U.S. patent number 3,766,692 [Application Number 05/235,535] was granted by the patent office on 1973-10-23 for portable wall assembly.
Invention is credited to Forest G. Stark, Melvin A. Textoris.
United States Patent |
3,766,692 |
Stark , et al. |
October 23, 1973 |
PORTABLE WALL ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A portable wall assembly includes a plurality of panel elements
having edge channels adjustably engageable with vertical support
posts. Each panel is secured to a post by means of a pair of
hook-type mounting clips carried by the upper and lower limits of
each panel channel and insertable within annular cavities provided
at the top and bottom of the post after which a removable cap is
applied at the top of the post to firmly clamp both clips.
Inventors: |
Stark; Forest G. (Chagrin
Falls, OH), Textoris; Melvin A. (Struthers, OH) |
Family
ID: |
22885896 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/235,535 |
Filed: |
March 17, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/71; 52/65;
52/761; 160/351; 52/239; 160/135 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B
2/7444 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E04B
2/74 (20060101); E04f 013/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;52/71,122,238,239,65,70,32,36,241,495 ;160/135,351 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Perham; Alfred C.
Assistant Examiner: Braun; Leslie A.
Claims
We claim:
1. A portable wall assembly including, at least a pair of panel
elements each having a vertical side edge, an upright post disposed
adjacent the side edges of said panel elements for connecting same,
a channel member along said panel element side edge, said channel
member having a base wall overlying said side edge, a pair of side
walls projecting from said base wall and defining a cavity
therebetween, a pair of vertically spaced apart mounting clips
adjacent the upper and lower limits of the panel and projecting
from each said side edge, said mounting clips including, a rear
wall fixedly attached to said channel member base wall, a bottom
wall normal to said rear wall and extending outwardly therefrom, a
front wall extending upwardly from said bottom wall, an offset
portion normal to said front wall and a tongue at the free end of
said offset portion, and extending downwardly therefrom, said
offset portion located outside the confines of said channel member
cavity, said post including vertically spaced mounting means at the
top and bottom thereof and providing recesses disposed radially
interiorly of the post periphery, said clip offset portions
overlying said recesses and said tongues positioned therein, and
removable clamping means insertable into the uppermost one of said
post vertically spaced mounting means to rigidly engage and retain
the respective said clip offset portion disposed therein.
2. A portable wall assembly according to claim 1 wherein, said post
and post recesses are cylindrical, whereby said panel elements may
be adjustably angularly mounted to said post prior to securing said
clamping means.
3. A portable wall assembly according to claim 1 wherein, the
lowermost one of said post vertically spaced means comprises a
bottom cap secured to the bottom of said post, said bottom cap
including, a lower main body portion and an upper reduced diameter
hub, and a peripheral flange extending upwardly from said main body
portion and concentrically spaced radially outwardly from said hub
to provide one said recess.
4. A portable wall assembly according to claim 1 wherein, said
removable clamping means comprises a top cap threadedly engageable
with the upper portion of said post and the external dimension of
said top cap is no greater than that of said post periphery.
5. A portable wall assembly according to claim 1 including, a
resilient insert disposed within said channel cavity and having a
front face engageable by said post periphery when said mounting
clips overlie said post recesses and said clamping means has been
inserted whereby, a seal is provided along the juncture of said
panel element and post.
6. A portable wall assembly according to claim 1 wherein, said post
includes an adjustably mounted foot element attached to the bottom
thereof.
7. A portable wall assembly according to claim 1 wherein, said post
is rectangular in cross section and said recesses are circular.
Description
This invention relates generally to a portable wall assembly, and
more particularly, to a wall assembly comprising a plurality of
partition or screen panel elements provided with unique connecting
means adjacent their lateral edges permitting of removable
attachment of one or more identical panels in various
relationships.
Adjustably connected partition elements are generally well known;
however, many shortcomings have been found when utilizing certain
of the presently available devices. Some of the known assemblies
require a multitude of intricate components, leading to a
prohibitive cost factor. Others require sub-assembly of various
components at the site of ultimate use and fail to produce a
rattle-free assembly.
By the present arrangement, an extremely simple construction is
provided wherein a central post or standard serves as the
connecting means for joining together two, three or four panel
elements of identical construction into a rigid assembly. The
resultant connection may serve to join a plurality of panels in a
straight line such that a rigid-wall type of assembly is provided
while on the other hand, the very same connecting means may be
employed to join the same panel elements in a selected relative
angle with respect to one another such that a free-form type of
wall assembly is achieved.
