Patent Publication Number: US-2007101754-A1

Title: Portable temperature maintaining apparatus

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a portable temperature maintaining apparatus, such as a chest including a primary chamber for storing items placed therein at a first temperature of one or more of the items, and at least one secondary chamber formed within the primary chamber for storing a free-flowing liquid therein at essentially the first temperature found within the primary chamber or at a second different temperature from that found in the primary chamber.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Conventional portable coolers are used for storing food and drinks for picnics, parties, the beach, automobile trips, and other similar outdoor activities. A conventional cooler includes a round or rectangular insulated chest with a central cavity defined therein that extends through an upper surface of the chest, and an insulated lid capable of sealing the central cavity when in contact with the entire upper surface of the chest. In use, ice or any other form of coolant is placed in the central cavity along with cans or bottles of drinks, or other foods, to be transported, and the lid is closed to keep the drinks and/or food cool for the period of time they are in the cooler.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,052 (Garcia), issued on Apr. 7, 1987, discloses a portable cooler comprising a chest with a main cavity defined therein for storing foodstuffs and coolant, an insulated lid for sealing the main cavity, and an insulated auxiliary cavity. An auxiliary cavity extends out from an outer side wall of the chest and is separated from the main cavity by a transversely extending mesh partition for permitting only cool air from the main cavity to enter the auxiliary cavity. The auxiliary cavity includes at least one circular opening in a top surface thereof for receiving a beverage can that is inserted into the auxiliary cavity and covered with a plug to seal the can within the auxiliary cavity until it is to be removed therefrom.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,430 B2 (Mills et al.), issued on Oct. 7, 2003, discloses a cooler comprising a container having a container bottom wall, upstanding side walls from the periphery of the bottom wall defining an open chamber, and a cover wall forming a lid that is connected to one side wall with a hinge for closing and opening the lid. The side walls and cover wall are made of a flexible fabric material with an insulated layer such that the side walls can be folded to allow for the collapse of the container for receiving articles to be cooled in the collapsed state. A bottle for receiving a liquid has peripheral walls and a bottom wall that has a shape to match the bottom and side walls of the container to provide stiffening for the bottom wall. The bottle includes a closure cap for covering an end of a bottle neck that extends through a peripheral side wall of the container when the bottle is inserted into contact with the container bottom for allowing the selective discharge of a liquid placed within the bottle. Generally, a liquid is placed within the bottle and then frozen prior to the bottle being placed within the container to provide a cooling medium for the articles placed thereon within the container.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 8,671,611 (Quigley), issued on Sep. 30, 1997, discloses a cooler chest comprising insulated outer side walls, a relatively narrow coolant compartment immediately within the insulated side walls that surrounds a central food and beverage compartment. Separate means are used to seal each of the coolant compartment and the central compartment at its top to provide access to each compartment and to reduce any effect from the surrounding ambient temperature. Melting ice in the coolant compartment can not contaminate food in the central food and beverage compartment.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,857 (George), issued on Dec. 9, 2003, discloses a dual chamber portable thermoelectric cooling and heating appliance device that is a rectangular box having two thermally separated compartments. Electrical heating and cooling apparatus, powered by an external electrical source, are part of the device.  
      One problem with some prior art coolers or chests is that one may want to store both hot and/or cold free-flowing liquids, such as cold fruit juice and hot coffee, but can&#39;t store containers of each in the same cooler chest since the coffee would be cooled along with the juice when ice is placed in the chest.  
      It is desirable to provide a non-electric portable chest in which food can be placed in a primary chamber and a consumable liquid or separate consumable liquids can be poured into one or more separate secondary chambers. When there is only one separate secondary chamber, it can store a hot liquid, such as coffee, or a liquid such a fruit juice which is to cooled. In this case of storing hot coffee, the single separate secondary chamber is thermally isolated from the primary chamber. In the case of storing fruit juice which is to be cooled, the single secondary chamber is thermally coupled to the primary chamber in which a coolant, e.g., ice, is placed. When there are two or more secondary chambers, one can be thermally isolated from the primary chamber and used to store a hot liquid, and another can thermally coupled to the primary chamber and used to store a liquid that is to be cooled.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      From a first apparatus aspect, the present invention is directed to portable temperature maintaining apparatus comprising primary walls, at least a first secondary wall, and a spigot. The primary walls have inner and outer surfaces with the inner surfaces defining a primary chamber. One of the primary walls serves as a selectively movable lid such that items can be placed in the primary chamber. The primary walls all have a relatively high thermal resistance. The at least first secondary wall is formed within the primary chamber and defines at least a portion of a first secondary chamber existing within a portion of the primary chamber. The first secondary chamber is configured to store a free-flowing consumable liquid. The thermal resistance of the at least first secondary wall is either of relatively high thermal resistance or relatively low thermal resistance. The spigot passes through a primary wall and into communication with the secondary chamber such that any liquid stored in the secondary chamber can be dispensed therefrom.  
