Rear door inflatable device for an integrated refrigerated container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9587875-B2
Application number	US-201314370388-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 3, 2013
Priority date	Jan 5, 2012
Publication date	Mar 7, 2017
Grant date	Mar 7, 2017

Abstract

A method for reducing air leakage from a refrigerated container includes positioning at least one inflatable device about a rear end of the refrigerated container; coupling the at least one inflatable device to one end of an elongated duct located within an interior space of the refrigerated container; coupling a second end of the elongated duct to an outlet port of the evaporator fan; circulating, via the evaporator fan, air through the interior space; and extracting the circulated air through the elongated duct and into the at least one inflatable device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air sealing system for a refrigerated container, comprising:
an evaporator fan configured for circulating a circulated air flow through an interior space of the refrigerated container;
at least one inflatable device that is flexible and is configured to be positioned about a rear end of the refrigerated container; and
an elongated duct comprising a first end coupled to the at least one inflatable device and a second end positioned to extract from the circulated air flow an extracted air flow and communicate the extracted air flow into the at least one inflatable device.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one inflatable device resides within the interior space of the refrigerated container.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the refrigerated container includes two inflatable seals positioned about each rear door of the refrigerated container.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a check valve coupled to the first end of the elongated duct.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a reverse valve configured for removing air from the at least one inflatable device, the reverse valve being coupled to the inflatable seal.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the check valve is a one-way valve configured for communicating air from the evaporator fan to the at least one inflatable device during operation of the evaporator fan.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the check valve is configured for preventing air from flowing out of the at least one inflatable device while the evaporator fan cycles to low speed or is not operating.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the evaporator fan is configured for circulating cooled air within the interior space.

9. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a compressor for conditioning a refrigerant flowing through a refrigerant line.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the refrigerant line is configured for circulating the refrigerant through an evaporator coil in response to the cooling of the interior space.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one inflatable device is an inflatable seal or an inflatable tube.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one inflatable device is configured for ease of attachment to the refrigerated container or ease of removal from the refrigerated container.

13. A method for reducing air leakage from a refrigerated container, comprising:
positioning at least one inflatable device about a rear end of the refrigerated container;
coupling the at least one inflatable device to one end of an elongated duct located within an interior space of the refrigerated container;
positioning a second end of the elongated duct to receive an outlet of the evaporator fan;
circulating, via the evaporator fan, circulated air through the interior space; and
extracting extracted air from the circulated air and directing the extracted air through the elongated duct and into the at least one inflatable device.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the coupling of the at least one inflatable device to the one end further comprises coupling the one end to a check valve to the at least one inflatable device.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising positioning two inflatable seals about each rear door of the refrigerated container.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising removing air from the at least one inflatable device via a reverse valve, the reverse valve being coupled to the at least one inflatable device.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the check valve is a one-way valve configured for moving air from the evaporator fan to the at least one inflatable device during operation of the evaporator fan.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the check valve is configured for preventing air from flowing out of the at least one inflatable device into the elongated duct while the evaporator fan cycles to low speed or is not operating.

19. The method of claim 13 , further comprising circulating cooled air within the interior space.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising circulating refrigerant through an evaporator coil in response to the cooling of the interior space.

Assignees

• Carrier Corp

Inventors

• Cresswell Kenneth
• Chen Yu H
• Graaff Wolfgang

Classifications

• F25D2317/063

  with air guides · CPC title

• F25D11/003

  Transport containers · CPC title

• B65D88/745 Primary

  blowing or injecting heating, cooling or other conditioning fluid inside the container · CPC title

• F25D2323/062

  Inflatable walls · CPC title

• F25D23/00 Primary

  General constructional features (F25D21/00 takes precedence) · CPC title