Exterior Ice Chest Pocket and Retrofit Kit
A removable, flexible, soft sided pocket secured to the external wall of a rigid, rectangular box shaped ice chest cooler. The pocket is configured in a width to height ratio similar to a side of a typical ice chest. The thickness of the pocket is small relative to its width and height. A zippered opening extends across the top of the pocket. The top and bottom edges of the pocket each incorporate attachment flaps that include two or more snaps that are positioned to align with snap bases on the side of the ice chest. The removable pocket may be snapped onto or removed from the sidewall of the ice chest leaving only the low profile snap bases permanently attached. The pocket may in kit form to allow for retrofitting an existing cooler with a pocket sized specifically for the cooler or ice chest.
This application claims the benefit under Title 35 United States Code §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/118,110; filed: Feb. 19, 2015, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to accessories for portable ice chests and coolers. The present invention relates more specifically to a removable, external pocket accessory attachable to the exterior surface of a portable ice chest or cooler.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most portable ice chests and coolers currently on the market are specifically structured to contain food and drink products that are meant to be kept cold. While there are many portable containers in the nature of ice chests and coolers that also incorporate sections reserved for maintaining food at room temperature or heated, it is difficult to adequately isolate the cold side from the hot side. Efforts have still been made in the past to incorporate both hot and cold regions inside portable ice chests or coolers. Most of these previous efforts are complex and often fail to prevent the transfer of heat from the warm or room temperature portion into the cold portion of the portable ice chest. Some efforts have been made to create soft sided ice chests or coolers that have pockets positioned on the outside of the coolers in order to allow the user to transport items such as napkins, silverware, plates, etc., that do not need to be kept cold within the main enclosure of the cooler. Unfortunately, such soft sided coolers do not perform as well as rigid sided coolers and often sacrifice the ability to maintain products at a colder temperature within the cooler for the versatility of a flexible, soft sided cooler with pockets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention therefore provides a removable, flexible, soft sided pocket that may be secured to the external wall of a rigid, rectangular box shaped ice chest or cooler. The rectangular box shaped pocket is generally configured in a width to height ratio that is similar to the largest external wall of a typical ice chest or cooler (usually the “front” of the cooler). The thickness or depth of the pocket (extending away from the rigid wall of the cooler) is small in comparison to its width and height. A zippered opening is provided across the top edge of the pocket. Most importantly, the top edge of the pocket and the bottom edge of the pocket each incorporate attachment flaps that run the width of the pocket and include two or more snap tops that are positioned to align with snap bases secured onto the rigid wall of the existing cooler or ice chest. The removable pocket may be snapped onto or removed from the sidewall of the rigid ice chest or cooler, leaving only the low profile snap bases on the cooler after removal. The present invention is preferably provided in a kit form that allows the user to retrofit an existing cooler with a pocket constructed in size and appearance suitable for association with the existing cooler or ice chest.
Reference is made first to
The terms ice chest and cooler are used interchangeably in the present disclosure and generally refer to any of a number of different types of ice chest or cooler designs, generally boxed rectangular in construction, that incorporate durable plastic exterior and interior walls separated by one or more layers of insulation material. A typical ice chest or cooler includes a hinged lid similarly constructed of an interior and an exterior plastic wall separated by a layer of insulation material. The manner of attaching the pocket structure of the present invention is, as described in more detail below, generally the process of securing snap connector bases to an external wall of the cooler and thereafter snapping the pocket structure to the external wall.
The example shown in
Also seen in
Alternate to being constructed of discrete side panels that are stitched or sewn together, top box panel 14, side box panel (left hand side) 16, side box panel (right hand side) 32, and bottom panel 34 (
The most important features of ice chest pocket 10 of the present invention are top attachment flap 18 and bottom attachment flap 26. Each of these attachment flaps 18 & 26 are secured into the seams of the box structure of the pocket at the back panel and side box panel interfaces, and at the top and bottom box panel interfaces. Top attachment flap 18 incorporates optional top flap top stitch 19 in order to provide a clean and secure appearance. In the preferred embodiment, flaps 18 & 26 are of double layer fabric construction finished with the respective top stitches 19 & 27.
In the embodiment shown in
Reference is next made to
Reference is next made to
Reference is next made to
As in
Reference is next made to
Also included within retrofit kit 40 are hardware 42 that includes snap base components and self tapping screws. As described above, ice chest pocket 10 requires only an array of snap bases be positioned on the wall of the ice chest or cooler (see
Reference is finally made to
Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with a number of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications to these embodiments that still fall within the scope of the present invention. Because of variations in the sizes of different ice chests and coolers to which the present invention is intended to be retrofit, corresponding variations in the dimensions and configuration of the pocket are anticipated. Alternately, the present invention may be implemented through the manufacture and sale of a new ice chest or cooler with the pocket sold as an accessory included with the purchase of the new ice chest or cooler. Both the retrofit version of the present invention and the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) version incorporate the same basic elements and configurations.
Claims
1. A pocket enclosure removably attachable to an external wall of a rigid, box shaped ice chest cooler, the pocket enclosure comprising:
- a front wall panel having a height and a width;
- a rear wall panel having a height and a width, the rear wall panel positioned generally over and parallel to the front wall panel;
- first and second side wall panels joined to and extending between the front and rear wall panels generally along their height;
- a top wall panel joined to and extending between the front and rear wall panels generally along their width;
- at least one zipper positioned on at least one of the top, front, and side wall panels, the at least one zipper configured to alternately open and close the pocket enclosure;
- a top attachment flap extending along and from a first edge of the rear wall panel; and
- a bottom attachment flap extending along and from a second edge of the rear wall panel.
