Abstract:
A cabinet having a frame, a plurality of posts and a plurality of connector assemblies. The connector assemblies adapted to connect the posts to the frame. The connector assembly is provided with a gusset fixed to the frame, and a clamp plate connected to the gusset and received in the post so as to be engageable with a portion of the post. The clamp plate being movable with respect to the gusset such that upon movement of the clamp plate toward the gusset the clamp plate clamps the post between the clamp plate and at least one of the gusset and the frame, and a clamp plate.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/400,113, filed Mar. 26, 2003, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to the provisional application identified by application Ser. No. 60/368,390, filed on Mar. 28, 2002, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to the field of cabinets for holding electronic equipment. In particular, the present invention is directed to a cabinet frame having precision modular construction, and providing a rack for rack-mounted electronic equipment such as servers and telecommunications equipment. 
   The electronic cabinets are used to hold electronic equipment in a space-efficient configuration. The electronic equipment is configured with flanges for mounting to a rack inside the cabinet. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cabinet constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a fragmental, perspective view of a connector assembly, constructed in accordance with the present invention, connecting a post to a frame. 
       FIG. 3  is another perspective view of the connector assembly. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a frame constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a corner gusset plate being connected to the frame depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a post constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
       FIGS. 7–9  illustrate the connection of the post to the frame using the connector assembly. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring now to the drawings and, in particular to  FIG. 1  shown therein, and designated by reference numeral  10  is a cabinet constructed in accordance with the present invention. As will be explained in more detail below, the cabinet  10  is provided with modular construction so that the cabinet  10  is typically configured for supporting electronic equipment  11 , such as a server or telecom equipment. The cabinet  10  can be shipped when unassembled and then assembled on-site without any sacrifice of structural integrity or quality of the finally assembled cabinet  10 . The cabinet  10  is typically supplied complete with front/rear doors, side panels, top and base plates, fan plate assembly, adjustable feet, grounding kit, depth members and adjustable mounting verticals. Other optional accessory parts, including plain/vented front panels, cable trays, chassis runners, sliding shelves, fixed shelves, front stabilizing foot, and castors. 
   The cabinet  10  is provided with two top/base frames  12 . The top frame will be designated hereinafter as  12   a , and the base frame will be designated hereinafter as  12   b . In one preferred embodiment, the top frame  12   a  and the base frame  12   b  are identical in construction and function and thus, when referring in general to such construction, the top frame  12   a  or the base frame  12   b  will simply be referred to as the “frame  12 ”. 
   The cabinet  10  is also provided with one or more posts  16 , and one or more connector assembly  18  (see  FIG. 2 ). The connector assembly  18  connects the post  16  to the frame  12 . 
   In one preferred embodiment, the cabinet  10  can be characterized as a rectangular cabinet constructed of the top frame  12   a , the base frame  12   b , four posts  16  and eight connector assemblies  18 . In this embodiment, the top frame  12   a  and the base frame  12   b  substantially correspond in size and are both provided with a rectangular shape defining four corners  20  (only one of the corners  20  of the top frame and base frame  12   a  and  12   b  are designated herein for purposes of clarity. Each of the posts  16  is positioned adjacent to one of the corners  20  of the top frame  12   a  and the base frame  12   b  and extends between the top frame  12   a  and the base frame  12   b . Two connector assemblies  18  are provided for connecting each of the posts  16  to the top frame  12   a  and the base frame  12   b.    
