Refrigeration – Structural installation – Article of furniture – e.g. – bed cover or canopy
Patent
1998-04-23
2000-06-06
Tapolcal, William E.
Refrigeration
Structural installation
Article of furniture, e.g., bed cover or canopy
165 46, F25D 2312
Patent
active
060704225
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present application relates to the a transport cover/tarpaulin and use thereof, especially for goods which during transport require refrigeration, freezing or segregation such as, e.g., foodstuffs and certain types of chemicals and hazardous goods.
During transport of the aforementioned product groups it is of importance that an even and/or low temperature is maintained throughout the entire duration of the transport.
One of the foodstuffs which is transported within, and exported from, Norway in large quantities is fresh and frozen fish. Fish is also transported in large quantities to remote markets such as, e.g., Japan. The invention will be described below on the basis of this transport of fish. However, it must be stressed that this is merely intended to serve as an example and that the transport cover according to the invention is equally suitable for all types of goods as mentioned above.
It is desirable, of course, that it should also be possible to transport fish to remote markets without any reduction in quality. However, on account of the fish being reloaded several times considerable problems are involved here.
Fish is packed for transport in cases of cardboard or polystyrene, and these cases are loaded on pallets. The fish is then transported in thermotrucks to an air terminal where it is loaded into the cargo hold of a plane.
As mentioned above, it is desirable for the fish to be kept in an unbroken cold storage chain throughout the journey from the producer to the retailer.
Critical points in this transport chain are those where the refrigerated goods and frozen goods pass from controlled refrigerated/deep-freeze points to new transport or storage places, e.g.. from a refrigerated/freezer terminal to the cargo hold of a plane, and where the goods may remain on the runway, at worst for up to several hours. The temperature on the runway may be very high.
Previously, in some cases air freight containers of aluminium or Plexiglas have been used. The problem with these, however, is that large volumes of empties must be transported back to their place of departure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
By means of the present invention, a transport cover or tarpaulin is provided, consisting of one or more flexible sheets of insulating material, where the outer surface may have a reflective foil or other heat-reflecting material, where the sheet(s) of insulating material have channels or chambers for a coolant, and in the case of frozen transport for a freezant, characterised in that the sheet(s) of insulating material in addition have channels or chambers which are filled with gas, e.g., air or nitrogen.
The channels or chambers which are intended to be filled with, e.g., gas, are preferably provided with a pressure control valve.
The transport cover/tarpaulin according to the invention may be designed as a complete cover of the desired size. Alternatively, the tarpaulin may be closed around the load by means of a closing device of any type whatever. One example of a simple closing device which may be used in the present case is a Velcro fastening. The height and the diagonal of the transport cover are adjusted according to the desired type of plane/air freight pallet and height between decks.
The sheet or sheets of insulating material in the transport cover/tarpaulin according to the invention may in principle consist of a number of, preferably soft, materials. In practice, soft plastics, and for special uses also the more temperature resistant versions of this type of material, have shown themselves to be well-suited.
Similarly, a number of materials may be used as the coolant. However, "Gel-ice" has proven to be a favourable alternative, both with a view to availability and price.
As optional reflective foil on the outside of the sheet of insulating material, aluminium foil is a preferred material. It would be of advantage to provide clear plastic pockets on the outside of the foil for the insertion of dispatch documents, etc.
The invention further comprises the use of the
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Supertainer International AS
Tapolcal William E.
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