AU2018202866A1 - Insulation Cover - Google Patents

Abstract

INSULATION COVER In one aspect there is disclosed an insulation cover (10). The insulation cover (10) includes a bag (12) having a bag body (14). The bag body (14) defines an inner compartment (16) and outer surface (18). An insulation body (22) is located within the inner compartment (16) of the bag body (14). The insulation cover (10) further includes an adhesive arrangement (26) located on the outer surface (18) of the bag body (14). The adhesive arrangement (26) is operatively adapted to attach the bag (12) to a load located on a pallet. Io

Description

INSULATION COVER

FIELD

[0001 ] The invention concerns an insulation cover, particularly but not exclusively, an insulation cover for use in insulating a packaged load transported on a pallet.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Polystyrene is a synthetic polymer made from petroleum by-products and can be either solid or foamed. Foamed polystyrene (often referred to as Styrofoam) displays good thermal insulation characteristics and is widely used in packaging. Another benefit of polystyrene is that it is inexpensive to produce. Those features make polystyrene a popular material for use in food packaging and other insulation applications.

[0003] Polystyrene, however, is characterised by a number of drawbacks. Those include that foamed polystyrene does not bio-degrade significantly and is resistant to photolysis. Further, polystyrene foams are produced using blowing agents that form bubbles and expand the foam. In expanded polystyrene those blowing agents are usually hydrocarbons which may pose a flammability hazard in manufacturing or storage of newly manufactured material. When used properly polystyrene is an economical and sanitary product with low environmental risks. However, when used in an improper manner polystyrene can pose an unsightly environmental nuisance.

[0004] When transporting temperature sensitive product freight it is common practice to insulate the freight with polystyrene panels. Polystyrene insulation panels have certain features which are not desirable for insulating freight on pallets. Those features include that the polystyrene panels are not flexible which make them hard to apply in a proper fit to a pallet arrangement with nonflat sides. Polystyrene panels tend to be messy during the process of application to a loaded pallet and when dismantling such panels from the pallet. Polystyrene insulation pallets also are not recyclable, rarely re-used and are expensive to dispose of.

OBJECT

[0005] It is an object of the present invention substantially to overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the above disadvantages associated with the use of polystyrene to insulate a packaged load transported on a pallet.

SUMMARY

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed herein an insulation cover including: (i) a bag having a bag body, the bag body defining an inner compartment and outer surface; (ii) an insulation body located within the inner compartment of the bag body; and (iii) an adhesive arrangement located on the outer surface of the bag body, the adhesive arrangement operatively adapted to attach the bag to a load located on a pallet.

[0007] Preferably the insulation body includes sheep’s wool.

[0008] Preferably the sheep’s wool is felted sheep’s wool.

[0009] Preferably the bag includes a flap attached to the bag body so as to enclose the insulation body within the inner compartment of the bag body.

[0010] Preferably the bag includes low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

[0011] Preferably the bag includes a laminate.

[0012] Preferably the laminate includes a metallised film having a polymer coating.

[0013] Preferably the polymer coating includes polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

[0014] Preferably the laminate has a thickness in the range of20pm - 120pm.

[0015] According to a second aspect there is disclosed herein an insulated package including a plurality of insulation covers in accordance with the first aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter, by way of examples only, with reference to the accompany drawings, in which: [0017] Figure 1 is a schematic representation of an embodiment insulation cover; [0018] Figure 2 is a schematic representation of an embodiment insulation cover operatively adapted to provide a base insulation cover for placement on top of a pallet; [0019] Figure 3 is a schematic representation of a load located on top of the base insulation cover and an embodiment top insulation cover located on top of the load; [0020] Figure 4 is a schematic representation of the base and top insulation covers being secured to the load with the use of stretch film; [0021] Figure 5 is a schematic representation of a side insulation cover being applied to the load covered with stretch film; [0022] Figure 6 is a schematic representation of the load covered with a base, top and side insulation covers; [0023] Figure 7 is a schematic representation of the insulation covers being wrapped in position on the load; and [0024] Figure 8 is a schematic representation of the load enclosed within insulation covers and wrapped in stretch film.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Figure 1 shows an embodiment insulation cover, here in the form of a substantially square panel, generally indicated with the reference numeral 10. The insulation cover 10 includes a bag 12. The bag 12 includes a bag body 14 defining an inner compartment 16 and an outer surface 18. The bag 12 includes a flap 20 attached to the bag body 14. An insulation body 22 is located within the inner compartment 16 of the bag body 14. The flap 20 includes a closure formation 24 for securing the flap 20 to the outer surface 18 so as to enclose the insulation body 22 within the inner compartment 16 of the bag body 14. In this embodiment the closure formation 24 includes a peel and seal adhesive strip.

