Automated blast cell loading and unloading

A system for cooling items, the system comprising:

• a plurality of cells arranged side-by-side, each cell comprising:
• a housing defining (i) a bay space, (ii) a plenum positioned above the bay space, (iii) a front air passage fluidly connecting a front end of the bay space to a front end of the plenum, and (iv) a rear air passage fluidly connecting a rear end of the bay space to a rear end of the plenum, wherein the bay space, the plenum, the front air passage, and the rear air passage collectively provide a closed-loop within which air is circulated within the housing, wherein the bay space includes a plurality of layers that are each configured to hold one or more rows of pallets of items to be cooled;
• a fan positioned within the plenum and configured to circulate air through the closed-loop provided by the bay space in the housing, the fan operable to (i) pull the air from the rear end of the bay space, through the rear air passage, and into the rear end of the plenum, and (ii) discharge the air into the front end of the plenum, through the front air passage, and toward the front end of the bay space;
• and
• a first plurality of channels arranged within the rear air passage, each of the first plurality of channels defining a first fluid pathway that (i) is fluidly separate from other fluid pathways provided by others of the first plurality of channels and (ii) extends from a rear end of a corresponding layer of the plurality of layers to the rear end of the plenum, the first plurality of channels configured to, over their length, turn a direction of airflow from the rear end of the bay space to the rear end of the plenum, and
• a crane rail that extends between each of the plurality of cells for loading and unloading the plurality of cells using a crane.

A method for scheduling loading and unloading a cooling system, the method comprising:

• providing an array of blast cells in a blast freezing system, the array of blast cells comprising m rows of blast cells with an outer row at each end, the blast freezing system including a plurality of rails with a rail positioned between each row of blast cells and at an outside edge of the outer rows, and a plurality of automated cranes, each crane of the plurality of automated cranes configured to move along a dedicated rail of the plurality of rails to access blast cells along the rail through at least one door of the blast cells opening to the rail;
• determining a start time of a freezing cycle for each of the blast cells in the array;
• determining an estimated end time of the freezing cycle for each of the blast cells in the array based on the determined start time;
• scheduling at least one automated crane to unload each of the blast cells based on the estimated end time of the freezing cycle;
• generating first instructions for transmission to at least one automated crane, the first instructions comprising at least one of a location of a blast cell along the dedicated rail associated with the at least one automated crane and a time;
• and
• transmitting the first instructions to the at least one automated crane.