AU783528B2

AU783528B2 - A cabinet assembly

Info

Publication number: AU783528B2
Application number: AU27692/02A
Authority: AU
Inventors: David John Sims
Original assignee: MODEMPAK Ltd
Current assignee: MODEMPAK Ltd
Priority date: 2001-04-05
Filing date: 2002-03-28
Publication date: 2005-11-03
Anticipated expiration: 2022-03-28
Also published as: NZ510975A; AU2769202A

Description

27LMAR-2002 16:35 FROM A J PARK 27-RR-00216:5 FOM J ARKTO 0061262837999 P.04/20 Regtdation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT, 1990 COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

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PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: E NUTaSH1E Actual Inventor: Address for service in Australia: Invention Title: SIMS, David John A J PARK, Level 11, 60 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2601 A Cabinet Assembly The Mowing Mttment is a ful dscipion of this invntion, including the best method of performing it known to me/us 9. a a a 9 a *9 9 9 99 9 9* 9.

a *9a 9 9* a a 27LMAR-2002 16:35 FROM A J PARK T 016879 .52 TO 006126283?999 P.05/20 2 BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to cabinets and in particular to cabinets for securement to supporting structures, for example walls, and in particular to cabinets or cabinet assemblies which are intended to binge from the wall on one vertical side.

Summary of the Prior Art As a result of increasingly complex cabling installations, in particular for office or industrial proposes, typical modemn installations are set up for ease of reconfiguration. In particular building modules or regions are fur-nished with multi-purpose communications cabling which all terminate at one convenient location. Further cabling is typically provided between this location and the position of intended communications services or to other similar locations. Such further cabling may include for example PABX trunks or cm ute eworkc links or may be unconfigured By making links or patches between individual office cables terminated at the convenient location and appropriate ones of the further cables also terminating at the location a user may rapidly configure or reconfigure an office cabling network.

To facilitate the making of patches between cables, each cable generally terminates with a socket, being one of a bank of individually identified sockets. Patches are formed by forming connections between appropriate sockets. These banks of sockets may be provided as modules, for example simple passive socket arrays (eg: patch panels) or for example including multiplexing or other intelligent capability (eg: ethernet hubs). For efficient organisation, security and other reasons these modules and the patches between them are usually contained within a cabinet or enclosure.

A preference for such cabinets or enclosures of small to medium size is that they be wall mounted, and that at least the module carrying portion of the cabinet or enclosure is hingeable firom the wail to provide rear access. Cable terminating at the enclosure generally enters the enclosures at or adjacent to the rear of the enclosure and connections between these terminating cables and the associated modules to which they directly terminate are conveniently made at the rear of the modules. The ease of making, checking and, if necessary, altering these connections between terminating cables and their respective modules is considerably enhanced where improved access is provided to the rear of the modules. Providing the cabinet with the capability to hinge open while remaining supported on the wall enables convenient rea access.

One significant disadvantage of wall mounting cabinets is the difficulty of securing the cabinet in its elevated position. Installation requires the cabinet to be fully supported in the intended position while completing the fastening of the cabinet to the wall. This is a difficult and potentially dangerous task for a single person to perform without assistance, therefor requiring assistance either from a supplementary supporting structure or an additional person.

One improvement to this method has involved the provision of a back mount for individual securement to the wall, with the cabinet being hingingly supported from the back mount by screwing the hinges depending from the cabinet to the back mount while supporting the cabinet in position. This simplifies mounting, levelling and incorporates features for locking, cable managment and fitting power supply boards. The two functions of supporting the cabinet and completing the fastening thereof to the back mount still require outside assistance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a cabinet assembly which at least goes some way to overcoming the above disadvantages or which will at least provide the industry with a useful choice.

