EP3545224A1

EP3545224A1 - A communication module, a method for manufacturing a communication module, and a method for completing a room

Info

Publication number: EP3545224A1
Application number: EP17873624.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Peter Lindberg
Original assignee: Oneday Wall AB
Current assignee: Oneday Wall AB
Priority date: 2016-11-28
Filing date: 2017-11-28
Publication date: 2019-10-02
Also published as: WO2018097795A1; SE540486C2; SE1651559A1

Abstract

A communication module (10) for ceiling mount comprising an attachment portion (12) arranged for mounting in the ceiling (4) of a room and communication means extending between opposite ends of the module and which are arranged to be connected with corresponding communication means in adjacent modules. Thereby, rooms can be furnished in an efficient manner, since craftsmen of different categories may work more efficiently. A method for manufacturing such a communication module and a method for completing a room having a floor and a ceiling using such a module is also disclosed.

Description

A communication module, a method for manufacturing a communication module, and a method for completing a room

Technical Field

[0001 ] The present invention relates generally to a communication module for ceiling mount and more precisely to a communication module arranged to be mounted at an early stage of furnishing a room. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing such a module and a method of completing a room.

Background

[0002 ] Today, when furnishing office rooms, traditional site-built walls are used almost exclusively instead of system walls. These site-built walls are mounted in an empty, raw surface of a facility that is to be renovated, or in a completely new facility. After having mounted installation paths to a system of joists, a grid of the ceiling is mounted plus cooling baffles, where after corridor walls and remaining walls are mounted between the finished floor and ceiling.

[0003 ] However, the installation of ducts, electrical lines etc. that run along the corridors is associated with substantial expenditure of time. Moreover, the arran^¬ gement of ventilation slots in the rooms constitute an aesthetic inconvenience

Summary of the Invention

[0004] One object of the present invention is to obviate the disadvantages of today's methods of furnishing.

[0005 ] According to the invention, a communication module for ceiling mount is accomplished according to the attached claim 1. [0006] According to one preferred embodiment, the communication module comprises at least one side wall arranged to form part of the walls of the room. Thereby, the completion of the room is made more efficient, especially if the side wall has a connection means in its lower part, which connection means is adapted to be connected to an inner wall of the room. Moreover, the space in the room can be used more efficiently. It is especially preferred that the side wall has a vent in communicative connection with an air drum running through the communication module, Thereby, it is possible to integrate the cooling of air supply in the communication module and separate cooling baffles etc. can be avoided in the rooms adjacent to the communication arrangement.

[0007 ] It is preferred that the attachment part contains separate elongated elements 12a, which extend mutually parallel to one another and preferably from a respective opposite side of the communication module. Thereby, a light and yet stable design is accomplished. Further, if elongated element which extend from a respective opposite side are arranged mutually displaceable, the width of the communication module becomes adjustable, which renders it straightforward to adapt it to corridors of different widths.

[0008 ] The communication means may include air drums for air supply, water pipes, electrical lines, telecommunication lines, data lines, pipes for central vacuum, ventilation ducts for extract air, pipes for heating and sanity, sprinklers and sockets for connection of electrical contacts. It may thus be adapted for different needs.

[0009 ] One method of manufacturing a communication module according to the invention involves placing an attachment part in the ceiling of a room, the attachment part being adapted to be mounted with an upper side facing downwards, and attaching communication means to at least one of the attachment part and the side walls of the module, the communication means being adapted to be connected with corresponding communication means in adjacent modules. Thereby it becomes straightforward cost efficient to manufacture communication modules adapted to different needs.

[ 0010 ] A method of completing a room having a floor and a ceiling includes the step of mounting several communication modules in the ceiling, such that a row of communication modules is formed. Thereby, efficient furnishing of the fa^¬ cilities is attained, since craftsmen of different categories may work more effi^¬ ciently.

[ 001 1 ] One preferred method involves the further step of, after the step of mounting a several communication modules, mounting walls, which extend from the floor up to at least one of the communication modules.

[ 001 2 ] If the communication modules have an inner wall that has a vent in communicative connection with an air drum running through the communication module, it is especially preferred that the method of completing the room also involves arranging a shingle next to one of the communication modules, the shingle being arranged at a distance from the ceiling and below the vent. Thereby, appropriate diffusion of supply air from the vent is accomplished.

