Shipping unit

Abstract

A shipping vessel includes a cryogenic tank secured to the shipping foundation; a payload bay to receive products therein; a tube connected to the cryogenic tank and thermally coupled to the payload bay; a housing secured to the shipping foundation, said housing covering the tube and the payload bay to thermally seal the payload bay from outside environment; a controller mounted on the housing and having a sensor to determine temperature in a closed-loop and maintaining a set point within a predetermined range; and an energy storage device coupled to the controller and electronics to provide power for a predetermined shipping period.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A shipping vessel, comprising:
 a shipping foundation;   a payload bay to receive products therein;   a tube coupled to the payload bay to receive heat from the payload bay;   a housing secured to the shipping foundation, said housing covering the tube and the payload bay to thermally seal the payload bay from the outside environment;   a cryogenic temperature control valve placed in a gas exhaust path and controlled by the controller and where temperature control is achieved through PID control;   a door with a pneumatic latch to access the payload bay and a pneumatic rubber seal coupled to the door, wherein the pneumatic rubber seal is powered by the pressure derived from exhaust gas; and   an energy storage device coupled to the controller to provide power for a predetermined shipping period, wherein the shipping foundation, cryogenic tank and payload bay is moved as a unit during transportation while maintaining the set point.   
     
     
         2 . The vessel of  claim 1 , wherein the shipping foundation comprises a pallet with openings to receive forklift arms. 
     
     
         3 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising an exhaust gas hose for porting cryogen gas outside a semi-trailer, a ship's cargo hold, or an airplane. 
     
     
         4 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising means for preventing cryogen gas from contacting a customer's product. 
     
     
         5 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising an oxygen sensor and an alarm to monitor oxygen concentration. 
     
     
         6 . The vessel of  claim 1 , wherein the tube is protected from high pressure with a safety valve. 
     
     
         7 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising a door with a pneumatic latch to access the payload bay and a pneumatic rubber seal coupled to the door, wherein the pneumatic rubber seal is powered by the pressure derived from a Nitrogen exhaust gas. 
     
     
         8 . The vessel of  claim 1 , wherein the cryogenic tank and payload bay generates a net thermal effect of reducing an outside temperature of the outside environment. 
     
     
         9 . a controller mounted on the housing and having a sensor to determine temperature in a closed control-loop using a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller to control temperature and maintaining a set point within a predetermined range. 
     
     
         10 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising a cryogenic tank secured to the shipping foundation. 
     
     
         11 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising a valve coupled to the tube. 
     
     
         12 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising a rubber pneumatic seal placed between a freezer door and the payload bay. 
     
     
         13 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising a mechanical valve located in parallel with a valve to manually regulate the freezer temperature. 
     
     
         14 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising a safety valve coupled to the cryogenic tank. 
     
     
         15 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising heating fins coupled to a valve and to keep the temperature of the valve warmer during pressure relief. 
     
     
         16 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising pneumatic latch and pneumatic rubber seal powered by the pressure derived from an exhaust gas. 
     
     
         17 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising an interactive Human Machine Interface (HMI) coupled to the controller. 
     
     
         18 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising a data logging unit and a global positioning system to capture real time data including temperature and position during a shipment. 
     
     
         19 . The vessel of  claim 1 , comprising a transceiver to communicate data over the Internet. 
     
     
         20 . A shipping containment vessel, comprising:
 a payload bay;   a tubing coupled to the payload bay for cooling when liquid nitrogen coolant flows therethrough;   a thermal box housing the payload bay and the tubing to thermally seal the payload bay from outside environment;   an electronic controller that maintains a set point for the payload bay;   a cryogenic temperature control valve in a gas exhaust path and controlled by the controller; and   a shipping pallet coupled to the cryogenic tank, the thermal box, and the controller, wherein the pallet, cryogenic tank and payload bay is moved as a unit during transportation while maintaining the set point.