Heat transfer system for warehoused goods

Abstract

A high efficiency airflow management system can be used to reliably and consistently draw air through palletized product stacks with a minimum of energy expenditure. A racking system is provided with a grid of pallet bays separated from an air plenum/chamber by a wall having an airflow opening for each pallet bays. An air seal is formed at the periphery of each opening by resiliently flexible side seals and a top seal to form a highly airtight interface between the pallet assembly and the adjacent airflow opening. When a pressure differential is developed between the chamber and the pallet bay, air is efficiently drawn substantially exclusively through the pallet assemblies with minimal leakage. The flexible sealing arrangement accommodates pallet assemblies with unevenly stacked rows of cases without significant loss of system efficiency.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application .271, shown in FIG. 20, located inside the plenum space or chamber 6. Such louvers/dampers 271 may be individually pivotable and collectively linked to a single actuator, such that the plurality of louvers 271 can be collectively actuated to block or restrict airflow when a respective bay 202 is unoccupied. Such louvers 271 may be provided in sufficient number and size to block or restrict the air flow path for a single bay 202, or can be provided in a larger number and/or size to block or restrict airflow through a number of bays 202 for certain applications.

In another embodiment, air dams 270 may be provided as an integrated “constant air volume” damper located inside the plenum space or chamber 6, and includes one or more air flow-driven dampers which are arranged and balanced to maintain a constant-volume air flow through opening 54 regardless of whether bay 202 is occupied, unoccupied or partially occupied. Additional details of a commercially available constant air volume damper device is contained in Appendix A, entitled “CVQ Constant Air Volume Damper”, forming a part of the present application, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. In an exemplary embodiment, such a constant air volume damper controls the airflow volume for a single bay 202.

As an alternative to the constant air volume damper described above, a similar system may be provided with a damper designed to deliver a variable air volume. In this embodiment, the damper is located inside the plenum space adjacent bay 202, similar to the embodiment described above. However, when bay 202 is unoccupied airflow volume through opening 54 is significantly reduced as compared to the corresponding airflow volume when bay 202 is occupied by pallet assembly 52. In an exemplary embodiment, such a variable volume damper controls the airflow volume for a single bay 202.

In yet another embodiment, a tilting panel of similar construction to air dam 270 (FIGS. 18 and 19) is provided with a “normally closed” configuration, i.e., air dam 270 is biased into an airflow-blocking configuration (similar to FIG. 19) by a biasing element such as gas struts, springs or a spring-biased hinge. Air dam 270 is pushed to an open configuration (similar to the configuration shown in FIG. 18) when a pallet assembly 52 is installed into the adjacent bay 202. In particular, when pallet assembly 52 is loaded into bay 202, pallet assembly 52 engages a portion of the air dam 270 and physically pushes air dam 270 against the closing force of the biasing element. This tilts the panel into an open configuration in which air is allowed to flow freely through opening 54.

In yet another embodiment, a door (similar to air dam 270) may be pivoted about a vertical axis with a hinge positioned at either the left or right of opening 54. When the adjacent bay 202 is unoccupied, the door is swung closed either manually or automatically, e.g., with a door actuator controllable by a switch and/or electronic controller. The door may be positioned inside chamber 6, swinging outwardly away from opening 54 into chamber 6, or may be positioned outside chamber 6 and within bay 202, swinging inwardly into bay 202. If the door swings inwardly, actuation must occur when bay 202 is unoccupied.

In still another embodiment, a roll-up style door may be provided within chamber 6 (i.e., on the chamber side of opening 54) or external to chamber 6 (i.e., on the bay side of opening 54). The roll-up style door is rolled down to cover opening 54 when bay 202 is unoccupied, and rolled up to allow airflow through opening 54 when bay 202 is occupied.

For any of the above-described structures for selectively blocking or allowing airflow through opening 54, an auxiliary opening may be provided within chamber 6 and spaced away from opening 54. This auxiliary opening may take the form of a sheet metal box attached to the chamber side of wall 230, such that the sheet metal fluidly isolates the interior of the box from chamber 6 except through the auxiliary opening. The auxiliary opening is positioned to generally align with opening 54, such that air may flow through both opening 54 and the auxiliary opening as it moves between bay 202 and chamber 6. The auxiliary opening may be selectively blocked in order to selectively interrupt such airflow as described above, rather than directly blocking opening 54. The interior space of the box shifts the selectively blocked airflow opening away from bay 202 and into chamber 6, thereby providing a physical space and volume to accommodate various air blocking structure designs.

