Patent Application
20200109004
The present invention generally relates to air-cooled heat exchangers, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an improved system for transporting parts used to assemble an air-cooled heat exchanger.
Air-cooled heat exchangers are used in a wide variety of industrial applications. A process fluid, either a gas or a liquid, is passed through a series of cooling tubes while air is mechanically passed over the exterior of the cooling tubes. The air absorbs heat from the cooling tubes, thereby lowering the temperature of the fluid within the tubes. The cooling tubes may include lateral or axial fins to aid in heat transfer.
Air-cooled heat exchangers employ large fans to force or draw air at ambient conditions through a plenum. The plenum directs the ambient air through the cooling tube assembly, which includes header boxes located on opposite sides of the plenum. In some applications, a series of adjustable louvers are positioned downstream and/or upstream from the cooling tubes to control the flow of air across the cooling tube assembly.
The fan is typically driven by an internal or external engine. The fan includes a central hub and a plurality of vanes extending from the hub. The hub is connected to a fan shaft that extends from the fan to a drive assembly. The drive assembly may include a series of intermediate shafts, sheaves and bearings that transfer torque from the engine to the fan shaft and fan. The fan is often constructed from relatively lightweight materials to improve the performance and efficiency of the air-cooled heat exchanger.
The fan is typically shipped from the manufacturer in a disassembled condition. The hub and vanes are often large and special handling is required to safely ship the components without damage. In the past, manufacturers have relied on traditional shipping practices by placing the vanes of the fan in single-use cardboard boxes with protective foam or other cushioned packing materials. The boxes are often palletized and shipped with the hub strapped to the outside of the cardboard boxes.
The existing shipping practices are undesirable for several reasons, including the lack of protection afforded the hub, the requirement for multiple boxes that must be tracked and shipped together, and the waste created by the boxes and protective shipping materials. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved shipping system for transporting the fan and other components of large air-cooled heat exchangers. The presently preferred embodiments are directed to these and other deficiencies in the prior art.
Referring to
The transport container 100 generally includes a body 102 and a lid 104. The body 102 has a front 106, back 108, right side 110, left side 112 and floor 114. The lid 104 is sized and configured to rest securely on the top surfaces of the body 102. Unless otherwise indicated, the various parts of the transport container 100 can be constructed from a durable plastic that is resistant to moisture. Suitable materials of construction include high density polyethylene and reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastics that can be molded, extruded or otherwise formed into the component parts of the transport container 100.
The body 102 includes a plurality of feet 116 that are configured to support the body 102 on a surface or on another transport container 100. The body 102 also includes a plurality of tabs 118 that extend above the upper surface of the front 106, back 108, right side 110 and left side 112. The tabs 118 are configured to be received within corresponding lower recesses 120 on the underside of the lid 104. The engagement between the tabs 118 and the lower recesses 120 help align and secure the lid 104 to the body 102. The lid 104 optionally includes a plurality of upper recesses 122 on the top of the lid 104 that are sized and positioned to receive the feet 116 of a transport container 100 when two transport containers 100 are vertically stacked.
The feet 116 and floor 114 are configured to define fork channels 124 within the body 102. The fork channels 124 are sized and configured to facilitate lifting the transport container 100 with a standard forklift. As noted in
In the embodiment depicted in
Turning to
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The transport container 100 presents a substantial improvement over conventional methods of storing and transporting parts for an air-cooled heat exchanger. The transport container 100 is reusable, durable, weather resistant and suitable for long-term storage of fan components. It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and functions of various embodiments of the invention, this disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of structure and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms expressed herein. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the teachings of the present invention can be applied to other systems without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/740,923, filed Oct. 3, 2018, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62740923 | Oct 2018 | US |
