Front-mounted external cold air intake system for large refrigerated truck

The present invention relates to refrigerated trucks, more particularly to a front-mounted external cold air intake system for a large refrigerated truck, including a refrigerated compartment, an indoor chiller unit, an outdoor chiller unit, a front-mounted air duct, air outlets, horizontal louvers, folding elbows, windshields, blade control knobs, filters, covers, wind deflectors and blades. In the front-mounted cold air intake system, the front-mounted air duct introduces outdoor cold air into the refrigerated compartment, and transmits and distributes the cold air through the air outlets. Moreover, the air window structures formed by the horizontal shutters, the folding elbows and the windshields are used for discharging air, so as to stabilize the pressure in the refrigerated compartment. The system of the present invention uses outdoor cold air to effectively cool the compartment allowing for energy saving of the refrigerated truck.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority from Chinese Patent Application No. 201911115263.6, filed on Nov. 15, 2019. The content of the aforementioned application, including any intervening amendments thereto, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to refrigerated trucks, more particularly to a front-mounted external cold air intake system for a large refrigerated truck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

At present, refrigerated trucks which mainly use chillers for refrigeration are widely used for transporting frozen food, thereby ensuring convenient transportation and quality of the frozen food. However, in colder regions or in winter, the outdoor temperature is often much lower than the indoor temperature. Cold air from the outside may be introduced into the refrigerated compartment of the refrigerated truck to cool the food in the refrigerated compartment, thereby saving the energy consumption of the chillers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A purpose of the present invention is to provide a front-mounted external cold air intake system for a large refrigerated truck, in which a device is mounted in the front side of a refrigerated compartment to absorb an airflow generated by the refrigerated truck during driving. At the same time, it is combined with other related equipment to introduce external cold air into the refrigerated compartment of the refrigerated truck and use the introduced cold air to cool the refrigerated compartment, thereby reducing energy consumption of the chillers.

To achieve the purpose above, the present invention provides a front-mounted external cold air intake system for a large refrigerated truck, comprising: a refrigerated compartment, an indoor chiller unit, an outdoor chiller unit, a front-mounted air duct, a plurality of air outlets, a plurality of horizontal louvers, a plurality of folding elbows, a plurality of windshields, a plurality of blade control knobs, a plurality of filters, a plurality of covers, a plurality of wind deflectors and a plurality of blades;

wherein, the air outlets comprise a first air outlet, a second air outlet, a third air outlet, a fourth air outlet, a fifth air outlet, a sixth air outlet, a seventh air outlet, an eighth air outlet, a ninth air outlet, a tenth outlet and an eleventh air outlet; the horizontal louvers comprise a first horizontal louver and a second horizontal louver; the folding elbows comprise a first folding elbow and a second folding elbow; the windshields comprise a first windshield and a second windshield; the blade control knobs comprise a first blade control knob and a second blade control knob; the filters comprise a first filter and a second filter; the covers comprise a first cover and a second cover; the wind deflectors comprise a first wind deflector, a second wind deflector, a third wind deflector, and a fourth wind deflector; a fifth wind deflector, a sixth wind deflector, a seventh wind deflector, an eighth wind deflector, a ninth wind deflector, and a tenth wind deflector; the blades comprise a first blade, a second blade, a third blade, a fourth blade, a fifth blade, a sixth blade, a seventh blade, an eighth blade, a ninth blade, a tenth blade, an eleventh blade, a twelfth blade, a thirteenth blade, a fourteenth blade, a fifteenth blade, a sixteenth blade, a seventeenth blade, an eighteenth blade, a nineteenth blade and a twentieth blade;

the first air outlet, the second air outlet, the third air outlet, the fourth air outlet, and the fifth air outlet form a first air outlet group; the sixth air outlet, the seventh air outlet, the eighth air outlet, the ninth air outlet and the tenth air outlet form a second air outlet group; the first horizontal louver, the first folding elbow and the first windshield form a first air window structure; the second horizontal louver, the second folding elbow and the second windshield form a second air window structure; the first blade, the second blade, the third blade, the fourth blade, the fifth blade, the sixth blade, the seventh blade, and the eighth blade, the ninth blade and the tenth blade form a first blade group; the eleventh blade, the twelfth blade, the thirteenth blade, the fifteenth blade, the sixteenth blade, the seventeenth blade, the eighteenth blade, the nineteenth blade and the twentieth blade form a second blade group;

