Collapsible insulated container

Abstract

A collapsible insulated container has a base wall and a peripheral wall with an open end defining an enclosure. The peripheral wall has at least two layers and is divided into elongate pockets between the layers, with foldable crease lines between adjacent pockets. Each pocket contains a flexible-walled, insulating gel pack which substantially fills the pocket. The crease lines may be defined by stitching securing the outer and inner layers of the container together. The gel packs may be surrounded by matting, foam or mesh material which is sewn into the lines of stitching, or may have integral peripheral rims sewn into the lines of stitching. The container is foldable between an erect, open condition and a storage condition in which it is folded along the crease lines into a substantially flattened package.

1 . A collapsible insulated container, comprising:
 a base wall and a peripheral wall extending from the base wall to define a cavity having an open end;   each wall comprising at least an inner layer and an outer layer with an interior space between the layers;   a plurality of substantially flat gel packs each containing a gel material, the gel packs being located within the interior space in at least part of the peripheral wall and at least part of the base wall, wherein at least one gel pack is located in the base wall; and   the peripheral wall having a plurality of spaced, foldable crease areas comprising first lines of stitching which define separate pockets in the wall, each pocket containing a gel pack, and the collapsed container is folded only about the crease areas in the peripheral wall into a folded storage configuration.