Patent Publication Number: US-2003221797-A1

Title: Medical filing cabinet shelf enclosure system

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
     [0001] This is a utility application based upon provisional application serial No. 60/363,495, filed on Mar. 13, 2002, entitled “Medical Filing Cabinet Shelf Enclosure System.” Applicant hereby claims for this utility application the benefit of the filing date of the 60/363,495 provisional application whose entire disclosure is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] 1. Field of Invention  
       [0003] 2. Description of Related Art  
       [0004] It is known to provide rolling gates to cover and protect windows and doors from the elements or for security purposes. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,635 entitled “Rolling Protective Gate for Store Fronts or the Like,” issued on Aug. 24, 1982 to Solomon. Solomon teaches a rolling protective gate for store fronts that is formed of a series of horizontally extending transparent slats. The horizontal slats are interconnected and articulated by a series of horizontally extending metal rods. Both the horizontal slats and the metal rods are elongated. Each rod and slat of the rolling protective gate extends the full width of the opening upon which the rolling protective gate is mounted. The protective gate is rolled up and down between a lower, security position and an elevated open position.  
       [0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,866, issued to Von Knorring entitled “Roller Blinds,” issued Sep. 7, 1982 teaches a roller blind suitable for attachment to a supporting structure such as a window frame. The roller blind taught by Knorring is mounted to the window frame by brackets, and is wound and unwound by means of an electric motor.  
       [0006] A rolling shutter device taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,990 issued to Ueda, entitled “Heat Insulating Shutter Device,” issued on Nov. 22, 1994 is adapted to provide heat insulation for a building. The shutter taught by Ueda is formed of a conventional heat insulating material and is disposed over an opening in a wall of a building, such as a door or window. A roller drive is used to wind and unwind the insulating material in order to prevent ingress of outside cold or hot air when the shutter is mounted on the building.  
       [0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,163, entitled “Mounting for a Slider Shuttle,” issued to Allendorfer on Feb. 20, 1996 teaches a system for on-site assembly and attachment of a sliding shutter system for windows or other openings in a building. In the system taught by Allendorfer a sliding shutter box system is premanufactured, assembled at the site of use, and installed in an operational state on a window or comparable opening of a building.  
       [0008] Other prior art directed to rolling gates for windows, doors and the like include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,575,322, 6,021,837 and 6,302,179 which are issued to James V. Miller on Nov. 19, 1996, Feb. 8, 2000 and Oct. 16, 2001, respectively. The devices taught by Miller in these references include various applications of rolling protective shutters that are formed of a plurality of individual slats and a plurality of hinges interconnecting the individual slats. One of the slats can have an engagement member extending outwardly from one end of the slat. The rolling shutter assemblies bearing the shutter can include features such as a shutter support member, a shutter track, and a stop member disposed within the shutter track.  
       [0009] The shutter and the shutter support member taught by Miller are adapted to permit the shutter to roll from an unrolled position in which the slats are disposed within the shutter tracks, to a rolled position in which the shutter slats are rolled up on the shutter support member. A tension adjust mechanism is provided in at least one embodiment in order to permit adjustment of the tension of a torsion spring. The torsion spring is provided in order to optimize the tension of the shutter. Miller teaches mounting the shutter systems by locating the shutter tracks on either the inside or the outside of the opening being covered.  
       [0010] Recent regulations designed to safeguard the privacy of individuals require that medical records be locked up when not in use. In order to meet these requirements, security devices capable of securely enclosing the records when they are not in use, and conveniently making the records available when they are in use, must be developed. Furthermore, changing over to security devices that meet the regulations must be economical.  
       [0011] While the foregoing prior art rolling gate systems are suitable for use in covering openings such as the openings in the walls of buildings, they are not readily adapted for use on security devices disposed within buildings suitable for meeting the medical record privacy requirements. Furthermore, such indoor security devices must be available in many different shapes and sizes. This makes it even more difficult to directly apply the technology used for mounting rolling gates and shutters to the walls of buildings to the problem of securely storing medical records.  
       [0012] A rectangular shaped security cabinet having a housing with an opening that is closed by a tampour door is taught in “Secure Cabinets,” issued to Moulton on Mar. 22, 1994 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,743. The tampour door mounted on the housing is movable along tracks between a first position wherein the housing opening is uncovered and a second position wherein the housing opening is covered by the tampour door. The security cabinet includes two side panels extending from the front of the cabinet housing to the rear. Each side panel of the security cabinet includes a built in track along its front edge for permitting the upward and downward movement of the tampour door.  
