WO2017186502A1

WO2017186502A1 - Reusable transport box

Info

Publication number: WO2017186502A1
Application number: PCT/EP2017/058854
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tim Siebels
Original assignee: Verein zur Förderung innovativer Verfahren in der Logistik, VVL e.V.
Priority date: 2016-04-27
Filing date: 2017-04-12
Publication date: 2017-11-02
Also published as: DE102016107813B3

Abstract

The invention relates to a reusable transport box, comprising a cooling container, wherein the side walls thereof have oppositely arranged pairs of grooves for detachably receiving cooling elements for delimiting individual cooling spaces, and a closure lid, by which the cooling container can be closed, wherein a cooling element (4) and an insulating element (5) are received bearing flat against one another by at least one pair of grooves (22).

Description

The invention relates to a reusable transport box, comprising a

Cooling container whose side walls have oppositely arranged pairs of grooves for releasably receiving cooling elements for limiting individual cooling chambers, and a closure lid, by means of which the cooling container can be closed.

Transport boxes of the aforementioned type are used in particular for the transport of food to the end user. In such transports, it must be ensured that the cold chain and the sometimes specific transport requirements are met for different product categories such as frozen, chilled, fresh or dry goods. According to DIN 10508, a maximum temperature of -18 ° C applies to frozen products, which may only be exceeded in the short term up to 3 ° C in exceptional cases. To standardize transport, storage and storage, the maximum temperatures specified in the standard for perishable foodstuffs of animal and vegetable origin, as well as packaged foods in need of refrigeration, are each 7 ° C. Exceptions arise for example for minced meat or fishery products, which ideally in a temperature range from zero to max. 2 ° C are to be transported. From the standard data it can be deduced that with such end-user deliveries of a food full range a total of at least three different temperature zones are required.

A disadvantage of the prior art transport boxes, as described for example in DE 87 13 329 U, although they allow a division of the cooling tank into individual cold rooms, but due to the evenly radiating in all directions cooling elements is an arrangement of several different temperature zones with defined Temperature ranges in the cooling tank not possible. The invention aims to remedy this situation. The invention is based on the object to provide a reusable transport box for the transport of food to the end user, which allows a division into several cold rooms with different defined temperature zones. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a transport box having the features of the characterizing part of patent claim 1.

With the invention, a reusable transport box for the transport of food to the end user is provided, which allows a division into several cold rooms with different, defined temperature zones. Characterized in that at least one pair of grooves, a cooling element and an insulating member are received flat against each other, a radiating of the cooling element is achieved only in the direction of a cooling chamber, whereby an impairment of the adjacent to the insulating cooling chamber is prevented. The cooling elements may be designed differently depending on the target temperature of a cooling space to be achieved, for example as a passive cooling element, such as a cooling battery, cold pack, dry ice container or as a eutectic plate, or as an active cooling element, e.g. as Peltier element.

In a further development of the invention, at least one groove is arranged in the bottom of the cooling container through which a pair of grooves is connected. As a result, a depression of the cooling element is made possible with the voltage applied to this insulating element in the bottom region, whereby an improved foreclosure of the formed cooling chambers is achieved.

In an embodiment of the invention, at least one groove is arranged in the closure lid, through which in the closed state of the transport box, a pair of grooves is connected. As a result, an integration of the cooling element is achieved with the voltage applied to this insulating element in the lid, whereby the foreclosure of two adjacent cooling chambers is further improved. In a further embodiment of the invention, at least two pairs of grooves of different widths are arranged, wherein the width of each pair of grooves corresponds to an integer multiple of the width of the narrowest pair of grooves. As a result, a modular equipping of the pairs of grooves with cooling and insulating elements of identical thickness is possible. The possibility of using standardized, modular cooling and insulating elements reduces required storage and increases the flexibility of the transport box. In a further development of the invention, at least one cooling element and an insulating element in the form of a module are connected to one another. As a result, the handling of the cooling and insulating is simplified. In this case, the insulating element can be disposed both detachably on the cooling element, for example via a Velcro connection. Alternatively, the cooling element may also be provided on one side with an insulating layer which is injection-molded onto the cooling element. For example, expanded polypropylene can be used as the insulating layer. In particular, so-called vacuum insulation panels are also suitable as insulating elements. This is a design principle in which different insulation materials vary, but the vacuum remains the same. For this purpose, fumed silica is enclosed by a high-barrier film, for example a multilayer aluminum composite film, and then evacuated, so that a vacuum is created. In this evacuated space no heat transport via the movement of the air (convection) can take place. By integrating the evacuated space in the insulating element this has exceptionally good insulation properties.

