Each panel comprises a moulded fibre glass skin with 2. thermally insulating core. The illustrated room is just over 2 m square in area and just over 2 m high.

In Figure 1 can be seen one limb of two corner panels 10. a door frame 12 in which is mounted a door 14, a housing panel 16 for a refrigeration unit, the front edge of a floor panel 18, and the front edge of a roof panel 20. The dashed line indicates a cowling 22 surmounting the housing 16. in use to protect the refrigeration unit from the weather when the room is assembled for use outside.

_:5_ The door frame 12 and housing panel 16 dimensionally match the dimensions of wall panels, not visible in Figure 1 but present in the left-hand side wall as seen in Figure 1 and the back wall. The four corner panels 10 are thus identical, each with limbs at right-angles, one wider (in the direction of the periphery of the room) than the other.

A floor panel 18 is shown in Figure 2. The illustration shows a one-piece floor panel, but for ease of urt and storage a two part floor panel, with mating male and female parts as later described with reference to the roof of the portable cold room, may be preferred in practice.

In any case, as is apparent from Figure 2, the floor panel 18 has a peripheral channel 24 for receiving the bottom edges of the wall panels and housing panel, also later described, and a slot 26 for receiving the later described door frame. Silicon strip seals may be employed to seal the joint between the bottom periphery of the wall and the floor.

Figures 3A and 3B show a wall panel 28. One side edge of this panel is moulded with ribs 30 whilst the opposite side edge has a groove 32.

Figure 4 shows the door frame 12. This has a steel box hwe covered by a fibre glass skin, in which in the ed assembly an openable door is hinged, conveniently with the aid of chrome ffitings. The door frame 12 also has ribbing (not visible) on one side edg6 and grooving 34 in the other wall edge.

Figures 5A and 5B show a corner 10. Again, ribs 36 are provided on the side edge of one limb (the narrower limb in the direction of the perimeter of the room), while a groove 37 is formed in the side edge of the other limb.

The housing panel 10 is not separately illustrated, but essentially it comprises a wall panel moulded with a full height, part-width, box shaped housing on its exterior side. The housing panel also has ribbing and grooving formed in its side edges.

The wall panels 28, door frame 12 complete with hinged door, corner panels 10 and housing panel 16 assemble to form the complete peripheral wall of the portable cold room, with the side edges of the various panels and the door frame interengaging via the ribs and grooves, and with intervening silicon strip seals to ensure weatherproofing and to take up manufacturing tolerances. In the manner of self-assembly furniture, the panels are tightened into edge to edge engagement by means of cam locks, conveniently operable by an Allen key.

The bottom periphery of the peripheral wall of the room, excepting the housing for the refrigeration unit, is located in the peripheral channel 24 of the floor panel 18.. whether or not this floor panel is formed in two parts. Silicon strip seals may be incorporated at the joint.

Figures 6 and 7 respectively show male and female roof panel parts, together forming the complete roof 20 of the room, whilst Figure 8 shows in cross-section the joint between these two panel parts.

The male part 38 has an upperside channel or gutter 40 adjacent a side edge having ribs 42 for mating with recesses 44 in the appropriate side edge of female part 46. The joint shown in Figure 8 reveals that a strip seal 48 and drip rail 49 are also incorporated. The means fixing the two panel parts 38 and 46 together is not shown, but again may comprise cam locks.

The two parts 38 and 46 when assembled together, form an underside peripheral channel 50 for location on the top peripheral edge of the assembled perimeter wall of the room, again preferably with the incorporation of silicon strip seals at the joint.

Cam locks or other suitable clamping means are employed to secure the roof down.

Most importantly, the assembled roof panel is orientated with respect to the perimeter side wall of the room so that the joint between the male and female roof panel parts extends in line with the refrigerator housing. Moreover, the upper surfaces 52, 54 of the two roof panel parts are formed so that said surfaces dually slope both towards the gutter 40 and towards the refrigeration unit housing, when the roof has been assembled and fixed in position. Rain water thus drains along the gutter 40 towards the said housing, where it is received into a downpipe (not shown) accommodated within the housing, whereby rain water is drained to ground without any risk of leakage into the interior of the room.

