An insulating apparatus can include a base portion, a side portion, and an upper portion. Each portion can include a double walled configuration with a gap defining an insulation volume therebetween. The base portion, the side portion, and the upper portion collectively define an interior volume of the insulating apparatus. In one embodiment, the base wall, first side wall, and first upper wall are stainless steel, and the second base wall, second side wall, and second upper wall are aluminum, and wool batting is positioned in the insulation volume, the second insulation volume, and the third insulation volume.

A vacuum insulator having a structure that improves thermal insulation performance, a method of manufacturing the vacuum insulator, and a refrigerator including the vacuum insulator are provided. The refrigerator includes an outer case configured to form an external appearance, an inner case provided inside the outer case and forming a storage compartment and a vacuum insulator provided between the outer case and the inner case. The vacuum insulator includes a core material formed of glass fibers having a diameter larger than or equal to 5 μm and smaller than or equal 8 μm, an adsorbent configured to adsorb a heat transfer medium, and an envelope configured to accommodate the core material and the adsorbent.

A vacuum insulated structure includes a first cover member of a unitary sheet member defining a perimeter portion, an outer frame portion defined radially inward of the perimeter portion, and an inner area surrounded and supported by the outer frame portion. The inner area defines a first planar level with a portion of the outer frame portion extending to a second planar level parallel to and spaced apart from the first planar level in an axial direction. The vacuum insulated structure further includes a second cover member of a unitary sheet and a thermal bridge interconnecting the first cover member and the second cover member at the perimeter portions thereof to define an insulating cavity therebetween. The outer frame portion deforms such that the inner area moves axially inward away from the second planar level under a force of the vacuum within the insulating cavity.

A refrigerator includes a vacuum-insulated cabinet structure enclosing an insulating cavity and including an outer wrapper having a first side wall defining a perimeter, an outer frame portion defined radially inward of the perimeter, and an inner area surrounded and supported by the outer frame portion. The inner area initially defines a first planar level with at least a portion of the outer frame portion extending to a second planar level parallel to and spaced apart from the first planar level in an axially outward direction. The insulating cavity is sealed and has a vacuum drawn therefrom with the outer frame portion deformed such that the inner area is moved axially inward away from the second planar level under a force of the vacuum within the insulating cavity with at least the portion of the outer frame portion remaining at the second planar level.

The present invention relates to an insulation used in home appliances and building materials. A method of manufacturing an insulation includes fabricating an adhesive solution by inputting a binder to water contained in a water tank, inputting long glass fibers to the adhesive solution, removing moisture by supplying the long glass fibers to a mesh belt, wherein the mesh belt move left and right and front and rear so that the long glass fibers are uniformly spread, fabricating glass fiber paper by drying the long glass fibers, winding the glass fiber paper in a roll form, and preparing the glass fiber paper rolls in multiple layers, stacking two or more sheets of the glass fiber paper supplied from the rolls, and sewing the sheets of stacked glass fiber paper.

An auger feeder includes a hopper having an inner hopper wall and an outer hopper wall where the inner hopper wall includes an air permeable surface. A space is positioned between the inner and outer hopper walls. A heater is coupled to an outside edge of the inner hopper wall or a n outside edge of the outer hopper wall while a feed screw is positioned along an inside edge of the inner hopper wall. The auger feeder additionally includes an evacuator coupled to a vacuum port that is positioned in the outer hopper wall. The auger feeder also includes an aperture exit positioned at a bottom of the inner and outer hopper walls.

A robust, durable, easy to use, reusable shipping container is disclosed that is capable of protecting contents from surrounding high temperatures up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit for a minimum of at least three and a half hours. The container includes an inner chamber surrounded by an outer chamber. A phase change liquid (PCL) is sequestered in a porous support matrix contained in the inner chamber, while the outer chamber is filled with high temperature insulation, forming an outer barrier layer that is designed to reduce heat flux into the inner chamber.

A thermal insulation panel includes an encasement and an insulative fiber core. The encasement includes a first encasement layer forming a first major surface of the panel and a second encasement layer forming a second major surface of the panel. The insulative fiber core is positioned between the first encasement layer and the second encasement layer.

An insulation compaction device includes an insulating structure of an appliance and has an insulating media disposed within an insulating cavity. An operable piston selectively engages the insulating structure and operates to define a selected cavity volume of the insulating cavity and a selected insulation density of the insulating media. A valve is attached to the insulating structure and in a passive state releases gas from the insulating cavity to the exterior during operation of the operable piston. Selective operation of a pump mechanism places the valve in an active state to extract gas from the insulating cavity and define a cavity pressure of the insulating cavity that is less than an equalized pressure. The operable piston and the pump mechanism are at least one of sequentially and simultaneously operable to define a selected piston chamber environment defined by the selected cavity volume and the cavity pressure.

A vacuum insulated structure includes a first cover member of a unitary sheet member defining a perimeter portion, an outer frame portion defined radially inward of the perimeter portion, and an inner area surrounded and supported by the outer frame portion. The inner area defines a first planar level with a portion of the outer frame portion extending to a second planar level parallel to and spaced apart from the first planar level in an axial direction. The vacuum insulated structure further includes a second cover member of a unitary sheet and a thermal bridge interconnecting the first cover member and the second cover member at the perimeter portions thereof to define an insulating cavity therebetween. The outer frame portion deforms such that the inner area moves axially inward away from the second planar level under a force of the vacuum within the insulating cavity.