CN116601445A

CN116601445A - Cold storage device

Info

Publication number: CN116601445A
Application number: CN202180083727.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 皮特·格洛特; 马里奥·伦茨
Original assignee: B Medical Systems SARL
Current assignee: B Medical Systems SARL
Priority date: 2020-12-11
Filing date: 2021-12-08
Publication date: 2023-08-15
Also published as: LU502574B1; WO2022122835A1; LU502574A1; US20240102716A1; GB202019621D0; EP4244550A1

Abstract

An electronic paper display is used with ice-lined cold storage devices to display data from the device data system and/or from an external network.

Description

Cold storage device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cold storage device, in particular for storing and/or transporting vaccines and/or medical products, and a method of operating such a device.

Background

In order to ensure its quality, longevity and effectiveness, the vaccine must be stored and transported at an optimal storage temperature, typically at +2 ℃ and at +8 ℃. Exposure to higher or lower temperatures can lead to deterioration of the vaccine. These and other practical requirements are met by a special vaccine storage refrigerator, for example, avoiding any significant temperature variations between different locations within the vaccine storage compartment. Some vaccine freezers, in particular complex mains powered (sophisticated mains powered) vaccine freezers used in sanitary centres, also include a data logger for monitoring the temperature of the stored vaccine over time; this helps to confirm that the vaccine remains under the proper cold chain pieces throughout the storage period. In addition, a separate data logger, typically with an integrated temperature monitor, may be placed in the vaccine storage compartment along with the vaccine being stored. The temperature history recorded by such data loggers is typically transmitted to a separate computer monitoring system for verification and display.

Refrigerated vaccine storage presents particular problems without a reliable primary power source. For example, in remote sanitary centers in developing countries that are not connected to the power grid, solar power systems are used to power ice-lined vaccine freezers. Such a solar powered ice lined vaccine refrigerator is configured such that its electrical cooling circuit (electrical cooling circuits) produces an ice liner that acts as a thermal container; the ice liner absorbs heat from its surroundings and helps to keep the vaccine storage compartment within a desired temperature range when no solar power is available to power the electrical cooling circuit, for example during the night or during the day when insufficient solar radiation is available. Such solar powered ice lined vaccine freezers are also equipped with a temperature data logger powered by a data system battery that is rechargeable when solar powered. Another special case in the cold chain is, for example, the development of abduction vaccination programs in villages far from the hygiene center. Vaccines are typically transported from a health center with specialized vaccine coolers to a (typically remote) abduction site using passive, ice-lined vaccine containers.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved ice-lined vaccine storage device.

According to one of its aspects, the present invention provides a cold storage device according to claim 1. Other aspects are defined in the other independent claims. The dependent claims define preferred or alternative features.

In one of its aspects, the present invention is based on the recognition that by focusing on ice-lined cold storage devices, in particular on improved arrangements for displaying data (in particular temperature data and/or warning information) from the data system of ice-lined cold storage devices, the cold chain, in particular for vaccines and medical products, can be significantly improved. For cold storage devices that are not connected to an external power source for a significant period of time during use, and therefore, whose data system must rely on the data system battery, electronic paper displays allow the display of data and are used to display the data to be maintained. Furthermore, the functional requirements for these data systems are increasing, for example, data communication functions, which provide additional drain on limited data system battery power; thus, little power is required in the required operation, and the electronic paper of the data system shows that other data system uses "release" the limited available power.

As used herein, the term "electronic paper display" refers to a display whose display elements reflect light (unlike, for example, an LED display whose LED display elements emit light), and rely on static display using materials whose color states are bistable, so that the display continuously displays images without consuming power (unlike, for example, an LCD display, which is a volatile display that requires power to be applied to maintain image display). The electronic paper display can be an electrophoresis display, a microcapsule electrophoresis display and an electrowetting display; or electrofluidic displays. Preferably, the electronic paper display is configured to allow partial refresh; this allows for low energy consumption. Ice-lined cold storage devices, particularly passive ice-lined cold storage devices, are often used in bright sunlight; electronic paper displays using display elements that reflect rather than emit light also facilitate reading the display under such conditions.

