Quick freeze pallet racks with perforated panel

Abstract

Pallet racking systems are designed to quickly freeze items using thermal transfer by moving air through palletized products. Air is pulled through the palletized product to a negative air plenum behind the pallet rack. Back panels of the pallet racks use perforations to control, redistribute, or balance airflow, accommodating differing or irregular configurations of palletized products.

1 . A panel for a pallet rack assembly in a thermal processing facility, comprising:
 a planar surface having a width dimension and a height dimension with a central axis near the middle of the width dimension extending along the height dimension;   wherein, when installed in a pallet rack assembly adjacent to a pallet comprising a foundation supporting a product, the planar surface has a middle section having an area with an exposure width and an exposure height configured to align with the product;   wherein the planar surface comprises a plurality of perforations arrayed across the middle section.   
     
     
         2 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein the perforations comprise a first pattern of holes adjacent to a central axis of the panel and a second pattern of holes away from the central axis, wherein the holes of the first pattern have a greater area than holes of the second pattern. 
     
     
         3 . The panel of  claim 2 , wherein the perforations comprise a third pattern of holes further away from the central axis than the second pattern, wherein the holes of the third pattern have a smaller area than the holes of the second pattern. 
     
     
         4 . The panel of  claim 2 , wherein the perforations are symmetrical about the central axis. 
     
     
         5 . The panel of  claim 2 , wherein the perforations are substantially symmetrical about a horizontal midpoint of the exposure height. 
     
     
         6 . The panel of  claim 4 , wherein the perforations are substantially symmetrical about a horizontal midpoint of the exposure height. 
     
     
         7 . The panel of  claim 2 , wherein the perforations are configured to provide, when exposed to airflow against the panel, a distribution of airflow concentrated along the central axis. 
     
     
         8 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein the perforations are configured to provide, when exposed to airflow against the panel, a distribution of airflow concentrated along the central axis. 
     
     
         9 . The panel of  claim 1 , wherein, when installed in a pallet rack assembly adjacent to a pallet comprising a foundation supporting a product, the planar surface has a lower section configured to align with the foundation and cover a lower opening section in the pallet rack assembly and an upper section configured to extend above the product and cover an upper opening in the pallet rack assembly. 
     
     
         10 . A pallet rack for a thermal processing facility, comprising:
 a pallet seat adjacent having a first side configured for receiving a pallet and a second side adjacent to a plenum;   a frame in between the pallet seat and the plenum, the frame surrounding an opening;   a panel between the pallet seat and the plenum and covering the area of the opening, wherein the panel has an array of perforations having a first pattern of holes and a second pattern of holes, wherein the first pattern extends along a central vertical axis of the panel and has hole areas greater than the hole areas of the second pattern.   
     
     
         11 . The pallet rack of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one pallet seat comprises: two lateral guide rails extending from the second side toward the first side; and a stop rail along the second side; wherein the lateral guide rails and stop rail are configured to align a pallet with the frame. 
     
     
         12 . The pallet rack of  claim 11 , the frame comprising an adapter substrate extending between segments of the rack, wherein the adapter substrate comprises a plurality of attachment points to secure the panel to the frame. 
     
     
         13 . The panel rack of  claim 12 , wherein the adapter substrate comprises a casing surrounding a plurality of apertures, the casing defining a boundary of the opening. 
     
     
         14 . The pallet rack of  claim 13 , wherein the panel comprises an edge array of perforations configured to align with the apertures in the adapter substrate. 
     
     
         15 . The pallet rack of  claim 10 , wherein the array of perforations comprises a third pattern of holes further away from the vertical axis than the second pattern, wherein the hole areas of the third pattern have smaller hole areas than the hole areas of the second pattern. 
     
     
         16 . The pallet rack of  claim 10 , in combination with a pallet positioned in the pallet seat and supporting a payload, wherein the panel is configured to provide, when exposed to airflow against the panel, a symmetrical distribution of air across a height dimension of the payload. 
     
