EP0724248A1

EP0724248A1 - Panel connector arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP0724248A1
Application number: EP96300400A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Martin Dixon
Original assignee: Marler Haley Exposystems Ltd
Current assignee: Marler Haley Exposystems Ltd
Priority date: 1995-01-25
Filing date: 1996-01-22
Publication date: 1996-07-31
Also published as: GB9501792D0

Abstract

A connector device (12) for securing to a panel (10) of an exhibition display has a portion in the form of a gear segment adapted to mesh with a corresponding portion of an adjoining panel 10 of the display so that the two panels are effectively hinged together in quasi-pivotal relationship. The teeth (20) of the gear segment have enlarged ends (62) of a size to be capable of being held captive in the spaces (66), inwardly of the enlarged ends (62) of a meshing identical connection device. The teeth of the device (12) are resiliently flexible so that two connectors can simply be pushed together and will remain together until forcibly pulled apart, with no auxiliary connection between the devices (12) being necessary.

Description

THIS INVENTION relates to a panel connector arrangement whereby adjoining rectangular panels, for example in an exhibition display structure, may be connected edge to edge in a manner permitting pivotal movement between adjacent panels.
The invention is more particularly concerned with arrangements of this kind in which, in use, adjacent panels carry respective members each having a toothed formation similar in form to part of the periphery of a gear wheel, and accordingly herein referred to as a "gear segment", with the teeth of each such gear segment on one panel engaging between the teeth of the corresponding gear segment on the other panel. Arrangements of this general type are disclosed in British Patent Specification No. 1542244 and European Patent Specification No. 0292833. In such known constructions, additional pivotal connecting means are necessary in order to hold adjacent panels together, for example, in the form of a link at the top of two panels thus interconnected and a corresponding link at the bottom of the two panels, each link being pivotally connected, at each end, with a respective said panel, for pivoting about the axis of the respective gear segment or segments. Accordingly, adjoining panels in such a display system cannot readily be disconnected.
It is an object of the present invention to provide means by which adjoining panels of, for example, an exhibition display structure can, in effect, be pivotally interconnected for controlled pivoting, with geared interengagement between such panels, with adjacent panels being nevertheless readily connectable without additional links and disconnectable from one another without requiring special tools.
According to the invention there is provided a connector device for use, in conjunction with a similar connector device, for connecting adjacent panels or other members edge to edge or end to end in quasi-pivotal relationship, the device comprising a core, attachment means, for connection with such a panel or other member, connected with said core, a plurality of teeth radiating from said core and defining gaps therebetween, each of said teeth having, at its end remote from said core, a respective enlargement, whereby there are defined between adjacent said enlargements gaps narrower than the first-mentioned gaps, and narrower than said enlargements, said teeth being resiliently flexible so that two adjacent said teeth can flex apart resiliently sufficiently to allow a said enlargement of an identical device to be inserted into the gap between said resiliently flexed-apart teeth, past the enlargements carried by the last mentioned teeth, and can thereafter spring together to hold the inserted enlargement captive, and can conversely spring apart to allow extraction of such enlargement from said gap, whereby two such connector devices can simply be pushed together so that said enlargements of each are interleaved with intervening said teeth of the other and are thereafter held together until forcibly separated and whereby each said connector device can roll around the other to a limited extent as said teeth and enlargements of the two devices interengage with one another after the fashion of gear teeth.
Embodiments of the invention are described below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a corner of a rectangular panel fitted with a connector device embodying the invention,
FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of the panel corner of Figure 1,
FIGURE 3 shows, in side elevation, a panel fitted with such connectors,
FIGURE 4A is a plan view from above of a single lamina of the connector of Figure 1,
FIGURE 4B is a plan view from below of the component of Figure 4A,
FIGURE 5 is a view of the item of Figure 4A in section along the line V-V in Figure 4A,
FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary plan view to an enlarged scale as compared with Figure 4A, of part of the component of Figures 4A, 4B and 5,
FIGURES 7A to 7E are various plan views illustrating how two or more panels in accordance with Figures 1 and 2 can be interconnected using the inventive connectors,
FIGURE 8 is a plan view illustrating the preferred positioning of adjacent panels for connection or disconnection,
FIGURE 9 is a view, similar to Figure 1, but showing a variant, and
FIGURE 10 is an elevation view of an element in the variant of Figure 9.

