Shipping System for Storing And/Or Transporting Temperature-Sensitive Materials

The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119 (e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/652,887, inventors Johnathan B. Francis et al., filed May 29, 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates generally to shipping systems for storing and/or transporting temperature-sensitive materials and relates more particularly to a novel such shipping system.

There is a continuing need for systems that can maintain a payload of temperature-sensitive materials within a desired temperature range for an extended period of time. For example, many pharmaceuticals, biological materials, medical devices, foods, beverages, and other temperature-sensitive materials must be maintained within a particular temperature range (such as, for example, −90° C. to −60° C.; −25° C. to −15° C.; +2° C. to +8° C.; +15° C. to +25° C.) in order to prevent the spoilage of such materials. As can readily be appreciated, the maintenance of such materials within a desired temperature range while such materials are being transported and/or stored can be challenging. One way in which such temperature maintenance may be achieved is by transporting and/or storing such materials in active temperature-control devices, such as electrically-powered refrigeration units or the like. However, as can be appreciated, such active temperature-control devices add considerable expense to transportation and/or storage costs.

An alternative approach to temperature maintenance during transportation and/or storage of a payload of temperature-sensitive materials is to use a passive thermal shipping system that comprises an insulated container and preferably one or more passive temperature-control members. In some cases, the insulated container may be appropriately dimensioned to receive a parcel-sized payload whereas, in other cases, the insulated container may be appropriately dimensioned to receive a pallet-sized payload. In either case, the one or more passive temperature-control members may be packaged passive temperature-control members, such as, but not limited to, ice packs, gel packs, refrigerant bricks, or the like, or may be unpackaged passive temperature-control members, such as loose dry ice, loose wet ice, or the like. In many cases, the payload of temperature-sensitive materials is housed within a product box (sometimes alternatively referred to as “a payload box”) that, in turn, is housed within the insulated container along with the one or more passive temperature-control members. The thermal shipping system may additionally include one or more other components, such as, but not limited to, an outer retaining box, a liner, additional insulation, and dunnage.

An example of a parcel-sized shipping system of the type described above is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 11,511,928 B2, inventors Rizzo et al., which issued Nov. 29, 2022, and which is incorporated herein by reference. According to this publication, in one embodiment, the system includes an outer box having four side walls, bottom closure flaps, and top closure flaps. A vacuum insulated panel (VIP) is detachably coupled to one of the top closure flaps and is removably covered by a cover. An insulation unit is removably positioned within the outer box, the insulation unit including a plurality of VIPs arranged to define a cavity bounded by a bottom wall and four side walls. A disposable liner is removably mounted on the insulation unit. The liner may be a thermoformed sheet and may cover the interior and top surfaces of the insulation unit. A plurality of temperature-control members and a product box may be removably positioned in the liner. Preferably, the liner is shaped so that the temperature-control members snugly fit around all sides of the product box.

Another example of a parcel-sized shipping system of the type described above is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2022/0002070 A1, inventors Moghaddas et al., which published Jan. 6, 2022, and which is incorporated herein by reference. According to this publication, in one embodiment, the system includes an outer box having four side walls, bottom closure flaps, and top closure flaps. A vacuum insulated panel (VIP) is detachably coupled to one of the top closure flaps and is removably covered by a cover. An insulation unit is removably positioned within the outer box, the insulation unit including a plurality of VIPs arranged to define a cavity bounded by a bottom wall and four side walls. A disposable liner assembly is removably mounted on the insulation unit. The liner assembly includes a first liner piece, a second liner piece, and a liner support. A plurality of temperature-control member and a product box may be removably positioned in a cavity defined by the liner assembly. The temperature-control members snugly fit around all sides of the product box and each includes a container containing dry ice.

