US3465948A

US3465948A - Disposable cooler

Info

Publication number: US3465948A
Application number: US672563A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gary W Boyer
Original assignee: Hoerner Waldorf Corp
Current assignee: Hoerner Waldorf Corp
Priority date: 1967-10-03
Filing date: 1967-10-03
Publication date: 1969-09-09
Anticipated expiration: 1986-09-09

Description

s 9, 1969 w, BOYER 3,465,948

' DISPOSABLE COOLER Filed Oct. 5, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 W q 42 a I jg INVENTOR GARY W Bob 5R ()RNEY Sept. 9, 1969 s. w. BOYER 3,455,943

DISPOSABLE COOLER Filed Oct. 3, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR GARY W 50 YEP? ORNEY Sept. 9, 1969 s. w. BOYER DISPOSABLE COOLER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 5. 1967 INVENTOR GARY W BOVER ATTORNEY US. Cl. 229-14 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention comprises a disposable cooler for bottled or canned beverages and the like. The cooler includes a base unit, a cooler unit, and a cover. The base unit comprises an open ended sleeve arranged vertically on the ground or floor. A filler extends a portion of the height of the sleeve to support the cooler unit. The cooler unit comprises a Water tight tray telescoped into the upper end of the sleeve for support by the filler. The cooler unit is designed to accommodate the cans or bottles, and ice. The cover is telescoped onto the tray to close the cooler.

This invention relates to an improvement in disposable beverage coolers and deals particularly with a container made of corrugated paperboard capable of holding a considerable quantity of beverage under refrigeration for a period of several hours.

Various beverages such as the cola drinks are sold in considerable quantity for use at parties and picnics. In order to increase the sale of the beverage and to simplify the task of handling by the customer, the beverage companies normally provide coolers made of plastic or metal containing ice and capable of holding perhaps a case of 24 disposable bottles or cans of the beverage. At the conclusion of the party or picnic, it is necessary for the beverage company to pick up the coolers for reuse.

Certain of the beverage companies found that this practice was excessively expensive, and was costing the company an amount out of proportion to the profit. The main reason for the high cost was in the fact that most such parties and picnics took place after normal working hours, and oftentimes on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The cost of picking up the coolers at such times greatly reduced their profit. Accordingly, it was decided to attempt to produce a disposable cooler capable of holding the beverage under refrigeration for the duration of the party or picnic, and which could merely be discarded at the end of the occasion. The present invention resides in the provision of such a disposable cooler.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a cooler made of corrugated paperboard which may be easily and quickly assembled at the location of the party or picnic and which may normally consist in a series of flat blanks. The parts involved include a rectangular sleeve having open upper and lower ends and including a filler extending upwardly a portion of the height of the base to act as a support for the cooler unit. The cooler unit comprises a diagonally creased tray having bellows corners and an inner surface of moisture tight material such as polyethylene. The third main part includes a cover designed to telescope over the cooler unit when the cooler unit is not in use. The cooler unit is of sufficient size to hold several cases of beverage in disposable bottles or cans. In actual practice, the cooler unit is designed to contain four cases or 96 bottles or cans, together with cracked ice in sufiicient quantity to hold the United States Patent ice beverage under refrigeration for a period of several hours.

In order to use the disposable cooler, the base is preferably stitched by the manufacturer to produce a sleeve which is in flat folded form. Lining flanges are preferably provided hinged to the upper edge of the sleeve. The base is erected into rectangular form, and two filler members are placed in intersecting relation and inserted into the sleeve, the filler strips extending diagonally between the corners and holding the sleeve in rectangular form. The base is completed by folding inwardly and down wardly the liner flanges to overlie the filler strips.

The cooler unit is next formed by folding side and end walls into right angular relation to the bottom panel, and folding the gusset flaps at the corners of the blank to form bellows folds at the corners of the tray. Preferably, the gusset flaps are secured in face contact to the side or end walls of the container by means of a hand stitcher or other fastening means.

