U.S. patent application number 10/854740 was filed with the patent office on 2005-02-17 for reconfigurable dividing wall system.
Invention is credited to Mauk, Mitchell P., Raines, Laurence C..
Application Number | 20050034398 10/854740 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34138523 |
Filed Date | 2005-02-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050034398 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mauk, Mitchell P. ; et
al. |
February 17, 2005 |
Reconfigurable dividing wall system
Abstract
A reconfigurable wall system is provided. The system includes an
upper attachment member, a lower attachment member and a wall
member. The upper attachment member is connected to a ceiling. The
lower attachment member is connected to floor. The wall member has
upper and lower ends. The upper end of the wall member is attached
to the upper attachment member. The lower end of the wall is
attached to the lower attachment member.
Inventors: |
Mauk, Mitchell P.; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Raines, Laurence C.; (Berkeley,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BRINKS HOFER GILSON & LIONE
P.O. BOX 10395
CHICAGO
IL
60610
US
|
Family ID: |
34138523 |
Appl. No.: |
10/854740 |
Filed: |
May 25, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60475208 |
May 30, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/506.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B 2/7401
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/506.01 |
International
Class: |
E04B 001/00 |
Claims
1. A reconfigurable wall system, comprising: an upper attachment
member connected to a ceiling; a lower attachment member connected
to floor; and a wall member having an upper end and a lower end,
the upper end attached to the upper attachment member and lower end
attached to lower attachment member.
2. The wall assembly of claim 1 wherein the wall member is formed
from a plurality of separate wall elements.
3. The wall assembly of claim 2 wherein the wall elements have a
curved portion.
4. The wall assembly of claim 3 wherein the wall elements have a
rectangular portion.
5. The wall assembly of claim 2 wherein the wall elements are
spaced apart.
6. The wall assembly of claim 2 wherein the wall member is
removably secured to the upper and lower attachment members.
7. The wall assembly of claim 2 further comprising fasteners
adapted to secure the upper and lower ends of the wall member to
the upper and lower attachment members.
8. The wall assembly of claim 2 wherein the upper and lower
attachment members are formed from a metal material.
9. The wall assembly of claim 8 wherein the wall member is formed
from a wood material.
10. The wall assembly of claim 9 wherein the upper and lower
attachment members are each formed from two separate spaced apart
support elements.
11. The wall assembly of claim 10 wherein each support element is
formed from a top portion and a bottom portion.
12. The wall assembly of claim 2 wherein the wall elements have a
sinusoidal shape.
13. The wall assembly of claim 12 where adjacent wall elements a
pattern of opposite phase.
14. The wall assembly of claim 2 wherein the wall member departs
from the plane defined by the upper and lower attachment members in
a crenellated manner.
15. The wall assembly of claim 2 wherein the wall member departs
from the plane defined by the upper and lower attachment member in
a boustrophedonic manner.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present patent document claims the benefit of the filing
date under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) of Provisional U.S. Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/475,208, filed May 30, 2003, which is
hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a reconfigurable
wall panel system, and in particular to a method and system of
designing and making the system and components thereof, including
attachment elements and wall panels.
[0003] Open office systems are commonly used to configure large
open office spaces into separate work spaces. These systems may
consist of office furniture, dividing partitions, and methods and
structures for managing the needed infrastructure, such as
electrical, telephone and computer wiring. Such system
architectures are often been promoted as being versatile, movable
systems that permit easy re-arrangement to reconfigure the office
area as business needs change. But these products typically have
numerous parts and have so many interdependent components and
complicated fasteners that it is a difficult task, requiring
special skills, to make adjustments in an open plan office layout
after the system has been installed. The complexity of these
systems and the number of parts involved make layout planning and
initial installation complex, and modification of an existing
system involves similar difficulties.
