Patent Publication Number: US-2005140160-A1

Title: Reclining seats with trunks for the storing of valuables in truck beds

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      This invention relates generally to the field of seat structures and trunks for the safekeeping of valuables in the open-topped cargo compartment of pickup trucks. More specifically the present invention relates to a seat structure having separate reclinable backrests and separate seat bottoms and a single trunk for the safekeeping of valuables occupying the entire area underneath said seat bottoms. The apparatus is removably secured to opposite side walls or the front wall of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      There have long been seat structures for the open-topped cargo compartments of pickup trucks. The present applicant has contributed to this art with the disclosure in the following patent:  
      Arias, U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,469 B2, issued on Nov. 25, 2003, teaches a seat with a backrest which can be reclined backward and down, relative to a bottom of the seat, when said seat is secured to opposite side walls of a truck&#39;s cargo compartment.  
      Besides seats, there also have long been trunks for the safekeeping of valuables in the open-topped cargo compartments of pickup trucks. However, a seat and a trunk in separate assemblies take up a significant portion of the space available for cargo in general in the open-topped cargo compartment of a pickup truck. It is thus an object of the present invention to secure to opposite side walls or the front wall of such compartment such an apparatus which combines both a seat structure and a trunk, one on top of the other, and which would therefore occupy half of the space that a similar seat structure and a similar trunk in separate assemblies would require in the bed of a truck.  
      It is another object of the present invention to provide a trunk and a seat structure for two occupants which gives either occupant the opportunity to open and close the trunk and access the contents inside the trunk, including those located under the other occupant, while said other occupant remains comfortably seated with his or her backrest upright or reclined backward.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide a seat structure with backrests which can be releasably locked in various reclined orientations to secure against theft items outside said trunk but within the truck&#39;s open-topped bed.  
      It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a seat structure which can be turned from a position in which its occupants in the cargo compartment of a pickup truck face the rear of the vehicle to a position in which they face the front thereof, with means to releasably lock the seat structure in either position.  
      It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus with a seat structure on top and a trunk on the bottom, with means to turn the seat structure from a position in which its occupants face the rear of a pickup truck to a position in which they face the front thereof, without moving the trunk underneath said seat structure.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus comprising a seat structure and a trunk with guide rails and wheels to facilitate the movevement of the apparatus back and forth, as well as its attachment to any one of various securing locations within the cargo compartment of a pickup truck.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The principal object of the present invention is to provide a seat structure with a trunk for the safekeeping of valuables in the open bed of pickup trucks. Each seat structure has two separate reclining backrests and two separate seat bottoms and a single trunk occupying the entire area underneath the two seat bottoms. The apparatus has telescopic legs to rest on the bottom wall of the cargo compartments of different pickup trucks, even when it is secured to the side walls of said compartments and said side walls have different heights. A telescopic arm member serves to secure the apparatus to said side walls, even when the distance between them also differs. The apparatus is alternatively secured to the front wall of said cargo compartments. The reclinable backrests and the seat bottoms are carried towards the front of the vehicle as the hinged lids of the trunk are swung up. Either of the two seat occupants can access the contents of the trunk under the other occupant&#39;s seat bottom, while said other occupant remains comfortably seated with his or her backrest in an upstanding position or reclined backward in any of various angles. When lowered, the hinged lids can be releasably locked to secure against theft the contents of the trunk. Additionally, the apparatus provides means to releasably lock its backrests in various reclined backward positions to secure against theft items outside said trunk, either in the front or the back portion of the truck&#39;s open-topped cargo compartment. The seat bottoms and the backrests can be turned around to allow occupants to face either the front or the back of the vehicle. The apparatus also has guide rails and wheels to facilitate its movement back and forth, as well as its attachment to any one of various securing locations within the truck&#39;s cargo compartment.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a conventional pickup truck  2 .  
       FIG. 2  shows the apparatus  25  comprising a seat structure with seat bottoms  30  and backrests  31  for two occupants in a first normal position on the top and a trunk  26  on the bottom.  
       FIG. 3  shows the apparatus  25  with the seat structure in the same first normal position but with the backrests  31  reclined backward and down. Each backrest has its own reclining mechanism.  
       FIG. 4  shows a key  40  releasably locking the handle  41  which serves to recline (or upswing) a backrest  31 . Each backrest has its own reclining handle.  
       FIG. 5  shows how items in the front of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4  can be secured against theft.  
