Wall-mounted sliding storage enclosure with fail-safe position fixing mechanism
A sliding storage system includes a vertical rod having upper and lower ends. Brackets attach the upper and lower ends of the rod to a wall to fix the rod in a vertical orientation. A storage device in the form of a rigid cabinet slidably is mounted on the rod for free sliding movements between (i) the lower end of the rod for positioning the storage device in a lower position to provide access to a user and allow the user to place an object on or remove an object from the cabinet and (ii) the upper end for positioning the storage device in a storage position generally above the living space of the user. A locking member in the form of a clutch plate cooperates with the cabinet and the vertical rod, the clutch plate being movable between a locking position for locking the cabinet against vertical movements along said rod and a releasing position enabling the cabinet to selectively and freely move vertically upwardly and downwardly along the rod. A spring acting between the cabinet and the clutch plate normally urges the clutch plate to move to the locking position. A manual release is actuatable directly by a user or indirectly by a line extending over a sheave above the rod to move the clutch plate from a locking position to a releasing position when manually actuated by a user to overcome the action of the spring. In this way, manual activation of the manual release allows a user to selectively raise or lower the cabinet to place an object on or remove an object from the cabinet in a lowered position and to store an object in a raised position of the cabinet.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to storage enclosures mounted for vertical movements and more specifically to a wall-mounted sliding storage enclosure with a fail-safe position fixing mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Storage cabinets and like enclosures have been known that are designed to move between a lower position providing a user with access to the enclosures for placing items into or removing items from the enclosures and an upper position closer to the ceiling that utilize space that is normally not used. As such extra storage can be used for storing seasonal items, such as winter clothing in the summer and summer clothing in the winter. Seldom used items such as books, serving pieces and the like can also be conveniently stored in such cabinets that do not take up valuable space or interfere with the movements of occupants or other objects that must be maintained at the floor level, such as tables, couches, televisions and the like.
The known movable storage cabinets, however, have typically been bulky, heavy and required complicated mechanisms for raising and lowering the cabinets and to ensure that the cabinets can be used safely. Many of these known systems have utilized multiple pulleys that allowed users to pull on a line to raise the cabinets to increase the mechanical advantage, reducing the levels of forces and that users must exert to raise a given weight of cabinets and contents.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a wall-mounted sliding storage enclosure with a fail-safe position fixing mechanism.
It is another object of the invention to provide a wall-mounted sliding storage system that is a simple in construction and economical to manufacture.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a wall-mounted sliding storage system that is convenient to use.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a wall-mounted sliding storage system, as in the previous object that utilizes few mechanical components to render the system reliable.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a wall-mounted sliding storage system as in the previous objects that includes a simple and reliable mechanism for reliably fixing the position of the cabinets at any desired height.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system as in the previous object a motion-arresting mechanism that is failsafe and automatically prevents the cabinets from dropping or freely falling even when the user inadvertently releases a movement-actuating mechanism on the cabinets.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a wall-mounted sliding storage system that can be used with or without a pulley for raising or lowering the cabinets.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a wall-mounted sliding storage system of the type under discussion that is simple to assemble and install by an end-user.
In order to achieve the above objects, as wall as others that will become apparent hereinafter, a wall-mounted sliding storage enclosure is mounted for sliding movements along a vertically supported rod. The rod extends through the enclosure and through a clutch plate that is supported by the enclosure, and follows the movements thereof. The clutch plate and rod cooperate to allow unfettered movements of the cabinets in an upward direction along the rod while automatically locking and arresting the movements of the cabinets in the downward direction. The clutch plate is suitably biased to move to a blocking condition for arresting the cabinets whenever the cabinets are released by the user. The clutch plate can be manually moved, against the action of the biasing spring, to an unlocked condition either by manually deflecting the clutch plate or by attaching the clutch plate to a line that can be pulled by the user.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, as illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:
Referring now specifically to the Figures, in which identical or similar parts will be designated by the same reference numerals throughout, and first referring to
The cabinets 10 are shown mounted on a wall 12 with a door 14. The ceiling is designated by the reference 16. If the frame of the door 14 has a height corresponding to a standard height for such openings the movable cabinets 10 are intended to be a slidably movable, as to be more fully described below, between an upper position against or proximate to the ceiling 16 to a lowered position generally coextensive with the height upper end of the frame of the door. However, the cabinets can to be mounted for movements to a position below upper horizontal portion of the doorframe, with different degrees of advantage. It will be appreciated that one of the cabinet 10 is shown in its uppermost position where it is out of the way and does not interfere with the living space for those people that occupy the living quarters. In such position, the cabinets 10 may be used to store items, temporarily or over a longer term, such as seasonal items. Thus, for example, the cabinet 10U could be used to store winter coats in the summer, ski boots, toys and the like. In the lowered position, the cabinet 10L is brought down sufficiently to provide ready access for placement of items within the cabinets or removal of such items from the cabinets. The cabinets 10 are slidingly mounted for vertical movements along the rod 18, as to be described.
