Patent ID: 8424708

Claim:
An expandable and collapsible cooler, comprising: (a) a base defining a bottom portion of the cooler; (b) an upper rim defining an upper portion of the cooler; and (c) a cooler wall extending between said base and said upper rim and surrounding an interior storage space of the cooler; (d) wherein said cooler wall comprises an inner collapsible wall that extends from the upper rim, an outer collapsible wall that extends from the upper rim, and a common bottom wall to which the collapsible inner and outer walls are joined and from which the collapsible inner and outer walls extend; (e) wherein each of said inner and outer collapsible walls comprises a flexible elastomeric membrane that includes a plurality of hinge lines at which the membrane is configured to bend such that the membrane is transitional between a respective collapsed configuration and a respective expanded configuration; (f) wherein the outer collapsible wall surrounds the inner collapsible wall such that the inner and outer collapsible walls define an intermediate space therebetween for insulating the interior storage space from an exterior of the cooler; (g) wherein the cooler is transitionable between an expanded configuration for use of the cooler, and a collapsed configuration during nonuse of the cooler, by bending of said membranes of the inner and outer collapsible walls along said respective hinge lines, each of the expanded and collapsed configurations being a stable configuration of the cooler; (h) wherein the upper rim comprises an inner rim wall and an outer rim wall, wherein the inner collapsible wall is attached to the inner rim wall of the upper rim, and the outer collapsible wall is attached to the outer rim wall of the upper rim; and (i) wherein one or more rigid connectors extend between and join the inner rim wall and the outer rim wall.