Login| Sign Up| Help| Contact|

Patent Searching and Data


Title:
FRAME AND DOOR FOR A LOCKER
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2007/118309
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
A doorframe for a locker is a single piece of sheet metal having exterior edges, interior edges and one or more frame hinge halves formed monolithically therein. The doorframe is made from a blank, which is a single piece of material. A door for a locker is formed similarly from a single piece of material, and has one or more door hinge halves formed monolithically therein. The door is pivotally mounted to the doorframe by a pin through intermeshing frame and door hinge halves. The design also includes a security hasp, which prevents such distortion of the door as would allow the doorlock to be breached.

Inventors:
GREEN JOHN (CA)
Application Number:
PCT/CA2007/000610
Publication Date:
October 25, 2007
Filing Date:
April 13, 2007
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
GREEN JOHN (CA)
International Classes:
E06B5/00; B21D11/10; B21D53/74; E06B3/76; E06B3/82
Foreign References:
EP0516961A11992-12-09
GB2393635A2004-04-07
US5693271A1997-12-02
US6948787B22005-09-27
US5470115A1995-11-28
US5802801A1998-09-08
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
ASQUITH, Anthony (Waterloo, Ontario N2T 2P5, CA)
Download PDF:
Claims:

Claims

CLAIM 1. Doorframe for a locker, the doorframe comprising a single piece of material having exterior edges, interior edges and one or more frame hinge halves formed monolithically therein.

CLAIM 2. Door for a locker, the door comprising a single piece of material having exterior edges and one or more door hinge halves formed monolithically therein.

Claim 3. Face panel for a locker, the face panel comprising a doorframe as claimed in claim 1 and a door as claimed in claim 2 pivotally mounted to the frame, the one or more door hinge halves interacting with the one or more frame hinge halves to pivotally mount the door to the frame.

CLAIM 4. Blank for a doorframe for a locker, the blank comprising a sing Le piece of material having a front face portion, interior edge portions extending inwardly from the front face portion into an interior aperture in the blank and exterior edge portions extending outwardly from the front face portion, at least one of the interior edge portions comprising a plurality of spaced-apart tabs .

Claim 5. Blank of claim 4, wherein the front face portion is rectangular .

Claim 6. Blank of claim 4, wherein all of the spaced-apart tabs are on one of the interior edge portions.

Claim 7. Blank of claim 6, wherein the plurality of spaced-apart tabs comprises six sets of spaced-apart tabs.

Claim 8. Blank of claim 7, wherein each set of spaced-apart tabs comprises five tabs.

Claim 9. Doorframe for a locker comprising the blank as claimed in claim 4, wherein the exterior edge portions of the blank are bent back to form exterior edges of the doorframe, the interior edge portions of the blank are bent back to form interior edges of the

doorframe and the plurality of spaced-apart tabs of the blank are rolled to form one or more frame hinge halves on the frame.

Claim 10. Doorframe of claim 9, further comprising a rib in the front face portion raised from a rear of the front face portion.

CLAIM 11. Blank for a door for a locker, the blank comprising a single piece of material having a front face portion and exterior edge portions extending outwardly from the front face portion, at least one of the exterior edge portions comprising a plurality of spaced-apart tabs.

Claim 12. Blank of claim 11, wherein all of the spaced-apart tabs are on one of the exterior edge portions.

Claim 13. Blank of claim 11, wherein the spaced-apart tabs comprises six tabs.

Claim 14. Blank of claim 11, further comprising an aperture in the front face portion.

Claim 15. Door for a locker comprising the blank as claimed in claim 11, wherein the exterior edge portions of the blank are bent back to form exterior edges of the door and the plurality of spaced- apart tabs of the blank are rolled to form one or more door hinge halves on the door.

Claim 16. Door of claim 15, further comprising a handle, the handle formed monolithically in the door by bending back a rim of an aperture in the front face portion of the blank.

Claim 17. Face panel for a locker comprising a doorframe as claimed in claim 9 and a door as claimed in claim 15 pivotally mounted to the doorframe, the one or more door hinge halves interacting with the one or more frame hinge halves to pivotally mount the door to the doorframe.

Claim 18. Face panel of claim 17, wherein the door is pivotally mounted to the doorframe by one or more pins through the one or more frame hinge halves and one or more door hinge halves .

Claim 19. Locker comprising a face panel as claimed in claim 17 and a plurality of walls defining a locker volume.

