Vacuum cooler

Abstract

A cooler capable of achieving a sufficient temperature gradient between an inside of the cooler and an outside of the cooler such that at least a partial vacuum forms within the cooler may include an enclosure defined by at least one wall and a lid. The lid may form a relatively airtight seal with a wall of the cooler when in a closed position. A vacuum release assembly may be disposed in one of the walls or lid of the cooler, the assembly being capable of reducing a pressure differential between the enclosure and the outside of the cooler.

Claims

1. A method for sustaining a temperature difference within an enclosure of a cooler, the enclosure comprising a plurality of walls and a lid that surround a product storage area within the enclosure, wherein each of the lid and the plurality of walls are insulated and includes an exterior wall having an exterior surface facing an outside environment of the cooler and an interior wall having an interior surface facing the product storage area, the method comprising: receiving contact at a contact surface on the plurality of walls from the lid when the lid is placed in a closed position, wherein the received contact encloses the product storage area within the enclosure from the outside environment of the cooler; creating a vacuum between the plurality of walls and the lid when the lid is in the closed position by removing air within the enclosure, wherein the vacuum is created by a vacuum pump assembly comprising (i) a vacuum pump intake disposed in a vertical orientation in the exterior wall of one of the plurality of walls of the enclosure to allow movement a shaft of the vacuum pump intake in an upward direction and a downward direction to draw air, and (ii) a vacuum pump exhaust disposed in a non-vertical orientation in the exterior wall of another one of the plurality of walls of the enclosure to exhaust the drawn air outside of the cooler; forming a seal between the plurality of walls and the lid at the contact surface based on the vacuum after the contact is received; and reflecting infrared rays incident upon the cooler away from the enclosure to reduce radiant heat in the product storage area, wherein the infrared rays are reflected by a radiation reflecting material disposed in each of the plurality of walls and the lid, wherein the enclosure is capable of maintaining a temperature differential between the product storage area inside of the enclosure and the outside environment outside of the cooler.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method creates a substantial vacuum effect within the cooler where detrimental effects of an oxygen rich environment are reduced.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the creating the vacuum includes pumping the air out of the cooler through an exhaust channel of the vacuum pump assembly to remove the air to the outside environment.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, when one or more products are contained within the product storage area of the enclosure, a total heat transfer from the outside environment to that of the one or more products contained within the enclosure is limited based at least in part on the reflecting, thereby requiring a smaller amount of cooling substance to cool the one or more products while in the enclosure due to the limited heat transfer from the outside environment to said products.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising: providing a thermal insulation between the inside of the enclosure and the outside environment based at least in part on a thermally insulative material.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the seal formed between the plurality of walls and the lid is an airtight seal.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the cooler includes a plurality of reinforcement members disposed between the exterior wall and the interior wall of the lid and the plurality of walls to provide resistance to deformation and rupture of both the plurality of walls and the lid from loads exerted upon the cooler.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, during the creating the vacuum, the plurality of reinforcement members resist deformation between the exterior wall and the interior wall from depressurization of the enclosure.

9. A cooler comprising: an enclosure comprising a plurality of walls and a lid that surround a product storage area within the enclosure, the lid forming a seal at a contact surface of the plurality of walls enclosing the product storage area of the cooler when the lid is in a closed position, wherein each of the lid and the plurality of walls that surrounds the enclosure are insulated and includes an exterior wall having an exterior surface facing outside the cooler and an interior wall having an interior surface facing the product storage area, and wherein the enclosure is capable of sustaining a temperature differential between the product storage area inside of the enclosure and the outside environment outside of the cooler and that a vacuum forms the seal between the lid and the plurality of walls of the cooler when the lid is in the closed position due to said vacuum; a vacuum pump assembly to create the vacuum, comprising (i) a vacuum pump intake disposed in a vertical orientation in the exterior wall of one of the plurality of walls of the cooler to allow movement a shaft of the vacuum pump intake in an upward direction and a downward direction to draw air, and (ii) a vacuum pump exhaust disposed in a non-vertical orientation in the exterior wall of another one of the plurality of walls of the enclosure to exhaust the drawn air outside of the cooler; and a radiation reflecting material disposed in each of the plurality of walls and the lid of the enclosure and operable to reflect infrared rays incident on the enclosure away from the enclosure to reduce radiant heat in the product storage area.

10. The cooler of claim 9, wherein the removal of the air within the enclosure is able to create a substantial vacuum effect within the cooler where detrimental effects of an oxygen rich environment are reduced.

11. The cooler of claim 9, wherein the vacuum pump assembly includes an exhaust channel to cause release of the air being removed from within the enclosure to the outside environment.

12. The cooler of claim 9, wherein the vacuum pump assembly includes a handle to move in a translational motion for a user to operate the vacuum pump assembly.

