Patent Publication Number: US-2019177071-A1

Title: Ice Pack and Ice Pack Grid System

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present patent application claims the benefits of priority of commonly assigned UK Patent Application No. GB 1606301.8, entitled “ICE PACK GRID SYSTEM” and filed at the UK Intellectual Property Office on Apr. 12, 2016. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to ice packs and more particularly to an ice pack grid system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Ice packs have been in use for decades. Some are hollow plastic containers that can be filled with tap water and then to be frozen in a freezer, prior to their use in a cooler. Other ice packs contain a high density liquid which can keep cool for an extended period of time. The latter type of ice pack is sealed and its liquid is prevented from leaking. Existing ice packs do not have specific shapes that allow them to be easily combined or to be held in a specific configuration. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The aforesaid and other objectives of the present invention are realized by generally providing an ice pack that comprises means configured to receive the width of another ice pack. 
     The aforesaid and other objectives of the present invention are realized by generally providing an ice pack grid system that is configured to form spaces for items that need to be kept in a specific environment with temperature other than the temperature of the ambient environment. 
     In a first aspect, an ice pack generally shaped as a rectangular cuboid is provided. In at least one embodiment, the ice pack has a first face and a second face which are parallel to each other, each face comprising attachment means adapted to be removably attached to the face of another ice pack generally shaped as a rectangular cuboid, configured to create a grid forming a plurality of open spaces. 
     The attachment means may comprise at least one first slit extending between the first face and the second face, the first slit being configured to receive at least one portion of a second ice pack. 
     The second slit of the ice pack may extend between the first face and the second face. The second slit may be configured to receive at least one portion of at least a third ice pack. 
     The first and the second slits of the ice pack may be identical. The ice pack may be configured to interlock with the second ice pack in a substantially perpendicular configuration. The ice pack may have a hollow body configured to receive a freezable substance. The ice pack may also have a cap. For example, the items may be containers. For example, the containers may be beverage containers. 
     The ice pack may further have at least one recess on the first face of the hollow body and a second recess on the second face wherein the first and second recesses are aligned with each other. 
     The attachment means may be configured as a mortise and tenon. 
     In a second aspect, an ice pack for storage and transport of a plurality of items comprising at least one attachment means adapted to receive a second complementary attachment means of another ice pack to form a plurality of spaces for receiving a plurality of items, is provided. It at least one embodiment, the hollow body may be adapted to receive a freezable substance. The attachment means may be configured as a mortise and tenon. 
     In a third aspect, an ice pack grid system having at least one first ice pack having at least one first slit and at least one second ice pack having at least a second slit, is provided. In at least one embodiment, each of the at least one first slit is configured to receive at least one portion of the at least one second ice pack and to create a grid forming a plurality of spaces. 
     The system may further have at least a third ice pack having at least a third slit, the third slit being configured to receive at least one portion of at least the first ice pack and to create a grid forming a plurality of spaces. 
     The system may further have at least a fourth ice pack having at least a fourth slit, the fourth slit being configured to receive at least one portion of at least the second ice pack and to create a grid forming a plurality of spaces. 
     The first ice pack may be configured to interlock with said second ice pack in a substantially perpendicular configuration. For example, the first and the second slits may be identical. The first and the second ice packs may be identical. 
     In a fourth aspect, provided herein is an ice pack grid system for a plurality of items, the system comprising a plurality of ice packs of different lengths, each ice pack having at least one slit running substantially halfway across the ice pack&#39;s width, and each ice pack being sized so that the slit can straddle the width of another ice pack and thus interlock in a perpendicular configuration so as to create a grid pattern forming a plurality of spaces to receive items to be cooled. Each of the first and the second ice packs may have a hollow body configured to receive a freezable substance. 
     The ice pack grid system may further have a cooler attachment configured to attach the ice pack grid system to a cooler. 
     The ice pack may be configured to interlock with the second ice pack in a substantially perpendicular configuration. 
     The ice pack may have a hollow body configured to receive a freezable substance. 
     Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice. 
     The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of an example embodiment of an ice pack in accordance with present invention. 
         FIG. 2A  is a sectional view along the axis A-A of the ice pack shown at  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 2B  is a sectional view along the axis B-B of the ice pack shown at  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an example embodiment of an ice pack grid system in accordance with present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the ice pack grid system shown in  FIG. 3  along with containers and a cooler. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view the ice pack grid system, shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , in the cooler. 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of the ice pack grid system in the cooler with containers, in accordance with present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of another example embodiment of the ice pack in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view along the axis C-C of the ice pack shown at  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of another example embodiment of an ice pack grid system in accordance with present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the example embodiment of the ice pack grid system shown at  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a top view of the example embodiment of the ice pack grid system shown at  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of another example embodiment of an ice pack grid system in accordance with present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the example embodiment of the ice pack grid system shown at  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 14  is a side view of the example embodiment of the ice pack grid system shown at  FIG. 12 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A novel ice pack and ice pack grid system will be described hereinafter. Although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiments, it is to be understood that the embodiments described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby. 
     Coolers along with ice packs are typically used in order to transport or to temporary store objects in an environment with temperature lower than the temperature outside of the cooler. The ice packs are typically dropped down the cooler or positioned on either side of the cooler and then multiple objects to be cooled are thrown into the cooler to form a pile. 
     Such messy arrangement of the objects to be cooled does not lead to equal distribution of temperature in the cooler and the objects that are located closer to the ice packs are usually colder than the ones that are stored in the middle of the pile. 
     The ice packs and the ice pack grid system as described herein may help to improve and to provide more uniform distribution of the cold temperature in the cooler. 
     The ice pack grid system as described herein may provide a plurality of spaces that are partially surrounded by walls formed by portions of the ice packs. The size of such spaces may be configured to embrace at least partially each individual object to be stored in the cooler. Such configuration may permit the objects to be in almost similar temperature conditions. 
     The objects that may need to be cooled may be various items such as, for example, containers and/or objects (including but not limited to, living objects). For example, the objects may be cans (e.g. containing beverages) and/or fruits, vegetables, eggs, etc. Various drugs and medications may also need to be temporary stored and/or transported in a cooler environment. 
       FIG. 1  shows an example embodiment of an ice pack  100 , in accordance with present invention. The ice pack  100  may have a hollow body  110  which may be adapted to receive a freezable substance  150 . For example, the freezable substance  150  may be liquid, such as water and/or hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose (also known as CMC), sodium polyacrylate, or vinyl-coated silica gel or any other similar substance preferably approved for use with food. For example, the freezable substance  150  may be superabsorbent polymer, also known as SAP. 
     The ice pack  100  has one or more slits  14 . Each slit  14  is adapted to receive a portion of another ice pack.  FIG. 1  shows an example embodiment of the ice pack  100  with four slits  14 . It should be understood that the ice pack  100  may have any number of the slits  14 . Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B , the body  110  of the ice pack  100  has a width “d”, a length “l” and a height “h”, and the slits  14  may have slit width “s” and slit depth “k”. 
     The ice packs  100  are configured to form an ice pack grid system. The ice pack grid system may be formed of the ice packs  100  of identical dimensions or of various dimensions. 
       FIG. 3  shows an example embodiment of the system  200  with first ice packs  101  and second ice packs  102  having different dimensions. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3-6 , the system  200  may be adapted to the dimensions of the cooler  300 . The ice packs  100 ,  101 ,  102  in one system  200  may have not only different lengths, but also different heights and widths. For example, the ice packs  100 ,  101 ,  102  of three or more different lengths may be in one system  200 . Alternatively, the first and the second ice packs  101 ,  102  may be identical. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the first ice pack  101  has one or more first-pack slits  141  (hereafter “first slits  141 ”). The second ice pack  102  has one or more second-pack slits  142  (hereafter “second slits  142 ”). 
