Patent Application
20100018241
Insulated soft-sided containers are used to carry items that are to be kept cooler or warmer than the surrounding environment. Such containers typically have four insulated side walls, an insulated bottom and an insulated top that may be opened to gain access to the interior of the container. The top is usually secured to the side walls using a fastening mechanism such as a zipper or hook-and-loop materials, such as Velcro®. Many containers also include one or more handles for carrying the container.
When such a container is not in use, it is desirable to collapse the container so that it occupies less space during storage. The insulating material can make it difficult to keep the container in a collapsed state since the insulating material is resilient and resists being folded.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
An insulated container has a front, back, top and bottom. Pairs of mating members are located on the front and pairs of mating members are located on the back to maintain the container in a collapsed state. The mating members on the front are positioned such that the mating members form a connection when the top of the container is folded on top of the front of the container. The mating members on the back are position such that the mating members form a connection when the bottom of the container is fold on top of the back of the container. In some embodiments, the mating members are positioned on portions of handles attached to the container.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in the background.
An insulated container is provided that has mating members on the front of the container and mating members on the back of the container to maintain the container in a collapsed state. The mating members on the front of the container are located near the top of the container such that when the mating members engage with each other, the top of the container is positioned over the front of the container with the exterior of the top facing outward. The mating members on the back of the container are located near the bottom of the container such that when the mating members engage with each other, the bottom of the container is positioned over the back of the container with the exterior of the bottom facing outward. In some embodiments, the container includes a handle that is attached to the container and the mating members are attached to portions of the handle that are attached to the container.
Top 104 extends from back 108 at and edge 114 and is attached to sides 106 and 110 and front 102 by a zipper 112. Opening zipper 112 allows top 104 to pivot at edge 114 to thereby provide access to the interior of container 100. Top 104 includes an exterior surface 105 that faces outward.
A holding portion 116 of a handle or holding member 117 extends from the top of back 108. Two attachment portions 118 and 119 of handle 117 are attached to back 108. Under one embodiment, attachment portion 118 is attached to back 108 by stitching 120, 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132 and attachment portion 119 is attached to back 108 by stitching 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, 144, and 146. A holding portion 156 of a handle or holding member 157 extends from the top of front 102. Two attachment portions 158 and 159 are attached to front 102. Under one embodiment, attachment portion 158 is attached to front 102 by stitching 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, and 170 and attachment portion 159 is attached to front 102 by stitching 172, 174, 176, 178, 180, and 182. In other embodiments, handle portions 118, 119, 158, and 159 may be attached to back 108 and front 102 using an adhesive or sonic welding.
In one embodiment, handles 117 and 157 including holding portions 116 and 156 and attachment portions 118, 119, 158, and 159, including those portions extending along and attached to bottom 300, are made of a single strap. Under one such embodiment, ends 309 and 310 of the strap are attached together to form an overlap 312 along bottom 300 to thereby form a loop of material that includes handle 117 and handle 157.
Mating members, also referred to as a latching mechanism or closure members, are attached to attachment portions 118, 119, 158 and 159 of handles 117 and 157 and are used to maintain container 100 in a collapsed stated as discussed further below. In particular, mating members 190 and 192 are attached to attachment portion 118, mating members 194 and 196 are attached to attachment portion 119, mating members 200 and 202 are attached to attachment portion 158 and mating members 204 and 206 are attached to attachment portion 159. Mating members 190 and 192 are designed to engage with each other to form a connection and thus represent one latching mechanism. Similarly, mating members 194 and 196; 200 and 202; and 204 and 206 are each designed to engage with each other to form a connection and thus each pair of mating members represents a separate latching mechanism.
In one embodiment, the mating members are attached to the attachment portions and the container by stitching. For example, mating member 190 is attached to attachment portion 118 and back 108 by stitching 120, 122, 126 and 128. Mating member 192 is attached to attachment portion 118 and back 108 by stitching 120, 122, 130 and 132. Mating member 194 is attached to attachment portion 119 and back 108 by stitching 134, 136, 140 and 142. Mating member 196 is attached to attachment portion 119 and back 108 by stitching 134, 136, 144 and 146. Mating member 200 is attached to attachment portion 158 and front 102 by stitching 160, 162, 168 and 170. Mating member 202 is attached to attachment portion 158 and front 102 by stitching 160, 162, 164 and 166. Mating member 204 is attached to attachment portion 159 and front 102 by stitching 172, 174, 180 and 182. Mating member 206 is attached to attachment portion 159 and front 102 by stitching 172, 174, 176 and 178. In other embodiments, the mating members are attached to the handles using other means such as adhesive or sonic welding.
By attaching the mating members to the portions of the handles attached to the front and back of the container, the embodiments described above provide more support for the mating members. In addition, in some embodiments, the same stitching is used to attach both the mating members and the handles to the container, thereby reducing the cost of assembly. In other embodiments, the mating members are not positioned on the handles but instead are attached directly to the container.
In the embodiments of
In some embodiments, the abutting mating members are formed of hook-and-loop fabric strips, such as Velcro®, with one mating member providing the hooks and the other mating member providing the loops. In other embodiments, the mating members are made of magnetic materials oriented such that the two mating members are attracted to each other when their exteriors are folded together along the juncture between the two members. Other constructions for the mating members, including constructions where the two mating members do not abut, are within the scope of the invention, including snaps where one mating member provides a post and the other mating member provides a receptacle, buckles, buttons, and elastic loops.
In the embodiment of
By folding top 104 toward front 102 and bottom 300 toward back 108, the embodiment of
The engagement of the mating members as shown in
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
