GB2046083A

GB2046083A - Folding workbench/cabinet

Info

Publication number: GB2046083A
Application number: GB8005729A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Hills Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Hills Ltd
Priority date: 1979-02-23
Filing date: 1980-02-20
Publication date: 1980-11-12
Also published as: AU5566280A

Abstract

A cabinet has a base wall, side walls and a top wall, and a hinge interconnects a workbench panel cum closure and the cabinet, the hinge axis being located forwardly and downwardly of the lower front edge of the cabinet so that when the workbench panel is in its use position, the upper rear surface thereof bears upwardly against the base wall and downward force applied to the workbench panel is thus resisted by the cabinet. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Folding workbench This invention relates to a folding workbench assembly.

Background of the invention One of the difficulties which is encountered in the designing and building of a folding workbench assembly is the attainment of rigidity and stiffness against deflection. Another short coming of folding workbenches is that they need to be associated with separate storage facilities.

Brief summary of the invention In this invention there is provided a folding workbench assembly having a cabinet having a base wall, side walls and a top wall, and a hinge interconnects a workbench panel and the cabinet, the hinge axis being located forwardly and downwardly of the lower front edge of the cabinet so that when the workbench panel is in its use position, the upper rear surface thereof bears upwardly against the panel and downward force applied to the work bench panel is resisted by the cabinet.

More specifically, in this invention, a folding work bench assembly comprises a cabinet having an upper wall, a base wall and two side walls, a workbench panel, and hinge means hingedly joining the cabinet to the workbench panel near but not at its rear edge when the workbench panel is in its use position, said hinge means having a hinge axis located forwardly and downwardly of the lower front edge of the cabinet by such a distance that when the workbench panel is in its use position, the upper rear surface thereof bears upwardly against said cabinet base wall.

When a cabinet is used, it is frequently a requirement that tools, for example, should be neatly positioned in the cabinet, and in an embodiment of this invention, the cabinet is provided with a perforate rear wall, while the workbench panel in its rectracted position is a closure front wall. By utilising a perforate rear wall, use may be made of small hooks to support various tools so that they are easily accessible to a user.

Sometimes a cabinet is required to be stored in a position where it could be subject to rain or weather, and in a further embodiment of this invention, the cabinet upper and side walls overlap respective edges of said front and rear walls of the cabinet, when the workbench panel is in its retracted position so that the contents are protected against excessive ingress or water, but at the same time the perforate rear wall enables the air within the cabinet to "breathe" so that should water enter the cabinet it will nevertheless be free to evaporate.

Brief description of the drawings An embodiment of the invention is described hereunder in some detail with reference to and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a folding workbench assembly, showing the workbench panel in its use position, and Fig. 2 is a crosssection, showing the workbench panel in its retracted position.

In this embodiment there is described a wall type folding workbench assembly, wherein the workbench panel can fold outwardly to be cantilevered from a wall.

There is provided a cabinet 10 having two vertical side walls 11 and 12, an upper wall 13, a base wall 14; and a rear wall 15. The side, upper and base walls are all formed from sheet metal and of shallow channel shape, and the vertical side walls 11 and 12 carry respective forwardly and downwardly sloping hinge straps 16 at their front lower edges.4he hinge axis 17 of the two hinges is below the base wall 14 and forwardly of its front edges, and hinge pins 19 extend through respective straps 16 into a workbench panel 2 from its side edges. To provide additional rigidity, the workbench is stiffened by channel section steel side edge members 21, the flanges of which embrace the upper and lower surfaces of the workbench panel 20.

Near the top ends of the vertical side walls, there is provided a pair of spring latch straps 25, rivetted by rivets 26 at their rear ends to the vertical walls, and guided for spring movement outwardly away from the workbench or inwardly towards it by means of a staple 27 projecting outwardly from each respective vertical side wall.

Each staple 27 has an aperture 28 therethrough, and the arrangement is such that the workbench can be locked closed against the front flanges of the horizontal and vertical walls of the cabinet, by inserting a padlock through the aperture 28, the padlock then preventing outward movement of the spring latch strap 25.

The rear wall 15 of the cabinet 10 is a perforate wall and is provided with hooks (not shown) so that tools can be carried on the inner surface of the rear wall, thereby facilitating identification.

The arrangement is such that when the workbench panel 20 is in its retracted closed position against the side walls of the cabinet, its rear portion 30 becomes a depending portion which depends below the cabinet but when the workbench panel is folded outwardly to its use position, that portion then becomes the rear portion of the workbench and bears upwardly against the lower or base wall 14 of the cabinet 10 and the two side walls 11 and 12 resist deflection, since any deflection which would tend to buckle the side walls is resisted by the walls functioning as columns.

The upper wall 13 of the cabinet 10 has a front flange 32 which extends downwardly and outwardly to provide a water shed preventing water entering the end of the workbench panel, and a rear flange 33 which similarly protects the rear panel 15. Rear panel 15 is retained in place by tabs 34.

As shown in Fig. 2, the assembly is bolted to a wall 36 by bolts 37, which extend through spacers 38, which function to cause the assembly to stand off the wall and thus reduce possibility of loss of firm securing for example due to protruberances on the wall surface, and also provide a "breathing space" behind the rear wall 15.

As shown in Fig. 1, use can be made of support legs 38 for additional support for the workbench panel, the legs having upstanding spigots 39 which engage in apertures (not shown) beneath the workbench panel.

Claims

1. A folding workbench assembly comprising a cabinet having an upper wall, a base wall and two side walls, a workbench panel, and hinge means hingedly joining the cabinet to the workbench panel near but not at its rear edge when the workbench panel is in its use position, said hinge means having a hinge axis located forwardly and downwardly of the lower front edge of the cabinet by such a distance that when the workbench panel is in its use position, the upper rear surface thereof bears upwardly against said cabinet base wall.

2. A folding workbench assembly according to claim 1 further comprising latch means cooperable between at least one said cabinet wall and said workbench panel, and arranged to releasably retain the workbench panel as a front closure wall of the cabinet when said panel is in its retracted position.

3. A folding workbench according to claim 2 wherein said latch means comprise a pair of spring latch straps extending forwardly from respective said cabinet side walls, each said latch strap having a latching surface releasably engageable with a respective side of the workbench panel when in its retracted position, and a pair of staples projecting outwardly from respective said cabinet side walls and extending through apertures in respective said latch straps, each staple having walls defining a locking opening which, when accommodating a padlock, prevents outward movement of the latch strap associated therewith, thereby being effective to lock the workbench panel in its retracted position.

4. A folding workbench according to any preceding claim further comprising a perforate rear cabinet wall.

5. A folding workbench according to claim 1 wherein said workbench panel retracts about said hinge axis to a retracted position wherein it is a front closure panel of said cabinet having its upper edge and side edges overlapped by respective said upper and side walls of said cabinet, and further comprising a perforate rear cabinet wall also having its upper edge and side edges overlapped by respective said upper edge and side walls of said cabinet.

6. A folding workbench according to any preceding claim wherein said hinge means comprise a pair of hinge straps secured to respective said cabinet side walls and sloping forwardly and downwardly from their front lower corners, and hinge pins extending through said straps into the sides of said workbench panel.

7. A folding workbench substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.