NL2018588B1 - Flight case suited to transport musical instruments - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is directed to a standard flight case suited to transport musical instruments comprising a box-shaped container for containing one or more musical instrument and a closable lid at its upper end wherein the box shaped container has a wall comprising of an exterior layer, a layer comprised of a vacuum insulation panel, a layer comprised of wood and a layer comprised of foam.

Description

FLIGHT CASE SUITED TO TRANSPORT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

The invention is directed to a standard flight case suited to transport musical instruments including a box-shaped container for containing one or more musical instrument and a closable member at its upper end.

Such flight containers are used to transport musical instruments or for example symphony orchestra by plane from one location to another. A problem with such a transport is that the musical instruments, especially the wooden instruments like violins, are exposed to a variation in temperature. Such variation in temperature is disadvantageous for these sensitive instruments.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a standard flight case which can be used to transport musical instruments at a more constant temperature.

This is achieved with the following flight case. A standard flight case suited to transport musical instruments including a box-shaped container for containing one or more musical instrument and a closable member for its upper end the box-shaped container has a wall including or an exterior layer, a layer comprised of a vacuum insulation panel, a layer comprised of wood and a layer comprised of foam.

Applicants found that such a flight case can transport musical instruments at a more constant temperature than the state of the art flight cases previously used for transporting musical instruments. Furthermore, the relative humidity in the flight case remains constant for a more extended period as compared to the prior art flight case. Flight cases for musical instruments have been known for years. Vacuum insulation panels are well known in the building industry.

The member of the flight case preferably has a wall including an exterior layer, a layer comprised of a vacuum insulation panel, a layer comprised of wood and a layer comprised of foam. This wall may have the same layers as the box-shaped container.

The standard flight case is suitably provided with a metal reinforcement along each outside edge; a number of wheel elements at its lower end and one or more handles located on and / or in the sides of the flight case. The metal may be steel or aluminum for example. The corners may be provided with plastic corner pieces. The wheel elements may be wheel casters, in particular rotatable casters, generally including at least one such wheel element at each corner of the flight case. Different wheels are known in the art for flight cases for different purposes, such as hard nylon wheels. The flight case can also include suitable recesses to accommodate the wheels or other projections or neighboring cases and so assist close packing or a number of cases together during transportation.

Such flight cases also usually involve one or more handles located on and / or in the sides of the flight case. The standard flight case according to the present invention is suitably within the ATA 300 Category specifications set by the IATA in Washington DC, USA. Flight cases are sometimes also termed road cases or ATA case.

The size of the flight case should be such that it can be fitted in a compact manner with other flight cases in vehicles, especially trucks and airplanes. Further the size should not be great such to allow the flight case to be deliverable to their intended destination, usually through one or more doors having a standard width.

The wall of the box-shaped container and optionally the member will comprise of an exterior layer, a layer comprised of a vacuum insulation panel, a layer comprised of wood and a layer comprised of foam. The exterior layer will have a shock-absorbing material, suitably including a layer of wood and covered with a thin protective plastic layer or with a suitable paint. This layer may have a thickness of between 5 and 15 mm. The wood in the inner layer comprised of wood is preferably untreated wood or untreated plywood because it can absorb moisture and thus assist in keeping the level of moisture low within the flight case. The thickness of the layer of wood may be between 2 and 10 mm and preferably between 3 and 8 mm and most preferably about 5 mm. The foam is preferably a deformable foam to support the musical instruments and absorb shocks during transport as best as possible. The deformable foam is preferably a foam which also has good insulation properties. The thermal conductivity as expressed by the K-value of the deformable foam is suitably lower than 0.08 W / m-K. Examples of suitable deformable foams are polyurethane foams. The thickness of the layer of foam may be between 20 and 50 mm and more preferably about 30 mm.

The vacuum insulation panel suitably comprises an air tight envelope and a vacuum core comprising an organic or inorganic material. The air tight envelope may be any air tight plastic barrier film. This film suitably comprises at least one layer of reflective aluminum, for further enhancement of the insulating properties. Examples of materials suited to present in the vacuum core are open cell micro fleece, glass wool fibers, fumed silica, polyurethane and organic or inorganic aerogels. The airgel is preferably present in one or more layers. Example of an inorganic aerogels layer is silica aerogels as for example obtainable Aspen Aerogels Inc, USA. Examples of organic aerogels are isocyanate-based aerogels, polyurethane, polyoiurea, polyamide, polyimide, polycarbodiimide and polyisocyanurate aerogels. Other examples of suitable aerogels are described in WO2017016755, WO2015 / 121540 and WO98 / 44028. Such airgel layers are produced with a certain thickness. In order to further improve the insulating properties, it may be required to combine more than one layer for use in the core. A preferred and easily available material is fumed silica.

The thermal conductivity at a mean temperature of 22.5 ° C or the vacuum insulation panel is suitably less than 0.008 W / m.K. Such vacuum insulated panels are known and can be obtained for example from Vacat AG, Würzburg, Germany. The thickness of the layer including the vacuum insulation panel may be between 1 and 4 cm.