By the present invention, both the initial assembly of a plurality
of panel elements as well as any subsequent readjustment thereof
may be readily obtained without the use of any special tools.
Regardless of whether the panels are disposed in a straight line
arrangement or connected together to provide an angular disposition
therebetween, complete privacy is assured by means of an
automatically operable sealing element associated with the vertical
edge of each panel element.
Accordingly, one of the primary objects of the present invention is
to provide an improved wall assembly including a plurality of
partition or screen panel elements, at least two of which elements
are connected by means of a common standard member of permit
various selected angular positioning therebetween.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved
wall assembly including a plurality of panel elements each of which
is provided with a pair of offset clips at the opposite limits of
at least one lateral edge thereof for adjustably connecting the
panel to a cylindrical standard member having a removable cap
element for retaining the assembled panel elements in their
selected position with respect to the standard member.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved
wall assembly including a plurality of panel elements each of which
is provided with a pair of offset clips at the opposite limits of
at least one lateral edge thereof for adjustably connecting the
panel to a square sectioned standard member provided with an
upwardly facing circular cup element at its opposite ends for
receiving and retaining the pair of clips and thus supporting the
panel element.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an
improved wall assembly including a central mounting post for
adjustably connecting a plurality of panel elements at various
angles with respect to one another wherein one panel may be joined
to its adjacent panel at an angle between 90.degree. and
270.degree..
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
wall assembly including a plurality of partition elements
selectively connectable to a central standard member and including
a resilient sealing element carried by the vertical edge of each
panel to insure privacy on either side of the wall assembly
throughout the vertical extent of the panel elements.
With these and other objects in view which will more readily appear
as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention
consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of
parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and
claimed.
A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in
the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one arrangement of a wall assembly
according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view illustrating the
attachment of two panel elements to a cylindrical central standard
member.
FIG. 3 is a partial top plan view and illustrates four panel
elements connected to the form of central standard member as shown
in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a partial horizontal sectional view of the vertical edge
of one panel element.
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view and illustrates the
lower corner of one panel element as provided with an adjustable
foot member.
FIG. 6 is an end elevation of one of the clip members carried by
each of the panel elements.
FIG. 7 is a partial top plan view illustrating a plurality of panel
elements connected to a central standard member of square cross
section.
FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 2 but
illustrates the square embodiment of vertical standard as shown in
FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the square vertical standard bottom
cap.
FIG. 10 is a bottom plan view of the square vertical standard top
cap.
Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts
throughout the several figures of the drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIG. 1, the present
invention will be seen to comprise a wall assembly, generally
designated 1, comprising a plurality of partition or screen panel
elements 2 connected at juxtaposed vertical side edges by means of
a plurality of vertical posts or standards 3. The arrangement
illustrated in this figure will be understood to be merely
exemplary of one of any number of possible configurations
obtainable with the present invention and reflects a selected
arrangement utilizing the circular embodiment of posts.
In the free-form type of assembly shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of
panel elements 2 are attached to the respective posts 3 in a
slightly angularly offset relationship such that a curved wall is
provided. With such an assembly, two subsequent panels are neither
longitudinally aligned with respect to one another nor normal to
one another. By providing for a panel width which corresponds to
the diameter of the supporting post, it will be understood that the
minimum possible included angle between two adjacent panels will be
90.degree.. This structure facilitates a positive mounting of two
adjacent panel elements to provide a square corner wall assembly or
an intersection of three or four panel elements on one supporting
post such as shown in FIG. 3. Without departing from the spirit of
the instant invention, the thickness of the panel elements could
quite obviously be made less than the diameter of the supporting
post 3 whereupon an included angle of less than 90.degree. would be
possible between two adjacent panel elements.
When employing the square post 3' shown in FIGS. 7-8, it will be
apparent that only a 90.degree. or 180.degree. relationship may be
achieved between any two panel elements connected to a single post
yet this would not preclude varied panel arrangements wherein
sequential panels are mounted in a zig-zag manner.
The body 4 of each panel element 2 may be constructed of any
suitable material such as sheet metal, glass fiber, honeycomb
construction, composition board, etc. The uniqueness of each panel
2 resides in the vertical edge connecting means constructed to
cooperate with the novel supporting post 3 or 3'.