the indoor chiller unit is mounted on a middle at a top of a front inner side of the refrigerated compartment; the outdoor chiller unit is mounted on a middle at a top of a front outer side of the refrigerated compartment; an installation position of the indoor chiller unit corresponds to that of the outdoor chiller unit; the front-mounted air duct is U-shaped and has a rectangular cross section, and is mounted in the refrigerated compartment; two air inlets are mounted at two sides of the outdoor chiller unit; the air outlets are mounted on the front-mounted air duct and comprise non-return three-way air outlets and a reversing three-way air outlet, wherein the non-return three-way air outlets spaced apart are arranged on a straight section of the front-mounted air duct that is parallel to an axis of the refrigerated compartment, and the reversing three-way air outlet is mounted on an arc section of the front-mounted air duct at a junction of the front-mounted air duct and the axis of the refrigerated compartment; the horizontal louvers are mounted on a lower part of both sides of the refrigerated compartment; each of the horizontal louvers consists of 10 blades, and directions in which the blades rotate are controlled by the blade control knobs, wherein a safety angle of rotation of each of the blades is 15° with a buffer margin of 3-5°; the windshields are mounted outside the horizontal louvers and are connected with the refrigerated compartment via the folding elbows; an opening angle of windshields is controlled by the folding elbows; wherein a safety opening angle of each of the windshields is 0-15° with a buffer margin of 3-5°; the horizontal louvers, the folding elbows and the windshields form the first and second air window structures; the filters are mounted at the air inlets of the front-mounted air duct, and cover the air inlets; and the covers are mounted in a front outer side of the refrigerated compartment for closing the front-mounted air duct when the front-mounted external cold air intake system is not in use.

Preferably, the front-mounted air duct and the air outlets are made of aluminum alloy.

Preferably, the air inlets of the front-mounted air duct are covered with the filters.

Preferably, the air outlets incline to a direction in which external cold air enters the front-mounted air duct.

Preferably, a distance between two adjacent air outlets is 800-1200 mm.

Optionally, when mounting the filters, an elastic margin of 0.5-2 cm is remained for each of the filters to withstand an impact of an air flow.

Optionally, a maximum opening angles of each of the windshields is 18°˜20°.

Preferably, the folding elbows are made of soft plastics.

Optionally, the blades of the horizontal louvers are made of resin or lightweight materials.

Preferably, the horizontal louvers are used to discharge air for air circulation, and mounted on lower parts of two sides close to a rear side of the refrigerated compartment.

Optionally, a vertical height of each of the wind deflectors is 30% to 40% of a height of the front-mounted air duct.

The invention provides the front-mounted external cold air intake system which introduces outdoor cold air into the refrigerated compartment to cool the frozen food during driving. Meanwhile, the filters are provided to isolate small particles from the front-mounted air duct, ensuring cleanness of the cold air introduced into the refrigerated compartment; the horizontal louvers mounted at the two sides close to the rear side of the refrigerated compartment combine with the windshields for exhausting, thereby forming good air circulation. The present invention makes a contribution to energy saving and novel structures of the refrigerated truck.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A large-sized refrigerated truck with a front-mounted external cold air intake system of the present invention is designed based on a Dongfeng Tianjin large-sized refrigerated truck. The overall size of the refrigerated truck is 9995×2530×3900 mm. The size of the compartment is 7400×2300×2400 mm, with a wall thickness of 80 mm.

This embodiment illustrates the front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck.FIG. 1Ais a top view of the front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck of the present invention; andFIG. 1-B is a right view of the front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck of the present invention. The front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck includes a refrigerated compartment1; an indoor chiller unit2, an outdoor chiller unit3, a front-mounted air duct4, a plurality of air outlets5, a plurality of horizontal louvers6, a plurality of folding elbows7, a plurality of windshields8, a plurality of blade control knobs9, a plurality of filters10, a plurality of covers11. The air outlets5include a first air outlet5.1, a second air outlet5.2, a third air outlet5.3, a fourth air outlet5.4, a fifth air outlet5.5, a sixth air outlet5.6, a seventh air outlet5.7, an eighth air outlet5.8, a ninth air outlet5.9, a tenth air outlet5.10and an eleventh air outlet5.11. The horizontal louvers6include a first horizontal louver6.1and a second horizontal louver6.2. The folding elbows7include a first folding elbow7.1and a second folding elbow7.2. The windshields8include a first windshield8.1and a second windshield8.2. The blade control knobs9include a first blade control knob9.1and a second blade control knob9.2. The filters10include a first filter10.1and a second filter10.2; the covers11include a first cover11.1and a second cover11.2.

