Abstract:
A dry-compartment cooler has a dry compartment ( 1 ) with compartment walls ( 3 ) that are connected water-tightly to a compartment floor ( 4 ). The compartment walls are articulated to extend upwardly from proximate a riser framework ( 6 ) on a cooler floor ( 7 ) to proximate a bottom side of a cooler lid ( 8 ) of a predetermined cooler. One or more ice compartments ( 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 ) separate ice and water from inside surfaces of the compartment walls and from space inside of the dry compartment. The ice compartments are in fluid communication intermediate proximate the bottom side of the cooler lid and riser-framework space ( 9 ) where the riser framework is positioned under the compartment floor. The compartment walls can have heat-conveyance members ( 27 ) for conveying coldness and for deterring moisture formation on food and other items being cooled.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to ice coolers and more particularly to picnic and travel coolers with dry compartments into which food is placed separately from ice outside of the dry compartments to prevent water from the ice in the coolers from contacting and contaminating the food while the ice and cold water from the ice keep the food cool. 
     Coolers with ice kept separately from food are well-known, but not with a cooling compartment separate from one or more ice compartments in a manner taught by this invention. 
     Examples of most-closely related known but different devices are described in the following patent documents: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 U.S. Pat. No. 
                 Inventor 
                 Issue Date 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 4,565,074 
                 Morgan 
                 Jan. 21, 1986 
               
               
                   
                 4,424,687 
                 Morgan 
                 Jan. 10, 1984 
               
               
                   
                 5,052,184 
                 Jarvis 
                 Oct. 01, 1991 
               
               
                   
                 5,636,524 
                 Woods, et al. 
                 Jun. 10, 1997 
               
               
                   
                 6,126,124 
                 Wagner 
                 Oct. 03, 2000 
               
               
                   
                 5,052,185 
                 Spahr 
                 Oct. 01, 1991 
               
               
                   
                 5,524,761 
                 Wayman 
                 Jun. 11, 1996 
               
               
                   
