Patent ID: 7398889
Filing Date: 2008-07-15
Classification: A47B

Abstract:
1. A barrel storage system, comprising in operative combination: a) a wooden barrel storage unit having a central axis of rotation and comprising a wooden barrel oriented with its central, longitudinal axis vertical as it rests on a floor during operation as a storage system, said barrel having a continuous vertical side wall consisting of multiple curved staves disposed in a circle having a diameter as seen in transverse cross-section, and a pair of spaced, generally planar end members each having an outer surface and an inner surface, said end members being a first, top end and a second, bottom end, each said end member being recessed inwardly from the respective top and bottom ends of said staves, the space between outer ends of said staves and the surface of each of said end members defining a recess so that there is a top recess and a bottom recess, and a space defined between said staves and said top and bottom end members comprising a storage volume the side wall of said barrel comprising an outer lip of said recess at each end and said barrel is oriented in operative storage orientation with said axis vertical so that one end is a top end and a second end is a bottom end; b) a rotational platform assembly only for rotating said barrel storage unit on its central axis of rotation including at least a pair of plates, comprising a first, upper plate spaced above a second, lower plate, between which is mounted a rotation assembly mechanism oriented to permit rotation of said barrel around its axis of rotation while vertically oriented, and stabilizing and leveling elide members disposed in a space between said pair of rotational platform plates, said glide members having sliding faces to provide a pre-selected amount of resistance to rotation, so that said barrel storage unit rotates smoothly on said rotational platform but is not free-wheeling and a degree of frictional resistance of said stabilizing elide members is selectively increased or decreased by adjusting a gap between said stabilizing glide members and said upper plate so as to control a clearance between the face of said stabilizing glide members and said upper plate which said stabilizing glide members contact; c) said platform assembly is disposed in said bottom recess and has a vertical height sufficiently greater than the depth of said bottom recess to provide a minimum clearance of the bottom end of said stave side wall above the surface of a floor on which said barrel rests during its storage operation so that said barrel bottom end rests on said platform assembly and presents a visual appearance of said barrel storage unit floating just above the surface of said floor; d) said rotation assembly mechanism in combination with said stabilizing glide members provides selected drag resistance to permit ease of rotation of said barrel around its central axis under directed force without tilting and without spinning freely so that said barrel storage unit stops when rotational force is removed or expended, and stays at rest in the new, stopped position while loaded with stored goods; e) said stave side wall includes a substantially sized opening permitting access to the interior volume of said barrel for introduction and removal of goods for storage, the vertical span of said opening extending from above the inner surface of said bottom end to below the inner surface of said top end and the horizontal width of said opening extending generally less than the diameter of said barrel; and f) said opening being sized so that upon rotation of said barrel on its axis of rotation, said opening can be presented to a first, front position for access to said storage volume, and then rotated to a second, rear storage position wherein said opening is not visible from said front position.