Importance

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Abstract

A storage chest comprises: opposing front and rear walls; opposing side walls connecting the front and rear walls, wherein each of the side walls includes a recess having upper and lower horizontal surfaces and a vertical panel extending therebetween; and a shelf including a main panel. The shelf is pivotally attached to at least one of the rear wall, front wall and side walls and is movable between a raised position, in which the main panel is generally upright, with a front edge of the main panel being located above the rear edge, and a lowered position, in which the main panel is generally horizontally disposed and the shelf rests upon the upper horizontal surfaces of the side wall recesses. In this configuration, the shelf can be moved to the raised position so that the lower rear portion of the cavity defined by the front, rear and side walls can be easily accessed and can be used to store items that would not fit beneath a permanently mounted shelf. In a preferred embodiment, handles are mounted within the recesses of the chest. This configuration enables the shelf to capitalize on this already-present feature of storage chests without requiring additional structure to support the shelf in its lowered position. It is also preferred that the chest include a retaining unit, such as a retaining arm, that retains the shelf in the raised position as desired.

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First Claim