US3175604A

US3175604A - Space divider

Info

Publication number: US3175604A
Application number: US226520A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard D Roselle; Kirk S Adams
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-09-27
Filing date: 1962-09-27
Publication date: 1965-03-30
Anticipated expiration: 1982-03-30

Description

March 30, 1965 R. D. ROSELLE ETAL SPACE DIVIDER Filed Sept. 27, 1962 INVENTOR. RICHARD D. ROSELLE BYKIRK S. ADAMS ATTORN EYS lL-ar'. a,

United States Patent Filed Sept. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 226,520 4 Claims. (Cl. 160-378) The present invention relates to a decorative space divider with alternating panels and buttons covering and supported by a latticework.

Important objects of the invention are to provide a decorative space divider of unusually simple and economical construction having prefabricated components which can be easily assembled by a novice, and by which a great variety of decorative effects can be achieved without change in the basic components.

Other more particular objects and advantages of the invention will, with the foregoing, appear and be understood in the course of the following novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a space divider embodying our invention.

FIG. 2 is a detail front elevational view with parts broken away.

FIG. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along line 3- -3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view taken as indicated by line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings it is seen that our space divider has a border frame as of wood across which is tensioned a latticework of articulated straps each composed of a series of tie-links 11. These links are preferably lengths of spring-steel strapping perforated at their ends to form terminal eyes 12, and they provide the support for panels 13. In the illustrated example these panels are of square shape and are arranged in vertical rows with the supporting tensioned straps crisscrossing diagonally, but the panels 13 may be of a variety of shapes and sizes and the crossing angles of the straps may be varied without departing from the invention. Similarly, the shape of the border frame 10 can be varied from the rectangular example illustrated.

For economy and ease of erection of the divider we prefer to prefabricate each panel 13 with a pair of crossed tie-links 11 as a unit. This is accomplished by providing a core plate 14- such as of hardboard and diagonally grooving it to form shallow diagonally crossing grooves 15 to receive the tie-links. The core plate is then covered by facing plates 16-17 which are bonded thereto by a suitable adhesive with the plate 16 hiding the grooves 15 and most of the length of the related tie-links. Thus there is formed a panel unit having'only the eyes of the tie-links exposed, such projecting diagonally from the corners thereof. Instead of using a core plate and two facing plates, the core plate and facing plate 17 can of course be a single piece of material.

In any regard, the facing plates 16-17 can be, for example, metal, ceramic or plastic tiles of various colors, or wood veneer, and can be embossed, enameled, carved, or otherwise decorated with selected designs. Furthermore, since the facingplates on one side of the divider can be varied from those on the other side, different decors can be achieved by a single divider.

To interconnect the tie-links 11 of the panel units while at the same time hiding the terminal eyes thereof, we prefer to use double-headed connectors 18 having button heads 20. These buttons may be round as shown or any other selected shape for the desired design effect and may have their outer faces decorated. For economy the buttons may be wood or plastic each formed with a center hole 21 for receiving a self-tapping screw 22. The latter has a socket head 22a for a turning tool to thread the screw part way into the hole 21 of one of the buttons. Then the complementing button can be turned onto the socket end of the screw after the tie-link eyes for the adjoining panels have been fitted thereover.

The connectors 18a adjoining the border frame 10 not only receive the tie-links of the respective panel units, but also interfit. with the eyes 23 of fiat-headed eye bolts 22 whose shanks are anchored to the border frame. For this purpose the requisite bolt holes 24 in the latter are preferably counter-bored at their outer ends to house washers and nuts 25 for the eye bolts. The nuts 25 are tightened such as to tension the lattice of tie-links and thereby give the panels 13 resistance to loads normal to the plane of the divider.

It is thought that the invention will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description. Changes will suggest themselves and may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, wherefore it is our intention that no limitations be implied and that the hereto annexed claims be given a scope fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation to which the employed language fairly admits.

What we claim is:

1. A space divider comprising, a plurality of coplanar panel units each comprising a panel having four generally coplanar tie-link portions extending from the inside of the respective panel, each said tie-link portion having a respective terminal eye projecting beyond the respective panel so that each panel unit has four said terminal eyes arranged as the four corner vertexes of a rectangle, said panel units being arranged in parallel rows in an articulated latticework, each of the articulations of said latticework comprising four of said terminal eyes from four of said panel units registering with one another and having a connector through the four registering eyes, a border frame around said latticework, and tensioning means anchored to said border frame and connected to the terminal eyes of the tie-link portions which border the border frame for tensioning said latticework.

2. The space divider of claim 1 in which said tensioning means comprises eye-bolts with flat heads anchored to said frame with their eyes projecting toward the center of the frame and registering with said terminal eyes of the tie-link portions bordering the border frame, and connectors passing through said registering eyes of the tie-link portions and eye-bolts.

3. The space divider of claim 1 in which each of said panels has a respective core plate with the respective said four tie-link portions lying in respective grooves formed in one face of the core plate, and a respective facing plate covering said one face of the core plate and secured thereto.

4. The space divider of claim 3 in which the width of said grooves is considerably more than their depth, and in which each of said tie-link portions comprises a portion of a flat strap perforated at one end to provide a respective one of said terminal eyes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,987,921 Bertsch Ian. 15, 1935 2,398,070 Allen Apr. 9, 1946 2,826,521 Robinson Mar. 11, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 739,084 France June 5, 1933 241,193 Switzerland July 1, 1946

Claims

1. A SPACE DIVIDER COMPRISING, A PLURALITY OF COPLANAR PANEL UNITS EACH COMPRISING A PANEL HAVING FOUR GENERALLY COPLANAR TIE-LINK PORTIONS EXTENDING FROM THE INSIDE OF THE RESPECTIVE PANEL, EACH SAID TIE-LINK PORTION HAVING A RESPECTIVE TERMINAL EYE PROJECTING BEYOND THE RESPECTIVE PANEL SO THAT EACH PANEL UNIT HAS FOUR SAID TERMINAL EYES ARRANGED AS THE FOUR CORNER VERTEXES OF A RECTANGEL, SAID PANEL UNITS BEING ARRANGED IN PARALLEL ROWS IN AN ARTICULATED LATTICEWORK, EACH OF THE ARTICULATIONS OF SAID LATTICEWORK COMPRISING FOUR OF SAID TERMINAL EYES FROM FOUR OF SAID PANEL UNITS REGISTERING WITH ONE ANOTHER AND HAVING A CONNECTOR THROUGH THE FOUR REGISTERING EYES, A BORDER FRAME AROUND SAID LATTICEWORK, AND TENSIONING MEANS ANCHORED TO SAID BORDER FRAME AND CONNECTED TO THE TERMINAL EYES OF THE TIE-LINK PORTIONS WHICH BORDER THE BORDER FRAME FOR TENSIONING SAID LATTICEWORK.