Other documents of interest may include the following, all of which are incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 12,043,470 B2, inventors Rizzo et al., which issued Jul. 23, 2024; U.S. Pat. No. 11,499,770 B2, inventors Rizzo et al., which issued Nov. 15, 2022; U.S. Pat. No. 10,766,685 B2, inventors Kuhn et al., which issued Sep. 8, 2020; U.S. Pat. No. 9,045,278 B2, inventors Mustafa et al., which issued Jun. 2, 2015; U.S. Pat. No. 8,887,515 B2, inventor Patstone, which issued Nov. 18, 2014; U.S. Pat. No. 7,950,246 B1, inventors Mayer et al., which issued May 31, 2011; U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,458 B1, inventors Frysinger et al., which issued Jun. 12, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,703 B1, inventors Salyer et al., which issued Feb. 27, 2001; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2022/0343270 A1, inventors Melchor et al., which published Oct. 27, 2022; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2022/0333840 A1, inventors Chasteen et al., which published Oct. 20, 2022; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2016/0130066 A1, inventors Ranade et al., which published May 12, 2016; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2015/0191291 A1, inventors Wood et al., which published Jul. 9, 2015; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2005/0224501 A1, inventors Folkert et al., which published Oct. 13, 2005; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0102317 A1, inventor Gordon, which published Jun. 5, 2003.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel shipping system for storing and/or transporting temperature-sensitive materials.

Therefore, according to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a shipping system for use in transporting and/or storing temperature-sensitive materials, the shipping system comprising (a) an insulation unit, the insulation unit comprising (i) a base, the base comprising one or more base vacuum insulated panels configured to define a base cavity bounded by a bottom wall, one or more side walls, and an open top; and (ii) a lid assembly, the lid assembly comprising a lid vacuum insulated panel and a lid support, the lid support comprising a sheet folded to comprise a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being secured to one of the one or more side walls of the base, the second portion being secured to the lid vacuum insulated panel and being movable relative to the first portion between a first position in which the base cavity is open and a second position in which the base cavity is closed by the lid assembly; (b) a product box, the product box removably disposed within the base cavity; and (c) one or more temperature-control members removably disposed within the base cavity.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the shipping system may further comprise an outer box, the outer box may comprise a box cavity bounded by at least one side wall, at least one bottom closure flap, and at least one top closure flap, and the base and the lid assembly of the insulation unit may be removably disposed within the box cavity of the outer box.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the lid vacuum insulated panel may be secured to a bottom surface of the second portion of the lid support, the lid assembly may further comprise a compressible pad, and the compressible pad may be secured to a top surface of the second portion of the lid support.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the lid assembly may further comprise a pad cover, and the pad cover may be secured to a top surface of the compressible pad.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the pad cover may be shaped to include an integral handle.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the integral handle may comprise a hinged tab having a cutout.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the compressible pad may comprise a recess, and the recess may be aligned with the cutout of the pad cover.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the lid assembly may further comprise a lid cover, and the lid cover may cover a bottom surface of the lid vacuum insulated panel.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the lid assembly may be dimensioned so that the pad cover may engage the at least one top closure flap of the outer box when the at least one top closure flap may be closed, thereby ensuring that the lid cover may fully close the base cavity.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the insulation unit may further comprise a shock absorbance pad, and the shock absorbance pad may be positioned in the outer box below the base.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the first portion of the lid support may be removably secured to the base.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the one or more base vacuum insulated panels may comprise a bottom vacuum insulated panel and four side vacuum insulated panels, and the four side vacuum insulated panels may be disposed on top of the bottom vacuum insulated panel.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the base may further comprise one or more binding members encircling the four side vacuum insulated panels.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the one or more binding members may comprise one or more elastic bands.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the one or more binding members may comprise a strip of stretch tape.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the base may further comprise a base support, the base support may be shaped to comprise a central portion and four side portions, the central portion may be disposed under the bottom vacuum insulated panel, and the four side portions may be disposed between the four side vacuum insulated panels and the one or more binding members.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the base may further comprise a plurality of corner boards, the base support may have a plurality of corners, and one of the corner boards may be positioned at each corner of the base support between the base support and the one or more binding members.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the base may further comprise a shock absorbance pad, and the shock absorbance pad may be positioned between the bottom vacuum insulated panel and the base support.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the base may further comprise an inner shield, the inner shield may be removably disposed in the base cavity, and the product box and the one or more temperature-control members may be removably disposed within a space defined by the inner shield.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the first portion of the sheet and the second portion of the sheet may be separated only by a single crease.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the first portion of the sheet and the second portion of the sheet may be separated by a pair of creases forming a hinge.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a shipping system for use in transporting and/or storing temperature-sensitive materials, the shipping system comprising (a) an insulation unit, the insulation unit comprising (i) a base, the base comprising one or more base vacuum insulated panels configured to define a base cavity bounded by a bottom wall, one or more side walls, and an open top; and (ii) a lid assembly, the lid assembly being pivotally mounted on the base to selectively cover and uncover the base cavity, the lid assembly comprising (A) a lid vacuum insulated panel, the lid vacuum insulated panel having a top surface and a bottom surface; (B) a first cover, the first cover positioned over and coupled to the top surface of the lid vacuum insulated panel, wherein the first cover is shaped to include an integral handle; (b) a product box, the product box removably disposed within the base cavity; and (c) one or more temperature-control members removably disposed within the base cavity.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the integral handle may comprise a hinged tab having a cutout.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the lid assembly may further comprise a compressible pad, and the compressible pad may be disposed between the lid vacuum insulated panel and the first cover.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the compressible pad may comprise a recess, and the recess may be aligned with the cutout of the first cover.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the lid assembly may further comprise a second cover, and the second cover may cover the bottom surface of the lid vacuum insulated panel.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the shipping system may further comprise an outer box, the outer box may comprise a box cavity bounded by at least one side wall, at least one bottom closure flap, and at least one top closure flap, and the base and the lid assembly of the insulation unit may be removably disposed within the box cavity of the outer box.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the lid assembly may be dimensioned so that the first cover may engage the at least one top closure flap of the outer box when the at least one top closure flap may be closed, thereby ensuring that the second cover may fully close the base cavity.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the lid assembly may further comprise a support, the support may comprise a first portion and a second portion, the first portion may be secured to one of the one or more side walls of the base, and the second portion may be positioned between and secured to each of the lid vacuum insulated panel and the first cover.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the first portion of the support and the second portion of the support may be separated only by a single crease.

