Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Auxiliary article compartments
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-25
2001-07-24
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Auxiliary article compartments
Reexamination Certificate
active
06264260
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to vehicular component storage, and more particularly to storage of motor vehicle components under at least one seat in the passenger compartment.
BACKGROUND
Modern motor vehicles have a multitude of components that must be assembled and stored in the vehicle. A problem that has arisen in many modern vehicles is that to minimize overall body size and to increase vehicle features the space in the engine compartment has become premium. This being the case, there has been a movement to place some components that had been previously mounted in the engine compartment in the passenger compartment. The areas most conducive to such storage within the passenger compartment are the areas below the passenger seats. If components are not mounted here then the area below the seats often goes unutilized or under utilized.
There have been a few designs for under seat compartments, but they have often required the removal of the seats to service the stored components. The removal of the seats has become disadvantageous as more features are added to vehicle seats. Seats with more features generally have more electronics routed through them so that owner removal of the seats is unwanted. Therefore, the old storage compartments that require the removal of the seats to service the stored components are no longer advantageous.
Consequently, storage compartments under the seats must allow access through side doors so that the stored component may be slid out from under the seat. Thus a solid, or unmovable, storage area must contain a door that is secured to contain the vehicle component. Therefore, it is desirable to provide the storage compartment with a passive restraining device that will ensure the component is properly secured in the storage compartment even without a standard securing device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, a storage compartment is mounted to the vehicle floor under at least one seat in the vehicle. The compartment further comprises an opening that is secured by a strap that is hingedly attached to the remainder of the compartment so that the strap may be moved to allow access to the component stored within the storage compartment. The strap is secured by a removable fastener that is generally installed to secure the opening to the storage compartment. However, a passive restraint is also present to supplement the removable fastener and to secure the strap when the removable fastener is not properly installed or not present. The passive restraint is secured to the vehicle floor and is not removed once installed in the vehicle.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood however that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1237750 (1917-08-01), Chappell
patent: 1243958 (1917-10-01), McFarland
patent: 1544018 (1925-06-01), McDonald
patent: 1588692 (1926-06-01), Belden
patent: 4239277 (1980-12-01), Oda
patent: 5275456 (1994-01-01), Ishii et al.
patent: 5516177 (1996-05-01), Levely
patent: 5890751 (1999-04-01), Seffinga
patent: 5947435 (1999-09-01), Small
patent: 5957521 (1999-09-01), Schlachter
Kronner Walter J
Van Hout James E
Calcaterra Mark P.
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
Pape Joseph D.
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