Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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REFRIGERATED MEDICINE CABINET
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to storage of medicine at a
household.
The invention is more particularly directed to a refrigerated medicine cabinet
which may
keep medicine and other non-food items which require refrigeration at the
correct
refrigerated temperature.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
[0002] Certain types of medicine require refrigeration. These medicines may be
kept in
refrigerated medicine cabinets. Certain designs of refrigerated medicine
cabinets, or
refrigerators to store medicine exist in the prior art. Perhaps the biggest
tigne is in
hospitals and other medical facilities, where large refrigerated medicine
cabinets which
may be floor mounted are used. However, certain medications taken at home also
require
refrigeration. One alternative to keeping these medications refrigerated at
home would
be to keep these medications in a kitchen refrigerator with food items.
However, this
may not be convenient, as medications are often taken in the bathroom. Topical
medications, which may require disrobing, would also most likely be taken in
the
bathroom. Also, it may be undesirable to keep medications in a kitchen
refrigerator with
food, as the medications, particularly ointment-type medications may give-off
odors
which would be undesirable in a kitchen refrigerator containing food. Also,
kitchen
refrigerators typically do not contain small shelves suitable for storing
medicine requiring
refrigeration. Further, young children in search of food in a kitchen
refrigerator may
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come across medications stored in a kitchen refrigerator and ingest the
medication
thinking the medication is a food item as the young children possibly see
their parents
taking the medication. Additionally, certain cosmetics require refrigeration.
It would be
inconvenient to store cosmetics in a kitchen refrigerator, since they
typically are applied
in a bathroom, or bedroom. For that reason, the prior art has recognized the
need for a
refrigeration cabinet designed for medicines, cosmetics and other small items
which
would be intended to be installed in a bathroom. Since bathrooms typically do
not have a
lot of floor space, the refrigerated bathroom cabinet would generally be
intended to be
located on a bathroom wall, as is the case for a conventional bathroom wall
cabinet.
[0003] An early attempt to solve the above mentioned problems of storage of
medicine
requiring refrigeration was to place a special secure compartment in a
conventional
kitchen refrigerator to be used as a medicine cabinet. While this special
compartment
may have certain advantages over just placing medicine anywhere in the kitchen
refrigerator, it has its' drawbacks. The special compartment would require
work, perhaps
by a trained technician, to install the special compartment. The special
compartment
would reduce storage capacity of the kitchen refrigerator for storage of food.
And the
special compartment would still require a trip to the kitchen to retrieve the
refrigerated
items, which may be more desirably taken in the bathroom, and then another
trip back to
the kitchen to store the medication in the storage compartment of the kitchen
refrigerator.
The storage compartment in the kitchen refrigerator may still allow odors from
certain
medications to infiltrate the food storage portion of the modified kitchen
refrigerator.
[0004] Another attempt to solve the above mentioned problems of storage of
medicine
requiring refrigeration was to design a compact refrigeration apparatus which
would be
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attachable to furniture, medicine cabinets, or other household objects. While
this design
is perhaps functional, it would not seem very stylish to have a compact
refrigeration
apparatus attached to furniture, or a medicine cabinet, likely including a
power cord
running to the compact refrigeration apparatus. In the case of the compact
refrigeration
apparatus attached to furniture, this could require running the cord over a
floor, possibly
creating a tripping hazard. Also, bathrooms typically do not have any
furniture to attach
the compact refrigeration apparatus to.
[0005] An additional attempt to solve the above mentioned problems of storage
of
medicine requiring refrigeration was to design a medicine cabinet, similar to
a
conventional medicine cabinet, with a mirror on the front and mountable to a
bathroom
wall and, as best understood, of a conventional size. This medicine cabinet
would be
partitioned vertically in halves. One half would have an access door and would
be at
ambient temperature. This half would contain bathroom items not requiring
refrigeration.
The other half would be refrigerated and could also include a cabinet at
ambient
temperature if desired and would contain items requiring refrigeration, such
as medicine
and cosmetics. Initially, this would seem to solve the above mentioned
problems of
storage of medicine requiring refrigeration. However, bathroom cabinets,
especially
bathroom cabinets used by a plurality of people, generally utilize all
available space,
often being overcrowded. Taking away half the space of a bathroom cabinet for
refrigeration, would likely leave the portion of the bathroom cabinet which is
not
refrigerated with insufficient space to store all items requiring storage.
