Cooler Bar Extension for Secure Tie-Down and Lid Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Coolers lack effective retention mechanisms for secure attachment to vehicles or rafts while maintaining easy access to their interiors and ensuring the lid remains sealed during transportation over rough terrain or water.
Innovation Solution
The cooler design incorporates a bar system with lid and body bars that extend along the cooler's sides, allowing for secure attachment to objects using straps or latches, ensuring the lid remains sealed and allowing for easy access without detachment from the object.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If straps are configured around the cooler to retain it to a vehicle, then the cooler can be attached to the vehicle, but the cooler is susceptible to moving within the straps and sliding out as it is only retained by tension and friction
Solution Approach 1:
The cooler is segmented with protruding bars extending from the lid and body that create distinct retention points. These bars divide the retention function into separate engagement points that work together to prevent movement in multiple directions, transforming a simple strap-around approach into a multi-point securement system.
Solution Approach 2:
The protruding bars serve as intermediary elements between the cooler and the straps. Instead of the straps directly contacting the cooler body, the bars act as mediators that the straps engage with, providing positive mechanical interlocking that prevents sliding and movement while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
2Reliability
If latches are provided with the cooler to keep the lid closed and sealed, then the lid can remain sealed during transportation, but the latches have to be trusted to keep the lid closed while being jostled aggressively
Solution Approach 1:
The retention bars on the lid and body are positioned and configured to work together with the latches, merging the retention function with the sealing function. The bars provide additional mechanical support and alignment that enhances latch performance, creating a combined system where retention and sealing reinforce each other during aggressive movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The protruding bars are positioned to engage with straps or external structures before the latches are subjected to extreme forces during aggressive jostling. This prior engagement creates a pre-loaded mechanical advantage that cushions and protects the latches from excessive stress, allowing them to maintain sealing reliability without requiring overly complex or fragile mechanisms.
3Reliability
If the cooler is strapped to a bracket with straps around the cooler, then the cooler can be retained to the vehicle, but access to the cooler interior requires releasing the straps
Solution Approach 1:
The cooler structure is segmented with protruding bars that extend from both the lid and body, creating independent retention points. This segmentation allows the attachment system to be distributed across multiple points rather than requiring a complete strap release, enabling faster access while maintaining secure attachment during transport.
4Reliability
If the cooler needs to remain closed and sealed during transportation over rough terrain or water, then the cooler can stay sealed for days, but the latches must be trusted to keep the lid closed while being jostled aggressively
Solution Approach 1:
The retention bars on the lid and body are positioned and configured to work together with the latches, merging the retention function with the sealing function. The bars provide additional mechanical support and alignment that enhances latch performance, creating a combined system where retention and sealing reinforce each other during aggressive movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The protruding bars are positioned to engage with straps or external structures before the latches are subjected to extreme forces during aggressive jostling. This prior engagement creates a pre-loaded mechanical advantage that cushions and protects the latches from excessive stress, allowing them to maintain sealing reliability without requiring overly complex or fragile mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A cooler having at least one bar configured along one side of the cooler lid and/or cooler body is described. A lid and/or body bar is supported by a lid or body support respectively, and has an extended length between the supports wherein a strap or latch may be configured around the bar. For example, a cooler lid may have a lid on the front side of the cooler lid and a cooler body may have a body bar that extends along the front wall of the cooler body. A latch or strap may be configured to pull the lid bar to the body bar, thereby providing for secure sealing of the cooler lid to the cooler body. A strap may be configured around a body bar to positively secure the cooler to an object, such as a vehicle while still allowing for access to the interior of the cooler.