Automated co2 portioning system for grocery totes

Abstract

A method for allocating a chilling substance to a transport tote for preserving a food product therein includes measuring thermal properties of the food product to be transported; calculating environmental conditions for which the transport tote is to be exposed during transport; allocating an amount of the chilling substance to a container for being deposited in the transport tote for the preserving of the food product; and depositing the container in the transport tote. A related apparatus is also provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for allocating a chilling substance to a transport tote for preserving a food product therein, comprising:
 measuring thermal properties of the food product to be transported;   calculating environmental conditions for which the transport tote is to be exposed during transport;   allocating an amount of the chilling substance to a container for being deposited in the transport tote for the preserving of the food product; and   depositing the container in the transport tote.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transporting the transport tote to a remote location and during which the food product is preserved for an end user. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the allocating occurs after the food product is deposited in the transport tote. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the allocating occurs before the food product is deposited in the transport tote. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the allocating occurs after the depositing of the container in the transport tote. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the depositing comprises positioning the container on top of the food product in the transport tote. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the chilling substance comprises a substance selected from the group consisting of CO 2  snow and CO 2  pellets. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal properties are selected from the group consisting of storage temperature, mass, specific heat, latent heat, and combinations of same; and the calculating environmental conditions are selected from the group consisting of temperature external to the transport tote, humidity external to the transport tote, delivery time for the transport tote to reach the end user, residence time of the transport tote at the end user, and conditions of a transport platform delivering the transport tote to the end user. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the allocating further comprises further calculating the amount of the chilling substance needed responsive to said thermal properties and said environmental conditions. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the allocating further comprises filling the container with the chilling substance at a location remote from the depositing the container in the transport tote. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the food product comprises at least one grocery bag. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sealing the container after the allocating. 
     
     
         13 . An apparatus for preserving a food product for transport to an end user, comprising:
 a transport tote having an internal space therein sized and shaped to receive the food product; and   a sealed container in which CO 2  snow is contained, the sealed container positioned in the transport tote.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , further comprising a conveyor for conveying the transport tote to a position to receive the sealed container. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the container is insulated. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the food product comprises a plurality of different foodstuffs. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of different foodstuffs are in at least one grocery bag.