       [0013] However, using a security cabinet of the type taught by Moultin to solve the medical records privacy requirements would require purchasing all new cabinets and moving them to the locations where they are needed, transferring all of the medical records from one cabinet to another, and removing all of the old cabinets. This would be a very wasteful solution.  
       [0014] U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,033, entitled “Security Door System,” issued to Finch on May 1, 1990 teaches a security door system having a roll up door for installation in a closet doorway or the like. The security door system of Finch provides secure storage for valuable objects stored within the closet. In order to permit the door of the closet to be closed in a normal fashion when the security door system taught by Finch in the &#39;033 patent is installed, a kit is provided for mounting the security door inside the closet in a parallel spaced-apart relationship with respect to the closet door. In addition to springs, an axle, a barrel assembly, and the security door itself, the mounting kit includes guide tracks and brackets.  
       [0015] The brackets included in the mounting kit of the Finch &#39;033 patent are bolted to the frame of the closet door at the upper corners of the opening of the closet, in order to support the entire security assembly. The guide tracks are fastened to the closet door frame along the sides of the opening in order to guide the wheels of the door during its upward and downward movements. Flexible spacers/runners attached to the security door in line with the wheels riding on the tracks absorb shock during movement of the security door, and thereby help prevent abrasion. Since Finch &#39;033 teaches converting closets to secure storage space having a rolling gate closure, it is not suitable for solving the problem of storing medical records which are currently located in filing cabinets.  
       [0016] U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,563, entitled “Modular Security Door System,” issued to Finch on Jun. 5, 1990 teaches installing a roll up or curtain type closure that can be mounted on a metal shelf storage unit to provide a secure storage assembly. The roll up door is rolled up and down by means of guide tracks which are mounted onto the front edges of the sides of the storage unit. The barrel assembly of the sliding shutter system taught by Finch is mounted over the top of the storage unit. The Finch &#39;563 system is not suitable for converting large numbers of filing cabinet to enclosed secure filing cabinets because it requires a large number of hardware items, is complicated and heavy. Furthermore, the brackets extend laterally beyond the side surfaces of the cabinets, thereby interfering with the desired goal of disposing a plurality of cabinets close to each other in a side by side relationship.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017] A kit for converting an open cabinet to an enclosed cabinet is disclosed, the open cabinet having a cabinet top surface, side and bottom panels with cabinet front faces wherein a cabinet front plane is defined by a cabinet front face, including a rolling gate barrel assembly including a rolling gate curtain, side rails and a bottom rail adapted to be secured to the cabinet front faces. The side rails are adapted for attachment to the barrel assembly at upper ends thereof and to the bottom rail at bottom ends thereof to dispose the barrel assembly above the cabinet top surface when the side rails and the bottom rail are attached to the cabinet front. Tracks extend along the side rails for permitting the rolling gate curtain to travel within the side rails from an upper cabinet open position to lower cabinet closed position for enclosing the open cabinet and maintaining the rolling gate curtain in a spaced apart relationship with the cabinet front plane. Fasteners are attached at the bottom end of the side rails for fastening the side rails to the bottom rail. Fasteners are also attached at the upper end of the side rails for fastening the side rails to the barrel assembly thereby forming a frame. A plurality of fastening points are disposed on the side rails for defining locations along a cabinet front face for fastening the side rails to the cabinet front surface at the defined locations.  
       [0018] A method for retrofitting an open cabinet to an enclosed cabinet, the open cabinet having side and bottom panels with a cabinet top surface and cabinet front faces wherein a cabinet front plane is defined by a cabinet front face cabinet includes providing a rolling gate barrel assembly including a rolling gate curtain and providing side rails having respective tracks for permitting the rolling gate curtain to travel along the tracks between an upper cabinet open position and a lower cabinet enclosed position, the tracks being disposed upon the rails in a spaced apart relationship to a rail edge. A bottom rail is also provided. The side rails are attached to the barrel assembly and to the bottom rail to form a frame. The rail edge is disposed against the front surface of the filing cabinet and the frame is attached to the front surface whereby the tracks are maintained in the spaced apart relationship from the cabinet front surfaces. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0019]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the filing cabinet shelf enclosure system of the present invention which includes an existing file cabinet.  