The data from the data system that the electronic paper display is configured to display may include one or more of the following: an internal temperature of the cold storage compartment; a temperature outside the cold storage device; remaining battery power available to the data logger; residual capacity of the data system battery; one or more alarms; status indication (e.g., closed, not closed) of the cover of the cold storage device; residual autonomy of the cold storage device; telemetry data of the cold storage device.

In a preferred embodiment, the cold storage device is a vaccine storage device configured to maintain the temperature of its cold storage compartment between +2 ℃ and +8 ℃.

As used herein, the term "ice-lined cold storage device" refers to a device that is configured to maintain its cold storage compartment within a controlled temperature range that is lower than its ambient temperature based on the insulation of the cold storage device and the provision of an ice liner that acts as a heat capacity to absorb heat from the cold storage compartment. Preferably, the ice liner is provided by one or more ice packs. Such ice bags are preferably filled with water; this allows ready use of materials, ease of maintenance and replacement, and allows ice liners to be provided by containers that can be filled locally rather than transported in an already filled state. Additionally, the ice liner may be water-based, for example, including at least 70wt%, at least 80wt%, or at least 90wt% water.

The invention is particularly applicable to passive cold storage devices. As used herein, the term "passive cold storage device" refers to a cold storage device that does not include a refrigeration circuit, such as an electrically driven refrigeration circuit, and relies on passive means (especially pre-chilled ice packs and insulated cold storage devices) to maintain its cold storage compartment within a controlled temperature. Such passive cold storage devices are not connected to an external electrical energy source, such as a mains power supply or solar panel, when used for storing vaccines or other products, for example during transportation of the vaccine from a sanitary centre to a abduction item. Thus, no external source of electrical energy is available to power the data system or to charge the data system battery.

In particular in case the ice-lined cold storage device is a passive cold storage device, the device may be a transportation device configured to store the product, in particular the vaccine, during transportation. The passive cold storage device may have:

-a cold storage compartment having a volume of ≡0.4L and/or ≡25L, for example between 0.5L and 2L, or between 2L and 10L; and/or

-a holding time at +32 ℃ of at least 16 hours; and/or

-a holding time at +43 ℃ of at least 8 hours; and/or

Refrigerated life (without uncapping until +10℃) at +43℃) of at least 16 hours.

Such a device is particularly suitable for storing vaccines during transport.

The invention is also applicable to the regenerative power supply ice-lined cold storage equipment. As used herein, the term "regeneratively powered cold storage device" refers to a cold storage device having an electrical cooling circuit that includes a compressor that is powered directly by a solar panel or wind turbine, rather than by connection to a main power source. Such a regeneratively powered, ice-lined cold storage appliance is preferably configured such that its electrical cooling circuit cools the integrated ice bag to form an ice liner, such that when the regeneratively powered is not available, the preformed ice liner absorbs heat from its surroundings and helps to maintain the cold storage compartment within its desired temperature range. Preferably, the regeneratively powered cold storage device has a battery-less electric cooling circuit, that is, the electric cooling circuit does not include a battery configured to power the compressor of the cooling circuit (as opposed to the battery providing power to the control circuit for controlling, for example, the compressor). This avoids the problems associated with the transportation, replacement and disposal of such batteries.

In particular for such regeneratively powered, ice-lined cold storage devices:

a) The volume of the cold storage compartment may be 15L or more and/or 260L or less; this provides for storing the appropriate amount of vaccine. It may be greater than or equal to 40L, greater than or equal to 50L or greater than or equal to 55L, and/or less than or equal to 1500L, less than or equal to 100L, less than or equal to 90L or less than or equal to 85L; and/or

b) The cold storage device may have a holding time of 12 hours or more when tested at an ambient temperature of 32 ℃ and/or 8 hours or more when tested at an ambient temperature of 43 ℃.

An ice liner, in particular for a regeneratively powered ice-lined cold storage device, preferably extends around at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70% or at least 80% of the periphery of the cold storage compartment; this helps to ensure consistency of temperature within the cold storage compartment.

