US-12618602-B2 - Electrical transport refrigeration unit

US12618602B2US 12618602 B2US12618602 B2US 12618602B2US-12618602-B2

Abstract

An electric refrigeration unit includes a framework for attaching to a mobile enclosure such as a vehicle or trailer that is served by the electrical refrigeration unit, a refrigeration system for cooling and/or heating the interior of the mobile enclosure, and one or more rechargeable battery modules for powering the refrigeration system, wherein the framework supports the refrigeration system and battery modules. The framework may define a first compartment in which the refrigeration system is located and a second compartment in which the battery modules are located, where the second compartment is arranged to be dry. The framework may provide a battery racking space the front face of which is open or configurable open allowing access to the battery modules.

Inventors

Nikolai Tauber
Robin Bernard-Grahame
Adam Payne
Noah Tucker

Assignees

SUNSWAP LTD

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220815
Priority Date: 20210903

Claims (18)

1 . An electric refrigeration unit, comprising: a framework configured to attach to a mobile enclosure; a refrigeration system including an evaporator and condenser configured to cool and/or heat an interior of the mobile enclosure; and one or more rechargeable battery modules configured to provide a primary source of power to the refrigeration system, wherein the framework supports the refrigeration system and the battery modules, defining a first compartment in which the refrigeration system, including the evaporator and the condenser, is located, the condenser having fans and being open to an atmosphere to provide airflow, and a second compartment in which the one or more battery modules are located, and wherein the first compartment is located above the second compartment and completely separated by a tray configured to collect liquids that collect in the first compartment and drain the collected liquids away from the second compartment such that the battery modules in the second compartment remain dry.
2 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 1 , wherein the battery modules comprise plural battery cells in a side by side arrangement when the modules are fixed in the electric refrigeration unit.
3 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 1 , comprising at least one busbar, configured to extend across a front face of the battery modules to make electrical connections to plural battery modules.
4 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 1 , wherein the battery modules are arranged in one or more arrangements selected from: an array of plural rows and columns; and plural layers of one or more battery modules front to back, wherein a front layer optionally has a reduced width compared with a rear layer.
5 . A method of providing a temperature controlled payload at a destination using the unit of claim 1 , comprising powering the refrigeration system with the one or more battery modules to control a temperature of a payload in the mobile enclosure whilst transporting it to a destination.
6 . An electric refrigeration unit, comprising: a framework configured to attach to a mobile enclosure; a refrigeration system configured to cool and/or heat an interior of the mobile enclosure; and plural rechargeable battery modules configured to power the refrigeration system, wherein the framework supports the refrigeration system and the battery modules, defining a first compartment in which the refrigeration system is located and a second compartment in which the battery modules are located, wherein the framework comprises one or more of: a battery racking space, wherein a front face of the battery racking space is open or configured to open to enable access to the plural battery modules, wherein the battery modules are arranged in a vertical array of plural rows and plural columns; and battery support members at a rear of the electric refrigeration unit, wherein each battery module is individually fixed to the battery support members.
7 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 6 , wherein at least one fastener fixes the battery module to the battery support members at the rear of the battery module, wherein the at least one fastener is accessible to an operator at a front of the battery module.
8 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 7 , wherein each fastener comprises a member that passes through a through hole or recess in a side casing of the battery module from front to rear.
9 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 8 , wherein plural battery modules are independently supported one above the other in a column such that no battery module bears a weight of any other battery module in that column.
10 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 6 , comprising at least three laterally spaced support members with two columns of battery modules supported between adjacent pairs of support members.
11 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 6 , wherein a sub-frame movably or removably attaches to the framework across the front face of the battery racking space to support electronics and/or additional battery modules.
12 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 11 , wherein the framework comprises interconnected vertical and cross members defining a rear framework portion to attach to a trailer, and wherein the electric refrigeration unit comprises vertical side support members at each side of the electric refrigeration unit spaced forwardly of and connected to the rear framework to brace the framework.
13 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 12 , wherein the framework further comprises curved cross members to connect the side support members.
14 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 13 , wherein the curved cross members are concentric with a constant radius from a king pin connection to the trailer.
