Water-shedding indoor wall mounted cabinet

Abstract

A wall-mounted cabinet has two components. The first, a back portion, is fixedly connected to a wall, and the second, a cover portion, is pivotally and detachably connected to the second. A vent is formed in the top of the cover portion, but in a manner that does not permit water to enter but does permit heated air generated from with the cabinet to exit. In order to accomplish this, a water-diverting plate is provided on the back portion. The plate is oriented to extend across the width of the vent at an angle, so that water entering the vent is directed towards a gap formed between the wall and the outer surface of the back portion.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to indoor wall mounted cabinets, and more particularly, to cabinets that have ventilation and water shedding features. Such features are particularly appropriate for use in housing sensitive electrical and / or electro-mechanical components, such as those frequently found in the telecommunications field. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART [0002] In many office buildings today it is common for a business entity to have a room where sensitive network hardware, computers, telephone lines and switches are located. These rooms are usually windowless and located in less desirable locations of a floor plan. They can also contain fuse or breaker boxes and transformers providing electrical service to the building, floor of the building, or portion of a floor. Such rooms are generally kept locked to thus deny access to the general workforce. [0003] For rooms which contain principally or exclusively telecommunications equipme...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] The present invention solves the aforementioned problems by providing a wall-mounted cabinet having a front surface, at least two side surfaces and a top surface collectively defining an interior space, means for fixedly mounting the cabinet in a position on but spaced from a wall, a vent located at an upper portion of the cabinet, and a water-deflecting plate located in proximity to the vent, and being adapted to prevent ingress of water into the interior of the cabinet while permitting egress of heat from the interior of the cabinet.

[0011] As will be described in greater detail below, the bottom wall is preferably associated with a stationary, wall mounting component of the cabinet, while the other walls are associated with a pivotally movable cover component. The top wall has no perforations and thus prevents water from dripping into the interior of the cabinet.

Problems solved by technology

These rooms are usually windowless and located in less desirable locations of a floor plan.

Such rooms are generally kept locked to thus deny access to the general workforce.

In any event, variations of temperature within the room, and differential temperatures between equipment, flooring, and the air, can produce condensation which, if allowed to be in contact with the equipment, could cause electrical shorts and / or other equipment failure.

Water admitted from such sources could cause adverse effects on the optical communications equipment.

Equipment rooms may have limited space within which technicians can work, and thus, hinged doors or housings which are fully coupled to a main cabinet box may create problems of space.

For example, a piano-hinged door may be opened to gain access to a cabinet, but the hinged door may swing into contact with other electrical equipment or connections, thus creating a health risk to the technician.

Images