Claim 20. Process for forming a doorframe for a locker, the process comprising:

[2] providing a blank as claimed in claim 4; [3] bending the interior edge portions to form interior edges of the doorframe; [4] bending the exterior edge portions to form exterior edges of the doorframe; and [5] rolling the plurality of spaced-apart tabs to form frame hinge halves .

Claim 21. Process of claim 20, further comprising pressing a perimetrical groove into the front face portion to form a rib raised from a rear of the front face portion.

Claim 22. Process for forming a door for a locker, the process comprising :

[2] providing a blank as claimed in claim 11; [3] bending the exterior edge portions to form exterior edges of the door; and [4] rolling the plurality of spaced-apart tabs to form door hinge halves .

Claim 23. Process of claim 22, further comprising forming a handle in the door by bending back a rim of an aperture in the front face portion of the blank.

CLAIM 24. Process for making a doorframe for a locker, including: [5] providing a blank of sheet metal, which is formed with planar tabs, from which hinge pin receptacles are to be formed, and in respect of each tab: [6] in a first press stroke in the direction at right angles to the plane of the sheet metal, curling an end portion of the tab downwards out of that plane, where the curled end portion comprises, at least approximately, one quadrant of a cylinder; [7] in a second press stroke in that same direction, bending the tab as a whole upwards out of that plane;

[8] in a third press stroke in that same direction, curling the tab as a whole downwards, thereby forming the tab into a whole cylinder, or almost a whole cylinder, which is suitable for receiving a hinge pin.

Claim 25. As in claim 24, including: [2] in the first or second press stroke, also pressing a rib into the sheet metal, in a portion of the doorframe other than the tabs, and alongside the tabs; [3] utilising that rib as a tooling abutment, to hold the doorframe steady, while applying the third press stroke.

CLAIM 26. Process for making a door for a locker, including:

[2] providing a blank of sheet metal, which is formed with planar tabs, from which hinge pin receptacles are to be formed;

[3] and in respect of each tab:-

[4] - in a first press stroke in the direction at right angles to the plane of the sheet metal, curling an end portion of the tab downwards out of that plane, where the curled end portion comprises, at least approximately, one quadrant of a cylinder;

[5] - in a second press stroke in that same direction, bending the tab as a whole upwards out of that plane,-

[6] - in a third press stroke in that same direction, curling the tab as a whole downwards, thereby forming the tab into a whole cylinder, or almost a whole cylinder, which is suitable for receiving a hinge pin.

CLAIM 27. Locker door assembly for a locker, including:

[2] a door, which includes a single basically rectangular piece of sheet metal that has been bent over at the edges to form an edge-skirt ;

[3] protruding outwards from one of the edges of the single piece of metal are integral tabs that have been rolled over to form cylinders suitable for receiving a hinge pin,-

[4] a doorframe, which includes a single piece of sheet metal having a central aperture defined by a basically rectangular perimeter, which has been bent to form a uni-planar front- face and an inner-skirt; and

[5] protruding from one side of the perimeter, inwards into the

aperture, are tabs that have been rolled over to form cylinders suitable for receiving a hinge pin.

CLAIM 28. Locker door assembly for a locker, including:

[2] a door, which includes a piece of sheet metal that has been bent over at the edges to form an edge-skirt,-

[3] a doorframe, which includes a piece of sheet metal that was bent over to form a front-face and an inner-skirt;

[4] the inner-skirt was formed by so bending the sheet metal of the doorframe that the inner-skirt lies orthogonally with respect to the front-face,-

[5] the assembly includes a hasp, which is formed with an inner-skirt and a blocking- finger ;

[6] the hasp is attached to the doorframe;

[7] the hasp is formed with a security- finger ,-

[8] the hasp is so shaped as to define a hasp-channel between the security-finger of the hasp and the inner-skirt of the doorframe;

[9] the assembly is so arranged that, when the door is closed, the edge-skirt of the door lies in the hasp-channel, between the security-finger of the hasp and the inner-skirt of the doorframe ;

[10] the hasp-channel is narrow enough that, when the door is closed, and the edge-skirt of the door lies within the hasp- channel, the edge-skirt of the door substantially cannot be distorted inwards, relative to the door frame, without at the same time requiring a corresponding distortion of the security-finger .

Claim 29. As in claim 28, wherein: [2] the sheet metal of the door, and the sheet metal of the door frame, are I 1 A millimetres in thickness, or more; [3] the hasp is formed from sheet metal that is 2 1 A mm in thickness, or more.

