U.S. patent application number 15/327245 was filed with the patent office on 2017-06-08 for returnable cold chain packaging composite.
This patent application is currently assigned to PROPRIETECT L.P.. The applicant listed for this patent is PROPRIETECT L.P.. Invention is credited to Darcy NETTLETON, Ghazwan TAKA.
Application Number | 20170158411 15/327245 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55077774 |
Filed Date | 2017-06-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170158411 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TAKA; Ghazwan ; et
al. |
June 8, 2017 |
Returnable Cold Chain Packaging Composite
Abstract
Provided is a reusable composite container comprising a
thermally insulating inner container fitted within a durable outer
container. The outer container can also be thermally insulating. In
preferred embodiments, the inner container comprises expanded
polystyrene and the outer container comprises one or more of
expanded polypropylene (EPP), EPS (Polystyrene), EPE
(Polyethylene), PEPP (porous EPP) and PS/PE
(Polystyrene/Polyethylene). The composite container can be used to
ship temperature-sensitive payloads such as perishable goods.
Inventors: |
TAKA; Ghazwan; (Bloomfield
Hills, MI) ; NETTLETON; Darcy; (Woodstock,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
PROPRIETECT L.P. |
Toronto |
|
CA |
|
|
Assignee: |
PROPRIETECT L.P.
Toronto
CA
|
Family ID: |
55077774 |
Appl. No.: |
15/327245 |
Filed: |
July 20, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
July 20, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CA2015/050673 |
371 Date: |
January 18, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62026129 |
Jul 18, 2014 |
|
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 81/383 20130101;
B65D 81/3834 20130101; Y02W 30/807 20150501; F25D 3/08 20130101;
Y02W 30/80 20150501; B65D 81/3827 20130101; B65D 81/3823
20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 81/38 20060101
B65D081/38; F25D 3/08 20060101 F25D003/08 |
Claims
1. A composite container comprising a thermally insulating inner
container fitted within a durable outer container.
2. The container of claim 1 wherein the outer container is
thermally insulating.
3. The container of claim 1 wherein the inner container comprises
expanded polystyrene and the outer container comprises one or more
of expanded polypropylene (EPP), EPS (Polystyrene), EPE
(Polyethylene), PEPP (porous EPP) and PS/PE
(Polystyrene/Polyethylene).
4. The container of claim 1 wherein the inner container is
separable from the outer container.
5. The container of claim 1 used to ship perishable goods.
6. The container of claim 5 wherein during shipping the perishable
goods are maintained at a nearly constant temperature below the
ambient temperature using cooling means.
7. The container of claim 5 wherein the container is shipped by a
sending party and received by a receiving party, and wherein the
receiving party returns the container to the sending party after
receiving the container.
8. The container of claim 7 wherein after receiving the container
returned by the receiving party, the sending party reuses the
container to ship perishable goods.
9. The container of claim 1 wherein at least one of the inner
container and the outer container is integral.
10. The container of claim 1 wherein the inner container comprises
a lid, a non-removable portion, and a removable portion.
11. The container of claim 10 wherein the inner container is shaped
as a cube or rectangular cuboid comprising a lid, a bottom panel,
and four side panels, and wherein the removable portion consists of
one of the side panels.
12. The container of claim 1 wherein the outer container comprises
a lid, a non-removable portion and a removable portion.
13. The container of claim 12 wherein the outer container is shaped
as a cube or rectangular cuboid comprising a lid, a bottom panel,
and four side panels, and wherein the removable portion consists of
one of the side panels.
14.-26. (canceled)
27. A method of shipping a payload in a composite container, the
composite container comprising a thermally insulating inner
container fitted within a durable outer container, the method
comprising: placing the payload along with cooling means inside of
the inner container; closing the inner container; closing the outer
container; and shipping the composite container.
28. The method of claim 27 wherein the outer container is thermally
insulating.
29. The method of claim 27 wherein the inner container comprises
expanded polystyrene and the outer container comprises one or more
of expanded polypropylene (EPP), EPS (Polystyrene), EPE
(Polyethylene), PEPP (porous EPP) and PS/PE
(Polystyrene/Polyethylene).
30. The method of claim 27 wherein the inner container is separable
from the outer container.
31. The method of claim 27 wherein the payload consists of
perishable goods.
