Abstract:
A container for handling and transporting temperature-sensitive items. The container includes a tote made of a resilient material, the tote including an opening for inserting items and flaps for covering the opening, wherein the tote has dimensions compatible with commercial product-handling equipment. The container further includes a liner sized to fit into the tote. In one embodiment, the liner includes a shell made of a resilient material and shaped to cover the interior surfaces of the tote. The liner has a layer of a temperature insulating material enclosed within the shell. A liner is lid sized to fit securely over the opening of the shell, and in one embodiment, includes a layer of the insulating material and a cavity for inserting a refrigerant material therein.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/133,314 filed on May 10, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is in the field of handling and transportation of temperature-sensitive items. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Storage and distribution of consumer goods, particularly perishable consumer goods, becomes an ever greater challenge as consumer products companies grow larger and span greater geographical areas. Large grocery chains, for example, may receive meat and produce from different locations, each many miles away, that must then be stored in a central warehouse facility and later trucked to points of sale far away from the warehouse facility. This situation poses extensive logistical problems, but also requires that foods such as frozen foods or fresh vegetables be handled and transported under controlled conditions to maintain their salability. In the case of a large grocery store chain, each type of item is typically shipped to a central warehouse in a specialized vehicle such as a refrigerated truck or a truck with freezer facilities. The problem of food handling is somewhat simplified when large quantities of foods with similar handling requirements can be shipped and stored in bulk together. Transporting food products having dissimilar handling requirements, such as an individual consumer order, still poses significant problems. One approach to the problem of keeping frozen foods cold, for example, involves lining a standard transportation container with a disposable liner made of a material such as Styrofoam. The use of Styrofoam has disadvantages. For example, the Styrofoam is not durable, so it is easily broken and must be frequently replaced. Styrofoam is not sanitary enough for reuse in transporting foods, even if it is not broken. Because Styrofoam is very porous, it traps contaminants and cannot be adequately cleaned because of its delicacy. 
     SUMMARY 
     A container for handling and transporting temperature-sensitive items is described. The container includes an exterior made of a resilient material. The exterior has attached flaps for completely covering a top opening. The closed dimensions of the container make the container compatible with commercial product-handling equipment. The container includes a liner that fits snugly into the exterior. The lining includes a shell made of a resilient material. When inserted in the exterior, the liner shell covers all of the interior surfaces of the container. The shell is filled with insulating material. The liner includes a lid sized to fit securely over the opening of the shell. The lid includes a layer of the insulating material and a compartment adjacent to the layer of insulating material such that the compartment faces the interior of the liner when the lid is in place. The compartment is accessible for the insertion of a refrigerant material. The lid, including the layer of insulating material and the compartment, is coated by a layer of resilient material. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an end view of a large tote showing handle, lid and bar code. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of a large tote showing handles, hinged lid, and protrusions/depressions for closure. 
     FIG. 3 is a diagram of a tote dolly. 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the tote dolly showing the top shelf loaded with two closed large totes. 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of the tote dolly showing the top shelf loaded with four closed small totes. 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of a large insulating tote insert with the lid in place. 
     FIG. 7 shows part of a lid of one embodiment and a cross section view of a tote wall of the embodiment. 
     FIG. 8 shows part of a lid of another embodiment and a cross section view of a tote wall of the embodiment. 
     FIG. 9 a  is an end view of one embodiment of a lid including a groove for a gasket. 
     FIG. 9 b  is an end view of the lid of FIG. 9 b  with a round rubber gasket installed. 
     FIG. 10 is a cross section view of an embodiment of a lid including insulating material and gel refrigerant. 
     FIG. 11 is a view of the bottom of the lid of FIG. 10 showing hinged sections for allowing placement of the gel refrigerant. 
     FIG. 12 is a cross section view of an embodiment of a lid including insulating material and dry ice in a compartment of the lid. 
     FIG. 13 shows the bottom of the lid of FIG. 12, including a door for inserting the dry ice and holes for allowing evaporating gas to escape the compartment. 
     FIG. 14 is a view of an embodiment of a lid including a door on a side for allowing the insertion of refrigerant material. 
     FIGS. 15 a - 15   c  show the interior dimensions of one embodiment of a small tote. 
     FIGS. 16 a - 16   c  show the interior dimensions of one embodiment of a large tote. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As consumers become busier and have less and less time to do ordinary household tasks such as shopping for consumables, a need has arisen for a service industry to perform these tasks for the consumer. It has long been possible in some areas of the country, for example very large cities, for consumers to order groceries from a local store. The groceries are collected by hand at the store and delivered to the consumer. In this situation, the consumer is typically very close to the store, and special product handling measures are not required. This “neighborhood grocery” model is inadequate for extension to consumers on a very large scale, however. One of the disadvantages of the neighborhood grocery model is that a person is required to handpick groceries for the consumer and carry them to the consumer on an order-by-order basis. 