     [0020]FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a side rail suitable for use in retrofitting a filing cabinet in accordance with the method of the present invention in order to form the filing cabinet shelf enclosure system of FIG. 1.  
     [0021]FIGS. 3A,B show enlarged perspective views of portions of the side rail of FIG. 2 in order to better illustrate the threaded side rail studs attached thereto for assembling the filing cabinet shelf enclosure system of FIG. 1.  
     [0022]FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a bottom rail suitable for use in retrofitting a filing cabinet in accordance with the method of the present invention in order to form the filing cabinet shelf enclosure system of FIG. 1.  
     [0023]FIG. 5 shows a representation of side rails such as the side rail of FIG. 2 and the bottom rail of FIG. 4 assembled in accordance with the method of the present invention in order to form the filing cabinet shelf enclosure system of FIG. 1.  
     [0024]FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the filing cabinet shelf enclosure system of FIG. 1. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0025] Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown the cabinet enclosure system  10  of the present invention. The cabinet enclosure system  10  includes a filing cabinet  12  having a plurality of shelves  32 , vertical side panels  26 , vertical front surfaces  38  on the front of the vertical side panels  26 , a horizontal front face  42 , and a cabinet top surface  28 . The shelves  32  of the cabinet enclosure system  10  can be used to safely store valuable materials thereon. For example, the shelves  32  may contain file records, such as medical records, stored in file folders, such as conventional medical record files.  
     [0026] In order to protect the valuable materials stored on the shelves  32  of the cabinet enclosure system  10 , the cabinet enclosure system  10  is provided with a rolling gate system  22  which is attached to the filing cabinet  12 . The rolling gate system  22  includes a rolling curtain  16  which is moved from a cabinet closed, down position, for enclosing the cabinet enclosure system  10  and protecting the materials therein, and a cabinet open, up position, for permitting access to the materials stored on the shelves  32 .  
     [0027] The rolling gate system  22  also includes a barrel assembly  20  having end caps  24  for containing the rolling curtain  16  when the rolling curtain  16  is rolled up on an axle disposed within the barrel assembly  20 . The barrel assembly  20  can be a conventional barrel assembly known to those skilled in the art, wherein a predetermined spring tension is set by the manufacturer. The side rails  14 ,  18  and the bottom rail  34  are also included in the rolling gate system  22 . The barrel assembly  20 , the side rails  14 ,  18 , the bottom rail  34 , and the fasteners for assembling the all of the foregoing, and attaching them to the filing cabinet  12  are provided as a kit for retrofitting the filing cabinet  12  in order to form the cabinet enclosure system  10 . In one preferred embodiment the complete kit required for retrofitting a filing cabinet  12  to form the cabinet enclosure system  10  can weigh less than forty-eight pounds.  
     [0028] The rolling curtain  16  of the rolling gate system  22  is formed of a plurality of hinged or segmented horizontal slats including a base slat  15  the side rails  14 ,  18  and the bottom rail  34  provide structural integrity to the rolling gate system  22 . Additionally, they permit mounting of the rolling gate system  22  onto the filing cabinet  12  to form the cabinet enclosure system  10 . When the rolling gate system  22  is mounted on the filing cabinet  12 , the barrel assembly  20  of the rolling gate system  22  rests upon the top surface  28  of the filing cabinet  12 , the side rails  14 ,  18  are flush against the front surfaces  38  of the side panels  26 , and the bottom rail  34  is flush against the front surface of  42  of the bottom most shelf  32  of the filing cabinet  12 .  
     [0029] Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown an enlarged view of the side rail  14  which is attached to the filing cabinet  12  when forming the cabinet enclosure system  10 . The side rail  14  has a top end  48   a  and a bottom end  48   b  when it is disposed in an assembled position. A vertical curtain track  54  runs along the length of the side rail  14  in order to permit the rolling curtain  16  of the rolling gate system  22  to travel between the top and bottom of the side rail  14 . A rear surface  50  of the side rail  14  is adapted to be disposed against the front surface  38  of the side panel  26  of filing cabinet  12  when the rolling gate system  22  is assembled. The side rail  18  is the right hand version of the side rail  14 .  
