AU2020102061A4

AU2020102061A4 - Concealed storage unit

Info

Publication number: AU2020102061A4
Application number: AU2020102061A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Colin Daniel Willetts
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2019-08-29
Filing date: 2020-08-31
Publication date: 2020-10-08
Anticipated expiration: 2028-08-31
Also published as: WO2021040542A1; AU2020337734A1

Abstract

A wall mounted shelf with a concealed storage unit comprising a housing, a receptacle assembly, and a mechanism which facilitates movement of the receptacle assembly between a first concealed position and a second open position such that in both the first position and the second position, the receptacle is orientated substantially horizontally.

Description

CONCEALED STORAGE UNIT

FIELD OF THE INVENTION A concealed storage unit, in particular, a wall-mounted shelf with concealed storage, and a bracket therefor.

BACKGROUND Storage units such as drawers and cabinets generally have visible handles, drawer or door fronts, and/or hinges and so provide visually obvious storage. In some environments, such as where a minimal or clean line aesthetic is desired, obvious storage is not desirable aesthetically. In addition, visible storage is often a target for a burglar. On occasion, a homeowner may wish to conceal the storage of particular items, for example valuables or guns, for safety or privacy reasons.

Prior art concealed storage systems can be cumbersome to open or access. Some shelves exist having concealed storage. In these existing units, the storage receptacle must be tilted to be opened, risking items falling to the front or out of the storage receptacle. Further, if the shelf is below eye-height, it can be difficult to view items in the open storage receptacle as these are still below the shelf and must be accessed from under the shelf.

It is an object of at least preferred embodiments of the present invention to address one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages and/or to at least provide the public with a useful alternative.

In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally to provide a context for discussing features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents or sources of information is not to be construed as an admission that such documents or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a concealed storage unit comprising a housing, a receptacle assembly, and a mechanism. The housing has a top surface and a front wall, the housing defining a cavity open to the bottom. The receptacle assembly comprises a receptacle and is movable between a first, concealed position wherein at least a majority of the receptacle is positioned within the housing cavity, and a second, exposed position wherein at least a majority of the receptacle is positioned outside of the housing cavity. The mechanism is attached to the housing and to the receptacle assembly. The mechanism facilitates movement of the receptacle assembly between the first position and the second position such that in both the first position and the second position, the receptacle is orientated substantially horizontally. The mechanism comprises a gas spring that has an extended state and a compressed state and which is biased towards its extended state.

In an embodiment, the gas spring is configured such that between a transition position of the receptacle assembly and its first position, the linear biasing member biases the receptacle assembly towards its first position.

In an embodiment, the gas spring is configured such that between the transition position of the receptacle assembly and its second position, the linear biasing member biases the receptacle assembly towards its second position.

The receptacle assembly may comprise a receptacle support, with the receptacle being slidable relative to the receptacle support from a first, retracted position, to a second, extended position.

In an embodiment, the mechanism comprises a pair of links, pivotable relative to the housing and the receptacle assembly. The links may be parallel to each other, but not parallel to the gas spring.

To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in construction and differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are illustrative and are not intended to be limiting. Where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which this invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually described.

The term 'comprising' as used in this specification and claims means 'consisting at least in part of'. When interpreting statements in this specification and claims that include the term 'comprising', other features besides those prefaced by this term can also be present. Related terms such as 'comprise' and 'comprised' are to be interpreted in a similar manner.

It is intended that reference to a range of numbers disclosed herein (for example, 1 to 10) also incorporates reference to all rational numbers within that range and any range of rational numbers within that range (for example, 1 to 6, 1.5 to 5.5 and 3.1 to 10).

Therefore, all sub-ranges of all ranges expressly disclosed herein are hereby expressly disclosed.

As used herein the term '(s)' following a noun means the plural and/or singular form of that noun. As used herein the term 'and/or' means 'and' or 'or', or where the context allows, both.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a concealed storage unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a concealed configuration; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the storage unit of Figure 1, adjusted to an exposed and extended configuration; Figure 3 is a detail view of the detail A indicated in Figure 2, showing the drawer runners; Figure 4 is a detail view of the detail B indicated in Figure 2, showing the pair of links and gas spring in the right side extension mechanism; Figure 5 is a side view of the concealed storage unit of Figures 1 to 4, with the right wall of the unit removed, showing the unit in the concealed configuration, with the drawer and extension mechanism retracted; Figure 6 is a side view of the concealed storage unit of Figures 1 to 5, showing the extension mechanism in an exposed configuration and the drawer in a retracted configuration; Figure 7 is a side view of the concealed storage unit of Figures 1 to 5, showing the extension mechanism in the exposed configuration and the drawer in an extended configuration; Figure 8 is a underside perspective view showing one embodiment of a wall mounting plate attached to the housing of a concealed storage unit according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 9 is a perspective view of the wall mounting plate of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a front perspective view of a further embodiment wall mounting plate, and complementary wall clip; Figure 11 is an underside view of the housing of a concealed storage unit according to a further embodiment, with the wall mounting plate and wall clip of Figure 10 attaching the housing to the wall; Figure 12 is a detail view of the detail indicated 'C' in Figure 11, showing the attachment between the mounting plate, the wall clip, and the wall; and Figure 13 is a front schematic view illustrating various attachments of the housing of a concealed storage wall unit to a wall support strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention will now be described with reference to Figures 1 to 8 which show an exemplary embodiment concealed storage unit 1. The unit 1 comprises a housing 3, a receptacle assembly 11, and a mechanism 21 attached to the housing 3 and to the receptacle assembly 11, to facilitate movement of the receptacle assembly.

