EP1328449B1

EP1328449B1 - Isothermal bag for bottles and foodstuffs

Info

Publication number: EP1328449B1
Application number: EP01983780A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Andrea Meli
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-10-27
Filing date: 2001-10-24
Publication date: 2006-05-24
Anticipated expiration: 2021-10-24
Also published as: WO2002034644A2; JP2004512239A; AU1519702A; EP1328449A2; DE60119953T2; US20040028296A1; WO2002034644A3; AU2002215197B2; JP4038428B2; ATE327185T1; ES2263678T3; DE60119953D1

Abstract

This invention consists in a flexible, very light and pocket-size container, which can keep the temperature of a liquid inside a bottle (4) even. The bag (1) is made by folding a rectangular foil in two and then welding two sides, leaving only one side open through which the bottle (4) or the food is inserted. The foil is made up of thermal-insulation, reflective and waterproof materials. Two holes (2.1, 3.1) having the same dimensions as a bottle neck (4) are located near the open shorter side. An elastic band (8) closes the isothermal bag (1) after rolling it up or folding it up thus making it compact and pocket-size. The bag (1) wraps up the bottle (4) completely but the holes (2.1, 3.1) enable users to drink without opening and closing the bag (1). Its closing device is functional, hygienic and user-friendly.

Description

Technical field

This invention concerns an isothermal bag keeping the temperature of food and beverages inside even.

Background Art

People often feel like having cool food or drinks (e.g. water, tea, wine, soft drinks etc) within their reach, especially when the weather is hot and no fridge is available, such as when they are on the beach, on a tennis court or during long journeys.
Today there are several systems to keep food and drinks cool without using a fridge, as widely known. These systems include thermoses, portable coolers and thermos flasks, which may however have some minor or major drawbacks for users. Thermoses are usually cumbersome and carrying them causes inconvenience once the drink is finished. Portable coolers (which are made cold by artificial ice) are cumbersome and heavy to carry. Thermos flasks are light but cumbersome, too. Therefore portable coolers and thermos flasks are only used when users carry both drinks and foodstuffs, thus accepting all the inconvenience related to their weight and dimensions.
But people often wish to have just one cool drink or some food kept in a small box or bowl (e.g. yoghurt, ice-cream, a sandwich etc.) within their reach, in which case they do not carry any of the above-mentioned cooling systems because of their inconveniences. Therefore, food and drinks become warm and unappetising after a short period of time, especially if they are in the sun.
Several solutions have been developed to solve this problem. For example the US Patent N. 4,211,091 describes a flexible insulated lunch bag adapted for transportation and storage of food but not specific for bottles. The fastening of the bag is obtained by tape fastener. Nevertheless, to perfectly close the bag, the bottle must be totally inside the bag itself. Indeed, users need to open and close the bag every time they want to drink, which is uncomfortable and increases heat exchange between the inside and the outside. Besides that, the claimed bag requires a flexible carrying strap which allows to carry the bag both full and empty. This strap is fastened on the bag by a detachable bond which is vulnerable to dust and to sand, and it emplies higher production costs and manufacturing problems.
The US Patent N. 4,669,632 describes a bag as well, provided with two gas impermeable films but without the specific opening studied for the bottles.
Another solution consists in using specific bags for bottles, such as those described in U.S. Patents N. Des 403,926 and N. 5,890,809. However, these containers do not cover the bottle completely and reduce heat insulation. U.S. Patents N. Des 409,450 and N. 5,804,265 make reference to some other bags for bottles, which actually do cover bottles completely, but have no hole to drink directly from them. In this case as well, as described for the US Patent N. 4,211,091, users need to open and close the bag every time they want to drink with the consequent inflow of warm air and what it means.
U.S. Patent N. Des 392,025 gives a rather effective solution because the bag covers the bottle up to its neck, thus enabling users to open the stopper without opening the bag too. Unfortunately though, the bag is closed by a string and is therefore vulnerable to dust, sand and other unhygienic conditions implying higher manufacturing costs. It happens to be the same for the NL Patent N. 1001720 which describes a bag forming a bag according to the preamble of claim 1 with a string totally surrounding its open side with the above mentioned inconveniences.
Another known patent is the European Patent N. 0710608 which describes an insulated carrying container formed of multiwall flexible heat sealed plastic.
The two-ply carrying portion has a pair of attachment flaps, each of which has a central aperture and which is separated from the handle portion by a cut. The attachment flaps are sequentially folded over the mounth of the bottle. But the two attachment flaps have such shape and size that they do not allow the complete covering of the bottle. On the contrary, two hollows on the longer sides of the bag let the warm air flow in, producing two air spaces which warm up the sides of the bottle over all it's lenght. Furthermore, the constant presence of the carrying handle is an obstacle while drinking.

