STAKE DOWN COOLER

Abstract

A portable storage container with an anti-theft mechanism. The storage container has internal deployable stakes that are housed within the storage container during transport. Upon placing the storage container on a suitable medium which is sand, the user can deploy the stakes from inside the storage container and into the medium. The lid may have a lock to prevent unauthorized access to the stake system.

Description

PRIORITY/CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/736,082, filed Dec. 12, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concepts generally relate to an apparatus for safely storing items in public places, and more particularly to a lockable container that can be secured to the ground.

BACKGROUND

Portable storage containers have become increasingly popular. These include picnic baskets, camera cases, knap sacks, coolers and other types of containers that are light weight and easily moved. These containers are useful for transporting and storing items for activities such as picnics, concerts, camping trips, beach trips and other activities.

Unfortunately, with the rise in popularity of these containers it has become a common problem for thieves to steal unattended or unwatched storage containers. In order to fulfill the intended purpose, these containers are generally small, light weight, easily portable, and have handles. While these features are well suited for the container's intended use by the owner, these same features result in the container being easily stolen. A thief simply has to walk up to an unattended container, pick it up, and walk away. Further, with the mass production of storage containers, no individual container is readily identifiable from other containers of similar design. For instance, a red cooler with handles will look like many other red coolers of similar size. Because of the similarity of one container to another, containers can be accidentally taken by an unauthorized person who has no illegal intent, but simply believes that the container is theirs.

Previous containers have failed to incorporate theft deterrent measures. Many of these, such as GPS tracking devices, are cost prohibitive to the average user seeking to get an affordable storage container. An easy to use and economical system for preventing the theft of portable storage containers has been elusive. It is difficult to develop a system for securing the storage containers because many times, on a beach or in a park, there is not a reasonably stationary and secure object to lock the container to.

Additionally, these containers, especially coolers, can have a tendency to tip over due to settling of the material below the container, inadvertent force being applied, or due to wind. Upon tipping over, the container can open and the contents can be dispersed across the ground, becoming covered in sand or other material which is difficult to completely remove and in the case of food, potentially ruinous.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The invention is a container which has internally stored legs or stakes which extend out and penetrate the sand, soil, or other substrate beneath the container. The container would typically be a cooler, but other types of containers would also fall within the inventive concept of the claims. Other types of containers could include a picnic basket, a camera case, a knapsack, or other types of containers. In the version of the device which is a cooler, the cooler would be of the type which has insulated walls and a hinged lid, and is meant to keep foods cool by the use of ice or other cooled objects, or an active cooling system. In the case of the cooler, the device has stakes which are moved between a deployed position and a retracted position. In the retracted position, the stakes are inside the cooler, either inside the walls of the cooler or in the interior of the cooler adjacent the side walls of the cooler. When the stakes are deployed they extend out from the cooler and are intended to penetrate the substrate below the cooler, which could be sand or soil or other substrate. Stakes can be a number of different shapes in cross-sections such as round, triangular, v or v-shaped. These are typical shapes of stakes such as tent stakes which are made to penetrate the ground. The stakes can either be hollow or solid, similar to tent stakes. The stakes can also be semi-circular in cross-section.

In the case of the cooler version, the cooler would operate as any other cooler would in storing food and keeping it cool, such as drinks and other food items. If it were used on a beach, the cooler would be placed on the sand, and the stakes would be extended to secure the cooler to the substrate, in this case the sand. The purpose of the stakes is to stabilize and secure the cooler so it would not be blown over, dislodged accidentally, or even picked up and taken by an unauthorized person. In the case of the unauthorized person taking the cooler, if that person were standing adjacent to the cooler he would also be standing on the retractable stakes. This would tend to secure the cooler from being lifted off the ground. The lid would typically have a lock so than an unauthorized user could not open the lid, withdraw the stakes from the cooler and then walk off with the cooler.

The cooler or other container could have the stakes be removable from the container, and the holes in the container could be plugged by caps while the stakes are not being used. The stakes would preferably have a means for locking the stakes in the extended position, unless released from the inside. In loose sand the stakes may not be long enough to adequately secure the cooler, so stake extensions that snap together or screw together are an option for such situations.

The purpose of the Abstract is to enable the public, and especially the scientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection, the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is neither intended to define the inventive concepts of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the inventive concepts in any way.

Still other features and advantages of the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concepts will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description describing preferred embodiments of the inventive concepts, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated by carrying out the inventive concepts. As will be realized, the inventive concepts are capable of modification in various obvious respects all without departing from the inventive concepts. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferred embodiments are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive in nature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bottom side of a storage container implementing the inventive concepts.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 6 is perspective view of an embodiment of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 7 is a partially exploded view of an embodiment of the inventive concepts.

