Patent Publication Number: US-2009230826-A1

Title: Concealed firearm curio cabinet

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This application claims the benefit and priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/903,743 filed on Feb. 27, 2007. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to the field of gun storage units, and more specifically to a highly stylized curio cabinet designed to conform to household environments in order to optically conceal its functionality as a weapons storage cabinet. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a top perspective view of one embodiment of a concealed firearm curio cabinet with the doors closed. 
         FIG. 2  shows a top perspective view of one embodiment of a concealed firearm curio cabinet shown in  FIG. 1 , but with the door open. 
         FIG. 3  shows a cross-sectional top view of the embodiment of a concealed firearm curio cabinet shown in  FIG. 1  taken along line  3 - 3 . 
         FIG. 4  shows a cross-sectional top view of the embodiment of the concealed firearm curio cabinet shown in  FIG. 1  taken along line  3 - 3 , but with the doors open. 
         FIG. 5  shows a top perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the concealed firearm curio cabinet. 
     
    
    
     BACKGROUND  
     It is estimated that guns are kept in 25% of American homes. Many gun owners have children, or live in homes that are visited by children. The hazards posed by guns that are visible and accessible to children are well-documented and tragic. The U.S. Center for Disease Control has estimated that nearly 3,000 children are killed by gun-related accidents each year. Additionally, stolen guns pose enormous risks to society. There are nearly 300,000 reports of stolen guns each year, and a high percentage of homicides are committed with stolen guns. 
     Secure gun cabinets help to mitigate the hazards of guns kept in residential settings. However, many gun owners are resistant to purchasing and using them. Secure gun cabinets reduce space available in the home for other furniture, and often are not multifunctional as an item of furniture and do not serve other purposes in the household, such as the storage and display of household objects. 
     Additionally, the presence of a visible secure cabinet in a home generally indicates that some sort of items are stored within it, and is an obvious target for thieves, intruders or mischievous children looking for guns (or other valuable objects) kept within a home. 
     Currently, there are a number of commercially available gun cabinets and storage cabinets designed for residential settings. However, these gun storage cabinets are available in limited style options and are not functionally designed to detract from their appearance as storage cabinets. Also, although some commercially available gun storage cabinets are designed to complement or blend into residential environments, they are not designed to allow consumers to personalize their appearance to adapt the cabinets to their home surroundings and lifestyles. Additionally, currently available gun storage cabinets do not take advantage of a full range of optical effects to detract attention from the storage unit as a potential repository of guns and weaponry. 
     GLOSSARY 
     As used herein, “firearm” refers to any small arms weapon capable of firing a projectile and using an explosive charge as a propellant, including but not limited to pistols, rifles, and shotguns. 
     As used herein, “curio cabinet” refers to any type of cabinet or item of furniture normally found in a domestic setting, and which is used to store, display or rest objects such as collectibles, dishes, photographs, heirlooms, china, books, pottery or other objects which are normally found in a household and unrelated to firearms or weaponry. An item of furniture may be categorized as a curio cabinet, regardless of whether it serves any other function (e.g., a hutch, a table, a bookshelf, etc.). 
     As used herein, “optically concealed” means any object, compartment or component designed or configured to be visually unobtrusive or less noticeable. For example, an object may be angled or constructed in a manner so that its actual width or depth appears minimized or optically concealed. Object may be optically concealed so that the angles of planes and surfaces minimize the outer visibility of interior storage areas. Other means of creating an optically concealed interior compartment include but are not limited to positioning conspicuous objects in a manner so as to draw attention from the object or component to be optically concealed, minimizing the gap between components such as doors which permit access to the interior concealed area and positioning surfaces to use reflective light to detract from visibility. 
     As used herein, “reflective surface” means any surface which reflects or absorbs light in a manner to facilitate the design of an optically concealed feature, including polished, mirrored, contoured, textured and other light refracting or absorbing surfaces. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is desirable to make a multi-functional item of furniture, such as a curio cabinet, available to consumers which allows them to personalize the appearance of the cabinet by allowing them to store objects reflecting their personal tastes and lifestyles such as art, collectibles, dishes, pottery, jewelry, knick-knacks, candles, glassware, silverware and any other object which may be found in a household but which is not associated with guns or weaponry. 
     The concealed firearm curio cabinet described herein includes a central portion having a top surface, a first side surface, a second side surface, a bottom surface and a front surface, and at least one optically concealed hinge or bracket to create an optically concealed door forming an optically concealed firearm storage compartment. Some, but not all embodiments, include at least one angled surface to optically conceal the width of said optically concealed firearm storage compartment, and optically concealed lock. Other embodiments include a glass panel to form a viewing surface to visually display objects unrelated to firearms thus visually detracting from the optically concealed compartment. Other embodiments may include a fully or partially lit interior compartment for displaying objects to visually detract from said optically concealed firearm storage compartment, and may be constructed so that the seam between any door or panel is minimized or positioned to optically conceal the visibility of the door, drawer or other internal gun storage compartment. Other embodiments may include at least one reflective surface to reflect light and visually detract from said optically concealed firearm storage compartment. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the present invention, references are made in the text hereof to embodiments of a piece of furniture with a concealed firearm storage compartment, only some of which are depicted in the figures. It should nevertheless be understood that no limitations on the scope of the invention are thereby intended. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that modifications such as the dimensions, size, and shape of the components, materials from which the furniture is made, and the inclusion of additional elements are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, and that all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the written description do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Some of these possible modifications are mentioned in the following description. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed piece of furniture with a concealed firearm storage compartment or manner. 
