Patent ID: 7971746

Claim:
A thermally insulated housing, comprising: an outer shell including an outer case and an inner case that is housed at a spaced interval within the outer case, wherein a surface of one of the outer case and the inner case comprises a first panel and a second panel, the first and second panels being adjacent to each other, wherein an edge portion of the first panel and an edge portion of the second panel mutually overlap each other, at least one of the mutually overlapping edge portions of the first and second panels being bent at a blunt angle toward the other of the first and second panels; a plurality of spacers disposed between the inner case and the outer case so as not to protrude through any of the inner case and the outer case, and being arranged between the at least one bent overlapping edge portion and the other of the outer case and the inner case for maintaining the at least one overlapping edge portion and the other of the first and second panels in a state in which the at least one bent overlapping edge portion is deformed so as to be flattened and so as to be in elastic close contact with the other of the first and second panels along only one plane; and foam insulation injected between the outer case and the inner case wherein each spacer has two mutually opposite ends, each of the ends having a contact surface, and wherein each spacer is arranged such that one of the contact surfaces is in contact with the at least one bent overlapping edge portion, and such that the other of the contact surfaces is in contact with an opposing flat surface of the other of the outer case and the inner case.