The first air outlet5.1, the second air outlet5.2, the third air outlet5.3, the fourth air outlet5.4, and the fifth air outlet5.5form a first air outlet group; the sixth air outlet5.6, the seventh air outlet5.7, the eighth air outlet5.8, the ninth air outlet5.9, and the tenth outlet5.10form a second air outlet group.

The first horizontal louver6.1, the first folding elbow7.1, the first windshield8.1and the first blade control knob9.1form a first air window structure; the second horizontal louver, the second folding elbow, the second windshield and the second blade control knob9.2form a second air window structure.

The indoor chiller unit2with a width of 1000 mm is mounted on a middle at a top of a front inner side of the refrigerated compartment1; the outdoor chiller unit3with a width of 1000 mm is mounted on a middle at a top of a front outer side of the refrigerated compartment1; the front-mounted air duct4is mounted on the upper part of the refrigerated compartment1; two air inlets14are mounted at the upper part of the interior of the refrigerated compartment1, and each of the air inlets has a distance of 205 mm from a closer side of the refrigerated compartment1; the front-mounted air duct4is a U-shaped rectangular pipe, which is composed of 3 straight sections and 2 arc sections, where all sections are rectangles of 400×400 mm; there are 2 long straight sections with a length of 5680 mm parallel to a length of the refrigerated compartment, and there is a short straight section with a length of 450 mm parallel to a width direction of the refrigerated compartment; each of the 2 arc sections is a quadrant arc with an outer radius of 820 mm and an inner radius of 370 mm; the first air outlet5.1, the second air outlet5.2, the third air outlet5.3, the fourth air outlet5.4, the fifth air outlet5.5, the sixth air outlet5.6, the seventh air outlet5.7, the eighth air outlet5.8, the ninth air outlet5.9, the tenth air outlet5.10, and the eleventh air outlet5.11are all centrally mounted on a lower part of the front-mounted air duct4, and are rectangles of 300×300 mm; the first air outlet group and the second outlet group are respectively mounted on the long straight sections of the front-mounted air duct4, where a distance between two adjacent air outlets is 700 mm; the first air outlet5.1and the sixth air outlet5.6both have a distance of 850 mm from the front side of the refrigerated compartment1, and the eleventh air outlet5.11is mounted on a center of the short straight section of the front-mounted air duct4; the first filter10.1and the second filter10.2are respectively mounted at the two air outlets14of the front-mounted air duct4, to cover the two air outlets to prevent small particles from entering the refrigerated compartment1; the first cover11.1and the second cover11.2with a size of 400×400 mm are respectively mounted beside the two air inlets14of the front-mounted air duct4; when it is not necessary to introduce outdoor air into the refrigerated truck, the first cover11.1and the second cover11.2are turned to close the two air inlets14of the front-mounted air duct4; the first air window structure and the second air window structure are respectively mounted at the rear of both sides of the refrigerated compartment1, and are 180 mm away from the rear of the refrigerated compartment; the first blade control knob9.1and the second blade control knob9.2are respectively mounted on both inner sides of the refrigerated compartment1, and respectively next to the first horizontal shutter6.1and the second horizontal shutter6.2to control the opening and closing of the first horizontal louver6.1and second horizontal louver6.2.

The front-mounted air duct4, the first air outlet5.1, the second air outlet5.2, the third air outlet5.3, the fourth air outlet5.4, the fifth air outlet5.5, the sixth air outlet5.6, the seventh air outlet5.7, the eighth air outlet5.8, the ninth air outlet5.9, the tenth air outlet5.10, the eleventh air outlet5.11, the first windshield8.1, the second windshield8.2, the first cover11.1and the second cover11.2are all made of aluminum alloy to ensure a higher strength and waterproof performance of the refrigerated truck.

There is an elastic margin of 1 cm left to withstand an impact of airflow when the first filter10.1and the second filter10.2are mounted.

