Abstract:
In accordance with one embodiment, a container for carrying food is provided. The container can include one or more sidewalls; a primary food compartment defined by the one or more sidewalls; a cooling compartment disposed beneath the primary food compartment; a sealable opening for the cooling compartment accessible from the exterior of the container; and, wherein the cooling compartment is disposed immediately adjacent to the primary food compartment.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/069,612, entitled “FOOD CONTAINER” and filed on Oct. 28, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and for all purposes. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    There are numerous food carriers, such as lunch bags, lunch boxes, and other containers, that facilitate keeping food and/or drinks cool until consumed (e.g., freezer packs, pouches, etc.). The lunch bags, for example, can be expensive and are often misplaced or lost after a meal by both children at school and adults in the workplace. Over time, the cost to replace these food carriers can become a significant expense. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    In accordance with one embodiment, a container for carrying food is provided. The container can include one or more sidewalls; a primary food compartment defined by the one or more sidewalls; a cooling compartment disposed beneath the primary food compartment; a sealable opening for the cooling compartment accessible from the exterior of the container; and, wherein the cooling compartment is disposed immediately adjacent to the primary food compartment. 
         [0004]    In accordance with another embodiment, a method of making a food container is described. The method can include establishing a primary food compartment with one or more sidewalls; establishing a cooling compartment, the cooling compartment disposed immediately adjacent and beneath the primary food compartment during use; and establishing a sealable opening for the cooling compartment accessible from the exterior of the container. 
         [0005]    This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other features, details, utilities, and aspects of the claimed subject matter will be apparent from the following more particular written Detailed Description of various embodiments and embodiments as further illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims. 
         [0006]    Further embodiments are apparent from the description below and the accompanying figures. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    A further understanding of the present technology may be realized by reference to the figures, which are described in the remaining portion of the specification. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a food container in accordance with one embodiment. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  illustrates a user adding ice to a cooling compartment in accordance with one embodiment. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  illustrates water being added to a cooling compartment in accordance with one embodiment. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  illustrates a food container having sidewalls of differing thermal insulation in accordance with one embodiment. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates a food container having colored sidewalls in accordance with one embodiment. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  illustrates a cutaway view of a multi-layer sidewall of a food container in accordance with one embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    In accordance with one embodiment, a new food container is provided that can keep food cool at an economical price. Thus, if a user were to use the food container as a lunch bag and inadvertently lose it, a replacement food container could be obtained at a cost effective price. This can be particularly useful to a parent of a small child, as children frequently lose more expensive lunch bags that are expensive to replace. Moreover, the food container of such an embodiment can be outfitted with a cooling agent that is inexpensive and easily replaceable. 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a food container  100  in accordance with one embodiment. In this embodiment, a food container in the form of a lunch bag is shown. The food container is formed by sidewalls  104 . The interior portion of the food container can be divided into two main compartments—a primary food compartment  108  and a cooling compartment  112 . A cooling compartment cover  120  (sometimes referred to as a divider between the cooling compartment and the primary food compartment) separates the primary food compartment from the cooling compartment. The cooling compartment cover  120  can have a primary food compartment surface and a cooling compartment surface. For purposes of this embodiment, a bottom end portion  122  can be considered a sidewall portion. The bottom end portion can have an outer surface and a cooling compartment surface  140 . Thus, in this embodiment, sidewall portions and a cooling compartment cover define the cooling compartment. The sidewall portions and the cooling compartment cover define the primary food compartment, as well, in this embodiment, as a few of the sidewalls come together to close the primary food compartment. 
         [0016]    In order to facilitate cooling, the cooling compartment can be filled with a cooling agent. This can be accomplished in accordance with one embodiment by disposing ice cubes  128  in the cooling compartment via a re-sealable opening  116 . The re-sealable opening can be any re-sealable opening that is substantially water-tight so as to reduce the chance that ice-water will escape from the cooling compartment. In  FIG. 1 , a zippered seal is shown. A user can slide the zipper handle across the seal thus causing the opposing edges of the opening to be sealed to one another. 
