CHEST COOLER ACCESSORY
A chest cooler accessory for maintaining food items above a level of ice and water within the chest cooler that includes a rectangular elastic net that is maintained around three sides to the undersurface of the chest cooler lid to be open along the elastic net side that is adjacent to the lid latching side to pass food items into the elastic net that flexes to support them above the water and ice level during transport, and which elastic net attachment to the lid undersurface is with fasteners that do not effect the lid internal integrity.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to accessory items for inclusion with portable ice chest coolers as a person will carry with them in the wilderness, to a sporting event, or in a vehicle, where ice is poured into the cooler to keep items, such as drinks, cold and to chill food items, such as sandwiches, cheese, and the like, with the accessory item for maintaining such food items above the ice and water level, protecting them from water contamination.
2. Prior Art
Heretofore, where an owner has wished to carry both drinks and food items in their ice chest for a distance, or over time, they have attempted to separate such food items as by placing non-food items, such as trays, dishes or the like above the ice level with such food items there above, or have packed the food items in separate containers, or the like. In practice, where the chest has been exposed to movement during travel, as the ice melts water has sloshed over the food items, making them undesirable for consumption. The invention, to protect such food items, employs an elastic net arrangement fixed to the undersurface of the ice chest lid, apart from the level of ice and water within the chest, for carrying the perishable food items away the melting ice while still keeping those food items cool and dry.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is a principal object of the present invention is to provide an elastic net for mounting to the undersurface of a conventional ice chest cooler to maintain food items above the level or ice and water within the chest during transport and over time.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an elastic net arrangement of crossing elastic straps mounted on three sides to a fabric frame that push to lock fasteners are fitted through and are press fitted into holes formed in the undersurface of an ice chest cooler lid, securing the elastic net thereto, above a level of ice and water within the chest, for receiving food items passed across the open elastic net side and holding such food items above and out of the ice and water.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an elastic net arrangement that is easily and permanently mounted to an undersurface of an ice chest cooler lid to receive and protect food items fitted therein from water damage during movement of the ice chest where the installation of the elastic net will not effect the insulating characteristics of the chest lid.
The invention is an accessory item for a conventional ice chest cooler that is in an elastic net arranged for mounting to an undersurface of the chest lid and includes a flexible strap frame connected to three sides of the elastic net that receives press to lock fasteners installed at intervals around the three side of the strap frame that are push fitted into holes formed through the chest lid undersurface to lock within the lid with the unconnected side of the elastic net adjacent to the lid latch edge left open to receive food items fitted there across and held place by the net, supported above a level of ice and water in the cooler.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description in which the invention is described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:
The invention, as is hereinafter described, is in chest cooler accessory as shown in the FIGS., and
Shown in
The invention is in a chest cooler accessory to overcome the problem of separation of food items 16 from the ice and water mixture by providing a simple and effective elastic net arrangement secured to the lid 12 inner surface 12a to maintain such food items 16 above the level of ice and water 14. Shown in the FIGS. The accessory for a chest cooler 10 is in a food item support 20 that in shown in
Further to the assembly of the rectangular net 21,
Shown in
To install the food item support 20 to the lid under surface 12a, as shown in
The locking fasteners 27, as shown best in
While the locking fastener 27 as set out above is preferred for securely fastening the food item support 20 support boarder 24 onto the lid 12 undersurface 12a, it should be understood that other fasteners having like capabilities could be so used within the scope of this disclosure. With the food item support 20 in place, food items 16, as shown in
Hereinabove has been set out a description of a preferred embodiment of the chest cooler accessory of the invention. It should however, be understood that the present invention can be varied within the scope of this disclosure without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims, and a reasonable equivalency thereof, which claims I regard as my invention.
Claims
1. A chest cooler accessory for maintaining food items above a level of ice and water in the chest cooler comprising, a rectangular elastic net for attachment to a lid undersurface of a lid that is hinge connected along one edge to the chest cooler; a support border for attachment around three sides of said rectangular elastic net such that the side of said rectangular elastic net is open along a lid edge that is opposite to said lid hinge connection to said chest cooler; and means for securing said rectangular elastic net to said lid undersurface.
2. The chest cooler accessory as recited in claim 1, wherein the rectangular elastic net is formed from elastic straps that are positioned to cross one another forming essentially right angles with one another, and the junctions of which said elastic straps are secured together.
3. The chest cooler accessory as recited in claim 1, wherein the support border is formed from three sections of flexible straps that are secured together at their ends, at right angles, forming a U shape to fit over said three sides of the rectangular elastic net.
4. The chest cooler accessory as recited in claim 1, wherein the means for securing the rectangular elastic net to the lid undersurface are push to lock fasteners that each have a broad head end to be engaged by an operator's thumb or finger, have a shaft extending at a right angle from said broad head undersurface that includes a pointed end and have spaced teeth formed there along that each slope towards said head end undersurface, and which said push to lock fasteners shaft pointed ends are to fit through spaced aligned holes formed through the support border and through holes formed through the lid undersurface, into a space between said lid and the lid undersurface.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 12, 2015
Publication Date: Jun 9, 2016
Inventor: Glen W. Bond (Monroe, UT)
Application Number: 14/939,947