WO2018132056A1

WO2018132056A1 - Portable insulating wall

Info

Publication number: WO2018132056A1
Application number: PCT/SE2018/050015
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lennart Persson; Claes LITBORN
Original assignee: Ergo Load Ab
Priority date: 2017-01-10
Filing date: 2018-01-09
Publication date: 2018-07-19
Also published as: SE1750010A1; EP3568319A4; EP3568319A1; SE540341C2

Abstract

The invention concerns a portable insulating wall (1) for tempered cargo for transports by truck. According to the invention, at the top (1A) of said insulating wall (1), a spring actuated (5) seal device (6) is received, which is formed of a profile strip (7) supporting an elastic sealing strip (8). The insulating wall (1) is formed of paired sheets having intermediate thermally insulating sealing material, as well as that suspension means (12) is/are arranged on said insulating wall (1) for the lifting, carrying, and handling of the insulating wall (1).

Description

Portable insulating wall.

The present invention concerns a portable insulating wall for tempered cargo for transports by truck .

Known solutions of movable insulating walls/thermal walls for vehicles for chilled and frozen cargo for tempered transports by truck on the roads all possess mechanical solutions of locking and/or of only clamping the walls in question of desired kind. Then, it is about rails and fittings of steel inserted in the proper walls . This material conducts cold very well which means that chilled or temperature-sensitive cargo

transported in adjacent spaces, intended for, e.g., a cooled space having a max. temperature of +8 °C next to a frozen space intended for deep-frozen cargo having min. 18 °C, risks being damaged and even be entirely destroyed. That correct temperature of the cargo is retained is governed by laws by National Food Agency, Sweden and the temperature must never deviate, which, if so, causes a 100 % rejection degree of the cargo getting a temperature deviation during the transport in the vehicle. The wall also becomes heavy to handle when it should be handled upon, e.g., move, because of the presence of the

locking/clamping devices in question.

Thus, the main object of the present invention is, among other things, to solve problems mentioned above of providing a portable insulating wall which is easy to handle and which lacks an integrated mechanical locking/clamping mechanism.

Said object is achieved by means of a portable insulating wall according to the present invention, which essentially is characterized in that at the top of said insulating wall, a spring actuated seal device is received, that the seal device is formed of a profile strip, which supports an elastic sealing strip, that the insulating wall is formed of paired sheets having intermediate thermally insulating sealing material, as well as that suspension means is/are arranged on said insulating wall for the lifting, carrying, and handling of the insulating wall.

An insulating wall made in such a manner intended for transport of chilled and frozen cargo, and which lacks integrated mechanical locking device, is held in place by friction arising thanks to a spring- loaded sealing top profile which is provided with seals and is pressed against the ceiling of the cargo space in the intended truck. Thanks to the fact that means for

providing locking and clamping of the portable wall now do not need integrated fittings/locking devices, there is nothing in the wall that can function as thermal bridge and that risks coming in contact with the temperature- sensitive cargo and in that connection in an undesired way conduct cold in and toward the same. The weight of the wall is now also essentially reduced thanks to no

mechanical heavy locking and clamping means being needed to be utilized.

An insulating wall accordingly made, having a rubber profile situated at the top as made sealing strip, is described in more detail as regards the embodiment thereof and works according to the following:

Portable insulating wall for transports of chilled and frozen cargo without integrated mechanical locking device. The wall is held in place by a spring- loaded top profile, which means that it is pressed in place and is held in place by the friction arising between rubber profile and against the ceiling. By the fact that locking and clamping of the portable wall do not need integrated fittings/locking devices, there will be nothing in the wall which can connect to the temperature-sensitive cargo and conduct cold in and toward it. The wall will now be lighter without the fittings and weighs less than 25 kg.

All walls are so thin that they do not occupy too much cargo space and simultaneously when they are not used may be placed along the walls of the vehicle. The wall gets correct insulating capacity and has not integrated locking mechanisms in the wall which conducts cold, and the weight is lowered so that it is permissible to handle from a working environment point of view, which is a legal requirement and a maximum thickness of 3,5 cm with a hard wall of a so-called sandwich construction allows good insulation, simple to clean, and is neither thick nor ungainly. The weight per element is also reduced from more than 25 kg (which must not be handled according to the provisions of the Swedish Work Environment

Authority) to less than 25 kg. Max. dimension of cargo carrying vehicles is max. height of 3,20 m and max. width of 2,52 m) .

