Modular passive refrigeration container
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Solution Overview
Problem
Passive refrigeration containers have limitations in maintaining a cold chain for extended periods, require labor-intensive repairs due to insulation compression, and are not easily disassembled or modular, leading to frequent decommissioning instead of repairs.
Innovation Solution
A modular passive refrigeration container design featuring a cooling element with plate-shaped hollow segments, binary ice as a coolant, and a double-walled insulation system that allows for easy assembly and disassembly, maximizing cooling volume while minimizing outer volume and ecological footprint, and enabling efficient repair and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If passive refrigeration containers use intensive use and manipulation devices such as forklift trucks, then the outer wall and inner wall are often crushed, but this leads to insulation compression and loss of insulating power
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigeration container is divided into modular components including removable insulation panels and separable wall sections. This segmentation allows the insulation to be protected during handling by removing it separately, preventing compression damage while maintaining productivity through efficient assembly and disassembly of the modular units.
2Temperature
If passive refrigeration containers are designed with good insulation, then they can maintain cooling temperature, but they require labor-intensive repairs when insulation is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The insulation system is segmented into removable panels that can be easily detached and replaced without damaging the surrounding structure. When insulation panels are damaged, they can be quickly removed and swapped with replacement panels, dramatically reducing repair time and labor intensity while maintaining the cooling temperature through the modular insulation system.
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows damaged insulation panels to be easily discarded and replaced with new or refurbished panels. The modular construction enables quick removal of compromised insulation sections and installation of replacement panels, making the repair process simple and cost-effective while maintaining the required cooling temperature.
3Strength
If passive refrigeration containers are made not to be disassembled, then they maintain structural integrity, but components are not available as separate parts for exchange
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigeration container employs modular segmentation where the housing, insulation panels, and cooling elements are designed as separate but interoperable components. This allows the container to be disassembled into manageable sections for repair or component exchange while maintaining structural integrity through standardized connection systems that ensure proper reassembly and sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular components are designed with universal interfaces and standardized dimensions, allowing any insulation panel or cooling element to be exchanged with equivalent parts from different manufacturers or batches. This universality enables easy component exchange while maintaining the overall structural integrity and functional performance of the refrigeration container.
4Duration of action of stationary object
If passive refrigeration containers use very good insulation, then they can hold cooling temperature for limited time, but they require extreme insulation quality
Solution Approach 1:
The insulation system is divided into multiple modular panels with standardized thickness and material specifications. This segmentation allows for easier manufacturing with tolerances that are practical for mass production, while the cumulative effect of multiple panels achieves the required insulation quality for extended cooling duration without demanding extreme precision in each individual panel.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulation panels utilize composite material construction combining multiple layers or material types to achieve superior thermal performance. This composite approach extends the cooling duration by creating a more effective thermal barrier through material combination, while allowing each layer to be manufactured with standard precision requirements rather than demanding extreme precision throughout.
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 modular design maintains a consistent cold chain for at least 48 hours, achieves rapid cooling without mechanical ventilation, and reduces maintenance needs, offering cost-effective and environmentally friendly refrigeration with strategic independence from CO2 suppliers.
Implementation Method 1
refrigeration is carried out by a coolant which is present in the refrigeration container, and which allows for the cooling due to its physical properties, for example, by the sorption of zeolites or by a phase transition (solid/liquid/gas). Typical examples of the refrigeration on the basis of a phase transition, are refrigeration by ice
Implementation Method 2
refrigeration is carried out by a coolant which is present in the refrigeration container, and which allows for the cooling due to its physical properties, for example, by the sorption of zeolites
Implementation Method 3
Such passive refrigeration containers are able to hold their desired cooling temperature only for a limited time which is why they must be provided with a very good insulation
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a modular passive refrigeration container for the cold storage and transport of goods, especially fresh produce and deep-frozen goods as well as to a method for the assembly of such a modular passive refrigerated container, comprising at least: (i) a cooling element, suitable for binary ice as coolant, comprising at least three plate-shaped hollow cooling segments, wherein the plate-shaped cooling segments define at least a portion of the refrigeration space, (ii) an insulation material in plate form, and (iii) a housing, suitable for receiving said cooling element and said insulating material in plate form, wherein said cooling element is removably surrounded by said housing, and wherein a space between the said cooling element and said housing is at least partially filled with said insulating material which is reversibly connected with either said housing or said cooling element or both.