Hanging Stack and Rolling Rack

Abstract

A method for installing a set of drawers under the counter-top in the “blind corner” of kitchen cabinets. The stack of drawers is attached to a rack and hung from little wheel-cars in tracks. To access any of the drawers the door of the adjacent cabinet is opened and the stack is rolled sideways into borrowed space temporarily made available there. The drawers can then be pulled open. When finished the drawers are closed and the stack rolled back. Unlike existing products, this design's mechanisms permanently occupy very little of the adjacent space, only the top 3″. The rest is only borrowed. The flooring of this space is regular kitchen floor. It can be occupied by anything that can be easily moved out temporarily when corner access is needed.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Blind Corner Problem

In kitchens, the space under the counter-top in corners is difficult to access. If both adjacent cabinets were to have full sets of drawers the space would be completely inaccessible. This has led to the term “Blind Corner”. The least cost method to provide some access is to install shelves in one of the adjacent cabinets and extend them sideways throughout the blind corner. These shelves are so deep that getting to items in the back corner requires unpacking many of the items in front before attempting an uncomfortable stretch. Then, one by one, the unpacked items must be returned. There have been many methods developed to address this obvious problem.

Description of Prior Art

Some cabinet designs use Lazy Susan's, which alleviate the deep shelf problem by rotating the back corner items to the front. But if the lazy susan is tucked away in the blind corner accessing items must be sideways through space made available in the adjacent cabinet, the bigger the items the bigger the adjacent space needed. This space is not dedicated but it must be empty when access is needed. In practice, it does not always remain empty. Large objects can appear there that must be shuffled out to fully access the Lazy Susan. A more comprehensive Lazy Susan design takes dedicated space from both adjacent cabinets. Its much bigger shelves are circles with ¼ cut out. Selecting and rotating one of the shelves presents ⅓ of its contents outside the cabinets for top-down access. Getting the items out from under the counter for top-down access is much better than sideways access under the counter. Positioning the cut-out appropriately allows the doors to be closed. This is a good solution for kitchens that can afford to merge 8 ft² of adjacent counter spaces with 4 ft² of corner-space to get 12 ft² of conveniently accessible storage, especially if there are many large items to store. The rotating motion of wide shelves can be a problem for small items.

Other mechanisms use rotation and/or sliding motions to move containers (trays, baskets or shelves, often with unusual shapes) through adjacent cabinet space. Some move the container from the corner space only as far as the shuffle space, others move it right out from under the counter, a more desirable solution.

Drawer-based designs have a large central drawer that slides in and out at a 45° angle and smaller side drawers that move in complicated patterns. This takes dedicated space from both adjacent cabinets. This does provide top-down access well-suited for small items. The size and unusually angled shapes of the drawers are less well-suited for large items.

In summary, it seems any solution to the blind corner problem requires space in one or both adjacent cabinets and involves shuffling of medium sized containers of items. In most cases that adjacent space is permanently dedicated to the mechanism. The entity being shuffled in this invention is larger, a complete stack of individually operable drawers. Therefore, there is little possibility of overlap with the designs described above.

Possibly Relevant Patent

There is one patent, U.S. Pat. No. 1,215,240 Filing Date. Aug. 25, 1980, in which the entity being moved in and out of the corner space is a set of cabinets, at least one of which is a stack of drawers. Cabinets normally support counter-tops so these rolled-out cabinets continue to do that by having the fixed counter-top roll on the moving cabinets. That patent describes how a motor should be fitted to handle the weight of the cabinets. The entity being shuffled in this invention is smaller, a frame that fits inside a cabinet, easily moved by hand, that is suspended beneath the counter-top, not supporting it. There are older patents involving cabinets that are moved on rollers but in all these cases the entity being moved is too large to overlap with this invention.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention does not involve any advanced technology, only carpentry, specifically cabinet carpentry. The only components not used in standard cabinet assem bly can be obtained in any big-box home improvement outlet. The modest amount of carpentry required can be performed by a person with ordinary skills in the field.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention uses, but does not dedicate, space in one of the adjacent cabinets. A stack of drawers is installed in the blind corner space. The frame containing the drawers is suspended from a system of tracks and little wheel-cars. When access is needed the stack of drawers is rolled sideways into a temporarily borrowed space in the adjacent cabinet. Whatever was in that space first had to be moved out. While the stack of drawers is in this OUT position the individual drawers can be opened just like any other drawers. The items (including those stored in the deepest, lowest part of the blind corner) are presented for top-down access. When the drawers are closed the stack is rolled back into the IN position in the corner and whatever was in the space can be moved back in. The temporarily borrowed space is called the shuffle-space. Whatever is moved out and later moved back is called the shuffle-partner.