Clamping takes place in the way that when the insulating wall is to be placed in its position, depending on cargo filling rate in the lorry, the top profile is placed against the ceiling in desired position, the handle is simply lifted and is pressed somewhat upward, and then the springs go down and are pressed together, the lower part of the wall being inserted in place. The compression springs are pressed down appro . 3 cm, which makes that there will be a constant compressive force when the wall is in place and it is this compressive force which is acting during the entire transport. When the vehicle is in movement, the top profile is lying continuously and provides pressure by the fact that the compression springs continuously are loaded and give such a friction that the wall does not tumble or fall during the transport.

In a preferred variant of the present invention, two or more portable insulating walls are used to, for instance, divide the compartment of a lorry. An advantage in this connection is that the insulating walls consequently will be easier to handle. Another advantage is that it becomes possible to split up the surface/volume of a compartment in other ways than transversely to the longitudinal direction of the compartment. It has turned out particularly advantageous to split up the width of a compartment which is approx. 2,5 m wide by three

insulating walls. The width per insulating wall which then becomes slightly more than 80 cm has turned out to be relatively easy for one person to handle. Naturally, it is also possible to have insulating walls which are wider (and narrower) but then somewhat at the expense of the handling .

The invention is described below in the form of a preferred embodiment example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig. 1 schematically shows a section view of a vehicle for combined chilled and frozen cargo

intended for road transport, and provided with a portable insulating wall according to the present invention,

Fig. 2 shows an exploded view of the wall as seen straight from the front against the wall, Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of the proper seal device being included in the wall,

Fig. 3A shows a perspective view of a profile strip being . included in an insulating wall in question according to the invention,

Fig. 4 shows the profile strip in pressed down position in the wall,

Fig. 5 shows the profile strip in lifted sprung up position,

Fig. 6 shows a part of the lower portion of the insulating wall having protecting shoe, and

Fig. 7 shows a cross -sectional view of the insulating wall with the lateral seals thereof.

A portable insulating wall 1, which is intended for and adapted to a truck 2 to convey cargo 3, 4 for tempered transports, receives at the top 1A of a said wall 1 a spring actuated 5 seal device 6, which is formed of a profile strip 7 which in turn supports an elastic sealing strip 8. Furthermore, the insulating wall 1 is formed of paired sheets 9, 10, an outer sheet 9 and an inner sheet 10 with sealing material 11, for instance cellular plastic or another good thermally insulating material, received between said sheets 9, 10. For the lifting, carrying, and other handling of an insulating wall in question 1, suspension means 12 is/are arranged on said insulating wall 1. Suitably, said suspension means 12 are formed of handles, which preferably are placed in line vertically on the outwardly turned side IB of the

insulating wall.

Said profile strip 7 is formed of a U - shaped profile composed of aluminium or plastic material with the elastic sealing strip 8 carried by the turned-up base portion 7A of the profile, preferably inserted with a strip-shaped portion 8A received in a fitting chute-shaped receipt groove 13 in said base portion 7A of the strip 7. The elastic sealing strip 8 may suitably consist of rubber, plastic, or be formed of an inflatable hose or of an elastic rubber tube.

Furthermore, the profile strip 7 is in reversed position, as shown in Fig. 3, receivable

telescopically movable by a U-shaped top beam 15 turned the right way round and fastened in the top portion 14 of the insulating wall 1, which top beam is fastened in the wall 1 by bolt 17 and nut 18. The bolt 17 is displaceable vertically in a fitting slot 31 in the profile strip 7.

Said telescopic function is achieved by the following features:

The seal device 7 is actuatable by helical compression springs 5, which receive guide pins 19 fastened in the profile strip 7, preferably by means of the heads 20 of the guide pins 19 being received in a groove 21 in the profile strip 7, and with the downwardly facing spring ends 5A of the springs resting against the base portion 15A of the U-shaped top beam 16.

A protecting sheet 22 of preferably sheet- metal plate is supported on the lower portion IB of the insulating wall on its outwardly turned side 1C of the insulating wall 1 to protect the wall 1 upon collision with load equipment, such as cargo trucks.

