US1918047A - Illuminated mirror cabinet - Google Patents

Description

July 11, 1933. 1,918,047

A. MARCHAND ILLUMINATED MIRROR CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 30, 1952 INVENTOR Anomn MARCHAND I ATTORNEY July 11, 1933. A. MARCHAND 1,918,047

ILLUMINATED MIRROR CABINET Filed 'Nov. 30, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ywwwxywxywxa INVENTOR AooLPH MARC/ AND BY v ATTORNEY Patented July 11, 1933 MARCHAND; OF JACKSDN HEIGHTS, Em-

ruiuunmzrnn om Application filed November 36, 1%" firialjlo: 644,983.

This invention relates to combination mirror cabinets having associated therewith lighting means for illuminating a person in front of the mirror; and it has particular applicability to medicine chests and the like having a mirrored front door.

Cabinets With mirrored doors are extensivel y used in modern dwellings, and are generally built into or made an integral part of 0 a wall or partition. In order to conserve space, such a cabinet is inserted into a recess in the wall specially provided therefor during its construction, and in order to obviate the necessity of having a separate or detached mirror, the door of the cabinet is provided with one. Cabinets of this type adapted for use as medicine chests are now to be found in most modern apartment houses, and the combination may be considered a comparatively new article of manufacture.

As these mirror-cabinets are frequently positioned without any planned relation to the lights that may be in the room, it is often very diflieult to get a satisfactory reflection upon the face of a person standing in front of the mirror, unless that person turns his face towards the light. In such a case, only one side of the face is illuminated, the other side being comparatively dark. lVhere a wall bracket lighting fixture is used, it is generally placed a relatively great distance away from the cabinet, so that the light therefrom strikes the person at such an angle as to cause deep shadows. It is hence to avoid such an unsatisfactory relationship of the mirrorcabinet and source of illumination that l have conceived this invention, which contains lamps integral with the structure, and sufficiently close and so positioned as to give a satisfactory light; and in order to give equal illumination on both sides of the face of an observer, a preferred embodiment of this invention contains lights on either side of the cabinet, with suitably situated reflectors to throw the light in the proper direction.

Inasmuch as dwellings provided with such mirror-cabinets are generally very carefully designed with an eye to beauty and aesthetic taste, the use of exposed lights with protrud-ing reflectors may not be desirable when such lights are not being used. I have hence utilized a structure similar to that disclosed in my patent for Disappearing mirror lights, N 0. 1,859,592 issued May 24, 1932, wherein the lights are normally hidden from view by panels at both sides of the cabinet, these panels being substantially flush with the surface of the door mirror,the parts being so arranged that a manipulation of a lever or 69 handle will automatically bring the lights into their operative position,and simultaneously project said panels into a position where they may serve as reflectors. The mechanism for effecting the said result, and which is described in the above-mentioned patent, is contained within a compartment extending rearwardly a distance substantially equal to the depth of the cabinet,thereby consuming very little additional space. The 70 lights themselves are placed Within relatively small compartments on either side of the cabinet proper, so that the entire design is very compact and economical of space. The wiring connections are all hidden from view, yet they are easily accessible for installation or repair purposes.

Another object of my invention is to provide means associated with the cabinet for illuminating the interior thereofso that all the contents, including those occupying re-. mote or secluded positions, may become clearly visible. This is of particular importance in medicine chests, where it is imperative that the articles be easily discernible and 35 readily distinguishable.

Other features, advantages and objects will appear from the drawings and the description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of my invention, the door and the front portion of the mechanism compartment being removed.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of Figure 1 taken along line 2-2, showing the 95 lights in their exposed positions.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, except that the lights are in their normal and concealed positions.

Figure 4 is a perspective of the device con- 1% door 18, and extends rearwardly a distance light carrying means showing the top cover raised to permit a lifting of the glass section therefrom.

In the drawings, the cabinet proper 11 contains the two side compartments 12 and 13, which contain the lights 14 and 15 therein, respectively. The compartment 16, shown in the drawings at the bottom of the cabinet, although adaptable for positioning elsewhere, has the front portion thereof substantially coextensive with the mirror 17 on the front equal to the depth of the cabinet. The panels 19 and 20 are normally substantially flush with the surface of the said mirror 17,-and the fronts thereof can likewise be mirrored surfaces. When the device is in its operative position, these panels serve as reflectors, as is apparent from Figures 2 and 4, the surfaces 21 and 22 being adaptable for reflecting light towards an observer at the front of the mirror.