                 5,605,056 
                 Brown, et al. 
                 Feb. 25, 1997 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Objects of patentable novelty and utility taught by this invention are to provide a dry-compartment cooler which: 
     keeps food separated from ice and water in iced coolers; 
     is convenient and easy to fill with ice and/items of food while keeping the ice separate from food items and any other items in the cooler; 
     allows easy and convenient access to food, packages and other items being keep cool with the ice in the cooler; 
     conveys coldness from ice to food and other items in the cooler efficiently; and 
     is easy to recharge with fresh ice. 
     This invention accomplishes these and other objectives with a dry-compartment cooler having a dry compartment with compartment walls that are connected water-tightly to a compartment floor. The compartment walls are articulated to extend upwardly from proximate a riser framework on a cooler floor to proximate a bottom side of a cooler lid of a predetermined cooler. One or more ice compartments separates ice and water from inside surfaces of the compartment walls and from space inside of the dry compartment. The ice compartments are in fluid communication intermediate proximate the bottom side of the cooler lid and a framework space where the riser framework is positioned under the cooler floor. The framework space is in fluid communication with an optional outlet valve in a cooler bottom for draining water melted from ice in the cooler. The compartment walls can have coldness absorbers and moisture deterrents. The ice compartments can have ice-compartment walls with heat-conveyance members for transmitting coldness from the ice to the inside surfaces of the compartment walls and to the space inside of the dry compartment. 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     This invention is described by appended claims in relation to description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the following drawings which are explained briefly as follows: 
     FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of a dry-compartment cooler having end ice compartments at opposite ends of a dry compartment; 
     FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway top view of the FIG. 1 illustration; 
     FIG. 3 is a section view through section line  2 A of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a section view through section line  2 B of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of the dry-compartment cooler having a transverse ice compartment in addition to the end ice compartments; 
     FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway top view of the FIG. 5 illustration; 
     FIG. 7 is a section view through section line  6  of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway end view of the dry-compartment cooler having a dry compartment resting on a riser framework on a cooler floor of a predetermined cooler and showing a lid in partially open mode; 
     FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway top view of the dry-compartment cooler having the transverse ice compartment extended intermediate opposite sides of the dry compartment that does not include the end ice compartments; 
     FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway top view of the dry-compartment cooler having a linear ice compartment in addition to the end ice compartments at opposite ends of a dry compartment that does not include the end ice compartments; 
     FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway side view of the FIG. 10 illustration; 
     FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway top view of the dry-compartment cooler having the linear ice compartment extended intermediate opposite ends of the dry compartment; 
     FIG. 13 is a partially cutaway top view of the dry-compartment cooler having an inside ice compartment in addition to the end ice compartments; 
     FIG. 14 is a partially cutaway top view of the dry-compartment cooler having a plurality of the inside ice compartments intermediate opposite ends of the dry compartment; 
     FIG. 15 is a partially cutaway side view of the FIG. 13 illustration; 
     FIG. 16 is a partially cutaway side view of the FIG. 14 illustration; 
     FIG. 17 is a section view through section line  16  A of FIG. 16; 
     FIG. 18 is a section view through section line  16  B of FIG. 16; 
     FIG. 19 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of the dry-compartment cooler having a plurality of the end ice compartments that bottom into the riser-framework space without ice-compartment floors having water apertures; 
     FIG. 20 is a partially cutaway top view of the FIG. 19 illustration; 
     FIG. 21 is a partially cutaway fragmentary top-central view of the dry-compartment cooler having the transverse ice compartments that bottom into the riser-framework space without the ice-compartment floor having the water apertures; 
     FIG. 22 is a partially cutaway fragmentary top view at a first end of the dry-compartment cooler that has the linear ice compartment that bottoms into the riser-framework space without an ice-compartment floor having the water apertures; 
     FIG. 23 is a partially cutaway fragmentary top view from the first end of the dry-compartment cooler having the inside ice compartment that bottoms into the riser-framework space; 
     FIG. 24 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of the dry-compartment cooler having heat-conveyance members shown extended from ends and sides; 
     FIG. 25 is a partially cutaway top view of the FIG. 24 illustration; 