Referring to the drawings, a rectangular panel 10, adapted to be assembled with other such panels to form, for example, a display stand for an exhibition, is provided, at each corner thereof, with a connector device 12. The device 12 comprises a shoulder part 14, from the rear side of which extends a flat generally rectangular tongue portion 16 integral with the shoulder portion 14. A head portion 18 extends forwardly from the shoulder portion 14, the head portion 18 being likewise integral with the shoulder portion 14. A plurality of teeth 20 extend from the head portion 18, the teeth 20 radiating from an axis 22 indicated by broken lines in Figures 1 and 2 which lies in a plane which is parallel with but midway between the side faces of the tongue 16 and is likewise parallel with and midway between the opposing major surfaces of the panel 10.
As will appear, the device 12 is everywhere of the same depth (measured parallel with the axis 22). The device 12 is accommodated in a recess cut in the corner of the panel 10. Thus, as shown in Figure 2, the recess receiving the device 12 terminates in a horizontal lower face 24, parallel with the upper horizontal edge 26 of the panel 10 and which face 24 engages the lower face of the device 12. The recess is further defined by a vertical face 28, extending to each major surface of the panel 10 and lying perpendicular to the major surfaces and parallel with the axis 22. These faces 28 engage rearwardly directed faces of the shoulder portion 14 on either side of the device 12. A rectangular slot 30, extending in the central plane of the panel 10 midway between the major faces thereof receives the tongue portion 16 as a snug fit. The device 12 is secured to the panel 10 by screws 32 extended, parallel with the axis 22, through respective bores in the tongue portion 16, into the material of the panel 10. The bores receiving these screws 32 are recessed or countersunk at their upper ends to receive the screw heads, so that these do not project above the plane of the upper surface of the tongue 16, which is flush with the upper edge 26 of the panel 10. Preferably, the width of the shoulder portion 14 corresponds with the thickness of the panel 10, so that end surfaces of the shoulder portion 14 are flush with the major surfaces of the panel 10.
Referring to Figures 2 to 6, the connector device 12 is formed by superimposing a plurality of identical integers 12a, of the form shown in Figures 4A, 4B and 5. This expedient is adopted primarily for ease of moulding but it also has the advantage of allowing connectors 12 of different heights to be easily made up.
As best shown in Figure 6, each tooth 20 comprises a relatively narrow intermediate portion 60 and an enlargement 62 at the free end of the tooth, the enlargement 62 being of part cylindrical form, with the axis of the part cylinder extending parallel with the axis 22. It will be appreciated that there is thus formed, between adjacent teeth, a gap which, as viewed in Figure 6, is similar in form to the teeth 20 in that it comprises a narrower portion 64 defined between adjacent enlargements 62 and a wider portion 66 defined between adjacent narrower portions 60. The junctions of the portion 60 with the head portion 18 are radiused, as shown, so that the wider portions 66 of the gaps 62 are quasi-cylindrical in form. The dimensions and spacings of the teeth 20 are such that, in an unstressed condition of the connector, each gap 64 is narrower than the enlargements 62, in a circumferential sense about the axis 22, whilst the wider portion 66 of each gap is somewhat wider than each enlargement 62 whereby, as described below, each gap portion 60 can receive as a free fit an enlargement 62 of an identical connector. The teeth 20 all have their enlargements 62 at the same radial distance from the axis 22 and the teeth 20 are all of the same form and dimensions as one another with the exception of the tooth 20a which is shown furthest clockwise in Figures 4A and 6, which differs from the remaining teeth in being somewhat thicker over its narrower portion 60a. A further recess 70, 72, is provided at each circumferential end of the gear segment defined by the teeth 20, 20a, between each of the teeth 20, 20a at the respective circumferentially extreme end of the connector, between the respective teeth 20, 20a and the shoulder portion 14.
As shown in Figures 4A, 4B and 5, in each separately moulded component of the connector, a cylindrical peg 71 is formed at the lower end of each of the respective portions of the enlargement 62 and a complementary recess 73 is formed at the upper end of each enlargement, to receive the corresponding peg 70 of the element immediately above when the elements are stacked one above the other to form the connector. The screws 32, of course, are the factor mainly effective in holding the stacked elements forming the connector 12 together.
Referring to Figure 3, an exhibition display system may comprise a plurality of panels 10, each provided with a respective connector 12 at each of its four corners, as illustrated. The system may be a modular system in the sense that panels of, in the example, three different heights and two different widths may be provided. As illustrated in Figures 7A to 7E, it is possible to connect two, three or even four panels of the same height together, edge to edge, by meshing the teeth 20 of the connectors of one panel with the teeth 20 of the connectors of the adjoining panel, so that at least one tooth of each connector is engaged between two adjacent teeth of a connector of the adjoining panel, with the enlargement 62 of the first mentioned tooth being located in the enlarged portion 66 of the gap between adjacent teeth 20 of said adjacent panel. The resilience of the teeth 20 allows two adjoining panels to be connected in this fashion simply by pushing the two panels together so that the teeth of the respective connectors on one panel mesh with those of the connectors on the other panel, adjacent teeth springing apart, where necessary, to admit, between them, the enlargement 62 of the connector of an adjoining panel. Preferably the resilience of the teeth and the relative dimensions of the enlargements 62 and gaps 64 are such that a significant, but not excessive, force is required to push adjacent panels together in this fashion or to separate adjacent panels and so that the resistance of the meshing connectors to separation is sufficient to hold these in mesh as one panel is moved angularly with respect to the other whilst the respective connectors rotate in mesh with one another after the fashion of gear segments. In the preferred arrangement, where two adjoining connectors 12 are intermeshed in this fashion, (Figures 7A and 7B), during such geared movement, successive positions are moved through in which, alternately, two adjacent enlargements 62 of the first of said two connectors are received within adjacent enlarged gap portions 66 of the second of said connectors and positions in which adjacent said enlargements 62 of the second of said adjacent connectors are received in adjacent enlarged gap portions 66 of the first of such connectors.
