ES2593102B1 - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products - Google Patents

Abstract

Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, comprising a base (1), at least one side wall (2, 4) and a lid (3), and also comprising an endothermic cooling gel sheet (6) attached inside of the container, where the cooling gel is a superabsorbent polymer configured to keep the inside of the container refrigerated. Additionally, it allows the incorporation of additional cooling gel sheets (13, 14) on any of the inner faces of the package to improve the cooling conditions thereof. The described solution adapts any container morphology and is preferably provided for the transport of food or biological material.

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novel container for the transport of perishable products that integrates at least one sheet of coolant gel inside the structure of the container itself, keeping the inside of the package refrigerated and thus extending the shelf life of the products that transports or stores until the moment of its consumption.

The package object of the invention is intended for the temporary transport or storage of any type of perishable product, such as food, medicines, vaccines, biological material, etc.

The technical field to which the invention belongs is that of self-assembling containers and for the temporary transport and storage of perishable products that need refrigeration to extend their life and maintain their properties. It is preferably intended for the disposable or single-use packaging sector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Containers for the transport and storage of goods of very different types are known in the state of the art. In the field of transport of perishable products, the use of electrical means for the refrigeration of the merchandise when an electrical source is available and the use of ice when it is not available is well known. The use of ice, either directly on the merchandise, incorporated in a waterproof portable container and inside the container or in the container structure itself, is the technique most used for the transport and temporary storage of perishable goods when electrical means are not available. of feeding. However, the use of ice directly on the product has the disadvantages of presenting a short durability and due to the fact that it wet the product, which in certain circumstances may not be desirable. In cases where ice is incorporated in a sealed portable container, the inconvenience of short durability remains.

Disposable containers of perishable products that integrate refrigeration means that keep the merchandise in an optimal state of preservation for prolonged periods of time, for example 10-12 hours, are not known in the state of the art.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to solve the problems set forth above, the present invention describes a refrigerated container for the transport of perishable products, such as food or biological material. Said container comprises a base, at least one side wall and a lid. The quantity of side walls of the container will depend on the morphology of the same, being able to be one for the case of a cylindrical container and up to an indeterminate number for the case of a polyhedral container. The package is characterized in that it comprises at least one endothermic cooling gel sheet coupled inside the package. This refrigerant gel is a pre-hydrated and refrigerated super absorbent polymer that is configured to release frigonas in a determined period of time keeping the inside of the container refrigerated for longer periods of time than other known solutions. The coolant gel sheet generates an endothermic reaction that cools the air around it so that it cools the inside of the container where it is placed.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the cooling gel sheet is located in a space between the base and a tray for transporting the perishable product. This

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tray will have a suitable configuration for the transport and storage of the product, varying its morphology and dimensions depending on the market that is transported.

In another particular embodiment of the invention, the package comprises a coolant gel sheet coupled to an inner face of the lid.

In applications where it is necessary, due to the nature of the transported product, due to the environmental temperature at which it is carried out, the transport or because the duration of the transport is longer, the integration of additional cooling gel sheets inside is provided of the container Thus, it is envisioned that this cover sheet may be alone or integrated into the package together with the base sheet described in the preceding paragraph.

In another particular embodiment of the invention, the package comprises a coolant gel sheet coupled to the at least one side wall. In another more particular embodiment of the invention, the package comprises a sheet of cooling gel coupled to each of the side walls of the package. These side sheets can be integrated independently or in combination with the sheets of the base or lid described above.

In another particular embodiment of the invention, the package comprises a plurality of coolant gel sheets superimposed on any inner surface of the package. Thus, two or more coolant gel sheets can be stacked on the base, the lid or on any side wall in order to reduce the internal temperature of the container and extend the shelf life of the product being transported.

In another particular embodiment of the invention, the base, the cover and the side walls of the base have a double wall configuration defining an external wall and an internal wall. The internal wall is attached to the external wall through one of its sides and is configured to move with respect to the external wall enabling a gap for the introduction of the coolant gel sheets. Optionally, the internal walls can have flanges to be fixed to the external walls so that once the cooling gel sheets are attached, they are perfectly secured and the sheets perfectly incorporated in the container structure.

In another particular embodiment of the invention, the cooling gel sheet is formed by a layer of polyester film laminate bonded to a two-component nonwoven fabric.

In another particular embodiment of the invention, the cooling gel is disposed in cells defined by the laminate layer and the nonwoven fabric.

