Storage cabinet with handle operated door

A storage apparatus comprising:

• a storage unit defining a front opening;
• a door configured to cover the front opening and attached to the storage unit for movement between opened, intermediate and closed positions;
• a handle isolated from the door;
• and
• a flexible cable assembly including a flexible cable with a sleeve that telescopingly receives the cable, the cable operably connecting the handle to the door such that the handle may be used to selectively move the door.

A storage apparatus comprising:

• a storage unit defining a front opening;
• a door configured to cover the front opening and attached to the storage unit for movement between opened, intermediate and closed positions;
• a handle isolated from the door but operably connected to the door for selectively manually moving the door;
• a first flexible member connecting the handle to the door wherein the first flexible member includes a cable and a flexible cable assembly with a sleeve that telescopingly receives the cable;
• and
• wherein the sleeve provides a natural friction on the cable that is sufficient to hold the door in the intermediate positions when the handle is released, and further wherein the natural friction on the cable is sufficiently low, and a weight and pivotal support of the door is such that the door naturally moves to the closed position when the door is within a predetermined distance of the closed position.

A storage apparatus comprising:

• a storage unit defining a front opening and including a bottom;
• a door configured to cover the front opening and attached to the storage unit for movement between opened, intermediate and closed positions;
• and
• a handle isolated from the door but operably connected to the door for selectively manually moving the door, operably mounted to the bottom of the storage unit in a location where the handle can be easily reachable by a seated or wheelchair-bound persons and wherein the handle includes a handle wheel at a handle pivot, and including a flexible cable wrapped around the handle wheel with ends connected to the handle and to the door.

A storage apparatus comprising:

• a storage unit defining a front opening and including a shelf;
• a gravity actuated door configured to cover the front opening and operably attached to the storage unit for movement between opened, intermediate and closed positions, at least a portion of the door moving in a vertical direction with respect to the storage unit;
• and
• an actuator including a manually movable handle pivoted to the shelf and at least one flexible member connecting the handle to the door for moving the door between the opened, intermediate, and closed positions as the handle is moved.

A storage apparatus comprising:

• a storage unit defining a front opening and including a bottom;
• a door configured to cover the front opening and operably attached to the storage unit for movement between opened, intermediate and closed positions;
• and
• an actuator including a manually movable handle that includes a lever pivoted to the bottom of the storage at a handle pivot and a handgrip spaced apart from the handle pivot, and at least one flexible member connecting the handle to the door for moving the door between the opened, intermediate, and closed positions as the handle is moved, wherein the handle includes a handle wheel at the handle pivot, and wherein the flexible member is partially wrapped around the handle wheel, the flexible member having ends connected to the handle and to the door.

A method comprising steps of:

• providing a storage unit defining a front opening and a bottom that defines a front edge, and a door pivoted to the storage unit for covering the front opening, the door being moveable between a plurality of door positions;
• providing a handle operably attached to the bottom of the storage unit and that is laterally moveable along the front edge of the bottom between a plurality of handle positions;
• linking the handle to the door so that the handle positions correspond to the door positions;
• and
• moving the handle in a plane parallel to the bottom of the storage unit between a plurality of handle positions to move the door between the plurality of door positions.