Automated blast cell loading and unloading

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11940198-B2
Application number	US-202117540202-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 1, 2021
Priority date	Dec 1, 2021
Publication date	Mar 26, 2024
Grant date	Mar 26, 2024

Abstract

A system for blast-freezing items includes a plurality of cells arranged side-by-side, each cell including a housing with a bay space, a plenum, a front air passage, a rear air passage, and a fan. The fan is positioned in the plenum and configured to circulate air through the bay space. Each cell also includes a plurality of channels to separate pathways of air to segments of the bay space. The system also includes a plurality of crane rails extending between rows of cells and at least one crane capable of traveling along the plurality of crane rails to load or unload each of the plurality of cells.

First claim

We claim:

1. An apparatus for cooling items, the apparatus comprising:
a housing defining (i) a bay space, (ii) a plenum positioned above the bay space, (iii) a front air passage fluidly connecting a front end of the bay space to a front end of the plenum, and (iv) a rear air passage fluidly connecting a rear end of the bay space to a rear end of the plenum, wherein the bay space, the plenum, the front air passage, and the rear air passage collectively provide a closed-loop within which air is circulated within the housing, wherein the bay space includes a plurality of layers that are each configured to hold one or more rows of pallets of items to be cooled;
a fan positioned within the plenum and configured to circulate air through the closed-loop provided by the bay space in the housing, the fan operable to (i) pull the air from the rear end of the bay space, through the rear air passage, and into the rear end of the plenum, and (ii) discharge the air into the front end of the plenum, through the front air passage, and toward the front end of the bay space;
a first plurality of channels arranged within the rear air passage, each of the first plurality of channels defining a first fluid pathway that (i) is fluidly separate from other fluid pathways provided by others of the first plurality of channels and (ii) extends from a rear end of a corresponding layer of the plurality of layers to the rear end of the plenum, the first plurality of channels configured to, over their length, turn a direction of airflow from the rear end of the bay space to the rear end of the plenum; and
a second plurality of channels arranged within the front air passage, each of the second plurality of channels defining a second fluid pathway, each of the second plurality of channels defining a second fluid pathway that (i) is fluidly separate from other second fluid pathways provided by others of the second plurality of channels and (ii) extends from a front end of a corresponding layer of the plurality of layers to the front end of the plenum, the second plurality of channels configured to, over their length, turn a direction of airflow from the front end of the plenum to the front end of the bay space,
wherein the first and second plurality of channels have corresponding vertical alignment such that respective terminal points of the first and second plurality of channels on opposing sides of the bay space intersect same horizontal planes.

2. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 1 , wherein at least one first fluid passageway formed by the first plurality of channels is continuous with at least one second fluid passageway formed by the second plurality of channels, the first fluid passageway coupled to the second fluid passageway by at least one corresponding layer of the plurality of layers.

3. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 1 , wherein the fan is configured to draw an equal volume of air through each of the first plurality of channels.

4. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least two doors formed in the housing, the at least two doors providing access to the one or more rows of pallets of items to be cooled of each layer of the plurality of layers.

5. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 4 , wherein the at least two doors comprises a first door formed in a first side of the housing and a second door formed in a second side of the housing opposite the first side.

6. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 5 , wherein the first door and the second door are formed so as to provide access to the bay space in a direction perpendicular to an airflow from the front air passage to the rear air passage through each layer of the plurality of layers.

7. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 6 , wherein the first door and the second door are configured to selectively open or close an entrance of the housing through which the items to be cooled are moved into and out of the bay space.

8. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 7 , wherein the first door and the second door are positioned on the housing so as to provide access to a storage and retrieval system to the items to be cooled within the bay space.

9. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of channels has a width that gradually becomes smaller from a drawing end adjacent the rearward region of the bay space to an opposite discharging end adjacent the at least one fan.

10. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 9 , wherein the second plurality of channels has a width that gradually becomes larger from a drawing end adjacent the front end of the plenum to an opposite discharging end adjacent the forward region of the bay space.

11. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 10 , wherein the first plurality of channels and second plurality of channels includes one or more walls curved between the drawing end and the discharging end.

12. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 11 , further comprising an air flow guide arranged at a corner of the housing and configured to streamline air flow at the corner with reduced turbulence.

13. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 12 , wherein the air flow guide includes a plurality of turning vanes configured to provide curved air passages at the corner.

14. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 1 , wherein the fan is configured to selectively operate in a plurality of modes including a first operational mode and a second operational mode, wherein the at least one fan is configured to create air flow in a first direction in the first operational mode and in a second direction in the second operational mode.

15. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 1 , wherein the fan is a first fan, and further comprising a second fan positioned at an end of the plenum opposite the first fan.

16. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 1 , the apparatus is configured as a blast freezer.

17. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of layers of each cell comprises four (4) layers.

18. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 17 , wherein each of the four layers includes 16 pallet stacking positions, arranged in four rows of four pallet stacking positions.

19. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 1 , wherein the opposing sides of the bay space comprise the plenum.

20. The apparatus for cooling items of claim 1 , wherein the opposing sides of the bay space comprise opposing ends of the plurality of layers.

21. A system for cooling items, the system comprising:
a plurality of cells arranged side-by-side, each cell comprising:
a housing defining (i) a bay space, (ii) a plenum positioned above the bay space, (iii) a front air passage fluidly connecting a front end of the bay space to a front end of the plenum, and (iv) a rear air passage fluidly connecting a rear end of the bay space to a rear end of the plenum, wherein the bay space, the plenum, the front air passage, and the rear air passage collectively provide a closed-loop within which air is circulated within the housing, wherein the bay space includes a plurality of layers that are each configured to hold one or more rows of pallets of items to be cooled;
a fan positioned within the plenum and configured to circulate air through the closed-loop provided by the bay space in the housing, the fan operable to (i) pull the air from the rear end of the bay space, through the rear air passage, and into the rear end of the plenum, and (ii) discharge the air into the front end of the plenum, t

Assignees

• Lineage Logistics Llc

Inventors

• Walet Daniel
• Zhang Alexander Ming
• O'Connor Claire
• Philipsen Ben

Classifications

• F25D17/06 Primary

  by forced circulation · CPC title

• F25D17/045

  Air flow control arrangements · CPC title

• F25D23/02

  Doors; Covers (F25D23/08 takes precedence {locks or fastenings E05B65/0042}) · CPC title

• F25D25/04

  by conveyors (in general B65G) · CPC title

• B66C19/00

  Cranes comprising trolleys or crabs running on fixed or movable bridges or gantries (B66C17/00 takes precedence; base supporting structures with legs B66C5/00; jib cranes B66C23/00) · CPC title