ACCESSORIES CABINET

Abstract

A vertically oriented generally rectangular box with a hinged lid is pivotally supported on a pull-out slide permitting the box to be linearly displaced and rotated between a stored position and a use position. Two or more such boxes can be vertically stacked for independent movement and use. The box sides and rails on the door interior include opposed rows of holes accepting pins that are received in inclined slots in the sides of a plurality of accessories supports that can be selectively positioned within the box.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to cabinets suitable for use in domestic areas such as closets and dressing areas, and particularly to cabinets adapted to be installed in closet systems to hold personal accessories and supported to permit the cabinet to be easily moved from a storage position to a use position.

2. Description of the Prior Art

There are presently available any number of closet systems to assist one with the organization of clothing and accessories within a closet, particularly a walk-in closet. The closet systems often have a plurality of baskets or drawers, one or more series of shelves that may be vertically sub-divided, some areas having horizontal rods for receiving hangers, and so forth. Some closet systems include slide-out panels for organizing and storing various articles of clothing and accessories. The slide-out panels have the advantage of occupying only a small amount of wall space, while providing substantial storage area. Examples of such slide-out panels that can be used in closet systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,076,442; 5,468,063 and 7,281,634. One difficulty with such slide-out panels is that access is generally limited to only one side of the panel, although access to the opposite side may be permitted by sliding the panel into the stored position, walking past the panel and then extending the panel outward. Alternatively, if one has sufficient space which is often not the case even in a walk-in closet, one might walk around an outwardly extended panel to view the opposite sides of the panel.

The known closet systems utilize a variety of means to provide for the adjustment and/or substitution of storage elements to contain various articles of clothing and personal accessories. One common adjustment system employs a vertical pegboard with an array of holes that can engage various hangers and supports at a variety of locations. For example, pegboard appears in the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,063. While such a pegboard system provides the desired flexibility in the placement of the various supports and hangers, pegboard lacks the esthetics that is desirable, particularly in high end closet system installations.

There is therefore an unsatisfied need for an esthetically acceptable accessories cabinet that can be included in a high end closet system that can hold a substantial inventory of personal accessories and be supported to permit the cabinet to be easily moved from a storage position, where the contents is substantially inaccessible, to a use position, where the contents of the cabinet can be completely accessed without substantial movement of the person desiring access.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, an accessories cabinet of the present invention can have a support, which can be secured in a closet at a desired location. A generally rectangular box can be coupled to the support for displacement relative to the support between a storage position and a use position. The box can have an upper end, a lower end, a back member extending between the upper and lower ends, and box sides extending between the box upper and lower ends. The box sides can include a plurality of openings directed toward the box interior generally parallel to the back member. A door can be coupled to the box to move between an open position exposing the box interior and a shut position closing the box, the door having an interior surface and an exterior surface. A pair of vertical rails can be fixed to the door interior surface, the rails including a plurality of openings directed generally parallel to the door interior surface. At least one pair of pins can be included, each pair of pins being received in a selected pair of the plurality of openings opposite each other. An accessories support can be situated within the cabinet that have side portions, each side portion including an inclined slot coupled to one of the pairs of pins.

In another aspect, an accessories cabinet of the present invention can have a support, which can be secured in a closet at a desired location. A generally rectangular box can be included for displacement relative to the support. The box can have an upper end, a lower end, a back member extending between the upper and lower ends, and box sides extending between the box upper and lower ends, with the including at least one accessories support. A door having an interior surface and an exterior surface can be coupled to the box to move between an open position exposing the box interior and accessories support, and a shut position closing the box. Slide members can be coupled between the support and the generally rectangular box to facilitate linear movement of the box between a stored position inhibiting access to the box interior and a use position exposing the door for entry to the box interior. A pivot mechanism can be situated between the slide members and the generally rectangular box to permit rotation of the box from a storage alignment inline with the slides to a display alignment facilitating access to the box interior.

