Patent ID: 11872353
Assignee: RASPBERRY MED, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A storage apparatus for storing elongate articles in a vertical orientation, said storage apparatus comprising:
a container comprising a top panel, a bottom panel, a pair of side panels, a back panel, and an openable door, which cooperate to define an interior;
at least one mounting rail coupled to said top panel in said interior of said container;
at least one support frame coupled to said mounting rail, said support frame defining an enclosed support chamber sized and configured to receive respective upper portions of a plurality of the elongate articles, wherein said support frame is moveable along said mounting rail between retracted and extended positions relative to said interior when said openable door is open;
a gripping element at a lower region of said support frame and spaced below said mounting rail, said gripping element comprising a sheet of flexible material having a plurality of receiving apertures in spaced arrangement, said gripping element configured to suspend the plurality of elongate articles in a vertical orientation and in horizontally spaced arrangement; and
said gripping element configured to permit the respective upper portions of the elongate articles to pass upwardly through said flexible material at respective ones of said receiving apertures such that said gripping element releasably grips the upper portions of the elongate articles at the respective gripping apertures such that the elongate articles are retained in said gripping element until a user exerts a removal force on a selected one of the elongate articles;
wherein said gripping element is configured to support the full weight of each of the elongate articles at the upper portions such that lower ends of the elongate articles hang freely with the elongate articles in the vertical orientation.