CollapsibleThermallyInsulatingContainer

Abstract

A collapsible container, consisting of a plurality of coaxially arranged telescopic rigid outer ring sections, and a flexible inner liner. Said ring sections offer both grooves and tabs to guide and limit the collapsing motion of the sections, with said grooves containing ridges to further limit and control the action of the given movement. This structure facilitates numerous functions that make it attractive in use, namely but not limited to; multiple lockable heights, offsetting of the inner liner from outer shell leading to greater insulating properties, and a lessening for the need of additional heat sleaves for ease and comfort in use. The inner flexible liner is readily detachable from and affixable to the telescopic ring sections, for ease in cleaning and/or replacing. For use, the inner liner is semi permanently fixated to the upper most ring section.

1 . A collapsible container comprising;
 a lid section;   an inner flexible sleeve;   a body of coaxially orientated telescopic ring sections that facilitates the extending and collapsing motions;   a plurality of tab extrusions that are proximate to the outer upper edge of the respective ring sections;   a plurality of inner grooves on the internal surface of the respective ring sections which guide and limit the movement of said tabs and respective ring sections when the body is in its assembled embodiment and/or between rested states;   said movement can be ascribed to being vertical which is generally perpendicular to the base surface, and lateral which is generally coincident in motion to that of the bottom surface, with the vertical action being employed when in its unlocked expanding or collapsing motions, and the lateral motion when applying a semi-locked or unlocked state, with there being no screw type of motion employed by the mechanism in any of its embodiments;   ridges within said internal grooves limit the travel of said tabs so there are rested or semi-locked positions which mitigate undesired movements between rested states, and are employed or unemployed in respect to said lateral motions;   said tabs are required to traverse said internal ridges to reach the semi-locked rested state from the unlocked state, or vice versa,   an unlocked position of said tabs whereby they enable the mechanism to employ said vertical movement between different height levels;   the flexible inner sleeve is semi-permanently affixed to the upper edge of body with a combination of fastening plugs and respective holes, or other fastening means such as a lip on the inner sleeve holding onto an upper edge of the upper section of the body;   a seal is created when said lid section is semi-permanently affixed to said body upper edge through such means as complimentary screw threads between the body and lid section, and the inner sleeve is compressed between the lid and the body sections;   
     
     
         2 . The container of  claim 1 , with means of semi permanently affixing the inner sleeve to the bottom section of the telescopic body ring sections, such as inner sleeve having an extruded tongue which tightly fits into a complimentary hole provided by the bottom ring section. 
     
     
         3 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein there are vertical ridges provided by either the female or male, or both, of the said female male connection. 
     
     
         4 . The container of  claim 1 , where the lid is comprised of two layers, top lid, and inner lid, which offers a contained gap between, which may be held together through; sonic welding, screws, clips or other. 
     
     
         5 . The container of  claim 4 , that has a mouth plug that is proximate to a hole provided by said lid section, and movable laterally inward by means of sliding with a digit to open, and effectively slid outward to close. 
     
     
         6 . The container of  claim 5 , wherein there is a raised ridge that is around the mouthpiece through which contents are transferred from inside to outside, or vice versa, with the raised ridge either coming from the mouth plug or the lid, in order to give greater sealing of fluid. 
     
     
         7 . The container of  claim 4 , wherein one of said layers provides a plurality of extruded nodes that keep the respective inner surfaces more reliably equidistant. 
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 1 , where the means of counter rotational force being applied to the bottom section is facilitated with retracting flap that requires assembly with a spring or similar. 
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 1 , whereby the limits of upward movement in its collapsed state to ensure assembly is maintained, is provided by contact of the top of said tabs with the internal top surface of the said internal grooves in the respect ring sections. 
     
     
         10 . The container of  claim 1 , whereby the limits of upward movement in its collapsed state to ensure assembly is maintained, is provided by contact proximate to the top outer edge of respective rings sections with internal tabs of the respective ring section. 
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 1 , whereby the limits of upward movement in its collapsed state to ensure assembly is maintained, is provided by contact of additional tabs that are proximate to the bottom of the outer surface with internal complimentary groove cuts to the respective ring section. 
     
     
         12 . The container of  claim 1 , whereby the some or all tabs have cuts to either side to provide greater ability in movement in the inward lateral motion. 
     
     
         13 . The container of  claim 1 , where the tabs have bevels to their adjoining side edges to the respective ring sections, that are greater than half the length of said tabs. 
     
     
         14 . The container of  claim 1 , where the tabs have a bevel or bevels to their adjoining bottom edge or edges to the respective ring sections, that are greater than half the length of said tabs. 
     
     
         15 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the lid section provides means of semi permanently affixing an additional item to the top surface, such as a male or female connection, or screw type embodiment, or similar 
     
     
         16 . The container of  claim 1 , whereby there is rotational handle that is connected to the uppermost ring section of the body assembly, which is affixed with a bolt like hinge or similar. 
     
     
         17 . The container of  claim 15 , wherein the handle can be semi permanently affixed in rotational movement, with complimentary structural means provided by the same ring section that provides the hinge mechanism for the handle. 
     
     
         18 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the counter rotational force applied to the bottom section is provided by offering; ridges, grooves, tabs or other, on the bottom surface, through which the user generally applies said counter force with their digits of their hand. 
     
     
         19 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the upper most connecting edge of the body to inner sleeve, embodies chamfer cuts proximate to the outer edge, to facilitate more efficient means of separating said inner sleeve and body sections by creating an overhanging lip of said inner sleeve through which to appropriate said separating action. 
     
     
         20 . The container of  claim 1 , where in each of the telescopic body sections graduate in height from lower most section, to upper most, whereby the lower most ring is the smallest height and also contains the means to enact the counter rotational for, and the upper most is the tallest and retains that means through which to semi permanently affix the inner liner to its upper most edge, and all the intermediary stages graduate in height from the former to the later, in order to offer a greater volume of area for the folding inner liner when in its collapsed end state 
     
     
         21 . The container of  claim 1 , whereby there is an additional tab or tabs, that protrude generally perpendicular to the outer surface, through which counter rotational force can be applied when employing a movement from a semi locked to unlocked state, or vice versa. 
     
     
         22 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein there are complimentary indicational marking on the inner sleeve and top surface of the bottom lid, to facilitate clarity in terms of the correct pairing of connections to be made 
     
     
         23 . The container of  claim 1 , whereby the inner sleeve accommodates multiple cavities to hold given contents and keep them separated, though means of contact of the uppermost edge with the bottom internal surface of the lid section. 
     
     
         24 . The container of  claim 23 , wherein there is an additional flexible sleeve that can be inserted into one of the cavities, so to enable greater separation of given contents if desired. 
     
     
         25 . The container of  claim 1 , whereby each of the telescopic ring sections is slightly taller than the preceding section, from the bottom through to the top, in order to create a cavity space within the product when in its fully collapsed state, in which the inner flexible sleave can be situated.