AU2880697A - A multi-piece housing - Google Patents

Description

A MULTI-PIECE HOUSING Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a multi-piece housing and a method of forming same. 5 In particular, the invention relates to housings which are able to be formed from a number of pieces which in a first configuration occupy a relatively small volume which facilitates transport, but in a final configuration define the housing which normally encloses a substantial volume and which, if it were to be transported in that final form, would result in the transport of "empty space" . i o Background of the Invention

This concept is not, of itself, new since cardboard boxes, for example, are transported as flat folded blanks and are assembled immediately prior to use. However, the present invention finds application in a wide variety of fields which are not analogous to the abovementioned use of cardboard blanks. For example, in the transport of chilled

15 or frozen meat, the meat has hitherto been placed within a plastic (polythene) bag and then located within a cardboard box. Since the cardboard box generally becomes bloodstained during the transport procedure, the cardboard box must be discarded at the destination. This means firstly that the costs of disposal of rubbish are incurred, and secondly that the cardboard box itself is not able to be recycled.

20 If the box itself were able to be fabricated from lightweight but very strong and food grade materials such as those created when the ARMACEL (Trade Mark) process is used, then the resulting box could be washed free of any blood or similar animal product, placed in a flat configuration and returned to the original point of dispatch ready to be used again on another occasion.

25 Similarly, in the fabrication of refrigerated cabinets from which cool drinks may be self selected by an intending purchaser, the assembled cabinet, or refrigerator housing, occupies a substantial volume since its large interior space is intended to receive drinks to be cooled. It is therefore not economically advantageous to transport such a refrigerator cabinet in its final assembled condition. Instead, it is much preferred to be able to transport the cabinet in a flat knocked down condition which occupies much less space. The abovementioned ARMACEL process enables lightweight low cost structural panels to be created and such panels are ideally suited to the manufacture of refrigerator cabinets since lightweight foamed polymers (for example expanded polystyrene (EPS) or GECET) are excellent insulators. However, it is also desirable if the means by which the panels can be positioned relative one to another in the final cabinet can also be fabricated at the time of fabricating the panels.

It is towards the abovementioned desiderata that the present invention is addressed. Summary of the Invention

In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a housing formed from a plurality of pieces each of lightweight inherently weak material, said pieces being coated on at least one side by a sheet material, wherein said pieces are positioned in a first configuration and spaced apart by a predetermined spacing prior to being coated, and the sheet material extending over said predetermined spaces forms a hinge means about which said pieces are folded into a second configuration to form said housing.

Preferably each of said pieces is a substantially rectangular slab having bevelled edges which after folding form a mitred joint. Other shapes can also be used.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of forming a housing from a plurality of pieces each of lightweight inherently weak material, said method comprising the steps of:

(i) positioning said pieces in a first configuration with adjacent pieces being spaced apart from each other by a predetermined spacing, (ii) coating one side of said pieces whilst in said first configuration with a sheet material, and

(iii) folding said pieces about hinge means formed by said sheet material extending over said predetermined spaces to position said pieces in a second configuration defining said housing.

If desired, the opposite side of said pieces can also be coated whilst in said first configuration with a sheet material. Alternatively, the opposite side of said pieces can also be coated whilst in said second configuration with a sheet material.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a housing formed from a plurality of pieces of lightweight inherently weak material, wherein each of said pieces is coated over substantially an entire surface with sheet material in a coating process known per se to form a structural load bearing component, said housing is assembled from said plurality of load bearing components into a housing defining configuration, and restraining means bearing on said components retain said components in said housing defining configuration. Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of five component pieces from which a housing can be formed, which is positioned between a sheet of plastics material intended to coat the pieces and a support used in the coating procedure;

Fig. 2 is a detail showing a portion of the support of Fig. 1 ; Fig. 3 is similar to Fig. 1, but of six component pieces from which a housing can be formed; Figs. 4-7 are sequential steps in the moulding process resulting in the finished product in its transport configuration; Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, but illustrating how the panels are folded so as to form the housing defined in the transport configuration;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the housing in its final configuration; Figs. 10 and 11 are perspective views illustrating a first joining technique; Figs. 12 and 13 are each a cross-sectional view illustrating a further embodiment of a joining technique;