In a more detailed feature of the invention, the first portion of the support and the second portion of the support may be separated by a pair of creases forming a hinge.

For purposes of the present specification and claims, various relational terms like “top,” “bottom,” “proximal,” “distal,” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” and “rear” may be used to describe the present invention when said invention is positioned in or viewed from a given orientation. It is to be understood that, by altering the orientation of the invention, certain relational terms may need to be adjusted accordingly.

Additional objects, as well as aspects, features and advantages, of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments for practicing the invention. The embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Referring now to, there are shown various views of a first embodiment of a shipping system suitable for use in storing and/or transporting temperature-sensitive materials, the shipping system being constructed according to the present invention and being represented generally by reference numeral. For clarity and/or ease of illustration, certain details of shipping systemthat are discussed elsewhere in this application or that are not critical to an understanding of the invention may be omitted from one or more ofor may be shown therein in a simplified manner.

Systemmay be used to maintain a payload within a desired temperature range for an extended period of time. Solely for illustrative purposes and not to be limited thereto, systemmay be configured to maintain a parcel-sized payload within a temperature range of +2° C. to +8° C. for a period of up to 96 hours or longer or, alternatively, may be configured to maintain a parcel-sized payload within a temperature range of +15° C. to +25° C. for a period of up to 96 hours or longer or, alternatively, may be configured to maintain a parcel-sized payload within a temperature range of −15° C. to −25° C. for a period of up to 96 hours or longer.

Systemmay be similar in certain respects to one or more of the shipping systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 11,511,928 B2 and/or U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2022/0002070 A1.

To this end, systemmay comprise an outer box. Outer box, which may be, for example, a conventional corrugated cardboard box or carton (or, in another embodiment, a plastic corrugate box or carton), may comprise a rectangular prismatic cavitybounded by a plurality of rectangular side walls-through-, a plurality of bottom closure flaps (not shown), and a plurality of top closure flaps-through-. Adhesive strips of tape or other closure means (not shown) may be used to retain, in a closed condition, the bottom closure flaps and/or top closure flaps-through-. A labelmay be adhered to or otherwise affixed to the exterior of outer box.

