Insulated Bag for Ice Storage

Abstract

An insulated bag for storing ice, where the bag comprises an inner layer of air cellular sheet material, an outer layer of air cellular sheet material, and a barrier sheet between the inner and outer layers of air cellular sheet material. The bag is provided with a sealable opening for inserting and removing ice from the bag. The air cellular sheet material may comprise entrapped air cells or bubbles. Preferably, one side of the air cellular sheet is flat and the other side comprises an array of protuberances formed by the entrapped air cells, where the non-flat sides of the sheets abut the barrier sheet. The barrier sheet may be formed from paper such as Kraft paper. Preferably, the sealable opening comprises a closure of seal, such as a plastic zip fastener or a thistle cloth hook and loop fastener, where the opening may be resealed following removal of contents from the bag.

1 . An insulated bag for storing ice, wherein the bag comprises an inner layer of air cellular sheet material, an outer layer of air cellular sheet material, and a barrier sheet between the inner and outer layers of air cellular sheet material, and the bag is provided with a sealable opening for inserting and removing ice from the bag. 
     
     
         2 . An insulated bag according to  claim 1 , wherein the entrapped air cells of the air cellular sheet material have a volume of from about 0.05 cm 3  to about 4 cm 3 , for example from about 0.2 cm 3  to about 1 cm 3 . 
     
     
         3 . An insulated bag according to  claim 1 , wherein the maximum thickness of the air cellular sheet material is from about 3 mm to about 25 mm, for example from about 5 mm to about 1 cm. Suitably, the entrapped air cells are arranged in a substantially close-packed array. 
     
     
         4 . An insulated bag according to  claim 1 , wherein the entrapped air cells of the air cellular sheet material form an array of protuberances on one side of the air cellular sheet, the other side of the sheet being substantially flat, and the non-flat sides of the sheets abut the barrier sheet. 
     
     
         5 . An insulated bag according to  claim 1 , wherein the barrier sheet is formed from paper, for example from Kraft paper. 
     
     
         6 . An insulated bag according to  claim 1 , wherein the sealable opening comprises closure/sealing means whereby the opening is readily resealable following removal of part of the contents of the bag. 
     
     
         7 . An insulated bag according to  claim 6 , wherein the closure/resealing means comprises a plastic zip fastener or thistle cloth. 
     
     
         8 . An insulated bag according to  claim 1 , further comprising an outer, carrier bag with a handle. 
     
     
         9 . An insulated bag according to  claim 1 , wherein the storage cpapcity of the bag is from about 100 g to about 10 kg of ice, for example from about 500 g to about 2 kg of ice. 
     
     
         10 . An insulated bag according to  claim 1 , containing from about 100 g to about 10 kg of ice, for example from about 500 g to about 2 kg of ice.