Fig. 14 illustrates in cross-section a still further joining technique; Fig. 15 illustrates in a fragmentary perspective view a still further joining technique; Fig. 16 illustrates three steps in the joining sequence utilised with the arrangement of Fig. 15;

Fig. 17 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a further cabinet or housing; Fig. 18 illustrates the final assembled housing of the embodiment of Fig. 17; Figs. 19 and 20 are similar to Figs. 17 and 18, but of a still further embodiment;

Figs. 21-24 are similar to Figs. 4, 5, 8 and 9, but of a modified arrangement; Fig. 25 illustrates a yet further final assembled cabinet or housing; Fig. 26 is similar to Fig. 25, but of a yet further cabinet or housing; and Fig. 27 is a perspective view of a folding garage door. Detailed Description of the Referred Embodiments

The preferred embodiments to be described hereafter in relation to the drawings represent improvements in, or modifications to, the abovementioned ARMACEL process which for the reader is conveniently described in International Patent Specification No. PCT/AU95/00100 published under No. WO 95/23682 the contents of which are hereby incorporated into the present specification by cross-reference. This applies in particular to the materials used which for the sake of completeness are listed below. Set out in tabular form below are various combinations of materials able to be used in the ARMACEL technique.

Inner Core Sheet Material

Expanded Polystryene (EPS) APET - Thermoplastic

GECET PET - Thermoplastic

CARIL PETG - Thermoplastic

Polyethylene Polycarbonate

Polyurethane Polycarbonate/Polyester

Polypropylene ABS - Polystyrene

Recycled Cellulose Material

(Paper, Cardboard, Timber) HIPS - Polystyrene

Resins having mineral fillers including fly ash and aerated cement SAN - Polystyrene

Particle Board LDPE - Polystyrene

Fibrous Cement HDPE - Polystyrene

Polypropylene

Vinyl

PMMA - Acrylic

Cellulose Acetate

PBT - Thermo Plastic

PPE - Thermo Plastic

Acetal

PVC

NORYL (Trade Name)

It will be understood that each of the inner core materials listed in the left hand column can be coated with each of the sheet materials listed in the right hand column.

As seen in Fig. 1, a support or jig 1 is used to pre-locate five individual pieces 2-6 of lightweight inherently weak materials such as expanded polystyrene (EPS), GECET, particle board, or the like. Located above the pieces 2-6 is a sheet 7 of thermoplastic material such as ABS, polyester, or APET. As will be apparent hereafter, above the sheet 7 (and not illustrated) is a heating element and below the jig 1 (and again not illustrated) is a perforated table or similar leading to a vacuum pump (also not illustrated).

The purpose of the jig illustrated in Fig. 1 is to pre-locate the five pieces 2-6 and utilise the ARMACEL process to coat one side of each of the pieces 2-6 with the sheet of plastics material 7.

The jig 1 is itself formed from permeable material such as perforated timber or metal so that it is substantially air permeable save for four narrow walls 9 which accurately locate the centre piece 3 and the edges of the remaining pieces 2, 4, 5 and 6 which are at least adjacent to the centre piece 3. As best seen in Fig. 2, adjacent each end of each wall 9 is a plurality of holes 10 which increase the permeability of the jig 1 in those locations. However, preferably the entire surface of the jig 10 is covered with holes.

Fig. 3 shows a similar arrangement which includes a sixth piece 2' which enables a fully enclosed housing or box to be formed. It will be understood that the sixth piece 2' can be attached to any of the three free edges of any of the pieces 2, 4, 5 and 6. The pieces 2-6 and 2' are supported by an appropriately extended jig 1 ' .

As seen in Fig. 4, by means of relative movement between the jig 1 or 1 ' and the heated sheet 7, the sheet 7 and the upper surface of the pieces 2-6, including or excluding 2' as the case may be, are brought into proximity and, as indicated in Fig. 4, a pressure differential is applied so as to extract air from between the sheet 7 and pieces 2-6. This air passes through the pieces 2-6 (they themselves being air permeable), and through the jig 1 or 1 ' .