The cover includes a top panel having side and end walls or wall flanges hinged to the edges thereof. The side and end flanges are folded into right angular relation to the top panel, and corner flaps on the ends of two opposed side or end walls are folded into face contact with the ends of the remaining opposed Walls and secured thereto by a hand stitcher or the like. The beverage and ice are inserted into the cooler unit and the structure is in readiness for use.

A feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the filler in the base of the device supports the bottom panel of the cooler unit in spaced relation to the ground or floor, providing a dead air space beneath the cooler unit which tends to retard the melting of the ice and to maintain the beverage refrigerated over a longer period of time.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the disposable cooler in closed assembled form.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View of the base portion of the disposable cooler in readiness to receive the cooler unit.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the cooler unit in its assembled form.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional View through the disposable cooler, the postion of the section being indi cated by the line 44 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE'S is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the base sleeve is formed.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the two filler strips in exploded relation.

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the cooler unit is formed.

FIGURE 8 is a greatly enlarged section through the corrugated board showing the water tight coating on the inner surface thereof.

FIGURE 9 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the cover section is formed.

The disposable cooler is indicated in general by the letter A. In general, the cooler A includes a base unit B, a cooler unit C, and a cover D. The cooler unit C telescopes into the open upper end of the base unit B, and the cover D telescopes over the upper open end of the cooler unit C.

The base unit B is indicated in its assembled form in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, and includes an open ended sleeve indicated in general by the numeral 10, and a filler structure which is indicated in general by the numeral 11. The sleeve is formed as shown in FIG- URE 5 of the drawings and includes an end wall panel 12, a first side wall panel 13, a second end wall 14, and a second side wall connected together along

parallel fold lines

16, 17 and 19. A stitch or glue flap 20 is hingedly connected to an end wall of the series such as the second side wall 15 along a fold line 21 which is parallel' to the previously described lines of fold. In actual practice, the stitch flap 20 is normally stitched or glued in over lapping relation to the end wall panel 10 to form a rectangular sleeve which may be folded into flat form.

The upper edges of the wall panels described are defined by a fold line 22 which connect the panels to liner flanges.

Liner flanges

23, 24, 25, and 26 are foldably connected to the end wall 12, side wall 13, second end wall 14 and second side wall 15 along the fold line 22. The flanges are all of equal length measured in a direction normal to the fold line 22.

The filler structure 11 includes a pair of elongated

corrugated panels

27 and 29 of generally rectangular form and preferably having the flutes of the corrugated board extending vertically when in place. The two

members

27 and 29 may be identical with one member inverted relative to the other. As indicated in FIGURE 6, a slot 30' is provided in the lower edge 31 of the filler member 27 extending substantially one-half the vertical height of the panel 27. The panel 29 is provided with a vertical slot 32 in the upper edge 33 thereof, the

slots

30 and 32 being midway between the ends of the

panels

27 and 29. The

slots

30 and 32 interengage to form an X- shaped filler. The

panels

27 and 29 are substantially equal in length to the distance between diagonally opposite corners of the sleeve 10.

The cooler unit C is preferably formed of corrugated paperboard having an outer liner 34, and inner linear 35, and a corrugated medium 36 therebetween. The inner liner is provided with a coating of moisture impervious material such as polyethylene as indicated at 37.

The cooler unit C includes a bottom panel 39 of rectangular form and of dimensions slightly less than the inner dimensions of the sleeve 10. Side walls 40 are hingedly connected to the bottom panel 39 along parallel fold lines 41. End walls 42 are hingedly connected to the ends of the bottom panel 39 along parallel fold lines 43. The ends of the side wall panels 40 are connected to the ends of the end wall panels 42 by a pair of similar triangular gusset flaps 44 and 45 which are hingedly connected together along diagonal fold lines 46.

The cover D is formed of the blank illustrated in FIG- URE 9 of the drawings. The cover D includes a top panel 47 of rectangular form which is connected along parallel fold lines 49 to side wall flanges or panels 50. The top panel 47 is also connected along fold lines 51 to end wall flanges or panels 52. Corner flaps 53 are hingedly connected to the ends of one pair of opposed flanges or 52. In the form illustrated, the corner flaps 53 are hinged to the ends of the end wall panels 52.

