1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for blocking open a door of a housing, in particular a switchgear cabinet, having a housing body on which the door is hinged, wherein a clamping element can be inserted into the area between the housing body and the door.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Devices for blocking a door open are generally known. For example, for maintaining the door of a switchgear cabinet in the open state, or for preventing the door from being inadvertently closed, for example by a draft, a wedge or other suitable object is often used. The wedge is then pushed into the gap between the door and the body of the switchgear cabinet defined by the hinge. In this way, the object is wedged between the door and the body of the switchgear cabinet and effectively prevents the door from being closed. It is also possible to place a heavy object against the open door to prevent it from being shut.
However, this solution has one disadvantage that, for keeping the door open, an additional object is required, which can become lost. Also, these objects are very cumbersome to manipulate, and their use sometimes entails the danger of injury.
A device for keeping a door open, which is fixedly attached between the door and body of the switchgear cabinet, is known. This device substantially includes a long metal element, which is hinged to the upper portion of the door by a rotary seating. A guide device for the metal element is on the cabinet body. The metal element has an elongated hole, in which a guide pin is conducted. When opening the door, the metal element is pulled out in the direction of the opening door and the pin guided in the elongated hole guides the movement of the metal element. As soon as the door is brought into its open position, the pin catches in a recess in the elongated hole, so that the door is maintained in the open position. Thus, the extended metal element forms a support of the door on the cabinet body.
However, this known device for keeping the door open has a relatively complicated construction and is not easy to manipulate, in particular when closing the door. Also, the known device must be quite large, in particular in connection with heavy cabinet doors, in order to attain the required stability. This leads to an increased space requirement at the upper inside of the door, or in the adjoining area of the cabinet body. When installing this device it is necessary to drill a plurality of holes for installation, which is expensive, particularly with metal doors, and increases the manufacturing costs.