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 usage 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 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 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 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.
[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.
[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.
[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
finish. 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.
[0024] 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, 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 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.
1. 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 a 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.
2. The refrigerated medicine cabinet of claim 1, wherein the front exterior of the refrigerated
medicine cabinet has a large mirror.
3. The refrigerated medicine cabinet of claim 1, wherein in a portion of the front exterior
of the refrigerated medicine cabinet includes a small magnified mirror.
4. The refrigerated medicine cabinet of claim 1, wherein the interior of the refrigerated
medicine cabinet comes in various volumes to accommodate the needs of the user.
5. The refrigerated medicine cabinet of claim 1, wherein the depth of the refrigerated
medicine cabinet is sized to be appropriate for a bathroom.
6. The refrigerated medicine cabinet of claim 1, wherein the refrigerated medicine cabinet
has a freezer compartment.
7. The refrigerated medicine cabinet of claim 1, wherein the entire interior of the
refrigerated medicine cabinet is a freezer.
8. The refrigerated medicine cabinet of claim 1, wherein the shelving systems comes
in various colors, such as silver and gold.
8. The refrigerated medicine cabinet of claim 1, wherein the shelving systems is selected
from one of the following "rails", glass, clear plastic, tinted plastic.
9. The refrigerated medicine cabinet of claim 1, wherein the vertical spacing between
the shelving systems is adjustable.