Abstract:
A cooler whereby a user may store cold stored commodities while additionally serving as a location whereby one or more users may sit upon like a bench. The present invention provides seating by a combination of provided padding on its top surface, a telescopic back rest that folds up or down to provide back support and extendable legs to raise and lower the device to a suitable height whereby a user may comfortably sit upon.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates generally to coolers and, more specifically, to a cooler having a padded cushion attached to its top, a telescopic back rest and retractable legs that when deployed and utilized together form a place to sit or bench. The cooler bench seat is comprised of a housing having a cooler portion with a hinged lid covered by a padding forming the cooler-bench seat portion, a telescopically extendable retractable back-rest portion forming the cooler-bench seat-back portion and extendable retractable legs to raise the cooler to a more suitable sitting height. Additionally on the opposing ends of the cooler body a plastic pocket for a teams logo or indicia is supplied for display there through. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   There are other cooler devices designed for sitting on top of. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 2,812,227 issued to Hill on Nov. 5, 1957. 
   Another patent was issued to Nazar. on Oct. 2, 1984 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,407. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,767 was issued to Peer on Sep. 24, 1991 and still yet another was issued on Mar. 31, 1992 to Baltzell as U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,198. 
   Another patent was issued to Greenwich on Aug. 26, 1997 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,296. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,844 was issued to O&#39;Quinn et al. on Mar. 17, 1998. Another was issued to Shyr on Dec. 14, 1999 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,752 and still yet another was issued on Jan. 29, 2002 to Stem-Gonzalez as U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,817. 
   Another patent was issued to McLure on Nov. 3, 2003 as Australian Patent No. 2003100682. Yet another Japanese Patent No. JP2005329962 was issued to Minoru on Dec. 2, 2005. Another was issued to Ward on Nov. 23, 2005 as Canadian Patent No. CA2587933 and still yet another was issued on Nov. 23, 2006 to Stallman as U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0261654. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 2,812,227 
   Inventor: A. Hill 
   Issued: Nov. 5, 1957 
   A combined hassock and bar comprising a hollow body, said body being formed open at its top and at least at one side thereof, lid means normally closing the top of said body, door means normally closing said side of the body, a tray mounted for vertical sliding movement within the body, the means normally shifting said tray upwardly within the body said lid means including a pair of padded lids hinged to the body at opposite ends thereof said tray including a plurality of recesses for receiving glasses and like articles the body including a flat bottom plate having a plurality of recesses for receiving bottles or the like, said tray having a series of apertures vertically aligned, with the recesses in the bottom plate for engaging the necks of said bottles in the lowered position of the tray. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,407 
   Inventor: Robert C. Nazar 
   Issued: Oct. 2, 1984 
   There is disclosed an ingenious portable foldable chair, constructed of moulded plastic or the like, provided with a seat having therein a hollow thermally insulated compartment. Said compartment may be lined and may be provided with a locking seat compartment access panel or door which provides sealing of said compartment and access to perishable foodstuffs, canned or bottled beverages, ice, fishing bait, or the like. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,767 
   Inventor: Daniel Peer 
   Issued: Sep. 24, 1991 
   A portable container device, particularly adapted for use by spectators in bleachers seats, is disclosed. The device comprises a container having a bottom, a top and four sides and a support bracket secured to the top of the container. The support bracket comprises upper and lower flanges adapted to be positioned above and below a bleacher seat. A depth flange is connected to and between the upper and lower flanges and serves to maintain them in substantially parallel relationship. The depth flange is located above the front wall, on the front side of the device. A pivotable support handle may be provided adjacent to the rear side of the device so that it can be pivoted between a rest position and a support position. In the support position, the handle supports the upper flange to maintain it in substantially parallel relationship to the lower flange, even for example, when a person is seated upon the upper flange. A cushioned seat may be provided on the top of the upper flange for comfort. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,198 
   Inventor: Ricky L. Baltzell 
   Issued: Mar. 31, 1992 
