Abstract:
A soft, insulating cooler with a detachable strap for transporting and/or storing head and cape of a dead animal, for instance deer. A hinged lid is closable by a pair of overlapping zippers. A pair of openings are formed in the lid to allow antlers to extend therethrough. A tightening cord is positioned about the openings to tighten the openings around the antlers and preserve the temperature inside the cooler. The inside of the cooler contains pouches for ice of other cooling medium. The outside of the cooler carries a pouch or pouches to transport small items.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a cooler, and, more specifically, to a cooler used to transport and preserve a deer head and hide after harvesting.  
         [0002]     When a hunter kills a large buck, he often wishes to keep the buck head and hide and have them mounted by a taxidermist. After harvesting the buck, the hunter must transport the head and hide from the hunting location preferably in a “fresh” condition so as not to damage the head and antlers during transportation. The head and hide must remain cool in order to preserve the deer for mounting.  
         [0003]     Naturally, the large and irregular shape of the antlers presents a special problem. Conventional units are used to cool and transport the whole animal. They are designed to preserve the meat of the animal for consumption. These are not successful at preserving the head and hide for mounting purposes, nor do they protect the antlers or horns of game animals.  
         [0004]     Various solutions were offered to solve the problem. One of such solutions is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,510,705, which discloses a portable ice chest with a soft top that can be used to cool and transport the head and hide of a deer. This device has hard sides and a hard bottom which make it unwieldy, heavy, and impractical to carry into a hunt.  
         [0005]     The present invention contemplates provision of a cooler that is convenient and lightweight for transportation to and from the hunting location and is configured for transporting head and hide of the dead wild animal.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     It is, therefore an object of the present invention to provide a lightweight, easily transportable cooler which is configured for temporary housing a carcass of a dead wild animal.  
         [0007]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a cooler that is particularly adapted for transporting a head and antlers of a deer.  
         [0008]     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a container with side compartments for accommodating small articles conventionally used during a hunt.  
         [0009]     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a cooler that is formed from flexible material that can be collapsed and transported to the site in the collapsed state.  
         [0010]     These and other objects of the invention are achieved through a provision of a flexible deformable body formed from an insulated material, the exterior surface of which may carry camouflaged pattern. The flexible body has interior walls, which are provided with pouches for retaining ice packs therein to protect the animal head and cape during transportation. A flexible lid is secured to the upper edges of the walls. The lid has a closing means, which comprise a pair of partially overlapping zippers to further secure the open top of the cooler body.  
         [0011]     One or more openings are formed in the lid to allow an animal part, for instance deer antlers, to extend therethrough. A tightening cord is secured around each opening, allowing the user to tighten the opening around the antlers. A pair reinforcing flaps is secured adjacent to the zippers to protect the closure. One or more pockets are attached to exterior of the cooler body for receiving and retaining small items used in camping, hunting and the like. A handle is attached to opposing side walls of the cooler body to facilitate transportation of the cooler and its contents. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a side view of the cooler with the strap attached and antlers protruding through specially made openings in the top.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the cooler showing position of the head of the dead animal in phantom lines.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a cross sectional side view of the cooler showing the head and hide of the animal inside the main chamber.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is an end view of the cooler.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the cooler with a strap detached.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a plan view of a front inside wall showing a pair of compartments. The inside back wall similarly has a pair of inner compartments.  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a plan view of the inside end wall showing an inner compartment.  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of the end wall showing a delta ring for attaching of a strap.  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  is a detail perspective view showing a buckle on one end of the strap.  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  is a detail top view of the cooler top showing openings for the antlers and a closing zipper.  
         [0023]      FIG. 11  is a side, partially cross-sectional view showing zippers and a closing flap surrounding the protruding antlers. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0024]     Turning now to the drawings in more detail the soft-sided collapsible cooler of the present invention is generally designated by numeral  10 . As can be seen in the drawings, the cooler is generally configured as a box-like enclosure having a front wall  12 , a back wall  14 , a first end wall  16  and a second end wall  18 . The cooler  10  further comprises a closed bottom  20  and a closable top  22 . The walls  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 , as well as the bottom  20  and top  22  are made from flexible collapsible material having waterproof outer and inner surfaces. The walls, the bottom and the top are formed from an insulated material to protect the contents of the cooler. An insulating layer  32  extends between an outside layer  34  and the inside layer  36  along the bottom, walls and top of the cooler  10 .  
