Patents by Inventor Gerard Kmita

Gerard Kmita has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20080101885
    Abstract: A bed divider apparatus for use in a bed of a pickup truck. The divider apparatus includes a frame that supports first and second parallel disposed divider members each in the shape of a panel. The divider members are secured to one another so that one of the divider members is slidable relative to the other. A pair of user engageable fastening members can be used to secure the second divider member at a desired height relative to the first divider member. The frame is secured by end supports to a pair of tracks that are mounted on inside walls of the pickup truck bed. Thus, the divider apparatus can be positioned at various points along the lengths of the tracks. The apparatus enables larger cargo items to be restrained within the bed, while still enabling elongated items such as lumber planks, tubing, etc. to be supported on the full length of a floor of the bed without interference from the divider apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2007
    Publication date: May 1, 2008
    Applicant: JAC Products, Inc.
    Inventor: Gerard Kmita
  • Publication number: 20070119886
    Abstract: An article carrier system for use on a roof of a motor vehicle such as a pick-up truck. The system includes a housing within which cross bar components may be stowed when not in use, and which also includes one or more stowage compartments or stowage bins for stowing vehicle article carrier accessories. In one embodiment the cross bar components are detached from the housing and reattached to the housing such that they extend width-wise along the roof of the vehicle. In another embodiment, the cross bar components are pivotally supported and may be pivoted between stowed and deployed positions. A removable cover allows the cross bar components to be locked within the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2006
    Publication date: May 31, 2007
    Inventors: Robert Jablonski, Milton Antonick, Gerard Kmita, Claude Trambley, Donald Munoz, Julius Cassani, Noel Ranka
  • Publication number: 20060279099
    Abstract: A cargo management system for use in a bed of a pickup truck. The cargo management system includes a pair of frame assemblies that are supported from siderails secured to the inside walls of the pickup truck bed. Each of the frame assemblies is capable of receiving two removable cargo bins that can be used to hold various smaller cargo items. The frame assemblies each have a pair of horizontally disposed tracks for supporting a slidably moveable support platform. The support platform can be positioned in either a lower pair of the tracks or an upper pair of the tracks as needed. Each of the frame assemblies can be quickly removed from the pickup truck bed if needed to maximize the available area within the bed for large cargo items.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 9, 2006
    Publication date: December 14, 2006
    Inventors: Noel Ranka, Donald Potter, Donald Munoz, Gerard Kmita, Milton Antonick
  • Publication number: 20060244279
    Abstract: A cargo management system for use in the bed of a pickup truck. The system includes a pair of side rails that are mounted on inside wall portions of the side walls of the pickup truck bed. A central frame portion is provided and is secured at its opposite longitudinal ends to a pair of auxiliary cargo containers. The central frame portion can receive either a rigid storage tray or a soft, collapsible, drop-in storage bag. The central frame portion can also be folded down generally flush against a forward end wall of the truck bed. The entire assembly of the central frame portion and the pair of auxiliary cargo containers can be moved slidably along the side rails and positioned within the truck bed as needed. The central frame portion and the pair of auxiliary cargo containers can thus be used to hold items, and the entire assembly can be used as a bulkhead within the truck bed to restrain other larger articles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2006
    Publication date: November 2, 2006
    Inventors: Noel Ranka, Donald Potter, Gerard Kmita, Jeffrey Aftanas
  • Publication number: 20060093454
    Abstract: A cargo restraining system for use within a bed of a pickup truck. The system includes a first pair of rails disposed on sidewalls of the bed. A second pair of support rails are secured to the forward wall of the bed and to an interior surface of the rear liftgate of the bed. First and second independent cross bar assemblies have end supports that are coupled to the support walls so that the assemblies extend perpendicularly from one another. The cross bar assemblies can be adjustably positioned along their associated pair of support rails to engage cargo of widely varying sizes and shapes that is being carried within the bed of the vehicle. The end supports can be simultaneously locked and unlocked from one end of each cross bar assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2005
    Publication date: May 4, 2006
    Inventors: Gerard Kmita, Jeffrey Aftanas
  • Publication number: 20050199666
    Abstract: A vehicle article carrier having a pair of cross bars that can be positioned in a stowed, position, resting on or adjacent to a corresponding pair of siderails, or moved into an operative position with the cross bars extending perpendicularly between the siderails. The cross bars are completely removable from each of the side rails. When the cross bars are in the stowed position, the apparatus presents a significantly more aerodynamic structure that helps to reduce wind noise when the vehicle on which the apparatus is mounted is being driven. The cross bars can be quickly moved into the operative position via latching mechanisms disposed at end that can be released from a securing structure at a forward portion and a rearward portion of each siderail and re-attached to a securing portion of the other siderail.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2004
    Publication date: September 15, 2005
    Inventors: Jeffrey Aftanas, Gerard Kmita, Donald Potter
  • Publication number: 20050116000
    Abstract: The vehicle article carrier for use with the vehicle having a rear liftgate. The vehicle article carrier includes a pair of side rails secured to a roof of the vehicle. A cargo supporting structure and a stowage bin are pivotally coupled to one another and both are moveable along the side rails between the first position wherein both are disposed above a roof portion of the vehicle and a second position in which the stowage bin is placed closely adjacent an upper rear edge of the rear liftgate and the cargo supporting structure overlays the rear liftgate. The stowage bin is thus easily accessible from the rear area of the vehicle for easier placement and removal of articles and various cargo items being carried therein.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2004
    Publication date: June 2, 2005
    Inventors: Gerard Kmita, Claude Traumbley, Jeffrey Aftanas
  • Publication number: 20050017037
    Abstract: A vehicle article carrier having a pair of cross bars that can be positioned in a stowed, position, resting on or adjacent to a corresponding pair of siderails, or moved into an operative position with the cross bars extending perpendicularly between the siderails. The cross bars are completely removable from each of the side rails. When the cross bars are in the stowed position, the apparatus presents a significantly more aerodynamic structure that helps to reduce wind noise when the vehicle on which the apparatus is mounted is being driven. The cross bars can be quickly moved into the operative position via latching mechanisms disposed at end that can be released from a securing structure at a forward portion and a rearward portion of each siderail and re-attached to a securing portion of the other siderail.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2004
    Publication date: January 27, 2005
    Inventors: Jeffrey Aftanas, Gerard Kmita, Donald Potter