         [0017]    In the example shown in  FIG. 1 , the re-sealable opening is shown on the side of the food container. In other embodiments, the re-sealable opening could be disposed on the bottom of the food container. One might even want to utilize an opening disposed higher up on a sidewall of the food container with a conduit that connects the re-sealable opening to the cooling compartment. 
         [0018]    Another manner of providing cooling is to add water to the cooling compartment, seal the cooling compartment, and place the food container in a cold environment, such as a freezer, so as to allow the water to cool/freeze. The cooling compartment can then provide cooling to the primary food compartment via the cooling compartment cover during use. 
         [0019]    The ability to add ice to the cooling compartment or freeze water in the cooling compartment is a second manner of reducing cost. For example, when a child loses a lunch bag containing a self-contained cooling agent, such as a blue ice pack, both are lost. Therefore, a parent not only has to replace the expensive lunch bag itself but also the self-contained cooling agent. This further increases the replacement cost when a lunch bag is lost. With the embodiment described above, however, a user does not need a self-contained cooling agent. Instead, the user can simply rely upon ice that is added to or formed in the cooling compartment. 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  also shows a third compartment  130  disposed within the primary food compartment. This third compartment can be referred to as a condiment compartment. The third compartment allows a user to store utensils, condiments, etc. separately from food that is disposed in the primary food container. In  FIG. 1 , the third compartment is shown as being accessible from within the primary food compartment. However, the third compartment could also be formed as a pocket on the outer surface (sometimes referred to as the external surface) of one of the sidewalls. 
         [0021]    In  FIG. 1 , the primary food compartment can be sealed at the top with a zipper  132  that seals a re-sealable opening. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , a handle  136  can be used to carry the food container  100 . Other embodiments can use different types of handles. For example, handles could be directly cut into the material of the food container via a die cut. In such an embodiment, the sidewalls could be sealed below the die cut. 
         [0022]    In accordance with one embodiment, an exhaust port  124  is used to expel air from the food container once the food container is sealed. Such an exhaust port can be implemented via a valve disposed in one of the sidewalls of the food container. Once the top seal is closed by zipper  132 , the sidewalls of the food container can be squeezed together creating pressure on the air inside the primary food compartment. When a sufficient pressure is generated, the air can be forced out via the valve. In humid environments, this can be useful to remove humid air from within the primary food compartment. When humid air is cooled, condensation can occur, which can damage some types of food (e.g., creating soggy sandwiches). 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  illustrates an example of a user filling a cooling compartment of a food container with ice. The opening to the cooling compartment can be formed sufficiently large enough that the user can easily add ice to the compartment. 
         [0024]      FIG. 3  illustrates an example of a user filling a cooling compartment of a food container with water. In this embodiment, the opening of the cooling compartment  304  can be formed sufficiently large enough so as to receive a faucet. 
         [0025]    In accordance with one embodiment, the bottom sidewall of the food container can be formed of substantially rigid material. The material should be sufficiently rigid so as to form a structural base that allows the food container to stand upright on a shelf of a freezer. This will allow the ice to form a substantially flat surface (i.e., not necessarily perfectly flat) once frozen in the upright food container. 
         [0026]    Notably, in the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  3 , the cooling compartment opening is accessible from the outer surface of the food container. This permits one to add ice and water to the cooling compartment without spilling extraneous ice or water into the primary food compartment. Thus, the primary food compartment can be kept free of water and/or ice that could foul any food placed in the primary food compartment. 
         [0027]    The food container can be made of polyethylene material or any similar material. In some embodiments, one might choose to use thicker material or material with a higher degree of thermal insulation. For example, the bottom end portion  122  of the cooling compartment could be fashioned from a material that has better thermal insulating properties than the material used for the sidewall portions. This would allow the cooling compartment to remain cool longer and reduce heat exchange via the bottom outer surface of the food container. It would also reduce the likelihood of condensation forming on the bottom outer surface of the food container when used in humid conditions. 
         [0028]    The food container can also be configured to be collapsible. For example, by forming the sidewalls of the food container from material such as polyethylene material, a food container can easily be collapsed into a smaller configuration of substantially reduced volume for storage (e.g., less than two-thirds the volume of the container volume during normal use). This allows a child to store a collapsed food container in his/her backpack after lunch, for example. 
