US2371300A - Knockdown office partition - Google Patents

Description

March 13,1945. M KA FMAN 2,371,300

' KNOGKDOWN OFFICE PARTITION 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May ,29, 1942 INVEN TOR.

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March 13, 1945. J. M. KAUFMAN KNOCKDOWN OFFICE PARTITION 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29, 1942 IIHHHI lllllllllllllllH "March 13, 1945. KAUFMAN 2,371,300

KNOCKDOWN OFFICE PARTITION Filed May 29, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 3 HIHIIIHIIIIIII INVENTOR.

iLUlUiULUlL'lilLUHE li JiL U |lmllllllllllHHHHIIHlllllllIllllll F |||.|I.r l I l I I l l l l I l I I IL I I l l I |||L H Patented Mar. 13, 1945 ED"; sures Arr EN o'rFIc 1on0 CKDOWN- OFFIGE PARTITION J 'ac'ob' ML. Kaufman; Chicago; Ill. Application' May 29., 1942,.scan-nominees 5 Cl'aiins.

Structures embodying the present invention compri'separtitions suitable for'use-as ofilce'ornw mentalipaneled partitions: These are knockdown structures-Tor erectioninroom's or interiors of buildings along selected partition l-ines, and are susceptible of being disassembled and reinstalled in'altered positions oralongpartition lines other than those first chosen: The structures need not" reach to the ceilings of the roomsin which they are installed. Usually they are of only such moderate heights as are commonly desired for office partitioning of less height than tii'erooms;

The invention maybevariouslyapplied for partitioning space onfloors of" buildings to pro vide ofil'ee-rooms-or other rooms or compartments-:- i'or*example'- the invention may be embodied in structures-iorpartitionin'g off selected room space from adjoiningspace; or for subdividing'aroom into a plurality-= of separate; rooms or comp'art ment's; orfo'nboth partitioning ofi'and" subdividingspace desired for a suite of office rooms'or other rooms or compartments whether or not used for=oflice purposes; l

' Gbiects'of the invention inc1ud'e,'first, the pro vision of al knockdown" partition of practicable character; light construction and ornamentai ap pearance which can be easily, quickl'y'and ih'ex pensively' erected; second; the provision of-such a structure the units of which and partscooper sting therewith can" be economically manufactured as standardized parts for use in erecting various partitioning structures to meet various partitioning requirements and conditions; and; third, the provision ofsuch' a--partitioning'structure' the only essential fastenings cfwhi'ch are concealed and easily removable, permitting disassembling of the structure without vinjury or warning: of thesurfaceof any of the parts.

It' is' contemplated" that the partitioning units and: other components of" such structures will'be supplied by the manufacturer with all. surfaces thoreof whi-ch are exposed in the erected struc tures'per-fectly finished, so that aftererection' or installation the structures will-require no painting; staining'nor other finishing; Partitions emoodying the invention, and composed of such finished units and parts thus supplied by'the manufacturer, may therefore be considered as analagous to furniture, in that theycanbein stalled ascompleteornateequipment with fin ishedisurf'aces, and can-also lee-removed ont'a-ken downand reinstalledinnewpositions or locations if desired.

or less subsidiary or ancillary to those above statedwill be apparent fromth'e following de-' i this view for? illustration.

Fig. 3. is; a: verticalcross section taken on: the line5'3' -3flof: Fig. 2 through" theupper'part of ttie door and door-frame incorporated in said strum ture;

Fig. 4 is a-horizontal section taken on the' line 4r-4vofiFig; 2 through said door and door-frame; an: intermediate portionbeing omitted and the illustrated parts "being brought close togethen for compactness: of illustration.

Fig; dis a front elevation ofa portionrof. the partitionshown in Fig. 2;,with intermediate por tionsomitted and illustrated parts. brought. gather; for; compactness: of illustration; and: with centain-parts ot the panel sheets broken away; to revealr features of constructionhidden the erected structure.

