EP3601095B1

EP3601095B1 - Insulating container

Info

Publication number: EP3601095B1
Application number: EP17731276.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Carmine Marotta
Original assignee: Dryce SRL
Current assignee: Dryce SRL
Priority date: 2017-03-21
Filing date: 2017-05-04
Publication date: 2021-04-14
Anticipated expiration: 2037-05-04
Also published as: WO2018172824A1; EP3601095A1; IT201700031087A1

Description

Technical field of the invention

The present invention generally relates to the field of insulating containers for the transport of goods and in particular to a disposable insulating container for the transport of perishable products that need to be stored within a given temperature range.

Background

In the field of insulating containers for the transport of perishable products, which need to be stored within a predetermined temperature range for a limited time, containers are known which are made of insulating materials such as expanded polyethylene (EPE), expanded polypropylene ( EPP), polystyrene foam (EPS) or expanded polyurethane (EPUR). The walls of these containers have a thickness of 20 mm or greater so as to ensure maintenance of a desired temperature for a given time, as well as an adequate structural rigidity.
Insulating containers are generally manufactured by molding employing a suitable equipment having remarkable plant and operating costs that result in high costs of the individual insulating containers. Such costs can only be amortized by using the containers repeatedly over time. In the case of disposable containers, plant and operating costs can be amortized based on the amount of manufactured items.
In the field of insulating containers there is an increasing need for alternative solutions allowing to reduce manufacturing costs, as well as storage costs that are due to the size of the containers. Disposable containers are also frequently required.
WO2007116075 discloses a container for transporting cooled goods, comprising an inner container for receiving the cooled goods and an outer container surrounding the inner container. The inner container contains a thermally insulating material and has an outer surface on which outer ribs are arranged. The outer ribs generate spaces between the inner container and the outer container.
CA1318264 discloses a thermo box for the transportation of fresh goods, consisting of a double sidewall, cover and bottom construction of a thermo plastic material where the hollow space in the base portion, which defines the bottom of the box, the sidewalls and the cover are filled with air or some other gas.
GB2516490 discloses a blank for the assembly of an insulated container, comprising a plurality of insulation panels interconnected by connecting portions.

Summary of the invention

The technical problem solved by the present invention is therefore to provide a disposable insulating container allowing to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above with reference to the prior art.
This problem is solved by a container according to claim 1.
Preferred features of the present invention are specified in the dependent claims. An idea of solution underlying the invention is to make an insulating container by using an inner casing and an outer casing fitted into one another and separated by a plurality of spacers defining one or more cavities between their respective walls.
Cardboard, for example smooth or corrugated, is used to make the casings. Cardboard is an extremely cheap and small size material, thereby well suited for the manufacturing of a disposable container. The air present in the cavities acts as an insulating means between the inner casing and the outer casing.
Thanks to these features, the disposable insulating container according to the invention allows to easily and effectively solve the problem concerning the manufacturing costs.
The two casings that form the insulating container can be stored in a flat shape such as common cardboard boxes, which results in remarkable space savings, as well as storage cost savings.
The spacers needed to form the cavities between the two casings of the disposable insulating container can be independent elements made of an insulating material suitable to avoid formation of thermal bridges.
The spacers may advantageously be formed integrally with one between the inner casing and the outer casing or with both of them.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the spacers are obtained integrally with the inner casing, which is manufactured starting from a suitably shaped die-cut cardboard blank.
Further advantages and features of the present invention will become clear from the following detailed description of embodiments thereof, which are provided by way of non-limiting example.

Brief description of the drawings

Reference will be made to the figures of the attached drawings, wherein:

figures 1 to 4 are perspective transparent views schematically showing embodiments of the disposable insulating container according to the invention;
figure 5 is a perspective exploded view showing a preferred embodiment of the disposable insulating container according to the invention;
figure 6 is a perspective view showing a die-cut cardboard blank that can be used to make the inner casing of the insulating container of figure 5;
figure 7 shows a variant of the disposable insulating container of figure 5.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

