Patent Publication Number: US-2006012274-A1

Title: Metallic Cabinet Door Organizer

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The invention disclosed herein relates to both magnet boards and cabinet doors. More specifically, it relates to attaching magnet boards to the inside of cabinet doors to provide convenience and functionality from otherwise wasted space.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      Both magnetic boards and cabinet doors have existed for many years. Magnet boards exist in many shapes and sizes for a variety of purposes. Magnet boards consist of a flat metal plate on which magnets are used to hold printed material and other small household/office items.  
      Cabinet doors also exist in many shapes and sizes but generally speaking a cabinet door consists of an outer frame with a rectangular shape and an inner panel permanently attached within the outer frame.  
      A major disadvantage with cabinet doors is that the space on the inside of the cabinet door is wasted space. In addition, existing prior art related to mounting or displaying printed material are not suitable for attaching to the inside of cabinet doors.  
      Examples of patented display related devices that are illustrative of such prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,055 to Kane; U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,825 to Rosen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,147 to Rellinger; U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,999 to Roche and Farber; U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,342 to Roche and Farber; U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,043 to Ernst; U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,312 to King and Robinson; U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,147 to Josephson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,300 to Ledenican.  
      Examples of patented cabinet door related devices that are illustrative of such prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,176 to Suzuki; U.S. Pat No. 6,367,898 to Jobe; U.S. patent application Doc No. 20020089271 to Turner.  
      While these display related devices may be suitable for a specific purpose, they are not suitable for attaching to the inside of a cabinet door. Many are too deep so they interfere with the contents of the cabinet. Many are designed specifically to display items in public and are therefore too heavy and cumbersome to attach to a cabinet door.  
      Cabinet doors are not manufactured with a display or mounting related device on the inside of the cabinet door, therefore causing a significant amount of wasted space.  
      It is thus apparent that the need exists for a functional way to display or mount items on the inside of cabinet doors without causing a significant amount of wasted space. In these respects, the metallic cabinet door organizer, as presented in this invention, significantly distinguishes itself from the designs and concepts of the prior art. In doing so, it provides a convenient, functional, space saving, efficient, lightweight, concealed, and inexpensive method of magnetically mounting printed material and other small household items to the inside panel of cabinet doors, which would otherwise be wasted space.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In light of the noted disadvantages inherent in the known types of cabinet and display related devices existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a functional, space saving, efficient, lightweight, concealed, and inexpensive method of magnetically mounting printed material and other small household items to the inside panel of cabinet doors, which would otherwise be wasted space.  
      The purpose of the present invention is to provide a metallic cabinet door organizer with all of the advantages previously mentioned. The features and advantages of this invention have not been suggested, anticipated, made obvious or implied by any of the prior art cabinet devices or display devices, either separate or in any combination.  
      In accordance with the present invention, there is disclosed a metal cabinet door organizer comprising a flat metal plate that is attached to the inside of a cabinet door. The flat metal plate can be permanently attached to the inside of a cabinet door&#39;s outer frame, it can be secured within the inner rabbet of a cabinet door&#39;s outer frame along with the inner panel, or it can be attached to the inside inner panel of a cabinet door.  
      The primary purpose of this invention is to create a metallic cabinet door organizer that will overcome the deficiencies of the prior art devices.  
      Another purpose is to provide a functional use for otherwise wasted space on the inside of cabinet doors.  
      Still another purpose is to provide a metallic cabinet door organizer to help keep household, office and other work spaces organized. These spaces include, but are not limited to, such areas as kitchens, offices and home offices. Household and office items such as note paper, schedules, coupons, etc can be held against the metallic plate with individual magnets. Hooks, clips and other miscellaneous magnetically equipped holding devices can be magnetically attached to any part of the metallic plate. These in turn can hold such household items as calendars, key rings, note paper, pens, pencils, etc.  
      Yet another purpose is to provide a metallic cabinet door organizer that is concealed for aesthetic purposes.  
      Another purpose is to provide a metallic cabinet door organizer that is lightweight so as not to stress the cabinet door hinges that hold the cabinet door to the cabinet.  
      Still another purpose is to provide a metallic cabinet door organizer that is inexpensive to the general public.  
      The purposes outlined above are only one embodiment of this invention. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. It is to be understood that the invention&#39;s application is not limited to the details of construction outlined previously or in the drawings that follow. The invention is capable of having various applications and embodiments. Also, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein should not be regarded as limiting.  
      To accomplish the purposes outlined above, this invention may be embodied as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. These drawings are for illustrative purposes only. Changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and still remain within the scope of the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The previous and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein identical numbers are used to represent identical elements and wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is an upper perspective view of the present invention applied to the recessed inner panel of an outer cabinet door frame.  
       FIG. 2  is an upper perspective view of the present invention applied to the non-recessed inner panel of an outer cabinet door frame.  
       FIG. 3 . is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale of the present invention secured outside of the inner rabbet of a cabinet door&#39;s outer frame taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 4 . is an exploded view of the present invention secured within the inner rabbet of a cabinet door&#39;s outer frame.  
       FIG. 5 . is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale of the present invention secured within the inner rabbet of a cabinet door&#39;s outer frame taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
      In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific term so selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Having reference to the drawings, attention is directed first to  FIG. 1 , which discloses a metallic cabinet door organizer made in accordance with the invention and designated generally by the numeral  20 . As can be appreciated from a comparison of  FIGS. 1-5 , the metallic cabinet door organizer  20  includes a flat metal plate  38 , a preferred (but optional) adhesive layer  35 , an optional color and/or other coating/sealant  40  and optional anchoring hardware  42 .  
      Traditional cabinetry consists of a housing structure with one or more cabinet doors  30  pivotally attached to the structure. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , some cabinet doors are constructed with a recessed inner panel  34  while others have a non-recessed inner panel  36 .  FIGS. 1 and 2  show a flat metal plate  38  attached to the inside of both types of cabinet panels. Preferably, the flat metal plate  38  is attached to the cabinet panels with an adhesive layer  35 , but may be attached to the inner panel or the outer frame using anchoring hardware  42  such as screws or nails.  
       FIG. 3  shows an optional color and/or other coating/sealant  40  applied to the flat metal plate  38 .  FIG. 3  also shows that the flat metal plate  38  may be attached to the inner panel  34  without being secured within the inner rabbet  36  of a cabinet door&#39;s outer frame  32 . This embodiment would most likely be used after a cabinet door has been manufactured.  
       FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  show the preferred embodiment during the cabinet door manufacturing process. Both figures show the preferred adhesive layer  35 , the flat metal plate  38  and the optional color and/or other coating/sealant all secured within the inner rabbet  36  of a cabinet door&#39;s outer frame  32 . Optional anchoring hardware  42  is also shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 .  
      As is apparent from the above description, the invention provides a convenient, functional, space saving, efficient, lightweight and concealed method of magnetically mounting printed material and other small household items to the inside panel of cabinet doors, which would otherwise be wasted space. Thus, the invention solves the aforementioned problems of the related-art with a simple, inexpensive design.  
      With respect to the above description, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment or constructions. The above description and figures are to be considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. The present invention is intended to cover a variety of modifications and equivalents. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.