Apparatus for emptying and filling horizontal freezers and freezing system with apparatus for filling and emptying horizontal freezers

An apparatus for emptying and filling horizontal freezers, comprising:

• a) a first and a second linear chain actuator, said chain actuators comprising assembled chain links, and said chain actuators, in an extended configuration, being arranged parallel to each other and parallel to an y axis,
• i. said chain actuators having first and second ends,
• b) a sliding beam extending at least between said first and second chain actuators and being fixedly mounted nearby, or at, the first end of the first chain actuator, and also being fixedly mounted nearby, or the first ends of the second chain actuator, and
• c) a feeding arrangement for retracting said first and second chain actuators from an extended configuration to a collapsed configuration and for extending said chain actuators from a collapsed configuration to an extended configuration
• wherein the first chain actuator is engaged with a first chain wheel and the second chain actuator is engaged with a second chain wheel, said first and second chain wheels having their axes of rotation parallel to a z axis, so that said first and second chain actuators can be driven from the collapsed configuration to the extended configuration and from the extended configuration to the collapsed configuration with the sliding beam in an xy plane and with the longitudinal direction of the sliding beam parallel to an x axis.

A freezing system comprising one or more horizontal freezers, further comprising:

• a. one or more apparatuses for emptying and filling horizontal freezers, at least one of said apparatuses comprising:
• i. a first and a second chain actuator, the chain actuators, in an extended configuration, being arranged parallel to each other in an y direction and parallel to shelf plates of the horizontal freezers,
• 1. said chain actuators having first and second ends,
• ii. a sliding beam extending at least between said first and second chain actuators and being fixedly mounted nearby, or at the first ends of said first and second chain actuators, and
• iii. a feeding arrangement for retracting said first and second chain actuators from an extended configuration to a collapsed configuration and for extending the chain actuators from a collapsed configuration to an extended configuration,
• b. two or more means of transportation provided in the form of at least one inlet conveyor and at least one outlet conveyor adjacent to the horizontal freezer,
• c. a freezer zone including a stack of freezing plates
• wherein the first chain actuator is engaged with a first chain wheel and the second chain actuator is engaged with a second chain wheel, said first and second chain wheels having their axes of rotation parallel to a z axis, so that said first and second chain actuators can be driven from the collapsed configuration to the extended configuration and from the extended configuration to the collapsed configuration with the sliding beam in an xy plane and with the longitudinal direction of the sliding beam parallel to an x axis.