Fig... S is-a vertical cross. section taken on: the linetfi -t. of Fig. 5- throughapilaster.

Fig. flis a vertical cross section taken on the line..1l'-'l of Fig. 5 throughiav hollow panel.

. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken on-the line 8-8 of Fig. 5 Y through. an end vofthe partition.

Fig.9 is a. horizontal section taken on theline 9 -9 of Fig. 5 through an intermediate. pilasten and ad'ja'cent'portions offadjacent hollow panels; Fig. 10' is a horizontal sectiontaken onthe line Ink-l0 in Fig. 2;.showing, the T'-j.ointl connection i ii between the partitions 3 andtshownin Fig.1.,

Fig. l'l is a horizontal section taken on the line .l I. of Fig. 2, showing. the. corner connection It between thepartitions 3andf Bi'in Fig.1..

Fig 12 is aview similar to Fig. 11 showing. thev .structurethereof in connection with. anadditional partition, namely the partition iiindi'cated in dottedlines'inxFig; 1.

Fig: 13 is a horizontal section showing amend portion of a partition anchored'byiother. means.

the-has represented" in Figs; 5 and'ii.

-Various}specificobjects of the-invention more Fig: 14" is'a face View of" one of the partitioning units or hollow panels of the illustrative structures.

Fig. 15 is a side elevation of such unit or hollow panel, i. e. a view looking at a vertical edge thereof.

Fig. 16 is a front elevation of a similar partitioning unit or hollow panel having a window therein.

Fig.- 17 is a horizontal section taken on the line ll-'l| of Fig. 16 through said window.

Fig. 18 is an enlarged'side elevation of a corner portion of one of the partitioning units or hollow panels, i. e. a view looking at the vertical edge thereof.

Fig. 19 is a view partly in front elevation and partly in section of the door-frame embodied in the partition shown in Fig. 1; an intermediate portion of the upper part of the structure being omitted and the door-posts being brought relatively nearer together for convenience of illustration.

In the diagram shown in Fig. l, the reference numerals ,l and 2 designate main wall of a building on a floor of which office space is partitioned from adjoining space by a partitioning structure comprising partition 3 and, 4 meeting and united at the corner 5, these partitions being anchored to and extending from the walls I and 2 respectively. The space thus partitioned off is subdivided to provide a managers oflice 6 and a general office 'I by a partitioning structure comprising partitions 8 and 9 meeting and united at the corner ID, the partition 8 being an chored to and extended from the wall I and the partition 9 being anchored to the partition by a T-joint connection therewith at ll. Entrance to the general office 1 from a hallway or anteroom I2 is through a doorway incorporated in the front partition 3 and provided with a swinging door l3. Said partition 3, a front elevation of which is represented in Fig. 2, comprises lines of partitioning at either side of and anchored respectively to the door-posts of the door-frame. Entrance from the general office to the managers office 6 is through a doorway incorporated in the partition 9 and provided with a swinging door It. It may be assumed for illustration that at a date subsequent to the installation of the above mentioned partitioning structures, it may be desired to utilize additional space l5 as ofiice space, in which event an additional partition It may be erected as an extension of the partition 3 for partitioning such room space [5 from the hallway Or anteroom l2. The diagram in Fig. 1 represents but one of many possible applications of the invention.

All of the partitions represented in Fig. 1, of which that illustrated in Fig. 2 is exemplary, are characterized by similarly paneled obverse and reverse faces, the front and rear elevations of these partitions being substantially similar except for such minor differences as may result from corner connections or other connections between different partitions or lines of partition- The similar panel surfaces of opposite sides of the partitions are presented by the opposite faces of partitioning components of the typeillustrated in Figs. 14 and 15, these being hollow rigid plate-like units, herein designated as hollow panels, the opposite faces of whichare continuous finished surfaces. They may be smoothly finished in natural wood finish or otherwise to suit preferences of customers. Pebbled or other special rough surface finishing may in some cases be desired.

