CONTAINER LINER

Abstract

A device is described for providing a removable, disposable or reusable liner for a container. The liner may include an adhesive about the perimeter, a liner spout, and handles. The liner is particularly well suited to conform to the interior of a cooler and may seal to the inside of the cooler or overlap and seal to the outside of the container.

Description

BACKGROUND ART

1. Field of the Invention

This invention pertains generally to containers and a liner for the container in particular. The liner is suitable for use with many types and forms of containers and may be adaptable for many different applications including ice coolers and fish live wells.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, outdoor enthusiasts commonly utilize containers of various sizes and shapes to transport goods. Oftentimes, it is desirable to keep the goods cool in the container, whereby ice is typically used to create a cool temperature within the container. An insulated cooler is one common container that is utilized to keep goods cool during transport and stowage. As the ice melts within the cooler the goods may become wet and, depending on the goods, may stain the interior sidewalls of the cooler. Also, as the ice melts it may become messy to remove the goods from the cooler. Although some containers, coolers for example, may include a drain outlet to drain the melted ice, wet goods within the cooler remains a problem. Over the years attempts have been made to effectively line containers with a removable lining, however deficiencies remain with the prior liners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments according to aspects of the invention include a liner having a pair of handles, drain valve and an adhesive seal surrounding a perimeter of the open end of the liner. The liner may be formed from a pliable, transparent, thin plastic or plastic film, including for example a food grade plastic. The handles may be die cut or perforated into the liner or may, for example, be sonic welded to the liner. Further, the drain may be formed integral with the container as a tubular portion extending from the liner. Alternatively, the drain may include a separate valve assembly molded into or otherwise sealed and affixed to a lower end or side portion of the liner. In embodiments of the invention the outer diameter of the spigot or tube may be sized to fit within an opening of an existing drain of a cooler.

Also described herein is a liner that conforms to the shape of a cooler. In this manner the liner may be adhered snuggly to the walls of the cooler and avoids interfering with goods contained within the cooler. Also described herein is an adhesive deposited on or applied to the liner that is strategically positioned on the liner to allow the user to adhere the liner to an interior sidewall or exterior sidewall of a container. When the liner is removed from the cooler the perimeter edge of the liner may be inverted so that the adhesive on opposite sides and ends of the liner may be adhered together to thereby effectively seal the liner and any contents within the liner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a liner apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a liner apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an end view of a liner apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, exploded view of a drain plug in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an interior portion of a liner apparatus showing an exploded top perspective view of a drain plug in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of a liner apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the second embodiment with a container and its spout shown in phantom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following description provides detail of various embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are set forth below. Each of these embodiments are provided by way of explanation of the invention, and not intended to be a limitation of the invention. Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations may be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. By way of example, those skilled in the art will recognize that features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment, may be used in another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention also cover such modifications and variations that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Turning attention now to the Figures, embodiments of the liner will now be described in more detail. With reference to FIGS. 1-3, a liner 10 is shown that is particularly well suited for use to line the inner sides of a hard wall cooler (not shown). The liner 10 includes handles 16, fluid outlet or drain 50 and a perimeter adhesive 14. The liner 10 may be manufactured from a durable resin or plastic and may be formed from a sheet material or may include sections welded together to form a shape having sides 30, a bottom 32, an open end 34, an interior 36, exterior 38, and perimeter 42 (see FIG. 5). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the liner 10 may be formed from a single material or may be spliced together from multiple sheets of material and joined together with liquid impermeable seems. The shape of the liner may be adapted to conform to the interior shape of a desired container. For example, without limitation, the liner may take on the shape of the interior of a rectangular cooler, a round multi-gallon bucket, or a complex shape of a live well in a bow or other portion of a boat.

In an embodiment of the invention, the handles 16 are formed separate from the liner and adhered to the liner with adhesive, bond, well, fasteners or other suitable affixing method. In another embodiment of the invention, a portion of the liner 10 is die cut or perforated near the open end 34 and along the liner sides 30 to form a slit, slot, or other opening to allow a user to extend a hand through the slot to grasp the liner. In this manner, handles 16 may be formed integral with the liner.

The adhesive 14 may be deposited or otherwise applied to an upper side of the liner 10 near the perimeter 42 of the liner 10. The adhesive 14 may be of known suitable construction, but preferably includes a tack that adheres to a container but also releases from the container when the liner 14 is removed.

The adhesive 14 also preferably creates a liquid impermeably seal between the container and liner when adhered to the container. Alternatively, an adhesive tape may be applied to the liner 10 with varying tact so that the tape permanently adheres to a portion of the liner 10 but may adhere and be removed from a container. The tape may be applied along the perimeter 42 of the liner 10 near the open end 34 having a portion of the tape extending from the liner and including a removable backing (not shown).

The backing protects the adhesive from dust and other contaminants and is removed from the tape adhesive when the tape is ready to be adhered to a desired surface. The backing may also allow the user to position the liner within a desired container before adhering the liner to the container. The adhesive may also be selected and of the type to allow the user to apply and remove the adhesive to and from the container multiple times.

