Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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CONTAINER WITH THERMAL STORAGE MEMBER
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of portable containers.
Backizround of the Invention
Insulated containers have become popular for carrying either articles that may
best be
served cool, such as beverages or salads, or warm, such as appetizers, and so
on. Often such
containers are used for carrying children's lunches as when at school. These
containers may
include substantially rigid tubs or bowls which may included sealable lids.
Often the tub is made
of a relatively rigid plastic, while the lid is made of a more pliable
plastic. Typically, the tub or
base container portion has a lip and the lid has a mating groove, the one
fitting the other, often in
an elastic interference fit such that when the two are mated together a seal
may be formed. The
seal may be (within reason) substantially watertight. Most classically
products of this nature
were introduced by, or made prominent in the market under the brand name
Tupperware(t.m.).
Soft-sided insulated containers have the advantage of being relatively light,
and so
therefore relatively easily carried, and relatively forgiving in terms of
imparting damage to the
objects placed within them. However, it may be desirable to obtain the
insulative benefit of a
soft-sided insulated container, in combination with a light weight, internal
substantially rigid
container that fits inside the outer soft-sided container, or that may provide
a stand alone
container having a substantially rigid body. Such containers are frequently
used to carry liquids,
whether hot liquids, such as soup containers, coffee or tea, or cold liquids
such as beer, soft
drinks, or other carbonated beverages, juices and milk, or objects that one
may wish to avoid
crushing. Sometimes these containers may by used to carry lunches, which may
include a
sandwich, fruit, carrot and celery sticks, a drink, cookies, and so on. The
soft-sided container
may have a compartment for the substantially rigid container, as well as other
compartments
with or without a substantially rigid member.
It may be desired that the container include a thermal storage member, be it
an ice pack,
or a member that, on shaking or other manipulation, is exothermic, and may
provide warming to
objects contained therewithin, or adjacent thereto. However, cooling packs (as
they most
normally may be) tend to present a number of convenience, use, and packaging
issues. The
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present inventor provides a thermal storage package for use in conjunction
with a container that
may tend to address these issues.
Summary of the Invention
In an aspect of the invention there is a container assembly. It includes a
base portion, a
lid portion, and an auxiliary container. The base portion has a generally
rectangular first wall
and a peripheral sidewall standing away therefrom. The peripheral sidewall has
four co-
operating generally four sided portions, the base wall and the sidewalls co-
operating to define an
open topped box-like tub. The peripheral sidewall has a peripheral lip
defining an opening of the
box-like tub. The lid portion includes a substantially planar spanning member.
The substantially
planar member has a first face for orientation, in use, toward the tub, a
second face for
orientation away from the tub, and a neutral plane. The lid portion has a
peripheral land facing
in the same orientation as the first face of the spanning member. The
peripheral land is matingly
engageable with the lip of the base portion. The lid is movable between an
open position in
which the land and the lip are disengaged, and a closed position in which the
land and the lip are
engaged. In the closed position the lid and the base portion defining an
enclosed chamber. The
auxiliary container has a hollow body, and a port by which liquids may be
introduced
therewithin, the port has a closure member. The auxiliary container has a
length, a breadth, and
a through-thickness. The length is at least as great as the breadth, and the
through-thickness is
less than one half of each of (a) the length and (b) the breadth. The
auxiliary container has a
surface for placement next to the spanning member. The lid has a seat for the
auxiliary
container. One of (a) the lid and (b) the auxiliary container, has at least
one guide; the other of
(a) the auxiliary container, and (b) the lid, has at least one guide follower,
the guide and guide
follower being co-operable to direct the auxiliary container into an engaged
position in the seat.
The lid is engageable with the lip by an engagement motion in a first
direction. The auxiliary
container is movable into engagement with the seat by motion in a second
direction. The
auxiliary container is constrained to move in the second direction by the at
least one guide and
guide follower. The second direction is substantially cross-wise to the first
direction; and, when
the auxiliary container is mounted in the seat engagement of the lip with the
peripheral land is
unobstructed by the auxiliary container, the at least one guide and the at
least one guide follower.