Short Description of the Drawings

[ 0013 ] The invention will now be described, in the form of examples, with reference to the attached drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows communication modules according to the invention mounted in a raw surface of a facility, Fig. 2 shows a cross-section view through a communication module shown in Fig. 1 ,

Fig. 3 shows a detailed plan view of a part of a communication module,

Fig. 4 shows a plan view of two adjacent communication modules before being connected to one another,

Fig. 5 shows a cross-section view of a corridor illustrating how the corridor walls are connected to a communication module,

Fig. 6 shows a communication module according to the invention during manu^¬ facturing,

Fig. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of a communication module,

Fig. 8 shows a cross-section view of an alternative embodiment of a communi^¬ cation module,

Fig. 9 shows a detailed plan view of a part of the communication module in Fig. 8,

Fig. 10 shows a cross-section view through yet another alternative embodiment of a communication module,

Fig. 11 shows a detailed plan view of a part of the communication module in Fig. 10, and

Fig. 12, 13 and 14 illustrate an embodiment of the invention, where a combina^¬ tion of suspension and supporting rails is used to connect the communication module to the ceiling of a room. Description of Embodiments

[0014] In the following, a detailed description of embodiments of a communi^¬ cation module will be described. In this description, the communication module is understood to be a module arranged to communicate air, water, electricity etc. in a facility.

[0015 ] In this application, the expression "completing a room" is understood to mean mounting of inner walls, installation of communication channels, such as ventilation ducts etc.

[0016] Fig. 1 shows a raw surface of a facility. This surface may be prepared in a facility under renovation, or it may be a surface of a newly built facility. The surface has a floor 2 and a ceiling 4 plus several outer walls provided with windows 6. In the figure, the part of the surface which is intended to be used as the floor 2 of a corridor in the completed room is delimited by dashed lines.

[0017 ] A plurality of communication modules are mounted to the ceiling 4, one of which communication modules is shown without a lower cover board. These communication modules are mounted such that they form a coherent chain above the part of the floor 2 that is intended as a corridor floor. Each communication module 10 has an attachment part 12 arranged for mounting to the ceiling of a room, opposing side walls 14 are arranged to form parts of the walls of the room, and communication means 20a-c which extend between opposing ends of the module and which are arranged to be connected with corresponding com^¬ munication means in adjacent modules. By "opposing ends" is here understood two ends of the communication module that are intended to be connected with a respective communication module, such that a sequence of communication mo^¬ dules is formed. [0018 ] The communication means may be air drums 20a for supply air, water pipes 20b or electric lines 20c or any other communication means which runs along a corridor in a facility, such as telecom or data lines, pipes for central vacuum, ventilation ducts for exit air, pipes for heat and sanitation. Moreover, the communication means may include sprinklers and sockets for attachment of electric contacts or electric down rods from the exterior ( not shown ) .

[0019 ] In the illustrated example, the side walls 14 of the communication modules are provided with vents 14a which are in communicative connection with the air drums 20a that run along the communication modules. Thereby, the air drums may be in communication with rooms on each side of the corridor, as will be explained below. Further, the supply air may be cooled by cooperation with cooling water running through separate pipes ( not shown ) .

[0020] The side walls are preferably made of a suitable board-shaped material, e.g. MDF.

[0021 ] The attachment part may be a cohesive plate or similar object having holes for direct mounting to the ceiling 4 by means of screws or the similar screw joints. However, in the illustrated preferred embodiment, the attachment part is composed of several separate, elongated elements 12a, which may be made of steel or other suitable material. These elongated elements extend mutually parallel to one another between the two side walls 14. This is apparent from Fig. 2, which shows a cross section view through a communication module 10. Here, one can also see that the elongated elements 12a of the attachment part are bent so that an interspace 4a is formed between the attachment part and the ceiling 4. Thereby, mounting inconvenience due to any unevenness of the ceiling can be minimized. The separate elongated elements 12a are clearly shown in the plan view of Fig. 3.

[0022 ] Fig. 1 also shows how each communication module 10, after mounting to the ceiling, is provided with a cover board that forms a ceiling part 16. Thus, this ceiling part constitutes a part of the ceiling of the corridor.

