STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH &

DEVELOPMENT (if applicable)

This invention was not federally sponsored or funded.

B ACKGROUN D OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to aquariums, terrariums and other living displays, and to furniture containing such aquariums, terrariums and other living displays.

The conventional way of mounting an aquarium or terrarium tank is to set it on a cabinet or stand in largely immovable fashion. Aquariums are heavy when filled with water, and to avoid spills and tipping, they are conventionally rigidly mounted. In many cabinet configurations the pumping, filtration, or other equipment are mounted in the cabinet and piped or wired rigidly into the tank. The normal access is then by a lid, which then prevents location of any object immediately above the tank.

It would therefore be of significant benefit to the advancement of technology in the furniture industiy to have a way of mounting a terrarium or aquarium in a piece of furniture within a vertically confined space for easy access..

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an exemplaiy embodiment an aquarium is mounted on slide rails for lateral movement into and out of a vertically confined space such as under a glass coffee table or under a cabinet shelf. Numerous other exemplaiy embodiments and alternatives of the invention are also discussed with the understanding that other equivalents are also included. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a top view in partial cutaway of an exemplary aquarium coffee table with an extra aquarium canister ,

Fig. 2 is a right, upper, front perspective view of a second exemplary in- mid-height table with a U-shaped aquarium canister,

Fig. 3 is front elevational view of q third exemplary embodiment having a shelved cabinet with an aquarium canister and halogen light,

Fig. 4 is a split cross-sectional view through the table and aquarium of Fig. 1 (left) and through a fourth exemplary table and aquarium (right),

Fig 5 is a left upper perspective view of a fifth exemplary embodiment with an octagonal configuration with cabinet, terrarium and halogen lamp, and

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an aquarium canister taken along line 6-

6 of Fig. 1

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Fig. 1 is a top view in partial cutaway of an exemplary oval coffee table 100 having an aquarium canister 101 mounted under an oval transparent tabletop 102 between four support posts 103, 104, 105 and 106 on two rails 107, 108 and above a base 113. Rails 113 are mounted on base 113 and posts 103, 104, 105 and 106 extend upwardly from base 113. Canister 101 has a lid 109 to allow access to the interior (see Fig. 4 below) of canister 101. A second canister 110 can be substituted for canister 101 when desired. Canister 110 includes a submersible filter pump 111 located in canister 110 and powered by an electrical cord 112 that passes through a rear wall of canister 110 and that can be connected to a wall outlet in conventional manner. Canister 101 could also have a pump and cord similar to pump 111 and cord 112, if desired. Rails 107 and 108 are conventional drawer slides such as for example, 950 series drawer slides from Houck Industries of Greensburg, Indiana. Shelves (not shown) or a magazine rack (not shown) could be added to table 100 in any desired location on table 100, such as on the side of posts 103, 104, 105, and 106.

Fig. 2 is a right, upper, front perspective view of an exemplary in-mid- height table 200 having a transparent table top 201 and a U-shaped aquarium canister 202 adapted to fit under top 201. Canister 202 has a U-shaped lid 203 and vertical wall that defines a slot 204. A vertical pedestal 206 extends upwardly from an upper surface 205 of a base cabinet 207 to support top 201. Pedestal 206 is configured to fit within slot 204 so that canister 202 can be placed between tabletop 201 and surface 205. Base 207 is provided with two doors 208, 209 to allow storage of any desired items within base 207. Canister 202 would preferably be inserted from the front 210. Slot 204 has two flat sidewalls 211, 212 and a semi-circular rear wall 213. Slot 204 allows canister 202 to pass around and past pedestal 206 until rear wall 213 contacts pedestal 206 to prevent further movement. Two rails 107 would be provided. Table 200 might be an end table, and thus could alternatively be configured with a square or rectangular top (not shown) and a square or rectangular base (not shown). Shelves (not shown) or a magazine rack (not shown) could be added, if desired.

Fig. 3 is front elevational view of an exemplary shelved cabinet unit 300 with an aquarium canister 301, a lower cabinet 302, an upper cabinet 303, a shelf 304, upper posts 305, lower posts 306 and a halogen light 307. Canister 301 is slidably mounted between a top 313 of cabinet 302 and shelf 304. Upper cabinet 303 is provided with two doors 308, 309 and lower cabinet 302 is provided with two doors 310, 311 to allow storage of desired items within cabinets 302 and 303. Canister 301 has a lid 312 to allow access to the interior (see Fig. 4) of canister 301. A color wheel 314, light 315 and motor 316 are mounted within cabinet 302 to provided colored light through top 313. Top 313 is transparent or translucent at least in an area above light 315 so as to allow passage of colored light produced by light 315 and wheel 314 into canister 301 for enhanced visual effects. A colored wheel and light (not shown) similar to wheel 314 and light 315 could be provided in either table 200 or table 300 and would be mounted in any desired location, such as either in base 113 or base cabinet 207 or on post 103, 104, 105, 106 or pedestal 206 or on an underside of top 102 or top 201. In addition to colored light from wheel 314, music could be added to unit 300, table 200 or table 100 by use of an audio device of any conventional type, such as a tape cassette player, an MP3 player, a windup music box, etc.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view split along line 400 through table 102 on the left and through a modified table 401 on the right. Table 401 is supported upon a top surface 404 of a base 402 by a plurality of posts 403 similar to posts 306 or 103, 104. A slide rail 407 is attached on an upper inside portion of post 403 to support an upper flange 408 of a canister 406 and thus keep a bottom 409 of canister 406 elevated above surface 404 to thereby eliminate friction between surface 404 and bottom 409. This permits rail 407 to support the weight of canister 406. Rail 407 is a conventional drawer slide rail with a stop to prevent overextension and is thus not shown in detail. Canister 406 has an inside lid 410 that fits within a border formed by flange 408. On the left side of line 400 is the mounting system for table 100, which comprises base 113, slide rail 107, post 105, canister 101 and top 102. Slide rail 107 is mounted on an upper surface of base 113 just inside post 105 and supports a recessed edge portion 413 of canister 101. Portion 413 connects bottom 411 with sidewall 412 and keeps bottom 411 elevated slightly above base 113 to facilitate sliding. Rail 107 could likewise be a conventional drawer slide with a stop to prevent overextension. Lid 109 has a downward lip 414 to retain lid 109 on sidewall 412 to prevent fluid spillage during drawer-like sliding movement, but to allow access to an interior 405 of canister 101.

