GB2398376A

GB2398376A - Thermally insulated container

Info

Publication number: GB2398376A
Application number: GB0303190A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Parsons
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-02-12
Filing date: 2003-02-12
Publication date: 2004-08-18
Also published as: GB0303190D0

Abstract

An insulated container (1) comprises an insulated closable container part (2) and at least one insulated wraparound component (3), wherein items requiring storage at different optimal temperatures may be stored in the closable container part (2) and at least partly covered by the insulated wraparound component (3), thereby maintaining the items at their optimal temperature. The wraparound component (3) may be made of metal-coated flexible thin plastics sheeting (7), enclosing insulating material, eg fibre glass filler (8),

Description

Insulated Container The present invention relates to an improved container

for storing items and maintaining them at their optimal temperature. The present invention iS particularly, but not exclusively, suited to keeping consumables such as items of food and/or drink cool. Such a container is commonly referred to as a "cool bag" or"cool box." Oftentimes, it is necessary to transfer items of food and/or drink from one lo place to another, but to maintain them at their optimal temperature in the meantime. For example, if ice cream is to be taken on a picnic or transported from the supermarket to a freezer compartment at home, it is likely to defrost and thereby deteriorate or spoil, before it can be eaten at the picnic or placed in the freezer compartment. Similarly, chilled fruit juice s does not generally stay chilled if it is kept out of the refrigerator for any length of time. As a result, if fruit juice is taken on a picnic, it may not be served at its optimal temperature. Use of a cooling container for preventing deterioration or spoiling of food and/or drink items during transportation has greatly increased over recent years. Conventional cooling containers so employ some form of sealable insulated container in which the items, along with some form of cooling means, for example an ice block, may be stored.

One well known cooling container is an insulated bag containing at least one ice block. The bag is sealable by means of a zip, for example. - 2

Alternatively, the container may be more robust, and instead be in the form of a hard insulated box having a tight fitting insulated lid. To keep the items of food and/or drink cool, they are placed inside the container adjacent the ice block, and then the container is temporarily sealed by means of the zip or lid, whichever is appropriate. In this way, the ice block maintains the air inside the container at a temperature lower than the ambient temperature, and the items are thereby kept cool for a time.

Although conventional cooling containers such as that described above lo provide a relatively convenient way of keeping items of food and drink cool, the ice blocks inside the container often cause condensation of the water vapour in the air inside the container. As a result, water may pool in the bottom of the container, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the container as a cooling means. Furthermore, the ice blocks gradually defrost over time and the effectiveness of the cooling means is reduced as the temperature of the air inside the container gradually returns to ambient temperature. Further still, in conventional cooling containers, various different types of food requiring chilling is stored in the same container. For example, when a picnic is being prepared, items of food such as ice cream, no fruit juice and yoghurt are all placed inside the same container to be kept cool. However, the ideal serving temperature for ice cream is significantly different from that of fruit juice and yoghurt for example. Eventually, all of the items in the container will reach the same temperature, which may not - 3 be the optimal serving temperature for any of the items being stored in the container.

United Kingdom Patent Application Publication No. 2 367 610 describes a "cool box" comprising an insulated container having mesh pockets on the interior thereof. The mesh pockets carry freezer gel packs, which keep the air inside the container cool for several hours. In order to alleviate the problems caused by condensation, the gel packs are covered with an absorbent material to absorb any condensate produced when the gel packs lo condense water vapour in the air.

Although United Kingdom Patent Publication No. 2 367 610 alleviates the disadvantages caused by the formation of condensate within the cool box, items within the cool box may still undesirably become wet if they come into contact with the absorbent material, which may become saturated with water through time.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a means of maintaining food and/or drink items at their optimal temperature, which overcomes or at least no alleviates the above mentioned problems, and which provides an improved container for maintaining food and/or drink items at their optimal temperature in comparison to the cooling containers described above. - 4

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an insulated container comprising an insulated closable container part and at least one insulated wraparound component, wherein items requiring storage at different optimal temperatures may be stored in the closable container part and at least partly covered by the insulated wraparound component, thereby maintaining the items at their optimal temperature.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an insulated wraparound component comprising a flexible metallised outer lo cover enclosing an insulating material, the wraparound component being intended for at least partly covering and thereby insulating an item to be maintained at a certain temperature or range of temperatures.

It is preferable that the insulated closable container part comprises a Is collapsible insulated bag having a closable lid. Alternatively, the insulated closable container part comprises a substantially robust box having an insulated substantially robust lid. The insulated container may be of any suitable shape, however, it is preferably of a shape which is conducive to reduction in heat absorption (the smaller the surface area of so a body in relation to its mass, the slower the absorption of heat). For example, the edges of the container may be rounded, resulting in a cylindrical or near cylindrical shaped container. - 5

It is preferred that the insulated container comprises an insulated rigid shelf having a shape and surface area substantially similar to that of the interior of the insulated closable container part. Such an insulated rigid shelf would be particularly suited to the substantially robust box and lid configuration of the insulated container, however, it is also envisaged that such a shelf could be used in conjunction with the insulated bag version of the container. It is preferable but by no means essential that at least one wraparound component is attached to the underside of the insulated rigid shelf. This serves to reduce the number of separate parts included in the lo insulated container, which otherwise may be misplaced or lost. Such a shelf-wraparound component configuration also serves to make the wraparound components easier to control when being placed in situ against the items stored in the container.

