Patent ID: 7374063

Claim:
An insulated article comprising: a first wall bounding an interior volume; a second wall spaced at a distance from the first wall to define an insulating space therebetween, the first and second walls provided by first and second tubes substantially concentric with each other, the first and second tubes being elongated and flexible; and a vent communicating with the insulating space to provide an exit pathway for gas molecules from the space, the vent being sealable for maintaining a vacuum within the insulating space following evacuation of gas molecules through the vent, the distance between the first and second walls being variable in a portion of the insulating space adjacent the vent such that gas molecules within the insulating space are directed towards the vent by the variable-distance portion of the first and second walls during the evacuation of the insulating space, the directing of the gas molecules by the variable-distance portion of the first and second walls imparting to the gas molecules a greater probability of egress from the insulating space than ingress thereby providing a deeper vacuum without requiring a getter material within the insulating space.