       FIG. 6  shows the apparatus  25  with the seat bottoms  30  and the backrests  31  turned to a second normal position.  
       FIG. 7  shows how items in the back of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment can be secured against theft.  
       FIG. 8  shows how a seat bottom  30  and its corresponding backrest  31  should be positioned to avoid interference when being turned from one to another normal position.  
       FIG. 9  shows the seat bottoms  30  and the backrests  31  in the first normal position of  FIG. 2  but with the backrests reclined forward and down, instead of backward and down.  
       FIG. 10  shows the trunk  26  opened with its two separate hinged lids  50  swung up towards the front of the pickup truck  2 .  
       FIG. 11  shows the trunk  26  opened with only one hinged lid  50  swung up towards the front of the pickup truck  2 .  
       FIG. 12  shows that each separate hinged lid  50  of the trunk  26  has its own safety lock  63 .  
       FIG. 13  illustrates the mechanism by which each seat bottom  30  and backrest  31  is lifted and lowered and releasably locked at different heights.  
       FIG. 14  illustrates the mechanism by which each seat bottom  30  and its corresponding backrest  31  is turned from one normal position to another and releasably locked in either position.  
       FIG. 15  is a close-up of a telescopic leg  67  and a wheel  65 . The apparatus  25  has six such telescopic legs and six such wheels, all resting on the bottom wall of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment.  
       FIG. 16  shows the top edges of opposite side walls  16  and  17  of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4  with guide rails  69  having a T-shaped upper portion on which brackets  71  and  72  are mounted to secure telescopic arm member R.  FIG. 16  further shows that the vertical portion of each guide rail  69  has a series of holes to lock in between brackets  71  and  72  and block their movement and (thus that of the adjoining telescopic arm member R) towards the back and the front of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4 .  
       FIG. 17  shows how a cable  91  locks a bracket  71  to a guide rail  69  over side wall  16 .  
       FIG. 18  shows how the telescopic arm member R secures the apparatus  25  to guide rails  69  on opposite side walls  16  and  17  of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4 .  
       FIG. 19  shows a mounting bracket  96  installed on the front wall  18  of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4  with an adjoining telescopic horizontal arm  98  reaching the middle of said cargo compartment.  
       FIG. 20  shows how the apparatus  25  is secured to the front wall of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4  in a manner in which the backrests  31  can be reclined backward and down without any interference either in the first or second normal position.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Before explaining the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the particular arrangements shown and described herein since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.  
       FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a conventional pickup truck  2  with a cab  3  in the front and an open-topped cargo compartment  4  in the rear thereof. The cargo compartment has a bottom wall  15 , and two opposite side walls  16  and  17  extending up from said bottom wall, as well as a front wall  18  adjacent to the rear wall of the cab  3  and a swingable back wall  20  which can be releasably locked to said opposite side walls.  
       FIG. 2  shows an apparatus  25 , comprising a seat structure in an inverted or first normal position and a trunk  26  for the safekeeping of valuables, secured to the pickup truck&#39;s open-topped cargo compartment  4 . In this inverted or first normal position seat occupants face the rear and not the front of the vehicle. The apparatus is shown with two separate side-by-side seat bottoms  30  for two occupants, and two separate side-by-side backrests  31  in an upright position, one for each occupant, with a single trunk  26  for the safekeeping of valuables occupying the entire area underneath the two seat bottoms. The trunk has two hinged lids (not shown in  FIG. 2 ), one under each seat bottom  30 . Each backrest has a loop  37  on the top. The bottom of the trunk  26  has six telescopic legs and six wheels (not shown in  FIG. 2 ) resting on the bottom wall  15  of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4 .  
       FIG. 3  again shows the apparatus&#39;s seat structure in an inverted or first normal position. However, the two separate backrests  31  are no longer upright but reclined backward and down, or reclined not towards but away from the seat bottoms  30 . One backrest is shown reclined almost all the way backward and down, while the other backrest is reclined only half of the way backward and down. Each backrest has its own reclining mechanism and can thus be swung backwards and down and then up and to the front independently from the other.  
       FIG. 4  further shows a key  40  releasably locking the handle  41  which serves to recline (or upswing) a backrest  31 . Each backrest  31  has its own reclining handle  41  which can be releasably locked with the same key  40  to block the movement of the backrest. When the reclining handle is locked, the corresponding backrest is also locked. (As the key is turned to a given position a pin  39  is projected outwardly to block the movement of the handle until the key is turned back to retract the pin.)  
