System and Method for Solar Powered Thermal Management and Transport

Abstract

A refrigeration system for vaccine storage and/or transportation includes an inner chassis. One or more vertical lift carriages are positioned in the inner chassis and can house a plurality of vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and/or other perishable items. Each vertical lift carriage is contained in an isothermal chamber. One or more isothermal chambers surround a phase change reservoir (PCR), which is positioned at a central location of the inner chassis and contains frozen water or another phase change material. A thermal attenuation layer can be disposed between the PCR and each isothermal chamber to moderate energy transfer between the chamber and the PCR, thereby controlling the temperature range in each isothermal chamber. Methods for making and using the refrigeration system are also disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for refrigeration of a payload, comprising:
 an inner chassis removably disposed within an insulated outer shell;   a phase change reservoir centrally positioned within said inner chassis;   an isothermal chamber disposed around said central phase change reservoir and for cooperating with a storage compartment for receiving the payload; and   a thermal attenuation layer disposed between said central phase change reservoir and said isothermal chamber and for defining a payload temperature range.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an active cooling engine coupled to said inner chassis and disposed on an external opening formed by the insulated outer shell. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said active cooling engine comprises at least one of a thermoelectric heat pump and a vapor compression cooling system. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein said at least one of said thermoelectric heat pump and said vapor compression cooling system uses at least one of fluidics-based or solid-state cooling. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a control system coupled to the insulated outer shell for communicating electronic data related to metrics of the system to a central server over a data network. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the electronic data comprises at least one of global position information of the system, temperature of the system, payload inventory of the system, and payload administration of the system. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a vertical lift-up carriage housing said storage compartment, wherein said isothermal chamber receives said vertical lift-up carriage. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said insulated outer shell comprises at least one of a cooler system and a backpack system. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the insulated outer shell is formed from at least one of extruded polystyrene (XPS), expanded polystyrene (EPS), phenolic foam, and vacuum insulated panels (VIP). 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said phase change reservoir holds at least one of water, a water-based liquid, and a phase change material. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said storage compartment includes at least one pull-out tray, at least one shelf, and at least one drawer for enhanced density of payload packing. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein said pull-out tray, said shelf, and said drawer comprise at least one of metal, plastic, rubber, and wood. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said payload temperature range comprises a temperature range of 2-8° C. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said phase change reservoir, said isothermal chamber, said thermal attenuation layer, and said storage compartment is modular. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said thermal attenuation layer includes at least one insulating material selected from the group comprising a metal, an open or closed cell foam, plywood, a synthetic polymer, extruded polystyrene (XPS), and neoprene. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said payload comprises at least one of a vaccine, a medical consumable, a pharmaceutical, and a perishable item. 
     
     
         17 . A method for providing a system for refrigeration of a payload, comprising:
 removably disposing an inner chassis within an insulated outer shell;   centrally positioning a phase change reservoir within said inner chassis;   disposing an isothermal chamber around said central phase change reservoir, said isothermal chamber cooperating with a storage compartment for receiving the payload; and   disposing a thermal attenuation layer between said central phase change reservoir and said isothermal chamber for defining a payload temperature range.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising coupling an active cooling engine to said inner chassis, wherein the active cooling engine is exposed through an external opening formed by the insulated outer shell. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein said coupling the active cooling engine comprises coupling at least one of a thermoelectric heat pump and a vapor compression cooling system. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising charging said active cooling engine using a solar photovoltaic system coupled to said inner chassis. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising coupling a control system to the insulated outer shell for communicating electronic data to a central server over a data network. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein said communicating electronic data comprises communicating at least one of global position information, temperature of the system, payload inventory, and payload administration. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising disposing said storage compartment in a vertical lift-up carriage, and disposing said vertical lift-up carriage in said isothermal chamber. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said removably disposing said inner chassis within said insulated outer shell comprises removably disposing said inner chassis in at least one of a cooler system and a backpack system. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the insulated outer shell is formed from at least one of extruded polystyrene (XPS), expanded polystyrene (EPS), phenolic foam, and vacuum insulated panels (VIP). 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising filling said phase change reservoir with at least one of water, a water-based liquid, and a phase change material. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said storage compartment includes at least one pull-out tray, at least one shelf, and at least one drawer for enhanced density of payload packing. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein said pull-out tray, said shelf, and said drawer comprise at least one of metal, plastic, rubber, and wood. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said defining the payload temperature range comprises defining a temperature range of 2-8° C. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein at least one of said phase change reservoir, said isothermal chamber, said thermal attenuation layer, and said storage compartment is modular. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said disposing the thermal attenuation layer includes disposing at least one of a metal, an open or closed cell foam, plywood, a synthetic polymer, extruded polystyrene (XPS), and neoprene. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said payload comprises at least one of a vaccine, a medical consumable, a pharmaceutical, and a perishable item. 
     
     
         33 . A system for refrigeration of a payload, comprising:
 an inner chassis removably disposed within an insulated outer shell;   an ice pack centrally positioned within said inner chassis;   a isothermal chamber disposed around said ice pack and for cooperating with a storage compartment for receiving the payload; and   a thermal attenuation layer disposed between said ice pack and said isothermal chamber and for defining a payload temperature range.