Patent Application
20220386579
The present invention relates to an aerated and insulated container for live bait such as minnows, shiners and shrimp with a roto-molded seamless base and lid.
Fishermen go to great expense to obtain live aquatic bait such as minnows, shiners, shrimp and the like but the bait will die if the water in which they are kept gets too warm and if the oxygen level in the water drops too low. To be effective bait for fish, the bait must be kept alive. This is not easy if the bait must be purchased well prior to the time it is used and the weather is warm and it may not be feasible to obtain fresh bait, for example if fishing is being done in a remote area.
The drop in the oxygen level has been addressed by dangling an air tube into the bait container attached to an air pump outside the container. With this arrangement, the tube may be accidentally pulled out of the water or the user may trip. In addition, the bait may get entangled with the tube which makes it more difficult for a user to reach in and pull out bait.
But even if the oxygen level is maintained in commercially available insulated containers, the bait will still die when the water becomes too warm. What is needed is a superiorly insulated aerated container that will maintain the temperature of the water at a temperature approaching the bait's natural habitat while keeping the oxygen at an appropriate level.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an insulated container capable of maintaining the water temperature in the container at an acceptable level for aquatic bait while keeping the water appropriately oxygenated.
An embodiment of the aerated and insulated container for aquatic live bait has a base and a lid with an inside and an outside. More particularly, the base is roto-molded to form a seamless structure with a sidewall with an open top and a bottom wall configured to support the container. The sidewall has a sidewall recess molded into the outside adjacent the bottom wall into which an air pump and a battery receiver for a rechargeable battery is seated. The bottom wall has a bottom channel molded into the outside with a first end aligned with a side channel opening to the sidewall recess and with a second end aligned with a center of the bottom wall. An aperture is formed in the center of the bottom wall into which an air stone is received. Tubing with a check valve is placed in the bottom channel and side channel for interconnecting the air pump with the air stone.
The subject embodiment has a lid roto-molded to form a structure having comparable insulative properties to the base and configured to cover the open top. The lid is hinged to the base at the open top with a latching device for securing the lid in closed position over the open top.
In some embodiments, the container has a substantially rectangular interior wherein the sidewall includes opposing parallel long sides and opposing parallel short sides and a rim at the top that overhangs the sidewall. In some implementations a gasket seated in a recess extending around the inside perimeter of the lid for sealing engagement with a ridge formed on the rim, said gasket having cut-outs that serve as air vents.
In some applications, the recess molded into the sidewall for the air pump and battery receiver is countersunk and the battery receiver is attached to the sidewall with suitable fasteners. In still other cases, the air stone is partially countersunk in the aperture formed in the bottom of the container.
Other instances include cut-ins in the sidewall adjacent the bottom wall for attachment to a mount structure for securing the container to the floor of a vehicle or a bottom of a boat.
In another aspect, the latching device has a latch portion attached to the lid and a keeper attached to the rim wherein the keeper includes two spaced portions forming a slot in the rim of the container for receipt of the latch portion. In a particular embodiment, the latch portion includes a grasping portion that extends at an angle from a body portion of the latch portion.
Other details in some cases include a bracket to support the air pump on an inside of the battery receiver. In still other cases a voltage converter is provided between the rechargeable battery and the air pump for example when the battery is at 20 volts and the pump operates at 4 volts.
In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated, corresponding reference characters refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings in which:
Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference character, an aerated and insulated container 10 for aquatic live bait has a base 12 and a lid 14. Base 12 is roto-molded from a powdered thermoplastic material such as polyethylene to form a seamless structure of substantially continuous thickness and minimal imperfections. As shown in
Base 12 is shown to have a rectangular interior with an inside 24 and an outside 26 defined by sidewall 16 and bottom wall 20 to define an open volume within the base. However other shapes may be provided by varying sidewall 16 and the connection angle with bottom wall 20. In the present embodiment, base 12 has two long sides 28a, 28b (front and rear respectively) which are parallel and two short sides 30a, 30b which are parallel to define the rectangular shape. However, long sides 28a, 28b and short sides 30a, 30b may have the same or different length. In addition container 10 is not limited to any particular volume. To facilitate carrying however, a volume of 10 to 20 qt may be preferred.
