Insulating Container Wrap With Void Spaces for Hot-Fill Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a thermal insulating container that provides significant insulation without additional manufacturing steps or raw materials, while also enabling brand recognition and reducing cool-down time for hot-filled beverage bottles, and allowing for heat-shrink product labels to be applied using a hot-air tunnel.
Innovation Solution
The container features a vessel with integral protrusions and a thin wrap that creates non-hermetic void spaces for insulation, manufactured using existing molds with minimal modifications, allowing for efficient heat dissipation and label shrinkage without additional structural support or materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hermetically sealed insulating container is used, then thermal insulation performance is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the hermetic seal requirement from traditional insulating containers, extracting only the essential insulation function. The container uses an open-cell foam material that provides thermal insulation without requiring a sealed construction, thereby simplifying manufacturing while maintaining insulation performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs open-cell foam material as the insulating medium. This porous material structure provides effective thermal insulation through its cellular architecture while allowing for simpler manufacturing processes compared to hermetically sealed containers. The foam material itself serves as both the insulating layer and the structural element.
2Productivity
If traditional hot-fill bottling is used, then production speed is improved, but cool-down time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies insulation material selectively to the exterior surfaces of the container that are most exposed to ambient heat. This localized insulation approach efficiently reduces cool-down time for the beverage while maintaining the high-speed hot-fill bottling process, as the insulation is concentrated where it is most needed for thermal protection.
3Reliability
If steam tunnel is used for label shrinkage, then label application effectiveness is improved, but energy consumption and environmental impact increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the steam-based thermal system with a mechanical friction-based system for label application. The label applicator uses friction between the label and the moving container surface to achieve label shrinkage and adhesion, eliminating the need for steam generation and reducing energy consumption while maintaining effective label application.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides effective thermal insulation comparable to hermetically sealed containers at reduced manufacturing costs, with the ability to maintain lower temperatures and facilitate heat-shrink label application using dry heat, while maintaining structural integrity and aesthetic branding opportunities.
Implementation Method 1
an insulating barrier is wrapped around the vessel cooperating with the protrusion to define at least one void space between the barrier and the outer surface of the vessel
Implementation Method 2
The container features a vessel with integral protrusions and a thin wrap that creates non-hermetic void spaces for insulation, manufactured using existing molds with minimal modifications, allowing for efficient heat dissipation
Data Source
AI summary
The current invention relates to a thermal-insulating container (100) comprising a vessel (105) and a wrap (125) wherein the vessel comprises one or more protrusions (108) extending from a sidewall (115) wherein the wrap and the protrusions cooperate to form one or more void spaces (120) between the wrap and the sidewall.