This application claims the benefit of Indian Provisional Patent Application No. 201821010553, filed on Mar. 22, 2018. The entire disclosure of the application referenced above is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to storage cabinets and more particularly to modular storage cabinets with shelves configured to accommodate multiple storage bins.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Modular storage cabinets allow users to configure the size and shelf arrangement of the storage cabinet to suit their needs. Modular storage cabinets typically allow users to adjust the number and height of the shelves in the storage cabinet, but not the angle of the shelves. In most modular storage cabinets, the shelves are designed to be horizontal (i.e., parallel to horizontal planes defined by the base and the top of the cabinet) rather than at an oblique angle relative to the horizontal planes of the base and the top of the cabinet.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
In accordance with one aspect of the subject disclosure, a cabinet assembly having a bin exchange system is described. The cabinet assembly includes a cabinet body having at least a base, a top, and a pair of sides. The pair of sides extend between the base and the top to define an inner volume. Each of the sides includes a front edge and a rear edge. The inner volume of the cabinet body is configured to receive one or more bins. Each bin has a bin height, a bin width, and a bin length. The bin height, bin width, and bin length are sized such that the bins fit inside the inner volume of the cabinet body. The cabinet assembly also includes one or more tiltable wire shelves mounted in the inner volume of the cabinet body. Each of the tiltable wire shelves includes a plurality of crossbars and a perimeter. The perimeter of each wire shelf includes a front bar, a rear bar, and a pair of side bars. The pair of side bars extend between the front and rear bars. Each of the side bars has a side bar length that is at least double the bin length such that at least two of the bins fit on each tiltable wire shelf between the front and rear bars in a front-to-back bin arrangement.
The cabinet assembly further includes a shelf mounting system that supports each of the tiltable wire shelves on the cabinet body. The shelf mounting system includes a pivot coupling disposed between the cabinet body and one of the front and rear bars of each tiltable wire shelf and a sliding coupling between the cabinet body and the pair of side bars of each tiltable wire shelf. The pivot coupling and the sliding coupling cooperate to provide tiltable adjustment of the at least one tiltable wire shelf relative to the cabinet body over a range of angles.
The shelf mounting system therefore gives users the flexibility of mounting one or more of the tiltable wire shelves in a horizontal orientation or at an oblique angle relative to the base and the top of the cabinet assembly. When the tiltable wire shelves are mounted at an oblique angle, the bins can be arranged such that a bin located towards the rear bar of the tiltable wire shelf slides forward under the influence of gravity when a bin located near the front bar of the tiltable wire shelf is removed from the cabinet body. This provides for an easy and convenient exchange of the bins in the cabinet assembly. The angle of the tiltable wire shelf can be adjusted over a wide range of angles to ensure that the user can adjust the rate at which the bins slide forward on the tiltable wire shelves. This is important because a bin may not slide forward at all if the angle is too small and the bin may slide past the front bar and fall out of the cabinet body if the angle is too large. The user can also optimize their view into the bins by adjusting the angle of the tiltable wire shelves.
Further areas of applicability and advantages will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
With reference to
As best shown in
The front corner posts 34, the rear corner posts 36, and the rear center post 38 are interchangeable. For example, the front corner posts 34, the rear corner posts 36, and the rear center post 38 may be structurally identical to one another, or at least structurally similar to one another, such that any one of the front corner posts 34, the rear corner posts 36, and the rear center post 38 may be used in place of any other one of the front corner posts 34, the rear corner posts 36, and the rear center post 38. Each of the front corner posts 34, the rear corner posts 36, and the rear center post 38 includes a cylindrical body 42 and two or more (e.g., four) ribs 44 projecting radially outward from the cylindrical body 42 to define curved channels 46 therebetween. One of the curved channels 46 of each front corner post 34 receives the front edge 24 of one of the sides 18. One of the curved channels 46 of each rear corner post 34 receives the rear edge 26 of one of the sides 18. Two of the curved channels 46 of the rear center post 38 receives the inner edges 30 one of the rear panels 28.
Each side 18 is symmetric with respect to a vertical plane 48 extending perpendicular thereto and parallel to the rear wall 20. Each side 18 includes a flat panel portion 50 and flange portions 52 disposed at the front and rear edges 24 and 26 thereof. The curved channels 46 in the front and rear corner posts 34 and 36 receive the flange portions 52 disposed at the front and rear edges 24 and 26 of the sides 18, respectively. Each flange portion 52 of each side 18 includes a curved wall 54 oriented at a first oblique angle A1 with respect to the flat panel portion 50 thereof.
Each rear panel 28 is symmetric with respect to a vertical plane 56 extending perpendicular thereto and parallel to the sides 18. Each rear panel 28 includes a flat panel portion 58 and flange portions 60 disposed at the inner and outer edges 30 and 32 thereof. The curved channels 46 in the rear center post 38 receive the flange portions 60 at the inner edges 30 of the rear panels 28. Each flange portion 54 of each rear panel 28 includes a curved wall 62 oriented at a second oblique angle A2 with respect to the flat panel portion 56 thereof.
