AU2021106455A4

AU2021106455A4 - A kit set of parts and assembly method for a hazardous substance cabinet

Info

Publication number: AU2021106455A4
Application number: AU2021106455A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bruce Watkins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2021-02-20
Filing date: 2021-08-23
Publication date: 2021-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 2029-08-23

Abstract

The invention relates to a kit set of parts for a hazardous substance cabinet and a method of assembly of this hazardous substance cabinet. The kit set of parts includes a double skinned re-enforced rear panel and 5 a double skinned re-enforced top cap. Also provided is a double skinned re-enforced bottom tray and two double skinned re-enforced sides panels. The kit set also includes a front assembly incorporating at least one double skinned re-enforced door and a door frame. The top cap and bottom tray both define skirts configured to receive and position the .0 upper and lower ends of the rear panel, side panels and front assembly. 10 V-4 LIul

Description

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A KIT SET OF PARTS AND ASSEMBLY METHOD FOR A HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE CABINET

Technical Field

This invention relates to a kit set of parts and assembly method for a hazardous substance cabinet.

.0 Background art

Hazardous substance cabinets play an important role in safeguarding flammable, explosive and toxic chemicals. Different types of cabinets are designed for and rated to contain different classes of chemicals. Users .5 may purchase a cabinet of a lower cost if the classes of chemicals they wish to secure do not require an overly robust design.

Transportation costs are also an input cost to the final price paid by users for hazardous substance cabinets. Current practice for manufactures of .o these cabinets is to perform the final assembly of the cabinet components and transport the assembled cabinet to the user. Assembled cabinets are a high volume relatively low weight material to transport using shipping containers, and therefore transportation costs can be high.

.5 It would be of advantage to have improvements in the field of hazardous substance containers which addressed the above or at least provided the public with an alternative choice. It would be of advantage to have improvements over the prior art which allowed for the transportation of a compact kit set of parts to an end user and for the end user to assemble a hazardous substance container from these parts. It would also be of advantage to provide a hazardous substance container rated to contain a range of different classes of hazardous substances.

Disclosure of Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of assembling a hazardous substance cabinet from a kit set of parts characterised by the steps of : i. attaching edges of a rear and side panels together ii. installing a front assembly on the attached rear and side panels iii. locating a top cap over the upper ends of the front assembly and attached rear and side panels iv. locating a bottom tray over the lower ends of the front assembly and the attached rear and side panels.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a kit set of parts for a hazardous substance cabinet which includes a double skinned re-enforced rear panel a double skinned re-enforced top cap .0 a double skinned re-enforced bottom tray two double skinned re-enforced sides panels a front assembly incorporating at least one double skinned re-enforced door and a door frame wherein the top cap and bottom tray both define skirts configured to .5 receive and position the upper and lower ends of the rear panel, side panels and front assembly.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a kit set of parts substantially as described above wherein the skirt defined by the .o bottom tray forms a liquid containment tank in the assembled hazardous substance cabinet.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a kit set of parts substantially as described above wherein the rear and side panels .5 define at least one interior cavity which locates a heat resistant material.

The present invention is arranged to provide a kit set of parts for a hazardous substance cabinet in addition to the final assembled hazardous substance cabinet formed. In a further aspect of the invention also provides a method of assembling a hazardous substance cabinet. Reference in general throughout this specification will be to the invention providing a hazardous substance cabinet formed by a number of components parts. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that such references in no way exclude the assembly method and the related kit set of parts from the scope of the invention.

A number of components of the cabinet may preferably be formed from sheet metal. Sheet metal of varying thicknesses may be used and the surfaces of the metal may be powder coated in a range of embodiments.

In a preferred embodiment the thickness of sheet metal used may be equal to or greater than the minimum thickness required to meet at least one hazardous substance containment standard. In a further preferred embodiment the thickness of sheet metal selected may meet the minimum thickness required for a plurality of hazardous substance hazardous substance containment standards. For example, in a preferred embodiment the thickness of sheet metal use may be set in accordance with Australian and New Zealand safety standard AS/NZ1940. In such embodiments the thickness of the metal used can be selected so that the .0 cabinet meets a plurality or all of these hazardous substance containment standards.

The present invention incorporates a number of components which are double skinned and reinforced. In various embodiments' two opposed .5 sheets of metal may form the double skins of a component when separated and aligned parallel to one another. The two skins or sheets of metal may be separated and at least partially connected together by one or more reinforcing members located between the skins. Such a reinforcing member or members fix the distance between the skins, .0 improve the structural integrity of the resulting component and may also define pockets capable of receiving a heat resistant material.

