Temperature controlled conainer

A temperature controlled cargo shipping container, comprising:

• an exterior wall structure;
• an interior wall structure positioned within the exterior wall structure, the interior wall structure at least partially defining an interior space within the shipping container configured to hold one or more products for shipping;
• a chamber defined between the interior wall structure and exterior wall structure;
• and
• a piping assembly extending generally throughout the chamber, the piping assembly configured to receive and retain a thermal storage medium injected therein from an external system prior to product shipping or storage operations and configured to be sealed during product shipping or storage operations so that the thermal storage medium provides a passive thermally insulative layer at least partially protecting the interior space.

A method of retro-fitting a conventional cargo shipping container having an exterior wall structure with a passive cooling arrangement, the method comprising:

• installing an interior wall structure within the conventional cargo shipping container, the interior wall structure positioned such that at least a portion of the interior wall structure is in a generally parallel-spaced relationship with at least a portion of the exterior wall structure, thereby defining a chamber between the exterior wall structure and the interior wall structure;
• injecting a thermal storage medium into a piping assembly extending generally throughout the chamber using an external system prior to shipping or storage operations;
• and
• sealing the piping assembly within the chamber so that the thermal storage medium provides a passive thermally insulative layer at least partially protecting a product receiving interior space defined at least partially by the interior wall structure during product shipping or storage operations.