Each side extension 40 is asymmetric with respect to a vertical plane 64 extending perpendicular thereto and parallel to the rear wall 20. Each side extension 40 includes a flat panel portion 66, a flange portion 68, and a coupling portion 70. Each flange portion 68 of each side extension 40 includes a curved wall 72 oriented at a third oblique angle A3 with respect to the flat panel portion 66 thereof. The first, second, and third oblique angles A1, A2, and A3 may be equal to one another. The coupling portion 70 of each side extension 40 defines a curved channel 74 that receives one of the flange portions 60 at the inner edges 30 of the rear panels 28.
With additional reference to
Optionally, the cabinet assembly may include one or more (e.g., four) doors 80 as shown in
With reference to
With additional reference to
The cabinet assembly 10 further includes two forward slotted tracks 104 that extend vertically along and are attached to the two front corner posts 34, and two rearward slotted tracks 106 that extend vertically along and are attached to the two rear corner posts 36 and/or to the sides 14 or the side extensions 40 at locations near the rear wall 20. Each slotted track 104, 106 has a plurality of slots 108 arranged at incremental locations (i.e., at different heights) therealong. In the illustrated embodiment, two pivot couplings 100 support the front bar 92 of each tiltable wire shelf 86, 88. The two pivot couplings 100 are mounted on the two forward slotted tracks 104. The front bar 92 of each tiltable wire shelf 86, 88 is free to pivot (i.e., rotate) relative to the pivot couplings 100, but the front bar 92 does not slide relative to the pivot couplings 100 when the angle of each tiltable wire shelf 86, 88 is adjusted.
The side bars 96 of each tiltable wire shelf 86, 88 are supported by two sliding couplings 102 in an area devoid of cross bars. The two sliding couplings 102 are mounted on the two rearward slotted tracks 106. The two pivot couplings 100 can be moved up and down on the two forward slotted tracks 104 and similarly the two sliding couplings 102 can be moved up and down on the two rearward slotted tracks 106. This allows users to configure both the height and the angle of each tiltable wire shelf 86, 88 over a wide range of locations and angles depending upon the number of slots provided in each of the slotted tracks 104, 106. To accommodate varying angles, the side bars 96 of each tiltable wire shelf 86, 88 are free to slide in a fore-aft direction relative to the two sliding couplings 102 while the two sliding couplings 102 remain attached to the two rearward slotted tracks 106. As shown in
The ability to slide each tiltable wire shelf 86, 88 in the fore-aft direction relative to the sliding couplings 102 is enabled in part by fact that the sliding couplings 102 couple the side bars 96 of the tiltable wire shelves 86, 88 to the cabinet body 12 as opposed to, for example, coupling the front or rear bars 92 or 94 to the cabinet body 12. In addition, the ability to slide each tiltable wire shelf 86, 88 in the fore-aft direction relative to the sliding couplings 102 is enabled by the fact that the rear bar 94 is located rearward of the locations where the sliding couplings 102 connect the tiltable wire shelves 86, 88 to the cabinet body 12 (i.e., the locations of rearward slotted tracks 106) as shown. Further, since the rear center post 38 (to which the rear wall 20 is attached) is located rearward of the rear corner posts 36 (to which the sliding couplings 102 are mounted), there is space to allow fore-aft movement of the tiltable wire shelf 86, 88 without causing interference between the tiltable wire shelf 86, 88 and the rear wall 20.
The pivot couplings 100 and the sliding couplings 102 are provided using a coupler (
With reference to
The latch 112 includes a pair of hook portions 120, a pair of lever portions 122, and two sets of teeth 124. Each lever portion 122 is configured such that the latch 112 will rotate relative to the pivot 114 when pressure is applied to the lever portion 122 by a user to open or close the latch 112. The teeth 124 contact the slotted tracks 104, 106 and provide resistance to rotation that helps prevent the latch 112 from falling open without user actuation.
The mounting plate 110 includes an upper tongue 126 and a lower tongue 128 that are spaced apart by an L-shaped slot 130 that receives the pivot 114. The upper and lower tongues 126 and 128 are configured to be inserted into the slots 108 in the slotted tracks 104, 106 as shown in
The mounting plate 110 also includes a yoke portion 132. In the case of the pivot couplings 100, the front or rear bar 92 or 94 of the tiltable wire shelf 86 is inserted into the yoke portion 132 of the mounting plate 110 in a first direction 134 as shown in
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201821010553 | Mar 2018 | IN | national |
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Number | Date | Country |
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3549489 | Oct 2019 | EP |
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Entry |
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Starsys Enclosed Units With Wire Shelves_Instructions for Use; circa. Jan. 2015. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20200015586 A1 | Jan 2020 | US |