Patent Publication Number: US-2022225765-A1

Title: Cabinet storage system

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/300,311, filed Jan. 18, 2021, which is entirely incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to a cabinet storage system for use in a cabinet or other enclosure. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Cabinets such as storage cabinets for kitchens, bathrooms, closets, offices and other uses can include one or more receptacles, such as drawers or shelves for storing articles. The drawers and shelves can be designed to be moved between an open position and a closed position. While in the open position, a drawer or shelf may be extended away from the storage cabinet or other enclosure so as to receive the articles. In the closed position, the drawer or shelf may be recessed within the storage cabinet or other enclosure in which the drawer or shelve is installed. The size and weight of such drawers or shelves can vary. In addition, the weight, type, and/or number of articles that can be stored on the drawers or shelves can be quite different in different applications. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       The system may be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an example cabinet storage system. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a top portion of another example cabinet storage system similar to the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a bottom portion of another example cabinet storage system similar to the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a portion of another example cabinet storage system similar to  FIGS. 2-4 . 
         FIG. 5  is top perspective view of a portion of the example cabinet storage system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is top view of the example cabinet storage system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7A  is a front elevation view of the example cabinet storage system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7B  is a side view of an example of the cabinet storage system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is bottom perspective view of the example cabinet storage system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of another example cabinet storage system. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a top portion of another example cabinet storage system similar to the system of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is top view of the example cabinet storage system of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 12  is a front elevation view of the example cabinet storage system of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 13  is a side view of an example of the cabinet storage system of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of another example cabinet storage system. 
         FIG. 15  is top perspective view of the example cabinet storage system of  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 16  is a front elevation view of the example cabinet storage system of  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 17  is a side view of an example of the cabinet storage system of  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 18  is a perspective view of another example of a cabinet storage system. 
         FIG. 19  is a perspective view of an example single drawer cabinet storage system. 
         FIG. 20  is a perspective view of another example of a slide out cabinet storage system. 
         FIG. 21  is a perspective view of another example multi-level drawer cabinet storage system. 
         FIG. 22  is a perspective view of another example a single drawer upper shelf cabinet storage system. 
     
    
    
     The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. 
       FIG. 1  is an example of a cabinet storage system  100 , which may also be described as a single level drawer cabinet storage system. The cabinet storage system  100  may be mounted in a cabinet or other enclosure. As illustrated in the various examples of  FIGS. 1-8 and 19 , the cabinet storage system  100  includes a base  102 . The base  102  may be a rigid material, such as metal, or wood, or engineered wood, and include apertures into which wires or rods may be frictionally mounted to provide dividers, shelves and/or organizer features on the base  102 , as illustrated in  FIG. 21 . 
     The cabinet storage system  100  may include one or more fences  104  positioned around the perimeter of at least part of the base  102 . In the illustrated example, the fences include front and rear fences  104 A and  104 B, respectively, and left and right side fences  104 C and  104 D, respectively. The front and rear fences  104 A and  1048  and the left side and right side fences  104 C and  104 D include vertical members holding horizontal members spaced away from the base  102 . The base  102  may be described as a horizontal shelf having a horizontal planar surface. Structural columns  108  are coupled to the base  102  by fasteners  302  as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The base  102 , the fences  104  and the structural columns  108  may be made of wood, metal, plastic, composite, and/or any other rigid material. In an example, the base  102  is made of wood and the fences  104  and structural columns  108  are made of metal. In another example, base  102  is made of metal, such as in the form of wire. In other examples, other configurations of rigid materials may be used. 
     In an example, the structural columns  108  may be threaded sleeves at a first end that accommodate a threaded bolt such that the base  102  is compressed between the structural columns  108  and the fasteners  302  as the fasteners  302  are tightened as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 3 . The base  102  is coupled to a pair of slides  110  by fasteners  304 , which extend through ears  306  fixedly coupled to each respective one of the slide members  110  and are threadly connected with the base  102  as illustrated in the examples of  FIGS. 3 and 8 . The fasteners  304  may be thumb screws mechanically tightened by hand using a grooved head of the fastener  304  or with a tool such as a screwdriver to removably and fixedly couple the base  102  to the slides  110 . The ears  306  shown in  FIG. 3  are the front ears, which are aligned with threaded apertures in the base  102  during installation of the slides  110 . As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the ears  306  at the rear of the base  102  are guide ears  306  that include an alignment notch  802 , used to guide the base  102  into proper alignment with the slides  110  by installing the fasteners  304  in the base  102  and then sliding the base  102  forward to enter the alignment notch  802  and thereby align the slide  110  with the front ears  306  for installation of the respective fastener  304 . 
