Patent Application
20240093929
Mobile home delivery, curbside pickup, contactless purchasing, all of these aspects of purchasing products and delivery systems have become an ever increasing aspect of life. However, such systems also have limitations. For example, the delivery of perishable products, such as some grocery items, cannot tolerate extreme temperatures. Fresh lettuce may wilt under high temperatures or freeze in low temperatures. Insulation within a delivery system may be used to somewhat isolate products from the environment, but only for a limited amount of time. The use of dry ice or freezable ice packs may provide cooling, but start to degrade immediately, and do not protect contents from cold weather. Chemical heat packs may be used in cold weather but suffer from the same limitations as cooling packs. In addition, such ice or heat packs take up valuable space in a delivery system.
Active refrigeration and heating units have been used in stationary and mobile delivery systems, but require power, something that may not be available in all situations. Peltier thermoelectric coolers (TEC) utilize power to transfer heat between two electrical junctions. Known as the “Peltier” effect, discovered by Jean Peliter in 1834, when a direct current flows through the junctions of the two conductors heat is removed at one junction thus creating a cooling effect. However, Peltier devices are inefficient. The flowing current itself tends to generate a significant amount of heat, which requires additional heat dissipation measures.
Compressors and heat pump systems may also be used in delivery systems, but require large amounts of space and power, in addition to maintenance concerns and its associated costs.
Disclosed herein is a mobile locker style storage system having multiple dispensing units. The dispensing units may be self contained mobile enclosures that each include multiple accessible product spaces configured to hold product, including perishable food products and other items requiring an environmentally temperature controlled space. A passive environmental control system is used to control temperatures within each of the accessible product spaces. The passive environmental control system utilizes phase change material (PCM) embedded within the walls, floor, ceiling, and door of each accessible product space. PCM is available in a wide range of “melting points.” The melting point of a PCM product is the temperature where the PCM starts to absorb energy. For example, a PCM with a melting point of 70 degrees Fahrenheit will start to absorb energy at 70 degrees thereby creating a cooling effect. The PCM will continue to absorb energy, and thus continue to cool the product space, as the outside temperature rises. At some point, the PCM will become depleted, or exhausted, and will no longer be able to absorb energy, e.g., an inability to maintain environmental control, at which point will need to be reconditioned. Such reconditioning may be accomplished by moving the PCM to a room temperature environment that is at or below the melting point of the PCM.
In a similar manner, a PCM with a configured melting point at a lower temperature, for example at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. PCM at this melting point temperature may be used to release energy. Thus, if the mobile locker system is deployed to a cold climate where cooling of product is not an issue, by keeping that product from freezing, would utilize such a PCM. Further, a combination of different types of PCM matter with different melting points may be configured or reconfigured to provide both cooling, e.g., a cooling mode, in a warm environment and heating, e.g., a heating mode, in a cold environment. Or, different types of PCM matter could be configured or reconfigured to provide multiple melting points in only a warm environment, for example a first melting point of 70 degrees and a second melting point at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The same configuration could also be applied to releasing heat in a cold environment with multiple sets of melting points. The examples given here are not meant to limit the number or types of multiple PCM matters that may be configured.
The mobile locker, with the use of PCM with a passive environmental control system provides cooling or heating without the use of power. Further, unlike the use of ice packs or chemical heating packs that immediately start to heat or chill a surrounding area, a PCM only starts to absorb or release energy upon reaching its melting or freezing point. Thus, given the 70 degree Fahrenheit PCM melting point example, that PCM matter does not start absorbing energy providing cooling, until the PCM reaches 70 degrees. Accordingly, the passive PCM environmental control system provides an efficient cooling and/or heating system without the use of external power.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes the inclusion of an auxiliary power supply, to provide power for such functions as to propel each mobile locker by an electrified powertrain system mounted in the mobile locker. In some aspects of the disclosure, the auxiliary power could also be used for fans or other devices to assist in reconditioning the PCM. Reconditioning, temperature conditioning, or temperature-controlled, may be accomplished in multiple ways depending upon the type of PCM material. For example, the PCM may be conditioned to cool a product space by absorbing energy or it may be conditioned to heat a product space by discharging energy.
A PCM container absorbs or discharges a finite amount of energy at which point it needs to be reconditioned or recharged, which may be done by placing the PCM container in an environment less than its melting point to discharge absorbed energy or in an environment greater than its freezing point to absorb energy. The placement of a PCM container in an environment for reconditioning is considered to be a passive action as no power is required to operate. Further, for example, the PCM container could be placed in a room environment suitable for conditioning or reconditioning, such as in an air-conditioned room at 68 degrees Fahrenheit or in a walk-in freezer at 3 degrees Fahrenheit.
In an embodiment, the PCM matter may be contained in bottles, flasks, or any shaped container that are modular and may be removed from the mobile locker. As the PCM containers may be modular, they may also contain different types of PCM matter. For example, one set of PCM containers may contain a first type of PCM matter with a first melting point and another set of PCM container may contain a second type of PCM matter with a second melting point. In some embodiments the range of melting points of the PCM matter may range from a low of 40 degrees to a high of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In another example, the one set of PCM containers may be vertically oriented in the mobile locker while the other set of PCM containers may be horizontally oriented.
Each mobile locker may contain multiple dispensing units with each dispensing unit defining an accessible product space, for example with a hinged door that may be manually or automatically opened or closed. In an embodiment, each of the product spaces may also be equipped with a temperature sensor. The temperature sensor may provide information regarding a current temperature of the accessible product space, but it also is an indicator of the performance of the PCM matter. For example, if the PCM is configured to absorb energy and provide cooling for a particular product space the temperature monitor may provide a current temperature and a history of temperatures over time thereby indicating the performance of the PCM matter. The temperature monitor may also indicate a particular rise in temperature indicating that the PCM matter needs to be reconditioned. The temperature monitor may also be equipped to produce a warning or indicator when the detected temperature is above or below a threshold value.
Aspects of the disclosure also includes a method for the temperature controlled transport of product. Such a method may include automatically opening an access door on a mobile locker, where the mobile locker is configured to be mobile and includes multiple dispensing units, each configured with an access door. The mobile locker, with an opened access door, may be located in a room temperature environment that is suitable for PCM reconditioning. With an open access door, the accessible product space is exposed to the room temperature environment. Therefore, given the example discussed above, if the PCM matter is configured with a melting point of 70 degrees Fahrenheit and the mobile locker is located in an area maintained at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, then the PCM matter will be conditioned as the 68 degree temperature will allow the PCM matter to discharge its stored energy. Thus, when the PCM matter is exposed to a temperature greater than 70 degrees Fahrenheit it will start to absorb energy and provide a cooling effect.
The method may also include automatically closing the access doors. For example, a temperature monitor may indicate the accessible product space has been below a threshold temperature value for a set period of time and determine that the PCM matter would be fully conditioned and accordingly close the access door. In an embodiment, the temperature monitor may be linked via a telecommunication link to automatically open or close the access doors. Such an action may also be triggered by the temperature monitor detecting the temperature within the accessible product being above or below a threshold level.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a mobile locker style storage system may include one or more mobile lockers and a delivery vehicle configured to transport the one or more mobile lockers. For example, the mobile locker style storage system may be configured to store and preserve grocery and other perishable items. The delivery vehicle may therefore be used to transport and deliver a mobile locker to a customer location.
The above features and advantages, and other features and attendant advantages of this disclosure, will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative examples and modes for carrying out the present disclosure when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. Moreover, this disclosure expressly includes combinations and sub-combinations of the elements and features presented above and below.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate implementations of the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
The appended drawings are not necessarily to scale and may present a somewhat simplified representation of various preferred features of the present disclosure as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes. Details associated with such features will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.
