Abstract:
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Those skilled in the art will understand, however, that changes and modifications may be made to this embodiment without departing from the true scope and spirit of the present invention, which is defined by the claims.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to storage cabinets. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Small electronic devices have grown to replace many of the older, bulkier devices consumers were accustomed to using. The smaller electronic devices are popular not only because of their smaller size and lighter weight, but also because they are portable, allowing consumers to take and use them anywhere—be it at home, at work, on vacation, in the car, etc. Due to the ever-popular portability of such small electronic devices, it is often the case that consumers use or carry several such devices at the same time. For example, a consumer may carry a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), and an iPod® music player, all at the same time. Similarly, consumers may have some or all such devices at their desks at work. Further, at home, a user may have all previously mentioned devices plus an electric toothbrush and an electric shaving razor, to name a couple. Other examples of such electronic devices are GameBoys® hand-held video games, digital cameras, and other similar devices. 
   Because small electronic devices are so popular, it has also become common for a household to have multiple quantities of the same device. Each electronic device usually comes with its own charger requiring a power outlet. Thus, charging multiple electronic devices through different outlets necessitates that consumers dedicate multiple power outlets to the devices. If a household or office does not have enough outlets in any one room, then a consumer may have to distribute the devices throughout several rooms. Distributing the devices throughout several rooms for the purpose of charging them is inefficient at least from the perspective of having to go to different rooms when it is time to use or collect one or more of the devices. Additionally, the cords that connect a device to a power outlet are often long and may impede traffic, creating safety concerns. Finally, having multiple cords in an area results in unsightly and dangerous clutter. 
   The more savvy users may utilize power strips to limit the number of dedicated power outlets and to select a convenient spot to charge a particular electronic device. However, this alternative still results in unnecessary clutter and the cords may still create safety concerns. Furthermore, storing and charging multiple electronic devices on a kitchen or bathroom counter, desk, or elsewhere significantly reduces the counter&#39;s or desk&#39;s usable space, further creating unsightly clutter. 
   Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to minimize the safety concerns, the number of power outlets used, and the clutter associated with storing and charging multiple electronic devices. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a charging cabinet for holding and charging small electronic devices. Such a charging cabinet will have at least one shelf on which users may place small electronic devices, a housing to contain the at least one shelf, a plurality of power outlets that will deliver power to the devices, and a cord that plugs into an external power source and delivers power to the internal power outlets. 
   Using such charging cabinets will provide users with a way to charge and store multiple small electronic devices without dedicating valuable desk or counter space, or multiple household power outlets to the devices. Using a charging cabinet will also eliminate clutter created by multiple small electronic devices being stored or charged on a desk or on a counter in a kitchen or bathroom, for example. Additionally, the charging cabinet will eliminate the safety concerns of loose power cords by allowing them to be contained inside the charging cabinet. 
   Thus, in one respect an exemplary embodiment may be in the form of a device for charging a plurality of electronic objects. The device may comprise a housing having at least one shelf for holding the plurality of electronic objects, a plurality of power outlets, the plurality of power outlets for delivering power to the plurality of electronic objects, wherein the plurality of power outlets is built into the at least one shelf, and a means for delivering power to the plurality of power outlets. 
   Alternatively, an embodiment of the charging cabinet may comprise a frame having at least one shelf for holding a plurality of electronic objects, a plurality of power outlets for delivering power to the plurality of electronic objects, and a power cord for delivering electronic power to the plurality of power outlets. 
   These as well as other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the following detailed description, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIGS. 1A and 1B  are diagrams of a charging cabinet in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram of an alternative embodiment of the charging cabinet. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring to the drawings,  FIG. 1A  illustrates a charging cabinet in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. It should be understood, however, that this and other arrangements shown and described herein are exemplary only, and that many variations are possible. For instance, various elements could be combined, distributed, added, or omitted. 
   As generally illustrated in  FIG. 1A , charging cabinet  100  includes electronic devices  101 , housing  102  , shelf  103  , shelf  104 , doors  105 , power outlets  106 , power cord  107 , and ventilation outlets  108 . Electronic devices  101  may be cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (“PDA”), iPod® music players, electronic toothbrushes, electronic razors, digital cameras, GameBoy® hand-held video games, or other similar devices. The charging cabinet  100  may house or charge a multitude of such devices at a time. The charging cabinet may house or charge a plurality of homogenous devices. Alternatively, the devices may be heterogeneous. Housing  102  may be made from wood, metal, wood veneer, laminate, plastic, glass, cardboard, leather, aluminum, for example, or from other suitable material. Furthermore, housing  102  may be mounted on a wall, built flush into a wall, sit on the top of a desk or counter, or be built into another object, such as a car or truck, for example. Housing  102  illustrated in  FIG. 1A  shows an embodiment that is mountable on a wall. 
