FR2938242A1 - Cell to adjust the temperature of products such as foodstuff loaded on a support such as pallet, comprises two lateral walls connected by a bottom wall and an upper wall, where the bottom is equipped with an air extraction unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The cell comprises two lateral walls (5, 6) connected by a bottom wall and an upper wall. The bottom is equipped with an air extraction unit (17). Inner faces of lateral and upper walls are each equipped with an airbag connected by a sleeve (13, 14, 15) to a unit (16) for blowing air so that the upper bag inflates before the side bags to ensure directly or indirectly the sealing of all or part of upper and side walls corresponding to the loaded pallet in a swollen position. The sleeve of the upper bag has a diameter greater than the diameter of the sleeves of lateral bags. The cell comprises two lateral walls (5, 6) connected by a bottom wall and an upper wall. The bottom is equipped with an air extraction unit (17). Inner faces of lateral and upper walls are each equipped with an airbag connected by a sleeve (13, 14, 15) to a unit (16) for blowing air so that the upper bag inflates before the side bags to ensure directly or indirectly the sealing of all or part of upper and side walls corresponding to the loaded pallet in a swollen position. The sleeve of the upper bag has a diameter greater than the diameter of the sleeves of lateral bags. The sleeves of lateral bags have equal diameters. The upper bag is dimensioned to cover the front part of the upper surface of the load on its entire width along the diagonal of the load, in swollen position. The lateral bags are present in the form of vertical rod positioned at the corners of the pallet defining the diagonal, and fixed with side walls using stretchers distributed on their periphery. The cell is equipped with a curtain (9) arranged on its front. The air extraction unit contacts with the air blowing unit by a pipe.

Description

FILLING CELL OF FOODSTUFFS CHARGED ON PALLET

The subject of the invention is a cell for cooling, heating, drying or keeping in temperature products, such as foodstuffs, composites, porcelain .... loaded on a support such as pallet, trolley, container, grids etc ..

In the following description, the cell of the invention is more particularly described in connection with the cooling of foodstuffs loaded on a pallet. At the end of their production, the perishable products can be momentarily stored on a pallet inside so-called cooling cells, the pallets then being shipped to the points of sale by refrigerated trucks. This solution is commonly used in the dairy industry, particularly for the storage of yogurts.

A cell of this type is for example described in document WO99 / 11141. More precisely, FIG. 2 shows a cell whose side and upper walls each have a tarpaulin sealingly fitted to the corresponding faces of the pallet loading, under the effect of the ventilated air which engulfs the bottom of said tarpaulins. One of the major drawbacks of the system is to generate air leaks, especially at the upper corners of the loading pallet, the sheets being free from each other. This phenomenon is reinforced when small pallets are introduced, the tarpaulins then overlapping randomly. In addition, the described cell does not allow the passage of air at the side faces of the load, which prohibits use for certain applications described below.

The problem to be solved by the invention is therefore to develop a cell of the type described above which does not have the disadvantages mentioned.

To do this, the Applicant has developed a cell having inflatable sealing means in a specific sequence.

More specifically, the invention relates to a cell for adjusting the temperature of foodstuffs loaded on a pallet, comprising two side walls connected by a bottom and an upper wall, the bottom being equipped with an air extraction means, characterized in that the inner faces of the side and upper walls are each provided with an inflatable bag connected by a sleeve to at least one means for blowing air so that the upper bag inflates before the side bags. thus making it possible to ensure, directly or indirectly, in the inflated position, the sealing of all or part of the corresponding upper and lateral walls of the loaded pallet.

According to the invention, successively inflating the upper bag and then the two side bags makes it possible to come to press the side bags on the lateral faces of the upper bag already inflated thus avoiding any risk of air leakage, especially at the level of the vertices. of the loaded pallet. In practice, the inflation of the side bags starts before the end of the inflation of the upper bag.

According to a first characteristic, the bags are connected to one and the same air blowing means, in practice a blower.

To ensure the successive inflation of the bags, the sleeve of the upper bag connecting the insufflation means has a diameter advantageously greater than the diameter of the sleeves connecting the side bags by means of insufflation.

Preferably, the sleeves of the side bags have equal diameters. In practice, the side bags are made of PVC, while the upper bag is made of a flexible material of the coated polyester type.

