INFLATABLE CONTAINER
An inflatable and deflatable cooler for holding articles such as ice, beverages and food items comprises an inflatable portion having inflatable vertically extending sidewalls and an inflatable bottom portion, the sidewalls and bottom portion being in pneumatic communication. The inflatable vertically extending sidewalls have upper edges that are fixedly connected to a rigid upper frame, and the inflatable bottom portion is connected to a rigid lower frame. The rigid upper frame includes a top surface and side surfaces extending down from the top surface forming a first cavity in the rigid upper frame. The rigid lower frame includes a bottom surface and side surfaces extending up from the bottom surface forming a second cavity in the rigid lower frame. An opening in the top surface provides access to the inflatable cooler when inflated. The side surfaces of the rigid upper frame abut the side surfaces of the rigid lower frame when the inflatable container is deflated, and the deflated sidewalls and deflated bottom portion become nested in the larger cavity formed by the first and second cavities. The inflatable container comprises air chambers disposed between two flexible panels, with flexible ribs extending between the panels to provide strength and integrity to the air chambers.
Generally, the present invention relates to inflatable and deflatable coolers or containers to enclose items such as beverages, food and coolants, such as ice. More particularly, the present invention relates to an inflatable and deflatable cooler that incorporates flexible and collapsible sidewalls attached to rigid upper and lower frames, the frames configured to provide a storage cavity for the flexible sidewalls when the cooler is deflated and the sidewalls collapse. The deflated cooler can then be readily transported or stored.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONInflatable and deflatable coolers and containers of various configurations are known in the art. These coolers are constructed to hold beverages and/or food items over a bed of ice so that the beverages are cool enough to drink when removed from the container, and the food in the container is kept fresh by the ice. Many such coolers available today are made of solid materials, such as PVC, foam, or the like, and are bulky when stored or transported prior to and after use. Several variants of inflatable coolers have been developed to allow the cooler to be deflated when not in use. However, none of the coolers represented in the prior art provide a rigid, integral storage and/or transport apparatus that captures the deflated cooler in a cavity of a rigid enclosure.
Additionally, the prior art does not disclose inflatable coolers having air chambers formed by opposing panels of materials such as PVC or the like, with flexible ribs extending between the panels to add strength to the side and/or bottom walls of the cooler when inflated, thus preventing ballooning of the sidewall or bottom air chambers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,608,880 discloses an inflatable display or advertising cooler having a rigid cover and a rigid base. However, this patent does not suggest that the rigid elements could be configured to provide an integral transport and/or storage apparatus when the flexible portions are deflated. Nor does this patent suggest the use of ribs in the air chamber of an inflated cooler to provide strength and integrity to the walls and bottom of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,852 discloses an inflatable collapsible box that has no components to provide a rigid transport and/or storage enclosure for the flexible container elements when deflated. Nor does this patent teach or suggest ribs in the air chambers to provide strength and integrity to the sidewalls and bottom of the box.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,390 also discloses an inflatable container, such as a bait bag, that lacks a rigid upper and rigid lower frame for forming a rigid container for the flexible elements of the container when deflated. Nor does this reference disclose an air chamber forming a wall in an inflatable container, wherein rib elements in the chamber provide strength and integrity to the sidewalls and bottom of the container.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable cooler or container that comprises integral rigid upper and lower elements that abut each other when the container is deflated to provide a storage enclosure for the flexible elements of the container.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable cooler incorporating flexible panels forming air chambers as structural elements when inflated, including ribs of a predetermined length extending between opposed panels in the air chambers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn inflatable and deflatable cooler for holding articles such as ice, beverages and food items comprises an inflatable portion having inflatable vertically extending sidewalls and an inflatable bottom portion, the sidewalls and bottom portion being in pneumatic communication. The inflatable vertically extending sidewalls have upper edges that are fixedly connected to a rigid upper frame, and the inflatable bottom portion is connected to a rigid lower frame. The rigid upper frame includes a top surface and side surfaces extending down from the top surface forming a first cavity in the rigid upper frame. The rigid lower frame includes a bottom surface and side surfaces extending up from the bottom surface forming a second cavity in the rigid lower frame. An opening in the top surface provides access to the inflatable cooler when inflated. The side surfaces of the rigid upper frame abut the side surfaces of the rigid lower frame when the inflatable container is deflated, and the deflated sidewalls and deflated bottom portion become nested in the larger cavity formed by the first and second cavities. The inflatable container comprises air chambers disposed between two flexible panels, with flexible ribs extending between the panels to provide strength and integrity to the air chambers.
