Collapsible foam shipping cooler for perishables and method of making

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of insulated shipping containers, and more particularly to a process for producing a collapsible foam cooler.

2. Description of Related Art

Perishable products are commonly shipped to the consumer in insulated shipping containers to prevent spoilage in transit. Molded foam containers used in combination with an exterior corrugated shipping box are convenient to use and effective to protect perishables. However, molded containers require a substantial capital investment for molds, and each mold produces only one size of container. Also, empty molded containers consume a large amount of space for storage or shipping, thus resulting in high warehousing and shipping costs.

As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,102,004; 5,111,957; 5,429,264; 6,080,096; 6,325,281; 6,868,982; 7,140,773 and U.S. Publn. 20030087051, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse shipping containers for perishables.

While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical collapsible shipping container.

As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved collapsible foam shipping container for perishables, and the provision of such a device is a stated object of the present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, the present invention provides a collapsible foam shipping cooler and a process for producing the collapsible cooler. The collapsible cooler includes a linear series of attached side panel sections where each of the adjacent side panel sections are separated by a V groove formed by 45° beveled cuts made in a ends of each of the sections, and an adhesive tape flexible hinge is attached on the side of the panels opposite the V groove. The series of attached side panel sections is movable between a collapsed storage mode and an assembled mode where the series of sections are arranged to form a closed rectangular loop with top and bottom perimeter edges. Top and bottom foam panels contact the top and bottom edges of the closed loop to form a closed insulated cooler which is matingly received in a conventional corrugated box shipping container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other attributes of the invention will become more clear upon a thorough study of the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention, particularly when reviewed in conjunction with drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insulated shipping container including the collapsible foam shipping cooler of the present invention, portions being cut away to show the components of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the shipping container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the relationship of the components of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the interior side of a series of connected sidewall panels disposed in the flat collapsed mode showing the beveled edges of adjacent panels;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the exterior side of the series of sidewall panels in the flat collapsed mode, showing the flexible hinge tape applied on the exterior side of the beveled edges of adjacent panels;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a recessed panel used for both the top and bottom panels of the collapsible cooler;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alternate top and bottom beveled panel;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another alternate top and bottom flat panel; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As can be seen by reference to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, the collapsible foam cooler that forms the basis of the present invention is designated generally by the reference to number 10. The collapsible container 10 is matingly received within a corrugated box exterior shipping container 1 having a bottom 3, sidewalls 5, and a closable top 7 sealed by a strip of shipping box tape 9. The collapsible foam cooler 10 encloses a perishable product 100 such a seafood or meat.

The collapsible cooler includes a linear series 20 of connected side panel sections 22, 24, 36, 28, and identical top end panels 60.

The series 20 of panel sections 22, 24, 26, 28 has opposite free ends 21 and 31, and interior surfaces 23, 25, 27, 29 having 45° bevel cuts made therein to form V grooves 40 between each of the adjacent panel sections 22-24, 24-26 and 26-28, and beveled ends 21 and 31 (FIG. 4). An adhesive tape flexible hinge 50 is attached to the exterior surfaces 33, 35, 37, 39 of panel sections 22, 24, 26, 28 opposite the V grooves 40 (FIG. 5). A thin walled foam connector 45 connects each of the adjacent panel sections 22-24, 24-26 and 26-28 at the bottom of the V grooves 40 (FIG. 9). The series 20 of connected side panels 22, 24, 26, 28 is movable between a flat collapsed mode (FIGS. 5 and 6), and an assembled mode (FIGS. 1-3) wherein the adjacent panels 22-24, 24-26, 26-28 are at 90° angles with respect to each other to form a closed rectangular loop sidewall section with a bottom perimeter edge 47 and a top perimeter edge 49, and where the free ends 21, 31 are positioned adjacent to each other.

The top and bottom panels 60 shown in FIGS. 1-3 and 6 are recessed with a perimeter lip 65. The lip 65 of the bottom panel 60 contacts the bottom perimeter edge 47 of the closed loop sidewall section, and the lip 65 of the top panel 60 contacts the top perimeter edge 49 to form a closed foam shipping cooler 10 for perishables 100 (FIGS. 1-3).

In the preferred embodiment, the collapsible foam cooler 10 is formed from closed cell expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam. A block of EPS foam is first hot wire cut from a block of EPS to the desired sheet thickness while simultaneously cutting the V-grooves in the interior surface of the sheet leaving a thin wall of foam at the bottom of the V-grooves. The sheets are then either sent to a tape application machine or adhesive tape is applied manually to the exterior surface of the sheet opposite the V-grooves the entire width of the sheet. The sheets are then hot wire chopped on a line perpendicular to the V-groove to form a series of connected side panel sections in a collapsed mode. The top and bottom foam panels 60, as shown in FIG. 6, are formed from a sheet of EPS of the desired thickness by profile hot wire cutting the four sides to correspond to the dimensions of the series of connected side panel sections in the assembled rectangular mode. Alternate identical top and bottom foam beveled panels 160 with perimeter lips 165 (FIG. 7), and identical top and bottom flat panels 260 (FIG. 8) may also be formed by hot wire cutting, and used to form the closed foam shipping cooler 10.

Although only an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims.

Having thereby described the subject matter of the present invention, it should be apparent that many substitutions, modifications, and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that the invention as taught and described herein is only to be limited to the extent of the breadth and scope of the appended claims.