   A seat cooler apparatus is set forth including a cushion seat member removably mounted relative to an underlying cabinet, wherein the cabinet includes a cooler chest defined by an extensible and retractable drawer container within the cabinet. A modification of the invention includes an extensible cushion member overlying the drawer, and further including retractable wheels mounted to side walls of each cabinet for portability of the organization. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,296 
   Inventor: Ryan E. Greenwich 
   Issued: Aug. 26, 1997 
   A mobile cooler includes a container that is partitioned to form a cold compartment and a non-cooled compartment. A cover is removably mounted on the container to overlie both compartments. In one position, the cover can function as a small chair. In an alternate position the cover is held close against the container to facilitate compact storage of the cooler in a minimum space, and easy towing of the cooler from one place to another place. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,844 
   Inventor: Jeffrey Lee O&#39;Quinn 
   Issued: Mar. 17, 1998 
   A cooler and seat system including an insulated container that has a rectangular bottom member with a rectangular rear wall, a rectangular front wall and a pair of side walls. The insulated container has an upper peripheral edge therearound and integral the walls. A first lid has a bottom portion and a top portion with a peripheral wall therebetween and hingedly coupled to the rear wall of the insulated container. A second lid has a bottom portion and a top portion with a peripheral wall therebetween. The peripheral wall is hingedly coupled to the peripheral wall of the first lid for selective rotation of the second lid thereabout. The first lid, when coupled with the second lid, is capable of forming a seat. Lastly, a pair of anti-extension straps with each having a first end coupled to the first lid and a second end coupled to the second lid. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,752 
   Inventor: Michael H. Shyr 
   Issued: Dec. 14, 1999 
   A portable seat including a receptacle attached below the textile material that comprises a seat plane. The receptacle is a larger storage space than previously offered due to a set of the protrusions located on the leg assemblies that enable the foldable backrest to achieve an operative position for sitting without encroaching upon receptacle space. The zippers extending to three sides of the receptacle also provides greater access to the inside of the receptacle. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,817 
   Inventor: Edgar Stem-Gonzalez 
   Issued: Jan. 29, 2002 
   A cooler is provided with an integrated seat and a reclinable seat back formed by one cover used to close the cooler. Drinks and foods may be stored and maintain fresh and cool in the cooler. On top of the cover, a second cover is provided, which becomes the upper cover of a conventional cooler. The first cover that is used to close the cooler serves also as the seat when closed. The upper or second cover of the cooler serves as the seat back when opened at a 90 degree angle or higher. Two leashes, one on each side, maintain the seat back in the desired position. Such seat back can vary from 0 to 180 degrees. When opened at a greater angle than 130 degrees, the seat back is supported by a pair of legs located on the external surface of the second cover of the cooler, attached by one of their ends to such cover but free on the other end and attached only by pressure to such cover. The legs are capable of opening to a 90 degree angle with respect to their original position. A cushion may be placed on top of the seat and against the seat back so the cooler may have a cushioned seat and reclinable seat back for better comfort. The movement of the two covers are triggered by two pairs of hinges, each pair being independent from one another. 
   Australian Patent Number AU2003100682 
   Inventor: James McLure 
   Issued: Dec. 12, 2003 
   The disclosed “portable cooler seat” is a rectangular shaped cooling unit which turns into a seat once the back rest extension has been pulled out. The hatch which can be opened 5 is padded to add comfort while sitting and is opened by interlocking the associated lock 7. 
   Japanese Patent Number JP2005329962 
   Inventor: Minoru Miyamoto 
   Issued: Dec. 2, 2005 
   PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve convenience by making putting in and out to a cooler box possible as one remains to take a seat thereon even when it is used as a seat during fishing or the like, and to improve ease-of-use by facilitating to take out a stored article of the lower side even when a lot of the stored articles are stored under a piled condition in the cooler box. SOLUTION: For the constitution of cooler boxes 1a and 1b which have a box main body part 2 with an opening part Pf opened upward, and a lid part 3 openably and closeably provided on the opening part Pf through hinge parts 4 . . . , an auxiliary opening part Ps opened sideways is provided on the side face part 2s of the box main body part 2, and an openable and closeable side door part 5 is provided on this auxiliary opening part Ps through hinge parts 6. 
