WO1997039201A1

WO1997039201A1 - Support post

Info

Publication number: WO1997039201A1
Application number: PCT/GB1997/001026
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alan Douglas Izatt; Ronald James Weldon
Original assignee: Havelock Europa Plc
Priority date: 1996-04-17
Filing date: 1997-04-15
Publication date: 1997-10-23
Also published as: ZA973211B; GB9607907D0; AU2517697A

Abstract

The present invention provides a composite support post (1) suitable for use in a partition wall system and comprising an elongate body having a plurality of angularly spaced apart longitudinally and radially extending panel mounting engagement means (6) formed and arranged for mounting directly or indirectly, wall panels of the partition wall system. The post (1) is comprised by first and second inter-engaging elongate post elements (2, 4) each having a respective elongate body portion (5) and a respective said engagement means (6). The body portions (5) have angularly extending overlapping portions (12, 14) formed and arranged so as to permit relative angular displacement of the post elements (2, 4) so that the angular spacing of the engagement means (6) around said post (1) may be varied.

Description

SUPPORT POST

The present invention relates to a support post suitable for use in supporting wall or partition panels and the like.

In various modern business buildings there is often a need for a flexible layout of walls or partitions for individual accommodation units such as customer service bays or in housing interactive-customer-technology machines, especially in a highly automated bank or other financial institution. These walls or partitions are generally constructed by traditional "on-site" methods, produce a more or less permanent structure and are subject to substantial limitations in terms of finish, quality and flexibility. These walls or partitions need to be reasonably strong or substantial for security purposes which in turn generally implies a more or less permanent structure in conventional systems which cannot readily be modified.

Various different support posts for supporting these walls or partitions in a secure manner have been proposed to enable the modification of partition layouts to suit a user's requirements. Known designs of support post and partition systems, such as that disclosed and described in our earlier United Kingdom Patent Publication No. 2272918 and others are, though, limited in their flexibility owing primarily to their fixed polygonal e.g. octagonal cross-sectional shape, which enables panels or partitions supported thereby to be angularly displaced relative to each other only in relatively large steps e.g. of 45°.

It is an object of the present invention to avoid or minimize one or more of the above problems or disadvantages of previously known systems.

The present invention provides a composite support post suitable for use in a partition wall system and comprising an elongate body having a plurality of angularly spaced apart longitudinally and radially extending panel mounting engagement means formed and arranged for mounting, in use, directly or indirectly, wall panels of a said partition wall system, characterized in that said post is comprised by first and second, preferably generally sectoral form, inter- engaging elongate post elements each having a respective elongate body portion and a respective said panel mounting engagement means, the body portions having angularly extending overlapping portions formed and arranged so as to permit relative angular displacement of said post elements so that the angular spacing of said engagement means around said post may be varied.

Preferably the post includes fastener means and fastener engagement portions formed and arranged for securing together said post elements in a desired relative angular disposition whereby wall panels may be secured, in use of the post, so as to extend either side thereof at a given angle to each other.

Conveniently the composite post is generally tubular, most conveniently substantially cylindrical, with part cylindrical overlapping wall portions. The engagement means are conveniently in the form of channels or slots, advantageously with undercut sides for captively mounting intermediate engagement means such as elongate slotted strip means formed and arranged for releasable engagement means provided in panel support means or panel edges etc.

In another aspect the present invention provides a partitioning system comprising a plurality of support posts supporting a plurality of security wall panels, wherein at least one of said posts comprises a composite post according to the present invention. Advantageously the partition system is any one of the partition systems as described in our earlier patent publication GB2272918.

Thus by means of the present invention it is possible to provide partition wall configurations with a much greater degree of variation in angle between serially adjacent wall panels than was possible before, in a particularly convenient and economic manner.

In more detail, a variety of different forms or post element sections may be used. Thus, for example, one of said post element sections may have a generally C-shaped cross- section extending around a generally O'-shaped (hollow or solid) cross-section second post element the opposed cylindrical surfaces of said post element sections having similar radii of curvature for interengagement of the post elements in a ball and socket type arrangement.