Referring next to FIGS. 4-6, the fluid outlet or drain 50 may be formed integral with the liner 14 or may include separate components. For example, the drain 50 may include a portion of the liner 10 extending from the side near the bottom to form a stem or tube 52 having a diameter sized to allow a user to extend the stem through an aperture or drain formed in a cooler, for example. Alternatively, the drain 50 may include an outer stem 52, an adhesive seal 54 and an inner drain rim or outlet 56. In this embodiment the liner includes an aperture through which the rim 56 and stem 52 are aligned. The annular seal 54 adheres the rim 56 to an interior bottom portion of the liner and the stem 52 couples in fluid communication to a drain passage 58 extending from the rim 56. In this manner, the drain 50 is sealed to the liner and the stem 52 extends from an exterior of the liner (see FIG. 4) providing a fluid passageway between the interior of the liner and the exterior of the liner. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drain 50 may be modified to further include a valve of known suitable construction to allow the user to close or open the passage for fluid to flow from an interior of the liner. One suitable valve, for example, may be of the type to couple to an aeration system of a boat live well such that the liner may be inserted into the live well and utilized to contain fish or bait.

In use, the liner 10 may be utilized as an inner membrane to a container. The container may be of any of a multitude of sizes and shapes and the liner may be pre-formed to conform to the shape of the desired or selected container. For example, without limitation intended, the container may be a cooler, a round bucket or pale, a recycle bin, a food cart, a minnow bucket, a trough, or a complex shape of a live well in a bow or other portion of a boat. The user inserts the liner into the container and utilizes the adhesive to attach the liner to the container. When removing the liner, the user may remove the liner and all of the contents within the liner to avoid contaminating the interior of the container. The adhesive may be utilized to seal the contents within the container. This method may be particularly useful and desirable when the contents held within the liner emits a strong odor (for example, fish odor). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the fish odor may be contained within the liner rather than exposing the fish to the container.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, a second embodiment of the invention is generally indicated at 110. The invention 110 is a container lining device for lining a container 112 having a container interior 114, a container exterior 116 as defined by a container wall 118. A container spout extends through the container wall 18 and allows fluids within the container interior 114 to allow fluids within the container interior 114 to pass therethrough to the container exterior 116 for disposal. As discussed above, the container 112 may be a cooler, a round bucket or pail, a recycle bin, a food cart, a minnow bucket, and the like.

The container lining device 110 includes a bottom 124 that defines a bottom periphery 126. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the bottom periphery 126 may be similar in shape to the cross section of the container 112 as defined by the container wall 118.

The container lining device 110 also includes a sidewall 128 that extends up from the bottom 124 along the bottom periphery 126. The sidewall 128 extends up to an open end 130. The sidewall 128 defines an interior surface 132 and an exterior surface 134. The bottom 124 and sidewall 128 are fabricated from a thin plastic not more than 3 mills thick.

The bottom 124, the sidewall 128, the liner spout 136 and the pull tab 138 are all fabricated as a unitary structure. More specifically, the container lining device 110 is made from a single sheet of thin plastic and includes the liner spout 136 and pull tab 138.

An adhesive band 140 is disposed the adjacent end 130 and extends around the exterior surface 134 of the sidewall 128. As discussed above, the adhesive band 140 allows the sidewall 128 of the container lining device 110 to be secured to the container interior 114 of the container 112.

The sidewall 128 includes a plurality of perforated sections 142 that extend along the sidewall 128 between the open end 130 and the adhesive band 140. A plurality of perforated sections 142 can be used to create handles for removal of the container lining device 110 from the container 112 when it is determined that the container lining device 110 is no longer needed. Each of the plurality of perforated sections are spaced equidistantly from each other. In a second embodiment, there are only two perforated sections.

Extending out from the sidewall 128 is a liner spout 136. The liner spout 136 is disposed adjacent the bottom 124 in a position allowing the liner spout 136 to extend through the container spout 120 when the container lining device 110 is inserted within the container 112. The liner spout includes a pull tab 138 that closes the liner spout 136. When it is deemed to be necessary to remove liquid from the container lining device 110, the pull tab 138 is pulled allowing the fluid to exit the container lining device 110 through the liner spout 136 that extends through the container spout 120.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner. It is to be understood that the terminology, which has been used, is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.

Many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Therefore, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.

Claims

1. A container lining device for lining a container having a container interior, a container exterior, and a container spout allowing fluids in the container interior to pass therethrough, said container lining device comprising: a bottom defining a bottom periphery;a sidewall extending up from said bottom along said bottom periphery to an open end, said sidewall defining interior and exterior surfaces;an adhesive band disposed adjacent said open end and extending around all of said exterior surface of said side wall; anda liner spout disposed adjacent said bottom and extending out from said sidewall such that said liner spout extends into and through a portion of the container spout.

2. A container lining device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bottom, sidewall and liner spout are fabricated as a unitary structure.

3. A container lining device as set forth in claim 2 including a pull tab closing said liner spout until said pull tab is removed from said liner spout.

4. A container lining device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said sidewall includes a plurality of perforated sections extending along said sidewall between said open end and said adhesive band, wherein said plurality of perforated sections can be used to create handles for removal of said container lining device from the container.

5. A container lining device as set forth in claim 4 wherein each of said plurality of perforated sections are spaced equidistantly from each other.