Patent ID: 7784885

Claim:
A modular storage unit for a vehicle having a front, a back, a first side wall, and a second side wall, the storage unit comprising: (a) a first panel having a top, a bottom, a front edge, a rear edge, a first surface, and a second surface opposite the first surface, the second surface comprising at least one channel recessed relative to the second surface and horizontally disposed between the front and rear edges of the first panel, and the first panel including a support member extending substantially between the top and the bottom of the first panel, wherein at least one of the first and second surfaces of the first panel includes a support member channel formed therein, open to the at least one of the first and second surface, and extending substantially between the top and the bottom, the support member channel receiving the support member such that the support member is at least partially exposed to view along the at least one of the first and second surfaces of the first panel; (b) a second panel generally parallel and opposite the first panel, the second panel having a top, a bottom, a front edge, a rear edge, a first surface, a second surface, the first surface of the second panel being oriented toward the second surface of the first panel, and at least one channel recessed relative to the first surface of the second panel and horizontally disposed between the front and rear edges of the second panel; and (c) a third panel extending in a lateral direction between the first panel and the second panel for coupling the first panel to the second panel; wherein the first panel and the second panel comprise a polymer material, the support member is spaced apart from the second panel, and the modular storage unit is configured for use in a vehicle with the tops and the rear edges of the first and second panels curved in a plane that is generally parallel to the first and second panels to correspond substantially with at least one of the side walls of the vehicle; wherein the horizontal channels are shelf support channels, wherein a shelf is removably disposed between opposite shelf support channels; and wherein the shelf is directly fastened to the support member with a fastener that secures the shelf in the lateral direction relative to the support member.