32. The method of claim 31 wherein during shipping the cooling
means maintain the perishable goods at a nearly constant
temperature below the ambient temperature.
33. The method of claim 27 wherein the container is shipped by a
sending party and received by a receiving party, and wherein the
receiving party returns the container to the sending party after
receiving the container, and wherein the method further comprises
the step of receiving the container from the receiving party.
34. The method of claim 33 further comprising the step of reusing
the container to ship perishable goods.
35. The method of claim 27 wherein at least one of the inner
container and the outer container is integral.
36. The method of claim 27 wherein the inner container comprises a
lid, a non-removable portion, and a removable portion.
37. The method of claim 36 wherein the inner container is shaped as
a cube or rectangular cuboid comprising a lid, a bottom panel, and
four side panels, and wherein the removable portion consists of one
of the side panels.
38. The method of claim 27 wherein the outer container comprises a
lid, a non-removable portion and a removable portion.
39. The method of claim 38 wherein the outer container is shaped as
a cube or rectangular cuboid comprising a lid, a bottom panel, and
four side panels, and wherein the removable portion consists of one
of the side panels.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) of provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/026,129,
filed Jul. 18, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated
by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to reusable composite
containers. In particular, the present invention relates to
reusable composite containers for cold chain packaging. Other
aspects of the invention will become apparent to those of skill in
the art upon reviewing the present specification.
[0004] Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Cold chain packaging allows temperature control of a payload
(e.g., perishable goods) during shipping and distribution of a
package. Containers used for cold chain packaging may be composed
of a variety of materials including expanded polystyrene (EPS). EPS
is thermally insulating and lightweight but easily damaged. Forces
exerted upon an EPS container during shipping and handling can
result in damage to the container as well as the payload housed
inside. Further, when an EPS container harbouring a
temperature-sensitive payload is damaged, the container must be
opened and the payload transferred to a new container, which
subjects the payload to potentially harmful temperature
fluctuations. The relative fragility of EPS also leads many package
recipients to consider EPS containers as single-use containers,
resulting in their mass disposal and waste.
[0006] Senders and recipients of temperature-sensitive goods may
desire improved thermal insulation over that provided by EPS alone.
This is particularly important for perishable goods where even
small temperature variations can impair the activity of the product
(e.g., pharmaceuticals) or reduce its shelf-life (e.g.,
seafood).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is an object of the present invention to obviate or
mitigate at least one of the abovementioned disadvantages of the
prior art.
[0008] Provided in one embodiment is a composite cold chain
packaging container which relative to non-composite containers
improves the insulation properties of the overall container to
maintain a constant or nearly constant temperature for the package
payload.
[0009] Provided in one embodiment is a composite cold chain
packaging container which relative to non-composite containers
improves the durability of the overall container allowing it to be
returnable and reusable.
[0010] Provided in one embodiment is a composite cold chain
packaging container which provides a lightweight solution to ship
temperature-sensitive goods.
[0011] Provided in one embodiment is a composite cold chain
packaging container which uses expanded polystyrene (EPS) in an
inner container to protect the desired package, and an outer foam
container to protect the EPS inner container. The foam outer
container preferably comprises one or more of expanded
polypropylene (EPP), EPS (Polystyrene), EPE (Polyethylene), PEPP
(porous EPP) and PS/PE (Polystyrene/Polyethylene), more preferably
EPP.
[0012] Provided in one preferred embodiment is a composite cold
chain packaging container which allows for flexibility of the
design of an EPS inner container to accommodate custom designed
protective packaging while maintaining a standard EPP (or other as
described in the previous paragraph) outer container.
[0013] Provided in one preferred embodiment is the use of EPP and
EPS as a composite to confer durability, temperature control, and
light weight to packaging containers, to enable cold chain markets
to protect their temperature-sensitive packages, and to allow for
reuse of the containers, thus reducing waste associated with
single-use containers.
[0014] In a first aspect, provided is a composite container
comprising a thermally insulating inner container fitted within a
durable outer container. The outer container may also be thermally
insulating and the inner container may be separable from the outer
container. The inner container may consist of expanded polystyrene
and the outer container may consist of expanded polypropylene.
