Patent ID: 9689602
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: B65D,F25D,F28F

Claim:
1. An apparatus for thermally protecting a load, comprising: a container, wherein the container is configured to position a load within an interior of the container; a thermal bank; and a conductive equalizer, wherein the conductive equalizer is configured to be positioned within the container, wherein at least a portion of the conductive equalizer has a thermal conductivity of at least 10 W/mK; wherein the conductive equalizer is configured to be in direct thermal contact with the thermal bank, such that the thermal bank absorbs heat from the conductive equalizer when the conductive equalizer is at a higher temperature than the thermal bank, and provides heat to the conductive equalizer when the conductive equalizer is at a lower temperature than the thermal bank, wherein the conductive equalizer comprises a sheet of material having a thermal conductivity, TC, wherein the sheet of material has a length, L, from a proximal end of the sheet directly thermally conductively connected to the thermal bank to a distal end of the sheet, a thickness T, and a width w, wherein L is in the range 0.05 m and 2 m, wherein T is greater than or equal to 0.000001 m, wherein T/L is in the range 0.0002 and 0.000005, and wherein the sheet has an effective thermal conductance from the distal end to the proximal end equal to TC×w×T/L, and wherein the apparatus is configured such that when the load is positioned within the interior of the container, the conductive equalizer is positioned within the container, the conductive equalizer is in direct thermal contact with the thermal bank, and the conductive equalizer is positioned proximate the load such that the conductive equalizer surrounds at least 70% of the load, a period of time the load is maintained in a desired temperature range is extended.