US3552042A

US3552042A - Equipment unit

Info

Publication number: US3552042A
Application number: US630947A
Authority: US
Inventors: Eli Rabineau
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1967-04-14
Filing date: 1967-04-14
Publication date: 1971-01-05
Anticipated expiration: 1988-01-05

Abstract

A TROUGH LIKE CABINET ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE WIRING CONTROLS, HEADSETS, AND OTHER EQUIPMENT REQUIRED TO PLACE A NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN COMMUNICATION WITH A TEACHER AND A CONSOLE IN A CLASS ENVIROMENT, A PLURALITY OF SUCH CABINETS BEING ADAPTED FOR DISPOSITION WITHIN A CLASSROOM AT A LEVEL BELOW NORMAL DESK HEIGHT BUT ABOVE THE FLOOR. EACH CABINET IS DIVIDED INTO SECTIONS, ONE FOR EACH STUDENT, WITH EACH SECTION HAVING A HINGED COVER, THE COVERS OPENING ALTERNATELY TO EACH SIDE OF THE CABINET AND BEING LOCKED IN THEIR CLOSED POSITIONS BY A LOCKING SYSTEM CON-

TROLLED FROM THE CONSOLE. EACH CABINET SECTION HAS A READILY REMOVABLE FLOOR SPACED FROM THE CABINET BOTTOM TO FORM A CHANNEL WITHIN WHICH THE WIRING MAY BE PLACED, THE ELEMENTS DIVIDING THE CABINET INTO SECTIONS ALSO BEING READILY REMOVABLE.

Description

Jan. 5, 197i E, RAB|NEAU 3,552,042

EQUIPMENT UNIT .xiled April 14, 1967 INVENTCR 22 ELI RABINEAU ATTORNEY 3,552,042 EQUIPMENT UNIT Eli Rabineau, 78 Stoneleigh Road, Scarsdale, N.Y. 10583 Filed Apr. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 630,947 Int. Cl. A47b 47/00, 41/00 U.S. Cl. 35-60 3I Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A trough like cabinet adapted to receive the wiring, controls, headsets, and other equipment required to place a number of students in communication with a teacher and a console in a classroom environment; a plurality of such cabinets being adapted for disposition within a classroom at a level below normal desk height but above the floor. Each cabinet is divided into sections, one for each student, with each section having a hinged cover; the covers opening alternately to each side of the cabinet and being locked in their closed positions by a locking system controlled from the console. Each cabinet section has a readily removable oor spaced from hte cabinet bottom to form a channel within which the wiring may be placed; the elements dividing the cabinet into sections also being readily removable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of application This invention relates to equipment units; and more particularly to units adapted to house equipment, such as sound receiving gear, at a readily accessible level above the floor but below normal desk height, in a remotely controlled lockable cabinet which may be unobtrusively disposed in a room so as not to detract from other uses of the room.

Description of prior art Equipment units, such as those commonly used in classroom environments for language labs or the like, have for a long time taken the form of large pieces of furni'- ture which while serving to isolate the students one from the other, also rendered the classroom useless for any other purposes; thus denying the school the general use thereof and forcing the taxpayers to expend large sums of money for additional classroom space.

With the advent of sound receiving equipment, in the form of headsets, which in effect isolated the user from all except what was being received therethrough, the large pieces of furniture disappeared to be replaced by desks or tables, some with displaceable partitions to render same usable for general purposes, But such desks and tables had to be specially made to facilitate the wiring and other controls interconnecting the headset and the teachers console thus greatly reducing the types of desks and tables usable therewith and greatly restricting the other uses of the classroom. In addition storage of the controls and headsets to prevent their being stolen or tinkered with by persons not authorized to use same is either nonexistent or quite cumbersome with such desks and tables; while the servicing, repairing, rewiring and replacement of such equipment is either impossible or impractical.

Some classrooms have resorted to the use of plug-in type jacks, disposed in the walls or oors thereof, to avoid both the large pieces of furniture and the special desks and tables, but the storage servicing, repairing, rewiring and replacement problems present even greater problems in this environment than in some of the others.

nited States Patent -O ice SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved equipment unit.

Another object is to provide an improved equipment unit for housing sound receiving equipment, and the controls therefor, in a classroom type environment.

Still another object is to provide a remotely controlled lockable equipment unit for housing sound receiving equipment, and the controls therefor, in a classroom type environment.