     Each slit  141  may be configured to receive a portion of a second ice pack  102 , and to straddle the width of the second ice pack  102 , in order to create a grid  200  forming a plurality of spaces (openings)  18 , each configured to receive an item, for example, one container  310 , as shown at  FIGS. 5-6 . 
     For example, the first slits  141  may be configured and dimensioned to receive portions  152  (and in particular, width) of the second ice packs  102 , while the second slits  142  may be configured and dimensioned to receive portions  151 , and in particular ice pack width d1 of the ice packs  101 . The ice packs  101 ,  102  may form a center lap joint (attachment) when the first slit  141  of the first ice pack receives the second slit  142  of the second ice pack  102 . 
     For example, the first and the second slits  141 ,  142  may be identical to receive the portions of ice packs  102 ,  101  of similar width, respectively. 
     Alternatively, the first ice packs  101  in system  200  may be narrower or wider than the second ice packs  102 . The first and the second slits  141 ,  142  may therefore have different dimensions adapted to the dimensions of the ice packs  102 ,  101 , respectively. The slit width s of the slits  141  of the first ice pack  101  may therefore be adapted to receive the width d2 of the second ice pack  102  and vice versa. For example, the width s of the slit  141  may be wider (e.g. wider by 0.01 mm to 50 mm) than the width d2 of the second ice pack  102  in order to receive and accommodate the portion  152  of the ice pack  102  to form the system  200 . 
     The at least one first ice pack  101  and the at least one second pack  102  may be configured to interlock with each other. For example, the first ice pack  101  and second pack  102  may interlock in a substantially perpendicular configuration, as shown at  FIGS. 3-6 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the slits  14  may be located along the length of the ice pack  100 . It should be understood that the slits  14  may be located on any side of the ice pack  100 . For example, some of the slits  14  may start from the side  115  of the ice pack  100  and the other may start from the side  116 . This may provide another example embodiment ice pack grid system that may have particular interlocking pattern for the ice packs, where some of second ice packs of the system are saddled onto the first ice packs from the top while the first ice packs are saddled onto the other second ice packs. 
     The slits  14  may be oriented at an angle alpha (“α” in  FIG. 1 ) to the side of the ice pack  100 . The angle alpha may be between 10 and 90° to one side  115  of the ice pack  100 .  FIG. 1  shows an example embodiment when the angle alpha is 90°. 
     The dimensions of the ice packs  100 ,  101 ,  102  such as length, width and/or height, may also be adapted to the size of a cooler  300  the system  200  is used with, so that, when the system  200  is assembled, the system  200  may fit into the cooler  300 , as shown at  FIGS. 3-5 . For example, the length l of the ice pack  100  may be 2 mm to 20 mm shorter than the length or the width of the cooler  300  to fit comfortably inside the cooler  300  when the ice pack  100  is frozen and when it is defrosted. 
     In at least one embodiment, the dimensions of the ice pack  100  may be adapted to the dimensions of the containers  310  to be used with the grid system  200 . For example, the distance m between the slits  14  (see  FIG. 1 ) may be designed such that the system  200 , when assembled, may embrace in each of the formed spaces  18  at least one item such as a container  310 , as shown at  FIGS. 4-6 . For example, such spaces  18  may be rectangular. Such spaces  18  may be partially closed. 
     The ice pack of claim  1 , wherein said attachment means comprises at least one first slit extending between the first face and the second face, the first slit being configured to receive at least one portion of a second ice pack. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , shown therein is an example embodiment of the ice pack  700  having the cap  170  configured to close the hollow body. For example, the cap  170  may be unscrewable. For example, the cap  170  may be located on a side of the ice pack  700 . 
     The ice pack  700  may also have one or more recesses  720  on at least one side of the hollow body  710 . For example, the recesses  720  may be located on opposite sides (e.g. front and back sides) of the ice pack  700 , as shown at  FIGS. 7 and 8 . The recesses  720  may thus form a passage  712  of a passage width w. For example, the passage may have a width being of at least 3 times narrower than the width of the body  710 . 