     [0030] Both the vertical curtain track  54  and the base slat  15  of the rolling curtain  16  are formed of metal. Typically, the base slat  15  is formed of aluminum. As the base slat  15  travels up and down within the vertical curtain track  54 , metal to metal contact between them must be prevented in order to prevent abrasion. It is known in the art to provide plastic strips along the length of the curtain track  54  to prevent such metal to metal contact. However, in the preferred embodiment of the cabinet enclosure system  10  plastic end caps are applied to the lateral ends of the base slat  15 , and inserted into the vertical curtain track  54 . Thus, the plastic end caps travel with the base slat  15  along the length of the vertical curtain track  54 , preventing contact between the base slat  15  and the vertical curtain track  54 . The end caps can be force fitted onto the ends of the base slat  15  or attached in any other manner.  
     [0031] Referring now to FIGS. 3A,B, there are shown further enlarged representations of the top end  48   a  and the bottom end  48   b  of the side rail  14  of the rolling gate system  22 . The top and bottom ends  48   a,b  of the side rail  14  are provided with a plurality of attached threaded studs  52  for easy assembly of the rolling gate system  22  to permit easy retrofitting of the filing cabinet  12  with the rolling gate system  22  to create the cabinet enclosure system of the present invention.  
     [0032] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the threaded studs  52  are welded or otherwise permanently attached onto the side rail  14  at the time of manufacture of the side rail  14 . In another preferred embodiment, counter sunk screws can be used to form the threaded studs  52 . This method can be used when the side rail  14  is formed of aluminum. The two attached studs  52  at the bottom end  48   b  of the side rail  14  are received into the bottom rail  34 . The four attached studs  52  at the top end  48   a  of the side rail  14  are received into the barrel assembly  20  at the top of the rolling gate system  22 , as described in more detail below.  
     [0033] Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown an enlarged representation of the bottom rail  34  of the rolling gate system  22  according to the present invention. The bottom rail  34  includes a rear surface  60 , a front surface  58  and two side surfaces  62 . The left side surface  62  is provided with openings  66  for receiving the attached studs  52  of the bottom end  48   b  of the side rail  14  to permit the side rail  14  and the bottom rail  34  to be threadably joined together during the assembly of the rolling gate system  22 , for example using a nut and a washer. In a similar manner, two attached studs  52  at the bottom of the side rail  18  are threadably joined to the right side surface  62  of the bottom rail  34 , which is provided with two openings  66  for receiving them. When the side rails  14 ,  18  are secured to the bottom rail  34  in this manner, three of the four sides of a frame are formed as shown in FIG. 5.  
     [0034] While the side rails  14 ,  18  and the bottom rail  34  of the rolling gate system  22  can have solid surfaces, as shown in the drawings, in another embodiment they can be formed of a grating material. For example, the side rails  14 ,  18  and the bottom rail  34  can be a grating material of the type formed by slotting sheets of material and then pulling the edges of the material apart to form a plurality of four sided openings in the material.  
     [0035] Additionally, while the side rails  14 ,  18  and the bottom rail  34  of the rolling gate system  22  can each be provided as a single integral structure, they can also be provided in a segmented form. When they are provided in such a segmented form, the segments are assembled to form the side rails  14 ,  18  and bottom rail  34  as part of the process of retrofitting the filing cabinet  12  to form the cabinet enclosure system  10 .  
     [0036] Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown an exploded view of the cabinet enclosure system  10  of the present invention showing the cover rails  70  and the torsion spring driven axle  78  of the barrel assembly  20 , which is disposed upon the top surface  28  of the filing cabinet  12 . The torsion spring is loaded as the rolling curtain  16  is pulled down. The loaded torsion spring then assists in pulling the rolling curtain  16  up. In alternate embodiments of the invention, the rolling curtain  16  can be driven by a motor or assisted using counterweights. The end caps  24  of the barrel assembly  20  are provided with axle receiving structures  80  for receiving the ends of the axle  78  and rotatably supporting the axle  78 .  
     [0037] In the preferred embodiment the axle receiving structures  80  are attached directly to the inner sides of the end caps  24 , for example by welding, rather than being attached by bracket structures in the manner known in the prior art. This permits the ends of the axle  78  to be disposed closer to the end caps  24  and prevents the barrel assembly  20  from extending laterally beyond the sides of the filing cabinet  12 . In this manner, the barrel assembly  20  is prevented from interfering with disposing a plurality of cabinet enclosure systems  10  side by side against each other. This feature of the present invention operates cooperatively with the method of attaching the rolling gate system  22  to the filing cabinet  12  without any attachment means extending laterally and interfering with such a side by side positioning.  