In a further development of the invention, at least one groove and / or a pair of grooves of the cooling container and / or the closure lid each have a cooling element whose dimensions substantially correspond to the respective groove dimensions, whereby the respective groove is filled. In this way, a partial adjustment of the side walls, the bottom and the closure lid of the transport box in relation to its cooling and insulating effect allows. In an embodiment of the invention, at least one cooling element is arranged on the upper side of the cooling tank (ie in the region of the upper side of the cooling tank) facing the closure lid and connecting the longitudinal side walls, which engages in two recesses arranged opposite one another in the longitudinal side walls. In this way, a positioning of cooling elements above the cooling goods located in the cooling chambers 6 allows, without these rest on the refrigerated goods.

In a further development of the invention, at least one cooling element is designed as a passive cooling element, which is preferably formed by a eutectic plate. As a result, independent of an external power supply allows standard-compliant cooling over a long period. Commercially available eutectic plates are available, inter alia, for the ranges -3 ° C and -21 ° C (frozen food). They consist of a cold-resistant, food-grade, aging-resistant and impact-resistant HD polyethylene plastic and are filled with a brine (salt / water mixture). The cold storage plates thus formed can be frozen again and again as needed. Alternatively, a dry ice tray filled with dry ice with dry ice slices or blocks may be used. The dry ice has a temperature of -78 ° C, whereby the cold is released by sublimation (conversion of the solid into gas). Furthermore, the use of a thermo container is possible, which is filled with liquid CO2, which is at relaxation to dry ice. The release of cold takes place here again by sublimation. For freshness zones in the range of 2 to 8 ° C, for example, cooling batteries or gel pads can be used.

In a further embodiment of the invention, at least one cooling element is designed as an active cooling element, which is connectable via at least one arranged on the cooling tank contact element with a power source. As a result, an active temperature is achieved, whereby a temperature control is possible. In this case, the active cooling element is preferably arranged in addition to other passive cooling elements, whereby a hybrid system is formed. Here, the basic cooling power is provided by the passive cooling elements. The active cooling elements are used only for temperature fine adjustment, especially in those situations where the minimum required cooling capacity is no longer provided by the passive cooling elements. The demand for electric power is significantly reduced in such a hybrid system compared to a pure active cooling system.

In a further development of the invention, at least one contact element is connected to an accumulator which is arranged on the transport box. As a result, a mobile power supply of the active cooling elements is achieved.

In a further embodiment of the invention, at least one contact element is formed by a near-field receiving coil in which a current can be indexed by induction via an electromagnetic field. As a result, an inductive power supply to the active cooling elements of the transport box is made possible. The required magnetic field, for example, within the

Transport vehicle are provided as needed. For inductive power supply of several transport boxes within a transport vehicle, it is also advantageous to provide the transport box at several points or circumferentially with near field receiving coils.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, sensors for detecting temperature and / or humidity are arranged in the cooling container. As a result, a continuous detection of the container climate is possible. In this case, a transmission module for the wireless transmission of sensor data is preferably arranged, which is connected to the sensors. To power the sensors and / or the transmission module, a thermoelectric generator is preferably arranged.

Other developments and refinements of the invention are specified in the remaining subclaims. An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the figures and will be described in detail below. Show it:

1 shows the schematic representation of a transport box: FIG. 2 shows the illustration of the transport box from FIG. 1 after the closure cap has been removed;

FIG. 3 shows the transport box from FIG. 2 after removal of cooling and insulation elements;

Figure 4 shows the schematic representation of the closure lid of the transport box of Figure 1 and

Figure 5 shows the representation of the transport box of Figure 1 in longitudinal section.

