Portable cooler

Abstract

A portable cooler has a vertical rectangular insulated box. The vertical insulated box has a number of front doors and a lid. Inside the vertical insulated box are a number of distinct chambers and within the chambers are shelves. The vertical insulating box is attached to a dolly by a pair of stabilizing bars. The dolly has a pair of inflatable wheels offset from the vertical insulating box. A drain pipe connects a ice holding chamber with a drip pan.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority on and is a continuation-in-part of the patent application entitled “Portable Ice Box Picnic Cooler Upright with Wheels”, filed on Dec. 21, 2005, having Ser. No. 11/221,907.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of coolers and more particularly to a portable cooler.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Coolers are used to store food, medicine and other items when a refrigerator or freezer is not available. Most coolers are just insulated boxes that a user places ice and the items to be kept cold in the same box. Unfortunately, this results in items being in direct contact with the ice. As a result, the items are difficult to store, organize and remove and may become soaked in water from the melting ice. In addition, most coolers are horizontal boxes which require the user to bend over to place items in the cooler or to remove items from the cooler.

Thus there exists a need for a cooler that does not allow the items being stored to become soaked in water and allows the cooler compartment to be organized for easy storage and removal of items.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A cooler that overcomes these and other problems has a vertical rectangular insulated box. The vertical insulated box has a number of front doors and a lid. Inside the vertical insulated box are a number of distinct chambers and within the chambers are shelves. The vertical insulating box is attached to a dolly by a pair of stabilizing bars. The dolly has a pair of inflatable wheels offset from the vertical insulating box. A drain pipe connects an ice holding chamber with a drip pan. This prevents the ice from getting the items in the cooler wet and makes it easier to place additional ice in the cooler. The items can be organized on the shelves in the chamber of the cooler for easy storage and removal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top left perspective view of the portable cooler in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the portable cooler in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view with the lid removed of the portable cooler in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the portable cooler in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the frame of the portable cooler in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a front view of the vertical insulating box in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A portable cooler has a vertical rectangular insulated box. The vertical insulated box has a number of front doors and a lid. Inside the vertical insulated box are a number of distinct chambers and within the chambers are shelves. The vertical insulating box is attached to a dolly by a pair of stabilizing bars. The dolly has a pair of inflatable wheels offset from the vertical insulating box. A drain pipe connects a ice holding chamber with a drip pan. This prevents the ice from getting the items in the cooler wet and makes it easier to place additional ice in the cooler. The items can be organized on the shelves in the chamber of the cooler for easy storage and removal. In one embodiment, the dolly is an integral part of the vertical insulating box.

FIG. 1 is a top left perspective view of the portable cooler 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The portable cooler 10 has vertical insulating compartment 12 with a plurality of front doors 14, 16, 18. The insulating compartment 12 also has a top lid 20. The lid 20 and front doors 14, 16, 18 have handles 22, 24, 26, 28. The vertical ice box 12 is attached to a dolly 30. The vertical ice box 12 sits on a platform 32 of the dolly. The stabilizing bars 34, 36, 38 are bolted to the vertical ice box 12. The bolts (not shown) extend through bolt holes 40, 42 of the stabilizing bars 34, 36 and into bolt holes 44, 46 in the ice box 12. The dolly 30 has a pair of handles 48, 50 that facilitate moving the vertical ice box 12. A pair of wheels 52, 54 are offset from the vertical ice box 12. The pair of wheels 52, 54 may be inflatable to facilitate easier movement of the vertical ice box 12. Note that the vertical insulating box 12 may be made of plastic with insulation between the plastic walls, or may be made with metal walls with insulation between the walls or the walls may be made of some other structural material. In one embodiment, the dolly is an integral part of the vertical insulating box.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the portable cooler 12 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Note that the dolly 30 is not shown in the figure. The figure shows that the vertical insulating compartment 12 has three chambers 60, 62, 64. The top chamber 60 is designed to hold ice or dry ice. The center compartment 62 has a number of adjustable shelves 66 and drink holders 68 in the door 16. A drain pipe 70 shown in double dashed lines connects the ice chamber 60 to a drain pan 72 in the bottom chamber 64. A hinge plate 74 may be used to attach the lid 20 to the vertical insulating box 12.

FIG. 3 is a top view with the lid removed of the portable cooler 12 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. This figure shows top compartment 60 which has a divider 61 that may be made of corrugated tin. The divider 61 may have an opening 80 to allow for circulation of air to facilitate cooling. The divider 61 may have a slight slope to push water towards the drain pipe 70. The vertical insulating box 12 may be supported by frame 82, 84, 86. In one embodiment, the frame pieces 82, 84, 86 are made of 2×2 and 2×4 wood boards. However, the invention may be constructed without this frame or with a different frame without departing from the spirit of the invention as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the portable cooler 12 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. This figure shows the lid 20 closed and shows how the lid is held by hinges 90, 92 to the hinge plate 74. Note that other hinge designs may be used that do not use the hinge plate 74 as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the frame 100 of the portable cooler in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The frame 100 has a top frame portion 102 that may form the lid 20. The top frame portion 102 is attached to the body frame 104 by hinges 106, 108 and hinge plate 74. The body frame 104 has compartment frame dividers 110, 112 and has a base 112. A drip pan 72 fits on the base frame 114. A top door frame 116 is attached to the body frame 104 by hinges 118. A middle door frame 120 is attached to the body frame 104 by hinges 122. The bottom door frame 124 is attached to the body frame 104 by hinges 126. A beverage tray 130 attaches to the middle door 16. FIG. 6 is a front view of the vertical insulating box 12 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Thus there has been described a portable cooler that does not allow the items being stored to become soaked in water and allows the cooler compartment to be organized for easy storage and removal of items.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alterations, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A portable cooler, comprising:

a vertical rectangular insulated box;

a carrying frame having a pair of handles; and

a pair of wheels attached to the carrying frame.

2. The cooler of claim 1, wherein the carrying frame has a stabilizing bar that is releasably attached to the vertical rectangular insulated box.

3. The cooler of claim 2, wherein the vertical rectangular insulated box has a plurality of front doors.

4. The cooler of claim 3, wherein the vertical rectangular insulated box has a top lid.

5. The cooler of claim 4, further including a plurality of removable shelves inside the vertical rectangular insulated box.

6. The cooler of claim 1, further including a drain line between an upper compartment and a catch pan of the vertical rectangular insolated box.

7. The cooler of claim 6, wherein the pair of wheels are inflatable wheels.

8. A portable cooler, comprising:

a vertical insulating compartment; and

a set of wheels to a side of the vertical insulating compartment.

9. The cooler of claim 8, further including a frame attached to the set of wheels and the vertical insulating compartment.

10. The cooler of claim 9, wherein the vertical insulating compartment has a plurality of front doors.

11. The cooler of claim 10, wherein the vertical insulating compartment has a lid.

12. The cooler of claim 11, wherein the vertical insulating compartment has a plurality of distinct chambers.

13. The cooler of claim 12, further including a drain line between an upper chamber and a catch pan of the vertical rectangular insolated box.

14. The cooler of claim 13, wherein the wheels are inflatable.

15. A portable cooler, comprising:

a vertical ice box having a plurality of front doors and a lid, the vertical ice box having a plurality of distinct chambers; a dolly having a pair of stabilizing bars attached to the vertical ice box.