     The recesses  720  may help to reduce (or prevent) rounding of the ice pack  700  when freezing so that the ice pack  700  may still get into the slits of the other ice pack. Having the recesses  720  may also reduce the amount of material used to make the ice pack  700  and may reduce the cost of the ice pack  700 . 
     In at least one embodiment, the ice packs  101 ,  102 ,  700  as discussed herein may further have at least one cooler attachment (not shown). Such attachment may help to attach the ice packs  101 ,  102 ,  700  to the cooler  300 , in order to mount the ice pack grid system  200 , for example, to the cooler  300 . 
     In at least one embodiment, the ice packs in the ice pack grid system as discussed herein may further have at least one clipping system for clipping the ice packs to each other. The clipping system may be, for example, one or more buttons and/or clips located on the ice packs and configured to lock the ice packs to each other. 
     In at least one embodiment, the ice pack as described herein is generally shaped as a rectangular cuboid, having a first face and a second face which are parallel to each other. In at least one embodiment, each face comprises attachment means adapted to be removably attached to the face of another ice pack generally shaped as a rectangular cuboid, configured to create a grid forming a plurality of open spaces. 
     In at least one embodiment, the attachment means may comprise at least one first slit extending between the first face and the second face, the first slit being configured to receive at least one portion of the second ice pack. For example, the attachment means may be center lap joint. 
     In at least one embodiment, the attachment means may be configured as a mortise and tenon. When used herein, the term “mortise and tenon” includes attachment means such as “mortise and tenon”, “tongue and groove”, and “sliding dovetail” attachments (joints). Examples of mortise and tenon attachment means are shown at  FIGS. 9-14 . 
       FIGS. 9, 10 and 11  show another example embodiment of the ice pack grid system  900 . The system  900  may have a first ice pack  901 , a second ice pack  902 , and a third ice pack  903 , with channels  905  of the first ice pack  901  and protrusions  906  of the second and third ice pack  902 ,  903 . For example, the ice pack  901  may have at least one channel  905 , each adapted to receive a protrusion  906  of another ice pack ( 902 ,  903 ). For example, the first ice pack  901  may have the channels  905  on one side ( 915  or  916  at  FIG. 11 ) or both sides  915 ,  916 . 
     For example, the channels  905  and protrusions  906  may be configured such that the protrusion  906  may slidingly fit in the channel  905  to mount the second ice pack  902  (as well as the third ice pack  903  and other ice packs) to the first ice pack  901 . For example, the protrusion  906  may form one or more grooves  908  (preferably two) configured to receive matching ridges  909  of the channels  905  so that the ice packs may be mounted to each other. 
     The first ice pack  901  may also have at least one protrusion  907 . For example, the protrusion  907  may be configured to fit into a matching channel (not shown) located on the cooler. The protrusion  907  may also be configured to fit into a matching channel of another ice pack. 
     It should be understood that the system  900  may include other ice packs similar to the ice packs  901 ,  902 ,  903 . 
       FIGS. 12, 13 and 14  show another example embodiment of the ice pack grid system  950 . The first ice pack  951  may have openings  955 , each configured to receive protrusions  956  of another ice pack (second ice pack  952  and/or third ice pack  953 ). The first ice pack  951  may also have at least one side protrusion  957 . Such side protrusion  957  may be configured to fit into the opening of another ice pack and/or fit into a matching opening of the cooler. The first ice pack  951  may also have a side slit  959  configured to receive a matching protrusion (not shown) of another ice pack and/or the cooler. 
     It should be understood that the ice packs may have any number of protrusions that may fit into the matching openings of the other ice packs. For example, the ice pack  952  may have two (or more) protrusions on the same side  910 , such protrusions being configured to fit into two (or more) openings that may be located on the first ice pack  951  (instead of one opening  955  as shown at  FIG. 12 ). It should be understood that the form of the openings  955  and protrusions  956  may be any form (round, oval, square, etc.) so long as they match each other. 
     It should be understood that the system  950  may include other ice packs similar to the ice packs  951 ,  952 ,  953 . 
     While illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.