Referring initially to figures 1 to 4, a disposable insulating container according to the invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 100 and is shown in a three-dimensional reference system wherein a first direction X and a second direction Y, which are perpendicular to each other, represent a horizontal supporting plane of the container 100, while a third direction Z, perpendicular to the first direction X and to the second direction Y, represents a vertical direction along which the force of gravity acts.
The insulating container 100 comprises an outer casing 110 that has a parallelepiped shape and is made of an insulating packaging material, an inner casing 120 also having the shape of a parallelepiped and similarly made of an insulating packaging material. The inner casing 120 is housed in the outer casing 110. The insulating container 100 further comprises a plurality of spacers 130 that are arranged between the inner casing 120 and the outer casing 110 and define one or more cavities 140 between them.
Thanks to its low thermal conductivity, the air present in the cavities 140 acts as an insulating material between the inner casing 120 and the outer casing 110.
Packaging insulating materials suitable for the manufacturing of the outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120 are for example cellular polypropylene, polystyrene and cardboard.
The outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120 are preferably made of cardboard, for example smooth or corrugated cardboard, because this is an extremely cheap material that can be recycled and is biodegradable, thereby well suited for the manufacturing of a disposable container. In addition to this, cardboard has a low thermal conductivity, thus allowing to achieve adequate heat insulation performances synergistically with the cavities 140 over the limited time the disposable container 100 will be used.
The outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120 can be formed by folding starting from suitably shaped die-cut blanks. This feature of the invention allows to minimize the size of the insulating container 100 when it is not used and therefore to remarkably reduce storage costs.
The outer casing 110 may advantageously be a standard transport cardboard, new or even secondhand, container. The inner casing 120 is instead configured and dimensioned so as to be fitted and housed in the outer casing 110.
In the embodiment shown in figure 1, the insulating container 100 includes for example eight spacers 130 that are so shaped as to be fitted at each vertex of the inner casing 120. In this case, a single cavity 140 is present between the outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120. This cavity surrounds the inner casing completely but at its vertexes.
In the embodiment shown in figure 2, four spacers 130 are instead used. These spacers are so shaped as to be mounted along opposite edges of the inner casing 120, for example the edges that form its smaller faces. Also in this case, a single cavity 140 is formed between the outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120. The cavity completely surrounds the inner casing 120 but the edges along which the spacers 130 are arranged.
In the embodiments shown in figures 3 and 4 the container 100 instead includes only two spacers 130 having the shape of a frame that is fitted on the vertexes, some or all the edges, and rests on two opposite faces of the inner casing 120, e.g. the base and the cover. In this case a number of cavities 140 are formed between the outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120. The frame structure of the spacers 130 has a higher compressive strength and allows the inner casing 120 to receive heavier loads.
More generally, the spacers 130 are arranged in contact with all the faces of the inner casing 120 so that there is at least one cavity 140 between each face of the inner casing 120 and the corresponding face of the outer casing 110. This allows to avoid the formation of thermal bridges as a consequence of a direct contact between the two casings of the insulating container 100.
Insulation materials are used to make the spacers 130 so as to prevent formation of thermal bridges between the outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120. Preferred materials are, for example, cardboard, expanded polystyrene, expanded polyethylene, cellular polypropylene and felt.
The thickness of the spacers determines the height of the cavities 140 and is in the range between 1 mm and 50 mm. The thickness may vary according to the shape of the spacers and to the material of which these are made.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the spacers can be formed integrally with the inner casing 120 and/or with the outer casing 110 of the insulating container 100, thus making assembly faster.
As mentioned above, the outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120 are formed by folding starting from die-cut cardboard blanks.
Now referring to figures 5 and 6, an embodiment of a die-cut blank B is described, starting from which it is possible to obtain the inner casing 120 of the insulating container 100. As it will be described in more detail below, the die-cut blank B is configured so as to form an inner casing 120 having integrally formed spacers 130.
The die-cut blank B comprises a base 121, for example having a rectangular shape, and four flaps 122 extending from the four edges of the base outwards and intended to form the side walls of the inner casing 120.
U-shaped slits are formed along the periphery of the base 121 so as to define respective extensions 123 of the flaps 122 intended to form first spacers, as it will be explained below.
Each flap 122 comprises a first portion 122a adjacent to the respective edge of the base 121 wherein at least one through opening 124 is formed. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, each flap 122 includes e.g. two through-openings 124.
Furthermore, each flap 122 comprises a second portion 122b that is separated from the first portion 122a by a folding edge 122c parallel to the corresponding edge of the base 121. A tongue 122d is formed at a free end of each flap 122. The tongue is used during assembly in order to make the walls of the inner casing 120, as it will be described below.
Along the folding edge 122c one or more U-shaped slits define respective extensions 125 of the flaps 122 intended to form second spacers, as it will be explained below.
In order to make the inner casing 120, the second portions 122b of the flaps 122 are rotated about their respective folding edges 122c by 180° and therefore superimposed to the first portions 122a. In order to fix the first portions 122a in this position the tongues 122d are attached to the base 121 by way of glue or equivalent means.
The flaps 122 so configured are then rotated by 90° relative to the base 121 about its peripheral edges so as to make the walls of the inner casing 120. In this position, the first spacers 123 and the second spacers 125 formed as extensions of the flaps 122 protrude respectively downwards and upwards in the vertical direction Z. This allows to space the base 121 of the inner casing 120 away from a bottom wall of the outer casing 110 and also to assemble a cover 126 of the inner casing 120 and/or a tray 127 adapted to receive a cooling mass. The tray 127 is shown in the embodiment of figure 7 and is configured to be mounted atop the inner casing 120.
It will be appreciated that by overlapping the second portions 122b and the first portions 122a, edge portions 122e that surround the through openings 124 contact the peripheral walls of the outer casing 110 and, thanks to their thickness, serve as spacers that allow to create insulating cavities 140 between the outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120.
Similarly to the outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120, the tray 127 is made of cardboard and can be obtained by folding starting from a die-cut blank.
The invention has herein been disclosed with reference to preferred embodiments thereof. It will be appreciated that there may be further embodiments relating to the same inventive idea, as defined by the scope of protection of the claims set forth below.