In a feature of that aspect of the invention, the auxiliary container has a
substantially
rectangular footprint, and includes first and second flange portions extending
outwardly from at
least two opposed edges of the rectangular footprint. The lid has first and
second opposed
mating flanges for sliding engagement with the first and second flange
portions of the auxiliary
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container, the flange portions and the flanges defining the at least one guide
and the at least one
guide follower. In another feature the auxiliary container has a phase change
thermal storage
medium contained therewithin. In still another feature the auxiliary container
has a first
substantially rectangular wall, a second substantially rectangular wall spaced
and parallel to the
first rectangular wall, and a peripheral wall extending between the first and
second substantially
rectangular walls. The first wall has first and second extending flange
portions standing proud of
the peripheral wall, the flange portions defining the at least one guide
follower. The lid includes
a set of cleats, the cleats defining the at least one guide member. The cleats
are mounted to stand
proud of the second face of the spanning portion of the lid. The cleats and
the flange portions is
co-operable in a sliding interference fit. In yet another feature the open-
topped box-like tub
includes a seat for receiving the auxiliary container therewithin, and, when
the auxiliary
container is received therein, the lid and lip are unobstructed. In a further
feature, the auxiliary
container, the lid portion, and the base portion all have generally
corresponding footprints.
In a still further feature, the apparatus includes a soft-sided insulated
container housing,
the housing including an accommodation of a close fitting size corresponding
to the auxiliary
container, the lid portion and the base portion as assembled, the soft-sided
insulated container
housing is made of a wall structure has an inner skin, an outer skin and a
layer of thermal
insulation therebetween. In a further additional feature, the soft-sided
insulated container
includes a first soft-sided insulated wall portion defining a first
compartment and a second soft-
sided insulated wall portion defining a second compartment. The first
compartment defines the
accommodation. The first compartment has a first closure member. The second
compartment is
mounted adjacent to the first compartment, and has a second closure member
governing access
thereto, the first and second compartments sharing, and is segregated by, a
common wall. In a
still yet further feature, the soft-sided insulated container includes a
lifting member, and, in use,
when hanging from the lifting member, the first compartment is located below
the second
compartment, and the second compartment narrows from a broad base to a narrow
top.
In another aspect of the invention there is a container assembly that includes
a first
member, a second member, and a third member. The first member is a
substantially rigid
container base portion, the base portion has a bottom and an upstanding
peripheral sidewall. The
upstanding peripheral sidewall has a margin defining a lip. The second member
is a
substantially planar lid co-operable with the container base portion. The lid
includes a
peripherally extending land matable with the lip. The lip and the land mate in
an elastic
interference fit defining a seal such that the lid is co-operable with the
container base portion.
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The third member is a substantially rigid hollow vessel. The third member has
an internal
volumetric envelope, a nominal enclosed surface and a first surface for
placement next to the
second member. The first surface has an hydraulic diameter has a magnitude
that is greater than
the cube root of the internal volume. The first surface has an area greater
than one sixth of the
nominal enclosed surface. The second member has a seat for receiving the third
member, and
when so seated, the first surface is next to the second member, the second and
third members
have between them a co-operable set of guides and guide followers by which the
second member
is moved between engaged and disengaged positions relative to the seat; and
the land is
unobstructed by (a) the seat; (b) the guides and (c) the guide followers.
In a feature of that aspect of the invention the container assembly further
includes a soft-
sided insulated container has a first accommodation sized to receive the
first, second and third
members as an assembled unit. In an additional feature, the soft-sided
insulated container has a
second accommodation defined therein. In a still further feature, the soft-
sided insulated
container has a first soft-sided insulated wall structure portion in the form
of a five-sided open
topped box defining the first accommodation. The second soft-sided insulated
wall structure
portion has a base, a pair of end walls, and a downwardly opening spanning
wall extending
between two end walls co-operably j oined to define the second accommodation
therewithin. The
base of the second soft-sided insulated wall structure portion defines a lid
of the first soft-sided
insulated wall structure portion. The soft-sided insulated wall structure
includes a first closure
member extending peripherally about at least a portion of the base of the
second soft-sided
insulated wall structure portion. The first closure member is operable to
govern opening and
closing of the base relative to the five-sided open-topped box structure,
thereby governing
entrance thereto. The base has an edge hingedly joined to the five-sided open-
topped insulated
box. The end walls have a downwardly broadening form that has a crest and a
base. The
spanning wall is bent to conform to the downwardly broadening form. The second
soft-sided
insulated wall structure portion includes a second closure member governing
access thereto. The
soft sided insulated container has a handle mounted at the crest, whereby,
when lifted by the
handle the first accommodation hangs below the second accommodation.
In another feature the lid mates with the lip by motion predominantly in
translation in a
first direction substantially normal to the lid; and the substantially rigid
hollow member mates
with the lid by motion in translation in a direction predominantly parallel to
the lid.
In another aspect of the invention, there is a container assembly that
includes a plastic
moulded tub has a peripheral lip defining a mouth of the tub; a plastic
moulded lid for the tub;
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and a moulded plastic flask. The lid has a closure fitting for mating with the
moulded tub. The
lid has guide fittings. The moulded plastic flask has guide followers for
sliding engagement with
the guide fittings of the lid; and when the moulded flask is mated to the lid
(a) the closure fitting
for mating with the tub is unobstructed by the guide fittings and guide
followers; and (b) the
guide fittings and guide followers are unobstructed by the closure fitting.
