EP0433197B1 - Frame for furniture support, with wire guide means, for electrical and electronic installations - Google Patents

Abstract

Modifiable office furniture frame, of which each element is of the type consisting of a metal profile 1 having a horizontal face for fixing to the shelf 2 of the furniture, a substantially vertical rear face 1a and a front face having an ornamental nature 1c, the horizontal face 1b and the front face being separated by a space 3 opening below the end of the shelf, characterised in that the collection of all of the electrical conductors supplying all of the equipment carried by the shelf being housed in the said profile and the connections of each of these equipments with the corresponding conductors being provided by passage through the said space, each at the closest point to the equipment in question, the collection of the elements constituting for the furniture a frame having the function both of supporting the shelf of the furniture and of serving as a means of guidance, support and concealing of all of the electrical conductors supplying all of the equipment carried by the said shelf, while allowing the connection of each equipment with corresponding conductors at the point of the said conductor which is closest to that equipment, each element being firmly fixed by means of an angle bracket fixed to the vertical rear faces of each profile. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to the construction of office furniture, and in particular of so-called "modular" office furniture, that is to say consisting of a limited number of units capable of being joined together for create furniture of shapes and dimensions appropriate to the needs.

It relates more particularly to such furniture arranged so as to include means for the passage of the electric power supply conductors of the devices which they carry, these means having at the same time the particularity of concealing these conductors, of protecting them and of allow to have them in the immediate vicinity of each device, regardless of its location.

In general, such a piece of furniture consists of a tray carried by a metal frame resting on feet, and the supply conductors of the devices carried by this tray run outside towards their sockets, generally at ground level. . As soon as a piece of furniture carries several devices, it quickly creates an inconvenient, unattractive entanglement likely to damage conductors and devices.

It has indeed been proposed to remedy this drawback, accessories aimed at grouping the sockets of the conductors of several devices on a kind of dashboard, which attaches for example to the wall, above the cabinet carrying these devices. However, such an accessory is fixed and does not form part of said piece of furniture, and does not resolve the path of the conductors between the devices and said sockets.

Document DE-A-34 18 162 thus describes a work table intended for receiving computer systems, and it is specified there that on the longitudinal side of this table, facing the user, is provided a sheet metal gutter intended to receive the control box and the various cables for supplying the switchgear, but without further details as to the means of connecting said cables and the devices which they must supply.

It is simply specified that a tiltable access hatch allows this gutter to be closed while allowing access to the user. In fact, this hatch appears to be the only communication between the gutter and the outside. This is therefore only an excessively rustic first attempt to fulfill the functions of the installation which is the subject of the present invention, but which does not include any of the characteristic possibilities which make the latter original.

The invention makes it possible to solve all the problems mentioned above, by extremely simple means, involving furniture of the type considered only minor design modifications, therefore not affecting their price and not complicating their use.

These modifications relate essentially to the construction of the frame and the feet of these pieces of furniture, with a view to making them the means of guiding, protecting and concealing the supply conductors of all the devices carried by a piece of furniture, whatever the location of each device and regardless of the number of these devices.

Of course, "apparatus" means both the various machines such as typewriters, computers, tape recorders, lighting fixtures, telephone sets and the like, so the term "conductors" should be used in its greatest generality, including coaxial cables, high voltage cables, low voltage cables and the like.

To this end, according to the invention, the frame of a modular office furniture is made up of elements, each of which consists of a metal profile having a horizontal face for fixing to the furniture top, a substantially vertical rear face and a front face. ornamental in nature, the horizontal face and the front face being separated by a space opening below the end of the plate, the invention consisting in that all of the electrical conductors supplying all the devices carried by the tray are housed in at least one of said profiles and the connections of each of these devices with the corresponding conductors are ensured by passing through said space, each at the point closest to the device considered, all of the elements constituting for the piece of furniture a frame having the role both of supporting the table top of the piece of furniture and of serving as a means of guiding, supporting and concealing all of the electrical conductors supplying all the devices carried by said plate, allowing the connection of each device with the corresponding conductors at the point of said conductor closest to this device, each element being secured to the next by means of a corner gusset fixed to the vertical rear faces of each profile, and which can also be used for hanging other elements of the furniture, for example boxes, or additional accessories, for example shelves or the like.