     A workable large scale model for a consumer grocery shopping services includes an easy accessible way for orders to be placed by the consumer, such as by computer over the Internet. In addition, a workable model includes a large warehouse facility for storing consumer items in the units the consumer would require from a grocery store. Once the customer order is entered, much of the item collection to fill the order is automated, and the order is distributed with many others via an efficient trucking route system. This grocery shopping service is extremely convenient for the consumer and still economical because the service provider is not obligated to pay the costs of grocery store personnel or multiple grocery store locations. Some challenges do exist, however, such as keeping various foods in a single consumer order under appropriate conditions so that they can be delivered in good condition to the consumer. In addition, multiple consumer orders, each including foods with various environmental requirements, must be carried together on a route. A consumer whose location in the route falls rather far away from the warehouse may order some nonperishable items, some fresh vegetable items, and some frozen items such as ice cream. This requires handling equipment and methods that allow the various products to be easily collected from the warehouse, easily kept together as a single order, and delivered in good condition to the consumer. 
     A container is described herein for handling and transporting groups of items that require temperature controlled environments. The groups of items may be of varying sizes. The container provides enhanced handling capability for temperature-sensitive items while allowing handling with typical commercial product-handling equipment. 
     FIG. 1 is an end view of a container, or tote, of one embodiment. Hereafter, “end” will be used to denote a shorter side of the rectangular tote, while “side” will be used to denote a longer side of the tote. Tote  100  has slightly tapered sides to allow stacking when flaps  102   a  and  102   b  are open. Tote  100  includes handle  104   a  which allows tote  100  to be picked up manually or by automated handling equipment. Pushpads  106   a  and  106   b  protrude from the end of tote  100  such that similar pushpads on a similar tote contact pushpads  106  when tote  100  is travelling along a conveyer belt with other, similar totes. Barcode  108  is attached to the end of tote  100  for identifying the tote or its contents. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of tote  100  showing flap  102   b,  handles  104 , and hinge  110 . Protrusion  112  is one of six protruding areas shown. Depression  114  is one of six depressions shown. Protrusions  112  fit into depressions  114  on flap  102   b  and depressions  114  receive similar protrusions on flap  102   a  when flaps  102  in the closed position. This allows weight to be placed on flaps  102  without flaps  102  collapsing inward toward the contents of tote  100 . 
     Tote  100  may come in various sizes. For example, for one embodiment of a product-handling system, tote  100  may come in two sizes, large and small. In one embodiment, large tote  100  has exterior bottom dimensions of 12⅛ inches to 12¼ inches by 18⅛ to 18¼ inches. Large tote  100  may have an exterior height of 12⅛ inches to 12¼ inches. Large tote  100  may have exterior top dimensions of 13⅞ inches to 14 inches by 19⅞ inches to 20 inches. In one embodiment, small tote  100  has exterior bottom dimensions of 7⅜ inches to 7{fraction (1/12)} inches by 12¼ inches to 12⅜ inches. Small tote  100  may have an exterior height of 8¾ inches to 8⅞ inches. Small tote  100  may have exterior top dimensions of 8⅞ inches to 9 inches by 13⅝ inches to 13¾ inches. Tote  100  may be made out of any hard, yet resilient material such as a plastic. Tote  100  may be a commercially available container. For example, a tote such as tote  100  may be obtained from Orbis, Inc. of Oconomowoc, Wis. 
     FIG. 3 is a diagram of a cart, or dolly, usable with the totes described herein. Dolly  200  includes four shelves  202   a  through  202   d,  and four wheels  204 . Shelves  202  are sized to contain exactly two large totes or four small totes. 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of shelf  202   a  including two large totes  100 . The front of the dolly, as indicated, is the direction in which barcodes  108  face for easy scanning. 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of shelf  202   a  with four small totes  300  resting thereon. As shown, four totes  300  may be placed on shelf  202   a,  and the sides of the totes  300  face the front of dolly  200 . For this reason, barcodes  108  may be placed on the sides of small totes  300  as opposed to the ends of large totes  100 . Totes  100  and  300  are also sized such that two totes  300  may be stacked on top of one tote  100 . 
     FIG. 6 is a diagram of a liner having exterior dimensions substantially the same as the interior dimensions of tote  100 . Liner  600  is essentially a shell that is filled with an insulating material such as polyurethane. The shell, in one embodiment, is made of polyethylene. When liner  600  is sized to fit into large tote  100 , the thickness of the shell is approximately ½ inch to 1 inch. When liner  600  is sized to fit into the interior of small tote  300 , the thickness of the shell is approximately ½ inch to ¾ inch. Liner  600  includes a lid that is assembled on liner  600  of FIG. 6 but is not visible in that view. Liner  600  with its lid assembled (as further described below) is sized to fit on tote  100  or tote  300  such that the tote may be completely closed without interference. 
     Liner  600  is strong enough to be reused many times and may be washed, for example, by steam cleaning for sanitization without degrading its performance. Liner  600  may be placed inside a tote  100  with or without a glue to hold it in place in the tote. 
