Previously disclosed cabinets designed for a particular fire safety and/or theft security class do not readily lend themselves to modification to incorporate a different function or a number of different functions and classes. It is accordingly not possible with such cabinets to achieve uniform production with a high degree of mechanization, as a consequence of which rational production is not possible.

The principal object of the present invention is thus, in the first instance, to resolve the aforementioned problems and to make available a system comprising a cabinet base which exhibits a basic function which forms the base for a cabinet with extended and/or other functions.

The aforementioned object is achieved by means of a system in accordance with the present invention, which is characterized essentially in that the larger cabinet forms a basic cabinet, which is intended for the storage of documents and exhibits thermal resistance adapted to reduce the permissible maximum temperature of the basic cabinet to an appropriate level for the storage of data, in that the aforementioned smaller cabinet is in modules arranged for the storage of data, and in that the interlocking of the basic cabinet between its door and door frame is so arranged as to take place only at a single active interlocking point situated approximately half-way up the door, and in that a

thermal piston is so arranged at the top and bottom ends of the basic cabinet as to be released when actuated by heat, in so doing locking the top and bottom edges of the door to the frame of the basic cabinet.

The invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which : Fig. 1 shows a basic cabinet with its door in the open position ; Fig. 1A shows a detail of perforations on the cabinet frame ; Fig. 1B shows a detail of a smooth door frame ; Fig. 1C shows the possible subdivision of the basic cabinet for storage purposes ; Fig. 2 shows a data insert at its full height ; Fig. 3 shows a security insert with an associated loose door ; Fig. 3A shows the subdivision of the insert ; Fig. 3B shows a data insert as a part insert ; Fig. 4 shows the locking for the basic cabinet ; Fig. 4A shows the active lock of the cabinet ; Fig. 4B shows the passive interlocking of the cabinet ; Fig. 5 shows a cabinet with a security insert with an open door ; Fig. 5A shows the interlocking between the frame of the cabinet and the security insert in the unlocked position ; Fig. 5B shows the locking of the cabinet and the insert ; Fig. 6 shows the locking mechanism of the security insert ; Fig. 7 shows the basic cabinet with the data insert accommodated in it in the open position ; Fig. 7A shows a detail of a flexible sealing system for the cabinet ;

Fig. 7B shows the detail on its own, as a perspective view ; and Fig. 7C shows a sectioned view of two doors connected to one another.

The following are the novel and unique features of the present invention : The larger cabinet forms a basic cabinet intended for document storage. The aforementioned smaller cabinet is in modules arranged for the storage of data and exhibits a thermal resistance adapted to reduce the permissible maximum temperature of the basic cabinet to an appropriate level for the storage of data. Interlocking of the basic cabinet between its door and door frame is so arranged as to take place only at a single active interlocking point at the centre of the door, and a thermal piston is arranged at the top and bottom ends of the basic cabinet. The aforementioned thermal pistons are so arranged as to be released when actuated by heat, in so doing locking the top and bottom edges of the door to the frame of the basic cabinet.

The following are further attributes of the invention : The aforementioned thermal piston is constituted by a passive type which consists of a blocking piston so arranged as to be charged by a spring and by a thermal mechanism, which is so arranged as to be activated in the event of a set temperature being exceeded.

The thermal mechanism consists of a screw at the centre of a helical spring, which screw is screwed into the blocking piston and exhibits at its opposite end a plastic washer or some other fusible barrier so arranged as to prevent the spring from being forced into the piston.

The aforementioned thermal piston is positioned in the case part of the cabinet frame with the washer so arranged as to sit on the outside of the case, and with the

piston adjusted to lie on a level with the inside of the case.

Situated on the cabinet frame and door of the basic cabinet, which are in the form of sheet metal, are parts so arranged as to prevent heat from being conducted readily from the outside of the cabinet to the inside.