     [0038] The exploded view shown in FIG. 6 represents the joining of the side rails  14 ,  18  to the bottom rail  34  as previously described. Additionally, the connecting side rails  14 ,  18  to the barrel structure assembly  20  is represented. In order to permit securing the side rails  14 ,  18  to the barrel assembly  20  each end cap  24  of the barrel structure  20  has a downwardly extending tab  72 . Each downwardly extending tab  72  has four tab openings  76 . The four tab openings  76  on the downwardly extending tabs  72  receive the four attached studs  52  of the top ends  48   a  of the side rails  14 ,  18 . When the attached studs  52  at the top and bottom ends  48   a,b  of the side rails  14 ,  18  are received and threadably secured in their respective tab openings  76  and bottom rail  34 , the rolling gate system  22  is assembled.  
     [0039] When the rolling gate system  22  is assembled, it is disposed against the filing cabinet  12  by resting the barrel assembly  20  upon the top surface  28  of the filing cabinet  12 . This disposes the rear surfaces  50  of the side rails  14 ,  18  against the front surfaces  38  on the side panels  26  of the filing cabinet  12 . The rear surface  58  of the bottom rail  34  is disposed against the front surface  42  of the bottom most shelf  32  within the filing cabinet  12 . The bottom most shelf  32  thus serves as a bottom panel of the filing cabinet  12 .  
     [0040] When the rolling gate system  22  is positioned in this manner, a plurality of fastening points corresponding to the rail openings  46  on the side rails  14 ,  18  are selected and transferred from the side rails  14 ,  18  to the front surfaces  38  of the side panels  26  of the filing cabinet  12 . The transferred rail openings  46  can be indicated on the front surfaces  38  using any kind of marker, for example, by means of a pencil. Although a larger number of rail openings  46  are provided along the length of the side rails  14 ,  18 , in the preferred embodiment of the invention it is believed that transfer of only four such openings on each side of the filing cabinet  12  is necessary.  
     [0041] When the selected rail openings  46  are transferred to the front surfaces  38  of the filing cabinet  12 , the rolling gate system  22  is removed from its position against the filing cabinet  12  and placed in a safe location out of the way. Holes are then drilled through the front surfaces  38  at each of the locations determined by transferring the rail openings  46 . For example, a conventional drill can be used to drill eight holes in the front surfaces  38  for each transferred rail opening  46 . The drilled holes can be any size suitable for performing the attachment function, for example, the drilled holes can be three-eighth inch.  
     [0042] When the holes are drilled in the front surfaces  38 , the rolling gate system  22  is again disposed against the filing cabinet  12  with the barrel assembly  20  resting on the top surface  28  and the side rails  14 ,  18  and bottom rail  34  disposed against the front surfaces  38 ,  42 . The holes drilled in the front surfaces  38  of the filing cabinet  12  should align with the selected rail openings  46  of the side rails  14 ,  18 . The rolling gate system  22  is then secured to the filing cabinet  12  in a conventional manner using the drilled holes.  
     [0043] For example, push-in rivet fasteners of the type which expand in the space beyond the drilled holes when they are forcibly inserted into the holes can be used to prevent withdrawal of the fastener from the hole and, thereby, to prevent separation of the surfaces being joined. Very significantly, securing the rolling gate system  22  to the front surfaces  38  of the filing cabinet  12  in this manner prevents any materials from extending to the left or to the right of the cabinet enclosure system  10 , thereby permitting a plurality of the cabinet enclosure systems  10  to be placed side by side without interfering with each other. Additionally, the method of the present invention permits retrofitting the filing cabinet  12  without moving or emptying the filing cabinet  12 .  
     [0044] Push-in fasteners of the type preferred for assembling the cabinet enclosure system  10  are provided by ITW Fastex under the name of Tuflock. This type of fastener is preferred because it is often difficult to obtain access to the space beyond the front surface  38  of some filing cabinets  12  to attach other types of fasteners. However, the rolling gate system  22  can be attached to the filing cabinet  12  in any manner known to those skilled in the art when retrofitting the filing cabinet  12  to form the cabinet enclosure system  10 . Where it is possible to use them, screws, nuts and washers, C-chips and V-chips of the type well known to those skilled in the art and other fasteners can be used. Additionally, very strong double sided adhesive tape is available and can be used for the purpose of securing the rolling gate system  22  to the filing cabinet  12 .  