      From a second apparatus aspect, the present invention is directed to a portable temperature maintaining apparatus comprising primary walls, a plurality of secondary walls, and at least one spigot. The primary walls have inner and outer surfaces with the inner surfaces defining a primary chamber therein. One of the primary walls serves as a selectively movable lid such that items can be placed in the primary chamber and then sealed therein. The primary walls all have a relatively high thermal resistance. The plurality of secondary walls are formed within the primary chamber. Each secondary wall defines at least a portion of at least one secondary chamber within the primary chamber. One of the secondary walls defines each of at least one secondary chamber and is selectively removable. The at least one secondary chamber is configured to store a consumable liquid. The thermal resistance of each of the secondary walls is selected from either a relatively high thermal resistance or a relatively low thermal resistance. Each spigot passes through a predetermined primary wall and into communication with a separate one of the at least one secondary chamber such that any liquid stored in the associated at least one secondary chamber can be dispensed therefrom.  
      From a third apparatus aspect, the present invention is directed to a portable chest comprising primary walls, a plurality of secondary walls, and a spigot. The primary walls have inner and outer surfaces with the inner surfaces thereof defining a primary chamber therein. One of the primary walls forms a selectively movable lid such that items can be placed in the primary chamber. The primary walls all have relatively high thermal resistance. The plurality of secondary walls are formed within the primary chamber and define, in conjunction with at least one primary wall, a first secondary chamber existing within the primary chamber. One of the plurality of secondary walls is selectively removable. the first secondary chamber is configured to store a free-flowing consumable liquid. The thermal resistance of each of the secondary walls is selected from a group consisting of a relatively high thermal resistance and a relatively low thermal resistance. The spigot passes through a primary wall and into communication with the secondary chamber such that any liquid stored in the secondary chamber can be dispensed therefrom.  
      The invention will be better understood from the following more detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings and claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portable temperature maintaining chest in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a is a perspective view of a portable temperature maintaining chest in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 3  is a is a perspective view of a portable temperature maintaining chest in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
      The drawings are not necessarily to scale.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a perspective view of a portable temperature maintaining apparatus  10 , hereinafter referred to as a portable multiple chamber chest  10 , in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. Apparatus  10  does not require any electrical input power. The chest  10  comprises a plurality of primary walls  20  that form the sides and bottom, and a lid  20   a , of the chest  10 , each of the primary walls  20  and lid  20   a  being formed from a high thermal resistance material. The primary walls  20  and lid  20   a  having inner surfaces that define a primary chamber  22  within the chest  10 . The lid  20   a  is coupled to a primary wall  20  via at least one hinge  24  to permit the lid  20   a  to be selectively movable for either allowing access to, or sealing, the primary chamber  22 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , there are two separate hinges  24 . When sealing the primary chamber  22 , the lid  20   a  is held in place by a latch comprising a male member  26   a  located on an edge of lid  20   a , and a female member  26   b  located on a front surface of a primary wall  20 . Any suitable element (not shown), such as a rubber gasket or  0 -ring, can be attached to the edges around the top of the primary side walls  20  such that when the lid  20   a  is in place to seal the primary chamber  22  such suitable element is compressed.  
      The chest  10  further comprises a first secondary wall  30   a , formed within the primary chamber  22 , that defines at least a portion of a first secondary chamber  32   a  defined within the primary chamber  22 . The first secondary chamber  32   a  is capable of storing a free-flowing consumable liquid (not shown) that is poured into the first secondary chamber  32   a . An optional movable lid  34   a  can be provided for providing access to the first secondary chamber  32   a  to permit a consumable liquid to be poured into the first secondary chamber  32   a , and for sealing the first secondary chamber  32   a  once a free-flowing liquid is stored in the first secondary chamber  32   a  and the lid  20   a  does not seal the first secondary chamber  32   a  when clamped to seal the primary chamber  22 . Such optional lid  34   a  can be hinged to a primary wall  20  or the first secondary wall  30   a  defining the first secondary chamber  32   a  (as shown in the figure), or can be completely removable. Preferferrably, secondary chambers  32   a  and  32   b  are of sufficient width and length so as to allow a cleaning tool or a persons hand to be inserted therein for cleaning.  
