GB2159852A

GB2159852A - Panel rigidizing systems

Info

Publication number: GB2159852A
Application number: GB08514093A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ronald Benjamin Delong; Allen Lee Palmbos
Original assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp
Current assignee: CBS Corp
Priority date: 1984-06-08
Filing date: 1985-06-04
Publication date: 1985-12-11
Also published as: CA1245031A; IE56582B1; GB8514093D0; AU567401B2; IE851325L; AU4289085A; JPH0319532Y2; JPS618213U; GB2159852B

Abstract

Panel connection rigidizer 32 for space dividing wall panel systems of the type employing cylindrical support posts 12 to interconnect and support the wall panels (10, Fig. 1). The panel rigidizer includes a hub portion 34 and laterally extending leg portions 36. The hub portion 34 is adapted to overlie the support post and be secured thereto while the leg portions include spaced parallel ribs 42 on the under side which are received in spaced parallel grooves 22 in the upper edge of the wall panels. A cover member 46 may be releasably secured to the leg portions of the panel rigidizer. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Panel rigidizing systems This invention relates to panel rigidizing systems for spanning the intersection of pairs of space dividing wall panels of the type employed in "open plan" offices and find particular application in linearly aligning a series of space dividing wall panels as, for example in forming a corridor wall.

A successful space dividing wall panel system is disclosed in U.S. Patent Specification No. 3,762,116 (Anderson, et al.). In this system space dividing wall panels are connected together and supported by cylindrical posts which provide great versatility with respect to developing an office system wherein the wall panels may be disposed in a plurality of angular relationships with respect to each other. Since there is no fixed points of attachment of the wall panels to the cylindrical posts, linear alignment of a long run of space dividing wall panels can acquire a slight wave affect if the panels on each side of the intermediate support posts are not precisely aligned. Additionally, jostling of a wall panel can cause a slight departure from the original precise alignment and again create the appearance of a wave affect.Not only is linear alignment of adjacent wall panels desirable, but it is also important that right angle relationships between adjacent wall panels be as precise as possible in some cases and the flexibility of the angular relationships provided by the above-described system sometimes introduces a problem when precise right angle relationships need to be maintained between adjacent wall panels.

The panel rigidizer disclosed in U.S. Patent Specification No. 4,424,654 (Anderson, et al.) discloses a system for maintaining rigid alignment of adjacent space dividing wall panels interconnected by a cylindrical support post. One drawback to this invention is the installation time required in the field when it is determined that a rigidizer should be added to the wall panel system at specific post connections. More specifically, holes must be drilled in the panel frame and a plurality of screws need to be inserted through apertures in the rigidizer to secure the rigidizer to adjacent panels. If panels can be successfully rigidized through the support posts without the use of expensive manual labor, set up time for an office can be significantly reduced.

Accordingly, the present invention resides in a panel rigidizing system for maintaining alignment between two or more space dividing wall panels and which comprises two or more space dividing wall panels having at least an upper frame member including a pair of parallel grooves in the upper surface thereof and connector means on each end of said panels, a cylindrical post constructed and arranged to interconnect and support said two or more space dividing wall panels through said connector means, said cylindrical post having a threaded aperture in the top end thereof; rigidizing means including a hub portion having a tapered aperture therethrough and at least a pair of leg portions extending outwardly of said hub portion, each of said leg portions having a pair of parallel elongated rib members extending along the underside thereof, said elongated rib members constructed and arranged to engage said parallel grooves in said frame member; and post cap means having a complementary tapered portion and a threaded portion, said post cap means extending through said hub portion of said rigidizing means and being threadably secured into the threaded aperture in said cylindrical post thereby retaining said elongated ribs firmly seated in said grooves in said panel frame members.

The panel rigidizer system of this invention provides for precise linear alignment of an elongated series of linearly aligned space dividing wall panels as well as the rigidized right angle interconnection of adjacent space dividing wall panels without detracting from the appearance of the rigidized connections with respect to the connections in the wall panel system which need not be rigidized.

Additionally, the extremely quick and simple disassembly and assembly of rigidized connections are possible when it is desired to reassemble the space dividing wall panels into a different office configuration.

Preferably, each of the leg portions of the rigidizing means include a plurality of detents extending laterally therefrom and a panel top trim member overlies the leg portion and is releasably retained on the top edge of the panel by the detents.

In alternative embodiments of the invention, two, three or four leg portions may extend from the hub portion of the rigidizer and can be in configurations of two linearly aligned leg portions, two leg portions extending at right angles to each other, three leg portions, two of which extend linearly while the third extends at right angles to the other two leg portions or four leg portions each extending at 90 one from the other.

In order that the invention can be more clearly understood, convenient embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rigidized wall panel system; Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the rigidized wall panel system of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a side elevation view of a panel rigidizer of the rigidized wall panel system of Fig. 1; Figure 4 is a top plan view thereof; Figure 5 is a bottom plan view thereof; Figure 6 is an end elevation view thereof; and Figures 7, 8 and 9 are perspective views of respective panel rigidizers of alternative embodiments of the invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawings wherein like reference characters represent like parts throughout the several views there is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 a rigidized space dividing wall panel system which includes a pair of space dividing wall panels 10 interconnected and supported by a cylindrical support post 1 2. The space dividing wall panels 10 include a tubular frame member 14 which generally surrounds, for example, a plywood or the like panel septum 1 6 having on each side thereof fiberglass batting 1 8 covered by fabric 20 or alternatively, in some cases, a decorative plastic laminate.The panel frame in accordance with the present invention includes a pair of spaced parallel grooves 22 at least in the top edge thereof and preferably, the grooves extend completely around the periphery of the panel and serve not only in connection with the panel rigidizer of this invention but may be employed to secure therein the fabric covering 20 by means of a plastic spline (not shown).

