IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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출원번호 |
US-0419573
(2006-05-22)
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등록번호 |
US-7398889
(2008-07-15)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
|
출원인 / 주소 |
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대리인 / 주소 |
Innovation Law Group, Ltd.
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
5 인용 특허 :
21 |
초록
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Storage units of standard, new or used wood stave barrels, mounted on end on a rotating platform and having a side opening cut-out to the interior for access to shelving, drawers, wine racks or other storage devices fitted in the interior. The barrel is mounted on and secured to a rotatable platform
Storage units of standard, new or used wood stave barrels, mounted on end on a rotating platform and having a side opening cut-out to the interior for access to shelving, drawers, wine racks or other storage devices fitted in the interior. The barrel is mounted on and secured to a rotatable platform that includes a turntable mechanism, the platform being specifically sized to fit inside the base recess of the barrel, so that it is hidden by the barrel lip, yet holds the barrel sufficiently off the ground to clear carpeting or other irregular flooring such as slate, brick or tile pavers, that might otherwise interfere with its rotation. The platform includes friction sliders so that the barrel rotates under hand pressure but does not spin freely. Selected feet or spacer disks are used to provide minimum needed clearance so the barrel appears to float just above the flooring surface.
대표청구항
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The invention claimed is: 1. A barrel storage system, comprising in operative combination: a) a wooden barrel storage unit having a central axis of rotation and comprising a wooden barrel oriented with its central, longitudinal axis vertical as it rests on a floor during operation as a storage syst
The invention claimed is: 1. A barrel storage system, comprising in operative combination: a) a wooden barrel storage unit having a central axis of rotation and comprising a wooden barrel oriented with its central, longitudinal axis vertical as it rests on a floor during operation as a storage system, said barrel having a continuous vertical side wall consisting of multiple curved staves disposed in a circle having a diameter as seen in transverse cross-section, and a pair of spaced, generally planar end members each having an outer surface and an inner surface, said end members being a first, top end and a second, bottom end, each said end member being recessed inwardly from the respective top and bottom ends of said staves, the space between outer ends of said staves and the surface of each of said end members defining a recess so that there is a top recess and a bottom recess, and a space defined between said staves and said top and bottom end members comprising a storage volume the side wall of said barrel comprising an outer lip of said recess at each end and said barrel is oriented in operative storage orientation with said axis vertical so that one end is a top end and a second end is a bottom end; b) a rotational platform assembly only for rotating said barrel storage unit on its central axis of rotation including at least a pair of plates, comprising a first, upper plate spaced above a second, lower plate, between which is mounted a rotation assembly mechanism oriented to permit rotation of said barrel around its axis of rotation while vertically oriented, and stabilizing and leveling elide members disposed in a space between said pair of rotational platform plates, said glide members having sliding faces to provide a pre-selected amount of resistance to rotation, so that said barrel storage unit rotates smoothly on said rotational platform but is not free-wheeling and a degree of frictional resistance of said stabilizing elide members is selectively increased or decreased by adjusting a gap between said stabilizing glide members and said upper plate so as to control a clearance between the face of said stabilizing glide members and said upper plate which said stabilizing glide members contact; c) said platform assembly is disposed in said bottom recess and has a vertical height sufficiently greater than the depth of said bottom recess to provide a minimum clearance of the bottom end of said stave side wall above the surface of a floor on which said barrel rests during its storage operation so that said barrel bottom end rests on said platform assembly and presents a visual appearance of said barrel storage unit floating just above the surface of said floor; d) said rotation assembly mechanism in combination with said stabilizing glide members provides selected drag resistance to permit ease of rotation of said barrel around its central axis under directed force without tilting and without spinning freely so that said barrel storage unit stops when rotational force is removed or expended, and stays at rest in the new, stopped position while loaded with stored goods; e) said stave side wall includes a substantially sized opening permitting access to the interior volume of said barrel for introduction and removal of goods for storage, the vertical span of said opening extending from above the inner surface of said bottom end to below the inner surface of said top end and the horizontal width of said opening extending generally less than the diameter of said barrel; and f) said opening being sized so that upon rotation of said barrel on its axis of rotation, said opening can be presented to a first, front position for access to said storage volume, and then rotated to a second, rear storage position wherein said opening is not visible from said front position. 2. A barrel storage system as in claim 1 wherein said platform assembly is secured to said barrel bottom end. 3. A barrel storage system as in claim 2 wherein said platform assembly includes at least one spacer member secured to at least one of said plates. 4. A barrel storage system as in claim 3 wherein said spacer member is selected from a spacer plate, feet and combinations thereof. 5. A barrel storage system as in claim 3 wherein said rotation assembly mechanism comprises a ball bearing turntable mechanism secured between said platform assembly plates. 6. A barrel storage system as in claim 1 which includes a wine rack disposed in at least a portion of said storage volume for access to insert and remove wine bottles through said side wall opening. 7. A barrel storage system as in claim 6 wherein said wine rack occupies approximately half of the vertical height of said storage volume, and which barrel includes a second turntable assembly mounted in the interior, said second turntable assembly including an apertured plate spaced above the second turntable to provide a retainer for holding open bottles in a vertical orientation. 8. A barrel storage system as in claim 6 wherein said rack is modular. 9. A barrel storage system as in claim 6 wherein said rack is mounted on slides to permit said rack to be pulled radially outward from said barrel interior for access to wine bottles oriented transverse to the radially outward direction. 10. A barrel storage system as in claim 9 which includes a counterweight to balance a load on said rack as it is extended. 11. A barrel storage system as in claim 1 wherein said storage volume includes a plurality of vertically spaced shelves. 12. A barrel storage system as in claim 1 wherein said barrel includes a plurality of horizontal external stave-retaining hoops, the hoops that would other-wise span said opening are cut away at the side edges of said opening, and the cut hoops are drilled and fastened to at least two remaining uncut staves. 13. A barrel storage system as in claim 12 which includes at least one partial hoop that is disposed on the interior surface of the barrel wall and secured to each of the remaining uncut staves. 14. A barrel storage system as in claim 1 which includes at least one shelf or drawer that can be pulled radially outwardly from said interior. 15. A barrel storage system as in claim 1 which includes a table-top comprising a plate having a top surface and a bottom surface, and a plurality of vertical spacer members secured to the bottom surface and disposed to fit securely in the top recess of said barrel to provide a non-tip frictional fit of said spacers in said recess. 16. A barrel storage system as in claim 15 which includes a wine rack disposed in at least a portion of said storage volume for access to insert and remove wine bottles through said side wall opening. 17. A barrel storage system as in claim 1 wherein said barrel is a wine barrel, said platform assembly is secured to said barrel bottom end, and said rotation assembly mechanism comprises a ball bearing turntable mechanism secured between said platform assembly plates. 18. A barrel storage system as in claim 17 including a spacer member secured to at least one of said plates which is selected from a spacer plate, feet and combinations thereof. 19. A barrel storage system as in claim 1 which includes a lazy susan assembly mounted in said storage volume. 20. A barrel storage system as in claim 19 wherein said lazy susan assembly comprises a pair of vertically spaced plates, one upper plate and a lower plate, said two plates rotate together on a rotation mechanism disposed annularly below said lower plate, and said upper plate includes a plurality of circular apertures for retaining bottles in a vertical orientation.
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