Abstract:
A collapsible container includes a compressive wall and a base. The base includes a retaining ring extending from at least a portion of its circumference, and the base is also made of a hardened material compared to the material making up the compressive wall. The compressive wall is adapted to be retained around the circumference of the base via the retaining ring.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/AU2007/001163, filed Aug. 17, 2007, and entitled “Collapsible Container,” the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates to a collapsible container such as a bowl, plate or mug. 
       BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The following discussion of the background to the invention is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention. However, it should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgment or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge in any jurisdiction as at the priority date of the application. 
         [0004]    Collapsible bowls have commonly been made of a silicon-based material. While this provides the resilience and flexibility required to allow such bowls to be collapsible, these same attributes can result in the base of the bowl losing its structural shape. This impedes the stability of the container when being carried or handled, especially when the container is full. Furthermore, such materials are generally prone to damage when metal eating utensils are used to eat food served thereon. 
         [0005]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to alleviate or reduce, at least in part, the aforementioned problems. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    Throughout this document, unless otherwise indicated to the contrary, the terms “comprising”, “consisting of”, and the like, are to be construed as non-exhaustive, or in other words, as meaning “including, but not limited to”. 
         [0007]    In accordance with the present invention, there is a collapsible container comprising:
       a compressive wall; and   a base having a retaining ring extending from at least a portion of its circumference;   where, the base is made of a hardened material compared to the material making up the compressive wall and the compressive wall is adapted to be retained around the circumference of the base by way of the retaining ring.       
 
         [0011]    The base may be made of a material of a suitable hardness to allow handling and carrying of contents. In other arrangements, the base may be made of a material of a suitable hardness to allow eating utensils to be used thereon without damaging its structural integrity. Ideally, the base is made of a material of a suitable hardness to allow small knives to be used thereon without damaging its structural integrity. The compressive wall may be made from a silicon-derived material. 
         [0012]    The compressive wall preferably consists of a series of linked layers. In a preferred form, each linked layer has a shape substantially similar to a parallelogram in cross section. This allows the compressive wall to expand and collapse with ease. 
         [0013]    The retaining ring may have a plurality of apertures provided therein and the compressive wall is retained to the base by a plurality of retaining lugs extending therefrom being received on at least a one-to-one basis in the plurality of apertures. Alternatively, the retaining ring has a plurality of retaining lugs extending therefrom and the compressive wall is retained to the base by a receiving the plurality of retaining lugs in a plurality of apertures provided therein on at least a one-to-one basis. It is further preferred that the retaining ring extend around the complete circumference of the base. 
         [0014]    An overlaying layer may be applied to the retaining lugs, as received within the apertures, to provide additional strength to the join between base and compressive wall. 
         [0015]    A top strengthening ring is provided at the end of the compressive wall not connected to the base. Additional strengthening rings may be provided in the compressive wall between the base and the top strengthening ring. Such additional strengthening rings are preferably provided between pairs of linked layers. 
         [0016]    The top strengthening ring can be adapted to allow a lid to be connected thereto. A handle may also be incorporated to extend from the base to the top strengthening ring to facilitate carrying of the container. To retain compactness of the container, the handle is ideally adapted to be recessed into the base when not in use. To prevent loss of the handle, the handle may also be hingedly connected to the base. 
         [0017]    The collapsible wall may be arranged to expand in a manner that the diameter of each successive layer is smaller than that of its preceding layer the further the layer is from the base. 
         [0018]    The interior side of the collapsible wall can be labelled with a series of indicators and the volumetric capacity of the container at such indicators. As an additional feature, the container may also include feet made from a non-skid material. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  is an exploded isometric view of a collapsible bowl according to the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the collapsible bowl shown in  FIG. 1  in its collapsed state. 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  is a cut-away view of a portion of the collapsible bowl shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    Specific embodiments of the present invention are now described in detail. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 
         [0024]    In accordance with a first embodiment of the invention there is a collapsible bowl  10 . The collapsible bowl  10  comprises a base  12  and a compressive wall  14 . 
         [0025]    The base  12  is made from a nylon material to a hardness suitable for small knives to be used thereon without damaging the structural integrity of the base. The base  12  is circular. Protruding from the base is a retaining ring  17 . The retaining ring  17  has a plurality of apertures  18  disposed about its circumference. 
         [0026]    The compressive wall  14  is frustoconical in its uncompressed state. In this uncompressed state, the diameter of one open end of the compressive wall  14  is of substantially equal size to the diameter to the base  12 . The compressive wall  14  is made of a silicon-derived material. 
         [0027]    The compressive wall  14  consists of a series of layers  20 . Each layer  20  is shaped like a cross-sectional shape similar to a parallelogram as shown in  FIG. 3 . The layers  20  are linked to each other. 
         [0028]    The layer  20  to which the base  12  is to be attached has a series of retaining lugs  22  disposed about its circumference. Each retaining lug  22  is adapted to be received within an aperture  18 . 