In yet another aspect, an accessories cabinet of the present invention can have a support, which can be secured in a closet at a desired location. Two or more generally rectangular boxes can be coupled to the support for independent displacement relative to the support. Each of the boxes can have an upper end, a lower end, a back member extending between the upper and lower ends, and box sides extending between the box upper and lower ends of each box. A door having an interior and exterior surface can be coupled to at least one of the boxes to independently move between an open position exposing the box interior and a shut position closing each box. Slide members can be coupled between the support and each of the generally rectangular boxes to facilitate independent linear movement of each box between a stored position inhibiting access to each box interior and a use position exposing any door of the box leading to entry to the box interior. A pivot mechanism can be situated between each of the slide members supporting a given rectangular box and each of the generally rectangular boxes coupled to the slide members to permit independent rotation of each box from a storage alignment with the slides to a display alignment facilitating access to the box interior.

In the various aspects of the present invention a mirror can be coupled to either the interior and exterior surfaces of the door. At least one drawer can be situated within the cabinet. At least one inclined surface can be included within the cabinet upon which personal accessories can be displayed. At least one projecting member can be included within the cabinet for supporting a draping accessory, such as a tie or necklace.

In the various aspects of the present invention the pivot mechanism can be a turntable, which can include a first ring fixed to one of the slide members, a second ring fixed to one of the upper and lower ends of the box, an a rotational bearing coupling the first and second rings to each other. At least one pair of lobes can be situated on a surface of one of the first and second rings, the lobes being separated by a notch. A follower can be fixed to the other of the first and second rings so as to contact the lobe bearing surface other ring.

In the various aspects of the present invention, an exterior surface of the door can include a handle facilitating the opening of the door. A cabinet face plate can be coupled to one of the box sides, the face plate having upper and lower ends that can extend above the box upper end and below the box lower end. The face plates can be dimensioned to form a substantially continuous surface with adjacent closet system faceplates when the accessories cabinet is situated in the stored position. The cabinet face plate can further include a handle facilitating movement of the box and slide members between the stored position and the use position.

In the various aspects of the present invention, the sides of each box can include a plurality of opposed openings directed to the box interior generally parallel to the back member. Additionally, a pair of vertical rails can be fixed to at least the interior surface of at least one of the doors, the rails including a plurality of opposed openings directed generally parallel to the door interior surface. A plurality of pair of pins can be received in selected opposed pairs of the plurality of openings. At least one accessories support can be situated within each cabinet, each accessory support having side portions, and each side portion can include an inclined slot coupled to one of the pairs of pins extending inward from either the box sides or the rails mixed to the doors. The accessories supports can be easily moved from one location to another.

Each of the accessory supports can be suitably finished to meet the esthetic demands of the particular installation. The connection between the various accessory supports is coupled to the generally rectangular box so that the coupling mechanism including openings receiving supporting pins has only a minimal visual impact on the assembly as a whole.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following disclosure of preferred embodiments of the present invention exemplifying the best mode of practicing the invention. The following disclosure references the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a two box accessories cabinet of the present invention, with the lower box in a stored position and the upper box in the use position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another accessories cabinet of the present invention containing a variety of accessories supports.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an accessories cabinet of the present invention with the accessories supports removed.

FIG. 4 is a detail taken from FIG. 3 showing the holes and pins that can be used to hold the accessories supports within the cabinet.

