GB2124189A - Portable storage unit for cars - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable storage unit for office equipment which is arranged to sit on a car seat comprises means 38 for releasably securing the unit to the seat and means 44 for adjusting the disposition of the unit relative to the seat so that a lid 18 takes up a level position in which it can be used as a working surface. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Portable storage unit for cars This invention relates to a portable storage unit which is adapted to be located in a car for access by the driver while seated.

Sales representatives and like people whose duties involve extensive travelling by car usually need to carry substantial amounts of documentation, such as customer records, sales figures and the like, with them on their travels and their duties often involve updating the documentation and making notes following each customer call before travelling onto the next customer. This necessarily means that the car in effect has to be used as an office in between calls which tends to be inconvenient especially as it is difficult to keep loose documents in orderly fashion in such circumstances and the actual making of notes and record entries is rendered awkward owing to the lack of a suitable writing support surface. Moreover, there is the problem of keeping office equipment such as files, pencils, pens calculators and other odds and ends readily to hand.

The object of the present invention is to provide a portable storage unit for use in cars and in particular a storage unit which allows many of the inconveniences associated with carrying out office work in a car to be avoided.

According to the present invention there is provided a portable storage unit for use in cars, comprising a housing provided with a working top which can be displaced to allow access to storage space within the housing, means for releasably fastening the housing to a car seat and means for compensating for slope of the seat cushion so as to render the working top substantially level in the fore-andaft direction of the seat when the housing rests on the seat cushion.

In use, the housing is intended to be secured to the front passenger seat so that access by the driver to the working top and the interior of the housing may be had merely by turning sideways, either to the left or right depending on the locations of the driver's seat relative to the passenger's seat.

The working top may be used as a writing support surface and to allow access to the interior of the housing, the working top is conveniently in the form of a lid which may be hinged or otherwise connected to the housing for movement between open and closed positions and/or it may be removable from the housing. In the latter event, the lid may be provided with means for attaching it to the car steering wheel so as to provide a writing support surface immediately in front of the driver.

The interior of the housing is conveniently provided with rails for suspended filing of documents and/or dividing walls for dividing the housing into a number of storage compartments for accommodating documentation files and other small items of office equipment. In this way, documentation can be kept in orderly fashion and will be immediately accessible to the driver at all times. The housing may also incorporate one or more containers (which may be removable) for storage of pens, pencils and other odds and ends. The working top may extend over only part of an open topped area of the housing so as to leave a compartment which is permanently open. This compartment may be used to accommodate one or more of the previously mentioned containers.

The means for securing the housing to the seat is preferably so arranged that it can also be used as a carrying handle when the unit is to be transported. In one convenient embodiment, such means comprises an adjustable strap anchored to opposite ends of the housing by pivoted brackets which allow the strap to extend either laterally on the housing for the purpose of encircling the seat back or generally vertically for transport purposes.

The compensating means may take various forms; for example such means may be afforded by providing the housing with a sloping face to counteract the seat cushion slope.

In another embodiment, the compensating means may be constituted by one or more adjustable supports, such as legs, adapted to be extended and retracted relative to the underside of the base of the housing. Conceivably the adjustable leg or legs may be adapted also to act as a carrying handle; for example the compensating means may be in the form of a U-shaped stay pivotal from a position in which its central portion extends beneath the housing so as to extend laterally of and rest on the seat cushion and a position in which the central portion is located above the housing for use as a handle. The compensating means is conveniently infinitely adjustable or has a plurality of settings for the purpose of varying the levelling of the work top according to the slope of the seat cushion.

To promote further understanding of the invention, specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a car desk in accordance with the invention assembled to the front passenger seat of a car; Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view corresponding to the embodiments shown in Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a similar view to that of Fig. 1 but showing a modification; Figure 4 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1 of another embodiment; and Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. 4.

In the different embodiments, like parts have been given the same reference numerals.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the portable car desk comprises an open topped main housing 10 with a base 12, side walls 13, 14 and end walls 16, 17. A removable lid 18 is provided which partially closes off the open top of the housing, the lid 18 being formed with a flange 20 to enable it to be seated on the sloping top edge portions 22 of the side walls 13, 14, the end walls 1 6 being of greater height than the end wall 1 7. When the lid is seated as shown in Fig. 1, a gap 22 is left for reception of one or more containers 24 provided with seating flanges 26. In the vicinity of the gap 22, the top edges of the sicle walls 13, 14 are generally horizontal and parallel to the base 12.

A number of partitions 28 are removably located within the housing so as to divide it into a number of compartments of equal width of which all except one are spanned by the lid 18 when the latter is in place. The partitions 28 are supported in the housing by pairs of ribs 30 on the side walls 13, 14 and the partitions in turn serve to mount rails 32 which are conveniently each constituted by a set of identical rail sections 34 each of which bridges the space between adjacent partitions.

Each rail section 34 is provided with a slot 36 for cooperation with a slot 38 on each partition 28 and the ends of the sections 34 are designed so that one end can seat on and be supported by the opposite end of the next rail section. Each rail is spaced inwardly of the adjacent side wall 13, 14 so as to form the suspension rails of a suspension filing system which may be of conventional form in other respects.

To enable the housing to be securely mounted on the front passenger seat of a car in the manner shown in Fig. 1, the housing is provided with an adjustable strap 38 anchored to the end wall 16, 1 7 by brackets 40 which may be pivotal about points 42 if desired so that the brackets can be pivoted through 90 from the position shown to facilitate carrying of the unit by means of the strap 38.

