Refrigerant block packaging and method of producing a package

Abstract

The invention relates to a packaging (110) for a refrigerant block (100) made from a cardboard blank, comprising walls (111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116) which define between them a housing for the refrigerant block and which have at least one opening (120) for air passage.

Description

REFRIGERANT BLOCK PACKAGING AND METHOD OF PRODUCING A PACKAGET ECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION[1] The present invention generally relates to the field of packaging.[2] It relates more particularly to a packaging for a refrigerant block, made from a sheet of cardboard.[3] It also concerns a refrigerant pack comprising such packaging, as well as a package housing such a refrigerant pack.[4] It also relates to a method of producing such a package.STATE OF THE ART[5] It is known to use cardboard boxes of all kinds and shapes to protect items of various sizes during transport. These boxes will hereinafter be referred to as “transport crates”.[6] Certain items, such as medicines or foodstuffs, must be kept within a low temperature range to ensure their proper preservation. So, in order not to break the “cold chain”, it is known to place ice packs in the transport crates of these items.[7] Typically, the item to be shipped is installed at the bottom of the shipping crate, then ice packs are placed on top of the item to keep its temperature below a threshold. The initial temperature of these refrigerant blocks is generally around -20°C.[8] This solution has two major drawbacks.[9] The first disadvantage is that contact between the item and the refrigerant blocks risks lowering the temperature of this item below 0°C, which can be destructive for this item.

[0010] The second disadvantage is that it is necessary to place a large number of refrigerant blocks above the item to hope to maintain the temperature of the latter in the low temperature range for a period of several hours (for example 30 hours).

[0011] This solution also has other, more minor disadvantages, namely that the refrigerant pack risks generating condensation which can damage the item or its packaging and that the refrigerant pack is difficult to stack and block in the transport crate.PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] In order to remedy the aforementioned drawbacks of the state of the art, the present invention proposes to place the refrigerant blocks in cardboard packaging to form “refrigerant packs”, before placing the latter in the transport crate.

[0013] More particularly, according to the invention, we propose a packaging for a refrigerant block made from a cardboard blank and comprising walls which define between them a housing for the refrigerant block and which have at least one air passage opening.

[0014] Thus, thanks to the invention, the packaging forms a thermal shield between the refrigerant block and the item, which makes it possible to prevent the temperature of thelatter from dropping too sharply just after the package is made (when the refrigerant blocks are still very cold).

[0015] The opening in the packaging is chosen according to the desired speed of heat exchange between the item and the refrigerant block. Thus, with a relatively large opening, the refrigerant packs can apply a sharp and rapid cold to the item as soon as the package is closed, which can be useful if the temperature of the item is at that time close to its threshold maximum conservation. On the contrary, with a relatively smaller opening, refrigeration packs can offer milder and more prolonged cold over time.

[0016] Note that the thickness (or weight) of the sheets making up the cardboard used, the number and shape of the grooves, will also influence the insulating power of the packaging and therefore the speed of heat exchange. Playing with these parameters will be useful especially if the item does not support large temperature variations.

[0017] Furthermore, the refrigerant pack (made up of the refrigerant block and its cardboard packaging) is easy to use, which avoids complicating the package production process. It is also easy to install it in the transport crate, or even to stack it on other packs of the same type in a stable manner.

[0018] Several refrigerant packs can also be installed in the transport crate, around the item, which will form an undeniable advantage. Indeed, if we consider the total exterior surface of the transport crate (called hot surface) and the surface of the item in contact with the refrigeration pack(s) (called cold surface), the cold surface is much less than the hot surface. However, this ratio of cold surface to hot surface is generally unfavorable, particularly when it is less than or equal to 15%. In the prior art, this involved compensating for this defect by a greater number of refrigerant blocks above the item in order to hope to maintain the temperature of the latter within a low temperature range for a period of several hours. This created overconsumption of refrigerant blocks and consequently caused additional economic costs on purchase, additional energy costs, as well as increased environmental risks when the formulation of the refrigerant blocks was likely to negatively affect the environment. On the contrary, with the present invention, the refrigeration packs can be well distributed around the item, which minimizes the volume of refrigerant material to be used to maintain the temperature of the item within the desired range.

[0019] In this context, the possible stacking of the refrigerant packs makes it possible to create, unlike the solutions of the prior art which are not capable of this, a thermal screen adjusted to the height of the transport crate and thus to preserve an advantageous ratio of cold surface to hot surface.

[0020] Preferably, the packaging is of parallelepiped shape and has four side walls, a lower wall and an upper wall.

