EARLIEST PRIORITY DATE:

This Application claims priority from a Complete patent application filed in India having Patent Application No. 202141008909, filed on March 03, 2021 and titled “A TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED CONTAINER SYSTEM TO PRESERVE TEMPERATURE SENSITIVE ARTICLES”.

FIELD OF INVENTION

Embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a walk-in type ultra-low temperature room to store temperature-sensitive products at a predefined temperature range, and more particularly to, a temperature-controlled container system to preserve temperature- sensitive articles.

BACKGROUND

The safety and quality of temperature-sensitive articles such as medicines, food or the likes are important to be maintained. Hence, they should be stored in cold storage and temperature-controlled container to maintain quality and safety. If the temperature of these temperature-controlled articles is not carefully controlled, such articles lose their stability and potency, and may in fact present health hazards. The articles that are particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations may be stored within the storage regions of temperature-controlled containers in order to maintain the articles within a predetermined temperature range for extended periods. The loss of material in the article due to temperature deviations may also necessitate expensive re-stocking and associated delays. Furthermore, the convention system includes a temperature-controlled container which is used to maintain the interior storage region of the temperature-controlled container within a predetermined temperature range. Many available temperature- controlled containers, for example, are designed to hold an internal temperature around -20 degrees Centigrade, substantially lower than the temperature range between 2 degrees Centigrade and 8 degrees Centigrade required to preserve the efficacy of many common temperature sensitive articles. However, to have an infrastructure with ultra-low temperature with a range of -60°C to-80°C range within an established logistic system is difficult and currently not common. Hence, there is a need for an improved temperature-controlled container system to preserve temperature-sensitive articles to address the aforementioned issue(s).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a temperature-controlled container system to preserve temperature-sensitive articles is provided. The system includes a plurality of cooling chambers, where each of the plurality of cooling chambers are arranged in a predetermined pattern. The plurality of the cooling chamber is configured to preserve a predefined quantity of the temperature-sensitive articles at a first predefined range of ultra-low temperature. Each of the plurality of cooling chamber includes a first refrigeration unit configured to receive the first type of refrigerant and convert the first type of refrigerant to very low pressure and a low -temperature liquid to obtain the first predefined range of ultra-low temperature. The system includes a master cooling chamber that comprises a second refrigeration unit configured to accommodate and preserve the plurality of cooling chambers at a second predefined range of low temperature by absorbing heat rejected by the first refrigeration unit of each of the plurality of cooling chambers.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the disclosure will follow by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended figures. It is to be appreciated that these figures depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting in scope. The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the appended figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of a temperature-controlled container system to preserve a temperature-sensitive article in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the first refrigeration unit and the second refrigeration unit of each of the plurality of cooling chamber and the master cooling chamber respectively in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 is a block diagram representation of one embodiment of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a placement of a plurality of cooling chambers and normal palletized rack arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the figures by conventional symbols, and the figures may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the figures with details that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

DETAIFED DESCRIPTION For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the figures and specific language will be used to describe them. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the disclosure as would normally occur to those skilled in the art are to be construed as being within the scope of the present disclosure.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such a process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components preceded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices, sub-systems, elements, structures, components, additional devices, additional sub-systems, additional elements, additional structures or additional components. Appearances of the phrase "in an embodiment", "in another embodiment" and similar language throughout this specification may, but not necessarily do, all refer to the same embodiment.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are only illustrative and not intended to be limiting. In the following specification and the claims, reference will be made to a number of terms, which shall be defined to have the following meanings. The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a temperature-controlled container system to preserve a temperature-sensitive article. As used herein, the temperature- controlled chamber is designed for use within a refrigeration device. In some embodiments, a temperature-controlled chamber is of a size, shape and configuration for use within a commercial refrigerator device or within a medical refrigerator device. As used herein, a temperature- sensitive article is an article which requires a predefined range of temperature to maintain their stability and potency. In one embodiment, the temperature-sensitive articles may include medicines such as insulin, antibiotics, vaccines, and other serums or food or the like. The system provides an open cascade refrigeration system for existing cold chain logistics to create an ultra-low temperature facility with their existing infrastructure facility without going for any structural changes.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of a temperature-controlled container system (10) to preserve a temperature-sensitive article in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system (10) includes a plurality of cooling chambers (20). Each of the plurality of cooling chambers (20) are arranged in a predetermined pattern, where the predetermined pattern is determined based on the requirement or the design of the system. The plurality of cooling chamber (20) is configured to preserve a predefined quantity of the temperature-sensitive articles at a first predefined range of ultra-low temperature. The first predefined range of ultra-low temperature includes -60 degree Celsius to -80 degree Celsius. Each of the plurality of cooling chamber (20) includes a first refrigeration unit (30) configured to receive the first type of refrigerant and convert the first type of refrigerant to very low pressure and a low-temperature liquid to obtain the first predefined range of ultra-low temperature.