In a feature of that aspect of the invention, the closure fitting and the
moulded tub engage
by relative motion in a direction substantially normal to the lid, and the
flask and the lid engage
by motion in a direction substantially parallel to the lid. In another
feature, the lid has a first face
oriented to face into the tub, and the closure fitting is oriented in the same
direction; the lid has a
second face oriented to face away from the tub; and the guide fittings stand
proud of the second
face. In an alternate feature, the tub has at least one abutment fitting
defining a seat therein for
receiving the flask within the tub without obstructing securement of the lid
to the tub. In a
further alternate feature, the lid has guideway accommodations for the flask
both internally and
externally relative to the tub. In another alternate feature, the tub has a
base wall, and the base
wall has external fittings for mounting the flask in substantially planar
facing relationship thereto
outside the tub.
Brief Description of the Drawines
These and other aspects of the invention may be more readily understood with
the aid of
the illustrative Figures included herein below, showing of an example, or
examples, embodying
the various aspects of the invention, provided by way of illustration, but not
of limitation of the
present invention, and in which:
Figure 1 shows a isometric view from in front, to one side and above an
example of an
embodiment of a container assembly according to an aspect of the invention;
Figure 2 is an opposite isometric view of the container assembly of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a front view of the container assembly of Figure 1, the rear view
being
substantially the same but of opposite hand;
Figure 4 is a left hand end view of the container assembly of Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a right hand end view of the container assembly of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a top view of the container assembly of Figure 1;
Figure 7 is a bottom view of the container assembly of Figure 1;
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Figure 8 is a front view of the base portion and lid of the container assembly
of Figure 1
in an open condition, the front view being the same as the rear view, but of
opposite hand;
Figure 9 shows a right hand end view of the base portion and lid of Figure 8;
Figure 10a shows a top view of the lid of Figure 8;
Figure lOb shows a top view of an alternate lid to that of Figure 8;
Figure lOc shows a front view of the lid of Figure 10a;
Figure lOd shows a front view of the lid of Figure lOb;
Figure 10e shows a right hand view of the Lid of Figure 10a;
Figure l la shows a sectional view of the lid of Figure l la taken on section
`l la - l la'
of Figure 10a; ~
Figure l lb shows a sectional view of the lid of Figure lOb analogous to the
section of
Figure lla;
Figure llc shows a sectional view of the lid of Figure 10a taken on section
`llc - llc'
of Figure 10a;
Figure l ld shows sectional view of the lid of Figure lOb taken on a section
analogous to
that of Figure 11c;
Figure 12a shows a top plan view the auxiliary container for use with the
assembly of
Figure 1;
Figure 12b shows a bottom plan view of the auxiliary container of Figure 12a;
Figure 12c shows a right hand side view of the auxiliary container of Figure
12a, the left
hand side being the same but of opposite hand;
Figure 12d shows a first end view of the auxiliary container of-Figure 12a;
Figure 12e shows an opposite end view of the auxiliary container of Figure
12a;
Figure 13 shows an alternate form of container assembly to that of Figure 1;
Figure 14 shows a cross-section, analogous to that of Figure lla, of an
alternate
embodiment of lid to that of Figure 10a;
Figure 15 shows a cross-section of an alternate combination to that of Figure
1 in which
an auxiliary container is mounted inside another container; and
Figure 16 shows a cross-section of yet a further alternate to that of Figure 1
in which an
auxiliary container is mounted beneath a main container.
Figure 17a shows an isometric view, in partial scab section (not to scale) of
the container
assembly of Figure 1 as seated in a compartment of a soft-sided insulated
container;
Figure 17b shows a front view of the soft-sided insulated container of Figure
17a;
Figure 17c shows a rear view of the soft-sided insulated container of Figure
17a;
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Figure 17d shows a left hand view of the soft-sided insulated container of
Figure 17a;
Figure 17e shows a right hand view of the soft-sided insulated container of
Figure 17a;
Figure 17f shows a top view of the soft-sided insulated container of Figure
17a; and
Figure 17g shows a bottom view of the soft-sided insulated container of Figure
17a.
Detailed Description
The description that follows, and the embodiments described therein, are
provided by
way of illustration of an example, or examples, of particular embodiments of
the principles of the
present invention. These examples are provided for the purposes of
explanation, and not of
limitation, of those principles and of the invention. In the description, like
parts are marked
throughout the specification and the drawings with the same respective
reference numerals. The
drawings are substantially to scale, except where noted otherwise, such as in
those instances in
which proportions may have been exaggerated in order more clearly to depict
certain features of
the invention.
