Archive

Abstract

An archive (1000) comprising at least one prismatic box-shaped container (1) movable on guides extending in a given direction (D) to create a compactable archive (1000); the container (D comprising a plurality of substantially rectangular walls (4) which are connected end to end in a fluid-tight manner to delimit a volume (VL) accessible according to the direction (D) through at least one opening (A)(A′); peripheral frame members (20) being carried frontally by the walls (4) adapted to determine, in use, a fluid-tight closing condition of the volume (VL).

Claims

1. A container for a compactable archive comprising a plurality of said containers movable on guides extending in a given direction to define said compactable archive; said container being peripherally delimited by a plurality of substantially rectangular walls parallel to said direction, having given thickness and transversally connected end to end and in a fluid-tight manner to peripherally delimit a prismatic volume developed according to said direction and accessible according to said direction through at least one opening transversal to said direction; each said opening being delimited by a peripheral frame; wherein each said frame has at least one step for shape-defining a labyrinth clearance with an opposing frame wherein each said wall has a multilayer structure provided with at least a first panel and a second panel overlapping to delimit an air gap having given thickness and developed parallel to said direction; said first panel and said second panel of each said wall having a substantially identical extension in said direction to impart a given stepped shape to each respective said frame, the container further comprising connection members having a joint portion provided with a pair of opposing beam pockets designed to couple, end to end, two of said first panels and/or two of said second panels; each said connection member comprising a transversal abutment member extending between one said first wall and one said second wall for spacing them apart at a given distance, so that each said air gap develops parallel to said direction.

2. The container according to claim 1, wherein each said frame carries a stepped body which extends in a direction transversal to the respective said wall, is thicker than said wall and comprises a free flap folded below the respective said wall, parallel to said direction.

3. The container according to claim 2, wherein said flap is detached from said frame.

4. The container according to claim 2, wherein each said stepped body is associated with fire-retardant material of inorganic composite type and/or with a reagent material that increases its volume as the temperature increases to fully engage said clearance.

5. The container according to claim 1, wherein at least one pair of said first consecutive panels or said second consecutive panels are coupled end to end through a respective stepped portion.

6. The container according to claim 5, wherein said stepped portion is “U”-shaped or “S”-shaped.

7. The container according to claim 6, wherein a fire-retardant material is associated with at least one said stepped portion.

8. The container according claim 1, further comprising at least one inner wall transversal to said direction to divide said prismatic volume into at least two parts.

9. A compactable archive comprising at least two containers movable individually on guides extending in a given direction; each said container being peripherally delimited by a plurality of substantially rectangular walls parallel to said direction having given thickness and connected transversally end to end and in a fluid-tight manner to peripherally delimit a prismatic volume developed according to said direction and accessible according to said direction through at least one opening transversal to said direction; each said opening being delimited by a peripheral frame; wherein each said frame has at least one step to define a shape seal with an opposing frame, wherein each said wall has a multilayer structure provided with at least one first panel and one second panel overlapping to delimit an air gap having given thickness and developed parallel to said direction; said first panel and said second panel of each said wall having different extension in said direction to give a stepped shape to each respective said frame, the archive further comprising connection members having a joint portion provided with a pair of opposing beam pockets adapted to couple end to end two said first panels and/or two said second panels; each said connection member comprising a transversal abutment member extending between one said first wall and one said second wall to space them at a given distance so that each said air gap develops parallel to said direction.

10. The archive according to claim 9, wherein each said frame has a stepped body which has a thickness greater than said wall and comprises a free flap folded below the respective said wall, parallel to said direction.

11. The archive according to claim 10, wherein said flap is detached from said frame.

12. The archive according to claim 10, wherein each said stepped body is associated with a fire-retardant material of inorganic composite type and/or with a reagent material that increases its volume as the temperature increases to fully engage said clearance.

13. The archive according to claim 9 further comprising at least one inner wall transversal to said direction to divide said prismatic volume into at least two parts.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further characteristics and advantages of the archive provided with a plurality of box-shaped containers according to the present invention, will appear clearer from the following description of non-limiting embodiment examples as depicted in the drawings, wherein identical or corresponding parts are identified the same reference numbers. In particular:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an archive provided with a plurality of containers according an embodiment;

(3) FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a sectioned upper portion of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a sectioned upper portion of FIG. 2;

(5) FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate, respectively, a variation of FIGS. 2 and 3;

(6) FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a construction detail necessary for assembling the containers of FIG. 1; and

(7) FIGS. 8a and 8b illustrate variations of FIGS. 6 and 7.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

