ISOTHERMAL CONTAINER

Abstract

An isothermal container for passive refrigeration is provided. The isothermal container has a container cavity, a lid configured to seal the container cavity and a lid compartment configured to house a cooling mass. The lid compartment has a through opening formed in a bottom wall thereof, as well as a plate resting on peripheral edges of the through opening thereby closing it. The plate is made of a material having a mechanical strength higher than the mechanical strength of the material of which the lid compartment is made.

Claims

1. An isothermal container for passive refrigeration, said isothermal container comprising a container cavity, a lid and a lid compartment configured to house a cooling mass, wherein said lid compartment comprises a through opening formed in a bottom wall thereof, as well as a plate that rests on peripheral edges of said through opening thereby closing it, and wherein said plate is made of a material having a mechanical strength higher than the mechanical strength of the material of which the lid compartment is made.

2. The isothermal container according to claim 1, wherein the lid compartment is made of expanded polystyrene and the plate is made of expanded polyurethane, expanded polypropylene, cellular polyethylene or aluminum.

3. The isothermal container according to claim 1, wherein the plate comprises one or more through-openings.

4. The isothermal container according to claim 1, wherein the plate comprises reinforcing ribs.

5. The isothermal container according to claim 1, wherein the plate comprises a honeycomb structure.

6. The isothermal container according to claim 1, wherein, according to a top plan view, the lid compartment has the same size of the container cavity and is fitted on the top of the latter thus sealing it, and wherein the lid closes the top of the lid compartment.

7. The isothermal container according to claim 1, wherein peripheral walls and a bottom wall of the container cavity comprise a plurality of ribs.

8. The isothermal container according to claim 1, further comprising locking means for locking the plate on the bottom wall of the lid compartment, said locking means being arranged between the lid and the plate and having a height substantially corresponding to the distance between the lid and the plate.

9. The isothermal container according to claim 8, wherein the locking means comprise blocks and wherein, in an assembled configuration, said blocks are arranged on opposite sides of the through opening formed in the bottom wall of the lid compartment.

10. The isothermal container according to claim 8, wherein the locking means are configured as an annular element and wherein, in an assembled configuration, said annular element is arranged along the periphery of the through opening formed in the lid compartment.

11. The isothermal container according to claim 8, wherein the locking means are integrated in the lid.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The invention will be described with reference to the following drawings in which:

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective, longitudinal section view showing an isothermal container according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective, longitudinal section view of the isothermal container of FIG. 1;

[0020] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective, longitudinal section view showing an alternative embodiment of the isothermal container of FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a lid of the isothermal container of FIG. 3;

[0022] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective, longitudinal section view showing an alternative embodiment of the container according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, an isothermal container according to the present invention is generally indicated with reference numeral 100.

[0024] The isothermal container 100 comprises a container cavity 110 and a lid 120 configured to seal the container cavity 110.

[0025] The container cavity 110 and the lid 120 of the isothermal container 100 are designed and dimensioned according to the duration and climatic conditions foreseen for transportation, as well as according to a temperature range required for a particular type of product, and depending on the size and amount of products to be stored and transported.

[0026] The isothermal container 100 further comprises a lid compartment 130 intended to contain a cooling mass (not shown) for example consisting of a plurality of dry ice units or cartridges.

[0027] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the lid compartment 130 has for example the same size of the container cavity 110 seen from above and is fitted on the top of it thus sealing it. The container lid 120 instead seals the lid compartment 130.

[0028] According to the present invention, the lid compartment 130 comprises a through opening 131 formed in a bottom wall 132 thereof, for example made during its molding process, and also a plate 140 that is arranged on the peripheral edges of the through opening 131 thereby closing it.

[0029] In the illustrated embodiment, the through opening 131 has a shape and a size substantially corresponding to the shape and size of the bottom wall 132, but it will be appreciated that this is not a limiting feature of the invention and that the through opening 131 might have a different shape and a lower size compared to the bottom wall 132.

[0030] The plate 140 is made of a material such as e.g. expanded polyurethane, expanded polypropylene, cellular polyethylene or aluminum, which have good thermal insulation properties and a mechanical strength that is generally higher than that of expanded polystyrene in terms of pull, shear and bend resistance, thus allowing to make strong bottom walls even when they have a small thickness, for example in the order of few millimeters.

[0031] More generally, the plate 140 is made of a material that is mechanically more resistant to pull, shear and bend forces than the material of which the lid compartment 130 is made.

[0032] Given a cooling mass, it is thus possible to adjust heat exchange through the plate 140 that separates the lid compartment 130 from the container cavity 110 in a more effective manner compared to prior art isothermal containers. Depending on the desired insulating design, it is possible to choose the most suitable thickness, shape and material for the plate 140.

[0033] In order to increase the loading capacity given a certain material, it is advantageously possible to form reinforcing ribs on the plate 140, or to provide the plate 140 with a honeycomb structure.

[0034] The plate 140 may advantageously be blocked on the bottom wall 132 of the lid compartment 130 in order to make the assembly of the two components more stable.

[0035] To this purpose, as particularly shown in FIG. 2, the isothermal container 100 comprises locking means 150 arranged between the lid 120 and the plate 140. The locking means 150 can for example be in the form of blocks arranged along two opposite sides of the through opening 131 formed in the lid compartment 130.

[0036] The height of the locking means 150 substantially corresponds to the distance between the lid 120 and the plate 140 resting on the bottom wall 132 of the lid compartment 130 so that by fitting the lid 120 into the lid container 130, the locking means 150, e.g. the blocks shown in FIG. 2, are enclosed without play between these two components, thereby preventing the plate 140 from being raised or, more generally, moved relative to the through opening 131.

[0037] Alternatively to the blocks, the locking means 150 can be configured as an annular element arranged along the periphery of the opening 131 formed in the lid compartment 130. As in the case of the blocks, the height of the annular element substantially corresponds to the distance between the lid 120 and the plate 140 resting on the bottom wall 132 of the lid compartment 130, thereby preventing the plate 140 from being moved relative to the opening 131.

[0038] The blocks, the annular element, or any equivalent locking means 150 may advantageously be integrated into the lid 120.

[0039] FIGS. 3 and 4 show, for example, an annular element 150 integrated in the lid 120.

[0040] Now referring to FIG. 4, according to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the plate 140 may advantageously comprise one or more through openings 141 which, for a given thickness, allow to promote heat exchange between the cooling mass housed in the lid compartment 130 and the products stored in the container cavity 110. The through-openings 141 can be made thanks to the mechanical properties of the material used to make the plate 140, which, as explained above, are higher than the mechanical properties of the material of which the lid compartment 130 is made.

[0041] The invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof. It will be appreciated that there may be further embodiments relating to the same inventive concept, as defined by the scope of protection of the claims set forth below.