[0021] Advantageously, two openings are provided respectively located in two opposite sidewalls.

[0022] Advantageously also, at least one of the side walls is joined to the two neighboring side walls by curved or inclined junction panels. Then, the two openings are preferably located in these two neighboring side walls.

[0023] The invention also relates to a refrigerant pack comprising at least one refrigerant block and packaging as mentioned above, housing said at least one refrigerant block.

[0024] One or two refrigerant packs are provided in said packaging.

[0025] The invention also relates to a package comprising a transport crate which is adapted to accommodate an item, and at least one refrigeration pack as mentioned above. Preferably, several packs are provided distributed in the transport crate around the item. The refrigerant pack(s) are placed in the transport crate in such a way that each opening is oriented in a direction which is different from that of the item. Otherwise stated, the openings provided in the packaging are oriented such that the edges of the openings do not press against the item, which limits the speed of heat exchange with the item.

[0026] Thus, preferably at least four refrigerant packs are provided, distributed in the transport crate so as to delimit a space for receiving the item. Thus, if the item is parallelepiped in shape, the four refrigerant packs are designed to be placed against four sides of the item.

[0027] Advantageously, the ratio of the “sum of the areas of the surfaces of the item in contact with the refrigerant packs” to “the area of the exterior surface of the transport crate” is greater than or equal to 15%, and preferably greater than or equal to 20%.

[0028] The applicant has in fact been able to observe, after numerous experiments, that it is not so much the volume of refrigerating material (and therefore the quantity of refrigerant blocks) which makes it possible to maintain the item at a desired temperature, but the arrangement of this material. It has thus been found that if the ratio of cold surface to hot surface is greater than or equal to 15%, and advantageously greater than or equal to 20%, which is generally the case when at least four sides of the item are in contact with the refrigerant packs, the temperature of this item can then remain close to the desired temperature for a significant period of time. As an example, under the same experimental conditions (identical refrigerating material, same quantity of refrigerating material, same initial temperature of refrigerant material, same item and same initial temperature of the item), with a ratio of cold surface to hot surface less than 15%, the preservation time of the cold chain below a given target temperature was 11 hours whereas with a ratio of cold surface to hot surface greater than 15%, the target temperature is reached after 27 hours. The chosen arrangement therefore makes it possible to reduce the mass and volume of refrigerant material used, for both economic and energy purposes as well as environmental preservation.

[0029] Preferably, the package includes an insulating layer covering an internal face of said external box and against which the four refrigerant packs rest.

[0030] The invention finally relates to a method of producing such a package, wherein it is planned to:- provide an item,- place at least four refrigerant packs in respectively four packages in order to obtain four refrigerant packs,- place the four refrigerant packs in the transport crate, distributed around the item, and- close the transport crate.

[0031] Advantageously, two refrigerant blocks with temperatures different by more than 10°C are placed in each package. This ensures more effective protection of the items against freezing, since it raises the average temperature in the transport crate.

[0032] Of course, the different characteristic features, variants and embodiments of the invention can be associated with each other in various combinations as long as they are not incompatible or exclusive of each other.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE IN ENTION

[0033] The description which follows with reference to the appended drawings, given as nonlimiting examples, will make it clear what the invention consists of and how it can be carried out.

[0034] On the attached drawings:

[0035] [Fig. 1] is a schematic perspective view of a refrigerant pack and in particular of its packaging;

[0036] [Fig. 2] is a schematic plan view of a blank from which the packaging of the refrigerant pack of Figure 1 comes;

[0037] [Fig. 3] is a side sectional view of a package comprising four refrigerant packs such as that shown in Figure 1 ;

[0038] [Fig. 4] is a top sectional view of the package in Figure 3.

[0039] In Figure 1 , there is shown a packaging 110 making it possible to contain any refrigerant block 100 and suitable for being inserted into a transport crate.

[0040] By refrigerant block 100 is meant here a cold accumulator which comprises a refrigerant fluid housed in a rigid or, preferably, flexible envelope. The fluid typically contains water and eutectic agents making it possible to lower the melting point of the fluid compared to that of water.

[0041] In Figure 2, there is shown a blank 110' of pre-cut cardboard which, once folded and placed in volume around the refrigerant block 100, allows packaging 110 to be obtained.

[0042] As a preliminary point, note that on the plan of Figure 2, the solid lines represent cutting lines while the broken lines represent pre-folding lines, hereinafter called “folding lines”.

[0043] A cutting line is a line along which the material is cut from side to side.