To facilitate the deflation of the side bags made particularly rigid by the cold, they are made integral with the wall by means of tensioners distributed on their periphery. According to the invention, the upper bag and the side bags provide directly or indirectly, in the inflated position, sealing all or part of the corresponding upper and lateral walls of the loaded pallet.

The implementation of a direct or indirect sealing depends on the structure of the cell, and the presence or absence of a translucent plastic curtain, positioned on the front of the cell. Most cells currently marketed are equipped. In this case, the curtain is positioned, when the pallet is placed in the cell, between the upper face of the load and the upper bag. In inflated positions, the bag presses on the curtain, which has two effects. The first is to prevent the lower end of the curtain from wobbling under the effect of the depression created by the suction of air, the second being to reinforce the seal by effectively plating the curtain on the upper face of the loading. We are then in the case of indirect sealing. However, at the side walls, the seal is direct insofar as the bags are in direct contact with the side walls.

The achievement of sealing on all or part of the upper and side walls of the pallet loaded is a function, in turn, the type of product packaging. Yoghurt storage is a typical example. In this case, as will be seen later, the cells must be arranged to allow the passage of air, from the front face to the rear face, or from one of the side faces to the other side face loading stored on the pallet, the ideal is to have a pallet offering one or the other possibility.

In a first embodiment, the air passes from the front face to the rear face of the load. In this case, the upper bag is sized so as to cover, in the inflated position, at least the front portion of the upper face of the load, substantially over its entire width. When the cell is equipped with a curtain, the upper bag in the inflated position, advantageously covers about 1/3 before (relative to the depth) of the upper surface of the load, the curtain being inserted between the upper face of the load and the underside of the bag. Of course, the curtain serving as the front face of the cell covers the entire upper surface of the load when it is positioned in the cell. When the cell is devoid of front curtain, the upper bag covers the entire upper face of the load. In both cases, the side bags cover, in the inflated position, all the corresponding faces of the loaded pallet, so that the air circulates in only one direction from front to rear of the pallet .

In an improved embodiment, air passes both back and forth and from one of the side faces to the other side of the cargo stored on the pallet. In this case, the upper bag is dimensioned so as to cover, in the inflated position, the upper face of the load at least along the diagonal of said load. In the event that the cell is equipped with a front curtain, the upper bag, by its position along the diagonal of the pallet, keeps the curtain plated on the upper face of the load. When the cell is devoid of front curtain, the upper bag is directly in contact with the entire upper face of the loaded pallet, like the previous embodiment. In both cases, the side bags are in the form of vertical strands and are each positioned at the corners of the pallet defining said diagonal. In this way, the air travels through the sides of the load and / or from front to back depending on the shape of the packaging.

With regard to the extraction system, it can advantageously communicate via a pipeline with the insufflation system so as to use a portion of the air extracted to ensure the inflation of the bags. .

The invention and the advantages thereof will emerge from the following examples in support of the appended figures.

Figure 1 is a representation of the two ways of conditioning yogurts on a pallet.

Figures 2 to 5 are perspective representations (Figure 2), top view (Figure 3), side view (Figure 4) and front view (Figure 5) of a cooling cell 30 "universal" for yogurt packed in packs of 4, 8 or 16, or in packets of 6 or 12.

Figures 6 to 8 are perspective representations (Figure 6), top view (Figure 7), and front view (Figure 8) of a cooling cell for yoghurt packaged in packs of 6 or 12.

The following examples illustrate the invention in connection with the cooling of yogurts. 1 / Packaging of yogurts:

In Figure 1, there is shown two ways of storing yogurt (1) on a pallet to be maintained in a cooling cell. In practice, the yogurts are packaged at the end of their manufacture either in packets of 6 or 12, that is to say in multiples of 6, or in packets of 4, 8 or 16, that is to say in multiples of 4. When they are stored on the pallet, the packaged yogurts are positioned in bins (2) whose dimensions and structure vary according to the packaging. The configuration of the bin storage on the pallet depends on the structure of the cell. It should be noted that the bins have standard sizes standardized to the size of the pallets, imposing their arrangement as described below.

1.1 Packaging in packs of 6 or 12 As shown in Figure 1, packages of 6 or 12 yogurts are positioned side by side in rectangular bins (2.1) provided on their short side (2.1 a) (2.1 b) with holes ( 3.1 a, 3.1 b), the long sides (2.1 c, 2.1 d) being full. These bins are stored on the pallet lengthwise so that air passes through the holes from the front of the cell to the back (see Figures 6 to 9).