     FIG. 7 shows part of one embodiment of a liner lid and a cross-section of a side of liner  600 . Lid  704  includes upper surface  710  and lower surface  712 . When assembled on liner  600 , lower surface  712  sits on mating surface  708 , and surface  710  is flush with surface  706 . In one embodiment, a compressible gasket material covers mating surface  708 . Alternatively, a gasket of compressible material may be attached to the mating surface of surface  712 . 
     FIG. 8 is a diagram of another embodiment of a lid. Lid  714  includes lower surface  716  and lower surface  715 . Lower surface  716  contacts mating surface  708  when lid  714  is assembled, and lower surface  715  contacts surface  706  when lid  714  is assembled. Either of surfaces  716  or  708  could includes compressible gaskets as described with reference to FIG.  7 . 
     FIG. 9 a  is an end view of an embodiment of a lid  718  including a groove  720  around the circumference of the edge of lid  718 . FIG. 9 b  shows lid  718  with a round rubber gasket  724  inserted in groove  720 . Gasket  724  provides a tighter seal than the arrangement shown in either FIG. 7 or FIG.  8 . Lid  718  is sized such that its upper surface is flush with upper surface  706  of the liner  600  when assembled. 
     FIG. 10 is a cross-section view of one embodiment of a lid  1000 . Lid  1000  has a top outer layer  1003  made of polyethylene. Insulating material  1002 , in one embodiment, is rigid polyurethane. Interface  1004  is the top surface of the rigid polyurethane layer  1002 . Flaps  1008  and  1010  make up the bottom of lid  1000  when closed. Gel pack  1006  is shown inserted into the compartment created by interface  1004  and lower surface  1008 / 1010 . Gel pack  1006  is a layer of frozen refrigerant, such as guar gum and salt solution, that has been previously frozen and sealed in a leakproof container such as a sealed plastic bag. Gels made of guar gum and salt solution may reach a temperature of −10° Fahrenheit. Over time the gel will return to a liquid form and lose its refrigerant properties until it is refrozen. 
     FIG. 11 is a view of lid  1000  showing bottom flaps  1008  and  1010  in an open position. Flaps  1008  and  1010  interlock with depressions and protrusions as described with respect to tote  100 . When flaps  1008  and  1010  are open, gel pack  1006  may be inserted. Other embodiments may open and close in different ways, for example, the entire bottom surface of lid  1000  may be hinged to open and close. 
     FIG. 12 is a cross-section view of another embodiment of a lid  1200 . Lid  1200  has an upper surface  1203  and a lower surface  1210  that are thin layers of polyethylene. Insulating layer  1202  is made of rigid polyurethane or some other insulating material, and has an interface surface  1204 . Compartment  1206  is a space between interface  1204  and lower surface  1210 . A refrigerant, such as dry ice (CO 2 ), may be inserted into compartment  1206   1208 . Dry ice changes state from gas to solid at a temperature of approximately −110° Fahrenheit. Therefore, dry ice is a more efficient refrigerant than a material such as the gel previously described. For this reason, it is not necessary to fill the entire compartment  1206  with dry ice. 
     FIG. 13 is a view of the bottom of lid  1200 . Hinged door  1212  is for the insertion of dry ice block  1208 . Lower surface  1210  is perforated as shown to provide holes for the escape of gas as dry ice block  1208  evaporates upon warming. 
     FIG. 14 is a diagram of a lid  1400  showing an alternate hinged edge door  1402  that could be used to insert either a gel pack as shown in FIG. 10, or a dry ice block as shown in FIG.  12 . 
     Another embodiment includes a liner as described with a lid that is made of a porous foam. The porous foam is compressible and can be pressed into the liner as far as required to cover the contents of the liner and exclude most air space above the contents. Dry ice or some other refrigerant may be added to the contents of the container. The foam is porous enough to allow evaporating gas to escape the container. 
     FIGS. 15 a,    15   b,  and  15   c  show inside tote dimensions of a small tote  300  according to one embodiment. The inside dimensions represent the outside dimensions of a corresponding liner as described. 
     FIGS. 16 a,    16   b,  and  16   c  show the inside dimensions of a large tote  100  according to one embodiment. The inside dimensions shown represent the outside dimensions of a corresponding insulating liner. 
     A container for handling and transporting temperature-sensitive items has been described with reference to particular embodiments. Other embodiments are within the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the container may be used to keep hot items warm rather to keep cold items cold, in which case, refrigerants would not be used in the lid. Different insulating materials or cooling materials than those described herein could also be used. A system is also envisioned in which the container includes a liner as described and dry ice in the lid as described, but is further pressurized such that the dry ice maintains its solid state and provides cooling for a much longer period, until the container is depressurized. The container has been described as for use in transporting food items. It is within the spirit and scope of the invention, however, to use the container described herein for transporting biological or industrial materials.