Claim 30. As in claim 28, wherein:

[2] the hasp has a cross-sectional profile that includes the inner- skirt and the security-finger, and includes also a front- face-portion and a bridge-portion,-

[3] the profile of the hasp lies secured inside the profile of the

doorframe,- [4] the front-face portion of the hasp profile lies adjacent to and behind the front face of the doorframe; [5] the bridge-portion of the hasp profile bridges between the security-finger and the inner-skirt of the hasp, and forms a base or closed end of the hasp-channel.

Claim 31. As in claim 28, wherein:

[2] the hasp is formed with a latch-tongue, which extends inwards from the doorframe;

[3] the door includes an operable lock, having a lock-bolt that is movable between an unlocked position and a locked position;

[4] in its unlocked position, the lock-bolt lies clear of the latch- tongue of the hasp, and the door can move freely between open and closed positions thereof;

[5] in its locked position, the lock-bolt engages the latch-tongue of the hasp, in such manner that the door is thereby blocked from moving from its closed to its open position;

Claim 32. As in claim 28, wherein: [2] the edge-skirt of the door includes a skirt-lip, which has been formed by bending the sheet metal of the edge-skirt inwards ; [3] the skirt-lip has width in the direction parallel to the plane of the door; [4] whereby the edge-skirt of the door includes, in its overall thickness, the width of the skirt-lip,- and [5] the width of the hasp-channel is dimensioned to be a loose clearance fit over the overall thickness of the edge-skirt.

Description:

Title: FRAME AND DOOR FOR A LOCKER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present invention relates to lockers, particularly to frames and doors for lockers. More particularly, the present invention relates to blanks for production of frames and doors for lockers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[002] Lockers are used in schools, sports facilities and other buildings to store, often on a temporary basis, the personal effects of people visiting or using the building. Theft from and vandalism of such lockers is an endemic problem, the theft and vandalism usually accompanied by damage to the face panel of the locker. Such theft and vandalism results in the loss of valuables to the person using the locker and in great expense in replacing or repairing damaged lockers.

[003] Many types of lockers and door frame assemblies are known in the art. United States Patents 4,289,363, 5,802,801,4,579,400, 5,327,682, and 6,151,848, British Patent Publication 2,393,635 and published European Patent Application 516,961 are illustrative of such lockers and/or door frame assemblies. A common problem in all such lockers and door frame assemblies is that one or more of the parts of the frame and/or door are welded, or otherwise attached by some attachment means, to the frame or door. Such welds or attachments lead to weaknesses in the structure of the frame and/or door. Thus, the frame and/or door, and therefore the locker, is more susceptible to damage and forced entry. Further, having to make welds or other attachments in the process of fabricating the frame and/or door is more expensive and time consuming since more steps in the process, more types of equipment and more labour are required to make the frame and door .

[004] There remains a need in the art for frames and doors for lockers that are stronger, more resistant to damage and are cheaper and easier to produce.

PREFERRED FEATURES OF THE INVENTION

[005] There is provided a frame for a locker, the frame comprising a single piece of material having exterior edges, interior edges and one or more frame hinge halves formed monolithically therein.

[006] There is further provided a door for a locker, the door comprising a single piece of material having exterior edges and one or more door hinge halves formed monolithically therein.

[007] There is yet further provided a face panel for a locker, the face panel comprising a frame as described above and a door as described above pivotally mounted to the frame, the one or more door hinge halves interacting with the one or more frame hinge halves to pivotally mount the door to the frame.

[008] There is still yet further provided a blank for a frame for a locker, the blank comprising a single piece of material having a front face portion, interior edge portions extending inwardly from the front face portion into an interior aperture in the blank and exterior edge portions extending outwardly from the front face portion, at least one of the interior edge portions comprising a plurality of spaced- apart tabs .

[009] There is still yet further provided a frame for a locker, the frame comprising the blank described above wherein the exterior edge portions of the blank are bent back to form exterior edges of the frame, the interior edge portions of the blank are bent back to form interior edges of the frame and the plurality of spaced-apart tabs of the blank are rolled to form one or more frame hinge halves on the frame .

[0010] There is still yet further provided a blank for a door for a locker, the blank comprising a single piece of material having a front face portion and exterior edge portions extending outwardly from the front face portion, at least one of the exterior edge portions comprising a plurality of spaced-apart tabs.

[0011] There is still yet further provided a door for a locker, the door comprising the blank described above wherein the exterior edge

portions of the blank are bent back to form exterior edges of the door and the plurality of spaced-apart tabs of the blank are rolled to form one or more door hinge halves on the door.

