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A storage and management assembly for a plurality of portable electronic devices is provided. The assembly includes a tower assembly to define a vertical channel along a first side of the tower assembly. A plurality of shelves are removably coupled to a second side of the tower assembly, wherein the

A storage and management assembly for a plurality of portable electronic devices is provided. The assembly includes a tower assembly to define a vertical channel along a first side of the tower assembly. A plurality of shelves are removably coupled to a second side of the tower assembly, wherein the second side is opposite the first side, each of the shelves includes a storage bay defined by a bottom portion provided perpendicular to the first member, and opposing raised edge portions provided about a portion of the perimeter of the bottom portion, the plurality of shelves provided in a stacked vertical arrangement along the tower assembly.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An expandable storage assembly for storing a plurality of portable electronic devices comprising: a tower support portion having a first member coupled to a second member, and a third member coupled to the first member, the second and third members being provided at an angle to the first member s

1. An expandable storage assembly for storing a plurality of portable electronic devices comprising: a tower support portion having a first member coupled to a second member, and a third member coupled to the first member, the second and third members being provided at an angle to the first member such that the first, second, and third members define a vertical channel provided on a first side of the tower support portion;a base member coupled to the tower support portion and adapted to support the tower support portion in a vertically extending position on an elevated horizontal working surface to provide convenient access for a portable electronic device user group; anda plurality of shelves removably attachable to a second side of the tower support portion, wherein the second side is opposite the first side, each said shelf defining a storage bay including a generally planar bottom portion having a front margin and a back margin and opposing first and second raised edge portions each extending upwardly along opposed sides of the bottom portion for supporting and retaining a portable electronic device on the shelf for storage and charging, with bottom portion retaining tabs extending from said back margin being receivable by tower support portion first member first shelf receiving slots, and raised edge portion retaining hooks being receivable by tower support portion first member second shelf receiving slots, and said retaining hooks being engageable with the first member of the tower support portion to retain the shelf on said second side of the tower support portion, the first and second raised edge portions having a generally lower height along a front portion of the bottom portion of the shelf than along a back portion thereof near the tower support portion to provide enhanced user visibility of one or more devices received by a plurality of said shelves retained on the tower support portion, wherein the plurality of shelves are coupleable in a stacked, spaced vertical arrangement along the first member of the tower support portion, andthe tower support portion and the shelves further defining a plurality of first cable support apertures for support of and entry and exit of electronic cables to and from the vertical channel and the shelves and between the vertical channel and each shelf, the cable support apertures each providing managed electronic cable access for at least one electronic device supported by each shelf at spaced locations along the tower support portion. 2. The storage and management tower assembly of claim 1, wherein the vertical channel includes a fourth member coupled to at least a one of the second member and to the third member in spaced relation to the first member. 3. The storage and management tower assembly of claim 2, wherein a power distribution strip is couplable to an interior of the vertical channel, the power distribution strip including a plurality of electrical outlets. 4. The expandable storage assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a pair of opposing first and second back tabs provided on each of the shelves, the first back tab being coupled to said first raised edge portion, the second back tab being coupled to said second raised edge portion, the first and second back tabs being provided at an angle to the respective first and second raised edge portions, wherein the first and second back tabs each include an engagement portion of a said retaining hook which is respectively receivable by one of said tower support portion first member second shelf receiving slots to couple each of the plurality of shelves to the tower support portion. 5. The expandable storage assembly of claim 4, wherein the first and second raised edge portions each have a bias to facilitate coupling of each retaining hook of the back tabs with the respective one of said tower support portion first member second shelf receiving slots. 6. The expandable storage assembly of claim 1, wherein the bottom portion of at least one of the shelves has a front edge which defines a substantially U-shaped open area extending rearwardly into the shelf bottom portion to enable a user of one of said portable electronic devices to easily and simultaneously grasp both an upper and lower surfaces of the portable electronic device within margins of the U-shaped open area to facilitate placement onto and removal from said at least one shelf. 7. The expandable storage assembly of claim 6, wherein the width of the U-shaped open area defined by the front edge of the bottom portion of the shelf decreases as the U-shaped open area in the bottom portion of the shelf extends rearwardly from the said front margin of the shelf. 8. The expandable storage assembly of claim 6, wherein the maximum width of the U-shaped open area defined by the front edge of the bottom portion of the shelf is not more than approximately one-half the width of the shelf bottom portion. 9. The expandable storage assembly of claim 1 wherein said tower support portion comprising said first member, second member and third member further comprises at least a fourth member, and wherein said at least four members are connected to define the vertical channel, and wherein at least a portion of said at least four members can be removeably coupled to said vertical channel to define an access panel to selectively provide access to an interior of the vertical channel when the access panel is at least partially disengaged from the vertical channel and to prevent access to the interior of the vertical channel when the access panel is fully coupled to the vertical channel. 10. The expandable storage assembly of claim 9 wherein said base member coupled to the vertical channel of said tower support portion extends laterally to underlie both the vertical channel and at least a portion of any shelves coupled to the second side of the tower support portion whereby said tower support portion is supported in a vertical position by said base member and the plurality of shelves are supported in generally horizontal positions in cantilever fashion by the tower support portion. 11. The expandable storage assembly of claim 9 wherein a top portion is couplable to an upper end of the vertical channel to close the upper end of the vertical channel and limit access to the interior of the vertical channel, and wherein the top portion defines at least one ventilation opening to permit air to escape from the interior of the vertical channel for ventilation purposes. 12. The expandable storage assembly of claim 9, wherein at least one member of the vertical channel has at least one ventilation opening adjacent the bottom of the vertical channel to permit ambient air to flow into the interior of the vertical channel for ventilation purposes. 13. The expandable storage assembly of claim 9, further comprising a locking assembly having a first sidewall positionable adjacent to at least said first raised edge portions of the plurality of shelves, a second sidewall positionable adjacent to said second raised edge portions of each of the plurality of shelves, the first and second sidewalls each being coupleable with a plurality of said shelves, a top wall coupleable to the first and second sidewalls for overlapping a portion of a topmost shelf of the plurality of shelves when in the stacked, spaced vertical arrangement, and at least one door pivotably connectable to one of the first sidewall or second sidewall for selectively limiting visual and physical access to at least a portion of interiors of each of the shelves, the door being selectively engageable with a locking member provided on one of the shelves of the plurality of shelves. 14. The expandable storage assembly of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of shelves includes a first locking slot provided between said first raised edge portion and the bottom portion, and a second locking slot provided between said second raised edge portion and bottom portion, and wherein the first sidewall is engageable within the first locking slots of the plurality of shelves, and the second sidewall is engageable within the second locking slots of the plurality of shelves, and wherein the shelves are each securable to an adjacent sidewall. 15. The expandable storage assembly of claim 14 wherein each of the first sidewall and the second sidewall have a plurality of spaced engagement slots, each of which engagement slots enable engagement therein of the bottom portion of one of said shelves adjacent to a forward end of an adjacent one of said shelf locking slots to provide stability and vertical support for the engaged shelf adjacent said forward end. 16. The expandable storage assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first cable support apertures defined by one of said shelves is a cable management aperture located in one of said first and second shelf raised edge portions, and wherein the cable management aperture includes a cable management tab which extends between opposed edges of the said cable management aperture in closely spaced relation thereto whereby an electronic cable can be positioned and retained against one of said opposed aperture edges, then against and around the cable management tab and then against the other of said opposed aperture edges to restrict lineal movement of the electronic cable through said cable management aperture and provide a relatively constant cable length to the forward end of the shelf for electrical engagement and disengagement to and from electronic devices stored on the shelf. 17. The expandable storage assembly of claim 16 wherein the one of said first and second shelf raised edge portions in which the said cable management aperture is located has an upper margin, and wherein the said cable management aperture edges and the cable management tab terminate at the said upper margin of the one of said first and second shelf raised edge portions to permit an electronic cable to be easily threaded through the cable management aperture and around the cable management tab. 18. A countertop storage and management assembly for a plurality of portable electronic devices comprising: a vertical tower assembly for housing and locating a plurality of electronic cables for supplying power and transferring electronic data to a plurality of portable electronic devices,the tower assembly defining a cable management vertical channel and a plurality of shelves coupleable to said vertical channel in a stacked vertical array, each shelf providing a storage bay defined by a bottom portion for supporting a portable electronic device on the shelf for storage and charging, the vertical channel and shelves further defining a plurality of first cable support apertures for support of and entry and exit of a plurality of electronic cables to and from the vertical channel and the shelves and between the vertical channel and each shelf, the said channel first cable support apertures and shelf first cable support apertures each providing convenient electronic cable access for at least one electronic device supported by each of the shelves at spaced locations on the channel,a laterally extending base coupleable to the cable management vertical channel wherein the base is configured to underlie the vertical channel and at least a portion of any of said shelves coupled to the vertical channel whereby the tower support is supported in a vertical position by the base and the plurality of shelves are supported in generally horizontal positions in cantilever fashion from the tower cable management vertical channel,the tower assembly further including a locking assembly having opposed first and second sidewalls, and a top wall coupled to the first and second sidewalls to overlap a topmost shelf portion of the tower assembly, at least one of the first and second sidewalls being coupleable to at least one of the plurality of shelves and the vertical channel, the locking assembly further providing at least one door pivotally coupleable to a one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall and movable between an open position for permitting user access to the shelf storage bays and a closed position for selectively limiting access to the storage bays, the at least one door being engageable with a locking mechanism on the tower assembly to selectively retain the at least one door in closed position to secure electronic devices within the shelves for storage and charging. 19. The countertop storage and management assembly of claim 18 wherein sufficient open space between the shelves and the locking assembly is provided when the at least one door is in a closed position to allow a user positioned externally of the tower assembly to visually confirm the presence and absence of electronic devices within the storage bays of each of the shelves of the storage and management assembly. 20. The countertop storage and management assembly of claim 18 wherein at least one power distribution assembly having a plurality of electrical outlets is provided for attachment within the tower assembly to provide electrical power for each electronic device positioned within each storage bay of the tower assembly. 21. The countertop storage and management assembly of claim 18 wherein the vertical channel defines a plurality of second cable support apertures which are smaller than the first cable sup ort apertures for receiving attachment apparatus for positioning and coupling electrical components to the vertical channel. 22. The countertop storage and management assembly of claim 18 wherein the vertical channel defines at least one third cable support aperture having a diameter greater than the first cable support apertures to provide entry into the vertical channel by at least one of a main power cable and a main communication cable. 23. The countertop storage and management assembly of claim 18 wherein at least one of the shelves defines at least one shelf second cable support aperture and a plurality of shelf third cable support apertures, which shelf third cable support apertures are smaller than the shelf first cable support apertures for entry of attachment apparatus for positioning and coupling electrical components to the shelf. 24. The countertop storage and management assembly of claim 18 wherein a plurality of resilient foot members are attached to a bottom surface of the laterally extending base to provide non-skid stability for the base on a support surface.