US20100251752A1

US20100251752A1 - Ventilated panel and vehicle equipped with such a panel

Info

Publication number: US20100251752A1
Application number: US12/752,290
Authority: US
Inventors: Valery AUROUSSEAU; Philippe Dumas
Original assignee: Photowatt International SA
Current assignee: Photowatt International SA
Priority date: 2009-04-02
Filing date: 2010-04-01
Publication date: 2010-10-07
Also published as: FR2944097A1; JP2010281442A; CA2696780A1; EP2236353A1; FR2944097B1

Abstract

The subject of the invention is a panel intended to form part of a wall delimiting a refrigerated chamber of a refrigerated box or to be positioned on such a wall, the panel including a photovoltaic module comprising at least one photovoltaic cell on the face of the panel facing towards the outside of the box, a layer of insulating material on the face of the panel facing towards the inside of the box, and air flow means interposed between the photovoltaic module and said insulating layer, and also a refrigerated box comprising such a panel on one of its walls and a vehicle comprising such a box.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a panel intended to form part of a wall delimiting a refrigerated chamber of a refrigerated box or to be positioned on such a wall.

BACKGROUND

Distribution channels use lorries fitted with refrigerated boxes in order to transport goods.
These on-board boxes consist of flat panels having large surface areas subjected to solar radiation leading to the box heating up.
It is thus desirable to improve the energy performance of such boxes.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The invention provides a panel intended to form part of a wall delimiting a refrigerated chamber of a refrigerated box or to be positioned on such a wall, the panel including a photovoltaic module comprising at least one photovoltaic cell on the face of the panel facing towards the outside of the box, a layer of insulating material on the face of the panel facing towards the inside of the box, and air flow means interposed between the photovoltaic module and said insulating layer.
The present invention makes it possible to take advantage of the surface area of refrigerated chambers in order to install there a photovoltaic field for producing part of the energy necessary for cooling said chamber throughout the day and to benefit from a relative movement of a vehicle with respect to the wind, the panel being installed on said vehicle in order to cool the photovoltaic modules and limit their heating up under the effect of solar irradiation.
The air flow means, such as an air intake at the front in the direction of travel, make it possible to improve the ventilation performance of the panel. Generally, this panel could be connected to ventilation accessories at the inlets and outlets of the ducts of the air flow means.
This panel finds an application in refrigerated boxes on board refrigerated lorries and makes it possible to use the electrical energy generated by the photovoltaic system directly to cool the inside of the box while benefiting from the movement of the air relative to the movement of the lorry in order to cool the photovoltaic system and form an insulating thermal gradient between the photovoltaic system and the insulating panel which thus remains at temperatures which are lower than if it were subjected directly to solar irradiation.
According to one embodiment, the insulating layer comprises an original insulating wall of the box.
This arrangement makes it possible to adapt the panel to the original existing walls and thus to reduce the cost of the panel as well as its weight. This also makes it possible to custom design the panels in order to benefit fully from all the surface area available on the wall of the box.
According to another embodiment, lateral fixing frames with a break in the thermal bridge are arranged to hold the photovoltaic system.
This arrangement makes it possible to limit any supplies of heat through the elements for fastening the photovoltaic modules and also to aid mounting on the structure of the refrigerated box and integration of the electrical connections.
According to one embodiment, a converter and storage batteries are connected to the photovoltaic system.
This arrangement makes it possible to store the energy from the photovoltaic system in order to subsequently restore it to the refrigerated unit and in particular to its compressor which produces the cold inside the box.
According to one embodiment, the photovoltaic system includes parts made of a transparent polymer material.
This arrangement makes it possible to lighten the photovoltaic system in order to reduce the fuel consumption of the lorry.
Another subject of the invention is a refrigerated box comprising a wall delimiting a refrigerated chamber and at least one panel as described hereinabove, which is part of said wall or positioned on said wall.
Also a vehicle, however, including such a refrigerated box, as well as a vehicle in which a panel is positioned on the upper face and/or the side faces of the box.
The arrangement which includes incorporating a photovoltaic panel on the side faces of the box of the vehicle aims to take maximum advantage of the available walls of the vehicle.
However, because the side faces of the box generally are less exposed to solar irradiation than the upper face and one of these side faces generally receives more sunshine than the other during the day, it is conceivable to use for the side faces photovoltaic panels made of amorphous materials which, despite their lower efficiency, are less expensive than crystalline photovoltaic panels which will be provided on the upper face.
The invention also relates to a vehicle in which the air flow means include at least one air intake in the normal direction of travel of the vehicle, but also to a vehicle in which the air flow means include intermediate air intakes.
In any event, the invention will be easily understood with the aid of the following description, with reference to the appended schematic drawings representing, by way of non-limiting example, an embodiment and a use of the panel according to the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross section through a panel according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross section illustrating the mounting of two panels on a box according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross section through a refrigerated box according to the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a vehicle and in particular a refrigerated lorry equipped with a box with a panel according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As is shown in FIG. 1, a panel 1 according to the invention comprises a photovoltaic module 2 and a layer of insulating material 4, between which air flow means 3 including a ventilation box 3 a are arranged.
The photovoltaic module 2 has an upwardly directed surface 5 a which is exposed to solar radiation 5. This surface 5 a is made of a transparent polymer material in order to reduce the weight of the panel 1 while preserving the transparent property usually given to this type of panel by a layer of glass.
The layer of insulating material 4 may ideally comprise an original wall of the box as illustrated in FIG. 3, but may also be superposed thereon as shown in FIG. 2.
In this FIG. 2, two panels 1 positioned directly on the structure of a refrigerated box 10 can be seen.
To aid mounting, lateral frames 14 are positioned on the box 10 in order to support two opposing edges of a first panel 1. The panel and in particular its heaviest part, the photovoltaic module, only rests on half the width of the top face of the lateral frame 14 which supports the panel 1. The other half is used to support the edge of a second panel 1, which is thus connected to the first. One lateral frame 14 is thus used to support two adjacent panels 1.
These lateral frames 14 are designed to produce a break in the thermal bridge between the photovoltaic module part 2 of the panel 1 that they support and the refrigerated box 10 on which they rest.
This thermal break is produced by using a material of low thermal conductivity, such as plastic, which is positioned half-way up the support elements 14 and over their entire thickness and connects two parts of the support elements. The heating up of the top surface 10 a of the refrigerated box 10 by thermal conduction through these support elements 14 is thus considerably reduced.
Moreover, these lateral frames 14 have a configuration and an arrangement enabling them to be used to incorporate the electrical connection from the photovoltaic modules 2.
Ambient air flows through the air flow means 3 and the ventilation box 3 a of said means located beneath the photovoltaic module 2, said ambient air contributing on the one hand to cooling the photovoltaic module 2 and on the other hand to thermally insulating the wall of the box 10 on which the panel 1 is installed.
In order to increase heat exchange and to increase the thermal gradient between the photovoltaic module 2 and the insulating layer 4 of the box 10, the inside of the ventilation box 3 a has a number of fins arranged in a honeycomb configuration.
Since the wall of the box 10 is colder than the wall of the photovoltaic module 2 exposed to solar radiation 5, a thermal gradient 13 as illustrated in FIG. 1 is maintained across the height of the panel 1.
According to FIG. 3, an air intake 6 is positioned at the front of the refrigerated box 10 and an air outlet 8 at the rear of this same box 10.
This air intake 6 takes in ambient air through an air inlet 7, in order to make said air flow through the ventilation box 3 a located beneath the photovoltaic module 2 heated by solar radiation 5. This air thus stores heat that it draws from the panel 1 through the air outlet 8 positioned at the rear of the box 10.
Generally, this air flow may be connected with aerodynamic accessories at the inlet and outlet of the ventilation box 3 a in order to improve the ventilation performance of the panel 1.
On very long boxes 10, intermediate air intakes 6 can be envisaged in order to prevent the air passing through the ventilation box 3 a from overheating and thus to ensure the performance of the panel over the entire equipped surface area.
This panel finds an application on vehicles 11 having fairly extensive surface areas suitable for the installation of this type of panel 1, as illustrated in FIG. 4.
In particular, the top surface 10 a of the trailer of a refrigerated articulated lorry 11 requiring a surplus of electrical energy in order to supply the compressors necessary for producing the cold cooling its refrigerated box 10 is ideal for the installation of this type of panel 1.
This is because, when the sun is shining, the photovoltaic system 2 contributes to recharging the batteries delivering the energy necessary for supplying the compressor of the refrigerated unit 9.
The cooling of the photovoltaic module 2 by the air flow means 3 will be even greater when the lorry 11 is moving.
Specifically, the relative wind generated by the movements of the lorry 11 is taken into the ventilation box 3 a through the air intake 6 positioned at the front of the refrigerated box 10 in the direction of movement of the lorry 11.
In order for air to flow through the ventilation system, an air outlet 8 is positioned at the rear of the refrigerated box 10.
In addition, in order to improve the aerodynamics of the lorry 11 and to increase the flow of air passing through the air intake 7, spoilers 12 are arranged on the cabin of the lorry 11.
According to a variant, one or more photovoltaic panels according to the invention are provided on the side faces of the vehicle box.
It is conceivable to use photovoltaic panels made of amorphous materials for the side faces.
It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment described hereinabove by way of non-limiting example; on the contrary, it includes any variants thereof.