The pieces 2-6 can be inherently air permeable or may have holes provided therein for air passage. Scratching the surface of the pieces 2-6 has also been found to improve air extraction between the pieces 2-6 and the sheet 7, particularly in the case of hardboard pieces. As indicated in Fig. 4 air passes through the holes 10 and the jig 1 or 1 ' on its way to the vacuum pump (not illustrated as it is substantially conventional) via a perforated support plate 8. As a consequence of the stages illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, one surface of the pieces 2-6 has been coated utilising the ARMACEL technique and the free edges of the sheet 7 are then trimmed to size.

The resultant pieces 2-6 which are now interconnected are inverted and placed on a similar jig 11 with slightly lower walls 19. Then a second sheet 17 is heated and by means of relative movement between the sheet 17 and the pieces 2-6, the other side of the pieces 2-6 are coated again using the ARMACEL technique so as to result in a trimmed finished product as indicated in Fig. 7. This preferably includes creating some small pin holes in the sheet 7 to assist the passage of air therethrough.

It will be apparent from Figs. 5 and 6 that the walls 9 maintain a predetermined spacing between the bevelled edges of the pieces 2-6 and that this predetermined spacing is spanned by a continuous layer of the sheet material. Furthermore, as will be apparent from Figs. 6 and 7, in the second stage of the process this spacing is again supported and spanned by a second layer of sheet material. The result is the fabrication of a hinge which is formed from the two layers of flexible yet tough plastics material of the sheets 7,17. The predetermined spacing is preferably greater than twice the total original film thickness. Thus if the original film thickness is 0.5 mm then the total film thickness prior to carrying out the ARMACEL technique is 2 x 0.5 mm or 1.0 mm.

Twice this dimension is 2 mm and the typical preferred predetermined spacing between the pieces 2-6 is preferably 2.2 mm. This permits easy folding as explained hereafter.

The walls 9 maintain the first sheet 7 slightly above the apex of adjacent bevelled edges of the pieces 2-6. The walls 19 are lower to support the sheet 7 joining the inverted pieces 2-6 in this position and allow the second sheet 17 to fill in recess 12 (Fig. 6) formed in the first sheet 7 between the adjacent pieces to assist in forming the hinge 15. As indicated in Figs. 8 and 9, the finished pieces 2-6 can be folded out of their substantially flat fabrication and transport configuration into a housing configuration so as to form an open or closed box having mitred corners. Once the box is so formed it can be retained in that configuration by any convenient restraining means. As indicated in Fig. 9 one such means is to place the pieces 2-6 within an outer cardboard box 19. This can be used for the transport or storage of some product, particularly bearing in mind that the housing 20 so formed is waterproof in that the sheet 17 is continuous. In this connection a plastics bag or sheet plastics liner (not illustrated) can also be used.

In the alternative, however, the box 19 of Fig. 9 can simply be regarded as a jig which is used to temporarily hold the pieces 2-6 in their final position whilst, for example, the pieces 2-6 are glued together. Alternatively, whilst so temporarily held, the pieces 2-6 can be temporarily clamped together by means of a packaging strap (not illustrated in Fig. 9 but two such straps being illustrated in Fig. 18). The intention of such a packaging strap is to enable the pieces 2-6 to be held in the final housing configuration for some predetermined time and then be released so as to enable the pieces 2-6 to again adopt the flat transport configuration illustrated in Figs. 4-7.

The pieces 2-6 have a bevelled edge between adjacent sides in the form of an inner bevel surface 20 and an outer bevel surface 21. The inner bevel surface is angled at approximately 45° to the adjacent surface of the pieces 2-6 to give an angle of 90° between adjacent pieces when folded into the housing configuration (Fig. 8). It will be understood that other bevel angles can be used to give other angles between pieces in the housing configuration.

