A foaming process at the top corner of an insulation container and an insulation container

Abstract

A foaming process at a top corner of an insulation container and the insulation container. The insulation container comprises a top plate and a side plate, the top plate comprises an inner top plate, an outer top plate and a top insulation layer between the inner top plate and the outer top plate, the side plate comprises an inner side plate, an outer side plate and a side insulation layer between the inner side plate and the outer side plate, wherein the outer top plate is connected with the outer side plate, the top insulation layer and the side insulation layer have a cavity therebetween, the inner top plate is spaced apart from the inner side plate to form an opening to the cavity, and the foaming process at the top corner of the insulation container comprises: a spraying step of controlling a spraying device to spray foaming material into the cavity through the opening along a length direction of the insulation container; and a rolling step of rolling at the opening along the length direction using a roller after a preset time from the spraying step ends, so that the foaming material which has been partially expanded and solidified is tightly attached to the inner top plate and the inner side plate, and forms an adhesive bond with the inner top plate and the inner side plate after the foaming material is completely expanded and solidified to form a foamed elastomer.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of containers, in particular to a foaming process for the top corner of an insulation container and an insulation container. BACKGROUND

[0002] At present, there is a cavity at the top corner of the insulation container after assembly, which needs to be filled by secondary foaming. The traditional process generally adopts multiple processes such as “sponge tape sticking (top corner sealing two side walls) → sealant coating (preventing water vapor from entering) → rivet fixing (connecting the inner top plate and the inner side plate) → secondary foaming”.

[0003] However, such a process has significant technical defects, for example:

[0004] The process is complicated and highly dependent on manual operation. The traditional process needs to go through multiple processes, and the core steps such as tape sticking and rivet fixing rely on manual operation, which not only has high labor intensity, but also has high labor cost proportion;

[0005] Low production efficiency: the secondary foaming process needs to complete the steps of top mold installation, foaming material injection, pressure holding and curing, rivet plugging injection hole, mold removal, etc. in turn. Due to the limitation of pressure holding time, the single box production cycle is long, which is difficult to adapt to the rhythm of large-scale production line;

[0006] Unstable quality of foam body: the secondary foaming area is limited in space due to the closed mold, and the flowability of the foaming material is blocked, which is easy to form air bubbles, uneven density and other defects. After curing, the foam body is easy to produce gaps due to stress shrinkage, which increases the heat leakage rate of the refrigerated container and seriously affects the insulation performance.

[0007] Therefore, a foaming process for the top corner of an insulation container and an insulation container are needed to at least partially solve the above problems. SUMMARY

[0008] A series of simplified concepts are introduced in the summary section, which will be further described in detail in the detailed description section. The summary section of the present application does not mean to attempt to limit the key features and necessary technical features of the claimed technical solutions, nor to attempt to determine the protection scope of the claimed technical solutions.

[0009] To at least partially solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present application provides a foaming process for a top corner of an insulated container, the insulated container comprising a top plate and a side plate, the top plate comprising an inner top plate, an outer top plate and a top insulation layer between the inner top plate and the outer top plate, the side plate comprising an inner side plate, an outer side plate and a side insulation layer between the inner side plate and the outer side plate, wherein the outer top plate is connected with the outer side plate, the top insulation layer and the side insulation layer have a cavity therebetween, the inner top plate and the inner side plate are spaced apart to form an opening to the cavity, and the foaming process for the top corner of the insulated container comprises:

[0010] a spraying step, in which a spraying device is controlled to spray foaming material into the cavity through the opening along a length direction of the insulated container;

[0011] a rolling step, in which a roller is used to roll at the opening along the length direction after a preset time from the end of the spraying step, so that the foaming material which has been partially expanded and solidified is tightly attached to the inner top plate and the inner side plate, and forms an adhesive bond with the inner top plate and the inner side plate after the foaming material is completely expanded and solidified to form a foamed elastomer.

[0012] According to the foaming process for the top corner of the insulated container, the production process is greatly simplified, the degree of automation is high, labor is saved, and production efficiency is provided; and compared with the traditional process, the loss is reduced and the quality of the foamed body is improved, thereby achieving the effect of improving quality and reducing consumption.

[0013] Optionally, the preset time is 3-5 min.

[0014] Optionally, the roller has a shaft hole, and the roller comprises:

[0015] a spherical surface part having a first annular outer surface configured as a part of a sphere, wherein a maximum diameter of the first annular outer surface is the same as a diameter of a sphere corresponding to the first annular outer surface, and a center line of the shaft hole passes through a center of the sphere corresponding to the first annular outer surface;

[0016] a conical surface part arranged on both axial sides of the spherical surface part, wherein a surface of the conical surface part is configured as a second annular outer surface configured as a part of a cone, and the second annular outer surface is tangent to the first annular outer surface.

