The present invention is a continuation-in-part application of my application Ser. No. 750,171, filed Dec. 13, 1976 and now abandoned.
This invention relates generally to portable containers for food and more particularly to an insulated, pliable lunch bag adapted for carrying food and drinks while protecting them from deterioration.
Portable containers for carrying food have been known for many years. The most popular containers still widely in use today are lunch boxes. Containers of this type, while somewhat satisfactory in some instances, are characterized by a disadvantage in that their body is of a rigid metallic or plastic construction and in that the food items placed therein are frequently susceptible to deterioration or soft drinks become undesirably warm in a relatively short period of time, especially in hot weather. Other types of food containers in form of bags or the like receptacles constructed from fabric or plastic materials which constitute the closest prior art of which I am aware have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,289,254 to Eagles and 2,667,198 to Klein. However, such bags have the common disadvantage of lacking pliability necessary for being folded or rolled up when empty. Consequently their overall size remains substantially the same after the food items have been removed which renders such bags somewhat cumbersome and inconvenient as they require to be hand-carried in empty condition. Moreover, the constitutional features of such bags are distinct from those of the lunch bag of this invention.