Patent Application
20250099842
The present disclosure relates generally to a portable physical gaming system to be used in conjunction with ice chest cooler lids. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a surface patterned in a variety of game boards to be adhered to a top of an ice chest cooler lid for secure board game play using the cooler top surface with magnetic connection between game board and playing pieces.
As the technology and materials of construction around coolers or ice chests have improved, the use of such products has grown. Most households possess a cooler or ice chest of some sort. Modern coolers are constructed for long term retention of ice. Cooler marketing materials often cite ice retention times from 7 days to a couple of weeks. As these products have gotten more efficient, their use has grown as have the options in products. Coolers are marketed for convenient use in camping, fishing, picnicking, going to the beach, and essentially any leisure activity where cool drinks and food would be desired.
A cooler or ice chest not only provides a portable space to keep drink and food items cold but also may provide a portable surface. Many companies have taken advantage of the cooler top to make it a functional surface. Pads exist to turn an ice chest cooler top into a cushioned seat and make it more comfortable. Traction pads may be installed on the cooler top to allow use as a casting platform to add traction while casting with a fishing rod. A traction pad may also allow for a more secure spot to set drinks and gear when the boat isn't in motion. People often use the top surface of a cooler as a makeshift table for eating, storage, or playing games while enjoying outdoor recreation. The main issue with the cooler lid providing a useful surface is that having things on the cooler lid surface restricts access to the inside of the cooler. Everything must be removed from the cooler lid when one wants to open the cooler to get a drink or food from the inside.
The present disclosure provides a system and apparatus including a self-adhesive foam game board pad unit configured to be affixed to a substrate support surface, such as a continuous rigid primary top surface of a rigid primary support structure. The rigid primary support structure may be a portable hard-sided ice chest cooler. Suitable hard sided ice chest coolers are available from manufacturers such as, for example, Yeti (Austin, Texas), Igloo (Houston, Texas) and Rctic (Houston, Texas). The portable hard-sided ice chest cooler includes a primary ice well unit and a movable cooler lid unit. The movable cooler lid unit is supported by the primary ice well unit in mating relationship with a continuous upper rim portion of the primary ice well unit to enclose the insulated ice well in a closed position and provide open access to the ice well in an open position. Typically, the cooler lid unit includes foam insulation enclosed or sandwiched between a rigid lid interior surface and a rigid lid exterior surface disposed in spaced opposed relationship to the lid interior surface. The cooler lid unit is movable between the closed position and an open position. In the closed position, the cooler lid unit resides in closed mating relationship with the upper rim portion of the primary ice well unit to enclose the ice well. In the open position, the cooler lid unit is located apart from the aforementioned closed mating relationship to provide open access to the ice well located therein. In one configuration the cooler lid unit may be freely removable from the primary ice well unit. In a second configuration the cooler lid unit may be affixed to the primary ice well unit by a set of hinges providing an elongated hinge axis extending along one edge of the cooler lid unit to facilitate pivoting movement between the closed position wherein the cooler lid unit engages the upper rim portion of the primary ice well unit to seal the ice well and a range of open positions for users to enjoy manual access to the ice well. In other embodiments, other suitable rigid primary support structures may be used. Examples of such other rigid primary support structures include portable tables and portable equipment containers having a rigid primary support surface.
In an embodiment, the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit may include a primary game board surface spaced apart from the rigid primary support surface of the rigid primary support structure. The self-adhesive foam game board pad unit will be further described wherein the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit is installed on and used with a hard-sided ice chest cooler as described hereinabove. Where the rigid primary support structure is a hard-sided ice chest cooler, the rigid primary support surface thus may be defined by the rigid lid exterior surface (i.e. the rigid top surface) of the cooler lid unit. The subject matter will be further described by reference to an embodiment where the rigid primary support structure is a hard-sided ice chest cooler, and wherein the rigid primary support surface is defined by the rigid lid exterior surface, which in informal conversation may be referenced as the “top surface” of the movable lid unit or portable ice chest cooler. It is noted, for clarity, that in informal, conversational terminology the term “top surface” of the ice chest cooler implicitly references the specific orientation of the movable lid unit when occupying the closed position relative to the primary ice well unit. For convenience, in this disclosure the following terms may be used interchangeably in reference to the rigid primary support surface provided by a hard-sided ice chest cooler: rigid continuous support surface, rigid lid exterior surface, rigid top surface, lid exterior surface, top surface of the lid, top surface of the lid unit, top surface of the movable lid unit, top surface of the cooler lid, top surface of the ice chest cooler, top surface of the ice chest, top surface of the cooler, and top surface. It will be understood that the rigid primary support surface is suitable to support the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit where the aforementioned self-adhesive foam game board pad unit is affixed to the rigid continuous support surface (i.e., the top surface of the movable lid unit) by fixed adhesive engagement between the rigid continuous support surface and a pressure sensitive adhesive layer of the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit, in an embodiment.