The wall panels 10 have secured to their lateral edges slotted standard members 24 which have associated therewith hook shape connectors, and as can be best seen in Fig. 2, the hook shaped connectors 26 on the side edges of the wall panels interact with the upper end 28 of the tubular post 12, which is in the form of an annular ring, to interconnect and support the space dividing wall panels.

Obviously, similar hook shaped connectors are employed at the base of the panel adjacent the bottom end of the post to connect the wall panels to the cylindrical posts in the manner disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Patent Specification No. 3,762,116. Where desired, a post cover 30 of the type disclosed in copending United States patent application Serial No. 582,207 filed February 21, 1984, may also be employed to shield the cylindrical post 1 2 from view.

The panel rigidizer, generally designated 32 includes a central hub portion 34 and a pair of laterally extending leg portions 36. The hub portion 34 has a tapered aperture 38 therethrough which is constructed and arranged to overlie a threaded aperture 40 in the top of the cylindrical post 1 2. On the underside of each of the leg portions 36 are a pair of spaced parallel elongated ribs 42 which extend for a little more than half of the length of the leg portion 36. Each of the leg portions 36 also include along the side edges thereof detents 44 which serve to retain the panel top trim or edge cover 46. A threaded post cap or hub screw 48 includes a threaded shank portion 50 and a tapered head portion 52 which is complementary to the tapered aperture 38 in the rigidizer.The post cap or hub screw 48 further includes a tool receiving aperture 54 in the upper end thereof to facilitate securing the rigidizer 32 to the post and panel.

As will be apparent from the foregoing the panel rigidizer of this invention may be quickly and simply attached to a space dividing wall panel system to rigidize and strengthen the interconnection between two adjacent space dividing wall panels. In attaching the rigidizer to the wall panel system the hub portion 38 is placed over the cylindrical post 1 2 and the ribs 42 are received in the parallel grooves 22 in the panel frame member 14. The post cap or hub screw 48 is inserted through the aperture 38 in the hub portion of the rigidizer and threaded into the threaded aperture 40 in the upper end of the post 12 to quickly secure the adjacent space dividing wall panels in a rigid relationship.

The panel top trim or edge covers 46 are simply snapped over the leg portions 36 and retained thereon by detents 44 to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance to the wall panel system employing the rigidizer. At panel connections of a system where the rigidizer is not employed simple conventional panel clips are employed to retain the panel top cover 46 to give a uniform appearance to the wall panel system that employs both rigidized and nonrigidized connections.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 illustrate alternate embodiments for the rigidizer 32 of this invention and it will be apparent from those illustrations that the rigidizer of this invention can be employed as illustrated in Fig. 7, to interconnect four panels at right angles through a single post or two panels at right angles (Fig.

8) or as illustrated in Fig. 9 two linearly aligned panels with a third panel extending at right angles thereto.

The panel rigidizer of this invention is preferably manufactured from die cast aluminum or annealed investment cast steel and as illustrated in Fig. 5 may be hollowed out and provided with structural ribs 56 in order to reduce the weight of the panel rigidizer without detracting from its intended purpose.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the panel rigidizer of this invention provides for the quick and simple installation of panel rigidizers to space dividing wall panels of various geometric relationships by simply placing the ribs 42 of the panel rigidizer into slots in the panel frames and quickly securing the ribs therein with the threaded post cap or hub screw 48. This simplistic and easy operation significantly reduces the time required to rigidize a space dividing wall panel system since the requirement for inserting a plurality of screw members or the like has been eliminated.

Claims

1. A panel rigidizing system for maintaining alignment between two or more space dividing wall panels and which comprises two or more space dividing wall panels having at least an upper frame member including a pair of parallel grooves in the upper surface thereof and connector means on each end of said panels, a cylindrical post constructed and arranged to interconnect and support said two or more space dividing wall panels through said connector means, said cylindrical post having a threaded aperture in the top end thereof; rigidizing means including a hub portion having a tapered aperture therethrough and at least a pair of leg portions extending outwardly of said hub portion, each of said leg portions having a pair of parallel elongated rib members extending along the underside thereof, said elongated rib members constructed and arranged to engage said parallel grooves in said frame member; and post cap means having a complementary tapered portion and a threaded portion, said post cap means extending through said hub portion of said rigidizing means and being threadably secured into the threaded aperture in said cylindrical post thereby retaining said elongated ribs firmly seated in said grooves in said panel frame members.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein each of the leg portions of the rigidizing means include a plurality of detents extending laterally therefrom and panel top trim members overlying said leg portions and releasably retained thereon by said detents.

3. A system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein four leg portions extend from the hub portion spaced 90 one from the other.

4. A system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein three leg portions extend from the hub portion, two of said leg portions being linearly aligned and the third leg portion extending normal to the other two leg portions.

5. A system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein two leg portions extend from the hub portion, said two leg portions extending at right angles to each other.

6. Panel rigidizing systems for maintaining alignment between two or more space dividing wall panels and as claimed in claim 1, said systems being substantially as described herein with particular reference to Figs. 1 to 6 or Fig. 7 or Fig. 8 or Fig. 9 of the accompanying drawings.