[0015] The composite container may be used to ship perishable
goods, and during shipping, the perishable goods may be maintained
at a nearly constant temperature below the ambient temperature
using cooling means. The container may be shipped by a sending
party and received by a receiving party, and the receiving party
may return the container to the sending party after receiving the
container. The sending party may then reuse the container to ship
perishable goods.
[0016] At least one of the inner container and the outer container
may be integral. At least one of the inner container and the outer
container may comprise a lid, a non-removable portion, and a
removable portion. At least one of the inner container and the
outer container may be shaped as a cube or rectangular cuboid
comprising a lid, a bottom panel, and four side panels, and wherein
the removable portion consists of one of the side panels.
[0017] In a second aspect, provided is the use a composite
container comprising a thermally insulating inner container fitted
within a durable outer container.
[0018] In a third aspect, provided is a method of shipping a
payload in a composite container, the composite container
comprising a thermally insulating inner container fitted within a
durable outer container, the method comprising: placing the payload
along with cooling means inside of the inner container; closing the
inner container; closing the outer container; and shipping the
composite container.
[0019] Other advantages of the invention will become apparent to
those of skill in the art upon reviewing the present
specification.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] Embodiments of the present invention will be described with
reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference
numerals denote like parts, and in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a composite
container;
[0022] FIG. 2 shows the container of FIG. 1 with the lid of the
outer container removed;
[0023] FIG. 3 shows the container of FIG. 1 turned on its side with
the lid of the outer container removed and the lid of the inner
container removed;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a top-view of an embodiment of a composite
container having an outer container with one side panel removed and
an inner container with one side panel removed; and
[0025] FIG. 5 is a top-view of the composite container from FIG. 4
with the removable side panels attached to form an intact composite
container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0026] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, shown is an embodiment of a
composite container 10 comprising an outer container 20 and inner
container 30. The inner container 30 is designed to house and to
thermally insulate a payload (not shown), while fitting within the
outer container 20 designed to protect the composite container 10
from potentially damaging external forces encountered during
shipping and handling. A payload shipped in the composite container
10 can comprise any good or goods which a sending party or
receiving party desires to maintain at a temperature below the
ambient temperature (i.e., the temperature of the immediate
surroundings of the composite container 10), including but not
limited to perishable goods such as pharmaceuticals, vaccines,
blood, biomedical products, and food.
[0027] The outer container 20 is designed to be durable and to
confer physically protective properties to the composite container
10 to protect the payload inside of the inner container 30 against
potentially damaging forces exerted on the composite container 10
during shipping and handling. In addition, the durability of the
outer container 20 facilitates the reuse and/or return of the
composite container 10. For example, where the composite container
10 is shipped by a sending party and received by a receiving party,
the receiving party may remove the payload and return the composite
container 10 to the sending party for reuse. The outer container 20
can be composed in part or entirely of a thermally insulating
material which inhibits heat transfer through the composite
container 10 and reduces temperature fluctuations within the inner
container 30, thereby facilitating the maintenance of temperatures
inside of the inner container 30 below ambient temperatures.
Typically the outer container 20 is composed entirely or in part of
one or more durable, physically strong, resilient, and thermally
insulating materials capable of resisting damage, fatigue, and heat
transfer during shipping and handling. The material may be flexible
to reduce the risk of cracking or breaking of the outer container
20, and preferably the material is light-weight. In some
embodiments the outer container 20 is composed in part or entirely
of a thermoplastic polymer. In preferred embodiments the outer
container 20 comprises one or more of expanded polypropylene (EPP),
EPS (Polystyrene), EPE (Polyethylene), PEPP (porous EPP) and PS/PE
(Polystyrene/Polyethylene), more preferably EPP.
[0028] The outer container 20 is not limited to a particular shape
and can assume for example a cube, rectangular cuboid, cylinder or
ovoid shape. In a preferred embodiment the outer container 20 is
shaped as a cube or rectangular cuboid comprising a bottom panel
22, side panels 24, 25, 26, 27 and lid 28. In FIGS. 2 and 3 the lid
28 of the outer container 20 is depicted as removable. However, in
other embodiments the lid 28 may be bound to one side panel (e.g.,
by one or more hinges) to allow the lid 28 to swing open without
being removed from the outer container 20.
