WO2010055396A1

WO2010055396A1 - A room divider, and piece of furniture provided with said room divider

Info

Publication number: WO2010055396A1
Application number: PCT/IB2009/007431
Authority: WO
Inventors: Luca Rizzi; Gianluca Ciullo; Giuliano Casaluci
Original assignee: Casaluci Giuliano S.R.L.
Priority date: 2008-11-12
Filing date: 2009-11-12
Publication date: 2010-05-20
Also published as: IT1391871B1; ITTO20080834A1; EP2356291A1

Abstract

A room divider (20), in particular for a hospital ward, comprises a screen (43), which is defined by a roller curtain mounted on a support element (21); the support element (21) is movable between a vertical position, in which the screen (43) is maintained in a closed configuration, and a horizontal position, in which the screen (43) can be lowered from the closed configuration to an stretched configuration and vice versa,- in the stretched configuration, the screen (43) hangs vertically to separate two areas in the room.

Description

A ROOM DIVIDER, AND PIECE OF FURNITURE PROVIDED WITH SAID ROOM DIVIDER

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a room divider. BACKGROUND ART

To separate two areas of a room that can be used independently, the use of horizontally extendable screens is known in the prior art . The prior art screens consist of a foldable wall formed by panels or strips that are hinged to one another, or consist of a curtain, also of a foldable kind.

The prior art solutions described above fall short of being satisfactory. To extend or close the screen in an exact horizontal direction, with the curtain-type solutions the top edge of the curtain must be hung from a guide defined by a horizontal upper bar, while the folding panel-type solutions require a guide defined by a runner mounted on the floor or on the ceiling: said guides are rather bulky and, at times, difficult to fit.

Moreover, when closed, the prior art screens are visible, which means they are not aesthetically satisfactory and tend to gather dust.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION The purpose of the present invention is to provide a room divider that overcomes the problems described above simply and inexpensively and, preferably, is simple to open/close, has limited overall dimensions in all conditions of use, and is part of a multi-purpose piece of furniture. According to the present invention there is provided a room divider comprising: a support element; a screen, which is borne by said support element and is movable between a closed configuration and an stretched configuration; said screen extending, in the stretched configuration, along a vertical plane to separate two areas in the room; characterised by comprising coupling means to couple said support element to a fixed structure movably between: a vertical position, in which said screen remains in the closed configuration, and a horizontal position, in which said support element extends in a cantilevered manner from said fixed structure and said screen may be lowered from the closed configuration to the stretched configuration and vice versa. According to the present invention, there is also provided a piece of furniture, as set forth in claim 9. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrating a non- limiting embodiment thereof, in which: - figure 1 is a perspective view of a piece of furniture comprising a preferred embodiment of the room divider according to the present invention; figures 2 to 4 are schematic reduced-scale side views of an opening/closing sequence of the room divider of figure 1; figure 5 is an enlarged-scale cross- sectional view along the line V-V of figure 2 ; and - figure 6 is a perspective view of a detail of figure 5.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In figure 1, number 1 indicates a piece of furniture comprising a cabinet 2, which is elongated in a vertical direction and is a wall unit in a hospital ward, so as to be suspended with respect to a floor 4 in order to facilitate cleaning of the room. The wall fastening system is not illustrated and is, for example, defined by a wall plug system. With reference to figure 5, the cabinet 2 comprises a vertical 5 rear wall and two side walls 6, which extend from the lateral edges of the wall 5 towards one another, for example forming angles of approximately 45° with the wall 5. The walls 6 are made of panels which can be. customised, in terms of their colour, surface finish and/or materials, and bear a plurality of electric power outlets 7 (figure 1) for medical equipment and/or for use by the patient, which may be provided with a key system to lock the power supply, and arranged at different heights, which can be adjusted during the assembly of the cabinet 2 according to specific requirements. The walls 6 define between them a front opening 8 , which is vertically elongated and allows access to an internal housing 9 defined laterally by two section bars 10, fixed to the wall 5 in a manner that is partially illustrated and not described in detail.