15 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 12 , wherein the vertical side support members are positioned outboard of lateral boundaries of the battery racking space such that the battery racking face is not obstructed by the vertical side support members.
16 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 15 , wherein the battery racking space does not extend laterally as far as the rear vertical members of the framework leaving a gap through which mounting fixtures of the rear vertical members can be accessed to fix the electric refrigeration unit to the enclosure.
17 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 11 , wherein the sub-frame has a hinged connection to the framework or is otherwise detachable to allow it to be moved to access the one or more battery modules.
18 . The electric refrigeration unit of claim 6 , wherein a heat exchange plate is mounted in-between the battery support members and in thermal contact with the battery modules, wherein the heat exchange plate is configured to thermally condition the batteries.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 national stage application of PCT/EP2022/072781 filed Aug. 15, 2022, entitled “Electrical Transport Refrigeration Unit”, which claims priority to United Kingdom patent application No. GB 2112587.7 filed Sep. 3, 2021, both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The present invention relates to an electrical transport refrigeration unit, and in particular to an electrical transport refrigeration unit including a framework for providing structural support to various elements of the electrical transport refrigeration unit, including rechargeable batteries, and for attachment to the vehicle or trailer that is served by the refrigeration unit. The electrical refrigeration unit being of a type configured to draw power from the rechargeable batteries in cooling the interior of a mobile enclosure, such as in a trailer or lorry. Mobile refrigeration units are known in various industries. For instance, Transport Refrigeration Units (TRUs) play an important role for the food distribution industry in delivering fresh, frozen, and other perishable food from field to market, typically from food processors to wholesale distribution hubs and/or refrigerated storage, and then onto retail and food service industries. These are found used with small rigid vans right through to articulated trucks pulling a refrigerated container. Often, a TRU may be used with a tractor unit pulling a semi-trailer (known as a semi-trailer truck in the US, an articulated lorry in the UK and various other names in other countries), where the TRU is added to a specially designed and insulated trailer according to a particular customer's specifications. The TRU typically consists of four primary components for the refrigeration cycle: evaporator, compressor, condenser, and expansion valve. When the compressor is driven, these combine to chill air in one or more compartments in the interior of the trailer to cool the contents. Currently most TRUs are diesel driven, particularly when used with trailers. Such units are well established in the industry, but have a number of drawbacks including noise and exhaust emissions. To address the inefficiencies associated with regular diesel-driven TRUs, some hybrid designs and eTRUs have been proposed using solar power and/or batteries to supplement and/or supplant other power sources in powering the refrigeration unit. More recently, the present applicants have proposed in PCT/EP2021/062825, filed 14 May 2021, entitled “Electric Mobile Refrigeration Unit”, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, a refrigeration unit powered by rechargeable batteries, optionally supplemented by solar, to minimize or eliminate the need for diesel power from the tractor unit or separate generator to power the refrigeration system. Despite the advent of battery powered TRUs, relatively little thought has hitherto gone into how to most effectively accommodate the batteries in such systems. Wherever they are positioned, batteries must be secure and protected from the elements. Typically batteries are heavy and require a strong support framework. Accessibility is an important concept in battery placement, e.g. for serviceability. Also efficiently packing batteries is important, to avoid taking up space that could otherwise be used for other purposes, e.g. the payload. Accordingly, many prior art arrangements place batteries in racks under the trailer. However, such arrangements have the disadvantage of that the space under the trailer is often already used for other purposes. Another disadvantage is that provisioning and fitting the system to a trailer becomes more difficult, as separate units are required for the TRU containing the refrigeration system which sits at the front of the trailer, and the battery rack under the trailer, with connections between them then needing to be made. Various industry standards exist for the trailer, e.g. EU Commission regulation no 1230/2012, in terms of dimensions, positioning and interfacing to the TRU and tractor unit. However no standards currently exist for battery racking systems underneath the trailer or indeed anywhere on the trailer. Thus, a manufacturer must collaborate with trailer manufacturers in provisioning a racking system for each specific trailer, rather than being able to ship a unit that complies with the relevant standards which can be relied on to integrate with any compliant trailer and so can be shipped and fitted by the end user of the trailer. It should be noted that it is known in the prior art for diesel driven TRUs to include small batteries to power the electronics and startup of the refrigeration system. However, these batteries are small and not intended or capable of providing the main source of power to the refrigeration system, and so the fitting such a small battery into the confines of the TRU or achiev