The opening and closing of the first cover11.1and the second cover11.2are manually controlled.

The first folding elbow7.1and the second folding elbow7.2are made of soft plastics, so that they are capable of freely expanding and contracting when the first windshield8.1and the second windshield8.2are rotated.

Maximum opening angles of the first windshield8.1and the second windshield8.2are set to 20°, but they can only be opened to 15° at most when in use; the scales of the opening degree are respectively marked on the first folding elbow7.1and the second folding elbow7.2, where the remaining 5° is used as a buffer margin to prevent the damage caused by excessive force.

FIG. 2Ais a sectional view of a first side of the front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck; andFIG. 2Bis a sectional view of a second side of the front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck. The front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck includes the refrigerated compartment1, the indoor chiller unit2, the outdoor chiller unit3, the front-mounted air duct4, the first air outlet5.1, the second air outlet5.2, the third air outlet5.3, the fourth air outlet5.4, the fifth air outlet5.5, the sixth air outlet5.6, the seventh air outlet5.7, the eighth air outlet5.8, the ninth air outlet5.9, the tenth air outlet5.10, the eleventh air outlet5.11, the first horizontal shutter6.1, the second horizontal shutter6.2, the first blade control knob9.1, the second blade control knob9.2, the first filter10.1, the second filter10.2, the first cover11.1and the second cover11.2.

A distance between a top of the front-mounted air duct4and a top of the refrigerated compartment1is 300 mm; the horizontal installations of the first air outlet5.1, the second air outlet5.2, the third air outlet5.3, the fourth air outlet5.4, the fifth air outlet5.5, the six air outlet5.6, the seventh air outlet5.7, the eighth air outlet5.8, the ninth air outlet5.9, the tenth air outlet5.10, and the eleventh air outlet5.11are described as above, and the vertical lengths of the air outlets are all 130 mm; the air outlets are oblique and face downward, and the air outlets incline to a direction in which external cold air enters the front-mounted air duct4; the first air the air outlets incline to a direction in which external cold air enters the front-mounted air duct5.1, the second air outlet5.2, the third air outlet5.3, the fourth air outlet5.4, the fifth air outlet5.5, the sixth air outlet5.6, the seventh air outlet5.7, the eighth air outlet5.8, the ninth air outlet5.9and the tenth air outlet5.10are all reversing three-way air outlets, and the eleventh air outlet5.11is a non-return three-way air outlet; the wind deflectors12are mounted directly above the air outlets, and the wind deflectors12include the first wind deflector12.1, the second wind deflector12.2, the third wind deflector12.3, the fourth wind deflector12.4, the fifth wind deflector12.5, the sixth wind deflector12.6, the seventh wind deflector12.7, the eighth wind deflector12.8, the ninth wind deflector12.9and the tenth wind deflector12.10; each of the air deflectors has a length of 285 mm, and an angle between each of the air deflectors and a top surface of the front-mounted air duct4is 20°; a vertical height of the wind deflectors is 38% of a height of the front-mounted air duct4; the first horizontal louver6.1and the second horizontal louver6.2both have a size of 1000×500 mm, and a distance between a bottom surface of the refrigerated compartment1and the horizontal louvers is 500 mm; the first blade control knob9.1and the second blade control knob9.2are respectively mounted below the first horizontal louver6.1and the second horizontal louver6.2; the installation conditions of the first filter10.1, the second filter10.2, the first cover11.1and the second cover11.2are described as above.

The non-return three-way air outlets are used to introduce the one-way cold air into the refrigerated compartment1.

The reversing three-way air outlet is used to collect the cold air that has failed to be introduced into the refrigerated compartment1, and then introduces the collected cold air into the refrigerated compartment1.

The air deflectors are used to change a flow direction of the outdoor cold air entering the front-mounted air duct4, to introduce a part of the cold air to the air outlets, where a part of the cold air with a higher wind speed directly passes through the air deflector and is introduced by a next air deflector.

The first blade control knob9.1and the second blade control knob9.2are mounted inside the refrigerated compartment1, and are respectively mounted below the first horizontal louver6.1and the second horizontal louver6.2; the first blade control knob9.1and the second blade control knob9.2are rotated to control the opening conditions of the first horizontal louver6.1and the second horizontal louver6.2.