The bottom 22 (
As seen in
The present invention includes an integral top and bottom structure that provides a compact, rigid and convenient storage and transport enclosure for the flexible container 10 when deflated and not in use. To this end, a rigid upper frame 32 (
Upper frame 32 includes an opening 34 extending therethrough to provide access to the compartment 11 inside of container 10. As seen in
As stated previously, the upper frame 32 includes an opening 34. A lid or cover 44 is pivotally attached to one of the inner flanges 40 of upper frame 32 by a pivotal connection shown at 46 (
The bottom structure of inflatable cooler 10 comprises a lower frame 50 disposed directly beneath and supporting lower panel 26 of the air chamber 28 (
In the illustrated embodiment, a pair of handles 56 (
To inflate the air chambers 20, 28 of cooler 10, nozzle 60 is attached to a source of pressurized air as is known in the art, and the pressurized air is introduced into air chambers 20, 28, thus inflating the cooler 10 into the shape shown in
If desired, a drain hose (not shown) extending from the bottom 22 of compartment 11 to the outside of lower frame 50 may be provided to remove water or other liquids that may accumulate in cooler 10 during use.
In an embodiment, the cooler 10 of the present invention includes a collapsible reinforcing retainer generally designated by the numeral 64 (
Extending between rims 66 and 68 are a plurality of substantially identical bendable two-part collapsible struts or stiffening elements 70, each having a central pivotable and releasable locking mechanism 72 that is known to those skilled in the art. As an example, a typical locking mechanism 72 will automatically lock the upper and lower parts of stiffening elements 70 as shown in
It is clear that when reinforcing retainer 64 is inserted into compartment 11 of cooler 10, and the retainer is moved to its position shown in
To begin use of the cooler 10, a source of air pressure is applied to nozzle 60 (
After the cooler 10 has been utilized, the present invention provides a novel enclosure for storage and transportation of the container 10. After removal of all beverages, food and coolant items from compartment 11, nozzle 60 is manipulated to release all of the air from air chambers 20, 28. As the removal of air continues, upper frame 32 moves lower as flexible sidewalls 12 collapse, until the lower lip 74 of outer flange 38 of the upper frame 32 abuts upper lip 76 of flange 54 of lower frame 50, as illustrated in
In the embodiment wherein reinforcing retainer 64 is inserted into or in place in compartment 11 during use of the inflated container, as air is removed from air chambers 20, 28, finger pressure is applied to the outer side of locking mechanism 72 (
Once upper frame 32 contacts lower frame 50 as seen in
The foregoing description of an illustrated embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. The description was selected to best explain the principles of the invention and practical application of these principals to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by the specification, but be defined by the claims set forth below.
Claims
1. An inflatable and deflatable cooler for holding articles comprising:
- an inflatable portion having inflatable vertically extending sidewalls and an inflatable bottom portion, the sidewalls and bottom portion being in pneumatic communication;
- the inflatable vertically extending sidewalls having upper edges, the upper edges fixedly connected to a rigid upper frame;
- the inflatable bottom portion fixedly connected to a rigid lower frame;
- the rigid upper frame including a top surface and side surfaces extending downwardly from said top surface forming a first cavity in said rigid upper frame;
- the rigid lower frame including a bottom surface and side surfaces extending upwardly from said bottom surface forming a second cavity in said rigid lower frame;
- an opening in said top surface providing access to said inflatable cooler when inflated;
- said side surfaces of said rigid upper frame abutting the side surfaces of said rigid lower frame when the inflatable container is deflated, said deflated sidewalls and deflated bottom portion nested in said first and second cavities.
2. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 1 wherein said top surface comprises a lid pivotally hinged to said top surface adjacent said opening, said lid moveable between a first position closing said opening and a second position providing access through said opening.
3. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 1 including an air nozzle attached to and in pneumatic communication with one of said inflatable vertically extending sidewalls and said bottom portion, said air nozzle selectively providing air passage into and from said sidewalls and said bottom portion.
4. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 1 wherein said bottom portion comprises at least two adjacent panels forming an air chamber in said bottom portion, and ribs of a predetermined dimension flexibly extending between and attached to said at least two panels comprising said bottom portion, said ribs allowing the passage of air between said ribs.
5. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 4 wherein at least one of said inflatable vertically extending sidewalls comprises at least two adjacent panels forming an air chamber in said at least one of said sidewalls, and ribs of a predetermined dimension flexibly extending between and attached to said at least two panels comprising said at least one of said inflatable vertically extending sidewalls, said ribs allowing the passage of air between said ribs.
6. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 1 wherein said rigid upper frame comprises a first latch mechanism attached to an outer surface of said rigid upper frame, and said rigid lower frame comprises a corresponding second latch mechanism attached to an outer surface of said rigid lower frame, said second latch mechanism receiving said first latch mechanism when said inflatable container is deflated and said side surfaces of said rigid upper frame abut the side surfaces of the rigid lower frame, said first and second latch mechanisms releasably securing said rigid upper frame and rigid lower frame together to provide a rigid enclosure for transport and storage of the inflatable and deflatable cooler.
7. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 1 wherein said rigid upper frame includes at least two handles attached to the frame, said handles enabling manual transport of the cooler when the cooler contains items.
8. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 1 including a collapsible retaining structure disposed in said cooler, said retaining structure extending adjacent upper and lower portions of said inflatable vertically extending sidewalls.
9. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 8 wherein said retaining structure comprises a first upper rim extending in the shape of the upper portion of said inflatable vertically extending sidewalls, a second lower rim extending in the shape of the lower portion of said inflatable vertically extending sidewalls, said first upper rim and said second lower rim connected by at least one collapsible strut enabling said first upper rim and second lower rim to come together and be nested in said first and second cavities when said container is deflated.
10. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 9 wherein said at least one collapsible strut includes two stiffening elements, each stiffening element rotatably connected to one of said first upper rim and said second lower rim.
11. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 10 wherein each of the two stiffening elements forming the at least one collapsible strut are pivotally connected at a location midway between the distance between the upper rim and the lower rim.
12. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 11 wherein each of the two stiffening elements forming the at least one collapsible strut are releasably locked in a liner configuration when the cooler is fully inflated.
13. An inflatable and deflatable cooler for holding articles comprising:
- an inflatable portion having inflatable vertically extending sidewalls and an inflatable bottom portion, the sidewalls and bottom portion being in pneumatic communication;
- at least one of said sidewalls and said bottom portion comprising at least two adjacent panels forming an air chamber in said at least one of said sidewalls and said bottom portion; and ribs of a predetermined dimension flexibly extending between and attached to said at least two panels, said ribs allowing the passage of air between said ribs.
14. An inflatable and deflatable cooler for holding articles comprising:
- an inflatable portion having inflatable vertically extending sidewalls and an inflatable bottom portion, the sidewalls and bottom portion being in pneumatic communication;
- said sidewalls and said bottom portion forming a storage space to hold said articles, a collapsible retaining structure disposed in said storage space, said retaining structure extending adjacent upper and lower portions of said inflatable vertically extending sidewalls.
15. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 14 wherein said retaining structure comprises a first upper rim extending in the shape of the upper portion of said inflatable vertically extending sidewalls, a second lower rim extending in the shape of the lower portion of said inflatable vertically extending sidewalls, said first upper rim and said second lower rim connected by at least one collapsible strut enabling said first upper rim and second lower rim to come together and be nested in said first and second cavities when said container is deflated.
16. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 15 wherein said at least one collapsible strut includes two stiffening elements, each stiffening element rotatably connected to one of said first upper rim and said second lower rim.
17. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 16 wherein each of the two stiffening elements forming the at least one collapsible strut are pivotally connected at a location midway between the distance between the upper rim and the lower rim.
18. The inflatable and deflatable cooler of claim 17 wherein each of the two stiffening elements forming the at least one collapsible strut are releasably locked in a liner configuration when the cooler is fully inflated.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 17, 2006
Publication Date: Jan 17, 2008
Inventor: Junior Julian Hsu (Northbrook, IL)
Application Number: 11/457,900
International Classification: B65D 81/38 (20060101);