[0017] Optionally, an included angle of an arc formed by an axial section of the first annular outer surface is 85-95°.

[0018] Optionally, the roller is a rubber roller with a hardness of 60-70 Shore A.

[0019] Optionally, the foamed density of the foamed elastomer is 40-500 kg / m 3 ; and / or

[0020] The material of the foamed elastomer comprises at least one of polyurethane, silicone rubber and EPDM.

[0021] Optionally, the foaming process at the top corner of the thermal container is performed in a top corner foaming workshop, the top corner foaming workshop is located downstream of a painting workshop, the thermal container enters the top corner foaming workshop after being painted in the painting workshop, so that the temperature of the container body is 30-50°C when the thermal container enters the top corner foaming workshop.

[0022] Optionally, when the required spraying thickness is greater than 25 mm, the foaming process at the top corner of the thermal container comprises at least two spraying steps, and the rolling step is performed after the last spraying step.

[0023] Optionally, the top corner foaming workshop is provided with two foaming workstations, the two foaming workstations are arranged at two ends of the length direction of the thermal container, and the spraying equipment on the two foaming workstations synchronously performs the spraying step.

[0024] Optionally, the top corner foaming workshop is further provided with two inspection workstations, the two inspection workstations are arranged on two sides of the width direction of the thermal container.

[0025] The foaming process at the top corner of the thermal container further comprises a cleaning and inspection step, the cleaning and inspection step is performed synchronously with the spraying step, and the cleaning and inspection step comprises: inspecting and cleaning the outer facade of the thermal container.

[0026] Optionally, the expansion and solidification time of the foaming material matches the time required by the cleaning and inspection step, so that the rolling step and the cleaning and inspection step can be completed synchronously.

[0027] Optionally, the spraying step further comprises a protection step before the spraying step: a protection film is laid on the edges of the inner top plate and the outer top plate.

[0028] The rolling step further comprises a protection removal step before the rolling step: the protection film is removed before rolling.

[0029] Optionally, the spraying equipment comprises:

[0030] A track assembly, the track assembly comprises a track and a moving part, the track is arranged along the length direction, and the moving part is configured to be movable along the track.

[0031] A spraying assembly is arranged on the moving part, and the spraying assembly comprises a pressure pump, a storage barrel and a spray gun.

[0032] Optionally, the distance between the nozzle of the spray gun and the spraying surface is 30-50 cm, and the spraying pressure is 10-25 MPa.

[0033] The second aspect of the present application provides a thermal insulation container, which is manufactured by using the foaming process at the top corner of the thermal insulation container according to the first aspect.

[0034] The thermal insulation container according to the present application has similar technical effects to the foaming process at the top corner of the thermal insulation container according to the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0035] The following drawings for the present application are hereby incorporated into the present application as a part of the present application for the purpose of understanding the present application. The embodiments of the present application and the description thereof shown in the drawings are used to explain the principles of the present application. In the drawings:

[0036] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the thermal insulation container according to an embodiment of the present application, which shows the cross section of the thermal insulation container when no foaming is performed at the top corner of the thermal insulation container;

[0037] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing that the foaming material is sprayed into the cavity at the top corner of the thermal insulation container;

[0038] Figure 3 FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the thermal insulation container according to an embodiment of the present application, which shows the cross section of the thermal insulation container after rolling at the top corner of the thermal insulation container;

[0039] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the structure of the roller according to an embodiment of the present application; and

[0040] Figure 5 FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of the arrangement of the inspection station and the foaming station.

[0041] REFERENCE NUMERALS:

[0042] 100: thermal insulation container 110: top plate

[0043] 111: inner top plate 112: outer top plate

[0044] 113: top thermal insulation layer 120: side plate

[0045] 121: inner side plate 122: outer side plate

[0046] 123: side thermal insulation layer 130: cavity

[0047] 140: opening 150: foaming elastomer

[0048] 20: spraying assembly 30: track assembly

[0049] 40: roller 41: spherical surface portion

[0050] 42: conical surface portion 43: shaft hole DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the application. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the application can be practiced without one or more of these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the application.

[0052] It is also to be noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments consistent with the present application. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0053] The ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" used in the present application are merely identifiers but do not have any other meaning, for example, a particular order. Also, for example, the term "first component" itself does not imply the existence of a "second component", and the term "second component" itself does not imply the existence of a "first component". It is noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", and similar terms are used for explanation purposes only and are not limiting.