Claims

1. A panel intended to form part of a wall delimiting a refrigerated chamber of a refrigerated box or to be positioned on such a wall, the panel including:

a photovoltaic module comprising at least one photovoltaic cell on a face of the panel facing towards an outside of the box,

a layer of insulating material on a face of the panel facing towards an inside of the box, and

air flow means interposed between the photovoltaic module and said insulating layer.

2. The panel as claimed in claim 1, in which the insulating layer comprises an original insulating wall of the box.

3. The panel as claimed in claim 1, in which lateral fixing frames with a break in a thermal bridge are arranged to hold the photovoltaic module in position on the wall of the box.

4. The panel as claimed in claim 1, in which a converter and storage batteries are connected to the photovoltaic module.

5. The panel as claimed in claim 1, in which the photovoltaic module includes parts made of a transparent polymer material.

6. A refrigerated box comprising a wall delimiting a refrigerated chamber and at least one panel, which is part of said wall or positioned on said wall, as claimed in claim 1.

7. A vehicle including a refrigerated box as claimed in claim 6.

8. The vehicle as claimed in claim 7, in which the panel is positioned on an upper face of the box.

9. The vehicle as claimed in claim 7, in which a panel is positioned on a side face of the box.

10. The vehicle as claimed in claim 7, in which the air flow means include at least one air intake in a normal direction of travel of the vehicle.

11. The vehicle as claimed in claim 10, in which the air flow means include intermediate air intakes.