Along the side edges 23A, 23B of the insulating wall 1 facing away from each other, lateral sealing profiles 24, 25 are supported, which are arranged to surround the side edge areas ID, IE of the insulating wall 1 along the entire height H of said insulating wall. Said lateral sealing profiles 24, 25 clamp each a tongue- shaped elastic seal 26, 27 projecting from the respective lateral sealing profile 24, 25.

The nature and function of the present portable insulating wall 1 should have been clear from what has been described above and shown in the drawings. However, when it is desired to divide the inner cargo space of a truck into two separated spaces F, K, it is easy to utilize the present invention. The handles 12 of the outwardly turned side of the insulating wall 1 are gripped and said wall 1 is pushed in the upward direction 28 so that the springs 5 are pressed together, whereupon the wall can be angled outward and be removed between the spaces F, K. Reinstallation the wall 1 is made in the reverse direction, i.e., the wall 1 is lifted and put in position where the upper part with the elastic sealing strip 8 of the seal device 7 reaches the ceiling 29. In said position, the wall 1 is held leaning. Then, the lower portion IB of the wall is introduced along the interior floor 30 of the cargo space until the wall 1 is standing straight in the vertical direction, as shown in Fig. 1. In that connection, the wall 1 is in correct position to be able to partition the cargo spaces F, K provided with freezing unit FA and refrigerating unit KA, respectively, from each other, a sealing function by means of the wall 1 being achieved along the circumference of the wall as well as through the same .

The function and nature of the invention should have been clearly understood from the above- mentioned and also with knowledge of what is shown in the drawings but the invention is naturally not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the accompanying drawings. Modifications are feasible, particularly as for the nature of the different parts, or by using an equivalent technique, without departing from the

protection area of the invention, such as it is defined in the claims.

Claims

CI72 P1PCT MARKRA/KOE C l a i m s

1. Portable insulating wall (1) for tempered cargo (3, 4) for transports by truck (2) , characterized in that, at the top (1A) of said insulating wall (1) , a spring actuated (5) seal device (6) is received,

that the seal device (6) is formed of a profile strip (7) which supports an elastic sealing strip (8),

that the insulating wall (l) is formed of paired sheets (9, 10) having intermediate thermally insulating sealing material (11) , as well as that

suspension means (12) is/are arranged on said insulating wall (1) for the lifting, carrying, and handling of the insulating wall (1) .

2. Insulating wall according to claim 1, wherein the profile strip (7) is formed of a U-shaped profile composed of aluminium or plastic material with the elastic sealing strip (8) carried by the turned-up base portion (7A) of the profile.

3. Insulating wall according to claim 2, wherein the profile strip (7) is receivable by a U-shaped top beam (15) which is fastened in the top portion (14) of the insulating wall (1) and in which the profile strip is telescopically movably receivable.

4. Insulating wall according to claim 3, wherein the seal device (7) is actuatable by helical compression springs (5) , which receive guide pins (19) fastened in the profile strip (7) preferably by means of the heads (20) of the guide pins (19) being received in a groove (21) in the profile strip (7) , and with the downwardly facing spring ends (5A) thereof resting against the base portion (15A) of the U-shaped top beam (15) .

5. Insulating wall according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the elastic sealing strip (8) consists of rubber, plastic, or is formed of an inflatable hose or an elastic rubber tube.

6. Insulating wall according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein there is supported lateral sealing profiles (24, 25) along the side edges (22, 23) of the insulating wall (1) facing away from each other.

7. Insulating wall according to claim 6, wherein said lateral sealing profile (24, 25) surrounds the side edge areas (ID, IE) of the insulating wall (1) along the entire height (H) of said insulating wall (1) .

8. Insulating wall according to any one of the above claims 6-7, wherein there project tongue-shaped elastic seals (26, 27) from said lateral sealing profiles (24, 25) .

9. Insulating wall according to claim 1, wherein suspension means (12) on a said insulating wall

(1) are formed of handles, preferably placed in line vertically on the outwardly turned (IB) side of the insulating wall.

10. Insulating wall according to claim 1, wherein a protecting sheet (22) of preferably sheet-metal plate is supported on the lower portion (IB) of the insulating wall on its outwardly turned (1C) side of the insulating wall.