A further object is to provide an equipment unit for housing sound receiving equipment, and the controls therefor, in a classroom type environment, unobtrusively at a level above the oor but below normal desk or table height.

A still further object is to provide an equipment unit for housing sound receiving equipment, and the controls therefor in such a manner that the equipment, controls, and associated wiring and other elements are readily accessible for service repair and replacement.

This invention involves equipment units of the type utilized to house sound receiving gear, and the controls therefor, in a classroom environment; and contemplates providing trough like cabinets for disposition about a classroom to house sets of such sound receiving gear for individual student use. Each cabinet is divided into individual student sections with remotely controlled locks therefor, and is further formed with readily removable side and floor partitions to facilitate the eicient wiring, servicing, rewiring and replacement of the equipment therewithin.

In carrying out the invention, according to a preferred embodiment thereof, the equipment unit is formed as a hollow trough like cabinet disposed on standards above the oor level and with the top thereof disposed below normal desk or table height. The cabinet is divided by readily removable partitions into individual student sections and is formed with a bottom and removable floor sections spaced therefrom to provide a channel for wiring. A hinged cover is provided for each cabinet section with alternate covers opening to opposite sides of the cabinet to facilitate student disposition adjacent the cabinet. Each student section houses a control unit and a headset which may be removed therefrom for use by the student; with both the control unit and headset interconnected through suitable wiring to a teachers console appropriately disposed in the classroom. A lock, controlled from the teachers console, is provided for each cabinet section; with the number of sections in each cabinet and the nurnber of cabinets in each classroom depending on the particular arrangement desired.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention in its details of construction and arrangement of parts, will be seen from the above from the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered in conjunction with the drawings, and from the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a classroom having installed therein a plurality of equipment units embodying the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of one of the equipment units of FIG. 1, but on a larger scale than FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the equipment unit of FIG. 2 showing in phantom student desks as they would be positioned adjacent thereto;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional View of the equipment unit of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a portion of the upper part of the equipment unit of FIG. 2 cut away in part to better show the details thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT For convenience, the invention will be described as applied to a cabinet for housing a control panel and a headset for student use as in a language lab, the cabinet being disposed at a level above the iloor and below that of the normal student desk or table, and further being divided into sections each with a hinged cover locked in place by a remotely controlled lock; it being understood nevertheless that without departing from the scope of this invention that subject cabinet may not necessarily house a control unit separate from the headset or may in the alternative house other equipment items, that it may be disposed at any convenient level even at desk or table height or above same if so desired, that it need not be partitioned, that the access opening need not be on top or in the form of a cover, and that it need not be locked by a remotely controlled lock or not even locked at all.

With reference to FIG. 1 there is shown generally at a classroom within which is disposed a teachers console 12 and a plurality of equipment units in the form of cabinets 14 (FIGS. 1, 2, and 4) spaced apart to permit the positioning of student desks or tables 16 (FIGS. l and 3) thereabout.

Cabinets 14 are in the form of elongated troughs having a bottom wall 18 (FIGS. 4 and 5), a pair of

side walls

20, 22, and a plurality of hinged top covers 24a, 24h, 24C, etc. all spaced apart to form therebetween a hollow 26 (FIG. 4). A hollow tubular support 40 (FIGS. 2 and 4), disposed beneath and appropriately secured to bottom wall 18 of cabinet 14, is itself supported by upright standards 42 secured to the classroom oor 44 as by plate members 46 and threaded members 48 (FIG. 4). The height of standards 42, support 40 and cabinet 14, in this embodiment, is such as to set tops 24a, 24h, 24e, etc. of cabinets 14 below the level of the tops of desks or tables 16 (FIG. 2) and in this manner cabinets 14 do not detract from other uses of classroom 10.

A plurality of partitions 60a, 60h, 60C (FIG. 5), slidably disposed in side walls and 22 divide cabinet 14 into

individual student sections

62a, 62b, 62C, etc. each adapted to have disposed therein a control unit 66, and a headset 68 (FIG. 4) interconnected through a suitable cable 70 to console 12. Other wires 72 interconnect headsets 68 with cable 70 and are of suitable length to permit removal of headsets 68 from cabinet 14 for use by the students.