[0044] A fold line is an area of least resistance to ensure that the fold between two panels is in the desired position. It can be carried out in various ways. When the panels are made from a sheet of multi-layer cardboard, it can thus be produced by creasing, using a press, or even by cutting halfway. The creasing operation involves pressing the multi-layer cardboard sheet along the desired line. The half-cut operation consists of cutting only part of the cardboard sheets along this line.

[0045] The folding line can alternatively be produced in other ways, typically by alternating creasing or mid-cut lines with cutting or pre-cut lines.

[0046] Here the blank 110' is cut from a cardboard panel of uniform thickness.

[0047] Here it is cut from a multi-layer cardboard panel (with three, five or even seven superimposed layers, a corrugated layer being located sandwiched between two flat layers): we can then speak of simple-corrugated or multi-corrugated cardboard.

[0048] As shown in Figure 1 , the packaging 110 has a substantially parallelepiped shape, with four identical side walls 111 , 112, 113, 114 in opposite pairs, and identical lower walls 116 and upper 115. We will distinguish two small side walls 112, 114 and two large side walls 111 , 113.

[0049] At this stage, it will be noted that the terms "lower" and "upper" will be used taking into account the position in which the packaging 110 will generally be used, namely the lower wall 116 towards the bottom of the transport crate.

[0050] The dimensions of the different walls of the packaging 110 are chosen according to those of the refrigerant block 100. Preferably, the dimensions of the housing delimited by the walls of the packaging 110 are identical, except for a clearance, to those of the refrigerant block 100. The objective is that this block cannot move once installed in the envelope. Of course, as a variant, the packaging could be slightly larger than the refrigerant block 100 which it is intended to contain.

[0051] In Figure 2, the sheet of cardboard from which the packaging 110 comes is shown in the pre-cut state but not yet folded (this is why we speak of "blank 110"').

[0052] It can be seen that at this stage, this blank 110' comprises four panels (forming the two large side walls 111 , 113 and the upper and lower walls 115, 116) articulated to each other by folding lines L111 , L115, L113 parallel to each other so that these panels, once folded at right angles two by two, form a belt.

[0053] A fixing flap 117 is articulated on one of these four panels, and more precisely on one of the panels located at one end of the belt, by a folding line L117 parallel to theaforementioned folding lines L111 , L115, L113. This fixing flap 117 is intended to be fixed, for example by gluing, on the other of the panels located at one end of the belt. This way the belt can be kept closed.

[0054] On each side of each one of the two large side walls 111 , 113 a closing flap 112A, 112B, 114A, 114B is articulated, via at least one folding line perpendicular to the aforementioned folding lines L111 , L115, L113, L117. When the belt is closed, two first ones of these closing flaps 112A, 112B are designed to be folded towards each other, in the same plane, so as to form one of the small side walls 112 of the packaging 110. In the same way, the two other closing flaps 114A, 114B are designed to be folded towards each other, in the same plane, so as to form the other one of the small side walls 114 of the packaging110.

[0055] Very preferably, each one of the closing flaps 112A, 112B, 114A, 114B is articulated on one of the large side walls 111 , 113 via more than two folding lines L111A, L111 B, L113A, L113B. Thus, each small side wall 112, 114 is connected to the two large side walls111 , 113 not by a 90° edge, but by curved junction panels 111 C , 111 D , 113C, 113D (here formed of several sections of the same width and inclined two by two).

[0056] These junction panels 111C, 111 D, 113C, 113D have substantially quarter-round shapes. Their average radius of curvature is between a tenth and a half of the width of the packaging (measured between the two large side walls 111 , 113). It is preferably between a quarter and a third of this width.

[0057] Alternatively, each one of the closing flaps 112A, 112B, 114A, 114B could be articulated on one of the large side walls 111 , 113 by exactly two folding lines. Thus, each small side wall 112, 114 would be connected to the two large side walls 111 , 113 by planar junction panels inclined at 45° relative to these large side walls.

[0058] In order to block the closing flaps 112A, 112B, 114A, 114B in the aforementioned position, on each side of each one of the two upper and lower walls 115, 116 a gluing tab 118 is articulated, via a folding line L118 perpendicular to the lines folding L111 , L115, L113 mentioned above. These gluing tabs 118 are intended to each be folded down and fixed, for example by gluing, on two closing flaps 112A, 112B, 114A, 114B forming one of the side walls 112, 114.

[0059] As shown in Figure 1 , the packaging 110 has, according to the invention, at least one opening. In practice, it has two, located opposite each other.