FIG. 5 is a perspective detail view of an accessories support showing an inclined slot for engaging one of the pins.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a combined slide and pivot mechanism that can be used to support the boxes in an accessories cabinet of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of another combined slide and pivot mechanism that can be used to support the boxes in an accessories cabinet of the present invention, with portions broken away.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An accessories cabinet 10 is shown in FIG. 1 to include an upper box 12 and a lower box 14. The accessories cabinet 10 can consist of only a single box, which can be vertically elongated from that shown in FIG. 1. The accessories cabinet 10 can have a support 16, which can be secured in a closet at a desired location. In FIG. 1, the support 16 is shown to be position immediately adjacent to another unit 18 of a closet system, which is shown in phantom. The support 16 can be situated between two such other units 18. The support 16 can include a plurality of tracks 20 projecting outward from a rear surface 21 of the cabinet 10. Each of the upper box 12 and lower box 14 can be coupled to the tracks 20 for displacement relative to the support 16 between a storage position and a use position. The lower box 14 is shown in FIG. 1 in a stored position where the box 14 is recessed into the support 16 as far as possible. The upper box 12 is shown in FIG. 1 in a use position where the box 12 is extended outward on the tracks 20 so that the contents of the box 12 are accessible. It will also be noted that lower box 14 is substantially aligned with the tracks 20 while upper box 12 has been turned relative to the tracks 20. A pivot mechanism 22 can be provided between each of the boxes 12, 14 and the supporting tracks 20 to facilitate this turning of the boxes in relation to the tracks 20. A possible pivot mechanism 22 is shown in FIG. 6 and will be discussed further below.

Each of the boxes can have an upper end 24, a lower end 26, and a back member 28 extending between the upper and lower ends 24, 26. Each of the boxes can have box sides 30 extending between the box upper end 24 and the box lower end 26. A door 32 can be coupled to either side of the box 12, 14 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to move between an open position exposing the box interior and a shut position closing the box. The door 32 can have an interior surface 34 and an exterior surface 36. The exterior surface 36 can support a mirror. The exterior surface 36 of the door 32 can also include a handle facilitating the opening of the door 32. A pair of vertical rails 38 can be fixed to the door interior surface 34 as shown in FIG. 3. The rails 38 can include a plurality of openings 40 directed generally parallel to the door interior surface 34. At least one pair of pins 42 can be included, each pair of pins 42 being received in a selected pair of the plurality of openings 40 opposite each other. An accessories support 44, such as a ring support 46, a necklace support 48, or tie support 50 can be coupled to the pins 42 to secure the accessories support 44 to the door interior surface 34. The particular arrangement of the accessories supports 44 relative to the door interior is subject to variation, which is facilitated by selective movement of the pins 42 in the various openings 40 of the rails 38. A mirror 52 can also be coupled to the door interior surface 34 in the same manner.

Each of the accessories supports 44, as well as the mirror 52, can include side portions 54 shown in detail in FIG. 5. Each side portion 54 can extend between an accessories support front wall 56 and back edge 58. The side portions 54 on the accessories supports 44 mounted on the door interior surface 34 can be spaced from each other by a distance approximating the distance between the vertical rails 38. Each side portion 54 can include at least one inclined slot 60 that can extend upward from the back edge 58 toward the front wall 56. Each of the inclined slots 60 is sized to receive one of the pins 42 extending inward from the vertical rails 38. The inclined slots 60 can be situated at a common position on both sides 54 of the accessories support 44. Installation of an accessories support 44 does not require any tools as the support 44 is retained in position by gravity. As previously indicated, the pins 42 can be selectively located at various positions along the rails 38 so that the various accessories supports 44 can be repositioned from time to time as desired.