In one aspect the invention consists in a cabinet assembly including: 'o a back mount for securement to a supporting structure; a cabinet for support from said back mount; said back mount and said cabinet each having a mating face (with a peripheral planar S surround and an opening each said mating face) having at least one peripheral edge to a side face, at least a pair of corresponding edges intended to be adjacent and aligned when said back mount and said cabinet are assembled together with said mating faces abutting; a pair of hinge leaves, each leaf hingeably supported from one of said back mount and said cabinet, adjacent to a peripheral edge to a said pair of corresponding edges; and a passively engaging interface that mechanically connects each said hinge leaf to the other of said cabinet or said back mount, (parallel with the mating face thereof), without requiring user manipulation during the assembly process.

In a further aspect the invention consists in a method for fixing a cabinet to a supporting structure comprising the steps of, in order: fixing a back mount to said supporting structure; supporting a cabinet on said back mount through a passively engaging interface that mechanically connects said cabinet to said back mount without specific manipulation, hinging open said cabinet with respect to said back mount, with said cabinet supported by said back mount through at least a part of said passively engaging interface, completing an additional securement of said cabinet to said back mount with said cabinet in the open position.

To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet assembly according to the present invention, with the cabinet in a hinged open position relative to the back mount, Figure 2 is an exploded view of the cabinet assembly hinge region, and Figures 3a to 3d show a connector plate assembly forming a part of the cabinet with Figure 3a being a an exploded view of the connecter plate assembly, Figure 3b being an assembled view of the connector plate assembly, Figure 3c being an assembled view of the connector plate from the opposite side :**Figure 3d being a perspective view of the connector plate assembly g assembled to the cabinet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to Figure 1 the cabinet assembly according the present invention includes a back mount 1 hingeably connected with a cabinet 2. The back mount 1 is intended to be secured in use to a supporting structure such as a wall. This may be achieved for example by screwing to the wall studs through fastener receiving apertures 3 in the rear flange 6 of the back mount 1. Access holes 4 may conveniently be provided in the forward flange 7 of the back mount I to provide tool access, for example for a screw driver to access screws securing the back mount to the supporting wall.

The back mount 1 includes hinges secured to vertical side 10 of its front face 7. The hinges each include a hinge leaf 8 hingable between an open position, such as illustrated in Figure 1 and a closed position in which they sit within recesses or openings 5 in the side 10. The leaves 8 of the hinges connecting the back mount 1 to the cabinet 2 are secured to a vertical side flange 11 of the rear face 9 of the cabinet 2. Although the present invention provides for an initial connection to be made between the hinge leaves 8 and the cabinet 2 without direct user manipulation, it is preferred that additional securing of the hinge leaves 8 to the cabinet 2 is subsequently undertaken. This additional connection may for example be by any appropriate fastener system such as the machine screws as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3a 3d.

Referring in particular to Figures 1 and 2 the initial connection between the cabinet 2 and the back mount 1 is made between a plurality of spigots 14 through a corresponding set of openings 15. In the embodiment depicted a total of four spigots are used, two on the nonhinged side 13 of the back mount 1 and one on each of the leaves 8 of the hinges. A greater or lesser number of spigots and associated openings may be provided assuming a sufficient number are provided to provide the necessary support. Furthermore they might be used in S cooperation with other temporary supporting arrangements, for example of a hook and lip type.

A locking or latching mechanism is provided to retain the spigots 14 through the openings 15. The latching mechanism is releasable such that the engagement of the spigots 14 S' of the non hinging side 13 of the back mount 1 may be released from their respective openings S of non hinging side 12 of the cabinet 2 to allow the cabinet 2 to swing open on the hinges 8.

A preferred embodiment of the latching mechanism is depicted in Figures 2 and 3a 3d. The latching arrangement is illustrated with respect to the hinging side of the cabinet but it will be appreciated that the same latching mechanism is used in the preferred embodiment at all four apertures 15 of cabinet 2. In use only those of the non hinging side will generally be required to be unlatched except during a complete demounting of the cabinet 2. Variations of latching mechanisms between sides could be used however this would reduce the flexibility of being able to reversibly hang the back mount and/or cabinet.

