Fully recyclable insulated shipping container

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to an insulated shipping container made entirely of standard recyclable materials for use in transporting heated or cooled payloads. The entire container and its insulation may be placed in a standard recycling bin after use, without any disassembly or separation of materials. The container comprises multiple layers that are easily folded together by the transporter prior to the additional of a payload for delivery to an end user. The container contains multiple formed paper panels that provide a tight seal for insulation purposes.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1) Field of the Invention[0001]The present invention generally relates to insulated shipping containers and, more particularly, to a fully recyclable insulated paper box for transport of heated or cooled payloads constructed of 100% recycled materials.2) Background of the Invention[0002]Prior art insulated shipping containers have been known for some time. Insulated boxes are used regularly for transport of heated or cooled payloads. Recently, the demand for such containers has risen sharply due to the rise in demand for food delivery services such as HelloFresh® and Blue Apron®. These services deliver portioned and curated food ingredients and recipes to customers' homes multiple times a week. The raw ingredients include meats and vegetables that must be kept cool to maintain freshness.[0003]To accomplish this, raw ingredients are packed into a corrugate box, along with single or multiple ice packs. Surrounding the ingredients and ice packs is also typica...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a fully recyclable shipping container that can be easily disposed of. It can be stacked and shipped to food and pharmaceutical distributors in a flat configuration. It is also easy to assemble by unskilled labor. The integrated design uses the outer shell box structure as one side of the insulation liner, eliminating one layer of material for each side of the container, resulting in cost savings. The insulation material is positioned directly against the outer shell structure and shaped to conform to each other when folded into an operable position, improving thermal performance by minimizing areas where gaps of insulation material are present.

Problems solved by technology

Regardless of the intended user, there are numerous deficiencies in these prior art insulated shipping products.

They are expensive to manufacture and ship to customers, and they are made of multiple materials, many of which are not recyclable, or require multiple recycle channels.

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