With reference to figure 1, the cabinet 2 also comprises a top 11 and a base 12, which are arranged respectively above and below the housing 9 and bear respective light appliances, preferably of the type that can be rotated. In particular, said appliances comprise light sources 14 of the programmable RGB chromotherapy type on the top 11 and night light sources (not illustrated) on the base 12. The piece of furniture 1 comprises two bedside tables 15 coupled to the cabinet 2, at the base 12, by means of respective arms 16. At one end, the arms 16 are hinged to fixed appendices 17 that protrude from the base 12, so as to be rotatable about vertical axes 18 with a maximum angle of approximately 90°; at the opposite end, they are hinged to the lower surface of the bedside tables 15 about vertical axes 19, so that the bedside tables 15 are rotatable.

With reference to figures 2, 4 and 5, the piece of furniture 1 also comprises a room divider 20, which in turn comprises an elongated plate 21; a roller curtain 22, or roller blind, mounted on a rear surface 23 of the plate 21 (in a way that is not described in detail) ; and a coupling device 24 that couples the plate 21 to the cabinet 2 so as to move the plate 21 between a vertical position, in which the opening 8 is closed, and a horizontal position, in which the plate 21 protrudes in a cantilevered fashion from the cabinet 2.

With reference to figures 3 and 6, the device 24 comprises two vertical guides 26 defined by channels made in the section bars 10, and two slides 27 that are slidable in the guides 26. The slides 27 are provided with rollers 28 that roll in contact with the surfaces of the section bars 10. A hinge 29 couples an intermediate portion of each slide 27 with a respective coupling body 30, which is fixed to an end portion 31 of the plate 21 and rests on the surface 23. The hinge 29 renders the plate 21 rotatable and, thus also renders the roller curtain 22 rotatable about a horizontal axis 32 which is vertically movable thanks to the guides 26 and is arranged at the bottom when the plate 21 is in the vertical position (figure 4).

The device 24 also comprises two tie rods 33 defined by rigid rods, the ends of which are hinged to an intermediate portion of the plate 21 and to the wall 5 about respective axes 34, 35 parallel to the axis 32. The rods 33 guide the movement of the plate 21 along a defined trajectory.

As illustrated by the dashed line in figure 2, two ropes 37 tie the upper ends 38 of the slides 27 (figure 6) to respective balancing weights 40 and are wound on pulleys 41, which are arranged in a fixed position above the guides 26. The balancing weights 40 are vertically movable, between the section bars 10 and the walls 6, facilitate the movement of the plate 21 and maintain the plate 21 in a horizontal position, with the portion 31 arranged against a stop member (not illustrated) preferably defined by a shock absorber housed at the upper end of the housing 9. A handle 42 is provided on the front surface which can be used to hold and move the plate 21 manually. The roller curtain 22 comprises a screen 43 defined by a curtain, which can be lowered from a closed configuration into an stretched configuration, after having arranged the plate 21 in the horizontal position. In the closed configuration, the curtain 43 is wound and is adjacent to the surface 23.' In the stretched configuration, the curtain 43 is hanging and extended in a vertical plane to separate two areas of the room. When it is unwound and wound, the curtain 43 slides in a slit defined by an intermediate portion of the plate 21.

The roller curtain 22 has dampened return systems and/or stop systems and/or shock absorbing systems (not illustrated) to facilitate winding/unwinding of the curtain 43. A slat 46 is fitted on one edge of the curtain 43 and is provided with a cord (not illustrated) that is used to take hold of the curtain 43 and extract it from the slit. As shown in figure 1, the slat 46 has a larger width than that of the slit and thus remains in front of the slit when the curtain 43 is wound in the closed configuration, so as to conceal the slit. Clearly in said configuration the room divider 20 is housed in the housing 9 with the sole exception of the slat 46. To maintain the plate 21 in the vertical position closing the opening 8, magnetic retaining members (not illustrated) are provided between the plate 21 and the cabinet 2. From the above description it is apparent that the room divider 20 does not take up any space in the room when the screen 43 is arranged in the closed configuration inside the housing 8. The device 24 allows the plate 21 and the roller curtain 22 to be moved between the horizontal and vertical positions in . a simple manner limiting the dimensions for the user, who takes hold of the plate 21 and performs the movement manually.

The fact that the piece of furniture 1 is wall- mounted simplifies the installation of the room divider 20 and allows the height of the plate 21 to be adjusted when arranged in the horizontal position, so that it is above the head of the users and/or higher than drip stands and mobile medical equipment.

The room divider 20 is completely retracted in the piece of furniture 1, and therefore it is aesthetically satisfactory and does not gather dust.