[0054] Reference will now be made to Figures 1 to 5 Example embodiments consistent with the present application will be described in more detail.

[0055] An aspect of the present application provides a thermal insulation container 100, and another aspect provides a foaming process at a top corner of a thermal insulation container.

[0056] Reference will now be made to Figure 1The heat preservation container 100 comprises a top plate 110 and a side plate 120, wherein the top plate 110 is arranged in a substantially horizontal direction, the side plate 120 is arranged in a substantially vertical direction, and the top plate 110 and the side plate 120 are connected to form a top corner. The top plate 110 comprises an inner top plate 111, an outer top plate 112, and a top heat preservation layer 113, wherein the inner top plate 111 is arranged in a spaced manner with the outer top plate 112, and the top heat preservation layer 113 is arranged between the inner top plate 111 and the outer top plate 112. The side plate 120 comprises an inner side plate 121, an outer side plate 122, and a side heat preservation layer 123, wherein the inner side plate 121 and the outer side plate 122 are arranged in a spaced manner, and the side heat preservation layer 123 is arranged between the inner side plate 121 and the outer side plate 122. The top heat preservation layer 113 and the side heat preservation layer 123 can be prefabricated foaming materials, or can be manufactured by a foaming grouting process between the inner top plate 111 and the outer top plate 112 and between the inner side plate 121 and the outer side plate 122.

[0057] The outer top plate 112 is connected with the outer side plate 122, the top heat preservation layer 113 and the side heat preservation layer 123 have a cavity 130 therebetween, the inner top plate 111 is arranged in a spaced manner with the inner side plate 121 to form an opening 140 to the cavity 130, and the foaming process at the top corner of the heat preservation container comprises a spraying step and a rolling step.

[0058] With reference to Figure 2 The spraying step comprises: controlling a spraying device to spray foaming material into the cavity 130 through the opening 140 along the length direction of the heat preservation container 100.

[0059] With reference to Figure 3 The rolling step comprises: after a preset time after the spraying step is completed, rolling with a roller 40 along the length direction at the opening 140, so that the foaming material which has been partially expanded and solidified is tightly attached to the inner top plate 111 and the inner side plate 121, and after the foaming material is completely expanded and solidified to form a foaming elastomer, the foaming elastomer is bonded to the inner top plate 111 and the inner side plate 121.

[0060] The foaming process at the top corner of the heat preservation container according to the present application greatly simplifies the production process, has high automation degree, saves labor, and improves production efficiency; and compared with the traditional process, the loss is reduced and the quality of the foaming body is improved, which has the effect of improving quality and reducing consumption.

[0061] The preset time in the rolling step is 3-5 min. That is, the rolling is started 3-5 min after the spraying step is completed. At this time, the foaming material is in a state of not being sticky on the surface but still having plasticity, and the rolling can make it tightly attached to the inner top plate 111 and the inner side plate 121 to form a gapless connection. After the foaming material is completely expanded and solidified, a smooth surface can be formed at the top corner. Preferably, the foaming density of the foaming elastomer 150 is 40-500 kg / m 3Thus, the apex angle of the foamed elastomer 150 is formed with sufficient structural strength. Further preferably, the material of the foamed elastomer 150 comprises at least one of polyurethane, silicone rubber and EPDM.

[0062] As an optional embodiment, the roller 40 can be configured as a rubber roller with a hardness of 60-70 Shore A, so as not to cause damage to the inner roof 111 and the inner side plate 121 during rolling. Further referring to Figure 4 , the roller 40 has a through shaft hole 43, and comprises a spherical surface portion 41 and a conical surface portion 42 arranged on both axial sides of the spherical surface portion 41.

[0063] The spherical surface portion 41 has a first annular outer surface configured as a part of a sphere, and the maximum diameter of the first annular outer surface is the same as the diameter of the sphere corresponding to the first annular outer surface, and the center line of the shaft hole 43 passes through the center of the sphere corresponding to the first annular outer surface. Preferably, the central angle of the arc formed by the axial section (the section passing through the center line of the shaft hole 43) of the first annular outer surface is 85-95°. Further preferably, the central angle of the arc is 90°. In other words, the first annular outer surface is configured as a spherical band with the maximum diameter of the corresponding sphere. The surface of the conical surface portion 42 is configured as a second annular outer surface configured as a part of a cone, and the second annular outer surface is tangent to the first annular outer surface. In other words, the conical surface portion 42 is configured as a truncated cone as a whole. The structure of the roller 40 can not only fit the included angle at the apex angle, but also form a planar extrusion fit with the inner roof 111 and the inner side plate 121, which is beneficial to enhance the engagement force between the foamed elastomer 150 and the box.

