Provided are vacuum-insulated articles comprising inner and outer tubes that define an evacuated space therebetween, one or both of the inner and outer tubes optionally comprising a flared region and a joint region that define a trough into which brazing or other material can be applied to facilitate sealing the inner and outer tubes to one another.

Provided is a vacuum heat-insulating container including an outer cylinder having a bottom and an inner cylinder having a bottom and disposed inside the outer cylinder, with a vacuum space formed between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder. The inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are disposed such that an opening plane of the inner cylinder is located outward of an opening plane of the outer cylinder. The outer cylinder has a first annular wall. The inner cylinder has a second annular wall. The vacuum heat-insulating container further includes an annular sealing member that is made of an elastic body having a lower coefficient of heat transfer than the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder, and that is squeezed between the first annular wall and the second annular wall so as to seal the vacuum space.

The invention relates to a portable hand-held device for accommodating and transporting food or a beverage, having a thermally insulated container (2), which is intended to accommodate food or a beverage in an accommodating space (7) and which has an inner and an outer wall (8), and an insulating space (9) arranged therebetween, enclosing the accommodating space, the insulating space being of closed and sealed design and having been evacuated; and having a container closure (3), which is intended to close a container opening (4) of the thermally insulated container (2), wherein the insulating space (9) contains a working medium (11) which, by means of thermal energy being supplied from the outside via the outer wall (8), can be transferred in a reversible manner between a thermally insulating, initial state, in which the working medium (11) is in the solid state and is in contact with the outer wall (6), and is not in contact with the inner wall (5), and a thermally conductive state, in which at least some of the working medium (11) is in the liquid state and has expanded and is in thermally conductive contact both with the outer wall (6) and with the inner wall (5). The invention also provides a method for controlling the temperature of food or of a beverage in a portable hand-held device.

An insulating container can be configured to retain a volume of liquid, and include a first inner wall having a first end having an opening extending into an internal reservoir, and a second outer wall forming an outer shell. The second outer wall can include a second end configured to support the container on a surface. The second outer wall can include a dimple, and the dimple can include a circular base and an inner portion converging to an hole extending into the second outer wall. The hole can be sealed by a resin, and the circular base can be covered by disc formed of the material. Alternatively, a cap can cover the dimple, and a weld can connect the cap to the second outer wall. The container can also include a sealed vacuum cavity forming an insulated double-wall structure between the first inner wall and the second outer wall.

An insulating container can be configured to retain a volume of liquid, and include a canister having a first inner wall having a first end having an opening extending into an internal reservoir, and a second outer wall forming an outer shell. The opening can be sealed by a spout adapter, the spout adapter having a spout channel extending between the internal reservoir and a spout opening, smaller than the opening of the canister. The spout opening may be sealed with a cap having a magnetic top surface, and the spout adapter may be further removably coupled to a lid that may be used as a cup into which a volume of the liquid can be poured. In addition, spout adapter assembly with an adapter that releasably attaches to the canister and a plug that is received within the adapter that moves to place the spout adapter assembly into an open and a closed orientation. The plug may have a means to provide tactile feedback to a user that the spout adapter assembly is in an optimal pouring condition.

In a vacuum insulating container, an outer cylinder has a first annular wall that extends radially inward so as to be inclined with respect to an aperture plane of the outer cylinder at an open end of the outer cylinder and has a tip end part spaced apart from an outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder; an inner cylinder has a second annular wall that extends radially outward so as to be inclined with respect to the aperture plane of the inner cylinder at an open end of the inner cylinder and faces the first annular wall; and an annular sealing member formed of an elastic body having a low thermal conductivity is compressed between the first annular wall and the second annular wall.

A configurable beverage container that insulates a disposable lidded cup (which can be of varying sizes) while a user drinks from it while travelling. A user can then remove a disposable cup for increased beverage portability while leaving the insulated portion in a desired location. Similarly, if a person chooses to drink the beverage more slowly the container will assist in maintaining the desired temperature of the beverage for a longer period of time.

An article includes walls defining an insulating space therebetween and a vent forming an exit for gas molecules during evacuation of the space. A distance separating the walls is variable in a portion adjacent the vent such that gas molecules are directed towards the vent imparting a greater probability of molecule egress than ingress such that deeper vacuum is developed without requiring getter material. The variable-distance portion may be formed by converging walls. Alternatively, a portion of one of the walls may be formed such that a normal line at any location within that portion is directed substantially towards a vent opening in the other wall.

A thermally insulated cooler for keeping canned drinks cold has a tubular shape. Cans are stacked in the tube one atop the other, and the inner diameter of the tube fits closely around the circumference of the cans. The length of the cooler can be sized to accommodate various numbers of cans. The cooler is of double wall construction, and the space between the walls is either a vacuum or a thermally insulating material. A coil spring in the bottom of the tube biases the cans through the upper end of the tube. A retaining ring mounted to the open end of the tube has an opening with radially inwardly projecting tabs that grip a can as the spring feeds it through the opening. The tabs hold the can partially protruding from the tube until a user affirmatively removes the can from the tube.

A container with functions of temperature indication and thermal storage is provided. The container includes: an inner bottle containing a liquid, a thermochromic and thermal storage material layer disposed on the outer side of the inner bottle, and a first polymer layer disposed on the outer side of the thermochromic and thermal storage material layer. The thermochromic and thermal storage material layer comprises a thermal storage material and a thermochromic material. The thermal storage material is adapted to undergo a phase change for absorption or release of thermal energy. The thermochromic material is mixed in the thermal storage material and having at least two color changes depending on a temperature change. Wherein, the first polymer layer includes a wavelength-selective polymer, and the thermochromic and thermal storage material layer absorbs light passing through the first polymer layer.