Further, it has been found that an inner bevel surface angle of approximately 46.5° is preferable for forming a 90° fold. The 46.5° angle allows for the (more than the double total sheeting thickness) spacing between the pieces 2-6 of the hinge 15 and ensures the inner bevel surfaces 20 can be easily folded into abutment with each other without placing excessive tension on the sheet material 7,17 of the hinges 15. The outer bevelled edges 21 are also angled with respect to the adjacent surface of the pieces 2-6 so as to result in a straight edge therebetween when folded into the housing configuration (Fig. 8). This straight edge, and also the outwardly curved shape of the hinge 15, also reduces stress in the hinge 15. Turning now to Figs. 10 and 11 , an alternative technique of holding the pieces 2-6 in their housing configuration is illustrated. Here each bevelled edge is provided with a substantially T-shaped insert 25 and a groove 26 which are covered by means of sheets 7 and 17 in the fabrication of the panels. As indicated in Fig. 11 a U-shaped channel 27 can be used to hold the T-shaped inserts 25 together whilst the grooves 26 together form a tunnel which can receive adhesive (not illustrated).

Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate two further embodiments of the T-shaped inserts and channels which respectively provide for a flush or an overlapping decorative arrangement. If desired an ARMACEL layer can be subsequently applied over the joint. A still further modification is indicated in Fig. 14 in that a cylinder or tube 30 can be located in one of the grooves 26. As indicated by means of a dashed line in Fig. 13 the tube 30 can or need not be covered by the sheets 7 and/or 17.

A further variation on Fig. 14 is provided in Fig. 15 where the tube 30 is provided with a series of apertures 31 opening into a groove 33. As indicated in Fig. 16, the interior of the tube 30 can be filled with glue 32 which is forced under pressure through the apertures 31 and into the join between the adjacent pieces 2-6. In this connection it will be appreciated that the scale of the spaces between components has been enlarged in Fig. 16 in order to illustrate the passage of the glue 32.

The joining arrangements of Figs. 12-16 also find application in the edge abutting of building sheets such as wall panels and ceiling tiles. In a still further embodiment as illustrated in Figs. 17 and 18, each of the panels of a proposed refrigerator housing, for example, are independently formed as illustrated in an exploded perspective view in Fig. 17. However, each of the panels 42-45 is formed with a pair of grooves 50,51 in the outer surfaces thereof, which grooves, as illustrated in Fig. 17, receive a packing strap 55 which holds the panels 42-45 together under a substantial compressive load. Thus the retention arrangement is formed as a part of the panels 42-45 themselves. If desired, a internally threaded cylindrical mounting anchor 60, which is a friction fit, or glued in position can be used together with a threaded fastener 61 received within the hollow interior of the anchor 60.

Figs. 19 and 20 respectively illustrate in the same manner as Figs. 17 and 18 another embodiment of a refrigerator housing. However, in this embodiment, the panels 142-145 have bevelled edges 146. The grooves 50, 51 , packing straps 50, anchors 60 and fasteners 61 are as before.

In Figs. 21-24 a modification to the fold-up panel arrangement of Figs. 1-9 is illustrated. Here a jig 101 essentially similar to jig 1 is used to position the panels 2-6 as before and a single layer 107 is applied by evacuating air through the perforated plate 108 and the permeable jig 101 as before. However, then as illustrated in Fig. 23, the now hingedly interconnected panels 2-6 are folded to form the desired housing.

Finally, with the panels 26 in their desired final configuration (and with the opening to the housing facing "towards the vacuum") the uncoated surface of each panel receives a second sheet 117 which locks all the panels in place. In Fig. 25 a refrigerator housing 151 is illustrated. The housing 151 is formed from panels 152-156 manufactured in a similar way as described with relation to

Figs. 1-9.

A door 157 can also be produced from a foam panel coated by the ARMACEL process and is attached to the housing 151 by hinges 158. The external plates 159 of the hinges are fastened to captive plates 160 embedded in the pieces 156 and 155 of the housing 151 and which have captive fasteners, such as nuts, therein. A glass or other like translucent door can alternatively be used for display purposes. Conventional magnetic sealing strips 161 are used to seal the door 157 with respect to the interior of the housing 151.

The rear wall 153 of the housing 151 is preferably produced as the central piece of a five piece construction, similar to that shown in Fig. 1. Alternatively, a four piece construction can be used to join the top, bottom and two side pieces 152, 154, 155 and 156 together and the rear wall piece 153 can be connected thereafter.