   As best shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the connector assembly  18  includes a corner gusset plate  24 , and a corner clamp plate  26 . When the cabinet is assembled, the corner gusset plate  24  is rigidly supported by the frame  12 . The corner clamp plate  26  is supported by the corner gusset plate  24  and spaced a distance therefrom to form a channel  28  between at least a portion of the corner gusset plate  24  and the corner clamp plate  26 . At least a portion of the post  16  is positioned within the channel  28  and clamped between the corner gusset plate  24  and the corner clamp plate  26 . For example, the corner clamp plate  26  can be connected to the corner gusset plate  24  by a M12×25 button-head allen screw  27 . However, it should be understood that the corner gusset plate  24  can be connected to the corner clamp plate  26  by any other suitable method or assembly, such as a wingnut screw, a carriage screw, a clamping device, keys, magnets, or any other type of mechanical or magnetic assembly capable of changing the relative width of the channel  28  to clamp the post  16  as described herein. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the frame  12  will now be described in more detail. The frame  12  includes a horizontal wall  40  and a vertical sidewall  42 . One or more slots  46  ( FIG. 9 ) are formed in the horizontal wall  40  of the frame  12 . In the example shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the frame  12  is provided with four corners  20 , and four slots  46  are formed in the horizontal wall  40  adjacent each of the corners  20 . Thus, the horizontal wall  40  of the frame  12  includes sixteen slots  46 . 
   Each of the corner gusset plates  24  is provided with at least one tab  48  ( FIG. 9 ) which is positioned within one of the slots  46 . In the example shown in the drawings, each of the corner gusset plates  24  is provided with four tabs  48  which correspond to the four slots  46  provided in each of the corners  20 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  6 , the corner gusset plates  24  each include a vertical sidewall  50 . At least one of the frame  12  and the corner gusset plate  24  have one or more holes  54  formed in the vertical sidewalls  42  and  50 , and the other one of the frame  12  and the corner gusset plate  24  includes a semi-shear  58  positioned in the hole  54 . 
   In the example shown in  FIG. 4 , three holes  54  are formed in the vertical sidewall  42  of the frame  12 . In this example, the frame  12  is provided with a first end  62 , an opposed second end  64 , a first side  66 , an opposed second side  68 , and four vertical sidewalls  42 . Two of the vertical sidewalls  42  extend generally between the first end  62  and the second end  64 . The other two vertical sidewalls  42  extend generally between the first side  66  and the second side  68 . Each vertical sidewall  42  has six holes  54  with three of the holes  54  in each vertical sidewall  42  being located adjacent to one of the corners  20 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , each corner gusset plate  24  has four semi-shears  58  connected to the vertical sidewall  50 . The four semi-shears  58  of each corner gusset plate  24  are disposed in four of the six holes  54  located adjacent to each corner  20 . The other two holes  54  adjacent to each corner  20  receive a connecting device  70 , such as a bolt, washer and nut, for connecting the vertical sidewalls  42  and  50  together. The semi-shear  58  functions to ensure the accurate placement or alignment of the corner gusset plate  24  in the corner positions. By ensuring accurate alignment of the corner gusset plate  24  in the top/bottom frame  12 , the alignment of the corner posts  16  are guaranteed a precision fit. 
   The corner gusset plate  24  is connected to the frame  12  by any suitable assembly such as glue, screws, magnets, or the like. For example, in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the corner gusset plate  24  is provided with a horizontal plate  80 . The horizontal plate  80  is rigidly connected to the horizontal wall  40  of the frame  12  via any suitable assembly  81 , such as a bolt. 
   The vertical sidewall  50  of the corner gusset plate  24  can be characterized as having at least two wall portions  86  and  88 . The two wall portions  86  and  88  are disposed angularly with respect to each other such that the two wall portions  86  and  88  generally align with the vertical sidewall  42  of the frame  12 . When the frame  12  is a rectangular frame, the wall portions  86  and  88  are disposed about 90° with respect to each other. In other words, the vertical sidewalls  42  and  50  of the frame  12  and the corner gusset plate  24  can be characterized as “mutually orthogonal vertical sidewalls.” 
