Gortani, Gian Paolo (Via Città Di Noale, 9/c, Arta Terme, I-33022, IT)
| 1. | Vehicle for transporting loose fruits, such as grapes, berries, blueberries, strawberries or suchlike, comprising a containing tank (22) able to contain said loose fruits, and cooling means able to cool said containing tank (22), characterized in that said containing tank (22) is hermetically closed on the perimeter and on the bottom so as to contain the liquid produced by said fruit, either juice or must, and in that said cooling means comprises one or more cooling plates (16, 17) disposed at least on the lower part of said containing tank (22) and in which a cryovector liquid is able to circulate, in order to cool by means of heat convection said liquid and consequently the remaining part of said fruit. |
| 2. | Vehicle as in claim 1, characterized in that said containing tank (22) is flared towards the bottom so as to convey said liquid downwards. |
| 3. | Vehicle as in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said containing tank (22) is open in its upper part. |
| 4. | Vehicle as in claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that said cooling means also comprises a refrigeration unit ( 15 ) connected to said cooling plates (16, 17). |
| 5. | Vehicle as in claim 4, characterized in that said refrigeration unit (15) comprises a first cooling circuit (23) in which a first cooling gas, cooled by condenser means (26), is able to flow, and a second cooling circuit (25), connected to said cooling plates (16, 17), in which said cryovector liquid is able to flow, cooled by means of heat exchange with said cooling gas. |
| 6. | Vehicle as in claim 5, characterized in that said cooling gas comprises R404A. |
| 7. | Vehicle as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said cryovector liquid comprises glycol. |
| 8. | Vehicle as in claim 7 , characterized in that said glycol is mixed with water. |
| 9. | Vehicle as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that each of said cooling plates (16, 17) comprises an interspace (24) inside which said cryovector liquid is able to flow. |
| 10. | Vehicle as in claim 9, characterized in that each of said cooling plates (16, 17) is made by means of two sheets (50, 51), reciprocally welded by means of a plurality of welding points (53) and distanced from each other so as to define said interspace (24). |
| 11. | Vehicle as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said containing tank (22) is defined, on the perimeter and on the bottom, by a plurality of walls (19, 20, 21). |
| 12. | Vehicle as in claim 11, characterized in that at least a first cooling plate (16) of said cooling plates is mounted on a respective wall (19, 20, 21) with respect to which it is substantially parallel and adjacent. |
| 13. | Vehicle as in claim 12, characterized in that said first cooling plate (16) is mounted facing towards the inside of said containing tank (22). |
| 14. | Vehicle as in claim 12 or 13, characterized in that at least a second cooling plate (17) of said cooling plates is disposed in said containing tank (22) inclined with respect to at least one of said walls (19, 20) so as to divide said containing tank (22) into two or more compartments. |
| 15. | Vehicle as in claim 14, characterized in that said compartments are communicating with each other at the lower part, so as to increase heat convection. |
| 16. | Vehicle as in any claim from 11 to 15, characterized in that said lateral walls comprise two flank walls (19), disposed substantially parallel to each other and converging downwards, and two head walls (20) attached to the ends of the flank walls (19). |
| 17. | Vehicle as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it further comprises a frame (11) provided with at least a forkshaped support (18), on which said containing tank is pivoted, so that said containing tank is selectively rotatable between a transport position, in which said fruit is maintained inside said containing tank, and a discharge position, in which said containing tank facilitates the operations to unload said fruit. |
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns a vehicle used for transporting loose fruits at controlled temperature, particularly juicy fruit such- ,as for example berries, blueberries, strawberries, grapes or similar fruit. A particular application of the present invention is for the transportation of the just harvested grapes from the vine to the cellar where the wine-making processes take place.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A vehicle is known, such as a cart or suchlike, provided with a container, used for example to transport a determinate quantity of grapes from the vine to the cellar where they are transformed into wine.
When the grapes are loaded into and transported in the container, part of the grapes break due to accidental shaking, producing a liquid, called the must, the fermentation of which starts the production of the wine. Due to the rather high environmental temperatures of the period when the grape harvest usually takes place, the must begins a partial process of fermentation when it is still inside the container, but this causes a lowering of the quality of the wine produced. To overcome this disadvantage, it is known to distribute a determinate quantity of dry ice on the grapes contained in the container.
However, dry ice has a temperature of about -4O 0 C, and burns the skins and pulp of the grapes, consequently altering the final quality of the wine, particularly wine denominated white wine.
Moreover, if the transportation takes a long time, the dry ice tends to lose its cooling effect on the grapes
quickly and progressively, frequently making it necessary to distribute the ice again, with a consequent limitation of the hourly production.
A vehicle is also known for the transportation and storage of substantially any type of goods, provided with a container formed by an outer shell and an inner shell, defining an inner cavity where the goods can be loaded. The two shells are disposed one above the other and are distanced from each other so as to define a passage inside which a plurality of pipes are disposed, connected to a conditioning device which keeps the temperature of the air inside the cavity at a desired value. This known vehicle is also provided with an insulated and removable cover so as to close the cavity at the upper part and to insulate it from the outside environment.
The cover, however, must be removed during the operations to load the fruit, which can last as much as several hours. Consequently, the heat conditioning effects in the cavity are reduced or cancelled, thus frustrating the heat treatment of the fruit present inside.
Moreover, the known vehicle has a door on one side, selectively opening so as to allow the unloading of the goods contained in the cavity. However, due to the presence of the door, the cavity is not airtight, and is therefore unsuitable for the transport of liquids, for example the liquids produced by the fruit disposed inside it.
One purpose of the present invention is to achieve a" vehicle for transporting loose fruits, for example berries, blueberries, strawberries grapes or similar fruit, which allows to keep the fruit inside the container at a determinate temperature in a simple and effective manner and for a substantially unlimited time, for example in order to prevent even the partial starting of the
fermentation process of the must during transport, and which does not have the disadvantages of known vehicles.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages .
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is set forth and characterized in the main claim, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the invention or variants to the main inventive idea.
In accordance with the above purpose, a vehicle according to the present invention is able to be used to transport loose fruits, for example grapes, berries, blueberries, strawberries or similar fruit.
The vehicle according to the present invention comprises a containing tank able to contain the fruit, and cooling means able to cool the containing tank.
According to a characteristic feature of the present invention, the containing tank is hermetically closed around the perimeter and on the bottom, so as to contain in an airtight manner the liquid produced by the fruit, for example the juice or must.
The containing tank is also, for example, open in its upper part and is flared downwards so as to contain the liquid produced by the fruit and to convey it towards the bottom.
The cooling means also comprises one or more cooling plates disposed at least on the lower part of the containing tank and in which a cryovector liquid is able to circulate.
The cooling plates are able to cool, by means of heat convection, the liquid, for example the grape must, which
acts as a heat vector, cooling in turn by means of heat convection the remaining part of the fruit, for example the grapes .
Normally, in the case of grapes, the liquid present in the containing tank is in the range of 20% of the overall volume of the grapes introduced into the tank.
Moreover, according to the present invention, although the containing tank is open at the top, and consequently the upper layer of fruit is in direct contact with the outside environment, all the fruit, including the upper layer, are kept cool by means of convection.
In fact, the cold lower air, which has greater density and therefore greater weight than the warm upper air, in combination with the covering action performed by the fruit above, contributes to maintain the fruit, even in the upper layers, substantially at the same temperature or at most with a difference of about 2-3°C between the lower part and the upper part.
In this way, the even partial beginning of the process of fermentation of the must is prevented during the transport. In a preferential form of embodiment, the cooling means comprise a refrigeration unit, for example using a commandable plant that exploits a heat exchange between a cooling gas and the cryovector fluid. The refrigeration unit is connected to the cooling plates, each of which comprises an interspace inside which the cryovector liquid flows, cooled by the refrigeration unit.
The cooling plates are cooled to a desired temperature of about 5 0 C, to guarantee that the fruit is maintained in optimum conditions, that is, with no risk that the skin or pulp is burnt, or that the fermentation step is even partly started. The fruit is thus kept at a temperature of about
10-15 0 C .
According to one embodiment of the invention, the containing tank is defined around the perimeter and on the bottom by a plurality of walls. To be more exact, according to the size and shape, the cooling plates can be disposed transversely to one or more lateral walls of the containing tank, so as to divide the tank into two or more compartments. The plates are mounted in such a manner that their lower edge is raised with respect to the bottom of the containing tank, rendering the compartments communicating with each other at the lower part, so that the tank is not divided into airtight compartments .
The cooling plates can also be disposed substantially parallel and adjacent to the lateral walls or to a bottom wall of the containing tank, and are mounted facing towards the inside of the tank.
Advantageously, the cooling plates mounted transversely to the lateral profile of the containing tank are disposed substantially orthogonal to the direction of advance of the vehicle, so that during the transport they also function as breakers at least for the liquid of the fruit.
In this way, the vehicle according to the invention allows to keep the fruit inside the containing tank at a determinate temperature, simply acting on the refrigeration unit and providing a desired disposition of the cooling plates.
Moreover, with the present invention it is possible to keep the fruit at the determinate temperature for a substantially unlimited time.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a
preferential form of embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example with reference to the attached drawings wherein:
- fig. 1 is a schematic plane view of a vehicle for transporting fruit according to the present invention;
- fig. 2 is a lateral view of the vehicle in fig. 1;
- fig. 3 shows a functioning diagram of the cooling means of the vehicle in fig. 1;
- figs. 4a and 4b show two views from IV of the vehicle in fig. 1 in two distinct operating conditions;
- fig. 5 shows a lateral section of a cooling plate of the vehicle in fig. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERENTIAL FORM OF EMBODIMENT With reference to figs. 1 and 2, a vehicle 10 according to the present invention is used to transport at controlled temperature a determinate quantity of fruit, in particular harvested grapes from the vine to the wine-making cellar.
The vehicle 10 substantially comprises a frame 11, with a rectangular base, provided laterally with wheels 12, and able to be constrained in a traditional manner to a means of traction, such as for example an agricultural tractor not shown in the drawings .
Mounted on the frame 11 there is a container 13, in which the harvested grapes are able to be disposed, and a refrigeration unit 15 which feeds with a cooling liquid, for example glycol, two lateral cooling plates 16 and four cooling plates 17, disposed in contact with the grapes to be transported.
The container 13 substantially comprises four lateral walls 19 and 20 connected orthogonally with each other to the respective ends and a bottom wall 21 connected in sealed manner with the lower edges of the lateral walls 19 and 20, to define therewith a containing compartment 22, or
containing tank, in which the grapes to be transported and the cooling plates 16 and 17 are disposed.
To be more exact, two of the lateral walls, or flanks 19, are disposed along the length of the frame 11, substantially parallel to each other and converging downwards, while the other two lateral walls, or fronts 20, are trapezoid in shape, substantially vertical and are shorter than the flanks 19.
It is clear that the shape of the front walls 20 can be other than trapezoid.
In this case, as shown in figs. 4a and 4b, the frame 11 comprises, outside every front wall 20, a fork-shaped support 18 at the ends of which the container 13 is pivoted, so that the latter can be selectively rotated, by means of any known movement device, between a transport position (fig. 4a) in which it maintains the harvested grapes inside it, and a discharge position (fig. 4b), tilted by about 90° with respect to the transport position, in which it facilitates the operations of unloading the grapes.
The refrigeration unit 15 (fig. 3) in this case consists of a first cooling circuit 23 in which a cooling fluid flows, for example a gas such as R404A or suchlike, and a second cooling circuit 25, connected to the cooling plates 16 and 17, in which a cryovector fluid flows, for example a liquid such as alimentary glycol mixed with water, cooled by means of heat exchange with the cooling fluid.
To be more exact, the first cooling circuit 23 substantially comprises a condenser 26 governed by two ventilators 27, an accumulation receiver 29, a filter 30, a compressor 33, and an opening valve 31 which prevents migrations of cooling fluid into the compressor 33 when the latter is inactive. All these components of the first
cooling circuit 23 are connected to each other by means of a first pipe 35 in which the cooling fluid flows.
Moreover, the first circuit 23 comprises a thermostatic valve 43 which detects the temperature and pressure of the cooling fluid at outlet from the fist exchange semi-plate
32 and, according to the values detected, regulates the temperature and pressure of the cooling fluid at inlet in order to optimize the heat exchange between the two fluids.
The second circuit 25 substantially comprises a second exchange semi-plate 36 adjacent to the first 32, an accumulation tank 37 and a pump 39, all connected cyclically to each other by a second pipe 40 in which the cryovector fluid flows. Advantageously, the second pipe 40 is of the flexible type, so as to allow an easy rotation of the container 13 in its above-mentioned transport and unloading positions.
