Bulkhead door

In a storage structure, comprising:

• a body defining a walled compartment, said body including a pair of opposed and substantially parallel side walls interconnected by top and bottom walls;
• partition means adapted to be disposed transversely across the compartment for dividing same into a pair of subcompartments, said partition means being substantially rectangular and having the edges thereof disposed adjacent said walls;
• a guide track structure secured to each said side wall adjacent the top wall;
• a carrige means movably supported on each of said track structures;
• pivot means connected between each of said carriage means and an adjacent corner of said partition means for defining a substantially horizontally extending pivot axis which is located adjacent and substantially parallel to the upper edge of said partition means, said pivot means permitting said partition means to be swingably moved between (1) an operational position wherein the partition means is oriented substantially vertically and extends transversely across the compartment and (2) a stored position wherein the partition means is oriented substantially horizontally and is disposed closely adjacent the top wall;
• releasable latch means coacting between each said carriage means and the adjacent side wall for fixedly connecting said carriage means to said side wall;
• and
• releasable locking means associated with the lower edge of said partition means for fixedly locking said partition means in either said operational position or said stored position, said locking means including a pair of locking mechanisms mounted on said partition means adjacent the lower corners thereof, each locking mechanism including a movable locking member coacting with a locking structure fixedly associated with the adjacent side wall for fixedly locking said partition means to said side wall when same is in said operational position, said locking memebers also being engageable with said track structure for holding said partition means in said stored position.

In a storage apparatus, comprising:

• a body defining a walled compartment, said body including a pair of opposed and substantially parallel side walls interconnected by top and bottom walls;
• partition means adapted to be disposed transversely across the compartment for dividing same into a pair of subcompartments, said partition means being substantially rectangular and having the edges thereof disposed adjacent said walls;
• a guide track structure secured to each said side wall adjacent the top wall;
• a carriage means movably supported on each of said track structures;
• pivot means connected between each of said carriage means and an adjacent corner of said partition means for defining a substantially horizontally extending pivot axis which is located adjacent and substantially parallel to the upper edge of said partition means, said pivot means permitting said partition means to be swingably moved between (1) an operational position wherein the partition means is oriented substantially vertically and extends transversely across the compartment and (2) a stored position wherein the partition means is oriented substantially horizontally and is disposed closely adjacent the top wall;
• and
• releasable locking means associated with the lower edge of said partition means for fixedly locking said partition means in either said operational position or said stored position, said locking means includes a pair of locking mechanisms mounted on said partition means adjacent the lower corners thereof, each locking mechanism including a movable locking member coacting with a locking structure fixedly associated with the adjacent side wall for fixedly locking said partition means to said side wall when in said operational position, said movable locking member also being engageable with said track structure for holding said partition means in said stored position.

In a storage structure having wall means defining a storage compartment therein, said wall means including opposed top and bottom walls and a pair of opposed side walls, and a bulkhead door assembly for dividing said compartment into subcompartments, said bulkhead door assembly including panel means extending transversely across said compartment, the improvement comprising:

• a pair of opposed track means fixedly mounted on said side walls in spaced and substantially parallel relationship;
• a pair of support mechanisms mounted on said panel means adjacent the upper corners thereof for supporting said panel means on said pair of track means, each said support mechanism including
• a. roller carriage means disposed in rolling engagement with the adjacent track means, said roller carriage means including a pair of support rollers disposed in rolling engagement with the respective track means at locations spaced longitudinally therealong, said pair of support rollers being disposed for rotation about substantially parallel rotational axes which extend substantially parallel to the upper edge of said panel means, said rotational axes being disposed on opposite sides of said panel means,
• b. hinge means pivotally connecting said panel means to said carriage means for permitting pivotal movement of said panel means about a pivot axis which is disposed closely adjacent and extends substantially parallel to the upper edge thereof, said pivot axis being substantially parallel to and located between the pair of rotational axes defined by said support rollers, said hinge means including a tubular hinge member which extends between and is connected to said carriage means and said panel means for defining said pivot axis, said hinge member being fixedly related with respect to one of said carraige means and panel means and being rotatably supported on the other of said carriage means and panel means, and
• c. releasable latch means coacting between said panel means and said track means for fixedly locking the upper edge of said panel means relative to said track means to prevent displacement of said carriage means along said track means, said releasable latch means including a pair of releasable latch mechanisms located adjacent the upper corners of said panel means so that one of said latch mechanisms is associated with each of said track means, each said latch mechanism including a latching pin which is axially supported within said hinge member, and spring means coacting with the latching pin for resiliently urging same axially outwardly toward the adjacent side wall for urging same into latching engagement with a cooperating latch structure which is fixedly associated with the respective side wall;
• and
• a pair of releasable locking mechanisms mounted on said panel means adjacent the opposite side edges thereof and located downwardly a substantial distance from said upper edge for fixedly locking said panel means with respect to said side walls in an operational position wherein said panel means extends transversely across said compartment and is disposed in a substantially vertical orientation.