AUTO CONFIGURATION OF REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS IN COLD CHAIN

• US 20130091873A1
• Filed: 10/13/2011
• Published: 04/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hussmann Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Thermo King Corporation (Trane Technologies plc)
• Original Assignee: Thermo King Corporation (Trane Technologies plc)
• Inventors: Gipson, Dennis G., Higgins, Michael J., H, Surendra
• Granted Patent: US 9,384,458 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/56
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 17/065 with compartments at different temperatures
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2700/08 Sensors using Radio Frequency Identification [RFID]
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/008 Alarm devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0832 Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods

Abstract

An environmentally-controlled structure for a cold chain. The structure includes a sensor, an identification reader, an environment implementer, and a controller. The sensor senses a parameter indicative of an environmental condition in the environmentally-controlled structure. The identification reader is positioned relative to the environmentally-controlled structure and reads information about the goods from an identification device associated with the goods. The environment implementer modifies the environmental condition inside the environmentally-controlled structure. The controller receives the indication of the environmental condition inside the environmental control structure from the sensor, receives the information about the goods from the identification reader, and controls the environment implementer to maintain a desired environment inside the environmentally-controlled structure based on the information about the goods and the indication of the environmental condition.

Claims

1. An environmentally-controlled structure of a cold chain, the environmentally-controlled structure for storing goods including an identification device containing information about the goods, comprising:

a sensor to sense a parameter indicative of an environmental condition in the environmentally-controlled structure;

an identification reader positioned relative to the structure and configured to read the information about the goods;

an environment implementer configured to modify the environmental condition inside the environmentally-controlled structure; and

a controller configured to receive the indication of the environmental condition inside the environmentally-controlled structure from the sensor, to receive the information about the goods from the identification reader, and to control the environment implementer to maintain a desired environment inside the environmentally-controlled structure based on the information about the goods and the indication of the environmental condition.

2. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 1, further comprising an alarm configured to provide an indication to an operator when an optimum environment of a good entering the environmentally-controlled structure is incompatible with the optimum environments of goods already in the environmentally-controlled structure.

3. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 1, wherein the controller determines an optimum environment for the environmentally-controlled structure based on the optimum environments for all of the goods in the environmentally-controlled structure.

4. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 1, wherein the controller determines an optimum environment for the environmentally-controlled structure based on at least one of the value of the goods stored in the environmentally-controlled structure, the length of time the goods in the environmentally-controlled structure have been in the cold chain, and a quantity of the goods stored in the environmentally-controlled structure.

5. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 1, further comprising a display, coupled to the controller.

6. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 5, wherein the display shows data on the environment of the environmentally-controlled structure.

7. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 5 wherein the display shows data on the goods stored in the environmentally-controlled structure.

8. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 1, wherein the environmentally-controlled structure is at least one of a walk-in cooler, a refrigerated merchandiser, a marine container, a warehouse, a factory, a truck, a trailer, a train, a boat, and an airplane.

9. A system for controlling an environment of an environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container which is part of a cold chain including a plurality of environmentally-controlled transportation or storage containers, each environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container including a system for controlling the environment of the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage containers, the system comprising:

an identification reader configured to read information from a plurality of identification elements, each identification element associated with a good to be stored in the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container, the information associated with the good;

a controller configured to receive the information from the identification reader and to determine the optimum environment for the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container based on the information; and

an environment implementation system configured to receive an indication of a desired environment for the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container and to maintain the desired environment in the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the identification reader is configured to read information from radio frequency identification (RFID) tags.

11. The system of claim 9, further comprising an alarm, the alarm providing an indication that an optimum environment for a good entering the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container is incompatible with the optimum environments of goods already in the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the system includes a display.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the display shows information on the goods stored in the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the system maintains an inventory of goods in the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container.

15. A method of storing goods requiring environmentally-controlled conditions, the method comprising:

providing an identification element with information related to an environment for storing a good;

linking the identification element with the good;

reading the identification element when the good enters an environmentally-controlled container;

determining an optimum environment for the good based on the information read from the identification element; and

controlling an environment of the container based on the optimum environment.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein controlling the environment of the container includes accounting for the optimum environments for goods already in the container in addition to the optimum environment for the good.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising maintaining an inventory of goods in the container.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing a warning when the optimum environment of the good is incompatible with the optimum environments of goods presently in the container.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising displaying information related to the environment being maintained in the container.