MAGNETIC CONNECTION APPARATUS

Abstract

Two articles, such as a cooler and an article of drinkware, are magnetically coupled to each other by interaction of a magnet disposed in a patch, which is adhesively bonded to the cooler, and a ferrous metal element disposed in the article of drinkware. The patch includes shell made of plastic material, and an adhesive layer is activated by removing a peel and stick sheet. Two patches can be provided, one with a magnet and one with a ferrous metal element, in situations where both the cooler and the drinkware are without magnetic elements.

Claims

1. A magnetic coupling apparatus for detachably coupling an object to an outdoor recreational sporting device, comprising: a permanent magnet wherein the permanent magnet is fixedly connected to one of the object and the sporting device: and a ferrous metal object, wherein the ferrous metal object is fixedly connected to the other of the object and the sporting device, wherein the object is magnetically coupled to the sporting device when a surface of the permanent magnet is brought into proximity to a surface of the sporting device, and wherein when coupled, the sporting device is in physical contact with the object.

2. The magnetic coupling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet includes an adhesive film disposed on a lower flat surface of the permanent magnet; and a peel and stick protective sheet covering the adhesive film, and being removable to expose the adhesive film and thereby attach the permanent magnet to the sporting device.

3. The magnet coupling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet creates a magnetic field of sufficient strength to detachably connect the object.

4. The magnetic coupling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the object is one of a ferrous metal drink holder and a ferrous metal plate disposed in a bottom of a drink holder.

5. The magnetic coupling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet is a rare earth permanent magnet.

6. The magnetic coupling apparatus of claim 5, wherein the rare earth permanent magnet is made of a neodymium alloy.

7. The magnetic coupling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet generates a magnetic field of sufficient force to magnetically couple the object to the sporting device, and has a flux density selected to allow extraction of the object by hand with a few foot-pounds of energy and to resist separation from the sporting device except through the exertion by hand.

8. The magnetic coupling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet is a thin, flat, circular plastic encapsulation having a flat upper surface and a flat lower surface, and wherein the encapsulation is flush-mounted within a flat surface of the sporting device.

9. The magnetic coupling apparatus of claim 8, wherein the permanent magnet is embedded in the plastic encapsulation.

10. A combination comprising: a cooler made of plastic material and having a substantially flat top; a drink holder having a substantially flat bottom; a permanent magnet mounted in one of the cooler and the drink holder; and a ferrous metal part mounted in the other of the cooler and the drink holder, wherein the drink holder is detachably coupled to the cooler when the flat bottom of the drink holder is brought into contact with the flat top of the cooler.

11. The combination of claim 10, wherein the permanent magnet includes an adhesive film disposed on a lower flat surface thereof; and a peel and stick protective sheet covering the adhesive film, and being removable to expose the adhesive film to attach the permanent magnet to the substantially flat top of the cooler.

12. The combination of claim 10, wherein the permanent magnet creates a magnetic field of sufficient strength to detachably connect the drink holder to the cooler.

13. The combination of claim 10, wherein the permanent magnet is a rare earth permanent magnet made of neodymium alloy.

14. The combination of claim 10, wherein the permanent magnet generates a magnetic field of sufficient force to magnetically couple the drink holder to the cooler, and has a flux density selected to allow extraction of the drink holder by hand with a few foot-pounds of energy and to resist separation from the cooler except through the exertion by hand.

15. A magnetic coupling used in outdoor sports, and being operable to detachably connecting a first object made of non-magnetic material to a second object made of non-magnetic material, comprising: a first patch having a permanent magnet and having a flat surface; a second patch having a ferrous metal element and having a flat surface; first means for permanently connecting the first patch to the first object; second means for permanently connecting the second patch to the second object, wherein the first object is detachably connected to the second object due to the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet when the ferrous metal element is brought into the influence of the magnetic field.

16. The magnetic coupling of claim 15, wherein the first object is a cooler and the second object is an article of drinkware.