[0060] These two openings 120 are each defined, in width, between the closing flaps 112A, 112B, 114A, 114B forming the two side walls 112, 114, and, in height, between the two gluing tabs 118.

[0061] The dimensions of these openings therefore depend on the lengths of the closing flaps 112A, 112B, 114A, 114B and the gluing tabs 118.

[0062] The two openings 120 have identical dimensions. They extend in height to a height strictly less than that of the packaging 110 and / or in width to a width strictly less than that of the packaging 110. Thus, the refrigerant block 100 cannot get out of the packaging through these openings 120.

[0063] The height and width of each opening 120 are, however, non-zero so that the refrigerant block 100 contained in the packaging 110 can refresh the air located outside this packaging by convection (it lets the air pass through).

[0064] Here, we can give a non-limiting example of dimensions allowing the packaging 110 to be manufactured, with reference to Figure 2:- D1 = 524 mm,- D2 = 205 mm,- D3 = 155 mm,- D4 = 54 mm,- D5 = 25 mm,- D6 = 20 mm,- D7 = 20 mm,- D8 = 197 mm,- D9 = 106 mm,- D10 = 54 mm,- D11 = 42 mm,- D12 = 9.5 mm.

[0065] The assembly consisting of a refrigerant block 100 and a packaging 110 closed around this block is called refrigerant pack 10.

[0066] In Figures 3 and 4 there are shown sectional views of a package 1 comprising the transport crate 20 and several refrigerant packs 10 inserted into this crate so as to delimit between them a space for housing an item 50.

[0067] The transport crate is preferably parallelepiped. It can for example be an American type cardboard box, or any other type of box, for example a metal or plastic box.

[0068] This transport crate 20 is thermally insulated in the sense that it is coated on the inside with a layer of thermal insulation. This insulation can typically be in the form of a polystyrene box 30, designed to fit into the transport crate 20. This polystyrene box 30 delimits a housing 31 for the item 50 and the refrigerant packs 10, here parallelepiped in shape. Here the refrigerant packs are placed in contact with the internal face of this polystyrene 30 box.

[0069] Preferably, the refrigerant packs 10 extend over the entire height of this housing 31 (figure 3). They are distributed all around item 50 (figure 4).

[0070] Here this item 50 has a parallelepiped shape, with four side faces of identical sizes.

[0071] Then, the four identical refrigerant packs 10 are distributed in contact with the fourside faces of the item 50.

[0072] The dimensions of the polystyrene box 30 are chosen so that each refrigerant pack 10 is thus sandwiched between the item 50 and one of the internal faces of the polystyrene box 30.

[0073] It could be envisaged that the refrigerant packs 10 cover the entire width of the internal face of this polystyrene box 30. This is, however, not the preferred solution.

[0074] On the contrary, as shown in Figure 4, the four refrigerant packs 10 have widths (measured between their small side walls) substantially identical to the width of the item 50. Each one of these refrigerant packs 10 rests on its two neighboring packs by two of its rounded junction panels 111C, 111 D, 113C, 1113D.

[0075] Thus, these refrigerant packs 10 are blocked in position by each other, and there remains a free space 40 at each corner of the polystyrene box 30.

[0076] The openings 120 of the packages 110 all open in pairs into these free spaces 40. Thus, the convection phenomenon is achieved by creating a current of air in these free spaces 40. This is particularly advantageous for the following reason. The zone where the air is coldest is not directly in contact with item 50, which avoids cooling the latter too much. The free spaces 40 in fact form zones in which the air can mix freely so that its temperature becomes uniform before penetrating between the refrigerant packs 10 and the item 50.

[0077] At this stage, we can introduce the notions of cold surface and hot surface.

[0078] The hot surface corresponds to the total exterior surface of the transport crate 20. Thus, if this box has a cubic shape, the hot surface is equal to six times the area of each side of this box.

[0079] The cold surface corresponds to the total exterior surface of the item which is in contact with the refrigerant pack(s). Thus, in the aforementioned example where four refrigerant packs 10 are used, the cold surface is substantially equal to 4 [(D8 D9)].

[0080] One of the objectives of the invention is that the ratio of the cold surface to the hot surface is greater than or equal to 15%, and preferably greater than or equal to 20%, so as to maintain the item within a range of cold temperature for as long as possible.

[0081] The production of a package 1 is then done as follows.

[0082] First, the operator receives item 50 to be packaged.

[0083] He then takes a transport crate 20 equipped with its polystyrene box 30 (we will consider here that these elements are already ready for use).