Preferably the flight case comprises one or more musical instruments. The instruments may be any instruments such as for example acoustic or electrical guitars, violins, cellos, trumpets and clarinets. The flight case is especially advantageous for musical instruments which are sensitive to temperature fluctuations such as musical instruments including wood, especially violins and cellos. Examples are guitars, violins and cellos.

The invention is also directed to the use of the flight case according to the invention to transport one or more musical instruments.

Figures 1-3 show the same flight case 1 according to the invention from different view points. Figure 1 shows the longer side or flight case 1 from aside. Figure 2 shows the shorter side of flight case 1 and Figure 3 shows the bottom of the flight case 1 as seen from below. The flight case 1 consists of a box-shaped container 2 for containing one or more musical instrument and a closable paragraph 3 at its upper end. Also shown is a metal reinforcement 4 along each outside edge and four wheel-casters 5 fixed to the bottom of the flight case. The corners are provided with plastic corner pieces 6. Further each longer and shorter side of the flight case 1 is provided with two handles 7. Figures 1 and 2 also show the exterior of the wall 8.

In Figure 4 a cross-sectional view of the wall 8 is provided showing a birch plywood 9 mm outer wall 9, a vacuum insulation panel 10 having a fumed silica core material, poplar plywood layer 11 and a layer of foam 12.

The invention will be illustrated by the following performance experiments.

Example 1

A flight case according to the invention having the following dimensions: 140 length, cm width and 104 height (without wheels) was closed with a member. The internal starting temperature was 20 ° C and the internal humidity was 50% RH. The flight case was placed in a temperature controlled room and the temperature in the room was increased to 30 ° C in minutes according to ASTM standard D4332-14 while keeping the humidity in the room at 50% RH. The results are presented in Table 1.

Comparative experiment A

Example 1 was repeated for a similar flight case except in that no vacuum insulated panels are present in this flight case. The results are presented in Table 1.

Table 1.

Internal temperature Comparative Experiment A Temperature reached after: Example 1 Temperature reached after: 20 ° C 0 min 0 min 22 ° C 35 mins 10 hours 55 minutes 24 ° C lhr 17 hr 5 min 26 ° C 1 hour 25 minutes > 24 hrs 28 ° C 2 hours 15 minutes > 24 hrs 30 ° C 7 hrs > 24 hrs

Example 2

A flight case according to the invention having the following dimensions: 140 length, 41 cm width and 104 height (without wheels) was closed with a member. The internal starting temperature was 20 ° C and the internal humidity was 50% RH. The flight case was placed in a temperature controlled room and the temperature in the room was lowered to 10 ° C in 30 minutes according to ASTM standard D4332-14 while keeping the humidity in the room at 50% RH. The results are presented in Table 2.

Comparative experiment B

Example 2 was repeated for a similar flight case except in that no vacuum insulated 20 panels are present in this flight case. The results are presented in Table 2.

Table 2

Internal temperature Comparative Experiment B Temperature reached after: Example 2 Temperature reached after: 20 ° C 0 min 0 min 18 ° C 40 mins 6 hours 50 minutes 16 ° C 1 hr 5 min 14 hrs 14 ° C 1 hour 35 minutes > 20 hrs 12 ° C 2 hours 30 minutes > 20 hrs 10 ° C 7 hr 5 min > 20 hrs

Claims (10)

CONCLUSIONS A standard aircraft case, suitable for transporting musical instruments, comprising a box-shaped container in which one or more musical instruments can be stored, as well as a closable lid at the upper end thereof, the box-shaped container comprising a wall consisting of an outer layer, a layer which consists of a vacuum insulation panel, a layer consisting of wood, and a layer consisting of foam. The aircraft case of claim 1, wherein the cover comprises a wall consisting of an outer layer, a layer consisting of a vacuum insulation panel, a layer consisting of wood, and a layer consisting of foam. The aircraft case according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the aircraft case is provided with a metal reinforcement along each outer edge; of a number of wheel elements at the lower end thereof, and of one or more handles located on and / or in the sides of the aircraft case. The aircraft case according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vacuum insulation panel comprises an enclosure and a vacuum core, comprising organic or inorganic material. The aircraft case of claim 4, wherein the vacuum core comprises fumed silica, and wherein the thermal conductivity at an average temperature of 22.5 ° C is less than 0.008 W / m.K. The aircraft case according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the aircraft case comprises one or more musical instruments. The aircraft case of claim 6, wherein the musical instruments comprise wood. The aircraft case of claim 7, wherein the musical instrument is a violin and / or a cello. Use of an aircraft case according to one of claims 1 to 5, for one or more 5 to transport multiple musical instruments. Use according to claim 9, wherein the musical instruments comprise wood. The use according to claim 10, wherein the musical instrument is a violin and / or a cello.