[0004] Most office areas configured in an open-office manner are
located in an area where dropped-ceiling architecture is used so as
to obscure the view of the actual ceiling and the utility conduits
and ducts required to service the office area. Generally this
results in a large open area without floor-to-ceiling dividing
panels of any kind, as the dropped ceiling architecture does not
lend itself to convenient support of vertical partitions extending
from the floor to the dropped ceiling. Installation of such
partitions, particularly after the installation of the dropped
ceiling may be particularly difficult.
[0005] The concept and appearance of open-office systems also has
engendered some user dissatisfaction based on emotional
considerations. When standing or walking around, the general
appearance of sameness tends to create a feeling of monotony and
produces a maze-like appearance in an office environment. Office
workers get the feeling that they are in temporary quarters with
little privacy, individuality or importance.
[0006] There is a need for additional architectural elements to
enhance the feeling of privacy and individuality of the office
area, while minimizing the effort to plan, install or modify the
overall configuration. In particular, the use of dividing walls
with ornamental aspects, which can provide a variety of visual
effects, including texture, openwork to permit light passage, and
color provides relief from some of the psychological effects of the
open-office system, while additionally permitting control of
pedestrian traffic flow, and light and sound management.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0007] In accordance with the present invention, a reconfigurable
wall system is provided. The system includes an upper attachment
member, a lower attachment member and a wall member. The upper
attachment member is connected to a ceiling. The lower attachment
member is connected to floor. The wall member has upper and lower
ends. The upper end of the wall member is attached to the upper
attachment member. The lower end of the wall is attached to the
lower attachment member.
[0008] According another aspect of the invention, the wall member
is removably secured to the upper and lower attachment members.
[0009] As used herein, the term "connected to" is intended to be
interpreted broadly to include direct and indirect connections.
[0010] As further used herein, the term "wall member" is intended
to be interpreted broadly to include vertical elements of vary
sizes, shapes, materials and functionality.
[0011] These and other features of the present invention are
described in detail in connection with preferred embodiments of the
invention, which are described in detail below and shown in the
appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the first embodiment
of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
[0014] FIG. 3 is an upper and lower cross-section of the embodiment
of FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0015] FIG. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the present
invention.
[0016] FIG. 5 illustrates a third embodiment of the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 6 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS
[0018] In a first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a
reconfigurable dividing wall system 10 is shown with an embodiment
of a wall panel 12. It should be recognized, as shown in the
attached drawings and described herein, the embodiment of the wall
panel 12 may take forms other than that illustrated in FIG. 1. In
particular, a wide variety of wall panels having varying sizes,
shapes, and material constructions may be implemented with the
present invention in order to suit the needs of a user. It is
further intended that the dividing wall system 10 be reconfigurable
to readily adapt to the changing needs of a user.
[0019] The dividing wall system 10 is generally intended to provide
an esthetic dividing element for an open area. The dividing wall
system 10 is further intended to provide enhanced privacy without
fully enclosing the area, and may also serve to direct pedestrian
traffic flow.
[0020] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the wall panels 12
consist of wooden laminate with a veneer facing which has been
formed into a sinuous shape. Alternate wall panels 12 are
configured so that they abut each other horizontally, but the
sinuous shapes are of opposite phase (as best illustrated in FIG.
2). The wall panels 12 are secured by an upper attachment member 20
and a lower attachment member 22 such that they remain in a
vertical position. The lower attachment member 22 is constructed
such that the weight of the wall panels 12 is either applied to the
base or floor 26 directly or through the lower attachment member
22. The upper attachment member 20 and the wall panels 12 are
constructed such that the weight of the wall panels 12 is not borne
by the ceiling structure 30.