Perforations through the sheet metal in a pattern intended for that purpose are so arranged as to reduce the quantity of metal material in the frame and the door, so that the heat encounters significantly less metal material and is transported instead through the thermal barrier material accommodated in the inside of the cabinet, which exhibits poorer thermal conductivity than the metal material of which the cabinet consists.

A data storage cabinet accommodated in the basic cabinet has its pivotally supported door capable of connection to the external pivotally supported door of the basic cabinet by means of a door connection mechanism so arranged as to permit the two doors to move in a vertical direction in relation to one another.

Arranged between the door of the basic cabinet and the door of the data storage cabinet is a non-rigid pressure device so arranged as to hold the two doors next to and along one another at a certain distance from one another.

The non-rigid pressure device is formed by a preferably bent spring in the form of a leaf spring, which is attached at its one end to one of the doors, while the bent spring is freely mounted in such a way as to move at its opposite end along the door to which it is attached.

A security insert is arranged internally in the basic cabinet in such a way as to fit and increase the theft security of the cabinet in question, in conjunction with which the security insert consists of an insert frame so arranged as to be installed in the basic cabinet along its walls and a free-standing insert door so arranged as to be

rigidly attached to the inside of the door of the basic cabinet, so that the insert door and the door of the basic cabinet utilize common hinge functions, and in that the lock function of the basic cabinet is so arranged on the insert door as to interact with the frame of the security insert in a vertical and/or horizontal direction.

The system in accordance with the present invention consists essentially of a fabricated cabinet base with a basic function, which in turn forms the base for other cabinets with extended/other functions. The starting point in accordance with the invention is a larger cabinet known as basic cabinet 1, which constitutes the basis of the system for the storage of objects of a desired kind and exhibits a sealable door 2, inside which cabinet 1 a number of smaller cabinets 3, each of which exhibits its own door 4, are capable of being accommodated The basic cabinet 1 is thus intended for document storage, and the aforementioned smaller cabinets 3 are in modular form and intended for data storage.

The extended functions are created by providing the basic cabinet with inserts specially made for their specific purpose. The major advantages of this system lie in its uniform production, for which unique investment is made in a high level of mechanization for the industry. The fact that the base of the cabinet is so wide means that a complete range of fire protection features and a combination of this and theft security features, where appropriate, is created with a very wide market coverage and associated volume coverage based on a basic cabinet design.

The basic cabinet 1 exhibits a thermal resistance adapted to reduce its permissible maximum temperature to an appropriate level for the storage of data.

The basic cabinet 1 is constructed in two variants in order to provide fire protection for paper, i. e. classifications 60P and 120P respectively. This means that

the storage space of the product must not be capable of reaching temperatures in excess of 170 degrees Celsius in the course of a fire/test lasting respectively for 60 and 120 minutes. The basic cabinet 1 is thus described as exhibiting the function of a document cabinet.

The above variants of basic cabinet 1 have been achieved without the need to vary either the constituent material or its thicknesses. There is also no variation in the external or internal dimensions of these variants.

The difference between the above variants relates to the treatment of the outer enclosing sheet metal of the 120P variant.

On both the cabinet frame and the door, parts of the sheet metal are cut away in a pattern tested for the purpose in the form of a perforation 25.

The effect of the perforation is to prevent the external sheet metal around the cabinet (frame-door), which heats up during a fire (testing), from conducting heat into the interior of the cabinet (useful space).

Perforation of the sheet metal removes a large quantity of it from the thermally most sensitive area of the cabinet. In this way, the heat has significantly less material (steel) through which to be transported, and it must instead be transported through the thermal barrier material 26, which fills the space between the walls. This material exhibits significantly poorer thermal conductivity.

The basic cabinet 1 is constructed as modules with the following dimensions : The internal heights of the cabinet are specified in modules of 350 mm, for example, based on the storage dimensions of both the Swedish"Agrippa"binder and the European DIN binder. The cabinets are also available in other heights consisting of 1-5 modules, for example (350-1750 mm), equivalent to the height of 1-5 binders, for example.

