Cooler composed by an outer tank, within which a cooling tank and a useful tank are housed, among which there is an array of thermal energy accumulators, and within the tank useful there are temperature compensation chambers.

The present application is related to a portable refrigeration apparatus for vaccines, food items, beverage containers, or any other item. The apparatus includes a refrigerated container comprised of a plurality of substantially identical chilling panels interconnected to form a sealed container that defines an internal volume, each of the chilling panels containing a cooling element. The refrigerated container encloses an internal storage space and has a generally modular design to facilitate packaging and transportation. The apparatus permits the internal storage space to maintain a temperature in the range of 4° C.˜8° C. for a long period of time following a loss of electrical power.

Shipping system for storing and/or transporting temperature-sensitive materials. In one embodiment, the system includes an outer box having four side walls, bottom closure flaps, and top closure flaps. A vacuum insulated panel (VIP) is detachably coupled to one of the top closure flaps and is removably covered by a cover. An insulation unit is removably positioned within the outer box, the insulation unit including a plurality of VIPs arranged to define a cavity bounded by a bottom wall and four side walls. A disposable liner is removably mounted on the insulation unit. The liner may be a thermoformed sheet and may cover the interior and top surfaces of the insulation unit. A plurality of temperature-control members and a product box may be removably positioned in the liner. Preferably, the liner is shaped so that the temperature-control members snugly fit around all sides of the product box.

Shipping systems for temperature-sensitive materials and methods of making and using same. In one embodiment, the shipping system includes a cooler base and a lid. The base includes an inner portion and an outer portion. The inner portion includes a thermal insulation unit including a bottom wall and four side walls. A thermally-conductive member is positioned on the bottom wall. A polymeric bag encapsulates the thermally-conductive member and some of the thermal insulation unit. The outer portion includes thermally-insulating material and defines an opening. The inner portion is permanently bonded to the outer portion, with cavities defined therebetween. A product box is placed in the inner portion directly over the polymeric bag and the underlying thermally-conductive member. First temperature-control members are disposed within the inner portion, with at least one temperature-control member directly over the polymeric bag and the underlying thermally-conductive member. Second temperature-control members are disposed within the cavities.

The invention relates to a stacking container (1) for the temperature controlled transport of food, comprising an outer container (3) with an outer container base (31) and an outer container wall (32) which are connected together so as to form a receiving area (33) which is open on one side. The stacking container (1) additionally comprises an inner container (2) with an inner container base (21) and an inner container wall (22) which are connected together so as to form a container area (23) which is open on one side. The inner container wall (22) comprises an upper edge section (221), and the outer container base (31) comprises a lower edge section (311), said upper edge section and lower edge section being designed in a complementary manner in order to engage into each other when stacking containers (1) are stacked one over the other such that the outer container base (31) of an upper stacking container (1) in the stack forms a cover for a stacking container (1) arranged therebelow, and a vacuum insulating element (5) is arranged between the inner container wall (22) and the outer container wall (32) and between the inner container base (21) and the outer container base (31).

The currently disclosed invention consists of a system for rapidly chilling a beverage within a drinking container while it is being consumed. The preferred embodiment consists of two straight plastic tubes, one fitting inside the other, with ice contained between the outer tube and the inner tube, wherein beverage can be drawn up through the inner tube in the manner of a drinking straw. The tubes are created by extrusion molding, with an optional weight located within the outer tube, surrounding the base of the inner tube, and encased in plastic. Other embodiments of this system are possible, as are described within the specification incorporated herein.

A refrigerator having a thermal store comprising a phase change material is disclosed. The refrigerator has a cooling chamber for containing an object to be cooled, and a vapor compression refrigeration system including a first evaporator for cooling the cooling chamber and a second evaporator for cooling the phase change material. A valve is provided to control the flow of refrigerant to the first and second evaporators depending on the cooling load on the refrigerator. When the refrigerator is subject to a relatively low cooling load, refrigerant flows to the second evaporator to cool the phase change material and, when the refrigerator is subject to a relatively high cooling load, refrigerant flows to the first evaporator such that increased cooling is provided to the cooling chamber by the first evaporator and the phase change material.

A closure for increasing the storage life of perishables, which comprises a material with heating or cooling properties; a closure chamber comprising a chamber wall configured to house the material with heating or cooling properties; a seal structure for sealing or engaging the closure chamber to a perishable storage container for controlling the temperature in a perishable storage container; a fastening system to secure the closure chamber on a perishable storage container allowing the material with heating or cooling properties to act on stored perishables. The closure may act as part of a closure system that contains the closure with or without the material; and the container that stores perishables and may accommodates the material with heating or cooling properties in many configurations.

A passive cold storage container, notably a vaccine transport container, comprises: —a product storage compartment (11); —one or more ice-pack compartment(s) (14-17) arranged adjacent to the product storage compartment, the ice-pack compartment(s) being spaced from the product storage compartment by a thermal barrier (26-30); and —a thermally insulated envelope (18) surrounding the product storage compartment and the ice-pack compartment(s). The thermal barrier comprises a phase change material having a solid/liquid transition temperature which is ≥1.0° C. and ≤10° C. The configuration provides user-independent freeze-free protection.

A mobile vaccine carrier and method for operating the carrier. The carrier includes a housing having a lid preferably hinged to a base member, a vaccine storage member disposed within the housing and defining a storage space for a plurality of vaccine containers; and a cooling element disposed within the housing. The vaccine storage member further includes an inner container defining the storage space and having an inlet opening for placing and removing vaccine containers, a movable vaccine container holder and a cover member disposed on the lid. The vaccine container holder has an abutment portion abutting against an outer portion of the inner container so that the inlet opening is covered by the vaccine container holder and at least a part of the cover member protrudes into the storage space when the lid is in a closed position.