Claims

An insulating, disposable container (100) comprising:
- an outer casing (110) made of an insulating material for packaging;

- an inner casing (120) made of an insulating material for packaging;
wherein said inner casing (120) is housed in said outer casing (110),
wherein it further comprises a plurality of spacers (130; 122e, 123, 125), said spacers (130; 122e, 123, 125) being arranged between the inner casing (120) and the outer casing (110) and defining at least one cavity (140) between them;
characterized in that the inner casing (120) is formed by folding a flat die-cut blank (B) made of cardboard;
wherein said blank (B) comprises a base (121) and four flaps (122) which extend outwards from the edges of said base (121), wherein each flap (122) comprises a first portion (122a) that is arranged adjacent to the respective edge of the base (121) and has at least one through-opening (124), as well as a second portion (122b) separated from said first portion (122a) by a folding edge (122c) parallel to the corresponding edge of the base (121);
wherein the inner casing (120) is realized by folding the second portion (122b) of each flap (122) by 180° about their respective folding edge (122c), with said second portion (122b) oriented towards the inside of the inner casing (120), superimposed to the first portion (122a) and spaced from said first portion (122a) by said folding edge (122c), with said first portion (122a) oriented towards the outside of the inner casing (120), and by rotating the flaps (122) by 90° relative to the base (121).
An insulating container (100) according to claim 1, wherein the spacers (130; 122e, 123, 125) contact all the faces of the inner casing (120), so that at least one cavity (140) is formed between each face of the inner casing (120) and the corresponding face of the outer casing (110).
An insulating container (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacers (130) are shaped elements made of cardboard, expanded polystyrene, expanded polyethylene, polypropylene honeycomb or felt.
An insulating container (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacers (122e, 123, 125) are formed integrally with the inner casing (120) and/or with the outer casing (110).
An insulating container (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the outer casing (110) and the inner casing (120) are made of cardboard.
An insulating container (100) according to claim 1, wherein a tongue (122d) is formed at the free end of each flap (122).
An insulating container (100) according to claim 1, wherein U-shaped slits are formed along the periphery of the base (121) of the blank (B), said U-shaped slits defining respective portions (123) of the flaps (122) intended to form first spacers, and wherein one or more U-shaped slits are formed along the folding edge (122c) between the first portion (122a) and the second portion (122b) of the flaps (122), said U-shaped slits defining respective portions (125) of the flaps (122) intended to form second spacers.
An insulating container (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the spacers (130; 122e, 123, 125) have a thickness comprised between 1 and 50 mm.
An insulating container (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a tray (127) intended to receive a cooling mass, said tray (127) being configured to be mounted atop the inner casing (120), wherein the tray (127) is preferably formed by folding a flat die-cut blank made of cardboard.