Refrigeration – Article moving means
Patent
1985-02-13
1986-07-15
King, Lloyd L.
Refrigeration
Article moving means
62441, F25D 2500
Patent
active
045998710
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a plant for storage of goods to be stored at different temperature levels, especially freeze storage and cold storage, including storage compartments adapted to receive previously loaded containers, to and from which compartments the containers are conveyed by means of a handling unit permitting vertical movement.
Conventional freeze houses usually consist of a thoroughly insulated hall building in which there are arranged rows of shelf-like stands or racks separated by aisles. To obtain the required space for the operation of handling tools or vehicles it is often necessary to have longitudinally and transversely extending aisles. In prior art freeze houses it is possible to utilize only about 60% of the floor area for storage while the rest is transport and handling areas.
For optimum utilization of the freeze house volume use is made of very high stands which, however, often makes it necessary to increase the aisle width due to the fact that the handling tools or vehicles must be broad to provide the required stability. Such constraints not applicable to track-bound handling means which bear on rails on the stands.
In conventional freeze houses the air change rate is high, a principal reason for this being that cold air will leak out and be replaced every time doors or the like are opened.
From the point of view of staff welfare, conventional freeze houses are troublesome since the staff must all the time stay in a temperature which generally is about -30.degree.C. This involves a risk of frost injuries even if protective clothing is used.
If freeze house halls of today's design are to function as planned also during summer days it is necessary to provide extensive insulation. During the major part of the year considerably less insulation would be sufficient but the insulation must be dimensioned to cover the most unfavourable case.
To eliminate the risk of frost-formation with the accompanying risk of ground movements the freeze house floors must be insulated very thoroughly underneath. To reduce the ground insulation, as suggested in the normal case, and lay in frost-preventing heating coils which obviously increase the total energy consumption can hardly be considered a rational solution of this problem.
A factor causing problems in calculating and constructing freeze house walls in the high temperature difference between the outside air and the interior of the freeze house. In hot summer days this difference may amount of more than 60.degree. while in winter it may vary between 10.degree. and 30.degree. . This problem may be solved by allowing the maximum outside temperature to be decisive for dimensioning, and by basing the insulation capacity on the resulting temperature difference. It is also possible to slighly reduce the insulation capacity and instead give the freeze machines sufficient over-capacity or, alternatively, double the number of freezing machines so that these, when necessary, can supply such a sufficient amount of cold air that the lack of insulating capacity will be compensated.
The object of this invention is to provide a storage plant, especially for freeze storage, while eliminating the inconveniences entailed with conventional freeze houses.
A principal characteristic of the storage plant according to the invention is that one or more storage compartments, which can be opened upwards and which are intended for good having a storage temperature substantially from the ambient temperature, are arranged inside one or more additional compartments. The latter constitute a climatic barrier and suitably are designed as upwardly openable storage compartments for goods having a storage temperature which is less different from the ambient temperature. A part of a building or the like, containing the storage compartments, is especially adapted to be surrounded on all sides by a medium having a temperature which is approximately constant independently of the various seasons and the like.
Great advantages concerning energy are gained by arranging the plant f
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