EP1156178B1

EP1156178B1 - Partition former for inhabitable spaces and use thereof

Info

Publication number: EP1156178B1
Application number: EP20010500115
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lluis Besas Camps
Original assignee: Intermas Nets SA
Current assignee: Intermas Nets SA
Priority date: 2000-05-17
Filing date: 2001-05-03
Publication date: 2007-11-28
Anticipated expiration: 2021-05-03
Also published as: DE1156178T1; ES2293970T3; ES1046198U; EP1156178A2; EP1156178A3; ES1046198Y

Description

This invention relates to a partition former for inhabitable spaces, particularly to one for marking, separating and/or decorating private or public open-air spaces, without excluding, nevertheless, the possible use thereof inside large precincts and in interior decoration. The invention also pertains to preferred uses of a partition former according to the invention.
Wooden or plastics lattice-work enclosure panels are known. They are normally used placed against walls and mounted on plant pots to facilitate the development of decorative climbing plants, such as roses, for fencing around terraces and flat roofs, for separating stands at fairs and the like, for closing window spaces, etc. In all cases arbitrary fixing means are used.
Nevertheless, in certain cases such lattice-work enclosure panels are attached by clamps, brackets, tongue-and-grooved assembly, gluing or screws or other means to support members formed by posts driven into the ground or provided with support feet.
In the practice of dividing inhabitable spaces, as happens at fairs, shows, exhibitions, bar terraces, in restaurant dining rooms to separate them from the reception space or bar thereof, to separate groups of tables in a restaurant, etc., there is a need for arrangements which, including one or more lattice-work enclosure panels, may be arbitrarily located, depending on the needs of the moment, without requiring masonry work or assembly with tools.
US5702090 discloses a plastic fence assembly comprising a plurality of post members and panels. The post members are imbedded in concrete filled post holes. The panels are constituted by an assembly of elongated pickets and engage laterally to the post members by snap-fitting into longitudinal slots. US4936068 discloses an alternative system for laterally engaging panels to post members by snap-fitting. The assemble of a partition member using the systems disclosed in said documents is not easy.
Thus, it would be desirable to have a partition former for inhabitable spaces which, at the same time, would allow it to be used in decoration, in gardening and in fencing, were very versatile, capable of being assembled by hand without requiring tools, were weatherproof, relatively light and easy to install at the place of use.
In order to achieve the foregoing features in a partition former for inhabitable spaces, there has been adopted the solution in which self-supporting members may be associated with the lattice-work enclosure panels by intermediate means which mate with both and may be fitted together by hand.
In accordance with the foregoing solution, there has been developed the partition former for inhabitable spaces according to the invention. Herein, the support members are formed by the association of an upright member to a base member, at one end thereof, and a capping member, at the other end thereof and the connecting means are formed by members having a generally rectangular cross section which, along one longitudinal edge thereof, mate with longitudinal slots formed in the tubular members of the uprights, while, along the other longitudinal edge thereof, they mate with the edges of the enclosure panels, which are formed by an integral flattened body member provided with a plurality of through apertures regularly spaced over the surface thereof.
In one aspect of the invention, the longitudinal slots of the uprights are shaped in such a way as to allow for the sliding of the connecting means in the longitudinal direction and prevent their separation in the transverse direction. For this purpose, an elongate rectangular C-shaped cross section has been adopted for said longitudinal slots.
According to the invention, the upright consists of a tubular member having one or more longitudinal slots, in which case, if they are two in number they are located at 90° or 180° and where they are three or four in number, they are located at 90°. The tubular member of the uprights has preferably a square section with rounded corners, the longitudinal slots thereof being arranged on two adjacent or opposite sides thereof, when provided with two longitudinal slots and on three adjacent sides when provided with three slots.
Also according to the invention, the base member is formed by a platform from the centre of which there emerges a stub which, being of mating shape relative to said tubular member, is inserted in the lower end of said tubular member. The platform of base member for the uprights is also provided means for attachment on the ground, of the group formed by anchoring means and counterweights.
Further according to the invention, the capping member for the tubular member of the uprights is provided with insertion tabs for engagement in the upper end of said tubular member, and a sealing surface, which may comprise an identifying, advertising or decorative element.
It is a feature of the invention that the longitudinal edge of the member of the connecting means mating with the longitudinal slots of the uprights has a top hat shaped cross section and the longitudinal edge thereof mating with the edges of the enclosure panels has a rectangular channel shape cross section. Connecting means are provided for connecting two enclosure panels together, formed by a beam of I-shaped cross section.
The major surfaces of the flattened integral body member of the enclosure panels contemplated in the invention are rectangular and represent a lattice work formed by two parallel equidistant series of wooden laths which, mutually crossing at right angles and at 45° relative to the sides of the flattened body member, form square through apertures, the diagonals of which are parallel to one or the other of the sides of said flattened body member. The rectangular flattened integral body member is provided around the perimeter thereof with edges defining a narrow strip which forms a frame and is generally coplanar with the major surfaces of the flattened body member.
Complementarily, the edges of the flattened body member which are not held by the connecting means may comprise finishing members, which are simply fitted by hand and have a width equivalent to the visible width of said connecting means.
The invention also contemplates preferred uses of a partition former according to the invention, namely for the separation and/or decoration of at least one space such as for example gardens, terraces, restaurants, bars, exhibitions, fairs, festivals, shows, congress rooms, auditoriums, airports, railway stations, parks, as well as any combination of the former, both in the open air and in closed places.
To facilitate the understanding of the foregoing ideas, there is described hereinafter the object of the invention, with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the members essentially forming a preferred embodiment of the invention, some of them having been shown fragmentarily;
Figure 2 is an elevation view of one half of the partition former of the invention, formed by engagement of the members shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section view, on a larger scale, of an end portion of the partition former half shown in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a cross section view of the upright mounted on the base thereof, showing two opposite longitudinal slots and a further two at 90° which, schematically, allows the distribution of a single, two, three or four slots on the upright to be understood;
Figure 5 is a view, on a larger scale, of an ornamental finial mounted on the upright, the latter having been shown partly in section to show the mutual engagement;
Figure 6 is a view of one possible embodiment of a finial having advertising functions;
Figure 7 is a view of one possible embodiment of a finial having illumination functions;
Figure 8 is a cross section view of a member structured as means for joining two enclosure panels together; and
Figure 9 is a cross section view of one embodiment of a connecting member.

Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the partition former of the invention, comprising the following members: an upright 1, a base member 2, a capping 3, a connecting member 4, a finishing member 5 and a lattice-work enclosure panel 6.
The uprights 1 are formed, in the illustrated example, by a square section tubular member 7 having rounded corners 8 and having longitudinal slots 9 arranged on one sole surface, on two adjacent surfaces on or opposite surfaces (Figure 4), on three adjacent surfaces (Figures 1, 2 and 3) or on all four surfaces, as shown schematically in Figure 4.
The longitudinal slots 9 of the uprights are shaped in such a way as to allow sliding of the connecting member 4 in the longitudinal direction and prevent removal thereof in the transverse direction. To this end, an elongate rectangular C-shaped cross section has been adopted, as may be appreciated in detail in Figures 3 and 4. Nevertheless, this cross section could have any other shape of equivalent function, such as a dovetail, an open cylinder, etc.
The base member 2 is formed by a platform 10 from which there centrally emerges a stub member 11 which has a cross section mating with that of the tubular member 7 and is engaged therewith by insertion in the lower end of said tubular member 7. The base member 2 is provided with means for attachment to the ground, such as holes 12 for the passage of anchorage bolts, counterweights made of heavy material, water or sand containers, suction devices, etc.
The capping 3 is formed with a sealing cover 13 and corner attachment tabs 14, provided with retaining teeth 15. The closure cap 13 may comprise an ornamental member, such as the ball 16 of Figure 5, a pine cone, etc, an advertising, marking or identifying member, such as the sign board 17 of Figure 6 or an illumination member, such as the lamp 18 of Figure 7.
The connecting member 4 is provided with one longitudinal edge 19 mating with the longitudinal slots 9 of the tubular member 7 of the uprights 1. For the embodiment adopted, the top hat cross section form has been shown in the drawings, as may be appreciated in detail in Figures 3, 4 and 9. The other longitudinal edge 20 is a rectangular channel, as may be seen in Figures 1, 3 and 4, where the connecting member 4 is made from a synthetic plastics material, or a rectangular toothed channel, as shown in Figure 9, where said connecting member is made from extruded aluminium and is formed with teeth 21.
To complement the connecting members 4 there are provided finishing members 5 which are simple U-shaped sections having the same width as the apparent width of the connecting members.
The enclosure panel 6 is formed by a preferably rectangular integral body member 22 which, in the embodiment shown, is formed from synthetic resin and imitates in lay-out and surface texture the traditional wooden lath lattices. This lattice-work enclosure panel 6 has the two parallel equidistant series of laths 23 thereof crossing each other at right angles and at 45° relative to the sides of the flattened integral body member 22, forming therebetween square passing apertures 24, the diagonals of which are parallel to one or the other of the sides of said flattened integral body member 22, which are formed by a narrow strip 25 which constitutes a closed frame and is substantially coplanar with the major surfaces of said flattened integral body member 22.
It is a simple job to assemble the partition former of the invention, without requiring any tools. It is sufficient to insert the longitudinal edges 19 of the connecting members 4 along the longitudinal slot 9 of the tubular member 7 of the upright to the height desired for the lattice-work enclosure panel 6, after which one side of the lattice-work enclosure panel 6 is inserted in the channel on the longitudinal edge 20 of the connecting member 4. The same operation is performed for the other opposite end of the lattice-work enclosure panel 6, assembly being terminated by insertion of the finishing members 5 to complete a frame, together with the connecting members 4, for the lattice-work enclosure panel 6.
Should it be required to connect two lattice-work enclosure panels 6 directly to each other, the use of a connecting member 26 of I-shaped cross section, as shown in Figure 8, is contemplated.
The tubular members 7 and the base members 2 will be metallic, preferably of aluminium, while the remaining members will be made by moulding a weatherproof synthetic resin, preferably a recyclable and environment friendly one such as polypropylene, polythene, etc., avoiding where possible the use of halogenated resins.
Finally, a partition former according to the invention may be made in which the connecting members 4 are integrated in the edges of the enclosure panels 6 in such a way that the connecting means 4 and the enclosure panels 6 are integral members. In this way, the enclosure panels 6 are provided at the edges (in principle, two opposite edges, but all four edges may be involved) with a section adapted for direct insertion along the longitudinal slot 9 of the tubular member 7 of the upright. It is thus possible to save one component and increase the bending strength of the enclosure panels 6, since the section adapted for insertion in the longitudinal slot 9 is provided with protuberances acting simultaneously as reinforcement ribs. In this case, it is necessary to prepare connecting members 26 having a cross section mating with that of the edges of the enclosure panels 6.

