Patent ID: 8486173

Claim:
A collapsible underhood container for mounting under a vehicle hood with a portion of the collapsible underhood container extending into an area between an underside surface of the hood and an underhood safety plane when in an extended position, the collapsible underhood container comprising: a lower housing configured to be fixed relative to the vehicle and having a bottom and a plurality of side walls extending upward from the bottom, the lower housing including a first airflow opening; an upper container portion including an upper housing, having a plurality of side walls adjacent to and telescopically slidable on the side walls of the lower housing, and a lid, having a plurality of walls non-slidably secured to the side walls of the upper housing and a generally horizontal top connected to the walls, the top configured to be located in the area between the underside surface of the hood and the underhood safety plane when the collapsible underhood container is in the extended position, the lid also including a second airflow opening; a locking feature configured to maintain the upper container portion relative to the lower housing when in the extended position and to release and allow the upper container portion to slide downward relative to the lower housing to a collapsed position when the hood contacts the top of the upper container; and an air filter non-slidably mounted relative to the upper housing and the lid such that the air filter remains in a fixed position relative to the upper housing and the lid in both the extended position and the collapsed position, the air filter located above the first air flow opening and below the second air flow opening in both the extended and collapsed positions wherein air flow between the first and second air flow openings through the air filter occurs in both the extended and collapsed positions.