The present application relates generally to cabinets for use in bathrooms and the like (e.g., medicine cabinets), although the concepts disclosed herein may also be employed in cabinets used in other locations and for other purposes. For ease of description, the following description will refer generally to such cabinets as “medicine cabinets.”
Medicine cabinets are a useful fixture in residential homes, as they allow a user to store toiletries to reduce clutter around, for example, a sink area. Medicine cabinets frequently include a mirror on the front surface of the cabinet, so as to maximize utility of the fixture. Most medicine cabinets are configured with internal shelves that extend the entire width of the cabinet. While this configuration can be useful for storing objects like toothpaste, toothbrushes and combs, consumers often must still resort to a countertop or under a sink for storing taller or larger objects such as hairspray bottles or electric toothbrushes.
In addition, to optimize the aesthetic appearance of mirrored medicine cabinets, most medicine cabinets are designed such that the mirrored door extends lower than, or at least to the same level as, the bottom of the medicine cabinet box. In cases where the medicine cabinet is placed on the floor or another surface prior to installation, this may result in damage to the mirror, because the mirror is generally the first component to contact the floor.
Medicine cabinet doors are typically connected to the frame or box of the medicine cabinet using hinges having any of a variety of configurations. One challenge associated with traditional cabinets is that creating a thinner medicine cabinet often means that conventional hinge designs can no longer be employed, since there is no space for the hinge to be accommodated.
It would be advantageous to provide an improved medicine cabinet that addresses these and other issues.
At least one embodiment of the present application relates to a medicine cabinet including a side panel, a door, and a hinge. The side panel includes a notch on an edge of the side panel. The door includes a projection extending outwardly from an inner surface of the door. The hinge pivotally couples the door to the side panel. The hinge includes a first portion coupled to the projection and a second portion coupled to the side panel. The projection and the first portion are received in the notch when the door is in a closed position.
Another embodiment relates to a medicine cabinet including a side panel, a door, and a hinge. The side panel includes a cutout on a side edge of the side panel. The door includes a localized projection extending outwardly from an inner surface of the door. The hinge pivotally couples the door to the side panel. The hinge includes a first portion coupled to the localized projection and a second portion coupled to the side panel. The localized projection and the first portion are received in the cutout when the door is in a closed position.
Yet another embodiment relates to a medicine cabinet including a side panel, a door, and a hinge. The side panel includes a recessed portion along an edge of the side panel. The door includes a projection extending outwardly from an inner surface of the door. The hinge pivotally couples the door to the side panel. The hinge includes a first portion coupled to the projection and a second portion coupled to the side panel adjacent the recessed portion. The projection is received in the recessed portion when the door is in a closed position.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, inventive features, and advantages described herein, will become apparent in the detailed description set forth herein and taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The present application overcomes the drawbacks of traditional medicine cabinets by providing a compact solution that allows for taller objects to be stored within the medicine cabinet. The disclosed medicine cabinet also includes features that allow for customization of the medicine cabinet and can provide for improvements relating to shipping and installation of the cabinet. In addition, the disclosed medicine cabinet includes a compact hinge design that can reduce the overall size of the cabinet.
At least one embodiment of the present application relates to a medicine cabinet having a cabinet box with a cabinet door, a top panel, and two side panels joining the top and bottom panel. The medicine cabinet may include at least one shelf that extends an entire width of the cabinet box. The cabinet may also include a plurality of cantilevered shelves that extend only a partial width of the cabinet box. The shelves may include retaining lips at the external edges of the shelves (e.g., at the front edge of both types of shelves, and on the lateral ends of the partial-width shelves). The at least one shelf extending the entire width of the cabinet box may be disposed vertically between a first cantilevered shelf extending from one side panel, and a second cantilevered shelf extending from the other side panel. In addition, the top panel and bottom panel are interchangeable to permit the cabinet to be inverted for installation in an opposite hand configuration.
In some exemplary embodiments, the cantilevered shelves are configured such that the first cantilevered shelf extends from a left side panel and the second cantilevered shelf extends from a right side panel. The cantilevered shelves may be hollow extrusions, and may receive a fastener within the hollow extrusions for mounting. The cantilevered shelves may receive a fastener from a back surface of the cantilevered shelves.
In some exemplary embodiments, the medicine cabinet may further include a plurality of aesthetic side panels which are disposed along an outer surface of the side panels of the cabinet box. The side panels may be reversible, and may have a first color on a first side and a second color on a second side.
In some exemplary embodiments, the medicine cabinet may further include a plurality of generally L-shaped end caps which are disposed on a bottom portion of the side panels and extend horizontally inward against the bottom panel. The plurality of generally L-shaped end caps may be press-fit into the plurality of rails, and may be configured to support the aesthetic side panels. A bottom surface of the end caps may be vertically lower than a bottom surface of the cabinet door. The front surface of the cabinet door may be a mirror.
In some exemplary embodiments, the medicine cabinet may include at least one hinge mechanism which pivotally couples the cabinet door and the cabinet box, wherein the hinge mechanism is disposed along a left side of the box and includes a hinge bar along an inner surface of the cabinet door which receives a first hinge portion, and a second hinge portion coupled to an edge of a side panel of the cabinet box. The hinge bar may include a projection to receive the first hinge portion, and the edge of the side panel may include a notch to receive at least a portion of the hinge bar therein when the cabinet door is in a closed position.
