SHIPPING PANEL AND PACKAGING SYSTEM FOR TRANSPORTING TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE PRODUCTS

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 USC § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 63/695,564, filed Sep. 17, 2024.

BACKGROUND

In the transport and delivery of temperature-sensitive products, thermally insulated packaging, transport, or shipping containers may be used to provide a housing for the temperature-sensitive products being shipped.

Temperature control of the products can be affected by internal packaging conditions and external ambient conditions to which the packaging system is subjected during shipping, warehousing, and distribution to final customers. Thus, insulated shippers typically are required to protect against heat damage of the temperature-sensitive product during transport and delivery. Examples of temperature-sensitive products may include groceries, seafood, confections, temperature-sensitive gifts, plants, flowers or floral arrangements, pharmaceuticals preparations, medicines, and the like.

Examples of packaging systems are disclosed by U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2011/0248038 A1 of Mayer and 2018/0299059 A1 of McGoff et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 7,621,404 B2 issued to Murray and U.S. Pat. No. 10,392,177 B2 issued to Lantz.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment, an insulated panel for a packaging system for shipping a temperature-sensitive product is provided. The insulated panel includes an insert having an openwork body that defines a network of interconnecting void spaces therein and a flexible overwrap that completely covers the insert and is vacuum sealed about the insert. The insert has a predetermined shape and thickness, and maintains the predetermined shape and thickness when vacuum sealed within the overwrap.

According to another embodiment, a packaging system for shipping a temperature-sensitive product is provided and includes at least one of the above referenced insulated panels.

According to a further embodiment, an insulated panel includes a plurality of separate inserts each having an openwork body that defines a network of interconnecting void spaces therein and a flexible overwrap that completely covers the inserts and is vacuum sealed about the inserts. The inserts are of a predetermined shape and thickness and maintain the predetermined shape and thickness when vacuum sealed within the overwrap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features of the embodiments described in the following detailed description can be more fully appreciated when considered with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein the same numbers refer to the same elements.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an openwork insert for a shipping panel according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a sidewall of the insert of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of an end wall of the insert of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a shipping panel according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a shipping container according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a shipping container according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an openwork insert for a shipping panel according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the openwork insert of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of a side wall of the insert of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the insert of FIG. 7 along line A—A of FIG. 13.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the openwork insert of FIG. 7.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the insert of FIG. 7 along line B—B of FIG. 13.

FIG. 13 is an elevational view of the sidewall of the insert of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of the embodiments are described by referring mainly to examples thereof. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent however, to one of ordinary skill in the art, that the embodiments may be practiced without limitation to these specific details. In some instances, well known methods and structures have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the embodiments.

According to embodiments, insulated shipping panels for use in packaging systems for transporting temperature-sensitive products are provided. According to other embodiments, packaging systems including one or more insulated shipping panels are also provided.

According to embodiments, the insulated shipping panel includes a relatively rigid insert panel that is wrapped and vacuum sealed in an outer relatively flexible overwrap or film. Alternatively, the panel can include a series of separate rigid inserts. The insert panel or inserts are sufficiently robust such that they are able to maintain their as-manufactured shape under vacuum conditions within the vacuum sealed overwrap. The reduction or absence of air within the vacuum sealed insulated shipping panel creates insulation barrier properties to passively control a temperature of products contained within a packaging system. The insert panel, or inserts, and the overwrap are fully recyclable and are made of sustainable materials.

One contemplated embodiment of an insert 10 for use in an insulated panel 12 is shown in FIGS. 1-3. The insert 10 may be made of plastic or like material and may be molded into the shape, for instance, as shown for the illustrated embodiment. An injection molding, 3D-printing, or other technique may be used to form the insert 10.

The insert 10 has an openwork or skeleton-like body in which many interconnecting voids exist throughout and within the openwork body. The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 provides one example of the structure of an insert. In this embodiment, each insert 10 is formed by engagement of an upper body part 14 with a lower body part 16. These parts may have an identical shape and may be mirror images of each other when stacked together.

By way of example, the upper and lower faces, 18 and 20, of the insert 10 may be as shown in FIG. 1 having a perimeter wall 22 and a series of interconnected circular, semi-circular, or other shaped hollow elements 24. Some of the elements 24, particular the circular elements, include inward and radially extending spokes 26 extending within the elements 24. The spokes 26 slope away from the elements 24 and thus extend away from the upper or lower faces, 18 and 20. The combination of elements and spokes, 24 and 26, form openwork funnel or frustoconical shaped structures 28 in three dimensions. These funnel type structures 28 on the upper body part 14 contact opposite funnel type structures 28 on the lower body part 16 and form columns or posts 30. Each of these columns or posts 30 have an hour-glass type of shape. See FIGS. 2 and 3. The columns and posts 30 rigidify the openwork structure of the insert 10 and prevent collapse thereof during use.