The cold storage device may be provided with an inner liner, preferably forming a continuous barrier between the cold storage compartment and the ice liner. The liner may include a thermally insulating layer, such as foam. The liner helps to control the flow of heat from the cold storage compartment to the ice liner to avoid overcooling the cold storage compartment and provides physical isolation to avoid direct contact between the vaccine and the ice liner.

The data system is preferably integrated in, i.e., is a permanent component of, the ice-lined cold storage device; this ensures that the cold storage device is present and operational each time it is used, avoiding the risk of losing or missing a non-integrated, stand-alone system.

The data system preferably comprises:

-a transmitter configured to transmit data, in particular data from the data logger, from the data system to an external network; and/or

-a receiver configured to receive data sent by an external network, in particular for controlling an electronic paper display.

Such transmissions are preferably wireless transmissions. Thus, the data system may be configured to, for example:

a) Transmitting information related to the temperature of the cold storage device to an external computer system for remote monitoring; and/or

b) Data, such as warning messages or instructions, from the remote monitoring system are accepted for display on the electronic paper display.

The data system is preferably powered by a data system battery integrated in the cold storage device. The data system battery is preferably rechargeable, for example, from a solar power source when the cold storage device is a regeneratively powered cold storage device, or from an external power source (e.g., a mains power source) to which the passive cold storage device may be connected, for example, periodically. The data system battery is replaceable. This configuration of the data system battery operating voltage at 4.5 to 6 volts (e.g., 5 volts) and/or battery capacity at 500 to 3000mAh allows for the use of relatively small, readily available battery types that do not add significant weight.

A configuration in which the refresh power requirement of the electronic paper display is in the range of 5 to 100mW, and/or the standby power is lower than 1mW, preferably lower than 0.1 mW; this helps to reduce the amount of power used by the display. Preferably, the electronic paper display is configured to be partially refreshed, that is, a portion of the display may be refreshed without requiring the entire display to be refreshed. This reduces the power required to change the data displayed on a portion of the display.

The data system may be configured to be switchable between a) a standard display mode in which the electronic paper display is periodically updated to display a plurality of updated data from the data system, and b) a power saving display mode; in the energy saving display mode, the electronic paper display displays only a selected portion of the data. For example, the display may be configured such that:

i) In its standard display mode, it displays a plurality of data, in particular selected from: an internal temperature of the cold storage compartment; a temperature outside the cold storage device; remaining battery power available to the data logger; residual capacity of the data system battery; one or more alarms; status indication (e.g., closed, not closed) of the cover of the cold storage device; residual autonomy of the cold storage device; telemetry data of the cold storage device; and

ii) in its energy saving display mode, it displays only one or two items selected from the following data: an internal temperature of the cold storage compartment; and one or more alarms.

This allows reducing the amount of power required to change the display in the power saving mode and thus ensures that more critical data is displayed.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cold storage device with an ice liner, with its lid open; and;

fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a cold storage device with an ice liner, with its lid closed.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 and 2 show an ice-lined cold storage device 10, particularly a passive cold storage device for storing vaccines during transport. The vaccine storage device 10 comprises a main body 11 and a cover 12, each having an outer rigid plastic shell filled with insulating foam. The interior of the main body 11 of the vaccine cooler 10 includes a recess 13 for receiving the ice packs 14,15 and a cold storage compartment 16 in which a vaccine bottle (not shown) is stored for transport.

An integrated electronic paper display 20 is provided on top of the lid 12 as part of the data system of the vaccine freezer 10 for displaying, for example, the temperature of a temperature probe (not shown) positioned within the vaccine storage compartment 16 and/or one or more warning messages, for example, a warning about the rate of temperature rise within the cold storage compartment 16 and/or a warning message received by the data system of the vaccine carrier 10 from an external network.

An example of the ice lined cold storage device 10 described above was a GDEM029T94 electronic paper display manufactured by dalteia corporation (Dalian Good Display co., ltd) configured and tested successfully and having the following characteristics:

paper display type	Dot matrix type; resolution of 296x128
		Full refresh	3 seconds; power consumption 9mW
Partial refresh	0.3 seconds; power consumption 0.3mW
		Standby power consumption	0.0033mW

List of reference numerals:

10 Cold storage device with Ice liner

11 main body

12 cover

13 pit

14 ice bag

15 ice bag

16 vaccine storage compartment

20 electronic paper display.