It is preferred that the insulated container further includes at least one shaped bag, which is made from, for example, flexible plastic such as polythene. It is intended that such a bag would be placed on top of the rigid shelf or wrapped consumables, and used to store items of litter. More preferably still, the shaped bag is of a size and shape such that it so corresponds to the size and shape of part of the interior of the insulated container.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of - 6 example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front sectional view of a first embodiment of an insulated container in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view in section of a first embodiment of an insulated container in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of a wraparound component in lo accordance with the present invention; Figure 4 is a front sectional view of a second embodiment of an insulated container in accordance with the present invention; and Is Figure 5 is a top plan view in section of a second embodiment of an insulated container in accordance with the present invention.

The insulated container is illustrated generally by reference numeral 1.

so With reference to Figures 1 and 2 in particular, the insulated container 1 comprises an insulated container part in the form of an insulated bag 2 having an insulated storage compartment 10 and an insulated lid 11 closable by means of a zip 6. The container 1 is of a cylindrical shape. - 7

The insulated cooling container 1 also includes at least one insulating wraparound component 3 for use inside the storage compartment as will be described later. The insulated bag 2 may be of a standard type, being made from an insulating material 4 such as fibre glass, covered in a washable fabric 5. Optionally, to improve the insulating properties of the insulated bag 2, the exterior of the bag 2 may be covered in a shiny metallised fabric 12. As can be seen from Figure 3 in particular, the insulated wraparound component 3 is made from metal-coated flexible thin plastic sheeting 7, commonly referred to as a "Space Blanket," _ enclosing lo a suitable form of insulating material, for example fibre glass filler 8. The wraparound component 3 is of a size and flexibility sufficient to mould to the shape of, and surround one or more items of food and/or drink when they are placed in the insulated bag 2. This serves to separate items having different optimal temperatures from each other, and also reduces s the air in contact with the items. Such air contact would result in the temperature of the items stored in the container increasing above that which is optimal. The wraparound component 3 may be of a varying size and shape, depending upon the size of the cooling container 1 with which it is to be used. For example, the wraparound component 3 may be of a so rectangular elongated "pillow" formation. Furthermore, different sizes of wraparound component 3 may be used within a cooling container 1 depending upon the size of the items around which it is to be wrapped. As items are removed from the containers, the space vacated is normally filled - 8 by warm air from the outside. This air is prevented from coming into contact with the remaining items by the wraparound components 3. In this way, variable volume compartments are formed. As items are consumed, the volume of the compartments diminish, and no blanket of air is formed s around the items, which would otherwise cause the temperature of the items to increase to a temperature above that which is optimal. The wraparound components 3 restrict the outside air from filling the space as the items are consumed.

lo To further prevent warming of the items to be kept at their optimal temperature, as items are removed from the container 1 the remaining items having similar optimum temperature are urged towards each other, further reducing the air contacting the items themselves.

The cooling container 1 also comprises an insulated shelf 9 having a similar shape and surface area as the interior of the insulated bag 2. The insulated shelf 9 is made from a suitably light, insulating material, such as foam or fibre glass. One or more wraparound components 3 may optionally be attached to the underside of the insulated shelf 9. Such so attachment serves to make the wraparound components 3 easier to manipulate, and reduces the number of loose parts in the cooling container - 9 - The insulated container 1 facilitates the storage of various types of items of food and/or drink at different temperatures. For example, ice cream may be stored in the container 1 and maintained at its optimal temperature. At the same time, fruit juice can be stored in the same container 1 and kept at its optimal temperature, which is of course higher than the optimal temperature of ice cream.