       FIG. 5  then shows how items  44  can be secured against theft in the area of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4  located under the two reclined backward and releasably locked backrests  31  and within two opposite side walls  16  and  17  and the front wall  18  of said cargo compartment  4 . The items  44  in the front of the cargo compartment are protected against theft in two different ways. Firstly, the reclining handle  41  of each backrest  31  is releasably locked as shown in  FIG. 4 , meaning that the two backrests are also locked in their reclined backward orientation. And secondly, the ends of the chain  45  passing through loops  46  on the top edge of the cargo compartment&#39;s front wall  18  and the loops  37  on top of each backrest  31  are secured with a padlock  47 .  
       FIG. 6  now shows the apparatus  25  with the seat bottoms  30  and the backrests  31  turned to an about-face or second normal position, so that occupants in the truck&#39;s cargo compartment face the cab  3  or front instead of the rear of the vehicle  2 .  
       FIG. 7  shows the pair of seat bottoms  30  and backrests  31  in the same turned to the about-face or second normal position of  FIG. 6  but with said backrests reclined backward and down, and releasably locked in said orientation, to secure against theft items located under said backrests. In this FIGURE, where the backrests are turned to an about-face position, the protected items are located not in the front (as in  FIG. 5 ) but in the back of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment, in the area under said backrests and within two opposite side walls  16  and  17  and the back wall  20  of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4 . Although the backrests  31  are immobilized with the reclining handles  41  releasably locked (see  FIG. 4 ), and the swingable back wall  20  is also secured with its own safety lock  43 , this FIGURE illustrates how the protected items can be further secured with said swingable back wall  20  tied to said backrests  31  with a chain  45  passing through loops  48  on the top edge of said back wall and the loops  37  on top of said backrests. The ends of the chain  45  are releasably secured with a padlock  47 .  
       FIG. 8  shows how a seat bottom  30  and its corresponding backrest  31  should be set higher than the other seat bottom  30  and the other backrest  31  to avoid interference when being turned towards an inverted or first normal position or an about-face or second normal position. As also shown, the lower backrest not turning should be reclined backward and down to provide enough room for the turning backrest.  
       FIG. 9  again shows the pair of backrests  31  in the inverted or first normal position of  FIG. 2 . However, this time the backrests are reclined and releasably locked not backward and down but forward and down, or reclined not away but towards the seat bottoms  30 . The pair of backrests  31  can be lowered and releasably locked in this reclined forward orientation to ensure that strangers do not occupy the seat structure when the pickup truck  2  is unattended. The same key  40  that releasably locks both backrests in their reclined backward position releasably locks them in their reclined forward orientation.  FIG. 4  illustrates how this key locks each backrest&#39;s reclining handle  41  and thus each backrest  31 . The backrests  31  can be reclined forward and down and releasably locked in this orientation either in the inverted or first normal position of this FIGURE or in the about-face or second normal position.  
       FIG. 10  shows the trunk  26  opened with its two separate hinged lids  50  swung up towards the front of the pickup truck  2 , carrying with them both seat bottoms  30  and both backrests  31 . The seat bottoms  30  and the backrests  31  are carried towards the front of the vehicle while in position to reassume the inverted or first normal position with the backrests reclined forward, once said hinged lids  50  are swung back down. The trunk  26  could also be opened with both hinged lids  50  swung up towards the front of the pickup truck  2 , but with one or both seat bottoms  30  and backrests  31  in position to reassume the about-face or second normal position and the backrests reclined forward, once said lids  50  are swung back down. In either case, once the lids of the trunk  26  are swung back down towards the rear of the vehicle, the trunk is again closed and, once the backrests are adjusted from a reclined forward to an upright or reclined backward orientation, the seat structure can be occupied again, with two occupants in either the inverted or first normal position or the about-face or second normal position, or one occupant in one said position and the other occupant in said other position.  
       FIG. 11  now shows only one hinged lid  50  of the trunk  26  swung up towards the front of the pickup truck  2 , while the other hinged lid  50  continues in place to allow an occupant above to remain seated. In this FIGURE only one side of the trunk  26  is shown opened to give an occupant access to the trunk&#39;s contents, including those underneath the seat bottom  30  of another occupant, while said other occupant remains comfortably seated in an inverted or first normal position with his or her backrest  31  upright. Although not shown, said other occupant could also remain seated with his or her backrest reclined backward in a first or second normal position, or adjusted upright in a second normal position.  