Summary of the invention

This invention aims at providing users with a new isothermal bag, which can keep food or drink temperature even and does not have the same inconvenience as the above-mentioned cooling systems.
These goals are achieved by this flexible, isothermal and pocket-size bag according to appended claim 1. It is made by folding a rectangular foil in two which is then fixed by two sides joined by welding or any other method. The final product is a bag with just one opening on the shorter side. The opening is delimited by two flaps each of which has a hole that is approximately the same size as a bottle neck. The holes are located near the edges of the open shorter side. The edges of each hole may be elasticised or reinforced by welding or rings made up of different materials. The two holes are approximately coaxial.
The bag is approximately the same size as a bottle, so that the bag can perfectly wrap it up.
The foil is made up of three different layers of soft and flexible synthetic materials which are specifically used for foodstuffs. The external layer is reflective, the intermediate one has thermal-insulation characteristics and the internal one is waterproof and/or reflective. The foil may also be made up of four layers, in which case the external layer is reflective, the two intermediate ones have thermal-insulation characteristics, whereas the internal one is waterproof and/or reflective. It is also possible to use a foil with one single layer featuring thermal-insulation, waterproof and reflective characteristics.
The isothermal bag may have round corners and its bottom may be folded.
An elastic band, a string or a ribbon may be fixed outside the bag, which may be rolled up or folded up before or after being used so as to become compact and pocket-sized. The elastic band, the string or the ribbon keep the bag rolled or folded and prevent it from spreading out again.
An altemative solution is given by a further hole on the closed shorter side, which is approximately the same size as a bottle neck, too.
In this case, between the bottom of the bottle and the above-mentioned holes a closing device such a minigrip can be provided.
The two holes act as handle to carry the bottle.
The bag can also be made by joining two rectangular foils, which are fixed together along three sides, that is the two longer sides and the shorter one.
This isothermal bag has many of the advantages offered by other cooling systems but does not have their drawbacks. Indeed, it is handy and very light, it may be used again, it is hard to break, easy to carry and user-friendly.
It is a pocket-size bag and can therefore be put away very easily and with very little encumbrance.
Its weight is extremely low as the materials used are very light. However, although the materials are very light they are extremely resistant, so resistant that the bag can be used several times. On the other hand, the bag is very cheap and users can throw it away after using it just one single time.
The holes on the bag may also be used as a handle so that users can easily carry the bottle by holding it with one finger.
Unlike usual thermal bags, this one wraps up bottles completely thus increasing heat insulation. Its holes enable users to drink straight from the bottle without opening and closing the bag every time they want to drink, thus reducing heat exchange between the inside and the outside. Its closing device is easy, functional and hygienic at the same time.
One of the main advantages of this bag lies in its hygienic characteristics.
Indeed, it is made up of waterproof materials which are specifically used for food and drinks. Condensation (which is produced when cold bottles get in contact with warm air) is pretty much reduced by this invention, so that the bag can avoid unhygienic mixing between condensation and the materials (such as sand, seaweed, red earth, dust etc.) located on the surface where the bottle is placed. This way, users can avoid dirtying their hands or the container where the isothermal bag is placed, such as handbags, belt bags, rucksacks etc. Moreover, the bag can easily be washed as it is made up of waterproof materials.

Brief Description of Drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be clarified in the description of some particular kind of embodiments of the above mentioned bag, which are preferable but not compulsory and are given for explanatory purposes only in the enclosed drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows a frontal view of the bag manufactured according to a first embodiment;
figure 2 shows a frontal view of the bag when the first flap wraps up the neck and the upper part of the bottle;
figure 3 shows a frontal view of the bag when both flaps wrap up the neck and the upper part of the bottle;
figure 4 shows a perspective view of the bag when it is rolled up;
figure 5 shows a frontal view of the bag manufactured according to a second embodiment;
figure 6 shows a frontal view of the bag manufactured according to a second embodiment with a minigrip.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