[0006] From the above, it is apparent that a definite need in the art exists
for a
refrigerated medicine cabinet located in a bathroom. This medicine cabinet
should be
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dedicated to storing only items requiring refrigeration. The medicine cabinet
should be
stylish in appearance and be consistent with the design and appearance of any
other
cabinets in the bathroom.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A refrigerated medicine cabinet comprising:
an exterior with top, left, right, bottom, front and rear sides,
the refrigerated medicine cabinet including a refrigerated portion for storing
medicine, cosmetics and other small items and an attached refrigeration unit,
recessed ventilation ducts located on the top side of the refrigerated
medicine
cabinet refrigeration unit,
a door forming the front side,
an interior containing a plurality of shelving systems,
each shelving system consisting of an upper shelf, a lower shelf and vertical
partitions connecting the upper shelf and lower shelf on each shelving system.
[0008] In another embodiment of the invention, the front exterior of the
refrigerated
medicine cabinet may have a large mirror, a wood exterior, custom designed, or
be
painted to any desirable color.
[0009] In another embodiment of the invention, the front exterior of the
refrigerated
medicine cabinet may include a small magnified mirror in a portion of the
front exterior
of the refrigerated medicine cabinet.
[0010] In another embodiment of the invention, the interior of the
refrigerated medicine
cabinet may come in various volumes to accommodate the needs of the user.
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[0011] In yet another embodiment of the invention, the depth of the
refrigerated medicine
cabinet is sized to be appropriate for a bathroom.
[0012] In yet another embodiment of the invention, the refrigerated medicine
cabinet
may have a freezer compartment, or the entire interior may be a freezer.
[0013] In still yet another embodiment the shelving systems may come in
various colors,
such as silver and gold.
[0014] In a further embodiment the shelving systems may be "rails", glass, or
clear or
tinted plastic.
[0015] In a further embodiment the vertical spacing between the shelving
systems may
be adjustable.
[0016] These and other advantages of the invention will be further understood
and
appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following written
specification,
claims and appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference
to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the refrigerated medicine
cabinet from
the front with the front door closed, in accordance with the inventive
concept.
[0019] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the refrigerated medicine
cabinet from the
front with the front door open, in accordance with the inventive concept.
[0020] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the refrigerated medicine
cabinet from the
rear, in accordance with the inventive concept.
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[0021] Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various
views of the
drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF REPRESENTATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0022] The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and
is not
intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the
described
embodiments. As used herein, the word "exemplary" or "illustrative" means
"serving as
an example, instance, or illustration." Any implementation described herein as
"exemplary" or "illustrative" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred
or
advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described
below
are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to
make or
use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope
of the
disclosure, which is defined by the claims. For purposes of description
herein, the terms
"upper," "lower," "left," "rear," "right," "front," "vertical," "horizontal,"
and derivatives
thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in FIG. 1. Furthermore,
there is no
intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the
preceding
technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed
description. It is
also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in
the attached
drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary
embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence,
specific
dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments
disclosed
herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state
otherwise.
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[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of the exterior of the
refrigerated
medicine cabinet 10. The refrigerated medicine cabinet 10 exterior illustrated
in FIG. 1
includes a top side 12, left side 14, right side 16, bottom side 18 and front
side 20. The
refrigerated medicine cabinet includes a refrigerated portion 27 and a
refrigeration unit
15. The top side 12 of the refrigerated medicine cabinet 10 refrigeration unit
15 includes
refrigeration unit recessed ventilation ducts 22 and a thermostat (not shown).
The top
side 12 recessed ventilation ducts 22 exhaust warm air from the refrigeration
unit 15.
The refrigeration unit 15 includes a recessed channel 17 for enclosure of a
power cord 19
to allow the refrigerated medicine cabinet 10 to be flush mounted or installed
into a wall.
