U.S. patent application number 12/426570 was filed with the patent office on 2010-06-03 for expandable cooler sleeve.
This patent application is currently assigned to Cooler Concepts, LLC. Invention is credited to Troy Allen Goins, Gregory Joseph Sanchez.
Application Number | 20100133137 12/426570 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42221814 |
Filed Date | 2010-06-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100133137 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sanchez; Gregory Joseph ; et
al. |
June 3, 2010 |
EXPANDABLE COOLER SLEEVE
Abstract
A sleeve for encircling a conventional ice chest provides
opposed panels for supporting indicia. The first end of each of the
panels are interconnected with a first expandable member and the
second end of each of the panels are interconnected with a second
expandable member. Upon mounting of the sleeve on the ice chest,
the expandable members are expanded and subsequently contract about
the ice chest to retain the sleeve in place. Openings in the first
and second expandable members accommodate pass through of handles
attached to the ice chest. Because of the first and second
expandable members, the sleeve can be mounted on ice chests of
different girth and yet be retained in place.
Inventors: |
Sanchez; Gregory Joseph;
(Gilbert, AZ) ; Goins; Troy Allen; (Gilbert,
AZ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
The von HELLENS LAW FIRM, LTD.;C. Robert von Hellens
7330 N 16TH STREET, SUITE C 201
PHOENIX
AZ
85020
US
|
Assignee: |
Cooler Concepts, LLC
Tempe
AZ
|
Family ID: |
42221814 |
Appl. No.: |
12/426570 |
Filed: |
April 20, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61119642 |
Dec 3, 2008 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
206/459.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 81/3876 20130101;
B65D 81/3813 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/459.5 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/00 20060101
B65D085/00 |
Claims
1. A sleeve for encircling an ice chest having a pivotally mounted
handle at each end, said sleeve comprising in combination: a) a
first panel adapted for placement adjacent one side of the ice
chest; b) a second panel adapted for placement adjacent another
side of the ice chest; c) a first expandable member adapted for
placement adjacent one end of the ice chest and interconnecting an
end of each of said first and second panels; and d) a second
expandable member adapted for placement adjacent another end of the
ice chast and interconnecting another end of each of said first and
second panels.
2. The sleeve as set forth in claim 1 including a first opening
disposed in said first expandable member for accommodating pass
through of one of the handles and a second opening disposed in said
second expandable member for accommodating pass through of another
of the handles.
3. The sleeve as set forth in claim 1 wherein the ice chest
includes a pivotally mounted lid and wherein said first and second
panels and said first and second members extend from the bottom of
the ice chest to a location beneath the lid.
4. The sleeve as set forth in claim 3 including a first opening
disposed in said first expandable member for accommodating pass
through of one of the handles and a second opening disposed in said
second expandable member for accommodating pass through of another
of the handles.
5. The sleeve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second
panels of said sleeve are responsive to application of indicia
thereon.
6. The sleeve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second
panels of said sleeve are responsive to appliques mounted
thereon.
7. The sleeve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second
panels of said sleeve are responsive to imprinting of logos and
alpha numeric symbols.
8. The sleeve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second
panels are of neoprene sheet material.
9. The sleeve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second
expandable members are of elastic sheet material.
10. The sleeve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and
second expandable members are of elastic cords.
11. The sleeve as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and
second panels are trapezoid shaped in platform.
12. The sleeve as set forth in claim 1 including indicia disposed
on said first and second panels.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present invention relates to and claims priority to a
provisional patent application entitled "A PROTECTIVE AND
DECORATIVE WRAP AND/OR SLEEVE FOR SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE ICE
CHEST", filed Dec. 3, 2008, assigned Ser. No. 61/119,642,
illustrating and describing an invention made by the present
inventors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to sleeves for ice chests and,
more particularly, to sleeves adaptable to ice chests of different
girths.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Prior Art
[0005] Ice chests in the past were generally constructed of two
open ended boxes nested one within the other with thermal
insulating material therebetween. A lid of single or double walled
construction was hingedly attached to the box. Any indicia
appearing on the ice chest was usually either of a generic nature
touting the company that was the source of the ice chest or simply
a trade name in the form of a word and/or logo under which the ice
chest is sold. Any other indicia had to be applied by the ultimate
user and was usually in the form of a painted representation.
Furthermore, any indicia appearing on the ice chest had little, if
any, thermal insulating value.
[0006] With the advent of fabrication of objects from plastic
material advances in technology permitted the fabrication of
double-walled ice chests made entirely of plastic material. Such
double-walled construction was used both for the open ended box and
the hingedly attached lid. Thermal insulating material usually was
deposited between the double walls of the open ended box and of the
lid. In some situations, the air space between the double-walled
construction is used as thermal insulation.
[0007] Because molds were used to form the components of the ice
chest, two nested open ended boxes forming the double-walled
construction were tapered to accommodate removal from molds. Thus,
the girth at the upper end of the ice chest was greater than the
girth at the bottom of the ice chest. The resulting shape of the
ice chest resembled an inverted truncated pyramid usually
rectangular cross-section.