17. The magnetic coupling of claim 15, wherein the first and second connecting means comprise adhesive connecting means.

18. The magnetic coupling of claim 15, wherein the first and second patches include a shell made of plastic material, each shell having an upper surface and a lower surface, and the first and second connecting means includes an adhesive layer disposed on the lower surface of each shell, the first and second objects being capable of magnetically and detachably connected to each other through the magnetic field.

19. The magnetic coupling of claim 15, wherein the magnet generates a magnet field of sufficient magnetic force to bind the first object to the second object with a force sufficient to allow extraction of one from the other by hand after applying a few foot-pounds of energy.

20. An apparatus for magnetically attaching a ferrous metal object to a non-ferrous metal structure, comprising: a generally thin, flat patch having one of a permanent magnet and a ferrous metal plate embedded in a non-metallic material, and defining two, substantially planar opposed surfaces; means for permanently attaching the thin, flat patch to the non-ferrous structure; the permanent magnet having a magnetic field sufficient to detachably coupling the ferrous metal object to the thin, flat patch and thus to the non-ferrous metal structure.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the two, substantially planar opposed surfaces of the patch define a flat upper surface and a flat lower surface, the non-ferrous metal structure includes a generally flat inner surface and a generally flat outer surface, and the attaching means includes means for attaching the patch to the outer surface of the non-ferrous metal structure.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the two, substantially planar opposed surfaces of the patch define a flat upper surface and a flat lower surface, the non-ferrous metal structure includes a generally flat inner surface and a generally flat outer surface, and the attaching means includes means for attaching patch to the inner surface of the non-ferrous metal structure.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein attaching means includes an adhesive film disposed on the lower flat surface of the patch, and a peel and stick protective sheet covering the adhesive film, and being removable to expose the adhesive film when the patch is ready to be attached to a non-metallic, generally flat surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art cooler of generally cylindrical shape with a flat, circular top, ideally suitable for being modified to include a magnetic pad according to the present invention;

[0021] FIG. 2 is partial, top perspective view of a cooler having a magnetic patch connected to the flat top surface of the cooler, with an article of drinkware shown above the patch and aligned with the patch for magnetic coupling; when the drinkware comes into the influence of the magnetic field of the permanent magnet;

[0022] FIG. 3 is a partial, top perspective view of a cooler, similar to FIG. 2, shoving the drinkware seated on the patch and magnetically, detachably coupled thereto;

[0023] FIG. 4 is an enlarged, sectional view of the patch of FIGS. 2 and 3;

[0024] FIG. 5 is an enlarged, sectional view of the patch of FIG. 4, adhered to the top of a cooler, and having an article of drinkware detachably connected by magnetic force; and

[0025] FIG. 6 is an enlarged, sectional view of an alternative patch which is placed in a recess formed in a surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Referring to FIGS. 2-3, a patch 26 is connected to the upper, flat top 14 of the cooler 10. The patch 26 is preferably a retro-fit, after market item that can be purchased separate from the cooler 10, or any other device or item to be used in a sporting, outdoor environment. The flat top 14 of the cooler 10 is made of a plastic, non-metallic material having no magnetic properties. An article of drinkware such as a liquid-containing tumbler 28 is shown above the patch 26 and is designed to be magnetically attracted to the patch 26. The patch 26 will include an adhesive film to connect the patch 26 to the top 14, as will be described more fully below. As a threshold matter, the patch 26 and the tumbler 28 have complimentary magnet and ferrous metal components so that the two will be strongly attracted to each other, thereby detachably coupling the tumbler 28 to the patch 26. For that purpose, if the patch 26 includes a magnet, the bottom of the tumbler 28 will include a ferrous metal element. Alternatively, if the patch 26 contains a ferrous metal component, the tumbler 28 will have a magnet in its base, for example.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 4, the patch 26 includes a permanent magnet 30 encapsulated in a plastic shell 32. The shell 32 defines a flat upper surface 34 and a flat lower surface 36. The upper surface 34 receives an object attracted to the magnet 30 inside the patch 26 and the lower surface 36 is covered with an adhesive layer 38. The layer 38 has a peel and stick sheet 40 which is removed prior to the patch 26 being attached to a desired, flat surface.

