Patent Application
20070108878
The present invention relates to a sectional cabinet, and more particularly to a sectional cabinet that includes a rack assembled from a plurality of tubular metal posts and a plurality of shelves, as well as a plurality of back and side panels that not only close the rear and the lateral sides of the rack, but also divide an internal space of the rack into many subspaces for storing things.
Most items of furniture for holding or storing things may be divided into two types according to the materials used, namely, wooden cabinet and metal rack. A wooden cabinet typically includes a back wall, two lateral sidewalls, and at least one front door to define a closed internal space. In contrast with the wooden cabinet, a metal rack typically has four open sides. Therefore, the wooden cabinet presents a secure and high-quality appearance that is not found from the metal rack, and is therefore welcome by most consumers. Moreover, the wooden cabinet usually internally includes a plurality of closed and dustproof subspaces to provide higher protection to articles kept in the wooden cabinet. The metal rack is unmatchable with the wooden cabinet from this point of view. However, the wooden cabinet has fixed shape and dimensions once it is produced, and therefore could not be sideward and/or upward extended as desired.
The metal rack is a sectional rack using metal pipes as its vertical posts and metal wire nets as its shelves. Currently, there are metal sectional racks that could be assembled or disassembled without using any hand tool, enabling consumers to easily assemble the rack by themselves. Moreover, the posts of the metal rack are designed to allow sideward and upward extension of the rack as desired, so that the assembled rack is able to meet the shape and size of a space in which the rack is erected for use. However, the metal rack provides only an open space for holding things. Things held on the metal rack are subjected to dust and not well protected. The metal rack does not present a secure and quality appearance, particularly when things are disorderly piled thereon.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a sectional cabinet that includes a rack assembled from metal posts and board-type shelves, allowing the cabinet to be sideward and upward extendable.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sectional cabinet that includes a rack assembled from metal posts and board-type shelves allowing back panels and side panels to assemble to the rack and thereby close a space defined by the rack.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a sectional cabinet that includes a rack assembled from metal posts and board-type shelves, as well as back and side panels allowing drawers and doors to assemble to the rack, so that a space defined by the rack may be divided into many open and/or closed subspaces.
To achieve the above and other objects, the sectional cabinet according to the present invention includes a rack assembled from a plurality of tubular metal posts and a plurality of board-type shelves to function like a skeleton of the sectional cabinet, and a plurality of back panels and side panels removably connected to the rack. The tubular metal posts are divided into front posts used at a front side of the rack and rear posts used at a rear side of the rack. The rear post is provided at two lateral sides near a rear end thereof with two corresponding open-side channels, and has a front end formed into a stepped surface with a raised laterally outer portion and a lowered laterally inner portion. The front post has a rear end formed into a stepped surface corresponding to that at the front end of the rear post, and therefore has a raised laterally outer portion and a lowered laterally inner portion. Each of the back panels has two lateral edges adapted to insert into two opposite open-side channels on two adjacent rear posts to thereby assemble to and close the rear side of the rack. Each of the side panels is disposed between a set of front and rear posts at the same side of the rack to abut on the raised outer portions at the rear end of the front post and the front end of the rear post, so as to assemble to and close a lateral side of the rack. With the shelves, the back panels, and the side panels, the space defined by the rack can be closed and divided into many subspaces to form the sectional cabinet.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
Please refer to
Please refer to FIGS. 2, 2-1, 2-2, and 3 at the same time. The rear post 20 is provided at two lateral sides near a rear end thereof with two corresponding open-side channels 22, and has a front end 23 formed into a stepped surface with a raised laterally outer portion and a lowered laterally inner portion. The front post 10 has a rear end 12 formed into a stepped surface corresponding to the stepped surface at the front end 23 of the rear post 20. That is, the stepped surface at the rear end 12 of the front post 10 has a raised laterally outer portion and a lowered laterally inner portion. The back panel 40 has two lateral edges adapted to insert into two opposite open-side channels 22 on two adjacent rear posts 20 to thereby close a rear side of the rack. The side panel 50 is disposed between a set of front and rear posts 10, 20 at the same side of the rack to abut on the raised outer portions at the rear end 12 and the front end 23 of the front and the rear post 10, 20, respectively, so as to close a lateral side of the rack. With the shelves 30, the back panels 40, and the side panels 50 connected to the rack, a cabinet is formed.
Please refer to
Since each of the back panels 40 has two lateral edges adapted to insert into two opposite open-side channels 22 on two adjacent rear posts 20, the back panel 40 is prevented from tipping forward or rearward. A packing strip 70 is fitted on a lower edge of the back panel 40, as can be clearly seen from
In practical forming of the sectional cabinet of the present invention, it is possible to use front and rear posts 10, 20 having the same configuration to reduce the manufacturing cost thereof and make the sectional cabinet more competitive in the market.
Please refer to
It is also possible to mount a retractable latching member 53 at both the front and the rear edge of the side panel 50, as shown in
The rack of the sectional cabinet of the present invention may be sideward extended by increasing the posts 10, 20 and the shelves 30. When increasing the front and rear posts 10, 20, it is always necessary for the raised portions at the rear and the front end of the front and the rear post 10, 20, respectively, to locate at a laterally outer side of the posts 10, 20, so that the side panel 50 disposed between the front and rear posts 10, 20 is prevented from tipping outward.
The shelf 30 is assembled to the posts 10, 20 of the rack via hangers 60 that are hooked to hanger holes 11, 21 provided on two opposite lateral sides of the posts 10, 20, respectively. Since the structure for assembling the shelf 30 to the posts 10, 20 is not a subject matter of the present invention to be claimed, it is not described in details herein. One example of the structure for assembling the shelf 30 to the posts 10, 20 is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/663,501.
As can be seen from
The sectional cabinet of the present invention may also include one or more drawers 62. The drawers 62 are mounted on rails (not shown), which are preferably hooked to the hanger holes 11, 21 on the posts 10, 20. Since the structure for hooking the drawer rails to the posts 10, 20 is not a subject matter of the present invention to be claimed, it is not described in details herein. One example of the structure for hooking the drawer rails to the posts 10, 20 is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/738,392.
The doors 61, shelves 30, side panels 50, and back panels 40 together enable the whole sectional cabinet to have a closed storage space. Every drawer 62 and the shelf 30 above it or a bottom of an upper drawer 62 also define a closed subspace for storing things. The drawers 62 and the doors 61 may be installed on the sectional cabinet at positions completely decided by the user to meet different users' requirements.
The sectional cabinet of the present invention can be easily assembled and disassembled to facilitate storage and transport thereof, and can be sideward and/or upward extended at any time with suitably selected additional components to create desired form or dimensions. The back panels 40 and the side panels 50 give the fully assembled sectional cabinet amore complete appearance, and the shelves 30 and the drawers 62 divide the internal space of the sectional cabinet into different subspaces for storage to largely enhance the function and quality of the sectional cabinet. Moreover, the doors 61 create completely closed subspaces in the sectional cabinet to protect the user's privacy.
