Abstract:
A motor driven storage unit is configured to bring individual shelves to a standard handicapped accessible height for viewing and selection of product on shelves. The shelves are controllable and move in a continuous path that has both a front vertical path and a rear vertical path. Stationary guide tracks and complimentary tracking elements connected to the shelves are used to keep shelves stable. A connecting lever is used to attach the shelves to the chain or other transport means and along with the tracking system ensures that fill storage utilization of the shelves and the space between them can occur.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to closet space improvement and increased functionality of home storage. It relates in general to shelving that display goods for viewing and selection. More particularly the invention relates to a powered carousel unit configured to bring shelves to a standard height.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Prior Art  
         [0004]     There are many different means for storing household items with some of the current design approaches being stationary shelves, baskets, drawers or in some cases square cubicles. These designs are used through out the home including bedroom closets, kitchen pantries, etc. These methods are effective but they do not allow storage capacity to be significantly improved. Nor do they allow every storage container to be brought to a convenient height for access to its contents. The present invention overcomes these relatively static approaches by utilizing a motor driven vertical carousel to improve storage capacity and increase the ease to which goods can be retrieved.  
         [0005]     A variety of carousel shelving units are known and have been used in a variety of settings for various purposes. For example U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,118, U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,647, U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,880 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,815 all disclose vertical carousel shelving units of different configurations, some of which could be used for home storage. However, none of these carousel shelving units have gained any acceptance for use in the home. To date, no efficient or effective carousel unit is available or in widespread use in the home because the designs are too complex to be affordable or they simply don&#39;t work well enough. Furthermore, there are some handicapped products that automatically lower shelves to an accessible height for the physically challenged but there are no carousels that are available or in widespread use to solve the same problem.  
         [0006]     A key point for carousel design is a guide system that is simple, effective and allows for the shelves to not have to be spaced so far apart vertically that space is wasted. To accomplish this, the guide system must work in conjunction with a lever arm connected to the chain or other transport means so as to give the shelves enough angular velocity so that the shelves don&#39;t make contact with each other as they travel from front to back and from back to front. U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,118 accomplishes this in its design but not with out using additional parts from what is required in the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,647, U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,880 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,815 are the other patents that are closest to the present invention but they do not accomplish this feature and hence they require a significant amount of space between shelves where no storage can occur. Also, if the shelves are open on the top this can also result in serious jamming of the system if items that are too tall are placed on the shelf. This problem along with other issues are solved by the design of the present invention.  
       OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES  
       [0007]     Several objects and advantages of the present invention are: 
        a) A simple guide system that prevents unnecessary swinging of shelves, is quiet when in operation and cannot jam.     b) A guide system that allows for easy installation and removal of shelves.     c) A connecting lever that attaches to the transport chain to ensure that shelves can be properly spaced so that no space is wasted.     d) A simple and effective means for attaching the connecting lever to a standard roller chain which is used to transport the shelves.     e) A mechanism for ensuring that no slack can occur in the transport chain and that the chain is always in tension.     f) An accessible means for retrieving stored items for persons of varying height including those that are physically challenged and or use a wheel chair        
 
         [0014]     Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0015]     In accordance with the present invention, the motor driven storage system is provided with a plurality of shelves that are pivotally suspended in a normal horizontal position for movement along a vertical carousel path. The carousel path is characterized as having a front path segment, a back path segment and a circular top and bottom path segments connecting the front and back path segments together to establish a continuous path. A controllable drive unit is connected for powered movement of the shelves along the carousel path, and for positioning of individual shelves at a predetermined access height along the front path. A pair of stationary track systems is located on each side of the shelves, tracking generally along the carousel path of the shelves. The shelves are provided with tracking elements connected for movement therewith and operatively engaging the track systems as the shelves travel along the carousel path.  
     
    
     DRAWINGS (INFORMAL)  
       [0016]      FIG. 1A  shows a perspective view of the motor driven storage system.  