Claims

1. A cold storage device (10) with an ice liner, comprising:

-a cold storage compartment (16) arranged inside the ice-lined cold storage device; and

-an ice liner (14, 15) configured to absorb heat from the interior of the cold storage device;

wherein the cold storage device further comprises a data system comprising:

-a temperature probe configured to measure a temperature in the cold storage compartment;

-a data logger configured to record the temperature of the cold storage compartment measured by the temperature probe; and

-a visual display (20) configured to display data from the data system;

and wherein the visual display is an electronic paper display.

2. The ice-lined cold storage device (10) of claim 1, wherein the ice-lined cold storage device is a passive cold storage device.

3. Ice-lined cold storage device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the ice-lined cold storage device is a regeneratively powered cold storage device, in particular a regeneratively powered cold storage device with a battery-less electric cooling circuit.

4. Ice-lined cold storage device (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the visual display (20) is powered by a data system battery, in particular a data system battery having an operating voltage in the range of 4.5 to 6 volts and/or a capacity in the range of 500-3000 mAh.

5. The ice-lined cold storage device (10) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the visual display (20) is configured to display data from the data system, the data selected from the group consisting of: data from the temperature probe; data from and/or originating from the data logger; and data that has been sent to the data system.

6. An ice lined cold storage device (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the standby power of the electronic paper display (20) is less than 1mW, preferably less than 0.1mW.

7. The ice-lined cold storage device (10) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data system comprises:

-a transmitter configured to transmit data, preferably wirelessly, from the data system, in particular the data logger, to an external network, and/or

-a receiver configured to receive data transmitted, preferably wirelessly, by an external network, in particular for controlling the electronic paper display.

8. The ice-lined cold storage device (10) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data system comprises:

-a receiver configured to receive data transmitted by an external network, preferably wirelessly;

-and wherein the electronic display is configured to display data received by the receiver from the external network, in particular wherein the electronic display is configured to display warning information received by the receiver from the external network.

9. The ice-lined cold storage device (10) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data system is configured to be switchable between a) a standard display mode in which the electronic paper display is periodically updated to display a plurality of updated data from the data system, and b) an energy-saving display mode in which the electronic paper display displays only selected portions of the data.

10. The ice-lined cold storage device (10) of claim 10, wherein

i) In the energy-saving display mode, the data amount displayed by the electronic paper display is limited to reduce the power consumption of the electronic paper display, especially the partial refresh power consumption, and the data displayed in the energy-saving display mode is selected from the group consisting of: an internal temperature of the cold storage compartment; one or more alarms and combinations thereof; and

i) In its standard display mode, the electronic paper display displays more data than in the energy saving display mode, the data displayed in the standard display mode being selected from the group consisting of: an internal temperature of the cold storage compartment; a temperature outside the cold storage device; the remaining battery power available to the data logger; residual capacity of the data system battery; one or more alarms; status indication of a cover of the cold storage device; remaining autonomy of the cold storage device; telemetry data of the cold storage device; and combinations thereof.

11. The ice-lined cold storage device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the ice-lined cold storage device is a vaccine storage device.

12. A method of operating an ice-lined cold storage device (10) according to any preceding claim, comprising displaying data selected from the group consisting of: data from the data system, in particular the temperature of the cold storage compartment, and data sent from an external network to the cold storage device.

13. Use of an electronic paper display (20) integrated in an ice-lined cold storage device (10), the ice-lined cold storage device comprising:

-an ice liner (14, 15) configured to absorb heat from the interior of the cold storage device; and

-a data system comprising: a temperature probe configured to measure a temperature of the cold storage compartment; a data logger configured to record the temperature of the cold storage compartment measured by the temperature probe; the electronic paper display;

to display data selected from data from the data system and data sent from an external source.

14. Use of an electronic paper display (20) according to claim 13 to display data from the data system and data sent from an external source.

15. Use of an electronic paper display (20) according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the cold storage device is a cold storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.