Insulating Container Wrap With Void Spaces for Low-Complexity Thermal Control
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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 cooling 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 a hermetic seal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a thermal insulating container uses traditional insulation methods (foam wrapping, vacuum layers, or hermetic sealing), then thermal insulation performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into an inner vessel and an outer shell with a gap between them. This segmentation creates a thermal barrier without requiring complex insulation materials or hermetic sealing, achieving insulation through simple geometric separation of components.
Solution Approach 2:
A gap or void space acts as an intermediary thermal barrier between the inner vessel and outer shell. This intermediate space prevents direct thermal contact while maintaining structural simplicity and avoiding the need for complex insulation layers or hermetic seals.
2Temperature
If a thermal insulating container adds insulation layers and materials, then thermal insulation performance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into an inner vessel and an outer shell with a gap between them. This segmentation creates a thermal barrier without requiring complex insulation materials or hermetic sealing, achieving insulation through simple geometric separation of components.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer shell serves as a thin film structure that, when combined with the gap, provides effective thermal insulation. This thin-film approach eliminates the need for thick insulation materials while maintaining insulation performance and reducing manufacturing cost.
3Temperature
If a container uses hermetic sealing for insulation, then thermal insulation performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into an inner vessel and an outer shell with a gap between them. This segmentation creates a thermal barrier without requiring complex insulation materials or hermetic sealing, achieving insulation through simple geometric separation of components.
Solution Approach 2:
A gap or void space acts as an intermediary thermal barrier between the inner vessel and outer shell. This intermediate space prevents direct thermal contact while maintaining structural simplicity and avoiding the need for complex insulation layers or hermetic seals.
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
This solution provides effective thermal insulation comparable to hermetically sealed containers at a lower cost, with reduced manufacturing complexity and enhanced branding opportunities, while enabling faster cooling of hot-filled beverages and successful heat-shrink label application using dry heat.
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
a means to heat-shrink product labels onto filled beverage bottles using a hot-air tunnel
Data Source
AI summary
The current invention relates to an insulating container comprising a vessel and a wrap, wherein the vessel comprises one or more protrusions matched to corresponding recesses, wherein the protrusions have a substantially consistent wall thickness, wherein the wrap and the protrusions cooperate to form one or more void spaces between the wall and the wrap, thereby providing insulating properties to the container.