Preferably though each one of said first and second post elements has a generally C shaped cross-section with first and second, radially stepped, part-cylindrical wall portions, of smaller and larger radius for overlapping with the larger and smaller radius portions, respectively, of the other so as to form, together, a substantially cylindrical tubular support post whereby in use thereof the relative angular displacement of the post elements may be readily varied more or less continuously with respect to each other, within a given angular range.

Each one of said first and second post elements may be extruded as a single extrusion having different cross- sections, though most conveniently they have the same cross- section. This is particularly preferred from a manufacturing perspective and avoids the need for two separate and expensive dies to be made for extrusion purposes.

Alternatively each one of said sections may be manufactured in a composite form made up of a plurality of separately formed interengaging sectoral elements. This may be preferred in some applications where for example a relatively large size of the support post is required and hence of the extrusions constituting it.

Said first and second post elements may be secured together 6

-4- using a variety of different preferably releasable, securing means such as screws, bolts or other releasable fasteners or alternatively said pair of post elements may be bonded together using an adhesive, in the desired angular orientation.

The maximum relative angular displacement between the first and second post elements can be varied considerably depending upon inter alia the the types of elements used as will be apparent from the different embodiments described and illustrated hereinbelow. Desirably the first and second post elements are formed and arranged to permit relative angular displacement therebetween of from 0 to +/- 150° preferably 0° to +/- 135 desirably 0° to +/~ 120°, e.g. from 0 to +/-** 90^*. The relative displacement may be arranged to be infinitely variable through out these ranges though it may be more convenient to provide for fixing the elements at angular displacements which are incremented stepwise e.g. at intervals of 5°. Thus for example one of the wall portions may have a serrated surface with a 5° pitch for receiving the end of a self tapping screw which passes generally radially through an overlapping wall portion of the other element for fixing together said sections in the desired angular orientation. The angular extent of the generally sectoral form post elements will normally depend to some extent on the desired range of relative angular displacement but will usually be in the range from 200 to 340°, preferably from 240 to 300°, for example about 270°.

When the post elements are assembled into a post of the invention they may also be provided with an end piece such as an end plate, preferably at each end thereof, which end plate is formed and arranged for use in holding the elements in the desired angular orientation with respect to each other by means of generally axially extending location and/or securing means such as pins or screws engaging suitable parts of the post element ends. Thus, for example, the end plates may be formed and arranged with a plurality of holes for alignment with holes provided in the end of the post elements for receiving axially extending screws.

Conveniently said end plates may also be used to secure a post of the invention to the floor and/or ceiling using generally well known techniques for securing support posts such as that disclosed in our earlier United Kingdom Patent Publication No. 2,272,918.

Each said post element has a panel mounting engagement means for supporting advantageously, via, preferably releasable, engagement means, a panel support means conveniently in the form of one or more panel support members for a partition panel of a partition system, at or in the vicinity of the panel edges of a said panel (s) . Preferably said panel mounting engagement means is in the form of elongate slots in said post elements formed and arranged for defining opposed channel means for slidably supporting therein, in use of the post, opposite edges of slotted strip means or the like suitable for engagement by said preferably releasable engagement means of the panel support means.

Further preferred features and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description given by way of example of a preferred embodiment illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a composite support post according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a length of partition walling having the composite support post of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section through the support post shown in Fig. 1 along line A-A;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 on a reduced scale of a modified form of composite post; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a further embodiment; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged scale view of the second post element of Fig. 5. A composite support post, generally indicated by reference number 1, and shown in plan view in Fig. 1, comprises a first generally 'U' or 'C shaped, in section, elongate post element 2 (shown in hatching for improved clarity) and a similar second elongate post element 4. Both post elements 2, 4 have the same cross sectional shape comprising an elongate body portion 5 with a panel mounting engagement portion 6 from which extends on opposite sides 8, 10 thereof part- cylindrical wall portions 12, 14 of, respectively, smaller and larger radius for overlapping with the larger and smaller part cylindrical wall portions 14, 12 of the other post element 4,2.

As will be seen from Fig. 1 both post elements 2, 4 have the same cross section and are orientated with respect to each other such that one of the elements 4 is turned on its end so that respective wall portions 12, 14 overlap with opposed ones of the wall portions 14, 12 of the other post element 2. As may also be seen from from Fig.l, the first and second post elements 2,4 can be angularly displaced relative to each other by about +/- 40° in this case.

Advantageously the inner face 14a of a larger radius wall portion 14 is provided with a longitudinally extending rib or projection 15 (shown in solid in Fig. 1) for engagement in a desired one of a plurality of longitudinally extending angularly spaced apart grooves 13 provided in a serrated profile overlapping wall portion 14b for locating the overlapping wall portions 12,14 together at a predetermined relative angular disposition along the length of the post 1 to avoid the possibility of twisting of the post elements relative to each other between the opposite ends thereof and also to facilitate securing together of the post elements in the correct angular disposition as will now be explained.

The post elements 2, 4 are secured together with fastener means comprising self tapping screws 16 which pass through the outermost overlapping wall portion 12 and engage with fastener engagement portions 17 of the inner overlapped cylindrical wall portion 14 of the other one of the post elements 4,2. The panel mounting engagement portion 6 of each post element 2, 4 is in the form of a channel 20 with undercut sides 22 for captively mounting elongate slotted intermediate engagement strips 23 onto which panel support engagement means 32 provided on horizontal panel support members 33 may be engaged and advantageously releasably secured (see also Fig. 3) , e.g. as described in GB2272918.

The support post 1 is provided with one or more end plates 24 (see Fig. 3 and also Fig. 5) which is used to hold the post elements 12,14 in the desired angular orientation with respect to each by means of pins or screws (27) which pass through holes 25 in the plate 24 into screwhole formations 26 provided in the post element profiles, in the ends of the post elements.

As shown in Fig. 3 the end plate 24 is used to secure a support post 1 of the invention to the floor 28 using a ground engaging bolt assembly 30. In more detail, the bolt assembly 30 comprises an inverted bolt 301 with a head 302 which is captively supported by a floor engagement cup means 303 with a downwardly depending pin 304 which is anchored in the floor 28. The bolt shank projects upwardly through the centre of the post end plate 24 and a nut 306 welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the plate 24, so that when the bolt head 302 is turned, the bolt shank 305 screws up or down inside the nut 306 thereby lowereing or raising the plate 24 and post 1 relative to the floor 28. Shown also in Fig. 3 is the panel support clips 32 which engage with the elongate slotted strips 23 which are mounted in the undercut sides 22 of the base portion 6 of each post element 2, 4.

As shown in Fig. 2, which shows a length of partition wall 34 using support posts 1 according to the invention, a partition wall may be assembled such that the angular disposition of each partition panel 36 relative to its neighbouring panel may be varied accurately so as to define the required layout of the partition wall.

Various modifications may be made to the abovedescribed embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thus for example there may be provided a first post element 38 having a cylindrical wall portion 40 having an outer diameter the same as the inner diameter of a part cylindrical wall portion 42 of a second post element 44 in a ball and socket type arrangement as shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 shows a modified embodiment in which a first post element 42 has a generally C-shaped cross-section extending around a generally O' -shaped (solid) cross-section second post element 44, the opposed cylindrical surfaces of said post element sections having similar radii of curvature for interengagement of the post elements in a ball and socket type arrangement.

Fig. 5 shows a further embodiment in which there is used a first tubular post element 52 having a complete angular extent i.e. 360°, with an integrally formed panel mounting engagement means 56 extending radially outwardly. A second post element 54 comprises essentially of a respective panel mounting engagement means 58 with a part-cylindrical female face 60 which overlaps part of a part-cylindrical male face 62 of the first element, and which has an angular extent corresponding and restricted subtantially to that of the respective panel mounting engagement means 58. As may be seen from the drawing this embodiment provides a particularly large range of angular adjustment of the relative dispositions of the posts and respective panel mounting engagement means. In this case it can be seen that there may be obtained a relative angular displacement of up to +/- 95° which is considerably larger than that in Fig.l. It will further be appreciated that with such an arrangement, one or more further post elements 64 similar to the second post element 54 could be used to provide a multi-way partition wall junction.