A oor section 80a (FIGS. 4 and 5), 8011 (FIG. 5) etc. is disposed in each

student section

62a, 62b, 62C, etc. on risers 82 (FIG. 4) to form between floor sections 80a, 80h, etc, and bottom wall 18 of cabinets 14 a channel 84 within which cables 70 and any other cables are disposed in a readily accessible manner. An aperture 86 is formed in each

oor section

80a, 80b to permit wires 72 to extend therethrough in interconnecting headsets 68 to cable 70.

Each

top cover

24a, 24h, 24C is attached, as by hinges 90 (FIGS. 4 and 5), to either side wall 22 or side wall 20 in alternate fashion so that student sections 62a, 62h, 62e etc. open to alternate sides of cabinet 14 for a more convenient disposition of desks 16. A bracket 92 (FIG. 4) suitably carried by a partition and by a top cover 24 serves to retain top cover 24 in an open position (as shown in dot-dash lines in FIG. 4). If desired suitable notches (not shown) may be formed in

side walls

20 and 22 to permit wires 70 to extend therethrough even if covers 24 are closed.

A hook like lock member 96 (FIGS. 4 and 5) is secured to each top cover 24 for cooperation with a conventional lock 98 remotely controlled from console 12 to restrict access to headsets 68, control units 66 and the other equipment in cabinet 14 to authorized personnel.

When it is desired to use headsets 68 the person in charge unlocks locks 98 permitting top covers 24 to be raised and headsets 68 to be removed from cabinet 14. Top covers 24 may then be closed or if desired left open to permit the students access to control units 66. At the end of the class headsets 68 are returned and cabinets 14 locked.

In order to service, repair, replace or rewire the equipment, locks 98 are again released and top covers 24 opened to permit removal and return of either one or more oor sections and if required partitions 60.

From the above description it will thus be seen that a novel and improved equipment unit has been provided for housing sound receiving gear and associated components; which unit is unobtrusive to other needs of the room within which it is disposed, is easy to install, permits ready access to all the components of the equipment to facilitate service, repair, and replacement thereof and is easily locked to restrict access to the equipment to authorized personnel.

It is understood that although I have shown the preferred form of my invention that various modications may be made in the details thereof without departing from the spirit as comprehended by the following claims.

I claim:

1. An equipment unit adapted to be xedly disposed in a classroom and to house sound receiving gear and associated components: comprising (a) an elongated trough like housing having a bottom wall and spaced side walls forming therebetween a hollow;

(b) a plurality of partitions slidably disposed between said side walls to divide at least a portion of said hollow into individual sections;

(c) a oor section for each of said sections spaced from said bottom wall to form therebetween a channel;

(d) said partitions extending above but not below said oor;

(e) a top cover for each of said sections hingedly carried by a side wall of said cabinet for movement between an open and a closed position, adjacent ones of said top covers opening to alternate sides of said cabinet; and

(1g) a remotely controlled lock for each of said sections to lock the top cover thereof in its closed position.

2. A classroom for use as a language laboratory or the like comprising (a) a teachers console;

(b) at least one equipment cabinet having a bottom wall, a pair of sp-aced side walls, and at least one top cover forming therebetween a hollow;

(c) at least one headset disposed in said hollow and interconnected by suitable wiring to said teachers console;

(d) lock means for securing said top cover closed to prevent unauthorized access to said headset; and

(e) at least one oor partition disposed in said cabinet spaced from the bottom wall thereof to form there; between a wiring channel and adapted to receive at least a portion of said wiring interconnecting said headset to said teachers console;

(f) said floor partition being easily removable to permit access to said wiring channel.

3. A classroom for use as a language laboratory or the like; comprising (a) a teachers console;

(b) at least one equipment cabinet having a bottom wall, a pair of spaced side walls, and at least one top cover forming therebetween a hollow;

(c) said cabinet being divided into a plurality of individual sections;

(d) a top cover provided for each of said sections;

(e) said top covers opening to alternate sides of said cabinet;

(f) at least one headset in each of said sections, each of said headsets being interconnected by suitable Wiring to said teachers console; and

(g) lock means for securing said top covers closed to prevent unauthorized access to said headsets.

References Cited 6 3,152,848 10/1964 Kalk 35-35X 3,166,859 1/1965 Alter 35-35 3,167,871 2/1965 Brooks 35-35 OTHER REFERENCES Sears Roebuck and Co. catalogue for Fall and Winter 1963, p. 1053 only.

HARLA-ND S. SKOGQUIST, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R.