     FIG. 1A  also illustrates shelves  103  and  104  inside charging cabinet  100 . The shelves may be made from any material used for housing  102  or other suitable materials. As further illustrated in  FIG. 1A , the shelves in the charging cabinet may generally resemble cabinet shelves, as for example, shelf  103 . The shelves may also swing in and out, as illustrated by shelf  104  in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . One or both kinds of shelves may be implemented in a charging cabinet. For example, a charging cabinet may have one or more shelves  103 , one or more shelves  104 , or one or more of each kind of shelf. An exemplary charging cabinet illustrated in  FIGS. 1A and 1B  has just one of each kind of shelf. The alternative embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2  has just one shelf  203 , which is equivalent to shelf  103  in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . 
   Referring back to  FIG. 1A , shelf  103  is preferably adjustable, in that it slides in and out of charging cabinet  100 . Thus, a consumer could pull shelf  103  forward when placing electronic devices  101  on the shelf, and then slide the shelf back in position. This may be achieved in a variety of ways. For example, housing  102  may have brackets in the sidewalls. The brackets could both support a shelf and allow the shelf to move forward and back. To that end, the brackets may be roller brackets that would allow a shelf to slide forward and back. Alternatively, the brackets may be flat-sided. Additionally, the shelves, the brackets, or both may have a stopping mechanism that prevents a shelf from being pulled completely out of a charging cabinet. Elements other than brackets may ultimately be used to facilitate a shelf&#39;s sliding movement. For example, a charging cabinet may, instead, have special ridges or rails that would permit that same movement. 
   It is also preferable that shelf  103  is vertically adjustable, allowing a user to customize the shelf&#39;s height in the charging cabinet. The height of a bracket that supports shelf  103  could determine the height of shelf  103 . There could be several such brackets at varying heights in the sidewalls of housing  102 . Other techniques may also be implemented to control the height of a shelf inside housing  102 . For example, the ridges or rails described above, or other similar mechanisms could achieve the same purpose. 
     FIG. 1A  also illustrates shelf  104 , which, in turn, is made up of components  104  ( a ),  104  ( b ), and  104  ( c ). Component  104  ( a ) is the top section of shelf  104 . That is where electronic devices  101  may lie when being stored and/or charged. Component  104  ( b ) is the front section or the face plate of shelf  104  . Component  104  ( c ) is the bottom section of shelf  104 . That is where power outlets  106  may be installed. Component  104  ( c ) may also serve as the floor of charging cabinet  100 . 
   Components  104  ( c ) and  104  ( b ) are preferably connected by a hinge mechanism that allows component  104  ( b ) to swing.  FIG. 1A  illustrates shelf  104  in the swung-out position, whereas  FIG. 1B  illustrates shelf  104  in a swung-in position. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment and as illustrated in  FIG. 1B , when shelf  104  is in the swung-in position, power outlets  106  are not accessible or visible. 
   Components  104  ( a ) and  104  ( b ) are preferably connected by a structure or mechanism that secures the joint between the two components at a right angle. Alternatively, the joint may be flexible, and component  104  ( a ) may be held in place inside a charging cabinet by the brackets described above with reference to shelf  103 . According to an exemplary embodiment in  FIG. 1A , shelf  104  generally does not move. Preferably, its position inside charging cabinet  100  is fixed by the manufacturer of the charging cabinet. However, in an alternative embodiment, shelf  104  may be moveable. 
   Power outlets  106  may be installed on either side of component  104  ( c ). Referring to  FIG. 1A , power outlets  106  may be installed facing up, toward shelf  103 . Alternatively, in an embodiment that has additional shelves below shelf  104 , power outlets  106  may be installed facing down, toward those additional shelves. In yet another alternative embodiment, when there are no additional shelves below shelf  104 , some or all of the power outlets  106  may be installed to face outside the charging cabinet, and be accessible by electronic devices that are not inside the charging cabinet. Power outlets  106  may receive their power from a means that delivers power. In the present embodiment, such means is a power cord  107 , which, in turn, may be connected to an external power source, such as a domestic or commercial power outlet, for example. Alternative means for delivering power to power outlets  106  may be a battery, solar plates capable of generating solar power, or other, similar means. 
   The charging cabinet  100  may also include a means for protecting the power outlets  106  from a power surge. Such means may be a surge protector, or another similar device. The charging cabinet  100  may also include an uninterrupted power supply to safeguard the charging cabinet against power fluctuations. Furthermore, the charging cabinet  100  may include a cable, a telephone, or another data port. 
   Also illustrated in  FIG. 1A  are grooves  109 . According to the preferred embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1A , shelf  103  and component  104  ( a ) of shelf  104  each have a groove  109 . Groove  109  provides space between shelf  103  or  104  and the back wall of housing  102 . That space is where power cords connected to electronic devices  101  may pass. For example, in  FIG. 1A  electronic devices  101  lie on shelf  103 . The cords from electronic devices  101  fall through groove  109  down to power outlets  106 , where the power cords are plugged in. 
