Vacuum insulated panel and method of making a vacuum insulated panel

A method of making a vacuum insulated panel, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a compressed block of particulate getter material in a recess in a first panel member;
• completely sealing a peripheral edge of said first panel member to a peripheral edge of a second panel member to define a cavity;
• evacuating the cavity through an aperture in one of the panel members;
• and
• preventing the evacuation of particulate getter material through the aperture while the cavity is being evacuated by providing a gas-permeable getter-impermeable material within the cavity, between said block and said one panel member, adjacent to the aperture.

A vacuum insulated panel comprising:

• first and second metal wall members joined together about respective peripheral sections of said wall members to define a cavity;
• a getter positioned within said cavity, said getter comprising a compressed cake of particulate material for filling a portion of said cavity;
• means for assisting in evacuating said cavity to establish a vacuum within said cavity;
• and
• means for preventing said getter from being evacuated by said means for assisting in evacuating said cavity, said preventing means comprising a layer of fiberglass material positioned adjacent said means for assisting, said fiberglass material layer contacting one of said metal wall members and said compressed cake of particulate material.

A vacuum insulated panel comprising:

• first and second peripherally joined, metal panels defining a cavity;
• a compressed cake positioned within said cavity;
• means for assisting in creating a vacuum within said cavity;
• and
• said compressed cake comprising a particulate getter material which fills a portion of said cavity, means for preventing said compressed getter material from contacting said first and second metal panels, said preventing means further comprising means for preventing said getter from being evacuated during creation of a vacuum within said cavity, said preventing means comprising a layer of fiberglass material, said cake and said layer of fiberglass material together comprising means for preventing said metal panels from contacting each other during creation of said vacuum.

A method of making a vacuum insulated panel, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a compressed block of particulate getter material within a recess in a first metal member;
• providing a layer of fiberglass material on at least one side of said compressed block, within the recess;
• containing said block and said fiberglass material by completely sealing a peripheral edge of said first metal member to a peripheral edge of a second metal member to define a cavity;
• and
• evacuating the cavity through an aperture in one of said metal members, wherein the evacuation of particulate getter material through said aperture while said cavity is being evacuated is prevented by said fiberglass material.

A method of forming a vacuum insulated panel comprising the steps of:

• providing a peripherally sealable cavity;
• positioning, within the cavity, a compressed cake of particulate material between two layers of fiberglass material;
• providing an evacuation port for the cavity;
• peripherally sealing the cavity;
• evacuating said cavity, through said evacuation port to a hard vacuum;
• and
• sealing said evacuation port to maintain said hard vacuum within said cavity, said cavity being defined by two panel members, wherein the step of sealing the cavity comprises sealing the cavity by contacting said two cavity defining panel members directly to each other, the fiberglass layers preventing the compressed cake from contacting wall surfaces of the cavity, one of the layers being positioned to prevent evacuation of particulate material during evacuation of the cavity.

A vacuum insulated panel comprising:

• first and second metal wall members joined together about respective peripheral sections of said wall members to define a cavity;
• first and second fiberglass layers positioned within said cavity;
• a getter positioned within said cavity, said getter comprising a compressed layer of particulate material suspended between opposed surfaces of said first and second fiberglass layers and extending over substantially an entire opposed surface of said fiberglass layers;
• a structure for assisting in evacuating said cavity to establish a vacuum within said cavity;
• and
• one of said of first and second fiberglass layers positioned between said layer of particulate material and said assisting structure, and preventing said getter from being evacuated from said cavity, said first and second fiberglass layers forming a sandwich with said layer of particulate material.

A method of forming a vacuum insulated panel comprising the steps of:

• providing a peripherally sealable cavity;
• positioning, within said cavity, a layer of particulate material suspended between opposed surfaces of two layers of fiberglass material, the layer of particulate material positioned to extend over substantially an entire opposed surface of the layers of fiberglass material;
• providing an evacuation port for the cavity;
• peripherally sealing the cavity;
• compressing said layer of particulate material and evacuating the cavity, through the evacuation port to a hard vacuum;
• and
• sealing the evacuation port to maintain the hard vacuum within the cavity, the cavity being defined by two panel members, wherein the step of sealing the cavity comprises sealing the cavity by contacting the two cavity defining panel members directly to each other, the fiberglass layers preventing the compressed layer of particulate material from contacting the surfaces of the panel members defining the cavity, one of the fiberglass layers being positioned to prevent evacuation of particulate material during evacuation of the cavity.