GB2194121A

GB2194121A - Aquatic transport apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2194121A
Application number: GB08620376A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sheng Kae Chiang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-08-21
Filing date: 1986-08-21
Publication date: 1988-03-02
Also published as: GB8620376D0

Abstract

An aquatic product transport apparatus comprises a closed container having intercommunicated compartments for receiving aquatic products and water, and an air space above the compartments. The air space is well ventilated, and the water in the compartments can be circulated through a filter means which removes excrement of the aquatic products and other undesirable materials. Moreover, an air conditioning means (12 or 13) is provided for cooling or warming air and water supplied to the container so that the container can be kept at a temperature most suitable for the aquatic products over a long transport distance. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Aquatic transport apparatus This invention relates to an aquatic transport apparatus, particularly an aquatic product transport apparatus having an air conditioning means with a temperature controlling unit, and a filter means for filtering excrement and other undesirable materials from the water of the container.

Aquatic products are transported in three ways, by sea, by air and on land. In land transport, live aquatic products are placed in a container incorporating an air compressor, and conveyed by a vehicle. Such a container is suitable for short distance transportation. To transport by sea to a far country or destination, aquatic products are usually frozen rather than kept live for ease of transport. Live aquatic products to be bred or used in fisheries are mostly transported by air, using plastic bags as containers. The disadvantage of such a method of air transportation is that the limited space of the plastic container causes a large percentage of the aquatic products to died of crowding and oxygen deficiency. The aquatic products which die have to be sold at a loss.Because of the disadvantages described, it is difficult to obtain a large quantity of live marine products from other countries for use as foods.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved aquatic product transportation container which can keep aquatic products live for a long period and can be used for carrying live aquatic products internationally.

Another object of the invention is to provide an aquatic product transportation container which can be conveyed from one place to another by a crane or the like so that the necessity to remove the aquatic products from water can be reduced to the minimum by conveying the container jnstead of moving the aquatic products from one container to another for transportation.

The present invention provides an aquatic transport tank which comprises: a closed container having intercommunicated compartments therein for receiving water and aquatic products and a space above said compartments for accommodating air; a water supply means connected to the container; an air supply means connected to the container; an air conditioning means connected to the water and air supply means for cooling or warming water and air supplied to the container; a control means connected to the air and water supply means and said the conditioning means and having a first thermostat disposed in one of the compartments and a second thermostat disposed in the space for controlling the temperature of the container; a raised perforated floor panel disposed above the bottom of the container to partition a sediment zone below the compartments for receiving excrement and other undesirable solid materials; filter means disposed at one side of the container outside the compartments and connected to the sediment zone for filtering excrement and other solid materials and having means for drawing water from the sediment zone to the compartments through the filter means; oxygen supply means connected to the container; and air ventilating means disposed in a wall of the container adjacent to the air accommodating space. Preferably, the perforated panel is slanted from one side to an opposite side of the container.

In one aspect of the invention, the air conditioning means includes a cooling unit and a warming unit for selective use.

In another aspect of the invention, the filter means includes a first zone having filter cloths oriented vertically therein, a second zone having shells of shellfish for changing PH value of the water, a third zone having a bacteria filter, and a fourth zone having an ultraviolet lamp for killing bacteria.

The present exemplary preferred embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an aquatic product transport apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a schematic sectional view taken along line A-A' of Fig. 2; Figure 4 is a schematic sectional view taken along line B-B' of Fig. 2; and Figure 5 is a schematic sectional view taken along line C-C' of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, an apparatus for transporting aquatic products according to the present invention is shown in a flow diagram, It includes a closed container 1 having an air space 18 and a space 20 for water to which are connected respectively an air supply means 16 and a water supply means 17 which are in turn connected to an air conditioning means having a cooling unit 12 and a warming unit 13. The cooling unit 12 and the warming unit 13 are connected to an electric control unit 11 which in turn is connected to a power means 10. The provision of both cooling unit 12 and warming unit 13 are designed for selective use in cooling air and water supplied to the transport container 1 when the climate along the transportation route is warm, and in warming the air and water when the climate is cold, as desired.

For instance, the cooling unit is used when the aquatic products are transported to tropi cal countries, such as South Asian countries, during the hot season, and the warming unit is used when transporting to frigid countries during cold season.

The cooling unit 13 cools the air and water that are supplied to the air space 18 and the water space 20 through the supply means 16 and 17 respectively, and the warming unit 12 warms the air and the water. Thermostat 19 is disposed in the air space 18 and connected to the warming and cooling units 12 and 13 and the air supply means 16 for controlling the temperature of the space 18 at a predetermined value. If the temperature of the air space 18 reaches a desired value, the supply of cold or warm air will stop. Also, a thermostat 21 is disposed in the water space 20 and connected to the warming and cooling units 12 and 13 and the water supply means 17 for controlling for controlling the temperature of the water space 20. If the temperature of the water space 20 reaches a desired value, the supply of cold or warm water will stop.

There are further provided a filter means 22 in the container 1 and a pump 32 for circulating the water of the water space 20 through the filter means 22 so as to filter out the excrement of the aquatic products and other undesirable solid matter and drawing in fresh water from the water supply means 17 that is connected to an external water source. Additionally, an oxygen supply means 15 is connected to the water space 20 for the supply of oxygen, and an air ventilating means 14 is provided for the air space 18. Both means 14 and 15 are connected to the control unit 11.

