EP0657595B1 - Partition system with floating parts - Google Patents

Abstract

Vertical partitioning system composed of panels An mounted so that they can slide between two slideways, and the vertical edges of which are equipped with at least one longitudinal connection piece P, P' serving to gauge the thickness of the panel, characterised in that the said connection piece P, P' interacts with a post B independent of the slideways, which is located between two adjacent panels An which it connects together mechanically by clipping its two faces opposite the vertical edges into the connection pieces P, P' cladding the said edges, and whose spacing it simultaneously defines. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a vertical partitioning system composed of panels mounted to slide between two slides. It is a very easily removable partition, but whose panels are not individually removable. In this type of “progressive” partitions, that is to say with panels fitted one by one, it is in fact generally necessary to act on the adjacent panels to remove one.

The prior art offers multiple technical solutions of partitions thus nestable. The most obvious is simply to provide a male edge and a female edge on each panel, for example on the vertical edges where nesting occurs. Among the possible forms, mention may be made of the so-called "tenon-mortise" systems with reference to their configuration.

According to another solution, the vertical edges have longitudinal recesses intended to accommodate, between two consecutive panels, strands which allow the connection when they are compressed, in particular when the two adjacent panels are pressurized end to end.

Another similar solution is presented in Document DE-U-7 001 716.

There are many other ways to create progressive partitions, which it would be tedious to list in this context. In addition, most are just simple variations of the configurations mentioned above.

• pour démonter un panneau précis, il faut enlever ceux qui ont été emboîtés après lui pour dégager l'accès,
• la précision du montage est rarement satisfaisante. Dès lors que le sol présente des irrégularités, celles-ci sont répercutées au niveau des jonctions verticales entre panneaux. La précision du montage dépend souvent de la force exercée par le monteur qui les met en pression l'un contre l'autre.

They all have more or less the same disadvantages:

• to dismantle a precise panel, remove those which have been fitted after it to clear access,
• mounting precision is rarely satisfactory. As soon as the floor has irregularities, these are reflected at the vertical junctions between panels. The precision of the assembly often depends on the force exerted by the fitter who presses them against each other.

The multiplicity of the proposed configurations is actually explained by pecuniary reasons: the directly removable panels, which seem more practical, are much more expensive, because depositaries of a more sophisticated technology. Conversely, nestable sliding panels such as those which are the subject of the invention are inexpensive because of their simplified design, but have the drawbacks mentioned.

The partitioning system proposed by the invention eliminates or bypasses them, since it allows extremely rapid disassembly of a limited number of panels adjacent to that which must be reached. This system also guarantees excellent mounting quality, particularly at the junctions between panels.

Finally, the design of the panels makes it possible both to manufacture them according to a particularly simple process and to assemble / disassemble them without any difficulty.

To this end, the vertical partitioning system of the invention is composed of slide and post panels; the panels are slidably mounted between two slides, and have vertical edges which have a groove and are equipped with at least one longitudinal connecting part which also allows the calibration of said groove of the panel with respect to the post. According to the essential characteristic, said connecting piece cooperates, during the mounting of the partition, with a post free of any attachment with the slides, which takes place between two adjacent panels which it makes the connection, by clipping its two opposite faces vertical edges of said panels in the connecting pieces covering said edges, and the spacing of which it determines.

Each connecting piece takes the form either of a long piece covering the edge over a great length, or of several separate and spaced pieces ensuring the same function.

• ils présentent une symétrie par rapport au plan médian de la cloison,
• bien que fonctionnellement quasi-identiques, les deux faces destinées à s'encliqueter dans les pièces de liaison ne sont pas formellement identiques, puisqu'elles n'interviennent pas de la même manière au montage,
• ils présentent une seconde symétrie par rapport à un plan médian perpendiculaire à leur axe longitudinal.

During assembly, a post must therefore be systematically inserted between two panels. These posts are floating, and do not impose therefore no particular mounting constraints. Their arrangement in relation to the panel already installed, and in anticipation of the one which will be attached to it, is facilitated by several design tips:

• they present a symmetry with respect to the median plane of the partition,
• although functionally almost identical, the two faces intended to snap into the connecting pieces are not formally identical, since they do not operate in the same way during assembly,
• they have a second symmetry with respect to a median plane perpendicular to their longitudinal axis.