Claims

A partition former for inhabitable spaces, particularly for separating and/or decorating private or public open-air spaces, without excluding the possible application thereof to interior decoration, said partition former comprising support members and enclosure panels (6) complemented by mutual connecting means, said support members comprising an upright member (1) formed by a tubular member (7) and, at one end thereof, a capping member (3), said connecting means (4) being formed by members having a generally rectangular cross section which, along one longitudinal edge (19) thereof, mate with longitudinal slots (9) of the tubular members (7) of the uprights (1), while, along the other longitudinal edge thereof (20), they mate with the edges of the enclosure panels (6), characterised in that each of said enclosure panels (6) is an integral part made from a synthetic resin and formed by a rectangular flattened body member provided with a plurality of through apertures regularly spaced over the surface thereof and with edges defining a narrow strip (25) which forms a frame coplanar with the major surfaces of said flattened body member with through apertures, in that said longitudinal slots (9) of the uprights (1) are shaped in such a way as to allow for the sliding of said connecting means (4) in the longitudinal direction and prevent their separation in the transverse direction, and in that said support members are formed by the association of said upright member (1) and a base member (2), said base member (2) being formed by a platform (10) provided with means for attachment to the ground, of the group formed by anchoring means and counterweights, and, emerging from the centre of said platform (10), a stub member (11) which, being of mating shape relative to said tubular member (7), is inserted in the lower end of said tubular member (7).
- The partition former of claim 1, characterised in that said longitudinal slots (9) of the uprights (1) are provided with an elongate rectangular C-shaped cross section, and said connecting means (4) are provided, in the longitudinal edge thereof mating with said longitudinal slots (9) of the uprights (1), with a top hat shaped cross section which mates with said C-shaped cross section of the longitudinal slots (9).
- The partition former of claim 1, characterised in that the upright (1) consists of a tubular member (7) having one or more longitudinal slots (9), in which case, if they are two in number they are located at 90° or 180° and where they are three or four in number, they are located at 90°.
- The partition former of claim 1, characterised in that the capping member (3) for the tubular member (7) of the uprights (1) is provided with insertion tabs for engagement in the upper end of said tubular member (7), and a sealing surface (13), which may comprise an identifying, advertising or decorative element.
- The partition former of claim 1, characterised in that the member of the connecting means (4) is provided in the longitudinal edge thereof mating with the edges of the enclosure panel (6) with a rectangular channel cross section.
- The partition former of claim 1, characterised in that the connecting means (26) for connecting two enclosure panels (6) together are formed by a member having an I-shaped cross section.
- The partition former of claim 1, characterised in that the tubular member (7) of the uprights (1) has a square section with rounded corners (8), the longitudinal slots (9) thereof being arranged on two adjacent or opposite sides, thereof when provided with two longitudinal slots (9) and on three adjacent sides when provided with three of said slots.
- The partition former of claim 1, characterised in that the major surfaces of the flattened integral body member of the enclosure panels are rectangular and represent two parallel equidistant series of wooden laths (23) which, mutually crossing at right angles and at 45° relative to the sides of the flattened body member, form square through apertures (24), the diagonals of which are parallel to one or the other of the sides of said flattened body member.
- The partition former of claim 1, characterised in that the edges of the flattened body member which are not held by the connecting means (4) comprise engageable finishing members (5), which have a width equivalent to the visible width of said connecting means (4).
- The partition former of at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that said connecting means (4) are integrated in the edges of the enclosure panels (6) in such a way that the connecting means (4) and the enclosure panels (6) form an integral member.