1.2 Packaging in packs of 4, 8 or 16

As shown in FIG. 1, packs of 4, 8 or 16 yogurts are positioned side by side in rectangular bins (2.2) provided on their large side (2.2 a) (2.2 b) with holes (3.2 a, 3.2 b). , the short sides (2.2 c, 2.2 d) consisting of a solid wall. These bins are stored on the pallet lengthwise so that air passes through the holes from one of the side faces of the load to the opposite face (see Figures 2 to 5). / Cooling cell

2.1 For packs of 4, 8 or 16 packets of 6 or 12 As will be seen later, these cells are "universal" in that they allow the passage of air back and forth and from one side face to the other. The same cell can therefore receive any type of yoghurt packaging. In this example, the cell is described in relation to the storage of yogurts in packets of 4, 8 or 16.

Figures 2 to 5 are perspective representations (Figure 2), top view (Figure 3), side view (Figure 4) and front view (Figure 5) of such a cell.

This cell, defined by the general reference (4), comprises two lateral faces (5, 6), a bottom (7) and a front face (8) provided with a plastic curtain (9) covering the entire surface of the face before. It also comprises a not shown upper wall. The cell (4) is equipped with an upper bag (10) positioned diagonally and two side bags forming flanges (11) and (12) respectively positioned at the rear left corner and the right front corner. Of course, the device can be reversed in that the upper bag (10) can be arranged along the other diagonal and the flanges arranged at the front left corner and the right rear corner. The bags are secured to the upper and lateral walls by any suitable means, such as for example metal rods.

Each of the bags is connected by means of a sleeve (13) for the strand (11), (14), for the strand (12), (15) for the upper bag (10), to a means of insufflation air (16) positioned on the rear face of the cell (see Figure 4). The blown air comes, in practice, from a part of the air sucked from the front of the cell by means of an extraction system (17) also positioned on the back of the cell (see FIG. 4).

According to one characteristic of the invention, the sleeves (13, 14) have a smaller diameter than the sleeve (15), thus making it possible to inflate the upper bag (10), before the lateral tubes (11, 12). The diameter of the sleeves (13, 14) is, in this example, decreased with respect to the diameter of the sleeve (15) by the introduction of reduction rings (18, 19) located near the junction of the three sleeves (13). , 14, 15). 6 The cooling cell is used as follows. The pallet (20) loaded with its bins (2) containing packets of 4, 8 or 16 yogurts is introduced into the cell in the lengthwise direction. The curtain (9) then covers the upper face of the load (21). The air extraction system is then started. According to the invention, the upper bag (10) begins to inflate before the beginning of inflating the lateral beads (11, 12). Once the bags are inflated, the upper bag (10) plates the curtain (9) on the top of the load (21) while the lateral flanges (11, 12) come into contact with the lateral faces of the load, near the angles respectively. rear left and right front. Due to the structure of the cell, the air sucked from the outside is blocked at the front face thereof, on the one hand on the right side (front view) by the flange (12), and on the other hand by the solid walls (2.2 c) of the lockers (2).

It follows that the air rushes between the left front end of the load and the left side wall to then travel from the left side face towards the right side face. The presence of the flange (11) arranged at the left rear corner of the cell prohibits any passage of air and therefore forces it to pass from the left side face to the right side face. In this configuration, the presence of the curtain (9) plated on the upper face of the load (21) prohibits any air passage from the top of the load ensuring, in other words, a complete seal.

To remove the pallet and its loading, the aeration system (suction + insufflation) is stopped. The bags then deflate immediately, releasing the stress on the upper and the lateral faces of the load. The pallet can then be extracted without difficulty.

As already stated, this cell can receive not only yoghurt packages in packs of 4, 8 or 16, but also packet packages of 6 to 12. In this case, the bins are stored in such a way that the holes (3.1.a, 3.1.b) are positioned opposite the front and rear faces of the cell. Therefore, the air will pass only from the front face to the rear face, insofar as it will be blocked at the left side of the load (21) by the solid faces (2.1.c) constitutive lockers (2 ). 8 2.2 For packages in packages of 6 or 12

FIGS. 6 to 8 are perspective representations (FIG. 6), top view (FIG. 7) and front view (FIG. 8) of a cooling cell for yoghurt conditioned by pack of 6 or 12.