[0028] As seen in FIG. 5, after removing the peel and stick sheet 40, the patch 26 is permanently bonded to the upper surface of the top 14 of the cooler. While the cooler is used for illustration and preference, the patch 26 can be attached to many other types of structures and devices that are commonly used in active, outdoor sports. For example, the patch 26 could be attached to the flat deck or cockpit of a sailboat, a kayak, boat or similar and related devices. For magnetic coupling, the patch is preferably attached to non-ferrous metal objects, such as fiberglass decks, wooden decks, etc. An aluminum structure could be a place to adhere a patch 26 for holding ferrous metal objects as well.

[0029] A particularly preferred attachment is where the patch 26 is connected to the top 14 of a round cooler of my previous invention. An article of drinkware, such as tumbler 42, is detachably and magnetically coupled to the cooler so long as the tumbler has at least a ferrous metal component. In the illustrated embodiment, the tumbler 42 is of the type of double wall insulated stainless steel. Stainless steel does not normally have enough ferrous material to be attracted to magnets, so the tumbler 42 is provided with a metal plate 44 inside the base of the tumbler 42. The magnetic attraction between the magnet 30 and the ferrous metal plate 44 is what holds the tumbler 42 to the top 14 of the cooler.

[0030] All parts of the tumbler 42, except the magnet 30, are made of a non-ferrous material, and more preferably, stainless steel. Stainless steel is a type of ferrous alloy, and while it does contain iron, which is ferrous, stainless steel objects are not magnetically attractive normally, given the other components that make up the alloy. For purposes of this invention, “non-ferrous” thus means a material incapable of having a magnetic attraction capable of creating a holding force.

[0031] One type of stainless steel includes 11% chromium, which helps prevent iron (Fe) from becoming iron oxide (FeO.sub.2). Other types of stainless steel include the elements carbon, nitrogen, aluminum, silicon, sulfur, titanium, nickel, copper, selenium, niobium and molybdenum, among others. These stainless steels are sometimes designated by a three digit number. e.g., 304 stainless, which is a preferred material for the present invention.

[0032] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the patch 26 is exaggerated in thickness for illustration purposes. In actual production, the patch 26 is as thin as possible to provide a very low profile on the cooler top. For similar reasons, a patch 26 attached to boats, picnic tables, chairs, and other objects suitable for outdoor recreation, will likewise have as thin a profile as possible. Thus, the magnet 30 can be as thin as a couple of millimeters, and the encapsulation plastic can be just thick enough to “encapsulate” and thus protect the magnet from the elements and from frictional wear with ferrous metal-containing objects that might abrade the plastic to the extent to expose the magnet. The encapsulation is thick enough to protect the magnet from both the elements and from the ferrous metal objects.

[0033] The invention takes on at least two significant forms. First, as a retrofit, the patch can be provided separate from any objects to be connected, so that the user can stick the patch 26 on any object the user selects. As an “after-market” item, the patch 26 can be provided with special art, logos, etc., as desired. As a slight variation, the patch can be built in and thus part of the original product design. Referring to FIG. 6, a recess 46 is formed, such as by molding, in the upper surface of a cooler top 48, which is made of a non-ferrous material such as plastic. One process of making coolers is to form a shell of polyethylene and inject the shell with polyurethane. The hard exterior of the cooler would include the recess 46 as part of the molding process, although an alternative method would be to cut out a recess after the shell is formed, using rotary cutting tools or other suitable means. A patch 50 of substantially the same size and shape as the recess is fitted into the recess and bonded in place as described in the previous embodiment where an adhesive layer is provided on the patch 26.

