Modular mobile treatment and precooling apparatus and systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current perishable product handling systems fail to effectively sanitize and precool products quickly, leading to contamination, dehydration, and extended processing times, which affect quality and shelf life.
Innovation Solution
A mobile container or semi-trailer system with high-capacity refrigeration and airflow, capable of recirculating sanitizing and conditioning substances, allowing for extended exposure to sanitizers and managing ripeness, while minimizing dehydration and reducing contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If perishable product is transported to fixed cooling facilities for precooling, then cooling capacity is sufficient, but transit time and delays increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fixed cooling facility is segmented into mobile container units that can be distributed to multiple harvest locations. Each container operates as an independent precooling station, eliminating the need to transport all product to a single centralized facility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static fixed facilities to dynamic mobile containers that can relocate to follow harvest seasons and different production locations, optimizing proximity to product sources throughout the year.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If product is sanitized at fixed facilities, then sanitization effectiveness is achieved, but cross-contamination from cooling air occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The sanitization function is extracted from the shared fixed facility environment and integrated into isolated mobile container units. Each container operates as a separate sanitized zone, preventing cross-contamination between different product batches and locations.
Solution Approach 2:
Sanitization is applied as a preliminary treatment within the sealed container before product enters the cooling process. The container environment is prepared with sanitized air and surfaces in advance, preventing contamination rather than addressing it afterward.
3Productivity
If seasonal facilities operate at peak capacity, then processing throughput is maximized, but operational strain and delays increase
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized processing facility is divided into multiple distributed mobile container units. Each container provides independent processing capacity, allowing parallel operation across multiple locations and eliminating bottlenecks at single facilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile containers are designed as universal processing units that can be deployed to various harvest locations and operational contexts throughout the year, providing consistent processing capacity regardless of seasonal variations at any single location.
4Productivity
If fixed precooling facilities are used, then cooling efficiency is high, but facility space is consumed for precooling instead of storage
Solution Approach 1:
The precooling function transitions from fixed facility infrastructure to mobile container units. This dynamic solution allows precooling capacity to be relocated and scaled independently of permanent facility footprint, converting space requirements from static to flexible deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system moves precooling operations from the horizontal facility floor plane to mobile three-dimensional container units. This dimensional shift allows precooling capacity to occupy container volume rather than facility floor space, freeing up valuable storage area.
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
The system significantly reduces contamination and dehydration, enhances product quality, and shortens the time from harvest to shipment by integrating sanitizing and precooling processes, thereby improving shelf life and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
high capacity refrigeration and high capacity airflow that is forced through pallets of cartons of product and/or vented packages with product
Implementation Method 2
high capacity airflow that is forced through pallets of cartons of product and/or vented packages with product
Implementation Method 3
sanitizing substances are recirculated with the airflow across a surface of the perishable product with the effect of reducing at least one of (i) pathogenic organisms or (ii) spoilage organisms
Data Source
AI summary
An improved system for treating, precooling, and handling perishable products uses a mobile container enhanced with increased capacity refrigeration and air flow to recirculate functional substances including sanitizers, and ripening management and conditioning agents across the surface of palletized perishable products during the precooling step. Sanitizing substances are dispensed into the recirculating air to significantly reduce micro-organisms on the surface coming from the field and avoid recontamination from the cooling warehouse. Conditioning and ripening management substances are recirculated to enable managing the ripeness of a perishable to a target. The mobile container is able to operate independently outside of a refrigerated warehouse used for storage and distribution of the cooled perishable product. The mobile container can be located near harvest or facilities with no colling assets. A combined system using conveyors and operational controls provides automated handling of the perishables from receiving, precooling and treatment and then distribution.