Patent Publication Number: US-9414672-B1

Title: Adjustable overhead storage system

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATION DATA 
     This application claims priority to Provisional Application No. 61/655,492, filed Jun. 5, 2012 and is a continuation-in-part of Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/901,973. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to storage cabinets, and in particular, modular or movable storage cabinets. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Residential and commercial garages are commonly used for storage and workspaces. As space is always limited, there is always a desire to conserve space while maximizing the utility of the space. Often, the use of substantial amounts of space for storage precludes the availability of adequate space for workstations, car parking, or other uses. Conversely, the creation of workspaces (e.g. work benches) often comes at the cost of decreased storage space. Moreover, conventional storage systems (e.g. cabinets, closets, lockers) are often heavy and fixed, and do not make optimal use of space or provide versatility in movement or orientation. Thus, there is a need for a versatile and space-efficient storage system for use in garages, storage rooms and other settings. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An adjustable overhead storage system includes a main beam having a lower surface with a channel and an inner rail configured to reversibly receive a plurality of storage cabinets. The storage cabinets are slidably and reversibly engaged with the beam via a rolling mechanism that is connected with a top surface of each storage cabinet. The storage cabinets each have a pair of doors on a front side and a handle on an adjacent outer side. The storage cabinets are connected with the support beam in series such that the front of each storage cabinet faces the back of the adjacent storage cabinet. Each storage cabinet is movable with respect to each other storage cabinet and the main beam. In an alternate embodiment, an elbow joint is provide which connects the main beam to the support beams and houses a mechanism that allows the storage cabinets to travel between adjacent beams by receiving and rotating the rolling mechanism as it reaches and passes through the elbow joint. Based on the storage needs and available space, the storage cabinets can be added or removed from the beam as desired. The ability to stack or nest the cabinets together allow for more efficient use of space because more cabinets can be fit in a space when they are stacked front-to-back instead of side-by-side as is conventional. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an adjustable overhead storage cabinet system showing lateral cabinet motion. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system with the doors of a middle storage cabinet opened. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system showing the rotation of the storage cabinets. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a close-up front view of the storage cabinet rolling mechanism. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a close-up view of the main beam interior with components integral to cabinet motion. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a perspective view of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system with extended wall mounts for additional support. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an alternate embodiment of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system having additional mobility along the support beams. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an alternate embodiment of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system showing a perspective view of the elbow joint&#39;s interior components. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates an alternate embodiment of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system showing an in-line view of the elbow joint&#39;s interior components. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an adjustable overhead storage cabinet system showing linear cabinet motion along a beam. The adjustable overhead storage cabinet system comprises a set of wall mounts  161  (or wall brackets  161 ), support beams  163 , a main beam  160 , and a plurality of storage cabinets  148 - 150 . The wall mounts  161  (left and right wall mounts) can be bolted or screwed into a wall or other suitable vertical structure, and connect to the support beams  163  to bear the weight of the main beam  160  and storage cabinets  148 - 150 . The bottom surface of the main beam  160  contains an opening or channel  165  along its length. The main beam meets and is connected to the support beams via beam brackets  162 . The beam bracket  162  serves as a stopper that prevents further motion of the rolling mechanism (and thus the corresponding storage cabinet) by blocking the channel  165  within the main beam. The bream bracket  162  can be removed to access the free end of the main beam in order to add or removed storage cabinets as desired. 
     The resulting structural framework provides ample weight-bearing capability, for a sturdy overhead system. The main beam  160  is configured to reversibly receive the cabinets via a rolling mechanism  170  that engages with an inner rail within the main beam  165  and moves within the channel  165 . Extending from the top surface of each cabinet, the rolling mechanism  170  further comprises rail wheels  171 , which sit inside of the main beam  160  (on a set of inner rails shown in  FIG. 6 ) and are thus shown with dotted lines in  FIG. 1 . The storage cabinets  148 - 150  further comprise a sliding handle  155 , doors  153 , and a door handle  152 . The door handle  152  is used to open the doors  153  and access the inside of the storage cabinet, while the sliding handle  155  is used to push/pull/rotate the storage cabinet into a desired position. In a nested state, the frontal and/or rear portions of each cabinet make contact with the adjacent cabinets, thereby obscuring the frontal portion of certain cabinets from view (cabinets  148  and  149  exhibit this nesting position in  FIG. 1 ). 