[0034] As with the other embodiment, the patch includes a magnet 52 encapsulated in a plastic shell 54 sized and shaped to fit into the recess 46, An adhesive layer 56 can be provided to adhere the shell 54 in the recess 46. A tumbler 58, made of double walled stainless steel, includes a ferrous metal plate 60 in a bottom portion of the tumbler 58. The tumbler 58 will be detachably coupled to the top 48 when the metal plate 60 is brought into the influence of the magnetic field created by the magnet 52, As a variation, the magnet 52 can be placed by itself, without a shell, into a recess, which is then filled with a thermoplastic resin which, when hardens, encases the magnet in the recess. In that case, an adhesive layer is not necessary, nor is an encapsulating shell. Further, an object to be detachably coupled to the magnet could be an object that is made of, or includes, ferrous metal so that an additional ferrous metal plate is not necessary.

[0035] A further aspect of the invention is that the positions of the magnet 52 and the metal plate 60 can be reversed, so that the metal plate 60 is part of the patch and the magnet 52 is part of the object to be attached to the patch. For example, the tumbler 58 could include the magnet 52, instead of the ferrous metal plate 60, and the patch could include the metal plate 60, instead of the magnet 52.

[0036] A still further aspect of the invention is to provide two patches, one carrying a magnet and the other carrying a ferrous metal plate. In that embodiment, a tumbler or other object having no ferrous metal and no magnet, can be connected to a cooler having no ferrous metal and no magnet, by taking a matched pair of patches one with the magnet and one with the metal plate, and attaching one to a cooler and the other to the bottom of an article of drinkware or other object. For example, a first patch can be connected adhesively to the deck of a boat, and a second patch can be connected to the bottom of a stainless steel tumbler having no ferrous elements. In this way, a custom tumbler can be made in situ, to be made magnetically coupled to any desired surface.

[0037] It is preferred to use the strongest magnets available for a limited amount of space. For that purpose, rare earth magnets, and particularly, neodymium magnets are preferred. These are permanent magnets made from an alloy of neodymium, iron and boron to form the Nd.sub.2Fe.sub.14 B tetragonal crystalline structure. These are commercially available from a variety of sources, and are widely considered the strongest type of permanent magnets available commercially.

[0038] As a further alternative, and in the simplest version of the present invention, a magnet can be adhesively bonded, or attached by fasteners or brackets, to the underside of a non-ferrous surface, such as the underside of a fiberglass deck or of a thin, hard plastic top of a cooler. It this form, an article of drinkware or other object containing a ferrous metal component, will be magnetically connected to the deck, cooler or other object without further need for a separate patch. In this embodiment, the magnet need not be encapsulated in plastic because it will be protected by the upper surface of the deck or cooler. As with the other embodiments, the magnet could be a metal plate or disc when the drinkware or other object includes a magnet.

[0039] The invention includes attaching a magnet using an adhesive layer with a peel and stick removable sheet, so that the patch, which contains the magnet, can be attached as a retrofit to existing structures. Any other suitable means to connect the patch to the structure can be used. For example, an adhesive can be applied to the patch, rather than using an adhesive layer and peel and stick sheet. Any suitable adhesives can be used, and can be applied as a spray-on, painted-on, dispensed through an applicator, or other suitable means. Mechanical fasteners may also be used, including screws, tacks, rivots, brackets, etc.

[0040] While the illustrated embodiments show attachments at upper surfaces of structures, such as the upper, or outer, surface of a cooler. Where a structure includes outer and inner surfaces, such as the deck of a boat, the patch can be attached to the inner surface, as a means of holding objects out of site and out of the way. In the simplest form, a magnet could be glued to the inner surface of a structure to magnetically hold items like keys, tools or any other objects having ferrous metal components. The invention could include a ferrous metal container, or box, to hold ferrous or non-ferrous metal objects, within the container. The container can be sized and shaped for convenience of the use and location, and available space.

[0041] Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that there are other embodiments that are equivalent to the described embodiments. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrated embodiments, but only by the scope of the appended claims.