The housing 3 comprises a top surface 5, a front wall 7, and side walls 9. The housing walls define a cavity that opens to the bottom. The housing 3 forms a wall-mountable shelf, with the top surface being substantially horizontal to provide a storage or display surface. In the embodiment shown, the top surface 5 is generally rectangular, with the long dimension of the rectangle being parallel to the front wall, however other shapes are possible, for example the shelf may be square or trapezoidal.

The housing comprises a rigid material. The material may comprise any suitable material, for example a plastic, metal, or timber. Preferably the material is selected at least in part for its aesthetic properties, for example, the material may comprise a solid or engineered timber, a laminate, melamine, stone or other furniture making material. The housing may be constructed from panels of material, with the front wall 7, side walls 9, and top wall 5 rigidly connected and finished to give the appearance of a solid piece of material. Alternatively, the housing walls may be integrally formed or comprise a solid piece of material with material removed to create the cavity.

The front and side walls 7, 9 have a depth d that defines the thickness of the shelf. Preferably the depth d is short in comparison to the length / and width w of the top surface, for example, the depth may be between about 80mm and about 230mm, however, it may be greater than 230 mm.

The receptacle assembly 11 comprises a receptacle 15 and a receptacle support 13. The receptacle assembly 11 is movable between a first, concealed position wherein at least a majority of the receptacle 15 is positioned within the housing cavity (Figure 1); and a second, exposed position wherein at least a majority of the receptacle 15 is positioned outside of the housing cavity (Figure 2).

The receptacle 15 is movable relative to the receptacle support 13, at least when the receptacle assembly 11 is in the exposed position. The receptacle 15 is slidable relative to the receptacle support 13, from a first, retracted position shown in Figure 6, to a second, extended position as shown in Figures 2 and 7. In the extended position, the receptacle is moved forward to enable easy access to the contents of the receptacle. In the extended position, the whole of the receptacle 15 may be forward of the housing 3 (as illustrated in Figure 7), while a portion of the support platform may remain rear of the front wall 7 of the housing 3. Alternatively, a majority of the receptacle 15 may be forward of the housing 3, with a rear portion of the receptacle 15 remaining rear of the front wall of the housing.

In the embodiment shown, the receptacle support 13 comprises a support platform and the receptacle 15 comprises a drawer, the drawer being slidably mounted to the support platform via drawer runners 17 (Figure 3).

In alternative embodiments, the receptacle 15 may be fixed to the receptacle support 13, or may be otherwise movable relative to the receptacle support 13. For example, the receptacle may swivel, tilt, or lift relative to the receptacle support.

A mechanism 21 facilitates movement of the receptacle assembly between the first position and the second position in a manner such that in both the first position and the second position, the receptacle 15 is orientated substantially horizontally. The mechanism is attached to the housing 3 and to the receptacle assembly 11. The attachment may be direct or indirect, for example via one or more brackets.

o In the embodiment shown, the mechanism 21 comprises a pair of links 23, 25 positioned at each side of unit 1. The first link 23 in each pair has a first pivot 24a at or near a first end of the link, pivotally attaching the first link 23 to the housing 3, and a second pivot 24b at or near a second end of the link, pivotally attaching the first link 23 to the receptacle assembly 11. The second link 25 has a first pivot 26a at or near a first end of the link, pivotally attaching the second link 25 to the housing 3, and a second pivot 26b at or near a second end of the link, pivotally attaching the second link 25 to the receptacle assembly 11.

The positions of the two first pivots 24a, 26a are fixed relative to the housing 3, and are spaced apart horizontally by a first distance dl. Likewise, the positions of the two second pivots 24b, 26b are fixed relative to the support platform 13, and are spaced apart horizontally by a second distance d2. The first distance dl is substantially the same as the second distance d2. In addition, the two links 23, 25 are substantially the same length (from first pivot to second pivot). The two first pivots 24a, 26a are positioned at the same height relative to the housing 3, and the two second pivots 24b, 26b are positioned at the same height relative to the housing 3. Therefore, the two links 23 25 in each link pair are substantially parallel throughout the range of movement of the mechanism 21.