The transport box 1 selected as an exemplary embodiment essentially consists of a cooling container 2, which accommodates cooling elements 4 and insulating elements 5, and a closure lid 3, via which the cooling container 2 can be closed.

The cooling container 2 is made in the embodiment of expanded polypropylene. In the opposite longitudinal side walls 21 pairs of grooves 22 are parallel to each other introduced, which are each connected to each other via a groove 23 arranged in the groove 24. In each case between two pairs of grooves 22 21 recesses 26 are introduced for receiving cooling elements 4 in the side walls. At its upper side facing away from the bottom 23, the cooling container 2 further has on its head side a circumferential web 25 for engagement in the circumferential sealing groove 32 of the closure lid 3. Furthermore, at the top of the cooling container 2 in the region of the rounded corners recesses 28 are formed to facilitate the release of an attached closure cap 3. In the middle of the longitudinal side walls 21 and the transverse side walls 29 of the cooling tank 2 each have a recessed grip 27 for handling the transport box 1 are arranged.

On its underside facing away from the closure lid 3, the cooling container 2 is provided with feet 20. In this case, the feet 20 are arranged such that they rest against a web 33 formed integrally on the upper side of the closure lid 3. As a result, a good stackability of several transport boxes while avoiding slipping stacked transport boxes 1 is achieved. The closure lid 3 is also made of expanded polypropylene. In this case, the outer contour of the closure lid 3 essentially corresponds to the outer contour of the cooling container 2. On its underside facing the cooling container 2, the closure lid 3 is provided with a circumferential sealing groove 32 for receiving the web 25 of the cooling container 2. On its underside facing the cooling container 2, grooves 31 are introduced in parallel in the closure cap 3, which in the closed state of the transport box 1 connect the grooves of a pair of grooves 22 of the cooling container 2 to each other. The width of the grooves 31 of the closure lid 3 corresponds to the width of the grooves of the respectively assigned groove pair 22 of the cooling container 2.

Cooling elements 4 and insulating elements 5 can be inserted into the pairs of grooves 22 of the cooling tank 2 in such a way that a pair of grooves 22 receives a cooling element 4 and an insulating element 5 lying flush against it, which cooling elements 4 and insulating elements 5 respectively in the grooves 24 of the bottom 23 of the cooling tank 2 intervene and the cooling tank 2 protrude so that they engage in the closed state of the transport box 1 at the same time in the grooves 31 of the closure lid 3. In this way, 5 separately separate, variable in size cooling chambers 6 are formed by the cooling elements 4 and applied to these insulating elements. The insulating elements 5 are formed in the embodiment of the same insulating material as the cooling tank 2 and the closure lid 3, namely expanded polypropylene. Cooling elements 4 can additionally be inserted into the recesses 26 arranged in the longitudinal side walls 21 of the cooling container 2 within the cooling chambers 6, as a result of which additional cooling of the container contents from above is achieved. By such an arrangement of the cooling elements 4 in the recesses 26 of the longitudinal side walls 21, a spaced positioning of the cooling elements 4 is effected to the arranged in the respective refrigerator compartment 6 goods, whereby collisions of the cooling elements 4 with the goods, as they are done with placed on the goods cooling elements can - are avoided. In the exemplary embodiment, all the cooling elements 4 are designed as passive cooling elements in the form of a eutectic plate. Depending on the desired temperature of the individual cooling chambers 6, different cooling elements 4 can also be used. The insulating elements 5 and the passive cooling elements 4, which can be inserted vertically in the cooling container 2, have in the exemplary embodiment of an identical modular dimension in order to achieve the highest possible standardization. The width of the cooling elements 4 or the insulating elements 5 corresponds substantially to half the width of the grooves of the pairs of grooves 22, in which they are inserted. By using an identical modular dimension, a particularly strong insulation of two cooling chambers 6 from each other can be achieved, for example, by the vertical insertion of two insulating elements 5 into a pair of grooves 22. By the vertical insertion of an insulating element 5 and a cooling element 4, however, an efficient subdivision of two cooling chambers 6 with two different temperature ranges can be achieved because the cooling capacity of the presently designed in the form of a eutectic plate cooling element 4 in this case exclusively on the this facing cooling space 6 affects.