The box sides 30 can include a plurality of openings 62 directed toward the box interior generally parallel to the back member 28 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The openings 62 can be arranged in one or more than one vertical row 64. The openings 62 can receive pins 42 or brackets for supporting shelves 66. The shelves 66, like the accessories supports 44, can include the inclined slots 60 is sized to receive one of the pins 42 extending inward from the box sides 30. The shelves 66 can be divided by dividers 68 and can receive drawers 70. The pins 42 in the openings 62 can also support various other accessories supports 44 including ear ring supports 72 and an inclined necklace rest 74 situated below the necklace support 48. The lower end 26 of the box 12 and/or box 14 can also support an additional accessories support 44 such as a subdivided box 76 suitable for receiving cuff links, rings, or other clothing accessories, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In FIG. 1, the outer ends 77 of the supporting tracks 20 are visible, but particularly when the boxes 12, 14 are in their stored position, the visibility of the supporting tracks 20 is undesirable. Thus, a face plate 78 can be coupled to one side 30 of each box 12, 14, as shown in FIG. 3. Each face plate 78 can have an upper end 80 and a lower end 82 that can extend above the box upper end 24 and below the box lower end 26, respectively. The face plates 78 can be dimensioned to form a substantially continuous surface with faceplates of any adjacent closet systems 18 the accessories cabinet 10 is situated in the stored position. The cabinet face plate 10 can further include a handle 84 facilitating movement of the box 12 or 14, and coupled slide members 20 between the stored position and the use position. Both the face plate 78 and the handle 84 are subject to a wide variety of design to meet the esthetic demands of any particular installation.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a pivot mechanism 22 that can be used between each of the boxes 12,14 and the supporting tracks 20 to facilitate this turning of the boxes 12, 14 in relation to the tracks 20. The pivot mechanism 22 can be a turntable 86, which can include a first ring 88 fixed to one of the slide members 90 coupled to the supporting tracks 20. The slide members 90 move in and out of the cabinet 10 with the forward and rearward movement of the boxes 12, 14. The turntable 86 can also include a second ring 92 fixed to either the upper end 24 or the lower end 26 of one of the boxes 12, 14. A rotational bearing, such as a ball bearing race, can couple the first ring 88 to the second ring 92 so the rings can rotate with respect to each other so that the boxes 12, 14 can be rotated with respect to the slide members 90. At least one pair of lobes 96 can be situated on a surface 100 of one of the first and second rings 88, 92, the lobes being separated by a notch 98. At least one follower 94 can be fixed to the other of the first and second rings 88, 92 so as to contact the lobe bearing surface 100 to provide at least one stop position, preferably with the box 12, 14 aligned with either the use position or the storage position. FIG. 7 shows a pair of followers 94 situated on opposite sides of ring surface 100 to provide a pair of stop positions separated by 180°. An additional follower 102 can be provided at a rear portion of at least one of the slide members 90 to interact with a detent, not shown, that is fixed to a rear surface 21 of the cabinet 10. The additional follower 102 can act as a retention mechanism to hold the boxes 12, 14 in a fully retracted storage position within the cabinet 10.

From the forgoing description of the structure and operation of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible to numerous modifications and embodiments within the ability of those skilled in the art and without exercise of the inventive facility. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined as set forth of the following claims.

Claims

1. An accessories cabinet comprising: a support,a generally rectangular box coupled to the support for displacement relative to the support, the box having an upper end, a lower end, and a back member extending between the upper and lower ends,box sides extending between the box upper and lower ends, the sides including a plurality of openings directed to the box interior generally parallel to the back member,a door coupled to the box to move between an open position exposing the box interior and a shut position closing the box, the door having an interior surface and an exterior surface,a pair of vertical rails fixed to the door interior surface, the rails including a plurality of openings directed generally parallel to the door interior surface,at least one pair of pins, each pair of pins being received in a selected pair of the plurality of openings opposite each other, andan accessories support situated within the cabinet having side portions, each side portion including an inclined slot coupled to one of the pairs of pins.

2. The accessories cabinet of claim 1, further comprising slide members coupled between the support and the generally rectangular box to facilitate linear movement of the box between a stored position inhibiting access to the box interior and a use position exposing the door for entry to the box interior.

3. The accessories cabinet of claim 2, further comprising a pivot mechanism situated between the slide members and the generally rectangular box to permit rotation of the box from a storage alignment with the slides to a display alignment facilitating access to the box interior.

4. The accessories cabinet of claims 1, 2, or 3, further comprising a mirror coupled to at least one of the interior and exterior surfaces of the door.

5. The accessories cabinet of claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein the accessories support includes at least one drawer.

6. The accessories cabinet of claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein the accessories support includes at least one inclined surface upon which personal accessories can be displayed.

