THERMAL INSULATING CONTAINER, METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THEREOF AND HERMETIC CLOSING KIT THEREWITH

Abstract

A thermal insulating container for containing substances and maintaining substances at a determined temperature is disclosed. The container has a continuous containment wall which extends in a single body and defines an inner containment region with an opening. The containment wall has a first, or outer layer, of ceramic material, and a second, or inner layer, facing towards the inner containment region of ceramic material and separated from the first layer forming a gap region inside which a vacuum is created. The outer layer has a hole for exit of the air during the step of firing the ceramic material and for extraction of air and creation of the vacuum inside the gap following the firing. The container also has closing means for hermetically closing the hole once the vacuum has been created.

Claims

1. A thermal insulating container for containing one or more substances and maintaining the substances at a determined temperature, the container comprising a continuous containment wall which extends in a single body and defines an inner containment region with an opening, the containment wall having an edge portion in proximity of the opening, wherein the containment wall is constituted by: a first layer, or outer layer, of ceramic material, and a second layer, or inner layer, facing towards the inner containment region of ceramic material and separated from the first layer so as to form a gap region inside which the vacuum is created, in which the outer layer comprises at least a hole for exit of the air during the step of firing the ceramic material and for extraction of the air and creation of the vacuum inside the gap following said firing and wherein the container further comprises closing means for hermetically closing the hole once the vacuum has been created.

2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic material is hard feldspathic porcelain.

3. The container according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic material of the first and second layer prevalently comprises feldspar, quartzes and kaolin and variable densities of material due to structures similar to sponges and/or nanospheres.

4. The container according to claim 1, wherein the first layer forms a continuous body with the second layer and is in direct contact with the second layer at least at the edge portion of the containment wall.

5. The container according to claim 1, wherein the first layer is never in direct contact with the second layer and the container further comprises a junction element of ceramic material positioned at the edge portion of the containment wall for an indirect connection between the first and the second layer.

6. The container according to claim 5, wherein ceramic material of the junction element comprises a spongy reticulated material or nanospheres made of a hard feldspathic porcelain defining a density of the material which is lower than the density of the first and second layer.

7. The container according to claim 1, wherein the containment wall comprises at least a region having low heat conduction at the edge portion, wherein the ceramic material of the first and second layer in said region comprises a spongy reticulated material or nanospheres made of a hard feldspathic porcelain defining a density of the material which is lower than the density of the material outside said region.

8. The container according to claim 1, wherein the closing means are kept in position by a pressure variation exerted on said closing means by the vacuum created inside the gap.

9. A hermetic closing kit comprising a container according to claim 1 and a closing element to be positioned at the edge portion of the containment wall of the container so as to close the opening of said container, the closing element being constituted by two layers of ceramic material separate from one another and defining a gap inside which the vacuum is created and at least a sealing element made of a polymeric material coupled to the closing element, wherein, in a closed configuration, the sealing element is in direct contact with the containment wall of the container for hermetically closing the opening.

10. A method for realising a thermal insulating container according to claim 1, the method comprising following steps: realising a first layer, or outer layer, of ceramic material with a firing process at a temperature T.sub.1, said first layer defining the outer continuous containment wall of the container, realising a second layer, or inner layer, of ceramic material with a firing process at a temperature T.sub.2, equal to T.sub.1, said second layer defining the inner continuous containment wall of the container and being separated from the first layer so as to form a gap region, and create the vacuum inside the gap formed between the first and the second layer, wherein the creation of the vacuum takes place by extracting the air through a hole present on the outer layer, said hole being previously used for exit of the air during the firing step of the ceramic material and maintaining the vacuum inside the gap is done by use of closing means which hermetically close the hole once the vacuum has been created.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first layer and the second layer are made contemporaneously with a single firing process, the first layer forming a continuous body with the second layer and being in direct contact with the second layer at least at the edge portion of the containment wall.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising, before creating the vacuum inside the gap, a step of realising a junction element of ceramic material by a firing process at a temperature T.sub.3 and hermetically fixing said junction element at the edge portion of the containment wall for an indirect connection between the first and the second layer.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of hermetically fixing the junction element to the containment wall takes place by a firing process at a temperature T.sub.4, much lower than T.sub.1, or by means of a gluing or welding process.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the closing means are held in position by a pressure change exerted on said closing means by the vacuum created inside the gap.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the hermetic closing of the hole using a robotic system guarantees a null or very nearly null value of the pressure inside the gap.

