Patent Application
20060076379
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to portable cooler/warmer containers in general, and more specifically to a portable cooler/warmer container adapted to be used in a vehicle for securing to a vehicle seat by a seat belt.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, storage containers used on a vehicle have a certain mechanism for fastening the storage container onto a vehicle seat as they are liable to drop off the seat in the worst case due to the shifting inside the vehicle that is caused by an inertia force developed in stepping on a brake during the driving or taking a curve at an intersection or at a street corner. The prior art often proposes to provide an extension member including a block-shaped fastening body on a rear side of the storage container. The fastening body is inserted into between a backrest and a sitting seat to clamp the fastening body there between, thereby fastening the storage container on the seat.
However, as the fastening body is simply clamped between a backrest and a sitting seat according to the conventional in-car storage container, the fastening body is liable to come off between the backrest and the sitting seat if a large inertial force is applied thereto when stepping on a brake or taking a curve at an intersection or a street corner, thus leading to a risk that the storage container itself falls down or even tumbles within a car in the worst case. Such phenomenon is particularly noticeable because an inertial force applied to the storage container becomes large if it stores a large amount of food stuffs, or if it is integrated with a heavy component such as a built-in refrigerator. Particularly if such storage container is tumbled inside a car, it would be extremely dangerous.
With this in mind, a need exists to develop an improved portable storage container for use in a vehicle that advances the art.
The present invention provides a novel portable storage container, such as a cooler/warmer container, which can be securely fastened to a seat or to a floor in a vehicle.
The portable storage container in accordance with the present invention comprises a container body defining a storage compartment and an opening therein, a lid member provided for enclosing said opening of said container body, and a releasable seat belt pass-through latch assembly provided on the container body for releasably engaging a seat belt of the vehicle for securing the container body to the vehicle. The releasable seat belt pass-through latch assembly is provided at a bottom portion of the container body and includes a latch member pivotally mounted relative to the container body for releasably engaging the container body. The latch member is formed with a seat belt channel provided for supporting the seat belt in the seat belt pass-through latch assembly and is formed on an inner surface of the latch member facing the container body.
The portable storage container in accordance with the present invention further comprises at least one mount bracket for mounting the container body to the vehicle. Preferably, the at least one mount bracket is retractable between stowed position and an operating position so that the at least one mount bracket in the stowed position is disposed within the container body. Furthermore, the container body has at least one groove track retractably receiving the at least one mount bracket for sliding movement between the stowed position and the operating position, wherein the groove track is formed in a bottom portion of the container body.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with the reference to accompanying drawings. For purposes of the following description, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “top”, “bottom”, “upward”, “downward”, “vertical”, “horizontal” and derivatives of such terms shall relate to the invention as oriented in
Hereinafter is described a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention with reference to
As illustrated in detail in
A seal member 15 is provided around an opening 14a in the storage compartment 14 to reduce heat exchange between the storage compartment 14 and the ambient air. As illustrated in
The container body 12 further includes a cup holder tray 18 removably covered with a cover member 22 attached to the container body 12 through a nylon strap 23b. Again, alternatively, the cover member 22 may be pivotally attached to the container body 12 through an appropriate hinge member. The cover member 22 is formed with a finger clearance (recess) 21 providing a space for inserting fingers of a user to engage the lid latch 19 of the lid member 16.
As illustrated in
The machine compartment 24 within the container body 12 is covered by a left side panel 28 (as viewed in
As illustrated in
The portable cooler/warmer container of the present invention further comprises a releasable seat belt pass-through latch assembly 40 provided for removably securing a vehicle seat belt 8 (shown in
As further illustrated in detail in
As further illustrated in detail in
In operation, in order to secure the portable cooler/warmer container 10 to the vehicle, e.g. to the seat 4 of the vehicle, first, the seat belt latch assembly 40 is released by pressing the release button 41, and the latch member 42 is placed in the open position. Then, the seat belt 8 is positioned in the seat belt channel 50 so that the seat belt 8 is engaged the guide member 52. After that, the latch member 42 is moved to the closed position wherein the lug 48 of the latch member 42 lockingly engages the complementary rib of the container body 12. As a result, the seat belt 8 of the vehicle is releasably fastened to the cooler/warmer container 10 (as shown in
The container body 12 is further provided with at least one mount bracket for mounting the container 12 to the vehicle. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the container body 12 is provided with a plurality of the mount brackets including four corner mount brackets 62 disposed at each corner of the container body 12 (as shown in
The side mount brackets 64 are retractably mounted to the bottom portion 12b of the container body 12 between a stowed position (shown in
Each of the side mount brackets 64 has a mounting hole 68 provided for receiving a mounting fastener 69, such as bolt or screw, securing the container 10 to an appropriate portion of the vehicle 2, such the floor 4 of cargo compartment of the van or pickup truck, as shown in
Therefore, the portable cooler/warmer container in accordance with the present invention represents a novel and improved arrangement of a portable container having a releasable seat belt pass-through latch assembly and at least one mount bracket retractable between a stowed position and an operating position.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Statutes. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. The embodiments disclosed hereinabove were chosen in order to best illustrate the principles of the present invention and its practical application to thereby enable those of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as suited to the particular use contemplated, as long as the principles described herein are followed. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains. Thus, changes can be made in the above-described invention without departing from the intent and scope thereof. It is also intended that the scope of the present invention be defined by the claims appended thereto.
