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Fold-up insulated container

Fold-up insulated container description/claims

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/909,992, filed Apr. 4, 2007, and incorporated herein by reference.

Insulated containers, sometimes called “coolers” are quite popular, and are used in numerous activities. Large coolers are often seen at picnics and other social gatherings, and individual users utilize smaller coolers, such as to transport soup to work or to maintain a beverage at a cooler temperature during a sporting activity.

Typically, the walls of contemporary coolers include hard outer and inner shells, and an insulating central layer. The central layer is usually a product having a high insulation value, or R value, such as expanded polystyrene or polyurethane.

For most contemporary coolers, the outer and inner layers of the insulated containers are each formed in separate vacuum, injection, or blow molding machines. Liquid polyurethane is then manually placed between the inner and outer layers, and is permitted to expand to fill the void between the two layers. Alternatively, molded polystyrene foam is manually placed in the void between the two layers. The result is a container having smooth, hard, outer and inner surfaces, and an insulating central core. The outer layer protects the container and central core, and provides an attractive surface. The inner layer separates the central core from the contents of the container, and provides an impermeable layer so that liquids may be stored in the container.

Other insulated containers may be made to have soft sides. For example, soft-sided coolers may be formed from an insulating material, such as high density polyurethane foam, that is surrounded by a flexible fabric, such as vinyl. Such coolers may be produced by covering one or more pieces of insulating material with a flexible material and stitching the pieces or portions of the pieces together so as to form a container.

The following presents a simplified summary of some embodiments of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some embodiments of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description of some embodiments that are presented later.

In accordance with an embodiment, a cooler is provided that is configurable between an open configuration and a storage configuration. The cooler includes two containers attached to one another along an edge. The cooler may be put into a storage configuration by folding together both containers along the edge so that the two containers are aligned against one another. A zipper or other fastener may secure the cooler in the storage configuration. The fastener is released and the two containers are moved apart in the open configuration.

In accordance with another embodiment, a cooler is provided including a bag having a zipper with teeth lining opposite upper edges of opposite sides. The cooler is configurable between an open configuration and a closed configuration by folding the upper edges towards each other, closing the zipper, and folding the ends of the edges downward.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, a soft-sided cooler is provided having a handle located in a corner of the cooler. The cooler may include two containers attached to one another along an edge. The cooler may be put into a storage configuration by folding together both containers along the edge. A zipper or other fastener may secure the cooler in the storage configuration.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, a soft-sided cooler is provided having a drink holder located on a substantially vertical surface. The drink holder includes a flap having a bottom edge attached horizontally to the substantially vertical outer surface and is configurable between an open configuration (wherein the flap is positioned substantially below the bottom edge) and a closed configuration (wherein the flap is positioned substantially below the bottom edge) by rotating the flap about the bottom edge. A pocket attached to the flap and having an opening providing access to an interior of the pocket may be positioned between the flap and the substantially vertical outer surface when the flap is in the closed configuration. A fastener may releasably connect the flap to the substantially vertical outer surface when the flap is in the closed configuration.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a cooler in accordance with an embodiment, with the cooler in an open configuration;

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the cooler of FIG. 1, with the cooler in a storage configuration;

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the cooler of FIG. 2;

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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