[0012] There is still yet further provided a locker comprising a frame as described above, a door as described above and a plurality of walls defining a locker volume.

[0013] There is still yet further provided a process for forming a frame for a locker, the process comprising: providing a blank for a frame as described above,- bending the interior edge portions to form interior edges of the frame; bending the exterior edge portions to form exterior edges of the frame; and rolling the plurality of spaced-apart tabs to form frame hinge halves.

[0014] There is still yet further provided a process for forming a door for a locker, the process comprising: providing a blank for a door as described above; bending the exterior edge portions to form exterior edges of the door; and rolling the plurality of spaced-apart tabs to form door hinge halves.

[0015] The frame comprises a monolithic structure in which required elements of the frame including the edges and the one or more hinge halves are formed from a blank comprising a single piece of material. The door comprises a monolithic structure in which required elements of the door including the edges and the one or more hinge halves are formed from a blank comprising a single piece of material. Blanks may be created from sheet material by any suitable method, for example, die stamping, laser cutting, etc. Die stamping is of particular note.

[0016] To form a frame or door, elements of an appropriate blank are subjected to forming, preferably die forming, to form corresponding elements of the frame or door. Die forming generally comprises bending the blank in various places using one or more appropriately tooled dies. Any number of die forming steps, and therefore any number of dies, may be used in the forming process.

[0017] It is preferable to use as few steps and dies as possible to reduce cost and to reduce stress to the material. Preferably, from 1 to 4 die forming steps are required to form a finished frame or door.

[0018] The material of which blanks are made is preferably a durable material that can be formed into the frame or door by die forming. Such materials include, for example, metals and thermoplastics. Preferably, the material is steel. A blank has a thickness, which may or may not be uniform throughout the blank. A blank is preferably sufficiently thin to permit die forming, while being thick enough so that the frame or door formed therefrom is strong and can withstand a considerable amount of damage. The thickness is preferably in a range of from about 0.060-0.067 inches, for example about 0.065 inches.

[0019] A face panel is a combination of a frame and at least one door pivotally mounted to the frame. In one embodiment, the face panel may comprise a frame of the present invention and a door of the present invention. In another embodiment, the face panel may comprise a frame of the present invention and a door not of the present invention made to fit the frame. In yet another embodiment, the face panel may comprise a door of the present invention and a frame not of the present invention made to accommodate the door. Preferably, the face panel comprises a frame of the present invention and a door of the present invention .

[0020] The face panel may be part of a new locker, or may be fitted to an existing locker so that the whole locker does not need to be replaced in the event of damage to the original face panel . Face panels may have one or more doors, with two door and six door models being common in many institutions. In multiple door models, the doors are commonly aligned in a vertical manner within the frame, although aligning the doors horizontally is also possible, particularly when the locker is oriented horizontally rather than vertically. In multiple door models, a single locker is generally sub-divided into multiple compartments and the doors are aligned with each compartment. Face panels of the present invention may also be used with banks of lockers.

[0021] Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, embodiments thereof will now be described in detail by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. IA is a plan view of a blank for a frame in accordance with the present invention;

Fig.l B is a detailed view of area A in Fig.l A;

Fig.2A is a plan view of the blank depicted in Fig. IA after a first forming operation;

Fig.2B is a detailed view of area B in Fig.2A;

Fig.2C is a cross-sectional view through C-C in Fig.2A;

Fig.3A is a plan view of the blank depicted in Fig.2A after a second forming operation;

Fig.3B is a detailed view of area D in Fig.3A;

Fig.3C is a cross-sectional view through E-E in Fig.3A;

Fig.4A is a plan view of a frame in accordance with the present invention comprising the blank depicted in Fig.3A after a third forming operation;

Fig.4B is a detailed view of area F in Fig.4A;

Fig.4C is a cross-sectional view through G-G in Fig.4A;

Fig.5 is a plan view of a blank for a door in accordance with the present invention;

Fig.βA is a plan view of the blank depicted in Fig.5A after a first forming operation;

Fig.βB is a magnified end view of the blank depicted in Fig.5A after a first forming operation;

Fig.7 A is a plan view of the blank depicted in Fig.βA after a second forming operation;

Fig.7B is a magnified end view of the blank depicted in Fig.βA after a second forming operation;

Fig.8A is a plan view of a door in accordance with the present invention comprising the blank depicted in Fig.7A after a third forming operation;

Fig.8B is a magnified end view of a door in accordance with the present invention comprising the blank depicted in Fig.8A after a third forming operation;

Figs.9A to 9D are front views of locker face panels in accordance with invention having one door, two doors, six doors and four doors, respectively .