2. The pocket enclosure of claim 1 wherein the at least one zipper is positioned on and along a length of the top wall panel.
3. The pocket enclosure of claim 1 wherein the top and bottom attachment flaps each comprise a flexible band of material and a plurality of attachment mechanisms spaced along a length of the flexible band of material.
4. The pocket enclosure of claim 3 wherein the plurality of attachment mechanisms comprise snap assemblies, each snap assembly comprising a base component and a cap component, the base components secured to the external wall of the rigid box shaped ice chest cooler, and the cap components secured to the flexible band of material.
5. The pocket enclosure of claim 3 wherein the plurality of attachment mechanism comprise hook and loop attachment surfaces, the hook surfaces secured to the external wall of the rigid box shaped ice chest cooler, and the loop attachment surfaces secured to the flexible band of material.
6. The pocket enclosure of claim 1 further comprising a bottom wall panel joined to and extending between the front and rear wall panels generally along their width.
7. The pocket enclosure of claim 6 wherein the first and second side wall panels, the top wall panel, and the bottom wall panel, comprise portions of a continuous band of flexible material extending between the front and rear wall panels generally along their width and height.
8. The pocket enclosure of claim 1 wherein the front, rear, first side, second side, and top wall panels comprise stitched together flexible vinyl fabric material.
9. The pocket enclosure of claim 1 wherein the front, rear, first side, second side, and top wall panels comprise thermal insulating material.
10. A pocket enclosure removably attachable to an external wall of a rigid, box shaped ice chest cooler, the pocket enclosure comprising:
- a front wall panel having a height and a width and a perimeter edge;
- a rear wall panel having a height and a width and a perimeter edge, the rear wall panel positioned in a generally spaced and parallel relationship to the front wall panel;
- at least one side wall panel joined to and extending between the front and rear wall panels along their perimeter edges;
- at least one zipper positioned on the at least one side wall panel, the at least one zipper configured to alternately open and close the pocket enclosure; and
- at least one attachment flap extending along and from a portion of the perimeter edge of the rear wall panel.
11. The pocket enclosure of claim 10 wherein the at least one attachment flap comprises a flexible band of material and a plurality of attachment mechanisms spaced along a length of the flexible band of material.
12. The pocket enclosure of claim 11 wherein the plurality of attachment mechanisms comprise snap assemblies, each snap assembly comprising a base component and a cap component, the base components secured to the external wall of the rigid box shaped ice chest cooler, and the cap components secured to the flexible band of material.
13. The pocket enclosure of claim 11 wherein the plurality of attachment mechanism comprise hook and loop attachment surfaces, the hook surfaces secured to the external wall of the rigid box shaped ice chest cooler, and the loop attachment surfaces secured to the flexible band of material.
14. The pocket enclosure of claim 10 wherein the front, rear, and at least one side wall panels comprise stitched together flexible vinyl fabric material.
15. The pocket enclosure of claim 10 wherein the front, rear, first side, second side, and top wall panels comprise thermal insulating material.
16. A pocket enclosure removably attachable to an external wall of a rigid, box shaped ice chest cooler, the pocket enclosure comprising:
- a front wall panel having a height and a width, and comprising a flexible fabric material;
- a rear wall panel having a height and a width, and comprising a flexible fabric material, the rear wall panel positioned generally over and parallel to the front wall panel;
- first and second side wall panels comprising a flexible fabric material joined to and extending between the front and rear wall panels generally along their height;
- a top wall panel comprising a flexible fabric material joined to and extending between the front and rear wall panels generally along their width;
- a bottom wall panel comprising a flexible fabric material joined to and extending between the front and rear wall panels generally along their width;
- at least one zipper positioned on at least one of the top, front, and side wall panels, the at least one zipper configured to alternately open and close the pocket enclosure, the at least one zipper positioned on and along a length of the top wall panel;
- a top attachment flap extending along and from a first edge of the rear wall panel, the top attachment flap comprising a flexible band of fabric material and a plurality of attachment mechanisms spaced along a length of the flexible band of fabric material, the plurality of attachment mechanisms comprising snap assemblies, each snap assembly comprising a base component and a cap component, the base components secured to the external wall of the rigid box shaped ice chest cooler, and the cap components secured tthrough the flexible band of fabric material; and
- a bottom attachment flap extending along and from a second edge of the rear wall panel, the bottom attachment flap comprising a flexible band of fabric material and a plurality of attachment mechanisms spaced along a length of the flexible band of fabric material, the plurality of attachment mechanisms comprising snap assemblies, each snap assembly comprising a base component and a cap component, the base components secured to the external wall of the rigid box shaped ice chest cooler, and the cap components secured through the flexible band of fabric material.
17. The pocket enclosure of claim 16 wherein the wall panels are first stitched together with internal hidden stitching and again with external top stitching.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 19, 2016
Publication Date: Aug 25, 2016
Inventor: Robert R. HAIN (San Antonio, TX)
Application Number: 15/048,860