The perimeter walls 22 of the upper and lower body parts, 14 and 16, include indentations 32 that engage a like indentation 32 of the opposite body part. The contacting perimeters 22 at the indentations 32 also form post-like structures 34 that rigidify the structure of the insert 10 and prevent the insert from collapsing or flattening thereby maintaining the openwork structure throughout the insert 10. Thus, the above structure enables the insert 10 to hold its shape when placed within a shipping panel and shipping container.

While a specific example of an insert is described above and shown in the drawings, other configurations of inserts may also be utilized. For instance, the insert may be formed as an integral body (i.e., without requiring upper and lower body parts as described above). In addition, the insert may comprise a series of randomly convoluted filaments or the like to form the openwork structure as opposed to a uniform molded structure.

The insert 10 should be able to maintain the intended openwork shape when placed under vacuum within the overwrap and when subjected to forces experiences during transport and delivery of goods. By way of example and not by way of limitation, each side edge of the insert 10 may have of length of between 4 inches to 24 inches, or 9 inches to 15 inches, and the insert panel 10 may have a thickness of 0.25 inch to 3 inch, such as 1 inch. Although the illustrated embodiment has a rectangular footprint, the insert 10 could be formed in other shapes, such as providing a square or other multi-sided footprint.

As stated above, the insert 10 is encased within an overwrap 36 to form a panel 12. For instance, see FIG. 4. The overwrap 36 may be a film and may be in the form of a sleeve, pouch, or film folded over the insert 10. Thus, the overwrap 36 is placed over the insert 10 such that the overwrap 36 entirely surrounds the insert 10, and then a vacuum is drawn and the overwrap 36 is sealed about the insert 10 to produce an insulated vacuum shipping panel 12. The reduction or absence of air within the insulated shipping panel 12 creates insulation barrier properties to passively control a temperature of products contained within a packaging system formed with the insulated shipping panels 12.

The overwrap 36 may be made of paper, plastic, or metallic film or foil and forms a surface that may be in direct contact with the goods being transferred, such as food. Preferably, the overwrap 36 is made of a fully recyclable and a sustainable material. Before being overwrapped about the insert 10, the overwrap 36 may be pre-configured into a sleeve or a pouch or may be configured from sealed roll stock. Thus, the overwrap 36 may be sealed along one edge of the insert 10 (if in the form of a pouch as shown in FIG. 4), along two edges of the insert 10 (if in the form of a sleeve), along three edges of the insert panel (if in the form of a film folded over the insert panel), or along four edges of the insert panel (if the overlap is formed by two separate sheets of the film).

When placed within the overwrap 36, the insert 10 may be sandwiched between a combination of other materials as shown in FIG. 4. For instance, the insert 10 may be located between two intermediate sheets 38 of cardboard, corrugated paperboard, molded pulp, chipboard, layer of foam, plastic, or metal, or the like, which are located within two outer sheets 40 of cardboard, corrugated paperboard, molded pulp, chipboard, layer of foam, plastic, metal, or the like. Thus, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the insert 10 is sandwiched between two intermediate sheets 38 of cardboard and two outer sheets 40 of foam board. This combination is then inserted into the overwrap 36, and the overwrap 36 is sealed and a vacuum is drawn to form a completed panel 12.

According to an embodiment, the overwrap 36 must be able to hold at least minus one atmosphere of pressure upon vacuum sealing. In addition, it is preferable that the overwrap 36 be of a material that is able to be printed upon, for instance, with either lithographic or digital printing techniques.

The manufacturing process for producing the insulated shipping panel 12 may include the steps of forming an insert 10 having an openwork structure, then inserting the insert 10 with one or more intermediate or outer layers in a pre-formed overwrap 36 such as a film formed into a pouch (see FIG. 4), and then drawing a vacuum and sealing the pouch. By way of example, the vacuum may be a minimum of negative one (1) BAR of atmospheric pressure or may be between 0.75 inHg (inches of mercury) and 30.00 inHg.

Use of the above referenced insulated shipping panel 12 may be as shown in FIG. 5 in which six of the above referenced separate insulated shipping panels 12 are used to line the interior of a shipping box 42. (In FIG. 5, the overwrap 36 is not shown for ease of illustration purposes only.) An inner box 44 is then placed within the panels 12. Thus, the insulated shipping panels 12 are used to encase temperature-sensitive goods such that goods may or may not be in direct contact with the overwrap 36 of the insulated shipping panels 12. Internal temperature within the packaging system may be passively maintained by cooling agents or phase change materials, such as ice packs and/or dry ice placed therein. Temperature control through the insulated shipping system minimizes the risk of temperature excursions which may otherwise potentially void use of products that are temperature-sensitive and/or perishable.

The shipping and/or inner box, 42 and 44, may be made of corrugated material, cardboard, plastic, bio-based material, or the like that is fully recyclable and sustainable. The box may be of any box style, for example, a regular slotted container, a half slotted container, a full overlap slotted container, a center special slotted container, a center special overlap slotted container, a center special full overlap slotted container, a double cover container, a design style container with cover, a full telescope half slotted container, or the like.