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Frames :

[0023] Referring to Figs. IA and 1 B, frame blank 1 for a generally rectangular locker frame is depicted after it has been die stamped from a single flat piece of steel and before any further forming operations have been performed. Blank 1 has front face portion 2, four interior edge portions 3a-d extending inwardly from front face portion 2 into central aperture 4, and has four exterior edge portions 5a-d extending outwardly from front face portion 2. Between the four interior edge portions are four interior corner slots 6a-d which will permit bending of the interior edge portions in later forming operations. The slots are shaped to provide further frame features as forming operations are performed. Six sets of spaced-apart tabs 7a-f are formed in interior edge portion 3a on one side of the blank. As shown in Fig.l S, a detailed view of one set of tabs 7a shows that there are five spaced- apart tabs per set. Holes 8 (only two labelled) are formed in the top and bottom of the blank, and will act as ventilation holes in the finished frame. Preferably, the holes are recessed into the frame, so that no sharp edges are presented.

[0024] Using an appropriately tooled die, a first die forming operation is performed on blank 1 of Fig. IA to form the blank into a form as shown in Fig.2A. Referring to Figs.2A-2C, exterior edge portions 5a-d of the blank are bent back at right-angles from front face portion 2 to form the exterior edges of the frame. Interior edge portions 3a-d are bent back at a right-angles from front face portion 2 to form the interior edges of the frame. Due to the shape of the corner slots depicted in Fig. IA, when interior edge portions 3b and 3c are bent back, the very edges of the two interior edge portions can be bent another ninety degrees to remain parallel to the front face portion to form top lip 10 and side lip 11, respectively. The lips help form a better seal at the top and side of a locker face panel once a door is mounted to the frame. Further, as best seen in Fig.2C, each tab in sets of tabs 7a-f is bent back at a tip of the tab at an angle of 9-degrees from the front face portion.

[0025] Using an appropriately tooled die, a second die forming operation is performed on the blank of Fig.2A to form the blank into a form as shown in Fig.3A. Referring to Figs.3A-3C, in the second die forming operation, each tab in the sets of tabs 7a-f is bent at their

bases at right-angles from front face portion 2 so that each tab extends in a direction opposite interior edges 3a-d. This is best seen in Fig.3C which shows set of tabs 7b pointing in a direction at right- angles from front face portion 2 and in a direction 180-degrees from interior edge 3a. Thus, the plurality of tabs all point toward the front of the frame. Additionally, rib 15 is formed completely around the blank in front face portion 2 by pressing a perimetrical groove into the front face portion. Rib 15 is raised from a rear of the front face portion and will further strengthen the frame and reduce the possibility of bowing.

[0026] Using an appropriately tooled die, a third and final die forming operation is performed on the blank of Fig.3A to form a finished frame as shown in Fig.4A. Referring to Figs.4A-4C, sets of tabs 7a-f are rolled to form six frame hinge halves.

[0027] Referring to Figs.1-4, it can be seen that through a sequence of three die forming operations, frame blank 1 comprising a single flat piece of steel can be formed into a monolithic frame for a face panel for a locker. Exterior edge portions 5a-d of the blank become the exterior edges of the frame. Interior edge portions 3a-d of the blank become lips 10,11 and the interior edges of the frame. The six sets of spaced-apart tabs 7a-f of the blank become the six frame hinge halves of the frame. Front face portion 2 of the blank becomes the front face of the frame. Holes 8 in the blank become ventilation holes in the frame. Other features can be tooled into the blank to serve various functions in the frame, for example, rib 15 formed into the blank strengthens the frame.

Doors :

[0028] Referring to Fig.5, door blank 51 for a generally rectangular locker door is depicted after it has been die stamped from a single flat piece of steel and before any further forming operations have been performed. Blank 51 has front face portion 52 with aperture 54 therein, and has four exterior edge portions 55a-d extending outwardly from front face portion 52. Six sets of spaced-apart tabs 57a-f are formed in exterior edge portion 55a on one side of the blank. There are six spaced-apart tabs per set, which will ultimately form

door hinge halves that will intermesh with the frame hinge halves in a face panel. Aperture 54 is bounded by rim 58. Rim 58 has upper interior edge portion 53 between slots 56a, 56b. The slots will permit bending of the upper interior edge portion to a greater extent.