[0026] The embodiment insulation body 22 includes felted sheep’s wool. In this embodiment the felted sheep’s wool is of the type sold under the trade name Woolcool™. Wool fibres have proven to be effective at absorbing moisture from the air which minimises humidity and condensation. That feature can assist in maintaining stable temperatures.

[0027] In the embodiment insulation cover 10 the bag 12 includes low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

[0028] In a non-illustrated embodiment the bag includes a laminate. Typically the laminate includes a metallised film having a polymer coating. The polymer containing can be embodied in a number of forms, including polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Generally the laminate has a thickness in the range of 20pm - 120pm. In exemplary embodiments the films could be in the range of 60pm - 80pm for local delivery, 80pm - 100pm for interstate delivery and 100pm - 120pm for overseas delivery.

[0029] The insulation cover 10 includes an adhesive arrangement 26 located on the outer surface 18 of the bag body 14. The adhesive arrangement 26 is operatively adapted to attach the bag 12 to a load that requires insulation. Typically the adhesive arrangement 26 includes peel and seal adhesive strips.

[0030] The manner of insulating a load 30 with multiple insulation covers 10 is described with reference to Figures 2 to 8. The load 30 is transported by being located on a wooden pallet 28.

[0031] In the first step, depicted in Figure 2, a base insulation cover 10.1 is placed and secured to the base of the pallet 28. The base insulation cover 10.1 is secured to the pallet 28 via the adhesive arrangement 26. Hereafter a load 30 which is to be transported in insulated conditions is placed on top of the base insulation cover 10.1. A top insulation cover 10.2 is now located on top of the load 30 as shown in Figure 3 and secured in position via the peel and seal adhesives of the adhesive arrangement 26.

[0032] Following the above steps the base and top insulation covers 10.1. and 10.2 are secured to the load 30 with the use of stretch film 32. In Figure 5 a first side insulation cover 10.3 is applied to the load 30 covered with stretch film. This process is repeated until the entire load 30 is surrounded by side insulation covers 10.3, shown in Figure 6. The side insulation covers 10.3 are held in position on the insulation covers by the peel and seal adhesive strips of the adhesive arrangement 26. The side insulation covers 10.3 are now wrapped in stretch film 32 to obtain an insulated package 34 shown in Figure 8.

[0033] The insulation cover 10 can be provided in a range of shapes. In the illustrated embodiments the shape of the insulation cover is square. Typical dimensions of embodiment insulation covers 10 include 1300mm x 1300mm, 1300mm x 865mm and 1300mm x 430mm.

[0034] Preferred features of the embodiment insulation cover includes that it is flexible and thus easy to apply to pallets of different shapes and sizes. Employing tear tape with permanent adhesive enables ease of use during loading. There is little to no mess when applying and constructing pallets or when dismantling such pallets. The insulation covers further provide cushion protection for goods being transported. The insulation covers are fully recyclable when LDPE is employed as the material for the bag. Further, the insulation covers are 90% recyclable when using a metalicised / PE laminate for high temperature control. 90% of the embodiment insulation covers are able to be re-used and also inexpensive to dispose of. Industries in which the embodiment insulation covers find application include foods (meats, dairy, fresh produce, seafood, confectionary and catering), pharmaceutical (raw materials, manufacturing, retail and vaccine), industrial plastics (shrink films, shrink sleeves, bio-degradable products), electronics (data boards, sensitive software) as well as alcohol and tobacco.

[0035] Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

Claims (10)

1. An insulation cover including: (a) a bag having a bag body, the bag body defining an inner compartment and outer surface; (b) an insulation body located within the inner compartment of the bag body; and (c) an adhesive arrangement located on the outer surface of the bag body, the adhesive arrangement operatively adapted to attach the bag to a load located on a pallet.

2. An insulation cover according to claim 1 wherein the insulation body includes sheep’s wool.

3. An insulation cover according to claim 2 wherein the sheep’s wool is felted sheep’s wool.

4. An insulation cover according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the bag includes a flap attached to the bag body so as to enclose the insulation body within the inner compartment of the bag.

5. An insulation cover according to claim 1, wherein the bag includes low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

6. An insulation cover according to claim 1, wherein the bag includes a laminate.

7. An insulation cover according to claim 6, wherein the laminate includes a metallised film having a polymer coating.

8. An insulation cover according to claim 7, wherein the polymer coating includes polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

9. An insulation cover according to claim 8, wherein the laminate has a thickness in the range of 20pm - 120pm.

10. An insulated package including a plurality of insulation covers in accordance with claim 1.