     The nested state saves space, whereby unused cabinets are easily stacked or stowable. For purposes of accessing cabinet contents, each storage cabinet can be moved along the main beam via the rolling mechanism  170  and its wheels  171 , which react to a force placed upon the cabinet along the beam by rolling back and forth along the main beam  160 , in a direction parallel to the wall, and perpendicular to the support beams  163 . Motion arrow  102  indicates said cabinet movement, here with respect to storage cabinet  150 . As shown and described in connection with  FIG. 3 , access and positioning of the storage cabinets is also facilitated and enhanced by the rotation of the storage cabinets about their vertical axis (i.e. rotation in the horizontal plane). The ability of the cabinets to move in relation to one another allows a user to access the contents of each cabinet via the doors  153  found on the frontal portion of each cabinet. With this configuration, larger cabinets may be utilized that are not only more easily accessible than with traditional designs, but also allow more cabinets to be used in the system, because nesting the cabinets together substantially reduces the amount of space they occupy along the main beam  160 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the opening of the doors on storage cabinet  249 . A user may access the interior space of a storage cabinet  249  by grasping the cabinet&#39;s door handle  252  and pulling the doors  253  open as indicated by the curved motion arrows  203 . After accessing the interior space of a storage cabinet, a user may close off that space once again by closing the doors. Once this action is completed, a user is free to nest or stack the storage cabinets together using the sliding handles  255  to move one or more of the storage cabinets along the main beam  260 . The rolling mechanism  270  comprises a lower portion  274 , upper portion  272 , and a swivel joint  273 . The lower portion of the rolling mechanism  274  is connected with the storage cabinet  250  via a suspension brace  259 . The rolling mechanism&#39;s upper portion  272  is rigidly connected with the rail wheels  271 . The lower portion of the rolling mechanism is rotatably connected (i.e. it rotates in relation to the fixed upper portion) via the swivel joint  273 , which thereby allows the storage cabinets to rotate about the vertical axis (i.e. in the horizontal plane) as shown in  FIG. 3 . At each end of the main beam  260 , a rail bracket  262  is attached in order to connect the main beam  260  to the wall mounts  261 . The wall mounts  261  are connected (i.e. bolted or screwed) to the wall, preferably the wall studs or other suitable structure. The beam brackets  262  provide structural support for the beam framework and also prevent the rolling mechanisms  270  from sliding out of the main beam  260 . The ability to stack or nest the cabinets together allows for more efficient use of space because more cabinets can be fit in a space when they are stacked front-to-back instead of side-by-side as with conventional cabinets. Because cabinets are typically wider than they are deep, this system provides the best of both worlds whereby the cabinets are nested in what would conventionally be a sideways position when not in use, but can then be rotated to a front-facing position or accessed in the sideways position by sliding the adjacent cabinet to provide space. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of the adjustable storage system showing the rotation of the storage cabinet  350  about the vertical axis as indicated by the curved motion arrow  304 . As described above, the rolling mechanism  370  contains a swivel joint (i.e. swivel joint  273  of  FIG. 2 ) that allows the lower portion of the rolling mechanism  370  to rotate about the swivel joint. This allows the storage cabinets  348 - 350  to be rotated about their vertical axis to provide easier and more versatile access to the cabinets. The rotation of the storage cabinets (e.g. storage cabinet  350 ) is advantageous because in a nested position, access to the handle  352  and doors  353  may be somewhat hampered by objects stored beneath the cabinets. In congruence with the system&#39;s space-saving nature, the rotational aspect assures easy access to the overhead cabinets from a position outside the perimeter of the entire storage system, and thus, away from items on the floor that might sit beneath the storage system. For additional reasons, opening the doors and accessing the cabinet may be difficult when the user is not facing the front side of the cabinet. Thus, the ability to rotate the storage cabinets 90 degrees to face the user makes access easier and in some cases may eliminate the need to adjust the position(s) of one or more storage cabinets in order to have easy access. Conversely, conventional cabinets are effectively fixed to the floor and cannot be moved or rotated without great effort if at all. As a result, the dimensions and space occupied by conventional cabinets is effectively fixed, which limits the use of the available space. The present invention, however, provides space efficiency and convenience by providing storage cabinets that are overhead, movable, and rotatable. The rotatable components do not affect rotationally static components above the cabinet, including the rolling mechanism&#39;s wheels  371 , main beam  360 , etc. As with cabinet sliding, cabinet rotation may be aided by grasping the sliding handle  355 . The rolling mechanism  370  can include a rotation lock mechanism to prevent unwanted rotation (based on user preference), although nesting the cabinets together substantially eliminates any unwanted rotation. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system. This profile of the system shows the left wall mount  461 , left support beam  463 , the interior of the main beam  460 , and storage cabinet  450  with sliding handle  455 , suspension brace  459 , and rolling mechanism  470 . The rolling mechanism  470  is connected to the cabinet  450  via suspension brace  459 , and has a lower portion  474  that extends upward from it. The lower portion  474  terminates in the swivel joint  473 , which connects to the upper portion  472 . The dual supporting upper portion  472  extends upward into the interior of the main beam  460  and connects therein to a set of fixed wheel axles  479 , which connect to a plurality of wheels  471 . Each wheel axle is flanked by a pair of wheels  471 . The dual supporting nature of both the upper portion  472  and the wheel axles  479  provides for stable cabinet operation during sliding motions. This system prevents unwanted “teetering” of the cabinets in the direction of their lateral motion. Within the main beam  460 , inner rail  485  is attached to rail cylinders  480  (in  FIG. 1 , these elements would run nearly the entire length of the main beam  160 ), which are the points of contact for the wheels  471 . The cross-sectional shape of the inner rail  485  and rail cylinders  480  is exemplary, and these structures can have rectangular cross-sections. Moreover, inner rail  485  and rail cylinders  480  could be replaced by a single structure, such as by forming the bottom of the main beam  460  to provide a rectangular rail structure. During cabinet sliding, the weight of the cabinet is placed upon these rail cylinders  480  via the wheels  471 , which travel along the cylinders for nearly the entire length of the main beam  460 . Again, this end-to-end motion is flanked by a set of beam brackets  462  which prevent wheel motion beyond the interior edges of the main beam  460 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a close-up front view of the rolling mechanism. The rolling mechanism  570  comprises a lower portion  574 , an upper portion  572 , and a swivel joint  573  with swivel nut  590 , and sits within the main beam  560  via attached wheels. Rotational cabinet movement correlates to rotation of the rolling mechanism&#39;s lower portion  574 , which is statically affixed to the cabinet. Rotation of the swivel nut  590  follows the rotation of the lower portion  574 , via the swiveling afforded by the swivel joint  573 . These rotational movements are contrary to the static position of swivel joint  573  which is fixed to upper portion  572 . Thus, by applying a rotational force upon the cabinet, a user can control its axial position without disturbing components above it. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a close-up, side view of the main beam interior with the components integral to cabinet motion. The rolling mechanism  670 , comprising a lower portion  674 , upper portion  672 , swivel joint  673 , and swivel nut  690 , extends upward from the suspension brace  659  of the cabinet  650 , entering the main beam  660  via a channel  665  on its lower surface. Here, the upper portion  672  meets with a pair of wheel axles  679 , to which the wheels  671  are rotatably connected. Making contact with the rail cylinders  680 , the wheels  671  allow for the back and forth rolling motion of the rolling mechanism  670 , and hence the cabinet  650 , along nearly the entire length of the main beam  660 . The rail cylinders sit upon the inner rail  685 , which is attached to the main beam itself, and runs along the length of its interior. Since the main beam is flanked on both ends by beam brackets  662 , the rolling mechanism  670  is prevented from rolling out from the ends of the rail. Additionally, the beam brackets  662  connect the main beam  660  to the support beams  663 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a perspective view of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system with enhanced wall mounts for additional support. As shown in previous figures, a wall-mounted structure provides a stable frame for sliding cabinets. The strength and reliability of the wall mounts  761  can be augmented by an additional wall-mount segment, i.e. upward mount  764 . This component extends the upward reach of the wall mount  761 , thereby increasing its weight-bearing capacity and reinforcing the integrity of the system as a whole. As shown, upward mount  764  and downward mount  761  meet at their respective proximal ends where they also connect with the support beam  763 , and each terminate at a terminal end. Similarly, support beam  763  has a proximal end that meet with the wall and connects with the upward mount  764  and downward mount  761 , and has a terminal end that connects with main beam  760  via beam bracket  762 . The support beams  763  extend away from the wall in a direction perpendicular to both wall mounting components; the origin of this extension lies at the meeting point of the wall mount  761  and upward mount  764 . Each support beam  763  meets with the main beam  760  at beam brackets  762 . The uniting of wall mount  761  and upward mount  764  may be modular or singular in nature. The former method would require bolts, joining components, etc. to unite the two mounts, while the latter method would require no assembly. A singular structure would provide a single pair of wall mounts  761  which extend above their connected support beams  763  in a direction perpendicular to them. A suspension member  725  extends from the terminal end of upward mount  764  and connects upward mount  764  with the terminal end of support beams  763 . Suspension member  725  can be a tensioned cable as shown in  FIG. 7 , or a rigid support member (e.g. rod or beam). Together, upward mount  764  and suspension member  725  provide enhance the support and stability of the structure. 
       FIGS. 8-10  illustrate an alternate embodiment of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system that allows for additional cabinet motion along the support beams via a transitional component (i.e. elbow joint) that is placed between, and connects, the support beams and main beam. Obviously, in this embodiment, the support beams and elbow joint must also have a channel on their lower surface that is similar to, and in line with, the channel in the main beam (e.g. channel  165  in main beam  160  as described in  FIG. 1 ). As shown in  FIG. 8 , the adjustable overhead storage cabinet includes wall mounts  861 , support beams  863 , and main beam  860 . Instead of an angular, bolt-only point of connection between the support beams and main beam, this alternate method employs an elbow joint  895  that allows the storage cabinets to travel through the corner as described below. This elbow joint effectively connects not only the main beam itself, but also any interior rail components (integral to cabinet motion) with the support beams. The bottom surface of the elbow joint  895  contains a channel that is inline with, and connects with, the channels in the support beam and main beam. The result is a continuous, curved interior rail running the lengths of both the main beam and support beams. Structurally, the elbow joint  895  functions like the beam bracket (e.g. beam bracket  262  of  FIG. 2 ) except that it features additional components that provide the functionality of allowing the rolling mechanism to pass through the corner. With this configuration, a cabinet  850 , with sliding handle  855 , suspension brace  859 , and rolling mechanism  870 , may be slid along both the lengths of the main beam  860  and the support beams  863 , with its wheels  871  traveling through the elbow joint  895  to move between the main beam and support beams. This transitional motion is indicated by motion arrow  805 . This configuration provides additional versatility and space-efficiency by allowing the storage cabinets to be moved into additional locations (i.e. closer to the wall). This provides enhanced versatility to the existing cabinets, and allows for additional cabinets to be added or larger cabinets to be utilized. This capability is particularly advantageous where the user needs to access or use space below the cabinets and desires to re-position the storage cabinets. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an alternate embodiment of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system showing a perspective view of the elbow joint&#39;s interior components. For ease of viewing, the exterior surface of the elbow joint  995  is shown with dotted lines. Attached to its interior top surface (i.e. the ceiling of the corner of the elbow joint), a suspended swivel assembly  993  provides the functionality necessary to bridge the gap between the rails  980  of the main beam  960  and the beam cylinders  981  of the support beams  963  for continuous cabinet motion. The rotatable swivel assembly  993  comprises a fixed top plate  998 , vertical support members  997 , and a pair of semicircular wheel platforms  996 , each with a wheel groove  994 . As with other elements in the present invention, the semicircular shape of the wheel platforms  996  is merely exemplary, and the wheel platforms may take on other shapes (e.g. rectangular) while keep with the spirit of the invention. The support walls  997  connect perpendicularly to the fixed top plate  998  and wheel platforms  996 . The fixed top plate  998  is affixed to the ceiling of the elbow joint. Below the fixed top plate  998  is a rotating top plate  999  via the swivel hardware  991  that is connected with the remainder of the swivel assembly such that the entire swivel assembly  993  rotates with respect to the fixed top plate  998 . The swivel hardware can comprise traditional rotational components such as a ball bearing ring. Hence, top plate  998  is the only part of the swivel assembly  993  that does not rotate. The design of the swivel assembly  993  is highly specialized because it must be configured such that it can (1) receive the rolling mechanism&#39;s wheels (and axles) while maintaining a channel to accommodate the lower portion  974 , and (2) rotate 90 degrees. Because the swivel assembly must maintain a channel and be able to rotate, it must be suspended from above and rotate from above. The suspended swivel assembly can be made of steel or other suitably strong and durable material. 