     FIG. 26 is a partially cutaway fragmentary top view of the dry-compartment cooler having the heat-conveyance members shown extended upwardly from the dry-compartment floor at opposite sides of the transverse ice compartment that opens into the riser-framework space without the ice-compartment floor and the water apertures; 
     FIG. 27 is a partially cutaway fragmentary top view of the dry-compartment cooler having the heat-conveyance members shown extended upwardly from the dry-compartment floor at opposite sides of the linear ice compartment that opens into the riser-framework space without the ice-compartment floor having the water apertures; and 
     FIG. 28 is a partially cutaway fragmentary top view of the dry-compartment cooler having the heat-conveyance members shown extended upwardly from the dry-compartment floor at opposite sides of the inside ice compartment that opens into the riser-framework space without the ice-compartment floor and the water apertures. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Listed numerically below with reference to the drawings are terms used to describe features of this invention. These terms and numbers assigned to them designate the same features throughout this description. 
       1 . Dry compartment 
       2 . Dry-compartment cooler 
       3 . Compartment walls 
       4 . Compartment floor 
       5 . Cooler walls 
       6 . Riser framework 
       7 . Cooler floor 
       8 . Cooler lid 
       9 . Riser-framework space 
       10 . First-end ice compartment 
       11 . Second-end ice compartment 
       12 . Transverse ice compartment 
       13 . Linear ice compartment 
       14 . Inside ice compartment 
       15 . Water apertures 
       16 . Ice-compartment floors 
       17 . Side-wall extension 
       18 . First end of dry compartment 
       19 . First end of cooler 
       20 . Second end of dry compartment 
       21 . Second end of cooler 
       22 . First interior wall 
       23 . Second interior wall 
       24 . First side of linear ice compartment 
       25 . Second side of linear ice compartment 
       26 . Peripheral wall 
       27 . Heat-conveyance members 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a dry compartment  1  for a dry-compartment cooler  2  has compartment walls  3  with watertight connection to a compartment floor  4 . The dry compartment  1  is a boxlike enclosure having predetermined size and shape with the compartment walls  3  being vertical and the compartment floor  4  being horizontal to fit predeterminedly within interior surfaces of cooler walls  5  of a predetermined cooler that is converted thereby to the dry-compartment cooler  2 . The compartment floor  4  rests on or can be articulated to rest on a riser framework  6  on a cooler floor  7  of the predetermined cooler. The compartment walls  3  are articulated, sized and shaped to extend upwardly from proximate the riser framework  6  to proximate a bottom side of a cooler lid  8  of the predetermined cooler. One or more ice compartments is in fluid communication for containing ice, any water melted from the ice, and/or other cooling medium intermediate proximate the bottom side of the cooler lid and riser-framework space  9  in which the riser framework  6  is positioned under the compartment floor  4 . 
     The one or more ice compartments can be end ice compartments that include a first-end ice compartment  10  and a second-end ice compartment  11  illustrated in FIGS. 1-2,  5 - 6 ,  10 - 11 ,  13 ,  15 ,  19 - 20  and  24 - 25 . In addition to the first-end ice compartment  10  and/or the second-end ice compartment  11 , the ice compartments can include at least one transverse ice compartment  12  depicted in FIGS. 5-6,  9 ,  21 , and  26 ; a linear ice compartment  13  shown in FIGS. 10-12,  22  and  27 ; or at least one inside ice compartment  14  as illustrated in FIGS. 13-17,  23  and  28 . 
     For fluid communication of the one or more ice compartments with the riser-framework space  9  in which the riser framework  6  is positioned under the compartment floor  4 , there can be water apertures  15  in ice-compartment floors  16  as shown in FIGS. 1-2,  4 - 7  and  9 - 17 . Optionally, the ice-compartment floors  16  can be omitted for directly un-restricted fluid communication with the riser-framework space  9  on the cooler floor  7  as illustrated in FIGS. 19-28. 
     The first-end ice compartment  10  is intermediate oppositely disposed sidewall extensions  17  of the compartment walls  3  that are extended intermediate an external periphery of a first end  18  of the dry compartment  1  and an internal periphery of a first end  19  of the predetermined cooler. The second-end ice compartment  11  is intermediate oppositely disposed sidewall extensions  17  of the compartment walls  3  that are extended intermediate an external periphery of a second end  20  of the dry compartment  1  and an internal periphery of a second end  21  of the predetermined cooler. 
     The first-end ice compartment  10  includes an ice enclosure intermediate surfaces of the inside periphery of the first end  19  of the dry-compartment cooler  2 , an outside periphery of the first end  18  of the dry compartment  1 , an inside periphery of a first sidewall extension  17 , an inside periphery of a second sidewall extension  17 , the top surface of a first end cooler floor  7  of the dry-compartment cooler  2 , and a first-compartment portion of a bottom surface area of the cooler lid  8 . The second-end ice compartment  11  includes an ice enclosure intermediate surfaces of the inside periphery of the second end  21  of the dry-compartment cooler  2 , an outside periphery of the second end of the dry compartment  1 , an inside periphery of a first sidewall extension  17 , an inside periphery of a second sidewall extension  17 , the top surface of a second end cooler floor  7  of the dry-compartment cooler  2 , and a second-compartment portion of a bottom surface area of the cooler lid  8 . 
