EP0026021A1 - Pivot joint for suspended panels - Google Patents

Abstract

The joint is composed of a pair of elements (1,1') connected the juxtaposed panels (2, 2') in coincidence with the juxtaposed vertical edges and connected to one another by means of at least one small bar (6) articulated on both of them and comprising at least one pair of equal gears (5, 5', 13, 13') fixed to the said elements (1, 1'), concentric with the pivots (7, 7') of articulation of the small bar (6) and mutually engaged. The joint makes it possible to execute correct movements to open and close the panels, and it affords no limitation to the dimensions of the panels and also makes it possible to obtain a perfect coplanar arrangement of the walls obtained. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a swivel joint for vertical hanging panels.

In interior design, vertical sliding panels are frequently used to obtain partitions, walls, doors, facades and parts of furniture, etc.

In order to have, during periods of non-use, the possibility of storing the panels one next to the other, it has been proposed to position them with a "bellows" joint; in this way, they can easily pass from a "working" configuration, in which they are arranged juxtaposed so as to form the desired wall or the wall portion, to a "rest" configuration, in which they are arranged in parallel juxtaposed one with the other, thus making "disappear" the wall which had been previously formed.

Essentially, there are two types of these panels: those hinged and inferior and superior to fixed works or structures attached to the wall, and hinged panels only at the top and therefore constituting "hanging" panels.

The suspended panels and also fixed by their lower part necessarily require the presence of an upper rail and a lower rail which, in addition to interrupting the continuity of the floor, requires costly and complex installation work.

The panels hinged only in their upper part are easily deformed during actuation and therefore do not lend themselves to ensuring satisfactory closure. In addition, the joints which connect the panels two by two do not correctly transmit the stresses to which they are subjected during their movement, and which often cause the joints to block against the guide rails.

This drawback makes it necessary to reduce the transverse dimensions of the panels and to make them too small for certain applications, in particular in the case where the panels, instead of being entirely made of a rigid material (wood, plastic, metal), are made with a rigid frame closed by a less rigid material (fabric, etc.), and they are then more easily deformable.

Object of the invention is to produce partitions, walls, doors, facades and parts of furniture, etc. with panels hinged together with bellows and guided only in their upper part, but without all the known disadvantages in panels of this kind, and in particular with panels which can be easily and surely actuated and which do not jam, even '' they are made with a frame acting as a support and with a material inside which is not rigid.

This object is obtained, according to the invention, with an articulation joint for suspended vertical panels having a couple of elements linked to the adjacent panels in correspondence with the juxtaposed vertical edges and linked together by a small bar articulated with respect to the two, and further having at least a pair of equal gears, integral with these elements, concentric with respect to the articulation pivots of this bar and reciprocally engaged.

According to the present invention, the joint can be provided with means for stopping the two elements so as to be able to fix the folded panels on themselves and juxtaposed.

According to a preferred embodiment, the seal according to the invention can have pairs of gears directly engaged between them.

In a different embodiment, the two gears integral with the two elements of the joint according to the invention can be coupled together by means of a second pair of equal gears, installed free on the small bar.

• la fig. l montre une vue en perspective partiellement en coupe d'un joint selon l'invention, dans une forme d'exécution préférée ;
• la fig. 2 montre le joint dans la section II-II de fig.l;
• la fig. 3 montre une vue latérale de la paroi, partiellement ouverte, réalisée avec des panneaux verticaux suspendus réciproquement liés par des joints selon l'invention;
• la fig. 4 montre une vue depuis le haut selon la coupe IV-IV de la fig. 3;
• la fig. 5 montre selon la même perspective de fig. 1, une différente forme d'exécution, et
• la fig. 6 montre le joint selon la section VI-VI de fig.5.

The invention is described below in two preferred, non-limiting embodiments, for producing the coupling according to the appended drawings, in which:

• fig. l shows a perspective view partially in section of a seal according to the invention, in a preferred embodiment;
• fig. 2 shows the seal in section II-II of fig.l;
• fig. 3 shows a side view of the wall, partially open, produced with reciprocally suspended vertical panels linked by seals according to the invention;
• fig. 4 shows a view from the top according to section IV-IV of FIG. 3;
• fig. 5 shows from the same perspective of FIG. 1, a different embodiment, and
• fig. 6 shows the seal according to section VI-VI of fig.5.

As can be seen from the figures, the seal according to the invention essentially consists of a pair of elements 1, 1, made of metallic material (for example aluminum) or of plastic.

Each element 1, l 'is provided with means for connection with the panels 2, 2', where the vertical edges are juxtaposed. If the panels are made of heavy material, the fixings can be constituted by pivots, possibly threaded, which can be inserted inside the body of the panel itself. If the panels are constituted by a 3.3 'support structure (cf. fig. 5 and 6) and by a 4, 4' material, rigid or not, the fastenings are preferably constituted by holes in which the support structure is inserted.

In one embodiment according to FIG. 1, to each element 1, l is attached a pair of equal gears 5, 5 ′, or better still a couple of gear sectors, which can be produced as an integral part of element 1, l ′, or else which can be made separately and fixed later.

The two pairs of gears 5, 5 ', which laterally project beyond the body of the element 1, 1', engage reciprocally and are held in this position of engagement by a small bar 6, interposed between the two gears of each couple and articulated with respect to the two elements 1, there where the pivots 7, 7 'are concentric with respect to the gears 5, 5'.

The two elements 1, l 'are further provided with an edge 8, 8' which forms the stop for the small bar 6 when the panels are folded back on themselves and which prevents these panels 2, 2 'from exceeding this position , as will be seen below.