[0064] More specifically, referring to Figure 2 , the spraying device comprises a track assembly 30 and a spraying assembly 20. The track assembly 30 comprises a track arranged along a length direction and a moving part configured to move along the track. The spraying assembly 20 is arranged on the moving part, and the spraying assembly 20 comprises a pressure pump, a storage barrel and a spray gun.

[0065] The position of the track assembly 30 can be substantially relative to the position of the opening 140, so that after the automatic control system moves the moving part to the specified position, the moving part moves at a constant speed along the length direction, for example, can move at a constant speed in the direction from the front end to the rear end or in the direction from the rear end to the front end, and the spray gun also sprays at a constant speed under control. Compared with the traditional process of first closing the cavity 130 and then injecting the material, the automatic spraying in the semi-open environment of the present application greatly reduces the labor cost, and the semi-open space is beneficial to operation, eliminates the space limitation, improves the uniformity of the foamed body after spraying, avoids the accumulation and falling of the material, and reduces the quality fluctuation caused by human error.

[0066] In order to further improve the production efficiency, referring to Figure 5 Two spraying stations can be arranged for one thermal container 100, and the two spraying stations are arranged on the two sides of the thermal container 100 along the length direction. In other words, one spraying device is arranged at each end of the thermal container 100. Thus, the two spraying devices enter the box simultaneously to perform the spraying operation, for example, one device runs from the end and the other device runs from the middle at the same speed in the same direction, or the two devices run towards each other from the ends. After the spraying is completed, the spray gun is retracted and the moving part returns along the original path.

[0067] In order to further improve the quality of the foam, when the required spraying thickness is greater than 25 mm, the foaming process at the top corner of the thermal container includes at least two spraying steps, and the spraying thickness of each spraying step is not more than 25 mm to avoid local accumulation. The rolling step described above is performed after the last spraying step.

[0068] As a preferred embodiment, the foaming process is performed after the coating is completed. Specifically, a coating workshop and a top corner foaming workshop are arranged on the production line, and the top corner foaming workshop is arranged downstream of the coating workshop. The thermal container 100 enters the top corner foaming workshop after the coating is completed in the coating workshop. Due to the inherent process of the coating workshop, the temperature of the box is relatively high, so that the temperature of the box is still 30-50℃ when the thermal container 100 enters the top corner foaming workshop. This temperature can help the rapid curing of the foaming material, and the separate heating oven for curing in the top corner foaming process can be avoided. This not only shortens the curing period and speeds up the production efficiency, but also greatly reduces the production cost.

[0069] Correspondingly, since the top corner foaming is performed after the coating process, the inner surface of the box needs to be protected before spraying the foaming material to reduce the splashing pollution. As an example, a protection step is added before the spraying step, that is, a protective film is laid on the edges of the inner top plate 111 and the outer top plate 112. A deprotection step is added before the rolling step is performed, that is, the protective film is removed before rolling. As a preferred embodiment, the distance between the nozzle of the spray gun and the spraying surface is controlled to be 30-50 cm, and the spraying pressure is controlled to be 10-25 MPa, so as to further reduce the splashing.

[0070] As an optional embodiment, referring to Figure 5In order to further improve the production efficiency, the thermal insulation container 100 can be cleaned and inspected at the same time of the top corner foaming, that is, the outer surface after the coating process in the previous step is inspected and cleaned. In other words, the foaming process at the top corner of the thermal insulation container 100 further includes a cleaning and inspection step, and the cleaning and inspection step is performed synchronously with the spraying step. Preferably, the top corner foaming workshop is further provided with two inspection stations, which are arranged on both sides of the width direction of the thermal insulation container 100.

[0071] It should be noted that the expansion and solidification time of the foaming material can be adjusted to match the time required for the cleaning and inspection step, so that the rolling step and the cleaning and inspection step can be completed synchronously. For example, the expansion and solidification time of the foaming material is adjusted to 3-5 min.

[0072] In summary, the foaming process at the top corner of the thermal insulation container of the present application greatly simplifies the process compared to the traditional process, cancels the multiple processes such as sponge tape application, rivet fixing, top corner sealing, secondary foaming mold disassembly, etc., so that the single box production time is shortened by more than 50%. And the degree of automation of production is improved, more than 80% of manual operation is replaced by automatic foaming assembly and sliding rail assembly, which reduces labor cost, and also avoids quality fluctuations caused by human errors. The semi-open foaming eliminates space limitations, and the semi-cured roller eliminates process air bubbles, which improves the uniformity of the foam density, and accelerates the curing of the residual heat of the box body left by the coating process, reduces the shrinkage gap, and significantly reduces the heat leakage rate. In addition, the use of residual heat curing of the box body after coating saves the energy consumption of separately building an oven, and combined with the reduction of auxiliary materials such as tape and rivets, the comprehensive cost of the product is reduced.