[0023 ] Each communication module 10 preferably has exterior measures that are adapted to the room in question. However, in most cases, it is advantageous to use a standard length of about 240 cm, which corresponds to one module length in an office room. Further, the width of the communication module 10 corresponds to a width of the corridor, which, typically, may be 140 to 180 cm. The height of the communication module may also be adapted to the room in question and may typically be around 30 cm up to 100 cm.

[0024] Fig. 4 a shows a plan view of two adjacent communication modules 10 from below before being interconnected. Here, one can see that the communi^¬ cation means 20a-c to various extent have a length that deviates from an ex^¬ tension of the side walls 14. Thereby, when connecting, it is possible to first interconnect one or several communication means, and thereafter continue the interconnection other communication means, until all communication means have been interconnected. The type of interconnection depends on the type of com^¬ munication means used. For example at the air drums 20a, it may be sufficient that an end with a smaller diameter of one communication module is inserted into an end of the other communication module whose diameter is larger. It is thus apparent that at an air drum, one communication module has an end with a larger diameter and another; opposing end has a smaller diameter. Alterna^¬ tively, the air drums have collars that can be slid over an adjacent air drum. Water pipes 20b may be interconnected by means of conventional clamping tools, while electric lines 20c may be interconnected by using cooperating male and female contacts. Alternatively, it is possible to use a so-called KB system that enables simple and quick mounting of electric lines.

[0025 ] The end surfaces of the side walls are preferably provided with engagement means which enable safe and nice-looking joints. The end surfaces may thus be designed with nuts and shavings, or be adapted to overlap one another in the length direction of the side walls.

[0026] Both the side walls 14 and the ceiling part 16 may be provided with sound absorbents to improve the acoustics in the rooms. They may also be provided with luminaire ( not shown ) for illumination.

[0027 ] Fig. 5 shows a cross section view of a corridor 8 and a room 9 from which it is apparent how an inner wall 30 extends from the floor 2 up to the lower part of one of the communication module's side walls 14. The inner wall 30 can be fastened to the communication module with any suitable attachment means 14b, such as a rail, screw joints or the like.

[0028 ] Fig. 5 also shows that the vents 14a thereby are placed so that they communicate with the room 9. Thereby, furnishing the facility is facilitated, and at the same time, mounting of separate air channels in the rooms can be avoided.

[0029 ] In the room 9 a shingle 9a is also shown, which is attached to the ceiling 4, i.e. next to the communication module. In the illustrated embodiment, the shingle is provided with a luminaire 9a for illumination. When shingles are placed at a level below the vents 14a, the shingles contribute to a more even spreading of supply air in the room.

[0030] A method of manufacturing a communication module 10 as described above will now be described with reference to Fig. 6. First, an attachment part 12 that is adapted for mounting to a ceiling is placed with an upside facing downwards, i.e. so that the side of the attachment part which upon mounting faces towards the ceiling is faced downwards. Thereafter, the attachment part is connected to opposing side walls 14 that are adapted to form part of the walls of the room. Finally, communication means 20a-c are connected to the attach^¬ ment part, which communication means extend between opposing ends of the module and which are adapted to be connected with corresponding communication means in adjacent modules.

[0031 ] In one preferred embodiment of this method, temporary end walls 18 are provided, which in Fig. 6 are illustrated by means of dashed lines. These end walls have bushings for the different communication means, whereby precisely fitted mounting thereof in the module is facilitated. These end walls are prefer^¬ ably removed after that the communication means have been mounted in the communication module.

[0032 ] One method of completing a room, such as a room in an office facility, will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 , 4 and 5. Initially, several communication modules 10 are mounted to the ceiling 4 of the room. These are mounted after one another so that a first communication module 10 is fastened at a position such that it is located above a floor surface which will form a corridor floor. In order to facilitate mounting, a special designed wagon with a cradle is preferably used, where the cradle adapted to carry one communication module.

[0033 ] After that the first communication module 10 has been mounted, it is connected to a second communication module, as has been described above with reference to Fig. 4. After that the communication means 20a-c of the first and second communication modules have been interconnected, the second communi^¬ cation module is also attached to the ceiling 4. The process continues with a third communication module, etc. If the corridor makes a turn, a specially designed module is used, denoted 10' in Fig. 1 , which enables continuing in a different direction.