DEFINITIONS

In the following description and in the figures, like elements are identified with like reference numerals.

The use of “e.g.,” “etc,” and “or” indicates non-exclusive alternatives without limitation unless otherwise noted.

The use of “including” means “including, but not limited to,” unless otherwise noted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While the presently disclosed inventive concepts are susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the inventive concepts to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concepts is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts as defined in the claims.

While many possible storage containers are envisioned, including camera cases, picnic baskets and knap sacks, a cooler is used as one preferred embodiment to demonstrate the inventive concepts. FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of storage container 10. Storage container 10 utilizes a system for releasably affixing storage container 10 to a substrate. The substrate can be any penetrable support, including sand, gravel, and dirt. This system uses stakes 18 which are deployable from within storage container 10. Stakes 18 are affixed within storage container 10 and slide through the sides 16 of storage container 10 through stake holes 22, which are located in the sides 16 of storage container 10. In order to achieve improved cooler characteristics, sides 16 can be either insulated or hollow.

Placing stakes 18 inside storage container 10 increases security of storage container 10. First, placing the stakes 18 internally conceals the theft deterrent nature of storage container 10. Second, it requires a potential thief to open the lid to retract the stakes, requiring more time and effort for the thief to get away with the storage container 10. Third, if a locking mechanism is added to lock lid 12 to sides 16, storage container 10 becomes secure. Stakes 18 incorporate stake handles 20 to allow easier deployment and retraction by a user. To further improve the functionality of the system stake guides 24 are installed to insure that the stakes do not become misaligned during deployment or retraction.

Stakes 18 are designed and installed to angle downward into the ground. While any angle between horizontal and vertical is allowable, an angle close to 45 degrees is preferred. In this way the stakes 18 are able to prevent tipping and prevent theft. For example, potential thief will typically pick up storage container 10 after placing one or both feet near the base. With stakes 18 properly positioned and deployed, the thief will place one or both feet on the material above the stakes, thus inhibiting the thief from lifting the storage container using the thief's own body weight as an additional anchor.

Stakes 18 can be made of any reasonably hard or stiff material including plastics, metals, wood, or hybrids. Similar to tent stakes, the stakes 18 can be formed in multiple cross-sectional shapes. Possible cross-sectional shapes include circular, semicircular, and x-shaped as well as any other shape capable of withstanding the requisite force. For improved portability handles 28 can been added to sides 16.

FIG. 2 illustrates a front prospective view of storage container 10 where stakes 18 have been placed within a hollow space within the sides 16. Stake handles 20 extend into the interior compartment of storage container 10 and stake guides 24 are slots cut within the side 16 to direct movement of stake handle 20 and thus stake 18. Placing stakes 18 within the sidewalls produces a regularly shaped interior while maintaining the inconspicuous nature of internalizing stakes 18.

FIG. 3 shows a bottom perspective view with 2 stakes deployed. Stakes 18 deploy through stake hole 22 which can be located near the corner of storage container 10. FIG. 4 illustrates a front perspective view of storage container 10 with lid 12 attached. Also depicted is lock 26. Lock 26 is incorporated to secure the internal stake deployment and retraction mechanism from unauthorized persons. Lock 26 can be multiple types with a simple latch and padlock being shown. In FIG. 4, lid 12 is shown attached via a hinge in the back of storage container 10 but can incorporate multiple locks 26 to insure that an unauthorized person cannot gain access to the stake mechanism.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of storage container 10 with stake extensions 30 attached. When securing storage container 10 to soft or loose substrate, additional anchoring force may be required beyond the length of stake 18 that can be retracted within the storage container. In these situations stake extensions 30 can be attached to stakes 18. Stake extensions 30 are attached to stakes 18 via a joint 32. Preferably joint 32 is capable of mechanically locking, but other mechanisms capable of extending into substrate and retracting out of substrate are acceptable.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate another preferred embodiment of the storage container 10. FIG. 6 illustrates a storage container 10 in a fully locked and secured position. FIG. 6 shows side 16 of storage container 10 where on at least one side is a padlock receiver 40. Padlock receiver 40 can consist of a fixed bracket attached to side 16 with a hole capable of receiving a lock 26, but other configurations such as a swinging latch can be utilized. Lid 12 is configured to have handle groove 44 pass entirely along the length of lid 12. Handle groove 44 extends from the side of the lid associated with padlock receiver 40 on side 16. Handle groove 44 is configured to allow locking handle 34 to be recessed into the top face of lid 12 to reduce the ability of an unauthorized person removing storage container 10. Locking handle 44 preferably consists of u-shaped tube or similar structure with handle post 38 attached to both ends of locking handle 34. Handle post 38 are attached such that they extend toward one another from the respective ends of locking handle 34. Locking handle 34 further has padlock hole 42. Padlock hole 42 is configured to accept a locking mechanism such as padlock 26. Sides 16 of FIG. 6 having padlock receiver 40 and the opposing side of the storage container 10 will have handle guides 36. Handle guides 36 can be cutouts of the exterior shell of storage container 10 capable of accepting handle posts 38. Handle guides 36 will extend vertically along the sides and preferably along the center of side 16. Once handle posts 38 are placed within handle guides 36, the locking handle 34 can be slid from a first unlocked position to a second locked position where locking handle 34 rests within handle groove 34. In this lower position, padlock 32 and padlock receiver 40 are aligned and a lock 26 can pass through the padlock receiver and through the handle lock hole 32 in order to lock locking handle 34 in a lowered position. In this lowered position with locking handle 34 recessed into locking groove 44 the handle is unusable to create a lift point that can aid an unauthorized user in removing storage container 10.