The front side 20 of the refrigerated medicine cabinet 10 forms a door which
may be
selectively opened and closed to allow access to the interior of the
refrigerated medicine
cabinet 10. The front side 20 of the refrigerated medicine cabinet 10 may
include a large
mirror 24 (not shown), or may be a wood or painted fmish. The front side 20 of
the
refrigerated medicine cabinet 10 may also include a small magnifying mirror
26. The
front side 20 of the refrigerated medicine cabinet 10 may also include a knob
28 for
opening the front side 20 door 21 of the refrigerated medicine cabinet 10. In
lieu of .a
knob 28, particularly if the large mirror is installed on the front side 20 of
the refrigerated
medicine cabinet 10, front side interior magnet 23 (FIG. 2) and left side
interior magnet
25 may be utilized to keep to door 21 of the front side 20 of the refrigerated
medicine
cabinet 10 closed when not in use.
[00241 FIG. 2 illustrates a front perspective view of the interior of the
refrigerated
medicine cabinet 10 with the door 21 open. The refrigerated medicine cabinet
10 interior
illustrated in FIG. 2 includes an upper 30, middle 35 and lower 40 shelving
systems,
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although the invention is not limited to three shelving system. The upper
shelving system
30 contains upper shelf 31, lower shelf 32 and vertical shelf partitions 33.
The vertical
partitions 33 connect the upper 31 and lower 32 shelves and may also serve as
partitions
on the lower shelf 32. Similarly, the middle shelving system 35 contains upper
shelf 36,
lower shelf 37 and vertical shelf partitions 38. The vertical partitions 37
connect the
upper 36 and lower 37 shelves and may also serve as partitions on the lower
shelf 37.
The lower shelving system 40 contains upper shelf 41 and vertical shelf
partitions 43.
There is no lower shelf for the lower shelving system, as the base 42 of the
interior of the
refrigerated portion 27 of the refrigerated medical cabinet 10 serves that
purpose. As for
the above shelving systems, the vertical partitions 43 connect the upper 41
and lower
base 42 shelves and may also serve as partitions on the lower base shelf 42.
The shelving
systems are supported by a series of elongated supports 45. The spacing
between the
upper 30, middle 35 and 40 shelving systems may be adjustable by sliding one,
or more
of the upper 30, middle 35 and lower 40 shelving systems out of one of the
elongated
supports 45 and into another elongated support 45.
[0025] FIG. 3 illustrates a rear perspective view of the exterior of the
refrigerated
medicine cabinet 10. The rear side 46 of the refrigerated medicine cabinet 10
is where
the refrigeration unit 15 is installed. The refrigeration unit 15 is of
conventional design,
such as may be found in "mini-refrigerators" and will not be discussed in
detail. The
refrigeration unit 15 is attached to a rear portion of the refrigerated
portion 27 of the
refrigerated medicine cabinet 10. FIG.3 also illustrates the recessed channel
17 used to
allow a power cord 19 to be routed outside the refrigeration unit 15 and the
refrigerated
medicine cabinet to be flush mounted to a wall. Figure 3 further illustrates
recessed
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attachment points 47 on a rear portion of the refrigeration unit. These
recessed
attachment points allow the refrigerated medicine cabinet 10 to be attached to
screws (not
shown) installed slightly protruding from the wall where the refrigerated
medicine
cabinet is being installed.
[0026] In use of the refrigerated medicine cabinet 10, a suitable location in
a bathroom
wall near eye level and proximal an electrical outlet is located. Screws are
mounted in
this suitable location to match the pattern of the recessed attachment points
47 illustrated
on FIG. 3. The refrigerated medicine cabinet is then securely mounted to the
suitable
location in the bathroom wall by aligning the recessed attachment points 47
with the
screws and then inserting the recessed attachment points 47 into the slightly
protruding
screws. The upper 30, middle 35 and lower 40 shelving systems are then spaced
according to an individual's preference by inserting each shelving system in
an
appropriate shelving system support 45. The refrigerated medicine cabinet is
then
supplied power. Once power is supplied, medicine, cosmetics and other items
requiring
refrigeration may then be placed in an appropriate location on one of the
shelving
systems.
[0027] While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described
above, it
will be recognized and understood that various modifications can be made in
the
invention and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications
which
may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
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