In a further, not shown embodiment, the transport box 1 can be extended by an energy self-sufficient condition monitoring system. For this purpose, as needed, state sensors, such as temperature or humidity sensors, can be integrated into the individual cooling chambers themselves, which are preferably connected to a transmission module for the wireless transmission of sensor data. For example, these sensors may be connected via a bus interface to semi-active RF (High Frequency) and / or UHF (Ultra High Frequency) RFI D transponders. HF RFID transponders are compatible with the NFC (Near Field Communication) transmission standard, which provides the possibility of being able to display a temperature profile within a cold room 6 via an NFC-capable smartphone and thereby documenting the temperature profile of a cold room 6. The UHF RFID technology offers - compared to HF RFID technology - the advantage of significantly greater read ranges. For the energy supply of the sensors as well as of the transmission module, a thermoelectric generator can be arranged which directly converts temperature gradients in the environment by using the so-called Seebeck effect into electrical energy. The temperature differences necessary for obtaining energy are available, for example, when the thermoelectric generator is integrated into the outer wall of the cooling container, wherein the difference between the ambient temperature occurring during transport and the internal temperature of a cooling space 6 is used to generate electrical energy. Alternatively or additionally, an accumulator for providing the required electrical current can also be arranged on the cooling container 2.

In a further embodiment of the transport box according to the invention also individual cooling elements may be formed as active cooling elements, which are preferably formed by Peltier elements. In this way, a hybrid system can be achieved which, when the cooling space temperature achieved by the passive cooling elements 4 is exceeded, enables active additional cooling. To power such active cooling elements, the transport box may be externally provided with near-field receiving coils. By applying such Nahfeldempfangsspulen with an electromagnetic field as an energy supply by induction can be achieved. In this way, a number of transport boxes 1 could be contactlessly supplied with electrical energy via an electromagnetic field excited in a transport vehicle. It should be noted at this point that Peltier elements have both a cooling and a heating function, whereby even in the theoretical exceptional case, in which it should come to below the target temperature in a cold room 6 due to extremely cold outside temperatures, a Tempe- increase is possible.

Claims

claims

Refillable transport box, comprising a cooling container, whose side walls have oppositely arranged pairs of grooves for releasably receiving cooling elements for delimiting individual cooling chambers, and a closure lid, by means of which the cooling container is closable, characterized in that at least one pair of grooves (22) has a cooling element (4) and an insulating member (5) are received flat against each other.

Transport box according to claim 1, characterized in that in the bottom (23) and / or in the closure lid (3) of the cooling container (2) at least one groove (24, 31) is arranged through which a pair of grooves (22) at least in the closed State of the transport box (1) is connected.

Transport box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least two pairs of grooves (22) of different width are arranged, wherein the width of each pair of grooves (22) corresponds to an integer multiple of the width of the narrowest pair of grooves (22).

Transport box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one cooling element (4) and an insulating element (5) are connected together in the form of a module.

Transport box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one groove (24, 31) and / or a pair of grooves (22) of the cooling container (2) and / or the closure cover (3) each receive a cooling element whose dimensions are substantially the Nutabmaßen correspond, whereby the respective groove is filled.

Transport box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the closure lid (3) facing The upper side of the cooling container (2) whose longitudinal side walls (21) connecting at least one cooling element (4) is arranged, which engages in two opposite in the longitudinal side walls (21) arranged recesses (26).

7. Transport box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one cooling element (4) is designed as a passive cooling element, which is preferably formed by a eutectic plate.

8. Transport box according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one cooling element (4) is designed as an active cooling element which is connectable via at least one of the cooling tank (2) arranged contact element with a power source.

9. Transport box according to claim 8, characterized in that at least one contact element is formed by a near field receiving coil in which by means of induction via an electromagnetic field, a current is indexable.

10. Transport box according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that at least one contact element is connected to an accumulator, which is arranged on the transport box (1).