     The at least one transverse ice compartment  12  is intermediate oppositely disposed interior sides of the compartment walls  3  and oppositely disposed interior ends which are the first end  18  and the second end  20  of the compartment walls  3  of the dry compartment  1  as shown in FIGS. 5-6 and  9 . The transverse ice compartment  12  includes a first interior wall  22  on a first side of the transverse ice compartment  12  and a second interior wall  23  on a second side. The first interior wall  22  and the second interior wall  23  of the transverse ice compartment  12  extend horizontally intermediate an inside surface of a first side of the compartment wall  3  and an inside surface of a second side of the compartment wall  3  of the dry compartment  1 . The first interior wall  22  and the second interior wall  23  of the transverse ice compartment  12  extend vertically from top edges of the first side of the dry compartment  1  and the second side of the dry compartment  1  to bottom edges of the first side of the compartment wall  3  and the second side of the compartment wall  3  of the dry compartment  1 . 
     The transverse ice compartment  12  includes an ice enclosure intermediate surfaces of an inside periphery of the first interior wall  22  of the transverse ice compartment  12 , an inside periphery of the second interior wall  23  of the transverse ice compartment  12 , a transverse portion of a top surface of the cooler floor  7  of the predetermined cooler, and a transverse portion of a bottom surface area of the cooler lid  8 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 10-12, the at least one linear ice compartment  13  is intermediate oppositely disposed interior sides of the compartment walls  3  of the dry compartment  1  and oppositely disposed interior ends which are the first end  18  and the second end  20  of the dry compartment  1 . The linear ice compartment  13  includes a first interior wall on a first side  24  of the linear ice compartment  13  and a second interior wall on a second side of the linear ice compartment  25 . The first interior wall  22  and the second interior wall  23  of the linear ice compartment  13  extend horizontally intermediate an inside surface of the first end  18  of the dry compartment  1  and an inside surface of the second end  20  of the dry compartment  1 . The first interior wall and the second interior wall of the linear ice compartment  13  extend vertically from top edges of the first end  18  of the dry compartment  1  and the second end  20  of the dry compartment  1  to bottom edges of the first end  18  and the second end  20  of the dry compartment  1 . 
     The linear ice compartment  13  includes an ice enclosure intermediate surfaces of an inside periphery of the first compartment wall  3  of the linear ice compartment  1 , an inside periphery of the second compartment wall  3  of the linear ice compartment  13 , a linear portion of a top surface of the cooler floor  7  of the predetermined cooler, and a linear portion of a bottom surface area of the cooler lid  8 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 13-17, the one or more ice compartments include at least one inside ice compartment  14  that has a peripheral wall  26  which extends horizontally about the inside ice compartment  14  intermediate oppositely disposed interior sides of the compartment walls  3  and oppositely disposed interior ends which are the first end  18  and the second end  20  of the dry compartment  1 . The peripheral wall  26  extends vertically upward from the bottom of the compartment floor  4  to the bottom surface of an inside portion of the cooler lid  8 . 
     The inside ice compartment  14  includes an ice enclosure intermediate inside surfaces of an inside periphery of the peripheral wall  26 , the inside portion of the bottom surface of the cooler lid  8 , and an inside portion of the top surface of the cooler floor  7  of the predetermined cooler. 
     As depicted in FIGS. 1-28, the dry compartment cooler  2  is articulated to include compartment walls  3  of the dry compartment  1  that are positioned predetermined distances from inside surfaces of the cooler walls  5  of the predetermined cooler. This facilitates transfer of coldness uniformly to an outside periphery of the dry compartment  1  for transfer to the inside periphery of the dry compartment  1 . 
     Optionally, as shown in FIGS. 24-28, the compartment walls  3  and walls of the ice compartments  10 ,  11 ,  12  and  14  can include heat-conveyance members  27  extended from either or all surfaces thereof. The heat-exchange members  27  are preferably shallow fins. 
     The compartment walls can include heat-conductive material predeterminedly. Copper and aluminum are preferred. Stainless steels should be avoided unless used only as a host material on which to coat or otherwise apply copper and/or aluminum. 
     A new and useful dry-compartment cooler having been described, all such foreseeable modifications, adaptations, substitutions of equivalents, mathematical possibilities of combinations of parts, pluralities of parts, applications and forms thereof as described by the following claims and not precluded by prior art are included in this invention.