Vacuum insulator and insulated container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12459723-B2
Application number	US-202117907311-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 18, 2021
Priority date	Mar 26, 2020
Publication date	Nov 4, 2025
Grant date	Nov 4, 2025

Abstract

Disclosed is a vacuum insulator, comprising: a metal plate; a glass plate arranged facing and spaced apart from the metal plate; and a sealing structure arranged between the metal plate and the glass plate for fixing the metal plate and the glass plate in a sealed manner, with a vacuum cavity being defined between the metal plate and the glass plate. The vacuum insulator is impact-resistant, has a stable structure, and can be independently used for manufacturing an insulated container. The insulated container having the vacuum insulator is also involved.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A vacuum insulator, comprising:
a metal plate; a glass plate arranged facing and spaced apart from the metal plate; and a sealing structure arranged between the metal plate and the glass plate and directly contacting the metal plate and the glass plate for sealed fixing of the metal plate and the glass plate, with a vacuum cavity being defined between the metal plate and the glass plate; wherein the sealing structure comprises a nickel-plated layer and a solder sheet; and the nickel-plated layer is formed on an upper surface of the glass plate, the solder sheet is arranged between the nickel-plated layer and a lower surface of the metal plate and directly contacting the lower surface of the metal plate, and the sealed fixing of the metal plate and the glass plate is realized by welding the solder sheet to the nickel-plated layer and the metal plate.

2 . The vacuum insulator according to claim 1 , wherein
the sealing structure comprises a metal sheet and glass powder slurry; and the glass powder slurry is arranged on an upper surface of the glass plate, the metal sheet is arranged between the glass powder slurry and a lower surface of the metal plate, and the sealed fixing of the metal plate and the glass plate is realized by melting the glass powder slurry and welding the metal sheet.

3 . The vacuum insulator according to claim 1 , wherein
the sealing structure comprises a silicone layer, and the sealed fixing of the metal plate and the glass plate is realized by bonding of the silicone layer.

4 . The vacuum insulator according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of support components, arranged in the vacuum cavity and configured to be fixed to the metal plate and/or the glass plate, so as to provide support between the metal plate and the glass plate.

5 . The vacuum insulator according to claim 1 , wherein
a thickness of the metal plate is 1-1.5 mm; a thickness of the glass plate is 2-4 mm; a distance between the metal plate and the glass plate is 0.15-1 mm; and a width of the sealing structure is 10-15 mm.

6 . An insulated container, comprising:
a box body, defined with a storage space inside and provided with a storage opening for storing articles; and a door body, arranged on a front side of the storage opening and configured to open and close the storage space, wherein at least a part of the box body and/or the door body is the vacuum insulator according to claim 1 .

7 . The insulated container according to claim 6 , wherein
the metal plate has a body part and a bent part; the body part is arranged facing the glass plate; and the bent part extends from a tail end of the body part toward one side where the glass plate is located, so that a groove is defined between an inner surface of the bent part and a tail end of the glass plate.

8 . The insulated container according to claim 7 , wherein
the box body comprises a main body frame, a fixing component and a plurality of the vacuum insulators; and the main body frame is of a cuboid structure defined by a plurality of edges, and the plurality of vacuum insulators are fixed to the main body frame through the fixing component to define the box body, wherein the metal plates of the vacuum insulators constitute an outer shell of the box body, and the glass plates constitute an inner shell of the box body.

9 . The insulated container according to claim 8 , wherein
the fixing component has a main body part, two extension parts and two inserting parts; and two adjacent vacuum insulators are spliced and fixed through the fixing component, wherein the main body part is configured to be clamped between outer surfaces of the bent parts of the two vacuum insulators, the two extension parts are configured to extend from the main body part between the glass plates of the two vacuum insulators and the edges of the main body frame respectively, and the two inserting parts are configured to be respectively inserted into the grooves of the two vacuum insulators.

10 . The insulated container according to claim 7 , wherein
the door body comprises a connecting frame, a door seal and the vacuum insulator; the connecting frame has a first frame part and a second frame part; the first frame part has a protrusion matched with the groove, and the fixing of the vacuum insulator and the connecting frame is realized by fitting the protrusion with the groove; the second frame part is formed on one side of the first frame part close to the box body, and the fixing of the door seal and the connecting frame is realized by fixing the door seal and the second frame part; and the metal plate of the vacuum insulator constitutes an outer plate of the door body, and the glass plate constitutes an inner plate of the door body.

Assignees

• Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Corp Ltd
• Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
• Qingdao haier refrigerator co ltd

Inventors

• Fei Bin
• Liu Zhanzhan
• Zhu Xiaobing
• Li Peng

Classifications

• F16L59/065 Primary

  using vacuum (F16L59/075 takes precedence) · CPC title

• Y02B80/22

  Glazing, e.g. vaccum glazing · CPC title

• Y02A30/249

  Glazing, e.g. vacuum glazing · CPC title

• F25D23/063

  formed by an assembly of panels · CPC title

• F25D23/02

  Doors; Covers (F25D23/08 takes precedence {locks or fastenings E05B65/0042}) · CPC title