HK1198115B - Improvements in lockers - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for manufacturing a storage cabinet (10) using a cabinet (20), wherein the cabinet (20) has a rear wall, a top (24), a bottom, and opposing side walls (22).The side wall has a support device (40) for supporting and preferably for joining the side edges of shelves or cabinet dividers, which support device typically extends into the cabinet.The cabinet (20) is constructed to accommodate doors (12, 14, 16), which are mounted to one side of the cabinet via a hinge device.The hinge device comprises one or more hinge joints (30) on the door, a series of protrusions (32) extending along one side of the cabinet, with space between the protrusions (32) for accommodating the hinge joints (30) of the door.The supporting device (40) is adjacent to the protrusion (32) and located between the molded recesses.The cabinet is molded with a closed front, which is selectively removed to define one or more notches.Subsequently, insert one or more partitions or shelves into the cabinet as needed, and attach one or more doors to the cabinet.

Description

Improvements in lockers

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present invention claims priority from australian patent application no 2011903047 entitled "improvements to lockers", the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to improvements in lockers and in particular to lockers moulded from plastics material and to methods of manufacturing such lockers.

Background

Lockers are commonly used for temporary, secure storage of personal property, such as valuables, textbooks, clothing, and the like. They are the same in many environments, particularly schools, gyms, and workplaces (people change from everyday clothing to work clothing and vice versa).

Lockers can be made from many different materials. Metal, wood composites and plastic materials are commonly used to make lockers. The materials used will vary depending on the application, safety requirements, cost factors (e.g., material cost, manufacturing cost), and other factors.

One problem with providing lockers is that lockers are often provided in different sizes/capacities depending on their intended use, the volume of material intended to be stored in the locker, the space available at the establishment and the number of people using the locker.

Often, lockers are required to obtain cabinets (cabinets) with different capacities. The need to provide flexibility in the capacity of such lockers has resulted in increased costs and an increase in the number of parts and components required to provide various locker configurations, particularly where the locker is made from moulded plastics material.

The present invention aims to provide an improved locker and method of manufacturing a locker which enables lockers of various sizes to be provided with a minimum number of parts.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

In the present invention, the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Disclosure of Invention

In a first broad aspect, the present invention provides a locker comprising a cabinet having a rear wall, a top, a bottom and opposed side walls defining support means for supporting and preferably engaging the side edges of a shelf or cabinet divider, the support means projecting generally into the cabinet, wherein the cabinet is configured to receive a door mounted to one side of the cabinet by hinge means comprising one or more knuckles (knuckle) provided on the door, a series of projections extending along said one side of the cabinet, spaces being provided between the projections for receiving the knuckles of the door therebetween, wherein the support means are adjacent to and between the projections.

When in the finished state, the locker includes a door and typically includes means for locking the door using a padlock, lock or the like.

Typically, each cabinet has three sets of shelf support means provided on opposite side walls of the cabinet. Typically, the shelf support means is defined by a pair of projecting ribs which extend into the interior of the cabinet and have corresponding recesses (formed as a result of the moulding process) located on the exterior of the cabinet.

The present invention allows the same cabinet moulding process to be used to produce lockers of different sizes and configurations by judicious insertion of the shelf/divider on the support means and the use of appropriately sized doors, thereby increasing the flexibility of locker design and saving production costs.

In a preferred embodiment, the cabinet of the locker is made in one piece (e.g. by rotomoulding or the like), in the shape of a cuboid having six faces, the front face of the cabinet being closed by a sheet/sheet of integrally moulded material.

The front sheet is then selectively cut/removed according to the number and size of the lockers to be made with the cabinet. Typically, each cabinet may be used to make one to four lockers, but it is contemplated that the cabinets may allow a greater number of subdivisions.

More specifically, to form the locker, one or more notches are cut into the plastic sheet corresponding to the number and size of doors to be attached to the cabinet.

In one embodiment where the cabinet is used to form a full-size locker, the entire front sheet is removed away from the edge portions adjacent the side walls, top and bottom of the cabinet. In embodiments where the cabinet is used to form multiple lockers, a front strip is left in place, extending from one side of the cabinet to the other, coinciding with the location of the shelf/cabinet divider.

