Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to insulated containers for keeping food, drinks and other items cool or warm, and is specifically concerned with a collapsible insulated container.
Related Art
Self-supporting multi-purpose containers and coverings are used for packing, storing, transporting, and insulating food, beverages, and other items that need to be kept warm or cool for a significant storage period. The containers maintain a desired internal temperature for a period of time dependent on insulating capacity. Currently, cooler containers such as lunch boxes and bags, larger picnic coolers with rigid walls, and the like are merely insulated with foam, filled with ice, or alternatively a gel pack previously cooled in a freezer is placed into the container adjacent the item or items to be kept cool. Ice used in coolers melts and can make the items wet, making it unsuitable for use with certain types of food items. It is also bulky and takes up a significant amount of space in the cooler in order to provide adequate cooling. Loose gel packs used in such containers can often be lost, and also take up an amount of space which could otherwise be used for food and beverages.
Some known lunch bags on the market have an icy type of gel substance in the lining of the container walls. However, such containers are typically bulky and take up a relatively large amount of space in a freezer when cooling. Other containers are known which contain gel material in the walls for cooling or heating purposes, but these are also bulky and difficult to fold into a compact condition.
Embodiments described herein provide for an insulated container with one or more pliable walls containing gel packs and designed to be foldable into a relatively flat, compact condition for storage and for placing in a freezer or microwave in order to chill or heat the gel prior to use of the container.
According to one embodiment, an insulated container has a base wall and a peripheral wall with an open end defining an enclosure for containing food, beverages or other items, the walls having at least an inner layer and an outer layer, at least part of the peripheral wall being divided into elongate pockets with foldable crease lines between adjacent pockets, each pocket containing an elongate, substantially flat gel pack which substantially fills the pocket. The gel pack has a flexible wall and contains an insulating gel. In one embodiment, the fold lines are defined by lines of stitching securing the outer and inner layers of the container together. The base wall may also have one or more pockets containing a gel pack.
In one embodiment, the container is generally rectangular in shape and the peripheral wall comprises a front wall, a rear wall, and opposite side walls. A closure flap extends from the open end and can be folded over the open end to close the container while it is in use. A fastener strap extends from the closure flap. In this embodiment, the front wall, rear wall, and base wall each contain gel packs, with the front and rear walls each containing at least two elongate gel packs extending parallel to the base wall with a foldable crease line of stitching or the like extending between adjacent pockets in each wall and across the respective wall between the side walls. The side walls contain no gel packs and have fold lines for enabling the container to be folded substantially flat with the front wall adjacent the rear wall. In order to fold the bag, the side walls are first folded inward and the front wall is positioned adjacent the rear wall. The base wall is then folded against the front wall, and the front and rear walls are folded over the base wall about the fold line between adjacent pockets. The closure flap and fastener strap are secured around the resultant compact folded package to hold it in the folded condition during storage. In one embodiment, selected fastener devices such as opposing strips of hook and loop fastener material are appropriately positioned on the outer surface of the bag and inner surface of the strap to assist in holding the bag in the folded storage position.
This bag is not only easy to fold into a compact storage position which it maintains during cooling or heating, it is also easy to return the bag to an upright open position ready for use. All that is necessary is to release the closure strap and then shake the bag open.
The bag may be of appropriate shape and dimensions for use as a lunch bag, or for a grocery shopping bag or larger size cooler container. For larger size containers, vertically spaced rows of two or more aligned pockets each containing a gel pack are arranged in the front and rear walls, with first crease lines separating the adjacent rows of pockets and second crease lines transverse to the first crease lines separating the adjacent pockets in each row. For a simple lunch bag, adjacent rows may each comprise a single elongate pocket containing a single elongate gel pack. In such cases, the gel packs are oriented substantially horizontally when the bag or container is in an upright, open condition. In an alternative embodiment, the peripheral wall may be of round or other non-rectangular cross section. For example, a wine or soda can cooler may have a generally cylindrical peripheral wall with elongate gel packs arranged in pockets extending between the base and open end of the container and separated by generally vertical fold lines or lines of stitching about which the container is folded into a generally flat, compact condition. One or more straps may be provided on the outside of the container for securing it in the folded condition.