FIG. 7 shows locking container 10 with locking handle 34 positioned away from locking container 10. In this embodiment, handle guides 36 are shown as cutouts, or grooves, capable of receiving and guiding handle post 38, and thus locking handle 34, from the unlocked position to the locked position. FIG. 8 shows lid 12 having handle groove 44. FIG. 7 also shows locking handle 34 having handle posts 38 connected to locking handle 34. Handle posts 38 have a base and a flat circular end that is configured to secure handle post 38 into handle guides 36. This configuration allows the handle to slide up and down handle guides 36 and allows handle 34 to rotate in relation to storage container 10 when handle 34 is in the first unlocked position and handle 34 is being used by a user to carry storage container 10.

In order to keep valuables, such as purses, cameras, and jewelry dry, an internal tray can be utilized. This tray could be removable and rest on the top edge of sides 16 but under lid 12. The tray could have a solid bottom or have one or more holes to allow any liquid that gets onto the tray to flow through the tray and into the main interior compartment of storage container 10.

While certain exemplary embodiments are shown in the Figures and described in this disclosure, it is to be distinctly understood that the presently disclosed inventive concepts is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims. From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A container with an internal cavity for storage of items comprising:

a container body having at least 4 sidewalls, a bottom side, and an openable top side which forms the lid; and

a plurality of extendable stakes accessible from the container body interior, attached to the inside of said container sidewalls, with said stakes configured for retracting to an interior position inside the container body, and for extending outside the container body and into a substrate below the bottom side of said container body, with said stakes configured to secure said container to a substrate below said container.

2. The container of claim 1 in which said stakes extend beyond a footprint of the container when extended into substrate.

3. The container of claim 1 in which said stakes extend from said container at an angle of 25 to 75 degrees.

4. The container of claim 1 in which said stakes, when retracted, are withdrawn to a position inside said sidewalls, and accessible from inside said container.

5. The container of claim 1 in which said stakes, when retracted, are on the inner surface of the sidewalls.

6. The container of claim 1 in which said container is a cuboid cooler with a lockable lid.

7. The container of claim 1 in which said stakes are extendable by attaching stake extensions.

8. The container of claim 1 wherein said container is in the form of a cube.

9. The container of claim 1 wherein said lid further comprises a locking mechanism.

10. The container of claim 2 in which said stakes extend out at an angle of approximately 45°.

11. A container with an internal cavity for storage of items comprising:

a container body having at least 4 sidewalls, a bottom side, and an openable top side which forms the lid; and

a plurality of extendable stakes accessible from the container body interior, attached to the inside of said container sidewalls, with said stakes configured for retracting to an interior position inside the container body, and for extending outside the container body and into a substrate below the bottom side of said container body, with said stakes configured to secure said container to a substrate below said container body;

at least two handle guides located on said sidewalls;

a handle having a lock hole and at least two handle posts attached to said handle configured to interact with said handle guides;

said handle posts configured to interact with said handle guides to allow said handle to slide between a first extended position and a second retracted position;

said lid having a groove configured to accept said handle when said handle is moved to said second retracted position;

at least one lock receiver attached near at least one of said handle guides configured to align with said lock hole when said handle is in said second retracted position;

said lock hole and said lock receiver configured to accept a lock to prevent movement of said handle.