         [0025]     The walls  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 , the bottom  20  and the top  22  are secured together to form a main chamber  30 , which is preferably large enough to accommodate a head and hide of a dead animal, or a carcass of a dead animal. The inside walls of the cooler are provided with a plurality of compartment, wherein a cooling medium, for instance “blue ice,” dry ice or bags with ice, can be positioned. As can be seen in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the front wall  12  and the back wall  14  are provided with two such compartments  24 ,  26 . Each end wall  16  and  18  can be provided with one such compartment  28 . Of course, any desired number of inner compartments can be made on the inside walls of the cooler  10 , depending on the size and particular configuration of the inner chamber  30 .  
         [0026]     The outside of the front wall  12  of the cooler  10  is further provided with one or more outside compartments, or pouches  40 ,  42 . Small items, such as tags, pens, hunting license, hunting accessories and the like can be positioned in the outside pouches  40 ,  42 . A fold-down flap  41  ( FIG. 4 ) can be secured to the front wall  12  to close the open top ends of the pouches  40 ,  42 . If desired, marching hook and loop fastening strips  43  can be used to secure the bottoms of the flaps  41  to the exterior of the pouches  40 ,  42 .  
         [0027]     The top  22  of the cooler  10  is provided with closing means for enclosing the main chamber  30 . As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , the closing means comprises a first zipper  50 , which extends along the center of the top  22 , from one end  52  of the top  22  to about one-third of the top  22 . The second zipper  54  extends through the center of the top  22 , from the second end  56  to about two-thirds of the top  22 , passing between the openings  60 ,  62  formed in the top  22 . For some of its length, the second zipper  54  extends above the first zipper  50 , thereby partially overlapping the first zipper  50 .  
         [0028]     The first zipper  50  ends at a location adjacent to the openings  60 ,  62  formed in the top  22  ( FIG. 10 ). The openings  60 ,  62  are configured to allow antlers of a deer to protrude outside of the cooler  10 . The second zipper  54  ends at a point  58 , which is at a distance from the openings  60 ,  62  and closer to the end wall  16 , as can be seen in more detail in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0029]     A cord-receiving pocket  64 ,  66  is formed about the openings  62 ,  64 , respectively. A tightening cord  68 ,  70  is inserted in the respective pocket  64 ,  66  and extends from the pocket to facilitate tightening of the top  22  about the antlers  72 , which protrude through the openings  60 ,  62  and protect the cool air created in the chamber  30 . The openings  60 ,  62  can vary in size and are preferably large enough to accommodate different size antlers.  
         [0030]     A pair of reinforcing members  74 ,  75  is secured to the top  22  by stitching and the like to reinforce the area adjacent the openings  60 ,  62 . The zipper  54  passes between the reinforcing members  74 ,  75 , as shown in more detail in  FIG. 10 . Each of the reinforcing members  74 ,  75  carries a hook-and-loop fastener strip  76 ,  77  secured to the underside of the respective flap adjacent end  78 ,  79  thereof. A matching hook-and-loop fastener strip  80 ,  81  is secured to the top  22  for engagement with the fastener strips  76 ,  77 . When the strips  76 ,  77  and  80 ,  81  are engaged together, the pushing force of the deer head  100  positioned in the chamber  30  on the zippers  50 ,  54  is minimized by the securing strips engaging the top  22 .  
         [0031]     The cooler  10  of the present invention is provided with a carrying strap  86 , which extends from the end wall  16  to the end wall  18 . A securing ring  88  and  90  is positioned on the end walls  16  and  18 , respectively, and secured with a respective ring support  92 ,  94 . The carrying strap  86  carries a snap member  96  on each of its ends for detachably engaging the securing rings  88  and  90 . The strap  86  can be dimensioned for carrying in hand, or across the shoulder, as desired.  
         [0032]     In operation, a hunter prepares the hide of the animal and removes head from the carcass. The hide is then rolled up into a roll  102  and placed under the deer&#39;s neck, as shown in phantom lines in  FIG. 3 . The head  100  and the hide  102  are then placed into the chamber  30  of the cooler  10 , with the nose of the dead animal facing one of the end walls  16 . The antlers  72  are allowed to protrude through the openings  60 ,  62 .  
         [0033]     The user then place a cooling medium into the inner pockets  24 ,  26 ,  28  to maintain the head and carcass of the animal under the desired cool conditions. The zippers  50 ,  55  are then closed and the reinforcing flaps  74 ,  75  pressed in the area of hook-and-loop fasteners to engage the marching strips  80 ,  81 . The tightening cords  68 ,  70  are tightened and tied to further protect the inside of the cooler.  
         [0034]     The outside surface  34  of the cooler  10  may be camouflaged, if desired to match the clothing of the hunter. When not in use, the cooler  10  may be rolled up for storage and transportation.  
         [0035]     Many changes and modifications may be made in the design of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I, therefore, pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.