Finally, Figure 9 shows the room in outline plan view, and indicates that the housing panel 16 for the refrigeration unit may be mounted in any chosen side of the room other than that containing the door 14, with appropriate orientation of the roof panel to achieve rain water drainage as aforesaid. The door frame may also he positioned in any chosen side of the room by rotating the floor, so that the door frame receiving slot 26 is appropriately located. In a larger room, for example with two wall panels widths in two opposite side walls, it may be possible to incorporate the housing panel and the door frame in the same side of the room.

Claims

Claim

1. A temperature-controlled room comprising a plurality of moulded fibre glass skin panels with a thermally insulating core forming the side walls, roof and floor of the room, inclusive of an access door in one side wall, the panels being assemblable for use and disassemblable for transport and/or storage, and a temperature-control unit demountably fitting to one of the panels.

2. A room according to claim 1, wherein the temperature-control unit, e.g. a refrigeration unit, demountably fits to one of the wall panels.

3. A room according to claim 2, wherein one wall panel, namely a housing panel, is integrally moulded with a housing for the temperature-control unit.

4. A room according to claim 3, wherein the housing lies on the outside of the perimeter of the assembled room as defined by the floor and roof panels.

5. A room acording to claim 4, wherein the housing extends substantially the full height of the housing panel in which it is incorporated, to enable it also to serve for the storage of electric cabling and the like when the room is not in use.

6. A room according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the housing panel for the temperature-control unit matches the dimensions of other wall panels, so that it can be assembled in any side of the room, excepting possibly that having the access door.

7. A room according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein, in order to ensure that the room is waterproof and thus suitable for use outside in all weather conditions, the wall panels abut edge to edge through strip seals, typically silicon foam seals.

8. A room according to claim 7, wherein strips seals are also used where the roof and floor panels meet the side walls, the roof and floor panels having perimeter edge flanges or edge channels within which the perimeters of the top and bottom of the side walls are received.

9. A room according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the exterior face of the roof panel, or roof panel parts if the roof is made up of more than one panel, is slightly sloped so that rain water will drain towards a gutter.

10. A room according to claim 9, having two roof panel parts which mate via a strip seal, wherein a channel for serving as a gutter is moulded into one such roof panel, and the exterior faces of the two panels slightly slope towards the channel.

11. A room according to claim 10, wherein the exterior faces of the two panels also slightly slope towards one side of the room, where the gutter drains into a downpipe.

12. A room according to claim 11, wherein, by orientating the roof panel appropriately with respect to the housing panel having a full height housing for the temperature control unit, the downpipe is accommodated within the said housing, at the bottom of which water from the downpipe empties onto the ground.

13. A room according to any of claims 1 to 12, wherein one side wall of the room is adapted to receive and be jointed to a steel box frame set in fibre glass, within which an openable, fibre glass door, of similar construction to the panels, is mounted.

14. A room according to claim 13, wherein the door frame also dimensionally matches the dimensions of a wall panel, so that it can fit in place in any side of the room, except possibly that having the temperature control unit, in place of a wall panel.

15. A room according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the side walls of the room are made up of four similar moulded corner panels and one or more moulded wall panels for connecting between each pair of corner mouldings, a door frame with door taking the place of a wall panel on one side of the room and a wall panel with a housing for a temperature control unit (housing panel) taking the place of a standard wall panel on another side of the room.

16. A room according to claim 15, wherein the panels secure together by means of cam locks, for example operable by an Allen key.

17. A room according to claim 16, wherein the cam locks, when tightened, compress the strip seals between the panels, which seals not only serve to ensure a watertight assembly but also take up tolerances in the straightnesses of the edges of the panels.

18. A room according to any of claims 1 to 16, wherein the floor of the room may be formed by a single panel, or two or more panel parts which mate together.

19. Aroom according to any of claims 1 to 18, wherein the temperature control unit has a refrigeration unit which has a spaced evaporator and condenser interconnected by supports which accommodate connecting pipework.

20. A room according to claim 19, wherein the supports are received and fixed into slots cut in the top edge of a housing panel before the roof panel is fitted, locating the evaporator on the interior of the room and the condenser on the exterior.

21. A room according to claim 20, wherein an interior light is mounted on a cover for the evaporator.

22. A temperature-controlled room substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.