The latching mechanism according to the preferred embodiment has a supporting plate 16 fitted on the inside face of the respective sides 11 or 12 of the cabinet 2. The support plate 16 has an aperture 17 corresponding to the aperture 15 in the respective side 11 or 12. In use the spigot 14 passes through, and is supported on the lower edge of the aperture 17. A retaining arm 21 of a wire spring clip 20 partially occludes the aperture 17. The spring clip 20 is elastically deformable so that the retaining arm 21 is forced aside by passage of the spigot 14 through the aperture 17, and returns to engage in an annular recess of the spigot 14.

The supporting plate 16 is secured to the inner surface of the cabinet, for example by machine screws 28. In an additional fastening step after initial engagement of the cabinet with the back mount, the hinge leaves 8 are, in the preferred form, secured to the cabinet by a thread engagement of machine screws 33 (which pass through holes 32 of the hinge leaf 8 and holes 26 in the cabinet side 11) within threaded holes 18 in the supporting plate 16. The spring clip is retained between the supporting plate 16 and the surface of the cabinet. The threaded holes 18 and 19 for the machine screws 28 and 33 each include an annulus raised from the surface of the supporting plate 16. The raised annulus serves to space the supporting plate 16 from the surface of the cabinet leaving the spring 20 to operate within the resulting space.

Additionally the spring 20 is located by the annuli of holes 18 and 19. A first retaining loop 24 passes around the annulus of one of holes 19 while a second retaining loop 25 passes around the annulus of one of threaded holes 18.

It is preferred that an arrangement is provided to allow the convenient unlatching of the spigot 14. In the preferred form as illustrated an actuation arm 22 depends from the retaining arm 21 of the wire spring 20. The actuation arm 22 ends with a securing eye 23. The securing plate 16 includes a lower stepped portion 37, which, once assembled, is spaced further from the cabinet surface than the remainder of the support plate 16. The eye 23 of the spring 20 resides S between the lower part 37 and the cabinet surface. A drawstring 35 passes through an aperture 36, having a tapered contour toward the eye 23, and is secured at one end to the eye 23, the other end preferably passing through an aperture inside but close to the front of the cabinet and terminating with a pull tag. Drawing on the string 35 pulls the eye 23 downward toward the hole 36. The downward movement of the eye 23 is transferred by actuation arm 22 to the upper end of the retaining arm 21. This pivots and flexes the retaining arm 21 to disengage the retaining arm 21 from the annular groove of spigot 14. Releasing the drawstring allows the retaining arm 21 to return to its illustrated natural position.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, prior to installation the cabinet 2 is assembled complete with the latch assembly and the back mount 1 is assembled complete with spigots 14. In particular the cabinet 2 has latch plates 16, with springs 20 and connected drawstrings secured to the inner faces of the sides 11 and 12 in registration with apertures 15. The plates 16 are secured by machine screws 28 passing through holes 27 in the sides 11 and 12. On the back mount 1, spigots 14 are retained, at one side associated with the hinge leaves 8 and at the other with the side sheet 13, by a machine screw 34 passing through a hole 40 and engaging within a threaded hole 31 in the spigot 14. The machine screw 34 secures within the hole 31 forming a protruding annulus 29 from the back face of the spigot 14.

The annular groove of the spigot 14, within which the retaining arm 21 of the spring engages in use, is formed between the back face of the spigot 14 and the hinge leaf 8.