[0029] Using an appropriately tooled die, a first die forming operation is performed on blank 51 of Fig.5 to form the blank into a form as shown in Figs.6A and 6B. Referring to Figs.6A and 6B, exterior edge portion 55a and part of exterior edge portions 55b-d are bent back at right-angles from front face portion 52. Exterior edge portion 55a forms the exterior edge of the door on the side of the door that will have the hinge halves. The bent parts of exterior edge portions 55b-d will ultimately form rear, inwardly pointing lips running around the other three exterior edges of the door. As best seen in Fig.6B, each tab in sets of tabs 57a-f (only 57f shown in Fig.6B) is bent back at a tip of the tab at right-angles from the front face portion. As best seen in Fig.6B, upper interior edge portion 53 is bent back at right angles from front face portion 2. Rim 58 is pushed forward so that the rim protrudes forwardly from front face portion 52 with upper interior edge portion 53 protruding back from the blank.

[0030] Using an appropriately tooled die, a second die forming operation is performed on the blank of Fig.6A to form the blank into a form as shown in Figs.7A and 7B. Referring to Figs.7A and 7B, in the second die forming operation, each tab in the sets of tabs 57a-f is bent at their bases at right-angles from front face portion 52 so that each tab extends forwardly of front face portion 52. This is best seen in Fig.7B, which shows set of tabs 57f pointing in a direction at right-angles from front face portion 52.

[0031] Using an appropriately tooled die, a third and final die forming operation is performed on the blank of Fig.7 A to form a door as shown in Figs .8A and 8B. Referring to Figs.8A and 8B, exterior edge portions 55b-d are bent back at right-angles from front face portion 2 to form the exterior edges of the door on their respective sides. As indicated in connection with Fig.6, the previously bent parts of exterior edge portions 55b-d form rear, inwardly pointing lips running around these three exterior edges of the door. Further, sets of tabs 57a-f are rolled to form six door hinge halves.

[0032] Referring to Figs.5-8, it can be seen that through a sequence of three die forming operations, door blank 51 comprising a single flat piece of steel can be formed into a monolithic door for a face panel for a locker. Exterior edge portions 55a-d of the blank become the exterior edges of the door. The six sets of spaced-apart tabs 57a-f of the blank become the six door hinge halves of the door.

[0033] Front face portion 2 of the blank becomes the front face of the door. Rim 58 and upper interior edge portion 53 of the blank become the handle of the door and provide a location where a locking mechanism can be mounted.

Door / Doorframe Assemblies .

[0034] Referring to Figs.9A-9D, four variations of assemblies are shown, all of which combine monolithic frames and monolithic doors of the present invention. A single frame can accommodate various numbers of doors. As shown in Figs.9A-9D, a single frame having six frame hinge halves can accommodate one, two, six or four doors by providing doors of appropriate size with door hinge halves placed to coincide with the frame hinge halves. Thus, it can be seen that the doorframe and door of the present invention are particularly advantageous as a single design of doorframe can be utilized in many different locker variations, and replacement of the frame is simple and cost effective as one size of frame fits all the variations.

[0035] Referring to Fig.9A, an assembly having one large door is shown. Door 62 is pivotally mounted to frame 60 at six hinges 63 (only one labelled) . Six door hinge halves of the door intermesh with six frame hinge halves of the frame, the intermeshed hinge halves held together with pins.

[0036] Referring to Fig.98, an assembly having two doors is shown. Upper and lower doors 72, 74 are pivotally mounted to a single frame 70. Three door hinge halves of upper door 72 intermesh with three of the frame hinge halves of the frame to form three hinges 73 (only one labelled) , the intermeshed hinge halves held together with pins. Three door hinge halves of lower door 74 intermesh with three of the frame hinge halves of the frame to form three hinges 75 (only one labelled)

the intermeshed hinge halves held together with pins.

[0037] Referring to Fig.9C, an assembly having six doors is shown. Doors 81a-f are pivotally mounted to a single frame 80 at hinges 82a-f . Each door has one door hinge half, which is intermeshed with one of the frame hinge halves . The intermeshed hinge halves are held together with pins.

[0038] Referring to Fig.9D, an assembly having four doors is shown. Three identically sized doors 91a-c are pivotally mounted to a single frame 90 at single hinges 92a-c. One larger sized door 93 is pivotally mounted to the same frame 90 at three hinges 94 (only one labelled) . Each of the smaller doors 91a-c has one door hinge half, which is intermeshed with one of the frame hinge halves. The larger door 93 has three door hinge halves, which are intermeshed with three of the frame hinge halves. The intermeshed hinge halves are held together with pins .

