Abstract:
The cooler support shelf is a rectangular platform having each of two corner sections of one side of the platform perpendicularly connected to separate vertical rails. The tops of the two rails are curved into hooks in the direction away from the platform. Diagonal support struts are connected from opposed sides of the platform to the lower part of each vertical rail. A hook and loop restraining strap is connected near the top of each vertical rail. The two straps can connect around the cooler to keep it in place on the platform.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/731,877, filed Nov. 1, 2005. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to portable and foldable shelves to support large objects, such as beverage coolers, luggage, bait boxes and the like. The invention particularly relates to transportable and foldable shelves that can be removably suspended on the exterior or interior side of the gunwales or transom of a boat, the back of a chair, automobile, house doors, etc.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     There are a host of occupations and activities where large, bulky, moderately heavy containers are used in the vicinity of an individual, such as a worker or one who is engaging in recreational activities, in order to store tools, repair kits, game equipment, fishing gear, food, beverages, ice, and the like. The containers, whatever they may contain, are useful but inconvenient to the user, for they are inevitably put in some out-of-the-way place on the ground near the activity, but out of the individual&#39;s traffic pattern. If the container is a heavy toolbox, the mechanic is inevitably visiting the container many times during the course of a repair job to retrieve the right tool for the job. The worker will be repeatedly bending over many times a day to search through the collection of tools in the ground-situated toolbox and suffer a sore back as a consequence.  
         [0006]     In the sport of recreational boating, the ordinary cooler is a required companion. In the cooler are kept the food, beverages and delicacies (plus ice) that comprise a large part of the purpose of the adventure. The bigger the cooler, the better the adventure. However, the price in space on the boat deck is considerable. As always, the cooler must be relegated to an unobtrusive part of the boat deck, but a part that is still conveniently accessible to crew and guests. That requirement is hard to fulfill, given all the paraphernalia that winds up competing for space on an active boat deck.  
         [0007]     In that other segment of recreational boating, sport fishing, no true sport fisherman has ever come across a tackle box that could be called too big. The cockpit deck of the fishing boat may be cluttered with large bait or tackle boxes containing, very nearby, the magical lures, leaders and weights for a successful day of fishing. At the same time, however, the essential bulky cooler must be near at hand with its own convenient space and refreshments.  
         [0008]     Clearly, there is a need to make access to large, bulky containers, such as beverage coolers used in boating and other activities, more convenient to the user. That task should be resolved without compromising either the availability of space or the accessibility of available space. The present invention turns to unique shelving configurations to overcome the problem.  
         [0009]     Thus a cooler support shelf solving the aforementioned problems is desired.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The cooler support shelf comprises a rectangular platform having each of two corners of one side of the platform perpendicularly connected to separate vertical rails. The tops of the two vertical rails are curved into a broad hook in the direction away from the platform. Diagonal support struts are connected from opposing sides of the platform to the lower part of each vertical rail. Support struts are also connected between the side of the platform connected to a vertical rail and the opposing side. A hook and loop restraining strap is connected near the top of each vertical rail. The two straps can connect around the cooler to keep it in place on the platform.  
         [0011]     In another embodiment, the cooler support shelf is folded toward the vertical rails so that the cooler support shelf can be conveniently stored and carried.  
         [0012]     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a cooler support shelf according to the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is an environmental perspective view of the cooler support shelf installed over the gunwales of a boat.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of the cooler support shelf of the invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a partial, perspective view of a corner of a cooler support shelf according to the present invention, showing a wing nut and bolt for securing the shelf in an operative, cooler-supporting position.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a partial, perspective view of an optional support for a corner of a cooler support shelf according to the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a partial elevational view of a cooler support shelf according to the present invention, showing a bolt, washer and wing nut securing the shelf at one end in an operative, cooler-supporting position.  
         [0019]     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a cooler  10  is supported on a generally horizontal platform member  12  that is connected to main rail members  16  and  18 . The top portions of the two main rails  16  and  18  are curved into hooks  20 ,  30  (see  FIG. 2 ), for hanging over the gunwales  22  of a boat  14 . The main rails  16  and  18  rest primarily against the freeboard  24  of the boat. Support member rails  26  and  28  connect to a bottom portion of the main rails  16  and  18 , and to an outer side portion of the platform member  12 .  
         [0021]     Since the cooler  10  of  FIG. 1  is placed outside the boat hull, resting on the platform member  12  or shelf depicted in  FIG. 1 , with the lid of the cooler  10  approximately level with the gunwale around the cockpit, it is very convenient for passengers or crew to access the beverages and food in the cooler  10 . The position of the cooler  10  on the supporting platform member  12  frees up several square feet of the limited deck space in the boat&#39;s cockpit, lessening any crowding that may occur and avoiding the necessity of bending over to access the contents of the cooler  10 .  
