FR2458247A1 - Wheeled linen cupboard for hospital - has metal case lined with moulded material and resting on wheeled chassis - Google Patents

Abstract

The cupboard on wheels is mainly for storing linen and garments and is particularly for use in hospitals. It has an outer metal case (1) with doors (13,14) and recessed handles (27) for moving. It also has a bar (33) for connecting it to a tractor or other cupboards when moving along corridors. The case is lined by a moulded material which has no sharp corners. The case rests on a chassis with wheels (3,4,5), at least two of which can pivot, with a brake (12). The edge of the chassis has buffers (6,7) which project slightly.

Description

The present invention relates to improvements to rolling cupboards, in particular for linen and clothing in collective premises, in particular hospitals, said cupboards having - operating handles, - an immobilization device, for example by dXau braking.
minus a wheel, - and means for coupling it to a tractor or
similar cabinet and have him tow other cabinets
identical to constitute a train likely to register
in the same trajectory, especially in the corridors
of a building.

Problem.

 In the premises of communities, in particular hospices and hospitals, the laundry runs a circuit from the rooms to the washing, laundering, ironing service and returns from this service to be distributed in the different rooms using rolling cupboards which consist of trains towed by a tractor, trains which are dislocated as and when passing in front of each room to which must be directed a cabinet which is then handled manually. In these uses the hygienic character and the protection against the profusion of bacteria are essential.

 The cabinets must be able to be cleaned quickly and efficiently.

State of the prior art and drawbacks.

 There are rolling cabinets of this type but which have projections on their periphery, in particular at the level of the handles, projections which cause deterioration of the walls of the corridors and rooms and of the parts of the cabinets which project. These protrusions of the cabinets can also injure or simply cause damage to the clothing of the persons responsible for handling them.

 The current coupling systems, using protruding drawbars, are, by the same token, dangerous. We tried to remedy this by providing removable drawbars; in this case, these parts stagnate, deteriorate and risk coming off when the cabinets move in the form of trains.

 In addition, existing cabinets are generally entirely metallic and made up of several assembled panels. The assemblies necessarily have gaps that are not compatible with the aseptic desirable in hospitals and hospices and do not allow proper cleaning. The constitution of metal cabinets does not make it possible to obtain watertight doors avoiding pollution coming either from the outside or from the inside. The hygienic nature of the cabinets is therefore absent.

 Finally, the doors of existing cabinets are cumbersome when open and risk causing inconvenience as to the damage caused to the furniture and walls of the rooms just as they can strike the staff.

 The present invention is intended to remedy these various drawbacks.

Statement of the invention.

 The invention is mainly characterized by the fact that a metallic exterior box, including the doors, is combined, comprising operating handles and buttons for opening recessed doors and in general having no protrusion outside the planes of its five faces, the sixth being the bottom, said box, including the doors, being lined internally with a surface of molded material, the lining of the cabinet being in one piece and having no sharp angles but, on the contrary, re-entrant angles rounded with a radius of about 20 mm, said body resting on a chassis on casters, at least two of which are pivotable, said chassis having on the periphery a bumper projecting slightly from the four faces.

 Preferably, the bumpers are lined with an elastic padding and the doors have, on their periphery, an elastic seal ensuring the sealing.

An important feature of the cabinet of the invention lies in the fact that it is designed to move essentially in the direction of the large median of its bottom and that it includes for this purpose - two front swivel wheels with each a device for
lock and two non-swiveling rear wheels, - as well as a front drawbar articulated under the chassis around a
horizontal axis parallel to the front side of said chassis and
constantly springy upwards both for
cooperate with a lug or hook directed downwards under
the back of the chassis of another identical cabinet and for
retract into a cell in the front wall of the cabinet
so as not to protrude from the surface thereof.

 A characteristic of the invention resides in the fact that the lining of the box has projections with rounded undersides, which have come into the side walls and which constitute shelf supports and coat rack supports.

Another important feature of the invention is that the cabinet has a rectangular horizontal section twice as long as it is wide, - that it is divided into two compartments with horizon sections
equal square tales - and that it has two doors of the same dimension which pivot
on the outer edges of the cabinet using hinges
allowing a rotation of three quarters of a turn allowing
each door to fold against the cabinet wall against
the front and back sides thereof.

 More specifically, the operating handles are constituted by a horizontal bar retracted into a recess at a suitable height in each front and rear wall of said cabinet.

Solution to the problem, advantages and industrial result.

 The cabinet of the invention avoids the drawbacks which have been pointed out above. In addition, the interior of the one-piece molded tank allows very quick and easy cleaning. The wardrobe makes it possible to respect the rules of asepsis and has a hygienic character. Finally, being able to fold the doors completely three-quarters of a turn on the front and rear of the cabinet, possibly blocking them, is a guarantee of safety, as is the complete retraction of all mechanical parts and handling devices; it should also be noted that this complete retraction precisely allows the doors to be folded down on the front and rear walls of the cabinet.

 The invention will be better understood with the aid of the following description which gives a nonlimiting example of practical embodiment thereof and which is illustrated by the attached drawings.

Brief description of the figures.

In these drawings
Figure l is a perspective view of the entire cabinet viewed from three quarters before with the left door open and the drawbar raised.

 Figure 2 is a perspective view of the same cabinet seen from three quarters back with the right door open.

 Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of three quarters before with the drawbar lowered.

 Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of three quarters before with the drawbar raised this last view showing the arrangement of a bumper.

Description of an embodiment.