         [0029]    Moreover, because a food container can be fabricated from inexpensive materials, the food container can be disposable. Such a food container can be disposed of after one or a few uses, for example. In comparison, expensive food containers currently on the market are not disposable as one buys them with the intent of using them for a long period of time. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  illustrates another embodiment of a food container in which different degrees of thermal insulation are used in the walls of a food container. The lower portion of the sidewalls  404  (shown by hatch marks) extending from the bottom of the primary food compartment partially up the sidewalls of the primary food compartment have a greater amount of thermal insulation than the upper portion of the sidewalls  408  (shown without hatch marks). The greater degree of insulation may assist in keeping the lower portion of the primary food compartment cooler and reduce condensation on the outer surface of the food container.  FIG. 4  also shows the sidewalls  412  that form the cooling compartment. These portions of the sidewalls can be fabricated with an even higher degree of thermal insulation so as to help to keep the cooling compartment cool during use and to reduce condensation on the outer surface of the food container. 
         [0031]      FIG. 5  illustrates an example of a food container in which at least a portion of the sidewalls of the food container can be made from a colored material  504 , such as a light reflective material. Coloring the sidewalls with a light reflective material helps to reduce heat gain. 
         [0032]    In accordance with one embodiment, the sidewalls of a food container can be made from multiple layers. This can be done to provide a greater degree of thermal insulation than might be accomplished with a single layer of material. For example, in one embodiment an inner plastic layer can be combined with an outer plastic layer of material. The edges of the two layers can be sealed together so as to prevent warm outside air from contacting the inner layer. Moreover, a layer of air can be formed between the two layers of material, providing further thermal insulation. One of the layers, for example the inner layer, can have a greater capacity of thermal insulation than the other. Moreover, one of the layers can have a light reflection property. 
         [0033]      FIG. 6  illustrates an example cutaway view of a first sidewall layer  604  and a second sidewall layer  608  separated by a layer of air  612 . The sidewalls in  FIG. 6  are shown interfacing with bottom layer  616  and cooling compartment cover  620 . 
         [0034]    In accordance with one embodiment, the multiple layer embodiment can extend part of the way up a sidewall while the remainder of the sidewall is formed by a single layer of material. This can be done, for example, to provide the lower portion of the primary food container with a greater degree of thermal insulation. 
         [0035]    In accordance with one embodiment, the cooling compartment can be placed on the side of the food container rather than or in addition to the bottom of the food container. 
         [0036]    In yet another embodiment, the cooling compartment can be shaped so as to freeze water in a different shape than a rectangle. For example, elongated arms could be preconfigured to extend away from the cooling compartment and into the primary food compartment so as to allow water to be added and formed as frozen pillars within the primary food compartment. Or, the cooling compartment could be preconfigured in the form of a sphere so as to produce a frozen sphere that might melt less slowly during use. Other unique shapes for the cooling compartment could similarly be implemented to provide tailored cooling effects. 
         [0037]    The size of the food container need not necessarily be limited to meal size containers. In accordance with one embodiment, a larger size container could be implemented to facilitate storage and transportation of larger items. For example, embodiments could be sized to carry large loads of cold items as well as irregularly shaped items, such as ice cream to go. 
         [0038]    The word portion when used herein can denote not only a subset of an article but also the entire article. Thus, for example, reference to a bottom end portion can refer to the entire bottom end. 
         [0039]    It is also noted that many of the structures, materials, and acts recited herein can be recited as means for performing a function or step for performing a function. Therefore, it should be understood that such language is entitled to cover all such structures, materials, or acts disclosed within this specification and their equivalents, including any matter incorporated by reference. 
         [0040]    It is thought that the apparatuses and methods of embodiments described herein will be understood from this specification. While the above description is a complete description of specific embodiments, the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the patent as defined by the claims. 
         [0041]    It will be understood that while embodiments have been described in conjunction with specific examples, the foregoing description and examples are intended to illustrate, but not limit the scope of the disclosed technology. The elements and use of the above-described embodiments can be rearranged and combined in manners other than specifically described above, with any and all permutations within the scope of the disclosure.