Fig. 6 shows a small rib projection 66 provided on the female face of the second post element 54 for locating the overlapping wall portions 60,62 together in a similar manner to that shown in Fig. 1. Also shown in Fig. 5 in dashed outline, is an end plate 24 similar to that in Fig. 3, with a series of holes 25 through which may be disposed screws 27 (See Fig. 3) to engage in screwhole formations 26 provided in the post element profile 52,54, thereby to secure the post elements in a desired relative angular disposition.

Claims

CLAIHS

1. A composite support post (1) suitable for use in a partition wall system (34) and comprising an elongate body (5) having a plurality of angularly spaced apart longitudinally and radially extending panel mounting engagement means (6) formed and arranged for mounting, in use, directly or indirectly, wall panels (36) of a said partition wall system (34) , characterized in that said post (1) is comprised by first and second inter-engaging elongate post elements (2,4) each having a respective elongate body portion (5) and a respective said panel mounting engagement means (6) , the body portions having angularly extending overlapping portions (12,14) formed and arranged so as to permit relative angular displacement of said post elements (2,4) so that the angular spacing of said panel mounting engagement means (6) around said post (1) may be varied.

2. A post according to claim 1 which includes fastener means (16,27) and fastener engagement portions (17,26) formed and arranged for securing together said post elements (2,4) in a desired relative angular disposition whereby wall panels (34) may be secured, in use of the post, so as to extend either side thereof at a given angle to each other.

3. A post according to claims 1 or claim 2 wherein in at least one of the body portion overlapping portions 12,14) , at least one of the post elements (2,4) has a serrated profile (14b) providing a plurality of longitudinally extending angularly spaced apart grooves (13) for providing said fastener engagement portions (17) at predetermined angles.

4. A post according to claim 3 wherein the other of said post elements (4,2) has at least one longitudinally extending projection means (15) formed and arranged for interengagement with a said groove (13) for locating said post elements (2,4) in a desired relative angular disposition.

5. A post according to any one of claims 1 to 4 which is generally tubular.

6. A post according to claim 3 which is substantially cylindrical, with part-cylindrical overlapping wall portions (12,14).

7. A post according to any one of claims 1 to 6 the first and second post elements (12,14) are formed and arranged to permit relative angular displacement therebetween of from 0 to +/- 150° .

8. A post according to claim 2 or any one of claims 3 to 7 when dependent on claim 2 wherein is provided at least one end plate (2,4) formed and arranged for use in holding the post elements (2,4) in the desired angular orientation with respect to each other by means of generally axially extending location and/or securing means (27) engaging opposed parts (26) of the respective post element ends (29) .

9. A post according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the panel mounting engagement means (6) is in the form of elongate slots (20) in said post elements (2,4) formed and arranged for defining opposed channel means (22) for slidably supporting therein, in use of the post, opposite edges of slotted strip means (23) or the like suitable for engagement by said engagement means (32) of the panel support means (33).

10. A post according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein first post element (44,52) has a male angularly extending overlapping portion (45, 62) and said second post element (42,54) has a female angularly extending overlapping position (43,60) .

11. A post according to claim 10 wherein said first post element (44,52) has a respective said panel mounting engagement means (46,56) formed integrally therewith.

12. A post according to claim 10 wherein said first post element has a respective said panel mounting engagement means discretely formed and secured thereto.

13. A post according to any one of claims 10 to 12 wherein said first post element (44,52) has an angular extent which is substantially complete.

14. A post according to any one of claims 10 to 13 wherein said second post element (54) has an angular extent corresponding substantially to that of the respective panel mounting engagement means (58) provided thereon.

15. A post according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein each one of said first and second post elements (2,4) has a generally "C shaped cross-section with first and second, radially stepped, part-cylindrical wall portions (12,14) , of smaller and larger radius for overlapping with the larger and smaller radius portions, respectively, of the other so as to form, together, a substantially cylindrical tubular support post (1) whereby in use thereof the relative angular displacement of the post elements may be readily varied more or less continuously with respect to each other, within a given angular range.

16. A post according to claim 15 wherein the angular extent of each of the generally sectoral form post elements (2,4) is in the range from 200 to 340°.

17. A partitioning system comprising a plurality of support posts (1) supporting a plurality of security wall panels

(34) , whereinat least one of said posts comprises a composite post (1) according to any one of the preceding claims. 1-2