Abstract: A control system for a common access cabinet having a plurality of drawers and electrically controlled latches. Each latch corresponds to one drawer and is configured to receive an electrical signal. The electrical signal contains an address assigned to a particular drawer. When a latch receives a signal that defines the address of the drawer to which that latch corresponds, the latch unlocks that corresponding drawer. The latches receive the signals over an asynchronous serial interface bus. A user input device receives user identification data that is processed by a processor device to determine if the user is authorized to access any of the drawers. If the user is authorized, the processor device generates a signal that contains an address that corresponds to a drawer identified in the user identification data. The signal is converted to an asynchronous serial signal which is routed to the asynchronous serial interface bus.

Abstract: A storage cabinet includes a housing having at least one exterior port, at least one interior port positioned above the exterior port, and a convection passageway connecting the exterior port and the interior port such that warm air will rise within the passageway by natural convection from the exterior port to the interior port. The cabinet also includes at least one drawer received within the housing and moveable between a closed position wherein a storage space within the drawer is inaccessible from outside the housing, and an open position wherein the drawer extends out of the housing such that the storage space is accessible. The drawer has at least one inlet for allowing airflow to pass from the interior port of the housing to the storage space of the drawer when the drawer is in the closed position. Another storage cabinet provided by the present disclosure includes a housing and at least one drawer received within the housing and moveable between a closed position and an open position.

Abstract: A transport vehicle for enabling a user to wheel one or more sensitive electronic components such as circuit board modules from one location to another without subjecting the components to electrical field damage. The transport vehicle is in the nature of a cart formed from a conductive tubular framework supported on wheels. Slidably received between a pair of parallel frame members is a bin formed from a material which has an outer conductive layer forming a Faraday shield and an inner conductive layer or, alternatively, a static dissipative conductive layer which offers a slow, more controlled bleed of static electricity.

Abstract: Apparatus which can be embodied in an electronic wristwatch monitors the integrity of a wrist strap ground. An input terminal to which a known ground is coupled is provided. An oscillator produces a fixed frequency which is mixed with a signal from the input terminal to provide a composite signal. The composite signal is coupled to one input of an exclusive OR-gate. The other input of the exclusive OR-gate is coupled directly to the output of the oscillator. The output of the OR-gate is processed to produce an output signal indicative of the phase relationship between the oscillator output and the composite signal. When the input terminal is grounded, the phase relationship between the oscillator output and the composite signal changes, resulting in a change in the output signal which can be used to trigger an indicator (e.g., visual display and/or aural alarm) to indicate to a user whether he or she is properly grounded.

Abstract: An adjustable antistatic shelf is provided for supporting electronic circuit boards in a storage cabinet. The shelf includes a base having parallel planar top and bottom surfaces. A plurality of parallel rail pairs extends outwardly from the top surface of the base, the rails in each pair spaced apart to form a groove of a first width, with adjacent rail pairs spaced from each other to form grooves of a second width. A complementary plurality of rail pairs extends outwardly from the bottom surface of the base in alignment with the rail pairs extending from the top surface. Tabs extend from the shelf for adjustably mounting the shelf to tracks in a storage cabinet. The shelf is molded as a unit from a conductive plastic.

Abstract: An electrically grounded storage cabinet for electrical circuit board modules is provided with multiple rectangular arrays of brackets for receiving at least one pair of conductive rectangular shelves. The shelves are slidably adjustable in elevation relative to each other on the brackets. A circuit board module is received between registered grooves in the lower surface of one shelf and the upper surface of the other shelf in each pair. The modules are grounded through the shelves, supporting brackets, and cabinet walls to preclude damage to the modules from static electricity discharges and to provide a controlled discharge of any charge remaining in circuit board components after removal from service or any incoming charge from personnel or the environment.