Console

The present invention pertains to consoles for vehicles and particularly to a console which is mounted to the seat of a vehicle.

There exists a variety of storage locations in vehicles which have been popular over the years. One location, naturally is a glove box in the instrument panel area of a vehicle, Other locations have included armrests with storage compartments and side pockets of doors. Some vehicles include floor consoles located between the seats of a vehicle which also includes storage areas for miscellaneous items. Some suggestions for storage containers which attach to vehicle seats have aiso, been but have not found widespread commercialization for use modern vehicle designs. The downsizing of vehicles has also made it increasingly difficult to provide significant storage areas for larger miscellaneous personal items such as purses, satchels, briefcases, umbrellas, and other items which typically are tossed in the rear seat area their subsequent retrival somewhat difficult.

There exists a need for an innovative console for use in modern compact vehicles which storage for a variety of larger miscellaneous articles and which utilizes areas of the vehicle which have not been fully developed, The present invention accomplishes this goal by providing a housing which attaches to the underlying frame of a seat and moves with the seat such that it positions the console in fixed relationship to the occupant of the seat as the seat may be moved to different positions for different passengers or drivers. This area provides a readily accessible and convenient location for storage near the side, and in some embodiments at the front of the persons seat and lap area. In one embodiment, the housing includes an adjustable strap means for holding articles such as a briefcase, purse or satchel to the side of the console while the vehicle is in motion and at least one storage bin which may or may not be covered and which is positioned for access from above. In some embodiments of the invention, the housing extends along one side of the vehicle seat and in other embodiments, it includes at least a portion extending forwardly and around the front lip of the seat at a relatively low level to allow clearance for the persons legs and still provide significant additional storage volume. In one embodiment of the invention, the console is generally L-shaped extending around two sides of the seat with storage compartments located at the forward end and the side.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings; in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a vehicle seat including a console embodying the present invention mounted thereto;

FIG. 2 is a right side elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with the accessory strap shown in the stored position;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention including a forward storage area;

FIGS. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the structure shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one attachment location of the housing of the console of the present invention to the seat support;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the mounting of the accessory strap shown in FIGS. 1-4 to the console; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the console seen in FIG. 4 taken along section lines VIII--VIII of FIG. 4.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown a first embodiment of the invention which comprises a generally L-shaped console 10 mounted to the side of a vehicle seat 20 and to the underlying support frame 22 (FIG. 6) of the seat. Seat 20 includes a generally horizontally extending seat 21 and an integral adjustable back 23 both of which are mounted to the support frame 22 in a conventional manner. The embodiment illustrated shows a passenger side seat of a vehicle such as an automobile. Console 10 preferrably is generally L-shaped with a first or side leg extending along the side of the seat and a second or front leg which extends at least partially along the front of the seat. The console includes an integrally molded housing 12 made of a suitable material such as polyvinylchloride (PVC), ABS, polycarbonate or other suitable polymeric material used for vehicle interior accessories. Housing 12 integrally includes an outer side wall 14, a front wall 16, a top wall 18 and inner or rear wall 19 (FIGS. 6 and 8).

The housing 12 is generally hollow to define an interior storage cavity which includes an access cover 30 which integrally includes an opening handle 32 and which has concealed hinge means along its lower edge 34 for allowing the cover 30 to open in a direction away from the seat such that the user can gain access to a storage bin formed within housing 12 under the cover 30. The storage receptacle can conventionally be in the form of a bin or basket which is integrally molded to the inner surfaces of outer wall 14 and top wall 18 of the console or can be a cloth sack-like container which is suitably attached to the interior of the console under cover 30. The forward section 28 of the generally L-shaped console 10 also may include an open storage bin 36 integrally molded therein.