Moreover, the second circuit 25 comprises a plurality of connecting diverters 41 which allow to distribute the cryovector fluid in the cooling plates 16 and 17. Both the first circuit 23 and the second circuit 25 comprise a plurality of control components such as pressure switches 42, flow switches 45 or others, of a substantially known type, which send relative signals to a control unit 46 with a PLC which, according to the signals received, regulates the functioning parameters of the refrigeration unit 15, in order to optimize the performance of heat exchange between the two fluids and between the cooling plates 16, 17 and the grapes contained in the container 13.
To be more exact, each cooling plate 16 and 17 has an inner space 24 (fig. 5), in which the cryovector fluid flows after the heat exchange with the cooling fluid.
The lateral cooling plates 16 are made by means of two metal sheets, respectively a first sheet 50, plane, able to
be disposed in contact with the grapes, and a second sheet 51, plastically deformed and disposed in contact with a heat insulator 52. The two sheets 50, 51 are welded together with respect to a plurality of welding points 53, and are distanced from each other so as to define the interspace 24, achieving a hydraulic circuit substantially of a honeycomb type, in which the welding points 53 are located alternately, thus encouraging heat exchange.
According to a solution that is not shown here, the cooling plates 17 are made by means of two sheets able to be disposed in contact with the grapes, deformed plastically, welded to each other with respect to a plurality of welding points and distanced from each other so as to define the interspace 24, thus encouraging heat exchange.
The cooling plates 16 and 17 are disposed transversely to the lateral walls 19, between the front walls 20, and are distanced from each other in a substantially uniform manner, so as to define a plurality of sectors, or compartments, to contain the grapes, communicating with each other in the lower part so as to keep the grapes more effectively at a determinate temperature which varies form about 20 0 C to about 24°C.
Moreover, during the transport, the cooling plates 17 also function as breakers for the grapes disposed inside the container 13, since they are substantially orthogonal to the possible direction of movement of the vehicle 10.
It is clear that the cooling plates 17 can also be disposed not uniformly distanced with respect to each other, and that they can be disposed inclined, for example longitudinally, with respect to the lateral walls 19. The refrigeration unit 15 functions as follows. The cooling fluid is pumped by the compressor 33 into the
- io -
condenser 26 where, thanks to the action of the ventilators 27, the cooling fluid is cooled by about 7 0 C. The cooling fluid thus cooled is introduced into the accumulation receiver 29 and made to continue, through the filter 30 and the opening valve 31, towards the first exchanger semi- plate 32.
At this point the cooling fluid that flows in the first exchanger semi-plate 32 gives up units of refrigeration to the cryovector fluid, which passes in counter-flow in the adjacent second exchanger semi-plate 36 due to the effect of the pump 39.
The cryovector fluid thus cooled is distributed, by means of the connecting diverters 41, in the cooling plates 16 and 17, in order to maintain the grapes at the determinate temperature.
The cryovector fluid at outlet from the cooling plates is introduced into an accumulation tank 37 in which the possible air bubbles that form in the heat exchange with the grapes are automatically vented. The vehicle 10 also comprises a generator 47, installed at the front of the container 13, which supplies the current necessary for their functioning to the electric components of the vehicle 10.
It is not excluded that, near fixed feed sources, for example during the unloading of the grapes which takes place in the cellar, the generator 47 can be excluded and the electric components can be fed directly from the mains supply.
It is clear that modifications, for example relating to the geometric shapes, and/or additions of parts may be made to the vehicle 10 as described heretofore, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to a variant, another cooling plate may be
provided, disposed inside the containing compartment 22 on the bottom wall 21.
It also comes within the scope of the present invention to provide that the electric feed of the vehicle 10, instead of by means of the generator 47, can be effected by means of transformation devices connected to the tractor.
According to another variant of the present invention, above the container 13 a cover element may be provided, consisting for example of a canvas, which allows to protect the fruit, particularly grapes, from the rays of the sun.
It is also clear that, although the present invention has been described with reference to some specific examples, a person of skill in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of vehicle for transporting loose fruits, having the characteristics as set forth in the claims and hence all coming within the field of protection defined thereby.
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