Each of said hollow panels consists of a pair of thin panel sheets 20 and an interposed frame 2| formed with flat lateral faces to which said sheets are adhesively aifixed, whereby the sheets are rigidly connected in spaced parallel relation. The panel sheets 29 may be of laminated wood veneering glued to an interposed wooden frame by strong glue suitable for permanently connecting wooden parts, the sheets being held clamped to the frame under hydraulic pressure during the gluing operation. Panel so made, consisting of sheets of three-ply veneering one quarter of an inch thick and rectangular panel frames the members of which are bars of wood one inch square, are being produced as hollow plate-like structures of adequate strength and rigidity for the purpose of the invention. The wooden panel frame 2| shown in Fig. 13, and partially shown in other views, comprises vertical bars connected by top, bottom and intermediate cross bars, all of said bars in practice being one inch square and the cross bars being spaced at distances of about eleven or twelve inches from their centers. It will be apparent that such a frame, though of light wood bars, is strongly braced that the panel frame and panel sheets mutually brace and reinforce each other, and that, by gluing the panel sheets firmly to the entire lateral surfaces of said frame, the sheets are stiffened both along or near their edge portions and at a plurality of cross lines. With this construction hollow panels only one and a half inches thick but of heights of six and one half feet and greater heights, and thirty inches or more in breadth, are constructed as substantially rigid plate-like units, comparable in strength and stiffness to solid boards of like dimensions, yet very much lighter than boards of only half the thickness but of like hei ht and breadth.

The dimensions of the frames 2| of the hollow panels, vertically and horizontally, are less than the corresponding dimensions of the panel sheets 20, the edge portions of which sheets extend beyond the margins of said frames. The hollow panels in the form shown in Figs. 14 and 15 may therefore be described as having grooves or channels in their edge portions, whichgrooves or channels extend all around said hollow panels. In these grooves or channels, or between the edge portions of the panel sheets of the respective hollow panels, are fitted tongues or edge portions of the surrounding parts of the partitioning, whereby the hollow panels are held therewith.

As shown'in Fig. 18, the panel frames 2| are rabbeted laterally adjacent to their margins to form small grooves 2W between the margins of the frame and the panel sheets 2t, whereby, in the operation of gluing the panel sheets to the frame, if any glue is squeezed out from between the fiat faces of the clamped together frame and sheets, such squeezed out glue will lodge in. said small grooves 21* instead of on the marginal surfaces of the frame. With frames of the form shown, having their top, bottom and Vertical margins each in oneplane, the provision of the small grooves 2W which extend, all aroundythe frames, insures against any interferencev with proper fit of the frame margins against opposing surfaces by accumulation and drying of glue on the frame margins.

v The several cross bars of the panelframes may in assembly beprovid'e'd with smalllvent holes drilled therethrough, as indicated in dotted linesat 21 in Figs, and 14, one of such holes being shown in Fig. 18. The holes referred team to allow venting and escape from the hollow panels, during drying and storage, of any moisture which may accumulate-inthe panels in the gluing process or otherwise.

Referring now to Figs. 2 to 10, the illustrative partitioning structure comprises a basement 22 formed with an upstanding: longitudinal tongue 23 hollow panels-of the type heretofore described mounted in line'on said tongue, the panel frames 2| resting thereon and the lower edge portions of the panel sheets 20 straddling and closely or tightly fitting said tongue; pilasters 21% arranged between and spacing adjacenthollowpanels, said pilasters resting on said tongue 23 and being fitted between the frames 2! of adjacent hollow panels and embraced by the adjacent vertical edge per"- tions of the panel sheets thereof, with a close or'tight lit between the pilasters and said vertical edge portions of said panel sheets; and a cornice 25: supported by and fastened to said pilasters,

said cornice beingformed with a depending longitudinal tongue 26 resting on the upper ends of the pilasters and embraced with a close or tight by the upper edge portions of the sheets 20 of the hollow panels.