The type of mechanical connection is itself designed so that the fixing of the post can be carried out manually without exerting excessive pressure. The same should apply to the attachment of the second panel to the post.

To this end, the two faces intended to be clipped into the connecting pieces have a shape which closely depends on that of the connecting pieces covering the edges of the panels.

These, which also have a double symmetry with respect to the vertical median plane of the panels and to their horizontal median plane, are produced by profiling a sheet of great length, and have substantially the shape of a female part of a dovetail link. This is obtained by folding down the two transverse edges of the sheet at an angle slightly greater than 90 °, and by bending the ends outwards to facilitate the clipping of the posts. The connecting piece thus formed therefore comprises a locking means consisting of two converging edges, and a clipping means resulting from the elasticity of the two edges in combination with their terminal curvature, which allow the deformation and the return to the initial position of said edges.

The edges of the corners of the post are rounded and spaced apart from one another so as to correspond to the spacing of the dovetail connection, at least on their faces opposite the connection pieces. Near these edges, on the other two faces of the post, there are axial depressions in which the curved ends of the folded edges of said parts fit. These depressions allow the connection to be locked, and ensure the quality of the junction. They also allow easy disassembly using again the elasticity of the material and the rounding of the ends, which can slide in the grooves and release the post when traction is exerted in the opposite direction, because there is no relief preventing movement in this direction.

Each post is, however, asymmetrical with respect to a median plane perpendicular to the axis of the partition. One of its faces is indeed incomplete. In other words, the profile in which it is made is not closed, for functional reasons. When the post is mounted in the partition, that is to say snapped into a fixed and stable connecting piece, it must itself stiffen in contact with the structure already built. To this end, the side which is attached to the rest is complete, and comprises between the two rounded edges a flat projecting from said edges, parallel to the plane connecting them, and which comes to rest on the flat bottom of the room link.

The opposite face, open, has a much higher elasticity, functionally important. Indeed, the adjacent panel that is then assembled is presented with its vertical edge provided with the connecting piece that has been described, since it equips the two vertical edges of each panel. To simplify the clipping of the movable panel on the post now fixed and stable, it is preferable that the two parts of this connection have a possibility of elastic deformation.

The dovetail connecting pieces equip the two vertical edges of all the pre-formed panels, which are of course of various shapes according to the requirements of the partitions usually practiced in living quarters or, more frequently, work. They are by nature very simple to fix, since their bottom is flat, made of thin sheet metal of variable width. They can be used to join two facings together to form the panel and determine its thickness on this occasion.

In the case of simple sheet metal panels, their manufacture is extremely simplified, insofar as the two facings and the two parts are identical and symmetrical; the use of the resulting panel is itself facilitated because said panel, by virtue of its double symmetry, is reversible. It is completely unnecessary to ask the question of its sense of use, and the personnel assigned to their assembly require only rapid and reduced training.

The second essential point of the invention resides in the existence of particular panels equipping each direction of development of the partition, at the rate of at least one per direction. According to a preferred configuration, at least one of these particular panels is adjacent to each door fitted to the partition.

They are provided to facilitate the dismantling of at least part of the partition, are made up of two independent facings in profiled sheet, and are removable by successive removal of these two facings. The latter, which may also be identical to the previous ones, have no connecting parts. At the place where the connecting piece of the conventional panels is fixed, a means of attachment to the posts is provided opposite these particular panels. The posts of course include corresponding means, allowing the panel / post to be fixed.

In the simplest case, lugs or nipples are welded near the edges of the post, on the open face, and buttonholes corresponding to the diameter of said nipples are made in the appropriate places of the free facings. These are simply attached to the nipples and constitute, from the outside, a panel quite similar to the others.

According to one possibility, these removable panels are used as technical panels, allowing the passage of electric cables, the integration of sockets and switches, etc., in particular when they are located at the right of the doors.

According to another possibility, these technical panels are combined with the end panels, making the connection with perpendicular walls. Their existence allows in any event to carry out only a limited disassembly when we have to intervene on any panel.

Combined with the advantage of floating posts, which are neither connected to the floor nor to the ceiling, these technical panels allow a very easy and very rapid disassembly of a portion of partition, without being forced to remove an entire wall to lead to an element placed at the end of the line, as can happen in other existing systems.