     [0045] When the rolling gate system  22  is attached to the filing cabinet  12  in this manner to form the cabinet enclosure system  10 , a front surface  38 ,  42  of the filing cabinet  12  defines a front plane of the filing cabinet  12 . The side rails  14 ,  18  and the curtain tracks  54  are thus maintained in a parallel spaced apart relationship with respect to the front plane thus defined. The distance between the front plane of the filing cabinet  12  and the curtain tracks  54  is selected to prevent the rolling curtain  16  from striking materials disposed on the shelves  32 . The distance should be large enough to allow clearance between the rolling curtain  16  and the ends of any files stored on the shelves  32 .  
     [0046] For example, when files are disposed upon the shelves  32  and they are not placed all the way against the rear wall of the filing cabinet  12 , they may therefore extend forward past the plane of a front surface  38 ,  42 . Enough clearance between the front surface  38 ,  42  and the rolling curtain  16  must be allowed in order to prevent the rolling curtain  16  from striking such files and thereby damaging them. The amount of clearance required to prevent such damage most of the time is determined by the customary filing habits of the people performing the filing operations.  
     [0047] When sufficient care is exercised, it is expected that that files will be disposed close enough to the rear wall of the filing cabinet  12  that there will be no danger of such damage, and no extra clearance would be required to protect the files. However, in a small percentage of cases, due to a slight lack of care on the part of a person disposing a file on a shelf  32 , a file can extend substantially past the front plane of the cabinet enclosure system  10 , that is, the file may extend forward far enough that it is in danger of being damaged if the rolling curtain  16  is lowered carelessly. In a very small percentage of cases the file may be disposed upon the shelf  32  so carelessly that the file extends more than a merely substantial distance beyond the front plane of the cabinet enclosure system  10 , thereby requiring a very large clearance in order to protect the file.  
     [0048] It is not believed to be prudent to select the clearance in the cabinet enclosure system  10  to be large enough to protect files in the latter cases, since this would waste space and raise costs. However, the horizontal dimensions of the side rails  14 ,  18  and the bottom rail  34 , and therefore the distance between the cabinet front plane and the curtain tracks  54 , are selected to provide enough clearance substantial enough to protect a file in cases where at least a reasonable mount of care has been used in placing it upon the shelf  32 . A clearance of at least 2.5 inches between the front plane of the filing cabinet  12  and the rolling curtain  16  is believed to be optimum for this purpose in one preferred embodiment of the invention.  
     [0049] The rolling gate system  22  is provided with a slot  44  located on the bottom rail  34 . The slot  44  receives a locking tab from a lock  40  located on the base slat  15  for locking the rolling curtain  16  in its completely down position in order to provide security for materials stored within the cabinet enclosure system  10 . Thus the lock  40  is disposed close to the ground level when the cabinet enclosure system  10  is locked.  
     [0050] In an alternate embodiment the lock  40  can be disposed substantially above the ground level in order to make it easier to lock and unlock the cabinet enclosure system  10 . For example, the lock  40  can be located at least fifteen inches about the ground level. This can be accomplished using a base slat  15  having a greater vertical dimension when the rolling curtain  16  is in its down position that will not interfere with the rolling of the rolling curtain  16  on the axle  78  when the rolling curtain  16  is in its up position. A locking mechanism on such a base slat  15  may act cooperatively with the curtain tracks  54  to lock the cabinet enclosure system  10 , for example by means of a friction lock or by insertion through an opening disposed on the side rail  14 ,  18 .  
     [0051] The side rails  14 ,  18  are provided in a number of different lengths in order to accommodate filing cabinets  12  of different heights. For example, the side rails  14 ,  18  can be provided in lengths having one foot intervals, such as five feet or six feet, for convenience. In a case where, for example, a filing cabinet  12  has a height slightly less that the height requiring side rails  14 ,  18  of six feet, then a user of the cabinet enclosure system  10  must obtain a retrofit kit having side rails  14 ,  18  with a six foot length. This can cause the barrel assembly  20  to be supported a distance above the top surface  28  by the side rails  14 ,  18 . Under these circumstances it is preferred that a barrier plate be disposed behind the barrel assemble  20  extending from the barrel assembly  20  to the top surface  28  of the filing cabinet  12 . Such a barrier plate would prevent attempted access to the interior of the cabinet enclosure system  10  by way of the gap between the barrel assembly  20  and the top surface  28 .  
     [0052] While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific examples thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.