Evaporative cooling systems and methods of controlling product temperatures during delivery
First Claim
1. A system to limit temperature changes of one or more products during transit, comprising:
- an evaporative cooling system comprising;
a product cavity that supports a first product while the first product is transported to a delivery location by a delivery vehicle, wherein the cooling system is separate from and removable from the delivery vehicle and comprises an interior wall defining the product cavity, an exterior wall, an evaporative cavity defined between the interior wall and the exterior wall, a coolant dispensing system coupled with the evaporative cavity, at least one evaporative opening exposing a portion of the evaporative cavity to an exterior environment, and a temperature sensor positioned to detect temperature data corresponding to a temperature of the first product while the first product is in transit to be delivered to the delivery location; and
a temperature control circuit coupled with the temperature sensor and the coolant dispensing system, wherein the temperature control circuit is configured to receive the temperature data from the temperature sensor while the first product is in transit to the delivery location, determine based on the temperature data that the temperature of the first product is greater than a first transport temperature threshold, and autonomously activate the coolant dispensing system to release evaporative coolant into the evaporative cavity while the first product is transported by the delivery vehicle;
wherein the cooling system further comprises;
a primary coolant reservoir configured to store the evaporative coolant having a first evaporation rate; and
a secondary reservoir configured to store a secondary evaporative coolant having a second evaporation rate that is greater than the first evaporation rate such that the secondary evaporative coolant evaporates more rapidly than the first evaporative coolant when in the same conditions;
wherein the temperature control circuit is configured to identify that the temperature of the first product is greater than a second transport temperature threshold, and activate the coolant dispensing system to inject the secondary evaporative coolant into the evaporative cavity.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In some embodiments, systems and methods are provided that limit the change in temperature and/or control a temperature of a product during delivery. Some embodiments provide systems to limit temperature changes, comprising: an evaporative product cooling system comprising: a product cavity that supports a product while the product is transported to a delivery location, wherein the product cooling system comprises an interior wall defining the product cavity, an exterior wall, an evaporative cavity between the interior and exterior walls, a coolant dispensing system, at least one evaporative opening, and a temperature sensor; and a temperature control circuit configured to receive temperature data from the temperature sensor while the product is in transit, determine that a temperature of the product is greater than a transport temperature threshold, and autonomously activate the coolant dispensing system to release evaporative coolant into the evaporative cavity while the product is transported.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A system to limit temperature changes of one or more products during transit, comprising:
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an evaporative cooling system comprising; a product cavity that supports a first product while the first product is transported to a delivery location by a delivery vehicle, wherein the cooling system is separate from and removable from the delivery vehicle and comprises an interior wall defining the product cavity, an exterior wall, an evaporative cavity defined between the interior wall and the exterior wall, a coolant dispensing system coupled with the evaporative cavity, at least one evaporative opening exposing a portion of the evaporative cavity to an exterior environment, and a temperature sensor positioned to detect temperature data corresponding to a temperature of the first product while the first product is in transit to be delivered to the delivery location; and a temperature control circuit coupled with the temperature sensor and the coolant dispensing system, wherein the temperature control circuit is configured to receive the temperature data from the temperature sensor while the first product is in transit to the delivery location, determine based on the temperature data that the temperature of the first product is greater than a first transport temperature threshold, and autonomously activate the coolant dispensing system to release evaporative coolant into the evaporative cavity while the first product is transported by the delivery vehicle; wherein the cooling system further comprises; a primary coolant reservoir configured to store the evaporative coolant having a first evaporation rate; and a secondary reservoir configured to store a secondary evaporative coolant having a second evaporation rate that is greater than the first evaporation rate such that the secondary evaporative coolant evaporates more rapidly than the first evaporative coolant when in the same conditions; wherein the temperature control circuit is configured to identify that the temperature of the first product is greater than a second transport temperature threshold, and activate the coolant dispensing system to inject the secondary evaporative coolant into the evaporative cavity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of limiting temperature changes of one or more products during transit, comprising:
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obtaining a first transport temperature threshold of a first product to be transported to a delivery location by a delivery vehicle; receiving, while the first product is being transported to the delivery location by the delivery vehicle, temperature data from a temperature sensor of an evaporative cooling system that is separate from and removable from the delivery vehicle and that supports the first product within a product cavity while in transit to the delivery location; determining based on current temperature data that a temperature of the first product is greater than the first transport temperature threshold; autonomously activating the coolant dispensing system, while the first product is transported by the delivery vehicle, to release evaporative coolant into an evaporative cavity of the cooling system while at least one evaporative opening is exposing a portion of the evaporative cavity to an exterior environment; identifying that the temperature of the first product is greater than a second transport temperature threshold; and autonomously activating the coolant dispensing system to inject a secondary evaporative coolant into the evaporative cavity, wherein the secondary evaporative coolant has a second evaporation rate that is greater than a first evaporation rate of the evaporative coolant such that the secondary evaporative coolant evaporates more rapidly than the first evaporative coolant when in the same conditions. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification