U.S. patent number 3,794,281 [Application Number 05/264,098] was granted by the patent office on 1974-02-26 for wall panel lateral support assembly and locking mechanism therefor.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Invention is credited to Robert J. Munsey.
United States Patent |
3,794,281 |
Munsey |
February 26, 1974 |
WALL PANEL LATERAL SUPPORT ASSEMBLY AND LOCKING MECHANISM
THEREFOR
Abstract
A locking mechanism for securing a lateral support to a free
standing wall panel in which a plurality of T-shaped connectors
extending from the lateral support engage a complementary plurality
of spaced slots in a slotted standard affixed to the wall panel by
containing the partitions between the slots in the bottom recesses
of the T-shaped connectors. The T-shaped connectors are locked into
the spaced slots by means of a latch mechanism which when rotated
causes a finger detent thereon to engage the side of one of the
partitions opposite that side of the partition engaging the bottom
recess of the T-shaped connector to thereby securely lock the
partition between the finger detent and the adjacent T-shaped
connector.
Inventors: |
Munsey; Robert J. (Grand
Rapids, MI) |
Assignee: |
Westinghouse Electric
Corporation (Pittsburgh, PA)
|
Family
ID: |
23004571 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/264,098 |
Filed: |
June 19, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/188; 211/191;
211/192; 211/187 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B
2/7416 (20130101); A47B 91/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
91/00 (20060101); E04B 2/74 (20060101); E04g
003/08 (); E04g 007/00 (); F16b 005/07 () |
Field of
Search: |
;248/188,243,165
;211/148,176,177 ;108/110 ;160/351 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
779,813 |
|
Mar 1968 |
|
CA |
|
1,439,548 |
|
Apr 1966 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: Foss; J. Franklin
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Studebaker; B. R.
Claims
I claim:
1. A mechanism for securing and locking a lateral support member to
a free standing wall panel which mechanism includes;
a slotted post on said free standing wall panel, said slotted post
including a plurality of equidistantly spaced slots of
predetermined length having partitions therebetween;
a bracket adjustably secured to said lateral support;
a plurality of equidistantly spaced T-shaped connectors extending
from said bracket, said T-shaped connectors being insertable into
said spaced slots and constructed and arranged through relative
movement to confine the partitions between said slots within one
side of said T-shaped connector;
locking means having a finger detent thereon associated with and
movable relative to said T-shaped connectors to cause said finger
detent to enter a slot adjacent to one of said T-shaped connectors
to thereby lock said partitions confined by said one T-shaped
connector between said finger detent and said one T-shaped
connector thereby prohibiting further relative movement between
said lateral support member and said free standing wall panel;
and
a clamping bar adjustably securing said bracket to said lateral
support, said clamping bar having a reduced central portion which
overlies and retains said locking means for relative movement with
respect to said bracket.
2. The mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said locking means is
L-shaped in cross-section with said finger detent extending from
one end thereof and the other end thereof forming an actuating
lever.
3. A locking mechanism for selectively locking a first member to a
second member; one of said first and second members including a
plurality of linearly aligned slots therein spaced apart by
partitions of uniform length; the other of said first and second
members having bracket means adjustably secured thereto by a
clamping bar, said bracket means having a plurality of linearly
aligned T-shaped connectors extending therefrom constructed and
arranged to be received into said plurality of slots and be
retained at least partially behind said partitions; and a latch
mechanism associated with said T-shaped connectors, said latch
mechanism including a projecting finger movable into one of said
slots adjacent a partition edge on the opposite side of the
partition from its retained T-shaped connector to thereby prohibit
relative movement between said first and second members.
4. A locking mechanism according to claim 3 wherein said clamping
bar includes a reduced central portion which overlies and retains
said latch mechanism to said bracket for relative rotational
movement therewith.
5. A locking mechanism according to claim 4 wherein said latch
mechanism is L-shaped in cross-section with said projecting finger
extending from one end thereof with the other end thereof forming
an actuating lever.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to space dividing systems of the office
partition type and more particularly to a locking mechanism for
securing a lateral support to a free standing wall panel.
In most instances, where the new concept of "office landscaping" is
employed, free standing walls are supported by adjacent
perpendicular or angular runs of wall panels and thus the various
walls of the space dividing system act as lateral supports for each
other. In some instances, however, adjacent perpendicular or
angular runs of wall panel are not available in sufficient quantity
or are nonexistent and thus some other form of lateral support is
required. A typical modern office space dividing system
illustrating lateral support from adjacent perpendicular or angular
runs of wall panel is disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No.
159,360, filed July 2, 1971 by William C. Anderson et al for "Space
Divider System and Connector Assembly Therefor."
In the majority of these systems, office furniture such as desk
tops, wall cabinets, bookshelves and filing cabinets are mounted
directly to the walls by a uniform mounting and connecting system.
One such system employs the use of a slotted standard on the wall
panel which cooperates with and receives a plurality of T-shaped
connector elements mounted on the rearward side of the furniture
item. Two illustrations of this type connection may be found in
copending application Ser. No. 216,415, filed Jan. 10, 1972 for
"Over-the-Cabinet Door Assembly" by M. Aylworth and application
Ser. No. 216,416, filed Jan. 10, 1972 for "Utility Line Holder" by
R. A. Bleeker et al., both applications being owned by the assignee
of this application. This type of connector assembly is completely
adequate for mounting utility line holders, wall cabinets, book
cases and the like to free standing wall panels. However, when this
type connecting assembly is employed to connect lateral floor
supports to free standing wall panels, or heavy desk tops, there is
a tendency, if either the wall panel or the lateral support or desk
top is severely jarred, to cause the T-shaped connectors to be
dislodged from their complementary slots in the slotted standard
with a resultant toppling of the wall or desk top.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a locking mechanism which may be
associated with T-shaped connector elements to provide positive
locking of the T-shaped connectors to the slotted standard of the
wall panel to thereby eliminate the possibility of inadvertent
disassociation of the furniture piece or lateral support member
from the free standing wall panel.
The foregoing is accomplished in accordance with the present
invention by providing a locking mechanism for selectively locking
a first member to a second member when one of the first and second
members includes a plurality of linearly aligned slots therein
spaced apart by partitions of uniform length. The other of the
first and second members having a plurality of linearly aligned
T-shaped connectors extending therefrom and constructed and
arranged to be received into the plurality of slots and be retained
at least partially behind the partitions which separate the slots.
The improvement of this invention provides a latch mechanism which
is associated with the T-shaped connectors and includes a
projecting finger which is movable into one of the slots adjacent a
partition edge on the opposite side of the partition from its
associated and retained T-shaped connector to thereby prohibit
relative movement between the first and second members by locking
the partition between the leg portion of the T-shaped connector and
the projecting finger.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will
become more readily apparent and better understood as the following
detailed description is considered in connection with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the interconnection of a
free standing wall panel and a lateral support member;
FIG. 2 is a partial side elevation view illustrating the
interconnection of the support member with the wall panel prior to
actuation of the locking mechanism;
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view partly in section illustrating
the locking mechanism in a locked position;
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view partly in section illustrating an
alternative locking position for the locking mechanism of this
invention;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the locking mechanism of this
invention, in an unlatched position, taken along the line V--V of
FIG. 5; and
FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 5 illustrating the
locking mechanism in a latched position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now in detail to the drawings wherein like reference
characters represent like parts throughout the several views there
is illustrated in FIG. 1 a conventional free standing wall panel 10
carrying at each vertical edge (only one edge illustrated) a
mounting strip 12 in the form of a slotted standard. Each side edge
of the slotted standard includes a plurality of equidistantly
spaced slots 14 extending for the length thereof spaced apart by
partitions 16 of uniform length. The slots 14 are adapted to
receive complementary T-shaped connectors which are normally
secured to the rearward side edge of a furniture item such as a
book-case, bookshelf or cabinet which is intended for mounting on
the free standing wall panel. The T-shaped connector elements may
also be mounted to lateral support members for either supporting
the free standing wall panel, or which when inverted, can be
employed to support a desk top, table or the like on the free
standing wall panel. In FIG. 1, a bracket 18 carrying a plurality
of equidistantly shaped T-shaped connectors 20 is illustrated as
being attached to a lateral floor support 22, which may be utilized
to provide lateral support to a free standing wall panel when
adjacent perpendicular or angular runs of wall panel are not
available in sufficient quantity or are non-existent and hence
unable to provide such lateral support. The T-shaped connectors 20
are spaced a distance one from the other which is complementary to
the space between adjacent slots 14 in the slotted standard 12.
When connection is desired, the tops or cross member or portion 24
of the T-shaped connectors are inserted into the slots 14 until the
bracket 18 is flush against the face 25 of the slotted standard.