(8) FIG. 1 shows as a whole a compactable archive 1000 which comprises a plurality of substantially parallelepipedal prismatic box-shaped containers 1, movable on rectilinear guides 2 which extend in a given direction ID so as to be accessible according to said direction D and selectively compactable. Each container 1 comprises a plurality of rectangular peripheral walls 4, connected end to end at respective vertexes V to delimit a substantially parallelepipedal internal volume VL (FIGS. 1 and 2). Furthermore, all the walls 4 of each container 1 are oriented. parallel to the direction D horizontally or vertically in FIG. 1 and are connected transversally In a fluid-tight end position, to peripherally delimit a prismatic volume VL (for each container 1) developed according to the direction U and accessible according to the direction D through at least one lateral opening. In fact, in the case of containers 1 positioned at the ends of the archive 1, one single opening A is provided facing the central part of the archive 1000, while each intermediate container 1 is delimited by an opening A and by an opposite opening A′, facing the adjoining containers 1. Each opening A and A′ is delimited by a respective peripheral frame 20 and 20′, provided with at least a step 21 to shape-define a labyrinth clearance AP with an opposite frame 20′/20, carried by an opposite container 1. According to the above description, each clearance AP between the various containers 1 of the archive defines a contactless seal capable of fluid-dynamically insulating the volume VLL inside the archive 1000.

(9) With reference to FIG. 1, at least one of the containers 1 is provided with an inner wall IW transversal to the direction D, where the edges of said wall have been illustrated by a broken line. The object of the wall IW is to divide the volume VL of said container 1 into two portions with partial parallelepiped al volume, the of which can be defined as required, taking account of the dimensions of the material to be filed in the portion detached from the wall. IW in the same container 1. For this purpose, the inner faces of the walls 4 are provided with supporting members for the wall IW known and not illustrated for reasons of economy of text and drawing. For reasons of economy of drawing, said wall IW has been illustrated only in FIG. 1 with reference to the container 1 shown at the right-hand end, but similar walls, also more than one, can be used to equip all the containers 1 of the archive 1000.

(10) With particular reference to FIG. 1, the archive 1000 comprises blocking devices 200 which can be activated by operating members 202, each of which is carried frontally by the front wall 4 of each container 1. Each operating member 202 can be shaped similarly to a steering wheel or, as in FIG. 1, comprise an electromechanical device of known type, adapted to fix the (transversal) position of the containers 1 on the guides 2, so that the frames 20/20′ cooperate frontally, with or without direct contact, to close the fluid-tight containers 1 once positioned as a pack on the guides 2. Once each container 1 of the archive 1000 has been coupled with its frames 20/20′ interpenetrated with the frames 20′/20 of the adjoining container/s, one single compartment VLL is defined inside the same archive 1000, given by the composition of the volumes VL delimited by the single containers 1 through the respective openings A and the blocking devices 200 render permanent the resulting configuration of said archive 1000.

(11) With particular reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, each frame 20/20′ has a stepped body 22/24 which extends in the direction transversal to the respective wall 4, is thicker than said wall 4 and comprises a free flap 226/246, folded below the respective wall 4 and parallel to the direction 0. Each flap 226/246 is detached from the respective frame 20/20′ by a length ranging from 1 to 15 mm but which could also be different according to given design specifications, without limiting the scope of the present invention.

(12) Furthermore, between the stepped bodies 22/24 a fire-retardant material can be applied of inorganic composite type and/or made of reagent material with volume increasing with temperature, therefore intumescent, to fully engage the clearance AP when, in use, the containers 1 are arranged in a pack and the operating members 202 in the closing position. Given the small size of the spaces between the stepped bodies 22/24, it can be affirmed that fire-retardant material of the type described above is associated with the stepped bodies 22/24.

(13) The use of the containers 1 and the archive 1000 comprising a plurality thereof is easy to understand from the above and does not require any further explanations. On the other hand, it may be useful to specify that the frames 20 and 20′ are shaped in a substantially identical manner and overturned by 180°, as can be seen in FIG. 3, to be interpenetrable according to the direction D, whereas the same does not apply to the stepped bodies 22/24, due to the presence of the respective flaps 226/246. Furthermore, each steeped body 22/24 can be produced by folding a metal sheet having constant thickness, without limiting the scope of the present invention.

(14) Lastly, it is clear that modifications and variations can be made to the containers 1 and to the archive 1000 described and illustrated here without departing from the protective scope of the present invention.

(15) Par example, if it is necessary to increase the capacity to insulate the volume VLL of the archive 1000 to a greater extent, modification of the walls 4 could be evaluated, making them of multilayer type, in. The sense that each one would be composed of a plurality of panels, as described below. In particular, with reference to FIG. 4, walls 4 could be produced comprising an outer panel 10 and an inner panel 40, arranged at different distances, so as to define an air gap 50 that develops parallel to the direction D.