For example in a preferred embodiment the cabinet's rear and side panels, top cap and bottom tray may be formed from or include two skins .5 of sheet metal separated by approximately 40mm using an array of internal reinforcing beams.

Preferably the invention provides a front assembly which incorporates at least one double skinned reinforced door and a door frame. These components may be assembled into the resulting cabinet to allow the door or doors to provide access to and to close the interior volume of the cabinet.

The top cap and bottom tray define skirts which are configured to receive and position the upper and lower ends of the rear panel, side panels and front assembly. These skirts may define an enclosing perimeter for the remaining components of the cabinet, assisting with positioning these components in a square or aligned relationship when fixed together.

In a preferred embodiment the skirt defined by the bottom tray forms a liquid containment tank in the assembled hazardous substance cabinet.

This skirt may project in a perpendicular direction from the skins of the bottom tray to define or partially enclosed a volume which can act as this liquid containment tank. For example in one preferred embodiment the bottom tray skirt may project approximately 150 mm above the interior base surface of the bottom tray.

In a preferred embodiment at least one edge of the top cap may define a gutter channel which projects in a direction substantially perpendicular to the skins of sheet metal integrated into the top cap. In further preferred .0 embodiments a gutter channel may be formed on one side of the top cap and be positioned above the front assembly when the cabinet is assembled.

In various embodiments the required hazardous substance cabinet may .5 be assembled by attaching the edges of the rear and side panels together and by installing the front assembly on the attached rear and side panels. In preferred embodiments these components may be connected together through the use of screws. Furthermore additional connections can be made to the top and bottom tray with other assembled components of the .o cabinet. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that an appropriate number of screws may be used in the assembly of this cabinet, each preferably providing a joint or connection equal to the strength of the welded joint.

.5 In a preferred embodiment an interior cavity defined within a double skinned reinforced component may be used to locate a heat resistant material. Such materials may be used to increase the cabinet's ability to withstand high temperatures and fire events.

In a further preferred embodiment interior cavities defined within a double skinned reinforced component may be entirely filled with rigid bricks or slabs of heat resistant material. These rigid solid bricks or slabs of heat resistant material can provide further improvements to the strength and structural integrity of the resulting hazardous substances cabinet.

In various preferred embodiments the interior volume of the cabinet may define or incorporate a number of shelves. In various additional embodiments the position or heights of shelves within the cabinet may be adjusted by the user.

In a preferred embodiment the cabinet may include an automatic door closing mechanism. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that well known door closing systems used with existing hazardous substance cabinet's may also perform such a role in conjunction with the invention.

In a preferred embodiment the cabinet may include a door locking assembly. This assembly may contact the door frame in one or more locations to secure the door in a closed position. In a further preferred embodiment the cabinet may include a locking assembly which engages .0 with a door post, top post and bottom post of the door frame.

In a preferred embodiment the reinforced door provided with the front assembly may include at least one flashing element extending parallel to the skins used to form the door. In a further preferred embodiment one .5 or more flashing elements may be provided to seal any gaps present between the door frame and the edges of the door, these flashing elements being secured to the rear side of the door when located inside the door frame and being arranged to project past the edges of the door.

.o In a preferred embodiment the cabinet provided may include a failsafe door opening mechanism. Again those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may use well-known failsafe door opening mechanisms which allow a cabinet door to be held open but automatically close when experiencing elevated temperatures.

The present invention may provide potential advantages over the prior art. In various embodiments the invention can be transported as a collapsed set of parts and erected where required - potentially saving significantly on transportation costs. The small number of parts required to assemble the resulting cabinet provides for a quick assembly time with a straightforward and easily understood assembly process. The cabinet provided by the invention may have a range of dimensions, shapes and various internal configurations. The invention's use of skirts defined in the top cap and bottom tray facilitate this method of assembly while also providing an effective liquid containment tank and a structurally strong resulting cabinet.

Brief description of the drawings

Example embodiments of the invention are now discussed with reference to the drawings in which:

• Figure la shows an exploded view of the kit set of components provided by the invention in one embodiment, • Figure lb through if show a number of steps of an assembly method executed on the kit set of components shown in figure la, • Figure 2 show perspective views of the assembled hazardous substances cabinet with its single door closed and open, • Figure 3 shows various side and end views of components of the door frame of the cabinet of figure 2 .0 • Figure 4 shows various side end and perspective views of the top cap of the cabinet of figure 2 • Figure 5 shows various side end and perspective views of the base tray of cabinet of figure 2

.5 Best modes for carrying out the Invention

Figure la shows an exploded view of the kit set of component parts 1 provided by the invention in one embodiment.

