Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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RECESSED BUTTLE STORAGE
BACKGROUND
This application relates to the recessed storage of wine bottles and other
bottles.
The generally accepted manner for storing wines is to rest a wine bottle on
its side so the
cork stays in contact with wine. Although storing a bottle on its side
occupies more space, it also
prevents the cork from drying out and air from entering the,bottle. With
sparkling wines, a dried
out cork permits gas to escape, resulting in a "flat" wine. Moreover, ideally,
wine should be
stored in a cool, dark place having a fairly constant temperature of about
55° to 60° F.
Wine is thus often stored in a wine cellar where large amounts of space are
devoted to the
storage of wine and temperature is maintained relatively cool. However, many
people do not
have a cellar or large amounts of space to devote to the storage of wine.
Moreover, even those
individuals with a wine cellar often store a few wine bottles in the kitchen
or other room above
the cellar, since the wine is then on hand and easily accessed.
a
There are a number of wine and spirit racks that are available for the storage
of bottles
outside of a cellar. However, these wine and spirit racks occupy a portion of
the floor or
countertop that would otherwise be available for other uses.
United States Patent No. 5,707,125. to Coglin describes a wall-mounted cabinet
that is
suitable for storage or display of general household items such as books,
ornaments, trophies,
rifles, linens, tools or supplies. The rear portion of the cabinet is
installed through a properly
sized opening cut through the wallboard into the wall cavity between
conventional wall support
members such as studs.
SUMMARY
The recessed storage of wine bottle and other bottles removes at least a
portion of the
rack and the bottle from the room where the bottle is stored. This reduces the
amount of space
required for the storage of bottles, and bottles, especially wines, may be
efficiently and properly
stored in rooms that are easily accessible or in homes that do not have a
cellar.
In one aspect, a storage space includes a bottle rack configured to be at
least partially
recessed in a wall.
In another aspect, a storage space includes a means for storing a bottle at
least partially
recessed in a wall.
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Implementation of these and other aspects may include one or more of the
following features. The bottle rack may be a wine rack configured to be at
least
partially recessed in a wall. The wine rack may include a wine cradle
configured to
store a wine bottle with a stopper in contact with a stored wine. The wine
rack may
include an enclosure. The enclosure may include a side wall. The enclosure may
include a second side wall. At least one of the side walls may define a
fastener hole or
support the wine cradle. The side walls may be spaced apart to substantially
traverse a
distance separating opposing faces of wall studs. For example, the side walls
may be
spaced apart to substantially traverse one of a 37 cm distance and a 57 cm
distance.
The wine rack may be of unitary construction. The wine rack may also include
a cover positionable over a wine bottle stored in the wine cradle. The cover
may be
translucent or opaque. The cover may include a vertically hinged door. The
wine
cradle may be configured to store a wine bottle substantially horizontally
The wine cradle may define a depression dimensioned to support the wine bottle
without rolling. The storage space may also include a pair of spaced apart,
substantially parallel rods. The depression may be defined between the pair of
rods.
The wine rack may further comprise a lip extending laterally outward from a
front of
the wine rack.
The wine rack may also include a means for exchanging heat such as, for
2o example, a cooler or a forced fluid system. The means for exchanging heat
may be
disposed at a rear, recessed portion of the wine rack. The wine rack may be
included in
a house.
The bottle rack may be of unitary construction. The bottle rack may include a
housing adapted for mounting at least partially into a building wall. The
housing may
include a rear wall joined to a forwardly projecting top wall, bottom wall,
and pair of
side walls to define a forwardly open interior chamber. The bottle rack may
also
include a bottle cradle configured to store a bottle having a stopper in
contact with a
stored liquid and a lip extending laterally outward from the top wall, bottom
wall, and
side walls. The bottle cradle may be positioned generally within the housing
3o The bottle may also include a door hingedly mounted onto the housing for
swinging movement between positions covering the interior chamber and exposing
the
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interior chamber. The means for storing includes a means for cradling a bottle
having a
stopper in contact with a stored liquid. The storage includes a means for
covering the
bottle in the means for storing.
