GB2194326A

GB2194326A - A cabinet

Info

Publication number: GB2194326A
Application number: GB08611326A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gordon Austin Taylor
Original assignee: Austin Taylor Electrical Ltd
Current assignee: Austin Taylor Electrical Ltd
Priority date: 1986-05-09
Filing date: 1986-05-09
Publication date: 1988-03-02
Also published as: DK235187D0; DK235187A; GB8611326D0

Abstract

A cabinet eg for electronic or communication equipment comprises a sealed enclosure 2 which is connected by an unrestricted tube 15 to an expandable synthetic plastics material envelope 16 to allow access of air in the enclosure to the envelope. Expansion and contraction of air in the enclosure is accommodated by the flexible envelope in an airtight manner. This enables the atmosphere to be maintained at an acceptable level of humidity and cleanliness. An hermetically sealable door may be provided and dessicant placed in the cabinet. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A cabinet The present invention relates to an air tight chamber which is intended particularly, but not exclusively, for electrical or electronic equipment.

In chambers for such equipment maintenance of an acceptable level of humidity and cleanliness is extremely important. Chambers of this type are already known. One such is described in U.K. Patent Specification No.

1,201,519. Although this chamber is satisfactory in practice it is felt to be unnecessarily complicated in construction and therefore expensive.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cabinet comprising an airtight enclosure and an inlet into the enclosure which is connected through an unrestricted inlet to an expandable envelope disposed outside the enclosure.

In a preferred form of the invention, the envelope is made of synthetic plastics material.

This is connected to the enclosure through a tube which extends into the enclosure through the inlet. The envelope is disposed within a canopy which sits on top of the enclosure and which is ventilated to the outside air. The enclosure is provided with a door around which an airtight seal is disposed and sits on a plinth.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a side sectional elevation of a cabinet, and Figure 2 shows a detail view of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the cabinet, which is made generally of corrosion resistant steel comprises a plinth 1, an airtight enclosure 2 which is supported on the plinth and a water shedding canopy 3 which is supported on the enclosure. The enclosure 2 is bolted to the plinth 1 by means of bolts 4 and the canopy 3 is bolted to the enclosure 2 by means of bolts 5. These bolts are sealed as exemplified in Fig. 2 to prevent ingress of air into the enclosure around the bolt. Sealant 10 is disposed between adjacent parts (in this case between plinth 1 and enclosure 2) and around the bolt itself (shown at 11).

A door 12 leads into the enclosure and a seal 13 is disposed around the door. The door may be locked by means of a lock 14.

Leading from the enclosure 2 is a tube 15 which serves as an inlet into a flexible expandable envelope 16. This tube is externally threaded and a complementary screwthreaded nut 17 is screwed onto it to locate it. The tube 15 is sealed to the flexible preferably synthetic plastics material, envelope 16 which is disposed in the canopy 3 is vented to atmosphere.

In use, expansion and contraction of air in the sealed enclosure 2 is accommodated by the flexible envelope 16 to which the air has unrestricted access through the tube 15. In order to reduce the level of humidity in the enclosure 2 after opening and resealing the door 12, silica gel may be disposed in the bottom of the container, although this would not normally be necessary. The above described arrangement provides an enclosure for electronic or communication apparatus which is air tight and in which the atmosphere may be maintained at an acceptable level of humidity and cleanliness.

It will be appreciated that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only and that many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A cabinet comprising an airtight enclosure and an inlet into the enclosure which is connected through an unrestricted inlet to an expandable envelope disposed outside the enclosure.

2. A cabinet as claimed in claim 1, in which the envelope is made of synthetic plastics material.

3. A cabinet as claimed in claim 2, in which the envelope is connected to the enclosure through a tube which extends into the enclosure through the inlet.

4. A cabinet as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, in which the envelope is disposed within a canopy which sits on top of the enclosure and which is ventilated to the outside air.

5. A cabinet as claimed in any preceding claim in which the enclosure is provided with a door around which an airtight seal is disposed.

6. A cabinet as claimed in any preceding claim in which the enclosure sits on a plinth.

7. A cabinet as claimed in claim 4, or claim 5 or 6 when appendant to claim 4, in which the canopy is bolted to the enclosure and sealant is provided around the bolts to prevent ingress of air from the canopy to the enclosure.

8. A cabinet as claimed in claim 6, in which the enclosure is bolted to the plinth and sealant is provided around the bolts to prevent ingress of air from the plinth to the enclosure.

9. A cabinet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.