[0039] Behind the door / doorframe assemblies are lockers. Lockers have a floor, a ceiling and three walls. Where the face panel has more than one door, the lockers also comprise shelves to create separated compartments, each compartment accessed by a different door.

[0040] Other advantages which are inherent to the structure are obvious to one skilled in the art. The embodiments are described herein illustratively and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention as claimed. Variations of the foregoing embodiments will be evident to a person of ordinary skill and are intended by the inventor to be encompassed by the following claims.

[0041] The manner of forming the hinges will now be further described. Lockers often have a very tall-by-narrow configuration, and the locker door is hinged along the long side. Traditionally, locker door hinges are a major problem. Even if only two hinges are provided, the hinges components have to be accurately aligned on the doorframe and door, often using nuts and bolts, which are expensive, and the task is labour intensive. The long dimension of the door requires that a large number of hinges be used, per door. With increased numbers of hinges, the problems of alignment increase exponentially. Conventional lockers usually have too few door hinges, therefore, and those few have

to be designed to be loose. In any event, in all too many traditional locker designs, the hinges quickly work loose, and become sprained and otherwise distorted.

[0042] The present design addresses these problems. With the new design, a full height locker door can have six hinges, spaced evenly over the height of the door. Each hinge is highly accurately formed, and meshes tightly with the complementary hinge components. Because the hinges are formed directly into the press-stamped door and doorframe, this accuracy is achieved virtually for nothing on the production line. The accuracy can be maintained repeatedly, locker after locker, over a long production run.

[0043] It is convenient to utilise three press strokes, in order to make the hinge forms (not counting the strokes needed to stamp out the blank sheets) . The first bending stroke of the press curls over the outer edge of the tab 7b,57f as shown in Figs.2C,6B. The second stroke bends the tab 7b,57f at right angles to the plane of the front- face portion 2 of the doorframe, or to the plane of the front panel 52 of the door. The third stroke curls the upright tab 7b, 57f over in a circle, as shown in Figs.4C,8B.

[0044] The fact that three press strokes are needed to form the hinges might be regarded as an unwarranted extra expense. However, making the hinges unitary with the door and doorframe gives rise to huge cost savings in terms of the mainly-manual tasks that can thereby be eliminated. The fact of the three press strokes also means that other areas of the door and doorframe can be more sophisticated as to the manner of forming: for example, the handle of the door might be difficult to form integrally in the door blank if only two strokes were provided. Thus, the production cost of providing three strokes is more than made up by the savings attributable thereto.

[0045] The groove or ridge 15 in the doorframe has been mentioned, as has the fact of forming the ridge preferably on the second press stroke. The effect of this is that the ridge is already present at the time of performing the third stroke. The ridge can therefore be used as a tooling abutment, whereby the tooling helps to hold the doorframe in place, and block the metal of the front-face-portion of the doorframe from being tugged laterally, during the third stroke, while

the tab is being curled over.

[0046] The doorframe is relatively narrow as to its lateral extent, of course, as compared with the door. The door presents a very large area, which is easy to grip, and to hold in place, in the press tools. The doorframe, being narrow, is less easy to grip tightly, which is why the ridge is especially beneficial in the doorframe. Of course, there is nothing to stop the designer providing a ridge also in the door.

[0047] As explained below, it is through the gap 101 (Fig.10) between the door and the doorframe that a thief will try to pry the doors open. In the design as depicted herein, the accuracy with which the hinges are inevitably formed is beneficial also in that it enables the designer to minimise the gap 101.

[0048] Fig.10 also shows the walls 103 of the locker, to which the door / doorframe assembly is attached (usually with nuts and bolts, not shown) . It will be noted that the assembly as depicted is relatively short in the front/back direction. This means that the designer can conveniently arrange for the shelves inside the locker to extend forwards, right up to the back of the door. The line 105 in Fig.10 indicates where the forward extremity of the shelves can lie. If there were a large space between the front of the shelves and the back of the door, that would mean there might be access from one open locker compartment into the compartment below or above, even though those other components might be behind locked doors. The designer therefore should seek to minimise the space between the front of the shelves and the backs of the doors, and the short nature of the doorframe of the present design permits that to be so.

[0049] Even though the doorframe is short in the front/back sense, the designer is able to set the door deep within the doorframe, which is advantageous for safety as well as appearance reasons. When the front face of the doorframe is co-planar with the front panel of the door, the designer can easily arrange that nothing protrudes beyond the plane of the door that might catch or snag on locker users or passers- by.