[0008] Except for any trade names, logos or trademarks of the
manufacturer of an ice chest, no other indicia was normally found
on an ice chest of plastic material. Consequently, any indicia
appearing on the ice chest would have to be created and applied by
the ultimate user. Furthermore, the above-described external
configuration of an ice chest militated against commercial
development of indicia-bearing items extending about an ice
chest.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] A sleeve for encircling a conventional ice chest of metal or
plastic construction includes a pair of opposed panels
interconnected at their respective ends by expandable members,
which may be in the form of a sheet material, a mesh or elastic
cords. Conventional ice chests are commercially available in
various sizes. Through the use of expandable members, the sleeve
can be expanded to encircle an ice chest and thereafter the
expandable members will contract to cause gripping of the sleeve
about the ice chest. Preferable, the panels are of material that
will support indicia to convey any message or affiliation personal
to the ultimate user.
[0010] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to
provide an expandable sleeve for use about an ice chest.
[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
sleeve for use about an ice chest which will support indicia
reflective of the ultimate user's affiliation with a sport.
[0012] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
sleeve usable with ice chests having different girths.
[0013] A still further object of the present invention is to
provide a sleeve having expandable members for contractingly
engaging the body of an ice chest.
[0014] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
sleeve for an ice chest which has thermal insulating
properties.
[0015] A yet further object of the present invention is to provide
a sleeve detachably attachable about an ice chest.
[0016] A still further object of the present invention is to
provide a sleeve for an ice chest of flexible material to enhance
conformance with the external surface of the ice chest.
[0017] These and other objects of the present invention will become
apparent to one skilled in the art as the description thereof
proceeds.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The present invention will be described with greater
specificity and clarity with reference to the following drawings,
in which:
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ice chest having a sleeve
mounted thereon;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sleeve;
[0021] FIGS. 3 is an end view of the sleeve illustrating an
expandable member;
[0022] FIGS. 4 is a top view of the sleeve;
[0023] FIG. 5 is a side view of a sleeve;
[0024] FIG. 6 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the expandable
member;
[0025] FIG. 7 is an end view of the alternate embodiment of the
expandable member mounted on an ice chest;
[0026] FIG. 8 illustrates a further embodiment of the expandable
member; and
[0027] FIG. 9 illustrates the further embodiment of the expandable
member adjacent an ice chest.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0028] Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a conventional ice
chest 10, which is usually manufactured from plastic material. The
ice chest includes an open ended box 12 having a hingedly attached
lid 14. A hand grip 16 may be incorporated in the lid to facilitate
opening and closing the lid. Usually, a pair of pivotally attached
handles, of which handle 18 is shown, are attached to opposed ends
of ice chest 10.
[0029] As particularly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a sleeve 20 includes
opposed panels 22, 24 generally dimensionally commensurate with the
long side of ice chest 10. A pair of expandable members 26, 28
interconnect corresponding ends of panels 22, 24, as illustrated.
Panel 26 includes an opening 30 for accommodating pass through of
handle 18. A similar opening 31 is disposed in expandable member 28
to accommodate the other handle extending from ice chest 10.
[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, expandable member 26 (and expandable
member 28) may be manufactured of a stretchable elastic mesh
material that can be stretched to accommodate, with panels 22, 24,
the girth of ice chest 10 and maintain panels 22, 24 adjacent
corresponding sides of the ice chest. As shown in FIG. 1, corner 21
of sleeve 20 can be pulled away from the ice chest due to the
elasticity of the expandable member. In this way, the sleeve can be
mounted upon and dismounted from an ice chest.
[0031] A conventional ice chest is tapered from top to bottom. As
particularly illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, panels 22, 24 are
similarly tapered to correspond with the taper of the sides of the
ice chest. With such tapered panels 22, 24, the likelihood that
these panels will lie flat against the corresponding sides of the
ice chest is enhanced.
[0032] As particularly illustrated in FIG. 2, panels 22, 24 may be
decorated with indicia. Such indicia may include logos and wording
relating to a sports team. Thus, at an event in which such sports
team is participating, ice chest 10 will clearly announce the
affiliation of the owner with his/her sports team. Additionally,
such affiliation may be particularly appreciated at tailgate
parties and the like.
[0033] Various materials may be employed from which panels 22, 24
are constructed. It has been learned that neoprene sheet material
is imprintable and will retain any indicia printed thereon through
normal wear and tear. Additionally, the neoprene sheet material has
certain thermal insulating properties to enhance the functionality
of the ice chest. It is to be understood that other sheet material,
whether man-made or natural, may be incorporated for panels 22,
24.
[0034] Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown an alternative
embodiment for the expandable members. Herein, the expandable
member consists of a plurality of elastic cords interconnecting the
ends of panels 22, 24. As shown in FIG. 7, elastic cord 32 extends
from the top edge of panels 22, 24 to retain the top edges adjacent
sidewalls 40, 42 of the ice chest. Elastic cord 38 serves a similar
function with respect to the lower corners of panels 22, 24. By
having elastic cord 34 disposed beneath handle 18, use of the
handle is not impeded. Elastic cord 36 serves the further function
of retaining panels 22, 24 adjacent sidewalls 40, 42 of the ice
chest.
[0035] Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, there is shown a yet further
embodiment of the expandable member interconnecting panels 22, 24.
Herein, the expandable member may be an elastic fabric 44, such as
the type sold under the trademark Spandex. Like the elastic mesh
shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, elastic fabric 44 is attached to the
ends of panels 22, 24. An opening 46 is disposed within the elastic
fabric to accommodate handle 18 of the ice chest and a similar
opening is in the elastic fabric at the other end of the ice chest.
Because elastic fabric 44 is attached to the full length of the
ends of panels 22, 24, the upper and lower corners of the panels
are retained firmly against the underlying sidewalls of the ice
chest.
* * * * *