Portable cooler

Abstract: Portable cooler (1) comprising a container body (2) of insulating material and provided with a top cover (3) consisting of two areas, top and bottom, the bottom one (21) having a lesser-profile defining a resting edge (12a) for an intermediate drilled plate (PF). The top area (25) comprising a plurality of removably compartments (7) for keeping food and/or drinks and the ice, resting on the intermediate drilled plate (PF). At the lower area having a liquid tank (12) receiving liquid defrosting from ice liquefaction through the drilled bottom and the intermediate drilled plate (PF), this liquid tank (12) being provided with a draining hole (13) with the relevant sealing plug (14).

Description: This invention relates to a portable cooler. A portable cooler according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from US 4 982 840. Portable coolers to keep and preserve cold food and drinks by having ice there are already known in the market, however, when using them, ice liquefaction increases remarkably and the location or removal of food and drinks becomes thus very troublesome. The US 4.982.840 Document of Christopher C. BIDWELL relates to a method and apparatus for converting a barrel type unit into an assembly for holding chilled products, such as bottled or canned soft dnnk beverages. The figures 6, 7, 9 and 10 show a tube 50 incorporated into a barrel 10, comprising an upper portion 66 and a lower portion 68 provided of a floor 62 having openings 70. The upper portion 66 defines a compartment containing bottles, cans and the like of soft drink beverages, and ice, and the lower portion 68 receives the water produced in the liquefaction of the ice. The described structure leads to pick-up a bottle or can within several bottles or cans and several ice cubes contained into the cited compartment. Also, the subject-matter of the US 4.982.840 relates to the merchandising of soft drink beverages. With the portable cooler of this invention, said drawbacks have been overcome and the cooler is provided with a structure separating food and drinks as regards to the ice and facilitates therefore location and removal of food and drinks; the amount of water from the ice liquefaction is also separated and collected at a lower container and the liquefaction speed is thus reduced. The portable cooler of this invention is of the type comprising two differently-sized parallelepiped bodies inserted one within the other, a thermoinsulating material filler inserted between body and body, and in a quite simpler way a peculiar good-natured main moulding body can also be provided. The cooler having a top cover with the same insulating characteristics or not than the main body and has a carrier handle. The cover is fixed to the main body by conventional sealing means. The portable cooler object of this invention comprises the features as defined in claim 1. According to an embodiment of this invention, the compartments for keeping ice there are made up with removable and guided receptacles as regards the inside walls of the container body which are resting on the intermediate drilled place at the bottom side. According to an embodiment of this invention, the compartments for keeping ice there are made up with removably bottom-drilled tanks arranged between the receptacles for keeping food and/or drinks there and resting on the intermediate drilled plate at the bottom side. Also according to an embodiment of the invention, the compartments for keeping ice there are defined by the spaces between the compartments for keeping food and/or drinks there, which are made up with guided and removable receptacles resting on the intermediate drilled plate at the bottom side, the ice remaining kept between said receptacles and the same intermediate drilled plate. According to an embodiment of the invention, the container body top area is upwardly having a double section also upwardly defining an inside perimetral bracket allowing that the flattened containers arranged above the receptacles and/or tanks can be rested quite balanced thereon. Said receptacles and tanks may have a height at the same level as the perimetral bracket enabling the flattened containers to be rested on the receptacles, tank and bracket. According to an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of food and/or drinks keeping compartments and the ice tank at the top area, are defined by a plurality of removably separating components arranged between the cooler container body sides, which are positionable to define equal and/or diverse spaces as might be required. These and other characteristics will be more apparent in the following detailed description which is further facilitated by the attached two sheets of drawings illustrating there a practical case of embodiment cited only by way of a non-exhaustive example. In the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation cross-sectional view of the portable cooler of this invention taken along the line I-I of figure 2. Figure 2 is a plan view of the portable cooler of this invention with the cover removed. Figure 3 is an elevation cross-sectional view similar to figure 1, showing there an upwardly arranged flattened receptacle resting on the food and/or drinks receptacles and on the ice tank. Figure 4 is a plan view of the portable cooler showing the drilled plate and some food and/or drinks and ice separating components. According to the drawings, the portable cooler, identified as numeral reference 1 comprises a main container body 2 and the cover 3. The main body 2 makes up the proper container body 5, moulded with a plastic material, and a thermoinsulating layer 4 or an intermediate thermoinsulating filler 6 such as an expanded polyurethane or similar may be incorporated to the body inside face. The main body 2 inside the portable cooler 1, comprises a top area ZS having a plurality of compartments and a lesser-profiled bottom area ZI making up a lower tank 12 for keeping the ice liquefied liquid. Said compartments of the top area ZS defining two receptacles 7 for keeping relevant food and drinks. Said receptacles 7 are removably, i.e. can be removed from the main body 2, and are provided thereby by mutual guiding means consisting of vertical fluttings 8 combined with some supplementary vertical ribs 9 provided at the cooler wall or inside the body 2 and at the receptacles 7; the vertical sliding is thus allowed to perform the removal and facilitates cleaning and hygiene thereof. Between both side receptacles 7, the main body 2 centrally comprises a removably drilled-bottom ice tank 10 or downwardly provided with a draining hole 11 communicating with the bottom-located liquid tank 12 receiving and keeping the liquid from the ice liquefaction contained in the ice tank 10. The lower area ZI has a lesser profile than the top area ZS and defines an edge 12a, whereon a drilled plate PF is resting and the food and/or drinks receptacles 7 and the ice tank 10 are resting on the plate. Said liquid tank 12 is provided with a draining hole 13 receiving a sealing plug 14 to control the liquid draining. As can be seen in the figures, particularly in figure 2, the structure of the portable cooler 1 is providing a maximum contact surface between the cold walls of the ice central tank 10 and the walls of the side receptacles 7 keeping food and drinks and the ice tank 10 to keep down cool food and/or drinks the longest time possible. Said advantage is given by the rectangularly-shaped portable cooler. To facilitate removal and location of the receptacles 7 and the ice tank 10, respective handles 7a and 10a are being provided there. At the opening, the main body 2 is having a tight-sealing gasket 15 which combined with several tightening seals 16 at the sides is facilitating proper closing of the body 5 with the cover 3, which may have an insulating nature or be simply moulded. Cover 3 comprises a top handle 17 to facilitate handling by the user and at both sides is having respective nesting L-shaped parts 18, wherein the respective suitably-shaped tightening seals 16 fitted at the main body 2 are pressurizedly-mounted, these seals performing a hermetically closing of the cooler 1 by using the tightening-sealing gasket 15 or any other relevant flexible means fitted throughout the profile of the main body 2 opening or of the cover 3 or both. This embodiment envisages that the number of receptacles 7 and ice tanks 10 may be any convenient number independently of those illustrated. Cooler 1 sealing means 16,18 may be any conventional ones available in the market or any other type. An embodiment also envisages that the ice keeping compartments may simply be the spaces available between the receptacles 7 for keeping food and/or drinks which allow the ice arrangement; while liquid defrosting goes through the intermediate drilled plate PF and enters the liquid containing lower tank 12. However, such an embodiment does not fall within the scope of the claims. Also this embodiment envisages that the top area ZS has a double section defining an inside top perimetral bracket -non illustrated- allowing the flattened containers R to be resting on the bracket and on the receptacles 7 and/or 10, which may have a height identical to said top bracket. According to the embodiment and such as illustrated in the figure 4, this embodiment envisages the arrangement of a plurality of removably separating components 19 resting on the drilled plate PF, these components being positionably by vertical sliding to pairs of fluttings 20 facing the inside walls being similar to the described fluttings 8. Said arrangement envisages the separating components 19 to be located in a convenient way to define the suitably-dimensioned food and/or drinks receptacles 7 and the ice receptacles 10. From whatever has been described and by the representation of the drawings, the advantages offered by the portable cooler of this invention are apparent against the prior art embodiments. The presence of receptacles to keep food and drinks sequenced and separated from the ice shall firstly be emphasized because due to this presence the ice and liquid are never directly in contact with food and drinks. Further, the fact that the portable cooler is provided with receptacles at the sides is allowing that all the central area lengthwisely throughout is occupied by the ice tank 10 keeping thus regularly cold the food and/or drinks receptacles 7. In the illustrated embodiment, ice replacement is made at the top area of the portable cooler and nothing of the contents had to be removed or moved at all. The fact that the lower liquid tank 12 prevents the ice tank 10 might be flooded during ice liquefaction while food and drinks are kept longest in an optimum preservation condition should also be emphasized. Said liquid tank 12 is drained as required by the user simply with the plug 14.