     Each of the slide members  110  are telescoping slide members which include a slideable portion  310  and a fixed base portion  312 . The slideable portion  310  is coupled with the base  102 , and the fixed base portion  312  may be coupled with the bottom of the cabinet, so that the slidable portion  310  and the base  102  are movable together to extend away from the fixed base portion  312  in order to be positioned outside the cabinet in which the cabinet storage system  100  is mounted. 
     The structural columns  108  may be a cylindrical sleeve at a second end with appropriate diameter to receive and hold the front and rear fences  104 A and  1048 , such as by friction fit, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . As further illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the side fences  104 C and  104 D may be fixedly coupled to an outer surface of the structural columns  108  by a coupler  202 , such as by a tack weld, braise, strap, fastener or some other holding mechanism. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the structural columns  108  at the rear of the cabinet storage system  100  extend further from the planar surface of the base  102  such that the side fences  104 C and  104 D are increasing spaced away from the planar surface of the base  102  as the side fences  104 C and  104 D extend from a front of the base  102  to a rear of the base  102 . Also, the front and rear fences  104 A and  1048 , which are held in the cylindrical sleeves of the structural columns are interchangeable to minimize parts for manufacture. 
     As illustrated in example of  FIG. 2 , the cabinet storage system  100  may also include a bracket  204  having an upper foot  206  that wraps the base  102  and is positioned contiguous with the planar surface of the base  102 . As illustrated in the example of  FIG. 5 , the bracket  204  also includes a lower foot  502 , which contiguously aligns with a lower planar surface of the base  102 , such that the bracket  204  wraps around the base  102 , which is fixedly held between the upper foot  206  and the lower foot  502 . In this configuration, the bracket  204  provides horizontal, vertical and torsional support for the cabinet storage system  100 . The bracket  204  also includes a vertical strut  504  and a face frame bracket  506 . As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the face frame bracket  506  is adjustable vertically one the vertical strut  504  by a finger slot  508  held against the face frame bracket by a releasable fastener, such as a threaded screw. The face frame bracket  506  includes a plurality of apertures  510 , any one or more of which are available to couple a cabinet front, such as a drawer front or a door front to the cabinet storage system  100 . 
     As illustrated in  4 , the cabinet storage system  100  may be positioned in a cabinet such that a face frame  402  of the cabinet is aligned in the same plane with a front face of the face frame bracket  506 . In this way, a front face, such as a drawer or door coupled with the face frame bracket  506  may also be in alignment with the face frame  402 . Alignment of the cabinet storage system  100  such that a front planar surface of the face frame bracket  506  occupies the same plane with the face frame  402  of the cabinet may be accomplished using a face frame lip standoff  404  extending from a front edge of the slide  110  a predetermined distance. The face frame lip standoff  404  may butt up against a lip or rail  406  coupled with the bottom of the cabinet and abutting an inner surface of a lower face frame portion  408  of the face frame  402 . When the face frame lip standoff  404  is butted against the rail  406 , the planar surface of the face frame bracket  506  may extend a predetermined offset (O) distance beyond a contact surface  410  of the face frame lip standoff  404 . The predetermined offset (O) is equal to the width of the rail  406  and the face frame bottom portion  408 . Accordingly, a cabinet front, such as a drawer front or a door front, coupled with the face frame bracket  506  may be aligned with the face frame  402  of the cabinet. In cabinets without a face frame, the predetermined offset (O) may be the width of the rail  406  such that the cabinet front aligns with the front edges of the cabinet box. Accordingly, during installation of the cabinet storage system  100  in a cabinet, butting the face frame lip standoff  404  against the rail  406  automatically aligns a later installed front face, such as a drawer front or door front, with the face frame of the cabinet or the cabinet box itself where the face frame is omitted. 
