| 摘要 |
2135924 9324015 PCTABS00028 An apparatus is provided for controlling the ripening of produce. The apparatus includes a chamber (10) having a ceiling (16) a floor (12) and a plurality of walls (18, 20). Positioned in the chamber (10) is a support and position structure (32) to support two rows (34, 36) of palletized produce (24) and to space the palletized produce (24) away from the walls (18, 20) to define a fluid circulation space around the palletized produce (24). The rows (34, 36) of palletized produce (24) are spaced apart to define an interstitial volume therebetween. Each row (34, 36) of palletized produce (26) includes at least an upper (42) and a lower (38) tier with a vertical spacing therebetween. A flexible sealing strip (64) is affixed to the support and position structure (32) to generally seal the vertical spacing between the tiers from the fluid circulation space. A fluid control mechanism (68, 70) is provided to exhaust fluid from the interstitial volume and to introduce a controlled fluid into the fluid circulation space to create a pressure differential between the interstitial volume and the circulation space to thereby force the controlled fluid to flow generally uniformly through the palletized produce (24).
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