The insulated container may be produced in a variety of shapes and sizes and has numerous applications including lunch sacks, cylindrical shapes for water bottles, baby bottles, sports drinks, wine bottles, and the like, shopping bags or totes, larger size cooler containers for barbeques, picnics, parties and the like, as well as large commercial delivery bags and totes. The location of the fold or crease lines allows the containers to collapse into a compact form.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
The details of the present invention, both as to its structure and operation, may be gleaned in part by study of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:
Certain embodiments as disclosed herein provide for an insulated container for food, beverages and other items which is adapted to be collapsed into a compact package for storage, heating, and cooling purposes when not in use. After reading this description it will become apparent to one skilled in the art how to implement the invention in various alternative embodiments and alternative applications. However, although various embodiments of the present invention will be described herein, it is understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and not limitation. As such, this detailed description of various alternative embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope or breadth of the present invention.
The foldable crease lines 24 in the illustrated embodiment are formed by lines of stitching extending through the four layers 18, 21, 23, 20, as best illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
Each side wall of the container 10 has a first foldable crease line 28 extending from the center of its upper end towards the lower end or base wall, and a pair of crease lines 30 in an inverted V-shape extending from the lower corners of the side wall with the apex intersecting the lower end of crease line 28. Each crease line 28, 30 is a single line of stitching. This arrangement allows each side wall to be folded inwardly so that the front and rear wall can be collapsed face to face prior to folding, as explained in more detail below in connection with
The container has a closure flap 32 comprising an upward extension of rear wall 15 which contains no gel packs. A handle strap 34 is secured on the outer surface of the closure flap 32 so as to extend upward for carrying purposes when the flap 32 is in a closed condition. An elongate fastener strap 35 extends transversely from the free edge 36 of the closure flap 32, as seen in
Fastener strap 35 also has a fastener device comprising a strip 42 of fastener material secured on its inner surface and extending to its free end, as seen in
The container 10 of
When the container is folded into the flattened storage condition, it can easily be placed into a freezer for cooling purposes or into a microwave to be heated, depending on whether food or other items to be carried in the container or lunch sack need to be kept warm or cool. Subsequently, the folded container is removed from the freezer or microwave, and can be quickly and easily returned to an erect, open configuration simply by releasing fastener strap 25 from the mating Velcro® strip 44 of fastener material, then shaking out the sack to open it. Food items, beverages, or the like can then be placed into the bag or sack, the closure flap 32 is closed and secured to Velcro® strip 40, and the sack can be carried via handle 34 for transportation purposes, for example to a workplace, school, or the like. Thus, items in the container are both cushioned from damage and insulated by the gel packs which maintain the container contents under desired temperature conditions for extended periods of time.
In the modification illustrated in
The container in the embodiments of
The container 55 can be folded in a similar manner to the previous embodiment, about the horizontal foldable crease lines 68, and then can additionally be folded in a perpendicular direction about crease lines 70. Additional straps or other fasteners (not illustrated) may be provided to hold the container in the folded condition.
Another alternative embodiment is illustrated in
The collapsible insulated containers in the previous embodiments are all generally rectangular in shape.
The embodiments described above are self-supporting multi-purpose containers that may be used for packing, storing, transporting and insulating food, beverages, medications, or other perishable items that need to be kept cool or warm for extended periods of time. The containers have insulated walls containing gel packs that can maintain the cavity within the container at a substantially constant internal temperature for an extended period of time. The gel material in the gel packs is malleable so that the isolated grid structure of cushioning packs in individual pockets provides extra protection and padding to the items contained, and in one embodiment the gel packs are surrounded by cushioning foam material for additional padding and protection. The arrangement of the foldable crease lines is such that the containers can be folded quickly and easily into a relatively flat configuration when not in use, so that they can be easily placed in a freezer or the like for cooling purposes until the container is needed again.
The above description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is to be understood that the description and drawings presented herein represent a presently preferred embodiment of the invention and are therefore representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention. It is further understood that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments that may become obvious to those skilled in the art and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly limited by nothing other than the appended claims.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/652,661 filed Jan. 5, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,209,995, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/214,364 filed Apr. 23, 2009, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12652661 | Jan 2010 | US |
Child | 13541463 | US |