Abstract:
A storage compartment mounted to the floor of a motor vehicle under a seat. The compartment is for storing vehicle components such as car batteries. The compartment includes an opening secured by a strap and the strap is held in place by a removable fastener. The strap being formed of a deformable material that may stretch over a range of lengths and yet still maintain a consistent restraining force on a component.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/625,557 filed Jul. 25, 2000. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    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  
         [0003]    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.  
           [0004]    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.  
           [0005]    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 closure strap that may receive several different size components without requiring a unique compartment or a unique closure strap for each component.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    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.  
           [0007]    The strap of the present invention is formed from a material or with a material having a particular form factor so as to allow it to stretch. The stretching of the strap allows a single compartment to receive several different component sizes without requiring a uniquely designed compartment for each different component. The strap may include several forms which may include an elastic type strap or one having an accordion form factor. The forms would allow for a single strap design to hold several differently sized components with the same force.  
           [0008]    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. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a transparent side view of a motor vehicle with a car battery having been placed under a front seat.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a seat bottom having a component storage unit having a car battery placed within it.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the component storage unit.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 a  is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the component storage unit according to the present invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the component storage unit in its open position and the direction of the car battery&#39;s movement to be serviced.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 shows the seat bottom and the installed and uninstalled position of the car battery.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 shows a car battery installed in the component storage unit and the opening strap in its contracted form.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 shows a car battery installed in the component storage unit with the strap in its extended position. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    With reference to FIG. 1, a possible placement of a vehicle component, here a battery  10 , is placed within a vehicle  11  below a vehicle seat  12  and resting on the vehicle floor  14 . The battery  10  may be loaded vertically into place before the seat  12  is installed into the vehicle  11 . The battery  10  or other component can be stored within the plurality of supports  16  of the vehicle seat  12 . This space could otherwise be unutilized or underutilized within the vehicle  11 . However, the battery  10  must be secured to ensure retention of the battery  10 . Also the system for securing the battery  10  should allow for ease of service access.  
         [0019]    With reference to FIG. 2, a component retention system  20  constructed in accordance with the present invention and operative for securing the battery  10  in place so that it can not move once properly installed is positioned beneath a vehicle seat  12 . The component retention system  20  includes a main body strap  22 , a strap  24  for opening the component retention system  20  and a hinge area  26  which hingedly attaches the strap  24  and allows for ease of entry into the component retention system  20 .  
         [0020]    With continuing reference to FIG. 2 and further reference to FIG. 3, the component retention system  20  in which the component may be placed is indicated. It can be seen that the strap  24  has a first part  28  which is the main portion of the strap  24  and a second part, a flange  30  that extends essentially perpendicular to the main portion  28  of the strap  24 . A removable fastener  32  fits through an opening in the flange  30  which secures the strap  24  in its closed position. The fastener  32  is secured to the floor  14  of the vehicle  11 . A second fastener  33  secures a second flange  34  of the main body strap  22  to the floor  14  of the vehicle  11 .  
         [0021]    Turning reference to FIG. 3 a  and continuing reference to FIG. 2 a second embodiment of the presently disclosed invention where like numerals indicate like parts. The component retention system  40  continues to include a strap  24 , also, a fastener  32  secures the strap  24  to the floor  14  of the vehicle  11 , although not shown here. However, the main body portion  42  of the second embodiment does not continue to the floor  14  of the vehicle  11 . Rather, a second fastener  33  secures the second of the main body strap  42  to a pillar  44  which is affixed to the floor  14  of the vehicle  11 . The pillar  44  may be any structure of the vehicle including one of the supports  16  of the seat  12  or any other fixed portion of the vehicle  11  which may be at the rear portion of the seat  12 . However, these are to be seen as exemplary only and both the straps may be affixed by other means also the main body strap  22  may be affixed to any relatively permanent portion of the vehicle  11 .  
         [0022]    With reference to FIG. 4, the component retention system  20  with the strap  24  moved in the direction of Arrow A, from the first position shown in broken lines, to the opened position, shown in solid line. When the strap  24  is in this position the battery  10  may be translated laterally in the direction of Arrow B to remove it from the component retention system  20 . The strap  24  may be oriented in a front-rear direction under the seat  12  as long as there is adequate room to remove the battery  10 . This allows the battery  10  to be easily serviced after it has been installed under the seat  12 . Now with reference to FIG. 5, the battery  10  may be moved from its first installed  10   a  position to a second uninstalled/service position  10   b.  This entire process is completed without disturbing the seat  12  and any electronics that may be attached to such seat  12 .  
         [0023]    The battery  10  is installed below the seat  12  by placing the battery  10  within the retention system  20 . The strap  24  is then positioned so that the flange  30  is affixed to the floor  14  with a fastener  32 . During removal, the fastener  32  is released and the strap  24  is lifted upward as shown in FIG. 4. However, with reference to FIG. 6, it may be seen that the strap  24  is made of an elastic material or in an accordion-like design. In this way if the battery is of smaller stature the strap  24  may bend areas C, but still retain sufficient holding force upon the battery  10  to keep it in place. Likewise, with reference to FIG. 7, the very same strap  24  may be stretched taught, thus not incurring any bending D, yet still safely retain a larger battery  10   a.  In this way a single component storage strap  24  need be manufactured, yet it is able to retain several different sizes of batteries  10 . Thus, the single strap may be included in various automobiles, rather than requiring an individual part for each vehicle  11  that has a different size battery  10  or  10   a.    
         [0024]    The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.