As an alternative, the insulated shipping panels 12 may be formed, folded, interlocked, secured or sealed together, or the like into an integral self-supporting insulated box structure with sealed edges and an integral or separate lid. The integral insulated box structure may then be placed in a shipping box 42, as discussed above, to line the interior of the shipping box 42. Alternatively, the integral insulated box structure may be used as a stand-alone packaging system independently without the shipping box or the like forming a secondary layer.

As a still further alternative, three shipping panels 12 can be formed and/or folded into an integral U-shape such that two U-shaped panels are able to be assembled together to form a six panel box-like structure.

Another embodiment of a panel 50 is shown in FIG. 6. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, except instead of using a single insert, the panel 50 includes a plurality of separate inserts positioned within the panel 50. Thus, similar to the panel shown in FIG. 4, an overwrap 52 may be a film and may be in the form of a sleeve, pouch, or film folded that encases an array of separate inserts 54. The overwrap 52 is placed over the array of inserts 54 such that the overwrap 52 entirely surrounds the inserts 54, and then a vacuum is drawn and the overwrap 52 is sealed about the inserts 54 to produce the insulated vacuum shipping panel 50. The reduction or absence of air within the insulated shipping panel 50 creates insulation barrier properties to passively control a temperature of products contained within a packaging system formed with the insulated shipping panels 50.

The overwrap 52 may be made of paper, plastic, or metallic film or foil and forms a surface that may be in direct contact with the goods being transferred, such as food. Preferably, the overwrap 52 is made of a fully recyclable and a sustainable material. Before being overwrapped about the inserts 54, the overwrap 52 may be pre-configured into a sleeve or a pouch or may be configured from sealed roll stock. Thus, the overwrap 52 may be in the form of a pouch as shown in FIG. 6, in the form of a sleeve, in the form of a film folded over the inserts, or formed by two separate sheets of the film.

When placed within the overwrap 52, the inserts 54 may be sandwiched between a combination of other materials as shown in FIG. 6. For instance, the inserts 54 may be located between two intermediate sheets 56 of cardboard, corrugated paperboard, molded pulp, chipboard, layer of foam, plastic, or metal, or the like, which are located within two outer sheets 58 of cardboard, corrugated paperboard, molded pulp, chipboard, layer of foam, plastic, metal, or the like. Thus, in the example shown in FIG. 6, the inserts 54 are sandwiched between two intermediate sheets 56 of cardboard and two outer sheets 58 of foam board. This combination is then inserted into the overwrap 52, and the overwrap 52 is sealed and a vacuum is drawn to form a completed panel 50.

As shown in FIG. 6, the inserts 54 are in the form of a plurality of separate inserts positioned spaced-apart and in a four by three array such that there are twelve inserts 54 in total. Of course, the number of inserts 54 and pattern of the array may be altered as needed. In addition, all the inserts 54 may be identical to each other as shown in FIG. 6, or some or all may be of different shapes and sizes. Further, the inserts 54 may be sandwiched between the intermediate sheets 56 and held in position by friction, or the inserts may be adhesively secured to at least one of the intermediate sheets 56 to maintain the spaced positioning of the inserts 54. The adhesive may be in the form of a glue, a melt, a tape, a doubled sided tape, or the like.

FIGS. 7-13 illustrate one contemplated example of an insert 54 for use in panel 50. As best shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the insert 54 includes a relatively square shaped upper frame member 60 interconnected to a relatively square shaped lower frame member 62. A series of legs 64 interconnect the upper frame member 60 to the lower frame member 62 such that the upper frame member 60 is spaced a predetermined distance from the lower frame member 62. In addition, the upper frame member 60 is relatively smaller than the lower frame member 62 (for instance, see the plan view provided in FIG. 8); thus, the legs 64 are angled inward as they extend from the lower frame member 62 to the upper frame member 60 providing an openwork truncated pyramid shape. In the illustrated embodiment, each side of the insert 54 includes five spaced apart legs 64. Of course, the number, spacing, and height of the legs 64 can be altered, as needed.

By way of example and not be way of limitation, insert, or spacer, 54 may be about 1.487 inches by 1.487 inches in length and width and may have a height of about 0.5 inch. Each insert 54 may weigh approximately 1.5 grams. The modular design is relatively simple to manufacture and cost efficient. The spacing “C” between each adjacent pair of legs 64 on a side of the insert 54 may be about 0.15 inch and the thickness “D” may be about 0.080 to 0.085 inch. The thickness “E” of each of the upper and lower frame members, 60 and 62, may be about 0.78 to 0.80 inch, and the angle “F” of the legs 64 may be about 103.5°. Of course, these dimensions are merely provided as examples and are subject to change as needed.

Accordingly, the packaging systems and insulated panels are eco-friendly and provide cost savings and sustainability. The insulated panels are of a modular design, are lightweight thereby reducing freight costs, and provide branding opportunities. The packaging systems provide improved insulation and R-value performance and enable savings with respect to the use of phase-change materials or the like. For example, the R-value may be within a range of 0.125 to 40.00.

While the principles of the invention have been described above regarding specific devices, apparatus, systems, and/or methods, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as limitation. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims below.