US-12623513-B2 - Adaptive protective gas flow control in freight containers

US12623513B2US 12623513 B2US12623513 B2US 12623513B2US-12623513-B2

Abstract

A method for controlling a climate-conditioned gas-flow in a freight container comprises providing (S 2 ) of a climate-conditioned gas-flow into a cargo compartment defined by a floor, a ceiling and walls, of which one comprises a door. Measurements of climate conditions are obtained (S 4 ) in a gas-flow going into the climate arrangement, going out from the climate arrangement and/or the cargo compartment. The climate-conditioned gas-flow is controlled (S 6 ) based on the measurements of climate conditions. The climate-conditioned gas-flow is provided in vicinity of the ceiling, whereby a part of the climate-conditioned gas-flow reaches the container wall comprising a door. A door position is monitored (S 8 ), detecting whether the door is open or closed. When the door is monitored to be open, the climate-conditioned gas-flow is deviated (S 12 ) as an adaptive protective gas flow over the opening of the open door. A freight container for the method is also disclosed.

Inventors

Anders HEROLF

Assignees

ENVIROTAINER ENGINEERING AB

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210929
Priority Date: 20201002

Claims (7)

1 . A freight container, comprising: a cargo compartment being defined by a floor, a ceiling and walls, wherein at least one of the walls comprises a door; a climate arrangement, configured for providing a climate-conditioned gas-flow into said cargo compartment of said freight container, wherein said climate-conditioned gas-flow is provided in vicinity of said ceiling of said cargo compartment directly from an output pipe of said climate arrangement at a wall opposite to said wall comprising a door, into a space between an upper gas-flow distributer plate and said ceiling, wherein said upper gas-flow distributer plate extends to said wall comprising a door, wherein at least a part of said climate-conditioned gas-flow reaches said container wall comprising a door, wherein upper gas-flow distributer plate constitutes a plane upper limitation of the cargo compartment; sensors for obtaining measurements of climate conditions in at least one of a gas-flow going into said climate arrangement, a gas-flow going out from said climate arrangement and said cargo compartment, wherein said sensors for obtaining measurements of climate conditions comprises internal thermometers configured for obtaining of an internal temperature of said cargo compartment; a control unit configured for controlling climate conditions of said climate-conditioned gas-flow; a door position monitoring device, configured to detect whether said door is open or closed, wherein, when said door is closed, said at least a part of said climate-conditioned gas-flow reaching said container wall comprising a door is allowed to flow down along the closed door through openings in said upper gas-flow distributer plate, wherein said control unit being communicationally connected to said sensors and said climate arrangement, wherein said door position monitoring device being communicationally connected to said control unit; and by further comprising: deviating means, arranged for deviating said at least a part of said climate-conditioned gas-flow as an adaptive protective gas flow over the opening of said open door when said door is monitored to be open; and ambient thermometer, configured for measuring an ambient temperature, external to said cargo compartment, said ambient thermometer being communicationally connected to said control unit, whereby said control unit is further configured to control climate conditions of said climate-conditioned gas-flow flowing between said upper gas-flow distributer plate and said ceiling based on a combination of said ambient temperature and said door position, wherein said control unit is further configured to increase a flow rate of said climate-conditioned gas-flow by a first predetermined amount as a response to said door being opened, when a difference between said ambient temperature and said internal temperature of said cargo compartment exceeds a first predetermined level.
2 . The freight container according to claim 1 , wherein said control unit is further configured to return to an operation mode for closed-door conditions a predetermined time after said door has been opened, even if said door remains open.
3 . The freight container according to claim 1 , wherein said control unit is further configured to increase a flow rate of said climate-conditioned gas-flow by a second predetermined amount, higher than said first predetermined amount, as a response to said door being opened, when a difference between said ambient temperature and said internal temperature of said cargo compartment exceeds a second predetermined level, higher than said first predetermined level.
4 . The freight container according to claim 1 , wherein said climate arrangement comprises a plurality of cooling units, wherein at least two cooling units of said plurality of cooling units are controlled by said control unit to operate together to provide said climate-conditioned gas-flow, whereby said control unit is further configured to start at least one additional cooling unit of said plurality of cooling units for providing said increasing of a flow rate of said climate-conditioned gas-flow by a first predetermined amount.
5 . The freight container according to claim 3 , wherein said climate arrangement comprises a plurality of cooling units, whereby said control unit is further configured to start at least one additional cooling unit for providing said increasing of a flow rate of said climate-conditioned gas-flow by a first predetermined amount and said increasing of a flow rate of said climate-conditioned gas-flow by a second predetermined amount.
