Patent Application
20240125538
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The disclosure relates to cooler devices and more particularly pertains to a new cooler assembly for retaining a surface of a lid in a horizontal position when opening and closing the cooler assembly.
The prior art relates to coolers an comprises myriad configurations of drawers, shelves, and compartments for supporting items within and without the coolers.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a container with a base wall and a perimeter wall extending upwardly from the base wall. The perimeter wall has a front wall, a back wall, a first lateral wall, and a second lateral wall. The container has a compartment positioned therein, and a top side of the container defines an opening extending downwardly into the compartment. The base wall and the perimeter wall each are thermally insulated. A lid is complementary in shape to the opening. The lid has a top surface which is planar. The lid is positionable in a closed position wherein the lid covers the opening and an open position wherein the lid exposes the opening. The top surface is horizontally aligned in each of the closed position and the open position. The lid is thermally insulated. A linkage is coupled to and extends between the container and the lid which facilitates movement of the lid upwardly and rearwardly from the container when the lid is moved from the closed position to the open position. The movement of the lid between the open position and the closed position also retains the top surface in a horizontal orientation.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A lid 32 is complementary in shape to the opening 28 and has a top surface 34 that is planar. The lid 32 may also include depressions in the top surface 34 such as for receiving a beverage cup or the like. But the overall effect of the shape of the top surface 34 is planar such that plates, trays, or the like can be put on it in a stable condition. The lid 32 is positionable in a closed position 36 where it covers the opening 28 and an open position 38 where it exposes the opening 28. The top surface 34 is horizontally aligned in each of the closed position 36 and the open position 38. The lid 32 is also thermally insulated.
A linkage 40 is coupled to and extends between the container 12 and the lid 32 which facilitates movement of the lid 32 upwardly and rearwardly from the container 12 when the lid 32 is moved from the closed position 36 to the open position 38. The movement of the lid 32 between the open position 38 and the closed position 36 retains the top surface 34 in a horizontal orientation. The linkage 40 comprises a first hinge assembly 42 and a second hinge assembly 44 that each comprise a parallelogram four-bar mechanism 46.
The parallelogram four-bar mechanism 46 is conventional and comprises a pair of arms 48 having equal lengths and being parallel to each other. Each of the pair of arms 48 is pivotably coupled to the container 12 and the lid 32 such that the lid 32 is pivotable upwardly and rearwardly from the container 12 when the lid 32 is moved from the closed position 36 to the open position 38. One of the pair of arms 48 is positioned closer to the front wall 18 than another of the pair of arms 48. This positioning in addition to the above limitations on the pair of arms 48 facilitates the maintenance of the top surface 34 of the lid 32 in the horizontal orientation during the movement of the lid 32 between the open position 38 and the closed position 36. The first hinge assembly 42 extends between an inner surface 50 of the first lateral wall 22 and a bottom surface 54 of the lid 32, and the second hinge assembly 44 extends between an inner surface 52 of the second lateral wall 24 and the bottom surface 54 of the lid 32.
A damper spring 56 may be coupled to and extend between the pair of arms 48 such that the damper spring 56 damps motion of the lid 32 toward the closed position 36. Another type of damper mechanism may be used instead of a damper spring 56 such as a viscous friction damper, magnetic damper, or the like. The damper spring 56 or other damper mechanism may also engage other elements of the cooler assembly 10 to damp the closing motion of the lid 32. For example, the damper could engage the lid 32 and the container 12, bypassing the linkage 40 altogether.
Alternative configurations of the parallelogram four-bar mechanism 46 may be used where the pair of arms 48 are not equal lengths or parallel to each other so long as the linkage 40 maintains the top surface 34 of the lid 32 in the horizontal orientation during the movement of the lid 32. Instead of the parallelogram four-bar mechanism 46, the linkage 40 may alternatively comprise a slider traversing a track, a telescoping mechanism, or the like to move the lid 32 as described.
A latch 58 engages the lid 32 and the container 12 and is configured for securing the lid 32 in the closed position 36. A top handle 60 is coupled to and is positioned on a front edge 62 of the lid 32. A first bottom handle 64 is coupled to the first lateral wall 22, and a second bottom handle 66 is coupled to the second lateral wall 24. A plurality of wheels 68 is coupled to and is positioned at least partially below the container 12 for easily moving the cooler assembly 10 over a support surface.
In use, items 70 are placed in the container 12 and the lid 32 is moved to the closed position 36 to thermally insulate them from the environment. To use the top surface 34 of the lid 32 as a tabletop for supporting items 70, the lid 32 is moved from the closed position 36 to the open position 38. This action can be done with items 70 already present on the top surface 34, as the top surface 34 will not deviate from a horizontal orientation during movement.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
