Patent Application
20100132916
This invention is directed generally to the heating of materials transported in liquid form in tanker trailers, and particularly, to a heating apparatus that is operable to provide supplemental heat to the liquid material within the tanker trailer to maintain the temperature of the material within a preferred range.
Transporting certain materials, such as chocolate, require that the material be maintained in a liquid form so that the material can be discharged from the tanker for delivery thereof. Presently, the liquid material is maintained within the desired temperature range by coupling a heat exchanger within the tanker to the engine coolant system of truck pulling the tanker trailer. Heat is then diverted from the engine into the heat exchanger to maintain the desired temperature.
Regulations require long distance truckers to rest for prescribed periods during which the truck engine is continued to run so that the heating of the liquid material within the tanker trailer can be maintained. Such continued operation of the truck engine while the truck is not moving along the highway is expensive and wasteful in terms of fuel expended and extended maintenance of the engine, and is environmentally unfriendly. Furthermore, some governmental entities, including municipalities, counties and states, are adopting legislation that will limit the length of time that a truck can be idled while the operator is resting. While such legislation is intended to reduce vehicle emissions, the engine can no longer generate heat to maintain the temperature of the temperature-sensitive food products.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a heating apparatus that can be utilized to provide supplemental heat to the tanker trailer while the truck engine is shut down. It would also be desirable to provide a heating apparatus that will be operable to maintain the desired temperature of temperature-sensitive food products or other liquid materials in a manner that is less costly than continuing the idled operation of the truck engine while the truck is not being moved along the highway.
It is an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a supplemental heating apparatus to supply heat energy to a heat exchanger within a tanker trailer when the heat exchanger is not capable of obtaining heat energy from the truck.
It is another object of this invention to provide a supplemental heating apparatus that is selectively operable to provide heat energy to a heat exchanger in a tanker trailer to maintain the desired temperature of material carried within the tanker trailer.
It is a feature of this invention that the supplemental heating apparatus can be activated when the truck engine is turned off and can no longer provide a source of heat energy for the tanker trailer.
It is an advantage of this invention that the operation of the supplemental heating apparatus is substantially less expensive and more environmentally friendly than continuing the operation of the truck engine to supply heat energy for the tanker trailer while the truck and tanker trailer are not being moved across the highway.
It is another feature of this invention that the control system for the supplemental heating apparatus periodically samples the coolant circulated from the heat exchanger to determine if the material within the tanker trailer has cooled to a predetermined temperature.
It is still another feature of this invention that the control system will activate a heating cycle when the control system senses a temperature in said coolant below the predetermined temperature.
It is another advantage of this invention that the control system utilizes a predetermined delay before sensing the temperature of the coolant being circulated by the supplemental heating apparatus.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a supplemental heating apparatus that utilizes the fuel and electrical energy from supplies thereof carried by said truck.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a supplemental heating apparatus that would be operable to provide a source of heating energy while the truck is circulating heated coolant to the heat exchanger within the tanker trailer.
It is still another feature of this invention that the control system goes through a test cycle irrespective of whether the burner assembly is being operated to provide heat energy to be transferred to the heat exchanger.
It is yet another feature of this invention that the control system activates a heating cycle when the temperature of the material in the tanker trailer drops below a predetermined threshold.
It is still another advantage of this invention that the test cycle continues to operate on its predetermined frequency even when the heating cycle has been activated.
It is yet another advantage of this invention that the test cycle incorporates a predetermined delay in checking the temperature of the coolant being circulated into the supplemental heating apparatus to obtain a reading of the temperature of the material within the tanker trailer.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a supplemental heating apparatus, and a method of operating the supplemental heating apparatus, to provide heat energy to a the contents of a tanker trailer, which is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use.
These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a supplemental heating apparatus for use in conjunction with the coolant system of a truck engine to provide a supplemental source of heat energy to the heat exchanger within a tanker trailer. The supplemental heating apparatus is activated when the truck engine is shut-off. The control system undertakes a testing cycle in which a circulator pulls coolant out of the tanker trailer and the temperature of the coolant is sensed after a delay of time so that the coolant from within the heat exchanger is tested. The burner draws fuel from the truck's fuel tanks to provide heat energy when the sensed temperature is below a threshold. The coolant is circulated between the boiler associated with the burner and the heat exchanger until the return coolant is raised above a second threshold. The testing cycle continues through a loop of a predetermined duration independent of the activation of the heating cycle.