The pair of links 23, 25 together with the housing 3 and receptacle assembly 11, form a four-bar mechanism. In the embodiment shown, the first pivots 24a, 26a are attached to the housing 3 via a bracket 29 that attaches to the respective side wall 9 of the housing 3. The second pivots 24b, 26b are attached to the receptacle support 13 via a second bracket 30. The brackets 29, 30 together with the two links 23, 25 form the four-bar mechanism.

The concealed storage unit 1 advantageously provides access to hidden storage with the ease of access of a conventional drawer, while providing a display unit without any visual disturbance to the solid appearance of the unit when the receptacle assembly is in the concealed position.

The mechanism 21 further comprises a biasing member 27. In the embodiment shown, the biasing member is a linear biasing member comprising a gas spring 27. The linear biasing member is compressible and extendible, and is biased towards an extended state. The gas spring 27 provides pressure assistance to move the receptacle assembly 11 towards the exposed position and/or towards the concealed position. Preferably, through a first range of movement of the mechanism 21, the gas spring 27 provides pressure assistance to move the receptacle assembly 11 towards the concealed position, and in a second range of movement of the mechanism 21, the gas spring 27 provides pressure assistance to move the receptacle assembly 11 towards the exposed position.

o In the embodiment shown, the gas spring 27 has a first length when the receptacle assembly 11 is in the concealed position, a second length when the receptacle assembly is in its exposed position, and a third length when the receptacle assembly is at a transition position at a point between the concealed position and the exposed position. The third gas spring length 27 is the shortest length of the gas spring through the range of motion of the mechanism 21, and is shorter than the first and second lengths. The intermediate position may be a mid-point between the concealed position and the extended position, or may be closer to one or other of the concealed position or the extended position. This arrangement has the effect that from the intermediate position, during movement of the receptacle assembly towards the concealed position, the gas spring 27 provides biasing and assistance to move the receptacle assembly 11 into the concealed position. Similarly, during movement of the receptacle assembly 11 towards the exposed position, the gas spring provides biasing and assistance to move the receptacle assembly into the exposed position.

The first gas spring length may be longer or shorter or substantially the same as the second gas spring length. The required stroke length of the gas spring 27 between its most extended state (in the first and/or second position) and its most compressed state (in the third position) depends on the geometry of the concealed storage unit, in particular the width w and depth d of the unit, and the exposed position of the receptacle assembly 11.

The rating/spring constant of the gas spring is selected depending on the mass of the receptacle and the desired capacity of the drawer.

The gas spring 27 is pivotally attached at one end to the housing 3 and at its other end to the receptacle assembly 11. The gas spring 27 is arranged such that it is not parallel with the first and second links 23, 25 in the retracted or exposed positions of the receptacle assembly 11. Therefore, the length of the gas spring varies through the range of motion of the mechanism 21.

In the embodiment shown, the gas spring 27 has a first pivot 28a at or near a first end of the gas spring, pivotally attaching the gas spring 27 to the housing 3, and a second pivot 28b at or near a second end of the gas spring, pivotally attaching the gas spring 27 to the receptacle assembly 11. The first gas spring pivot 28a is positioned intermediate the first pivots 24a, 26a of the two links 23, 25. The gas spring pivot 28a may be positioned at a mid-point between the two first pivots 24a, 26a, or may be positioned closer to one or other of the first pivots 24a, 26a. The second gas spring pivot 28b is positioned intermediate the second pivots 24b, 26b of the two links 23, 25, but higher than the second pivots. The gas spring is positioned to provide the required pressure assistance in moving the receptacle assembly 11 towards the exposed position and towards the concealed position. Preferably the gas spring provides an equal pressure assistance towards the exposed position and towards the concealed position. The required pressure assistance will depend on the mass of the receptacle, the geometry of the receptacle, and the desired capacity of the drawer.

The bracket 30 comprises a tab 30a to mount the second gas spring pivot higher than the link second pivots 24b, 26b. The tab 30a may have a number of attachment points to accommodate different sized or different orientation gas springs.

The concealed storage unit 1 comprises a finger operated latch positioned at or near a lower front region of the unit. In the embodiment shown, the latch (not shown) is positioned proximal a front edge of the support platform 13 and is accessible via an aperture or recess 10 in the support platform 13. The latch is engagable with the housing 3, for example by engaging a complementary engagement feature on the housing, to selectively fix the receptacle assembly 11 relative to the housing, or to allow movement of the receptacle assembly 11 relative to the housing 3. The latch may be biased into an engagement position such that when the receptacle assembly 11 is moved into the concealed position, the latch automatically engages a recess or lip on the housing to secure the receptacle assembly 11 in the concealed position. Alternatively, the latch may be provided on the housing 3 and a recess or lip may be provided on the receptacle assembly 11.

To access the concealed storage, a user releases the catch via the recess or aperture 10 to allow the receptacle assembly to be lowered beneath the housing 3 sufficiently to allow the drawer 15 to be slid forward on the drawer runners 17.

The unit further comprises a wall mounting bracket 31 for securing the unit to a wall, the bracket 31 is mounted to an inner surface of the housing 3. The bracket 31 comprises first attachment features 33 for attaching the bracket to the housing 3 and second attachment features 35 for attaching the bracket 31 to a wall 100 or to a wall mounting clip 47. In the embodiment shown the bracket comprises a right-angled elongate extrusion, for example angle iron, with a horizontal portion and a vertical portion. The first and second attachment features comprise a plurality of apertures 33, 35. Each of the first apertures 33, is provided in the horizontal portion and receives a fastener such as a screw 34 to attach the bracket 31 to the housing 3. Each of the second apertures 35, is provided in the vertical portion of the bracket 31 and receives a fastener such as a screw to attach the bracket 31 to the wall or to a wall mounting clip. The screws 34 are preferably high tensile screws. More second apertures are provided than are necessary to fasten to the wall or wall mounting clip. This provides options for the placement of fasteners, or the wall or clip attachments, for example to align with wall studs.

o The bracket 31 attaches to an underside of the top wall 5 of the housing 3, adjacent the rear edge of the housing. In embodiments where the bracket 31 is intended to be mounted directly to the wall 100, the bracket 31 may be flush with the rear edge of the top wall. In embodiments where the bracket is intended to mount to the wall via a wall mounting clip 47, the bracket 31 may be spaced from the rear edge of the housing to provide clearance for the clip 37, as illustrated in Figure 8.

Figures 10 to 12 illustrate a wall mounting clip 37 for attaching the wall mounting bracket 31 to a wall 100. The clip 37 comprises a mounting portion 41 for fastening the clip to the wall, and a unit support portion 39 for attaching to the wall mounting bracket 31 on the concealed storage unit 1. The support portion 39 defines a channel to receive the bracket 39. The channel is open at its top and sides to receive the wall mounting bracket 31, and closed the bottom of the channel to support the load of the bracket and the attached storage unit 1.

The support portion 39 comprises a plurality of attachment features for attaching the support portion to the wall mounting bracket 31. In the embodiment shown, the attachment features comprise a pair of apertures 45 spaced so as to align with the second apertures 35 in the mounting bracket 31. The clip 47 is fastened by passing fasteners through the aligned apertures of the support portion 39 of the clip and the second apertures

35 of the wall mounting bracket 31. The fasteners may be threaded fasteners such as screws or bolts, for example, having a suitable tensile strength.

The mounting portion 41 is provided below the support portion 39. The mounting portion comprises a plurality of apertures 43 for securing the mounting clip 47 directly or indirectly to the wall 100.

A pressure plate (not shown) may sit between the mounting wall clip 37 and the wall. The purpose of the pressure plate is to prevent damage to the wall where the wall mounting clip 37 attaches, by absorbing the pressure when the wall clip 37 is attached. The pressure plate preferably comprises a compliant material such as an elastomer, for example, silicone. The pressure plate is preferably slightly larger, for example, wider and longer than the wall mounting clip 37. In one embodiment, the pressure plate is rectangular, with a thickness of between about 0.5 to about 1mm.

Storage units of varying sizes and shapes can be arranged in various configurations, arrangements, or individually as desired by individual design preferences.

Preferred embodiments of the invention have been described by way of example only and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A concealed storage unit comprising: a housing having a top surface and a front wall, the housing defining a cavity open to the bottom; a receptacle assembly comprising a receptacle, the assembly and being movable between a first, concealed position wherein at least a majority of the receptacle is positioned within the housing cavity, and a second, exposed position wherein at least a majority of the receptacle is positioned outside of the housing cavity; and a mechanism attached to the housing and to the receptacle assembly, to facilitate movement of the receptacle assembly between the first position and the second position such that in both the first position and the second position, the receptacle is orientated substantially horizontally; wherein the mechanism comprises a gas spring having an extended state and a compressed state and which is biased towards its extended state.

2. A concealed storage unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gas spring is configured such that: between a transition position of the receptacle assembly and its first position, the linear biasing member biases the receptacle assembly towards its first position; and between the transition position of the receptacle assembly and its second position, the linear biasing member biases the receptacle assembly towards its second position.

3. A concealed storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the receptacle assembly comprises a receptacle support, and wherein the receptacle is slidable relative to the receptacle support, from a first, retracted position, to a second, extended position.

4. A concealed storage unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the mechanism comprises a pair of links, pivotable relative to the housing and the receptacle assembly.

5. A concealed storage unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the links are parallel to each other, but wherein the gas spring is not parallel with the links.