     The fixed base portion  312  of the slides  110  of the cabinet storage system  100  may be coupled with the bottom of a cabinet. In order for the rail and face frame (if present) to not interfere with the slide action as the cabinet storage system  100  is slide between the inside and the outside of the cabinet, the slides  110  may include feet  316  as illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 8 . The feet  316  may provide a vertical clearance of the slides  110  above the bottom of the cabinet. 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of another example cabinet storage system  900 . The cabinet storage system  900  in  FIG. 9  may be described as a multi-level cabinet storage system  900 . The cabinet storage system  900  may include multiple bases  102 A and  1028 , fences  104 , structural columns  108 , and slides  110 . Unless otherwise indicated, the features and functionality of the cabinet storage system  100  discussed with reference to  FIGS. 1-8  are similar to the features and functionality of the cabinet storage system  900  discussed with reference to  FIGS. 9-13 . Accordingly, for purposes of brevity the details of these features and functionality will not be fully repeated, and it should be understood that features and functionality are fully interchangeable, combinable, and/or useable in the example systems described herein. 
     The bases  102 A and  1028 , or shelves, are fixedly coupled between the front and rear vertical opposing members  902  and  904  such that the planar surfaces of the bases  102  are transversely aligned with vertical planes defined by the front and rear vertical members  902  and  904 . The bases  102  include a first drawer  910 , or lower drawer, proximate a base of the multi-level storage container  900 , and one or more upper drawers  912 , or second drawer, vertically spaced above the first drawer  910 . In the example of  FIG. 9 , two drawers are illustrated. In other examples, any number of one or more upper drawers may be vertically positioned above the bottom drawer  910 . 
     The multi-level storage system  900  also includes a set of slide members  110 A positioned on opposing sides of the lower drawer  910  and a set of slide members  1108  positioned on opposing sides of the upper drawer  912 . The opposing sides are represented by the side edges of the multi-level storage system  900 , which may include lateral opposing edges of the drawers  910  and  912 . The each set of slide members  110  include a first slide member and a second slide member. The first set of slide members  110 A are coupled with the base  102 A of the lower drawer  910  and the second set of slide members  1108  is coupled with the base  102  of the upper drawer  912  of the multi-level cabinet storage container  900 . The second set of slide members  912  are also coupled with brackets  916  for coupling the cabinet storage system  900  to a rear wall of a cabinet. 
     The front and rear vertical opposing members  902  and  904  are coupled with the first set of slides  110 A and the second set of slides  1108 . The first set of slides  110 A are fixedly coupled with the front and rear vertical opposing members  902  and  904 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the second set of slides  912  are adjustably coupled with the front and rear vertical opposing members  902  and  904  by adjustable brackets  918  such that the upper drawer  912  is adjustable to a number of different heights above the lower drawer  910 . In addition, or alternatively, additional upper drawers  912  may be separately coupled with the front and rear vertical opposing members  902  and  904  by the adjustable brackets  918 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 12 and 13 , the front and rear vertical opposing members  902  and  904  may extend to the set of slide members  110 A coupled with the lower shelf  910  and be coupled with a horizontal strut  1202 . The strut  1202  may extend between the slides  110 A and include apertures to allow coupling to the bottom of a cabinet in which the cabinet storage system  900 . The strut  1202  may provide structural support for the first and second drawers  910  and  912 , and may raise the first pair of slides  110 A off the bottom of the cabinet. Accordingly, in the example of  FIG. 12 , the feet  316  may be omitted from the pair of slides  110 A, or not used. In other examples first and second drawers  910  and  912  may have other forms of structural support, the strut  1202  may be omitted, and the feet  316  may be used to raise the height of cabinet storage system  900  to clear a face frame and/or rail included at the bottom of the cabinet. 