Fig 5 is a left upper perspective view of an exemplary octagonal terrarium cabinet unit 500 having a base 501, a bottom cabinet 502, a center display cabinet 503 and an upper halogen lamp 504, separated by a bottom shelf 505, a center shelf 506 and an upper shelf 507. Halogen lamp 504 has a bulb 508, a glass protector 509, a protective screen 510 and a reflector enclosure 511. Lamp 504 is upwardly open and serves as a touchier type halogen light directed at a ceiling (not shown) above unit 500. Center cabinet 503 has two transparent front doors 512, of which only the left door is shown, two transparent front side panels 513, of which only a left panel 513 is shown, and four mirrored rear panels 514, of which only a left rear panel 522 is shown. Thus, the rear half of cabinet 503 is mirrored and the front half of cabinet 503 is transparent with access to cabinet 503 through doors 512 using handles 515. In similar fashion lower cabinet has doors 516, front side panels 517 and rear panels 522. Doors 516 and panels 517, 522 are transparent or mirrored in similar fashion to doors 512, but could alternatively be non- transparent to allow items (not shown) to be stored out of sight. Such stored items might, for example be aquarium equipment and supplies for a canister (similar to canister 101, but either circular or octagonal) that could be mounted in central cabinet on slide rails 107 or 407 for easy movement into and out of cabinet 503. A color wheel 314, light 315 and motor 316 could be positioned within either a lower portion of cabinet 503 or an upper portion of cabinet 502. If wheel 314 was mounted in cabinet 502, a portion of shelf 506 would be transparent or a suitable opening (not shown) would be provided in shelf 506 to allow light passage. If only a terrarium were desired, there might be no need for slide rails 107 or 407, although rails 107 and 407 might still be desired to allow for either an aquarium or terrarium to be placed within cabinet 503. Base 501, cabinet 502, shelf 505, shelf 506, and shelf 507 are wood, although other materials such as particle board, hollow or solid metal plate or hollow or solid plastic plate could be used, if desired.

Enclosure 511 and screen 510 are metal or other heat-resistant reflective material to withstand heat from halogen bulb 508, and suitable insulation (not shown) would be placed under lamp 504 to protect shelf 507. If desired, one or more openings could be provided in shelf 507 and a color wheel 514 and motor 515 mounted in enclosure 511 to allow use of lamp 504 as the light source for wheel 514 and this could be in addition to or in place of a wheel 514 at the bottom of cabinet 503. Suitable hinges 518, 519 and 520, 521 would be provided for doors 512 and 516, respectively.

Fig. 6 is a cross- sectional view taken along lines 616 of Fig. 1, showing an exemplary construction of an aquarium canister 202 with pump 111 positioned therein. Pump 111 is a submersible filter pump mounted in canister 202. A detachable waterproof electric cord 112 passes through a seal (not shown) of conventional type in wall 600 of canister 202. Canister 202 is mounted on an annular wooden support plate 601 having a slot 602 to match slot 213 and a lip 603 to define a recess for holding canister 202. Slide rails (not shown) are attached to a bottom 604 of plate 601 to allow plate 601 to slide out of table 200 for servicing. A plate similar to plate 601 could also be used in table 100 or unit 300 to hold canister 101, 110 or 301. Lid 203 can have either an external lip 605, an internal lip 606, or both for proper positioning and could be either loose or hinged.

The above exemplary embodiment describes the best mode of making and using the invention known by me at this time. The exemplary embodiment is provided in satisfaction of the statutory duties of best mode disclosure and enablement. However, there are numerous other embodiments possible. Four different configurations are shown, all having the provision of a close fitting vivarium. "Vivarium" is used herein as a generic term for aquarium or terrarium or even an animal display enclosure such as birdcage canister, herpetarium canister, insect display canister or other pet or zoological display which might need feeding, cleaning, or changing and thus be suitable for rail mounting to facilitate such actions. In the case of Fig. 5, there is also a special cabinet unit whether or not a rail mounted vivarium, as defined, is used. Accordingly, the claims below are intended to have, and should have, a broad range of equivalents and to be limited only by the prior art.