Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Auxiliary article compartments
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-21
2001-03-20
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Auxiliary article compartments
C312S311000, C224S403000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06203087
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a storage unit for installation in a vehicle such as a pickup truck, van, or sport utility vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,987 to Sturgis discloses a tool box assembly for use in the bed of a pickup truck. The tool box assembly is composed of a storage container
24
that is mounted to the bed of the pickup truck and a tool box
26
that is pivotally mounted to the storage container
24
about a vertical pivot axis. The storage container
24
has a door
32
that is movable between an open position and a closed position, and the tool box
26
has a plurality of drawers
134
,
135
.
As shown in
FIG. 1
of the Sturgis patent, the Sturgis tool box
26
is pivotable between a first position in which the tool box
26
is disposed within the storage container
24
and a second position in which the tool box
26
is disposed outside the storage container
24
. When the tool box
26
is in the second position, the drawers
134
,
135
of the tool box
26
may be pulled out of the tool box
26
in a direction towards the rear of the pickup truck.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed, in one aspect, to a storage unit sized to be capable of being mounted to a rear floor portion of a vehicle having a vehicle sidewall, a wheel well having a portion which extends outwardly from a portion of the sidewall by a first distance in a first direction, and a rear vehicle door that is movable between a closed position and an open position, the rear vehicle door being spaced from a rear portion of the wheel well by a second distance in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
The storage unit may comprise a cabinet having a length not greater than the second distance which is capable of being disposed between the wheel well and the rear door of the vehicle, with no portion of the cabinet extending outside of a space boded by a horizontal plane coinciding with the floor portion of the vehicle, a first vertical plane coinciding with the rear portion of the wheel well, and a second vertical plane coinciding with an interior portion of the rear door when the rear door is in its closed position. The cabinet comprises a first cabinet wall portion and a second cabinet wall portion parallel to and spaced from the first cabinet wall portion.
The storage unit also comprises a first drawer and a second drawer disposed in the cabinet directly below the first drawer. Both of the drawers are positioned within the cabinet between the first cabinet wall portion and the second cabinet wall portion with no other drawer disposed between them and the first and second cabinet wall portions.
Each of the drawers includes first and second drawer sidewalls that are parallel to each other, each of which has a length that is less than the second distance and each of which has an exterior surface and an interior surface. The interior surfaces of the drawer sidewalls face each other and are spaced apart by a distance that is not greater than the first distance.
The storage unit may further comprise a plurality of drawer support members that support the drawers so that the drawers are movable in a direction parallel to the length of the cabinet between an open position and a closed position and so that a portion of each of the drawers extends beyond the second vertical plane and outside of the space when the drawers are in their open position, when the storage unit is mounted to the vehicle, and when the rear door of the vehicle is in its open position.
The storage unit may also include a retention member that is connectable to the cabinet, the retention member being movable between a first position in which the drawers are prevented from being opened and a second position in which the retention member does not prevent the drawers from being opened.
The features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 305315 (1990-01-01), Fletcher
patent: 3826529 (1974-07-01), Wood
patent: 4085961 (1978-04-01), Brown
patent: 4469364 (1984-09-01), Rafi-Zadeh
patent: 4573731 (1986-03-01), Knaack et al.
patent: 4789195 (1988-12-01), Fletcher
patent: 4889377 (1989-12-01), Hughes
patent: 4898284 (1990-02-01), Arens
patent: 4971234 (1990-11-01), Hay
patent: 5015025 (1991-05-01), Henriquez
patent: 5076630 (1991-12-01), Henriquez
patent: 5121306 (1992-06-01), Palmisano
patent: 5232259 (1993-08-01), Booker
patent: 5395019 (1995-03-01), Christensen
patent: 5398987 (1995-03-01), Sturgis
Hand-numbered documents 101-140.
Sidewinder ™ Tool Box advertisement. Author unknown. Time and place of publication unknown.
Sheets 1-6 (numbered in bottom right corner) transmitted to Marshall Lance by facsimile in Nov., 1994.
Complaint, Scot Tools v. Geneva Manufacturing Company.
Answer and Counterclaim, Scot Tools v. Geneva Manufacturing Company.
Plaintiff Scot Tools, Inc.'s Reply to the Counterclaims of Defendants, Scot Tools v. Geneva Manufacturing Company.
Counter-Defendant Darrah's Reply to the Claims of Defendants, Scot Tools v. Geneva Manufacturing Company.
Affidavit of Scott A. Darrah, Scot Tools v. Geneva Manufacturing Company.
Memorandum in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss For Lack of Jurisdiction, Scot Tools v. Geneva Manufacturing Company.
Letter dated Aug. 25, 1998 from W. Randall Stroud to Allan W. Singer.
Transcript of deposition of Scott A. Darrah taken Mar. 10, 1998, 157 pages, Scot Tools v. Geneva Manufacturing Company.
Letter dated Sep. 24, 1998 from W. Randall Stroud to Allan W. Singer and enclosures to that letter, hand-No. 1-44.
Request for Reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 5,743,584 dated Dec. 9, 1998 3-Page PTO-1449 form received with the request for reexamination.
Documents No. 50-72 that were forwarded to Applicants' attorney from the requestor.
Snap-On Tools Catalog, 1982, 298 pages.
Lance Marshall
Lance Sandra
Geneva Manufacturing Company
Marshall O'Toole Gerstein Murray & Borun
Pape Joseph D.
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