       FIG. 12  shows that each separate hinged lid  50  of the trunk  26  has its own safety lock  63 . The same key  40  that in  FIG. 4  releasably locks the reclining handles  41  of both backrests  31  releasably locks said hinged lids  50 .  
       FIG. 13  illustrates the mechanism by which each seat bottom  30  and backrest  31  is lifted and lowered and releasably locked at different heights, to avoid interference with the other seat bottom  30  and the other backrest  31  when turning from one normal position to another, as in  FIG. 8 . As stated, the trunk  26  has two hinged lids  50 , one under each seat bottom  30 . The center of the top surface of each said hinged lid  50  has a base  59  with a telescopic leg  51  supporting a striated disk  62 , which serves to turn around the corresponding seat bottom  30  and the backrest  31  above. The telescopic leg  51  is comprised of an outer sleeve  52  having an inner spring  53  in the bottom and a striated inner shaft  54  on the top. Another spring  55  inside a first horizontal lever  56 , also underneath the same seat bottom  30 , applies pressure perpendicularly against the striated inner shaft  54  and locks it at a given height as it is also pressed upward by the inner spring  53  in the bottom of the telescopic leg  51 . As this first horizontal lever  56  is pulled out manually its spring  55  retracts and the horizontal lever moves out of the way to allow the striated inner shaft  54  to move up or down, until the horizontal lever is again released and its spring applies renewed pressure against the striated inner shaft and locks it at a new height. The seat bottom  30  and the corresponding backrest  31  are then lowered as the weight of an occupant press them downward against the inner spring  53  on the bottom of the telescopic leg  51 , provided the horizontal lever  56  is also pulled out manually; and lifted as an occupant stands up to free them from his or her weight, allowing the inner spring  53  to push them upward, provided the horizontal lever  56  is also pulled out manually. As further shown in this FIGURE, the horizontal lever  56  can be releasably locked with a key  40  to ensure that strangers do not pull it out to raise or lower a seat bottom  30  and a corresponding backrest  31  when the pickup truck  2  is unattended. (As the key is turned to a given position a pin  49  is projected outwardly to block the movement of the lever until the key is turned back to retract the pin.)  
       FIG. 14  illustrates the mechanism by which each seat bottom  30  and its corresponding backrest  31  are turned from an inverted or first normal position to an about-face or second normal position (and viceversa) and releasably locked in either position. A spring  61  inside a second horizontal lever  60  under each seat bottom  30  applies pressure against a striated disk  62  which otherwise is free to turn around with the seat bottom  30  and the backrest  31  on top. As this second horizontal lever  60  is pulled out manually its spring  61  retracts and the lever moves out of the way to allow the striated disk  62  to turn around together with the seat bottom  30  and the backrest  31 . As further shown in this FIGURE, this second horizontal lever  60  can be releasably locked with a key  40  to ensure that strangers do not pull it out when the pickup truck  2  is unattended. (As the key is turned to a given position a pin  57  is projected outwardly to block the movement of the lever until the key is turned back to retract the pin.)  
       FIG. 15  is a close-up of a telescopic leg  67  and a wheel  65 . The apparatus  25  has six such telescopic legs  67 , each one with a wheel  65  underneath, all resting on the cargo compartment&#39;s bottom wall  15  to facilitate the movement of the apparatus back and forth and secure it to different attachment points within the cargo compartment. The telescopic legs make it possible to secure the apparatus to the opposite side walls of cargo compartments of different pickup trucks having different heights and still rest the apparatus on the bottom wall  15  of said cargo compartments.  
      FIGS.  16  thru  18  show a first preferred means of securing the apparatus  25  to the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4 . In  FIG. 16  the top edges of side walls  16  and  17  of the cargo compartment  4  are shown with stainless steel guide rails  69  having a T-shaped upper portion on which brackets  71  and  72  are mounted. With said guide rails, brackets  71  and  72  are slid back and forth alongside the interior face of side walls  16  and  17  to be secured to any one of various attachment points (or pairs of holes). The brackets are also disengaged from the guide rails  69  when slid all the way towards the back wall  20  of the cargo compartment  4 . The lower portion of bracket  71  mounted on guide rail  69  affixed to side wall  16  has a rectangular opening or recess to receive a rectangular end piece of a cylindrical hollow tube or outer sleeve  75 ; and the lower portion of bracket  72  mounted on guide rail  69  affixed to side wall  17  has an identical rectangular opening or recess to likewise receive an identical rectangular end piece of a striated inner shaft or rod  76  which is snugly but slidably received in sleeve  75 . The sleeve  75  and the rod  76  thus comprise a telescopic arm member R with the adjoining bracket  71  on one end mounted on a guide rail  69  over side wall  16  and the adjoining bracket  72  on another end mounted on another guide rail  69  over the other side wall  17 .  