In another aspect, a method includes storing a bottle in a bottle rack at
least
partially recessed in a wall. Storing the bottle in the bottle rack may
include storing a
wine bottle in the bottle rack with a cork in contact with a wine in the wine
bottle or
mounting the bottle rack to a wall stud forming the wall.
The details of one or more implementations axe set forth in the accompanying
drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages
will be
o apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG 1 is a diagrammatic view of a bottle rack in a partially cutaway wall;
FIG 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of the bottle rack in FIG
1;
FIG 3 is a diagrammatic view of another implementation of a bottle rack in a
partially cutaway wall;
FIG 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of the bottle rack in FIG
3;
FIG 5 is a diagrammatic view of a bottle cradle;
FIG 6 is a diagrammatic view of another implementation of a bottle rack in a
partially cutaway wall;
2o FIG 7 is a front view of another implementation of a bottle rack in a
partially
cutaway wall;
FIG S is layered cutaway view of the bottle rack of FIG 7;
FIG 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of the bottle rack of FIG
7;
and
FIG 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 of the bottle rack of
FIG
7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG l, a bottle rack 100 is mountable recessed in a wall 9 for
the
space-saving storage of bottles 10. Bottle rack 100 includes a housing 110
that houses
3o three bottle cradles 120. Housing 110 is of unitary construction and
includes a rear
3
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wall 112, a top wall 114, a bottom wall 115, and opposing side walls 116, 117
to define
a forwardly open interior chamber 105. The front circumference of housing 110
is
surrounded by a lip 150. Bottle cradles 120 extend laterally from side wall
116 to side
wall 117 inside housing 110 and are formed by two substantially parallel rods
121, 122
adjacently mounted to side walls 116, 117. Side walls 116, 117 each define a
series of
fastener holes I 18 dimensioned to receive fastening screws 119 for mounting
bottle
racy 100. Cradles 120 cradle bottles 10 to maintain the corks or other
stoppers of
bottles 10 in contact with a stored liquid, for example, with a stored wine.
Referring also to FIG 2, in use, bottle rack 100 is mounted partially recessed
o inside a wall 9 formed by wall studs 12 and a wall sheet 11. Wall studs 12
each have a
side face 13 into which screws 119 are fastened after passing through fastener
holes
118. Wall sheet 11 is cut to have edges 14 which ideally smoothly follow the
outer
circumference of walls 114, 115, 116, 117, but in reality may fail to do so
and define a
gap 15. Lip 150 extends beyond the outer circumference of walls 114, 115, 116,
117 to
~5 cover gap 15 aszd display a finished appearance to an observer.
A user can add a new wine bottle 10 to wine rack 100 by orienting new wine
bottle 10 with its long axis substantially parallel to the plane of sheet 11
and rotating
new wine bottle 10 with its long axis substantially parallel to the plane of
sheet 11, as
needed. When wine bottle 10 has been appropriately positioned, the user lowers
wine
2o bottle 10 into the selected bottle cradle 120.
The space saving provided by bottle rack 100 is provided by the storage of at
least a portion of bottle rack 100 and/or bottles 10 between side faces 13 of
wall studs
12 and edges 14 of wall sheet 11 in interior chamber 105. Although the
entirety of
bottle rack 100 and/or bottles 10 need not be stored between side faces 13 and
edges
25 14, the storage of even a small portion between side faces 13 and/or edges
14 increases
the volume available in a room bounded by wall sheet 11.
Bottle rack 100 may be dimensioned in particular for the storage of wine
bottles
as follows. For example, rods 121, 122 may be separated on center by a
distance D1
that is less than the diameter of common wine bottles but large enough to
support
3o common wine bottles without fear of the bottles rolling out of cradles 120.
For
example, distance D1 may be greater than about 2 cm or greater than about 5
cm.
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Distance D 1 may also be less than 13 cm, or less than 10 cm. Housing 110 may
have a
depth D2 that determines the size of the longitudinal slice of common wine
bottles
stored between side faces 13 and/or edges 14. Depth D2 may be greater than 1
cm, or
greater than 3 cm, or greater than 5 cm. Housing 110 has a width D3. Width D3
may
be adjusted in accordance with local building codes and the dimensions and
materials
of wall studs 12 to substantially traverse the entire distance between side
faces 13. For
example, in many areas in the United States of America, on center spacing
between
adjacent 2x4 wood studs is typically 16 inches (almost 41 cm) or 24 inches
(almost 61
cm). In this case, width D3 may be about 37 cm or about 57 cm.
o Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a bottle rack 200 houses bottle cradles 220.
