Facility for heat-treating products placed on a pallet or the like
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing temperature treatment installations for products on pallets face challenges in controlling and adjusting temperature precision, air channeling efficiency, and accommodating pallets of varying heights, leading to energy inefficiency and potential product damage.
Innovation Solution
The installation incorporates liftable longitudinal separation means with flexible elements and additional sealing mechanisms to ensure complete air passage through pallets, including adjustable displacement means and articulated arms for sealing, which can adapt to different pallet heights and orientations, minimizing air bypass and enhancing energy efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If fixed tarpaulins are arranged between the ceiling and the top of the pallets to seal the space, then air bypass is reduced, but the rigid tarpaulin can damage the products on the pallets and cause products to fall when pallets are moved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid fixed tarpaulins with flexible sealing elements that can adapt to different pallet heights and product configurations. These flexible elements maintain the seal to prevent air bypass while conforming to the pallet and product shape, eliminating the risk of damage caused by rigid structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces adjustable and movable sealing elements that can dynamically adapt to varying pallet heights and positions. Rather than fixed rigid barriers, the sealing system can be adjusted or moved to maintain optimal sealing contact without damaging products, resolving the contradiction between effective sealing and product protection.
2Loss of energy
If fixed sealing walls are applied to the side of the pallets to prevent air bypass, then air channeling is improved, but significant free spaces remain above the lowest pallets reducing cooling capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs adjustable sealing elements that can be positioned at different heights to match the actual pallet height. This dynamic adjustment eliminates free spaces above pallets while maintaining effective air channeling, unlike fixed sealing walls that leave gaps when pallet heights vary.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies sealing elements locally at the appropriate height for each pallet configuration. Rather than using a single fixed sealing wall height, the system provides localized sealing at the correct position, ensuring both effective air channeling and elimination of free spaces regardless of pallet height variations.
3Loss of energy
If manual adjustment of tarpaulin height is performed to match the maximum foreseeable pallet height, then sealing is improved, but the system is not easy to set up and cannot accommodate varying pallet heights effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual adjustment of fixed-height tarpaulins with dynamically adjustable sealing elements that can be easily positioned to match actual pallet heights. This eliminates the need for complex manual setup while maintaining effective sealing across varying pallet configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements sealing elements that can automatically or easily adapt to different pallet heights without requiring manual measurement and adjustment. The system serves itself by detecting or accommodating the pallet height, eliminating the cumbersome manual setup process while maintaining sealing effectiveness.
4Device complexity
If sealing between chambers is not provided, then the structure is simpler, but air from one chamber directly enters the opposite chamber without passing through the pallets, reducing energy efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the treatment chamber into separate sections with sealing elements between them. This segmentation prevents direct air flow between chambers while maintaining relatively simple individual chamber structures, ensuring air passes through pallets in each section rather than bypassing through chamber connections.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution allows for precise temperature control and increased energy efficiency by ensuring all air passes through the products, while protecting the products from damage by accommodating varying pallet heights and orientations, thus improving the overall performance of the temperature treatment process.
Implementation Method 1
air blowing means allowing the air to pass through the pallets with a view in particular to heating, cooling or even maintaining the temperature at the level of the pallets
Implementation Method 2
batteries making it possible to heat or cool this air
Implementation Method 3
batteries making it possible to heat or cool this air
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
The installation for the temperature treatment of food processing products (2) arranged in palette (3), comprises a chamber, units for the introduction of palette, a unit (5) for delivering the palette between an entry and an exit, a unit (6) for blowing air through the products of the palette, and a longitudinal separation unit (7) arranged in the principal axis of the chamber to prevent the flow of air between the upper surface of the each palette and a ceiling of the chamber. The longitudinal separation unit comprises a displacement unit bearing or holding flexible elements. The installation for the temperature treatment of food processing products (2) arranged in palette (3), comprises a chamber, units for the introduction of palette, a unit (5) for delivering the palette between an entry and an exit, a unit (6) for blowing air through the products of the palette, and a longitudinal separation unit (7) arranged in the principal axis of the chamber to prevent the flow of air between the upper surface of the each palette and a ceiling of the chamber. The longitudinal separation unit comprises a displacement unit bearing or holding flexible elements ensuring the sealing. The displacement unit comprises an interior tube and an exterior tube. The exterior tube carries the flexible elements and the interior tube carries a fixed table of which the bearing induces a rotation of the exterior tube. The flexible elements comprises bristles and slats, and are connected in an upper part forming a curtain and allocated in one or two rows. The longitudinal separation unit comprises a driving shaft equipped with a retaining unit driving two articulated arms in a mounted direction and a sealing cover arranged with the arms. The retaining unit comprises blocks disposed on the driving shaft. Each block co-operates with a proximal extremity of the articulated arm. Each articulated arm comprises three articulations. The articulations hold a lower row section of articulated arm in comparison to an upper row section. The effort exerted by the cover on the products is divided on the lower face of the distal extremity of the articulated arm. The articulated arms disposed on the driving shaft are spaced from 20-100 cm. The driving shaft is induced in rotation by a control unit having a jack. The sealing cover comprises pockets introducing the articulated arms and bellows between the pockets allowing an angular displacement between the arms. The bellows have a flare in a direction of the low extremity of the cover. Additional separation units are arranged perpendicular to the end of the longitudinal separation unit to prevent the air flow between the chambers in high level part. The additional separation unit comprises additional displacement unit and a guillotine. The additional displacement unit allows a displacement in translation of the guillotine between a lowering position and an upper position. A lateral sealing unit having a sliding gate at the end of the chambers is perpendicularly disposed in a principal axis of each chamber.