         [0029]    To prevent disassociation of the base  12  from the compressive wall  14 , an additional layer of silicon-based material overlays each retaining lug  22  received within an aperture  18 . Thus, the retaining ring  17  is received within the first layer  20  in a tongue and groove configuration. 
         [0030]    In use, the collapsible bowl  10  is provided in its collapsed state as shown in  FIG. 3  to facilitate easy storage. In this position, the side of the base  12  opposing the collapsible wall  14  may be used as a chopping board. 
         [0031]    To convert the collapsible bowl  10  into a container, layer  20   d  is gripped and pulled in the direction illustrated by arrow A in  FIG. 1 . Pulling layer  20   d  in this direction causes layer  20   c  to rotate about its connection to layer  20   b  in the direction indicated by arrow B due to that layers  20   c  own connection to layer  20   d.  This continues until layers  20   b,    20   c  and  20   d  are in substantial alignment to each other. At this point, the height of the bowl is increased by an amount equal to the combined height of layers  20   c,    20   d.    
         [0032]    This process can then be repeated for each new layer  20  until the compressible bowl  10  has reached its full uncompressed state or the user has uncompressed the bowl to their desired height. 
         [0033]    To compress the bowl  10 , the user pushes on layer  20   d  of the compressive wall  14  in a direction opposite to that shown by arrow A. Because of the offset connection between layers  20  caused by their parallelogram shape, force applied in this direction forces layer  20   d  to rotate about its connection with layer  20   c  in the direction indicated by arrow C. This continues until layer  20   d  abuts layer  20   c.  Layer  20   c  can then be folded in to also abut layer  20   b,  and so on, if the material has not already facilitated such abutment. 
         [0034]    This continues until each all layers  20  have been compressed to form a substantially flat bowl. 
         [0035]    It should be appreciated by the person skilled in the art that the above invention is not limited to the embodiment described. In particular, the following modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention:
       To provide the collapsible bowl  10  with additional strength, the top-most layer  20  of the collapsible bowl may be provided with a strengthening ring. The strengthening ring is designed to assist in preventing the silicon-based material of the top-most layer from collapsing on one side only. The strengthening ring may take the form of an embedded metal wire or ring made from the same material as the base  12 . Additionally, the strengthening ring may be adapted to allow a lid to be securely fitted thereover or otherwise connected thereto.   In a configuration where the strengthening ring allows for a lid to be connected thereto, the lid may contain a vent to allow heated air to escape therefrom. Alternatively, where the collapsible container is used to hold liquids, the lid may have a dispensing means, such as a sipper, provided therein to facilitate dispensing of the liquid.   The collapsible bowl may be provided with additional strengthening rings. Such additional strengthening rings may assist in preventing the silicon-based material of intervening layers  20  form collapsing on one side only.   The respective layers  20  of the collapsible bowl may be labelled on the interior wall with details of the volume capacity of the bowl at that layer  20  in its uncompressed state. To elaborate, if the first layer  20  has a measurement capacity of 100 ml, if the bowl  10  is subsequently filled with a liquid to the level of the top of the first layer  20 , the amount of liquid within the bowl  10  should equate to approximately 100 ml.   While the invention has been described in the context of a collapsible bowl, the same principles can be applied to form a collapsible plate and/or a collapsible mug or any other form of container.   Where the present invention is modified to form a collapsible mug, it is preferred that a strengthening ring be provided in respect of the top-most layer  20 . The provision of the strengthening ring in the top-most layer then allows for a handle to be fitted to the mug. To ensure that the addition of the handle does not detract from the otherwise compact nature of the compressible mug, the handle may be recessed in the base  12  of the mug. Ideally, the recessed handle may be hingedly connected to the base  12  such that rotation of the handle about the hinge essentially places the handle in a position to be connected to the top-most layer of the mug.   The concertinaed arrangement of the collapsible wall may be inverted such that in an uncompressed state, the diameter of each layer  20  of the compressive wall  14  so uncompressed decreases rather than increases as described above. This arrangement is particularly suited to liquid containers where the decreasing diameter provides additional containment of the liquid.   The base  12  may be provided with feet that extend from the opposing side to the compressive wall  14 . The feet may take the form of rubberised patches or protrusions made from a non-skid material. Alternatively, the feet may take the form of one portion of a hook and eye securing devices such as that made under the trade name Velcro™.   The retaining lug  22  and aperture  18  arrangement described above may be reversed such that the retaining lugs  22  are provided in the retaining ring  17  and the apertures  18  provided in the compressive wall  14 .   The base  12  may be made of any suitably hardened material relative to the compressive wall  14 . Ideally, the material is sufficiently hardened to allow eating utensils and/or knives to be used thereon without substantially affecting the structural integrity of the base  12 .       
 
         [0046]    Furthermore, the features described in the above embodiments and the additional features mentioned above may be combined to form yet additional embodiments that fall within the scope of the present invention.