Ice chest scoop apparatus

Abstract

A scoop is constructed for retrieving a beverage container from an ice chest. The scoop provides a rectangular basket with arcuate cross rib extending between and joining a rim. The basket is sized, shaped, and positioned so as to provide low resistance when drawn through an ice and water mixture within the ice chest and the rim has openings for receiving the necks of bottles such as soft drink or beer bottles.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Illustrated in the accompanying drawing(s) is at least one of the best mode embodiments of the present invention In such drawing(s):

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the presently described apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a further perspective view thereof showing a beverage container mounted therein;

FIG. 3 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a top view thereof;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational sectional view of an ice chest showing the means for using the apparatus; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the result of use of the apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The above described drawing figures illustrate the described apparatus and its method of use in at least one of its preferred, best mode embodiment, which is further defined in detail in the following description. Those having ordinary skill in the art may be able to make alterations and modifications to what is described herein without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, it must be understood that what is illustrated is set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as a limitation in the scope of the present apparatus and method of use.

Described now in detail is an apparatus for retrieving a beverage container, such as a soft drink can 10 or a beer bottle 15, from an ice chest 20 without placing ones hands into the chest 20. Typically, the beer bottle 15 has a tubular body 17 of a first selected diameter D1, terminating at one end of the beer bottle 15, with an axial tubular neck 19 of a second selected diameter D2, where the first selected diameter D1 is greater than the second selected diameter D2 as is common practice for almost all beverage dispensing containers. The present apparatus uses this fact to advantage as will be described below.

The apparatus, as shown in perspective in FIG. 1, is a basket 30 providing a pair of spaced apart lateral legs 32 and a pair of spaced apart longitudinal legs 34 joined with the lateral legs 32 to form a rectangular closed circuit as is best shown in FIG. 4. Preferably, the basket 30 is mounted on an elongate handle 35 of the type shown in the figures, but which may of longer or shorter as desired and may be of a different conformation or style as would be desired by those of skill in the art. With respect to the construction of the basket 30, preferably, several arcuate shaped cross ribs 40 extend between and join the lateral legs 32, and at least one reinforcing rib 42 extends between and joins the longitudinal legs 34. Please see FIG. 4. The ribs 40, 42 provide rigidity to the structure of the legs 32, 34 and provide further advantages as will be described presently. Preferably, the legs 32, 34 and ribs 40, 42 are sized, shaped, and positioned to establish a desired shape of the basket 30 as well as to provide low resistance when the basket 30 is drawn through a fluid 50 such as the water and ice cubes in the ice chest 20 shown in FIG. 5, and furthermore, importantly, enable the ice cubes to pass through the basket 30 as it sweeps through the water and ice cubes. Furthermore, the ribs 40, 42 are positioned so that the beverage container is not able to pass, but is captured within the basket 30. The longitudinal legs 34 each provides a curved portion 34′ of such size and position that with the beer bottle 15 positioned in a lateral orientation within the basket 30, and with the tubular body 17 abutting the cross ribs 40, i.e., the bottle 15 is fully engaged within the basket 30, one, or the other, of the curved portions 34′ of the basket 30 encircles, in close proximity, the tubular neck 19 of the bottle 15.

With respect to the handle 35, as shown in FIG. 4, a terminal end 35a of the handle 35 is joined to the basket 30 medially at one of the lateral legs 32, and this joining may be by metal or plastic welding or other permanent method. Alternately, the handle 35 may be molded integrally with the basket 30. A gusset plate 30b is preferably joined to both the handle 35 and the joined lateral leg 32 to provide rigidity and strength to the apparatus as significant force is required to move the apparatus through an ice chest full of beverage containers and ice cubes as shown in FIG. 5.

To function effectively, the basket 30 has a depth D3 that is approximately equal to one-half of the first selected diameter D1 so that a beverage container nestles within the basket 30 in a manner where, once set as shown in FIG. 2, 3 or 6, it is unlikely for the container to be ejected as long as the basket moves through the ice chest 20 from left to right in FIG. 6, i.e., with the receiving open part of the basket 30 facing in the direction of motion of the apparatus.