In another particular embodiment of the invention, the cooling gel is disposed in a single continuous and uniform sheet between the polyester film laminate layer and the nonwoven fabric. Other configurations of gel distribution in the sheet that adapt to the needs and morphology of the packages in each case are also possible.

In another particular embodiment of the invention it is provided that the cooling gel is a mixture of sodium polycylate, water and aluminum sulfate. More preferably, the concentrations of each component are expected to be the following: sodium polycylate (between 93.5 and 94.5%), water (4%) and aluminum sulfate (between 0.5 and 1.5%) .

In another particular embodiment of the invention, the tray for transporting the perishable product is made of PET plastic (Polyethylene Terephthalate). More preferably, this tray comprises an inner lid to cover the perishable product.

In another particular embodiment of the invention, it is intended that the container be disposable or disposable.

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In another particular embodiment of the invention, the package comprises a layer of isothermal material covering the inner faces of the lid and the base, which improves the thermal insulation of the container by extending the useful life of the coolant gel sheets.

In addition, these coolant gel sheets have the following advantages over other prior art solutions:

• They are flexible sheets, even when frozen, being able to adapt to all surfaces and shapes where they fit.

• They do not get wet, always staying dry. The solution is more hygienic and clean than others in the state of the art. Even if they break, being a super-absorbent polymer, do not wet or dirty the transported product.

• They can be used as a substitute for ice for any type of application. Especially interesting to be an ice substitute for airplane shipments.

• They are reusable as many times as desired since the gel recovers its properties after each use.

• It is not toxic, so food and medical safety is guaranteed.

• Remains cold even after defrosting.

• It does not freeze completely. Its optimum effectiveness range is 0 ° C to + 10 ° C. Suitable for shipping biological material, such as vaccines, blood bags, etc., as well as live food such as shellfish.

• The sheets can be cut at any size, giving the possibility to adapt to any type of space and even fit into the smallest spaces.

• Increased safety, quality and compliance with the cold chain

• Less weight and less volume than ice, which results in a greater capacity in the container.

• More economical than other alternatives.

• Distribute the cold evenly.

• Meets the requirements of national and international food and drug agencies.

Thus, the present invention has the following advantages over the state of the known technique:

- The design of the package as well as of the gel sheets allows any variation in the shapes and dimensions of the package to be made without more than properly sizing the package and the gel sheets that are integrated. The physical characteristics of the coolant gel sheets allow them to adapt to the structure of the container regardless of its shape.

- The materials used comply with current health and safety regulations.

- The container allows to integrate in its interior additional elements for the manipulation of the merchandise that it transports, facilitating its consumption or use in the destination point.

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- The refrigeration system that integrates the package allows to extend the life, maintaining the original properties, of the perishable merchandise that it transports, until the moment of its consumption.

- Allows you to adapt the amount of coolant gel sheets that the container incorporates to adapt to the refrigeration needed by the transported merchandise, this refrigeration depending on the nature of the transported product and the duration of the transport.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1.- Shows an exploded perspective view of the elements that make up a first embodiment of the package object of the present invention.

Figure 2.- Shows a perspective view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 where it is observed how the different elements that make up the package are placed.

Figure 3.- Shows a detailed perspective visa of the tray with its respective lid and the cooling gel sheet, according to the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4.- Shows an exploded perspective view of the elements that make up a second embodiment of the package object of the present invention.

Figure 5.- Shows a perspective view of the embodiment shown in Figure 4 where it is observed how the different elements that make up the package are placed.

DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EXAMPLES OF EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Next, a description of several examples of realization of the invention is made, with an illustrative and non-limiting character, with reference to the numbering adopted in the figures.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the elements that make up a first embodiment of the package object of the present invention. Specifically, this first embodiment refers to a container for transporting food, preferably cooked food to take away, such as sushi. Thus, the package comprises a base (1) to which two pairs of facing side walls (2) are coupled and a lid (3) to which two pairs of facing side walls (4) are also coupled. The cover (3) has dimensions slightly larger than the base (1) so that the inner faces of the side walls (4) of the cover (3) slide on the outer faces of the side walls (2) of the base (1) fully coupling. In this specific embodiment, the height of the lid (3) and the base (1) are similar. The base (1), the cover (3) and the side walls (2,4) are made of high weight folding cardboard and have a double wall configuration, which offers great resistance and external surfaces suitable for printing and personalization.