     The suspended swivel assembly is configured to receive the rolling mechanism of the storage cabinet, rotate 90 degrees, and then eject the rolling mechanism and associate storage cabinet. The rolling mechanism  970 , with lower portion  974  and swivel joint  973 , is configured to roll into the swivel assembly  993  as its associated sliding cabinet  950  is slid toward the terminal end of either the support beam  963  or main beam  960 . As the rolling mechanism  970  enters the swivel assembly  993 , the lower portion  974  passes through and rests in the gap between wheel platforms  996 . Capable of 90-degree rotation, the swivel assembly  993  accepts the wheels  971  of the rolling mechanism  970  onto the wheel grooves of wheel platforms  996 , thus occupying the open space between the support members  997 . Simultaneously, as indicated by motion arrow  906 , the swivel assembly  993  rotates 90 degrees, such that the opening between its support walls  997  now faces the opening of the terminal end of the support beam  963 . As the cabinet  950  is continually slid along the elbow joint  995 , the wheels  971  of the rolling mechanism  970  are forced to roll onto the beam cylinders  981  of support beam  963 . Thus, as described, sliding of the cabinet may continue from the main beam  960  to the support beam  963 , and vice versa. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an alternate embodiment of the adjustable overhead storage cabinet system showing an in-line view of the elbow joint&#39;s interior components. The elbow joint  1095 , shown with dotted lines, is statically connected to the swivel assembly  1093  via its fixed top plate  1098 . Fixed top plate is rotatably connected to rotating top plate  1099  via swivel hardware  1091 . Extending from the body of the fixed top plate via a ball bearing unit or similar rotationally capable structure, the rotating top plate  1099  permits 90 degrees of rotation for it and connected elements below. These elements include attached support walls  1097  and semicircular wheel platforms  1096 . This rotational body of the swivel assembly  1093  accepts the cabinet&#39;s rolling mechanism  1070 , with lower portion  1074 , swivel joint  1073 , upper portion  1072 , wheel axles  1079 , and wheels  1071 . As the cabinet is slid along any of the rails and reaches the rail&#39;s open terminal face within an elbow joint  1095 , its wheels can then land onto the platforms  1096  of the swivel assembly  1093 , rotate along with the swivel assembly, then roll onto the adjacent rail (provided that the rolling mechanism experiences a continual force via cabinet sliding). It is important to note the open channel that exists on the lower portion of the elbow joint  1095 . Elbow channel  1092  allows the upper portion  1072  of the rolling mechanism  1070  to comfortably transition into and through the elbow joint. Thus, the suspended swivel 
     While there have been described herein what are considered to be preferred and exemplary embodiments of the present invention, other modifications of the invention shall be apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein. It is noted that the embodiments disclosed are illustrative rather than limiting in nature and that a wide range of variations, modifications, changes, substitutions are contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and, in some instances, some features of the present invention may be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Many such variations and modifications may be considered desirable by those skilled in the art based upon a review of the foregoing description of preferred embodiments. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.