13. The cooler of claim 9, wherein, when one or more products are contained within the product storage area of the enclosure, a total heat transfer from the outside environment to that of the one or more products contained within the enclosure is limited based at least in part on the radiation reflecting material, thereby requiring a smaller amount of cooling substance to cool the one or more products while in the enclosure due to the limited heat transfer from the outside environment to said products.

14. The cooler of claim 9, wherein the enclosure includes a thermally insulative material.

15. The cooler of claim 9, wherein the seal formed between the lid and the plurality of walls of the cooler is an airtight seal.

16. The cooler of claim 9, comprising at least one gripping handle disposed on a portion of the lid for manually placing the lid on the plurality of walls of the cooler or removing the lid from the plurality of walls of the cooler.

17. The cooler of claim 9, wherein at least one of the plurality of walls includes a curved section around at least a portion of the product storage area.

18. The cooler of claim 9, comprising a first handle and a second handle each disposed on opposite sides of the cooler to allow a user to lift the cooler.

19. The cooler of claim 9, wherein the cooler includes a plurality of reinforcement members disposed between the exterior wall and the interior wall of the lid and the plurality of walls to provide resistance to deformation and rupture of both the plurality of walls and the lid from loads exerted upon the cooler.

Description

DRAWING FIGURES

(1) The invention will be best understood, together with additional advantages and objectives thereof, from the following descriptions, read with reference to the drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a top view of a cooler constructed according to the teachings of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 is a front view of a cooler constructed according to the teachings of the present invention with portions being broken away to illustrate the interior construction of the cooler.

(4) FIG. 3 is a side view of a cooler constructed according to the teachings of the present invention with portions being broken away to illustrate the interior construction of the cooler.

(5) FIG. 4 is a side view of a cooler constructed according to the teachings of the present invention.

(6) FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken from FIG. 3 showing the vacuum release valve interface and its internal details according to the teachings of the present invention.

(7) FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken from FIG. 7 showing the details of the perforated reinforcement member according to the teachings of the present invention.

(8) FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken from FIG. 2 showing the assembly of the vacuum pump assembly and cooler housing assembly interface and details of a cooler constructed according to the teachings of the present invention.

(9) FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken from FIG. 2 showing the lid assembly and cooler housing assembly interface and details of a cooler constructed according to the teachings of the present invention.

DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS

(10) 10 cooler lid assembly 12 cooler lid gripping handles 14 cooler assembly 16 vacuum pump handle 18 vacuum release button 20 radiation reflecting material 22 cooler assembly handle 24 perforated interior shell wall 26 perforating holes 28 perforated cooler lid shell wall 30 seal 32 vacuum pump assembly 34 vacuum pump exhaust 36 vacuum pump intake 38 spring 40 plunger 42 outside air exhaust 44 outside air intake 46 plunger shaft 48 vacuum release assembly 50 exterior shell 52 perforated reinforcement member 54 product storage area 56 vacuum space 58 non perforated shell wall

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

(11) Various embodiments of the invention are described by reference to the drawings in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts. Various items of equipment that could be additionally employed to enhance functionality and performance such as fittings, mountings, sensors (e.g. temperature gages), etc., have been omitted to simplify the description. However, such conventional equipment and its applications are known to those of skill in the art, and such equipment can be employed as desired. Moreover, although the invention is described below in the context of the transport and storage of products that are sensitive to heat transfer and degradation due to oxygen present atmosphere, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention has applicability to the transport and/or storage of many different refrigerated or frozen products or items, e.g. medical supplies, biological material, chemicals, and the like.

(12) FIGS. 1 and 2 describe one embodiment of the cooler assembly, designated 14 of this invention that may be used to store products longer, maintain freshness, and substantially decrease the amount of heat transfer between the products and the outside environment. The cooler assembly is shown in a rectangular configuration, but can be of any convenient shape and composed of appropriate material(s) with regards to thermal transfer, weight, and strength. The cooler lid assembly designated 10, seals the cooler assembly by means of location and vacuum suction. The cooler lid assembly likewise is shown in a rectangular configuration but can also be of any convenient shape to match that of the cooler assembly 14. Typically the cooler and lid assemblies 14 and 10 can be shaped and sized to accommodate products for which they are designed. The cooler lid assembly 10 is manually placed or removed by the user by means of gripping handles designated 12. The cooler assembly 14 and cooler lid 10 are then depressurized by the user by the means of the pumping of the vacuum pump handle designated 16. This depressurization likewise seals the cooler lid 10 to the cooler assembly 14. The vacuum release button designated 18 is then pressed by the user to re-pressurize the cooler assembly 14 and the cooler lid 10, allowing the user to then remove the lid by the gripping handles 12 due to the fact that the suction seal between the cooler assembly 14 and the cooler lid 10 has been neutralized. The cooler and lid assemblies 14 and 10 are constructed of such materials to be light, durable, and to minimize thermal conductance.

