Cooling container assembly

Abstract

A passive cooling container assembly for keeping food cool is disclosed. The assembly comprises an outer, thermally-insulating shell and an inner, thermally-conductive shell nested into and possibly affixed to the outer shell. The inner shell has a recessed volume at a bottom of the inner shell. A removable cold disk is provided and is configured to rest within the recessed volume of the inner shell. The cold disk comprises a material which may be thermally cooled and permanently encapsulated within a casing. The cooling container assembly also includes a removable food container capable of being nested into the inner shell. Optionally, a removable lid is also provided which fits onto the food container.

1 . A cooling container assembly, said assembly comprising: 
 a thermally-insulating outer shell;    a thermally-conductive inner shell configured to nest within said outer shell, said inner shell having a recessed volume at a bottom portion of said inner shell;    a removable cold disk configured to rest within said recessed volume of said inner shell, said cold disk comprising a chillable, freezable, or activatable material; and    a removable food container configured to nest within said inner shell.    
   
   
       2 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein said removable food container includes a rim circumscribing an upper edge of said removable food container.  
   
   
       3 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 2  further comprising a lid capable of being snapped onto said rim of said removable food container, wherein said lid is not a double-walled structure with an insulating air gap or vacuum gap therebetween.  
   
   
       4 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein there are no handles attached to or integrated into any portion of said assembly.  
   
   
       5 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  further comprising at least one volume of gas between at least one portion of said thermally-insulating outer shell and at least one portion of said thermally-conductive inner shell.  
   
   
       6 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  further comprising at least one vacuum gap between at least one portion of said thermally-insulating outer shell and at least one portion of said thermally-conductive inner shell.  
   
   
       7 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein said chillable, freezable, or activatable material of said cold disk includes at least one of water, a gel material, a liquid material, a solid material, a semi-solid material, and an alcohol-based liquid.  
   
   
       8 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein said removable cold disk further comprises a casing permanently encapsulating said chillable, freezable, or activatable material.  
   
   
       9 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 8  wherein said casing of said cold disk comprises at least one of a plastic material and an aluminum material.  
   
   
       10 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein said thermally-insulating outer shell comprises a thermally-insulating plastic material.  
   
   
       11 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein said thermally-insulating outer shell is opaque.  
   
   
       12 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein said thermally-insulating outer shell is at least partially transparent.  
   
   
       13 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein said thermally-conductive inner shell comprises an aluminum material.  
   
   
       14 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein said removable food container comprises a stainless steel material.  
   
   
       15 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein said thermally-conductive inner shell is permanently affixed to said thermally-insulating outer shell.  
   
   
       16 . The cooling container assembly of  claim 1  wherein said thermally-conductive inner shell is removable from said thermally-insulating outer shell.  
   
   
       17 . A method of assembling a cooling container, said method comprising: 
 nesting a thermally-conductive inner shell into a thermally-insulating outer shell;    placing a removable cold disk into a recessed volume at a bottom portion of said inner shell; and    nesting a removable food container into said inner shell over said cold disk.    
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising snapping a removable lid onto said removable food container, wherein said lid is not a double-walled structure with an insulating air gap or vacuum gap therebetween.  
   
   
       19 . A method of keeping food cool, said method comprising: 
 chilling, freezing, or activating a removable cold disk;    placing said food into a removable food container and chilling said food in said removable food container;    placing said cold disk into a recessed volume at a bottom portion of a thermally-conductive inner shell that is nested into a thermally-insulating outer shell; and    nesting said chilled food container, containing said chilled food, into said inner shell.    
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19  further comprising snapping a removable lid onto said removable food container, wherein said lid is not a double-walled structure with an insulating air gap or vacuum gap therebetween.