[0073] The processes and steps described in all the preferred embodiments described above are only examples. Unless an adverse effect occurs, various processing operations can be performed in a different order from the above-described processes. The order of the steps of the above-described processes can also be added, combined or deleted according to actual needs.

[0074] Unless otherwise defined, the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as understood by those skilled in the art of the technology of the present application. The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. The features described herein in one embodiment can be applied to another embodiment, either alone or in combination with other features, unless the features are not applicable in the other embodiment or are otherwise described.

[0075] The present application has been described by the above embodiments, but it should be understood that the above embodiments are only for the purpose of example and illustration, and the present application is not limited to the above embodiments. More variations and modifications can be made according to the teachings of the present application, which all fall within the scope claimed by the present application.

Claims

1. A foaming process for the top corner of an insulated container, characterized in that, The insulated container includes a top panel and side panels. The top panel includes an inner top panel, an outer top panel, and a top insulation layer located between the inner and outer top panels. The side panels include an inner side panel, an outer side panel, and a side insulation layer located between the inner and outer side panels. The outer top panel is connected to the outer side panel. A cavity exists between the top insulation layer and the side insulation layer. The inner top panel and the inner side panel are spaced apart to form an opening leading to the cavity. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container includes: In the spraying step, along the length of the insulated container, the spraying equipment is controlled to spray foaming material into the cavity through the opening; In the rolling step, after a preset time has elapsed since the spraying step, a roller is used to roll along the length direction at the opening to ensure that the partially expanded and cured foam material adheres tightly to the inner top plate and the inner side plate. Once the foam material has fully expanded and cured to form a foamed elastomer, it bonds to the inner top plate and the inner side plate. The roller has a shaft hole and includes: The spherical surface has a first annular outer surface, which is constructed as a portion of the surface of a sphere. The maximum diameter of the first annular outer surface is the same as the diameter of the sphere corresponding to the first annular outer surface, and the centerline of the shaft hole passes through the center of the sphere corresponding to the first annular outer surface. The conical portion is disposed on both sides of the spherical portion. The surface structure of the conical portion is a second annular outer surface, which is a part of the surface of the cone, and the second annular outer surface is tangent to the first annular outer surface.

2. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preset time is 3-5 minutes.

3. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The central angle of the arc formed by the axial cross-section of the first annular outer surface is 85-95°.

4. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The roller is a rubber roller with a hardness of 60-70 Shore A.

5. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The foamed elastomer has a foaming density of 40-500 kg / m³. 3 And / or The material of the foamed elastomer includes at least one of polyurethane, silicone rubber and EPDM.

6. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container is carried out in the top corner foaming workshop, which is located downstream of the painting workshop. After the insulated container is painted in the painting workshop, it enters the top corner foaming workshop so that the container temperature is 30-50℃ when it enters the top corner foaming workshop.

7. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the required coating thickness is greater than 25mm, the foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container includes at least two of the spraying steps, with the rolling step performed after the last spraying step.

8. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 6, characterized in that, The corner foaming workshop is equipped with two foam spraying stations, which are located at both ends of the length of the insulated container. The spraying equipment at the two foam spraying stations performs the spraying steps synchronously.

9. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 8, characterized in that, The corner foaming workshop is also equipped with two inspection stations, which are located on both sides of the width of the insulated container. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container also includes a cleaning and inspection step, which is carried out simultaneously with the spraying step. The cleaning and inspection step includes: inspecting and cleaning the exterior of the insulated container.

10. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 9, characterized in that, The expansion and curing time of the foaming material is matched with the time required for the cleaning and inspection steps, so that the rolling step and the cleaning and inspection steps can be completed synchronously.

11. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spraying step is preceded by a protective step: a protective film is laid on the edges of the inner top plate and the outer top plate; The process includes a protective removal step before the rolling process: removing the protective film before rolling.

12. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spraying equipment includes: A track assembly, the track assembly including a track and a moving part, the track being disposed along the length direction, and the moving part being configured to move along the track; A spraying assembly is disposed on the movable part, and the spraying assembly includes a pressure pump, a storage tank, and a spray gun.

13. The foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container according to claim 12, characterized in that, The distance between the nozzle of the spray gun and the surface to be sprayed is 30-50cm, and the spraying pressure is 10-25MPa.

14. A refrigerated container, characterized in that, The insulated container is manufactured using the foaming process at the top corner of the insulated container as described in any one of claims 1-13.

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