BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to coolers for food, beverages and the like, and particularly to a cylindrical cooler having liquid drainage passages defined in a base thereof.
2. Description of the Related ArtCoolers for holding beverages or other food items desired to be kept cool are well known. Coolers are manufactured in a variety of sizes and shapes and are made from a wide variety of insulating materials, such as foam or resilient polystyrene plastic. Coolers are commonly filled with ice in order to cool beverages or other items or to maintain the cool temperature of those items. Over time, however, the ice melts, resulting in ever-increasing volumes of liquid water contained in the cooler. Although coolers with side drainage ports are common, such coolers can only drain liquids above the height of the port. Draining any additional liquids requires the user to tip or angle the cooler, which is often quite heavy and burdensome. Thus, a cylindrical cooler solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe cylindrical cooler is an insulated, bucket-type cooler for storing and transporting cans, bottles and the like. The cylindrical cooler includes a thermally insulating receptacle having a base, a cylindrical sidewall and an open upper end. A drainage port is formed centrally through the base, and a circular rim is formed about an upper end of the cylindrical sidewall, defining the open upper end of the thermally insulating receptacle. A thermally insulating lid is pivotally secured to the cylindrical sidewall by a hinge mounted on the circular rim.
A latch is positioned diametrically opposite the hinge for selectively locking the thermally insulating lid in a closed configuration for selectively covering and sealing the open upper end of the thermally insulating receptacle. The latch includes an engaging member having opposed first and second ends, with the first end thereof being pivotally secured to the thermally insulating lid, and the second end thereof defining a grasping member for engaging a user's hand, allowing the user to engage and disengage the latch single handedly. The engaging member of the latch is selectively received within a receiving passage defined in the circular rim for releasable frictional engagement therewith. The cooler includes a plurality of feet to elevate the base above a horizontal support surface upon which the cooler is positioned. Adjacent ones of the feet are spaced apart with respect to one another to define drainage passages therebetween.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a cylindrical cooler according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the cylindrical cooler according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the cylindrical cooler according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a side view in section of the cylindrical cooler according to the present invention.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSAs shown inFIGS. 1-4, thecylindrical cooler10 is an insulated, bucket-type cooler for storing and transporting cans C, bottles and the like. Thecylindrical cooler10 includes a thermallyinsulating receptacle12 having abase26, acylindrical sidewall14 and an openupper end18. The thermallyinsulating receptacle12 defines an openinterior region16 for receiving any desired cans C, bottles, food or the like which the user wishes to store and/or transport. It should be understood that cans C shown inFIG. 1 are shown for exemplary purposes only, and that the relative dimensions of thermallyinsulating receptacle12 are also shown for exemplary purposes only.Cylindrical cooler10 may be produced in a variety of sizes dependent upon the type and number of items the user desires to store and/or transport therein. The thermallyinsulating receptacle12 can be formed from foam, a resilient polystyrene plastic, and/or other insulating materials.
As best shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, adrainage port40 is formed centrally through thebase26, allowing selective drainage of water from melting ice, for example.Drainage port40 is selectively sealed by aplug36, which may threadedly engagedrainage port40, as shown, and may be releasably secured in a fluid-tight manner with anadditional gasket38 or the like. Thecooler10 includes a plurality offeet28 to elevate the base above a horizontal support surface upon which thecooler10 is positioned. Thefeet28 can include a rubber material to prevent thecooler10 from moving or sliding on the support surface. As best seen inFIG. 3, adjacent ones of thefeet28 are spaced apart with respect to one another to definedrainage passages30 therebetween. Thus, when theplug36 is removed fromdrainage port40 to drain liquid from within the thermallyinsulating receptacle12, the liquid is free to flow throughdrainage passages30, even whenbase26 rests on a support surface S (as inFIG. 1), such as a table, the ground, etc. Although four feet28 (and four corresponding drainage passages30) are shown inFIG. 3, it should be understood that any desired number offeet28 may extend from the cylindrical wall and/or the underside of thebase26.
Ahandle24 is preferably pivotally secured tocylindrical sidewall14 for ease of carrying and transport of thecylindrical cooler10. In an embodiment, the handle can include a metal core, e.g., a stainless steel core, and a foam or other soft covering surrounding at least a portion of the metal core. Acircular rim36 is preferably formed about an upper end of thecylindrical sidewall14, as best shown inFIG. 1. Thecircular rim36 defines theupper end18 of the thermallyinsulating receptacle12. As shown inFIGS. 1-3, one ormore side rods22, e.g., a pair ofside rods22, may be mounted on thecircular rim36 for engagement with an external strap, harness or the like, providing the user with additional carrying options for thecylindrical cooler10.
A thermally insulatinglid20 is further pivotally secured to thecylindrical sidewall14 by ahinge32 mounted oncircular rim36. Alatch34 is positioned diametrically opposite thehinge32 for selectively locking the thermallyinsulating lid20 in a closed configuration, as shown inFIG. 2, after thelid20 selectively covers and seals the openupper end18 of the thermallyinsulating receptacle12. Thelatch34 includes anengaging member42 having opposed first and second ends,44,46, respectively, with thefirst end44 being pivotally secured to the thermally insulatinglid20, and thesecond end46 defining a grasping member for engaging the user's hand, allowing the user to engage and disengage thelatch34 single handedly. As shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, theengaging member42 of thelatch34 is selectively received within a receivingpassage48 defined in thecircular rim36 for releasable frictional engagement therewith. Thelid20 may further include a seating pad orcushion49 to provide a comfortable support surface upon which a user may sit.
As noted above, it should be understood that the relative dimensions ofcylindrical cooler10 are shown for exemplary purposes only.Cylindrical cooler10 may be produced in a variety of sizes dependent upon the type and number of items the user desires to store and/or transport therein. Further, it should be understood that additional elements may be provided withcylindrical cooler10, such asbottle opener50, shown mounted tocylindrical sidewall14, or the like.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.