For the purposes of this description, it may be that a Cartesian frame of
reference may be
employed. In such a frame of reference, the long, or largest dimension of an
object may be
considered to extend in the direction of the x-axis, the base of the article,
where substantially
planar, may be considered to extend in an x-y plane, and the height of the
article may be
measured in the vertical, or z-direction. The largest panels of the containers
described herein
may be designated arbitrarily as either the front and rear sides or top and
bottom sides, faces, or
portions of the container. Similarly, the closure member, or opening is
arbitrarily designated as
being at the top, and the base panel is designated as being at the bottom, as
these terms may be
appropriate for the customary orientation in which the objects may usually be
found, sold, or
employed, notwithstanding that the objects may be picked up and placed on one
side or another
from time to time at the user's choice. It should also be understood that,
within the normal range
of temperatures to which human food and human touch is accustomed, although
the term cooler,
or cooler container, or cooler bag, may be used, such insulated structures may
generally also be
used to keep food, beverages, or other objects either warm or hot as well as
cool, cold, or frozen.
In this specification reference is made to insulated containers. The adjective
"insulated"
is intended to be given its usual and normal meaning as understood by persons
skilled in the art.
It is not intended to encompass single layers, or skins, of conventional
webbing materials, such
as Nylon (t.m.), woven polyester, canvas, cotton, burlap, leather, paper and
so on, that are not
otherwise indicated as having, or being relied upon to have, particular
properties as effective
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thermal insulators other than in the context of being provided with heat
transfer resistant
materials or features beyond that of the ordinary sheet materials in and of
themselves. Following
from Phillips v. A WH Corp., this definition provided in the specification is
intended to supplant
any dictionary definition, and to prevent interpretation in the US Patent
Office (or in any other
Patent Office) that strays from the customary and ordinary meaning of the term
"insulated" as
provided herein. The Applicant also explicitly excludes cellophane, waxed
paper, tin foil, paper,
or other single use disposable (i.e., not intended to be re-used) materials
from the definition of
"washable".
Similarly, this description may tend to discuss various embodiments of hard
shell
containers, as opposed to soft-sided containers. In the jargon of the trade, a
soft-sided cooler, or
bag, or container, is one that does not have a substantially rigid, high
density exoskeleton. A
typical example of a container having a hard exoskeleton is on having a molded
shell, e.g., of
ABS or polyethylene, or other common types of molded plastic. Rather, a soft-
sided container
may tend not to be substantially rigid, but may rather have a skin that is
flexible, or crushable, or
sometimes foldable. By way of an example, which is not intended to be either
exhaustive,
comprehensive, exclusive or limiting, a soft-sided cooler may have an outer
skin, a layer of
insulation, and an internal skin, both the internal and external skins being
of some kind of
webbing, be it a woven fabric, a nylon sheet, or some other membrane. The
layer of insulation,
which may be a sandwich of various components, is typically a flexible or
resilient layer,
perhaps of a relatively soft and flexible foam. In some examples, a soft-sided
container may still
be a soft-sided container where, as described herein, it may include a
substantially rigid liner, or
may include one or more battens (which may be of a relatively hard plastic)
concealed within the
soft sided wall structure more generally, or where hard molded fittings may be
used either at a
container rim or lip, or to provided a base or a mounting point for wheels,
but where the outside
of the assembly is predominantly of soft-sided panels. Once again, this
commentary is intended
to forestall the adoption by the US Patent Office, (or any other Patent
Office), of an
interpretation of the term "soft-sided" that diverges from the ordinary and
customary meaning of
the term as understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art in the
industry, and as used herein.
To commence, the Figures illustrate a container assembly, in dicated generally
as 20.
Container assembly 20 includes a first member, such as may be a substantially
rigid vessel,
which may be termed variously a receptacle, an accommodation, a box-lik
structure, a box, a bin,
an opentopped container, or, more simply, a tub, and, under any of these
names, may be
identified in the illustrations as item 22; a second member, such as may be a
closure member or
adapter, a top, a lid member, or more simply a lid, and which, under any of
these names is
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identified in the illustrations as item 24; and a third member, such as may be
another vessel such
as may be in the nature of a flask 26 which may be used to contain a thermal
energy storage
medium, which may be a phase change medium, as discussed below. The assembly
may also
include, or itself be part of, an assembly that includes a soft-sided
insulated container, identified
generally as item 30 and shown in Figures 16a - 16g.