The bracket is then moved slightly downwardly permitting one side
edge of each leg portion 26 of the T-shaped connector 20 to contact
an upper edge of each partition 16 thus causing the underside of
one side of the cross member 24 to be hooked behind each of the
associated partitions 16.
The foregoing conventional interconnection between T-shaped
connector elements and a slotted standard have been used for many
years to mount various kinds of elements to walls or partitions. A
problem with this kind of connection is that when either of the
connected elements is jarred or moved, minor relative movement
between the T-shaped connector elements and the partitions 16 can
cause the T-shaped elements 20 to move out of the slots 14 causing
accidental disassociation of the two connected elements. The
locking mechanism of this invention when actuated completely
prohibits the possibility of any relative movement between the
bracket 18 and the slotted standard 12.
The latch mechanism of this invention is illustrated at 28 in FIG.
1. The bracket 18 is adjustably secured to the lateral support
member 22 by means of a clamping bar 30. A pair of threaded bolts
32 extend through the lateral support member 22 and are threaded
into a pair of threaded apertures 34 in the clamping bar 30. The
bolts 32 extend through elongated apertures 36 in the bracket 18
which allow for relative movement for positioning purposes between
the bracket 18 and the lateral support 22 prior to the clamping bar
being tightly secured by the bolts 32. Adjacent its center portion
the clamping bar 30 includes a two dimensional cut-out area at 38
which accommodates the latch member 28. More descriptively, the
clamping bar 30 is only about half as thick and half as wide in the
area 38 and includes a center section 40 which overlies and retains
the latch or locking mechanism 28. The locking mechanism 28 is
essentially L-shaped with a locking detent or finger 42 extending
from the base portion of the L-shaped member and an actuating or
finger lever 44 and stop 46 affixed to the upright portion of the
L-shaped member.
In operation, slight force is applied in the direction indicated by
the arrow in FIG. 5 causing the latch or locking mechanism to
rotate under the portion 40 of clamping bar 30 on the rounded edge
48 of the locking mechanism until the stop 46 abuts the side edge
of the portion of the clamping bar 30, thus placing the locking
detent or finger 42 in a locked position with respect to the
adjacent T-shaped connector element 20 as best seen in FIG. 6. It
should be noted that a section of 18a of the portion of the bracket
18 which carries the T-shaped members 20 is eliminated and is
replaced by the base portion of the locking mechanism 28 when the
locking mechanism is moved to its latched position.
There are two modes with which the locking finger or detent 42 on
the locking mechanism 28 can coact with an adjacent T-shaped
connector to retain all of the T-shaped connectors of the series in
a fixed relationship with its complementary slotted standard 12.
These modes are respectively illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. In the
FIG. 3 mode, when the locking mechanism is moved from the FIGS. 2
and 5 position to the FIGS. 3 and 6 position, the locking finger or
detent 42 causes one of the partitions 16 in the slotted standard
to be imprisoned on both sides between the detent 42 and the leg
portion 26 of the adjacent T-shaped connector and thus restrains
the partition from moving out of the notch defined by the upper
edge of the bracket 18, the leg portion 26, and the cross portion
24 of the adjacent T-shaped connector element 20.
In the mode illustrated in FIG. 4, the locking finger or detent 42
works within the same slot as its adjacent T-shaped connector and
the relationship between the position of the detent 42 and the
furthest edge of the cross member 24 of the adjacent T-shaped
connector 20 is such that the cross member 24 cannot be moved from
its position behind a partition 16.
Relative movement is provided for between the bracket 18 and the
lateral support 22 through the elongated slot 36 in order that the
T-shaped connectors can be aligned with respect to complementary
slots in the slotted standard when both the wall panel 10 and the
bottom leg 22a of the lateral support are in contact with the
floor, thus providing for the ability to insure substantial
vertical orientation of the wall panel.
In addition, the leg portion 22a of the lateral support 22 may be
provided with a threaded aperture 50 which when desired can receive
a special double ended set screw which has a flat end 54 and a cone
pointed end 56. The cone pointed end may be used for carpeting
installation so that the support is directed to the solid floor
beneath the carpet while the flat end of the screw may be used on
hard surface floors such as tile, etc. to avoid marking the floor.
Additionally, when desired, commercially available adjustable
levelers can be threaded into the threaded bore 50, thus providing
for an alternative adjustment method for the assembly.
* * * * *