# US 12,007,157 B2 · Transportable refrigerated container and method of distribution of perishable goods > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,007,157 B2 - Document ID: US12007157B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/715,550 - Filed: 2022-04-07 - Published: 2022-07-21 - Granted: 2024-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2019-10-09 - Assignees: Caprera Limited - Applicants: Caprera Limited - Inventors: Jeremy Hibbert-Garibaldi; Lucas John Dawe - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12007157B2 ## CPC - F25D 11/003: {Transport containers} - B60P 3/205: {with means for dividing the interior volume, e.g. movable walls or intermediate floors} - B65D 88/12: specially adapted for transport (associated with vehicles, see the relevant subclasses of B60 - B64) - B65D 88/542: {Ramps forming part of the container (ramps per se B65G69/28; for ambulances A61G3/061; for vehicles in general B60P1/43)} - B65D 88/745: {blowing or injecting heating, cooling or other conditioning fluid inside the container} - B65D 90/0053: {fixed on the side wall of the container (B65D90/0066, B65D90/0073 take precedence)} - B65D 90/0066: {Partition walls} - B65D 90/008: {Doors for containers, e.g. ISO-containers (locking E05B83/12)} - F25D 17/04: for circulating air, e.g. by convection - F25D 23/069: {Cooling space dividing partitions} - F25D 25/005: {using containers} - G06Q 10/0832: Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods - G07F 9/105: {Heating or cooling means, for temperature and humidity control, for the conditioning of articles and their storage (dispensers for food articles requiring a processing by temperature treatment or conditioning before they are ready for dispensing G07F17/0064)} - G07F 11/62: in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles - G07F 17/12: comprising lockable containers, e.g. for accepting clothes to be cleaned - B65D 2590/0083: Computer or electronic system, e.g. GPS systems - G07C 2009/0092: {for cargo, freight or shipping containers and applications therefore in general} - 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) - B60P: VEHICLES ADAPTED FOR LOAD TRANSPORTATION OR TO TRANSPORT, TO CARRY, OR TO COMPRISE SPECIAL LOADS OR OBJECTS (vehicles with special provisions for transporting patients or disabled persons, or their personal conveyances A61G3/00) - 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 - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G07F: COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS (coin sorting G07D3/00; coin testing G07D5/00; {handling coins or paper currencies apart from payment activated apparatus G07D; payment architectures, schemes or protocols G06Q20/00}) - G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE ## Abstract A transportable refrigerated container has an interior chamber sub-divided into separate compartments by movable partitions that allow free air circulation to maintain the compartments at the same temperature and a plurality of security doors in at least one of the sides of the container, each door affording access only to a selected respective compartment or group of compartments. A method of distributing perishable goods from a supply depot to a plurality of customers utilizes such a container. At the supply depot, goods for different customers are loaded into separate compartments and the container is then transported to a location convenient to all the customers. There, delivery drivers who can each only open a door leading to a compartment containing goods intended for a specific customer, transfer the goods from the compartment onto a smaller vehicle and deliver them to their respective customer. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A transportable refrigerated container, comprising: an interior chamber defined by a floor, a ceiling, a front end, a rear end and two sides of the container; a refrigeration unit for cooling the interior chamber; a plurality of mesh partitions sub-dividing the interior chamber into separate compartments, the mesh partitions movably affixed to the interior chamber, each mesh partition permanently anchored at one edge to a side wall of the interior chamber and releasably connected to an opposite side wall of the interior chamber by an opposed edge of the mesh partition; and a plurality of unloading doors in at least one of the sides of the container, each of the plurality of unloading doors affording access only to a selected respective compartment or group of compartments, characterized in that each of the plurality of unloading doors is provided with a different secure locking mechanism, and wherein the mesh partitions comprise a plurality of openings to allow free circulation of air between the compartments through the partitions when the mesh partitions are closed whereby all the compartments are maintained at a same temperature. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The container of claim 1, where the refrigeration unit is located at the front end of the container and a loading door is provided at the rear end of the container. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The container of claim 1, wherein the mesh partitions are movable between an open position, to allow free access between different compartments during loading of the container, and a closed position in which the partitions prevent transported goods from being transferred between compartments. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The of claim 3, wherein goods loaded onto one or more roll cages, and wherein each mesh partition comprises a load lock bar extending between the two sides of the container onto which each roll cage is anchored. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The container of claim 4, wherein each load lock bar is formed of spring biased telescopically collapsible sections, the ends of the load lock bar being receivable in holes in channels secured to the sides of the container. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The container of claim 1, wherein each mesh partition comprises a screen made of a material capable of being folded, rolled or concertinaed. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The container of claim 6, wherein each screen is secured permanently along one edge to one of the sides of the container and is releasably secured to the opposite side, a tensioning strap being provided to enable the screen to resist movement of the load during transportation of the container. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The container of claim 1, wherein each mesh partition comprises a door formed of rigid sections capable of sliding relative to one another. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The container of claim 1, further comprising a safety system for alerting a remote monitoring station when at least one of the following events is detected, the events comprising: one of the doors is opened or left open, light is detected within the internal chamber, movement is detected in the internal chamber, or the temperature in the chamber is sensed to lie outside a predetermined range. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The container of claim 1, wherein a security system is provided that includes a plurality of cameras and memory for storing video data from the cameras at least during periods when movement is detected within the internal chamber. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The container of claim 1, wherein the unloading doors have electronic locks that can be opened by digital codes allocated only to authorized individuals. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The container of claim 11, wherein the security system is operative to store the digital codes employed to open the security doors. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The container of claim 11, wherein a radio receiver is provided to enable the codes required by the electronic locks to be transmitted by a mobile telephone. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The container of in claim 1, wherein a ramp is associated with each door in the side of the container, the ramp being pivotable between a vertical storage configuration resting within the compartment against the associated door and a deployed position in which the ramp lies outside the container and a free end resting on the ground. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The container of claim 1 further comprising at least a first strap extending between the opposed side walls of the container and second straps on at least one mesh partition to engage the bar and support the at least one mesh partition to prevent sagging of the at least one mesh partition. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) A method of distribution of perishable goods from a supply depot to a plurality of customers, utilizing the container as claimed in claim 1, which method comprises, a) at the supply depot (i) placing the goods on roll cages, (ii) loading all the roll cages intended for a specific customer into the internal chamber of the container by way of a door at the rear end of the container, (iii) erecting a partition around the roll cages to form a separate compartment accessible from only a selected one or more of the plurality of doors, in the sides of the container, the partition comprising a mesh barrier, each mesh barrier permanently anchored at one edge to a side wall of the container and releasably connected to an opposite side wall of the container by an opposed edge of the mesh barrier, the erecting comprising connecting the releasably connected opposed edge, (iv) repeating (i) to (iii) for remaining customers, and (v) transporting the container to a delivery location convenient for all the customers, and b) at the delivery location (i) providing a plurality of delivery vehicles, (ii) issuing a driver of each delivery vehicle with a key or code for a respective one of the doors in the sides of the container, (iii) using the plurality of delivery vehicles to distribute the roll cages from each securely locked compartment to the intended customer, and (iv) transporting the container back to the supply depot. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 further comprising installing at least one load lock bar between the opposed side walls of the container to restrain at least one of the roll cages intended for the specific customer. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 further comprising attaching second straps on at least one mesh barrier to a first strap extending between the opposed side walls of the container to prevent sagging of the at least one mesh barrier.