Abstract:
A cabinet cover construction for a formed sheet metal cabinet includes a front edge with two angled surfaces that are congruent with compatible angled surfaces of the top edge of the cabinet to ensure alignment of a closed cover on the cabinet and to prevent overbite of the cover upon closing thereof.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In a principal aspect the present invention relates to a cabinet cover construction for a sheet metal cabinet and, more particularly, to the construction of the front edge of the cabinet cover and the top edge of the cabinet panel that joins with the cabinet cover when the cover is in the closed position. 
     Sheet metal cabinets are utilized for many purposes. For example, such cabinets are used for tool storage, as pharmaceutical cabinets, as dental cabinets, and as general storage cabinets. Typically such cabinets include multiple metal drawers arranged in a vertical array, one above the other. Often such a cabinet construction also includes a hinged top cover that permits access to the top of the cabinet and that may serve as a work surface or enclose an additional storage area or both. Such covers are typically formed from sheet metal by a stamping process. Hinges are formed or welded on the backside of the cover for hinged attachment of the cover onto the backside of the cabinet. In this manner the cover may be closed over the top of the cabinet. Most typically, the cover includes vertical front, back and side edges to facilitate the formation of a covered enclosure on the top of the cabinet. 
     A problem that often exists with such constructions is known as “overbite” of the cabinet cover. Because the cabinet cover is formed from sheet metal, which is somewhat flexible particularly in larger sizes of covers, the front edge of the cover may tend to roll over the top edges of the vertical panels forming the cabinet itself. Thus there has remained an “overbite” problem in the design of cabinet covers for sheet metal cabinets. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly, the present invention comprises a cabinet cover construction for a formed sheet metal cabinet of the type having a vertical front panel with a top edge and a cover panel with a front, vertically depending edge designed to engage with, mate with, and cooperate with the top edge of the vertical front panel. More specifically the top edge of the vertical panel includes an inwardly extending horizontal run having an inwardly and downwardly angled run extending therefrom. The front, vertically depending edge of the cover, which engages against the top edge of the front panel, also includes an inwardly extending horizontal run and a downwardly depending, angled run as well as a further inwardly extending, horizontal run that terminates on the inside of the cabinet cover. The cabinet cover, when in a closed position, is designed so that the runs when viewed in cross section fully overlap one another. The angled runs thus have common angles and a common apex. As a result, when the top cover is closed with the front edge thereof against the top edge of the front panel, the arrangement of the horizontal and angled runs insures that the cabinet parts will mesh together in a manner that precludes undesirable overbite. Additionally, the second inward extending horizontal run on the inside of the cover provides a strike for engagement by a bolt to thereby facilitate locking the cover in a closed position. Thus it is an object of the invention to provide an improved cabinet cover construction for a formed sheet metal cabinet. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a cabinet cover construction for a formed sheet metal cabinet, which prevents the occurrence of “overbite”. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet cover construction for a formed metal sheet cabinet, which is easily manufactured and easily incorporated in sheet metal cabinet constructions. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cabinet cover construction for a formed metal cabinet which is economical, rugged, and which may be incorporated easily into preexisting cabinet constructions. 
     These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     In the detailed description that follows, reference will be made to the drawing comprised of the following figures: 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a typical sheet metal cabinet construction having a cover and including the cabinet cover construction of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the cabinet cover incorporated in the cabinet of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the top and front edge construction of the cabinet cover of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is an elevation of the cabinet cover construction of FIG. 2 as viewed in the direction of the arrow,  4 , in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the lock mechanism depicted in FIG. 4 illustrating a strike and bolt combination; 
     FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the cabinet cover; and 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the strike incorporated in the cover of FIG.  6 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the figures, and in particular FIG. 1, there is disclosed a typical sheet metal cabinet construction comprising panels forming a generally rectangular, parallelepiped base cabinet  10  with a cover  12  formed of sheet metal. Cover  12  includes a planar top panel  14 , a peripheral depending circumferential rim or edge  16  including a back edge section  18  attached by first and second hinges  20  and  22  to the back vertical panel or cabinet  10 . The cover  12  pivots about the hinges  20  and  22  and fits over top of the cabinet  10 . The peripheral depending edge  16  includes a first side edge  24  and an opposite side edge (not shown) and a front edge or downwardly depending, vertical run  26 . The front edge  26  fits against and cooperates with a vertical panel  30  having a top edge  32 . 