Each panel 2 is provided along its vertical side edges with an edge
channel, generally designated 5, and which extends preferably the
entire vertical extent of the panel body 4. The channel 5 includes
a base wall 6 connected to the edge of the panel body 4 by any
suitable means and from which extend from opposite edges thereof a
pair of spaced apart side walls 7--7. Projecting inwardly from the
distal portion of each side wall 7 is a flange 8 whereupon the
combination of the pair of flanges, side walls, and the
intermediate base walls 6 will be seen to define a channel cavity
9.
Identical mounting clips 10 are rigidly affixed within the upper
and lower limits of each edge channel 5 as shown most clearly in
FIG. 2. With additional reference to FIG. 6, the construction of
the clip 10 will be most readily apparent. Each clip includes a
rear wall 11 engageable with the base wall 6 of the edge channel 5
and secured thereto by any suitable means such as spot welding.
Projecting from the lower portion of the rear wall 11 is the bottom
wall 12 disposed normal thereto and which extends outwardly to a
point intersecting the plane between the two channel flanges 8--8.
At this point, the clip is provided with a front wall 13 extending
upwardly from the bottom wall 12 to a point substantially medially
of the overall height of the clip rear wall 11. An offset portion
14 projects outwardly from the top of each clip front wall 13 as
shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 8 and includes a depending tongue
15 having inwardly tapered lateral edges 16--16 as shown in FIG.
6.
The standard or post 3 adapted to adjustably support the plurality
of panel elements 2 and as disclosed in the first embodiment
includes a cylindrical wall body 17 provided with an outer
periphery 17a and having an overall vertical extent of slightly
less than the height of each panel 2. The cylindrical body 17 is
preferably hollow and is bounded at its upper portion by a top wall
18 which will be seen to be slightly dropped with respect to the
top edge of the cylindrical body 17 and will be understood to be
securely attached to this body by any suitable means. At the lower
portion of the cylindrical body 17 is a bottom wall 19 likewise
suitably attached with respect to the body. Permanently affixed to
the bottom wall 19 of the post 3 such as by the glue 20, is a
bottom cap generally designated 21. This cap 21 includes a main
body portion 22 having a cylindrical configuration of the same
diameter as the post body 17. The upper portion of the bottom cap
21 is formed with a cylindrical hub 23 of significantly lesser
diameter than the main body portion 22 and which provides, in
combination with a peripheral flange 24, an upwardly facing annular
recess 25. The function of the preceding described bottom cap
structure will be related hereinafter.
Removably attached at the upper portion of each post 3 is a top cap
or clamping member 26 having a central tapped bore 27 releasably
engageable with a threaded screw 28 fixedly attached to the post
top wall 18. The bore 27 is preferably dead-ended as shown in FIG.
2 to prevent the entrance of dirt or other foreign material. The
construction of the top cap 26 will be seen to be considerably
different than that of the bottom cap 21 for reasons which will
become obvious following a description of the assembly of the
panels 2 to the post 3. The main body portion 29 of the top cap 26
comprises a cylindrical upper section having a diameter slightly
less than that of the cylindrical wall body 17. This main body
portion 29 terminates at its lower end at a radial shoulder 30
which connects in turn with a straight cylindrical wall 31 of
substantially less diameter than the diameter of the main body
portion 29. The straight cylindrical wall 31 next communicates with
a tapered wall section 32 leading to the top cap bottom surface 33.
To facilitate attachment and removal of the top cap 26 with respect
to the permanently affixed screw 28, a slot 34 may be provided in
the upper surface thereof. By this means, an ordinary screwdriver
or even a coin may be used to apply and remove the top cap 26.
A description of the attachment of one panel 2 to a post 3 will be
understood to encompass all of the mechanics involved in the
attachment of two, three or four panels to any single vertical post
3 and without any regard to the specific relative angular
relationship between the various panels. With a post 3 maintained
in a relatively stationary vertical position, the panel 2 intended
to be connected to the post is advanced thereto with the plane of
the juxtaposed C-shaped edge channel 5 disposed substantially
parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mounting post 3. The panel
is progressively moved towards the post with the single depending
tongue 15 of the lowermost mounting clip 10 positioned in the same
horizontal plane as the lateral access to the annular recess 25 of
the bottom cap 21. When this tongue 15 has been moved inwardly a
sufficient distance to clear the upstanding flange 24 and the
tongue 15 of the uppermost clip 10 likewise is disposed in
overlying relationship to the cavity above the post top wall 18,
then the panel 2 is lowered.