   Canadian Patent Number CA2587933 
   Inventor: Jerry Ward 
   Issued: Nov. 23, 2005 
   A cooler having an integrated seat assembly, includes a cooler body which can have one or more compartments. The cooler body is coupled with a seat assembly bracket by a coupling means, such as a hinge. Seat backs are integrally formed in one sidewall of the cooler body and seat bottoms are formed on the bracket, such that when the bracket is opened, it forms a seat with the seat backs. The bracket can be folded up flat against the cooler in a closed and locked position, for easy storage or transportation. 
   U.S. Patent Application Number 2006/0261654 
   Inventor: James J. Stallman 
   Issued: Nov. 23, 2006 
   A combined cooler/seat having an anti-tip support that extends rearward the ground contact of the cooler/seat beyond the simple footprint of the cooler/seat itself, thereby providing extra support for resisting backward tilting of the cooler/seat; wherein the anti-tip support adjustably extends rearward from the bottom rear portion of the cooler/seat. 
   While these coolers may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described. 
   SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
   A primary object of the present invention is to provide a cooler whereby a user may easily set up the device to act both fully as a bench and cooler. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooler having a back rest portion stemming from its back to provide the backing of a seat for use while sitting on the cooler of the present invention. 
   Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cooler having retractable legs for the setting, raising and lowering of the cooler of the present invention above the ground at an appropriate sitting height. 
   Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cooler having a handle for aiding in the transportation of the device from location to location. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooler having an area for displaying and containing an article with indicia or a logo for display. 
   Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cooler whereby the user may easily transport the device from location to location and set up and arrangement whereby a user may comfortably sit upon the device. 
   Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds. 
   The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a cooler for the storage of cold-stored commodities while additionally serving as a location for one or more users to sit upon like a bench. The present invention provides seating by a combination of provided padding on its top surface, a telescopic back rest movable up or down to provide back support and extendable legs to raise and lower the device to a suitable height whereby a user may comfortably sit upon. Additionally the present invention provides one or more exterior display pockets for inserting and exhibiting ads, names or logos to the public from therewithin. 
   The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawing, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views. 
   The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: 
       FIG. 1  is an illustrative view of the present invention in use. 
       FIG. 2  is a frontal perspective view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a detailed view of the handle of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the present invention with retractable back support extended. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the bottom of the cooler of the present invention. 
       FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the bottom of the cooler of the present invention. 
       FIG. 10  is a detail view of the leg release assembly of the cooler of the present invention. 
       FIG. 11  is a rear view of the cooler seat of the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCED NUMERALS 
   Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the figures illustrate the Portable Cooler Bench Seat of the present invention. With regard to the reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the various drawing figures.
           10  Portable Cooler Bench Seat of the present invention     12  cooler body     14  padded cover seat     16  back support     18  lock of  16       20  extendible/retractable leg     22  locking swivel handle     24  plastic pocket     26  user     28  cover access lock     32  release latch of  20       34  housing of  16       36  interior of  12       38  sidewall of  12       40  pivot point connection of  22       42  lock button of  22       44  telescoping arm of  16       46  arm release button     48  back support release button     50  base of  12       52  release assembly of  20       54  recessed leg channel     56  pulley     58  cable     60  locking pin     62  tension spring     64  locking aperture of  20         

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention (and several variations of that embodiment). This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments, practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For definition of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to appended claims. 