Description

[0056] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a container according to the present invention;

[0057] FIGS. 2a, 2b are a schematic representation of a container in which the first layer forms a continuous body with the second layer (2a) and in which the second layer is separated from the first layer (2b);

[0058] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the container according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0059] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a hermetic closing kit according to the present invention;

and

[0060] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the steps of the method for realising the container.

[0061] FIG. 1 shows the thermal insulating container 1 having a glass shape. The container 1 comprises a continuous containment wall 3 which extends in a single body and defines an inner containment region 8 with an opening. FIG. 1 in particular shows how the opening 4 is present on the upper portion of the container 1 opposite the base thereof.

[0062] The containment wall 3 comprises an edge portion 6 in proximity of the opening 4 and is constituted by an outer layer 10 and an inner layer 20. These two layers respectively determine an outer wall in contact with the external environment (outer layer 10) and an inner wall facing towards the inner containment region 8 (inner layer 20). The two layers are separate from one another so as to form a gap 30. A vacuum is created inside the gap.

[0063] The outer layer 10 comprises a hole 22 positioned on the base of the container 1 for air passage and closing means 40 for hermetically closing the hole 22 once the vacuum has been created inside the gap 30.

[0064] Both the first and the second layer 10, 20 are made of hard feldspathic porcelain. In this way, a container 1 can be obtained that is highly resistant and which can function effectively as thermal insulation. In fact, the hardness of the porcelain guarantees excellent resistance of the walls, even in a presence of a vacuum inside the gap. Further, the tried and tested production methods of ceramic material and porcelain guarantee an easy production of containers of any shape and size.

[0065] FIGS. 2a and 2b show two different and alternative embodiments of the container 1 according to the present invention.

[0066] FIG. 2a illustrates the configuration in which the first layer 10 forms a continuous body with the second layer 20. In particular, the first layer 10 is in direct contact with the second layer 20 at least at the edge portion 6 of the containment wall 3.

[0067] FIG. 2b instead shows the configuration in which the outer layer 10 and the inner layer 20 are not in direct contact. To make a connection between the two layers, a junction element 50 of ceramic material is provided, positioned at the edge portion 6 of the containment wall 3. Specifically, the junction element 50 has a ring shape which inserts in and adapts to the space present between the inner layer 20 and the outer layer 10.

[0068] The junction element 50 is fixable to the edge 6 of the container 1 by means of a low-temperature firing process in an induction furnace.

[0069] FIG. 3 shows a container 1, in which the containment wall 3 comprises a region 60 having low heat conduction at the edge portion 6 thereof. In particular, the ceramic material of the first and the second layer 10, 20 in this region 60 has a lower density than the material in the rest of the containment wall 3 outside the region 60.

[0070] FIG. 4 shows a container 1 provided with a closing element or cover 70. The cover is realised with two layers 72, 74 made of a ceramic material, separated from one another so as to define a gap 30. A vacuum is achieved inside the gap 30 so as to prevent heat conduction through the opening 4. With the aim of preventing dispersion of heat, the closing element 70 is provided with polymeric material, such as silicone, at the edges thereof.

[0071] Lastly, FIG. 5 is a flow chart describing the method 100 for realising the container 1.

[0072] The method 100 is essentially characterised in the realising of a first layer 102, 106; 110, or outer layer, of ceramic material with a firing process at a temperature T.sub.1, realising a second layer 102, 106; 112, or inner layer, of ceramic material with a firing process at a temperature T.sub.2, equal to T.sub.1 and creating the vacuum 104 inside the gap 30 formed between the two layers 10, 20.

[0073] As regards the realising of the two layers, this can take place in a single step with a single firing process 106 or alternatively separately 110, 112, with two distinct firing processes. In this second case, before creating the vacuum inside the gap 30, following the realising of the two layers 10, 20, a junction element 114 is realised, made of a ceramic material, with a firing process at a temperature T.sub.3 (equal to T.sub.1) and the junction element is hermetically fixed 116 at the edge portion 6 of the containment wall 3 for an indirect connection between the first and the second layer 10, 20. Concerning the creation of the vacuum 104, this is created by extracting the air 118 through a hole 22 present on the outer layer, in which the hole 22 is previously used for the exit of the air during the firing step of the ceramic material. Maintaining the vacuum 120 inside the gap 30 is done by use of closing means 40 which hermetically close the hole 22 once the vacuum has been created.

[0074] A person skilled in the art can introduce numerous further modifications and variations to the container, the kit and the method described in the foregoing, for the purpose of satisfying further and contingent requirements, all comprised within the scope of protection of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.