The operating handle or lever 23 extends downwardly through and is movable Within the slot 24 in a wall of the compartment. The end portion of the said lever 23 is rotatably secured to the bar 25, the peg 26 serving as a stop to limit its rotary movement. The pin 27, secured to the lever. is engageable, upon a clockwise movement of the lever when in the position shown in Figure 2, with the tip 28 and the inclined surface 29 of the abutment member 30 which is in constant engagement with and movable against the action of the helical spring 31. The said pin 27 is similarly engageable with the member 32, corresponding to member 30, upon a counterclockwise movement of the lever when in the position shown in Figure 3.

The bar 25 is secured to the horizontally movable rack 33, one end of which has attached thereto the cross piece 34 to which is pivotally attached the adjustable link or turnbuckle 35, which in turn is pivotally attached to the bracket 36 of the light carrying wall 37. The pinion 38 rotatably mounted upon the support 39, is in operative engagement with the teeth of rack 33 and rack 40, the latter being slidably supported by the brackets 41 and 42. The rack 40 has pivotally attached thereto the toggle switch 43' which is operatively connected to the switch box 44, the other end of the rack 40 having attached at right angles thereto the cross piece 45, which is pivotally attached to the adjustable link or turnbuckle 46 which is in turn pivotally attached to the bracket 47 of the light carrying wall 48.

The assembly of the wall 37 and the panel 19, as well as that of the wall 48 and panel 20, are pivotally mounted on the hinges 49 and 50 respectively. Suitably connected to the said assemblies are the cylindrical segments 51 and 52, which are preferably made of ground glass to give a soft, diffused light. These segments or sections are supported by the bases of the said assemblies, and are held in place by the retaining walls 53 and 54 (see Figure 10). The upper retaining elements or covers 55 and 56 are secured in place by hinged connections 57 (Figure 10), so that they can be swung upwardly to permit a raising of the said segments, thereby enabling access to be had to the lamps.

It will be noted that normally the said panels 19 and 20 have their surfaces practically flush with the front surface of the mirror 17, and that the entire structure comprising the cabinet proper, the light containing compartments, and the mechanism compartment 16 have their front portions protruding only slightly from the wall 58 into which the entire structure is inserted. The recess in the wall for receiving the cabinet is lined with the outer box 59, and it is into this box that the cabinet is set. The cable pipe '60 is inserted through a suitable opening in said box at the time the house wiring is installed, so that a terminal of the wire can extend into the space 61, or any other available space, for attachment with the cable from the switch 44 in the compartment 16. It will also be seen from an inspection of F igure 5, that access can be readily had to the mechanism within compartment 16 as well as to the interior and exterior wiring, by a removal of the parts forming said compartment from the cabinet proper.

To operate the device, the lever 23 is moved within the slot 24, from its inoperative position towards the left. This manipulation of the handle will produce a clockwise rotation thereof, so that the pin 27 will push the member 30 upwardly against the action of spring 31 until the edge 63 is clear of the tip 28 of member 30,thereby permitting a continued leftward movement of the bar 25 and rack 33 until the member 32 is reached. At this point, the edge 63 will engage the surface of member 32 equivalent to surface 29 and push the member 32 upwardly against the yieldable action of its spring until the tip equivalent to 28 is passed, when the member 32 will snap down under the action of the spring to hold the bar 25 and connected parts in their projected position. The return movement to the inoperative position,towards the right, is similar in operation to that herein described. In this manner, the mechanism is held ldcked in either of its projected positions.

The movement of lever 23 within the slot 5 causes a corresponding movement of rack 33, as explained ;-and through the medium of the geared arrangement, racks 33 and 40 will move in opposite directions, rack 33 actuating the turnbuckle and swinging the light 14 g in or out of position, as the case may be, and rack simultaneously actuating the switch 43 and light 15 through the turnbuckle 46. it will thus be seen that by a single manipulation, the two side lights can be brought into 5 view and the current simultaneously turned It will be noted that the s ring 64 anchored to the framework and attac ed to member is arranged to be in tension, facilitating the manual operation of this device by. helping to overcome the frictional resistance of the parts.