     FIG. 1  is an illustrative view of the present invention  10  in use. The present invention  10  is cooler bench seat comprising a cooler body  12  having a padded cover  14  that serves as a seat with a telescoping back support  16  with a lock  18  for preventing casual displacement once extended or retracted. The cooler body  12  has legs  20  that extend from the body  12  for supporting a load while in use and are retractable for storage. A locking swivel handle  22  is provided for portability. Pockets  24  are positioned on each side for placement of a placard of a team logo or other user provided graphic. Shown is the user  26  seated on the padded cooler cover seat  14 . 
     FIG. 2  is a frontal perspective view of the present invention  10 . Shown is the cooler bench seat  10  with the cooler cover seat  14  closed and secured with access locks  28 . A release latch  32  controls the locking mechanism for the retractable legs  20 . The swivel handle  22  is in the down position and a release button  46  enables the user to selectively raise the back support  16  from its housing  34  located at the rear of the cooler body  12 . 
     FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the present invention  10 . Shown is the cooler body  12  with the padded cooler cover seat  14  released from the cover access locks  28  and in the open position to reveal the interior  36 . The swivel handle  22  is in the lowered position. 
     FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the present invention  10 . Shown is the cooler body  12  with the padded cooler cover seat  14  closed and secured with the cover access locks  28 . The swivel handle  22  is in the raised carrying position. 
     FIG. 5  is a detailed view of the handle  22  of the present invention  10 . Shown is the cooler handle  22  rotated to an up or carry position and depicted in dotted line in the lowered, rest position. A lock button  42  located at its pivot point connection  40  to the cooler sidewall  38  allows the handle  22  to secure in both up or carrying position and down or rest position. 
     FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the present invention  10  with retractable back support  16  extended. When not in use the back support  16  resides within a housing  34  and is pulled up therefrom when needed. Telescoping arms  16  extend from the housing  34  when extracted and have an arm release button  46  affiliated with the housing  34  and a back support release button  48  associated with the back support  16 . 
     FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the present invention  10 . The legs  20  are frictionally engaged in the closed position until the release latch  32  is pulled to remove the bias applied to the legs  20  thus allowing them to drop to provide a comfortable height for sitting thereon. Pockets  24  are positioned on each side for placement of a placard of a team logo or other user provided graphic. 
     FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the bottom of the cooler of the present invention  10 . Shown is the bottom of the cooler of the present invention having releasable legs  20  for supporting a load while in use and retractable for storage. Two recessed areas at the bottom base  50  of the cooler allow the retractable legs  20  to be flush with the bottom of said cooler when retracted. A centralized latch  32  is interconnected to each release assembly  52  to provide means to retract and extend the legs  20 . 
     FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the bottom of the cooler of the present invention  10 . Two recessed channels  54  at the bottom base  50  of the cooler body  12  allow the retractable legs  20  to be flush with the bottom of said cooler when retracted. A centralized latch  32  is in communication with each release assembly  52  via pulleys  56  and cables  58 . 
     FIG. 10  is a detail view of the leg release assembly of the cooler of the present invention  10 . A centralized latch  32  is interconnected to each release assembly  52  via pulleys  56  and cables  58  to provide means to retract and extend the legs  20 . When the latch  32  is pulled outward, a locking pin  60  is disengaged from a mating aperture  64  disposed in each leg  20 . A tension spring  62  allows the pin  60  to re-engage when the latch  32  is released. 
     FIG. 11  is a rear view of the cooler seat of the present invention. Depicted is a rear view of the portable cooler bench seat  10  comprising cooler body  12 , padded cover seat  14 , and housing  34  of back support  16  with handle  22  partially removed. Back support  16  comprises housing  34  with release mechanism  46  for maintaining back support  16  in an extended or retracted position. When use of back support  16  is desired, pressure applied to release mechanism  46  allows the back support to extend via telescopic arms  44  to a position where locking element  48  engages holding back support  16  in an extended position. Also shown are legs  20  in a stored position with housing  12  having transparent pocket  24  whereby a user can selectively insert any desired placard therein. 
   It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above. 
   While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
   Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.