Land vehicle storage compartment and method

A motor vehicle having a passenger compartment has an exterior door giving access to a storage compartment disposed under the backseat. The storage compartment extends substantially the width of the vehicle. Within the storage compartment, a drawer is mounted. The drawer extends in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle substantially the length of the storage compartment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The invention herein pertains to a land vehicle storage compartment located 
under the second or back seat of a land vehicle, and to a door of 
comparable size located in such a manner to give access to said storage 
compartment from the outside. A sliding drawer is disposed within. 
2. Description Of The Prior Art And Objectives Of The Invention 
Pickup trucks have recently seen an explosion in the popularity of extended 
cabs which have a second seat disposed behind the driver's seat in the 
passenger compartment or cab. Typically, these extended cabs have a bench 
seat for other passengers or cargo, located the width of the cab. Such 
extended cabs may have a third door, or more commonly, the front seats 
tilt forward to allow access to the back seat. 
Utility trucks as used by power and phone companies have frequently had 
access panels allowing access to storage compartments disposed in the bed 
and along the sides of the bed of such a truck, but typically such storage 
compartments have little depth and are not found in the passenger 
compartment of the truck. 
A number of factors must be considered in the design of a truck and 
specifically the cab. One factor which has received considerable attention 
in the last several decades is minimization of wind resistance. A 
substantial percentage of the cost of fuel is spent in overcoming the 
frictional forces due to wind resistance which act to oppose the motion of 
the cab. In order to streamline the vehicle, the exterior body of the cab 
is provided with a smooth, streamlined design. As can be appreciated 
storage compartments located on utility trucks are not particularly 
streamlined and result in higher fuel consumption. 
The height of a cab is also important. It is desirable to reduce the height 
of the cab in order to lower wind resistance. It also is desirable to 
lower the height of the operator seat in order to reduce the height which 
the driver must ascend in order to operate the vehicle. 
While the practice of truck drivers to slip a lunch box or the like under 
the seat is well known, it is also well known that storage of loose 
objects in the cab creates the hazard of projectiles in the case of sudden 
stops or accidents. 
Thus, with the problems associated with prior art storage compartments and 
a need to minimize wind resistance, the present invention was conceived 
and it is an object herein to provide an improved storage compartment 
under the second or back seat of a pickup truck. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a storage space which is 
partitioned from the passenger driving compartment in order to avoid the 
hazard of projectiles to the operator or passengers. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a storage compartment for 
tools or the like which is included within the cab portion of a truck. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a storage compartment which 
is readily accessible to the operator of the vehicle. 
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a storage compartment 
without disadvantageously increasing the height of the cab. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide a convenient sliding 
compartment for tool storage in the cab. 
Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become readily 
apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains upon 
reference to the following detailed description. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention herein provides a vehicle storage compartment within the cab 
wherein the compartment contains a sliding drawer for storage of tools or 
other items and wherein the compartment is located under a second or back 
seat of a truck. The storage compartment is accessed through the exterior 
body of the vehicle while maintaining a smooth body profile to keep wind 
resistance at a minimum.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND OPERATION OF THE 
INVENTION 
Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a side view of pickup truck 10 
including bed 11 and cab 20 with extended cab portion 21. Inside cab 20 is 
passenger compartment 19. Within passenger compartment 19 and through 
window 25 can be seen operator seat 22 and through window 23 can be seen 
second or back seat (hereinafter second seat) 40 behind operator seat 22. 
Cab 20 has exterior body wall 24 preferably made out of sheet metal. 
Opening 34 contains storage compartment door 32 when storage compartment 
door 32 is closed as pictured in FIG. 1. Storage compartment door 32 has 
handle 31 preferably flushly adapted with the surface of exterior body 
wall 24 and includes conventional vehicle door lock 33 adapted to receive 
ignition key (not shown) of truck 10. 
In FIG. 2 a close up view of extended cab portion 21 is seen and a hidden 
view of the preferred embodiment of storage compartment 30. Second seat 40 
provides back cushion 41 and seat cushion 42. Storage compartment 30 is 
shown underneath seat cushion 42 and behind leg 43 and forward of back leg 
44, all of which is rearward of operator seat 22. Storage compartment door 
32 is joined to storage compartment drawer 50 as better seen in FIG. 3. 
Storage compartment drawer has a front wall formed from storage 
compartment door 32. Lateral sidewalls 51 and 51' extend along storage 
compartment 30 as seen in FIG. 3. Conventional vehicle door lock 33 
operates latches 54 and 54' to lock storage compartment door 32 in a 
closed position. Drawer guides 53 and 53' are mounted on front leg 43 and 
rear leg 44 respectively. Drawer channels 52 and 52' are mounted on 
lateral sidewalls 51 and 51' respectively and receive drawer guides 53 and 
53' respectively. In the preferred embodiment as seen in FIG. 2, drawer 
channels 52 and 52' are strong enough to support substantial weight from 
tools placed in storage compartment drawer 50 and preferably are made from 
steel or similar materials. 
Storage compartment drawer 50 is shown extended slightly from storage 
compartment 30 in FIG. 3. Both storage compartment 30 and drawer 50 extend 
substantially the length 45 (FIG. 6) of second seat 40 thereby allowing 
tool 12 such as a long shovel to be placed within drawer 50. 
Also conceived within the scope of the present invention is storage 
compartment 60 as seen in FIG. 4, partitioned from passenger compartment 
19 by containment walls 61 and 62. Exterior body wall 24 has opening 74. 
Storage compartment 60 has storage compartment door 71 which is slightly 
smaller than storage compartment door 32 because of the smaller dimensions 
of storage compartment 60, but is designed to be the same size and fit 
within opening 74. Storage compartment drawer 72 has sidewalls 73 and 73' 
which are spaced slightly less far apart than sidewalls 53 and 53' again 
due to the smaller dimension of compartment 60. Drawer guides 81 and 81' 
are now mounted on containment walls 61 and 62 respectively, while drawer 
channels 82 and 82' are mounted on drawer sidewalls 73 and 73' 
respectively, but fit together in the same manner as drawer guides 53, 53' 
and drawer channels 52, 52'. 
It is also within the scope of the invention to switch the mounting of the 
drawer guides 53 and 53' to the lateral sidewalls 51 and 51' respectively 
and have the drawer channels 52 and 52' be mounted on either legs 43 and 
44. 
FIG. 5 shows an alternate embodiment wherein storage compartment door 36 is 
attached to hinge 35 on vehicle 10 and opens like a conventional vehicle 
door. Drawer 50 now has front wall 55 and handle 56 to facilitate pulling 
drawer 50 from storage compartment 30. 
Although a pickup truck having front and back or second seats within the 
cab has been used to illustrate the invention, it is to be understood that 
the invention is not limited to the exact details of the construction, 
operation, materials, or embodiments shown and described, as modifications 
and equivalents are apparent to one skilled in the art without departing 
from the scope of the invention. Particularly, the present invention could 
be adapted to fit under a sleeping bed in a tractor trailer or similar 
space in another vehicle.