An essential feature of this design is that it does NOT permanently dedicate the shuffle-space to a single purpose. It makes available a general-purpose space. Whatever is done to exploit the shuffle space is not part of this design but the possibilities the shuffle space offers are a major part of this invention's value. Some proposed shuffle partners are:

1. Rolling step-stool, used in first embodiment.

2. Roomba and its base, fitted behind and below stack.

3. Swinging door with built-in storage.

4. Rolling cabinet with chopping block top.

5. Grocery cart.

6. Baby equipment.

7. Granma's walker.

Rectangular drawers in a rectangular space are the most efficient shape. Storage in this design occupies nearly 100% of the corner space and thus 50% of the combined spaces. Even if no other use is made of the shuffle space this efficiency compares favorably with many of the more expensive commercially available solutions. If 100% is the goal a shuffle partner with rectangular shelves would do the job. Note however that a shuffle partner with operable drawers would be liable to tip over.

A suspended stack of operable drawers cannot tip over and can be easily shuffled in and out of the shuffle space. Each individually operated drawer provides out-from-under the counter top-down access to its contents. This convenience comes at a price. It is the nature of storage systems that many items must be moved to get the one needed. Getting one item in an ordinary drawer gives all the un-needed items in that drawer a ride out and in. Modern drawer-slide mechanisms with four wheels per drawer make that easy. With the hanging stack all the un-needed items in three drawers are given a ride sideways and back. The wheel-car & track mechanism with 16 wheels makes that additional motion acceptably easy.

Hanging the stack from a system of wheel-cars in tracks has advantages.

• • 5.1 Gravity ensures that the wheels remain properly positioned in their tracks, free of dirt or clutter so that the stack can be reliably rolled in and out within close tolerances.
  • 5.2 The tracks are the only part of the mechanism permanently installed in the shuffle space and occupy only the top 2-3″.
  • 5.3 A useful amount of space under the tracks is available on a part-time basis for a shuffle-partner. The flooring of this space is a smooth continuation of the regular kitchen floor.
  • 5.4 It is inexpensive. The sets of tracks and wheels are designed to suspend folding doors and are available at any home improvement outlet. The drawers and drawer slides are also standard and widely available. The carpentry needed is modest.
  • 5.5 It is easily maintained without disturbing the counter-top or the adjacent cabinets. The drawers can be removed from their slides. The rack and frame can be detached from the wheel-cars. The wheel-cars can be removed from the tracks.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention was twofold. First, to provide an affordable solution to the corner-space access problem and second, to provide under-the-counter space to store a rolling step-stool, a safer, more convenient aide for reaching the wall cabinets than the usual little folding step-ladder, but one that needs more storage space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The drawings depict a design with the shuffle-space to the right. If the stack of drawers was in a north-west corner the shuffle-space would be to the east in the cabinet along the north wall. The adjacent cabinet on that side (from which the shuffle space is expropriated) is identified as the “right” cabinet. If positioning the shuffle space to the left was preferred (i.e. south along the west wall) the design drawings would be mirror images.

The drawings assume this design will be fitted into a set of kitchen base cabinets nominally 24″ deep and 36″ high. Both corner and shuffle spaces have a footprint 24″×24″. The Hanging-Stack has a footprint of 21″×21″, resulting in clearances of 1″ in back, 2″ in front, and a clearance between the left-side adjacent cabinet and the side of the open drawers of 4″. The bottom clearance is intended to match the base/toe-kick height of the adjacent cabinets. (4.5″ is typical. The height of the door bottom should also match this.)

The design can be applied to a range of counter-top and cabinet dimensions. Installers may need to adjust the dimensions shown to suit a particular case. The size of the hanging stack can be increased or decreased as appropriate but the clearances should not be reduced. Recently a counter depth of 30″ is becoming more popular. This makes the blind corner space even larger and harder to access and thus the value of this design greater. It also increases the size of possible shuffle partners.

The drawings show a pair of door-stops on the rolling rack. Operating the hanging stack does not require them any more than opening a door does, but in both cases they smooth the operation. In the type recommended here one part has a spring-mounted magnet and the other is just a thick metal washer for a stop and holder.

The drawings do not show any door for the shuffle space as it is not part of the design. It is expected that a sliding door would be the usual choice and the 2″ clearance in front of the stack provides for it. Alternatively, a swinging door with built-in shelving could serve as both a door and a shuffle partner that provides more storage space.

The following drawings are attached:

6.1 Drawing #1: Hanging Stack in the IN position.

FIG. 1: Top-down view—Plan view with counter-top removed.

FIG. 2: Front-side view—South elevation view with left-side adjacent cabinet removed.

6.2 Drawing #2. Hanging Stack in the OUT position.

FIG. 1: Top-down view—Plan view with counter-top removed.

FIG. 2: Front-side view—South elevation view with left-side adjacent cabinet removed.

6.3 Drawing #3. Parts Details

FIG. 1: Top-down view of rolling rack—Plan view

FIG. 2: Close up views of wheel-car in track and pin and latch mechanism.

FIG. 3: Front-side view of track & wheel-cars—South elevation

FIG. 4: Front-side view of rolling rack—South elevation

FIG. 5: Front-side view of hanging stack—South elevation

FIG. 6: Right-side view of hanging stack—East elevation

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Drawing #1: Hanging Stack & Rolling Rack—Stack IN

FIG. 1: Top down view.