The joint according to the invention is applied to the two panels 2, 2 ′ where the two vertical edges are opposite. In the case where the panels are large, it is preferable to use a series of joints positioned at different heights, while in the case of panels of smaller dimensions and / or weight, it suffices to use for each pair of panels two joints located in correspondence of their upper and lower edges.

The panels which form the desired wall, thus fixed together, can be suspended from a horizontal rail 9 by means of rolling carriages 10 in correspondence with one of the two upper vertices of each panel. In particular, to allow correct bellows movement of the panels, a trolley must be provided the two adjacent panels (see fig. 4).

Of all the panels which form the wall, the fixed 2 ", to which the others are juxtaposed in the opening phase, is at the same time fixed to the floor, preferably by a small articulation block 11 which can be easily hidden from view. view.

• pour ouvrir la paroi, il suffit d'exercer une poussée horizontale sur le bord libre du panneau le plus éloigné de celui 2" fixé au plancher ; de cette manière, la sollicitation se transmet aux panneaux contigus à travers les joints qui, grâce à leur lien réciproque, empêchent toute déformation des panneaux et permettent un mouvement facile, sûr et sans que les panneaux se coincent. En effet, à la différence des panneauxconnus à soufflet, dans les panneaux liés avec le joint selon l'invention, la rotation d'un panneau provoque automatiquement la rotation dans le sens opposé du panneau contigu et celle-ci se transmet de panneau en panneau, en rendant toute l'opération d'ouverture plus facile.

After this assembly of the panels, their operation is as follows:

• to open the wall, it suffices to exert a horizontal push on the free edge of the panel furthest from that 2 "fixed to the floor; in this way, the stress is transmitted to the adjoining panels through the joints which, thanks to their reciprocal link, prevent any deformation of the panels and allow an easy, safe movement without the panels jamming. Indeed, unlike the panels known with bellows, in the panels linked with the joint according to the invention, the rotation of a panel automatically causes the opposite panel to rotate in the opposite direction and this is transmitted from panel to panel, making the whole opening operation easier.

To close the wall, we proceed in the opposite way, and even in this case, the resulting movement is precise, easy and safe. In addition, the rest configuration of the born panels cannot be exceeded thanks to the stop of the small bar 6 against the edges 8, 8 'of the elements 1, l'.

• - Il n'y a aucune limitation aux dimensions des panneaux ; il suffit en effet en augmentant la hauteur des panneaux, d'augmenter le nombre des joints, pour obtenir toujours la rigidité des panneaux pendant leur mouvement. Si la hauteur des panneaux devait être supérieure à celle admissible pour la résistance du rail supérieur et pour la déformabilité des panneaux mêmes, il est possible de soutenir ces panneaux aussi avec des rails intermédiaires.
• - Le joint permet d'obtenir une parfaite co_planarité de la paroi obtenue ; étant donné en effet la possibilité de transmettre les sollicitations d'un panneau aux autres, on peut obtenir des parois constituées de panneaux parfaitement coplanaires, et il suffit, pour recueillir ces panneaux à soufflet, d'exercer une traction dans le sens perpendiculaire à la paroi de n'importe quel point d'articulation entre deux panneaux contigus, par exemple selon l'indication de la flèche 12 à la fig. 4.

Besides the correct execution of the opening and / or closing movements of the panels, the seal according to the invention offers still other advantages, as follows:

• - There is no limitation to the dimensions of the panels; by increasing the height of the panels, it is sufficient to increase the number of joints, to always obtain the rigidity of the panels during their movement. If the height of the panels should be greater than that admissible for the strength of the upper rail and for the deformability of the panels themselves, it is possible to support these panels also with intermediate rails.
• - The joint makes it possible to obtain perfect co_planarity of the wall obtained; given in fact the possibility of transmitting the stresses from one panel to the others, it is possible to obtain walls made up of perfectly coplanar panels, and it suffices, to collect these bellows panels, to exert a traction in the direction perpendicular to the wall of any point of articulation between two contiguous panels, for example according to the indication of arrow 12 in FIG. 4.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 or 6, the gears 13, 13 ', which operate according to the same principle of the seal object of the invention, integral with the elements 1, 1', instead of being directly engaged between them , are connected by a second pair of equal intermediate gears 14, 14 ', fixed free to rotate on the pivots 15, 15' secured to the small bar 6.

In this way, it is possible to keep the dimensions of the different gears reduced and keep them hidden from view.

Claims (6)

1. Joint joint for vertical suspended panels, characterized in that it comprises a pair of elements (1,1 ') linked to the adjoining panels (2, 2') in correspondence with the vertical edges positioned next to and reciprocally linked by means of at least one small bar (6) articulated to the two, and which also comprises at least one pair of equal gears (5.5 ', 13,' 3 '), integral with the elements (1.1'), concentric with relative to the articulation pivots (7,7 ') of said small bar (6) and reciprocally engaged. 2. Joint according to claim 1, characterized by being provided with stop means (8, 8 ') of the two elements (1, l') in correspondence with the coplanar arrangement of the panels (2, 2 ') contiguous. 3. Joint according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the teeth of the gear pairs (5, 5 ') extends to the coplanar arrangement of the adjoining panels (2, 2'). 4. Joint according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the two elements (1, l ') are provided with an edge (8,8') which forms a stop for the small bar (6) in correspondence of the coplanar arrangement of the adjoining panels (2, 2 '). 5. Joint according to claim 1, characterized by having a pair of gears (5.5 ') directly engaged between them. 6. Joint according to claim 1, characterized in that the pairs of gears (13, 13 ') integral with the elements (1, l') are linked by means of other pairs of equal intermediate gears (14, 14 ') fixed free to rotate on the small bar (6).

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