Bottle
cradles 220 are generally solid, shelf like extensions between side walls 116,
117 and
include an upward facing concavity 222 for supporting bottles 10 with their
corks or
other stoppers in contact with a stored liquid, for example, with a stored
wine. A
similar concavity (not shown) is farmed in bottom wall 115 for supporting
bottle 1 OA.
Since bottle cradles 220 axe solid, bottle rack 200 is mechanically robust.
Refernng to FIG 5, another bottle cradle 320 includes a first cantilevered arm
321, a second cantilevered arm 322, a first arcuate portion 324, and a second
arcuate
portion 325. In housing 110, first cantilevered arm 321 is mounted to side
wall 117 and
supports first arcuate portion 324 in an upturned orientation. Likewise,
second
2o cantilevered arm 322 is mounted to side wall 116 and supports second
arcuate portion
325 in an upturned orientation at a position slightly below arcuate portion
324.
Referring to FIG 6, a bottle rack 300 additionally includes a covering door
360
vertically hinged by hinges 363 to housing 110. Housing 110 includes a
magnetic latch
366 that mates with a complementary member (not shown) on the rear side of
door 360
for releasably retaining door 360 in the closed position. Door 360 includes a
handle
362 that allows an operator to release door 360 from latch 366 and access
interior
chamber 105 to add or remove bottles 10. Door 360 may be made from a
translucent or
opaque material to limit or prevent exposure of bottles 10 in bottle rack 300
to light.
Referring to FIGS. 7-10, a bottle rack 400 provides temperature-controlled
3o storage of wine. Bottle rack 400 includes a heat exchange plate 410 that
defines a
meandering conduit 423 extending between an inlet fitting 421 and an outlet
fitting
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422. Heat exchange plate 410 is mounted flush with rear wall 112 of housing
110 and
is in thermal contact with bottle cradles 220. Bottle cradles 220 are made
from metal to
place cradled bottles (not shown) in thermal communication with conduit 423.
Bottle rack 400 also includes an insulating strip 430 positioned between door
350 and lip 150 to thermally insulate the interior of bottle rack 400. Housing
110 and
door 360 are also relatively thicker than in other implementations and made
from a
thermally insulating material like wood or polymer. Alternatively, housing 110
and
door 360 may be covered by an additional thermal insulation layer to minimize
heat
loss. Lip 150 includes a standoff spacer 152 that moves door 360 into the room
and
o away from wall sheet 11 to accommodate the space occupied by heat exchange
plate
410 and a thicker rear wall 112.
Referring in particular to FIG 7, in use, conduit 423 through bottle rack 400
is
added to a fluid flow path of cool water. A water supply pipe 20 conducts cool
water in
the direction of arrow A to a service pipe 24 beneath a floor 16. Pipe 21
conducts cool
water from supply pipe 20 through floor 16 and up to inlet fitting 421, where
the water
enters conduit 423 and exchanges heat with heat exchange plate 410 to cool
bottle rack
400. The water exits bottle rack 400 at outlet fitting 422 and flows to
service pipe 24
through a pipe 23. Provided that interior chamber 105 is sufficiently
thermally
insulated, interior chamber 105 of bottle rack 400 is cooled below room
temperature to
2o improve storage of wine.
A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be
understood that various modifications may be made. For example, a wide variety
of
wine cradles may be used. Other heat exchange mechanisms including
thermoelectric
coolers and forced air systems may readily be used to provide temperature-
controlled
storage of wine. Covering door 360 may be horizontally hinged or replaced by
another
covering mechanism such as a flexible sheet loaded on a spring-loaded roller.
Covering
door 360 may include decorative coverings to make the bottle rack
aesthetically
pleasing. Wall sheet 11 may be wallboard, paneling, backer board, plaster,
masonry, or
any other material that forms a wall.
3o Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following
claims.