As represented in the drawings, the tongue 23 on the basement 22 is of such elevation that the panel frames 2! hold the panel sheets 20 with their lower edges spaced from the underlying ledges of the basement; while. the. tongue 26 of the cornice 25 is or such vertical. dimension that the cornice ledges overhanging'the upper edges of the panel sheets are spaced therefrom; and the pilasters 24 are of such width that the adjacent vertical edges of the panelsheetsof adjacent hollow panels are spaced from each other. Thus the hollow panels are. mounted and held so that they are spaced from one another and with the upper and lower edges of the panel sheets spaced from overlying and underlying surfaces. By so mounting and spacing the hollow panels, and by giving to the pilasters 24 a sufilciently greater height than the panel frames 2! to provide a clearance between the tops of said frames and the bottom edge of the cornice tongue 26, the advantageous effect is gained of avoiding load on the panel sheets andfreeing the panel frames of load except the weight of the panel sheets. A clearance of about an eighthof an inch between the panel frames and cornice tongue 26 is ordinarily sufficient. A greater spacing than for m ere clearance is desirable between the panels and between their upperand lower edges and overlying and underlying ledges of the cornice and basement.

- Construction of the partitioning in a form similar to that illustrated, with basement and cornice consisting of boards of the same thickness as the hollow panels set on edge andlongitudinally rabbeted on both sides to provide the tongues 23 and 25 respectively, and with pilasters consisting of upright slats of the same thickness as said tongues, and with thc edges of the panel sheets 2!! markedly spaced from the edges of adjacent panels and from the wider portions of the basementand cornice, gives the effect on obverse and reverse faces of the partition of distinct panel surfaces raised from a sunken background and flush with one 'another and with longitudinal bottom and top border surfaces provided by the wider portions of the. basement and cornice.

A spacing of about two inches is desirable between. the adj acent-i vertical edges of thepanel sheets of adjacent. panels, so as to-obtainzthe efiect. of distinct pilasters. A less spacing, say of about an inch or at least three; quarters. of an inch, may be desirable between the-upper and lower edges of the panel sheets. and'the overhanging and underlying ledges of the: cornice and basement respectively; For. further ornate effect, the panel sheets may have their edgesand' corners rounded, as shown in Figs. 5, 9, 14 andz18,

The basement, 22. is rigidly attached to the floor by screws 27 countersunk by seating the heads thereof at the bottoms of. deep holes therefor drilled in the basement tongue 23 (Figs. 5, 6 and '7 It is desirable that the-upper edge of the tongue 23' should be level or approximately so. If the floor should be uneven: or not level, the bottom surface of the basement may be scribed as required to bring the'topof the tongue 23 to a true level. To facilitate such scribing, the basement is formed withthe longitudinalbottom groove 28 (Figs. 5, 6-and 7 thus reducing the width of the surfaces to be shaved: off. The basement is also formed with bottomv cut-away portions as at 29 (Figs. 2 and 5), providing passages for ventilation or to permit air descending at one side of the partition to flow th'ereunder'and to ascend at the other side.- i

The cornice 25,,preferably formed as a single continuous piece, is fixed-to theupper ends of the pilasters. 2d by concealed fastenings; similar to those employed for attaching thebasement to the floor, namely by vertical screws- 30 countersunk in the cornice by seating atv the bottom of the longitudinal groove'therein (Figs. 5, 6 and 7).

Pilasters similar to those between adjacentpanels may be employed at the ends of the-parti tion or at the ends of any uninterrupted line of partitioning composed as aforesaid, the end pilasters being interfitted with: the adjacent vertical edges of the end'panels and resting on the basement and supporting the cornice, the latter being fastened thereto in. the same manner that it is fastened to the intermediate pilasters 24. Such end pilasters as 26* and 24 in Fig. 2, may be attached to walls, postsor the like bycountersunk horizontal screws asindicated at 3| in Fig. 5.

