Patent Application
20210348825
The present disclosure relates generally to thermal insulators, such as portable coolers or ice boxes.
One exemplary embodiment of the disclosed subject matter is a customizable, modular thermal insulator having a pliable, thermally insulated container and a one-piece, self-standing, pliable shell. The container includes a front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, bottom wall, and top cover. Each wall and top cover is preferably thermally insulated using high-density open-cell foam insulation.
The shell has a front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and optional bottom wall. Each wall of the shell defines a form-fitting receptacle for frictionally receiving the front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container. The shell is preferably comprised of a fabric material, such as 1680D ballistic nylon, which is capable of being embroidered.
With the above arrangement, the front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container may be slid into the receptacle of the shell and held in place by frictional engagement. Thus, with this invention, a user may have multiple, personalized shells, and choose which shell to use depending on the occasion. The result is a high-performance, soft-shelled, customizable thermal insulator with different looks.
In addition to the above-disclosed structure, the top cover of the container is preferably pivotally connected to the rear wall of the container via a hinge. Moreover, the front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container define an interior compartment. With this arrangement, the top cover may be pivoted about the hinge to open or close the interior compartment.
The invention may further comprise a zipper disposed substantially about the top cover and rear wall near the hinge for maintaining the top cover in a closed position over the interior compartment. A D-ring opener may be disposed about one end of the zipper.
A liner may be disposed about the interior compartment of the container. The liner is preferably is made of thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon fabric.
The top cover of the container includes a bottom side and an opposing top side. The bottom side of the top cover preferably has a liner disposed thereon, wherein the liner of the top cover is made of thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon fabric. The top side of the top cover may include a drawstring for retaining one or more items.
One of more of the walls of the shell may include a logo, name, or indicia embroidered thereon. The front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, and bottom wall of the container are slid into the receptacle of the embroidered shell and form-fitted therein for use by a user.
Some non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter are illustrated in the following drawings. Identical or duplicate or equivalent or similar structures, elements, or parts that appear in one or more drawings are generally labeled with the same reference numeral, optionally with an additional letter or letters to distinguish between similar objects or variants of objects, and may not be repeatedly labeled and/or described. Dimensions of components and features shown in the figures are chosen for convenience or clarity of presentation. For convenience or clarity, some elements or structures are not shown or shown only partially and/or with different perspective or from different point of views.
Thermal insulators, such as portable coolers or ice boxes, are often desirable when relaxing at the pool or beach, playing sports, or otherwise enjoying the great outdoors. The typical such insulator generally falls within two types: (1) hard cooler, or (2) soft cooler.
The conventional hard cooler is usually leakproof and highly insulative. This hard cooler, which may be referred to as an ice chest, is typically made of polyethylene plastic or metal on the outside, polypropylene on the inside, and polyurethane insulation in the middle. As the polyethylene plastic or metal on the outside is quite hard, it is incapable of being embroidered. Thus, should one desire to customize or personalize the typical hard cooler, such customization may be done during the manufacturing process via silk screening or the like. Should one desire to customize an ice chest after market, jackets or wraps exists. Such jackets or wraps include fastening means, such as hook-and-loop or elastic pockets or the like, for keeping the jacket or wrap held onto the hard outside of the cooler.
The conventional soft cooler also comes in myriad designs and performance characteristics. The soft cooler is typically a one-piece unit made from soft materials such as vinyl or polyester sewn around insulation. As vinyl and polyester are known to leak, an impermeable plastic liner may be sewn into the interior of the soft cooler. Should one desire to personalize a soft cooler, such customization may be done during the manufacturing process via silk screening or the like. However, as the typical soft cooler is a one-piece unit and leakage is a significant issue, customization via embroidery is not possible once the soft cooler is sealed up and ready-for-market.
Accordingly, a novel insulator is desired that comprises a pliable, thermally insulated container and a one-piece, self-standing, pliable shell capable of being embroidered. The walls of the container may be slid into a receptacle of the shell and held in place by frictional engagement. Thus, with this invention, a user may have multiple, personalized shells, and choose which shell to use depending on the occasion. The result is a high-performance, soft-shelled, customizable thermal insulator with different looks.
A general non-limiting overview of practicing the present disclosure is presented below. The overview outlines exemplary practice of embodiments of the present disclosure, providing a constructive basis for variant and/or alternative and/or divergent embodiments, some of which are subsequently described.
The pliable, thermally insulated container 102 includes a front wall 106, a rear wall 108, a left wall 110, a right wall 112, bottom wall 114, and a top cover 120. The front wall 106, rear wall 108, left wall 110, right wall 112, and bottom wall 114 define an interior compartment 116. The interior compartment is fitted with a liner 118. The liner 118 is preferably a Food and Drug Association-approved thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon fabric.
The top cover 120 includes a top side 128 and an opposing bottom side 130. The top side 128 preferably includes a drawstring 132 for retaining items on the top cover 120. The bottom side 130 preferably includes a liner 134. The liner 134 is preferably a Food and Drug Association-approved thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon fabric.
Top cover 120 is preferably coupled to the rear wall 108 via a hinge 122. Doing so permits the top cover 120 to pivot about the hinge 122 to open or close the interior compartment 116.
A zipper 124 is disposed substantially about the rear wall 108 and the top cover 120 near the hinge 122 for maintaining the top cover 120 in a closed position over the interior compartment 116. A D-ring opener 126 may be disposed about one end of the zipper 124. The opener 126 permits a user to open a refreshment having a bottle cap or the like.
The shell 104 is a one-piece, self-standing modular unit. The shell 104 includes a front wall 136, a rear wall 138, a left wall 140, a right wall 142, and an optional bottom wall 144. Each wall 136-144 of the shell 104 defines a form-fitting receptacle for frictionally receiving the front wall 106, rear wall 108, left wall 110, right wall 112, and bottom wall 114 of the container 102. The shell 104 is preferably made of fabric material such as 1680D ballistic nylon.
The shell 104 may include handle members 146, 152. Handle member 146 may be seen stitched on front wall 136 in
Should the occasion call for it, the user of the disclosed invention 100 may not want to display any level of personalization or customization. If so, then
In the alternative, the user may choose a personalized look and feel of the invention 100. If so, then
It should now be apparent the disclosed thermal insulator 100 is a pliable, thermally insulated container and a one-piece, self-standing, pliable shell capable of being embroidered. As the walls of the container may be slid into a receptacle of the shell and held in place by frictional engagement, the user may have multiple, personalized shells, and choose which shell to use depending on the occasion. Thus, the present invention advantageously effects a high-performance, soft-shelled, customizable thermal insulator with different looks.
While certain embodiments have been described, the embodiments have been presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel thermal insulator embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the disclosed elements may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