During such geared movement between two such adjacent panels the two panels in effect roll one against the other about respective cylindrical surfaces corresponding to the "pitch circles" of the gear segments formed by the connectors 12. Such a "pitch circle" is indicated by the chain-dotted arc in Figure 6 and has its centre coincident with axis 22. Preferably the vertical edge of the panel at the upper and lower ends of which connectors 12 are provided is provided by a part-cylindrical convex surface centred on axis 22 and conforming to the "pitch circle" of the associated gear segment connectors 12, so that these part-cylindrical surfaces of the two adjoining panels 10 come into close proximity with one another during such geared movement, without unsightly gaps between the adjoining panels.
As already noted, the portion 60 of the tooth 20a at one extreme end of the arc of teeth 20 in each connector 12 is substantially thicker and hence stiffer than the remainder of said portions 60. It has been found that this facilitates engagement and disengagement of the connectors of adjacent panels if, as illustrated in Figure 8, such panels are connected by a technique which involves placing the two panels together with their major faces substantially parallel and adjoining one another and bringing the teeth of the connectors of the two panels into mesh at the position of the thicker tooth 20a of one of these sets of connectors, or disconnecting the panels by the reverse of such a movement. In this way, the stiffer tooth 20a provides a relatively rigid fulcrum which assists in separation of the connectors of adjacent panels by pivoting one such panel flat against the other and thereby extracting the intermeshed enlargements of one panel from between those of the other.
The connectors 12 also allow three or even four adjacent panels to be connected edge to edge by intermeshing of the teeth of the respective connectors, as shown in Figures 7C, 7D and 7E. (It will be appreciated, of course, that with such arrangements the freedom for quasi-pivotal geared movement between adjacent panels is substantially reduced). (Figures 7A to 7E were produced by a CAD technique and show some of the teeth of meshed connectors 12 occupying the same space. It will be appreciated that, in actuality, the teeth do not merge in this fashion but that resilient flexing of the teeth 20 from the positions illustrated allows their correct intermeshing).
It will be noted that each connector device 12 has a bore 75 therethrough along the axis 22. The bores in two adjacent intermeshed connector devices 12 can receive complementary cylindrical stubs of a link (not shown) extending between the two connector devices if a particularly secure connection between the respective panels is desired. Furthermore, several panels may be superimposed one on top of the other and located with respect to each other by oppositely directed coaxial cylindrical stubs of a coupling device (not shown) located between such superimposed panels, these stubs being engaged in the bores 75 of respective connectors 12. If desired such a coupling device may take the form of a link also connecting laterally adjacent panels and may comprise, for example, a flat horizontal web having at each end, extending along a respective vertical axis, an upwardly and a downwardly extending cylindrical stub.
Referring to Figures 9 and 10, in a variant arrangement, the connector devices 12 on either the lower or the upper edges (as in Figure 9) of the panels may be of modified form carrying a captive manually retractable and extensible spigot 80. Such a spigot 80 is shown in isolation in Figure 10 and comprises an upper cylindrical portion 82, an adjoining coaxial cylindrical base portion 84 and a lever 86 projecting radially from the base portion. In this variant the three components of the connector device 12 are configured to provide respective portions of a slot 88 for the lever 86, the slot 88 likewise extending radially from the bore 75, to the outer surface of the connector device. As shown in Figure 9, the slot 88 includes a long vertical portion parallel with the axis of bore 75 and spigot portions 82, 84, a horizontal portion at the upper end of the vertical portion and a short vertical portion extending downwardly from the end of the horizontal portion further from the long vertical portion.
In the assembled condition of the device, the lever 86 extends through the slot 88 and the end of the lever 86 projects from the slot so that it can be engaged by the thumb or fingers of a person assembling a structure using the panels.
In a retracted position of the spigot 80, in which the portion 82 does not project from the upper end of the connector device, the lever 86 is located at the lower end of the long vertical portion of slot 88. The spigot can be projected upwardly, from this position, by pushing the lever 86 upwardly along the long vertical part of the slot to its upper end, (and hence moving the whole spigot upwardly), swinging the lever through the horizontal part of the slot and allowing it to drop into the shorter vertical part of the slot to retain the spigot 80 in its fully projected position. (Figure 9 shows the spigot halfway between its retracted and fully projected positions).
It will be appreciated that, as shown, the slot 88 is provided at or beyond one peripheral end of the respective gear segment so as not to interfere with the meshing between intermeshed gear segments in any relative angular position of two adjoining panels.
The components of the device 12 are in this variant assembled around the spigot so that the spigot is held captive in the assembled connector device. The underside of the horizontal part of slot 88 and the adjoining shorter vertical portion may, for practicability of moulding, be defined by a projection on the upper side of the next from uppermost moulded component. Preferably a lower part of the bore 75 in the uppermost component of connector 12 and the bores 75 in the connector device components below the uppermost one, are slightly wider than the narrowest part of bore 75 in the uppermost component, the base portion 84 being a close fit in these wider bores and the portion 82 being a close fit in the narrower part of the bore 75 of the uppermost component, and a helical compression spring, not shown, is fitted around the portion 82 in the wider bores 75, acting between the annular shoulder 90 formed at the junction between spigot portions 82 and 84 and a shoulder (not shown) provided at the lower end of the narrower part of the bore 75 in the uppermost component of device 12, so that the spigot is spring-biased downwardly.
The features disclosed in the foregoing description, in the following claims and/or in the accompanying drawings may, both separately and in any combination thereof, be material for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