         [0017]      FIG. 1B  shows a front view of the shelf, guide and connecting lever.  
         [0018]      FIG. 1C  shows a front view of the connecting lever, plate and chain  
         [0019]      FIG. 2A  shows a front view of the container shelf.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2B  shows a side view of the container shelf.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3A  shows a front view of the internal structure and the motor.  
         [0022]      FIG. 3B  shows a side view of the internal structure and the motor.  
         [0023]      FIG. 4A  shows a left side view of the guide tracks.  
         [0024]      FIG. 4B  shows a right side view of the guide tracks.  
         [0025]      FIG. 5A  shows a side view of the gear assembly (First alternative embodiment)  
         [0026]      FIG. 5B  shows a perspective view of the gear assembly (First alternative embodiment)  
         [0027]      FIG. 6A  shows a front view of the motor driven storage system with bottom access (Second alternative embodiment) 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0028]      FIG. 1A  illustrates the motor driven storage system  1 A which includes a left side support  1  and a right side support  2 . These supports can be the sides of a home closet or the sides of a typical standard shelving system. The left and right support frames  1 ,  2  are illustrated as being made of wood melamine but can be formed of various beams in skeletal form reinforced with metal support plates that could hold the infrastructure of the motor driven storage system  1 A. Container shelves  5  are also shown with a shelf cage  12  and are stacked vertically. Different shelving designs are available depending on what is being stored. Also, shown is a top enclosure panel  3  and at the bottom is a bottom enclosure  4 . The bottom enclosure  4  has the ability to open and close for maintenance. When installed the storage system would become a permanent fixture of the home or building and in most cases would go from the floor to the ceiling (8 or 10 ft)  
         [0029]     The bottom break out of  FIG. 1A  shows a container shelf  5  that is connected to a left chain  9  by a connecting pin  13  that connects the container shelf  5  to a connecting lever  7  that then attaches to the left chain  9 . Also on the container shelf  5  is a left front pin  19  that runs in a left front guide track  10 . Also shown is a lower left sprocket  6  that left chain  9  integrates with along with a lower left bearing flange  8 .  
         [0030]     The top break out of  FIG. 1A  shows a container shelf  5  that is connected to a left chain  9  by a connecting pin  13  that connects the container shelf  5  to a connecting lever  7  that then attaches to the left chain  9 . Also on the container shelf  5  is a left rear pin  16  that runs in a left rear guide track  11 . Also shown is an upper left sprocket  15  that left chain  9  integrates with along with a upper left bearing flange  14 .  
         [0031]     In  FIG. 1B  container shelf  5  is shown with shelf cage  12 . It is attached to connecting lever  7  by connecting pin  13 . Connecting lever  7  is attached to left chain  9 . Left front pin  19  spins freely and runs in the left front guide track  10 .  
         [0032]     In  FIG. 1C  a plate  7   a  is shown that is used to attach connecting lever  7  to left chain  9  and right chain  24 . This plate provides a means for attachment to the rivots of the chain. The connecting lever width is equal or slightly less than the width of the chain link and is made out of slightly compressible material such as plastic. The plate  7   a  is located on each side of the chain and both are fastened together, with the connecting lever in the middle, using machine screws. Because the width of the connecting lever matches the width of the chain a tight bond between the two is possible.  
         [0033]      FIG. 2A  shows container shelf  5  in a front view. Left rear pin  16  and left front pin  19  are on one side of the container shelf  5  and a right rear pin  17  and right front pin  18  are on the other side of container shelf  5 . At the bottom are locking blocks  32 .  
         [0034]     In  FIG. 2B  the locking blocks  32  are shown locking two container shelves  5  to each other.  FIG. 2B  also shows where the pins  16 , 17 , 18 , 19  are located from the side view on the container shelf  5 . Right rear pin  17  and right front pin  18  are shown as hidden in this view.  
