Patent Application
20140248003
This invention relates to the field of insulated containers.
Insulated containers have become popular for carrying either articles that may best be served cool, such as beverages or salads, or warm, such as appetizers, hot dogs, and so on. Such containers are frequently used to carry liquids, whether hot liquids, such as soup containers, coffee or tea, or cold liquids such as beer, soft drinks, or other carbonated beverages, juices and milk. Sometimes these containers may by used to carry lunches, which may include a sandwich, fruit, carrot and celery sticks, a drink, cookies, and so on.
Portable insulated containers tend to be of two types: hard-sided insulated containers or soft-sided insulated containers. Hard-sided portable insulated containers tend to be made of moulded plastic, with an inner layer, or wall, and an outer layer or wall, with an insulation space (which may be an air-space) therebetween. Hard-sided portable insulated containers are, as might be understood by the name, substantially rigid. The adjective “portable” is sometimes generous, as a full cooler capable of carrying 24 cans at 385 mL each, plus ice, may have significant weight. Hard-sided coolers, by their nature, may tend to be bulky, and, even when provided with a handle on top or handles at the ends may tend not to be particularly convenient to carry. A user's perception of the convenience of their portability may diminish with each additional step.
A soft-sided cooler, by contrast, relies on external insulated wall structure that is not substantially rigid. In some instances the external insulated wall structure may be foldable between collapsed and expanded conditions. The insulated wall structure may typically include an outside layer of webbing or fabric, an inside layer of webbing or fabric, and a layer of flexible insulation positioned between the inner and outer layers. Soft-sided coolers may sometimes include substantially rigid liners to assist in permitting the cooler to maintain a given shape, or to protect items inside the cooler from being crushed.
In an aspect of the invention there is a soft-sided insulated container having an inflatable wall structure.
In a feature of that aspect of the invention, the container is movable between a collapsed position and a deployed position. In another feature, the container has an outlet by which to permit the inflatable wall structure to be deflated. In a further feature, when the wall structure is deflated the container is movable to a rolled-up position. In still another feature the inflatable wall structure, when inflated, forms a peripheral wall having an insulated chamber defined therewithin. In still another feature, the inflatable wall structure is self-inflating. In another feature, the inflatable wall structure includes an open cell foam captured therewithin. In yet another feature the inflatable wall structure is movable to either of (a) a tote-shaped container; and (b) a cubic container. In still another feature, the container has a washable liner. In a further feature, the liner is at least one of (a) removable; and (b) transparent.
In another feature, the inflatable wall structure, when inflated, forms a peripheral wall defining an insulated chamber in which to place objects. The inflatable will structure has an outer membrane, an inner membrane, and a layer of insulation trapped between the outer membrane and the inner membrane. In another feature, the layer of insulation includes a resilient open-celled foam. In still another feature, the inflatable wall structure includes a valve operable to permit at least one of (a) inflation thereof; and (b) deflation thereof. In yet another feature, the outer membrane is thicker than the inner membrane and defines a scuff resistant outer surface of the container; and (b) the inner membrane has a reflective surface.
In still another feature, the container is movable between a collapsed position and a deployed position. The inflatable wall structure is self-inflating. The inflatable wall structure includes an open cell foam captured therewithin. The container has an outlet by which to permit the inflatable wall structure to be deflated, and, when the wall structure is deflated, the container is movable to a rolled-up position. The inflatable wall structure, when inflated, forms a peripheral wall having an insulated chamber defined therewithin.
These and other aspects of the invention may be more readily understood with the aid of the illustrative Figures and detailed description included hereinbelow.
These and other aspects of the invention may be more readily understood with the aid of the illustrative Figures included herein below, and showing of an example, or examples, embodying the various aspects of the invention, provided by way of illustration, but not of limitation of the present invention, and in which:
a shows a perspective view from the front, to one side and above, of an example of an embodiment of a soft-sided insulated container according to an aspect of the invention herein in a deployed and closed condition;
b shows a perspective view of the soft-sided, insulated container of
c shows a perspective view of the container of
d is a front view of the container of
a shows a perspective view of the container of
b is a front view of the container of
a shows a developed view of the container of
b is an exploded end perspective view of the container of
c is a cross-sectional view of the container of
d is a conceptual view showing the container of
The description that follows, and the embodiments described therein, are provided by way of illustration of an example, or examples, of particular embodiments of the principles, aspects and features of the present invention. These examples are provided for the purposes of explanation, and not of limitation, of those principles, aspects, and features of the invention. In the description, like parts are marked throughout the specification and the drawings with the same respective reference numerals. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and in some instances proportions may have been exaggerated in order more clearly to depict certain features of the invention.