Such a profile preferably has along one of its longitudinal edges defining said space a rim ensuring its rigidity.

The furniture tray rests on the horizontal faces of the frame formed by these profiles, and preferably a rubber lip is pinched between this face and the frame so as to be placed in front of said space to protect and conceal it, while authorizing the introduction or extraction of a conductor at any point along said space. Thus, for example, if a device is placed at a given point on the plate, it will suffice to run its supply conductor perpendicularly to the nearest edge, then to insert it into the profile by temporarily deforming the lip, to the point where it will join its socket.

In practice, the sockets being generally located at ground level, the invention also provides means for guiding and protecting the conductors from the frame to the ground. These means consist of a particular construction of the legs of the furniture.

According to the invention, a foot consists of a metal profile produced in the form of two flat rear faces having the width of a frame element and each comprising at its upper part a notch intended to face said element when the foot is in place. , and with a front face set back with respect to said rear faces, so as to leave a front space, this space being closed by a part forming a cover so as to create at its upper part a corridor for the passage of the conductors of one frame element to the other, said corridor opening at its ends onto said notches, and over its entire height a vertical corridor for the passage of conductors from the frame to the power outlets.

Preferably, such a profile is produced in a simple manner by shaping a single sheet and hanging the cover by known means, which makes it possible to offer, according to the choice of the cover, a whole range of finishes for the piece of furniture.

According to a variant coming within the framework of the invention, instead of a single shaped sheet, the same profile can be produced from two profiles assembled along their vertical edges.

It thus appears that the invention relates to a piece of furniture which is distinguished in an original way by the constitution of the elements of its frame and of its feet, both made by simple profiles of appropriate section, making it possible to ensure, thanks to this structure, the guidance, protection and concealment of all the supply conductors of all the devices carried by the cabinet.

• La figure 1 est une coupe verticale d'un élément de cadre selon l'invention, en place sous le plateau d'un meuble.
• La figure 2 est une coupe horizontale d'un pied selon l'invention, avec son couvercle.
• La figure 3 est une coupe horizontale d'un pied selon l'invention, en place dans l'angle d'un cadre selon l'invention.
• La figure 4 est une coupe verticale selon IV-IV de la figure 3,
• et la figure 5 est un schéma illustrant la mise en pratique de l'invention et ses avantages.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

• Figure 1 is a vertical section of a frame element according to the invention, in place under the shelf of a piece of furniture.
• Figure 2 is a horizontal section of a foot according to the invention, with its cover.
• Figure 3 is a horizontal section of a foot according to the invention, in place in the corner of a frame according to the invention.
• FIG. 4 is a vertical section on IV-IV of FIG. 3,
• and Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the practice of the invention and its advantages.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the profile 1 constituting one of the elements of the frame on which the plate 2 is fixed, has a vertical rear face 1 a , a horizontal upper face 1 b and a front face with decorative vocation 1 c , leaving a longitudinal space 3.

The plate 2 is fixed to the frame so as to cover this space. Preferably, a rubber lip 4 is pinched between the plate 2 and the face 1b of the profile, so as to conceal the space 3, while allowing the conductors to be inserted laterally.

Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the foot 5 comprises a mechanically resistant part constituted by a pair of rear faces 5 a -5 a 'and a front face 5 b , set back from the ends of the faces 5 a - 5 a ', this form being able to be produced by knurling the wings 6-6', or simply shaping a single sheet, as shown.

As can be seen in the drawing and in particular in FIGS. 3 and 4, the wings 6-6 ′ of the faces 5 a - 5 a ′ are notched in 7-7 ′ so that these notches come to face the spaces 3 of the profiles 1, when the frame is assembled to a leg, as shown in Figure 3.

It can also be seen in FIG. 3 that the elements or profiles 1 are assembled by a corner gusset 8, while the anchoring of the foot 5 is ensured by a diagonal screw 9.

It is also noted in the drawing that the rigidity of the profile 1 is improved by a flange 10 along the edge of the face 1 b , and that the foot 5 ends at the base with a plumb adjustment screw 11.

The shape of the foot 5 leaves a space 12 between the wings 6, which is covered, according to the invention, by a cover 13, fitted or hung on the foot by any suitable means, having a double role: closing the space 12 and constitute a decorative element for the foot.