Considering the first member, namely vessel 22, this vessel may have a lower
portion, or
base, or bottom wall panel, upon which it may tend to sit in the normal course
of use; and an
upper portion that extends away from the lower portion. For example, the lower
portion may
include a bottom wall 32 which may have a generally four sided, square or
rectangular plan view
footprint. The square or rectangular shape may include two pairs of opposed
side edges, which,
in the case of a rectangle, may include a pair of first and second short sides
and a pair of first and
second long sides. A peripheral wall 34 may extend predominantly upwardly and
away from
bottom wall 32. Peripheral wall 34 may include four side portions 35, 36, 37,
and 38 each of
which extends from one of the edges of bottom wall 32. Each of side portions
35, 36, 37 and 38
may itself be four sided, and may be generally rectangular in shape. To the
extent that peripheral
wall 34 is tapered to facilitate moulding or stacking, those sides, although
generally rectangular
may actually be trapezoidal, and may have a draft angle, or angle at which
they splay outward,
indicated as alpha. The side portions and the bottom portion may meet at
vertices, and those
vertices may be formed on corner radii. Items 32, 35, 36, 37 and 38 co-operate
to define a five
sided open topped tub or box or receptacle, or container, or tub, according to
the chosen
terminology. In the context of the present description, the resulting member
may be a unitary
molded plastic part, the plastic being any of a number of kinds, of which
polypropylene may be
one, the plastic chosen being one that is suitable for the containment and
carriage of foodstuffs.
In the example, the proximal edges of the side portions 35, 36, 37 and 38 may
adjoin bottom
wall 32, the distal edges may co-operate to define a mouth, or lip, or rim or
land, for engagement
with a closure member. It may be that the lip, indicated as 40 is not merely
an in-plane extension
of the particular side wall portions of which it forms a marginal part, but
rather it may be canted
at an angle different from angle alpha, such as angle psi. In the case of
Figure 8, lip 40 may be
splayed more pronouncedly outward than the general draft angle of the sides.
Although the tub,
or receptacle, as it may be termed, may be made of a substantially rigid
material, the plastic may
also be elastic to a certain extent, such as may facilitate a springy,
interference fit. Further, a
reinforcement member, such as a flange 42 may extend about the distal margin
of the sidewall.
Flange 42 may meet the body of the tub more generally at the location at which
the angle of the
sidewall changes (i.e., at the location of slope discontinuity. In one
embodiment, flange 42 may
be rounded, as shown. In this way, lip 40 is quite stiff in the vertical
direction i.e., if one
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considers a flexural modulus as the product El where E is the young's modulus
of the material
and I is the second moment of area of the section, in the vertical, or z-
direction, which is
predominantly the direction of the sidewall, the flexural stiffness is quite
substantial given the
effective depth of section, in essence the depth of the sidewall; in the out-
of-plane direction, be it
the x-direction for two sides, or the y-direction for the other two sides, the
flexural modulus El of
the section is also substantial given the presence of the curled flange. In a
general sense, the lip
is relatively stiff in both the vertical and lateral directions.
Considering the second member, namely the lid 24. Lid 24 is a substantially
planar
member, in which the through thickness, t24, is small relative to both the
length, L24 and the
width W24. Lid 24 may tend to have a shape corresponding in size and plan form
to the
underlying tub. As in the instance illustrated, that plan form may be four-
sided, and may be
rectangular, having a pair of opposed long sides and a pair of opposed short
sides, or margins.
Lid 24 includes a central spanning portion 48 that is, in essence, a thin
membrane. The
membrane may have a central relief or embossment, which may carry one or more
decorative
(i.e., non-functional) design features (not shown). Lid 24 has a first, or
inward facing surface,
50, and a second, or outward facing surface 46. Lid 52 has a peripheral margin
54, that includes
a mating fitting (or fittings, as may be) 44 defining a land for co-operative
engagement with lip
42. For example, the underside of lid 24 may include a pair of first and
second, peripherally
inner and peripheral outer walls 56, 58 that stand downwardly proud of
inwardly facing surface
50. To the extent that wall 58 is outwardly offset from wal156, a rebate, or
accommodation or
groove 60 is defined therebetween. Groove 60 is sized to engage lip 40 in an
interference fit as
noted above. While an arrangement of spaced walls defining a peripheral track
or groove is
illustrated, a single interference fit wall could be used, with the inside
(or, in an alternate
arrangement, outside) wall defining a land against which lip 40 may bear. In
the further
alternative, either one or both of walls 56 and 58 could be discontinuous.
That is, either could be
an array of spaced abutments or peripherally segregated lands sufficient to
grip lip 40, without
necessarily forming a continuous peripheral surface. The slot, or groove 60
may fit rather tightly
on lip 40, and may be an interference fit in which either one or both of wall
58 and lip 40 are
subject to a measure of elastic deflection. It may be that the local flexural
stiffness of the groove
wall may be softer, or more yielding that the lip, and that lid 24 may be made
of a softer (i.e.,
lower Young's modulus) material in any case. Opposite corners of lid 24 have
lifting or prying
tabs (i.e., lid disengagement fittings) 62 and 64. which extend proud of the
underlyling periphery
of tub 22 at flange 42.