When the mechanism is brought into its operative position, the panels 19 and 20 a swin outwardly in such manner as to bring the lights into their exposed positions at the sides of the cabinet, the lights being flanked by the panels in such manner that the surfaces 21 and 22 serve as reflectors to throw the 9 light in the direction of a rson positioned therebetween. It will furt er be noted that in their projected positions the lights 14 and 15 are in front of the door 18, thereby enabling the light from the lamp 14 to illuminate 5 the interior of the cabinet when the door is opened.

It will also be observed that the entire cabinet constitutes a compact structure, particularly in view-of the fact that the light contain- 0 ing compartments 12 and 13 and the mechanism containing compartment are in close juxtaposition to the walls of the cabinet proper, and do not extend'beyond the depth of the cabinet.

5 Although this invention is particularly adaptable for use as a built-in fixture within a wall, it is also adaptable for use in portable cabinets that can be attached against a wall.

Inasmuch as the lamp carrying and mecha- 3 nism containing compartment are compactly arranged with respect to the cabinet proper,

and these compartments or casings are relatively flat, the entire combination can be placed close to a wall without disclosing the 5 presence of any mechanical contrivances, and

will at the same time be of presentable appearance.

Although a specific form of this invention is herein described, it is understood that other 0 embodiments thereof may be employed without departing from the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. A cabinet of the class described having .f a mirrored door thereon and comprising two lateral compartments at opposite sides of the cabinet, a third compartment adjacent another side of,the cabinet, the said lateral compartments each containing a rotatable mounting therein carrying an arrangement of lamps and a panel adapted to conceal said lamps from View when in the normally inoperative osition, and actuating means posltioned within said third compartment and associated with the said mountings whereby a single manipulation will cause a simultaneous movement of both mountings to bring said lamps to an exposed position and each of said panels in flanking relation to the lamps ad acent thereto, the said exposed osition'being such that the lamps project orwardly beyond the front of the cabinet, the lamps adjacent the unhinged side of the door being adapted to illuminate the interior of the cabinet when the door is opened.

2. A cabinet of the class described having a mirrored door thereon and comprising two lateral compartments at opposite sides of the cabinet, a third compartment adjacent the bottom side of the cabinet, all of the said compartment being of a depth no greater than that of the cabinet, the said lateral com partments each containing therein a rotatable mounting carrying an arrangement of lamps and a panel, the front surface of each of said panels being substantially coextensive with the front of the cabinet and the rear surface being provided with reflecting means, the said panels being adapted to conceal said lamps from View when in their normally inoperative positions, and actuating means 'po-' sitioned within said third compartment and associated with the said mountings whereby a single manipulation will cause a simultaneous rotation of both mountings to swing said lamps forwardly to an exposed position and each of said panels in flanking relation to the lamps adjacent thereto, the said exposed position being such that the lamps project beyond the front of the cabinet, the said reflecting means on the panel adjacent the unhinged side of the door being adapted to cast a portion of the light of the adjacent lamps into the interior of the cabinet when the door is opened.

3. A wall cabinet having a mirrored door thereon and comprising, in combination, two lateral compartments at opposite sides of the cabinet formed of sheet metal and open in front, hinged means associated with said compartments and adjacent said openings therein, a rotatable mounting in each of said compartments and operatively supported by said hinged means, each of said mountings carryin an arrangement of lamps and a panel su stantially coextensive with the front of the cabinet and being adapted to conceal the adjacent lamps from view when in its normally inoperative position; a third compartment adjacent the bottom side of the cabinet, and actuating means positioned within said latter compartment and associated with the said mountings whereby a single manipulation will cause a simultaneous movement of both mountings to bring said lamps to an exposed position and each of said panels in flanking relation to the lamps ad acent thereto, the said exposed position being such the front of the ca inet, the lamps adjacent the unhinged side of the door being adapted to illuminate the interior of the cabinet when the door is open.