The piece of furniture which has just been described offers the possibility of placing on the plate 2 all the necessary apparatus and accessories, at any suitable location, as shown in the diagram in FIG. 5, in which apparatus A₁, A₂ has been schematically represented. , A₃, distributed on the plate 2, and supplied by conductors C₁, C₂, C₃.

In a conventional installation, these conductors would run freely on the plate 2, before going down to their socket, risking getting tangled, with the risk of damaging the devices under the effect of accidental traction.

On the contrary, with the furniture system according to the invention, each of the conductors C₁, C₂, C₃ is visible on the plate 2 only to reach the edge of the plate, at B₁, B₂, B₃, and at this point they penetrate in profile 1, where they are guided horizontally to the space 12 of foot 5, where they descend, always guided, vertically this time, to the socket located on the ground.

In the case where a fourth device A₄ is installed in an opposite region of the plate 2, the conductor C₄ reaches the opposite edge of the plate, and then follows the course of two successive sections 1, being guided from one to the other through the space 12 'of the foot 5', to finally reach the same way to the foot 5 and the grip on the ground.

Of course, while this system is obviously perfectly suited to a simple rectangular piece of furniture, as illustrated in the present example, it can conform to all the modular combinations of any number of unit pieces of furniture, the horizontal sections being linearly connected together. to each other.

In particular, the fact that each foot authorizes a cable descent makes it possible to separate, if requested either by the user, or by standardization (depending on the country) the routing of communication cables from that of cables under low voltage (220V-240V).

Claims (8)

1. Frame for a modular item of office furniture, each component of which is of a type consisting of a metal profiled section (1) having a horizontal face for fixing to the worktop (2) of the item of furniture, a substantially vertical rear face (1a) and a front face (1c) which is ornamental in nature, characterised in that, the horizontal face (1b) and the front face being separated by a space (3) opening out beneath the end of the worktop, all the electrical leads supplying all the appliances carried by the worktop (2) are housed in at least one of the said profiled sections (1) and each of these appliances is connected to the corresponding leads by their being passed through the said space (3), each one at the nearest point to the appliance in question, all of the components (1) constituting for the item of furniture a frame which has the function both of supporting the worktop (2) of the item of furniture and of acting as a means of guiding, supporting and concealing all the electrical leads (C1, C2, C3, C4) supplying all the appliances (A1, A2, A3, A4) carried by the said worktop (2), whilst allowing each appliance to be connected to the corresponding leads at the point on the said lead which is nearest to this appliance, each component being connected to the next one by means of a corner piece (8) fixed to the rear vertical faces of each profiled section.
2. Modular item of office furniture, characterised in that it consists of a worktop (2) carrying a set of electrical appliances, a frame supporting this worktop in accordance with Claim 1, and legs (5) supporting this frame, characterised in that at least one of these legs consists of a metal profiled section serving to guide the electrical power supply leads to the said appliances, while concealing them, from a socket located at ground level as far as the said frame.
3. Item of furniture according to Claim 2, characterised in that the said profiled section forming a leg is produced in the form of two plane rear faces (5a), (5a') having the width of one component of the frame, and each having, in their upper part, an indentation (7) facing the said component, and a front face which is recessed with respect to the rear faces, the space (12) left in front of this front face being closed off by a component forming a cover (13) in such a way as to create, at its upper part, a channel for the leads to pass from one component to the next, the said channel opening out at its ends onto the said indentations, and, over its entire height, a vertical channel for the leads to pass from the supply socket.
4. Item of furniture according to Claims 2 and 3, characterised in that the said leg is fitted to the corner piece (8) using a diagonal screw (9) ensuring that the leg is fixed rigidly to the frame.
5. Frame according to Claim 1, characterised in that a longitudinal rubber lip (4) is disposed under the worktop to conceal the empty space in the profiled section while enabling the leads to emerge.
6. Frame according to Claim 5, characterised in that the lip (4) is gripped between the frame and the horizontal face of the profiled section.
7. Item of furniture according to Claim 2, characterised in that the said leg is made by shaping a single piece of sheet metal.
8. Item of furniture according to Claim 2, characterised in that the said leg is made by joining two profiled sections along their vertical edges.

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