In an uninterrupted line of partitioning compising' hollow panels spaced from one another only by interveningv pilasters 2-4. in alternation therewith, as distinguished from a. structure in which such partitioningis interrupted'by a doorway or the like, the only fastenings between the components of partitioning which are ordinarily desirable or necessary are the concealed fastening screws 38 for attaching the cornice t0 the upper ends of the pilasters. Not even these fastenings are essential under all conditions, though they are generally desirable.

The cornice may be capped'by a longitudinal cap member or rail Bi -wider than-".the-cornice and having a depending longitudinal tongue 33 engaging a groove therefor in the cornice. This cap 32 is desirable for bracing and fasteningthe cornice particularly in long lines of partitioning, and for splicing joints of a: cornice composed of jointed lengths orsections where the line of partitioning is'too long to permit forming the cornice in asingle. piece. In many instances, and particularly' inshort linesgof partitioning,,the cap 32 is of no material benefit. unless. for ornamental effecti The. stiffening and" strengthening effect of the cornice cap in'long linesof partitioning, 32

may be increased by increasing the width of the cap. The cap is fastened to th cornice at suitable intervals by fastenings of the same character as the various others heretofore described.

In erecting a partition of the constuction described, the basement 22 is first attached to the floor along any desired or selected partitioning line, said basement extending from a wall or post to the end of the partition or any length thereof that may be uninterrupted by a doorway or the like. A pilaster is then set on the basement against said wall or post and fastened in engagement therewith, after which hollow panels and pilasters are set on the basement in alternation and engaged with one another as already described. At the end of the line of partitioning remote from said wall or post, there will be an end pilaster, setting on the end portion of the basement and interfitted with the last hollow panel of such line of partitioning. The end pilaster last referred to may be attached to a wall, post, doorframe or the like or to another partition. Upon the composition thus assembled is placed the cornice 25, preferably formed as a continuous piece, fastened by the screws 33 to the upper ends of the pilasters. This completes the structure except for attachment of the cap member 32.

without driving a nail, and without fastening any of the assembled panels and cooperating parts together except by hidden screws 30 in the cornice. No skilled labor is required in erecting the structure unless for scribing the bottom of the basement 22 to bring the top of the tongue 33 to a true level. Assuming that the required "parts for a iven partition are supplied by the manufacturer in accordance with correct specifications, almost any able-bodied man can set up the partition. Likewise, if it should be desired to shift the partition line or to remove the structure, it can be easily taken down by unfastening and lifting off the cap 32 and cornice 25, then lifting up one of the pilasters 24, to disengage it from adjacent hollow panels, and then removing the remaining panels and pilasters, the end panels being first unfastened from the walls, post, or other structural parts to which they are attached.

Consider for example the partition indicated at 3 in Fig. 1 and shown in elevation in Fig. 2. This partition comprises lines of partitioning at opposite sides of a door.-frame, the latter comprising posts 34 and 35 and a lintel 36 (Figs. 3, 4 and 19). The cornice for both lines of partitioning is continuous over the doorway, whereas the basement for the partitioning as a whole is interrupted by the doorway. Considering first the line of partitioning to the left of the doorway, the basement 22 thereof extends from the wall to the door post 34, said partitioning including end pilasters 24 and 24 Said end pilasters 24 and 24 are fastened one to the wall and the other to the door post 34. Considering next the line of partitioning to the right of the doorway, the basement thereof extends from the right hand door post 35 to another partition (namely partition 4 in Fig. 1). On said basement are set hollow panels and pilasters in alternation, including in this instance the end pilaster 24" attached to the door post 35 and a so-called corner pilaster 3T, the'latter being an upright of angular section one member of which interfits with the last hollow panel of the partition 4 of Fig. 1, as will be clearly understood by reference to Fig. 11 which is a horizontal section of the corner connection between the partitions 3 It, will be observed that the structure may be erected or 4 of Fig. 1. Over this composition at both the left and the right of the doorway is the cornice 25, continuous over the doorway, said cornice being fastened to the upper ends of pilasters 24, 24 and 24, as well as to the intermediate pilasters 24, and to the corner pilaster 31.