         [0035]      FIG. 3A  shows from the front view the internal structure. Upper left sprocket  15  is attached to upper left bearing flange  14  by means of a left stub axle  33 . The upper left sprocket  15  is integrated to left chain  9  and is synchronous with lower left sprocket  6 , which is also attached to left chain  9 . Lower left sprocket  6  connects with a lower right sprocket  23  by means of a drive shaft  31 . At the left end of drive shaft  31  is lower left bearing flange  8  and at the right end is lower right bearing flange  22 . The lower right sprocket  23  is integrated to right chain  24  and is synchronous with upper right sprocket  20  which is also attached to right chain  24 . Upper right sprocket  20  is attached to upper right bearing flange  21  by means of a right stub axle  34 . Upper and lower left bearing flanges  14 ,  8  are supported by left side support  1  and upper and lower right bearing flanges  21 ,  22  are supported by right side support  2 .  
         [0036]     At the bottom of  FIG. 3A  is shown an electric motor  25 , which has a motor sprocket  27 . Motor sprocket  27  connects to motor chain  26 , which turns a drive sprocket  35  which is fixed to drive shaft  31 .  
         [0037]      FIG. 3B  shows a side view of electric motor  25  and motor sprocket  27 . It is positioned at the corner of a rear support  28  and a bottom support  30 . The bottom support  30  can be merely the floor of the closet as can the rear support  28  be merely the rear wall of a closet. Also shown is a side view of motor chain  26  connecting to drive sprocket  35 . In addition a side view is shown of one of the container shelves  5  along with the connecting lever  7 , lower left sprocket  6  and left chain  9 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 4A  shows the left front guide track  10  and the left rear guide track  11 . Behind the left front guide track  10  and on the opposite end of the container shelf  5  is the right front guide track  36 . Behind the left rear guide track  11  and on the opposite end of the container shelf  5  is the right rear guide track  37 . The left front pin  19  moves in the left front guide track  10  and the left rear pin  16  moves in the left rear guide track  11 .  
         [0039]      FIG. 4B  shows the right front guide track  36  and the right rear guide track  37 . Behind the right front guide track  36  and on the opposite end of the container shelf  5  is the left front guide track  10 . Behind the right rear guide track  37  and on the opposite end of the container shelf  5  is the left rear guide track  11 . The right front pin  18  moves in the right front guide track  36  and the right rear pin  17  moves in the right rear guide track  37 .  
         [0040]     Each guide track ( 10 , 11 , 36 , 37 ) is padded with between ⅛ inch and ¼ inch soft elastic material in order to reduce noise. This padding is on both sides of the track and is placed anywhere that the pins ( 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ) make contact with the guides.  
       OPERATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0041]     The purpose of the invention is to create more usable closet storage space and also increase the ease of selection when removing items from storage in the home or business. The invention is basically an electric motor driven vertically revolving carousel. It will effectively double usable shelf space by bringing items in the back to the front and will also allow for easier selection by bringing items to eye level view. It can be used in the home for food supplies in the pantry, shoes in the bedroom closet, light duty storage in the garage, workshop, etc. It can also be used in restaurants or other businesses where increased light duty useful storage is required. It is designed to be used by everyone but would be most beneficial to handicapped individuals or others with physical limitations.  
         [0042]     The operation of the storage system is such that the container shelves  5  ( FIG. 1A ) can be moved up or down and powered by an electric motor in order to find storage items with ease. It functions by user contact with two pushbuttons, one for up and one for down. The button pushed is held until the shelf that is requested has presented itself to the user. The switch can also be a toggle or paddle switch that is of the momentary on-off-on variety. The speed is designed so that the users can examine shelf contents satisfactorily while the shelves move by as he/she actuates the up or down button. Shelves in the center rear move to the center front in about 10 to 12 seconds. When the desired container shelf  5  is found, the shelf stays in place when the user releases the push button by means of a brake that is built into the motor that drives the storage system.  
