Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02203336 1997-04-22
CARGO BOX
Field of the Invention
This present invention relates to a cargo box of the
type suitable for mounting in the cargo bed of a pickup truck or
on the backs of trucks, vans, or recreational vehicles.
Background of the Invention
Although there are several makes and models of cargo
boxes of the above type (herein referred to as "dry boxes",
because they are intended to be weather-resistant and to keep
their contents dry) available on the market, none have the
combination of both top and front access with adjustable
interior space volume. Those dry boxes without adequate
compartmentalisation of the interior storage space are
susceptible to the problem that the stored objects can move
about as the vehicle moves, resulting in the scattering of those
objects throughout the storage space and potentially resulting
in damage to the stored objects.
For smaller objects to be stored in the dry box, its
volume should be small - this can be accomplished by dividing
the interior space into two or more compartments. But for
larger stored objects, one may wish to employ the entirety of
the interior space of the dry box. Prior designs have not
successfully addressed these ostensibly conflicting objectives.
Summary of the Invention
It would be advantageous if the dry box contained a
removable false bottom to efficiently utilise all the available
interior storage space and to provide at the user's option,
smaller storage spaces to limit the motion of smaller objects
placed in the dry box as the vehicle moves. It would be
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particularly advantageous if the dry box were equipped with
front access doors to allow the user to remove stored objects
from the dry box directly from the back of the vehicle rather
than lifting objects out of the top of the dry box. The front
access doors also permit access to the storage space contained
under the false bottom without necessitating the removal of the
false bottom.
According to the invention, there is provided a dry
box with a removable shelf constituting a false bottom,
comprising an outer housing provided with a lid hydraulically
connected to the back of the housing and provided with at least
one hingedly connected vertically disposed access door. When
set in its operative position, the false bottom bounds two
spaces, one being a space between the bottom of the housing and
the false bottom, further enclosed by the sides of the housing,
and the other between the lid and the false bottom. The
removable false bottom is of such proportions as to fit snugly
against the interior surface of the back wall of the housing
when placed in its storage position, or alternatively could rest
on the true bottom.
Two or more such removable shelves can be provided if
desired.
The vertical access door facilitates access to both levels
of storage space, above and below the false bottom in its
operative position (or all levels, if two or more removable
shelves are provided). The lid and access doors, opened in
conjunction or separately, provide further and better access to
the upper level of storage space when the false bottom is in
use, and further and better access to the entire interior
storage space when the false bottom is not in use.
Two or more vertical access doors may be provided if
desired, mating with one another to provide, when closed, a
coplanar door assembly completely and tightly closing the dry
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box, but individually selectably openable to give access to give
access to selected portions of the interior storage space.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become
apparent from the description of the preferred embodiments of
the invention below.
Brief Description of the Drawings
In the drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the
invention,
Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a false
bottomed dry box embodying the present invention, with the lid
up and the main door open,
Figure 2 is a schematic front elevation view of the
dry box of Figure 1, with the lid down and the doors closed,
Figure 3 is a schematic side elevation view of the dry
box of Figure 1,
Figure 4 is a schematic front elevation view of the
dry box of Figure 1, with the lid up and the main door open,
Figure 5 is a schematic side elevation of the dry box
of Figure 1 with the lid partially up, the main door partially
open, and the sub-access door open,
Figure 6 is a schematic plan view of the false bottom
of the dry box of Figure 1, and
Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of another
false bottomed dry box embodying the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention
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Figure 1 shows an embodiment, generally indicated by
numeral 10, of the false bottomed dry box especially suitable
for use in the cargo bed of a pickup truck (not shown). The dry
box 10 may be mounted in the cargo bed of the pickup truck and
preferably oriented so that the direction indicated by reference
letter A in Figures 1, 3, 5, and 7 is toward the front of the
truck. However, in the following, the "front" of the dry box 10
as installed is to be understood to face in a direction opposite
to direction A. The embodiment described is made from aluminum
checker plate material unless otherwise specified. Materials
such as wood, fiberglass, plastic, or steel may also be used to
construct embodiments of the invention, but aluminum checker
plate is preferred.
The dry box 10 is generally comprised of a rectangular
bottom 12, a rectangular back wall 14 perpendicularly welded to
the back edge of the bottom 12, a pair of opposed identical side
walls 18 welded to the bottom 12 and to the back 14, a top in
the form of a lid 16 hingedly connected to the back wall 14, and
a front access door 22 hingedly connected to the front edge of
bottom 12 by a hinge 38. A portion of the main front access
door 22 is separately hingedly connected by a portion of hinge
38 to the bottom 12 to form a sub-access door 24.
The side walls 18 may be rectangular or trapezoidal.
If it is desirable that the lid 16 slope when closed so as to
encourage drainage of water from the top of the lid 16 or for
aesthetic reasons, trapezoidal side walls 18 as illustrated in
Figure 3 may be used.
As illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, along the front
edge of each side walls 18 is welded a front side panel 23 and
along the front edge of the bottom 12 is welded a front bottom
panel 25. Conventional weather sealing (not shown) is affixed
to the exterior face of front side panels 23 and the front
bottom panel 25 to seal the dry box when the main front access
door 22 is closed against the front side panels 23 and the
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bottom panel 25. Conventional latches 27 are provided on each
side of the main front access door 22 to enable the main front
access door 22 to be held in a closed position.
The lid 16 is provided with a downwardly extending lip
26 along the length of each edge of the lid 16. Conventional
weather sealing (not shown) is attached around the periphery of
the interior surface of the lid 16 just inside the lip 26. The
upper edges of the side walls 18, the back wall 14, and the
front access door 22 are bent over to form a surface (not shown)
to sealingly engage the weather sealing attached to the lid 16
when the lid 16 is closed. The lid 16 may be locked in closed
position by a conventional lock and hasp (not shown) or latches
(not shown).
A pair of parallel sub-access door latches 28 are
affixed on the interior surface of the main access door 22 to
secure the sub-access door 24 in the closed position. A lip
(not shown) is attached to the interior of the main front access
door 20 around the opening for the sub-access door 24 to prevent
the sub-access door 24 from opening inward and to provide a
surface for mounting conventional weather sealing to seal the
sub-access door 24 when the sub-access door 24 is closed.
As illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, one or two
hydraulic lift assists 30 may be attached to the interior
surfaces of the lid 16 and back wall 14 to assist in raising or
lower the lid 16 and to hold it in an open position for access
to the interior of the dry box 10 as illustrated in Figure 1.
As illustrated in Figure 6, a removable shelf or false
bottom 20 is provided so that storage space above the false
bottom 20 is accessible from above via the lid 16 or the main
front access door 22 and the storage space below the false
bottom 20 is accessible via the main front access door 22. The
false bottom 20 is supported by the side walls 18 using any type
of suitable shelf support arrangement of conventional design
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(not shown) to provide support for the false bottom 20. For
example, angle iron (not shown) may be bolted or welded to the
side walls 18 to provide support for the false bottom 20. As
illustrated in Figure 6, the false bottom 20 is may be provided
with notches 32 to accommodate the hydraulic lift assists 30 so
that the false bottom may be stored against the interior surface
of the back wall 14 when not needed.
Optionally and within the discretion of the designer,
one or more additional shelves (not shown) may be provided in
addition to the false bottom 20, the false bottom 20 then being
in effect the uppermost shelf. The term "false bottom" then
designates the shelf visible from above when the lid 16 is
opened.
The interior of the main access door 22 may optionally
be provided with a pair of parallel braces 34, on either side of
the sub-access door 24, to stiffen the main access door 22.
Illustrated in Figure 7 is another embodiment of the
false bottomed dry box 10 suitable for mounting upon the back of
recreational vehicles having a recess in the rear of the body
overhanging the rear bumper. To accommodate installation upon
such vehicles, the side walls 18 in this embodiment have a shape
selected so that the back wall 14 slopes upward toward the rear
of the vehicle. As in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-
6, a false bottom 20 and a vertical access door 22 are provided,
although in this embodiment two access doors 22 are attached
with vertical hinges 39 to front panels 23. If the dry box 10,
in the embodiment shown in Figure 7, has a width similar to that
of the recreational vehicle, a tail light 36 may be attached to
each of the front panels 23 for safety reasons.
Other modifications will be apparent to those skilled
in the art and, therefore, the invention is defined in the
claims.
