Table with electric hidden storage
A storage table is disclosed in which a finished hardwood enclosure is provided which may have whatever ornamentation is desired. The top surface of the enclosure may be slid horizontally to provide access to the interior of the enclosure, in which a storage chest is vertically oriented. Sliding means are provided to allow the horizontal positioning of the top surface, and electromechanical lifting means are provided to raise and lower the storage chest with respect to the enclosure.
Reference is hereby made to and priority is hereby claimed from provisional application No. 60/581,693, filed Jun. 21, 2004.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCHNot Applicable.
REFERENCE TO “MICROFICHE APPENDIX”Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present Invention is directed towards a table which incorporates hidden storage with access to the storage provided by electrically powered mechanical means for opening the top of the table and lifting the storage compartment upwards. There is an ongoing need for storage volumes in order to organize and store tools and items associated with a variety of activities, including hobbies, crafts, and other leisure activities. Existing systems for storing such tools typically include tool chests and other similar devices. A wide variety of such systems exist, including, e.g., Herdies, U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,601; Miles, U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,987; and Geiss II, U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,816. For aesthetic reasons, however, these existing systems are generally unsuitable for widespread use in an environment outside a workshop. Many hobby and leisure activities carried out by individuals in a home are conducted in family living areas or bedrooms, where individuals take the opportunity to multitask such hobby and leisure activities with the entertainment increasingly available in such parts of the typical household. For aesthetic reasons, traditional tool storage systems are unsuitable in these locales, exposed tools and hobby supplies are similarly aesthetically displeasing. A need exists, therefore, for a device which allows for the storage of tools and supplies associated with hobbies and other leisure activities while maintaining the neat appearance of home living areas.
One example of a prior effort at providing the solution to these problems appears in Hastings, U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,606. While similar in direction to the present invention, Hastings provides a limited solution to specific storage problems attendant to one particular activity, art. The instant invention provides a general solution applicable to most, if not all, general hobbies, crafts, and other tool-intensive activities. Additionally, the Hastings solution provides storage which is not vertically adjustable. As such, the storage provided by Hastings is inconvenient to access during use of the Hastings invention. Furthermore, the storage in Hastings is only accessible through manual means. An ongoing need remains for a general storage solution with vertically adjustable storage, which is provided by the instant invention as described further herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention seeks to solve these issues by providing a storage table which, on its exterior, resembles an end table or other similar piece of furniture which is commonly found in a family living area. The table consists of an enclosure, typically a right rectangular hardwood enclosure including four sides and a top surface. The enclosure may include such exterior ornamentation as is necessary to allow the invention to appear to be a normal piece of household furniture. The top surface of the table is attached to the sides by means of two sliding mechanisms (such as drawer slides), which allow the top surface to be slid forward a distance at least equal to the side dimension of the enclosure. By this sliding action, the interior of the enclosure is thereby exposed.
Contained within the interior of the enclosure, a storage chest rests upon a lifting bracket. The storage chest may be of a variety of designs, but most typically would comprise a plurality of shallow drawers stacked in a vertical configuration, with the top level of the chest comprising a removable tray. By this arrangement, the interior volume of the storage chest is divided into as large a surface area as possible, allowing for the storage and organization of a large number of small items. Furthermore, by including a removable tray on the top of the chest, easy access to the most commonly used items is provided, as only the top surface of the enclosure need be opened for access to the removable tray.
As noted, the storage chest rests upon a lifting bracket, which is connected to electrical lifting means. The lifting bracket may slide freely in a vertical direction within the enclosure, and has a outer shape that is approximately the same as the inner cross-sectional shape of the enclosure. The electrical lifting means may include a wide variety of mechanisms, but preferably include an electrical motor turning a chain drive which lifts and lowers the lifting bracket, thereby allowing for rapid, reliable, and simple access to the storage chest contained within the enclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
10 Storage table
20 Front side
22 Back side
24 Left side
26 Right side
30 Top surface
32 Top surface left slide
34 Top surface right slide
40 Lifting mechanism
42 Drive motor
44 Drive shaft
46 Drive shaft sprocket
48 Lifting chain
50 Lifting axle
52 Lifting axle drive sprocket
54 Lifting axle chain sprocket
60 Upper sprocket
100 Storage chest
102 Storage chest compartments
104 Storage chest tray
110 Storage chest lifting bracket
112 Lifting pins
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to
Located within the interior volume of the enclosure 12, a storage chest 100 is provided. This storage chest 100 may take on a wide variety of forms in order to provide organization to a wide variety of materials, but will preferably consist of a housing with a plurality of relatively shallow drawers 102 stacked vertically atop each other, such that the drawers may be independently articulated for access to the contents of each. It will be further understood that the top level of the storage chest 100 will preferably comprise a tray 104 (more preferably a removable tray, as depicted in
The storage chest 100 may be raised or lowered to whatever degree desired by the operation of a lifting mechanism 40. While a variety of mechanisms may be used, referring to
Although all portions of the invention have not been described in detail, persons with ordinary skill in the art will understand the method of forming all parts of the apparatus as well as methods of connecting them. Although the preferred embodiment is described herein, it is understood that other variations embodying the spirit of the instant invention are incorporated herein.
Claims
1. A storage table comprising:
- an enclosure having front, back, left, and right sides which define an interior;
- a top surface connected to each of said left and right sides of said enclosure by sliding means for sliding said top surface horizontally;
- a storage chest having a plurality of storage compartments, wherein said storage chest has exterior dimensions substantially equal to or smaller than said interior of said enclosure, and wherein said storage chest is located within said interior of said enclosure;
- lifting means for moving said storage chest vertically from a storage position within said interior of said enclosure to a raised position above said interior of said enclosure, or to any linear position between said storage position within said interior of said enclosure and said raised position above said interior of said enclosure.
2. The storage table of claim 1, wherein said lifting means further comprise a reversible electric motor in mechanical communication with one or more continuous chains, wherein said chains are connected to a horizontal lifting bracket positioned immediately beneath and in physical contact with said storage chest, and wherein said horizontal lifting bracket may be raised or lowered by actuation of said chains by said reversible electric motor.
3. The storage table of claim 1, wherein said front, back, left and right sides of said enclosure and said top surface are made from wood with a finished surface.
4. The storage table of claim 2, wherein said front, back, left and right sides of said enclosure and said top surface are made from wood with a finished surface.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 27, 2005
Publication Date: Dec 28, 2006
Inventor: Joe Chandler (Portales, NM)
Application Number: 11/168,093
International Classification: A47B 51/00 (20060101);