Claims: Portable cooler comprising a food and/or drinks container body and provided with a handle-fitted sealing cover, said container body (2) comprising a compartment for arranging food and drinks to contact cooling components to keep them at quite cold temperatures, the container body comprising a top area defining a plurality of compartments for keeping food and drinks and the ice and a lesser-profiled lower area (ZI) than the top one making up a lower tank (12) for keeping liquid defrosting from ice liquefaction and provided with a draining hole (13) having a sealing plug (14), which top (ZS) and lower (ZI) areas are separated by an intermediate drilled plate (PF) resting on the profiled edge (12a) projecting from the lower area (ZI) and upholding food and/or drinks and ice arranged at the top area (ZS), the compartments for keeping food and drinks being made up of receptables (7), characterized in that the compartments (10) for keeping ice are made up of removable tanks (10) arranged between the receptacles (7) for keeping food/or drinks, the tanks being provided with a draining hole (11) communicating with the lower tank (12). Portable cooler, according to claim 1, characterized in that the receptacles (7) are guided receptacles (7) as regards the inside walls of the container body (2) resting on the intermediate drilled plate (PF) at the bottom side. Portable cooler according to claim 1, characterized in that the tanks (10) rest on the intermediate drilled plate (PF) at the drilling (11) bottom side. Portable cooler according to claim 1, characterized in that the top area (ZS) of the container body (2) upwardly comprises a double section upwardly defining an inside perimetral bracket which allows that flattened containers (R) can rest quite balanced between the receptacles (7) and/or the tanks (10). Portable cooler according to claim 4, characterized in that the receptacles (7) and the tanks (10) have a height at the same level as the perimetral bracket, which allows that the flattened containers (R) can rest on the receptacles (7), the tanks (10) and the bracket. Portable cooler, according to claim 1, characterized in that the receptacles and/or the tanks can be arranged between the container body (2) sides to define equal and/or diverse spaces.

Inventors: MARTIN PERIANES MIGUEL ANGEL, MARTIN PERIANES, MIGUEL ANGEL
Applicants: MARTIN PERIANES MIGUEL ANGEL, MARTIN PERIANES, MIGUEL ANGEL
Application year: 2001
Main classification: F25D3
IPC codes: F25D31, B65D81, F25D3