Patent ID: 8024907

Claim:
A substantially planar insulating panel comprising: a rigid frame defining a continuous periphery of the panel; a first glass wall retained by the frame and a second glass wall spaced from and opposing the first wall and together with the first wall and the frame defining an enclosed internal space of the panel; and at least one intermediate thermal plastic insulating wall disposed in the internal space spaced from and intermediate the first and second wall members to create a first enclosed space in the internal space between the intermediate insulating wall and the first wall and a second enclosed space in the internal space between the intermediate insulating wall and the second wall, wherein the intermediate insulating wall insulates the first wall from the second wall; wherein the frame forms a series of parallel, spaced apart mounting surfaces arranged about an inner periphery of the frame in a stepwise manner connected by an inner wall of the frame, the mounting surfaces receiving and retaining the walls thereon and arranged in a cascading series such that the areas of the walls diminish sequentially in one direction from one side of the panel to the other and the walls are sequentially spaced apart from each other, the parallel, spaced apart mounting surfaces enabling walls with sequentially larger areas to be inserted into the frame one after another, and the frame further includes a first sealed chamber formed therein comprising a portion of the inner wall directly adjacent to the first enclosed space and a second sealed chamber formed therein comprising a portion of the inner wall directly adjacent to the second enclosed space, the first and second chambers containing desiccant moisture absorption material and each having perforations in the inner wall of the frame between the mounting surfaces to allow for the absorption of moisture from only the directly adjacent enclosed space.