[0029] The inner container 30 is designed to thermally insulate the
composite container 10 to facilitate the maintenance of
temperatures inside of the inner container 30 below ambient
temperatures. The inner container 30 is composed in part or
entirely of a thermally insulating material, which in preferred
embodiments is light-weight. In some embodiments the inner
container 30 may be formed from soft and/or flexible material to
facilitate the fitting of the inner container 30 within the outer
container 20. In some embodiments the inner container 30 is
composed in part or entirely of an aromatic polymer. In preferred
embodiments the inner container 30 is composed in part or entirely
of EPS.
[0030] The inner container 30 is not limited to a particular shape
and can assume for example a cube, rectangular cuboid, cylinder or
ovoid shape. In a preferred embodiment the inner container 30 is
shaped as a cube or rectangular cuboid comprising a bottom panel
32, side panels 34, 35, 36, 37 and lid 38. In FIG. 3 the lid 38 of
the outer container has been removed. However, in other embodiments
the lid 38 may be bound to one side panel (e.g., by one or more
hinges) to allow the lid 38 to swing open without being removed
from the inner container 30. The inner container 30 may have
further features to help protect the payload against external
forces exerted against the composite container 10 during shipping
and handling. For example, the inner container 30 may be
custom-shaped and sized to complement the shape and size of a
payload and to inhibit movement of the payload relative to the
inner container 30.
[0031] In preferred embodiments the thermally insulating inner
container 30 is fitted within a thermally insulating outer
container 20 to buffer the payload inside of the inner container
against higher ambient temperatures and to maintain a constant or
nearly constant temperature for the payload inside of the inner
container 30. In the context of a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, a nearly constant temperature is considered to
encompass temperature fluctuations from a target temperature (e.g.,
ambient temperature, 20.degree. C., etc.) on the order of
.+-.8.degree. C., preferably .+-.6.degree. C., more preferably
.+-.4.degree. C. Thus by fitting a thermally insulating inner
container 30 within a thermally insulating outer container 20, the
present disclosure provides for a composite container 10 capable of
fine control of temperature inside of the inner container 30.
[0032] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the composite container 10
comprises the inner container 30 fitted within the outer container
20. In the illustrated embodiments, the inner container 30 and
outer container 20 are of the same shape, and the outer edges of
side panels 34, 35, 36, 37 and bottom panel 32 of inner container
30 are fitted flush against the inner edges of the corresponding
panels of outer container 20. However, in other embodiments the
inner container 30 may be of a different shape than the outer
container 20, and some or all of the outer edges of the inner
container 30 may not be flush with the inner edges of the outer
container 20. Allowing for differences in shape between the inner
container 30 and outer container 20 confers flexibility to the
design of the inner container 30 and/or outer container 20 while
maintaining the advantages associated with use of a composite
container 10. For example, the inner container 30 may be
custom-shaped (e.g., ovoid shaped) to accommodate the shape of a
particular payload (which itself may be wrapped or encased in
protective packaging), while the outer container 20 may have a
standard rectangular cuboid shape. In some embodiments, flexibility
of the design of an EPS inner container 30 accommodates
custom-designed protective packaging (e.g., of the package payload)
while facilitating the fitting of the inner container 30 within a
standard EPP outer container 20.
[0033] In some embodiments the inner container 30 and outer
container 20 are not designed to be separated. For example, the
inner container 30 and outer container 20 may be fused one to the
other (e.g., using adhesive) to form the composite container 10. In
other embodiments the inner container 30 and outer container 20 are
separable. The use of separable inner containers 30 and outer
containers 20 facilitates the interchanging of a variety of inner
containers 30 (e.g., having different shapes and/or sizes) amongst
a single type of outer container 20 or a variety of outer
containers 20 (e.g., having different shapes and/or sizes). By
interchanging inner containers 30 having varying features with
outer containers 20 having varying features to create a variety of
types of composite containers 10, shippers can more readily
accommodate packaging restrictions associated with for example
different types, shapes or sizes of package payloads, or the
shipping specifications of shipping companies, intermediaries
within the cold chain, and/or the end recipient of the package.
