Collapsible and reusable container insulator

A collapsible and reusable beverage container insulator comprising a foldable sleeve of semi-rigid insulating material joinable to a disc-shaped bottom and a hinged top lid shaped to fit the sleeve opening. The sleeve has a lip cut out portion, the top lid being adapted to fit the lip cut out portion when mounted by fastening means to the sleeve.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The invention relates to an enclosing collapsible and reusable container 
insulator is disclosed constructed to reduce heat flor in relation to the 
container and thereby retain the container contents as desired 
temperatures above or below ambient temperatures for a substantially 
greater period of time than otherwise would result. Utility resides in 
lengthening this time of thermal adjustment which can be the time required 
for consumption of the container contents. More particularly, the 
invention relates to beverage containers holding chilled beverages for 
consumption by persons several minutes or hours after removal of the 
chilled beverage contents into surroundings at warmer ambient 
temperatures. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
It is known to provide insulators and holders for beverage containers. For 
instance, Ghee in U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,295, issued Sept. 10, 1963, shows a 
beverage can holder with a notch in the holder to provide access to a 
portion of the periphery of the top of the can. Peters in U.S. Pat. No. 
2,936,927, issued May 17, 1960, as well as Munkachy in U.S. Pat. No. 
2,936,068, issued May 10, 1960, discloses a holder for containers where 
the holders can be folded into a substantially flat configuration. Jolly 
in U.S. Pat. No. 3,257,025, issued June 21, 1966, shows an insulating 
tumbler with cylindrical side walls surrounding a metallic container to 
lessen the rate of heat transfer between the container contents and the 
ambient atmosphere. Pressnell in U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,305, issued Mar. 6, 
1973, discloses a holder for a beverage can, the holder including a 
pivotal lid. The Sadler patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,549, issued Aug. 9, 
1977) shows a cup and holder assembly including a cover and a removable 
bottom surface. 
Other patents illustrating the prior art incude the following: 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,855; Pugh, Sr.; Aug. 2, 1966. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,011; Schleicher; Sept. 7, 1976. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention provides a thermal insulator for enclosing a beverage 
container or other container, the insulator comprising three parts, 
including side walls collapsible along fold lines, a disc-shaped 
insulating bottom portion fitting into the lower part of the side walls, 
and an insulating top lid, attached to the side walls by a hinge tape and 
having a downwardly projecting tab for insulatingly covering a lip cut out 
in the upper portion of one of the side walls. When assembled with a 
compatibly sized container therein, the invention eliminates spillage, 
excludes foreign matter, retains heat, prevents condensation of moisture, 
allows insertion of a drinking straw and is reusable with other containers 
of approximately the same size. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide means for 
maintaining a temperature above or below ambient temperatures in a 
container by entirely enclosing the container with an insulating material. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a container insulator which 
can be disassembled, is collapsible and reusable. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide a beverage container 
insulator which minimizes absorption of heat from incident solar 
radiation, and excludes foreign matter during outdoor use. 
A further object of the invention is to prevent condensation of moisture 
when chilled contents are enclosed in the insulator, and to prevent 
deposition of moisture on a surface, such as a table, as well as to 
prevent scratching of such a surface. 
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an insulator with a 
portion cut out from the top thereof to fit the lip of the user and 
prevent leakage of contents into the space between the container and the 
insulator. 
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide an insulator which 
allows insertion of a straw into a metal can selected from a range of 
sizes held firmly by the enclosing insulator. 
A still further object of the invention is to provide an insulator to save 
money, save container material, save on ingredients in the container's 
contents, and add to the pleasure of the consumer. 
These together with other objects and advantages which will become 
subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation 
as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to 
the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals 
refer to like parts throughout.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
An assembled container insulator is shown in FIG. 1 and designated 
generally by the numeral 10 and comprises foldable side walls 12 and 14 
constructed of semi-rigid insulating material in the two halves shown Side 
wall 12 has a cut-out portion 16 to allow the user to easily drink from 
the container enclosed within insulator 10. Side walls 12 and 14 are 
joined with flexible longitudinal insulating strips 18 and 20 with the gap 
22 and 24 filled with a soft foam strip of insulation to improve the 
insulating properties at the junction of side walls 12 and 14. Also shown 
in FIG. 1 is top insulating lid 26, held to side wall 14 by tape hinge 28 
and having lip seal 30 dependingly attached thereto to cover cut-out 
portion 16. 
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, bottom disc 32 is frictionally held by 
side walls 12 and 14 and container 34 holding liquid 36 is also shown 
thereon. An alternative bottom disc is shown in FIG. 5, where bottom disc 
38 is provided with circumferential ridges 40, 42 and 44, middle ridge 42 
being undercut to permit a snap fit with side walls 12 and 14. Disc 38 is 
shown in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6, side wall 
12 being shown with a lower gripping kerf 46 for receiving ridge 42. In 
the embodiment of FIG. 6, a slight modification from top lid 26 is shown 
with top 48 having straw acceptor hole 50 for receiving drinking straw 52. 
Straw acceptor hole 50 can be fitted with plug 52, as shown in FIG. 7. Top 
48, in association with plug 52, is also shown in FIG. 8. 