When food is to be transported from one place to the next, items 13 having similar optimal storage temperatures, for example, fruit juice and yoghurt, lo are placed inside the storage compartment 10 of the insulated bag 2. A first wraparound component 3a is then wrapped around the items such that the items are substantially surrounded by the component 3a, in order to compartmentalize the items 13 from the rest of the interior of the storage compartment 10. It is not always imperative to completely surround the items to maintain them at their optimal temperature. Wrapping the component 3 partly around the item may suffice. Other items 14 having a different optimal storage temperature, for example ice cream, are then placed next to the items 13, but are separated therefrom by the first wraparound component 3a. A second wraparound component 3b is then so wrapped around the lower temperature items 14 in a similar manner to compartmentalize the items 14 from the rest of the storage compartment 10 of the insulated bag 2. As further items are placed in the storage compartment 10, further wraparound components 3 are wrapped around the items as described above and urged around the items, to substantially reduce air in contact with the items. Once the container 1 has been loaded with items to be kept cool, and the items have been compartmentalized using the insulated wraparound components 3, then the insulated shelf 9 is placed inside the storage compartment and pressed down onto the food and/or drink items and the wraparound components 3. The addition of the shelf 9 in this way further substantially removes the air from the space around the items of food and/or drink, and thereby further improves insulating effects. Items of food and/or drink 15 which do not require lo cooling, such as bread rolls, crisps, etc. may be stored on the insulated shelf 9 in the space 16 between the shelf 9 and the insulated lid 11 of the container. Such storage of food items serves to further push the wraparound components 3 against the food and/or drink items being kept cool, thereby reducing air contact. As the food in the container 1 is used Up, the empty packaging may then be placed on the shelf 9, to be disposed of at the appropriate time. This is facilitated by the inclusion of a shaped bag 24, inside of which litter may be placed. The bag 24 may be then returned to the container 1 atop the shelf 9, for storage until a user may properly dispose of it. Such storage of litter, as well as being go environmentally friendly, serves to reduce outside air (which would otherwise warm the contents of the container) from entering the container as the items are removed for consumption from the container. Accordingly, the items are maintained at their optimal temperature. - 11

It is to be understood that it is not imperative for the container to be used to maintain items having different optional temperatures at their optimal temperature. The container 1 may also be loaded with items having similar optimal temperatures.

The embodiment of the container 1 illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 is similar to that shown in Figure 1 except that the container 1 includes a substantially robust container part in the form of an insulated box 19, as lo opposed to an insulated bag. The box 19 comprises a storage part 20, and an insulated lid 21. The storage part 20 of the box 19 is made from an insulating material such as fibre glass, within a hard plastics shell. The box 19 includes two compartments 22 and 23, inside of which items of food and/or drink may be stored. As can be seen from Figure 5 in particular, the first compartment 22 is of a rectangular shape in section and the second compartment 23 is of a circular shape in section. It is the intention of the inventor that the first rectangular compartment 22 be used to store frozen foods such as ice cream (which are often themselves rectangular in shape), and the second circular compartment 23 be used to store so refrigerated foods. Items of food and/or drink having different optimal temperatures may be stored within the same compartment, and kept at their optimal temperature, by using insulated wraparound components 3 and an insulated shelf 9 in a similar manner to that described with - 12 reference to Figure 1.

The containers described above are simple in design, and by the action of the insulated wraparound component, provide a highly efficient means for maintaining different types of food and/or drink items at their optimal temperature. A noteworthy advantage of the container described herein is that it does not require the use of any cooling means, for example, an ice block, to maintain the food and/or drink items at their optimal temperature.

Further, air contacting the items of food and/or drink is substantially lo reduced. Accordingly, condensation within the insulated bag is significantly reduced. Further still, items having different optimal temperatures may be stored within the same container and separately kept at their optimal temperature. For example, frozen foods, refrigerated foods, and foods which do not require chilling can all be comfortably stored in the same Is container, and each one maintained at its optimal temperature for longer periods than is available using conventional bags of this type. As the contents of the container are consumed, or removed for any other reason, the contact between the items and the surrounding air inside the container is minimised, on account of a user pressing the wraparound components so down to fill any spaces around the remaining items in the insulated bag, and then placing the insulated shelf over the items.

Although reference is made herein to keeping food and/or drink items cool, - 13 it is to be understood that the container may also be used to keep food and/or drink items hot.

Further and alternative features of the cooling container are envisaged s without departing from the scope of the present invention as claimed. \ -

Claims

Claims 1. An insulated container comprising an insulated closable

container part and at least one insulated wraparound component, wherein items requiring storage at different optimal temperatures may be stored in the closable container part and at least partly covered by the insulated wraparound component, thereby maintaining the items at their optimal temperature.
2. An insulated container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insulated closable container part comprises a collapsible insulated bag having a closable lid.
3. An insulated container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insulated closable container part comprises a substantially robust box having an insulated substantially robust lid.
4. An insulated container as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 having a shape which is conducive to reduction in heat absorption.
5. An insulated container as claimed in claim 4, wherein the edges of the container are rounded, resulting in a cylindrical or near cylindrical shaped container.
6. An insulated container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an insulated rigid shelf having a shape and surface area substantially similar to that of the interior of the insulated closable container part.
7. An insulated container as claimed in claim 6 wherein at least one wraparound component is attached to the underside of the insulated rigid shelf. 1 5
8. An insulated container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, further including at least one shaped bag, for the storage of litter.
9. An insulated container as claimed in claim 8, wherein the shaped bag is made from flexible plastic.
10. An insulated container as claimed in claim 8 or 9 wherein the shaped bag is of a size and shape such that it corresponds to the size and shape of part of the interior of the insulated container.
11. An insulated wraparound component comprising a flexible metallised outer cover enclosing an insulating material, the wraparound component being intended for at least partly covering and thereby insulating an item to be maintained at a certain temperature or range of temperatures.
12. An insulated container comprising an insulated wraparound component as claimed in claim 11.
13. An insulated container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
14. An insulated container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.
15. An insulated wraparound component substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.