Cellular insulation for use with low temperature liquids

Claim 2

An assembly for retarding heat transfer between a surface and a liquid, said assembly comprising: a cellular structure adapted to be associated with the surface to be insulated and including at least one cell for containing insulating gas, means for providing a stabilized capillary gas-liquid interface closing the end of said cell, and said means comprising a cover having an opening therein for providing said stabilized gas-liquid interface, said cover comprising an excess of material in the portion thereof extending across said cell whereby said cover may deflect relative to said cellular structure due to temperature change experienced by said cover, said portion of said cover being curved into said cell that the distance between the walls of the cell at the closed end thereof is less than the dimension of the cover extending therebetween.

Claim 3

The insulation assembly of claim 1 wherein said cellular structure defines a plurality of cells, said cover comprising a flexible cover sheet extending across each of said cells, said cover having a plurality of openings therein, each opening communicating with one cell and providing a stable capillary gas-liquid interface therein, and each portion of said cover extending across each of said cells being curved into its respective cell.

Claim 4

Insulation for retarding heat transfer from a surface to a liquid comprising, first means providing a plurality of discrete cells each having a longitudinal axis and adapted to contain insulating gas, means for providing a stabilized capillary gas-liquid interface closing the ends of the cells, and extending transversely to the longitudinal axes of said cells, said plurality of discrete cells being defined by a cellular structure constructed of a plurality of ribbons which are interconnected at spaced locations, said ribbons comprising cell walls defining each cell and having portions thereof common to the adjacent cell, and the portions of said ribbons extending between said points of interconnecting being nonplanar in configuration to enable movement thereof to occur transverse to the longitudinal axis of the cell in response to temperature changes encountered thereby.

Claim 5

Insulation for retarding heat transfer from a surface to a liquid comprising, first means providing a plurality of discrete cells each having a longitudinal axis and adapted to contain insulating gas, means for providing a stabilized capillary gas-liquid interface closing the ends of the cells, and extending transversely to the longitudinal axes of said cells, said plurality of discrete cells being defined by a cellular structure constructed of a plurality of ribbons which are interconnected at spaced locations, said ribbons comprising cell walls defining each cell and having portions thereof common to the adjacent cell, and the portions of said ribbons extending between said points of interconnecting being nonplanar in configuration to enable movement thereof to occur transverse to the longitudinal axis of the cell in response to temperature changes encountered thereby.

Claim 6

The asseMbly of claim 3 wherein said non-planar portions of said cell wall are generally S-shaped in cross-sectional configuration.

Claim 7

Insulation for reducing heat transfer from a surface to a liquid comprising, first means adapted to be connected with the surface and providing at least one cell adapted to contain insulating gas, means for providing a stabilized capillary gas-liquid interface closing the end of said cell, said means closing the end of said cell comprising a cover sheet having an opening therein communicating with the interior of said cells for providing said stable gas-liquid interface, and reinforcement means extending around said opening in said cover sheet.

Claim 8

Insulation for reducing heat transfer from a surface to a liquid comprising, first means adapted to be connected with the surface and providing at least one cell adapted to contain insulating gas, means for providing a stabilized capillary gas-liquid interface closing the end of said cell, said means closing the end of said cell comprising a cover sheet having an opening therein communicating with the interior of said cells for providing said stable gas-liquid interface, and reinforcement means extending around said opening in said cover sheet.

Claim 9

The insulation of claim 5 wherein said cover sheet comprises a thin flexible cover sheet extending across said cell and said reinforcement means comprises a generally toroidal rib extending around said opening.

Claim 10

The insulation of claim 5 wherein said first means comprises a cellular structure defining a plurality of open cells and said cover sheet extends across each of said cells, said cover sheet having openings communicating with the interior of each cell, said reinforcement means comprising a generally toroidal rib extending around each of said openings, said toroidal rib being a thickened section of said cover sheet.