Dual lid closure mechanism

Abstract

A cooler includes an enclosure having a first opening having an external pin extending outwards from a pin side of the enclosure; a lid having a second opening adapted to seal the first opening when closed to form a cavity at least partially within the enclosure; and at least one hinge attaching a hinge side of the enclosure to a hinge side of the lid, wherein the hinge side is opposite the pin side, the lid has at least one hingeless latch having a pin indentation that opens towards the cavity, the hingeless latch extends past the first opening when closed, the hingeless latch has a bias to push inward towards the cavity when the pin comes in registration with the pin indentation, and the bias allows retraction of the latch from the pin in order to allow the latch to become disengaged from the pin for travel at least axially from the pin.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooler comprising:
 an enclosure having a first opening having an external pin extending outwards from a pin side of the enclosure;   a lid having a second opening adapted to seal the first opening when closed to form a cavity at least partially within the enclosure; and   at least one hinge attaching a hinge side of the enclosure to a hinge side of the lid, wherein the hinge side is opposite the pin side, wherein the lid has at least one hingeless latch having a pin indentation that opens towards the cavity, wherein the hingeless latch extends past the first opening when closed, wherein the hingeless latch has a bias to push inward towards the cavity when the pin comes in registration with the pin indentation, and wherein the bias allows retraction of the latch from the pin in order to allow the latch to become disengaged from the pin for travel at least axially from the pin.   
     
     
         2 . The cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the pin indentation has an internal detent; and, wherein the pin has a corresponding detent used to resist axial travel past the internal detent. 
     
     
         3 . The cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the hingeless latch has a bottom surface, facing the enclosure, and an top surface, facing away from the enclosure, wherein the pin indentation extends from the bottom surface to the top surface such that a shoulder is formed at the top surface to form an external detent; and, wherein the external pin has a corresponding detent used to resist axial travel in relation to the pin indentation. 
     
     
         4 . The cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the first opening is a first rectangular opening, and the second opening is a second rectangular opening. 
     
     
         5 . The cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the lid and at least one hingeless latch are injection molded into a single piece. 
     
     
         6 . The cooler of  claim 5 , wherein the single piece is composed of a monolithic piece of plastic.