       FIG. 14  is a perspective view of another example cabinet storage system  1400 . The cabinet storage system  1400  may also be referred to as a slide-out cabinet storage system for a waste bin. Referring to  FIGS. 14-18 and 20 , the cabinet storage system  1400  may include the base  102 , the fences  104  the structural columns  108  and the slides  110 . Unless otherwise indicated, the features and functionality of the cabinet storage system  100  discussed with reference to  FIGS. 1-8 and 19 , and the cabinet storage system  900  discussed with reference to  FIGS. 9-13 and 21  are similar to the features and functionality of the cabinet storage system  1400  discussed with reference to  FIGS. 14-18 and 20 . Accordingly, for purposes of brevity the details of these features and functionality will not be fully repeated, and it should be understood that features and functionality are fully interchangeable, combinable, and/or useable in the example systems described herein. 
     In the example of  FIG. 14 , the example cabinet storage system  1400  includes a front fence  104 A, and opposing sides fences  104 C and  104 D each of which include horizontally extending top and bottom members that are generally parallel. In this example, the rear fence  1402  includes a single horizontal member  1404  extending between the structural columns  108  generally parallel with the base  102 . In addition, the rear fence  1402  includes a cantilevered keeper  1404  as illustrated in  FIGS. 14-17 . The cantilevered keeper  1404  includes to side members  1406  and a handle member  1408 . The side members  1406  extending from the structural columns  108  at the back of the cabinet storage system  1400  vertically and toward the front of the cabinet storage system  1400  above the respective side fences  104 C and  104 D. The handle member  1408  may be suspended vertically above the front fence  104 A and generally parallel with the two members forming the front fence  104 A. A pair of struts  1412  may be coupled between side fences  104 C and  104 D and the side members  1406  by fasteners  1416  to provide structural support to the cantilevered keeper  1404 . A rear bracket  108  may also be coupled with side members  1406  by fasteners  1416 . 
     The cantilevered keeper  1404  may be sized and shaped to receive at least one container  1802  as illustrated in  FIG. 18 . The at least one container may be maintained in position on the base  102  as the base  102  is slid in and out of a cabinet by the cantilevered keeper  1404 . In addition, the handle member  1404  may be used to actuate the slides  110  to move the base  102  by grabbing and pulling or pushing the cantilevered keeper  1404 . 
       FIG. 22  is another example cabinet storage system  2200  that includes a large shelf  2202  positioned as the lower drawer, and a smaller shelf  2204  positioned as an upper shelf. The cabinet storage system  2200  of  FIG. 22  may also be described as a single drawer upper shelf cabinet storage system. In  FIG. 22 , two cabinet storage systems  2200  are illustrated providing examples of different sizes of the large shelf  2202  and the smaller upper shelf  2204 . Unless otherwise indicated, the features and functionality of the cabinet storage system  100  discussed with reference to  FIGS. 1-8 and 19 , the cabinet storage system  900  discussed with reference to  FIGS. 9-13 and 21 , and the cabinet storage system  1400  discussed with reference to  FIGS. 14-18 and 20  are similar to the features and functionality of the cabinet storage system  2200  discussed with reference to  FIG. 22 . Accordingly, for purposes of brevity the details of these features and functionality will not be fully repeated, and it should be understood that features and functionality are fully interchangeable, combinable, and/or useable in the example systems described herein. 
     The cabinet storage system  2200  includes a base  102 , a pair of slides  110  a front fence  104 A, a rear fence  1048  and side fences  104 C and  104 D coupled with the base  102  by structural columns  108 . In this example, the front fence  104 A and the rear fence  1048  each include a two horizontal substantially parallel members extending along a perimeter of the base  102  and held by friction fit in respective structural columns  108 . In addition, side fences  104 C and  104 D each with two substantially parallel members fixedly coupled with the outer surface of the structural columns  108  and extending along a perimeter of the base  102 . 
     Only one of the front fence  104 A and the rear fence  1048  also include a upper shelf support member  2208 . The upper shelf support member  2208  includes a first support member  2212  extending along the underside of the upper shelf  2204  parallel to the side fence  104 D, and a second support member  2214  coupled with the structural column  108  of the upper shelf  2204 . 
     It is now apparent that there are many advantages of the cabinet storage system provided herein. In addition to the advantages that have been described, it is also possible that there are still other advantages that are not currently recognized but which may become apparent at a later time. 
     While preferred embodiments of the cabinet storage system have been described, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limiting, and modifications may be made without departing from the features and functionality described. The scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims, and all devices that come within the meaning of the claims, either literally or by equivalence, are intended to embrace them.