Method of Manufacturing Vacuum Insulation Panels

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016305598-A1
Application number	US-201515038498-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 24, 2015
Priority date	Feb 26, 2014
Publication date	Oct 20, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method is provided of manufacturing a vacuum insulation panel using three-dimensional printing technology. Individual layers of core material are built up to produce a rectilinear core having a very small internal wall thickness and numerable hollow areas, thus creating a core having a highly porous surface. The highly engineered porous core is then encapsulated in a plastic, aluminum or composite envelope and a vacuum is applied. Once all or most of the gas molecules are removed, the engineered VIP delivers a high level of insulation.

First claim

1 . A method for manufacturing a vacuum insulation panel comprising the steps of:
(a) Providing a porous core material; (b) Dispensing the core material from a three-dimensional printing device to produce a core comprising multiple layers of core material; (c) Encapsulating the core in an envelope to produce an encapsulated core; (d) Applying a vacuum to the envelope to remove gas molecules within the envelope; and (e) Sealing the envelope to produce the vacuum insulation panel.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein:
the core material is selected from the group consisting of nylon, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polycarbonate and polyetherimide.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein:
step (b) includes producing a core having a highly porous, rectilinear structure.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein:
in step (b) each layer of core material has a highly porous surface.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein:
in step (b) the core comprises internal walls having a thickness between about 90 microns and about 130 microns.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein:
in step (c) the envelope is made of a material selected from the group consisting of plastic, aluminum and composite material.

7 . A vacuum insulation panel comprising:
a core comprising a tray defining one or more pockets, and one or more core members nested within the pockets such that the core is a three-dimensional structure with six substantially flat sides and sharp edges; and an envelope encapsulating the core.

8 . The vacuum insulation panel of claim 7 wherein:
the tray comprises multiple layers of highly porous core material.

9 . The vacuum insulation panel of claim 8 wherein:
the core members are made of an insulating material.

10 . The vacuum insulation panel of claim 9 wherein:
the insulating material is selected from the group consisting of fumed silica and glass fiber.

11 . The vacuum insulation panel of claim 9 wherein:
the core members are rectilinear.

12 . A vacuum insulation panel comprising:
a core comprising a plurality of layers stacked in a vertically aligned arrangement to form a three-dimensional structure having six flat sides and sharp edges; and an envelope encapsulating the core.

13 . The vacuum insulation panel of claim 12 wherein:
the core 32 comprises at least one 3D layer comprising multiple layers of printed core material and at least one non-3D layer made of insulating material.

14 . The vacuum insulation panel of claim 12 wherein:
the insulating material is selected from the group consisting of fumed silica and glass fiber.

15 . The vacuum insulation panel of claim 13 comprising:
at least one 3D layer is located between non-3D layers.

16 . The vacuum insulation panel of claim 15 wherein:
the 3D layer and non-3D layers are rectilinear.

Assignees

• Sonoco Dev Inc

Inventors

• Ranade Ajit

Classifications

• B32B27/281

  comprising polyimides · CPC title

• B32B2262/101

  Glass fibres · CPC title

• B32B27/08

  of synthetic resin · CPC title

• B32B15/08

  of synthetic resin · CPC title

• F16L59/065 Primary

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