Collapsible cabinet

Abstract

A collapsible cabinet includes a non-rigid casing having a back and four sides wherein a first hinge line is formed between any two adjacent sides of the casing; a rigid back plate fitted onto the back of the casing for support; and a plurality of non-rigid storage units releasably fastened in the casing, each storage unit having a back and four sides wherein a second hinge line is formed between any two adjacent sides of the storage unit, each storage unit comprising a flexible vertical divider and a flexible horizontal divider crossed each other to divide an internal space of the storage unit into four compartments.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The invention relates to collapsible cabinets and more particularly to a collapsible cabinet adapted to fold into a substantially flat configuration for shipping and storage, and to be readily assembled with a minimum of effort.

2. Description of Related Art

Folding and collapsible cabinets are known in the art. One advantage of folding and collapsible cabinets is that, in a folded state, they may be shipped more easily than non-folding or fully assembled cabinets, and then assembled with a minimum of tools and effort.

There are many patents about folding and collapsible cabinets. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 242,355 discloses a folding wardrobe without shelves adapted to be folded into a compact flat configuration so as to reduce storage space and shipping costs.

While the folding and collapsible cabinets of the prior art fulfill there respective objectives, the typical folding and collapsible cabinets are often made of wood (i.e., somewhat expensive) and are not readily assembled with a minimum of effort as they claimed (i.e., tools required). Thus, a need exists for a novel collapsible cabinet that allows for highly compact and efficient forms when collapsed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a collapsible cabinet includes a non-rigid casing having a back and four sides wherein a first hinge line is formed between any two adjacent sides of the casing; a rigid back plate fitted onto the back of the casing for support; and a plurality of non-rigid storage units releasably fastened in the casing, each storage unit having a back and four sides wherein a second hinge line is formed between any two adjacent sides of the storage unit, each storage unit comprising a flexible vertical divider and a flexible horizontal divider crossed each other to divide an internal space of the storage unit into four compartments.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a collapsible cabinet according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view showing a step of assembling one storage unit in the collapsible cabinet;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view showing one storage unit being partially collapsed in the collapsible cabinet;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the storage unit collapsed onto the back plate;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view showing two collapsed storage units in the collapsible cabinet;

FIG. 7 is a front view a collapsible cabinet according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a front view a collapsible cabinet according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, a collapsible cabinet in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention comprises the following components as discussed in detail below.

A non-rigid casing 1 is a hollow rectangular body (i.e., parallelepiped). The casing 1 has an open front, a back 11, and four sides 12 including two side panels 122 and top and bottom panels 121. The length of the side panel 12s is about half that of each of the top and bottom panels 121. A folding line 13 is provided on each of the top and bottom panels 121 for dividing each of the top and bottom panels 121 into two equal portions. A hinge line 5 is formed between any two adjacent sides 12. An edge 8 is formed between the back 11 and each of four sides 12.

A rigid back plate 2 is rectangular and has a predetermined thickness so as to be structurally strong enough to support the casing 1 when fitted onto the back 11. In short, the back plate 2 serves as the support of the casing 1 in an assembled state of the cabinet. A tab 9 is extended from a bottom edge of the back plate 2. An individual can pull the tab 9 to remove the back plate 2 from the casing 1 prior to collapsing the casing 1.

Two non-rigid storage units 3 each is a hollow rectangular body (i.e., parallelepiped) having an open front. The storage unit 3 comprises four sides 31 and flexible vertical and horizontal dividers 32 crossed to divide internal space of the storage unit 3 into four equal compartments 4. A hinge line 6 is formed between any two adjacent sides 31. An edge 7 is formed between the back thereof and each of four sides 31.

The edges 7, 8 are releasably secured together (see FIG. 3). Further, the hinge lines 5, 6 are releasably secured together (see FIG. 4). The edges 7 are releasably secured to the back plate 2 (see FIG. 5). Above fastening can be made by means of Velcro fasteners or buckles.

A hinge line 6 at one end of either diagonal and another hinge line 6 at the other end thereof can be collapsed toward each other to form a flat configuration. That is, two sides 31 are in covering relationship to the other two sides 31. This is the collapsed state of the storage unit 3.

Likewise, a hinge line 5 at one end of either diagonal and another hinge line 5 at the other end thereof can be collapsed toward each other to form a flat configuration. That is, two sides 12 are in covering relationship to the other two sides 12. This is the collapsed state of the casing 1.

Referring to FIG. 7, a collapsible cabinet according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. The characteristics of the second preferred embodiment are detailed below. The casing 1 is a cube. Four storage units 3 are fitted in the casing 1, i.e., two adjacent upper storage units 3 and two adjacent lower storage units 3 with the upper storage units 3 rested thereon.

Referring to FIG. 8, a collapsible cabinet according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. The characteristics of the second preferred embodiment are detailed below. The casing 1 is a rectangular body and has width greater than height when viewing from the front. One storage unit 3 is releasably secured to the left top corner of the casing 1 and the other storage unit 3 is releasably secured to the right bottom corner of the casing 1. The lower half of one storage unit 3 is substantially flush with the upper half of the other storage unit 3.

Preferably, the storage units 3 and the casing 1 are made of fabric.

Preferably, the back plate 2 is made of strong paperboard.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A collapsible cabinet comprising:

a non-rigid casing having a back and four sides wherein a first hinge line is formed between any two adjacent sides of the casing;

a rigid back plate fitted onto the back of the casing for support; and

a plurality of non-rigid storage units releasably fastened in the casing, each storage unit having a back and four sides wherein a second hinge line is formed between any two adjacent sides of the storage unit, each storage unit comprising a flexible vertical divider and a flexible horizontal divider crossed each other to divide an internal space of the storage unit into four compartments.

2-3. (canceled)