At the corner between the partitions 3 and 4 of Fig. l, the basements for the respective partitions have mitered abutting ends, as is clearly apparent in Fig. 11. The corner pilaster 31 rests on the adjoining portions of the tongues 23 of the two basements, and the adjacent hollow panels of the two angularly related lines of partitioning engage the respective members of said corner pilaster, whose faces are flush with the sides of the said tongues. The cornices of the two angularly related partitions have mitered abutting ends, and are supported on and attached respectively to the upper ends of the two members of the angular corner pilaster 31. Thus the entire partitioning structure comprising the two partitions 3 and 4 in Fig. '11 may be described as one similar to that first described but embodying a corner angle in the partitioning, with consequent angles in the basement and cornice, and an angle pilaster 31 employed at the corner to suit the angular disposition of the lines of partitioning at either side thereof.

Referring to the door-frame incorporated in the partition shown in Fig. 2, the posts 34 and 35 thereof are grooved to receive the end pilasters 24 and 24, and the lintel 36 is grooved to.

receive the cornice tongue 26 (Figs. 3, 4 and 19). These members 34, 35 and 38 may be of the same transverse thickness as the hollow panels, so that the opposite faces or front and back surfaces of the door-frame are flush with the faces of the hollow panels and With'the longitudinal top and bottom border surfaces provided by the wider base portion of the basement and by the upper portion of the cornice above its tongue. As shown in Fig. 19 the cornice 25 is fastened to the upper ends of the end pilasters 24 and 24 by the vertical screws 3|] countersunk in the cornice; and as shown in Figs. 4 and 9 said end pilasters 24 and 24 are attached to the door posts 34 and 35 by the horizontal screws 3P- countersunk in said end pilasters. The lower ends of the doorposts 34 and 35 may be anchored to the floor in any suitable manner, as for example, by fastening them by horizontal screws (not shown) to the ends of the basement, or by providing them with metallic ears or angle pieces and fastening the latter to the floor by screws.

If desired to run a partition from an intermediate point of another partition, this may be easily accomplished in the manner shown in Fig. 10 which is a horizontal section taken through a T- connection between the partitions 3 and 9 of Fig. 1. In Fig. 10, 24 is one of the intermediate pilasters between adjacent hollow panels of the partition 3, and 24 is a pilaster fastened thereto and engaging the first hollow panel of the partition 9.

At the end of a partition, instead of employing an end pilaster such as 24 in Figs. 2 and 5, which is a duplicate of the intermediate pilasters 2-2, there may be mailed or otherwise attached to the wall, post or other member to which the end of the partition is anchored a simple nailing strip to be engaged by the first hollow panel of the partition. This is exemplified in Fig. 13, where such a nailing strip is indicated at 38. In this case the edges of the panel sheets 20 embracing the nail strip may be brought close to or in contact with the face of the Wall, post or which the end of the partition is attached to one side of the corner pilaster 31, 3

whereby in case it should'be desired to erect a future partition [6 in line with the partition 3 of Fig. 1, such partition Hi can be anchored to 3 by engagement of the first hollow panel of IS with the nailing strip 39 on the corner pilaster connecting partitions 3 and 4, also the nailing strip 39 in Fig. 12 could serve for hinging thereto a gate in an archway in partition l6, assuming such an archway to be desired in the end of the partition l6 next the partition 3.

Partitions embodying this invention may be of various heights, and the hollow panels thereof may be of various heights and widths to suit different requirement or preferences. Ordinarily such partitions will be high enough for incorporation of doorways, but they may be of greater and lower heights; in some cases reaching to low ceilings, or having in lieu of the cap 32 or on said cap, a superstructure to reach to or extend toward the ceiling, and in other cases being so low as to function as office-partitioning barriers over which one can look. If desired, hollow panels embodied in such partitions may be provided with window openings glazed either with clear or obscure glass, or with other framed openings for special purposes. For example in Fig. 16 there is shown a hollow panel similar to that shown in Figs. 14 and 15 except that the panel of Fig. 16 is provided with a window the frame of which is designated by the numeral 40, the window pane ll being set therein and retained by the frame moulding 42.

The invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments shown. Measurements and proportions herein before mentioned are exemplary.

If desired, the endsof the vertical members of the frames 2| could be extended somewhat beyond the outer surfaces of the top and the bottom cross members so as to provide two-point bearings of the frames on the tongue 26, or the frames could be provided on their margins near their corners with projections to provide such two-point bearings on said tongue and also twopointbearings against the pilasters.

I claim:

1. A partition comprising a basement formed with an upstanding longitudinal tongue, hollow panels mounted in line on said tongue, said hollow panels consisting of rigidplate-like units formed with grooves or channels in their edge portions, the grooved lower edge portions of said hollow panels straddling and fitting said tongue, pilasters resting on said tongue arranged in alternation with. and spacing said hollow panels, said pilasters having vertical edge portions engaging and fitting the grooves in the adjacent vertical edge portions of said hollow panels, and a cornice resting on .the upper ends of said pilasters and formed with a depending tongue engaged by the grooved upper edge portions of said hollow panels, said tongue 0f the basement supporting said panels with their lower edges spaced from the underlying ledges of the basement and said pilasters supporting said cornice at an elevation such as to relieve the panels of any part of the load of the cornice and superstructure thereon.

2. A partition comprising hollow panels, consisting of fiat rectangular frames and thin panel sheets affixed to opposite sides thereof and having their edge portions extending beyond the frame margins, a basement formed with an upstanding longitudinal tongue on which said hollow panels are mounted in line with the lower edge portions of the sheets thereof embracing said tongue and the panel frames resting on said tongue and directly supported thereby at an elevation such that the panel sheets are held clear of the underlying ledges of said basement, pilasters resting on said tongue arranged in alternation with said hollow panels and embraced by adjacent vertical edge portions of the panel sheets thereof, the pilasters between adjoining panels effecting substantial spacing between adjacent vertical edges of the panel sheets thereof, and a cornice supported on said pilasters formed with a depending tongue held clear of said panel frames and embraced by the upper edge portions of the sheets of said hollow panels, the overlying ledges of the cornice being clear of said last mentioned edges.

3. A partition according to claim 2 wherein the basement and cornice consist of boards set on edge and of the same thickness as said hollow panels and longitudinally rabbeted on opposite sides to form said tongues, and wherein said pilasters consist of slats of the same thickness as said tongues and the latter space the upper and lower edges of the panel sheets substantially from the overlying and underlying ledges of the cornice and basement, whereby there are presented on obverse and reverse faces of the partition distinct panel surfaces raised from a sunken background and flush or substantially in the same common plane with one another and with longitudinal top and bottom border surfaces formed by the wider portions of the cornice and basement;

4. A partition of the class described incorporating a door-frame and lines of partitioning at either side thereof, each line of partitioning including an end pilaster attached by screws countersunk therein to the respective'door posts, the latter having vertical grooves engaged by the said end pilasters, the lintel of said door frame having agroove opening at its upper surface, and a cornice continuous with both lines of partitioning extending over said doorway and having a depending tongue engaging in said groove in the lintel, said cornice resting on the top ends of and fastened to said end pilasters.

5. A partition comprising hollow panels consisting of flat rectangular frames and thin panel sheets affixed to opposite sides thereof and having their edge portions extending beyond the frame margins, a basement formed with an upstanding longitudinal tongue on which said panels are mounted in line, said tongue fitting the bottom grooves of said hollow panels and directly supporting the frames thereof at an elevation such that the panel sheets are held spaced from the underlying basement ledges, pilasters resting on said tongue arranged in alternation with said panels and interfitted with the vertical grooves of the panels, and a cornice interfitted with the upper edges of the panel sheets and supported directly on the upper ends of said pilasters.

JACOB M. KAUFMAN.

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