   In  FIG. 1A , power outlets  106  are installed in component  104  ( c ). Electronic devices  101  are resting on shelf  103  and can be plugged into power outlets  106  . Alternatively, electronic devices  101  may rest on component  104  ( a ) of shelf  104 . In  FIG. 1A , component  104  ( c ) does not have a groove because cords do not need to pass between it and the back wall of housing  102 . Therefore, in an embodiment where component  104  ( c ) is the floor of a charging cabinet, or where shelf  104  is the lowest shelf in a charging cabinet, even if it is not the floor, component  104  ( c ) may not require groove  109  . However, in an embodiment that has additional shelves below component  104  ( c ), component  104  ( c ) may, indeed, require groove  109 . 
   Referring back to the figures, grooves  109  may be of varying sizes. The size depends on what kinds of devices are intended to be stored in a particular charging cabinet. For example, for a charging cabinet that stores and charges household electronics, the groove may only need to be one-half inch or one inch wide. However, a cabinet that is built into a truck&#39;s bed is likely to house larger electronic devices, and those devices might have larger cords. Thus, such a charging cabinet may have a need for a larger—two to six inch—grooves, for example. 
   Power outlets  106  illustrated in  FIG. 1A  are preferably standard 110 volt outlets. They may be spaced out in a pattern shown in  FIG. 1A , or in another suitable pattern that will accommodate electronic devices. For example, the power outlets may be spaced wider apart, so as to accommodate electronic devices with large transformers. The power outlets may be built into the side walls of the housing  102  in addition to, or instead of, being built into shelf  103  or  104  . Furthermore, in addition to the built in power outlets, a commercial power strip may be used. 
   In  FIG. 1A , power outlets  106  are part of component  104  ( c ) of shelf  104 . In another embodiment, there could be more shelves above and below shelf  104 . Any number of shelves may ultimately be included in a charging cabinet, and the power outlets may be built into any of those shelves or into the housing. 
   The power outlets receive their electricity from a conventional power cord  107 , which plugs into a household or office outlet, for example. Another version of power cord  107  may plug into a vehicular or other power outlet. Also illustrated in  FIG. 1A  are ventilation outlets  108  . They allow the air inside housing  102  to circulate and help maintain a safe temperature.  FIGS. 1A and 1B  also show doors  105 , which may, in turn, use any commercially available locking device such as, for example, a magnet, a push-lock, or other similar device. Other locking mechanisms may also be used. 
   While  FIG. 1A  illustrates charging cabinet  100  with shelf  104  in a swung out position,  FIG. 1B  illustrates charging cabinet  100  with shelf  104  in the swung-in position. As shown in  FIG. 1B , when shelf  104  is in the swung-in position, power outlets  106  are not visible. Thus, the transformers and plugs of electronic devices  101  plugged into power outlets  106  also would not be visible. 
     FIG. 2  illustrates an alternative embodiment of the charging cabinet. In this embodiment, charging cabinet  200  may be shaped like a square, a circle, a rectangle, or any other shape, and be designed primarily to sit on top of a desk or counter. The housing may or may not have a lid on it. It may be like a box with a removable top or an attached top. It may also be shaped like a conventional jewelry box. If housing  202  has a lid, the lid may be attached to housing  202  with a hinge or another similar mechanism. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , lids  205  have magnets that enable charging cabinet  200  to close. 
   In this embodiment, the shelf  203  has a groove  209 . Shelf  203  is preferably adjustable, in that it slides in and out of charging cabinet  200 . Thus, a consumer could pull the shelf forward when placing electronic device  201  on it, and then slide the shelf back in position. As described above with reference to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , this may be achieved in a variety of ways. For example, housing  202  may have brackets in the sidewalls. The brackets could both support a shelf and allow the shelf to be moved forward and back. To that end, the brackets may be roller brackets that would allow a shelf to slide forward and back. Alternatively, the brackets may be flat-sided. Additionally, the shelves, the brackets, or both may have a stopping mechanism that prevents a shelf from being pulled completely out of a charging cabinet. Elements other than brackets may ultimately be used to facilitate a shelf&#39;s sliding movement. For example, a charging cabinet may, instead, have special ridges or rails that would permit that same movement 
   It is also preferable that shelf  203  is vertically adjustable, allowing a user to customize the shelf&#39;s height in the charging cabinet. The height of a bracket that supports a shelf could determine the height of the shelf. There could be several such brackets at varying heights in the sidewalls of housing  202 . Other techniques may also be implemented to control the height of a shelf inside housing  202 . For example, as previously mentioned with reference to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the ridges, rails, or other similar mechanisms could achieve the same purpose. 
   Shelf  203  also has a groove  209  that allows the cords to fall to the power outlets  206  below it. Thus, a user may pull shelf  203  forward, plug electronic device  201  into one of power outlets  206 , push shelf  203  back into place—above the power outlets—and place electronic device  201  on shelf  203  for storage. Finally, housing  202  also has ventilation outlets  208 . They allow for the air to circulate through the charging cabinet, thereby maintaining a safe temperature.