Wall-anchored strong cabinet for use in parking garages

Abstract

A wall mounted strong cabinet anchored into a supporting structure for use in combination with a residential or commercial parking space comprising a tack-welded metal body having a top, a back, a bottom, left and right walls, forming an open interior that can support inner shelves. The strong cabinet has a plurality of metal doors attached to the open face of said cabinet. Said doors have a handle and locking system. Said cabinet is used in combination with a residential or commercial parking space by anchoring said cabinet into the empty space of a support perpendicular to said parking space. The invention allows enough room between the bottom of said cabinet and the surface of said parking space to comfortably park an automobile underneath said wall mounted cabinet without contact between the two.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/656,752 filed Feb. 26, 2005 entitled “SECURE WALL-MOUNTED CABINET FOR PARKING GARAGES.”

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

INCORPORATED-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX”

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to a wall-anchored strong cabinet for use in combination with commercial or residential parking spaces. More specifically, it relates to a tamperproof strong cabinet for storage in commercial or residential parking garages, where said strong cabinet is anchored into the unused space of a solid support perpendicular to a parking space, such that a motor vehicle's hood or trunk can rest comfortably under the bottom of said strong cabinet without contact between the two.

BACKGROUND ART

In large urban cities, apartments are small and there exists a longstanding need for extra storage space outside of one's apartment. While storage cabinets are not new, the storage needs of urban dwellers are unique and, to date, no storage cabinet adequately addresses this problem. While some buildings have dedicated storage rooms for residents to store excess or seasonal items not typically stored in an apartment, many, if not most, do not have this amenity. Urban dwellers living in buildings that lack storage rooms have few options. Residents can opt to leave some items, e.g. tires, car seats, boxes, etc. by their cars in their building's parking garage although this is generally either discouraged or completely prohibited by building management. Alternatively, residents can pay for expensive commercial storage space outside of their building. Unfortunately, this is neither convenient nor practical especially for frequently needed items such as car seats.

Apartment managers can provide storage for tenants in a building's parking garage by installing floor-mounted lockers in parking spaces. However, this takes away rented parking spaces from building residents and deprives the apartment building of the revenue generated from these spaces. Further, due to space limitations, the number of storage units available may not be sufficient to supply storage space to all residents seeking extra storage.

Various existing cabinets, lockers, and safes each provide storage space and give a measure of security to stored items. Cabinets serve their intended functions by providing convenient storage space for many items. Many cabinets, however, come unassembled and are not very sturdy or secure. These cabinets are often relatively lightweight and, if wall-mounted, are mounted by vertical slotted standards or by a mounting rod that attaches to a support and the back of the cabinet. Because of their design, construction and size limitations, these cabinets are not suited for holding large and/or heavy items and do not provide the type of security, strength or durability that is required in urban settings if used in a location outside of a person's apartment.

Wall safes and strong boxes are commonly known within the art of secure storage cabinets. Both safes and strong boxes have similar features including being made of strong steel, with a hollow cavity surrounded with top, back, bottom, right and left walls, and a hinged door with a myriad of locking options for safety. Both come in various sizes and can be either mounted into a recessed wall, or floor mounted, or anchored into a supporting wall. Typically, however, people only use safes and strong boxes for their most valuable possessions rather than for additional storage of everyday items.

There have been some attempts to create a storage cabinet that takes advantage of the unused area above parked cars in garages. One such cabinet, the CarLocker™, has a solid sheet metal top panel and wire mesh bottom panel, side panels, and front sliding doors. “K” leg brackets are attached to the wall in front of the car and provide support for the cabinet bottom. The cabinet is cantilevered over these brackets. It can also be ceiling mounted. While this cabinet may provide a good storage option for private home garages, the design has many limitations that would preclude its use in urban residential or commercial garages.

The objects of this invention are as follows: (a) to provide an urban dweller with convenient and accessible storage for excess or seasonal items outside of his or her apartment; (b) to maintain parking spaces for automobiles while providing storage space in commercial and residential garages; (c) to provide private and secure storage for use in commercial and residential garages that will protect contents from public view and thievery; (d) to provide durable storage for use in commercial and residential garages that will safeguard the stored contents from damage due to accidents such as leaks from plumbing or waste lines; (e) to provide a wall-anchored strong cabinet which can be positioned free of obstructions found in most urban garage walls such as windows, electric conduit, telephone wiring, plumbing and waste lines; (f) to provide storage for use in commercial and residential garages that may be safely anchored above a vehicle's hood or trunk regardless of size or mounting position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, a wall-anchored strong cabinet mounted into the unused area of steel-reinforced poured concrete or masonry block used in combination with a commercial or residential parking space. The wall-anchored strong cabinet has a cabinet body comprised of two walls, top, back, and bottom panels forming an open interior whereby a plurality of optional adjustable inner shelves may be included. Right and left doors are mounted onto the strong cabinet by riveting piano styled hinges along the front flanges of the right and left side-walls and along the rear flanges of the right and left doors. Said strong cabinet doors have two security features, a handle with an inner key-locked cylinder mechanism capable of three point locking and padlock rings on each of the outer doors.