Finally, they offer a system completely devoid of mechanical stapling system, which can be handled practically without tools, by a single man who does not need to receive any special training.

At the manufacturing level, all the parts are produced by profiling, which considerably simplifies the equipment necessary for their production.

• La figure 1 représente une vue perspective d'un poteau en cours de montage entre deux cloisons,
• la figure 2 est une section d'un poteau selon l'invention, dans la configuration de la figure 1,
• la figure 3 explicite le montage d'un panneau technique, et
• les figures 4 et 5 représentent deux portions d'une section horizontale d'une paroi possible, comprenant divers exemples de panneaux.

In the following, the system of the invention will be described in more detail, with reference to the attached figures, for which:

• FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of a post being assembled between two partitions,
• FIG. 2 is a section of a post according to the invention, in the configuration of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 3 explains the mounting of a technical panel, and
• Figures 4 and 5 show two portions of a horizontal section of a possible wall, comprising various examples of panels.

The figures illustrate a preferred embodiment of a partitioning system according to the invention, but which should not be considered as limiting.

The two panels A₁, A₂ frame a central post B. The mounting direction is shown by the arrows F, F '. The central post B is completely independent from the rest of the structure, it is free with respect to the lower slide C and with respect to the two panels A₁, A₂.

Initially, it is clipped into one or more connecting piece (s) P, which covers the vertical edge of the panel A₁, to which it is therefore secured.

Then, in a second step, the panel A₂ is moved by sliding and in turn clips onto the part of the post B protruding from the panel A₁. The movement symbolized by F 'is therefore carried out after the movement symbolized by F, and it is always the same direction during the erection of the partition by successive contribution of pole / panel pairs.

In this first figure, the upper slide has not been shown for reasons relating to the clarity of the drawing. In addition, this type of structure is known per se, and is not part of the invention itself.

The general dynamics of the constituent elements of the invention having been explained, let us examine these elements in more detail, with reference to FIG. 2. The horizontal section which is represented therein conforms to the representation of FIG. 1. Each panel is composed of two facings a₁, a'₁, a₂, a'₂ in profiled sheet, connected by two identical pieces P, P ', also in profiled sheet. These latter pieces have significantly the shape of a female dovetail connection part, because the two lateral edges are folded inwards at an angle greater than 90 °.

The ends of said edges are curved outward. This curvature is functionally very important, because it ensures on the one hand the locking of the link, and on the other hand it authorizes its unlocking. The symmetry of this curvature with respect to a transverse plane allows movement in both directions. This shape, combined with the corresponding shape of the corresponding depression of the post B and with the elasticity of the two branches of the dovetail piece, allows the snap-fitting in the depressions and, conversely, the separation of the two pieces.

The depressions 1, 1 ', 2, 2' are for example curved, so as to correspond to the curvature of the ends of the connecting pieces. Between the grooves 1 and 1 'is a flat width d, projecting from the edges of the post B: the flat surface is applied against the bottom of the piece dovetail P, allowing the existence of a reaction force when the panel A₂ is clipped, which in particular increases the rigidity of the panel block A₁ / post B when the panel A₂ is fixed.

The variation of the dimension d allows that of the thickness of the partition. Dimension b is used to vary the width of the junction. According to multiple variants, a space can be left between the facades of the panels, either for purely aesthetic reasons, or for technical reasons, for example to fix a rack intended for the subsequent hanging of shelves, etc.

On the incomplete face (between 2 and 2 '), the mechanical connection allowing the clipping and unclipping is exactly the same as previously, but with an additional clearance resulting from the elasticity of the material and the existence of the axial slot. Indeed, the absence of material on this face results in less transverse rigidity and a slightly greater ease of clipping than that which characterizes the other connection.

Referring to Figure 3, the post B is seen with this incomplete face in the foreground. It is a schematic representation of a removable technical panel A₃ forming part of the system according to the invention. Nipples 3 are distributed regularly on either side of the central slot of this face, for example welded thereon.

The two facings a₃, a'₃ are hung on the two posts B which frame the technical panel (only one of which is shown here) using buttonholes 4 fitting onto said studs. It is thus very easy to unhook one facing, then the second, in order to remove the technical panel from the partition and to provide space for dismantling.

