Frameless storage enclosure
A frameless storage enclosure having opposed pairs of integrally interconnected walls to provide a pod forming a sealed storage compartment for receiving articles. The front wall has an access opening being connected to a door being moveable from a position closing said access opening to an upper secured position to provide access through the access opening. The weight of the articles in the storage compartment is substantially carried on the support surface on which the enclosure rests during use. The configuration of the storage container is established by suspension cords connected between an upper portion of the storage enclosure and structural elements above the enclosure. An air ventilation compartment receives a removable filter to provide ventilation into the storage compartment.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to storage enclosures and more particularly, to a frameless storage enclosure being suspended from above while being positioned on a support surface.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
In the past, many designs for storage containers have been developed for storing articles over a period of time. Such containers have been in the form of rigid trunks, hanging wardrobe units, canvas lockers, and portable closets, among many storage structures. It has been popular to construct a storage unit from flexible or collapsible material that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and capable of being folded into a compact shape when not in use as compared to enclosures formed from rigid members.
Known containers employing collapsible sidewalls and other structural members suffer from several shortcomings, including the fact that present designs require rigid structural support frames. Examples of containers using collapsible walls and the like in conjunction with rigid internal frames are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,629,342 to N. M. Robert and U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,490 to J. Liao. The use of frames, such as in the foregoing patents, not only increases the cost and weight of the container, but severely limits the adaptability of the enclosure to various configurations of spaces in which the unit is intended to be used for storage. For example, containers requiring frames may not be advantageously for use in all areas of an attic where a sloping roof and rafters are present. In addition, the presence of framing members interferes with the convenience and efficiency of the unit to be readily collapsed into a knock-down mode for transport and storage of the container when not in use. The prior technique of using a rigid frame either requires removal to be collapsed or otherwise limits the degree of compactness when the frame remains in the unit. Another problem associated with known storage units is that they provide little or no air flow along with a highly desirable prevention of insect infestation and the introduction of dust to the items in storage in the unit. For these reasons, it is to provide an improved and inexpensive frameless storage container having the capability of effectively storing items in a sealed environment within a range of various space configurations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is therefore an objective of this invention to provide an improved frameless storage enclosure constructed from an inexpensive collapsible material. The enclosure herein disclosed is capable of storing articles of considerable weight because it rests on a support surface. The configuration of the collapsible members of the invention is defined by suspending the top of the unit from structural elements, such as rafters, beams, ceilings, and the like. The shape of the storage unit herein described in its erected form can be adjusted for various volumetric capacities and can easily be modified in shape for given conditions from a fully erected form or to other modified forms to be accommodated in irregular spaces, such as beneath sloped roofs, ceilings, walkways, or other space demands. The frameless storage enclosure herein provides an effective sealed environment for the stored items, but is provided with an effective access means for convenient opening and closing of storage interior as needed in use. The invention limits damage from water and also provides ample air circulation to the items being stored by an improved technique preventing the introduction of dust and insects.