      A second secondary wall  30   b  formed within the primary chamber  22  defines at least a portion of a second secondary chamber  32   b  defined within the primary chamber  22 . The second secondary chamber  32   b  is capable of storing a second free-flowing consumable liquid (not shown) that is poured into the second secondary chamber  32   b . An optional movable lid  34   b  can be provided for providing access to the second secondary chamber  32   b  to permit the consumable liquid to be poured into the second secondary chamber  32   b , and for sealing the second secondary chamber  32   b  once the free-flowing consumable liquid is stored in the second secondary chamber  32   b  and the lid  20   a  does not seal the second secondary chamber  32   b  when clamped to seal the primary chamber  22 . Such optional lid  34   b  can be hinged to a primary wall  20  or the second secondary wall  30   b  defining the second secondary chamber  32   b  (as shown in the figure), or be completely removable.  
      The thermal resistance of the each of the first and second secondary walls  30   a  and  30   b  being selectively formed from either one of (a) a relatively high thermal resistance to essentially prevent the liquid in the secondary chamber  32   a  or  32   b  from being affected by the temperature in the primary chamber  22 , and (b) a relatively low thermal resistance to enable a liquid in the secondary chamber  32   a  or  32   b  to be affected by the temperature in the primary chamber  22 . With a first of the walls  30   a  being of relatively low thermal resistance, cold items in the primary chambers  22  cause a liquid in the secondary chamber  32   a  to be cooled if the temperature thereof is above that of the items in the primary chamber  22 . In this case the first secondary chamber  32   a  is said to be thermally coupled to primary chamber  22 . With a second of the walls  30   a  being of relatively high thermal resistance, cold items in the primary chamber  22  have essentially no affect on the temperature of a liquid in the secondary chamber  32   b . In this case the second secondary chamber  32   b  is said to be thermally isolated from the primary chamber  22 .  
      First and second spigots  36   a  and  36   b  passing through a same or different primary wall  20  and into communication with the first and second secondary chambers  32   a  and  32   b , respectively, such that any liquid stored in the respective first and second secondary chambers  32   a  and  32   b  can be dispensed therefrom. First and second sightglasses  38   a  and  38   b  can be optionally provided, the sightglasses  38   a  and  38   b  being formed in a same or different primary wall  20  and into communication with the associated first and second secondary chambers  32   a  and  32   b , respectively. They allow one to see the level of a consumable liquid stored within the respective first and second secondary chambers. Wheels  40  can be positioned on the chest  10  to permit the chest  10  to be rolled instead of carried. A handle  42  can also be provided to enable the pulling of the chest  10  via the wheels  40 . Handle  42  is shown as a pull out type handle, which when not in use can be pushed under chest chest  10 . Two support legs  44  are attached to an outer surface of bottom primary wall  20  so as to help support and level chest  10 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a perspective view of a portable temperature maintaining apparatus  50 , hereinafter referred to as a portable multiple chamber chest  50 , in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. Apparatus  50  does not require any electrical power to perform its function. The chest  50  comprises a plurality of primary walls  52  that form the sides and bottom, and a lid  52   a , of the chest  50 , each of the primary walls  52  and lid  52   a  being formed from a high thermal resistance material. The primary walls  52  and lid  52   a  having inner surfaces that define a primary chamber  54  within the chest  50 . The lid  52   a  is coupled to a primary wall  52  via at least one hinge  56  to permit the lid  52   a  to be selectively movable for either allowing access to, or sealing, the primary chamber  54 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , there are two separate hinges  56 . When sealing the primary chamber  54 , the lid  52   a  is held in place by a latch comprising a male member  58   a  located on an edge of the lid  52   a , and a female member  58   b  located on a front surface of a primary wall  52 . Any suitable element (not shown), such as a rubber gasket or  0 -ring, can be attached to the. edges around the top of the primary side walls  52 , or adjacent the edge of the lid  52   a , such that when the lid  52   a  is in place to seal the primary chamber  54  such suitable element is compressed.  
      The chest  50  further comprises first, second, third, and fourth secondary walls  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c , and  60   d , respectively, formed within the primary chamber  54  that partly define first, second, third, and fourth secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d  with portions of the primary chamber  54 . Separate, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth secondary walls  70   a ,  70   b ,  70   c , and  70   d  are positioned to be in contact with a predetermined primary wall  52  and one of the first, second, third, and fourth secondary walls  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c , or  60   d  for further defining and providing a separating wall between adjacent secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , or  62   d . They also provide support for the primary walls  52  and secondary walls  60   a - 60   d  and thus help limit any bulging thereof when liquid fills the secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d . Each of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eight secondary walls typically has a relatively high thermal resistance so as to thermally isolate the respective secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d  from each other. The first, second, third, and fourth secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d  are each capable of storing a desired free-flowing consumable liquid (not shown) that is poured into the associated secondary chamber  62   a - 62   d . If the primary lid  52   a  is not designed to seal each of the secondary chambers  60   a - 60   d  when clamped to seal the primary chamber  54 , optional first, second, third, and fourth movable secondary lids  64   a ,  64   b ,  64   c , and  64   d  can be provided for permitting access to the first, second, third, and fourth secondary chamber  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d , respectively, when removed in order to pour predetermined consumable liquids to into any of the first, second, third, and fourth secondary chambers  62   a - 62   d . The secondary lids  64   a - 64   d , when placed in contact with the associated primary walls  52  and secondary walls  60   a - 60   d , function to seal the associated first, second, third, and fourth secondary chambers  62   a - 62   d  once a free-flowing liquid is stored in the associated secondary chamber  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , or  62   d . Each of the optional lids  64   a - 64   d  can be optionally hinged to a primary wall  52  or one of the secondary walls  60   a - 60   d , or, as is shown in  FIG. 2 , can be individually removable. Preferrably, the secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d  are of. sufficient length and width so as to allow a cleaning tool or a persons hand to be inserted therein for cleaning.  