[0034] After having mounted the communication modules 10, 10' the procedure continues, and if the room shall be provided with inner walls, by arranging corridor walls 30 as shown in Fig. 5. Remaining walls are mounted subse^¬ quently.

[0035 ] The communication module has been described as having two side walls, which constitute parts of the walls of a room. In an alternative embodiment, the communication module lacks such walls, and instead these are replaced by the upper part of module walls. Fig. 7 illustrates this embodiment, where a communication module 110 is shown that contains an attachment part 12, communication means, such as air drums 20a, etc., as in the first embodiment. Moreover, the communication module 110 has a ceiling part 1 6 as described above, which ceiling part 16 is attached by means of consoles 1 6a.

[0036] It is apparent from Fig. 7, however, in this case, system walls 30 extend all the way up to the ceiling 4. Clearly, in this case, these system walls must have bushings for air outlets, electric contacts etc., which in the first embodiment were arranged in the side walls 14 of the communication module.

[0037 ] In an alternative embodiment shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the modules are structured as halves, which are mounted side by side to form a section of the corridor. This is apparent from the drawings, where two attachment parts 1 2a are mounted such that they together correspond to one attachment part of the first embodiment illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. Thereby, it is rendered straightforward to adapt the design to a current corridor width by adjusting the interspacing between the attachment parts. Furthermore, if the corridor has one room on each side, it is possible to use a "blind module" such as the one illustrated to the right in Fig. 8.

[0038 ] In this alternative embodiment the width of the ceiling part 16 is adjusted to the current corridor width and is mounted to the communication modules by means of consoles.

[0039 ] In yet another alternative embodiment, shown in Figs. 10 and 11 , each communication module contains a two-part attachment part, which in the illustra^¬ ted embodiment has mutually displaceable elongated elements 12a that extend from one respective opposing side of the communication module. These mutually displaceable elements may, if desired, be lockable to one another, for example by means of bolt and nut joints 12b. Also this embodiment enables adjustment of the module width to the current corridor width.

[0040] Fig. 12 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention, where the communication module contains suspension rails 1212c arranged in connection with an upper part of the communication module 10. Each of the suspension rails 1212c is adapted to be interconnected with a respective supporting rail 1 212d mounted in the ceiling 4 towards which the communication module is to be attached. After interconnection of the suspension rails 1212c with the supporting rails 1212d the communication module is 10 carried by supporting rails 1212d in connection with the ceiling 4. For practical reasons, the communication module 10 preferably contains two suspension rails 1212c that ate arranged parallel to one another. For the same reasons also the supporting rails 1212d are parallel to one another and arranged at a mutual distance at a distance from one another as the mutual distance between the suspension rails 121 2c.

[0041 ] As illustrated in Fig. 13, and analogous to what has been described above with reference to Fig. 9, the transverse wall 1214 preferably has two elements 1214a and 1214b respectively, which extend from a respective opposing side wall 14 and which two elements 1 214a and 1214b are mutually displaceable, such that the width of the communication module 10 is adjustable.

[0042 ] Each suspension rail 1212c preferably contains a distal segment 1 2ch, which faces away from the ceiling 4. Further, the distal segment 12ch is ar^¬ ranged to engage in a corresponding distal segment 12dc of the support rail 1212d, so that, after mounting of the communication module 10, said respective distal segment 12ch and 12dc lie against one another by gravitation. This is illustrated in Figures 13 and 14, where Fig. 14 is a partial enlargement of the area closest to the leftmost pair of suspension and support rails 1212c and 1212d in Fig. 13.

[0043 ] As mentioned above, the communication module 10 contains two opposing side walls 14. For stability reasons, the communication module 10 preferably also has at least one transverse wall 1214, which interconnects the side walls 14. The suspension rails 1212c are preferably attached to at least one transverse wall 1214, which interconnects the side walls 14. This contributes further to the stability of the communication module design. This arrangement further enables that the suspension rails 121 2c are concealed by the side walls 14 after mounting of the communication module 10.

[0044] Preferred embodiments of a communication module 10, manufacturing thereof and its use in connection with completing a room have been described. It is apparent that these embodiments mat be varied within the scope of the attached claims without departing from the inventive concept.

