GB2199353A

GB2199353A - Acoustically insulated room divider with ducts and method of manufacture

Info

Publication number: GB2199353A
Application number: GB08800027A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Barbara Saunders
Original assignee: ASHELWOOD PROD Pty
Current assignee: ASHELWOOD PROD Pty
Priority date: 1987-01-05
Filing date: 1988-01-04
Publication date: 1988-07-06
Anticipated expiration: 2008-01-04
Also published as: GB8800027D0; GB2199353B; NZ223053A

Abstract

A room divider comprising a panel having a rigid surround (1) including a top rail (2), a pair of side rails (3) and a base member (4) to which are secured wall members (5) to form a cavity (6) therebetween. A core (7) of sound deadening material is injected into the cavity (6) to fill the cavity to form support means between at least the said wall members (5). The base member 4 is provided with a cover 12 and constitutes a service duct. <IMAGE>

Description

ROOM DIVIDER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE This invention relates to a room divider and method of manufacture.

Room dividers are already known in the art, and earlier types are generally of the form comprising a frame-work of cellular construction with sound absorbing material held in the cells and with perforated cover sheets over which is positioned a wall fabric or other material which aids in sound deadening and aesthetic appearance.

According to the earlier inventions special joining means were provided whereby panels could be interconnected to allow free-standing panels to be used and these also included ducting at the base for electrical leads where this was required.

As examples of the prior art, the specifications of British Letters Patent No. 1 600 990 in the name of Ashelwood Products Pty. Ltd., shows how sectional panels of planar or curved form can be joined together by a special four-pin joining member, Australian Specification AU 26028/84 in the name of Geoffrey Ballantyne Ashton shows how shelving can be applied to such panels, showing also a cellular form with insulation in the cells and showing ducting in a cavity at the base of the stucture, PCT/AU85/00145 shows a panel with perforated metal walls supporting an insulating material in cells formed in the panel, Offenlegungsschrift 24 58 835 in the name of Champion International Corporation teaches the art of a panel having a surround and perforated sheet on one side with a filler of glass fibre or sheet, and U.S.

Patent No. 3,289,368 in the name of E.H. Mark shows a special form of ducting.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of room divider in which the panels are of improved construction and in which a novel method of construction is involved which results in a durable, strong and aesthetic unit which has high sound proofing characteristics and allows ready accommodation of electric leads where this is required in a non-conductive capacity.

The obiects of the invention are achieved by forming a perimeter frame to outline the panel and fixing to the perimeter frame plywood or similar walls and then injecting into the cavity defined between the walls and the surrounding frame a foam material preferably of the fire-proof type such as polyurethane foam while maintaining the walls in a press or former, whereby by holding the walls in position, the injected foam material fills the cavity between the walls and forms a spacer for the walls so that when the foam has set a rigid and durable, relatively soundproof, structure results, the bonding of the walls to the foam ensuring required rigidity and soundproofing which is required.

The invention thus comprises a panel having a rigid surround to which are secured wall members to form a cavity therebetween and in which cavity is disposed a sound deadening material, the panel being characterised by a sound-proofing material injected into the said cavity to fill the cavity and forming support means for the said wall members.

The invention also relates to the structural components of the surround and a covering for the panel.

The method of manufacture comprises the steps of forming a surround, attaching wall members thereto to form and define a cavity between the surround, holding the wall members in press members, injecting a sound-deadening material to fill the cavity, and subsequently removing the press members.

The panel so formed is provided with means to join such a panel to other panels such as apertures in a top rail at appropriate locations to allow panels to be interconnected by pin plates, whereby to form room dividers.

The base of such a panel preferably comprises a ducting member which is moulded from a high density material such as polyurethane which again is fireproof and this is preferably constructed to have a central web with a plurality of channels on each side with the outer edges terminating at a width approximately that of the width of the panel itself so that this ducting member fits neatly to the bottom of the panel and forms the bottom surround member.

The plywood or similar walls and the surround are then covered by drawing over the panel so formed a bag of a wool material which can extend over the top, around the two sides and terminates at the base of the panel preferably at its junction with a ducting member.