The lid 18 is intended to be used as a desk top and to compensate for the fact that the seats in most cars slope downwardly from front to rear, the housing is provided with a levelling device in the form of a pivotal generally U-shaped stay 44, the side limbs 46 of which are bent inwardly for engagement in holes (not shown) in the end wall 16, 1 7 to enable the stay to be pivoted from a stowed position, in which the side limbs 46 abut the edges 50 of recesses 48 and the central parts 54 of the U lies against the underside of the base 1 2, and an extended position in which the side limbs 46 abut against edges 52 of the recesses 48 and the central part 54 is spaced from the underside of the base 1 2 to an extent sufficient to render the lid 18 generally horizontal with respect to a vertical plane extending fore-and-aft of the seat.

The underside of the base 1 2 is conveniently provided with several feet or like projections (not shown) to enable it to stand on a flat surface without any obstruction from the stay 44 when the latter is in the stowed position. Alternatively, to avoid such obstruction, the base of the housing may be recessed so as to accommodate the central stay part 54 when the stay is stowed.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the desk unit provides a writing top in the form of a lid 18 and a filing cabinet for storage of documentation. That portion of the unit which is not covered by the lid, i.e. gap 22, can serve as a storage compartment for various items such as a clip board, calculator, computer printout and such like, and it can also mount one or more containrs 24 for storage of pens, pencils and other odds and ends.

In a modification shown in Fig. 3, the stay may also be arranged for use as a carrying handle. In this case, the extended position of the stay 58 is determined by inclined stop surfaces 60 which may be provided by the strap retaining brackets 62 and, when required for use as a carrying handle, the stay 58 may be pivoted (counterclockwise) from the position shown to a position in which its central part is above the top of the housing. It will be noted that the stay 58 is, in this case, pivoted centrally of the end walls 16, 1 7.

In the embodiment of Figs. 4 and 5 the walls 13, 14, 1 5 and 16 are of uniform height. A rim 60 extends around the tops of the walls 13 to 16. The lid 62 is adapted to sit on the rim 60, a flange 64 projecting on three sides of the lid being received in side rim 60 thereby locating the lid in place. The surface 66 of the lid slopes downwardly from the rear to the front so as to define an inclined desk surface when the lid is in position on the housing.

Projections 68 from inside the lid are provided with cut out portions 70 adjacent their free end for engagement in slots 72 formed just below the rim on the inside of wall 1 6.

When the projections 68 are engaged in slots 72 the lid can be pivotted between the closed position to a vertical position. From the vertical position the lid can be further pivotted to separate it from the housing. Slots similar to slots 72 are also provided on the inner side of wall 1 7 so that the lid can be reversed and fitted onto the housing for use where the passenger seat of a vehicle is to the right of the driver.

A shoulder 74 extends around the inside of the housing, spaced a short distance from the rim. The shoulders on walls 13 and 14 are each arranged to receive an L-shaped strip 71, held in place by removable fasteners 73 which extend through the web of strip into apertures 80 in said shoulders. The upwardly directed flange of each strip can support files which have a width substantially equal to the width of the housing. A partition 76 can also be fitted across the housing, lugs 78 thereon engaging over strip 71. Files of smaller size can be supported between the top of the partition and the opposite shoulder. A rail 82 can be fitted into a slot 84 in the partition and supported at its other end on the shoulder.

Yet smaller files can be fitted between the rail 82 and an opposite shoulder.

A container 86 having outwardly projecting flanges 88 can be fitted in the housing, the flanges resting on the shoulder 74. Clips 90 are provided on the side of the container 86.

The clips can be engaged on the reduced thickness portion 92 of rim 60 along the top of wall 1 3 so that the container can be mounted outside the housing.

The underside of the lid is provided with fasteners 94 for securing papers. A lock 96 is also provided whereby the lid can be secured to the housing.

The lid, it will be noted slopes towards the driver's seat but because of the levelling device it does not slope significantly in the foreand-aft direction so that a level writing surface is provided. The lid may incorporate formations such as clips to enable it to be mounted on or suspended from the car steering wheel so that it can be used on either while in place on the desk unit, making it necessary for the driver to turn sideways, or while clipped or otherwise connected to the steering wheel.

As described above, the levelling device has only one extended position; however, it will be appreciated that, where considered desirable, it may have a series of discrete settings to compensate for different seat slopes in different cars or it may be infinitely adjustable for this purpose.

Claims (11)

1. A portable storage unit for use in cars, comprising a housing provided with a working top which can be displaced to allow access to storage space within the housing, means for releasably fastening the housing to a car seat and means for compensating for slope of the seat cushion so as to render the working top substantially level in the fore-and-aft direction of the seat when the housing rests on the seat cushion.

2. A storage unit as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the top is pivotally connectable to the housing.

3. A storage unit as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the top is connectable to the housing in more than one orientation relative to the housing.

4. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein one or more containers are removably provided in the housing.

5. A storage unit as claimed in Claim 4, wherein means are provided for supporting a container on the exterior of the housing.

6. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means for securing the housing to a seat serves also as means for carrying the unit.

7. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the compensating means comprises an adjustable support.

8. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein means are provided for receiving files of different sizes in the housing.

9. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the top is removable and is adapted to be mounted on or suspended from the steering wheel of a car.

10. A storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein means for storing stationery are provided in the top.

11. A portable storage unit for use in cars substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 and Figs. 4 to 5 of the accompanying drawing.