Preferably, the longitudinal legs 34 are spaced apart by between approximately 5 and 5.5 inches and the lateral legs 32 are spaced apart by between approximately 2.63 and 3.0 inches, which is critical to the capture and subsequent non-rejection of a typical soft drink can as shown. In general, the spacing between the lateral legs 32 is between 1.05* D1 and 1.15*D1. The spacing between the longitudinal legs 34 is between 1.05*L1 and 1.15*L1, where L1 is the length of the beverage container not including the neck portion 19 if one is present. These are the prescribed spacing ranges. It has been discovered that spacing smaller than that prescribed prevents the effective capture of the beverage container, by the apparatus because a near miss typically results in pushing the container away rather then urging it into the basket, and a spacing larger than that prescribed frequently results in a captured beverage container being immediately ejected from the basket by other objects coming into contact therewith after the container has engaged the basket 30.

Preferably, the legs 32, 34 and the ribs 40, 42 are all positioned and joined so that they present the lest resistance to the flow of ice cubes through the basket 30.

The enablements described in detail above are considered novel over the prior art of record and are considered critical to the operation of at least one aspect of the apparatus and its method of use and to the achievement of the above described objectives. The words used in this specification to describe the instant embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification: structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word or words describing the element.

The definitions of the words or drawing elements described herein are meant to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements described and its various embodiments or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim.

Changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalents within the scope intended and its various embodiments. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements. This disclosure is thus meant to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, what can be obviously substituted, and also what incorporates the essential ideas.

The scope of this description is to be interpreted only in conjunction with the appended claims and it is made clear, here, that each named inventor believes that the claimed subject matter is what is intended to be patented.

Claims

1. An apparatus for retrieving a beverage container from an ice chest, wherein the beverage container has a tubular body of a first selected diameter terminating at one end thereof with a tubular neck of a second selected diameter, the first selected diameter being greater than the second selected diameter, the apparatus comprising: a basket providing: a) a pair of spaced apart lateral legs;b) a pair of spaced apart longitudinal legs joined with the lateral legs;c) at least one arcuate cross rib extending between and joining the lateral legs;d) at least one reinforcing rib extending between and joining the longitudinal legs;the legs and ribs sized, shaped, and positioned so as to provide low resistance when the basket is drawn through a fluid and for enabling ice cubes to pass through the basket; the longitudinal legs each providing a curved portion of such size and position that with the beverage container positioned in a lateral orientation within the basket and with the tubular body abutting the cross ribs, one of the curved portions of the basket encircles, in close proximity to, the tubular neck of the body.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an elongate handle engaging the basket.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the handle is joined to the basket medially at one of the lateral legs.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the basket has a depth approximately equal to one-half of the first selected diameter.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the longitudinal legs are spaced apart by between 1.05*L1 and 1.15*L1, where L1 is the length of the beverage container not including the neck portion.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lateral legs are spaced apart by between 1.05*D1 and 1.15*D1, where D1 is the diameter of the tubular body of the beverage container.

7. An apparatus for retrieving a beverage container from an ice chest, wherein the beverage container has a tubular body of a selected diameter, the apparatus comprising: a basket providing: a) a pair of spaced apart lateral legs;b) a pair of spaced apart longitudinal legs joined with the lateral legs;c) at least one arcuate cross rib extending between and joining the lateral legs;d) at least one reinforcing rib extending between and joining the longitudinal legs;the legs and ribs sized, shaped, and positioned so as to provide low resistance when the basket is drawn through a fluid and for enabling ice cubes to pass through the basket;wherein the basket has a depth approximately equal to one-half of the selected diameter.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising an elongate handle engaging the basket.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the handle is joined to the basket medially at one of the lateral legs.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the longitudinal legs are spaced apart by between 1.05*L1 and 1.15*L1, where L1 is the length of the beverage container not including the neck portion.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the lateral legs are spaced apart by between 1.05*D1 and 1.15*D1, where D1 is the diameter of the tubular body of the beverage container.