The ducting has a series of removable covers to give access to the ducts and these covers can be secured in any way but are preferably shaped to be complimentary to the divisions between the channels to fit neatly thereto and clip into position so that when required they can be removed by a suitable tool to allow wiring to be inserted or removed or changed.

The end cover members may be so dimensioned that when a panel is joined at right angles to another panel, the ducts are in communication when the appropriate end cover member is removed, and these cover members are arranged to embody switches or power outlets or other access means to the wiring.

A panel formed according to this invention thus is of simple construction, the panel itself comprising only a surround supporting wall members with the cavity filled with sound-deadening and optionally fire-proof material to give the necessary rigidity and acoustic properties and fire-proofing, and as the ducting member may also be formed of material such as polyurethane, but of high density type, it will also be realised that the whole structure forms an effective fire barrier when in use.

The fabric covering the panel can also be rendered fire-proof, or can be of a fire-proof type, as can the surround and plywood or similar walls which can be appropriately treated to increase their noninflammability.

To enable the form of the invention to be fully appreciated, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which a form of the invention is illustrated, but the invention is not necessarily to be limited to details illustrated.

In the drawings; FIG. 1 is a fragmented perspective view of a typical panel according to this invention, showing the panel sectioned transversely and the cover members broken away to better show the structure, FIG. 2 shows in perspective a locking member which can be used to lock the panel to a floor or other support, FIG. 3 is a transverse section of the lower part of a panel, showing another panel joined thereto, showing two cover members removed, the section being taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a sectional plan of the panels shown in FIG. 3 taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2, line 3-3 of FIG.

2, FIG. 5 shows in perspective a modified form of the locking member, and FIG. 6 is a side elevation illustrating the method used whend forming the panel during the manufacturing process.

The panel illustrated in FIG. 1 and shown in perspective, has part omitted as the panel can be of considerable height, the panel being fragmented to show constructional features. The panel is sectioned near one end immediately adjacent to a side rail (not shown).

A surround 1 is formed by a top rail 2 which is joined to a pair of side rails 3 which extend down from each end of the top rail 1 and are joined to a base member 4. Two wall members 5, are joined to the surround 1 to form a cavity 6 between the surround 1 and wall members 4.

The cavity 6 is filled with a core 7 of foam material, the foam material being injected while the sides are held in a press so that when the foam sets it forms a rigid structure having low acoustic transfer.

The press members 8 or plattens of a press are shown in FIG. 6 which illustrates the method of manufacture.

The base member 4 has a series of ducts 9 formed between spacers 10 extending outwards on each side from a central web 11, and these ducts 9 are covered by sectional cover members 12 which clip into position, having lugs 13 along a top edge to engage into recesses 14 when the cover members 12 are appropriately outwardly extended, the cover members 12 being then swung downwardly to engage hooked lower ends 15 into longitudinal recesses 16 in the lowermost spacer. The end rear cover member 12 of FIG. 1 is shown displaced to show a lug 13, and this cover member 12 is preferably of a dimension such that when it is removed, the ducts of a similar abutting transversely positioned panel mate with the ducts of the panel. The cover member 12 of the transverse panel is removed at 17.

The ducts 9 preferably have keepers 18 spaced apart along their length to hold wiring, these being of lesser height than the openings of the ducts 9 to facilitate placement of wiring.

The cover members 12 have longitudinal reinforcing ribs 19 adjacent each spacer 10.

The cover members 12 are adapted to carry switches, power outlets, computer connectors or the like which can take any usual or approved form, one being indicated by 20 in FIG. 3.

A wool or other flexible covering 21 in the form of a bag is drawn over the panel to give a pleasing appearance and aid acoustic absorption.

Apertures 22 in the top rail 2 and on the underside of base members 4 allow adjacent panels to be interconnected.

The method of manufacture as shown in FIG. 6 preferably comprises joining one end of each side rails 3 to the ends of the top rail 2 and joining the other ends of the side rails 3 to the ducting base 4 to form the surround 1, applying the wall members5 to form the cavity 6, applying press members 8 to the so formed structure to define the cavity width, and applying the core 7 by injecting the material which is to form the core into the cavity 6 through the supply duct 24.

When the material has set, the press members 8 are removed.

The core material 7 bonds the wall members 5 together and to the surround 1 to form a rigid and effective panel.