Counter-top is not shown. The numbers refer to the following:

• • 1. Left-side adjacent cabinet
  • 2. Right-side adjacent cabinet
  • 3. Kitchen wall
  • 4. Rolling rack
  • 5. Hanging Stack—frame and 3 drawers
  • 6. Wheel-cars, two per track
  • 7. Two tracks, 48″ long supported at ends
  • 8. Corner space occupied by hanging stack
  • 9. Shuffle space (empty)
  • 10. Bumper Magnet and spring
  • 11. Bumper stop and holder.
  • 13. Top drawer—visible thru openings in rack

FIG. 2: Side view

Counter-top shown, left-side adjacent cabinet & door not shown

• • 2. Right-side adjacent cabinet
  • 3. Kitchen wall
  • 4. Rolling rack
  • 5. Hanging stack—frame & 3 drawers
  • 6. Wheel-cars, two per track
  • 7. Two tracks, 48″ long supported at ends
  • 8. Corner space occupied by hanging stack
  • 9. Shuffle space (empty)
  • 10. Bumper Magnet and spring
  • 11. Bumper stop and holder.
  • 12. Opening in track to get wheels cars in & out.
  • 13. Top drawer
  • 15. Kitchen floor
  • 16. Counter-top

Drawing #2: Hanging Stack & Rolling Rack—Stack OUT

FIG. 1: Top down view

Counter-top & door not shown

• • 1. Left-side adjacent cabinet
  • 2. Right-side adjacent cabinet
  • 3. Kitchen wall
  • 4. Rolling rack
  • 5. Hanging stack—frame & 3 drawersRolling rack
  • 6. Wheel-cars, two per track
  • 7. Two tracks 48″ long supported at ends
  • 8. Corner space—empty
  • 9. Shuffle space occupied by hanging stack
  • 10. Bumper Magnet and spring
  • 11. Bumper stop and holder.
  • 13. Top Drawer (half open)
  • 14. Middle drawer (closed but visible thru rack openings)

FIG. 2: Side view

Counter-top shown, left-side adjacent cabinet not shown

• • 2. Right-side adjacent cabinet
  • 3. Kitchen wall
  • 4. Rolling rack
  • 5. Hanging stack—frame & 3 drawers
  • 6. Wheel-cars, two per track
  • 7. Two tracks, 48″ long supported t ends
  • 8. Corner space (empty)
  • 9. Shuffle space occupied by hanging stack
  • 10. Bumper Magnet and spring
  • 11. Bumper stop and holder.
  • 13. Top Drawer.
  • 14. Middle drawer.
  • 15. Kitchen floor
  • 16. Counter-top

Drawing #3: Parts

FIG. 1: Top-down view of Rolling-rack.

• • 4. Rolling-rack corner areas where latches are installed.
  • 17. Four latches are bolted to top of rack.
  • 18. Openings to permit manual access to latch releases through rack from below (when drawers are not in frame).
  • 19. Hand-grip opening to pull the hanging-stack out.

FIG. 2: Close-ups: Wheel-cars & Latches

• • 4. Rolling rack corner area where latch is bolted in position over a hole that provides space for the wheel-car pin.
  • 6. Four-wheeled car goes inside track, pin protrudes down thru slot in track.
  • 7. Cross section of track.
  • 17. Latches have spring-loaded catches that engage the wheel-car pins. These catches can be manually released to detach rack and frame from the suspension system.

FIG. 3: Front-side view of track & wheel cars.

• • 6. Two 4-wheel cars per track.
  • 7. Track.
  • 12. Opening to get cars in & out.
  • 16. Counter-top.

FIG. 4: Front-side view of rolling-rack

• • 4. Rolling-rack can be a simple piece of plywood. Additional pieces could be added to strengthen its attachment to the frame.
  • 10. Bumper magnet & spring.

FIG. 5: Front-side view of hanging stack.

• • 5. It contains a stack of drawers that can be any mix of size and number that fits in 27″.
  • 20. Hand grip to pull hanging stack out.

FIG. 6: Right-side view of hanging stack

• • 5. Side of hanging stack.
  • 20. Hand grip to pull hanging stack out.

Claims

1. This invention embodies the following technical features of prior art:

1. Drawers and their slide mechanisms.

2. The method by which drawers and their slides are installed in cabinets

3. The tracks, wheel-cars, and latches used to suspend and operate folding doors.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

A method for storing items in, and conveniently retrieving them from, the blind-corner space in kitchen cabinetry that is characterized by:

a) A stack of drawers and slides installed in a frame in the same manner that drawers are installed in cabinets,

b) A rack that has latches on its upper surface and is attached to the frame and drawers by ordinary carpentry techniques,

c) A system of tracks and wheel-cars with downward projecting pins that the rack-mounted latches engage thereby suspending the rack/frame/drawer assembly so it can be slid sideways out of the corner space to a position where the drawers can be opened,

d) A space in the adjacent cabinet equal in area to the corner-space with regular kitchen flooring suitable for storing anything that can be readily moved out and back when corner access is needed.