The recesses 5 appearing at the top of the facings are intended to allow the user to raise the facings despite the external sheet of the upper slide (not shown), so as to slide the pins 3 towards the lower part of the lights constituting the buttonholes 4. A second horizontal movement towards the outside of the partition is sufficient to completely detach the facing.

The space constituted by the removal of the technical panel A₃ is sufficient so that the posts B can be moved around a central axis and extracted from the slides. Then, it is easy to remove the panels by a process analogous to that which was used for the technical sheath, because the upper recesses also exist in the other panels.

Figures 4 and 5 offer two more complete examples of partitions with glass panels, a door and a change of direction. We find at each end of each panel the characteristic structure of the invention, with the central post positioned between the vertical edges of two adjacent panels.

In FIG. 4, the panels A _n simply consist of two facings identical to _n , a ' _n and two connecting pieces P, P', also identical. They are therefore usable in all directions, since they have a partial symmetry with respect to a central point (intersection of the three median planes). They are entirely made from profiled sheets.

Panel A₃ is a technical panel with removable facings a₃, a'₃. A stiffening device is also provided, comprising two parts 6, 7, fixed by screws to the pins 3 and connected by an adjustable rod 8. This is for example threaded at its two ends and introduced into two threaded bores of the homologous parts 6 and 7. Tightening can be carried out before placing at least one of the facings and contributes to stiffening the partition.

It should be noted that the leftmost post B is screwed on the left side to the particular panel to which it is secured, which is actually a doorpost. This configuration is found in the right part of Figure 5.

In FIG. 5, the two panels A₄ and A₅ are respectively a double-glazed panel and a single-glazed panel, followed by a technical panel A₃ and a door A6.

As we have seen, each partition portion developing in a given direction comprises at least one technical panel and / or each door is adjacent to at least one technical panel. According to a possible variant, the removable technical panels are merged with the end panels such as A₇.

Claims (11)

1. Vertical partitioning system composed of panels A_n, channels and posts (B); the panels A_n are slidably mounted between two channels, and their vertical edges have a groove and are equipped with at least one longitudinal connecting piece P, P' serving to calibrate the said groove in the panel with respect to the post (B), characterised in that the said connecting piece P, P' cooperates with a post B, independent of the channels, which is fitted between two adjacent panels A_n which it connects mechanically by the snapping of its two faces opposite the vertical edges into the connecting pieces P, P' cladding the said edges, and whose spacing it simultaneously determines.
2. Partitioning system according to Claim 1, characterised in that the posts B placed between two adjacent panels A_n can be unsnapped by exerting a force in the same direction in each case and in the opposite direction to that required during the snapping-in operation.
3. Partitioning system according to one of Claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the connecting pieces P, P' fixed to the edges of the panels A_n are identical on both edges of each panel A_n.
4. System according to Claim 3, characterised in that the connecting pieces P, P' have a double symmetry with respect to the mid-plane of the partition and with respect to their transverse mid-plane.
5. Partitioning system according to the preceding claim, characterised in that each floating post B placed between two adjacent panels A_n has a double symmetry with respect to the mid-plane of the partition and with respect to its transverse mid-plane.
6. Partitioning system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the connecting pieces P, P' have substantially the shape of a female connecting part in the form of a dovetail, obtained by folding over the transverse edges of a longitudinal sheet by an angle greater than 90° and curving the ends outwards, and in that longitudinal depressions 1, 1', 2, 2' are provided in the posts B in proximity to the corner edges, designed to receive the said curved ends at the time of snapping in.
7. Partitioning system according to the preceding claim, characterised in that one of the faces of the post B is incomplete and has an axial slot over the entire length of the post.
8. Partitioning system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one removable panel A₃ is fitted in each direction of development of the partition.
9. Partitioning system according to Claim 8, characterised in that each door A₆ fitted to the partition has at least one adjacent removable panel A₃.
10. Partitioning system according to one of Claims 8 and 9, characterised in that the removable panels A₃ have two independent facings a₃, a'₃ attached to studs 3 fixed to one face of the central post B by means of apertures 4 formed in the said facings, and in that they serve as technical panels A₃.
11. Partitioning system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the facings a_n, a'_n, the connecting pieces P, P' and the posts B are produced by the profiling of metal sheets.

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