4. In combination with an outer box adapted for insertion within a recess in a wall, a cabinet having a mirrored door thereon and containing two lateral compartments with frontal openings therein and positioned at opposite sides of the cabinet, a third compartment adjacent another side of the cabinet, the said lateral compartments being of a depth less than that of the cabinet proper, thereby forming a space between the outer box and the rear walls of said lateral compartments, an electric conductor extending through a hole in said outer box and into one of said spaces for connection with a suitably situated switch; hinged means adjacent said openings, rotatable mountings operatively supported by said hinged means and operatively movable within said openings, each of said mountings carrying an arrangement of lamps connected to said switch and a panel normally substantially coextensive with the front of the cabinet and concealing said lamps from view, and actuating means within said third compartment and associated with said mountings wherebya single manipulation will cause a simultaneous movement of both mountings to bring said lamps to an exposed position.

5. In a wall cabinet having a mirrored door thereon, two lateral compartments with frontal openings therein, hinged meansadjacent said openings, rotatable mountings operatively supported by said hinged means and operatively movable within said openings, each of said mountings carrylng an arrangement of lamps and a panel normally substantially coextensive with the front of the cabinet and concealing said lamps from view, the rear surfaces of said panels being provided with reflecting means; a third compartment formed by a removable angular partition inserted into the bottom portion of the cabinet; and actuating means within said third compartment and associated with said mountings whereby a single manipulation will cause a simultaneous rotation of both mountings to swing said lamps forwardly to an exposed position and each of said panels with the reflecting means thereon in flanking relation to the lamps adjacent thereto. 7

6. In a wall cabinet having a mirrored that the lamps will project forwardly beyond front door thereon, two lateral compartments with frontal openings therein, hin ed means adjacent said openings, rotata le mountings operatively supported. by said hinged means and operatively movable within said openings, each of said mountings carrying an arrangement of lamps and-a panel normally substantially coextensive with the front of the cabinet and concealing said lamps from View; a third compartment formed by a removable angular partition inserted into the bottom portion of the cabinet, a horizontally disposed supporting member removably positioned within said third compartment between and in spaced relation to said partition and the bottom of the cabinet, a portion of said member being bent into a flange which rests upon and is secured to the bottom of the cabinet, a pinion rotatably mounted upon said supporting member, and actuating means cooperatively connected and associated with said pinion and with said mountings whereby a single manipulation will cause a simultaneous movement of both said mountings to bring said lamps to an exposed position.

7. In a wall cabinet having a mirrored front door thereon, two lateral compartments with frontal openings therein, hinged means adjacent said openings, rotatable mountings operatively supported by said hinged means and operatively movable within said openings, each of said mountings carrying an arrangement of lamps and a panel normally substantially coextensive with the front of the cabinet and concealing said lamps from View; the said mountings eachcontaining a bottom base, a hinged cover and angularly disposed vertical walls; a light-transmitting segment removably associated with each mounting and resting upon the base thereof; retaining means on said bases, covers and walls for engagement with the edges of said segments; a third compartment at the bottom of said cabinet; actuatmg means within said latter compartment and associated with said mountings whereby a single manipulation will cause a simultaneous rotation of both mountings to bring said lamps and said light-transmitting seg- I ments to their exposed positions.

8. In a wall cabinet, two panels rotatably mounted at opposite sides of the cabinet-and having their front surfaces substantially coextensive with the front of the cabinet when in their normally inoperative positions, an arrangement of lamps at the rear of each of said panels and normally concealed from View, a mechanism compartment, a pinion within said compartment, two diametrically opposite parallel 'racks in engagement with said pinion, two adjustable links each being operatively connected to one of said racks and to one of said panels whereby a simultaneous operative movement of said racks will swing both of said panels about their rotatable mountings to bring said lamps to an exposed position, and means to actuate said racks comprising a bar attached to one of said racks, an operating handle extending through a slotted aperture in said compartment and being rotatably attached to said bar, means to permit a linear movement of said handle between its starting and its projectedpositions, means to limit the rotary movement of said handle with respect to said bar, two reciprocably movable abutment members positioned at said starting and projected positions respectively, spring means in constant engagement with each of said members, said two members having thereon inclined surfaces facing each other, a pin associated with said handle and engageable,

upon a turning of the handle, with the topof the adjacent abutment member to raise it against the action of said spring means a suflicient distance to enable the said bar to move therepast upon the'linear operative movement of the handle, the said bar being adapted, during any of said operative movements, to engage one of said inclined surfaces and thereby raise the abutment member to permit the continued movement therepast of said bar, the said spring means returning the abutment member to its original position to hold said bar against return movement from its projected position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ADOLPI-I MARCHAND.

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