US20080224581A1

US20080224581A1 - Cabinet liner

Info

Publication number: US20080224581A1
Application number: US12/075,644
Authority: US
Inventors: James Rand Minerva
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-03-16
Filing date: 2008-03-13
Publication date: 2008-09-18

Abstract

A cabinet liner for a vanity or kitchen cabinet or any other similar cabinetry located in these areas. The cabinet liner comprises of a tapered wall around its entire perimeter and a lip with grooves that can be trimmed or flexed along the sides and back. The cabinet liner consists' of a liquid impervious, flexible and shape retaining, rubberized plastic. The cabinet liner is molded of a simple one piece design that can be contorted to fit through a door of any existing bathroom and kitchen base or wall cabinets. The cabinet liner can be manipulated into place an covers the entire inside floor of said cabinets forming a tray for receiving goods and protecting cabinet from small plumbing leaks and spills from goods stored thereon until realized.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention has to do with a cabinet liner and is especially concerned with the prevention of unwanted spills and messes within kitchen or bathroom cabinets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a bathroom vanity or kitchen sink base cabinet and any other similar cabinetry located in these areas, and to a device for protecting this cabinetry from water and chemical damage.
Cabinetry has been commonly used to support vanity and kitchen sink bowls since around the 1950s. This was do to their practically and appearance that was considered much more appealing to the eye. The cabinet covered up the underneath of the sink bowls and the plumbing connected thereto. This also formed an enclosure with finished doors and possibly drawers on the cabinet's front side, so as to provide space under the said bowl for receiving and storage of goods that would have been previously wasted. These cabinets are commonly constructed of solid, laminated, and particle wood or a combination. The problem is that these materials are not liquid impervious and will rot, separate, and stain if subjected to small leaks from drain and water lines attached to a sink bowl within the cabinet enclosure. If gone unnoticed over time these small leaks can saturate the cabinet floor and supporting sub floor under cabinet. Also this moist and dark condition can lure insets and also provide an ideal environment for unhealthy mold to grow. Also goods stored the on cabinet floor such as personal and cleaning chemicals can spill or leak thus staining or running the finish on said floor. Furthermore residual water left on kitchen wares after the washing process can also damage said cabinets finish. Therefore it would be beneficial to have a convenient and inexpensive way to provide a protective barrier until small plumbing leaks or product spills are realized, also allowing a place for residual water to evaporate.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A cabinet liner for bathroom and kitchen cabinetry that contains a lip which can be readily adjusted to meet the small differences between interior floor dimensions of various manufactures and the standard size cabinets they produce. A cabinet liner that can be contorted to fit through the door opening of an existing said cabinets forming a liquid impervious and chemical resistant tray for receiving and the storage of goods thereon. A cabinet liner that can be readily installed without the need to disassembly said cabinet or anything attached thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is perspective view of vanity with cabinet liner installed

FIG. 2 is perspective of view wall cabinet with cabinet liner installed

FIG. 3 is perspective of view of the cabinet liner

FIG. 4 is cross-section view taken through line 4-4 of FIG. 3

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

What is shown in FIG. 1 is an existing vanity cabinet 30 with drawers removed in a partial view of a typical bathroom, and drain line 32 connected to vanity sink bowl 34 with water supply lines 36 connected to faucet 38 and the cabinet liner 10 whose left lip 12, back lip 14, and right lip 16 shown in FIG. 3. The tear away strips 22, 23 and 26 (as shown in FIG. 3) have been torn away along desired grooves 28 to match the interior floor dimensions of existing vanity cabinet 30. Also cabinet liner 10 has been contorted to fit through the door 40 opening then manipulated into place under drawer guides 42 and behind the door and drawer frame 44 thereafter supported by interior floor 46. Thus completing the installation without the time, labor, and skills required to disconnect and reassemble drain line 32, water supply lines 36, sink bowl 34, and vanity cabinet 30. The cabinet liner 10 has a tapered wall height of 1 inch, thus not compromising the flexibility of cabinet liner 10 and allowing it to fit under drawers guides 42 of most vanity cabinets 30, while still holding a reasonable amount of liquid until a leak or spill is realized. If desired a bead of silicone caulking could be ran along the left lip 12, back lip 14, and right lip 16 shown in FIG. 3 to seal any small leaks or product spills that may run down the interior walls of vanity cabinet 30 and direct them into cabinet liner 10. As an option, corner groove line 29 (as shown on FIG. 3) can be cut allowing lip 12, 14, and 16 to be flexed up against the inside walls of vanity cabinet 30, facilitated by grooves 28 this wedges cabinet liner 10 into vanity cabinet 30 thus forming a radius on lip 12, 14, and 16, which runs from the inside walls of vanity cabinet 30 back into cabinet liner 10.
What is shown in FIG. 2 is an existing wall cabinet 50 in a partial view of a typical kitchen, with two cabinet liners 10 that have been installed in the same process as FIG. 1 but with a shelf 52 that supports upper cabinet liner 10 and has a two door 40 configuration. Also wall cabinet 50 has a standard depth 12 inches, compared to a kitchen base cabinet 54 that has a standard depth of 24 inches both are manufactured in common standard widths. The cabinet liner 10 for a wall cabinet 50 has a tapered wall height of ½ inch this is adequate to handle any residual water that may be left on kitchen wares after the washing process and for catching product spills, while still providing easy access to goods stored thereon. Cabinet liner 10 can be readily taken out for cleaning purposes if desired while leaving shelf 52 in place What is shown in FIG. 3 is a perspective view of cabinet liner 10 and all of its parts including left wall lip 12, rear wall lip 14, right wall lip 16, and front tapered wall 18 bottom of liner 20 outer tear-away strip 22 middle tear- away strip 24 inner tear-away strip 26 grooves between tear-away strips 28 and corner groove 29
What is shown in FIG. 4 is a cross section view of cabinet liner 10 through line 4-4 FIG. 3 which include front tapered wall 18 bottom of liner 20 rear wall and lip of liner 14 inner tear-away strip 26 middle tear-strip 24 outer tear-strip 22 grooves between tear- away strips 28 and left wall and lip of liner 12
Those with skills in the art of plumbing and cabinetry will appreciate the benefits the cabinet liner 10 has over prior art, as further described.
The cabinet liner 10 is a simple, low profile, and light weight invention, that is cost effective to manufacture, distribute, and retail. The cabinet liner 10 is adjustable and can be easily retrofitted into existing cabinetry by an individual of ordinary skills, saving time, labor, and technical skills, while protecting and maintaining the value of said cabinetry at a very reasonable price.

Claims

1. A cabinet liner that protects vanity and/or kitchen cabinetry from small plumbing leaks, product spills, and residual water. Said cabinet liner covers the entire interior floor of said cabinetry forming a liquid imperious and chemical resistant tray. Said Cabinet liner is a simple, low profile, and light weight device that can be easily retrofitted into existing said cabinetry.

2. A cabinet liner according to claim 1 is molded of a flexible and shape retaining rubberized plastic that can be contorted to fit through existing access doors of said cabinetry.

3. A cabinet liner according to claim 1 of a one piece design that comprises of a tapered wall around it's perimeter, thus permitting numerous said cabinet liners to be stacked one inside another.

4. A cabinet liner according to claim 1 with an adjustable lip that runs along its left, right, and back walls, said adjustable lip comprises of molded in groove lines at fractional increments, thus forming strips that can be cut or torn away for an exact fit.

5. A cabinet liner according to claim 1 that can be easily retrofitted into all existing bathroom and kitchen cabinetry, without the need to disassemble said cabinetry or any attachments thereto

6. A cabinet liner according to claim 1 that is manufactured to meet the said exact said interior floor dimensions of a particular cabinet manufacturer without said adjustable lip.