As shown in Figs. 2 to 5, the closed container 1 is rectangular in its cross-section, having four side walls with a closed bottom and a closed top. The walls and the top of the container 1 are lined with inner insulation layers 30. The water space 20 includes three intercommuncating compartments 310, 311 and 312 and the air space 18 is above the compartments. At the tops of the compartments 310, 311 and 312 are provided covers 35 openable for placing aquatic products into the compartments 310, 311 and 312 and net covers 36 for exposing the aquatic products to the air space 18 of the container 1 above the compartments 310, 311 and 312. The aquatic products can be placed into the compartments 310, 311 and 312 through a conduit 34.In order to prevent the aquatic products from injury when they hit the net cover 36 due to the movement of the water in the compartments, the inner sides of the net covers 36 are lined with a cellular material, such as non-woven fabric or sponge.

The warming unit 12 and the cooling unit 13 are mounted in the container 1 above the compartment 310, and two conduits 51 and 50 which are parts of the air supply means 16 and the water supply means 17 respectively are directed from the units 12 and 13.

The air supply means 16 is a part of the air conditioning means and supplies the conditioned air into the container 20. The ventilating means 14 is disposed in the wall of the container 1 adjacent to the air space 18, and the oxygen supply means 15 is connected to the conduit 51.

The filter means 22 is disposed adjacent to one side wall of the container 1. Numeral 33 designates a water discharge port 33 of the container 1. Above the closed bottom of the container 1 is a raised perforated floor panel 37 which is slanted downward slightly from one side to an opposite side of the container 1. The perforated panel 37 allows the excre ment of aquatic products and other undesirable solid matter to settle to a sediment zone 38 at the bottom of the container 20 through the perforations 370 thereof, but separate the aquatic products from the sediment zone 38 so as to prevent the sediment from being stirred by their motion.

The filter means 22 is divided, by means of partition members 215, 216 and 217, into four zones: the first zone 211 is provided with filtering materials such as filter cloths; the second zone 212 is provided with shells of shellfish capable of changing the PH of water of the container; the third zone 213 is provided with a bacteria filter for removing undesirable bacteria; and the last zone 214 is provided with ultraviolet lamps 2141 for killing undesirable bacteria. The first zone 211 is communicated, at its bottom, with the sediment zone 38, and the filter cloths are oriented vertically. The zones 211, 212, 213 and 214 are intercommunicated in such a manner that the water from the first zone 211 flows to the upper side of the second zone 212, then to the bottom side of the third zone 213 and to the upper side of the fourth zone 214 subsequently.The cleaned water is then pumped into the compartment 310 by means of pump 32 which is a part of the water supply means 17 and which functions to pump in fresh water from an external source and circulate the water of the compartments through the filter means 22. Preferably, a control means responsive to the water level of the fourth zone 214 may be provided for controlling the pump 32 so that the water will not be pumped out from the zone 214 while the water level in the fourth zone is low.

It can be appreciated that, while the container is a closed type, it is well-ventilated so that the aquatic products can live in the container as if they were in a space opened to the air. Moreover, the air conditioning means of the present apparatus provides a good controllable enviroment that is most suitable for the live aquatic products in the container.

With the invention thus explained, it is apparent that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be limited as indicated in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An aquatic transport apparatus compris ing: a closed container having intercommunicated compartments therein for receiving water and aquatic and a space above said compartments for accommodating air; a water supply means connected to said container; an air supply means connected to said container; an air conditioning means connected to said water and air supply means for cooling or warming water and air supplied to said container; a control means connected to said air and water supply means and said air conditioning means and having a first thermostat disposed in one of said compartments and a second thermostat disposed in said space for controlling the temperature of said container; a raised perforated floor panel disposed above the bottom of said container to partition a sediment zone below said compartments for receiving excrement and other undesirable solid materials;; filter means disposed at one side of said container outside said compartments and connected to said sediment zone for filtering excrement and other solid materials and having means for drawing water from said sediment zone to said compartments through said filter means; oxygen supply means connected to said container; and air ventilating means disposed in a wall of said container adjacent to said space.

2. An aquatic transport apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said perforated panel is slanted from one side to an opposite side of said container.

3. An aquatic transport apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said air conditioning means includes a cooling unit and a warming unit for selective use.

4. An aquatic transport apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said filter means includes a first zone having filter cloths oriented vertically therein, a second zone having shells of shellfish for changing PH value of the water, a third zone having a bacteria filter, and a fourth zone having an ultraviolet lamp for killing bacteria.

5. An aquatic transport apparatus as substantially described hereinbefore with reference to accompanying drawings.

6. A container for transporting aquatic lifeforms, the container having: respective inlets for water and air; a thermostat cooperable with control means to control the temperature of at least one of air and water supplied to the container via the respective inlets; a component provided with apertures and arranged in the confainer above a base thereof to define between the base and the component a zone for retaining sediment from water when present in the container; and means for filtering sediment from water in said zone and for returning to the container water from which the sediment has been filtered.