An outside 26 of long sides 28a, 28b of sidewall 16 may include cut-ins 32 adjacent bottom wall 20 to align with a mount structure (not shown) for attaching container 10 to the floor of a vehicle bed or to a boat bottom. Handles 34 are formed in rim 22 along short sides 30a, 30b such container 10 may be carried and recesses 36 may be formed at corners 38 of sidewall 16. Recesses 36 are tapered and aligned with plates 40 attached to rim 22 for use in prying off a bottle cap or the like.
A sidewall countersunk recess 42 is molded in outside 26 of short side 30a of sidewall 16 adjacent bottom wall 20. As best seen in
A bottom channel 60 is molded in outside 26 of bottom wall 20. A first end 62 of bottom channel 60 is aligned with a side channel 64 opening to sidewall recess 42. An aperture 66 is formed on inside 24 at the center of bottom wall 20 opening to a second end 68 of bottom channel 60. A piece of tubing 70 with a check valve 72 is received in bottom channel 60 and side channel 64 for connecting air pump 44 with an air stone 74 seated in aperture 66. As shown in
Lid 14 is roto-molded to form a structure with a wall thickness similar to the wall thickness of the base 12 and is configured to cover open top 18. Lid 14 is hinged 78 along rear side 28b on rim 22. Hinge 78 may be one of various types of hinges, including a continuous piano hinge as shown, ball joint hinge, living hinge and the like.
Lid 14 includes a gasket 80 or other sealing device. As shown in
A latching device 88 on lid 14 to secured the lid in closed position on open top 18. Latching device 88 includes a latch portion 90 and a keeper 92. In the arrangement shown, keeper 92 includes two portions 94 that extend along either side of a latch slot 96. Latch slot 96 is configured for receipt of at least a portion of latch portion 90. In the example shown, latch portion 90 is connected to lid 14, while keeper 92 is connected to base 12. However, in some examples, latch portion 20 may be connected to base 12 while keeper 92 is connected to lid 14.
According to one aspect, latch portion 90 is made of a flexible, stretchable, resilient one-piece molded a material. In some arrangements, latch portion 90 is configured such that a grasping portion 98 extends from the body portion at an angle that departs from the body of latch portion 90. The angle between grasping portion 98 and the body of latch portion 90 may aid in or facilitate grasping latch portion 90 by a user. Grasping portion 98 may be formed into a shape that is easily grasped by a user. As shown in the drawings, grasping portion 98 is swallow tailed to facilitate grasping by a user.
In an embodiment shown in
In use, roto-molded container 10 is effective at maintaining the temperature of a volume of water in the container at a desirable temperature for an extended time. Gasket 80 and ridge 84 which form a refrigerator like seal between the lid and base of the container are also important to maintaining the temperature of the water. While container 10 also has an aeration system, keeping the water cool is essential as aeration is not enough alone. Aquatic bait such as minnows, shiners, shrimp and the like may need to be purchased long before the bait is used and it may otherwise be impossible to keep the bait alive other than for a short time.
In the aeration system, air tube 70, air pump 44 and battery receiver 46 are an integral part of container 10 and are protected from being accidental dislodged. This is big improvement over passing an air tube over the mouth of the container for attachment to an outside air pump. Cut-outs 86 in gasket allow container 10 to be vented while maintaining the refrigerator like seal between the lid and the base without having a separate vent.
The use of an air stone and the placement of air stone 74 in container 10 is also important. Air stone 74 is countersunk such that bait may not become trapped under the air stone and it is easy for a user to reach in and extract bait whereas with a loose air tube the bait gets entangled in the tubing. The air stone also does not interfere with the use of net if one is used. The placement of air stone 74 at the center of container 10 maximizes gas exchange. As small bubbles of air are released from the stone, water dissolves the oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. By increasing the surface area where the water has contact with the air, each bubble gives the water more opportunity to release carbon dioxide and take up oxygen. This improvement is shadowed by improved circulation. With air stone 74 centered at the bottom of container 10, water with more carbon dioxide and less oxygen is moved to the surface which facilitates the release of the carbon dioxide.
It is thus apparent that container 10 offers improved insulation and aeration properties. As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