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The outer surface of lid 24 may also have a seat 68 on the outer surface of
spanning
member 48, the boundaries of seat 68 being defined by a set of retention
fittings or guides, which
may also be termed a retainer, or retainers, indicated generally as 70. The
retainer fittings 70
may include a three sided horseshoe-shaped peripheral retaining wal172 having
first and second
parallel side edge portions 74, 76, and an end wall portion 78. Capture
members in the nature of
flanges or flange portions 80, 82 and 84 may extend from the distal or top
edge of edge portions
inwardly to form a three sided channel or slot, or track, or guideway. It may
be noted that one
end of this peripheral wall is left open, as indicated at 86. It may also be
noted that the plane of
the guideway is completely separate from, and does not interfere with, the
plane or zone, of the
peripheral lip for mating with lower portion 22.
The third portion, namely the auxiliary container 26, may have the form of a
hollow
body, 90, that is equipped with guide followers 92. In this instance, body 90
may be a molded
body of substantially rectangular walls, the resulting box-like shape having a
length L90, a width
W90 and a through thickness t90. The box-like shape may tend to be a rather
flat box-like shape
that presents two surfaces of rather larger area then the other four sides of
the box. That is, there
may be spaced apart major surfaces walls 94, 96 that are substantially square
or rectangular,
those walls being held in their spaced apart condition by a peripheral
upstanding sidewa1198 that
has long side portions 100, 102, and short side portions 104, 106. One of the
side portions, be it
portion 106, has a deviation 108, or relief, and a spigot, or tap, or port, or
outlet 110, such as a
capped spout, by which liquids may be introduced into the internal space
defined within hollow
body 90, or drained therefrom as may be, and held there by cap 112. The guide
followers may
take the form of tabs, or extensions 114. For example, it may be convenient
for these tabs or
extensions to be in the plane of the bottom wall of body 90. That is, one of
the major surfaces,
which will arbitrarily be named the bottom or lower such surface 96, may have
side rail portions
116, 118 that extend laterally beyond long side portions 100, 102. Those side
portions may be
spaced to run within the clear width between the guides or retainers of lid
24. The guides and
retainers may define a sufficiently thick guide channel to accommodate
siderail portions 116,
118, and may do so in a slight interference fit. On insertion, side rail
portions, which may be
considered as guide followers, are trapped between edge portions 74 and 76,
preventing lateral
translation, (i.e., in the y direction) and between spanning portion 48 and
flange portions 80 and
82, preventing vertical translation (i.e., in the x direction). The
relationship of these parts also
prevents relative rotation between lid 24 and body 90 about any of the x, y,
or z axes. Thus only
a single degree of freedom remains, namely translation in the x-direction as
the guides and
guideways mutually engage in sliding relationship. It may be understood that
the terminology is
somewhat arbitrary: the guides can be on either the lid or the hollow body,
and, whichever they
CA 02606742 2007-10-12
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may be, the guide followers are on the other of the hollow body or the lid, as
may be. Even
translation in the x-direction is limited by and end of travel fitting, or
abutment, or stop, in the
nature of the end wall, and the engaging outwardly extending flange or
extension portion 120 of
bottom wall 94 as it seats under flange portion 84. In operation with a gentle
interference fit, the
third member 26 slides neatly along its single degree of freedom track into
position on lid 24,
generally centered and above tub 22 in a secure, compact package. A thermal
storage medium
may be contained in hollow body 90. That thermal storage medium may be a phase
change
material that may employ a thermodynamic phase change as a means of storing
energy, either as
one whose phase change gives off heat (i.e., is exothermic) or acts as a heat
sink. One example
of such a medium is water. Hollow body 90 may be filled with water and placed
in a freezer.
When desired, the container of frozen water may be seated on lid 24 as
described, and, given that
its largest, i.e, major, surface is placed in close contact with the spanning
member, the result is a
cooling element mounted to a container which, as one may expect, may be
employed to contain
objects that a user may wish to keep cool or cold. In other instances, hollow
body 90 may be
filled with alcohol, or alcohol solutions, including such alcohol solutions or
distillates as may be.
In the illustrated embodiment lid 24 has the form and function of an adapter
that mates
with both lip 40 of lower portion 22, and with the auxiliary container, item
26. The mating
functions of each are independent and do not obstruct or interfere with each
other. That is, lid 24
forms a peripheral interference fit, which may be a substantially watertight
sealing fit, with lip
40. Neither the presence nor the absence of auxiliary container 26 alters this
mating relationship.