[0050] Figs .10 , 11 , 12 show the use of a security hasp. The hasp 107 is profiled to fit inside the profile of the doorframe 109. The door

110 has been fitted with a doorlock 112. The lock unit 112 is riveted to a lock-panel 114, which is welded to the rim 58 of the aperture 54 in the door panel. The lock-panel 114 is of stainless steel. (If the lock-panel were painted, like most other components of lockers, the paint around the lock and handle would quickly become scratched and unsightly. )

[0051] The hasp 107 is attached (welded) into the profile of the doorframe 109. A latch-tongue 116 of the hasp extends inwardly, and engages with the lock-bolt 118 of the doorlock 112. In Fig.12, the other components of the door 110, including the lock-panel 114, are omitted -- only the lock unit 112 is shown. The lock-unit is shown in the door-closed position.

[0052] The components of the hasp and the door and doorframe are described as follows. The hasp includes an outer-skirt 120, a front- face 123, an inner-skirt 125, a bridge-portion 127, a security-finger 129, and the latch-tongue 116. The door includes a front panel 130, an edge-skirt 132, of which a skirt-lip 134 is an extension, and an inner-skin 136. The inner-skin 136 is welded to the piece of sheet metal that forms the front panel 130 and the edge-skirt 132, its main purpose being to rigidify the door.

[0053] Fig.11 shows the door in an open condition. A channel is defined in the doorframe, between the interior edge-portion 3a of the doorframe profile and the security-finger 129 of the hasp. The base of this channel is defined by the bridge-portion 127 of the hasp (and by the side lip 11 of the doorframe) , the resulting channel being termed the hasp-channel 138.

[0054] When the door is closed (Fig.10), the edge-skirt 132 of the door enters the hasp-channel 138. The edge-skirt 132 (which includes the skirt-lip 134) lies contained within the hasp-channel, between the interior edge portion 3c of the doorframe (which is backed by the inner-skirt 125 of the hasp) and the security-finger 129 of the hasp. As shown in Fig.10, part of the inner skin 136 of the door is cut away, at 140, to allow the security-finger 129 to lie alongside the edge- skirt 132 of the door.

[0055] The inner-skirt 125 of the hasp is in contact with the

interior edge-portion 3a of the doorframe. The front-face 123 of the hasp is in contact with the front-face 2 of the doorframe, or at least is in contact with the rib 15 thereof. The outer-skirt 120 of the hasp is in contact with exterior edge portion 5c of the doorframe. The hasp is welded into position in the doorframe, whereby the hasp serves as a highly effective reinforcement to the doorframe, in the area which is engaged by the lock 112.

[0056] Fig.10 shows a pry-bar 143 about to be inserted into the gap 101 between the edge-skirt 132 of the (closed) door and the interior edge portion 3c of the doorframe. The thief now attempts to drive the edge-skirt 132 to the right, in the hope of moving the lock area of the door far enough rightwards that the lock-bolt 118 moves clear of the latch-tongue 116, thereby enabling the (damaged) door to be opened. (This manoeuvre is all too often successful with most designs of locker . )

[0057] In the design as shown, the presence of the security-finger 129 prevents the edge-skirt of the door, and thus the lock area of the door, from moving rightwards relative to the latch-tongue.

[0058] It is practically impossible, or at least is very difficult, for a thief to apply a force to the gap 101 in such a manner that the lock-bolt 118 moves clear of the latch-tongue 116. When abused, the doorframe will twist, and even collapse, before a force can be brought to bear, on the hasp, that would tend to open out the hasp-channel 138. Thus, the lock will still hold the door closed even though the door and the doorframe might have undergone considerable distortion. Of course, no system is secure against a determined thief with tools and time. But the kind of thief who breaks into lockers is typically a casual opportunist, and the security system based on the profiled hasp, as described, is highly effective against thieves like that.

[0059] The hasp 107 itself is made of thicker sheet metal (typically three millimetres) than the profiled sheet metal of the door and doorframe (typically IV- mm) .

[0060] As described, the lock is a component of the door and the hasp is a component of the door frame. In an alternative (less preferred) version, the lock is a component of the doorframe, and the

hasp is a component of the door.

[0061] The orientations as described herein (e.g up/down, etc) are not intended to be limiting in scope. Rather, such terms should be construed as they apply to a design depicted on paper, where the paper can be placed m any orientation The terms apply if there is at least one orientation of the paper in which the terms can be applied consistently