When the hinge knuckle of the door is inserted into the recess, the locking pin drops into the side of the cabinet to secure the door in place.

Advantageously, with the cabinet of the present invention, a locker with one to four separate lockers, each with its own door, can be formed from a single cabinet frame (cabin shell).

The invention also includes a cabinet for forming a locker, the cabinet having a rear wall, a top, a bottom and opposed side walls, the side walls having support means for supporting and preferably engaging the side edges of a shelf or cabinet divider, said support means generally projecting into the cabinet, wherein the cabinet is configured to receive a door mounted to one side of the cabinet by means of a hinge arrangement, a series of projections extending along said one side of the cabinet with spaces therebetween for receiving the hinge knuckles of the door therebetween, wherein the support means are adjacent said projections and between said spaces.

The invention also includes a method of manufacturing a locker made using a cabinet having the above-mentioned features and moulded with a closed front face, the method comprising the steps of:

selectively removing the front face to define one or more gaps;

inserting divider plates or shelves as needed; and is

Attaching a door to the cabinet.

Drawings

The embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows an array of lockers according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows an enlarged view of a portion of figure 1 showing two of the lockers of the row of lockers of figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a moulding for forming a cabinet for a locker after moulding.

Figures 4a and 4b show top and bottom views, respectively, of a shelf for use in a cabinet.

Figure 5 shows the cabinet of figure 3 with the front cut out to mount a single full size door to the locker.

Figure 6 shows the cabinet of figure 3 with the front cut out to mount two half-size doors to the locker.

Figure 7 shows the cabinet of figure 3 with the front cut out to fit four quarter-sized doors to the locker.

Fig. 8a and 8b show a full size door.

Fig. 9a and 9b show a half-size door.

Fig. 10a and 10b show a quarter size door.

Detailed Description

Referring to the drawings, figure 1 shows an array of lockers 10 of varying sizes and configurations. Some shown in an open position and some shown in a closed position, each locker including an enclosed storage area and a door for closing the area. There are three different sizes of lockers, referred to hereinafter as full size 12, half size 14 and quarter size 16, half size lockers being half the size of full size lockers 12 and quarter size lockers 16 being a quarter of the size of full size lockers 12. The locker has doors 12a, 14a and 16a which are of substantially the same size as the front opening of the locker.

All lockers, regardless of size, share and are based on the same basic cabinet moulding 20 (as shown in figure 3) and moulded as in figures 5 to 7. Each cabinet moulding is moulded with a rear portion 19 (not visible in figure 3, see figure 2), sides 21, 22, a top 24, a bottom 25, and a solid front 26, so that when the cabinet 20 leaves the mould it is a closed six-sided parallelepiped.

Referring to figure 1 and figures 8 to 10, it can be seen that each door defines at least one hinge knuckle 30 which, in use, forms part of a hinge for mounting the locker door to the cabinet. Specifically, referring to fig. 8-10, the full-size door 12a defines four hinge knuckles 30, the half-size door 14a defines two hinge knuckles, and the quarter-size door defines one hinge knuckle.

Referring to fig. 3 and 5-7, there are five spaced projections 32 along the front right side which, when used in conjunction with the hinge knuckles 30 and hinge pins of one or more doors, define one or more hinges that attach the one or more doors to the cabinet. A hole extends through the center of each projection and the hinge knuckle for receiving a hinge pin (not shown).

The spaces or recesses between the protrusions are approximately the same size as the hinge knuckles.

Also shown in fig. 3 and 5-7 is shelf/divider panel support assembly 40. Each shelf support means comprises a pair of projecting ribs 42, the ribs 42 being separated by a gap 44, the gap 44 being adapted to receive a side edge of a shelf/divider panel. The support means are provided at the same height on opposite sides of the cabinet. As shown, three sets of support means are provided in each cabinet.

To assemble a locker using the cabinet of figure 3, the front panel 24 is first cut/trimmed according to the size of the door or doors to be attached to the cabinet.