 The cabinet of the invention consists of a metal box 1 lined internally with a box of molded material 2, for example of a one-piece box of thermoformable plastic. It rests on a chassis (not shown because it is located under the body l) which itself can move on the ground thanks to wheels 3, 4, 5, and which has, on each side of the bumpers 6 and 7 of which the ends, such as 8 are well enveloping around the angles to come to cover as much as possible the other sides of this frame. The bumpers 6, 7 project over the entire periphery of the cabinet and increase its size in width and in length. They are> preferably, lined externally with elastic damping material.

The rear wheels such as 3 are kept in non-pivoting yokes 9 while the front wheels 4 and 5 are kept in pivoting yokes 9 and 11. The wheels 4 and 5 have a locking device such as 12.

 The doors 13 and 14 are also metallic on the outside and have an inner lining 15 made of plastic. Their interior is also lined around their perimeter with seals 16, 17.

 It follows from the above that all the walls of the cabinet have a relatively large thickness and are therefore double, namely an outer metal wall and an inner wall made of plastic. The molded material body 2 is designed so as not to have any sharp angles; in particular the re-entrant angles such as 18, 19> 19, 20 are rounded with a radius of the order of 20 mm. However, this dimension can obviously vary without departing from the scope of the invention.

The body 2 also has the particularity of having cleats such as 21> 22 and supports such as 23 which all have rounded undersides which have come by molding the side walls.

The cleats 21, 22 are used to support the spokes 24, 25 while the supports such as 23 are used to support a door bar
coats 26.

 Given the thickness of the walls, the operating handles can be placed in the form of horizontal bars 27, 28 retracted into niches 29, 30 of hemispherical shape.

Likewise, the operating buttons or locks of the doors 31, 32 are completely erased in the thickness of the doors.

 For the movement of the cabinet, a drawbar 33 is articulated at 34 under the chassis along a horizontal axis parallel to the front wall 35 of the cabinet. The articulation 34 comprises a spring which constantly tends to raise the drawbar 33 and to apply it in a recess 36 formed in the wall 35. The recess 36 and the articulation 34 are designed so that the drawbar 33 retracts completely in said cell 36 without making any projection beyond the surface of the wall 35.

 At the rear of the cabinet, there is a lug or hook 37 (Figure 2), directed downward and which is intended to thread into the eye 38 disposed at the free end of the drawbar 33. I1 must note that to attach a cabinet of the invention to another cabinet of the same type, it suffices to extract the drawbar 33 from the socket 36 to place it in a position below the horizontal and bring the eye 38 under lug or hook 37 so that it is introduced automatically at the root thereof, or against the chassis and so that it remains securely there. To unhitch, it is best to press (with the foot in particular) on the drawbar 33 downwards to release the eye 38 from the lug or hook 37.

 As already mentioned, the cabinet has a rectangular horizontal section, the short side of which is half the size of the long side. Consequently, each compartment closed by one of the doors 13 or 14 has a square horizontal section and each door 13 or 14 fits exactly respectively on the rear wall 39 and on the front wall 35 of the cabinet.

An immobilization lock (not shown) is provided to keep the door in the wide open position. Obviously, the hinges such as 40, 41, 42 are designed to allow the complete pivoting of the doors 13 and 14.

 It goes without saying that the shapes, dimensions, raw materials and various details can vary without departing from the scope of the invention as long as it remains defined by the claims which follow. In particular, the internal arrangement of the cabinet, the number of its compartments and its shelves can obviously vary.

Claims (7)

 10 / Improvements to rolling cupboards, in particular for linen and clothing in local authorities, in particular hospitals, said cupboards having - handles for ~ operating, - an immobilization device, for example by braking at  minus a wheel, - and means enabling it to be coupled to a tractor or  similar cabinet and have him tow other cabinets  identical to constitute a train likely to register  in the same trajectory, especially in the corridors  In a building, it is because of the fact that  combines a metallic exterior case, including the doors, comprising operating handles and buttons for opening recessed doors and in general having no protrusion outside the planes of its five faces, the sixth being the bottom, said case, including the doors, being lined internally with a surface of molded material, the lining of the cabinet being in one piece and having no sharp corners but, on the contrary, rounded inside corners with a radius of about 20 mm, said body resting on a chassis with casters, at least two of which are swivel, said chassis having on the periphery a bumper projecting slightly from the four faces.  20 / Rolling cabinet, as defined in claim 1, c a r a c t é r i s e by the fact that the bumpers are furnished with a padding of elastic materials.  30 / Rolling cabinet, as defined in either of claims 1 or 2, taken in isolation, c a r a c t é r i s e by the fact that the doors have on their periphery an elastic seal ensuring sealing.  40 / rolling cabinet, as defined in any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, taken in isolation, characterized by the fact that it is designed to move essentially in the direction of the great median of its bottom and that it includes for this purpose - two swivel front wheels each with a device for  locking and two non-swiveling rear wheels, - as well as a front drawbar articulated under the chassis around a  horizontal axis parallel to the front side of said chassis and  constantly springy upward both for  cooperate with a lug or hook directed downwards under  the back of the chassis of another identical cabinet and for  retract into a cell in the front wall of the cabinet  so as not to protrude from the surface thereof.  50 / Cabinet, rolling, as defined in claim 4> characterized by the fact that the lining of the box has projections with rounded undersides, which come into the side walls and which constitute shelf supports and supports of coat hanger bars.  60 / Rolling cabinet, as defined in claim 5, characterized in that it has a rectangular horizontal section twice as long as it is wide, that it is divided into two compartments of equal square horizontal sections and that it has two doors of the same dimensions which pivot on the outer edges of the cabinet using hinges allowing a rotation of three quarters of a turn allowing each door to fold against the wall of the cabinet against the front faces and back of it.  70 / rolling cabinet, as defined in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the operating handles are constituted by a horizontal bar retracted into a recess at a suitable height in each front and rear wall of said cabinet.