     It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In addition, in the embodiments depicted herein, the reader should understand that like reference numerals in the various drawings refer to the like elements, components, and structural elements of the invention. 
     Moreover, the term “substantially” or “approximately” as used herein may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. For example, one embodiment of a piece of furniture with a concealed firearm storage compartment is disclosed herein as being rectangular. The furniture might permissibly be somewhat non-rectangular and still be within the scope of the invention if its functionality is not materially altered. 
     Referring now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  shows a top perspective view of one embodiment of a piece of curio cabinet  100  which includes concealed firearm storage compartment  200  (not visible with the doors closed). Furniture  100  is comprised of central portion  110  and two (2) doors  120 ,  121 . Central portion  110  is comprised of top surface  130 , front surface  140 , side surfaces (not visible; discussed in greater detail infra), base  170 , and back surface (also not visible; discussed in greater detail infra). In the embodiment shown, each door  120 ,  121  is connected to the side surfaces by one (1) or more optically concealed hinges (also not visible; discussed in greater detail infra). 
     In the embodiment shown, curio cabinet  100  is readily recognizable as a curio cabinet, in which front surface  140  and the back surface are covered by glass, allowing shelves  190  (illuminated by one or more lights, not visible) within curio cabinet  100  and any objects placed thereon to be viewed. However, it should be understood that almost any other piece of furniture, e.g., an entertainment center, china cabinet, credenza, dresser, computer cabinet, or filing cabinet, with or without lighting, can be used, and any number of shelves  190  can be used. Furthermore, alternate embodiments of furniture  100  need not include shelves  190  entirely. 
       FIG. 2  shows a top perspective view of the embodiment of curio cabinet  100  shown in  FIG. 1 , but with door  120  open. In this figure, side surfaces  160 ,  161  and hinges  150  are visible. Side surface  160  of central portion  110  and door  120  form optically concealed firearm storage compartment  200 . A similar compartment may be formed on the other side of furniture  100 , but is not visible from this perspective. Because of the shape of door  120 , i.e., rounded front corners  122 , the presence of concealed firearm storage compartment  200  is not readily apparent when furniture  100  is viewed. The shape of door  120  and the rounded or angled corners  120  are angled or placed to visually minimize (i.e., optically conceal) the outer surfaces of curio cabinet  100  which surround concealed firearm storage compartment  200 . 
     In the embodiment shown, gun rack  210  and firearm shelving  211  support firearm  220  within concealed firearm storage compartment  200 . Ammunition shelving  212  is also visible within concealed firearm storage compartment  200 . It should be understood, however, that any number of firearm shelving  210 ,  211  can be within compartment, and any number of ammunition shelving  212 , including none, can be included in curio cabinet  100 . Moreover, in other embodiments, firearm storage compartment may be an optically concealed drawer. Moreover, while firearm shelving  210 ,  211  and firearm shelving  212  are shown to be positioned on side surface  160 , firearm shelving  210 ,  211  and firearm shelving  212  could alternately be positioned on inner surface  125  of door  120 . It should also be understood that doors  120  and  121  may be a plurality of panels, sliding panels or other cabinet or door configurations. Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  collectively, doors  120 ,  121  are shaped with rounded front corners  122  (the rounded corner of door  121  is not visible) to conceal compartment  200  by giving curio cabinet  100  the appearance that shelves  190  extend to the outward limits of curio cabinet  100 . In addition, top surface  130  extends beyond side surfaces  160 ,  161  to help optically conceal the seam between doors  120 ,  121  and side surfaces  160 ,  161 , respectively. 
     Also visible in  FIGS. 1 and 2  are locking members  180 ,  181 . Locking members  180 ,  181  lock doors  120 ,  121  in a closed position. In the embodiment shown, locking members  180 ,  181  are key locks, but can alternately be any type of lock commonly known in the art. It should be understood, too, that each and every embodiment of curio cabinet  100  need not include locking members  180 ,  181 , and that a single locking member could be used to lock both doors  120 ,  121 . In the embodiment shown, locking members are optically concealed. 
       FIG. 3  shows a cross-sectional top view of the embodiment of curio cabinet  100  with a concealed firearm storage compartment  200  shown in  FIG. 1  taken along line  3 - 3 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a cross-sectional top view of the embodiment of the curio cabinet with a concealed firearm storage compartment shown in  FIG. 1  taken along line  4 - 4 , but with the doors open. 
       FIG. 5  shows a top perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the curio cabinet with a concealed firearm storage compartment. Also visible are leg supports  175 , which elevate central portion  110  off of the ground. 
     While curio cabinet  100  with concealed firearm storage compartment  200  has been shown and described with respect to several embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is to be understood that the same is not limited thereto, but is susceptible to numerous changes and modifications as known to a person of ordinary skill in the art, and it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the details shown and described herein, but rather cover all such changes and modifications obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art.