   To connect the wall portions  86  and  88  together, the vertical sidewall  50  is provided with a third wall portion  90  positioned in between the wall portions  86  and  88 . Preferably, the vertical sidewall  50  is formed of sheet metal which has been bent to form the wall portions  86 ,  88  and  90 . In the preferred embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the corner clamp plate  26  is supported by the wall portion  90  of the corner gusset plate  24 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 6–9 , the post  16  includes a first end  100 , an opposed second end  102 , and one or more flanges  104  extending at least partly therebetween. The flanges  104  are sized and dimensioned to be inserted into the channel  28  formed between the corner clamp plate  26  and the corner gusset plate  24  to connect the post  16  to the frame  12 . The first end  100  and the second end  102  of the post  16  are substantially identical in construction and function. Thus, only the first end  100  will be described hereinafter. The first end  100  of the post  16  includes a pair of recessed portions  108  separated from a medial portion  110  by a pair of shoulders  112 . The size of the shoulders  112  can vary widely. However, in one preferred embodiment, the size of the shoulders  112  corresponds to the thickness of the horizontal wall  40  of the frame  12  such that the recessed portions  108  engage the horizontal wall  40  when the post  12  is positioned in an installed position ( FIGS. 8 and 9 ) at the corner  20  of the frame  12 . The post  16  can be provided with any suitable assembly for connecting the optional accessories discussed above to the post  16 . For example, the post  16  can be provided with a series of holes  120  so that certain of the optional accessories can be bolted directly to the post  16 . 
   To construct the cabinet  10 , the four corner gusset plates  24  are connected to the top frame  12   a , and four corner gusset plates  24  are connected to the base frame  12   b  as described above. One of the corner clamp plates  26  is connected to each of the corner gusset plates  24  such that the corner clamp plates  26  are positioned a distance away from the corner gusset plate  24  and the channel  28  is formed between at least a portion of the corner gusset plate  24  and the corner clamp plate  26 . At least a portion of each post  16  is positioned in the channel  28  and the corner clamp plate  26  is moved relative to the corner gusset plate  24  to clamp the post  16  between the corner clamp plate  26  and the corner gusset plate  24 . For example; the corner clamp plate  26  can be moved by tightening a screw. This procedure is then repeated seven more times to connect each of the four posts  16  to the top frame  12   a  and the base frame  12   b.    
   The frames  12   a  and  12   b , the post  16 , the corner gusset plate  24  and the corner clamp plate  26  are constructed of rigid materials, such as plastic, metal or polymeric materials. In one preferred embodiment, the frames  12   a  and  12   b , the post  16 , the corner gusset plate  24  and the corner clamp plate  26  are constructed of sheet metal manufactured using hard press tooling. For example, the frame  12  can be constructed of 1.5 mm sheet steel, the post  16  can be constructed of 1.5 mm sheet steel, the corner gusset plate  24  can be constructed of 3.0 mm sheet steel, and the corner clamp plate  26  can be constructed of 3.0 mm sheet steel. 
   The connector assembly  18  (or “corner assembly”) provides a stable construction that reliably provides a precise fit. Because of how the parts are configured for the corners  20  of the rack frame  12 , there is no tolerance buildup. 
   An added advantage of this configuration is that it can be shipped unassembled and easily assembled on site where the electronic components are to be installed. When shipped unassembled, the rack frame  12  and any accessory components are amenable to being shipped as a so-called “flat pack” that greatly reduces bulk and thus, shipping costs. The design allows the sub-assembly of the top frame  12   a  (to include top plate and fan plate), bottom frame  12   b  (to include bottom plate and adjustable feet), and the side frames (to include side panels, depth members, mounting verticals and cable trays), to further enhance the flat-pack-ability by offering reduced assembly time by the final user. 
   Further, in one preferred embodiment, the cabinet  10  is delivered to a customer with the corner assemblies  18  connected to the top frame  12   a  and the base frame  12   b . Thus, the customer simply needs to slide the posts  16  into place and tighten the mechanism, such as a screw, controlling the distance between the corner clamp plate  26  and the corner gusset plate  24  to assemble the cabinet  10 . 
   The reliable precision fit aspect of the described embodiment means that unassembled shipping and on-site assembly can be carried out without any sacrifice of structural integrity or quality of the finally assembled rack frame product. 
   While presently preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein, one skilled in the art will recognize that many changes or alterations can be made to the preferred embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore intended that all such modifications, alterations and other changes be encompassed by the claims.