The system (10) includes a master cooling chamber (40) includes a second refrigeration unit (50) configured to accommodate and preserve the plurality of cooling chambers (20) at a second predefined range of low temperature by absorbing heat rejected by the first refrigeration unit (30) of each of the plurality of cooling chambers. In one embodiment, the second predefined range of low temperature includes -20 degree Celsius to -25 degree Celsius. More specifically, the container system (10) uses the cascade pattern to achieve the first predefined range of ultra-low temperature. In such an embodiment, the cascade pattern may a closed cascade system. In another embodiment, the cascade pattern may be an open cascade system. More precisely, the first refrigeration unit (30) of the plurality of cooling chambers (20) which uses refrigerant type ‘A’ exchanges heat with the second refrigeration unit (50) of the master cooling chamber (40) which uses refrigerant type ‘B’ using air as the media which may be described as an ‘open cascade system’. In a conventional system, the two refrigerants exchange heat using a closed cascade system, with the help of equipment such as a plate heat exchanger or a shell and a plate heat exchanger or similar equipment. Each of the plurality of cooling chambers (20) is a standalone walk-in freezer where -60 degree Celsius to -80 degree Celsius shall be maintained.

The master cooling chamber (40) is insulated well to attain -25°C to -20°C. If the insulation is good enough, additional refrigeration systems are used to remove the heat rejected by the plurality of cooling chambers. However, the system (10) should have sufficient power availability or should have the basic requirement to enhance the power requirement. The number of cooling chambers (20) in the master cooling chamber (40) may be decided based on the various technical parameters in the facility. Once loaded for storage the plurality of cooling chamber (20) should have a minimum door opening not only to avoid the temperature fluctuation but also the moisture ingression. In one embodiment, the first refrigeration unit (30) and the second refrigeration unit (50) are designed to have the least defrost cycle to avoid temperature fluctuations inside the plurality of cooling chambers (20). To reduce the moisture ingression by opening the man entry door a chute door is provided to handle the product /material/article in and out

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the first refrigeration unit (30) and the second refrigeration unit (50) of each of the plurality of cooling chamber (20) and the master cooling chamber (40) respectively in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first refrigeration unit (30) includes a compressor (60) configured to receive vapor at the first predefined range of ultra-low temperature such as -86 degree Celsius with adequate superheat which is compressed by the compressor (60) and is delivered to a cooled condenser (70) situated in at the second predefined range of the low temperature such as -20 degree Celsius to -25 degree Celsius to make the first type of refrigerant to condense at around -15 degree Celsius. The refrigerant at liquid state gets collected in a receiver (80). The first type of refrigerant flows from the receiver to an evaporator (90) through an expansion valve (100) which converts the first type of refrigerant to very low pressure and low-temperature liquid. The evaporator (90) absorbs heat from the plurality of the cooling chamber (20) and converts the refrigerant from liquid state to gases state which will go to the compressor (60). This circuit will ensure -70 degree Celsius to -80 degree Celsius in the chamber. Having -22 to -25 degree Celsius ambient conditions enable the system (10) to keep the insulation thickness to the normally available thickness of 1 0mm (Polyurethane foam panel) as per ambient conditions. The heat rejected by the first refrigeration unit (30) of each of the plurality of cooling chambers (20) is absorbed by the second refrigeration unit (50) of the master cooing chamber (40) which is run with the second type of refrigerant. The compressor (110) receives vapor at around -31 degree Celsius with adequate superheat which is compressed by the compressor (110) and is delivered to a cooled condenser (120) situated in a normal atmospheric temperature to make the second type of refrigerant to condense at around 35 to 55 degree Celsius depending on the condensing method. The refrigerant at liquid state gets collected in a receiver (130). The refrigerant will flow from the receiver to the evaporator (140) through the expansion valve (150) which converts the refrigerant to very low pressure and low-temperature liquid. The evaporator (140) absorbs heat from the master cooling chamber (40) and converts the refrigerant from liquid state to gases state which will go to the compressor (110).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram representation of one embodiment of the system (10) of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the container system (10) includes a remote temperature monitoring unit (155) which is configured to monitor the first predefined range of ultra-low temperature and the second predefined range of ultra-low temperature at a preset interval using one or more sensing elements (160). In such an embodiment, the one or more sensing elements (160) may include temperature sensors or the like. In detail, the temperature sensors coupled with each of the plurality of cooling chamber (20) and the master cooling chamber (40), continuously sense the temperature of the corresponding chambers and generates corresponding sensing signals. The sensing signals are transmitted to the remote temperature monitoring unit (155). In such an embodiment, the remote temperature monitoring unit (155) may include a laptop, computer, mobile phone, tablet or the like. In a specific embodiment, the system (10) includes a trolly (170) having a plurality of wheels (180). The trolly (170) is configured to mount the master cooling chamber (40) along with the plurality of the cooling chamber (20) for mobility on a floor. More specifically, the module is mounted with wheels for mobility on a floor. The plurality of cooling chambers may be moved to a designated location manually. In one exemplary embodiment, the overall external dimensions of each of the cooling chambers are L3930 x W1800 x H2860mm or any such suitable dimension as per the requirement, including the trolley and the equipment.

