Abstract:
A console box structure includes a box body comprising a pair of side walls, a rear wall connecting the pair of side walls to each other, and a bottom part, such that an opening is formed at a front of the box body and an opening is formed at a top of the box body, and a cover member capable of opening and closing the opening formed at the top of the box body. The console box structure is makes it less difficult to open and close a cover member and provides improved versatility.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a console box structure. 
     (2) Description of the Related Art 
     Conventionally, a console box used for storing small items is provided between a driver seat and a passenger seat in a vehicle compartment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,261 B 1 discloses a conventional console box that is disposed between a driver seat and a passenger seat, and is comprised of a box body enclosed by front and rear walls in a direction of the length of a vehicle and right and left walls in a direction of the width of the vehicle, and a cover member that is opened and closed to cover and uncover an opening formed at the top of the box body. 
     With the conventional console box, however, the cover member must be opened and closed every time a driver or a passenger stores items in the box body, making storage operations inconvenient for the user. In particular, in the case where the cover member also functions as an arm rest, the cover member is of increased size because it must be provided with a cushioning member or the like, which makes it more troublesome to open and close the cover member. 
     Further, the conventional console box has the disadvantage of lacking versatility, because the range of storage in the box body is restricted in advance by the right, left, front, and rear walls thereof. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a console box structure that makes it less troublesome to open and close a cover member of the console box structure to store items, and provides a console box structure with improved versatility. 
     Specifically, the present invention provides a box body comprising a pair of side walls, a rear wall connecting the pair of side walls to each other, and a bottom part, such that an opening is formed at a front of the box body and an opening is formed at a top of the box body, and a cover member capable of opening and closing the opening formed at the top of the box body. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The nature of this invention, as well as other subjects and advantages thereof, will be explained in greater detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments and to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference character designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire console box  1  according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a view taken along an arrow II—II of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a view showing the entire inner cover  11 ; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a support member  16 ; 
     FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the state in which a ring portion  12  and a pin portion  17  are engaged with each other; and 
     FIGS. 6A and 6B are perspective views showing the console box  1 , wherein FIG. 6A shows the console box  1  with its cover member  9  open, and FIG. 6B shows the console box  1  with its cover member  9  and inner cover  11  open. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing a preferred embodiment thereof. 
     A console box  1  shown in FIG. 1 is disposed between a driver seat and a passenger seat, neither of which is illustrated, and is comprised of a box body  2  that is provided behind a shift lever  100  and extends in the direction of the length of a vehicle. The box body  2  is enclosed by a pair of side walls  3  positioned at the right and left in the direction of the width of the vehicle, a rear wall  4  that is positioned in the rear of the console box  1  and connects the pair of side walls  3  to each other, and a bottom part  10 , such that a first opening  6  is formed at the top of the console box  1  and a second opening  7  is formed at the front of the console box  7 , thus forming a housing chamber  5  capable of storing small items and the like. According to the present embodiment, the first opening  6  and the second opening  7  are continuous. 
     A cover member  9  is attached to the rear part of the box body  2  via a hinge. Pulling up on a lever  21  causes the cover member  9  to turn upward and open the closed first opening  6 . According to the present embodiment, the cover member  9  also serves as an armrest, and has a cushioning material incorporated therein. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the housing chamber  5  is divided into an upper space A and a lower space B by an inner cover  11 . To increase the capacity of the housing chamber  5 , the height of the bottom part  10  of the box body  2  is set to be below upper surface of a base  200  on which the shift lever  100  is mounted. Therefore, the front wall of the box body  2  does not exist in the upper space A of the housing chamber  5 , but a front wall  300  of the box body  2  exists in the lower space B of the housing chamber  5 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the inner cover  11  has a step portion  15  at an edge thereof, which is intended to prevent items placed on the inner cover  11  from easily jumping out of the upper space A of the housing chamber  5  while the vehicle is running. The height of the step portion  15  is set such that the front part thereof is higher than the rear part thereof. A concave portion  13  provides a space into which a fingertip is inserted, and is preferably formed at the front of the inner cover  11  so as to make it easier to open and close the inner cover  11 . Further, a pair of ring portions  12  each having a notch  14  is provided at the right and left in the rear of the inner cover  11 . 
     Support members  16  shown in FIG. 4 are provided between the side walls  3  and the rear wall  4  of the box body  2 . The support members  16  are each comprised of a pair of convex portions  19  protruding upward from a base  18 , and a pin portion  17  supported by the pair of convex portions  19 . As shown in FIG. 5, the cross section of the pin portion  17  is elliptical. 
     Ring portion  12  engages support member  16  via pin portion  17 . As shown in FIG. 5, the ring portion  12  is engaged with the pin portion  17  such that the ring portion  12  may turn. Specifically, the engagement of the ring portions  12  and the pin portions  17  enables the inner cover  11  to turn about an axis of the pin portions  17 . 
     When the inner cover  11  is closed as indicated by a two-dot chain line of FIG. 5, the inner cover  11  is completely engaged with the pin portions  17  because the notches  14  are located behind the pin portions  17 . On this occasion, a front side end of inner cover  11  is brought into contact with a contact portion  20  provided on the side wall  3  appearing in FIG. 6B, so that the inner cover  11  can be kept substantially parallel with the bottom part  10  as shown in FIG. 6A, enabling items to be placed on the upper surface of the inner cover  11 . If the inner cover  11  is fully opened as indicated by a solid line of FIG. 5, the pin portion  17  can pass through the notches  14  because the notches  14  are positioned below the pin portions  17 . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6B, opening the cover member  9  and fully opening the inner cover  11  enables the inner cover  11  to be detached. 
     In operation, if the cover member  9  is closed as shown in FIG. 1, the upper space A is in communication with the outside via the second opening  7 . Thus, it is possible to store or pick out small items and the like in or from the housing chamber  5  without opening the cover member  9 . Alternatively, if the cover member  9  is opened and the inner cover  11  is closed as shown in FIG. 6A, an oblong bag or the like may be placed in the console box  1  because it has the second opening  7 . Further, it the inner cover  11  is opened as shown in FIG. 6B (or the inner cover  11  is detached), the entire housing chamber  5  (the upper space A and the lower space B) may be used to store an item or items, such as a bag, that is longer than is wide in the console box  1 . 
     The console box  1  is particularly well suited for storing an oblong item, an item which is longer than it is wide, or the like in a suitable form. It is to be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the described embodiments or uses, but certain changes and modifications may be possible within the scope of the appended claims. For example, although in the above described embodiment, the cover member  9  is attached to the rear wall  4  via the hinge such that it may turn, but the cover member  9  may be attached to one of the side walls  3  via a hinge mounted thereto such that the cover member  9  may turn in the direction of the width of the vehicle. 
     Further, although in the above described embodiment, the support members  16  are mounted on the rear wall  4 , but the support members  16  may be mounted on the side wall  3  such that the inner cover  11  may turn in the direction of the width of the vehicle. 
     Further, although in the above described embodiment, the height of the bottom part  10  of the box body  2  is set to be below the upper surface of the base  200  on which the shift lever  100  is mounted, but the inner cover  11  may be omitted to make the height of the bottom part  10  substantially flush with the upper surface of the base  200 . 
     Further, although in the above described embodiment, the console box  1  is constructed such that the box body  2  and the base  200  on which the shift lever  100  is mounted are continuous, but the console box  1  may be constructed such that only the box body  2  is installed on a floor of the vehicle.