AU2016390427B2 - Chiller container - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a chiller container (10) for use in an airline in-flight service cart (60), for service of food or beverages. The container (10) has a base (12), having an opening (24) formed by a first pair of opposed sides (16, 18), a front panel (20) and a rear panel (22), A floor (26) is bounded by the opposed sides (16, 18) and the panels (20, 22). Cover (14) for base (12) closes off opening (24) in a closed position and can be folded about fold line (28) which is generally perpendicular to the opposed sides (16, 18), to a partway open position in which the opening (24) is accessible.

Description

Chiller Container

Technical Field

This invention relates to a container intended for use in connectionwith airline inflight

service of food or beverages,

Background of the Invention

Commercial passenger aircraft are designed with narrow aisles to maximise passenger seating, When food and/or beverage services are offered to passengers, the food or beverage is dispensed from wheeled trolleyor cart which is designed to fit within the aisle and whichis necessarilynarrow. A typical airline cart is about 300 mm wide, 400

io mm deep, and 920 mm high, with wheels about 50 mm high,with a door allowing access to the interior.

The interior of a typicalairline cart has a number of paired slides or runners, each pair designed to accept a traywith grooves along a pair of sides, so that the tray may be

stored within the cart, loaded with food or beverages, and partially drawn out for is service of the food or beverage to passengers.

Food and beverage is usually loaded onto the aircraft by caterers who have stored them in a refrigerated facility,so that food and beverage are chilled when the aircraft is ready for take-off However, it is necessary to maintain food and beverage at a desired temperature for a required period of time during a flight, For example, some public health regulations require that food cannot be served unless it has been maintained at or below 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius) As another example, white wine is desirably served to passengers at a temperature of between 48 and 52 degrees Fahrenheit (9 to 11 degreesCelsius)

The requirement to chill food or beverages during flight, especially long-haul flights, can 2s require the use of'dry ice'- solid carbon dioxide, which cools as it sublimates However,

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dry ice can be used only once, adds to aircraft weight and costs a significant amount on an annual basis.

It is an object of the present invention, at least in some embodiments, to provide a

chiller container which can maintain food or beverage at a desired temperature,

without the use of dry ice.

Disclosure of the Invention

Accordingly, this invention provides a chiller container for use in an airline in-flight

service cart, the container including:

- a base having:

- an opening formed by a first pair of opposed sides, a front panel and a rear panel;

- a floor bounded by the opposed sides and the panels; and

- one or more internal pockets, each designed to accept a low temperature insert; and

- a cover for the base, adapted to close off the opening in a closed position, the cover

being adapted to be folded about a fold line, the fold line dividing the cover into a first segment and a second segment, the fold line being generally perpendicular to the pair

of opposed sides, wherein when the cover is folded about the fold line the first

segment is adapted to be folded back towards the second segment to a partway open

position in which the opening is accessible,

wherein the cover has a front flap adapted to depend to cover part of an external

surface of the front panel in the closed position and first and second side flaps adapted to depend to cover part of an external surface of each of the respective opposed sides of the base in the closed position, each of the first side flaps being separated from the

second side flaps by a notch aligned with the fold line and the front flap being separated from each of the first side flaps by a notch, such that when the cover is folded about the

fold line for acceess to the opening, the first side flaps and the front flap are adapted to lie in substantially the same plane as the folded back first segment.

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Preferably, the cover for the container is separate from the base.

In a preferred embodiment, the base has at least one ferrous insert and the cover has at least one side flap containing a magnet, so that when the cover is in the closed position

the cover is held to the base by attraction between the magnet and the insert. More preferably, each side flap contains at least one magnet. It is also preferred that there is

a plurality of other ferrous inserts spaced about the opening, so that when the cover is

in the closed position the cover is held to the base by attraction between the magnets

and the inserts. Further, when the cover is partway open, the magnets and ferrous inserts maintain the remainder of the cover closed. The ferrous insert is preferably of

iron or steel. In this embodiment, the magnets preferably have a pull strength of about 5-6 kg, so that the cover is firmly held to the base in the closed position, but may be

folded back by use of one hand when access is required.

The fold line for the cover may be located at any desired position on the cover. In one embodiment, it is located approximately half way between the front panel and the rear

panel of the base. However, if desired, the fold line may be located closer to the front panel or closer to the rear panel.

There may be more than one fold line. For example, if there are two fold lines, the first

fold line may be closer to the front panel and the second fold line may be closer to the rear panel. In this embodiment, if the cover is folded at the first fold line, the access to

the opening is more limited, but the contents of the container are less exposed to ambient temperatures. If the cover is folded at the second fold line, the access is less

limited but there is more exposure to ambient temperatures.

There may be more than two fold lines.

To enhance the ability of the container of the invention to keep contents chilled, it is preferred that the base of the container is designed to accept more than one low

temperature inserts, each being in one of the internal pockets. Each internal pocket may be located on one or more of the opposed sides and panels

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The low temperature insert for use with the container of the invention in this

embodiment may be an ice sheet (in which water in small, separate compartments is frozen) but preferably contains known material such as gel or liquid which may be

frozen quickly and which attains ambient temperature slowly. Such inserts are generally known for use in portable coolers, for example, and are reusable - they may be refrozen

and used for many cycles.

To maximise the interior space available for food or beverage in the container, it is preferred that the low temperature insert is relatively narrow. In one embodiment, the

base has a pocket on each of the panels and opposed sides, so that food or beverage in 1o the container is surrounded by low temperature inserts on all four sides.

The container of the invention may be made of any desired and appropriate material.

The base may be made from a material different from that of the cover. Each may be made from a mixture of different materials. It is preferable that the material or materials used provide an adequate degree of waterproofing, to prevent leakage of liquids, and that they meet food hygiene standards.

In a preferred embodiment, the base is made from a plurality oflayers: an outside layer

of polyvinylchloride (PVC), and one or more inner layers of insulated aluminium foil,

such as a foil-faced bubble wrap.

The cover may be made from the same material as the base, or simply from PVC, using

one or more layers, of sufficient rigidity. The fold line may be formed by a crease in the material of the cover, or by making the cover in more than one piece, the pieces being

joined so that there is flexibility for folding at the join.

The cover may have a rear flap extending down to cover part of the rear panel. There may be one or more magnets in the rear flap and corresponding ferrous material in the

base.

The notches between the first and second side flaps are intended to prevent the second side flaps from interfering with the folding of the cover. Apertures or slits may

separate the flaps from each other.

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The or each pocket in the base may be made of a synthetic mesh, open at the top to receive the low temperature insert.

The container of the invention may be used in a standard airline cart drawer, usually

made of polypropylene and having grooves on opposing sides to run on slides on the interior of the cart. In this embodiment, the container of the invention will be

supported in the drawer and may not need to be made of material which is self supporting. Optionally, the base has reinforcing struts or other means to provide any necessary rigidity.

In another embodiment, the container of the invention is used alone without a cart

1o drawer and has means such as grooves or a similar arrangement to run on the slides on

the interior of the cart. If airline carts are designed in the future with grooves instead of runners, the arrangement on the container may be reversed, so that the opposed sides ofthe base have runners.

The container of the invention preferably has a handle on the outside of the base to aid in drawing the container out of the cart in use. The handle may be of any suitable

design; one example is shown in the drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described in connection with a non-limiting preferred

embodiment illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front of an embodiment of the container of the invention, with the cover in the closed position;

Figure 2 is a front view of the container of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view of the container of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a perspective view from the rear of the container of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is the same view as that of Figure 1, but showing the cover folded back for access;

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Figure 6 is the same view as that of Figure 4, but showing the cover folded back for

access;

Figure 7 is the same as Figure 5, except that ferrous material and magnets are shown in

dashed outline;

Figure 8 shows a front view of a typical airline cart, door open, with a single cart drawer

inserted; and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the cart drawer included in Figure 8.

Detailed Description of the Drawings and Decsription of the Preferred Embodiment

It will be appreciated that the drawings are not all drawn to the same scale.

io Referring first to Figures 1to 4, chiller container 10 has a base 12 and a separate cover 14.

Base 12 has a first pair of opposed sides 16 and 18, a front panel 20 and a rear panel 22. Cover 14 closes off opening 24 in the closed position, which is shown in each of Figures

1 to 4. (Part of opening 24 and floor 26 are shown in Figure 5.)

Cover 14 has a fold line 28 shown in dashed outline, dividing cover 14 into a first segment 14a and a second segment, 14b. Fold line 28 is generally perpendicular to

opposed sides 16 and 18. Cover 14 also has side flaps 32 and 34, front flap 36 and rear

flap 38. Each of side flaps 32 and 34 has a notch 40, so that side flaps 32 and 34 do not

interfere with the folding action of cover 14. Front flap 36 and rear flap 38 are

separated from side flaps 32 and 34 by apertures 42.

Base 12 has a handle 44 for easy gripping when drawing container 10 from the cart (described in relation to Figure 8).

Turning now to Figures 5 and 6, cover 14 is shown after first segment 14a has been

folded back about fold line 28, toward second segment 14b, to a partway open position in which opening 24 is accessible. Because of notches 40 (see Figure 6) and notches 42, side flaps 32 and 34 and front flap 36 are able to lie in substantially the same plane as

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folded back first segment 14a. In use, the flight attendant need draw container 10 from the airline cart only sufficiently to access the part of opening 24 which has been

exposed.