Similarly, auxiliary container 26 mates with a seat defined on lid 24, and
this relationship is not
altered by the presence of the seal fittings. Lid 24 is substantially planar,
and has a local flexural
modulus at its peripheral edge that is substantially less than (perhaps less
than 1/20th of) the
corresponding vertical stiffness of the tub wall and lip. Consequently the
mating action of the lid
is substantially in the vertical direction - the direction in which the lip
seats in an interference fit
in the receiving mating groove of the lid; and also, particularly when
disengaging, the lid can be
flexed in the vertical direction, as when peeled up at the corner. The tangs,
or tabs, or extensions
at diagonally opposite corners of lid 24 that extend proud of (i.e., overhang)
the corner portions
of curled flange 42 provide an opening handle, or opening member by which to
cause this
peeling or bending effect such as may release the grip of the lip in the
groove.
Typically, the length and breadth of the auxiliary container are large
relative to the
through thickness. The length may be more than thrice the through thickness,
and the breadth
may be more than double the through thickness. In one embodiment, the ration
is roughly 6:4:1.
In another embodiment the ratio is more on the order of 12:9:1. In most
instances the through
CA 02606742 2007-10-12
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thickness may tend to be about one inch, and may tend not to exceed about one
inch. In terms of
presenting a large surface through which to transfer heat, it may be generally
helpful for the
container thickness to be kept small relative to the other dimensions. The
condition of placing
one of the large sides against the spanning member may be expressed
mathematically. To the
extent that hollow body 90 has a nominal or inside volume, V, and may be
defined as having a
length, a width and a through thickness exclusive of the extending guide or
guide follower
fittings, a characteristic dimension may be defined, that dimension, dL, being
the length of the
side of a cube of equal volume to volume V. The enclosed volume also has a
nominal surface
area, ATotai which, in the case of the illustrated embodiment is the surface
area six-sided box,
excluding the guide follower fittings. The side facing the lid (in use) has a
surface area AS. That
side has an hydraulic diameter dH, determined according to the formula dH =
4As/P, where P is
the perimeter length of the surface. In each case three conditions are
satisfied, namely that (i) As
is greater than or equal to 1/6 of ATatai; (ii) The square root of AS is
greater than or equal to the
cube root of V (i.e., As > V2/3); and (c) dH is greater than or equal to dL.
In the embodiment
illustrated, the auxiliary container has a footprint in plan view (i.e., when
viewed from above)
that is substantially the same as, or perhaps slightly smaller than both the
lid and the underlying
tub. That is, AS may tend to be 85 % as large as the lid surface, or larger,
and may tend to have
about the same footprint as base wall member 30 of tub 22. In the general
case, the through
thickness t26 of the auxiliary container is substantially less than the depth
of the tub, being less
than'/Z, and generally less than 2/5 of that depth.
Other embodiments may be considered. For example, Figures lOb, 11b and 12b are
intended to show that the retainer guide members need not be continuous, but
may have the form
of discontinuous cleats that form a guideway nonetheless. Further, while
Figures lla and 12a
show a re-entrant moulding wall with an upwardly facing peripheral groove 122,
Figures 11b
and 12b do not include such a groove. Furthermore, the embodiment of Figures
llb and 12b
shows an engagement groove 124 that has an internal rounded bead, as at 126,
such as may tend
to pick up against the most distal edge of lip 40 on engagement.
In Figure 13 there is an auxiliary container 130 that seats on guide fittings
132 of a non-
planar mounting body, be it a lid or a tub, indicated generically as 134. The
point of the
embodiment of Figure 13 is to illustrate that the seat need not necessarily be
planar. In this
embodiment, the flask or auxiliary container 130 and the surface to which it
mates are formed on
a cylindrical surface, which may be the surface of a body of revolution. As
with the substantially
planar surface of the spanning member 48 in the embodiments described above,
the mounting
fittings 132 for the flanges 136 of the hollow body of container 130 are
formed on one side of the
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surface (be it planar or cylindrical, and which may be termed a neutral plane,
or neutral surface)
and the lip engagement fittings (not shown in Figure 13) are mounted on the
other side, such that
neither interferes with or otherwise obstructs the other.
In Figure 14, lid 140 has both internal and external guide fittings 142, 144
such as may
permit the auxiliary container, e.g. item 26, to be seated in a secure
position either outside or
inside lid 140 (or, if provided with two hollow containers, then on both). In
each case there is a
plane, or a cylindrical surface of revolution, and the guideway fittings lie
to one side of that
surface while the lid closure fittings lie to the either side of that surface
such that the guideway
and retention fittings do not obstruct operation of the closure fittings
between the lid and the tub.