[0034] The inner container 30 can be formed from a single piece of
integral material or more than one piece of material. Likewise, the
outer container 20 can be formed from a single piece of material or
more than one piece of material. In embodiments where the inner
container 30 and/or outer container 20 are formed from more than
one piece of material, the pieces can be fused to one another
(e.g., using adhesive) and/or one or more pieces of material can be
separable from the others. Embodiments wherein one or more portions
of the inner container 30 and/or outer container 20 are removable
can facilitate ease of packaging of a payload, for example if a
payload cannot easily be loaded through the top of the inner
container 30, if the inner container 30 and outer container 20 are
of a different shape, or if the inner container 30 is dimensioned
relative to the outer container 20 such that the inner container 30
fits tightly within the outer container 20. FIGS. 4 and 5 show an
example embodiment of a composite container 10 wherein one side
panel 37 of the inner container 30 and one side panel 27 of the
outer container 20 are removable. Removable portions of the inner
container 30 and outer container 20 (e.g., removable side panels 37
and 27, respectively) can be attached to the inner container 30
and/or outer container 20 using any means known to a person skilled
in the art, such as but not limited to snap fittings, tape,
temporary adhesive, and contour fittings.
[0035] To ship a payload (e.g., perishable goods) using a composite
container 10 with a separable inner container 30 and outer
container 20, the payload is first placed inside of the inner
container 30 along with cooling means (e.g., ice pack, crushed ice,
dry ice, PCM (phase change material), etc.). In embodiments where
placement of the payload inside of the inner container 30 is
facilitated by removing a portion (e.g., side panel 37 in FIG. 4)
of the inner container 30, the payload may be placed inside the
inner container 30 with the removable portion removed, following
which the removable portion (e.g., side panel 37) may be attached
to the inner container 30 and cooling means may be added to the
inner container 30 interior. Once the payload is loaded into the
inner container 30, the lid (e.g., lid 38) may be applied to the
inner container 30. Next the inner container 30 can be fitted
within the outer container 20 to form the composite container 10.
In embodiments where the fitting of the inner container 30 within
the outer container 20 is facilitated by removing a portion (e.g.,
side panel 27 in FIG. 4) of the outer container 20, the inner
container 30 may be placed within the outer container 20 with the
removable portion removed, following which the removable portion
(e.g., side panel 27) may be attached to the outer container 20.
Finally, the lid (e.g., lid 28) may be applied to the outer
container 28 to form the composite container 10 containing its
payload.
[0036] To ship a payload (e.g., perishable goods) using a composite
container 10 wherein the inner container 30 and outer container 20
are not separable, the payload is first placed inside the inner
container 30 along with cooling means (e.g., ice pack, crushed ice,
dry ice, PCM (phase change material), etc.). The lid (e.g., lid 38)
is then applied to the inner container 30, followed by application
of the lid (e.g., lid 28) to the outer container 20 to form the
composite container 10 containing its payload.
[0037] In embodiments having a separable inner container 30 and
outer container 20, typically the inner container 30 of the
composite container 10 is fitted within the outer container 20
throughout the entirety of cold chain transport (i.e., from the
point of first shipping of the package payload to its final
destination). However, in some embodiments the inner container 30
may be removed from the outer container 20 prior to the arrival of
the composite container 10 at its final destination, for example to
transfer the inner container 30 out of a damaged outer container
20. It will be clear from the above description that in such cases
the inner container 30 need not be opened in order to transfer the
inner container 30 and its payload to a fresh outer container 20.
Thus a further advantage of the composite container 10 described
herein is to enable continued protection of the payload within the
inner container 30 during shipping without the need to ever open
the inner container 30 or directly handle the payload therein,
which could alter the controlled temperature within the inner
container 30 and damage the temperature-sensitive payload.
[0038] Once the composite container 10 with its payload is received
at its final destination, the lid (e.g., lid 28) of the outer
container 20 and the lid (e.g., lid 38) of the inner container 30
are removed in order to extract the payload (e.g., perishable
goods). At this time the composite container 10 can be reused by
the receiving party, for example by shipping a different payload in
the same composite container 10 or a variant composite container 10
produced by interchanging the inner container 30 or outer container
20 with a different inner container 30 or outer container 20,
respectively. Alternatively, the receiving party can re-constitute
the received composite container 10 by applying the removed lids
(e.g., lids 38, 28) and return the composite container 10 to the
sender, who can reuse the composite container 10 to ship another
payload (e.g., perishable goods).
* * * * *