Auto configuration of refrigeration systems in cold chain

• US 9,384,458 B2
• Filed: 10/13/2011
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• 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: H, Surendra, Gipson, Dennis G., Higgins, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender, Ryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Racic, Milena
• Application Number:
  US13/272,914
• Publication Number:
  US 20130091873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,727 Days
• Field of Search: 705/28, 62/89, 62125-126
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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;

a controller configured to receive the indication of the environmental condition inside the environmentally-controlled structure from the sensor, to receive the information about goods entering and leaving the environmentally-controlled structure from the identification reader, to maintain an inventory of goods in the environmentally-controlled structure, to compare an optimum environment for goods entering the environmentally-controlled structure with the optimum environment of goods already in the environmentally-controlled structure, to determine an updated optimum environment of goods in the environmentally-controlled structure based on the comparison between the optimum environment for goods entering the environmentally-controlled structure and on the optimum environment of goods already in the environmentally-controlled structure, and to control the environment implementer to adjust a desired environment inside the environmentally-controlled structure based on the updated optimum environment of goods in the environmentally-controlled structure; and

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.

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

3. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 1, wherein when the alarm is ignored and the good is put in the environmentally-controlled structure the controller determines the updated 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 to best preserve one or more of the goods in the environmentally-controlled structure.

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

5. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 4, wherein the display shows data on the environment of the environmentally-controlled structure.

6. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 4 wherein the display shows data on the goods stored in the environmentally-controlled structure.

7. 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.

8. The environmentally-controlled structure of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine when goods are leaving the environmentally-controlled structure, configured to update the inventory when the controller determines that goods are leaving the environmentally-controlled structure, and configured to determine the updated optimum environments of goods in the environmentally-controlled structure based on the goods remaining in the environmentally-controlled structure.

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, to maintain an inventory of goods in the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container, to compare an optimum environment for goods entering the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container with the optimum environments of goods already in the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container, and determine an updated optimum environment of goods in the environmentally controlled transportation or storage container based on the comparison between the optimum environment for goods entering the environmentally controlled transportation or storage container and on the optimum environment of goods already in the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container;

an 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; and

an environment implementation system configured to receive an indication of a desired environment for the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container and to adjust the desired environment in the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container based on the updated optimum environment of goods 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, wherein the system includes a display.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the display shows information on the goods stored in the environmentally-controlled transportation or storage container.

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

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to determine when goods are leaving the environmentally-controlled structure, configured to update the inventory when the controller determines that goods are leaving the environmentally-controlled structure, and configured to recalculate an optimum environments of goods in the environmentally-controlled structure based on the goods remaining in the environmentally-controlled structure.

15. A method of storing goods requiring environmentally-controlled conditions in an environmentally-controlled container, 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 by a sensor the identification element when the good enters an environmentally-controlled container;

updating an inventory of goods in the environmentally-controlled container;

determining by a controller an optimum environment for the good based on the information read from the identification element;

comparing the optimum environment for the good to the optimum environments of the goods already in the environmentally-controlled container;

determining an updated optimum environment of goods in the environmentally-controlled container based on the comparison between the optimum environment for the good entering the environmentally-controlled container and on the optimum environments of the goods already in the environmentally-controlled container;

controlling by the controller an environment of the environmentally-controlled container by adjusting a desired environment inside the environmentally-controlled container based on the updated optimum environment of goods in the environmentally-controlled container; and

sounding an alarm when 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.

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.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

the controller determining when goods are leaving the environmentally-controlled structure;

the controller updating the inventory when the controller determines that goods are leaving the environmentally-controlled structure, and

recalculating optimum environments of goods in the environmentally-controlled structure based on the goods remaining in the environmentally-controlled structure.