Console 10 also includes a lower elongated rectangular recess 38 extending along the lower half of outer wall 14 of housing 12 for nestably receiving an adjustable strap 40 therein as best seen in FIG. 3. Strap means 40 is employed for securing a briefcase, satchel, purse or other package-like object 50 as seen in the alternative embodiment of FIG. 4, to the side of seat 20 in the space between the seat and the inner surface of the door adjacent the seat. Strap 40 can therefore be moved between a stored position as illustrated in FIG. 3 to use positions as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 and is made of a suitable nylon web material. The strap includes an adjustable buckle 42 to allow the strap to be adjusted between the stored position shown in FIG. 3 and the use position for holding packages 50 such as shown in FIG. 4. The construction and mounting of strap means 40 is shown schematically in FIG. 7 and can take a variety of forms.

Referring to FIG. 7, strap means 40 includes, in the preferred embodiment, a first strap 40' with one end 41 which is secured to one end of a tensioning spring 43 having its opposite end secured to the console by an anchor member illustrated schematically at 44 in FIG. 7. Anchor member 44 could be in the form of a lug and screw securing the end of spring 43 remote from strap end 41 to the interior wall 19 of the console and thence to the seat frame 22 as, for example, to the fastener 25 seen in FIG. 6 which has a backing nut 27 for securing the console to the vehicle. The opposite end 45 of strap 40' is a free end which passes through the buckle 42 and is lockably secured thereto in an adjustable fashion. Buckle 42 is of the type used in airlines allowing for adjustment of the free end of the strap. The strap means 40 includes a second strap 46 having a first end secured to the buckle 42 and an opposite end 47 anchored by an anchor member 48 to the console in the same general conventional manner as the end of tensioning spring 43. The straps pass through suitable apertures 49 illustrated schematically in FIG. 7 formed in the side 14 of the housing near the forward and rear edges such that the ends of the straps are concealed. Typically, buckle 42 will adjust the strap means 40 to the general shape of a briefcase, package, or satchel to be held adjacent the outer side wall 14 of the console as seen in FIG. 4 and fixed in a selected position whereupon the tensioning spring 43 snugly holds the object against the side of the console. Thus, buckle 42 is used for gross adjustments of the size of the strap while tensioning spring 43 is employed for providing a holding force for the strap against the package 50.

In other embodiments, the buckle end 47 of strap section 46 may include the tensioning spring while end 41 of strap 40 is coupled directly to the console wall 19. In a preferred embodiment, the console 10 may include a roller 11 shown schematically in FIG. 7 around which the strap is guided and a second roller 13 at the buckle end of the strap means. Alternatively, the edges of slots 49 through which the strap sections pass can be enforced and include rounded edges to provide the desired radius of curvature for the strap and its mounting within console housing 12.

The console shown in FIGS. 1-3 can be expanded to continue more forwardly along the front edge 26 of seat 21 as shown in FIGS. 4-5, and 8 to include an additional storage location 60 shown in detail in these Figs. In this embodiment, storage location 60 includes a first storage compartment 61 having a pivoted cover 62 with an integral spring-loaded latch 64 for storing relatively small objects such as sunglasses 66 therein. The interior of bin 61 integrally includes walls which mate with the outer front wall 16 of housing 12. Behind bin 61 the storage location 60 provides a side storage bin with access through an end wall aperature 65 for storing tubular objects such as a compact umbrella 70. This cylindrical storage bin is defined by cylindrical housing 72 (FIG. 8) supported to the rear wall 19 of housing 12 by a plurality of spaced integral webs 73 and to floor sections 75 of housing 12 (which may optionally be included in one or more sections of the housing) by webs 76. Cylindrical member 72 may include suitable openings in the lower sides for allowing ventilation and drainage of moisture from a wet umbrella 70 when placed therein.

As can be seen in the Figs., console 10 is shaped to generally conform to the lower peripheral boundary of the seat frame underlying seat 21 to provide a trim appearance to the installation which conforms to that of the vehicle. For such purpose, the outer surfaces of the housing can be textured and colored to match the interior of a particular vehicle to which the console can be added. The provision of an L-shaped console either in the form of FIGS. 1-3 or the elongated L-shaped shown in the FIG. 4 console provides significant storage for the vehicle which is particularly beneficial in compact design vehicles where storage locations are at a premium. It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein can be made without departing from the spirit or scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.