         [0022]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , an open view of a cooler support shelf of the invention is presented situated as in  FIG. 1 . The platform member  12  or shelf is connected directly to the main rails  16  and  18  at the intersections  32  and  34 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , platform member  12  is formed from a substantially rectangular open frame having flat horizontal members and a vertical flange or lip orthogonal to the horizontal members around the periphery of the rectangular frame in order to retain the cooler  10  on the platform member  12  without lateral shifting. A plurality of slats  44 ,  45 , and  46  extend across the rectangular frame to further support the floor of the cooler  10 . The frame forming platform member  12  is indirectly connected to the main rails through diagonal support member rails  26  and  28  at the intersections  36 ,  38 ,  40 , and one (unnumbered) not seen in  FIG. 2 , respectively, where the unnumbered intersection is not directly visible. The connecting fasteners at these intersections may be alike or different. The connectors may be welding, nuts and threaded bolts, rivets, rotatable studs or other structure commonly known in the art for connecting two metal members.  
         [0023]     Aluminum is the preferred material of construction for the cooler support shelf of the invention, since it is lightweight and corrosion resistant. However, steel may be employed, as well as engineering plastics, such as high density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, Lexan® (polybisphenol-A carbonate, a registered trademark of General Electric Corporation of Pittsfield, Mass.), polyesters (polyethylene terephthalate), Delrin® (polyoxymethylene, a registered trademark of E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del.), polyamides, and like polymers.  
         [0024]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a frontal view of the cooler support shelf of the invention is shown illustrating the platform member  12 , vertical shelf support rails  16  and  18 , and additional support slats or strips  44 ,  45  and  46  connected to parallel members of the frame of the shelf. The  FIG. 3  also shows hook and loop fastener (also known as Velcro® [Velcro is a registered trademark of Velcro Industries B.V. Limited Liability Company of the Netherlands]) straps  42  for holding the cooler  10  on the platform member  12 , by wrapping the straps  42  around the cooler  10  and connecting the straps  42  to the main rails  16  and  18 . In  FIG. 1  it is shown how the straps  42  extend through the handle  11  of the cooler  10  and overlap one another to allow the hook and loop fasteners to engage and hold the ends of the straps together.  FIG. 3  also illustrates vertical apertures  52  and  54 , respectively, in the frame or platform member  12  to engage with fasteners, e.g., bolts, washers and wing nuts (explained in further detail below), for connecting the main rail to the frame. Preferably, other connections  51 ,  53 , and  55 ,  57  of the support rail and platform frame are bolts or studs that can roll or rotate within the aperture.  
         [0025]     When the bolt and wing nut fasteners are so engaged, the platform member  12  is extended and essentially perpendicular to the side of the boat or whatever is supporting the main rails  16  and  18 . When the bolts and wing nuts are removed, the unrestrained edge of the platform member  12  can be lowered to fold the platform member  12  for transportation or storage of the cooler support shelf.  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIGS. 4, 5  and  6 , the fasteners shown in  FIG. 3  are depicted in greater detail.  FIG. 4  shows one wing nut  60  and its bolt  62  inserted through the aperture  54  ( FIG. 3 ) and into and through an aperture at intersection  34  ( FIG. 2 ). As shown in  FIG. 5 , optionally platform corner support  56  is connected to a main rail  16  by suitable means, such as welding. The platform corner support  56  should be considered desired, but is optional. (It should be noted here that corner support  56 , bolt  62  and wing nut  60  are constructed the same at both of the intersections  32  and  34 .) Referring to  FIG. 6 , a flat washer  64  is provided, which is common in the marine industry where bolts and wing nuts are employed, in a vibration-intensive environment especially. The removal of wing nut, bolt and washer fasteners  60 ,  62 ,  64  allows the platform member  12  or cooler support shelf to be folded against vertical rails  16 ,  18 , by lowering the released platform member  12 , thus providing for compact storage of the invention.  
         [0027]     While a preferred use for the cooler support shelf of the invention is to support a cooler in marine applications, it is obvious to one schooled in the art that the support shelf of the invention is useful for the support of many items, including tackle boxes, bait boxes, scrub pails, tool boxes, laundry hampers, fuel containers, toy boxes and the like. Where the word cooler is used herein to describe the invention, other applications obvious in the art are included with that term.  
         [0028]     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.