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  Exterior cabinet doors and drawersUSPTO Application #: 20060125355Title: Exterior cabinet doors and drawers Abstract: An outdoors cabinet includes a door and a drawer which when closed prevent liquids from windy rain or counter top spills from entering into the cabinet or drawer. The door includes a frame having a back-side face which includes a groove at a top thereof. Similarly, the drawer includes a front-panel having a back-side which also includes a groove at a top thereof. When the door and/or drawer is closed shut against the cabinet's exterior surface, the frame and/or front-panel overlaps the cabinet's exterior surface about the door, and their respective grooves project through the cabinet's exterior surface into the cabinet. Configured in this way, when the door and/or drawer is closed shut against the cabinet's exterior surface, the door's and/or drawer's grooves respectively prevent liquids from windy rain or counter top spills from entering the cabinet or the drawer. (end of abstract) Agent: Donald E. Schreiber - Kings Beach, CA, US Inventor: Robert F. Hauck USPTO Applicaton #: 20060125355 - Class: 312100000 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060125355. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/634,673 filed on Dec. 10, 2004. BACKGROUND [0002] 1. Technical Field [0003] The present invention relates generally to household type cabinets, and, more particularly, to such cabinets as adapted for outdoor use. [0004] 2. Description of Background Art [0005] There exists a well-established trade for fabricating kitchen and bathroom cabinets both by custom cabinet-making shops and highly mechanized standard cabinet fabrication facilities. Presently, cabinet manufacturers predominantly use natural wood and wood-derivative products such as plywood, veneered multi-density fiber board ("MDF") and pressboard for indoor cabinets. [0006] Conventional interior cabinet designs are not readily transferable for outdoor use because additional design considerations must be given to rain diversion and stability in wind. [0007] Outdoor kitchens heretofore have been built using stainless-steel doors and drawers, and are designed to be set into heavy masonry. These steel cabinets are expensive and bulky. Furthermore, they consume much more space than would be required by more conventional cabinet designs. The weight characteristics of stainless steel cabinets alone preclude their use for outdoor kitchens located on supported structures such as second-story decks. [0008] There also presently exist cabinets that are made from injection-molded plastic, but they are hollow in structure and have rounded edges and corners due to constraints imposed by injection molding. Such cabinets are being sold only for storage cabinets because they just lack an appearance that mimics interior cabinet designs. Such cabinets also lack exposed drawers. [0009] There. also exist cabinet doors made mainly from wood fiber-board that is clad with a thin veneer of polyethylene ("PEI") plastic using a vacuum process. The problem with such cabinet doors is that if the veneer is punctured, the fiberboard swells with moisture and the door becomes permanently damaged and primarily non-functional in its intended environment. Hinge recesses and hinge mounting screws require puncturing the backside of fiberboard doors, and these holes invite imminent failure. Some fiberboard doors only possess a plastic veneer on the front side leaving the interior exposed to moisture in a damp environment. [0010] With the introduction of high-density polyethylene ("HDPE") plastics in standard board sizes, kitchen cabinets fabricated from such materials are presently experiencing strong reception for application to outdoor uses, such as outdoor BBQs and exterior kitchens. Such solid plastic, wood-alternative material made from predominantly recycled polyethylene plastic obtained from soda bottles, detergent bottles, and milk containers is available from a number of different manufacturers. This solid plastic, wood-alternative material is strong, impact resistant, and "wood-like" in appearance. Furthermore, this material is maintenance-free, and needs no painting or superficial maintenance. Similar to wood, the solid plastic, wood-alternative material can be cut, drilled, mitered, routered, and sanded with conventional woodworking tools. [0011] One characteristic of the solid plastic, wood-alternative material, in comparison with most types of natural wood used in fabricating outdoor architectural structures is that it has slightly less mechanical rigidity. However, because in many instances mechanical requirements of structures are moderate or may be accommodated by an appropriate design or hidden structural supports, the solid plastic, wood-alternative material's lesser mechanical rigidity does not prevent its use in such structures. [0012] Using such solid plastic, wood-alternative materials, fabricating comparatively light weight kitchen base and wall cabinets for outdoor use which in appearance resemble conventional interior cabinets is a new development. Fabricating the doors and drawers for outdoor cabinets from solid-plastic presents a problem for preventing liquids from windy rain or counter top spills from penetrating the cabinets' interior when the doors and drawers are closed shut. BRIEF SUMMARY [0013] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a cabinet that is adapted for use outdoors locatable on a supported structure, and that resembles a conventional interior cabinet. [0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide a door that is adapted for use outdoors, and that resembles a conventional interior cabinet which when closed shut against a cabinet is adapted for preventing liquids from windy rain or counter top spills from entering into the cabinet. [0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide a drawer that is adapted for use outdoors, and that resembles a conventional interior cabinet which when closed shut against a cabinet is adapted for preventing liquids from windy rain or counter top spills from entering into the drawer. [0016] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide an easily manufactured cabinet including a door and/or drawer that is adapted for use outdoors locatable on a supported structure, and that resembles a conventional interior cabinet. [0017] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a durable cabinet including a door and/or drawer that is adapted for use outdoors locatable on a supported structure, and that resembles a conventional interior cabinet. [0018] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a cost effective cabinet including a door and/or drawer that is adapted for use outdoors locatable on a supported structure, and that resembles a conventional interior cabinet. [0019] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide an easily maintained cabinet including a door and/or drawer that is adapted for use outdoors locatable on a supported structure, and that resembles a conventional interior cabinet. [0020] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide an economically manufactured cabinet including a door and/or drawer that is adapted for use outdoors locatable on a supported structure, and that resembles a conventional interior cabinet which is. [0021] Briefly, disclosed herein is a cabinet which is adapted for use outdoors and locatable on a supported structure, and resembles a conventional interior cabinet. The disclosure also includes a door and a drawer for the cabinet which when closed shut are adapted for preventing liquids from windy rain or counter top spills from entering into the cabinet or the drawer. [0022] The disclosed door includes a frame formed by frame pieces which enclose a center panel. The frame pieces and the center panel are formed from a maintenance-free material that needs no painting or superficial maintenance. When the door is closed shut against the cabinet's exterior surface, the frame overlaps the exterior surface of the cabinet about the door. Also, the door has a back-side face at a top thereof that includes a groove which, when the door is closed shut against the cabinet's exterior surface, projects through the exterior surface into the cabinet and extends horizontally across the door's back-side face. Configured in this way, when the door is closed shut against the cabinet's exterior surface, the door's groove becomes adapted for preventing liquids from windy rain or counter top spills from entering into the cabinet. Continue reading... Full patent description for Exterior cabinet doors and drawers Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Exterior cabinet doors and drawers patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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