Device and method for creating a horizontal air curtain for a cooler
AssigneeManitowoc Foodservice Companies, Inc.
InventorsMichael S. Chandler, Larry R. Scallion
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for creating a horizontal air curtain for a cooler doorway has at least one air moving device; at least one motor powering the air moving device; a control system including a sensor, the control system providing power to operate the motor when the sensor detects that the door of the cooler is open; and at least one air discharge nozzle mounted adjacent to the air moving device directing air emitted by the air moving device to create a curtain of air that flows generally horizontally across at least a portion of the doorway.
Claims75
An apparatus for creating an air curtain for a cooler having a refrigerated compartment, the apparatus comprising:
- a) at least one air moving device drawing air in from the refrigerated compartment and emitting said air;
- b) at least one motor powering the air moving device;
- c) a control system including a sensor detecting whether a door of the cooler is open, the control system providing power to operate the motor when the sensor detects that the door of the cooler is open;
- and
- d) one or more air discharge nozzles directing air emitted by the at least one air moving device to create a curtain of air that flows horizontally only across a bottom portion of a doorway of the cooler normally closed by said door, wherein said bottom portion comprises about ¾ or less of the height of the doorway of the cooler, the one or more nozzles being configured to be mounted adjacent to a doorway of the cooler such that air is discharged at an angle of at least 5° in relation to a plane of the doorway.
A method of operating a cooler having insulated walls defining a refrigerated compartment, a doorway in one of the walls having a normally closed door, and a refrigeration system cooling the cooler, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) starting a motor powering one or more blowers in conjunction with the door being opened;
- b) the one or more blowers drawing air from the refrigerated compartment and emitting the air via one or more nozzles to produce a horizontal air curtain when the motor drives the one or more blowers, the one or more nozzles discharging the air at an angle of at least 5° in relation to a plane of the doorway;
- and
- c) stopping the motor by cutting off power to the motor in conjunction with the door being closed,
- d) wherein the horizontal air curtain blows only across a lower portion of the doorway.
An apparatus mounted inside of a refrigerated compartment of a walk-in cooler for creating a horizontal air curtain for a doorway of the cooler comprising:
- a) four 12″ long tangential blowers wherein each blower circulates the cool air from within the cooler and operates at a rotation speed of about 1650 RPM, and has a wheel with diameter of about 65 mm.;
- b) two {fraction (1/25)} horsepower dual shaft PSC motors, each motor being positioned between and powering two blowers;
- c) an air discharge nozzle mounted adjacent each blower to discharge an air stream at an angle of about 30° from a plane of a doorway of the cooler, the nozzles having a discharge area of rectangular cross section and about 1⅛ inches wide;
- d) the nozzles directing the stream of air emitted by the blowers to create a horizontal air curtain that flows only across approximately the lower ¾ of the area of the doorway and inhibiting cold air from escaping approximately the lower ¾ of the doorway of a cooler, the nozzles emitting air at a velocity such that the air still has a velocity of about 250 feet/mm at a far side of the doorway;
- e) a control system, including an electro-mechanical switch detecting whether the door of the cooler is open, that turns the blowers on when the sensor senses that the door is open and off when the sensor senses that the door is closed;
- and
- f) a safety guard covering the blowers, the motors and the nozzles for protection of people using the cooler.
A cooler having a refrigerated compartment defined by insulated walls, a doorway in one of the walls and a door normally closing the doorway, the cooler also comprising an air curtain device comprising:
- a) one or more blowers drawing air from the refrigerated compartment and emitting said air;
- b) one or more motors powering the one or more blowers;
- c) a control system comprising a sensor detecting whether the door of the cooler is open, the control system providing power to operate the one or more motors when the sensor detects that the door is open;
- and
- d) one or more air discharge nozzles directing air from the one or more blowers to form a curtain of air that flows horizontally across at least a portion of the doorway only when the door is open and at an angle of at least 5° in relation to a plane of the doorways,
- e) wherein the curtain of air blows only across a lower portion of the doorway.
A method of designing an energy efficient cooler comprising:
- a) identifying parameters specific to a given cooler design that have a bearing on the characteristics of a horizontal air curtain that will economically inhibit cold air from leaving the cooler when a door to the cooler is open;
- and
- b) selecting a blower and an air discharge nozzle, and configuring the blower and nozzle such that i) the volume of air emitted by the blower, ii) the angle of the air discharge nozzle compared to plane of a doorway of the cooler and iii) the velocity of an air stream emitted from the air discharge nozzle are selected to minimize power consumption required to operate the combined cooler and air curtain, wherein the horizontal air curtain blows only across a lower portion of the doorway.
A compact apparatus for creating a horizontal air curtain for a doorway of a cooler comprising:
- a) at least one blower;
- b) at least one motor powering the blower;
- c) at least one air discharge nozzle;
- d) the at least one motor and blower being vertically mounted together in a stacked manner, the at least one blower being mounted directly adjacent to the at least one air discharge nozzle;
- e) a sensor detecting whether a door of the cooler is open;
- and
- f) a control system that provides power to operate the motor when the sensor detects a door-open condition,
- g) wherein the horizontal air curtain blows only across a lower portion of the doorway.
A method of conserving energy during operation of a walk-in cooler comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a walk-in cooler having a refrigeration system and insulated walls, with a doorway in one of the walls and a door normally closing the doorway, with a horizontal air curtain apparatus, the air curtain apparatus comprising
- i) at least one air moving device;
- ii) at least one motor powering the air moving device;
- iii) a control system that detects when the door is open and provides power to operate the at least one motor only when the door is open;
- and
- iv) one or more air discharge nozzles directing air emitted by the at least one air moving device to create a curtain of air that flows horizontally across only a lower portion of the doorway;
- and
- b) operating the air curtain apparatus such that the energy consumed to create the air curtain is less than the energy saved as the refrigeration system has to do less work because air flow in and out of the doorway is inhibited by the air curtain when the door is open.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.