Safety cabinet with interlock mechanism

Abstract

A safety cabinet is disclosed which includes an enclosure having a double-wall construction and at least one door to selectively seal the enclosure. The safety cabinet includes a latch system for selectively retaining the door(s) in a closed position to cover the enclosure. The safety cabinet can be used to store, for example, flammable liquids, flammable waste, corrosives, pesticides, or combustible waste. The latch system includes fusible links that fuse when exposed to high ambient temperatures and cause the latch system to further engage the enclosure, thereby promoting the interlocking relationship between the door(s) and the enclosure when the safety cabinet is exposed to threshold high ambient temperatures.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This patent application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 593,680, filed on Feb. 1, 2012, and entitled “Safety Cabinet With Interlock Mechanism,” which is incorporated in its entirety herein by this reference.FIELD OF INVENTION[0002]The present disclosure pertains generally to a safety cabinet for flammable, combustible, or other hazardous materials. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a safety cabinet having an interlock mechanism to further secure a door to the enclosure in high-temperature conditions.BACKGROUND[0003]A safety cabinet for storing flammable or explosive materials is known in the art. Such a safety cabinet can be used for the onsite storage of flammable material at a plant, for example. The safety cabinet can be provided to insulate flammable material stored within it from the direct effects of an external fire to help prevent the flammable material from igniting ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]To provide improved safety cabinet integrity during extreme environmental conditions, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an interlock mechanism that operates in response to increased ambient temperature to help maintain a door of the safety cabinet in the closed position. In some embodiments, the interlock mechanism can be part of a three-point latch system. In other embodiments, the interlock mechanism is mounted to an enclosure and arranged such that it selectively engages a door mounted to the enclosure to further secure the door in a closed position relative to an opening of the enclosure in response to the ambient temperature reaching a predetermined threshold.

Problems solved by technology

Nonetheless, these devices can be susceptible to the undesired opening of the doors when the ambient temperature increases, such as during a fire.

Increased temperatures can cause warping of the safety cabinet, particularly at the latching interface between the cabinet and its doors.

After a certain amount of warping, the volatile and combustible contents of the safety cabinet can be exposed to extreme heat and open flame.