Vacuum panel
AssigneeCryovac, Inc.
InventorsStein FOSS, Sverre ØIEN, Aage Bjorn ANDERSEN, Terje PAULSEN
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An insulation arrangement for an ocean-going ship comprising a modular arrangement of panels, each panel comprising a first cold layer and an opposing ambient layer and a volume therebetween arranged in use to be evacuated to create a vacuum.
Claims31
A modular insulation arrangement comprising one or more tessellating insulation units, each unit comprising a first inwardly facing layer and a second outwardly facing layer spaced from the first layer, the two layers defining a space therebetween and one or more spacing members extending between the first and second layers, and wherein the surfaces defining the first layer, the second layer and the outer perimeter extending around the arrangement are air impermeable surfaces.
An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the air impermeable surface defining the outer perimeter of the arrangement is formed of a first portion coupled to the first layer and a second portion coupled to the second layer and further comprising a third portion coupled to the first and second portions.
An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the spacing member(s) is/are in the form of a plurality of columns extending between the first and second layers.
An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the spacing member(s) is/are formed all or in part from a material selected from wood, plywood, wood composites, bamboo, cardboard, polyurethane, PEEK, PTFEE or stainless-steel.
An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the spacing member(s) is/are formed of a first portion extending from the first surface and a second portion extending from the second surface and an intermediate portion connecting the first portion to the second portion of the spacing member.
An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the perimeter of the or each tessellating unit comprises a connection surface for abutment with an adjacent tessellating unit, wherein the connection surface provides a continuous contact between adjacent units along the surface when adjacent units are brought together.
An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the tessellating insulation units have a shape selected from triangle, square, rectangular, hexagonal or tessellating polygon.
An arrangement as claimed in any precedingclaim wherein the tessellating insulation units are hexagonal, and the one or more spacing elements are hexagonal in cross-section.
An insulation system comprising a plurality of modular insulation arrangements as claimed in any preceding claim and wherein multiple modular insulating arrangements are in gaseous communication with one another such that evacuation of one arrangement causes air to be drawn from other arrangements.
A liquefied gas transport arrangement comprising a tank for containing a liquefied gas and an insulation layer surrounding the outer surface of the tank, wherein the insulation layer is in the form of a first inwardly facing layer facing the tank and a second outwardly facing layer facing away from the tank, the first and second layer being spaced from one another and defining a space between the first and second layers, and wherein the surfaces defining the first layer and the second layer are air impermeable surfaces.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.