Synthetic mesh pockets 46 are attached to each of side panels 16 and 18, front panel 20 and rear panel 22, so that low temperature inserts (not shown) may be put into pockets 46 through mouths 48 located at their upper borders. Food or beverage in container 10

is thus surrounded by low temperature inserts.

Each of side panels 16 and 18, front panel 20 and rear panel 22 is made more rigid by

reinforcing 50.

io Base 12 is made from an outer layer of PVC and multiple layers of aluminium foil-faced

bubble wrap, visible on floor 26 at 52.

Referring now to Figure 7, container 10 has a magnet 54 in each of flaps 36 and 38 and

two magnets in each of flaps 32 and 34, one on either side of notch 40. A separate iron insert 56 extends along a substantial part of each of sides 16 and 18, front 20 and rear 22, close to opening 24. When cover 14 is folded back about fold line 28 as shown in

Figure 7, the rear part of flaps 32 and 34 and flap 38 remain connected to base 12 by

attraction between the respective magnets 54 and the iron inserts 56, preventing ingress of warm air into container 10 at those locations.

Tests have shown that the container of the invention is capable of maintaining food or beverage at a desirable low temperature in-flight for at least 24 hours.

In Figure 8 a typical airline service cart 60 has sides 62 and 64, a fixed rear panel 66 and a door 68. The cart is mounted on wheels 70.

Inside cart 60, runners 72 (only some are labelled) are secured in pairs to sides 62 and

64. A typical tray 74 is shown mounted on a pair of runners 72. In use, several trays 74 would be mounted on the runners inside cart 60.

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Details of tray 74 are shown in Figure 9. Tray 74 has handles 76 on each of front and rear panels 78 and 80. Grooves 82 run along each side 84 of tray 74, to mate with

runners 72 of cart 60.

Container 10 is designed to fit snugly in tray 74, which measures about 265 mm in

width, 370 mm in depth and 105 mm in height. Grooves 82 are approximately 12 mm high.

Instead of container 10 being designed to fit into tray 74, container 10 may be used without tray 74, provided container 10 has sufficient rigidity. In such an embodiment,

container 10 will have the same approximate width and depth as tray 74 and will have 1o grooves like grooves 82 along each side 32 and 34 for mating with runners 72.

Industrial Applicability

As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the various arts, the invention

disclosed herein is not limited to the examples set out and represents a significant advance in the relevant art, enabling efficient maintenance of low temperatures for

food or beverages for inflight service, for both long haul and short haul flights.

Changes, modifications and variations may be made without departing from the

spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (11)

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1. A chiller container for use in an airline in-flight service cart, the container including:

- a base having:

- an opening formed by a first pair of opposed sides, a front panel and a rear panel;

- a floor bounded by the opposed sides and the panels; and

- one or more internal pockets, each designed to accept a low temperature insert; and

- a cover for the base, adapted to close off the opening in a closed position, the cover being adapted to be folded about a fold line, the fold line dividing the cover into a first segment and a second segment, the fold line being generally perpendicular to the pair of opposed sides, wherein when the cover is folded about the fold line the first segment is adapted to be folded back towards the second segment to a partway open position in which the opening is accessible,

wherein the cover has a front flap adapted to depend to cover part of an external surface of the front panel in the closed position and first and second side flaps adapted to depend to cover part of an external surface of each of the respective opposed sides of the base in the closed position, each of the first side flaps being separated from the second side flaps by a notch aligned with the fold line and the front flap being separated from each of the first side flaps by a notch, such that when the cover is folded about the fold line for acceess to the opening, the first side flaps and the front flap are adapted to lie in substantially the same plane as the folded back first segment.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein each opposed side of the base has at least one ferrous insert and each of the first and second side flaps of the cover contains a magnet, so that the first and second side flaps are adapted to be held to the opposed sides of the base by attraction between the magnet and the insert.

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3. The container of claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover has a rear flap adapted to depend to cover part of an external surface of the rear panel, in the closed

position.

4. The container of claim 3, wherein the rear flap is separated from each of the

second side flaps by an aperture.

5. The container of claim 3 or 4, wherein the rear flap has a magnet and the base has a ferrous insert corresponding to the magnet.

6. The container of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the fold line is located

approximately half way between the front panel and the rear panel of the base.

7. The container of any one of claims 1 to 6, which is designed to be

accommodated in a cart tray having means for sliding into the cart.

8. The container of any one of claims 1 to 6, which has means for sliding into the cart.

9. The container of claim 7 or 8, wherein the means includes runners or grooves.

10. The container of claim 1 wherein there is more than one fold line on the cover.

11. The container of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the cover is separate from

the base.