[0084] He also grabs four blanks 110' to make four packages 110, and four refrigerant blocks 100 which he takes out of a freezing device (so that the temperature of these blocks is approximately -20°C).

[0085] The operator then forms the packaging 110 as a volume by closing the belt. He then folds and sticks two gluing tabs 118 on the closing flaps 112A, 112B, to form one of thesmall side walls 112. At this stage, as shown in Figure 1 , the operator can put the refrigerant blocks 100 into the packages 110 and then secure them there by folding and gluing the last two gluing tabs 118 on the closing flaps 114A, 114B to form the other one of the small side walls 114.

[0086] He then places the item 50 in the polystyrene box 30 and then positions the four refrigerant packs 10 thus obtained, each one between one of the faces of the item 50 and the internal face opposite the internal box in polystyrene 30.

[0087] He can then close the transport crate 20.

[0088] The package 1 thus formed can then be sent to its recipient through a conventional package delivery circuit.

[0089] The present invention is in no way limited to the embodiment described and represented, but those skilled in the art will be able to make any variation conforming to the invention.

[0090] Typically, the volume delimited by the packaging 110 can be equal to several times the volume of a refrigerant pack. Thus, it is possible to place several ice packs coming out of the freezing device in each package, so as to keep the item cool for a longer period of time. It is also possible to place in each package a refrigerant block coming out of the freezing device and a refrigerant block at room temperature, so as to cushion the temperature variations of the item 50 which are due to the insertion of the refrigerant packs into the package, the heat exchanges will initially take place mainly between the refrigerant blocks contained in each package, and then with the rest of the package over a longer period.

[0091] Of course, both the transport crate and the packaging may have different shapes, provided that each one of the packaging defines at least one air passage opening and that at least four refrigerant packs can be placed in contact with the item.

[0092] According to another variation, an additional refrigerant pack could be placed above and / or below the item.

[0093] It should be noted that the thickness (or weight) of the sheets making up the cardboard used, the number and shape of the grooves, will also make it possible to influence the insulating power of the packaging, and therefore the speed of heat exchange in the package. Typically, we can use a cardboard with simple corrugations of type R, E or F so that the heat exchanges take place quickly, or simple corrugations of type B or even double corrugations of type EB or BR to slow down these thermal exchanges.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Packaging (110) for a refrigerant block (100) made from a cardboard blank (110'), comprising walls (111 , 112, 113, 114, 115, 116) which delimit a housing between them for the refrigerant block (100) and which have at least one opening (120) for air passage.

2. Packaging (110) according to claim 1 , of parallelepiped shape and comprising four side walls (111 , 112, 113, 114), a lower wall (116) and an upper wall (115).

3. Packaging (110) according to claim 2, in which two openings (120) are provided respectively located in two opposite side walls (112, 114).

4. Packaging (110) according to one of claims 2 and 3, in which at least one of the side walls (111 , 113) is joined to the two neighboring side walls (112, 114) by curved or inclined junction panels (111C, 111 D, 113C, 113D).

5. Refrigerant pack (10) comprising at least one refrigerant block (100) and packaging (110) according to one of claims 1 to 4, housing said at least one refrigerant block (100).

6. Refrigerant pack according to claim 5, in which two refrigerant blocks are provided in said package.

7. Package (1) comprising a transport crate (20) which is adapted to house an item (50), and at least one refrigerant pack (10) according to one of claims 5 and 6 located in the case transport (20) such that each opening (120) opens in a direction different from that of the item (50), said package (1) preferably comprising several refrigerant packs (10) distributed in the transport crate ( 20) around item (50).

8. Package according to claim 7, in which at least four refrigerant packs (10) according to one of claims 5 and 6 are provided, distributed in the transport crate (20) so as to delimit a lodging space for the item (50).

9. Package according to claim 7 or 8, in which the ratio of the sum of the areas of the surfaces of the item (50) in contact with the exterior of the refrigerant packs (10) to the area of the exterior surface of the box transport (20) is greater than or equal to 15%, and preferably greater than or equal to 20%.

10. Package according to one of claims 7 to 9, comprising an insulating layer (30) covering an internal face of said external body and against which the four refrigerant packs (10) rest.

11. Method of producing a package (1) according to one of claims 7 to 10, in which it is planned to:- provide an item (50),- place at least four refrigerant blocks (100) in respectively four packages (110) in order to obtain four refrigerant packs (10),- place the four refrigerant packs (10) in the transport crate (20), distributed around the item (50),- close the transport crate (20).

12. Method according to claim 11, in which two refrigerant blocks with temperatures different by more than 10°C are placed in each package.

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