A connector device (12) for use, in conjunction with a similar connector device, for connecting adjacent panels (10) or other members edge to edge or end to end in quasi-pivotal relationship, the device comprising a core (18), attachment means (16) for connection with such a panel (10) or other member, connected with said core (18), a plurality of teeth (20) radiating from said core (18) and defining gaps (66) between adjacent intermediate portions (60) of said teeth, each of said teeth having, at its end remote from said core, a respective enlargement (62), whereby there are defined between adjacent said enlargements (62) gaps (64) narrower than the first-mentioned gaps (66), and narrower than said enlargements (62), said teeth being resiliently flexible so that two adjacent said teeth (30) can flex apart resiliently sufficiently to allow a said enlargement (62) of an identical device to be inserted into the gap between said resiliently flexed-apart teeth, past the enlargements (62) carried by the last mentioned teeth, and can thereafter spring together to hold the inserted enlargement (62) captive, and can conversely spring apart to allow extraction of such enlargement (62) from said gap, whereby two such connector devices (12) can simply be pushed together so that said enlargements (62) of each are interleaved with intervening said teeth (20) of the other and are thereafter held together until forcibly separated and whereby each said connector device (12) can roll around the other to a limited extent as said teeth and enlargements of the two devices interengage with one another after the fashion of gear teeth.
A rectangular panel (10) for use in an exhibition display or the like and having at each corner thereof, a connector device according to claim 1.
A display or the like structure incorporating a plurality of panels (10) according to claim 2 interconnected by intermeshing of respective said connector devices (12) thereof.