The self-adhesive foam game board pad unit may be installed on the top surface of the movable lid unit of a portable ice chest cooler by fixed adhesive engagement between the top surface and a pressure sensitive adhesive layer of the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit. The self-adhesive foam game board pad unit may include the primary game board surface disposed in spaced, parallel relationship to the top surface of the movable lid unit of the rigid ice chest cooler. The self-adhesive foam game board pad unit may include a secondary game board magnetic element spaced from the primary game board surface. The self-adhesive foam game board pad unit when installed may modify the supporting hard-sided ice chest cooler, storage box top, or tabletop to provide a game board and playing pieces that do not need to be disassembled when access to the inside of the ice chest cooler is desired. The disclosed subject matter will be explained in conjunction with a cooler or ice chest. However, it will be understood that the invention can be used with other types of storage containers or boxes that feature a flat top surface. The subject matter described includes a self-adhesive foam game board pad unit including the visual design of any number of board games that can be adhered to the top of a cooler, ice chest, storage box, or similar type of storage container that features a flat top to create a functional game board using the container surface. The foam top layer of the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit may include foam material defining a foam playing surface having a game board printed thereon to provide a playable game surface formed of the foam material. The adhesive bottom layer of the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit is located opposite the printed game board and may include an adhesive film material covered by removable protective backing paper that, when removed, provides peel-and-stick adhesion between the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit and the top surface of the movable lid unit to which the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit is to be adhered. The self-adhesive foam game board pad unit may include a magnetic insert layer, such as a plate steel insert layer, positioned between the foam top layer and the adhesive bottom layer in common vertical alignment with the printed game board. A system as disclosed may include a plurality of magnetized playing pieces disposed on the foam top layer and positioned for game play by manual movement of the magnetized playing pieces on the printed game board, wherein the magnetized playing pieces are retained in the fixed positions on the printed game board of the foam top layer where located between manual movements of the magnetized playing pieces in relation to the foam playing surface, due to magnetic connections between the magnet elements of the magnetized playing pieces and the magnetic insert layer in the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit. An adhesive material layer may be installed on an upper surface of the magnetic insert layer to join the magnetic insert layer to a foam non-playing surface at bottom of the foam top layer and disposed in opposition to the printed game board and foam playable gaming surface. The magnetic connection between the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit and playing pieces may provide uninterrupted play even when access to the inside of the ice chest cooler is needed.
In addition to being used as a magnetized board game surface, the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit may also retain other magnetized items, such as tools or keys, in place. The magnetized foam playable gaming surface of the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit may be used for game play entertainment during outdoor activities that are convenient and fun.
The present disclosure relates to the assembly and resulting product of a self-adhesive foam game board pad unit including an integrated magnetic or ferromagnetic insert layer and a game board pattern defined on a foam playing surface of a foam top layer providing a functional board game playing surface. The playing surface is adhered to the top of a substrate support surface, such as the exterior surface of a movable lid unit of an ice chest cooler via a self-sticking pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) that makes up the bottom layer of the pad. A removeable protective paper coating layer is detached to expose the adhesive allowing the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit to be mounted to the moveable lid unit top surface in the manner of any peel-and-stick material. The foam top layer is formed of polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam, or blended PE and EVA foam. The foam substrate contains design patterns, such as printed game board patterns, that form the layouts and designs for game boards of common board games. Commonly sold board games would be fabricated onto the foam substrate to make up the game board. The contains a magnetic insert layer formed of magnetic or ferromagnetic material, beneath the foam top layer. In an embodiment, for example, the magnetic insert layer consists of thin steel plate material beneath the foam top layer in vertical alignment with the game board pattern. The magnetic insert layer allows the magnetized game pieces to be securely held in place while board games are in play and allows the cooler, ice chest, or stage box contents to be accessible while retaining connection of the game pieces to the cooler top. The magnetic connection between the steel or ferromagnetic metal inside the foam pad and the magnetized playing pieces allows for secure game play that can withstand moving the cooler, a gust of wind, rough waves, or any other disruption of the surface that is expected to be encountered during leisurely game play on the beach, at a picnic, on a boat, or anywhere a cooler is likely to be used as a game surface.
The novel features believed characteristic of the disclosed subject matter will be set forth in any claims that are filed later. The disclosed subject matter itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures, wherein:
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be noted that the terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising” or “includes” and/or “including” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Reference now should be made to the figures for details to various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. The same reference numbers are used throughout the different figures to designate the same components. Embodiments described in the description and shown in the figures are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Changes may be made in the specific embodiments described in this specification and accompanying drawings such that a person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize are within the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Well-known components, materials, or methods are not necessarily described in great detail so as to avoid obscuring the present disclosure.