     
         17 . The pallet rack of  claim 10 , wherein the array of perforations is substantially symmetrical about the central vertical axis. 
     
     
         18 . The pallet rack of  claim 11 , comprising a side seal attached to the adapter substrate adjacent to the panel and extending from the second side toward the first side. 
     
     
         19 . The pallet rack of  claim 18 , wherein the side seal comprises a first segment parallel with the lateral guide rails and a second segment angled outward from the central vertical axis. 
     
     
         20 . The pallet rack of  claim 18 , wherein the side seal is substantially rigid. 
     
     
         21 . A thermal processing system for adjusting the temperature of palletized goods, comprising:
 a pallet rack assembly comprising an array of pallet seats adjacent to a plenum, the pallet rack assembly having a depth corresponding to the thickness of a single pallet;   an air handler connected to the plenum configured to, when operating, draw treated air through the pallet seats into the plenum;   a frame separating at least one pallet seat from the plenum, the frame surrounding an opening to the plenum;   a panel between the at least one pallet seat and the plenum and covering the area of the opening wherein the panel has a planar surface which, when adjacent to a pallet comprising a foundation supporting a product, has a section having an area with an exposure width and an exposure height configured to align with the product, and an upper section configured to extend above the product and cover an upper opening section in the pallet rack assembly;   wherein the planar surface comprises a plurality of perforations arrayed across the section.   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the panel has an array of perforations having a first pattern of holes with first hole areas and a second pattern of holes with second hole areas, wherein the first pattern extends along a central vertical axis of the panel, wherein the first hole areas are greater than the second hole areas. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , comprising an adapter substrate extending between and attached to segments of the frame, wherein the panel is attached to the adapter substrate. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the adapter substrate comprises a casing surrounding an aperture, wherein the panel has an arrangement of perforations aligned with the aperture. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the at least one pallet seat comprises guide rails spaced to receive and support a pallet and align the pallet with the frame. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 25 , comprising a pair of side seals attached to the adapter substrate adjacent to the panel and extending outward from the frame. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the air handler comprises a fan with a direct drive electronically commutated motor. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 21 , comprising pallets of palletized products placed in the pallet seats, wherein the pallets occupy less than all of the array of pallet seats. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 21 , in combination with a second pallet rack separated from the plenum, the second pallet rack comprising a second array of pallet seats for storage of palletized products. 
     
     
         30 . A method of adjusting the temperature of goods, comprising:
 loading an unprocessed product into a rack assembly adjacent to an air plenum, wherein the rack assembly comprises a framed opening between the unprocessed product and the plenum, and a perforated panel covering the framed opening;   operating an airflow system to apply airflow through the unprocessed product and the perforated panel to adjust the temperature of the unprocessed product to create a processed product;   wherein the perforations are configured to concentrate airflow toward a vertical central axis of the perforated panel and restrict airflow toward the outer edges of the perforated panel.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , comprising unloading the processed product from the rack assembly. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the airflow system continues to operate while the processed product is unloaded from the rack assembly. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 31 , comprising moving the processed product to a storage rack. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the storage rack is located in a storage room of a thermal processing facility at an ambient temperature different from the operating temperature of the airflow system. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the rack assembly is located in a dedicated freezing room of a thermal processing facility. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the rack assembly is located in a dedicated freezing room of a thermal processing facility. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the perforations are substantially symmetrical about the vertical central axis of the perforated panel. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the perforations are substantially symmetrical about a horizontal axis of the perforated panel. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the perforations comprise a first pattern of perforations having first hole areas arrayed in proximity to the vertical central axis and a second pattern of perforations having second hole areas arrayed further from the vertical central axis than the first pattern, wherein the first hole areas are greater than the second hole areas. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein the perforations comprise a third pattern of perforations having third hole areas arrayed further away from the vertical central axis than the second pattern, wherein the second hole areas are greater than the third hole areas.