When the disposable cooler is to be used, the various units may be delivered to the point of use in flat form with the usual exception of the sleeve 10 which is stitched or glue at the manufacturers joint and folded flat as has been described. To assemble the disposable cooler, the sleeve 10 is folded into rectangular form and rested upon the ground or floor. The

filler panels

27 and 29 are interlocked and inserted into the sleeve, the

panels

27 and 29 extending diagonally across the sleeve to hold the sleeve in rectangular form. The

flanges

23, 24, 25 and 26 are then folded downwardly against the ends of the filler panels, FIGURE 2 of the drawings showing the base in completed form.

The cooler unit C is next erected by folding the gusset flaps 44 and 45 along the diagonal fold lines 46 until the gusset flaps 44 and 45 are in face contact. The combined gusset flaps are then swung into position adjoining either the side walls 40 or the end walls 42. It will be understood that in folding the gusset flaps 44 and 45 into face contact, the side walls 40 and end walls 42 will be folded into right angular relation with the bottom panel 39. FIGURE 3 of the drawings shows the cooler unit C in assembled form. Preferably staples 54 or other suitable fastening means hold the gusset flaps against opposed walls. FIGURE 3 of the drawings shows the gusset flaps secured in face contact with the side walls 40 of the cooler unit.

The cover unit D is then assembled by folding the side wall flanges 5t and end wall flanges 52 into right angular relation to the cover panel 47, and by securing the corner flaps 53 in face contact with the side wall flanges 50. When assembled, the side and end

wall flanges

50 and 52 are spaced apart a distance suflicient to permit the cover D to be telescoped over the open upper end of the cooler unit C.

Before the cover D is applied, the cooler unit C is filled with disposable cans or bottles of beverage, and cracked ice or ice cubes are intermixed with the cans or bottles. When the cover is in place, the beverage will remain in a refrigerated state over a period of several hours, or throughout a length of time suflicient to last through the party or picnic. Obviously, the ice supply may be replenished if it is so desired.

I claim:

1. A disposable cooler including:

a rectangular base unit having an open upper end,

a filler member comprising strips of corrugated paperboard within said base secured on edge with the surfaces on substantially vertical planes and terminating in spaced relation to the upper end thereof on common place,

a cooler unit comprising a substantially water tight tray telescoped into said base and resting upon said filler member, said tray extending upwardly from said base, and

a removable cover on said tray.

2. The structure of claim 1 and in which said strips divide the interior of said base into a plurality of dead air spaces.

3. The structure of claim 1 and in which the corrugated flutes of said strips extend vertically.

4. A disposable cooler including:

a rectangular base unit having an open upper end,

a cooler unit comprising a substantially water tight tray telescoped into said base unit and extending upwardly therefrom,

a removable cover on said tray, and

a filler member within said base unit to provide a dead air space within said base unit beneath said cooler unit,

said filler member comprising a pair of intersecting filler strips extending diagonally between the corners of said base unit.

5. The structure of claim 1 and including flanges on the upper edges of said base folded inwardly and downwardly to terminate substantially on said common plane.

6. A disposable cooler including:

a rectangular base unit having an open upper end,

a removable cover on said tray,

said base unit comprising an open ended sleeve including linear flanges on the upper edges of said sleeve folded to lie upwardly of the sleeve walls, and

a filler within said base unit supporting said cooler unit, said flanges engaging the upper end of said filler.

7. The structure of claim 1 and in which said cooler unit tray includes a rectangular bottom panel, side and end walls connected to the edges of said bottom panel,

5 6 and bellow corners connecting the ends of said side and 1,311,047 7/1919 Cole 22931 end walls at the corners of said tray. 1,343,391 6/ 1920 Haas.

8. The structure of claim 1 and in Which said cover is 1,701,323 2/1929 Fredenhagen. telescopically secured on said tray.

References Cited 5 DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS US. Cl. X.R.

918,138 4/1909 Flora 229-43 220-63