Patent ID: 7322661
Filing Date: 2008-01-29
Classification: A47B,E05B,E05D,E05G,E05Y,E06B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A storage cabinet for providing secure storage with ready authorized access to stored items, the storage cabinet comprising: a case providing an interior storage space, the case including first and second sides spaced apart laterally, extending altitudinally between a base and a top, and extending transversely between a front and a back to bound the interior storage space; an opening at the front of the case for enabling access to the interior storage space; a door having at least a first panel extending altitudinally between the base and the top of the case, the first panel having a near edge juxtaposed with the first side of the case; a coupling arrangement coupling the first panel of the door with the case for selective pivotal movement about a first pivotal axis extending altitudinally along the first panel, adjacent the near edge, between a first orientation wherein the panel extends in a lateral direction along the front of the case, between the first and second sides of the case, and a second orientation wherein the first panel extends in a transverse direction outwardly from the interior storage space; and a latching arrangement for securing the door in place across the opening, the latching arrangement including complementary latching members carried by the case and the door for selective engagement and disengagement in response to corresponding movements of the door in lateral directions relative to the case between a latched location wherein engagement of the latching members precludes movement of the panel out of the first orientation and an unlatched location wherein disengagement of the latching members enables movement of the panel out of the first orientation and into the second orientation; the coupling arrangement further being configured for enabling lateral translation of the first pivotal axis for selective movement of the first pivotal axis and the first panel along a first path of travel extending laterally across the front of the case to move the door between the latched location and the unlatched location when the panel is in the first orientation and for transverse translation of the first pivotal axis for selective retraction and advancement of the first pivotal axis and the first panel along a second path of travel extending adjacent the first side, between the front and the back of the case, when the panel is in the second orientation.