.o These parts are to form the completed hazardous substance cabinet shown by figure 1f.

Included in the kit set of parts are a double skinned re-enforced rear panel 2, a double skinned re-enforced top cap 3,a double skinned re .5 enforced bottom tray 4 and two double skinned re-enforced sides panels 5. The kit set also includes a front assembly incorporating one double skinned re-enforced door 6 and door frame components 7a, 7b, 7c.

As can be seen from figure 1 each of the top cap and bottom tray define skirts 3a, 4a.These skirts are configured to receive and position the upper and lower ends of the rear panel, side panels and front assembly.

Figure lb through 1f show a number of steps of an assembly method executed on the kit set of components shown in figure la.

Figure lb shows the step of attaching edges of a rear and side panels together. In the embodiment shown crews are used to connect the adjacent edges of these components.

Figure 1c and id shows the next step of installing a front assembly on the attached rear and side panels. As shown in figure 1c frame components formed by door posts 7a top post 7b and bottom post 7c are screwed together and to the edges of the side panels 5. In figure 1d the re enforced door 6 is connected to the frame components.

Figure le shows the step of locating and screwing in place the top cap over the upper ends of the front assembly and attached rear and side panels

Figure 1f shows the completed cabinet formed once the bottom tray is .0 screwed in place over the lower ends of the front assembly and the attached rear and side panels.

Figure 2 show perspective views of the assembled hazardous substances cabinet 8 with its single door closed and open. .5 Figure 3 shows various side and end views of components of the door frame of the cabinet of figure 2. View I provides a side view of a door post 7a, while views II and III provide side and top views of a top post 7b. Views IV and V show side, top and end view of a bottom post 7c. .0 As can be send from these figures each of the top post and bottom post define shelve projections 9 at their ends which can receive the ends of the door posts.

.5 Figure 4 shows various cross section and perspective views of the top cap 3 of the cabinet of figure 2. View I provides a side cross section view with view II showing an underside view with one skin and the skirt removed from the top cap. View III shows a perspective view with a corner enlargement. View IV shows a side cross section view.

The top cap 3 is formed by two opposed skins 10 of metal sheet separated by an array of internal re-enforcing beams 11. A skirt 3a projects below one of these skins to enclose an interior volume of the top cap. Detail view D also illustrates the formation of a gutter channel which is to be situated above the cabinet's front assembly.

Figure 5 shows various cross section and perspective views of the base tray 4 of the cabinet of figure 2. View I provides a side cross section view with view II showing a perspective view. View III provides a cross section perspective view with one skin 10 and the skirt 4a removed from the bottom tray.

Again the bottom tray 4 is formed using two opposed skins 10 of metal sheet separated by an array of internal re-enforcing beams 11. An upwardly projecting skirt 4a is defined by the tray and encloses a volume 12 which defines a liquid containment tank.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and further and additional embodiments within the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to the skilled .0 reader from the examples illustrated with reference to the drawings. In particular, the invention may reside in any combination of features described herein, or may reside in alternative embodiments or combinations of these features with known equivalents to given features. Modifications and variations of the example embodiments of the invention .5 discussed above will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departure of the scope of the invention.

Claims

What we claim is:

1. A method of assembling a hazardous substance cabinet from a kit set of parts characterised by the steps of : i. attaching edges of a rear and side panels together ii. installing a front assembly on the attached rear and side panels iii. locating a top cap over the upper ends of the front assembly and attached rear and side panels iv. locating a bottom tray over the lower ends of the front assembly .0 and the attached rear and side panels.

2. A kit set of parts for a hazardous substance cabinet which includes a double skinned re-enforced rear panel a double skinned re-enforced top cap .5 a double skinned re-enforced bottom tray two double skinned re-enforced sides panels a front assembly incorporating at least one double skinned re-enforced door and a door frame wherein the top cap and bottom tray both define skirts configured to .0 receive and position the upper and lower ends of the rear panel, side panels and front assembly.

3. A kit set of parts as claimed in claim 2 wherein the skirt defined by the bottom tray forms a liquid containment tank in the assembled .5 hazardous substance cabinet.

4. A kit set of parts as claimed in claim 2 wherein the rear and side panels define at least one interior cavity which locates a heat resistant material.

5. A kit set of parts as claimed in claim 2 wherein the component parts are formed from sheet metal which a thickness sufficient to meet a plurality of hazardous substance containment standards.