         [0043]     When container shelves  5  travel up and down in the vertical direction they lock into position for rigidity by means of locking blocks  32  ( FIG. 2B ). The locking gives the shelves stability and the feeling of stationary shelves when objects are inserted and removed by hand. The container shelves also do not need to have any dead space between them when they are in the vertical position because the connecting lever  7  ( FIG. 1A,1B ) moves the container shelves at a faster rate when transferring from front to back and back to front so that no collisions between shelves can occur. The connecting lever  7  ( FIG. 1A,1B ) is designed hold the connecting pin  13  ( FIG. 1A,1B ) that pivotally supports the container shelf  5  ( FIG. 1A ) The connecting lever  7  ( FIG. 1A,1B ) is triangular in shape and also is designed to ensure that no slack can occur in left chain  9  ( FIG. 3A ) and right chain  24  ( FIG. 3A ). The weight of the container shelves in combination with the connecting lever  7  act as a chain tensioning device so as to ensure no slack can be developed in the chains.  
         [0044]     The container shelves  5  are kept stable and level as they travel and move from back to front and front to back in the storage system. There are four guides for this purpose. They are ( FIG. 4A ) left front guide track  10 , left rear guide track  11 , ( FIG. 4B ) right front guide track  36  and right rear guide track  37 . The design is such that only one pin integrates with one track. The design is such that only left front pin  19  ( FIG. 4A ) rides in left front guide track  10 , only left rear pin  16  rides in left rear guide track  11 , only right rear pin  17  ( FIG. 4B ) rides in right rear guide track  37  and only right front pin  18  rides in right front guide track  36 . As the container shelves  5  ( FIG. 1A ) move, at least one or more pins are always in a guide track keeping the shelves level and stable. In  FIG. 4A  when pins  19  and  18  are in their tracks pins  16  and  17  are not in their tracks. As the shelves move from front to back, right front pin  18  leaves its track as left rear pin  16  enters its track. During this transfer, left front pin  19  holds the shelf in position. When left front pin  19  leaves its track right rear pin  17  enters its track. During this transfer, left rear pin  16  holds the shelf in position. In  FIG. 4B  when pins  16  and  17  are in their tracks pins  19  and  18  are not in their tracks. As the shelves move from back to front, left rear pin  16  leaves its track as right front pin  18  enters its track. During this transfer, right rear pin  17  holds the shelf in position. When right rear pin  17  leaves its track left front pin  19  enters its track. During this transfer, right front pin  18  holds the shelf in position. The discontinuity of the tracks is necessary to keep collisions with the connector pin  13  and its travel path from occurring.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENT  
       [0045]     The first alternative embodiment includes everything in the preferred embodiment except the pins  16 , 17 , 18 , 19  ( FIGS. 4A and 4B ) located on the container shelf  5  and the tracks  10 , 11  ( FIG. 4A )  36 ,  37  ( FIG. 4B ) that they integrate with. The contents of  FIGS. 5A and 5B  replace these items.  
         [0046]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  shows the following. A plastic gear  40  is fixed to the container shelf  5 , which integrates with plastic gear  41 . Plastic gear  41  has  2  gear surfaces, which are attached to each other and the total unit spins freely on right stub axle  34 . The inner gear surface of plastic gear  41  is driven by a plastic gear  44 , which is fixed to shaft  47 . Shaft  47  is driven by plastic gear  43 , which is driven by a plastic gear  42  that is fixed to the right stub axle  34 . The shaft  47  has a bearing flange  46  to give it support.  
         [0047]     The part assemblies that are shown in  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  are located at both the top and bottom on the right hand side of the motor driven storage system.  