The base member 4 is shown as formed in two similar but reversed sections joined together at a centre line 25 by spacers 26 forming part of each section.

A gap 27 is formed between the two members adapted to receive holding brackets 28 (Fig. r! secured to a support such as a floor, which holding brackets 28 can comprise a base 29 to engage the support and an upstandflange 30 which passes through the gap and can be locked to the base member 4 by pin means 31 as shown in FIG. 3.

The holding bracket 28, instead of being formed as shown in FIG. 5 could be formed as shown in FIG.

2 where the base 29 is extended to support two upstanding pins 32 which can engage apertures 33 as shown for instance in FIG. 1.

The structure described above the ducting member can be repeated below the ducting member to raise the ducting member to an intermediate height or an added ducting can be included.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A room divider comprising a panel having a rigid surround (1) to which is secured wall members (5) to form a cavity (6) therebetween and in which cavity (6) is disposed a core (7) of sound deadening material, the panel being characterised by having the said core (7) injected into the said cavity (6) to fill the cavity to form support means between at least the said wall members (5).

2. A room divider according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the surround (1) includes a top rail (2), a pair of side rails (3) and a base member (4) all joined together, at least the top rail (2) having means (21) to be engaged by joining members to connect a plurality of panels together.

3. A room divider according to claim 2 wherein the core (7) bonds to the surround (1) as well as to the wall members (5) whereby to rigidly bond the members (2,3,4,5) of the panel together.

4. A room divider according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the base member (4) is a ducting member forming ducts (9), and by removable cover members (12) engaging the said base member (4) to close the said ducts (9).

5. A room divider according to claim 4 wherein the base member (4) is formed in two similar but reversed sections joined together, and forms a gap (27) between the similar sections adapted to receive holding brackets secured to a floor or other support member, and optionally pin means to lock the base member (4) to the holding brackets (28).

5. A room divider according to any preceding claim characterised in that the surround (1) is arranged in planar form and in that the wall members (5) overlap the members (2,3,4) of the said surround (1) and the edges of the wall members (5) are secured to the members of the said surround (1).

7. A room divider according to claim 4 wherein the cover members (12) have lugs (13) adapted to engage recesses (14) in the base member (4) and have hooked ends (15) remote from the lugs (13) to engage recesses (16) in the base member (4) on opposite sides of the space defined by the ducts (4).

8. A room divider according to claim 4 wherein some cover members (12) have a width equal to the width of a panel to give access to the ducts (9) when one panel is butted against another.

9. A room divider according to claim 4 wherein the ducts (9) have keepers (18) to retain wiring in the ducts, said keepers (18) being of lesser height than the openings of the ducts to facilitate wiring positioning.

10. A room divider according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the surround (1) extends below a ducting member to position a ducting member intermediate the top rail (2) and the base (4).

11. The method of forming a room divider having a surround (1) and wall members (5) attached to the said surround (1) to form a cavity (9) and having a core (7) of sound-deadening means in the said cavity (9) characterised by the steps of forming the surround (1), attaching wall members (5) thereto to form and define a -cavity (6) between the surround, holding the wall members (5) in press members (8), injecting a core (7) of sound-deadening material into the said cavity (6) to engage at least the said wall members (5), and subsequently removing the press members (8).

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the said surround (1) is formed by joining a top rail (2) to side rails (3) one at each end to the top rail (2), and joining the said side rails (3) to a base member (4), and securing the edges of the wall members over the members of the surround (1) whereby to form a cavity when the said wall members (5) are connected to the said surround.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the said base member (4) is formed with longitudinally extending ducts (9) formed of non-conductive material, and closing the said ducts (9) by engaging cover members (12) over openings in the said ducts (9) also formed of non-conductive material.

14. The method of claim 11, 12 or 13 wherein after the panel is formed, applying a flexible covering (21) of optionally wool cloth over the top rail (2) and the side rails (3) and the wall members (5) to leave exposed the cover members (12).

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the base member (4) is formed with a longitudinal gap (27), engaging the base member over holding brackets (28) secured to support means, and securing the base member (4) to the holding brackets (28).

16. A room divider substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A method of forming a room divider, which method is substantially as herein described.

18. A room divider whenever formed by a method according to any one of Claims 11 to 15 and 17.