Incorporated by reference in its entirety is U.S. Pat. No. 2,188,703 directed generally towards the use of multipoint locks in lockers. The use of this locking system is contemplated by the present invention. The use of such incorporation by reference is only to provide enabling support for the manufacture of the invention.

The strong cabinet is anchored into the unused area of a steel-reinforced poured concrete or masonry block support by masonry wall anchors. The position of the strong cabinet on the support is such that said wall-anchored strong cabinet is perpendicular to a commercial or residential parking space with enough room for the hood or trunk of a car to rest underneath. Top and bottom reinforcing steel standards are welded to the outer back of the strong cabinet through which said masonry wall anchors are inserted from the open interior of the strong cabinet. The dimensions of the wall-anchored strong cabinet and its mounting height on the wall are substantially related to the dimensions of the parking space and the height of the vehicle's hood or trunk that will rest underneath the wall-anchored strong cabinet.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings, with numerated references, will further detail the invention in which:

FIG. 1 is a full perspective view of the wall-anchored strong cabinet according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of handle and padlock rings on outer doors.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the strong cabinet with various parts broken away.

FIG. 4 is a back view of the strong cabinet showing reinforced steel standards and angle irons.

FIG. 5 details of top reinforced steel standard of FIG. 4 where masonry wall anchor is embedded into supporting wall.

FIG. 6 details of top flange segment.

FIG. 7 details of bottom flange segment.

DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 cabinet 2 cabinet body

2a top panel 2b back panel

2c bottom panel 3a first top flange segment

3b second top flange segment 3c third top flange segment

4a first bottom flange segment 4b second bottom flange segment

4c third bottom flange segment 4d fourth bottom flange segment

5 right wall 6 left wall

7 angle iron 8 reinforcing standard

9 shelf support standard 10 right door

10a a aperture/keeper 10b aperture/keeper

10c aperture/keeper 11 left door

12 hinge 13 shelf

14 handle 15 padlock ring

16 wall anchor

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The drawings illustrate the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1 shows the wall-anchored strong cabinet 1 mounted into the unused area of a steel-reinforced poured concrete or masonry block support above a parking space with a parked car underneath, where said support belongs to a commercial or residential parking garage. From FIG. 3, the wall-anchored strong cabinet has top 2a, back 2b, and bottom panels 2c, right 5 and left 6 side-walls, an inner shelf 13 with inner shelf supports 9, and right 10 and left 11 front doors. In full embodiment, the wall-anchored strong cabinet 1 has a rectangular shape. The wall-anchored strong cabinet can be fabricated of 16 gauge industrial steel. However, this does not serve as a limitation on the various materials that are available to construct said wall-anchored strong cabinet. Welded joints are preferred, but the panels can be joined by other means such as riveting or bolting. The back panel 2b is adapted for wall-mounting by tack welding top and bottom reinforcing steel standards 8 to said back panel 2b. FIG. 5 shows masonry wall anchors 16 inserted into the steel standard and the steel reinforced poured concrete or masonry wall from the inside of the open interior. The strong cabinet has a top door frame that extends inwardly from the tack welded strong cabinet body 2 consisting of said top 2a, back 2b, and bottom panels 2c, which are welded to the right 5 and left 6 walls. The right 10 and left 11 strong cabinet doors open and close the strong cabinet in a swinging motion, which are hingedly mounted to front flanges on the right 5 and left 6 side walls by riveted piano styled hinges 12. FIG. 2 illustrates the handle 14, positioned on the right door 10, for opening and closing the strong cabinet. Also shown are padlock rings 15 tack welded to both doors for added security. The handle 14 has a one cylinder key-locking mechanism and is connected to a three point locking system.