     FIG. 2 depicts a typical cover  12  in combination with the top of cabinet  10 . The invention relates to the combination of the cover  12  with a cabinet  10  and, more particularly, to the construction of the front edge  26  of the cover  12  and the manner in which it cooperates with, and engages with, the top edge  32  of the front panel  30 . 
     Referring therefore to FIG. 3, the front panel  30  includes a vertical run  33  which connects with a first horizontal run  34  that extends inwardly into the cabinet  10 . The first run  34 , in turn, is connected with a depending, angled run  36  that forms an acute angle with the run  34 . The angle is preferably in the range of 20 to 75° and, most preferably, about 30°. The second run  36  extends inwardly from junction  35  with run  34  and the front panel  30  by a distance  31  and terminates. As depicted in FIG. 3, the second run  36  may be folded over on its inward edge to enhance the rigidity or structural integrity of the top edge  32  of the panel  30 . 
     The front edge  26  of the cover  12  includes a downwardly depending panel or face edge  40  connected with an inwardly extending, third horizontal run  42  connected to a depending, angled fourth run  44  at a junction  45 . When the cover  12  is in the closed position, the third run  42  is generally coextensive with and overlies the first run  34  and the fourth run  44  is generally coextensive with and overlies the second run  36  so that junctions  35  and  45  are congruent. 
     The inwardly extending edge of the cover  12  further includes a fifth generally horizontal run  46  which extends inwardly from fourth run  44  into the interior of the region defined by the cover  12 . Fifth run  46  includes a slot  50  which defines a strike for cooperation with a bolt  52 . It should be noted that the slot strike  50  is generally a rectangular elongate slot parallel to the front panel  30 . The slot  50  may have other shapes and may be angled so as to more tightly bind the third and fourth runs  42  and  44  against the first and second runs  34  and  36 . In the preferred embodiment, however, the slot  50  is generally parallel to the plane of the front panel  30 . 
     Generally the front panel  30  and the front face or edge  26  of the cover  12  are coplanar or, if desired, they may be arranged to be non-coplanar as in FIG.  3 . Importantly the cross sectional shape of the first and second runs  34  and  36  is compatible and tightly overlies with the third and fourth runs  42  and  44  whereby the top edge  26  will properly mate with and fit onto the top edge  32  of the front panel  30  and avoid either shifting outwardly or inwardly. The top edge  26  will thus properly mate with and fit onto the top edge  32  of the front panel  30  and avoid either shifting outwardly or inwardly thereby avoiding any “overbite” of the cover  12 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the described construction is utilized with respect to the front edge  26  of the cover  12 . Such arrangement is adequate to maintain proper alignment of the cover  12 . It is possible to utilize a construction of the type depicted on the side or lateral edges of the cover  12  as well as the front edge  26  to provide a more complete seal of the cover onto the top of the cabinet. The runs  34 ,  36 ,  42 ,  44  are preferably coextensive with the full length of the top edge  30 , but may alternatively be less or made up of a series of segments which are spaced from each other along the edges of the cover  12 . Other variations of the construction may also be utilized. The angle of the second and fourth runs  36  and  44  may be varied and those runs may be arcuate in shape. Importantly, the junctions  35  and  45  overlap when the cover  12  is in the proper position. The fifth run  46  is depicted as horizontal but may be angled without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention is therefore to be limited only by the following claims or equivalents thereof.