The embodiment shown includes four support brackets 162 (only two shown) which are attached to the interior of the wall pieces 152 and 154 to allow the installation of the shelves (not shown) in the refrigerator housing interior. In this embodiment, the housing 151 is placed above a refrigeration unit (not shown) which blows chilled air through an entry port 163.

Fig. 26 illustrates another refrigerator housing 171 formed from pieces 172-176 similar to that shown in Fig. 25. The housing 171 includes an internal refrigeration unit (not shown) installed behind partition 177. The unit blows chilled air through entry ports 182.

The refrigeration unit can be attached directly to the floor piece 175 of the housing 171. Alternatively, the rear wall piece 173 and the floor piece 175 can be connected together to form a first sub-assembly and thereafter joined to a second sub- assembly comprising the walls 172, 174 and 176 and, if required a second floor piece, all connected to each other.

This allows a faulty refrigeration unit to be quickly changed out by substitution of a new refrigeration unit, rear wall and floor first sub assembly.

Further, the cabinets 151 or 171 can be produced in a six piece assembly, similar to that shown in Fig. 3, with the sheet material hinge between the door 157 and the housing 151 , 171 being additionally supported by the hinges 158.

Fig. 27 illustrates a folding garage door 200 produced from sections of housing panels 210. Each of the housing panels 210 are preferably formed from two foam pieces 212 joined by a sheet material hinge 214. The external ends 216 of adjacent panels 210 are joined to connecting strips 218 by bolts 220. Each of the panels 210 include, for example, two 8-20 ft by 2 ft pieces 212 which when joined by the connecting strips 218, as shown, result in a folding garage door 200 having 8-20 ft by 4 ft rigid segments. The garage door 200 is particularly suited to cold climatic conditions, for example North America where garage doors are required to be insulated. The foam pieces 212 have excellent inherent insulative properties and are considerably lighter than traditional metal facia/foam/metal inner sandwich door constructions.

The above-described arrangements result in articles of substantial strength and utility far in excess of what one would expect based on the original strength of the materials. In particular, the speed with which the heated plastics sheet is applied and/or the duration of the period over which the vacuum is applied result in an impact forging result being achieved in which the plastics sheet is tightly bonded to the inherently weak material with excellent reproduction of fine edges, contours etc. in the uncoated material. This resulting dimensional accuracy is extremely important in achieving the dimensional tolerances required for accurate mating of the various housing panels .

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (65)

1. A housing formed from a plurality of pieces each of lightweight inherently weak material, said pieces being coated on at least one side by a sheet material, wherein said pieces are positioned in a first configuration and spaced apart by a predetermined spacing prior to being coated, and the sheet material extending over said predetermined spaces forms a hinge means about which said pieces are folded into a second configuration to form said housing.

2. A housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said pieces is a substantially rectangular slab having bevelled edges which after folding form a mitred joint.

3. A housing as claimed in claim 2 wherein each of the bevelled edges are comprised of a single angled face extending from one side of each of the slabs to the opposite side.

4. A housing as claimed in claim 2 wherein each of the bevelled edges are comprised of two angled faces each extending from each side of each of the slabs toward the opposite side and meeting along an apex.

5. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 2-4 wherein the face or faces of the bevelled edges are each at approximately 45° to their adjacent side of the slab.

6. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 1-5 comprising five of said pieces arranged in said first configuration to form an open rectangular prism in said second configuration.

7. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 1-5 comprising six of said pieces arranged in said first configuration to form a closed rectangular prism in said second configuration.

8. A housing as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the thickness of the sheet material is approximately 0.5 mm.

9. A housing as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said pieces are spaced apart by more than twice the total thickness of said sheet material.

10. A housing as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the coated sheet material extends below the closest edges of adjacent pieces to form a longitudinal recess along the hinge means.

11. A housing as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the opposite side of said pieces is coated whilst in said first configuration by a sheet material.

12. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 1-10 wherein the opposite side of said pieces is coated whilst in said second configuration by a sheet material.

13. A housing as claimed in claim 11 or 12 wherein the sheet material coating each of the sides is different.

14. A housing as claimed in claim 11 or 12 wherein the sheet material coating each of the sides is substantially identical.

15. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 8-14 wherein said total sheet material thickness is approximately 1.0 mm and said spacing is at least approximately 2.2 mm.

16. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 10-16 wherein the sheet material coating the opposite side of the pieces substantially conforms to said recess.

17. A housing as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said pieces are retained in said second configuration by a restraining means.

18. A housing as claimed in claim 17 when dependent on claim 6 or 7, wherein the restraining means includes an open rectangular cardboard box which is a snug fit over the housing in said second configuration.

19. A housing as claimed in claim 17 or 18 wherein the restraining means includes gluing abutting edges of the pieces in said second configuration.

20. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 17-19 wherein the restraining means includes at least one packaging strap encircling two or more of the pieces to clamp them together.

21. A housing as claimed in claim 20 wherein at least one of the pieces includes at least one recessed channel to receive and locate said packaging strap(s).

22. A housing as claimed in claim 17 wherein the restraining means includes at least a pair of locking inserts each respectively affixed to abutting edges of at least two of the pieces and at least one cover member adapted to engage said inserts and lock the inserts together.

23. A housing as claimed in claim 22 wherein the inserts are glued to the edges.

24. A housing as claimed in claim 22 wherein said inserts are affixed to the edges by coating them with said sheet material.

25. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 22-24 wherein each insert includes a distal longitudinal angled flange, the abutting flanges forming a T shaped longitudinal projection, the cover member including a T-shaped longitudinal recess adapted to slidably engage the abutting flanges and lock the inserts together.

26. A housing as claimed in claim 25 wherein the exterior of the cover member(s) is/are flush with the exterior surface of the pieces.

27. A housing as claimed in claim 25 wherein the exterior of the cover member(s) is/are proud of the exterior surface of the pieces.

28. A housing as claimed in claim 26 or 27 wherein the cover member(s) is/are retained in engagement with said inserts by coating with said sheet material.

29. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 18-26 wherein the - restraining means includes a channel in abutting edges, the channels forming a longitudinal recess when abutted, the recess adapted to receive glue therein.

30. A housing as claimed in claim 29 further including a tube adapted to fit within the recess, the wall of the tube including one or more holes to allow passage of glue from the tube interior to the recess interior.

31. A housing as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the pieces are coated with the sheet material by the ARMACEL process.

32. A housing as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the pieces are produced from any one of Expanded Polystryene (EPS), GECET, CARIL, Polyethylene, Polyurethane, Polypropylene, Recycled Cellulose Material (Paper, Cardboard, Timber), Resins having mineral fillers including fly ash and aerated cement, Particle Board or Fibrous Cement and the sheet material is produced from any one of APET - Thermoplastic, PET - Thermoplastic, PETG - Thermoplastic, Polycarbonate, Polycarbonate/Polyester, ABS - Polystyrene, HIPS - Polystyrene, SAN - Polystyrene, LDPE - Polystyrene, HDPE - Polystyrene, Polypropylene, Vinyl, PMMA - Acrylic, Cellulose Acetate, PBT - Thermo Plastic, PPE - Thermo Plastic, Acetal, PVC or NORYL.

33. A wet storage packaging box formed from a housing as defined in any of the preceding claims.

34. A refrigerator cabinet formed from a housing as defined in any of the preceding claims.

35. A method of forming a housing from a plurality of pieces each of lightweight inherently weak material, said method comprising the steps of:

(i) positioning said pieces in a first configuration with adjacent pieces being spaced apart from each other by a predetermined spacing;

(ii) coating one side of said pieces whilst in said first configuration with a sheet material; and

(iii) folding said pieces about hinge means formed by said sheet material extending over said predetermined spaces to position said pieces in a second configuration defining said housing.

36. A method as claimed in claim 35 wherein the opposite side of said pieces is coated whilst in said first configuration with a sheet material.

37. A method as claimed in claim 35 wherein the opposite side of said pieces is coated whilst in said second configuration with a sheet material.

38. A method as claimed in claim 36 or 37 wherein the sheet material coating each of the sides is different.

39. A method as claimed in claim 36 or 37 wherein the sheet material coating each of the sides is substantially identical.