       OPERATION OF THE FIRST ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENT  
       [0048]     The first alternative embodiment is used to keep container shelves level as they move from front to back and back to front. This replaces the operation of the tracks  10 , 11  ( FIG. 4A )  36 ,  37  ( FIG. 4B ) and pins  16 , 17 , 18 , 19  ( FIGS. 4A and 4B ). When a container shelf is raised or lowered to a point where it begins to move from back to front or front to back, the plastic gear  40  ( FIG. 5A ) that is located on the container shelf  5  ( FIG. 5A ) begins to make contact with plastic gear  41  ( FIG. 5A, 5B ). As it moves front to back or back to front, gear  41  ( FIG. 5A, 5B ) keeps the container shelf level by turning gear  40  ( FIG. 5A,5B ). This is what keeps the container shelf stable and keeps it from swinging. Plastic gear  41  spins freely on shaft  34  and because it is driven by the gearing shown, spins at twice the rate of upper right sprocket  20  ( FIG. 5B ). As the container shelf begins to end its transfer from the back or the front the plastic gear  40  automatically disengages from plastic gear  41 .  
         [0049]     This operation for stabilization occurs at both the top and bottom of the motor driven storage system.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE SECOND ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENT  
       [0050]     The second alternative embodiment is a bottom access storage system  48  shown in  FIG. 6A  and is used for closet designs that wish to have stationary shelves below the carousel unit. It includes everything that is in the preferred embodiment except that the access point for selecting items is at the bottom of the unit. This allows for the bottom access storage system  48  ( FIG. 6A ) to be placed such that the highest point an individual can reach would be the bottom of the unit and then normal reachable stationary shelves can then be placed below the carousel unit. This allows for a complete closet design where normal shelves are used where you can reach and a motor driven system is used for shelves that you would normally not be able to reach. Also, because this alternative embodiment has the same connecting lever  7  ( FIG. 1A,1B ) as the preferred embodiment there is slightly more space at the bottom of the unit for inserting and removing items as the connecting lever  7  ( FIG. 1A,1B ) places the shelves lower then the others and causes an opening as shelves move from front to back and back to front.  
         [0051]      FIG. 6A  shows the following; the bottom access storage system  48 , a clear acrylic guard  49  that replaces the shelf cage  12  ( FIG. 1A,2A ) from the preferred embodiment, a switch  50  that is of the momentary on-off-on variety that controls the shelf movement. Also shown is a cover  51  that encloses the motor drive system shown in  FIG. 3B  of the preferred embodiment. This motor drive system is now at the top of the carousel unit instead of at the bottom as was shown for the preferred embodiment.  
       OPERATION OF THE SECOND ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENT  
       [0052]     The second alternative embodiment operates exactly as the preferred embodiment except that the second alternative embodiment allows for access of items at the bottom of the unit.  
       CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE  
       [0053]     Accordingly the reader will see that the motor driven storage system in many respects is a superior design over the prior art. This is because the design is simple using significantly fewer parts yet at the same time increases the shelf space utilization.  
         [0054]     The tracking system that is discontinuous allows for easy mounting and dismounting of the shelves. The tracking system is unique in that at the top of the carousel unit, the left side tracking system controls shelf stabilization and at the bottom, the right side tracking system controls shelf stabilization. The pin placement on the shelves is also unique and allows for greater reduction of unnecessary shelf pivoting along with ensuring that no collision between the shelf connecting pin and the tracking system can occur. Also, the padding on the tracking system ensures quiet operation.  
         [0055]     The triangular shaped connecting lever for attaching shelves to the chain ensures that the chain is always in tension and cannot come off as it wears and stretches with age. The connecting lever also delivers enough angular velocity so that shelves don&#39;t collide when reaching the radial portions of the carousel path at the top and bottom of the unit.  
         [0056]     The plate used to attach the connecting lever to the chain is also unique as it allows a standard roller chain to be effectively used in the design instead of the much more expensive standard roller attachment chain.  
         [0057]     Furthermore the motor driven storage system allows for access of stored items not only in the front carousel path as shown in most all of the prior art but also at the bottom of the carousel path as well.  
         [0058]     Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but merely providing illustrations of some of the advantages and embodiments of this invention.