In each case the guideway fittings permit motion on a single degree of
freedom, that single
degree of freedom defining a direction of linear translation of the one part
along the other until
the fully seated (or, in the other direction, fully disengaged) position is
reached.
In Figure 15, lid 150 has external fittings 152, 154 that are spaced more
narrowly than
fittings 80, 82, and tub 160 has internal shoulder fittings 162, 164 (which
may be a continuous
internal peripheral ledge, or an array of discrete abutments) and the
laterally extending flanges
166, 168 of auxiliary container 170 may seat thereupon when lid 150 is closed.
In the example of either Figure 14 or Figure 15, it may be that auxiliary
container 170
may be mounted on the outside of the lid (be it 140 or 150) when in use with,
for example a
cooling (or warming) storage medium, and tub 160 full of objects to be cooled
(or warmed, as
may be), or when auxiliary container 170 is filled with a beverage and tub 160
has other non-
potable food, be it dry food or otherwise. However, for storage (or when less
food is being
carried in tub 160) auxiliary container 170 may be carried inside, forming a
smaller overall
package for storage when not in use. In that instance, the hollow body may be
tapered somewhat
in a manner corresponding to the draft angle of tub 160.
In Figure 16, lid 180 may be free of external mounting fittings for the
auxiliary container,
and instead the auxiliary container (such as items 26 or 170) is removably
mountable to the
bottom of tub 182 by means of mounting fittings 184, 186 of the same general
nature as the
guides and guideways described above. Alternatively, tub 182 may be employed
in a
combination that includes a lid such as item 40 having external fittings as
well, such as may
permit alternate positioning of the auxiliary container, or the use of more
than one such auxiliary
container.
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Figures 17a - 17f show a soft-sided insulated container 200 having an upper
insulated
wall structure defining a first accommodation portion 202, and a lower
insulated wall structure
defining a second accommodation portion 204. The wall structure may include an
inner skin
206, an outer skin 208, and an internal insulating layer or member 210. The
inner skin may be
an insulating liner. Each of the upper and lower wall structures may have a
closure member 212,
214, such as a zipper, by which access to the internal volume or chamber so
defined is governed.
The closure members are each movable between open and closed positions. The
bottom portion
204 may have the same general box-like shape as the container assembly 20 that
is to fit
therewithin. The structure may be such that closure member 214 of the lower
portion extends
about three sides of the structure, the fourth side being hinged as at 215 to
permit the upper
portion to pivot away from the lower portion, exposing opening 216 and giving
access to the
interior space 218. The height of the sidewall of the lower portion may be
approximately the
same as the overall height of the assembly of tub 22, lid 24 and auxiliary
container 26.
Similarly, the breadth and depth of the assembly may fit in a reasonably snug
fit within interior
space 218. The upper portion 202 may have a generally upwardly narrowing
shape, and may
have an upper handle 220 by which the package may be carried, with the heavier
objects in the
tub in the lower compartment. This assembly may typically be a child's lunch
box assembly and
may have overall dimensions in the range of 4- 6 inches in width, 6- 8 inches
in length, and 8 -
10 inches in height, exclusive of the handle. Although a soft-sided assembly
that hinges in the
middle is shown and described, the bottom portion could also be end opening.
That is, end panel
222 could be provide with a closure member and a hinge, permitting the hard
sided container
assembly to slide in from the side, rather than being loaded from the top in
use.
In each case, the auxiliary container may be removed and filled with a phase
change
liquid, which may be water. The auxiliary container may then be placed in a
freezer until the
liquid is frozen. When the tub is loaded with the object or objects to be
cooled, the auxiliary
container slides snugly and securely into its seat with one of its major side
surfaces in closed
engagement with the spanning member of the lid. The elements of the package
have a similar
size and shape (or footprint) and combine to form a trim secure package. In
this instance
"similar" may be roughly quantified as being within perhaps 20 - 25 % (or
less) of each other in
terms of length and width. This package may be placed in a suitable insulated
container, such as
soft-sided insulated container 30, which may be carried by hand or in a
knapsack. Once again,
the fit may be relatively snug, which, may be interpreted as being within 20 -
25 % of each other
in terms of width, length and overall height, is not rather less, e.g., 10 %
or less. In other
applications, the auxiliary container may be rather larger, and may have a
smaller ratio of
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thickness to length or width (or both), and may provide cooling for such
things as dessert squares
or other foods carried in the tub.
The principles of the present invention are not limited to these specific
examples which
are given by way of illustration. It is possible to make other embodiments
that employ the
principles of the invention and that fall within its spirit and scope of the
invention. Since
changes in and or additions to the above-described embodiments may be made
without departing
from the nature, spirit or scope of the invention, the invention is not to be
limited to those details,
but only by the appended claims.