40. A method as claimed in any one of claims 35-39 wherein the sheet material is softened by heating prior to coating the pieces.

41. A method as claimed in any one of claims 35-40 wherein a pressure differential is used to draw the sheet material onto the pieces.

42. A method as claimed in claim 41 wherein the pressure differential is produced by a suction pump acting the side of the sheet material adjacent the pieces.

43. A method as claimed in any one of the claims 35-42 wherein the pieces are air permeable.

44. A method as claimed in any one of the claims 35-43 wherein the pieces are coated with the sheet material using the ARMACEL process.

45. A housing produced by the method of any one of claims 35-44.

46. A wet storage packaging box produced by the method of any one of claims 35-44.

47. A refrigerator cabinet produced by the method of any one of claims 35-44.

48. A housing formed from a plurality of pieces of lightweight inherently weak material, wherein each of said pieces is coated over substantially an entire surface with sheet material in a coating process to form a structural load bearing component, said housing is assembled from said plurality of load bearing components into a housing defining configuration, and restraining means bearing on said components retain said components in said housing defining configuration.

49. A housing as claimed in claim 48 wherein the restraining means includes an open cardboard box which is a snug fit over the housing in the second configuration.

50. A housing as claimed in claim 48 or 49 wherein the restraining means includes gluing abutting edges of the pieces in the second configuration.

51. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 48-50 wherein the restraining means includes at least one packaging strap encircling two or more of the pieces to clamp them together.

52. A housing as claimed in claim 51 wherein at least one of the pieces includes at least one recessed channel to receive and locate said packaging strap(s).

53. A housing as claimed in any one of claims 48-52 wherein the restraining means includes a channel in abutting edges, the channels forming a longitudinal recess when abutted, the recess adapted therein to receive glue therein.

54. A housing as claimed in claim 53 further including a tube adapted to fit within the recess, the wall of the tube including one or more holes to allow passage of glue from the tube interior to the recess interior.

55. A housing as claimed in claim 48 wherein the restraining means include fasteners extending between pieces.

56. A housing as claimed in claim 55 wherein the fasteners each include an internally threaded insert affixed to an edge of a piece which engages a screw passing through an abutting edge of another piece.

57. A housing as claimed in claim 55 or 56 wherein the restraining means further includes at least one packaging strap encircling two or more of the pieces to clamp them together.

58. A housing as claimed in claim 57 wherein at least one of the pieces includes at least one recessed channel to receive and locate said packaging strap(s).

59. A housing as claimed in any one of the claims 48-58 wherein the pieces are coated with the sheet material by the ARMACEL process.

60. A housing as claimed in any one of the claims 48-59 wherein the pieces are produced from any one of Expanded Polystryene (EPS), GECET, CARIL, Polyethylene, Polyurethane, Polypropylene, Recycled Cellulose Material (Paper, Cardboard, Timber), Resins having mineral fillers including fly ash and aerated cement, Particle Board or Fibrous Cement and the sheet material is produced from any one of APET - Thermoplastic, PET - Thermoplastic, PETG - Thermoplastic, Polycarbonate, Polycarbonate/Polyester, ABS - Polystyrene, HIPS - Polystyrene, SAN - Polystyrene, LDPE - Polystyrene, HDPE - Polystyrene, Polypropylene, Vinyl, PMMA - Acrylic, Cellulose Acetate, PBT - Thermo Plastic, PPE - Thermo Plastic, Acetal, PVC or NORYL.

61. A wet storage packaging box formed from a housing as defined in any of the claims 48-60.

62. A refrigerator cabinet formed from a housing as defined in any of the claims 48-60.

63. A housing substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, 3, 4 to 9, 10 and 11, 12 and 13, 14, 15 and 16, 17 and 18, 19 and 20, 21-24, 25 or 26 of the accompanying drawings.

64. A method of forming a housing substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, 3, 4-9, 10 and 11, 12 and 13, 14, 15 and 16, 17 and 18, 19 and 20, 21-24, 25 or 26 of the accompanying drawings.

65. A folding garage door substantially as described herein with reference to Fig. 27 of the accompanying drawings.