Hardside cooler with soft cover

Abstract

An insulated container, such as a cooler or ice chest, with a hardside interior and a softside exterior is disclosed that has the benefits of softside coolers, such as the ability to include pockets and pouches, as well as the benefits of hardside coolers (e.g. protection to the contents inside and rigid attachment of wheels, handles, etc.) The softside exterior may be directly connected to the hardside interior, for example by sewing. The cooler may have a lid hingedly attached to the liner, and the lid may be hard plastic including a softside exterior on the top of the lid. The cooler may have wheels and an extendable handle attached to the hardside interior to aid in transportation of the cooler in some embodiments.

1 . An insulated container comprising: 
 a hard liner having a front, back, two sides, and a bottom to define a cavity;    a hard lid hingedly attachable to the liner; and    pliable material attachable to the outside of the hard liner.    
     
     
         2 . The insulated container of  claim 1 , wherein the pliable material contains flexible closed cell foam.  
     
     
         3 . The insulated container of  claim 2 , wherein a pliable material is attached to the lid.  
     
     
         4 . The insulated container of  claim 3 , in which the pliable material is sewn directly onto the hard liner or lid.  
     
     
         5 . The insulated container of  claim 3 , in which the insulated container further comprises an extendable handle, at least two feet, and at least two wheels rotatably attachable to the liner.  
     
     
         6 . The insulated container of  claim 3 , in which the pliable material includes snaps adapted to mate with snaps on the liner and lid to attach the pliable material to the insulated container.  
     
     
         7 . The insulated container of  claim 1 , wherein the softside cover includes a front pouch.  
     
     
         8 . An insulated container such as a cooler or ice chest comprising: 
 a hard liner having a cavity;    a lid hingedly attachable to the liner; and    a pliable material attached to the outside wall of the hard liner.    
     
     
         9 . The insulated container of  claim 8 , in which the liner has a front, back, bottom, and two sides that define the cavity.  
     
     
         10 . The insulated container of  claim 9 , in which the pliable material is directly attachable to the lid.  
     
     
         11 . The insulated container of  claim 10 , in which the pliable material is sewn directly onto the liner or the lid.  
     
     
         12 . The insulated container of  claim 10 , in which the pliable material includes snaps adapted to mate with snaps on the liner or lid.  
     
     
         13 . The insulated container of  claim 10  in which an upper end of the pliable material is attached to a hoop, and an upper end of the liner includes a lip to form a pocket between the lip and the upper end of the liner, the hoop being sandwiched in the pocket to attach the pliable material to the liner.  
     
     
         14 . The insulated container of  claim 9 , in which the pliable material includes at least a side pocket or a front pouch with an accessory.  
     
     
         15 . The insulated container of  claim 14 , wherein at least a portion of the side pocket is mesh.  
     
     
         16 . The insulated container of  claim 10 , wherein the lid softside includes a dry storage pocket.  
     
     
         17 . The insulated container of  claim 10 , wherein the container further comprises an extendable handle and wheels attachable to the liner.  
     
     
         18 . The insulated container of  claim 17 , wherein the container further comprises at least a side handle attachable to each side of the liner.  
     
     
         19 . The insulated container of  claim 18 , wherein the side handle comprises a rotatable loop.  
     
     
         20 . The insulated container of  claim 17 , wherein the container further comprises at least two feet attachable to the bottom of the liner.  
     
     
         21 . The insulated container of  claim 17 , wherein a skid resistant base it attachable to the bottom of the container.  
     
     
         22 . The insulated container of  claim 10 , wherein the liner and lid comprises hard plastic.  
     
     
         23 . The insulated container of  claim 8 , where the liner further comprises at least one cup holder bracket.  
     
     
         24 . The insulated container of  claim 23 , wherein the bottom of the lid comprises a circular recess or a recess adapted to retain a cup holder attachable to the at least one cup holder bracket.  
     
     
         25 . The insulated container of  claim 8 , further comprising a strap attachable to the liner in at least two locations to provide a securing mechanism with respect to the lid.  
     
     
         26 . A cooler comprising: 
 a hard plastic liner having a front, back, two sides, and a bottom to define a cavity;    a hard plastic lid, wherein the lid is hingedly attachable to the liner;    a softside pliable material;    means for attaching the softside pliable material to the hard plastic liner; and    means for fastening the lid against the liner when closed.    
     
     
         27 . The cooler of  claim 26 , wherein the means for attaching the softside cover is sewing the cover directly onto the hard plastic liner.  
     
     
         28 . The cooler of  claim 26  in which the means for fastening the lid includes a inner surface and an outer surface on the lid, clamping a recessed portion on an upper perimeter of the liner.