Trailer Floor Slats Heating System for Frozen Bulk Materials
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Solution Overview
Problem
Trailers transporting bulk materials face issues with unloading frozen materials in cold temperatures, as the materials freeze on walls and floors, causing damage to moving slats and requiring inefficient and costly solutions like 'hot boxes' for thawing.
Innovation Solution
A trailer with a circulation system that uses a hot fluid source to thaw frozen materials by circulating hot fluid through hollow slats, including a feed and return manifold system and a hot fluid pipe for efficient heat transfer, allowing thawing on board or at the unloading site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If hot boxes are used to thaw frozen materials, then the materials can be thawed, but the solution is expensive, slow, and requires heating the entire trailer before reaching the floor and inner walls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by directing heat specifically to the floor and wall areas where materials freeze, rather than heating the entire trailer uniformly. The circulation system delivers hot fluid through pipes positioned at the floor and walls, creating localized thermal zones that efficiently thaw frozen materials without wasting energy on unnecessary areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses hydraulics by implementing a circulation system that pumps hot fluid through a network of pipes embedded in or attached to the floor and walls. This hydraulic system efficiently transports thermal energy directly to the freezing points, enabling rapid and targeted thawing of materials without the delays associated with conventional hot box methods.
2Temperature
If hot boxes are used to thaw frozen materials, then the materials can be thawed, but a substantive amount of heat is lost to the atmosphere when opening the doors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the heating function from the atmospheric environment (hot box) and relocates it directly into the trailer structure through embedded pipes in the floor and walls. This extraction eliminates the need to open doors for heat exchange, preventing substantial heat loss to the atmosphere while maintaining effective thawing capability.
3Ease of operation
If materials are transported in a trailer with moving slats, then loading and unloading is facilitated, but the slats may break and/or damage the driving mechanism when materials freeze on them
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by implementing a circulation system that can thaw frozen materials before they cause damage to the slats or driving mechanism. The system proactively prevents freezing by maintaining temperatures above freezing point in critical areas, or rapidly thaws materials upon detection of freezing conditions, thereby protecting the mechanical integrity of the slats and mechanism.
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
Enables quick and efficient thawing of frozen materials during transport, reducing damage to slats and eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming 'hot boxes' by providing a portable and efficient heating solution.
Implementation Method 1
a circulation system for connecting the hollow shaped slats to a hot fluid source and includes a pump for circulating a stream of the hot fluid in the hollow shaped slats for thawing frozen materials transported on the slats
Data Source
AI summary
A transportation trailer having a moving floor including a plurality of reciprocating slats for loading/unloading materials into the trailer. The trailer includes a system for warming the moving floor when the materials transported in the trailer freeze on the slats in cold weather. Using the pre-existing hollow structure of the slats, a stream of hot fluid or a hot fluid pipe is run inside the slats for thawing the frozen materials for unloading the trailer. The hot fluid may be provided from a hot fluid source on board of the trailer, for thawing the frozen materials while the trailer is on its way to the unloading site, or may be provided separately at the unloading site.