The cabinet box 30 includes a plurality of shelves 40, 41, 42. In particular, the cabinet box 30 includes a first shelf 40 extending an entire width of the cabinet box 30. The cabinet box 30 also includes a second shelf 41 and a third shelf 42 extending only a partial width of the cabinet box 30 (e.g., less than 75% of the total width of the cabinet, although the degree to which the shelf extends across the width of the cabinet may vary according to other exemplary embodiments). According to an exemplary embodiment, the first shelf 40 is disposed in the middle of the cabinet box, the second shelf 41 is disposed above the first shelf 40, and the third shelf 42 is disposed below the first shelf 40. Thus, because the second shelf 41 and the third shelf 42 only extend a partial width of the cabinet box, taller objects, such as an electric toothbrush 100 and a soap dispenser 200, may be placed in the spaces between the free ends of the second and third shelves 41,42 and the sides of the cabinet box. It should be noted that while one specific configuration of the medicine cabinet is shown in the accompanying figures, other configurations are possible (e.g., cabinets having all shelves that extend partially across the width of the cabinet, cabinets having a different number or arrangement of shelves, etc.).
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The cabinet box 30 further includes a plurality of vertical rails 60 extending along the side edges of the outer surface 33a, 34a of the side panels 33, 34. The cabinet box 30 also includes a plurality of generally L-shaped end caps 70, which are disposed on a bottom portion of the side panels 33, 34 and extend horizontally inward against a lower portion of the bottom panel 32. The rails 60 are configured to slidably receive the aesthetic side panels 50 from a bottom end of the cabinet box, such that the aesthetic side panels 50 can be slid in an upward direction within the rails 60 and held in place by the end caps 70. According to an exemplary embodiment, the end caps 70 are removable, and are configured to be press-fit into the bottom portion of the plurality of rails 60. The end caps 70 may be configured to prevent or impede sliding movement of the aesthetic side panels 50 relative to the side panels 33, 34. For example, a user may choose which side of the aesthetic side panel 50 they would like to be visible, slide the panel upward into the rails 60, and install the end cap 70 to hold the aesthetic side panels 50 in place.
Additionally, as shown in
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In other words, to provide for a more compact design, unlike many medicine cabinets where the hinge mechanism is typically disposed between the cabinet door and the cabinet box, which increases the overall thickness of the medicine cabinet, this embodiment advantageously enables a reduced overall thickness of the cabinet, because the first hinge portion 82 is generally recessed within the cabinet box 30 via the projection 81a and the notch 84. In addition, this configuration allows for the shelves to extend all the way toward an inner surface of the door 20, thereby maximizing the amount of storage space and reducing the likelihood that objects may fall from the front of the shelves within the cabinet when the door is closed. The second hinge portion 83 is coupled to the side panel 33 adjacent the notch 84 of the cabinet box 30, so as to pivotally couple the cabinet door 20 to the side panel. While this embodiment shows two hinge mechanisms 80, it should be appreciated that the medicine cabinet may include any number of hinge mechanisms 80.
In addition, the top panel 31 and bottom panel 32 of the medicine cabinet 10 are interchangeable, so the medicine cabinet 10 may be inverted for installation in an opposite hand configuration. That is to say, the medicine cabinet and the shelf locations have a symmetrical design to allow for the cabinet to be inverted for installation with hinges on the left side or right side of the cabinet.
The disclosed medicine cabinet overcomes the drawbacks of traditional medicine cabinets by providing a compact solution that allows for taller objects to be stored within the cabinet. The disclosed medicine cabinet also includes features that allow for customization of the medicine cabinet and can provide for improvements relating to shipping and installation of the cabinet. In addition, the disclosed medicine cabinet includes a compact hinge design that can reduce the overall size of the cabinet.
As utilized herein, the terms “approximately,” “about,” “substantially”, and similar terms are intended to have a broad meaning in harmony with the common and accepted usage by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the subject matter of this disclosure pertains. It should be understood by those of skill in the art who review this disclosure that these terms are intended to allow a description of certain features described and claimed without restricting the scope of these features to the precise numerical ranges provided. Accordingly, these terms should be interpreted as indicating that insubstantial or inconsequential modifications or alterations of the subject matter described and claimed are considered to be within the scope of the invention as recited in the appended claims.
It should be noted that the term “exemplary” as used herein to describe various embodiments is intended to indicate that such embodiments are possible examples, representations, and/or illustrations of possible embodiments (and such term is not intended to connote that such embodiments are necessarily extraordinary or superlative examples).
The terms “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, as used herein, mean the joining of two members directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary (e.g., permanent) or moveable (e.g., removable or releasable). Such joining may be achieved with the two members or the two members and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two members or the two members and any additional intermediate members being attached to one another.
References herein to the positions of elements (e.g., “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below,” etc.) are merely used to describe the orientation of various elements in the FIGURES. It should be noted that the orientation of various elements may differ according to other exemplary embodiments, and that such variations are intended to be encompassed by the present disclosure.
It is important to note that the construction and arrangement of the apparatus and control system as shown in the various exemplary embodiments is illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter described herein. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements, the position of elements may be reversed or otherwise varied, and the nature or number of discrete elements or positions may be altered or varied. The order or sequence of any process or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternative embodiments.
Other substitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may also be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the various exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, any element disclosed in one embodiment may be incorporated or utilized with any other embodiment disclosed herein.
This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/597,838, filed Dec. 12, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62597838 | Dec 2017 | US |