Claims

1. A communication module (10) for ceiling mount, characterized in:

- an attachment part (12) arranged for mounting in the ceiling (4) of a room, and

- communication means extending between opposite ends of the module and which are arranged to be connected with corresponding communication means in adjacent modules.

2. The communication module (10) according to claim 1, comprising at least one side wall (14) arranged to form part of the walls in the room.

3. The communication module (10) according to claim 2, in which said at least one side wall (14) has a vent (14a) which is in communicative connection with an air drum (20a) running through the communication module.

4. The communication module (10) according to any one of claims 2 or 3, in which said at least one side wall (14) has a connection means (14b) in its lower part which connection means (14b) is arranged to be connected to an inner wall of the room.

5. The communication module (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the attachment part (12) comprises several separate parts in the form of elongated elements (12a), which extend parallel to one another.

6. The communication module (10) according to claim 5, in which the elongated elements (12a) extend from a respective opposite side of the com^¬ munication module.

7. The communication module (10) according to claim 5 or 6, in which the elongated elements (12a) which extend from a respective opposite side are mutually displaceable, such that a width of the communication module (10) is adjustable.

8. The communication module (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising at least one suspension rail (1212c) arranged in connection with an upper side of the communication module (10), which at least one suspension rail (1212c) is adapted to be connected to at least one supporting rail (1212d) mounted in a ceiling (4); wherein the communication module (10), after interconnection of the at least one suspension rail (1212c) with the at least one supporting rail (1212d ) , is carried by the at least one supporting rail (1212d) in connection with the ceiling (4).

9. The communication module (10) according to claim 8, wherein the at least one suspension rail (1212c) comprises a distal segment (12ch) directed away from the ceiling (4), which distal segment (12ch) is arranged to engage in a distal segment (12dc) of the at least one supporting rail (1212d ) , such that, after mounting of the communication module (10), said respective distal segments (12ch; 12dc) lie against one another by gravity.

10. The communication module (10) according to any one of claims 8 or 9, comprising at least two opposite side walls (14) and at least one transverse wall (1214) which connects the at least two opposite side walls (14) with one another, and the at least one suspension rail (1212c) is fixed in the at least one transverse wall (1214).

11. The communication module (10) according to claim 10, wherein the transverse wall (1214) comprises two elements (1214a; 1214b) extending from a respective one of the opposite side walls (14) and are mutually displaceable, such that a width of the communication module (10) is adjustable.

12. The communication module (10) according to any one of claims 8 to 11, comprising two suspension rails (1212c) which are arranged parallel to one another.

13. The communication module (10) according to any one of the preceding, in which the communication means comprise at least one of the following: air drums (20a) for air supply, water pipes (20b), electric lines (20c), telecommunication lines, data lines, pipes for central vacuum, ventilation ducts for extract air, pipes for heating and sanitary, sprinklers and sockets for connection of electrical contacts.

14. A method of manufacturing a communication module according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the following steps:

a) placing an attachment part in the ceiling of a room, the attachment part being adapted to be mounted with an upper side facing downwards, and b) attaching communication means (20a-c) to at least one of the attachment part (12) and the side walls (14) of the module, the communication means (20a-c) being adapted to be connected with corresponding communication means in adjacent modules.

15. The method of manufacturing a communication module according to claim 14, comprising the additional step of attaching opposite side walls to the attachment part, the opposite side walls being arranged to form parts of the walls in the room.

16. A method of completing a room having a floor and a ceiling,

characterized by the step of:

a) mounting several communication modules (10) according to claim 1 in the ceiling (4), such that a row of communication modules is formed.

17. The method of completing a room according to claim 16, comprising the additional step of:

b) after step a) mounting walls (30), which extend from the floor (2) up to at least one of said communication modules (10).

18. The method of completing a room according to claim any one of claims 16 or 17, wherein said several communication modules (10) comprise a side wall (14) having a vent (14a) in communication with an air drum (20a) extending in the communication module, wherein the method comprises the additional step of:

c) arranging a shingle (9a) next to one of the communication modules (10), the shingle (9a) being arranged at a distance from the ceiling (4) and below the vent (14a).