The width of the cabinets can be selected so as to maximize their capacity for Agrippa + DIN binders, for example, so that the minimum"wastage"of storage space results when the width of the Agrippa binder is 60 mm and that of the DIN binder is 75 mm. The internal width of the cabinets has accordingly been specified as 600 mm, which means that space is available for 10 Agrippa binders or 8 DIN binders across the width of the cabinet. Other widths can, of course, be selected.

The interlocking 6 of the basic cabinet between its door 2 and door frame 7 is so arranged as to take place only at a single active interlocking point situated at the centre of the door. A thermal piston 8, 9 is arranged for this purpose at the top and bottom ends 10, 11 of the basic cabinet. The aforementioned thermal pistons 8, 9 are so arranged as to be released automatically at a thermal effect above a specific temperature.

Interlocking 6 of the basic cabinets between the door 2 and the cabinet frame thus takes place only as active interlocking at a single point regardless of the size of the cabinet. This interlocking means 6 is situated at the mid- point of the height of the cabinet.

In order to counteract any outward distortion/bending of the doors of the highest cabinets, resulting in enlarged door gaps in the event of the aforementioned basic cabinet being subjected to thermal effects, these are fitted with thermal pistons 8, 9 on the top and bottom edges of the door concerned.

The thermal piston is of the so-called passive type, i. e. it is not affected either by locks or by movement of the opening handle/knob. The expensive linkages and guides that are customary for conventional"active"pistons can be eliminated in this way.

The function of the thermal piston is for it to be released by a fire or other exposure to heat, thereby locking

the top and bottom edges of the door to the frame 7 of the cabinet in order to exclude the possibility of enlarged door gaps.

The thermal piston 8, 9 consists of a blocking piston 12, which is charged by a spring 13 and a thermal mechanism 14 to prevent it from being activated before "sufficient"heat is generated.

The thermal mechanism 14 consists of a screw 15 at the centre of the spring 13 screwed into the blocking piston 12 and provided at its other end with a plastic washer 16 which prevents the spring 13 from forcing the piston 12 into the locked position when a normal temperature prevails.

The thermal piston 8, 9 is positioned in the case part of the cabinet frame with the washer 16 sitting on the outside of the case and with the piston 12 adjusted to lie on a level with the inside of the case.

When a fire occurs, the plastic washer 16 melts before the door 2 begins to move, and the spring is released causing the piston 12 to be forced into its blocking position.

The aforementioned larger or smaller data insert cabinets 3 have been made with external dimensions in accordance with the module of the basic cabinets 1, so that these fit the size of cabinet concerned.

The thermal resistance of the insert has been adapted so that it has the ability to reduce the permissible maximum temperature (ca. 170 degrees) of the basic cabinets to a maximum permissible temperature of ca. 50 degrees inside the useful space 17 of the insert.

A data insert can be made for each size of basic cabinet. A data media cabinet can be made in this way for each basic cabinet 1 (document cabinet). This means that the whole of the available storage space offers fire protection for data media.

Data inserts 3 consist of a frame 5 with a door connected together by a hinge.

Thanks to the modular concept, the inserts 3 made for the smaller basic cabinets 1 can also be used as a sub- insert to provide a document cabinet inside the basic cabinet 1.

For example, a basic cabinet 1 with a height of four modules is fitted with an insert 3 for two modules, and the remaining two modules can be fully utilized for the storage of documents in binders 18, for example. A subsidiary space with the same level of fire protection as the data cabinet is created inside the document cabinet in this way.

The data insert/sub-insert is made so that it/they can be installed in the cabinet by the customer at any time.

This means that installation in the factory is not necessary.

The data insert/sub-insert can be provided with separate locking and as such can be regarded as a cabinet within the cabinet.