The advantages of this invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Referring to the drawings, a transport heating apparatus incorporating the principles of the instant invention can best be seen. The truck 10 is conventionally operable to pull a tanker trailer 15 that is filled with a temperature-sensitive material, such as chocolate. The conventional heating system for the tanker trailer 15 utilizes a heat exchanger 16 within the tanker trailer 15 that is coupled in flow communication with the coolant system for the engine 12 via conduits 18, 19 that circulate engine coolant from the engine 12 to the heat exchanger 16 and return to the engine 12 while the engine 12 is operating. A valve (not shown) is operable to circulate the engine coolant when the temperature of the material within the tanker trailer 15 drops below a predefined threshold, or in a manual configuration when the operator feels additional heat is needed in the tanker trailer.
As best seen in
The components of the transport heating apparatus 20 are best seen in
The burner 25 has a boiler 28 that is connected to a coolant supply line 29 and a coolant return line 29a that is coupled in flow communication with the conduits 18, 19, respectively, to draw engine coolant from the coolant return conduit 19 via the coolant supply line 29 into the boiler 28 to be heated and then returned to the coolant supply conduit 18 for delivery to the heat exchanger 16 in the tanker trailer 15. In this manner, the heat energy created by the transport heating apparatus 20 can be used to supplement the heat provided by the operating engine, or to maintain the desired temperature of the material in the trailer while the engine 12 is not operating.
The controls for the operation of the transport heating apparatus 20 are shown in
The control mechanism 30 includes a circulator 32 that is electrically powered and operable to circulate engine coolant from the coolant return conduit 19 through the coolant supply line 29 into the boiler 28 to be heated by the heat energy created from the burning of fuel therein, and returned to the coolant supply conduit 18 via the coolant return line 29a. The control mechanism also includes a temperature switch 33, a relay 34 a cycle timer 35 and a delay timer 36, all coupled electrically to the circulator 32 and to the burner 25 to control the operation thereof, as is described in greater detail below and shown in the logic flow diagram of
As shown in
As noted in step 43, the delay timer 36 runs through its cycle while the circulator 32 moves coolant from the heat exchanger 16 through the transport heating apparatus 20. Since there is no heat energy being supplied by the engine 12 to the heat exchanger 16, the liquid material within the tanker trailer 15 acts as a heat sink that equalizes the temperature of the coolant within the heat exchanger 16 with the temperature of the liquid material within the tanker 15. The operation of the delay timer 36 allows this coolant that was inside the tanker 15 to reach the transport heating apparatus 20, as compared to the coolant that was within the coolant return conduit 19 which was exposed to the environment outside of the tanker trailer 15 and would, therefore, likely have a cooler temperature than the coolant from within the heat exchanger 16, particularly if the ambient temperature is significantly cold.
The length of the delay required by the delay timer 36 is programmable through dip switches 38 accessible at the top of the delay timer 36. Preferably, the length of the delay is about a minute, but in practice depends on the circulation rate of the circulator 32 and the volume of coolant between the heat exchanger 16 and the transport heating apparatus 20. The operation of the delay timer 36 is to allow sufficient time for coolant from within the heat exchanger 16 to reach the transport heating apparatus 20. At step 44, the delay timer 36 reaches the end of the delay cycle and activates the temperature switch 33 at step 45 to ascertain the temperature of the coolant that is now passing through the transport heating apparatus 20.
At step 46, the temperature switch 33 compares the sensed temperature of the coolant with a present temperature parameter. If the sensed temperature is above the preset temperature parameter, then the cycle timer 35 turns off the circulator 32 at step 47 for a period of time determined by the settings of dip switches 39 accessible at the cycle timer 35 to adjust the timing of the cycle. The cycle timer 35 then cycles through the pre-established period of time at step 48 before starting the “on” sequence again at step 42. The operation of the cycle timer 35 shuts down the circulator which has a substantial draw of electrical current from the battery 11. Therefore, the cycle timer 35 saves electrical energy for use by the control mechanism 30 when the application of heat energy to the liquid material within the tanker 15 is required.
The circulation of the coolant from the heat exchanger 16 into the transport heating apparatus 20 draws colder coolant from the coolant supply line 18 into the heat exchanger 16. However, the heat sink that is the liquid material is sufficient to warm the new coolant to the same temperature as the liquid material within the tanker 15 during the period of time corresponding to the “off” sequence of the cycle timer 35. Eventually, the period established by the cycle timer 35 expires and the cycle timer 35 goes into the “on” cycle at step 42 and once again activates the circulator 32 to bring coolant from the heat exchanger 16 into the transport heating apparatus 20. The delay timer 36 allows the temperature switch 33 to delay sensing the temperature of the coolant when sufficient time has expired to allow the coolant from within the heat exchanger 16 to reach the temperature switch 33.