Referring to
Inserted into the or gap 20g is a generally flat clutch plate 24 having a first portion 24a extending forwardly of the rod 28 and a portion 24b extending rearwardly of the rod 28, with the rod extending through a hole 24c with some clearance, the hole being dimensioned such that the clutch plate can move freely upwardly and generally along the rod 28 when the clutch plate is arranged in a generally horizontal orientation or substantially normal to the rod 28 and a create a frictional engagement with the rod when the clutch plate assumes an offset angle from the horizontal, as shown. The compression spring 26 is seated within the bore 20f and makes contact with the front portion 24a of the clutch plate 24 to normally bias it in a clockwise direction, as viewed in
The arrangement of the rod 28, the clutch plate 24 and the spring 26 together form a wall known sliding clutch plate arrangement of the type of frequently used on caulk gun dispensers, and disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,595,327 and 6,155,463. The specific details of such a sliding clutch mechanism is not, therefore, required as these are well known to those skilled in the art. It is sufficient to state that the spring 26 normally biases the clutch plate 24 to a locking position since the spring causes the plate to move to a position offset from a normal position relative to the rod or post 28. However, when the clutch plate 24 is forced or returned to its normal orientation, as shown in the lower cabinet in
Referring to
Once the brackets 30, 32 are mounted on the wall 42 the rod 28 can be inserted into the brackets by initially lowering the rod 28 through the upper bracket holes 30d, 30e and then inserting it into the bracket 32 by means of the hole 32d. The holes in the brackets have diameters substantially equal to the diameter of the rod or post 28, although sufficient clearance is provided to allow the rod to be freely inserted through the holes, as suggested in
Referring to
Assembly of the movable cabinets is simple and convenient and can be performed by an average consumer essentially with only a screwdriver. An enclosure 20 is arranged, as shown in
The rod 28 is first inserted through the holes 30d, 30e in the upper bracket 30 and then extended through the cabinet enclosure itself, including through the hole 24c of the clutch plate 24, and subsequently through the hole 32d.
When the cabinet is in the lowered position the interior of the enclosure becomes accessible and items may be placed therein or removed there from. After items are placed within a cabinet the enclosure weight and the weight of the contents W (
The sequence of steps during assembly is illustrated in
In
Referring to
In
Referring to
Details at the rear of the cabinet 64 are shown, in
As will be evident from the
With the embodiment 62, that uses a line for raising and lowering the cabinets, the free end 80b of the line could typically hang down to a point sufficiently low that it can be grasped by young children. To avoid a potential safety hazard, the present invention contemplates a method of winding the long free end of the line to maintain the lower end of the line out of reach of children. Referring to
It will be clear that the embodiment 10 that does not utilize a pulley wheel or block 79 is simpler in construction, avoids a hanging line and may be more aesthetically pleasing. An advantage of the embodiment 62 that utilizes the pulley wheel is that the pulley wheel provides mechanical advantage and a user only needs to pull on a line with a tension that is approximately equal to one half of the weight or load of the cabinet, whereas the fill weight or load must be compensated by the upwardly-directed force F applied to the pressure plate, as shown in
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. Sliding storage system comprising:
- a generally elongate mounting member having upper and lower ends; attaching means for attaching said upper and lower ends to a generally vertical surface to fix said mounting member in a generally vertical orientation; a storage device having a generally horizontal support member slidably mounted on said vertical member for sliding movements between (i) said lower end for positioning said storage device in a lower position to provide access to a user and allowing the user to place an object on or remove an object from said support member and (ii) said upper end for positioning said storage device in a storage position generally above the living space of the user; locking means cooperating with said mounting member and said support member, said locking means being movable between a locking position for locking said support member against vertical movements along said mounting member and a releasing position enabling said support member to selectively freely move vertically upwardly and downwardly along said mounting member; biasing means for normally urging said locking means to move to said locking position; and manual releasing means for moving said locking means from a locking position to said releasing position when manually actuated by a user to overcome the action of said biasing means, whereby manual activation of said manual releasing means allows a user to selectively raise or lower said support member to place an object on or remove an object from said support member in a lowered position and to store an object in a raised position of said support member.
2. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 1, wherein storage device is provided with means for promoting smooth and free vertical movements of said support member along said mounting member when said locking means is in said releasing position.
3. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 2, wherein said storage device comprises an enclosure having upper and lower horizontal walls spaced from each other and each having an aperture for passage of said mounting member with clearance, said lower wall comprising said support member and the spacing between said upper and lower walls being spaced to maintain said walls in substantially horizontal planes.
4. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 3, wherein said enclosure is also provided with side or end walls to provide a more rigid structure to insure that said top and bottom walls engaging said mounting member remain in substantially horizontal planes.
5. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 3, further comprising stiffening means for rendering said enclosure more rigid and insuring that said top and bottom walls engaging said mounting member remain in substantially horizontal planes.
6. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 5, wherein said stiffening means includes at least one post across an open end of said enclosure remote from said mounting member.
7. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 2, wherein said storage device is formed of a rigid material that resists deformation under load to insure that said support member remains in a horizontal plane substantially normal to said vertical mounting member irrespective of the load placed on said support member.
8. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 1, wherein said mounting member comprises a cylindrical rod.
9. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 1, wherein said locking means comprises a clutch plate including an aperture for receiving said mounting member with clearance and movable between a horizontal position normal to said mounting member in a non-engaging position and an offset angular position relative to said mounting member in a mounting member engaging and gripping position, said biasing means comprising a spring for normally urging said clutch plate to said offset angular position to thereby automatically lock said support member to said mounting member when there is no manual intervention.
10. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 9, wherein said spring is a compression spring.
11. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 9, wherein said spring is a leaf spring.
12. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 1, further comprising reinforcing means on said support member in the region of interaction of said support member with said mounting member to resist stresses imparted on said support member during abrupt stops of said support member as a result of the actions of said locking means.
13. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 1, wherein said storage device is formed of a plastic material.
14. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 1, wherein said storage device comprises a substantially enclosed housing including access doors.
15. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality of storage devices are provided laterally in tandem to each other and each independently slidably mounted on an associated mounting member.
16. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 1, wherein said manual releasing means comprises a portion of said locking means that is manually accessible for application of a manual force to overcome said biasing means and permit said biasing means to be moved to said releasing position.
17. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 16, further comprising a sheave above said upper end of said mounting member and a line extending over said sheave and having one end of the line coupled to said locking means portion and another end of said line extending below said lower end of said mounting member and accessible to a user, whereby a user may activate said manual releasing means by pulling said other end of the line downwardly to move said locking means portion by way of said sheave to overcome said biasing means and move said locking means to said releasing position.
18. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 1, wherein said attaching means comprises upper and lower brackets each provided with apertures for passage of said mounting member, said upper bracket permitting unrestricted movements of said mounting member only along a vertical direction while said lower bracket only allowing movement of said mounting member downwardly until said lower end of said mounting member attains a lower position substantially coextensive with said lower bracket, whereby said mounting member may be attached to a vertical surface by attaching said brackets to said vertical surface and lowering said mounting member through said apertures first of said upper bracket and subsequently of said lower bracket until further downward movements are prevented by said lower bracket.
19. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 18, wherein said brackets are generally U-shaped and each formed of a pair of upper and lower spaced flat horizontal members in which said apertures are formed and a connecting flat vertical member integrally formed with said horizontal members, aperture means being formed in said connecting flat vertical members for a fastener for securing said brackets to said vertical surface, said lowermost flat horizontal member of said lower bracket being configured to prevent passage of said mounting member there through.
20. A sliding storage system as defined in claim 18, further comprising locking members cooperating with said brackets for locking said mounting member against vertical movements once said mounting member is secured to said brackets and engaged with said support member.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 20, 2010
Publication Date: Dec 8, 2011
Inventor: Peter Stone (Brooklyn, NY)
Application Number: 13/138,445
International Classification: A47B 51/00 (20060101); A47B 96/06 (20060101); A47B 57/06 (20060101);