US 6,484,531 B1Granted

Insulated cabinet for installation in a home exterior wall

OwnerJohn D. Hambleton, David M. Hunt, Sr.inventors

Life of this patent

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Abstract

The present invention provides a convenient means for delivery personnel to deliver refrigerated goods to a building without having to wait until the building owner is home. The invention provides a dual-access insulated cabinet installable into the exterior wall of a home, with outside and inside doors. Both outside and inside doors contain lockable mechanisms for securing the doors. The insulated cabinet includes a main compartment for storing items to be frozen, an interior compartment for inserting into the wall of a building, and a cooling apparatus connected to the main compartment for selectively cooling the insulated cabinet to a selected temperature. An optional indicator light is inside whereby the light turns on when a delivery of refrigerated goods is made through the outside door of the invention. The indicator light then resets to the off state when the resident of the building opens the inside door of the present invention.

Claims12

Dependent claims

An insulated cabinet comprising:

a main compartment having a top wall, a bottom wall, two side walls, a front aperture and a rear aperture;
an interior compartment connected to the front aperture of said main compartment, said interior compartment having a top wall, a bottom wall, two side walls, a front aperture and a rear aperture;
a rim having a groove disposed therein around said front aperture of the interior compartment;
an apparatus for selectively cooling the temperature in said main compartment;
a rim disposed around the edge of the rear aperture of said main compartment;
a flange disposed around the front aperture of said interior compartment, said flange having a protruding rim that fits into said groove;
an outside door panel hingedly attached to said flange;
a locking mechanism operably disposed on the outside door panel to selectively secure said outside door panel to the flange for selectively locking the outside door panel to the flange;
an inside door panel hingedly attached to the rim of the rear aperture of said main compartment;
and
a locking mechanism operably disposed on the inside door panel for selectively locking the inside door.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/908,031Filed 18 Jul 2001
Granted: 26 Nov 2002
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

A47G 29/141
Deposit receptacles for food, e.g. breakfast, milk , or large parcels; Similar receptacles for food or large parcels with appliances for…:…
F25D 23/02
General constructional features: doors; Covers
F25D 23/10
General constructional features: arrangements for mounting in particular locations, e.g. for built-in type, for corner type
A47G 2029/147
Comprising electronically controlled locking means: the receptacle comprising heating or cooling means