In this embodiment, the air can only pass from the front of the load towards the rear of the latter. The passage of air is made possible through the holes (3.1a, 3.1a) arranged on the small sides (2.1 a) facing the front and rear faces of the cell. If the principle of successive inflation of the upper bag and then the side bags remains, the conformation of said bags is somewhat modified with respect to the previous embodiment. The rest of the structure of the cell remains the same.

In this embodiment, the side bags (22, 23) cover the entire inner surface of the side faces (5, 6). These bags (22, 23) are secured to the lateral faces by means of tensioners (not shown) arranged over the entire periphery of the bags. These tensioners ensure rapid deflation of the bags when the aeration system is stopped, thus allowing the pallet to leave the cell without difficulty. The upper bag (24) is sized so as to cover the upper third of the front of the load, across the entire width thereof.

The cooling cell is used as follows. The pallet (20) loaded with its bins (2) containing packets of 6 or 12 yogurts is introduced into the cell 25 in the lengthwise direction. The curtain (9) then covers the upper face of the load (21). The air extraction system is then started. According to the invention, the upper bag (24) begins to inflate before the beginning of the inflation of the side bags (22, 23). Once the bags are inflated, the upper bag (24) lays the curtain (9) on the top of the load (21) on the front third while the side bags (22, 23) come into contact with the lateral faces of the load. on the whole surface. Because of the structure of the cell, the air sucked from the outside is blocked by the right and left ends of the front face and is forced to pass through the holes (3.1 a) arranged on the short sides of the bins ( 2). In this configuration, the presence of the curtain (9) plated on the upper face of the load (21) prevents any passage of air through the top of the load ensuring, in other words, a complete seal.

To remove the pallet and its loading, the aeration system (suction + insufflation) is stopped. The side bags then deflate immediately being recalled by the tensioners as well as the upper bag thus releasing the stress exerted on the upper and lateral faces of the load. The pallet can then be extracted without difficulty.

The invention and the advantages thereof are well within the description. In particular, it is noted that the structure of the cell and the inflation sequence make it possible to guarantee the tightness of the system, whatever the size of the pallet. In addition, in a particular embodiment, the cell is universal and able to control the temperature of food by air passage in the lateral direction or before and back of the pallet.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS1 / Cell (4) for adjusting the temperature of supported products, in particular filled foodstuffs (18) on a pallet (20), comprising two sidewalls (5, 6) connected by a bottom (7) and an upper wall, the bottom (7) being equipped with an air extraction means (16), characterized in that the inner faces of the side and upper walls are each equipped with an inflatable bag (10, 11, 12, 22, 23, 24) connected by a sleeve (13, 14, 15) to at least one air blowing means (16) so that the upper bag (10, 24) inflates before the side bags (11, 12, 22, 23) thus making it possible to ensure, directly or indirectly, in the inflated position, the sealing of all or part of the corresponding upper and lateral walls of the loaded pallet (20) (21). 2 / Cell according to claim 1, characterized in that the bags (10, 11, 12, 22, 23, 24) are connected to one and the same air blowing means (16). 3 / Cell according to claim 1, characterized in that the sleeve (15) of the upper bag (10, 24) has a diameter greater than the diameter of the sleeves (13, 14) of the side bags (11, 12, 22, 23). . 4 / cell according to claim 1, characterized in that the sleeves (13, 14) of the side bags (11, 12, 22, 23) have equal diameters. 5 / Cell according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper bag (10, 24) is dimensioned so as to cover, in the inflated position, at least the front portion of the upper face of the load (21), substantially on all its width. 6 / Cell according to claim 1, characterized in that the side bags (11, 12, 22, 23) cover in the inflated position, all of the corresponding faces of the pallet (20) 30 loaded (21). 7 / cell according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper bag (10, 24) is dimensioned so as to cover, in the inflated position, the upper face of the load (21) at least along the diagonal of said load and in that that the lateral bags (11, 12) are in the form of vertical flanges and are each positioned at the corners of the pallet (20) delimiting said diagonal. 8 / Cell according to claim 1, characterized in that the side bags (22, 23) are secured to the side walls (5, 6) by means of tensioners distributed on their periphery. 9 / Cell according to claim 1, characterized in that it is provided with a curtain (9) arranged on its front face. 10 / Cell according to claim 1, characterized in that the air extraction means (17) communicates with the air blowing means (16) through a pipe.