# US 11,079,158 B2 · Method of stacking refrigerated shipping containers > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,079,158 B2 - Document ID: US11079158B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/338,484 - Filed: 2017-10-09 - Published: 2019-08-01 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2016-10-10 - Assignees: Carrier Corporation - Applicants: Carrier Corporation - Inventors: Dong Luo; Veronica Adetola; David W. Gerlach; Hayden M. Reeve; Craig R. Walker; Lucy Yi Liu - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11079158B2 ## CPC - F25D 11/003: {Transport containers} - B65D 88/74: having means for heating, cooling, aerating or other conditioning of contents - B65D 88/745: {blowing or injecting heating, cooling or other conditioning fluid inside the container} - B65G 1/137: with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed - B65G 57/03: from above - F25D 3/06: Movable containers - B65G 2201/0235: Containers - B65G 2203/045: Thermic - F25D 23/003: {for cooling refrigerating machinery} - F25D 2400/32: Removal, transportation or shipping of refrigerating devices from one location to another - F25D 2500/02: Geometry problems - F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B) - B65D: CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES - B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D) ## Abstract Method of stacking refrigerated shipping containers (10) including categorizing a plurality of refrigerated shipping containers (10) as a low temperature container (L) or a high temperature container (H), each of the refrigerated shipping containers (10) having a condenser (16). The method also includes disposing the plurality of refrigerated shipping containers (10) relative to each other based on the temperature categorization of the refrigerated shipping containers (10). ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of stacking refrigerated shipping containers comprising: categorizing a plurality of refrigerated shipping containers as a low temperature container or a high temperature container, wherein a high temperature container is maintained at a temperature greater than a maintained temperature of a low temperature container, each of the refrigerated shipping containers having a condenser; determining a dominant wind direction of ambient air surrounding the refrigerated shipping containers; and physically disposing the plurality of refrigerated shipping containers relative to each other based on the temperature categorization of the refrigerated shipping containers such that there is recirculation of condenser air from the low temperature container to the high temperature container. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the refrigerated shipping containers categorized as high temperature containers are disposed on top of the refrigerated shipping containers categorized as low temperature containers if no dominant wind direction is determined. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the refrigerated shipping containers categorized as high temperature containers are disposed on top of the refrigerated shipping containers categorized as low temperature containers if no dominant wind direction is known. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising disposing at least one refrigerated shipping container that operates under continuous refrigeration on top of the refrigerated shipping containers categorized as high temperature containers if no dominant wind direction is determined or if no dominant wind direction is known. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the refrigerated shipping containers categorized as high temperature containers are disposed downwind of the refrigerated shipping containers categorized as low temperature containers based on the dominant wind direction determined. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, further comprising disposing at least one refrigerated shipping container that operates under continuous refrigeration down wind of the refrigerated shipping containers categorized as high temperature containers based on the dominant wind direction determined. ### Claim 7 A method of stacking refrigerated shipping containers comprising: determining a flow profile of heated air exhausted from a plurality of condensers of a plurality of refrigerated shipping containers; and disposing the plurality of refrigerated shipping containers relative to each other based on the locations of the plurality of condensers such that there is recirculation of condenser air from a low temperature container to a high temperature container, wherein the high temperature container is maintained at a temperature greater than a maintained temperature of the low temperature container. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein disposing the refrigerated shipping containers comprises avoiding disposing two condensers in adjacent rows. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein disposing the refrigerated shipping containers comprises disposing two condensers in adjacent rows and at different stacked heights. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein disposing the refrigerated shipping containers comprises maximizing the spacing between the condensers in a width-wise direction. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein disposing the refrigerated shipping containers comprises maximizing the spacing between the condensers in a height-wise direction. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising disposing the refrigerated shipping containers at a top position of a stacked formation. ### Claim 13 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising disposing the refrigerated shipping containers in end rows of a stacked formation. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the condensers are facing open air. ### Claim 15 A computer program product stored on a computer readable storage medium for determining a stacked formation of refrigerated shipping containers comprising: a medium for receiving an input regarding a container temperature of a plurality of refrigerated shipping containers; the medium comparing the input to stored parameters to categorize the plurality of refrigerated shipping containers in a first temperature container category or a second temperature container category, each of the refrigerated shipping containers having a condenser; and the medium outputting a recommended stacked formation of the refrigerated shipping containers based on the temperature categorization of the refrigerated shipping containers; wherein the first temperature container category is a low temperature container category, wherein the second temperature container category is a high temperature container category, wherein the high temperature container is maintained at a temperature greater than a maintained temperature of the low temperature container; wherein the recommended stacked formation is selected such that there is recirculation of condenser air from a low temperature container to a high temperature container.