Abstract:
A storage chest that converts into a table. The storage chest includes a cover that detaches from the storage unit and, when legs are added, converts to a table top. The cover/table top includes grooved slots for holding beverage containers. Table legs are stored within a storage compartment of the storage unit and attach to the table top to form the table. The storage and table unit further includes doors that detach from the storage unit and attach to the cover to form table top extensions. Thus, the storage and table unit conveniently stores and organizes items, and may also be used as a table for supporting food, beverages and other items.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a combination storage and table unit. Many present day events, such as tailgating events, camping events and picnics, require a variety of items to be stored, organized and transported. People attending tailgating events and picnics often transport food, beverages, clothes and other items to such events in their personal vehicles, such as sport utility vehicles (SUV&#39;s). Such vehicles do not normally have suitable means for storing, organizing and transporting food and drink items to these events. Furthermore events such as tailgating events and picnics often take place in locations that lack adequate means for storing and organizing items that are transported by people. Many coolers, cooking apertures, and the its like have been developed, but none appear to as easily convertible and convenient as the product of the present invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention discloses a combination storage and table unit. The storage and table unit comprises multiple storage compartments for storing and organizing food, beverages and other items. In addition to storing various items, the storage and table unit converts from a storage container into a table and, in the preferred embodiment, a table that can be selectively extended. 
     The storage and table unit includes a detachable lid that detaches from a main body of the storage and table unit to form a table top. The lid/table top includes grooved slots for holding beverage containers. Table legs are stored within a storage compartment of the storage and table unit and attach to the table top to form a table. The storage and table unit further includes removable front doors that detach from the main body of the storage and table unit and attach to the lid/table top to form table top extensions. 
     The storage and table unit of the present invention is designed to fit within the rear of most present day sports utility vehicles (SUV&#39;s) and can also fit within other types of vehicles. The storage and table unit is constructed from washable plastic, and may be removed from a vehicle for packing, unpacking or cleaning. Because the storage and table unit stores various types of items and converts from a storage container into a table, it is particularly well-suited for use at picnics, camping trips, and tailgating events. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a new storage and table unit that is portable, capable of storing a wide variety of items, and can be converted from a storage container to a table for supporting food, beverages and other items. It is a further object of the invention to provide a new storage and table unit that will fit in a SUV. Other objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of an SUV storage and table unit according to one embodiment of th invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of the SUV storage and table unit of FIG. 1 with the lid and doors detached; 
     FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the table without extension; 
     FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the SUV table unit with extension; 
     FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the underside of the lid; 
     FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the backside of one of the doors; 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a corner of the underside of the lid illustrating the leg mounting well in the corner thereof; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective of the end portion of the lid illustrating the extension/table attachment recess; 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective of one of the frame portions of the chest which illustrates the door/chest attachment recesses; and 
     FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of the central front portion of the bottom wall with the ramped latch. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to drawing FIGS. 1 through 9, a new combination storage and table unit  10  will be described. As will be apparent from the following description, the combination storage and table unit converts from a storage container to a table. As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the storage and table unit  10  comprises a main body  20 , a removable lid  40  and a pair of removable doors  50   a ,  50   b . The main body  20  includes a top wall  25 , a bottom wall  26 , front and back sides  21 ,  22  and first and second ends  23 ,  24 . According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the above components is molded of washable plastic, however, may be constructed of other suitable materials. The storage and table unit  10  is portable and is sized to fit within a sport utility vehicle (SUV) or other vehicle. One size that has been found to be satisfactory is length—39″, width—24″, and height—27″. The storage and table unit  10  will now be described in greater detail. 
     The top wall  25  of main body  20  includes a plurality of beverage wells  27  which conveniently receive canned drinks. The front portion of the top wall  25  and bottom wall  26  contain pivot pin recesses  28   a ,  28   b  which releasably mount the front doors  50   a ,  50   b . The lower front ledge  26   a  of bottom wall  26  includes a ramped latch  29 , which receives and locks a raised edge on the rear end portion of doors  50   a ,  50   b . To open doors  50   a ,  50   b , one merely lifts and opens the door. 
     FIGS. 1 &amp; 2 show the storage and table unit  10  assembled as a storage container. The lid  40  is removably attached to the top wall  25  of the main body  20  and includes a top surface  41  having a plurality of grooves  42  therein. The lid  40  further includes recessed end portions  43  which include pivot recesses  44  to receive table extensions as will be explained further hereinafter. When attached to the main body  20 , the inner surface of end walls  41  of the lid have detents  45  which engage complementary friction projections  47  of the main body to secure the lid  40  thereto. The lid  40  further comprises exterior detents  46  on the ends to enable a person to grip the lid  40  for detachment from the main body  20 . FIG. 5 shows a bottom side  47  of the lid  40  which includes ribs  49  that strengthen the lid. Bottom side  47  further includes leg mounting wells  48  in the corners thereof. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, when the storage and table unit  10  is assembled as a storage container, doors  50   a ,  50   b  are attached to the front side  21  of the main body  20  for selectively opening and closing a storage compartment  82  (shown in FIG. 2) within the main body. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the door  50   a  comprises upper and lower pivot posts  54   a  and  55   a  respectively attached to top and bottom sides  51   a  and  52   a , respectively, of the door  50   a . The pivot posts  54   a  and  55   a  mount within pivot holes  28   a  and  29   a  of the main body. The door  50   b  similarly comprises upper and lower pivot posts  54   b  and  55   b  attached to top and bottom sides  51   b  and  52   b , respectively, of the door  50   b . The pivot posts  54   b  and  55   b  mount within pivot holes  28   a  and  29   a  of the main body. The doors  50   a  and  50   b  have rear surfaces  53   a  and  53   b , respectively. The rear surfaces  53   a  and  53   b  include a plurality of grooves  56   a  and  56   b  to be compatible as the surface of a table extension. Doors  50   a  and  50   b  further include front surfaces  57   a  and  57   b , respectively, which optionally may include respective graphic logos  58   a  and  58   b . It should be noted that doors  50   a  and  50   b  are mirror images of one another. The ends of the doors are recessed ( 58 ) to be complementary to the shape of recessed end portions  43  in the lid  40 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, main body  20  comprises an interior storage compartment  82  for By organizing and storing various items. The ends  23 ,  24  and rear side  22  of the main body include an upper shelf ledge  32 , mid shelf  33  and a lower shelf ledge  34 . Ledges  30  and  31  protrude into the storage compartment  82  for holding shelves. Upper shelf ledge  32  forms a hand recess for gripping the main body  20 . 