The function of the tapered edges 16--16 of the tongues 15 of the
two mounting clips 10 may now be appreciated. The reduced
transverse dimension of the lowermost portion of the mounting clip
tongues 15 facilitates the lowering of the panel elements 2 as the
tongues are guided into the uppermost cylindrical cavity 35 and the
lowermost annular recess 25, respectively. The lateral dimension of
the tongue 15 as well as the radial extent of the mounting clip
offset portion 14 is selected to insure a substantially snug
attachment as the panel is lowered. The lateral dimension of each
tongue 15 in the area immediately adjacent its juncture with the
offset portion 14 is of a width selected to insure that the edges
of the tongue in this area engage specified structure of the
vertical post 3 when the panel has been fully lowered. In the case
of the topmost mounting clip 10, the upper portion of the tongue
edges 16 engages the inner periphery of the post top wall flange 36
while in the bottommost mounting clip 10, the same tongue edges
engage the inner periphery of the bottom cap flange 24. It will
thus be understood that a camming action is achieved upon lowering
of the panels such that in the case of the bottom mounting clip 10,
its front wall 13 is drawn snugly against the outer periphery of
the bottom cap main body portion 22 while in the case of the
topmost mounting clip, its front wall 13 is drawn snugly against
the outer periphery of the juxtaposed post cylindrical wall body
17.
To enable use of an identical clip 10 at both the top and bottom
portions of each panel 2, it will follow that the diameter of both
the uppermost cavity 35 and the annular recess 25 should be
identical. This is achieved by forming the radial thickness of the
bottom cap flange 24 so that it corresponds to the combined
thickness of the post cylindrical wall body 17 and top wall flange
36 whereby it will be appreciated that in effect a pair of cups are
provided by the flanges 24 and 36.
When the desired number of panels 2 have been attached to a single
post 3 and the proper angular relationship has been established,
this positioning of the various panels is finalized and
subsequently maintained by application of the cylindrical top cap
26 which is manually attached by threading the cap onto the fixedly
mounted screw 26. The application of the top cap is facilitated by
means of the tapered wall section 32 which initially contacts the
tongues 15 of the various mounting clips 10; however, when the top
cap is finally positioned as shown in FIG. 2, it will be understood
that the radial shoulder 30 thereof firmly engages the top of the
mounting clip offset portions 14 while the straight cylindrical
wall 31 of the top cap abuts the inner surface of the tongues 15.
In view of the rigid attachment of the two clips 10 to the panel
edge channel 5, it will follow that the downward clamping force
applied to the uppermost clip 10 upon tightening of the top cap 26
will be transmitted and similarly applied to the lowermost clip
10.
Positive means for insuring privacy in the area of the juncture
between each panel 2 and post 3 is insured by means of a flexible
sealing insert, generally designated 37. As shown in FIG. 4, this
insert comprises a flexible tubular body of material, preferably
plastic or synthetic rubber, having a rear face 38 abutting the
outer surface of the panel channel base wall 6 and from which
forwardly extend a pair of lateral walls 39--39. Spanning the
forward edges of the two lateral walls of a front face 40 disposed
in a plane slightly forward of the channel flanges 8--8. The
juncture between the side portions of the front face 40 and the two
lateral walls 39--39 includes a laterally extending edge projection
41 while each lateral wall may further include an outwardly
extending rib 42. The function of this latter mentioned structure
will be readily understood upon considering the installation and
use of the flexible insert 37. When the generally rectangular
insert is initially inserted into the cavity 9 of the panel
channel, it will be seen that the two outwardly projecting ribs 42
will be snap-fitted behind the respective channel flanges 8 and
thus will serve to retain the insert 37 in the position shown in
FIG. 4. During installation of the panel upon a post 3, the outer
peripheral surface of the post cylindrical wall body 17 will engage
the front face 40 of the insert, causing it to be slightly
deflected inwardly as indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 4,
whereupon a tight sealing engagement is achieved, thus insuring
privacy in this area of the wall assembly.