The strong cabinet's construction is further detailed. A single sheet of folded industrial steel forms the strong cabinet's top 2a, back 2b, and bottom 2c panels, along with the top 3a-c and bottom 4a-d flange segments. The overall dimensions of the outer surface of the top portion which forms the top panel 2a are 30″ (deep)×48″ (width) where the measurement is taken from the top fold of the first flange segment 3a to the fold where the back 2b begins. The dimensions of the back panel are 36″ (height)×48″ (width). The overall dimensions of the outer surface of the bottom portion which forms the bottom panel 2c are 30″ (deep)×48″ (width) where the measurement is taken from the fold where the back 2b ends and the bottom 2c begins the bottom fold of the third flange segment 4b. The top, back, and bottom panels are made from a single sheet of folded industrial steel, but it is possible that separate panels could be used. When used in combination, the strong cabinet dimensions will vary with respect to the parking space dimensions and the amount of space available on the wall perpendicular to said parking space.

The top 3a-c and bottom 4a-d flange segments are folded as part of the strong cabinet body frame 2a-c. Said flange segments serve as top and bottom doorframes and top and bottom doorjambs. From FIG. 6, the first top flange segment 3a is attached to and folded perpendicular from the top panel 2a. The second top flange segment 3b is folded inward such that it is parallel to the top panel 2a and attached to and perpendicular from the first top flange segment 3a. The second top flange segment 3b has an aperture/keeper for the top latch bolt of the three point locking mechanism positioned over the right door 10. The third top flange segment 3c is folded downward such that it is perpendicular to the top panel 2a, parallel to the first top flange segment 3a, and attached to and perpendicular from the second top flange segment 3b. The third top flange segment serves as an upper doorjamb for right 10 and left doors 11.

From FIG. 7, the first bottom flange section 4a is attached to and folded perpendicular from bottom panel 2c. Said bottom flange segment 4a serves as a bottom doorjamb for right 10 and left 11 doors. The second bottom flange segment 4b is folded outward such that it is parallel to bottom panel 2c and attached to and perpendicular from the first bottom flange segment 4a. Said bottom flange segment 4b includes a bottom aperture/keeper for the latch bolt of the three point locking mechanism. The third bottom flange segment 4c is folded downward such that it is perpendicular to the bottom panel 2c, parallel to the first bottom flange segment 4a, and attached to and perpendicular from the second bottom flange segment 4b. The fourth bottom flange segment 4d is folded inward such that it is parallel to the bottom panel 2c, perpendicular to the first bottom flange segment 4a, parallel to the second bottom flange segment 4b, and attached to and perpendicular from the third bottom flange segment 4c.

Reverting to FIG. 3, the right 5 and left 6 side-walls are made from single sheets of industrial steel. Each edge of said walls has a first flange segment folded inward such that it extends perpendicular from the outer wall surfaces of each door. The dimensions of each wall from folded edge to folded edge are 36″ (height)×30″ (width). The dimensions do not serve as a limitation. Each wall is equipped with vertical shelf support standards that are tack welded to the inner side of each wall. Both right 5 and left 6 walls have a second flange segment located at their front edge. The second flange segment is folded outward such that it is parallel to the outer surface of said walls and attached to and perpendicular from the first flange segment located at the front edge of each wall. The strong cabinet frame consisting of the top 2a, back 2b, and bottom 2c panels are sandwiched by the right 5 and left 6 walls. The top and bottom seams, formed by sandwiching the right 5 and left 6 walls to the strong cabinet frame 2a-c, are tack welded to form miter joints at all four comers of the strong cabinet, which give the rectangular shape of the strong cabinet. The rear flanges of the right 10 and left 11 doors are hingedly mounted, by riveted piano styled hinges, to the second flange segment located at the front edge of the right 5 and left 6 side walls.