       FIG. 16  further shows that the vertical portion of each guide rail  69  has a series of holes, each one with an engraved number from  80  to  89  to a side thereof. A cable  91  can be passed through a pair of said holes to block the movement of a bracket  71  or  72  towards both the back and the front of the cargo compartment  4 .  
       FIG. 17  thus shows a cable  91  passing through holes  85  and  86  on guide rail  69  over side wall  16 , to lock in between bracket  71 . The portion of cable  91  passing through hole  85  on guide rail  69  over side wall  16  blocks the movement of the bracket  71  towards the front of the cargo compartment  4 , while the portion of said cable  91  passing through hole  86  in said guide rail blocks the movement of said bracket towards the back of said compartment. As further shown, once the bracket  71  is blocked in both directions, the ends of cable  91  passing through holes  85  and  86  are releasably locked with a padlock  47 . Although not shown in this FIGURE, the counterpart bracket  72  can likewise be locked in between holes  85  and  86  on the counterpart guide rail  69  over the opposite side wall  17  of the cargo compartment  4 , to then secure telescopic arm member R to said brackets and to said opposite side walls  16  and  17  (as illustrated in the preceding  FIG. 16  and in the next  FIG. 18 ).  
       FIG. 18  further shows brackets  71  and  72  blocked between holes  85  and  86  on guide rails  69  over opposite side walls  16  and  17 , as the adjoining telescopic arm member R passes through a loop  95  on the rear of the trunk  26  and underneath the backrests  31 , to retain in place the apparatus  25  within the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4 . As shown, the loop  95  is located well underneath the backrests  31  to allow the backrests to recline backward and down without any interference in their inverted or first normal position. As the seat bottoms  30  and the backrests  31  are subsequently turned to the about-face or second normal position, the loop  95  and the telescopic arm member R remain in place. The extensible and retractable telescopic arm member R makes it possible to secure the apparatus  25  to opposite side walls  16  and  17  of cargo compartments of different pickup trucks, even when the separation of said side walls differ. As also shown in  FIG. 18 , a pin  93  extends through coinciding holes on the loop  95  and the outer sleeve  75  of the telescopic arm member R. The purpose of the pin is to prevent the apparatus  25  from sliding towards either side wall  16  or  17  of the cargo compartment  4 . The pin  93  is secured removably. Another pin  94  extends through coinciding holes on the outer sleeve  75  and the striated inner shaft or rod  76 . The purpose of this other pin is to secure removably the telescopic arm member R to brackets  71  and  72 . The striated inner shaft  76  is also releasably locked to the outer sleeve  75  with the same key  40  that releasably locks the reclining handles  41  and the first and second horizontal levers  56  and  60  respectively, as well as the hinged lids  50  (see  FIGS. 4, 13 , and  14 ).  
       FIGS. 19 and 20  show a second preferred means of securing the apparatus  25  to the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4 .  FIG. 19  shows a stainless steel mounting bracket  96  having a telescopic vertical arm  97  with a telescopic horizontal arm  98  in its base. The mounting bracket  96  is installed on the front wall  18  of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4  with the adjoining telescopic horizontal arm  98  reaching the middle of the cargo compartment.  
       FIG. 20  then shows a triangular-shaped recess or joint  99  on the bottom of the rear of the apparatus  25 , where the telescopic horizontal arm  98  is received to secure the apparatus to the front wall of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment  4 . The telescopic horizontal arm  98  is secured removably to the joint  99  with suitable means (e.g., screws). As shown, neither said joint  99  nor said telescopic horizontal arm  98  interfere with the backrests  31  when reclined backward and down in the inverted or first normal position. As the seat bottoms  30  and the backrests  31  are later turned to the about-face or second normal position, the joint  99  and the telescopic horizontal arm  98  remain in place. The telescopic horizontal arm  98  can also be retracted to secure the apparatus  25  closer to the front wall  18  of the cargo compartment  4 .