      The thermal resistance of the each of the first, second, third, and fourth secondary walls  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c , and  60   d  are selectively formed, in the area bordering the associated secondary chamber, from either one of (a) a relatively high thermal resistance to essentially prevent the liquid in the associated secondary chamber  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , or  62   d  from being affected by the temperature in the primary chamber  54 , and (b) a relatively low thermal resistance to enable a liquid in the associated secondary chamber  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , or  62   d  to be affected by the temperature in the primary chamber  54 . With the first, second, third, and fourth secondary walls  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c , and  60   d  all of relatively low thermal resistance, the secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d  are said to be thermally coupled to the primary chamber  52 . With the first, second, third, and fourth secondary walls  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c , and  60   d  all of relatively high thermal resistance, the secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d  are said to be thermally isolated from the primary chamber  52 . Some of the secondary walls  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c , and  60   d  can be of low thermal resistance and some can be of high thermal resistance. This allows at least one of the secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d  to be used to store a hot liquid and an other one to store a liquid that is to be cooled.  
      First, second, third, and fourth spigots  66   a ,  66   b ,  66   c , and  66   d  pass through a same or different primary wall  52  and are in communication with the first, second, third, and fourth secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d , respectively, such that any liquid stored in the respective first, second, third, and fourth secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   b  can be dispensed therefrom. First, second, third, and fourth sightglasses  68   a ,  68   b ,  68   c , and  68   d  can be optionally provided, the sightglasses  68   a - 68   d  are formed in a same or different primary wall  52  and into communication with the associated first, second, third, and fourth secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d , respectively. They allow one to see the level of a consumable liquid stored within the respective first, second, third, and fourth secondary chambers  62   a ,  62   b ,  62   c , and  62   d . Wheels  72  can be positioned on the chest  50  to permit the chest  50  to be rolled instead of carried. A handle  74  can also be provided to enable the pulling of the chest  50  via the wheels  72 . Handle  74  is shown as a pull out type handle, which when not in use can be pushed under chest chest  50 . Two support legs  76  are attached to an outer surface of bottom primary wall  52  so as to help support and level chest  50 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a perspective view of a portable temperature maintaining apparatus  500 , hereinafter referred to as a portable multiple chamber chest  500 , in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. Apparatus  50  does not require any electrical power to perform its function. Apparatus  500  is very similar to apparatus  50  of  FIG. 2  and all components that are essentially the same have the same reference desigation number with a “0” added thereafter. The differences between the two apparatus&#39; is that apparatus  500  has only two secondary chambers  62   a   0  and  62   b   0 , two spigots  66   c   0  and  66   d   0 , two lids  64   a   00  and  64   b   00 , two  68   c   0  and  68   d   0 , and two secondary divider walls  70   a   0  and  70   c   0 . Accordingly, apparatus  500  only has two secondary chambers  62   a   0  and  62   b   0  in which liquids can stored in and dispensed from via spigots  66   c   0  and  66   d   0 , respectively.  
      It is to be appreciated and understood that the specific embodiments of the present invention described hereinabove are merely illustrative of the general principles of the present invention. Various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art which are consistent with the principles set forth. For example, the secondary walls aiding in defining one or more secondary chambers, along with their associated spigots and sightglasses, can be positioned in any preferred arrangement within the primary chamber to provide each secondary chamber size as desired. Still further, there can be any number of secondary chambers with each secondary chamber having an associated spigot. Still further, the lids  20   a ,  52   a , and  52   a   0  can be configured to seal all of the secondary chambers. With lids  20   a ,  52   a , and  52   a   0  so configured, the need for lids  34   a ,  34   b ,  64   a - 64   d , and  64   a   00  and  64   b   00  is eliminated. Still further, the chests  10  and  50  can be squares or other geometric shapes. Furthermore, carrying handles can be added to the chests  10  and  50 .