The invention can accommodate a wide range of personal and business items, files, records, and collectibles among many articles that require storage for personal or business reasons. The frameless enclosure of the application can be readily used for storage at almost any location where storage of articles is desired, such as, but not limited to attics, basements, warehouses, offices, plants, garages, carports, or storage facilities.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring now to
The walls 6 are preferably formed from a suitably strong and collapsible material to seal the interior and define an exterior pod creating internal storage compartment 4a for effective storage of articles. Although not intended to be so limited, an example of a suitable material for walls 6 is a woven polypropylene (PP) interconnected to form a sealed outer envelope or pod around the storage compartment 4a. The bottom wall 12 is designed to rest on a lower support surface 12a (
An access opening 20 is cut out of the front panel 14 to provide access in and out of storage compartment 4a. The access opening 20 is selectively covered by a door 22 formed from a suitable plastic and the like, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The door 22 is suitably affixed at its top portion 24 to a lower edge 26 of narrowed upper portion 28 of the front panel 10. A pair of separable zippers 30 extends from along the bottom and sides of door 22 to removeably attach the bottom 29 and side edges 29′ to the front panel 10. The lower portion 10a of front panel 10 beneath the bottom of zippers 30 is elevated to act as a dam inhibiting the introduction of water and like of a predetermined depth into the storage compartment 4a, if flooded conditions are present on support surface 12a. The lower portion 10a is sufficiently flexible to allow loading vehicles to freely move in and out of the enclosure when access door 22 is opened. When it is desired to fully open the door 22, both zippers 30 are unzipped up to the top portion 24 to allow separation of the bottom and side of the door 22. The door 22 can be rolled up and secured at an upper stowed position by a hanging strap 32 attached by stitching to top wall 16 as seen in
As seen in
Referring now to
An identification pocket 90 is attached to front wall 10 to allow insertion of a written or pictorial sheet designation of the items being stored in the frameless storage enclosure 2 for informational purposes. The front wall 92 of the identification pocket 90 is preferably transparent to view the identification sheet within the pocket 90. The structure of pocket 90 generally corresponds to filter pocket 60, except for its intended contents and absence of flow-through holes.
Claims
1. A frameless storage enclosure for being supported on a support surface beneath upper structural elements comprising
- a plurality of integrally connected collapsible walls,
- said walls being capable of assuming an erected configuration to create a shell to define an interior storage compartment for receiving articles,
- said plurality of integrally connected walls having a lower surface for resting on the support surface for sole support of the articles, and
- said plurality of integrally connected walls further having suspension means attached to the structural element for creating said erected configuration.
2. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 1 wherein the suspension means includes a plurality of cords attached to at least one of said same of said plurality of integrally connected walls.
3. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 2 wherein said plurality of integrally connected collapsible walls includes three pairs of opposed walls.
4. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 3 wherein said three pairs of opposed walls form a bottom wall forming said lower surface, a top wall, a pair of side panels, a front panel and a rear panel.
5. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 4 wherein said suspension means includes a plurality of flaps attached to an upper portion of said three pairs of opposed walls.
6. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 5 wherein said cords are attached to selected ones of said plurality of flaps.
7. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 5 wherein said front panel includes an access opening, said access opening having a door being releasably attached to said front panel to cover said access opening.
8. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 2 wherein said front door includes opposed edges, a lower edge and an upper portion, said door being releasably affixed to said front panel at said lower edge and to said side edges.
9. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 8 wherein said door is fixedly attached to said upper edge, said door being moveable to a open position adjacent to said upper edge, securement means positioned adjacent to said upper edge to retain said door above said access opening in an opened configuration of said door.
10. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 7 wherein said door is releasably connected to a portion of said front panel at a lower edge above the support surface, said lower portion of said front panel having an elevated configuration beneath said lower edge for preventing an introduction of liquid of a predetermined height on the support surface into said storage compartment.
11. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 1 wherein a portion of said plurality of walls include an air ventilation opening.
12. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 11 wherein a respective air ventilation means is positioned adjacent to said ventilation opening, said air ventilation means having filter means for permitting the flow of air into said storage compartment, said filter further preventing the passage of dust and insects.
13. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 12 wherein said air ventilation means includes a filter compartment for receiving said filter in alignment with said ventilation opening, said air ventilation means includes a filter opening for inserting and removing said filters from said filter compartment.
14. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 13 wherein said air ventilation means further includes flap means for selectively closing and opening said filter opening.
15. The frameless storage enclosure according to claim 1 wherein said suspension means includes means of the shape of said erected configuration.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 15, 2005
Publication Date: Nov 16, 2006
Inventors: Donald Saller (Lucas, TX), James Smith (Rowlett, TX), James Kindley (Dallas, TX)
Application Number: 11/106,026
International Classification: E04H 15/18 (20060101);