1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a shutter for a cabinet, more particularly to a shutter with a plurality of slat units which have transparent portions through which an object behind the same can be viewed.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,260, there is disclosed a cabinet (not shown) which has an entrance and a drawable shutter to close the entrance.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional shutter (S) employed in the previously described cabinet is shown to comprise a plurality of juxtaposed slat units 3. Each of the slat units 3 has a front face (f), a back face (b), a longitudinal first portion 31, a longitudinal second portion 32, a longitudinal intermediate portion 33 between the longitudinal first and second portions 31, 32, a longitudinal rib 34 which projects from the back face (b) at the intermediate portion 33, and a pin-and-eye assembly which includes a pin member 35 provided on the back face (b) of the first portion 31 and which extends in a direction substantially parallel to the rib 34, and an eye member 36 provided on the back face (b) at the second portion 32. The pin member 35 of one of the slat units 3 engages the eye member 36 of an adjacent one of the slat units 3 so as to hinge the slat unit 3 to an adjacent slat unit 3. The slat units are hinged compactly so that no clearance is formed between adjacent slat units when the slat units are extended to prevent dust from entering into the cabinet.
Some of the drawbacks of the above-described shutter (S) are as follows:
(I) A large mold is needed to form a slat unit with a considerable length, thereby increasing the production costs incurred. PA1 (II) Since the slat unit is made of an opaque material, an object kept in the cabinet is not visible. Identification tags are generally adhered on an external surface of the slat units to identify the objects kept in the cabinet, thereby resulting in additional work to the user.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds