A ,cooler, portable ice chest, ice box, cool box, chilly bin (in New Zealand), or esky (Australia) is an insulated box used to keep food or drink cool.
Ice cubes are most commonly placed in it to help the contents inside stay cool. Ice packs are sometimes used, as they either contain the melting water inside, or have a gel sealed inside that stays cold longer than plain ice (absorbing heat as it changes phase).
Coolers are often taken on picnics, and on vacation or holiday. Where summers are hot, they may also be used just for getting cold groceries home from the store, such as keeping ice cream from melting in a hot automobile. Even without adding ice, this can be helpful, particularly if the trip home will be lengthy. Some coolers have built-in cup holders in the lid.
They are usually made with interior and exterior shells of plastic, with a hard foam in between. They come in sizes from small personal ones to large family ones with wheels. Disposable ones are made solely from polystyrene foam (such as is a disposable coffee cup) about 2 cm or one inch thick. Most reusable ones have molded-in handles; a few have shoulder straps. The cooler has developed from just a means of keeping beverages cold into a mode of transportation with the ride-on cooler. A thermal bag, cooler bag or cool bag is very similar in concept, but typically smaller and not rigid.
The original inventor of the cooler is unknown, with versions becoming available in various parts of the world throughout the 1950s.
The portable ice chest was patented in the USA by Richard C. Laramy of Joliet, Illinois. On February 24, 1951, Laramy filed an application with the United States Patent Office for a portable ice chest (Serial No. 212,573). The patent (#2,663,157) was issued December 22, 1953.
In 1952, the portable Esky Auto Box was released in Australia by the Sydney refrigeration company Malley’s. Made from steel and finished in baked enamel and chrome, with cork sheeting for insulation, the Esky became the first mass produced cooler on the market. The brand found huge success and by 1960, 500,000 Australian households owned one (in a country of approximately 3 million households at the time).
The Coleman Company popularized the cooler within the USA with its initial offering of a galvanized cooler in 1954. Three years later, Coleman developed a process to make a plastic liner for coolers and jugs.
The current models are constructed with two layers: polypropylene on the outer shell, with a polyurethane inner layer. This makes it lightweight and portable with excellent insulation. The Esky originally had a steel outside shell, and used cork for insulation. In the 1960s, a single layer of thick polystyrene was often used, but they were easily damaged or destroyed.
The lightweight construction makes most eskies float in water, and they have been recommended by safety specialists to be used as an improvised lifebuoy, if more specialized equipment is not available.[10] Numerous people have been saved after using either the whole esky or the esky lid as flotation devices after boating accidents.
In Australia, the 'esky' name has become, or as a legal matter nearly has become, genericised: the popularity of the product has led to the use of its name to refer to any cooler box, regardless of the brand. Many dictionaries, including the Australian National Dictionary and the Macquarie Dictionary, now include definitions in their publications defining it as such. However, the use of the Esky trademark must be approved by the brand owner to avoid any liability.
Government agencies and media outlets in Australia have used the term in preference to generic alternatives.
