Accessibility of storage cabinets

A cabinet comprising a storage unit and a drive apparatus arranged to move the storage unit to and from a home position within the cabinet, wherein the drive apparatus comprises comprising:

• a controller with a user interface,
• a frame for securing to a wall,
• a push-pull drive mechanism to push the storage unit outwardly from a home position to a top extended position, and
• a vertical drive mechanism to lower the storage unit from said top extended position to a level at which it is more accessible, and to subsequently lift the unit upwardly back to the top extended position, and
• in which the push-pull drive mechanism is adapted to retract the storage unit from said top extended position to the home position under control of the controller,
• the push/pull drive mechanism including a chain for engaging a furniture unit and a sprocket to rotate to push the chain outwardly and pull the chain inwardly, wherein the chain movement is parallel to the push and pull direction, and wherein the chain is housed in a curved pathway alongside which the sprocket is mounted.

A drive apparatus for a furniture unit, the apparatus comprising:

• a controller with a user interface,
• a frame for securing to a wall,
• a push-pull drive mechanism to push the unit outwardly from a home position to a top extended position, and
• a vertical drive mechanism to lower the unit from said top extended position to a level at which it is more accessible, and to subsequently lift the unit upwardly back to the top extended position, and
• in which the push-pull drive mechanism is adapted to retract the unit from said top extended position to the home position under control of the controller,
• the push/pull drive mechanism including a chain for engaging a furniture unit and a sprocket to rotate to push the chain outwardly and pull the chain inwardly, and wherein the push-pull mechanism is mounted in fixed relationship on the apparatus frame with the chain being operable to extend and retract relative to the frame to push a furniture unit out and pull it back.

A cabinet comprising a storage unit and a drive apparatus arranged to move the storage unit to and from a home position within the cabinet, wherein the drive apparatus comprises comprising:

• a controller with a user interface,
• a frame for securing to a wall,
• a push-pull drive mechanism to push the storage unit outwardly from a home position to a top extended position, and
• a vertical drive mechanism to lower the storage unit from said top extended position to a level at which it is more accessible, and to subsequently lift the unit upwardly back to the top extended position, and
• in which the push-pull drive mechanism is adapted to retract the storage unit from said top extended position to the home position under control of the controller,
• the push/pull drive mechanism including a chain for engaging a furniture unit and a sprocket to rotate to push the chain outwardly and pull the chain inwardly, and wherein the push-pull mechanism is mounted in fixed relationship on the apparatus frame with the chain being operable to extend and retract relative to the frame to push a furniture unit out and pull it back, and wherein the apparatus includes a slidable frame for supporting a furniture unit, and said frame is slidably mounted to the apparatus frame for movement between the extended top and home positions, and wherein the vertical drive mechanism is mounted to said slidable frame, and is arranged to move a furniture unit vertically relative to the slidable frame.