Atmospheric controlled container

Abstract

A container for carrying atmospherically sensitive items or perishables is provided that keeps the damage to the items at a minimum and also allows for extended duration containment of the items while minimizing quality degradation thereof, such as for shipping, display and/or storage. The container has a strong, robust container body such as formed of rigid walls that cooperate to form an internal space in which the items are received in a protected manner. To allow for a controlled exchange of gasses between the container interior space and the ambient exterior environment in accordance with the needs of the atmospherically sensitive items contained in the container for maintaining the product quality for long duration containment thereof, at least one of the container walls includes a window or port opening at which a semi-permeable membrane is mounted.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A container for carrying atmospherically sensitive items with a minimum of damage and over long durations, the container comprising: 
 a plurality of generally rigid walls bounding an internal space with the rigid walls protecting the items received in the space against damage;    a window opening formed at a predetermined position in one of the rigid walls; and    a membrane mounted to the one of the rigid walls at the window opening thereof, the membrane being configured to exchange gases between the internal space and the external ambient environment to substantially maintain atmospheric conditions in the container internal space optimized for long duration containment of the atmospherically sensitive items therein.    
     
     
         2 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the membrane is a flexible thin film member, and 
 a grate assembly secured to the one wall about the opening to protect the thin film membrane from damage.  
 
     
     
         3 . The container of  claim 1  including a detachable connection between the membrane and the one wall to allow membranes to be interchanged.  
     
     
         4 . The container of  claim 1  including at least one grate member and removable fasteners for releasable securing the grate member to the one container wall over the membrane.  
     
     
         5 . The container of  claim 4  wherein the at least one grate member comprises a pair of grate members attached together to sandwich the membrane therebetween.  
     
     
         6 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the membrane is incorporated in a modular unit that is releaseably secured in the window opening.  
     
     
         7 . The container of  claim 6  wherein the modular unit and the one wall of the container include one of a bayonet connection and cooperating threads therebetween to allow the unit to be turned onto and off from the container.  
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the membrane comprises a plurality of membranes with each membrane configured for optimizing atmospheric conditions for a specific type of item and including indicia to allow the appropriate membrane to be selected for use with the container based on the item to be carried therein.  
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 8  wherein the indicia comprises color codes for different items that are to be carried in the container.  
     
     
         10 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the rigid walls include a bottom wall and side walls upstanding therefrom, the side walls having an upper end which defines an opening to the internal space, and a lid sized to close the opening, and 
 a lip flange projecting laterally outward from the upper end of the side walls to allow the container to slide along support rail structure in refrigerators for use as a crisper bin therein.  
 
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 10  wherein the upper end of the side walls and the lid include cooperating seal portions and latch portions so that with the latch portions engaged for clamping the lid onto the upper end of the side walls, the seal portions are tightly compressed together for hermetically sealing the container interior space so that gas exchange occurs only through the membrane.  
     
     
         12 . A container for keeping perishable items fresh and free from damage, the container comprising: 
 a container body having strong rigid walls for withstanding impacts to minimize damage to the items therein;    a lid for closing an interior space of the container when seated on the container body;    a hermetic seal between the lid and the container body to seal the container interior from the external environment;    a port opening in the container body;    a plurality of semi-permeable membranes for regulating exchange of gases in a predetermined manner between the container interior space and external environment, the membranes being coded based on the manner in which they regulate gas exchange therethrough which provides optimized atmospheric conditions in the container interior space for a particular perishable item; and    a removable mount for releasably attaching a selected one of the membranes to the container body at the port opening thereof to allow the atmospheric conditions in the interior space to be substantially tailored to the item to be carried therein.    
     
     
         13 . The container of  claim 12  wherein the removable mount comprises a grate assembly secured to the container body about the opening thereof.  
     
     
         14 . The container of  claim 13  wherein the grate assembly includes an outer grate member that can be removed to expose the membrane thereunder for changing membranes on the container body.  
     
     
         15 . The container of  claim 12  wherein the removable mount comprises a modular unit carrying a predetermined one of the membranes therein.  
     
     
         16 . The container of  claim 15  wherein the modular unit and the container body at the opening thereof have either a threaded or a bayonet connection therebetween.  
     
     
         17 . The container of  claim 16  wherein the modular unit has a shank sized to fit in the opening and an enlarged head sized to engage against the container body about the opening thereof and in which the membrane is carried.  
     
     
         18 . A semi-permeable membrane unit for being removably secured to a container that carries perishable items in an internal space thereof, the unit comprising: 
 a membrane having predetermined gas exchange characteristics to provide a controlled atmosphere in the container space optimized for long duration containment of a specific type of a perishable item to be carried therein;    a generally rigid grate portion having a plurality of small openings formed therein;    a removable mount for releasably securing the membrane at an opening in a wall of the container and including the grate portion such that air flow between the ambient exterior and container interior space occurs through the membrane and grate openings.    
     
     
         19 . The membrane unit of  claim 18  wherein the grate portion and removable mount are integrated in a module that carries the membrane therein.  
     
     
         20 . The membrane unit of  claim 18  wherein the grate portion comprises a distinct grate member, and the removable mount includes the grate member and fasteners that releasably secure the grate member to the container wall about the opening thereof.  
     
     
         21 . A crisper bin container for keeping perishable items fresh in a refrigerator, the crisper bin container comprising: 
 a container body having an internal space in which the items are carried;    a bottom wall of the container body and front, back and side walls of the container body upstanding from the bottom wall forming an opening at upper ends thereof;    a lid sized to close the opening and including a hinge for allowing at least a portion of the lid to be pivoted open for accessing items in the internal space through the opening while staying connected to the container body;    a hermetic seal between the lid and the lip flange with the lid pivoted closed;    a window opening in one of the upstanding walls of the container body; and    a semi-permeable membrane attached to the one wall at the window opening to regulate gas exchange between the container interior space and the exterior environment through the window opening for substantially avoiding accelerated deterioration of perishable items in the container space.    
     
     
         22 . The crisper bin container of  claim 21  wherein the membrane is carried in a removable mount, the window opening is in the front wall, and 
 a releasable connection between the front wall and the removable mount to provide forward access to the unit for changing units and membranes carried therewith.  
 
     
     
         23 . The crisper bin container of  claim 22  wherein the releasable connection is either a tooless connection or formed by removable fasteners.  
     
     
         24 . The crisper bin container of  claim 21  including a lip flange extending laterally out from the upper ends of the side walls for slidingly engaging on rail structure in the refrigerator.  
     
     
         25 . The crisper bin container of  claim 21  wherein the lid includes a projecting handle portion for pulling or pushing the bin container for sliding along the refrigerator rail structure.