In some embodiments, the system (10) may include a supporting refrigeration chamber (190) coupled with the master cooling chamber (200). The supporting refrigeration chamber (190) is configured to compensate for heat load requirement when the master cooling chamber (40) unable to handle the heat load. In a specific embodiment, the system (10) may store the temperature-sensitive articles along with dry ice. One of the cooling chambers may be used to stock dry ice for an emergency situation. More specifically, if the master chamber is not capable of handling the heat load, the supporting refrigeration chamber is used to balance the heat load requirement. However, the facility should be capable of handling the additional electrical load. In one exemplary, one unit of cooling temperature is designed to accommodate 195,000 doses of medicine. This means a master chamber that may hold 8 cooling chambers may accommodate 15,60,000 dozes of the medicine and a particular facility that may accommodate 2 such master chambers may accommodate 31,20,000 dozes. However, when vaccines are allowed to store without the dry ice pack each such unit shall be capable to accommodate up to 900,000 doses and 8 such cooling chambers shall accommodate 7,200,000 vaccine doses. The number of cooling chambers in the master chamber shall be decided based on the various technical parameters in the facility. Example of the container system is shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a placement of a plurality of cooling chambers and normal palletized rack arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In a non-limiting example, the right side is represented for the conventional storage with racking and the left chamber shows the placement of the plurality of cooling chambers after the removal of racks. Also, the system depicts the addition of evaporator units in the chamber where the plurality of cooling chambers are placed.

Various embodiments of the temperature-controlled container system to preserve temperature-sensitive articles described above enables the plurality of cooling chambers which may use the existing cold chain logistic facility instead of building a totally new facility to suit -60°C/-80°C storage which will be time taking and expensive. Using the master chamber as the main anteroom for the cooling chambers enables to handle of temperature-sensitive articles in a -22/25 degree Celsius chamber. The room temperature to be maintained at -79/80 degree Celsius, just below the dry ice sublimation temperature of -78.5 degree Celsius so that the dry ice does not sublimate. The system provides a completely automated refrigeration unit with a remote temperature monitoring unit.

The system is easily accessible and stored at the floor height. No heavy insulation requirement for cooling chambers as it is kept at -22 degrees Celsius or below environment temperature. Multiple such modules may be stored in one chamber. Sufficient floor space and heat load handling capacity of the room are the deciding factors. With minor modifications, the same unit may be used as a -22 degree Celsius freezer in normal condition. The refrigeration system is designed to have the least defrost cycle to avoid temperature fluctuations inside the cooling chambers.

Such a system will also protect the product from thermal shock by not exposing the -60 to -80 Deg C product directly into a high ambient condition (for example +40Deg C), as the chamber door is opened to a -20 /- 25 Deg C ambient. The low temperature of the master chamber also helps in packing the products in dry ice boxes without much loss of dry ice.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the disclosure and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.

While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person skilled in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

The figures and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, the order of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts need to be necessarily performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples.