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Patent application title: Aesthetically Concealed Key Cabinet

Inventors:  Carolyn P. Mallory (Madison, VA, US)
IPC8 Class: AA47F508FI
USPC Class: 312245
Class name: MOUNTED ON WALL, CEILING OR SPACED PANELS
Publication date: 08/28/2008
Patent application number: 20080203869

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Abstract:

An aesthetically concealed key cabinet integrated into a kitchen or other household cabinet system and comprising a back wall, two side walls, a top, a bottom and a door. The side walls are a contiguous extension of the front and back of a cabinet in the cabinet system and the top and bottom are a contiguous extension of the top and bottom of a cabinet in the cabinet system. The back wall is coincident with the side wall of a cabinet in the cabinet system. Key holding devices are appended to the back wall. The door matches the decorative design of the cabinet door fronts of the cabinet system but neither a door knob nor a hinge nor other hardware is visible when the door is closed thereby providing a concealed cabinet for storing household keys and key chains.

Claims:

1. A key cabinet in a system of cabinets, said key cabinet comprising:a back wall, said back wall being coincident with the outer side wall of one cabinet in said cabinet system;a first side wall and a second side wall, said first side wall being a contiguous extension of the back wall of said one cabinet in said cabinet system and said second side wall being a contiguous extension of the front of said one cabinet in said cabinet system;a top and a bottom, said top being a contiguous extension of the top of said one cabinet in said cabinet system and said bottom being a contiguous extension of the bottom of said one cabinet in said cabinet system;a door, said door being affixed by at least one hinge to either of said first side, said second side, said top or said bottom, and;at least one key holding means affixed to said back wall.

2. The key cabinet in claim 1 wherein said cabinet system comprises cabinet door fronts of a particular decorative design and wherein said door matches said decorative design of said cabinet door fronts.

3. The key cabinet in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said key holding means comprises a hook.

4. The key cabinet in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said key holding means comprises a magnet.

5. The key cabinet in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said hinge is not visible when said door is closed.

6. The key cabinet in claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, or claim 4 wherein no hardware affixed to said door is visible when said door is closed.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001]1. Technical Field

[0002]The present invention regards a concealed key cabinet, fully integrated into a common kitchen cabinet system or other installed cabinet system and containing hooks or other means for retaining and organizing, and thereby inconspicuously storing, a plurality of keys or key chains with keys.

[0003]2. Background of the Invention

[0004]Keys are often hard to find in the household. Placed in drawers in an unorganized fashion, it is often difficult to see which keys are present and which keys are missing. Furthermore, keys in table top elevation drawers or on countertops may be accessible to small children who may misplace them. Keys and key chains that are simply stored on countertops are also unsightly.

[0005]Conventional, wall mounted key holders are generally too small to hold all the keys for a household in a manner both convenient and so that all the keys are visible. When such wall mounted holders are big enough to contain such keys, they tend to look aesthetically unappealing in the household. In particular, large exposed key holding boards tend to have an industrial look, which is generally not desirable in a home. Additionally, when a plurality of keys are stored upon such exposed devices they tend to look disorganized and therefore, visually unappealing.

[0006]Large exposed key holding boards also pose a considerable risk of unauthorized use of the keys by intruders. The more keys displayed in one place, the greater the risk that the keys may be used by persons not authorized to do so. Intruders, and even authorized visitors may have easy access to keys on exposed key holding boards, in obvious key cabinets or keys left on countertops.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007]Therefore it is the object of the present invention to provide a domestic key cabinet, in particular a key cabinet integrated into a kitchen cabinet system or other household cabinet system, which is spacious enough to hold a large number of keys used by the occupants of the household, including for example, keys to the residence, vehicle keys, mail and safety deposit box keys and the like, which is also easily accessible, but which can be closed so that the unsightly key display is not obvious.

[0008]It is also an object of the invention to provide a key cabinet that conceals stored keys from view and which does not conspicuously reveal the location or existence of keys or the location and existence of the key cabinet when the cabinet door is closed. These and other objects of invention are realized by a key cabinet that is aesthetically concealed as a decorative end section of a kitchen or other installed household cabinet system. As the key cabinet needs to be only a few inches in depth it may be conveniently added to the end section of a set of kitchen cabinets without excessively adding to the size of the cabinetry or reducing the cabinet space available for other purposes.

[0009]It is further advantageous that, in a kitchen cabinet system or other cabinet system comprising door fronts of a particular decorative design, the door of the key cabinet match the decorative door fronts, thereby appearing as a decorative side panel of a conventional kitchen cabinet. The key cabinet door may include hinges similar to any cabinet door, but preferably no exposed hardware, such as a door knob or hinge is apparent when the door is closed. The cabinet requires very little space and can be easily incorporated into a new kitchen installation, or retrofitted to an already existing installation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]Other benefits and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following descriptions and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0011]FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of a preferred embodiment of the key cabinet according to the invention showing the key cabinet opened;

[0012]FIG. 2. is a perspective side view of a preferred embodiment of the key cabinet according to the invention showing the key cabinet closed.

[0013]FIG. 3. is a front plan view of a preferred embodiment of the key cabinet according to the invention showing the key cabinet open.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014]Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, an aesthetically concealed kitchen cabinet is shown according to the invention. The cabinet is preferentially made of the same material as the cabinet system to which it is integrated. As shown in FIG. 1, the cabinet comprises a cabinet back (1), left (2) and right (3) sides, a top (4) and bottom (5) and a door (6). The cabinet back (1) is coincident with the end side panel of the last cabinet in the cabinet system. The left (2) and right sides (3) of the key cabinet are contiguous extensions of the back panel and the front panel of the last cabinet in the cabinet system. Similarly the top (4) and bottom (5) of the cabinet are contiguous extensions of the top and bottom of the last cabinet in the cabinet system.

[0015]On the back of the key cabinet are affixed a plurality of key holding devices (7), such as hooks, magnetic key holders or the like, which are arranged in a plurality of rows, each row leaving sufficient space between each adjacent row so that the keys or key chains can be hung without encroaching upon the keys hung in an adjacent row. Similarly, the hooks are spaced so that keys hung on adjacent hooks can be hung without encroaching upon keys hung on adjacent hooks.

[0016]The door (6) of the cabinet is configured with hinges (8) to permit the key cabinet to be conveniently opened. Preferentially, the hinge may comprise a spring loaded mechanism which holds the door closed when the contact surfaces of the cabinet and the door are contacting. These hinges also preferentially operate to permit the door to be opened by pressing on the side of the door opposite the hinged side permitting the door to open slightly and allowing the operator to grasp the door edge to open it. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, simple hinges may be utilized and the door may be held closed by a magnets affixed on the inside of the cabinet (9) which, on closing, contact a metal member affixed to the door (10).

[0017]Referring to FIG. 2, where the cabinet system compromises cabinets with a specified design for the cabinet door fronts (11), the door (6) of the key cabinet is preferentially constructed to match or be similar to the cabinet door fronts. No hardware, such as hinges or a door knob, is conspicuous on the key cabinet door when the key cabinet door is closed.