Each post 3 may be provided with any suitable support means adapted
to engage the underlying floor. A foot 43 is shown in FIG. 2
comprising a screw 44 and glide 45. By providing a central bore
through the bottom cap 21 and post bottom wall 19 and including
threads on either or both of these bores, it will be seen that the
foot 43 may be readily manipulated to provide vertical adjustment
of the support post 3.
The angular relationship between a plurality of panels 2 comprising
any single wall assembly 1 will determine the necessary type of
support means required for each post 3. In the case of the wall
assembly 1 shown in FIG. 1, it will be seen that some form of
positive lateral support must be provided for this free-form type
of assembly. Accordingly, a lateral support member 46 is shown
attached to the outermost ends of the panels 2 forming the wall
assembly 1. These support members 46 may be suitably attached to
the panels by any desirable means. With certain wall assembly
arrangements such as a T-shaped assembly or cross-shaped
arrangement as shown in FIG. 3, the outermost portions of the
panels 2 involved may not necessarily require any lateral support,
in which case the foot 43 may be used as shown in FIG. 5. Since a
post 3 is unnecessary in such instance, it will be seen that a
suitable nut 47 is permanently affixed to the inner surface of the
channel base wall 6 for the reception of the foot screw 44.
The same basic concept is followed for obtaining the connection of
the panels 2 wherein the square post 3' is utilized in the case of
the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7-10. In this modification,
each post 3' comprises a vertically extending member having four
side walls 48 each of which is preferably of a width corresponding
to the thickness of the panel elements 2. To carry out the square
cross-sectional configuration throughout each vertical post
assembly, it is obviously necessary to modify the top and bottom
caps used therewith and accordingly a bottom cap 49 is provided
having a plurality of vertical side walls 50 arranged to provide a
cross section congruent with the cross section formed by the four
side walls 48 of the post. Within the confines of the four bottom
cap side walls 50 is a cylindrical cup generally designated 51
including a circular bottom wall 52 comprising a main body portion
and from which extends upwardly a circular flange 53 having a
vertical height corresponding to that of the side walls 50.
Centrally affixd upon the cap bottom wall 52 is an upstanding
cylindrical hub 54 provided with an axial tapped bore 55. As in the
case of the first described bottom cap 21, the top of the hub 54 is
suitably attached to the undersurface of the post bottom wall 19'
so that it will be seen that an upwardly facing annular recess 56
is provided corresponding to the similar structure 25 in the bottom
cap 21 and the subsequent attachment and retention of the clip 10
will be as described hereinbefore.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8, the uppermost mounting
clip 10' is altered from the construction of the clip 10 shown in
FIG. 2 by forming the rear wall 57 thereof in a downwardly
extending direction from the bottom wall 58. In this manner, the
offset portion 14 and depending tongue 15 of the clip 10' may be
most readily located at the very top of the post 3'. It will be
quite obvious that the clip 10 may be substituted and attached to
the panel element 2 in this same manner merely by foreshortening
the vertical extent of the rear wall 11. However, it has been found
that by extending the rear wall downwardly as at 57 in FIG. 8, this
portion of the clip is more readily accessible during assembly to
permit attachment to the base wall 6 of the edge channel 5.
The top cap 59 shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 is used in association with
the square post 3' and includes a top plate 60 of square
configuration provided with a central aperture 61. Projecting
downwardly from the undersurface of this top plate 60 are four
vertically extending wall sections 62 comprising a main body
portion of the top cap and the distance between the outer periphery
of each pair of oppositely disposed wall sections 62 will be
understood to correspond to the diameter of the straight
cylindrical wall portion 31 of the top cap 26 as used in connection
with the first embodiment previously described. Likewise, the cup
formed by the post top wall 63 and its cylindrical outer flange 64
will be understood to correspond to the similar structure as shown
in FIG. 2 and which comprises the top wall 18 and flange 36. With
the foregoing in mind, it will follow that when the depending
tongue 15 of the clip 10' is lowered into the cylindrical cavity
65, the lateral edges 16--16 thereof will engage the inner surface
of the cylindrical flange 64 whereupon when the top cap 59 is
lowered into the position of FIG. 8, the wall sections 62 will bear
against the outer face of each of the tongues 15 while the cap top
plate 60 engages the upper surface of the clip offset portion 14 to
retain the clip 10' in position. The top cap is then locked or
retained by means of a suitable screw fastener 66 passed through
the cap top plate aperture 61 and engaging the nut 67 affixed to
the post top wall 63.
* * * * *