The present disclosure is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms. Representative examples of the disclosure are shown in the drawings and described herein in detail as non-limiting examples of the disclosed principles. To that end, elements and limitations described in the Abstract, Introduction, Summary, and Detailed Description sections, but not explicitly set forth in the claims, should not be incorporated into the claims, singly or collectively, by implication, inference, or otherwise.
For purposes of the present description, unless specifically disclaimed, use of the singular includes the plural and vice versa, the terms “and” and “or” shall be both conjunctive and disjunctive, and the words “including”, “containing”, “comprising”, “having”, and the like shall mean “including without limitation”. Moreover, words of approximation such as “about”, “almost”, “substantially”, “generally”, “approximately”, etc., may be used herein in the sense of “at, near, or nearly at”, or “within 0-5% of”, or “within acceptable manufacturing tolerances”, or logical combinations thereof. As used herein, a component that is “configured to” perform a specified function is capable of performing the specified function without alteration, rather than merely having potential to perform the specified function after further modification. In other words, the described hardware, when expressly configured to perform the specified function, is specifically selected, created, implemented, utilized, programmed, and/or designed for the purpose of performing the specified function.
Referring to the drawings, the left most digit of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears (e.g., a reference number ‘310’ indicates that the element so numbered is first labeled or first appears in
In a representative use case, a mobile locker utilizes PCM matter as a passive environmental control to maintain a desired temperature condition within dispensing units in the mobile locker. To understand the concept of utilizing PCM matter,
Each of dispensing units 360 may also include a cover access door, each of which are shown as closed in
Control pad 320 may be used to navigate and control the mobile locker system 300 by utilizing the auxiliary power supply 330 and the electrified powertrain system 350. Tires 340 are shown as the method of moving mobile locker system 300 but could be of a variety of types of track, skid, or other wheel type configuration. Further, mobile locker 310 may also include insulation layers, not shown, throughout the structure, for example on the top, bottom, and sides to insulate the passive environmental control system.
At 710, based on the receipt of the signal at 705, one or more of the access doors, such as the access doors shown in
At 715, once the access doors to the dispensing units are opened and exposed to the surrounding environment, the accessible product space that is lined with PCM may be conditioned at the temperature of the surrounding environment. Such conditioning, as previously discussed may be selected to be as low as 40 degrees or up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or anywhere in between. Such limits are discussed as being a typical range that is suitable for mobile lockers, however, as discussed, PCM matter can have melting points of considerable range from extreme sub-zero to several thousand degrees Fahrenheit.
At 720, mobile locker may receive via the telecommunications link a signal to automatically close the one or more access doors that have been opened. The receipt of a signal to close the one or more access doors may be based on the PCM matter in the containers within the dispensing units have been fully conditioned. Such a reconditioning may be determined by temperature sensors, such as temperature sensor 595, reporting a stable conditioned temperature within the dispensing units. Or, in an embodiment, the decision to close the access doors may be based on an elapsed time in which it is estimated to be sufficiently long to condition the PCM matter.
At 725 the access doors in the mobile locker are actually closed based on the receipt of the signal in 720.
At 730, once the access doors are closed, the temperature monitor may detect the temperature within each of the dispensing units. If a temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold, for example when the accessible product space within a dispensing unit gets too warm by exceeding a threshold temperature or when the temperature within the accessible product space become too cold by exceeding, e.g., lower than the threshold, then, based on the detecting may alert a remote system of crossing the threshold. Method 700 may then end.
The description and abstract sections may set forth one or more embodiments of the present disclosure as contemplated by the inventor(s), and thus, are not intended to limit the present disclosure and the appended claims.
Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the implementation of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternate boundaries may be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof may be appropriately performed.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the disclosure that others can, by applying knowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from the general concept of the present disclosure. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings and guidance.
The breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented. The disclosure is not limited to these examples. These examples are presented herein for purposes of illustration, and not limitation. Alternatives (including equivalents, extensions, variations, deviations, etc., of those described herein) will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein. Such alternatives fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.