From FIG. 3, the strong cabinet has right 10 and left 11 doors made from single sheets of industrial steel. Each edge of the right 10 and left 11 doors has a first flange segment folded inward such that it extends perpendicular from the outer surfaces of each door. The dimensions of each door from folded edge to folded edge are 31″ (height)×23″ (width). These dimensions do not serve as a limitation. The left door 11 has a second flange segment located at the front edge, folded outward such that it is parallel to the left outer door surface and attached to and perpendicular from the front edge flange segment. This second flange segment serves as a doorjamb for the right door 10. The first flange segment located at the front edge of the left door 11 has an aperture/keeper 11a to receive the locking bolt of the right door three point locking system. A padlock ring 15 is located on the outer surface of the left door. This padlock ring 15 is tack welded from the opposite side just below the aperture/keeper 11a located on the first flange segment of the front edge. The first flange segment located at the rear edge of the left door 11 is attached by rivets to a piano styled hinge 12. The right door 10 has a second flange segment located at its front edge, folded inward such that it is parallel to the right outer door surface and attached to and perpendicular from the front edge flange segment. This second flange segment abuts with the second flange segment located at the front edge of the left door 11 forming a doorjamb. Aperture/keepers 10a and 10b are located at the top and bottom flange segments of the right door. Said aperture/keepers receive top and bottom latch bolts from the three point locking system connected to the front strong cabinet handle 14. The front handle is of the generic sort and can be surface mounted or recessed into the surface of the right door 10. The multipoint locking system is attached mechanically to the locking cam of said handle. There are two other aperture/keepers on the right door 10. One aperture/keeper 10c is at the first flange segment located at the front edge of the right door and the other 11a is located on the outer surface of the left door. The first aperture/keeper 10c houses the horizontal locking bolt of the three point locking system and the second 11a receives the horizontal locking bolt that protrudes from the right door aperture/keeper 10 when the multipoint lock is in the locking position. A piano styled hinge 12 is riveted along the first flange segment located at the rear edge of the right door 10.

The inner shelf 13 is made from a sheet of industrial steel and is of substantial size to fit inside the open interior of the strong cabinet 1. Each edge of the inner shelf has a first flange segment folded inward and perpendicular to the shelfs top surface. Along the front edge only, there is a second flange segment that is folded inward. The inner shelf is reinforced underneath by tack welded angle irons. The inner shelf flanges fit into shelf support standards 9 from front to back. The shelf support standards 9 are tack welded about the inner right 5 and left 6 side walls and the inner back panel 2b.

From FIG. 4, the strong cabinet 1 is adapted for wall mounting by tack welding top and bottom reinforcing steel standards 8 along the outer back panel 2b. Each steel standard 8 is equipped with three holes. The top reinforcing steel standard is located 3″ on center down from the top and the bottom reinforcing steel standard is located 3″ on center up from the bottom. The right and left holes of each steel standard are 8″ on center from the right 5 and left 6 side walls. The third hole of the steel standard is centered between the right 5 and left 6 side-walls. Said holes are equipped to receive masonry wall anchors 16 sufficient to mount and support the strong cabinet to the steel reinforced poured concrete or masonry wall.

FIG. 5 is a detail of the anchoring system. Reinforcing steel standards 8 are tack welded to the outer surface of the strong cabinet back 2b. The wall masonry anchors 16 are inserted into the reinforcing steel standards 8 through the open interior and sunk into a poured concrete or a solid block wall. The anchoring system uses, but is not limited to, masonry wall anchors 16 that are 5/16″ short with a hole size of ½″ and an anchor length of 1 ¼″, where each masonry wall anchor 16 is capable of holding up to 800 lbs of distributed weight. For added support, reinforcing angle irons 7 are tack welded to the underside of bottom panel 2c. All metal surfaces of the cabinet are protected by powder coated baked enamel paint.

This description of the invention is a reference to a particular embodiment and does not serve as a limitation.

Claims

1. A strong cabinet anchored into a solid support for use in combination with a commercial or residential parking space comprising:

(a) a solid metal cabinet body having a top, a back, a bottom, left, and right walls forming an open interior, having a plurality of optional shelves;

(b) a plurality of strong cabinet doors attached to said strong cabinet body having a handle for opening said strong cabinet doors with a locking mechanism for securing said open interior, thereby making a strong cabinet;

(c) an anchoring system for securely mounting said strong cabinet into a supporting structure perpendicular to a parking space.

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said supporting structure is constructed of steel-reinforced poured concrete or masonry blocks.

3. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said anchoring system having steel standards in combination with masonry wall anchors that can support up to 2000 lbs. of distributed weight.

4. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said strong cabinet is made of steel.

5. The invention according to claim 4 wherein said strong cabinet is finished with a powder coated baked enamel paint.

6. The invention according to claim 5 wherein said bottom of said strong cabinet is 43″ to 55″ above said floor.

7. The invention according to claim 5 wherein the depth of said strong cabinet is 24″ to 36″.

8. The invention according to claim 5 wherein the width of said strong cabinet is 36″ to 60″.

9. The invention according to claim 5 wherein the height of said strong cabinet is 24″ to 48″.

10. The invention according to claim 5 whereby an optional bicycle hook is attached to an outer wall of said strong cabinet.