For the purposes of this description, the insulated containers herein may be termed “coolers”, as a convenient shorthand. For the purposes of this description, it may be that a Cartesian frame of reference may be employed. In such a frame of reference, the long, or largest dimension of an object may be considered to extend in the direction of the x-axis, the base of the article, where substantially planar, may be considered to extend in an x-y plane, and the height of the article may be measured in the vertical, or z-direction. The largest panels of the containers described herein may be designated arbitrarily as the front and rear sides, faces, or portions of the container. Similarly, the closure member, or opening of the bag is arbitrarily designated as being at the top, and the base panel is designated as being at the bottom, as these terms may be appropriate for the customary orientation in which the objects may usually be found, sold, or used, notwithstanding that the objects may be picked up and placed on one side or another from time to time at the user's choice. Other orientations are possible, such as when carrying a pizza in a flat or generally horizontal orientation, rather than vertical. It may also be understood that, within the normal range of temperatures to which human food and human touch is accustomed, although the term cooler, or cooler container, or cooler bag, may be used, such insulated structures may generally also be used to keep food, beverages, or other objects either warm or hot as well as cool, cold, or frozen.
In this specification reference is made to insulated containers. The adjective “insulated” is intended to be given its usual and normal meaning as understood by persons skilled in the art. It is not intended to encompass single layers, or skins, of conventional webbing materials, such as Nylon™, woven polyester, canvas, cotton, burlap, leather, paper and so on, that are not otherwise indicated as having, or being relied upon to have, particular properties as effective thermal insulators other than in the context of being provided with heat transfer resistant materials or features beyond that of the ordinary sheet materials in and of themselves. Following from Phillips v. AWH Corp., this definition provided in the specification is intended to supplant any dictionary definition, and to prevent interpretation in the US Patent Office (or in any other Patent Office) that strays from the customary and ordinary meaning of the term “insulated” as provided herein.
Similarly, this description may tend to discuss various embodiments of soft-sided wall members, as opposed to hard shell or hard-sided containers. In the jargon of the trade, a soft-sided cooler, or container, is one that does not have a substantially rigid, high density exoskeleton (typically a molded shell, e.g., of ABS or polyethylene, or other common types of molded plastic). Rather, a soft-sided wall may tend to have, for example, an outer skin, a layer of insulation, and an internal skin, both the internal and external skins being of some kind of webbing, be it a woven fabric, a nylon sheet, or some other membrane. The layer of insulation, which may be a sandwich of various components, is typically a flexible or resilient layer, perhaps of a relatively soft and flexible foam. A soft-sided container may still be a soft-sided container where, as described herein, it may include a substantially rigid liner, or may include one or more battens (which may be of a relatively hard plastic) concealed within the soft sided wall structure more generally, or where hard molded fittings may be used either at a container rim or lip, or to provided a base or a mounting point for wheels, but where the outside of the assembly is predominantly of soft-sided panels. Again, this definition is intended to forestall the US Patent Office, (or any other Patent Offices), from adopting an interpretation of the term “soft-sided” that diverges from the ordinary and customary meaning of the term as understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art in the industry, and as explained herein.
a to 1c show a soft-sided insulated container or container assembly, indicated generally as 20. It has a soft-sided, insulated wall structure, identified as 22, that defines a peripheral wall enclosing an internal chamber, generally indicated as 24. Access to the interior of chamber 24 is controlled be an access governor such as may be termed a closure member. Closure member 26 may be a tracked fastener such as a zipper 28. The assembly may have handles 30, 32 by which it may be lifted, and it may include a handle cinch or securement member, such as pad 34 which, in use, wraps around the bails of both handles 30, 32 to facilitate their carriage in one hand. A shoulder strap 36 with load spreading shoulder pad 38 may also be provided. External patches, or sheets, or pads 40, 42 may be added, or mounted to wall structure 22, and may include pouches or pockets 44, in which documents or other objects may be received.
As may be noted, container 20 may be deployed as a generally box-shaped container, as in
The structure of container 2c may be understood with reference to
Insulation material 56 is, or includes, resilient material with a memory, such that although it may be compressed to a smaller size, such that the air is squeezed out of it, the material will tend to return to its previous shape when released. The tendency to return to the original shape may tend to result in a self-inflating ability. Material 56 may be an open-cell air-porous foam. Material 56 may be a material other than an open-celled foam. Although it is convenient that a single sheet of insulation material be used, several smaller sheets could also be used.