Disclosed herein are detailed descriptions of specific embodiments of the application of the present disclosure. It will be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of ways that certain aspects of the disclosure can be implemented and do not represent an exhaustive list of all of the ways the disclosure may be embodied. Indeed, it will be understood that the systems, devices, and methods described herein may be embodied in various and alternative forms.
Referring to
Referring to
The self-adhesive foam game board pad unit 100 shown in
The self-adhesive foam game board pad unit 100 shown in
In
As shown generally in
The present disclosure includes embodiments of a self-adhesive foam game board pad unit including a foam top layer forming a waterproof functional board game playing surface including a board game visual representation including a game board pattern defined on a foam playing surface of the foam top layer. The self-adhesive foam game board pad unit further includes behind the foam top layer, an integrated magnetic or ferromagnetic insert layer providing a magnetic force retaining connection with magnetized playing pieces located on the board game playing surface. The self-adhesive foam game board pad unit further includes first and second adhesive layers, which may consist of self-sticking pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA). The second adhesive layer may form a bottom layer of the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit, forming a fixed adhesive connection with a rigid substrate support surface of a rigid substrate, such as the continuous top of a movable lid unit of a rigid ice chest cooler. Prior to mounting the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit to the by affixing the second adhesive layer to the substrate support surface, the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit may include a removeable protective paper coating layer against the self-sticking pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) to isolate the self-sticking pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) from damaging contact with external materials, wherein the removeable protective paper coating layer is detached to expose the adhesive and thus allowing the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit to be mounted to the moveable lid unit top surface by affixing the self-sticking pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) to the substrate support surface to form an adhesive bonded relationship, in the manner of any peel-and-stick material. The foam top layer may be formed of polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam, or blended PE and EVA foam. The foam substrate may contain a waterproof board game visual representation including a game board pattern, which may be printed or otherwise defined on the top surface of the foam top layer, and thus may form the layouts and designs for game boards of common board games. In embodiments, common board game patterns may be fabricated, such as by additive fabrication, on the foam top layer to form the game board visual representation. The magnetic insert layer forms magnetic force retaining connections with the magnetized playing pieces to retain the playing pieces in place in fixed positions to enable use of the board game and also allow simultaneous opening and closing of the cooler lid unit for manual access to the ice chest while the playing pieces are secured and retained in fixed positions on the game board visual representation on the foam top layer of the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit mounted on the exterior top surface of the movable lid unit (i.e., the cooler top). The magnetic connection between the steel or ferromagnetic metal inside the self-adhesive foam game board pad unit and the magnetized playing pieces allows for secure game play that can withstand moving the cooler, strong wind, rough waves, or any other disruption of the surface.
In an embodiment the foam pad can be used to create a board game surface that secures game pieces to the surface. In this embodiment the foam pad can be adhered to any surface that exists in the recreational environment in which the board game is desired to be played. Such surfaces can include a cooler, ice chest, or storage box.
Specific sized game board foam pads fit ice chest cooler lids of that same specific size so as to maintain a good fit and ensure the adherence specific for that system. The game board pad is placed on the cooler and adhered to before use.
An embodiment may secure tools, keys, and other magnetic objects to a surface. In this embodiment, the foam would be created without the pattern of a board game but rather would function to secure the objects to a surface through magnetic attachment. The peel-and-stick nature of the foam allows for the creation of a magnetic surface on any other surface through the application of the foam pad.
An embodiment may define a table structure for eating or working on an unstable surface while a vehicle or a boat is in motion. In this embodiment, the eating utensils or work utensils would be secured to the surface top of the cooler so eating or working could proceed without interruption.
An embodiment may include the cooler top used for other entertainment or pleasure activities.
While the disclosure has been presented with respect to certain specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Exemplary embodiments of apparatuses, systems, and methods are described and illustrated. Although specific embodiments are illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement that is calculated to achieve the same purposes can be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments and disclosure. For example, although described in terminology and terms common to the field of art, exemplary embodiments, systems, methods, and apparatus described herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that implementations can be made for other fields of art, systems, apparatus, or methods that provide the required functions.
In particular, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the names of the components are not intended to limit embodiments or the disclosure. Furthermore, additional methods, steps, and apparatus can be added to the components, functions can be rearranged among the components, and new components to correspond to future enhancements and physical devices used in embodiments can be introduced without departing from the scope of embodiments and the disclosure. One of skill in the art will readily recognize that embodiments are applicable to future systems, future apparatus, future methods, and different materials. Terminology used in the present disclosure is intended to include all environments and alternate technologies that provide the same functionality described herein.
This application is related and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 63/580,069 filed Sep. 1, 2023, titled SYSTEM FOR MAGNETIZED SELF-ADHESIVE FOAM GAME BOARD PAD FOR ICE CHEST COOLER LID, which is hereby incorporated by reference in entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63580069 | Sep 2023 | US |
