With a bigger, brighter display, simplified user interface, and an expanded range of applications, Carrier Transicold’s entirely new APX (pronounced ‘apex’) control system is the first in the industry to use distributed electronics. The new display module with an illuminated information dashboard is said to be easy to read at a distance while offering push-button simplicity with fewer keystrokes. It displays five lines of information instead of the usual one.

Carrier says it’s easy to program and use, and it provides "exceptional" temperature management for any hauled commodity, especially when users take advantage of optional applications. These include IntelliSet for ease of use, Range Protect for added fuel optimization, and DataTrak, enabling wireless monitoring, control and data transfers, as well as interface with telematics providers for Wi-Fi, RF, cellular and satellite communications.

The APX control system’s newest app, Virtual Tech, is diagnostic software that runs continuously in the background, monitoring the TRU to help to avert system problems.
 
APX takes what was formerly housed in a single large metal control box and, with increased efficiency claimed, splits it into compact, sealed sub-components including the display module, the main microprocessor module, and a power-control module, among others. All modules use CAN-bus communications protocols, an industry standard also used on tractors. It makes for plug-and-play expansion, Carrier says, meaning today’s system can be easily upgraded with future hardware modules in ‘daisy-chain’ fashion. One of the benefits of this design approach is a wiring harness with fewer connections and that 40% less weight.

Exclusive to the APX display module is the ability to display data-recorder trip graphs – an at-a-glance visual indicator of conditions within the trailer throughout a delivery run. The built-in data recorder has four times the memory capacity of Carrier’s Advance controller, the forerunner to APX. A USB port provides convenient downloads of trip data reports onto a jump drive with flash memory storage. Programming uploads are just as easily achieved.