FIG. 3Ais a schematic diagram of a first air window structure of the front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck; andFIG. 3Bis a top view of the first air window structure of the front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck, in which the air window structure is open. Referring toFIGS. 3A-C, the first air window structure includes the first folding elbow7.1, the first windshield8.1, the first blade13.1, the second blade13.2, the third blade13.3, the fourth blade13.4, the fifth blade13.5, and the sixth blade13.6, the seventh blade13.7, the eighth blade13.8, the ninth blade13.9, and the tenth blade13.10.

The first blade13.1, the second blade13.2, the third blade13.3, the fourth blade13.4, the fifth blade13.5, the sixth blade13.6, the seventh blade13.7, the eighth blade13.8, the ninth blade13.9, and the tenth blade13.10form a first blade group.

The first blade group forms the first horizontal louver6.1; each of the blades has a size of 100×500 mm, where a center of rotation of each of the blades is a central axis of the corresponding blade, and the maximum rotation angle is set to 20°, and it can only be opened to 15° at most when in use; the scale of the opening degree is marked on the first blade control knob9.1, where the remaining 5° is used as a buffer margin to prevent the damage caused by excessive force.

The first folding elbow7.1has a height of 500 mm and a radius of 100 mm, and is made of soft plastics.

The first windshield8.1has a height of 500 mm and a radius of 1000 mm, and is made of aluminum alloy.

When the first air window structure is not in use, the first blade13.1, the second blade13.2, the third blade13.3, the fourth blade13.4, the fifth blade13.5, the sixth blade13.6, the seventh blade13.7, the eighth blade13.8, the ninth blade13.9, and the tenth blade13.10are adjusted to be closed, and then the first windshield8.1is turned to close the first horizontal shutter6.1.

FIG. 4Ais a schematic diagram of a second air window structure of the front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck; andFIG. 4Bis a top view of the second air window structure of the front-mounted external cold air intake system for the large refrigerated truck, in which the air window structure is open. Referring toFIGS. 4A-C, the second air window structure comprises the second folding elbow7.2, the second windshield8.2, the eleventh blade13.11, the twelfth blade13.12, the thirteenth blade13.13, the fourteenth blade13.14, the fifteenth blade13.15, the sixteenth blade13.16, the seventeenth blade13.17, the eighteenth blade13.18, the nineteenth blade13.19and the twentieth blade13.20.

The eleventh blade13.11, the twelfth blade13.12, the thirteenth blade13.13, the fourteenth blade13.14, the fifteenth blade13.15, the sixteenth blade13.16, the seventeenth blade13.17, the eighteenth blade13.18, the nineteenth blade13.19and the twentieth blade13.20form a second blade group.

The second blade group forms the second horizontal louver6.2; each of the blades has a size of 100×500 mm, where a center of rotation of each of the blades is a central axis of the corresponding blade, and the maximum rotation angle is set to 20°, and it can only be opened to 15° at most when in use; the scale of the opening degree is marked on the second blade control knob9.2, where the remaining 5° is used as a buffer margin to prevent the damage caused by excessive force.

The second folding elbow7.2has a height of 500 mm and a radius of 100 mm, and is made of soft plastics.

The second windshield8.2has a height of 500 mm and a radius of 1000 mm, and is made of aluminum alloy.

When the second air window structure is not in use, the eleventh blade13.11, the twelfth blade13.12, the thirteenth blade13.13, the fourteenth blade13.14, the fifteenth blade13.15, the sixteenth blade13.16, the seventeenth blade13.17, the eighteenth blade13.18, the nineteenth blade13.19and the twentieth blade13.20are adjusted to be closed, and then the second windshield8.2is turned to close the second horizontal shutter6.2.

The blades are made of polycarbonate.

After the outdoor cold air is introduced into the refrigerated compartment1, the first air window structure and the second air window structure are used to discharge excess air in the refrigerated compartment1; at the same time, due to the presence of the windshield, it is negligible that the outdoor cold air enters the refrigerated compartment1from the first air window structure and the second air window structure. Therefore, the first air window structure and the second air window structure are mainly used for exhausting to keep an air pressure in the refrigerated compartment1stable.

The above-mentioned embodiment is only intended to illustrate the principle and uses of the present invention, but not to limit the scope of the present invention. Any modification or change of the embodiment can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes made by those ordinary skill without departing from the spirit and technical ideas of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the appended claims of the present invention.