[0021] The upper attachment member 20 and lower attachment member
22 are best illustrated in FIG. 3. It should be recognized that
upper attachment member 20 and lower attachment member 22 are only
one embodiment of the present invention. As those skilled in the
art will recognize, other attachment members could be implemented
to support the wall panels 12. With particular reference to the
present embodiment, the upper attachment member 22 consists of
inner brackets 34, 36 and outer shrouds 38, 40. The outer shrouds
38, 40 provide an aesthetic cover for the inner brackets 34, 36. In
particular, the shrouds 38, 40 are intended to finish the
construction so that the interior mechanical details are not
visible to the office occupants after the construction is
completed. Various known methods of securing the shrouds 38, 40 may
be used, including double-sided foam tape and VELCRO. A fastener
such as the bolt 44 interconnects the inner brackets 34, 36 with
the wall panel 12 secured therebetween. The bolt 44 passes through
an opening in the washer 46, an opening 48 in the inner bracket 34
and through the wall panel 12. The bolt 44 then passes through an
opening 50 in the inner bracket 36 in order to secure the wall
panel 12.
[0022] A fastener such as the bolt 60 passes through an opening 62
in the inner bracket 36 in order to secure the upper attachment
member 22 to a ceiling structure 30. The bolt 60 passes through an
opening in the washer 66 and into a ceiling panel 70 and through an
opening 72 in the bracket 74. The bolt 60 further passes into
openings in the washer 78 and nut 80 in order to secure the upper
attachment member 20 to the bracket 74. The bracket 74 is secured
to the associated building structure.
[0023] The lower attachment member 22 includes generally the same
as the upper attachment member 20 with exception of being attached
to base surface or floor 26. The lower attachment member 22
consists of inner brackets 80, 82 and outer shrouds 84, 86. The
outer shrouds 84, 86 provide an aesthetic cover for the inner
brackets 80, 82. A fastener such as the bolt 90 interconnects the
inner brackets 80, 82 with the wall panel 12 secured therebetween.
The bolt 90 passes through an opening in the washer 92, an opening
94 in the inner bracket 80 and through the wall panel 12. The bolt
90 then passes through an opening 100 in the inner bracket 82 in
order to secure the wall panel 12.
[0024] A fastener such as the screw 104 passes through an opening
108 in a bottom portion of the inner bracket 82 in order to secure
the lower attachment member 22 to a base surface or floor 26 of an
associated building structure.
[0025] The upper and lower attachment members 20, 22 may be made of
various known materials such as galvanized steel, aluminum and with
an appropriate manufacturing process such as metal bending, seam
welding or extrusion.
[0026] The wall panels may have other shapes, such as crenellated,
flat, bowed, rectangular or other known shapes as illustrated in
FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. For example, the dividing wall system 150 of
FIG. 4, illustrates linear wall panels 152 arranged in a spaced
apart relationship. The dividing wall system 170 of FIG. 5,
illustrates the use of bowed wall panels 172. Lastly, the dividing
wall system 190 of FIG. 6, illustrates the use a square-wave or
rectangular stepped wall panel configuration 192. It should be
recognized a wide variety of other shapes and configurations could
be implemented with the present invention. Further, a variety of
known surface finishes, such as veneer, paint, fabric and the like
may be implemented with the present invention.
[0027] In another embodiment of the invention, the individual wall
panels may be assembled to the upper and lower attachment means
such that a horizontal gap exists between wall panels along the
length of the wall, such that the wall panels are not all
contiguous. Combinations of contiguous and spaced panels as well as
different shaped panels may be intermixed.
[0028] Although the dropped ceiling is not part of the invention,
its construction is briefly described to provide context for the
subsequent discussion as the wall system of the present invention
may interface with the dropped ceiling. The orthogonal grid of a
dropped ceiling is typically formed as a first T-bar element
suspended at equal vertical distances from the building ceiling and
spaced at a distance of 4 feet, each being parallel to each other.
An orthogonal grid is formed by interconnecting the first T-bar
elements with similar shorter T-bar elements having ends adapted to
interface with the first T-bars, and spaced at a distance of 4 feet
so as to form a pattern of square openings to which the remainder
of the dropped ceiling is attached. Additional T-bar elements may
be used in order to further subdivide the square openings into
square openings measuring 2 feet on each side if needed.
[0029] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will
recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. As such, it
is intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as
illustrative rather than limiting and that it is the appended
claims, including all equivalents thereof, which are intended to
define the scope of the invention.
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