While this disclosure has been described as having exemplary designs, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this disclosure pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An installation for warehousing palletized product, comprising:

a pallet assembly comprising:

a pallet; and

a plurality of vertically stacked rows of cases disposed on the pallet and providing an airflow pathway through the vertically stacked rows of cases containing the product; and

a pallet racking assembly comprising:

a pallet receiving space sized and configured to receive the pallet assembly;

an airflow chamber including an air inlet and an air outlet;

an air handler configured and positioned to direct air into the airflow chamber from the air inlet and exhaust air from the airflow chamber through the air outlet;

a wall disposed between the pallet receiving space and the airflow chamber, the wall having an airflow opening sized and positioned to be engaged by the pallet assembly when the pallet assembly is received within the pallet receiving space, the airflow opening defining an unobstructed airflow when the pallet assembly is absent from the pallet receiving space and an operational airflow when the airflow opening is engaged by the pallet assembly, the operational airflow less than the unobstructed airflow; and

an air dam positioned adjacent the airflow opening and configured to at least partially selectively obstruct the airflow opening, the air dam having a plurality of individually pivotable dampers actuatable between a closed configuration obstructing airflow through the airflow opening and an open configuration permitting airflow through the airflow opening,

whereby the air dam and the airflow opening cooperating cooperate to define a vacant-bay airflow when the pallet assembly is absent from the pallet receiving space and the air dam is in the closed configuration, the vacant-bay airflow less than the unobstructed airflow.

2. The installation of claim 1, wherein the air dam comprises a plurality of openings therethrough, the plurality of openings sized to provide the partial obstruction of the airflow opening while allowing the operational airflow to pass therethrough.

3. The installation of claim 1, wherein the air dam is movable between a disengaged configuration and an engaged configuration,

the engaged configuration creating the partial obstruction of the airflow opening to define the vacant-bay airflow, and

the disengaged open configuration defining defines reduced obstruction of the airflow opening as compared to the partial obstruction closed configuration, such that the disengaged open configuration of the air dam cooperates with the airflow opening to define an occupied-bay airflow commensurate with the operational airflow, whereby the air dam does not impede airflow through the pallet assembly when in the disengaged open configuration.

4. The installation of claim 3, further comprising an air dam frame member disposed within the airflow chamber, a plurality of individually pivotable dampers of the air dam pivotably mounted to the air dam frame and pivotable between the engaged closed configuration and the disengaged open configuration.

5. The installation of claim 4, further comprising a dam stop fixed within the airflow chamber, the dam stop positioned to be engaged by the air dam when the air dam is in its disengaged configuration.

6. The installation of claim 4, wherein the air dam is a solid air dam lacking apertures therethrough, whereby the vacant-bay airflow is about zero.

7. The installation of claim 4, wherein the air dam is a perforated air dam having apertures therethrough, whereby the vacant-bay airflow is above zero.

8. The installation of claim 3, wherein the air dam is actuated by air flow, such that an increase in airflow through the airflow opening urges the air dam toward the engaged configuration.

9. The installation of claim 1, wherein:

the pallet racking assembly comprises a plurality of the pallet receiving spaces arranged in vertically spaced horizontal rows;

the wall includes a plurality of the airflow openings respectively disposed at each of the plurality of the pallet receiving spaces, whereby the pallet racking assembly is configured to accommodate a plurality of pallet assemblies, each of the airflow openings defining the unobstructed airflow when a respective pallet assembly is absent from the respective pallet receiving space and the operational airflow when the respective airflow opening is engaged by the respective pallet assembly; and

each of the plurality of the airflow openings includes the air dam positioned adjacent thereto and cooperating with the respective airflow opening to define the vacant-bay airflow.

10. The installation of claim 9, wherein the air handler defines an airflow output capacity less than the aggregated unobstructed airflow of the plurality of airflow openings but at least as much as the aggregated operational airflow and vacant-bay airflow of the plurality of airflow openings, whereby the air handler for the pallet racking assembly has a reduced capacity as compared to a racking system lacking the air dams.

11. The installation of claim 1, wherein the unobstructed airflow is between 50% to 100% greater than the operational airflow.

12. The installation of claim 1, wherein the pallet assembly includes at least one spacer disposed between the plurality of vertically stacked rows of cases, the spacer having a longitudinal airflow channel formed therethrough, the spacer cooperating with the plurality of vertically stacked rows of cases and the airflow opening to define the operational airflow.

13. The installation of claim 12, wherein the operational airflow is between 2,000 to 3,000 cubic feet per minute.

14. The installation of claim 13, wherein the unobstructed airflow is about 4,000 cubic feet per minute.

15. The installation of claim 1, further comprising:

a controller operably connected to the air handler,

a pressure transducer configured to measure a pressure within the air chamber, the pressure transducer operably connected to the controller;

the controller programmed to compare the measured pressure with a threshold and operate the air handler to maintain the measured pressure within an acceptable pre-determined range of pressures.