7. The accessories cabinet of claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein the accessories support includes at least one projecting member for supporting a draping accessory.

8. An accessories cabinet comprising: a support,a generally rectangular box coupled to the support for displacement relative to the support, the box having an upper end, a lower end, and a back member extending between the upper and lower ends,box sides extending between the box upper and lower ends, the box interior including an accessories support,a door coupled to the box to move between an open position exposing the box interior and accessories support, and a shut position closing the box, the door having an interior surface and an exterior surface,slide members coupled between the support and the generally rectangular box to facilitate linear movement of the box between a stored position inhibiting access to the box interior and a use position exposing the door for entry to the box interior, anda pivot mechanism situated between the slide members and the generally rectangular box to permit rotation of the box from a storage alignment with the slides to a display alignment facilitating access to the box interior.

9. The accessories cabinet of claims 3 or 8 wherein the pivot mechanism comprises a turntable including a first ring fixed to one of the slide members, a second ring fixed to one of the upper and lower ends of the box, an a rotational bearing coupling the first and second rings to each other.

10. The accessories cabinet of claim 9 further comprising at least one pair of lobes situated on a surface of one of the first and second rings, the lobes being separated by a notch, and a follower fixed to the other of the first and second rings and contacting said surface other of the first and second rings.

11. The accessories cabinet of claim 10, further comprising a mirror coupled to at least one of the interior and exterior surfaces of the door.

12. The accessories cabinet of claim 11, wherein the exterior surface of the door further comprises a handle facilitating the opening of the door.

13. The accessories cabinet of claim 10, further comprising a cabinet face plate coupled to one of the box sides, the face plate extending above the box upper end and below the box lower end.

14. The accessories cabinet of claim 13, wherein the cabinet face plate further comprises a handle facilitating movement of the box and slide members between the stored position and the use position.

15. An accessories cabinet comprising: a support,a pair of generally rectangular boxes coupled to the support for displacement relative to the support, each of the boxes having an upper end, a lower end, and a back member extending between the upper and lower ends, and box sides extending between the box upper and lower ends of each box,a door coupled to at least one of the boxes to independently move between an open position exposing the at least one box interior and a shut position closing each box, each door having an interior surface and an exterior surface,slide members coupled between the support and each of the generally rectangular boxes to facilitate independent linear movement of each box between a stored position inhibiting access to each box interior and a use position exposing the door of each box for entry to the box interior, anda pivot mechanism situated between each of the slide members and each of the generally rectangular boxes coupled to the slide members to permit independent rotation of each box from a storage alignment with the slides to a display alignment facilitating access to the box interior.

16. The accessories cabinet of claim 15, wherein the sides of each box include a plurality of opposed openings directed to the box interior generally parallel to the back member, wherein a pair of vertical rails is fixed to an interior surface of at least one of the doors, the rails including a plurality of opposed openings directed generally parallel to the door interior surface,a plurality of pair of pins, each pair of pins being received in a selected opposed pair of the plurality of openings, andat least one accessories support situated within each cabinet, each accessories support having side portions, each side portion including an inclined slot coupled to one of the pairs of pins.

17. The accessories cabinet of claim 15 or 16, further comprising a mirror coupled to at least one of the interior and exterior surfaces of at least one of the doors, and the exterior surface of each door further comprises a handle facilitating each opening of the door.

18. The accessories cabinet of claim 15 or 16, further comprising a cabinet face plate coupled to one of the box sides of each of the boxes, each face plate extending above the box upper end and below the box lower end of the box to which the face plate is coupled, the face plates forming a substantially continuous surface when the accessories cabinet is situated in the stored position.

19. The accessories cabinet of claim 16, wherein a first accessories support includes a plurality of projecting member for supporting draping accessories, and a second accessories support positioned below the first accessories support includes an inclined surface upon which personal accessories draped on the first support can be displayed.

20. The accessories cabinet of claim 15, further comprising a follower fixed to at least one of the slide members and positioned to engage the support when the slide member is in the stored position.