EP0802121A1

EP0802121A1 - Inflatable waterproof container

Info

Publication number: EP0802121A1
Application number: EP97830178A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Federico Gonella
Original assignee: Evoluzione SRL
Current assignee: Evoluzione SRL
Priority date: 1996-04-16
Filing date: 1997-04-15
Publication date: 1997-10-22
Also published as: ITMI960292U1; IT240601Y1

Abstract

An inflatable waterproof container, preferably made of PVC or the like, consists of a plurality of inflatable elements (1) joined to form a container-shaped structure, said inflatable elements (1) being in communication among themselves, all of them or in groups, so as to be inflated through one or more valves (2). The bottom of the container may consist of a piece of material joined along its periphery to the lateral supporting structure, while the lid (3) may be integral therewith and coupled thereto through a zip (4). Alternatively, the lid may be removable and coupled to the container base by fastening means formed by two members (e.g. hooks, press studs, etc.), one being fixed on the base and the other on the lid respectively.

Description

The present invention relates to containers in general, such as boxes, baskets, holders, etc., and in particular to containers made of a waterproof material and having an inflatable structure.
It is known that several different types of containers exist which have a collapsible structure allowing to reduce the bulkiness thereof when they are not in use. This type of containers is generally made of materials such as cardboard, plastic-coated cardboard, rigid plastic, wood-chip board, etc.
The drawbacks of this prior art containers are mainly of two kinds. A first kind of drawback comes from the rigidity of the members which make up the collapsible structure and define its way of collapsing. For example, the height can be reduced to a minimum in a box whose sides fold down on the bottom, but width and length will remain unchanged. In such a way, the bulkiness of the collapsed box is reduced along one dimension only, whereby it may be difficult to store the box even in the collapsed state.
A second kind of drawback stems from the sensitivity to water and humidity of the materials, except plastic, of which known containers are made. In fact, it is clear that a basket made of cardboard or wood-chip board will undergo a rapid deterioration of its structural characteristics when placed in a damp room or in a place where it can be wet, such as typically in a bathroom, in a kitchen, in a cellar and the like.
On the other hand, in order to obtain a light and cheap container, it is clearly advantageous to use a material such as cardboard, which however has a high sensitivity to humidity.
Therefore the object of the present invention is to provide a container suitable to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks.
This object is achieved by means of a container having the characteristics disclosed in claim 1.
A first essential advantage of the container according to the present invention is that of providing the user with a much greater freedom in the way of collapsing the structure. As a matter of fact, a flexible inflatable structure allows for a reduction of the bulkiness along one or more dimensions at will. For example, a parallelepipedal box can be collapsed into a long and narrow tube (rolled up along the longest side) or a short and large tube (rolled up along the shortest side) or even into a cube (through subsequent foldings along the two sides).
A second advantage of the present container is that of combining structural lightness and absolute impermeability. In this way, this type of container can be used in any room and for any purpose which also includes the contact with water. For example, it can be used as a laundry basket in a bathroom, or a holder for sponges and the like in a kitchen, or a multi-purpose case in a cellar, and so on.
A further advantage of the inflatable structure is that it has an intrinsic feature of blow cushioning, whereby it is unbreakable and also properly protects the items contained therein.
These and other advantages and characteristics of the container according to the present invention will be clear to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of two embodiments thereof, with reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

Fig.1 is a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of a container shaped as a cylindrical basket with an integral lid; and
Fig.2 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of a container shaped as a rectangular case with no lid.

With reference to said figures, there is seen that a container according to the present invention essentially consists of a plurality of inflatable elements 1 joined during the molding step and/or by subsequent welding. Said elements 1 are in communication among themselves, all of them or in groups, so as to be inflated through one or more valves 2, like e.g. the inflatable mattresses for beach use. The material used to manufacture this type of container is usually polyvinyl chloride (PVC), but clearly any other material which is flexible, waterproof and easily moldable is also adequate for this purpose.
The bottom of the container (not seen in the figures) may also consist of a structure including one or more inflatable elements, or it may simply be a piece of material welded along its periphery to the lateral supporting structure. The lid, if present, may similarly be a simple piece of material, an inflatable structure or a mixed material/inflatable structure, and it can be inserted or put on the container base, or it can be fastened thereto by other means such as hooks, press studs, velcro strips, etc., which are fixed on the two members to be coupled.
As an example, the cylindrical basket of fig. 1 has a lid 3 consisting of a piece of material joined to the top of the lateral structure of the basket along a limited portion of its circumference. The connection along the rest of the circumference is achieved through a zip 4 whose halves are integrated along the periphery of lid 3 and the top of the lateral structure, respectively. In this way, lid 3 is integral with the container and capable of sealing it completely.
Obviously, also the rectangular case of fig.2 could be provided with a lid, similar to that of fig.1 or of another kind, so as to turn it into a closed box.
It is clear that the above-described and illustrated embodiments of the container according to the invention are just examples susceptible of various modifications. In particular, the number, shape and arrangement of the inflatable elements 1 may be freely changed so as to obtain structures of any kind for the most different needs. Similarly, the number, type and arrangement of valves 2 may be freely adapted to the type of inflatable structure to obtain. Finally, other materials may be used, as mentioned above, as long as they have adequate characteristics of flexibility, elasticity, impermeability, moldability, lightness and cheapness.

Claims

An inflatable container characterized in that it essentially consists of a plurality of inflatable elements (1) joined to form a container-shaped structure, said inflatable elements (1) being in communication among themselves, all of them or in groups, so as to be inflated through one or more valves (2).
A container according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made of a flexible and waterproof material.
A container according to claim 2, characterized in that the material is polyvinyl chloride.
A container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bottom of the container consists of a piece of material joined along its periphery to the lateral supporting structure.
A container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further includes a lid (3) joined to the structure along a portion of its periphery and coupled thereto along the rest of its periphery through a zip (4) whose halves are integrated along the periphery of the lid (3) and the edge of the structure, respectively.
A container according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it further includes a removable lid coupled to the container base by fastening means formed by two members, one being fixed on the base and the other on the lid respectively.