It is envisaged that the cover (3) with its corresponding side walls (4) and the base (1) with its corresponding side walls (2) are two die-cut sheets, so that the side walls are originally folded so that their stacked and stored be more comfortable and more efficient in terms of saving space. The assembly of the cover and the base is simple, with the side walls (2,4) of both the base (1) and the cover (3) having flanges on the side edges that are inserted into grooves of the side edges of the adjacent side plates. Other means of joining the side walls of the lid and the base from among those known in the state of the art such as gluing or stapling the adjacent side walls to each other with or without interposition of additional elements could also be used.

In turn, the package has a PET plastic food tray (5) where the sushi pieces (not shown in the figure) will be arranged in this specific example.

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In addition, the package comprises a single sheet of coolant gel (6) placed in a space between the food tray (5) and the base (1) of the package. The dimensions of the cooling gel sheet (6) will be adapted in each case to the surface of the base (1) and the height defined by the support edge of the tray (5) on the base (1) and the bottom of the tray itself (5), as shown in figure 2.

The cooling gel sheets (6) are made of a dehydrated super absorbent polymer. In applications intended for the transport of food, the polymer used will be suitable for feeding, for example, sodium polycylate. In those applications that have not been provided for the transport of food, for example the case of transport of vaccines or biological material, this or another type of super-absorbent polymer suitable for these specific applications could be used. These super-absorbent sheets (6) are hydrated with water and subsequently introduced into the freezer for at least four hours. They are taken out of the freezer at the right time of their use, thus ensuring! that the cooling time provided is maximum. Before hydration for freezing, gel sheets (6) take up very little storage space.

Figure 3 shows a detailed view of the food tray (5) and the cooling gel sheet (6). It is envisaged that the tray (5) has a transparent plastic lid (7) that adapts to the morphology of the tray itself (5) and of the food being transported. This lid (7) will have a high resistance and its function will be to isolate the food from any contaminant or dirt that could be inside said container. Thus, the upper edge of the food tray (5) has a flange (8) at its innermost perimeter that is coupled to a complementary flange (9) at the outermost perimeter of the lower edge of the lid (7). The coupling means, defined by the complementary flanges (8,9), of the lid (7) to the tray (5) shown in this figure are a particular embodiment among the many possible ones that would be obvious to a person skilled in the art .

In turn, the sheets have a cross-linked structure that defines a plurality of cells (10) of cooling gel and intermediate spaces (11) between the cells (10). These intermediate spaces (11), in the form of a crosslinked mesh as it does not contain gel, allow the sheets to be divided by cutting along them and thus adapting the size of the sheets (6) to the container in which they are placed. Optionally the sheet (6) could have a continuous surface of cooling gel instead of cells or have another distribution of the gel depending on the application for which it was intended.

The coolant gel sheet (6) comprises a layer of polyester film laminate bonded to a non-woven fabric of two components to form the cells (10) containing the super-absorbent polymer (dry powder). The intermediate spaces (11) are formed by the union of the laminate layer with the non-woven fabric.

Figure 4 shows a second embodiment of the package object of the present invention in which a sheet of cooling gel is incorporated inside the package on each side of the package. Thus, said container has a lower sheet (12) located on the inner side of the base (1), an upper sheet (13) located on the inner side of the lid (3) and a side sheet (14) on each of the inner faces of the side walls of the base (1). In other embodiments, any possible combination of sheets is provided on the inner faces of the package, with gel sheets being possible, for example, only on the side walls, only on the lid, on the lid and on the walls laterals, etc. The distribution and shape of the sheets will depend on the morphology of the packaging.

Both the base (1) and the cover (3) and the side walls (2) of the base (1) have a double wall configuration, so that they have an external wall and an internal wall. These walls (not shown in the figures) are joined together by one of their sides

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so that the internal wall moves with respect to the external wall, which is fixed, defining a gap between them. In this hole is where the corresponding coolant gel sheets are introduced (12,13,14). In the case of the base (1), it is the double wall configuration itself that keeps the internal wall held once the sheet (12) has been introduced. In the case of the lid (2) and the side walls (2) of the base (1) there are some flanges in the package structure that will keep the respective internal walls fastened once the sheets (13, 14). The introduction of these sheets must be prior to the assembly of the cover (3) and the base (1) with their respective side walls (2,4).

Optionally, it is provided that you can incorporate more than one sheet on each of the sides of the package so that, for example, there are two or more lower sheets, one placed on top of the other, instead of just one. This also applies to the top or side sheets. In all cases, the existing space to place the plurality of sheets should be sufficient.