Again, the temperature switch 33 compares the sensed temperature with the preset temperature parameter at step 46 and moves the cycle timer 35 to the “off” sequence at step 47 if the sensed temperature is above the preset temperature parameter. The cycle continues through this testing loop 40 established by the cycle timer 35 until the temperature of the coolant passing through the temperature switch 33 drops below the preset temperature parameter at step 46 and the controls pass into the heating loop 50.
At step 51, the delay timer 35 activates the operating relay 34 which assumes control of the power through the transport heating apparatus 20 and allows the cycle timer 35 to move into the “off” sequence at step 47. At step 52, the operating relay 34 and the temperature switch 33 activate the burner 25, which then goes through the start cycle and fires heat energy into the boiler 28 at step 53. Meanwhile, the circulator 32 continues to circulate coolant between the heat exchanger 16 and the transport heating apparatus 20. The temperature switch 33 reads the temperature of the coolant coming into the transport heating apparatus 20 through the coolant supply line 29 at step 54 before being heated from the boiler 28 and decides at step 55 whether the temperature of the coolant, and therefore, the approximate temperature of the liquid material in the tanker 15 is above or below a pre-established temperature parameter, which is preferably at a higher level than the first temperature parameter used at step 46, though could be the same temperature parameter.
If the sensed temperature is above the preset temperature parameter, the temperature switch 33 turns off the operating relay 34 at step 56, causing the burner 25 to go through its shut-down cycle and stop producing heat energy. On the other hand, if the sensed temperature is still lower than the preset temperature parameter at step 55, the burner 25 is allowed to continue operating, transferring heat energy to the coolant in the boiler 28 which is circulated to the heat exchanger 16 to continue to warm the liquid material within the tanker trailer 15. As long as the heating cycle 50 continues, the operation of the transport heating apparatus 20 is within the control of the relay 34; however, the cycle timer 35 continues to operate through its preset cycle. When the cycle timer 35 initiates the “on” sequence at step 42, the circulator 32 is already operating and the relay 34 is already activated and the operation of the cycle timer 35 is of no consequence. Nevertheless, the cycle timer 35 continues through the testing loop 40 so long as electrical power is being supplied to the control mechanism 30 at step 41.
When the sensed temperature is greater than the preset temperature parameter at step 55 and the burner 25 shuts down, the control of the transport heating apparatus 20 is returned to the cycle timer 35 within the testing loop 40. Assuming that the heating loop 50 shuts down when the cycle timer 35 is in mid-cycle, the “on” sequence at step 41 is undertaken in less time than a complete predetermined period for the cycle timer 35, but the temperature of the coolant sensed at step 45 should substantially always be greater than the first preset temperature parameter and the cycle timer 35 will go through a complete cycle through the testing loop 40.
One skilled in the art will note that the transport heating apparatus 20 obtains fuel from the truck's fuel tanks 14 through the fuel line 26 and receives electrical power from the battery 11 carried by the truck 10 through the electrical connector 31. Thus, the transport heating apparatus 20 is operable from the power and fuel supplies of the truck 10 even when the engine 12 of the truck 10 is shut down. Such an operation is beneficial in reducing vehicle emissions since the liquid material within the tanker trailer 15 can be kept at a desired temperature without requiring the engine 12 to be running. Furthermore, since the engine 12 is not running continuously to provide heat to maintain the temperature of the temperature-sensitive material, the desired temperature can be maintained with only about one-third of the fuel the truck 10 would have expended while continuously operating just to maintain the desired temperature.
By turning on the power switch for the transport heating apparatus 20 while the truck 10 and tanker trailer 15 are moving along the highway, the transport heating apparatus 20 can be used to supplement the heat energy provided by the operation of the truck engine 12. This supplemental operation of the transport heating apparatus 20 is particularly useful when temperature-sensitive food materials are being shipped by tanker truck 10 during really cold ambient temperatures. In such an operation, the engine heat is being transferred via normal operation of the coolant supply and return conduits 18, 19 interconnected the engine 12 and the heat exchanger 16, but the engine cannot generate sufficient amounts of heat to keep the temperature-sensitive materials within the desired temperature range.
Therefore, when the cycle timer 35 initiates the “on” sequence, as is noted above, at step 42, the sensed temperature at step 45 of the coolant coming from the heat exchanger 16 through the return conduit 19 will be below the desired preset temperature as determined at step 46. The relay 34 starts the circulator 32 running to draw the flow of coolant from the coolant return conduit 19 and returns the heated coolant back to the coolant supply conduit 18, short-circuiting the primary heating loop between the heat exchanger 16 and the engine 12.
It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.
This application claims domestic priority on U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/118,507, filed on Nov. 28, 2008, and entitled “Transport Heater for Tanker Trailers”, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61118507 | Nov 2008 | US |
