Organizer basket for ice chests

Abstract

The organizer basket for ice chest provides a receptacle or basket for use in ice chests or coolers. The basket is provided with handles to facilitate insertion and removal from the ice chest. Feet are also provided for the basket to support the bottom of the basket above the floor of the ice chest. The basket is constructed of telescoping sections so that the length of the basket can be linearly adjusted. This arrangement permits the basket to adapt to different sizes of ice chests.

1 . An organizer basket for ice chests, comprising:
 a first component having two opposing elongated sidewalls, a bottom wall joining the sidewalls, a single end wall attached to the bottom wall and opposing sidewalls at one end of the sidewalls, and an open end opposite the single end wall;   a second component having two opposing elongated sidewalls, a bottom wall joining the opposing sidewalls, a single end wall attached to the bottom wall and opposing sidewalls at one end of the sidewalls, and an open end opposite the single end wall;   a respective keyway positioned on each of the two sidewalls of the first component, each of the keyways telescopically and slidably receiving a respective one of the sidewalls of the second component therein to define a rectangular basket of user-selectable length;   a plurality of feet disposed on the first component adjacent both the first component end wall and the open end of the first component; and   a plurality of feet disposed on the second component adjacent the second component end wall.   
     
     
         2 . The organizer basket for an ice chest according to  claim 1 , wherein said first component and said second component have open tops. 
     
     
         3 . The organizer basket for an ice chest according to  claim 1 , further including at least one partition member removably insertable between the sidewalls of said basket, thereby forming compartments in said basket. 
     
     
         4 . The organizer basket for an ice chest according to  claim 1 , wherein said first component and said second component are of open-work construction and are fabricated from a rust resistant material. 
     
     
         5 . The organizer basket for an ice chest according to  claim 1 , further including a first handle attached to the end wall of said first component and a second handle attached to the end wall of said second component. 
     
     
         6 . An organizer basket for ice chests, comprising:
 a first component of open-work construction, fabricated from a rust resistant material, the first component having an open top, two opposing elongated sidewalls, a bottom wall joining the sidewalls, a single end wall attached to the bottom wall and opposing sidewalls at one end of the sidewalls, and an open end opposite the single end wall;   a second component of open-work construction, fabricated from a rust resistant material, the second component having an open top, two opposing elongated sidewalls, a bottom wall joining the opposing sidewalls, a single end wall attached to the bottom wall and opposing sidewalls at one end of the sidewalls, and an open end opposite the single end wall;   a keyway positioned on each of the two sidewalls of the first component, respectively, each of the keyways telescopically and slidably receiving a top edge of one of the sidewalls of the second component, respectively, to define a rectangular basket of user-selectable length;   a plurality of feet disposed on the first component adjacent both the first component end wall and the open end of the first component; and   a plurality of feet disposed on the second component adjacent the second component end wall.   
     
     
         7 . The organizer basket for an ice chest according to  claim 6 , further including at least one partition member of open-work construction removably insertable between the sidewalls of said basket, thereby forming compartments in said basket. 
     
     
         8 . The organizer basket for an ice chest according to  claim 7 , further including a first foldable handle attached to the end wall of said first component and a second foldable handle attached to the end wall of said second component. 
     
     
         9 . The organizer basket for an ice chest according to  claim 7 , wherein each of the two sidewalls of said first component has a respective length and wherein each keyway is coextensive with the length of the corresponding sidewall. 
     
     
         10 . An organizer basket for ice chests, comprising:
 a first component fabricated from rust-resistant wire rods, the first component having an open top, two opposing elongated sidewalls, a bottom wall joining the sidewalls, a single end wall attached to the bottom wall and opposing sidewalls at one end of the sidewalls, and an open end opposite the single end wall, each of the sidewalls having a top edge;   a first foldable handle attached to the single end wall of the first component;   a second component of open-work construction, fabricated from rust resistant wire rods, the second component having an open top, two opposing elongated sidewalls, a bottom wall joining the opposing sidewalls, a single end wall attached to the bottom wall and opposing sidewalls at one end of the sidewalls, and an open end opposite the single end wall, each of the sidewalls having a top edge;   a second foldable handle attached to the single end wall of the second component;   a channel disposed on the top edge of each of the two sidewalls of the first component, respectively, each of the channels telescopically and slidably receiving at least a portion of the top edge of one of the sidewalls of the second component, respectively, to define a rectangular basket of user-selectable length;   a plurality of feet disposed on the first component adjacent both the first component end wall and the open end of the first component; and   a plurality of feet disposed on the second component adjacent the second component end wall.   
     
     
         11 . The organizer basket for an ice chest according to  claim 10 , further including at least one partition member fabricated from rust resistant wire rods, the at least one partition member being removably insertable between the sidewalls of said basket to form compartments in said basket. 
     
     
         12 . The organizer basket for an ice chest according to  claim 10 , wherein each of the two sidewalls of said first component has a length, and wherein each of the channels is coextensive with the length of the sidewalls of said first component. 
     
     
         13 . The organizer basket for an ice chest according to  claim 12 , where said first and second components frictionally engage each other to selectively fix the user-selectable length of said rectangular basket.