When side walls 12 and 14, along with top lid 26 and bottom disc 32, to 
their counterparts in alternate embodiments, are constructed of insulating 
material with a relatively low thermal conductivity, the result of 
enclosing container 34 by insulator 10 is to reduce heat transfer from 
liquid 36 into the ambient surroundings. Accordingly, if liquid 36 is a 
beverage, such as a carbonated soft drink, beer, or the like, normally 
consumed at a chilled temperature sustantially below the ambient 
temperature use of insulator 10 will add to the pleasure and enjoyment of 
the person consuming the contents of container 34. Moreover, use of 
insulator 10 will reduce waste because in many instances part of the 
contents of container 34 are discarded because it becomes so warm that a 
person prefers not to consume it. 
To construct the device of the present invention, the sleeve assembly shown 
in FIG. 4, comprising side walls 12 and 14, along with longitudinal 
insulating strips 18 and 20 is constructed of semi-rigid insulating 
material in two halves. One of the halves has a lip cut-out, shown as 
cut-out portion 16 in FIG. 4. The two side walls 12 and 14 are joined with 
flexible insulating strip 22 and 24 in conventional manner. 
Top lid 26 is constructed of an insulating material shaped to fit the top 
opening in side walls 12 and 14 when assembled and place over the enclosed 
container 34. Top lid 26 also has depending lip seal 30 which extends into 
or over cut-out portion 16. Tape hinge 28 fastens the rear portion of top 
lid 26 to side wall 14. Bottom disc 32 is made of insulated material 
slightly larger than container 34. The springiness or tendency of walls 12 
and 14 to collapse when assembled into the sleeve shown in FIG. 4 provides 
axial gripping force to retain bottom disc 32 by friction. 
An alternate embodiment of the top insulator is shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, 
where a straw acceptor hole for use with a drinking straw or plug is 
present. 
An alternative bottom disc arrangement is shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, where 
a snap fit locking arrangement provides a more secure means for joining 
the bottom with the side walls. 
To assemble the invention, container 34 is placed on bottom disc 32, and 
the sleeve assembly of FIG. 4 is squeezed at the junctions of side walls 
12 and 14 to form an approximately circular cylinder. This cylinder is 
placed over container 34 and bottom disc 32 and released. Top lid 26 is 
then put in place and tape hinge 28 is fastened opposite lip seal 30. Top 
lid 26 is then flipped back to allow a person to drink, or flipped forward 
to seal the top of insulator 10. 
After consumption of the contents of container 34, insulator 10 can be 
disassembled for later reuse. To remove insulator 10, the sides are 
squeezed along insulating strip 18 and 20 after top lid 26 is flipped back 
to the open position. Container 34 is pressed downwardly to release bottom 
32, and container 34 is then pushed upwardly and lifted from the remaining 
sleeve. 
The invention is simple and economical to manufacture, and very convenient 
to use. It keeps cold drinks chilled much longer than without use of the 
device. Therefore, use of the device will conserve on ingredients used to 
make cold drinks, and the collapsibility of the sleeve assembly makes 
packaging easy. The semi-rigid material in the sleeve holds the bottom in 
place and keeps the can or container from slipping out from insulator 10. 
The device is usable with cans which vary slightly in size without the 
requirement for a different sized insulator. 
Top lid 48 differs from top lid 26 in two respects. First, top lid 48 has a 
top lid 60 which extends over the edge of side walls 12 and 14 to improve 
the insulating quality and appearance of insulator 10. Second, top lid 48 
has provision for a drinking straw through straw acceptor hole 50. 
Further advantages of the invention reside in the fact that insulating 
material forming side walls 12 and 14, top lid 26 or 48, and bottom disc 
32 or 38 will present an external surface held at a temperature 
approaching the ambient temperature, due to its insulating properties, 
when container 34 holds a chilled liquid. As is well known, under many 
circumstances of use, moisture condensation occurs when chilled beverages 
are exposed to outside ambient air. This condition can lead to 
inconvenience to the consumer, dripping or staining of a table surface 
upon which the container is placed, and even more rapid warming of the 
container contents due to absorption of the heat of vaporization 
represented by such condensation of water. Since the temperature of the 
surface presented by the insulation of the present invention will be near 
the ambient temperature, and will ordinarily be well above the dew point, 
such condensation and attendant problems are avoided. When bottom disc 32 
or 38 is made of a soft material, or the outer surface so provided, 
scratching of a table surface is also prevented. 
For outdoor use, the invention offers additional advantages. Foreign matter 
can be excluded from the beverage container by use of the invention. 
Breakage, such as could occur with certain vacuum insulated container, is 
both less likely and the consequences less significant even if breakage or 
loss does occur, due to the relatively inexpensive nature of the present 
invention. Moreover, the insulating properties of the invention minimizes 
the warming effect on chilled container contents by incident solar 
radiation, since only the surface of the insulating material will be 
warmed thereby, with relatively little heat transfer into the chilled 
contents in view of the thermal insulating properties of the insulator 
material of the invention. 
The forgoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the 
invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily 
occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the 
invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and 
accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted 
to, falling within the scope of the invention.