Figure 5 shows the elements described in Figure 4 with the sheets (12,13,14) placed in their positions. Note that neither Figure 4 nor Figure 5 show the lid (7) of the tray (5) although it is also provided that it is optionally incorporated.

Additionally, it is provided that the container has a means of sealing the lid tightly to avoid heat loss and thus keep the inside of the container refrigerated for a longer period of time. This seal could be a rubber strip located on the outer perimeter of the side walls (2) of the base (1) or on the inner perimeter of the side walls (4) of the cover (3).

By adapting the morphology of the tray (5) and the materials used in the manufacture of the lid (3) and the base (1) to each particular case, the containers shown can be used to transport perishable products of very diverse Indole . These packages have special application in the sector of food delivery services or home delivery.

The mode of use of the package object of the invention, as derived from Figures 1 to 5, is as follows:

• the cooling gel sheets (6,12,13,14) (previously refrigerated) and the tray (5) are placed inside the base (1) at the moment when the perishable product is to be introduced into the container. This optimizes the duration of refrigeration.

• the perishable product is placed: food, biological sample, etc., and the complements (if any) in the plastic tray (5). In the case of transporting food to carry these supplements could be covered, napkins, sauces, etc. The transparent plastic lid (7) is placed, and then the lid (3) of the container is placed.

Note that the geometries of the package and of the coolant gel sheets correspond to the particular embodiments shown, the package being able to have, and consequently the sheets, any other possible geometry. Similarly, the materials used in the manufacture of the elements that make up the container, except for gel sheets, may be any that meets the sanitary and safety requirements established for their intended use. For example, the cover, the base and the corresponding side walls can be manufactured, in addition to cardboard, of other materials such as metal or plastic (opaque or transparent).

Optionally, the interior of the package, more specifically the inner faces of the lid and base could be covered with an isothermal material to increase the cooling properties of the invention, extending the useful life of the transported product even further.

The incorporation of this isothermal layer has been specially planned for uses in which the environmental conditions require elongating the cooling properties of the gel.

A single sheet of coolant gel, in optimal ambient temperature conditions (between 21 ° C and 23 ° C), is able to maintain a temperature inside the container below 5 to 10 ° C for 12 hours. In more unfavorable environmental conditions, this period of time is reduced. However, by the inclusion of additional coolant gel sheets or by the inclusion of additional isothermal means inside the package, the time during which the temperature can be maintained below 10 ° C can be maintained considerably in the inside of the container

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Claims (16)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 1. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, comprising a base (1), at least one side wall (2,4) and a lid (3), characterized in that it comprises an endothermic cooling gel sheet (6) coupled in the inside of the container, where the cooling gel is a super absorbent polymer. 2. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to claim 1, wherein the cooling gel sheet (6) is located in a space between the base (1) and a tray (5) for transporting the perishable product. 3. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the package comprises a sheet of cooling gel (13) coupled to an inner face of the lid (3). 4. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the package comprises a sheet of cooling gel (14) coupled to the at least one side wall (2,4). 5. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to claim 4, wherein the package comprises a sheet of cooling gel (14) coupled to each of the side walls (2,4) of the package. 6. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the package comprises a plurality of coolant gel sheets (6) superimposed on any inner surface of the container. 7. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the base (1), the lid (3) and the side walls (2) of the base (1) have a configuration of double wall defining an external wall and an internal wall, the internal wall being configured to move relative to the external wall enabling a gap for the introduction of the coolant gel sheets (6). 8. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to claim 1, characterized in that the cooling gel sheet (6) is formed by a layer of polyester film laminate bonded to a non-woven fabric of two components. 9. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to claim 8, wherein the cooling gel is arranged in cells (10) defined by the laminate layer and the nonwoven fabric. 10. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to claim 8, wherein the cooling gel is arranged in a single continuous and uniform sheet. 11. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cooling gel is composed of a mixture of sodium polycylate, water and aluminum sulfate. 12. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to claim 11, wherein the sodium polycylate has a concentration of between 93.5 and 94.5%, it has a concentration of 4% and the aluminum sulfate has a concentration between 0.5 and 1.5% 13. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to claim 2, wherein the tray (5) for transporting the perishable product is made of PET plastic. 14. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to claim 2 or 13, wherein the tray (5) for transporting the perishable product comprises an inner lid to cover the perishable product. 15. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to any one of the 5 preceding claims, where the package is disposable. 16. - Refrigerated container for transporting perishable products, according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the package comprises a layer of isothermal material covering the inner faces of the lid (1) and the base (3).