Sheets 52 and 54 are of generally corresponding extent, that extent being greater than the extent of insulation material 56, such that the peripheries of sheets 52 and 54 may be sealed together, whether by bonding or welding to form an air impermeable seal. The width of the sealed zone, or weldment, may be quite substantial, being of the order of one half of an inch to one inch. To the extent that sheets 52 and 54 are generally rectangular. The edges may be identified as a first end edge 60, a second, opposed edge 62, a first side edge 64 and a second side edge 66. Mating left and right hand guided fastener tracks, i.e., zipper tracks 68, 70 of zipper 28.
The inside face defined by sheet 52 may be substantially unobstructed, other than for the inclusion of fastening or securement fittings, such as fabric hook and eye strips 72 (e.g., Velcro™) mounted by adhesive bonding to the weldment strips immediately adjacent to first and second, or left and right hand zipper tracks 68, 70 of zipper 28. These securement fittings may be used as releasable securements for mating fittings of like nature of a removable, washable liner 74. Liner 74 may be transparent, and may be a seamless liner. In other embodiment, liner 74 may be permanently fixed in place, and in still other embodiments container 20 may have neither strips 72 nor liner 74.
Considering again
A valve, or valve assembly 124 may be welded in place along one of the side margins of assembly 50, as indicated. Valve assembly 124 is a governor that controls, i.e., blocks or permits, flow of air into or out of assembly 50. When rolled up, as in
External shear panels, doublers, or pads, or mountings 130, 132 are attached to the main front and rear panel portions 98, 100 respectively, and function as load distributing anchors of handles 30, 32. That is, the ends of the straps of handles 30, 32 may be attached, as by sewing or other means to mountings 130, 132, which may themselves be attached to portions 98, 100. Attachment is by non-puncturing means, such as by adhesive bonding or by a thermal bonding process such as welding or vulcanizing. Auxiliary compartment members, such as pockets or pouches 134 may be attached externally to mountings 130, 132.
When the external fittings have been mounted to assembly 50, it is then folded, as suggested by
Upper and lower quick release fittings 140, 142 may be mounted at the zipper ends and at the points formed where the bottom gussets fold. In the tote-bag configuration of
In the box-shaped configuration, the first and second bottom half portions 94 and 96 define a generally flat bottom; first and second left hand end panel halves 106, 108 (which are joined at left hand main seam 136) form the left hand end panel; first and second right hand end panel halves 110, 112 (which are joined at right hand main seam 138). The front and rear (or first and second) main side panels are defined by panel portions 98 and 100 respectively; the top wall is defined by first and second upper panel portions 102, 104 joined by zipper 28 in a generally flat panel. In this configuration the top corner panel gusset 120 folds under gusset 118, such that a triangular central point is formed at which fitting 140 is mounted. Similarly, each gusset 116 folds under its associate gusset 114, forming a central point at which fitting 142 is mounted, the whole point then being pulled to lie upwardly, adjacent to the respective end wall.
In the tote-bag configuration, all of the portions to one side of main central fold 84 form one side of a tote pouch, while all of the portions to the other side form the other side of the tote. As the pouch is filled, the sides bulge accordingly.
Although container 20 has been shown and described as having a single communicating space into which air may be introduced or expelled, and thus only a single valve, the apparatus could have more than one valve—such as an inlet valve and an outlet valve. Alternatively it could have more than one valve that is both an inlet and an outlet valve to allow faster or easier inflation and deflation. In another embodiment, the compressible substance may merely be vented, or portions of the external skin may “breathe”, in either case without the use of a valve. It is not necessary that all sides of the container assembly be inflatable wall panels. For example, it may be desired that the bottom panel of the apparatus (corresponding to items 94 and 96) such as may rest on sharp objects on the ground, and such as may be especially prone to damage or abuse, may be made of a non-inflating panel, or panels, such as substantially solid UHMW polymer. Alternatively, too, it may be that only a subset of panels is inflatable, such as main side panel portions 98 and 100. It that case, each of those panels may be separately inflatable, or they may be in fluid communication. In one embodiment, container 20 is buoyant, such that if it falls in the water it will float even when rolled-up. In another embodiment, given the buoyancy of wall structure 22, container 20 will float when deployed and empty.
The principles of the present invention are not limited to these specific examples which are given by way of illustration. It is possible to make other embodiments that employ the principles of the invention and that fall within its spirit and scope of the invention. Since changes in and or additions to the above-described embodiments may be made without departing from the nature, spirit or scope of the invention, the invention is not to be limited to those details, but only by the appended claims.
