Patent Publication Number: US-11047621-B2

Title: Heated outdoor storage assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
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     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to storage assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new storage assembly for warming and drying towels. 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The prior art relates to storage assemblies. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing that defines an interior space. An aperture that is positioned in a front of the housing is configured to allow access to the interior space. A door that is hingedly coupled to the housing is positioned to be selectively hinged relative to the housing to close the aperture. A set of shelves, which is selectively couplable to the housing so that each shelf extends between opposing sides of the housing, is configured to stow an article. Each of a set of slots is positioned in a respective shelf so that the set of slots is configured to allow flow of air through the set of shelves. A heating module that is coupled to the housing and positioned in the interior space proximate to a bottom of the housing is configured to heat the air to warm and dry the article. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric perspective view of a heated outdoor storage assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a back view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 5  thereof, a new storage assembly embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 5 , the heated outdoor storage assembly  10  generally comprises a housing  12  that defines an interior space  14 . The housing  12  comprises a roof  16  that may be gable type so that the roof  16  is configured to shed water. Other configurations of the roof  16  are anticipated, such as hip, gambrel, mansard, and the like. 
     An aperture  18  that is positioned in a front  20  of the housing  12  is configured to allow access to the interior space  14 . A door  22  is hingedly coupled to the housing  12  proximate to the aperture  18 . The door  22  is complementary to the aperture  18  so that the door  22  is positioned to be selectively hinged relative to the housing  12  to close the aperture  18 . 
     A set of hinges  24  is coupled to and extends between the door  22  and the housing  12  so that the door  22  is hingedly coupled to the housing  12 . The set of hinges  24  comprises from one to three hinges  24 . For example, the set of hinges  24  may comprise one hinge  24  that is piano type, two hinges  24  that are barrel type, as shown in  FIG. 4 , or three hinges  24  that are barrel type. A handle  26  that is coupled to the door  22  is configured to be grasped in a hand of a user to hinge the door  22  relative to the housing  12 . 
     A locking means  28  that is coupled to the housing  12  is selectively couplable to the door  22  to fixedly position the door  22  in the opening. The locking means  28  may comprise a peg  30  that is rotationally coupled to the housing  12 . The peg  30  is configured to be selectively rotated from a vertical configuration to a horizontal configuration to fixedly position the door  22  in the opening. The locking means  28  also may comprises other types of closures, such as, but not limited to, magnetic closures, latches, and the like. 
     A set of shelves  32  is selectively couplable to the housing  12  so that each shelf  32  extends between opposing sides  34  of the housing  12 . The shelf  32  is configured to stow an article, such as a towel as shown in  FIG. 5 . The set of shelves  32  comprises from one to four shelves  32 . For example, the set of shelves  32  may comprise one shelf  32 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . Each of a set of slots  36  is positioned in a respective shelf  32  so that the set of slots  36  is configured for air to flow through the set of shelves  32 . 
     A heating module  38  is coupled to the housing  12  and is positioned in the interior space  14  proximate to a bottom  40  of the housing  12 . The heating module  38  is configured to heat the air to warm and to dry the article, such as towels as shown in  FIG. 5 . The assembly  10  is anticipated to be useful in proximity to an outdoor hot tub in cold environments. 
     The heating module  38  may comprise a set of heat lamps  42 , or other heating means, such as, but not limited to, radiant heaters, convective heaters, and the like. The set of heat lamps  42  comprises from one to three heat lamps  42 . For example, the set of heat lamps  42  may comprise two heat lamps  42 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     A set of hooks  44  is coupled to the housing  12  and is positioned in the interior space  14 . Each hook  44  is configured to hang an item, such as a robe. The heating module  38  is configured to heat the air to warm and to dry the item. The set of hooks  44  comprises from one to three hooks  44 . For example, the set of hooks  44  may comprise two hooks  44 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     Each of a set of slats  46  is coupled to a respective opposing side  34  of the housing  12  and is positioned in the interior space  14  so that respective slats  46  are positioned to support a respective shelf  32  parallel to the bottom  40  of the housing  12 . The set of slats  46  may comprise four slats  46  that are positioned two-apiece on each opposing side  34 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , providing a user options to position two shelves  32  in the interior space  14  or one shelf  32  in one of two positions within the interior space  14 . 
     A grate  48  is coupled to the housing  12  that defines an upper chamber  50  and a lower chamber  52  within the interior space  14 . The grate  48  is positioned proximate to a lower edge  54  of the aperture  18  and is parallel to the bottom  40 . The heating module  38  is positioned in the lower chamber  52 . The set of shelves  32  is positioned in the upper chamber  50  so that the grate  48  is configured to prevent the article from coming into contact with the heating module  38 . The grate  48  may comprise peg board, or other grated panel, such as, but not limited to, screens, meshes, and the like. 
     A power module  56  is coupled to the housing  12  and is positioned in the interior space  14 . The power module  56  is operationally coupled to the heating module  38  so that the power module  56  is positioned to selectively power the heating module  38 . The power module  56  may comprise a power cord  58  that is coupled to the heating module  38  and which extends from the housing  12 . The power cord  58  is configured to operationally couple the heating module  38  to a source of alternating current. The power module  56  also may comprise other powering means, such as, but not limited to, batteries, generators, and the like. 
     A controller  60  that is coupled to the housing  12  is operationally coupled to the power module  56  and the heating module  38 . The controller  60  is timer type so that the controller  60  is positioned to selectively actuate the heating module  38  for a selected period of time. The controller  60  is positioned within the upper chamber  50  so that the housing  12  is configured to shield the controller  60  from precipitation. 
     A blower module  62  may be coupled to the housing  12  and positioned in the interior space  14  proximate to the heating module  38 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The blower module  62  is operationally coupled to the power module  56  and the controller  60 . The blower module  62  is configured to circulate heated air within the interior space  14  to enhance the warming and the drying of the article. The blower module  62  comprises a fan  64 . 
     In use, the housing  12  is positioned proximate to a hot tub. The controller  60  is used to actuate the set of heat lamps  42  to warm and dry the towels and the robes that are positioned on the shelves  32  and hooks  44 , respectively. Upon exiting the hot tub, the user has a towel and a robe available for use that are both warm and dry. After use, the towel and robe can be placed back into the interior space  14  to be dried. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the elements is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.