US 4,823,554 · Granted 1989-04-25

The 1989 Car Cooler That Plugged Into Your Cigarette Lighter

Imagine a box that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter and can cool or heat food and drinks using special thermoelectric chips called Peltier elements. You can swap different food containers in and out, and when you remove one, a sliding cover keeps your meal at the right temperature until you're ready to eat.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a portable cooling and heating unit that draws power from a vehicle's cigarette lighter socket and uses thermoelectric Peltier elements to warm or chill detachable food and drink containers. What's protected is the specific combination of: the base unit connection to the lighter, the Peltier cooling/heating circuit with selective control, the heat-conducting transfer plates, and the removable appliance design with a slide cover that seals in temperature when detached.

Why it matters

This patent represents an early commercial attempt to bring thermoelectric climate control into vehicles for travelers, hunters, and campers during a time when vehicle-powered coolers were rare. By tapping into the existing cigarette lighter power supply and using compact Peltier elements rather than bulky compressors, it offered a space-efficient way to keep food safe on long trips—a practical solution that anticipated modern car refrigerators.

Real-world use

A hunter on a weekend camping trip plugs the cooler into the car's lighter during the drive, keeping drinks cold, then uses the slide cover to maintain temperature in a cooler sitting in a tent overnight.

Original USPTO abstract

A novel portable thermoelectric cooling and heating food appliance adapted for use in a vehicle by travelers, hunters, and campers. A base unit is provided which can be connected to the cigarette lighter receptacle of the vehicle and with the use of thermoelectric Peltier elements offer through a selective cool or heat control circuit the cooling or heating required of any of several kinds of appliances that can be detachably attached to the base unit and adapted through cool and heat conducting transfer plates to cool or heat the appliance and the foods or liquids therein and upon removal of the appliance from the base unit the bottom of the appliance is closed by a slide cover to cover the bottom conducting plate of the appliance so the food or liquids will be kept in the cool or heat condition. Ice cubes can be made by drawing cold air from the air conditioner vent of the vehicle to be passed over the action elements of the base unit and at the same time provides means for further cooling ambient air about the appliance and in the vehicle. r

Patent details

Publication number: US 4,823,554
Filing date: 1988-07-15
Grant date: 1989-04-25
Assignee: Leonard Trachtenberg / Trachtenberg Peter W
Inventor(s): TRACHTENBERG; LEONARD, TRACHTENBERG; PETER W.
CPC class: B60N3/103

View original record on Google Patents →

Want to file your own patent?

If you're designing a next-gen car appliance, check our free patentability scanner to spot similar thermoelectric patents that might already be blocking your path to market.

Free patentability scan