Thermally insulated air cargo container
AssigneeAdvanced Composite Structures, LLC
InventorThomas R. Pherson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thermally insulated panel includes a first skin, a second skin spaced apart from the first skin, and a core that is disposed between and bonded to the first skin and the second skin such that the core transfers loads between the first skin and the second skin. The core includes a porous filler material that has a vacuum drawn therein such that the core resists transfer of thermal energy through the panel. A cargo container including thermally insulated panels and a method of manufacturing the thermally insulated panels are also disclosed. In addition, a method of repairing a vacuum insulated panel is disclosed.
Claims18
A thermally insulated panel for a container, the panel comprising:
- a first skin;
- a second skin spaced apart from the first skin;
- a core disposed between the first skin and the second skin, a porous open cell foam disposed within the core;
- edge portions each formed of a portion the first skin, the second skin, and the core, each edge portion formed to define a desired shape, the desired shape having a thickness less than the thickness of the rest of the first skin, the second skin, and the core outside of the respective edge portion, the first skin and the second skin forming a seal in each edge portion such that the core is encapsulated within a sealed pocket between the first skin and the second skin;
- an envelope positioned between the first skin and the second skin with the core encapsulated by the envelope, the pocket defined within the envelope, the first skin and the second skin encapsulating the envelope, a vacuum drawn within the core encapsulated by the envelope;
- and
- struts disposed between the first skin and the second skin, each strut extending in a direction from the first skin towards the second skin and configured to maintain a distance between of the first skin and the second skin.
A method of manufacturing a thermally insulated panel, the method comprising:
- encapsulating a core within an envelope;
- applying a first skin over the envelope;
- applying a second skin over the envelope, the core including struts disposed between the first skin and the second skin, each strut extending in a direction from the first skin towards the second skin and configured to maintain a distance between of the first skin and the second skin;
- thermoforming edge portions of the first skin, the second skin, the envelope, and the core, the envelope defining a sealed pocket therewithin, the core sealed within the pocket;
- and
- establishing a vacuum within the pocket after thermoforming the edge portions of the first skin, the second skin, and the core.
A cargo container comprising:
- a plurality of thermally insulated panels defining a cavity therebetween, each panel of the thermally insulated panels comprising:
- a first skin;
- a second skin spaced apart from the first skin;
- a core disposed between and bonded to the first skin and the second skin such that the core transfers shear loads between the first skin and the second skin, the core including a porous filler material, the porous filler material having a vacuum drawn therein such that the core resists transfer of thermal energy through the panel;
- and
- an envelope positioned between the first skin and the second skin, the pocket defined within the envelope, the first skin and the second skin encapsulating the envelope with the core encapsulated by the envelope;
- and
- struts disposed between the first skin and the second skin, each strut extending in a direction from the first skin towards the second skin and configured to maintain a distance between of the first skin and the second skin.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.