16. The installation of claim 15, wherein

the air dam is movable between a disengaged configuration and an engaged configuration, the engaged configuration creating the partial obstruction of the airflow opening to define the vacant-bay airflow, and the disengaged open configuration defining defines reduced obstruction of the airflow opening as compared to the partial obstruction closed configuration, such that the disengaged open configuration of the air dam cooperates with the airflow opening to define an occupied-bay airflow commensurate with the operational airflow, whereby the air dam does not impede airflow through the pallet assembly when in the disengaged open configuration,

the installation further comprising:

an actuator connected to the air dam, the controller operably connected to the actuator and programmed to move the air dam into the engaged closed configuration when the pallet assembly is absent from the pallet receiving space and the disengaged open configuration when the airflow opening is engaged by the pallet assembly.

17. A method of operating an installation for warehousing palletized product, the installation including a pallet racking assembly including

a pallet receiving space sized and configured to receive a pallet assembly,

an airflow chamber including an air inlet and an air outlet,

an air handler configured and positioned to direct air into the airflow chamber from the air inlet and exhaust air from the airflow chamber through the air outlet, and

a wall disposed between the pallet receiving space and the airflow chamber, the wall having an airflow opening,

the method comprising:

activating the air handler to create a pressure differential between the airflow chamber and the pallet receiving space, the pressure differential creating a vacant-bay airflow passing an air dam adjacent the pallet receiving space, the air dam having a plurality of individually pivotable dampers actuatable between a closed configuration corresponding to the vacant-bay airflow and an open configuration permitting airflow through the airflow opening corresponding to an unobstructed airflow such that the vacant-bay airflow is less than an the unobstructed airflow that would be defined by the airflow opening alone given the pressure differential; and

loading a pallet assembly into the pallet receiving space such that the pallet assembly occupies the pallet receiving space and blocks the airflow opening, the pressure differential creating an operational airflow through the pallet assembly, through the airflow opening and passing the air dam, the operational airflow less than the unobstructed airflow.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising leaving a second pallet receiving space vacant such that the pressure differential creates an operational airflow through the occupied pallet receiving space and a vacant-bay airflow through the vacant pallet receiving space.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the vacant-bay airflow through the vacant pallet receiving space is less than the operational airflow through the occupied pallet receiving space.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of moving the air dam is effected by an actuator coupled to the air dam and controlled by a controller.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising controlling a speed of the air handler to maintain the pressure differential within a predetermined range.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising moving the air dam from a disengaged configuration to an engaged configuration during the step of loading the pallet assembly.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of moving the air dam comprises pivoting the pivotable dampers of the air dam within the airflow chamber.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of moving the air dam is effected by the pressure differential.

25. The method of claim 17, further comprising, after the step of loading the pallet assembly into the pallet receiving space, independently actuating the plurality of individually pivotable dampers.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of individually pivotable dampers includes air flow-driven dampers which are arranged and balanced to maintain a constant-volume air flow through the airflow opening regardless of whether the pallet receiving space is occupied, unoccupied or partially occupied.

27. The installation of claim 1, wherein the plurality of individually pivotable dampers are configured to independently actuate.

28. The installation of claim 1, wherein the plurality of individually pivotable dampers includes air flow-driven dampers which are arranged and balanced to maintain a constant-volume air flow through the airflow opening regardless of whether the pallet receiving space is occupied, unoccupied or partially occupied.

29. An installation for warehousing palletized product, comprising:

a pallet assembly comprising:

a pallet; and

a plurality of vertically stacked rows of cases disposed on the pallet and providing an airflow pathway through the vertically stacked rows of cases containing the product; and

a pallet racking assembly comprising:

a pallet receiving space sized and configured to receive the pallet assembly;

an airflow chamber including an air inlet and an air outlet;

an air handler configured and positioned to direct air into the airflow chamber from the air inlet and exhaust air from the airflow chamber through the air outlet;

a wall disposed between the pallet receiving space and the airflow chamber, the wall having an airflow opening sized and positioned to be engaged by the pallet assembly when the pallet assembly is received within the pallet receiving space, the airflow opening defining an unobstructed airflow when the pallet assembly is absent from the pallet receiving space and an operational airflow when the airflow opening is engaged by the pallet assembly, the operational airflow less than the unobstructed airflow; and

an air dam positioned adjacent the airflow opening and configured to at least partially obstruct the airflow opening, the air dam and the airflow opening cooperating to define a vacant-bay airflow when the pallet assembly is absent from the pallet receiving space, the vacant-bay airflow less than the unobstructed airflow, wherein the air dam comprises a plurality of openings therethrough, the plurality of openings sized to provide the partial obstruction of the airflow opening while allowing the operational airflow to pass therethrough.

30. The installation of claim 29, wherein the air dam has a plurality of individually pivotable dampers actuatable between a closed configuration obstructing airflow through the airflow opening and an open configuration permitting airflow through the airflow opening, the plurality of individually pivotable dampers defining the plurality of openings.