(16) It is useful to specify that the first panel 10 and the second panel 40 of wall 4 have substantially trio same extension in the direction P but are coupled in an offset manner by a given distance to impart a given stepped configuration to each respective frame 20/20′.

(17) The thickness of the air gap 50 is substantially constant and will be sized based on the desired insulating capacity to be given to the containers 1 of the archive 1000. The provision of air gaps having thickness between 1 mm and 15 mm can be evaluated, according to design. specifications, and to obtain even more effective insulation, the construction of walls 4 comprising more than two panels 10/40 and more than one air gap 50 can be taken into consideration.

(18) On the other hand, focusing again on FIGS. 4 and 5, the panels 10 and the panels 40 of each wall 4 have respective free end portions 20H and 20H′, which are arranged transversally to the direction ID and are longitudinally offset by an interval ranging from 1 mm to 50 mm. In relation to the above description, also in this case, the frames 20 and 20′ of two adjacent containers 1 are adapted to join by labyrinth coupling the panels 10 and 40 of two opposite walls 4 without contact between the respective frames 20 and 20′, on the side of the respective openings A and A′.

(19) In addition, with particular reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, each panel 10 is protected externally by a metal. plate 5 to define a parallelepipedal-shaped prismatic box surround of the volume VL which can be decorated as required to customise the archive 1000. Also each plate 5 can be separated from each respective panel 10 by an air gap 50, again in order to increase the insulation of each container 1 and, overall, of the archive 1000.

(20) In relation to the above description, the air gaps 50 develop around the volume VL parallel to the direction contributing significantly to increasing the insulation capacity of the wall 4 that comprises them, in addition to the insulating capacity of each panel (first 10 and second 40 and if necessary others overlapping to form a multilayer structure in which the panels 10 and 40 are separated by an air gap 50).

(21) With particular reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the end coupling between pairs of first coplanar and consecutive panels 10, and the end coupling between pairs of second coplanar and consecutive panels 40, is determined by connection members 52, each provided with a joint portion 52′. Each connection member 52 has at least a pair of opposing beam pockets 520 delimited by two “U”-shaped elements 522. As can be seen from FIG. 7, each element 522 houses an end portion 11 of the first panel 10 or an end portion 41 of the second panel 40. Each joint portion 52′ further comprises at least one transversal abutment member 54 which extends between a first panel 10 and a second panel. 40 transversally to the first panels 10/second panels 40 coupled by the two seats 520 and has a given distance to space the first from the second panels 10/40, so as to create two consecutive air gaps 50, according to FIG. 7, which have a substantially parallelepipedal shape in FIG. 6 an abutment member 54 acts as a support for the outer metal plates 5, without limiting the scope of the present invention.

(22) In any case, in relation to the above description, whether each wall 4 comprises a first panel 10 and a second panel 40 spaced transversally to the direction D to delimit one single air gap 50, or whether the air gaps 50 are more than one between further appropriately designed panels, each wall 4 can be considered as a thermal insulation air apparatus 400 (FIG. 5) comprising panels 10/40 alternating with air gaps 50 or, if preferred, organized substantially in a sandwich of panels and air gap.

(23) Furthermore, if further increase in the insulation capacity of the walls 4 is desired, the result can be obtained by modifying the end coupling of the respective first and second consecutive panels 10 and 40 to increase the length of, and make more tortuous, the path of the hot gases inside the walls 4, so as to further increase the insulating power of the archive 1000. In particular, with reference to FIGS. 8a) and 8b), end portions 11 and 41 of the first and/or second consecutive panels 10/40 could be stepped-shaped and, in particular, “S” or “U”-shaped, or combine said solutions in other ways. Furthermore, also said stepped portion could be associated with fire-retardant, for example intumescent, material.

(24) Naturally said solution is practicable also if the walls 4 are composed of one single panel as in FIGS. 2 and 3.

(25) In relation to the above description, the set of frames 20/20′, air gaps 50, and respective first panels 10 and second panels 40 (and any others that may be added to them) that compose the walls 4 associated with the containers 1 and, in short, with the archive 1000, define overall a thermal apparatus whose capacity to insulate the respective internal volume VL from any heat released to the outside is particularly increased with respect to products conceived for analogous use. It can be easily understood that the thickness of the walls 4, determined by the number of first panels 10 and second panels 40, and air raps 50 and relative thickness defined by the joints 52, will determine the maximum value of the effective heat load to which the archive 1000 can be subjected, guaranteeing optimal conservation of the relative contents.