Thanks to the modular concept of the data insert/sub-insert, several units can be placed inside a cabinet with or without separate locking. In this way, separate confidential data storage spaces can be provided in the same cabinet.

The interlocking system of the basic cabinet 1 is used for interlocking the data cabinet. When the data insert 3 is installed in the cabinet 1, a gap of about 10 mm is created between the inside of the door of the basic cabinet and the outside of the door of the data insert. This gap is used to create a flexible sealing system for the data insert door 4. This consists of springs 19 with an uncompressed height greater than 10 mm, which are tensioned when the door 2 of the basic cabinet is closed, i. e. the springs 10 are compressed and this pressure is transferred to the door 4 of the data insert, in conjunction with which a sealing surface

(not illustrated here) between the door and the frame is placed under pressure.

This flexible system permits movements in the door 2 of the basic cabinet to be absorbed during a fire or a test, but without reducing the pressure on the sealing surfaces of the insert 3. This is very important, as the temperature on the outside of the insert door 4 is between 100 and 170 degrees, and any leakage would have a destructive effect because the maximum temperature inside the data cabinet 3 must be 50 degrees Celsius. This function also prevents the ingress of moisture. The outside of the insert door consists of a water vapour environment under positive pressure, i. e. a very damp environment, and any leakage from this feature would be destructive since the maximum moisture limit for data media is 85% r. h.

In spite of the fact that the data cabinet consists of two separate doors 2, 4, these function as a single door with regard to their opening.

A coupling mechanism 30 is present, which, when the outer door 4 is opened to the extent that the closing system releases its pressure, engages so that the inner door 4 "slides"up parallel with the outer door 2, and vice versa when the latter is closed. This feature enables the door 4 of the data insert 3 to exhibit an entirely independent fire protection function from the door 2 of the basic cabinet 1, while it retains its function as a single opening door from a user-friendly point of view.

The invention also incorporates a security insert 21 illustrated in Fig. 5. Security inserts 21 are provided with the external dimensions of the basic cabinet 1, so that these will fit inside the size of cabinet concerned.

The intention of the security insert 21 is, without affecting the fire protection of the basic cabinet/document cabinet, to increase theft protection to a level equivalent to grade 0 or 1 in accordance with the new European Standard

EN1143-1. Full combination between document protection and theft is achieved by this means.

The safety insert 21 consists of an insert frame 22 installed inside the basic cabinet 1 and a free-standing insert door 23.

The construction is adapted to permit its execution in a final assembly stage.

The insert door 23 is rigidly attached to the inside 2A of the basic cabinet and consists of a physical barrier in the form of sheet metal, the quality of which varies depending on whether the finished product is required to conform to grade 0 or I, and a lock 24 and an interlock 6.

The lock 24, which consists of a number of moving pistons 24A which enter into engagement with the insert frame 22, is actuated externally by a knob 24B. The insert door 23 has no hinge function of its own, but utilizes that of the basic cabinet. The ability of the basic cabinet to offer fire protection does not change in the absence of any intervention on the outside of the cabinet which may have a detrimental effect on its thermal protection.

Interlocking of the door 2 of the basic cabinet remains identical and is supplemented by the frame of the insert door, which raises the theft protection and the manipulation protection to the required level.

Locking of the cabinet is transferred from the door 2 of the basic cabinet to the new insert door 23. The gap created in this way is used to accommodate effective drill protection 28 consisting of an angled manganese steel component.

The technical advantage of the above is that all fitting, free play in the door and positioning between the door 2 of the cabinet and the frame are determined by the original interlocking of the basic cabinet 1, which permits the use of significantly larger tolerances when fitting the interlocking of the insert door 23 to the cabinet frame 7

without affecting its normal use or being evident in the form of free play in the door.

The system can be extended in the future with inserts offering higher theft protection, for instance grades 2 and 3.

The invention is not restricted to the illustrative embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings, but may be varied within the scope of the Patent Claims without departing from the idea of invention.