     The storage and table unit may comprise one or more dividers  60  including a pair of vertically extending posts connected by a plurality of horizontal rungs  62 . Posts  64  are received in holes  66  in the bottom and top walls  25 ,  26 . One or more shelves  70  may be mounted between rungs  62  of divider  60  and shelf ledges,  32 ,  33 , and  34 . More particularly, a first end  71   a  of a shelf  70  can be mounted to a rung  62  and a second end  72   a  of a shelf  70  may be mounted to a shelf ledge  32 ,  33 , or  34 . As an illustration the divider  60  is installed within the storage compartment and oriented such that the rungs  62  extend from the front side  21  of the main body towards the back side  22  of the main body. A shelf  70  extends between a rung  62  and a middle shelf ledge  33 . A first end  71   a  of the shelf is mounted to a rung  62  and a second end  71   b  of the shelf is mounted to the middle shelf ledge  33   a . Thus, the storage compartment  82  is divided into several sub-compartments for organizing various items. However, in other embodiments, shelves  70  could be mounted between rungs  62  and other shelf ledges. Additionally, the divider  60  may be positioned in different locations within the storage compartment  82  and shelves  70  of varying lengths could be used. Furthermore, the divider  60  may be oriented such that the rungs extend from one end  23  or  24  of the main body to the other end  24  or  23  of the main body, and shelves  70  may extend between rungs  62  and shelf ledges  30  and  31  on the rear side of the main body. Thus, the storage compartment may be divided into sub-compartments in many different ways in order to organize and store items as needed. 
     An important feature of the storage and table unit  10  is that it converts from a storage unit, as described in preceding paragraphs, to a table  80  as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The components of the table  80  and methods for assembling the table  80  will now be described. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, the lid  40  detaches from the main body  20  to form a table top. The storage and table unit  10  includes four legs  90  normally stored within the area occupied by the beverage can wells. The table legs  90  comprise an upper end  91  which connects to the underside of lid  40  and a lower end  92  for resting on a support surface (not shown). More specifically, the upper end  91  of each table leg attaches to a respective leg mounting well  48  to form the table  80 . FIG. 7 illustrates a leg receiving well which receives the upper end  91 . Each leg  90  includes a pair of arcuately and linearly spaced projections  93  and  94 . The leg receiving well  48   a  includes a spiral groove  95  extending from an entrance  96  down the inner wall. One of the projections  93  is placed in the groove  95 , and the leg is rotated approximately 90° until the second projection  94  seats in the entrance. This insures that all four legs  90  are inserted the same distance into the spiral groove, and that the table will be level. It should be understood that the remaining legs  90  attach to the other leg receiving wells  48 , in similar fashion. The top surface  41  of the lid  40  forms the top surface of the table top. The grooves  42  of the lid channel crumbs and moisture into channels  49  thus helping to keep the surface of the table top clean and dry. 
     Optionally, doors  50   a  and  50   b  detach from the main body  20  and attach to the lid  40  to form table top extensions. FIG. 2 shows the doors  50   a  and  50   b  detached from the main body  20 . As illustrated in FIG. 9, pivot posts  54   a  and  55   a  detach from pivot holes  28   a  and  29   a  of door  50   a , and pivot posts  54   b  and  55   b  detach from pivot holes  28   b  and  29   b  of door  50   b . Once the doors  50   a  and  50   b  have been detached from the main body  20 , they can be attached to the lid  40  (FIG.  8 ). The door  50   a  aligns within the recessed end portion  43  of the lid  40 , and the pivot posts  54   a  and  55   a  insert within the pivot recesses  45   a  and  44   a , respectively, to form a first table extension. Similarly, the door  50   b  aligns within the recessed end portion  43  of the lid  40 , and the pivot posts  54   b  and  55   b  insert within the pivot recesses  45   b  and  44   b , respectively, to form a second table extension. The doors  50   a  and  50   b  are oriented such that their rear surfaces  53   a  and  53   b  form top surfaces of the table extensions. The slats formed between grooves  56   a  and  56   b  of rear surfaces  53   a  and  53   b  support food and beverages and the grooves tend to channel crumbs and moisture into channels  59   a  and  59   b  between the respective slats  56   a  and  56   b.    
     It will be understood by those skilled in the art that while the foregoing invention has a been disclosed with reference to preferred embodiments or features, various modifications, changes and additions can be made to the foregoing invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.