Patent Application
20190360265
This patent disclosure relates generally to side guide columns for roll-up doors and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for reducing frost buildup in the side guide columns and/or industrial roll-up doors.
Door assemblies used in cold storage and/or freezer facilities typically are arranged to open and close within some type of guiding assembly, such as, a vertical pair of columns. However, the door assembly typically is not sealed completely airtight with the guiding assembly, and some air flows into a space or gap between the door itself and the guiding assembly. Because the door assembly is configured in a cold air and/or freezer facility, when the door is opened and closed, air that flows into the gap may cause build-up of frost and/or ice. This build-up of frost or ice can, over time, cause operational malfunctions and even damage to the door assembly or guiding assembly.
The foregoing needs are met to a great extent by embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure, wherein, in some embodiments allows heating of a door guide area between the door and the side columns.
In one aspect, the disclosure describes a system for heating a door guide area. The system includes: a first conduit for channeling a flow of heated air in a first direction; a second conduit for channeling the flow of heated air in a second direction different than the first direction; a heater fluidly connected to the first conduit and configured to provide heated air to the first and second conduits; a first opening providing fluid communication between the first and second conduits; a second opening providing fluid communication between the first and second conduits so that the first and second openings allow the air provided by the heater to circulate through the first and second conduits; a heat transfer wall part of the second conduit, the heat transfer wall configured to transfer heat from the flow of heated air in the second direction to a space outside of the second conduit that is defined, in part, by the heat transfer wall; and two side supports connected to the heat transfer wall, the side supports located opposing each other and dimensioned and located along with the heat transfer wall to form three sides to encompass a first side, an edge, and a second side of a side portion of a roll-up door when the roll-up door is in a closed position.
In another aspect, the disclosure describes a method for heating a door guide area. The method includes: channeling a flow of heated air in a first direction in a first conduit; channeling the flow of heated air in a second direction different than the first direction in a second conduit; providing heated air to the second and first conduits; providing a first fluid communication between the first and second conduits; providing a second fluid communication between the first and second conduits; transferring heat from the flow of heated air in the second direction to a space outside of the second flow of heated air; and configuring a side portion of a roll-up door to be in the heated space when the roll-up door is in a closed position.
In yet another aspect, the disclosure describes a system for heating a door guide area. The system includes: a first conduit for channeling a flow of heated air in a first direction; a second conduit for channeling the flow of heated air in a second direction opposite the first direction; a heater fluidly connected to the first conduit and configured to provide heated air to the first and second conduits; a first opening providing fluid communication between the first and second conduits; a second opening providing fluid communication between the first and second conduits so that the first and second openings allow the air provided by the heater to circulate through the first and second conduits; a heat transfer wall part of the second conduit, the heat transfer wall configured to transfer heat from the flow of heated air in the second conduit to a space outside of the second conduit that is defined in part by the heat transfer wall; heat transfer fins for collecting heat from heated air in the second conduit, the heat transfer fins attached to the heat transfer wall extend into the second conduit; and two side supports connected to the heat transfer wall, the side supports located opposing each other and dimensioned and located along with the heat transfer wall to form three sides for guiding and encompassing a first side, an edge, and a second side of a side portion of a roll-up door when the roll-up door is closing and in a closed position.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Additional features, advantages, and aspects of the disclosure may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in, and constitute a part of, this specification, illustrate aspects of the disclosure and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. No attempt is made to show structural details of the disclosure in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosure and the various ways in which it may be practiced. In the drawings:
The aspects of the disclosure and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting aspects and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one aspect may be employed with other aspects as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the aspects of the disclosure. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the aspects of the disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and aspects herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The door 33 may be used to separate a cold space from an uncooled space, for example, in a warehouse having a room cooled to keep frozen foods. The door 33 rolls up and down to provide access to people and/or vehicles to the cold space.
A desirable trait for roll-up doors separating a cold space from a not cold space is that they can open and close quickly to reduce the amount of warm air that enters the cold space and reduce the amount of cold air that escapes from the cold space into the not cold space when the door is opened or closed. As such, these types of rollup doors tend to be relatively light weight and not rigid.
One of the purposes of the support columns 10 is to guide the door 33 as it moves up and down and, in some instances provide a seal (although the seal may still allow some air to still flow) around the door 33 to reduce an amount cold air from leaving the cold space and reduce the amount of warm air from leaking into the cold space. In some instances, frost and/or ice build-up on the door 33 and/or the support columns 10 can interfere with the guiding functions. To mitigate frost and/or ice, the support columns 10 are heated.
As shown in
The side column 10 defines a chamber, space, or area 24 in a door guide outside the air flow chambers 16 and 18 to be heated. The chamber 24 is bordered, at least in part, by the heated wall 22, plastic and/or fiberglass side supports 28 and the plastic angles 30. Other embodiments may use any suitable poor thermal conducting materials for the side supports 28 and/or angles 30. No fins 20 extend into the space 24 to be heated. The side supports 28 contain insulation 29. As a result, neither the side supports 28 nor plastic angles 30 transfer heat to the heated chamber 24. Rather, the heated chamber 24 receives heat from the heated wall 22 (also referred to as the heat transfer wall 22) via the heated wall's 22 contact with the warmed air in the second flow chamber 18 and from the heat fins 20. In fact, all, or nearly all, of the heat that is transferred from the heated air in the second conduit or channel 18 to the space 24 is transferred through the heat transfer wall 22.
The heat transferred from the warm air flow in the second conduit 18 transfers into the fins 20 then through the thermal paste and into the heated wall 22. The heat is transferred from the heated wall 22 into the chamber 24. Normally, sufficient heat is transferred from the heated wall 22 to the chamber 24 to maintain the air temperature in the chamber 24 above freezing (and in some instances, well above freezing). As a result, frost and/or ice is less likely to develop or persist on portions of the door 33 residing in the heated chamber 24.
For example, there are openings 17a and 17b between the first 16 and second 18 air flow chambers at the top and bottom of the first and second air flow chambers 16 and 18, Air flows through the openings 17a and 17b as indicated at arrows 19a and 19b. Air exits the heater 14 as a result of an internal fan in the heater 14 and flows across the first air flow chamber 16 and into the second air flow chamber 18 as shown by arrow 19c. It will be understood that other air flow patterns may be used in other embodiments and still be accordance with the present disclosure.
In accordance with the present disclosure, the openings 17a and 17b, along with other features of the air flow chambers 16 and 18 direct air flow thereby allowing the air to circulate through the fins 20 (see
If the air did not have a good pattern of circulation, heat transfer from the air to the fins 20 would be not as effective and would result in less heat being transferred from the fins 20 to the space 24 to be heated. In turn, this would result in less heat in the chamber or space 24 to be heated and possibly frost or ice build-up on the door 33 or columns 10.
The heater 14 may be typical resistance heater that draws in ambient air and/or air from the support column 10 and heats the air and circulates it with an internal fan. Other types of heaters 14 may also be used.
While the disclosure has been described in terms of exemplary aspects, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the appended claims. These examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, aspects, applications or modifications of the disclosure.