(13) Referring to FIG. 7 showing an enlarged sectional view of the interior of the cooler assembly 14, the stored products experience substantially less heat transfer as a result of both the removal of air molecules, by manipulation of the vacuum pump assembly designated 32, from the cooler assembly 14 and the cooler lid assembly 10, which greatly reduces convection and conduction. Stored products likewise experience less heat transfer due to radiation from the reflecting of that radiation by the radiation reflecting material designated 20. The vacuum pump assembly 32, is manipulated by the user by means of the vacuum pump handle 16. The vacuum pump assembly is rigidly fixed connected to the cooler assembly 14 to both the exterior shell designated 50 and the perforated reinforcement member(s) designated 52. The vacuum pump assembly 32 when manipulated by the user depressurizes the cooler assembly 14 and the cooler lid assembly 10 by removing air from the vacuum space(s) designated 56 through the vacuum pump intake designated 36 and exhausting the air to the outside environment through the vacuum pump exhaust designated 34 which penetrates the exterior shell 50. Likewise the stored products are shielded from the effects of heat transfer associated with radiation by the radiation reflecting material 20 that is laminated to the perforated interior shell wall(s) designated 24. The perforated reinforcement members 52 that are shown throughout the cooler assembly 14 and the cooler lid assembly 10 provide resistance to deformation and rupture of both assemblies as a result of loads generated by stored product(s) weight, exterior impact, depressurization, and other environmental loads, but allow air to flow from both assemblies into the vacuum pump intake 36.

(14) FIGS. 3 and 4 describe embodiments of the cooler and lid assemblies 14 and 10 in closed configuration with a partial section view describing the interior construction of both. The assemblies are in many respects constructed similarly to the prior art. Accordingly, an exterior mounted cooler assembly handle(s) designated 22 is manipulated by the user to lift the cooler assembly 14 and can be substituted with various embodiments true to the intent of the function. The vacuum release button 18 is located adjacent to the vacuum pump handle 16 for convenience however, can be located at any convenient location on the cooler assembly 14. The vacuum release assembly 48 which is used to re-pressurize the cooler assemblies 14 and 10, and is embodied as a manually manipulated device, can be of any convenient design or configuration, including that of alternate mechanical or electronic mechanisms. Likewise, the embodiment of the vacuum pump assembly 32, can be of any convenient design or configuration, including that of alternate mechanical or electronic mechanisms. FIG. 4 describes the basic shape of the cooler assembly 14 in the representation as dashed lines of the interior bottom and side walls, exterior walls, bottom and top surfaces, and perforated reinforcement members 52 throughout the assembly. FIG. 3 also demonstrates the continuous lamination of the radiation reflecting material 20 throughout the assemblies to completely shield store products from the effects of heat transfer from radiation, specifically along all side walls, the interior face of the cooler lid assembly 10, and along the interior bottom face of the cooler assembly 14.

(15) FIG. 5 describes in a sectional view the embodiment of the vacuum release assembly in its manual conceptual function and can be of any convenient configuration or alternate mechanical or electrical mechanism. The described function consists of the use of the plunger designated 40 to provide an air stop from the openings within the assembly noted as outside air exhaust designated 42 and the outside air intake designated 44. When the user has depressurized the cooler assemblies 14 and 10, the vacuum release assembly stops air from the outside environment, driven by the external/internal pressure differential, from re-entering the cooler assemblies by means of force applied by the spring designated 38 to the plunger shaft designated 46. At the point in which the user wishes to re-pressurize the cooler assemblies 14 and 10, the user will apply force to the vacuum release button 18 which combined with atmospheric pressure will overpower the spring 38 and allow the plunger 40 to move downward and provide an opening for air to enter the vacuum space and neutralize the pressure differential.

(16) FIG. 6 illustrates an example view of a perforated reinforcement member 52 detailing the perforating holes designated 26 use to allow air flow through the reinforcing member, thereby allowing the member to strengthen the assemblies 14 and 10 but not to impede the creation of a vacuum within the assemblies 14 and 10. The perforating hole(s) 26 may be of any convenient shape and size without reducing the necessary strength of the member.

(17) FIG. 8 illustrates an enlarged sectional view of the functional mating connection between the cooler assembly 14 and the cooler lid assembly 10. The perforated cooler lid shell wall 28 rests on the seal designated 30 within the opening shape provided by the cooler assembly 14. Wall and shell construction of both the cooler and lid assemblies 14 and 10 beyond that of the seal 30 where the surfaces could be exposed to the environment are no longer perforated as illustrated by the component changes of the non-perforated shell wall designated 58 and the exterior shell 50. The continuous seal 30 itself is of some appropriate material relative to its function and rests on a continuous ledge or extrusion from the perforated interior shell wall 24. When the user depressurizes the cooler assemblies 14 and 10 the resulting suction force generated by the pressure differential between the outside environment and the vacuum space 56 will cause the cooler lid assembly 10 to be forcibly sealed to its point of contact with the seal 30, thus creating a locking force that will be maintained until the user re-pressurizes the assemblies 14 and 10.