6 . The freight container according to claim 3 , wherein said control unit is further configured to increase a flow rate of said climate-conditioned gas-flow by a third predetermined amount as a response to said door being opened, when a difference between said internal temperature of said cargo compartment and said ambient temperature exceeds a third predetermined level.
7 . The freight container according to claim 6 , wherein said control unit is further configured to increase a flow rate of said climate-conditioned gas-flow by a fourth predetermined amount, higher than said third predetermined amount, as a response to said door being opened, when a difference between said internal temperature of said cargo compartment and said ambient temperature exceeds a fourth predetermined level, higher than said third predetermined level.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates in general to freight containers and in particular to methods and arrangements for controlling conditioning gas flows in freight containers. BACKGROUND A substantial part of goods that today is transported around the world today requires or benefits from having a climate-controlled environment around the goods within the freight containers. Temperature sensitive goods may be destroyed or deteriorated if it is exposed for too high and/or too low temperatures during transportation. Other types of good requires certain humidity levels or gas compositions within the cargo compartment. To provide such transportation conditions, many freight containers are equipped with different kinds of climate-control systems. One approach is to provide gas or air with the requested properties and distribute this air around or into a cargo compartment of the freight container. With proper insulation of the freight container, this climate-conditioned air-flow will establish the requested climate within the cargo compartment. Such solutions are typically operating most efficiently when the conditions of or around the freight container are constant or changing slowly. Particular challenges occur when the shell of the freight container is broken, i.e. typically during loading, de-loading and cargo inspection. In case of loading and de-loading of climate-sensitive goods, the freight container is typically placed in a loading/de-loading area where the air volume is climate-controlled in a suitable manner. However, cargo inspections, such as e.g. customs investigations, strapping checking etc., are often to be performed in areas lacking such climate-control facilities. Opening a door to a freight container in an ordinary customs hall will typically introduce possibilities for external gas, e.g. air, to enter into the cargo compartment and disturb the climate-conditioning. Even if the climate-conditioning equipment may be powerful enough to keep the environment in the cargo compartment within permitted condition intervals, the load on the equipment may cause wear or the power consumption to drive the equipment may e.g. discharge batteries unnecessarily much. SUMMARY A general object is thus to find method and arrangements that may reduce the impact of an opened freight container door on the cargo compartment climate. The above object is achieved by methods and devices according to the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are defined in dependent claims. In general words, in a first aspect, a method for controlling a climate-conditioned gas-flow in a freight container comprises providing of, by a climate arrangement, a climate-conditioned gas-flow into a cargo compartment of the freight container. The cargo compartment is defined by a floor, a ceiling and walls, wherein at least one of the walls comprises a door. Measurements of climate conditions in a gas-flow going into the climate arrangement, a gas-flow going out from the climate arrangement and/or the cargo compartment are obtained. The climate-conditioned gas-flow is provided in vicinity of the ceiling of the cargo compartment. A door position is monitored, detecting whether the door is open or closed. Climate conditions of the climate-conditioned gas-flow is controlled based on the measurements of climate conditions. At least a part of the climate-conditioned gas-flow reaches the container wall comprising a door. When the door is monitored to be open, the at least a part of the climate-conditioned gas-flow is deviated as an adaptive protective gas flow over the opening of the open door. The controlling of climate conditions of the climate-conditioned gas-flow is further based on the door position. In a second aspect, a freight container comprises a cargo compartment being defined by a floor, a ceiling and walls, wherein at least one of the walls comprises a door. The freight container further comprises a climate arrangement, sensors, a control unit and a door position monitoring device. The climate arrangement is configured for providing a climate-conditioned gas-flow into the cargo compartment of the freight container. The climate-conditioned gas-flow is provided in vicinity of the ceiling of the cargo compartment. The sensors are for obtaining measurements of climate conditions in a gas-flow going into the climate arrangement, a gas-flow going out from the climate arrangement, and/or the cargo compartment. The control unit is configured for controlling climate conditions of the climate-conditioned gas-flow. The door position monitoring device is configured to detect whether the door is open or closed. At least a part of the climate-conditioned gas-flow reaches the container wall comprising a door. The control unit is communicationally connected to the sensors and the climate arrangement, and is configured for controlling climate conditions of the climate-conditioned gas-flow based on the measurements of climate conditions. The