Receptacles – Freight containers
Patent
1996-08-12
1997-07-01
Moy, Joseph M.
Receptacles
Freight containers
296191, 220 428, 220421, 220444, B65D 3304
Patent
active
056428278
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention concerns a double-walled refrigerated container having an inner cladding and an outer cladding comprising horizontal and vertical, substantially plane sheet members to form the internal and external, respectively, wall, roof and bottom faces of the claddings as well as an intermediate, bonded insulation layer of plastics foam, said sheet members of the outer cladding being attached to the load receiving frame of the container, which comprises upper and lower longitudinal girders as well as upper and lower transverse girders and vertical corner posts at the gables.
Today refrigerated containers of the type mentioned above are widely used for oversea transportation of food products which must be kept cooled at temperatures within very narrow temperature ranges depending upon the nature of the transported goods. Therefore, strict requirements are made with respect to the tightness and the insulation capacity of the container during use for an extended period of time. The refrigerated containers are thus to maintain a predetermined inner temperature everywhere in their interior under the action from surroundings with strongly fluctuating temperature and moisture conditions and preferably also with a limited consumption of energy. These are factors which are of decisive importance for the transport earning capacity when using the refrigerated container in question.
It is therefore extremely important that there is only a small number of thermal bridges in the insulation layer of the refrigerated container structure, and that the areas which are relatively heat-conductive are limited to the greatest extent possible. In the refrigerated container mentioned above thermal bridges occur in particular at the gables where the outer cladding and the inner cladding of the container are Joined. Because of the great mechanical stresses which the inner and outer claddings of a refrigerated container are to absorb and transfer to the frame, the outer cladding is frequently made of steel sheet material and the inner cladding of both steel and aluminium sheet material. Both of these materials are strong heat conductors with respect to the intermediate insulation materials. It is also necessary to separate the steel outer cladding and the aluminium inner cladding from each other to prevent galvanically caused corrosion and direct heat transmission from the outer cladding to the inner cladding.
In the initially mentioned, known refrigerated containers these transitions between the outer cladding and the inner cladding are frequently made of plastics profiles which are glued and/or riveted to the outer cladding and the inner cladding of the refrigerated container. It is known by experience that the transitions rapidly become leaky when the refrigerated container has been used for some time. Leakages in these transitions result in an undesirable strong reduction in the insulation capacity and the rigidity of the refrigerated container. Thus, water vapour can diffuse into the insulation, and the insulation material releases part of its content of the insulating special gas to the atmosphere. Water penetration into the insulation moreover initiates chemical as well as mechanical degradation processes, and in particular involves the risk of ice formation in the insulation face, which causes the refrigerated container to be destroyed.
The double-walled refrigerated container of the present invention is characterized in that the interconnected upper and lower transverse girders and vertical corner posts provide an outer gable frame with which the sheet members of the outer cladding are connected, and that it includes an inner gable frame of sheet material with which the sheet members of the inner cladding are connected as well as an intermediate, annular and bonded insert of an elastically resilient material between the outer and inner gable frames. This structure provides a refrigerated container which will be tight also after an extended period of use, so as to ensure a permanent optimum insulation capacity.
Th
REFERENCES:
patent: 4726486 (1988-02-01), Masuda
patent: 4795047 (1989-01-01), Dunwoudie
patent: 4802600 (1989-02-01), Bretschneider et al.
patent: 4836395 (1989-06-01), Goutille
patent: 5535907 (1996-07-01), Elvin-Jensen
Maersk Container Industri AS
Moy Joseph M.
LandOfFree
Refrigerated container and a gable frame does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Refrigerated container and a gable frame, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Refrigerated container and a gable frame will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-590109