The isothermal bag 1 manufactured according to a first embodiment is made by folding a rectangular foil in two along the shorter side, which is then joined by welding the two longer sides. The final product is a bag with just one opening on the second shorter side. The opening is delimited by two flaps 2, 3. Each flap 2, 3 has a hole 2.1, 3.1 whose size is approximately the same size as a neck of a bottle 4. The holes 2.1, 3.1 are located near the edges 2.2, 3.2 of the open shorter side.
The dimensions of the bag 1 are approximately the same as those of the bottle 4.
The rectangular foil is made up of three different layers of soft and flexible synthetic materials which are specifically used for foodstuffs, such as PET.
The external layer is reflective, the intermediate one has thermal-insulation characteristics and the internal one is waterproof and/or reflective.
If the temperature of a bottle 4 of cold water 4 is to be kept even as long as possible, even in the sun, the bottle is inserted into the isothermal bag 1.
Thanks to its size, the bag 1 is like a case, perfectly and completely wrapping up the bottle 4.
The hole 2.1 of the first flap 2 has to coincide with the end of the neck of the bottle 4. The neck of the bottle 4 is put inside the hole 2.1. Then the flap 2 is folded until it completely covers the upper part of the bottle 4. Now, the hole 3.1 of the second flap 3 has to coincide with the end of the neck of the bottle 4. The neck of the bottle 4 is put inside the second hole 3.1, too. Then the second flap 3 is folded until it completely covers the first flap 2. Consequently, the upper part of the bottle 4 is completely covered by the bag 1 and it still is possible to drink from it without opening the flaps 2, 3 again as the bottle neck comes out of the two holes 2.1, 3.1.
The two flaps 2, 3 cannot be lifted as the edges of the two holes 2.1, 3.1 are stuck on the neck of the bottle 4.
The isothermal bag 1 manufactured according to a second embodiment also has a closed shorter side with a further hole 5, which is approximately the same size as the neck of the bottle 4. In that case, the bottle 4 is to be inserted into the bag 1 and its neck is to pass through the hole 5. The two holes 2.1, 3.1 serve as handles to carry the bag 1 and the bottle 4 inside it.
In that case, the open shorter side can be provided with a closing device such as a minigrip 6 located between the bottom of the bottle 4 and the two holes 2.1, 3.1.
The bag 1 is made up of very light materials so that users do not feel its weight while carrying the bottle 4. However, the characteristics of its materials allow to keep the temperature of the liquid inside the bottle 4 even in extremely hygienic conditions.
Once the bag 1 has been used, it can be rolled up so that it becomes compact and pocket-size. The string 8 prevents the bag 1 from spreading out again.

Claims

Isothermal bag for bottles and foodstuffs having approximately the same size as a bottle (4); the bag (1) is made up of a soft and flexible rectangular foil; the bag (1) has just one opening on the shorter side for inserting a bottle; said bag (1) is made by folding the above-mentioned rectangular foil in two, which is then fixed by two sides joined by welding or any other method, or is made by joining two rectangular foils, which are fixed together along three sides, that is the two longer sides and the shorter one; said bag (1) is characterised by the fact that it has two holes (2.1, 3.1) that are approximately the same size as a neck of a bottle (4); these holes (2.1, 3.1) are approximately coaxial and the neck of the bottle (4) goes through them when the bag (1) is used; said holes (2.1, 3.1) are located near the edges (2.2, 3.2) of the opening of the shorter side; said edges (2.2, 3.2) and the longer sides delimit two rectangular areas near said opening; in said areas are located said holes (2.1, 3.1); said rectangular areas act as two flaps (2, 3); when the neck of the bottle (4) goes through said holes (2.1, 3.1) the said areas (2, 3) are folded and completely cover the upper part of the bottle (4); the holes (2.1, 3.1) act both to close the bag (1) and to carry the bottle (4); the flaps (2, 3) act both as cover and as handle: when just one hole (2.1, 3.1) is positioned over the neck of the bottle (4) the bottle (4) is already completely covered and the other hole (2.1, 3.1) acts as a handle; the edges of each hole (2.1, 3.1) are reinfoced by welding; the above-mentioned foil is made up with one or more layers of synthetic materials which are specifically used for foodstuffs with thermal-insulation, reflective and waterproof characteristics keeping the temperature inside the bag (1) quite even an elastic band (8) closes the bag (1) after rolling it up or folding it up.
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 1, characterised by the composition of the flexible foil, which is made up of three layers of different materials; the external layer is reflective, the intermediate one has thermal-insulation characteristics and the internal one is waterproof and/or reflective.
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 1, characterised by the composition of the flexible foil, which is made up of four layers; the external layer is reflective, the two intermediate ones have thermal-insulation characteristics, whereas the internal one is waterproof and/or reflective
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 1, characterised by the composition of the flexible foil, which is made up of one single layer with thermal-insulation, reflective and waterproof characteristics.
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the elastic band (8) is not fixed onto the bag (1).
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 1, characterised by a hole (5) having the same size as a neck of a bottle (4), located on the closed shorter side, with two holes (2.1, 3.1) near the edges (2.2, 3.2) of the open shorter side.
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 1, characterised by a further hole (5) located on the edge of the closed shorter side and whose dimensions are approximately the same as the neck of a bottle (4).
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 7, characterised by the further hole (5) located on the edge of the closed shorter side and a closing device such as a minigrip (6) located between the bottom of the bottle (4) and the two holes (2.1, 3.1); said two holes (2.1, 3.1) act as handle to carry the bottle (4).
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 1, characterised by round corners and whose bottom may be folded.
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the edges of each hole (2.1, 3.1) are elasticised.
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the edges of each hole (2.1, 3.1) are reinforced by rings made up of different materials.
Isothermal pocket bag, according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that a string is fixed outside the isothermal bag (1) to close it after rolling it up or folding it up.