Patent Application
20250146742
The disclosure relates to coolers and more particularly pertains to a new cooler for illuminating an interior of the cooler so users can easily view items within the interior.
The prior art relates to coolers. Coolers are a popular accessory for outdoor activities such as camping, fishing, hunting, and barbequing. A cooler allows a user to transport and store food or other perishables at a low temperature, thereby increasing the shelf life of the items stored inside. However, particularly when it is dark outside, the interior of coolers can be difficult to see. For example, at nighttime or in dimly lit areas, it can be difficult to see the items stored inside the cooler clearly. Thus, there is a need in the art for a cooler with an illuminated interior to facilitate a user in viewing items inside the cooler.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing having a bottom wall and a peripheral wall that is attached to and extends upwardly from the bottom wall defining an interior space. The peripheral wall has an upper edge defining an opening into the interior space. A lid is positionable on the housing and abuts the upper edge to selectively cover the opening. A lighting mechanism that illuminates the interior space is coupled to at least one of the housing and the lid. A power mechanism is coupled to the lighting mechanism to power the lighting mechanism. An activation mechanism is coupled to the lighting mechanism and the power mechanism to actuate the lighting mechanism when the lid is not the opening.
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 positionable on the housing 12. The lid 32 abuts the upper edge 20 to selectively cover the opening 22. In some embodiments, the lid may be pivotably coupled to the peripheral wall 16.
A lighting mechanism 34 is coupled to at least one of the housing 12 and the lid 32. The lighting mechanism 34 illuminates the interior space 18. The lighting mechanism 34 may include a plurality of housing lights 36 that is coupled to an interior surface 38 of the peripheral wall 16. In the example provided in
The lighting mechanism 34 may also include a plurality of lid lights 40 that is coupled to an interior side 42 of the lid 32. For example, as shown in
A power mechanism 44 is coupled to the lighting mechanism 34 to power the lighting mechanism 34. The power mechanism 34 may include a housing power source 46 that is electronically coupled to the plurality of housing lights 36. In some examples, the housing power source 46 may be coupled to the peripheral wall 16. In other examples, the housing power source 46 may be coupled to the bottom wall 14.
The power mechanism 34 may also include a lid power source 48 that is electronically coupled to the plurality of lid lights 40. For example, the lid power source 48 may be coupled to the lid 32. In some examples, the lid power source comprises a solar panel 50 that is coupled to an exterior side 70 of the lid 32 and a battery 52 that is electronically coupled to the solar panel 50.
An activation mechanism 54 is coupled to the lighting mechanism 34 and the power mechanism 44. The activation mechanism 54 actuates the lighting mechanism 34. An exemplary embodiment is provided in the figures, although alternative configurations may also be used. The activation mechanism may include a housing processor 56 that is electronically coupled to the housing power source 46 and the plurality of housing lights 36. The housing processor 56 is configured to actuate the plurality of housing lights 36. A lid processor 58 may be coupled to the lid power source 48 and to the plurality of lid lights 40 to actuate the plurality of lid lights 40.
A housing contact plate 60 may be coupled to the peripheral wall 16. The housing contact plate 60 is electronically coupled to the housing processor 56. For example, the housing contact plate 60 may be positioned on the upper edge 20 along the rear wall 26. A lid contact plate 62 is electronically coupled to the lid processor 58. The lid contact plate 62 is generally coupled to the lid 32 such that the lid contact plate 62 is aligned with and touching the housing contact plate 60 when the lid 32 is covering the opening 22.
In embodiments including the solar panel 50 and battery 52, the housing 60 and lid 62 contact plates close an electrical circuit between the housing processor 56 and the lid processor 58 when the housing contact plate 60 is touching the lid contact plate 62. The electrical circuit can transfer the electrical charge from the battery 52 to the housing power source 46 when the electrical circuit is closed. Thus, the solar panel 50 can be used to charge either or both of the housing power source 46 and the lid power source 48.
The housing 56 and lid 58 processors actuate the plurality of housing lights 36 and the plurality of lid lights 38 when the electrical circuit is opened whereby the plurality of housing lights 36 and the plurality of lid lights 38 illuminate the interior space 18. In embodiments including only the plurality of housing lights 36, the housing processor 56 may be configured to actuate the plurality of housing lights 36 when the housing contact plate 60 is separated from the lid contact plate 62. In embodiments including only the plurality of lid lights 40, the lid processor 58 may be configured to actuate the plurality of lid lights 40 when the housing contact plate 60 is separated from the lid contact plate 62.
The lighted cooler device 10 may further comprise a pair of handles 64 that is coupled to the housing 12. For example, the pair of handles 64 may be pivotably coupled to the first 28 and second 30 side walls. The lighted cooler device 10 may also include a handle that is coupled to the lid 32.
In some embodiments, a lip 66 is coupled to the interior surface 38 of the peripheral wall 16. For example, the lip 66 may be positioned proximate to the upper edge 20 of the peripheral wall, as shown in
The exterior side 70 of the lid 32 may include a well 72 that is formed therein and configured to hold a beverage container such as a cup, can, or bottle.
The lighted cooler device 10 may further include a latch 74 having a first portion 76 and a second portion 80 that is configured to retain the lid 32 in a closed position over the opening 22. The first portion 76 may be positioned on an exterior surface 78 of the peripheral wall 16. For example, as shown in
In use, a user can position various foodstuffs or other items within the interior space 18, as shown in
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.