One difference between outer boxand the respective outer boxes of U.S. Pat. No. 11,511,928 B2 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2022/0002070 A1 is the sizing of their respective top closure flaps. More specifically, in the case of the outer boxes of U.S. Pat. No. 11,511,928 B2 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2022/0002070 A1, the top closure flap to which a lid assembly is mounted is sized to substantially match the footprint of the lid assembly; therefore, said top closure flap is dimensioned to extend nearly entirely across the cavity of the outer box. In addition, the top closure flap that is opposite to the top closure flap that is used to mount the lid assembly is also of a similar size. Such a box construction is non-standard and, therefore, costly. By contrast, none of top closure flaps-through-of outer boxis used to mount a lid assembly; consequently, all of top closure flaps-through-may extend only about halfway across cavityof outer box. Such a box construction, which may be in the form of a regular slotted container (RSC), is more common and, therefore, less costly. Moreover, the taping of a regular slotted container can be performed with a conventional taping machine.

Another difference between outer boxand the outer boxes of U.S. Pat. No. 11,511,928 B2 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2022/0002070 A1 is that outer boxmay comprise one or more through-holes or cutouts in opposite side walls of outer box, which cutouts may serve as handles for carrying system. In the present embodiment, such cutouts-and-may be generally oval-shaped openings provided in side walls-and-, respectively, of outer box. As seen best in, cutouts-and-may be reinforced with handle inserts-and-, respectively, which may be made of a rigid polymer or the like. In other embodiments (not shown), handle inserts-and-may be omitted, or the combination of cutouts-and-and handle inserts-and-may be omitted.

Systemmay further comprise an insulation unit. Insulation unit, which is also shown separately in, may comprise a base, a lid assembly, and a pad.

Base, which is also shown separately in, may comprise a plurality of vacuum insulated panels-through-, which may be conventional and may be similar or identical to one another in composition. Vacuum insulated panels-through-may be arranged such that vacuum insulated panels-through-are positioned perpendicularly relative to and sitting directly on top of vacuum insulated panel-, thereby collectively defining a generally prismatic cavity bounded by a bottom wall and four side walls. The four side walls, which may be similar or identical to one another in size and shape, may be positioned relative to one another in a “pinwheel”-type arrangement, wherein one end of each vacuum insulated panel abuts the inside major surface of its adjacent vacuum insulated panel. Alternatively, the four side walls may be positioned relative to one another so that one end of each of two parallel vacuum insulated panels abuts the inside major surface of each of the two remaining parallel vacuum insulated panels. The bottom wall, which may be defined by vacuum insulated panel-, may be similar or identical in size and shape to the four side walls (or may be differently dimensioned than the four side walls), which may be defined by vacuum insulated panels-through-. Preferably, vacuum insulated panels-through-are oriented so that all seams face outwardly. In another embodiment (not shown), two or more of vacuum insulated panels-through-may be coupled together with a living hinge (e.g., a plastic corrugate living hinge) or may be integrally formed as a one-piece structure. For example, the four side walls may be hinged together as a unit.

Basemay additionally comprise a support. Support, which may be made of corrugated cardboard or the like, may be a blank adapted to be folded into a unitary box-like structure configured to include a central portion and four side portions. (When folded, the adjacent edges of the side portions may be spaced apart by a small distance.) The central portion may be rectangular, and each of the four side portions may extend upwardly from a different one of the four sides of the central portion. Supportmay be appropriately dimensioned so that the central portion of the support may be positioned under vacuum insulated panel-and so that the side portions of supportmay be positioned along the outside faces of vacuum insulated panels-through-, as well as along the peripheral edges of vacuum insulated panel-. As will be discussed below, supportmay be used, in conjunction with other structural members, to help keep vacuum insulation panels-through-assembled together. In addition, supportmay also provide some additional thermal insulation to base. A labelmay be affixed to support.