US 5,011,729 AGranted

Vacuum insulated panels with concave surfaces on the surface layers

OwnerIan R. McAllisterinventor

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Abstract

An insulating panel and shapes each having an outer, continuous membrane, an internal rigid frame, and an enclosed vacuum space. The outer continuous membrane is made up of a top membrane and a bottom membrane each having a plurality of biaxially curved, concave surface which are loaded in tension when the top or bottom membranes are exposed to ambient atmospheric pressure. Between each biaxially curved, concave surface is an arcuate path through which differential tension loadings on the adjacent biaxially curved, concave surfaces are offset, thereby reducing the structure requirements on the internal rigid frame. A second embodiment has an expansion joint means, the top or bottom membrane which enable the panel to maintain the tension stress loadings on the top and bottom surfaces when thermal contraction or expansion occurs in the top or bottom membranes, a corner shape, an inside corner shape, and a container embodiment are also disclosed herein.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A vacuum insulating panel, comprising:

(a) a top membrane section and a bottom membrane section, each said top membrane section and said bottom membrane section having a peripheral edge, said top membrane section and said bottom membrane section being attached and vacuum-sealed together forming an internal vacuum space;
(b) a plurality of biaxially curved, concave surfaces formed on said top and bottom membrane sections, each said biaxially curved concave surface being located on each said top and bottom membrane section so that each said biaxially curved, concave surface is loaded in tension when exposed to ambient atmospheric pressure;
(c) an internal rigid frame, said rigid frame being located inside said panel, said rigid frame having a top grid surface which supports said top membrane section and a bottom grid surface which support said bottom membrane surface, each said top and bottom grid surface having a substantially round support surface and;
(d) a plurality of arcuate paths located on each said top and bottom membrane surface between adjacent said biaxially curved, concave surfaces, each said arcuate path including a rounded membrane portion supported by said round support surface.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.