For example, referring to FIG. 5, if a single door is to be used with the cabinet, a large rectangular notch is cut leaving only the edge 52 of the front panel 26, as shown in FIG. 5, such that the perimeter of the front panel extends about 1 to 2 cm around the perimeter of the front of the cabinet. The peripheral edge is used for a guide/locator for the door when closed. A single elongated locking tab 60 is then attached to the cabinet (see fig. 1), the locking tab defining an aperture for receiving a padlock. The full size door 12a shown in fig. 8 can then be attached to the cabinet by aligning the hinge knuckle 30 and the recess 32 along the sides of the cabinet and inserting and securing a hinge pin into the protrusion 32 and hinge knuckle 30 to form a hinge. The door defines an aperture 82 through which the locking tab 60 passes to lock the cabinet closed by means of a padlock or the like. A metal front plate 83 having a handle 83a is secured to the front of the cabinet and the locking tab passes through the front plate to increase safety.

If the cabinet is to be used to form two half-size lockers, two rectangular notches are cut into the front face 26, as shown in fig. 6, leaving a strip 84 of about 1 to 2 cm width extending on both sides of the cabinet, at the same height as the intermediate shelf support 40. The divider panel 90 may then be inserted into the cabinet. The divider panel illustrated in figures 4a and 4b is a flat panel dimensioned to divide the cabinet into two enclosed spaces, the flat panel extending to the front of the cabinet and having a depending lip 92 (as can be seen clearly in figure 2) at the front of the flat panel, the lip 92 overlying the belt 84. This prevents movement of the divider plate.

The locking tabs 60 are then secured to the cabinet along the middle of the sides of each enclosure, with a single hinge pin to simultaneously mount the two half-size doors 14a, one above the other.

Similarly, if the cabinet is to be formed into a locker with four quarter-size lockers, the front panel would be cut with four notches separated by three about 1cm wide strips 84, each at the height of one of the support means 40, as shown in figure 7. Three divider panels are inserted to form four enclosed spaces, with four doors 16a hinged to the cabinet with a single hinge pin.

It will be appreciated that a locker may be provided which combines one half-size locker with two quarter-size lockers in various combinations, some of which are illustrated in figure 1.

It will be appreciated that different sizes and configurations of lockers can be manufactured using the present invention, using the same moulding, increasing flexibility in locker design and saving manufacturing costs.

The shelves of the larger lockers may not extend to the front of the cabinet as their function is not to then separate the cabinet into individual security lockers, but rather to provide shelves for storage of items.

The principles and features of the above system may be used for lockers of different sizes, including cabinets for full length lockers up to 2-3m, and may be subdivided into more than 4 enclosures/lockers.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments of the invention without departing from the broad general scope of the invention as disclosed. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims (8)

1. A method of manufacturing a locker comprising the steps of:

a one-piece molded closed cabinet having a back wall, a top, a bottom and opposed side walls and a complete closed front, wherein the side walls of the molded cabinet have a shelf support, wherein the cabinet is configured to receive a door mounted to one side of the cabinet by a hinge arrangement comprising one or more hinges on the door, a series of projections extending along the one side of the cabinet with spaces between the projections for receiving the hinges of the door therebetween, wherein the shelf support is adjacent the projections and between the recesses; then the

Selectively removing the closed front face to define one or more gaps;

and attaching one or more doors to the cabinet, wherein the doors have hinge joints and wherein the hinge joints of the one or more doors are located between the projections.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the front face has a number of indentations corresponding to a number of doors attached.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of inserting one or more dividers or shelves supported on the shelf support.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the enclosed cabinet is formed by rotomolding.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of selectively removing the closed front of the cabinet includes forming only a single gap, and the step of attaching one or more doors to the cabinet includes adding a single door.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of selectively removing the closed front of the cabinet comprises forming two notches, and the step of attaching one or more doors to the cabinet comprises the steps of adding two doors and including supporting one divider panel on a shelf support.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of selectively removing the closed front of the cabinet comprises forming three notches, and the step of attaching one or more doors to the cabinet comprises the steps of adding three doors and including supporting two divider panels on a shelf support.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of selectively removing the closed front of the cabinet comprises forming four notches, and the step of attaching one or more doors to the cabinet comprises the steps of adding four doors and including supporting three divider panels on a shelf support.