Alternative arrangements for providing a retaining notch for the retaining arm 21, for example a notch or detent adjacent or spaced away from the hinge leaf 8, may be equally viable. Larger apertures 30 are provided in the hinge leaf 8 to accommodate the heads of machine screws 28 securing the supporting plate 16 to the cabinet 2.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing description the present invention provides a wall mountable cabinet assembly which alleviates disadvantages known in the prior art. In particular the cabinet may be conveniently and safely installed by a single operator. Firstly the back mount 1 is secured to a wall in the usual manner. Secondly the cabinet 2 is engaged with the back mount 1 by being pressed upon the back mount 1 for engagement of the spigots 14 through apertures 15 with automatic retention by the retaining arm 21 of the respective spring 20. The spigot 14 is supported against the lower part of the rim of aperture 17 of the supporting plate 16. The engagement of spigots 14 on the non hinging side are subsequently released by pulling on corresponding draw strings 35, the cabinet is swung away from back mount 1 and S additional securement is effected by fastening the hinge leaves 8 through the side 11 of cabinet 2 and to the supporting plate 16 by machine screws 33.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the spigot/aperture engagements oooo on the non-hinging side may serve the additional function of retaining the cabinet in a closed position against the back mount 1. However, it will be appreciated that only a single pair of temporary engagement points need to be provided to adequately secure the cabinet 2 to the back mount 1, and such engagements may comprise a single pair of spigot engagements associated with the hinge leaves 8. Many other variations on the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cabinet assembly including: a back mount for securement to a supporting structure; a cabinet for support from said back mount; said back mount and said cabinet each having a mating face (with a peripheral planar surround and an opening, each said mating face) having at least one peripheral edge to a side face, at least a pair of corresponding edges intended to be adjacent and aligned when said back mount and said cabinet are assembled together with said mating faces abutting; a pair of hinge leaves, each leaf hingeably supported from one of said back mount and said cabinet, adjacent to a peripheral edge of a said pair of corresponding edges; and a passively engaging interface that mechanically connects each said hinge leaf to the 0: other of said cabinet or said back mount, (parallel with the mating face thereof), without requiring user manipulation during the assembly process. 00 9 0

2. A cabinet assembly as claimed in claim lwherein said passively engaging interface includes a direct connection between said mating faces of said cabinet and said back mount, thereafter disengagable for said cabinet to swing open on said hinge leaf connection.

3. A cabinet assembly as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein each said mating face o.oo includes a substantially planar peripheral surround and an opening, and said passively engaging interface connects each said hinge leaf to the respective cabinet or back mount to be parallel with said mating face.

4. A cabinet assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said passively engaging interface comprises an engagement between a plurality of spigots and apertures located on respective of said hinges and said cabinet or said back mount, said spigots passing into said apertures with said cabinet pushed against said back mount, and locking means associated with said apertures for engaging said spigots without the need for user manipulation.

A cabinet assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein said locking means are biassed towards an engaged condition and include means manipulable by a user to force said locking means into a disengaged condition allowing egress of a respective spigot from its respective aperture.

6. A cabinet assembly as claimed in claim 5 wherein the locking means include a member adapted to partially occlude the respective said aperture, the respective said spigot has a detent within which said member lodges, and said means for user manipulation are adapted to move said member to a non-occluding position.

7. A cabinet assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein said member adapted to partially occlude is a resilient wire flat spring clip positioned for an arm of said wire clip to partially occlude the respective said aperture, said arm of said spring is biassed to resiliently lodge, and said means for user manipulation are adapted to move said normally occluding arm to a non- occluding position.

8. A cabinet assembly as claimed in claim 7 said user manipulable means comprise a draw o S string connecting said member to adapted to partially occlude through an eyelet of fixed position in said cabinet, the configuration of said member, and the positioning of said eyelet S being such that drawing on said string moves said member to a non-occluding position.

9. A method for fixing a cabinet to a supporting structure comprising the steps of, in order: fixing a back mount to said supporting structure; supporting a cabinet on said back mount through a passively engaging interface that mechanically connects said cabinet to said back mount without specific manipulation, hinging open said cabinet with respect to said back mount, with said cabinet supported by said back mount through at least a part of said passively engaging interface, completing an additional securement of said cabinet to said back mount with said cabinet in the open position.

A method for fixing a cabinet to a supporting structure as claimed in claim 8 including, prior to hinging open said cabinet with respect to said back mount, the step of releasing any remainder of said passively engaging interface that does not support said cabinet from said back mount in a hinged open position.

11. A method for fixing a cabinet to a supporting structure as claimed in either claim 9 or claim 10 wherein said step of completing further securement of said cabinet to said back mount comprises completing securement of a leaf of a hinge, being a part of said back mount or said cabinet, to the other of said back mount or said cabinet.

12. A cabinet assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the drawings.

13. A method for fixing a cabinet to a supporting structure substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the drawings. *9 9 S« *99 o o