The piece of furniture 1 is useful for hospital wards, as it incorporates the bedside tables 15 for two beds in the room and/or incorporates the electrical power outlets and/or lighting appliances. In particular, the bedside tables 15 are accessible from all sides, as they can be rotated freely, and do not obstruct cleaning of the floor 4, since they are raised.

Lastly, from the above description, it is clear that modifications and variations may be made to the room divider 20 and, more generally, to the piece of furniture 1 described herein without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.

The room divider 20 that is claimed could be attached to a fixed structure other than the cabinet 2, and/or could have a screen other than the curtain, for example a roller blind or a folding element.

The hinge 29 could be replaced with another pivotable coupling system, for example a lever system,- and/or a system other than the rods 33 could be provided to guide the trajectory of rotation of the plate 21; and/or the plate 21 could be replaced with a support having a different shape and/or geometry.

Lastly, a motor-powered system could be provided to move the plate 21 and/or to lower/raise the screen 43.

Claims

1.- Room divider (20) comprising: a support element (21) ; a screen (43) , which is borne by said support element (21) and is movable between a closed configuration and a stretched configuration; said screen (43) extending, in the stretched configuration, along a vertical plane to separate two areas in the room; characterised by comprising coupling means (24) to couple said support element (43) to a fixed structure movably between:

- a vertical position, in which said screen (43) remains in the closed configuration, and a horizontal position, in which said support element (24) extends in a cantilevered manner and said screen (43) may be lowered from the closed configuration to the stretched configuration and vice versa.

2.- The room divider according to claim 1, characterised in that said coupling means (24) comprise: - at least one vertical guide (26) suitable to be fastened to said fixed structure;

- at least one slide (27) slidingly coupled to said vertical guide (26) ; and rotation connection means (29) , which connect said support element (21) to said slide (27) rotatably about a horizontal axis (32) , which is arranged at the bottom when the support element (21) is in a vertical position.

3.- The room divider according to claim 2, characterised in that said coupling means (24) comprise at least one guide element (33) to guide said support element (21) between the vertical and the horizontal position with a given trajectory with respect to said fixed structure.

4.- The room divider according to claim 3, characterised in that said guide element is defined by a tie rod (33) hinged to an intermediate portion of said support element (21) and suitable to be hinged to said fixed structure, about respective axes (34, 35) parallel to said horizontal axis (32) .

5.- The room divider according to claim 3 or 4 , characterised by comprising:

- at least one balance weight (40) , movable in a vertical direction; a transmission pulley (41) ; - a rope (37) which ties said balance weight (40) to said slide (27) and is wound on said transmission pulley (41) .

6. - The room divider according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said screen (43) forms a part of a roller curtain (22) or of a roller blind.

7.- The room divider according to claim 6, characterised in that said roller curtain or roller blind is mounted on a rear surface (23) of said support element (21) , and in that said support element (21) comprises an intermediate portion having a slit, in which said screen (43) slides when wound/unwound between the stretched and closed configuration.

8.- The room divider according to claim 7, characterised in that said screen (43) forms a part of a roller curtain (22) having a slat (46) fitted on an edge of said screen (43) ; said slat (46) having a larger width than that of said slit in order to remain in front of said slit when said screen (43) is wound in the closed configuration.

9.- A piece of furniture (1) comprising: a room divider (20) made according to any of the preceding claims; a cabinet (2) defining said fixed structure and having a housing (9), which is elongated in a vertical direction and houses at least part of said room divider (20) when said support element (21) is arranged in the vertical position.

10.- The piece of furniture according to claim 9, characterised by comprising: - at least one bedside table (15) ; at least one support arm (16) comprising a first end hinged to a lower portion (17) of said cabinet (2) about a vertical axis (18) , and a second end, which is opposite to the first end and bears said bedside table (15) rotatably about a further vertical axis (19) .

11.- The piece of furniture according to claim 9 or 10, characterised in that said cabinet (2) is hanging and fixed to a wall.

12. - The piece of furniture according to any of claims 9 to 11, characterised in that said cabinet (2) comprises lighting apparatuses for chromotherapy (14) .

13. - The piece of furniture according to any of claims 9 to 12, characterised in that said cabinet (2) comprises a base (12) bearing a lighting apparatus for orientation at night .

14. - The piece of furniture according to any of claims 9 to 13, characterised in that said cabinet (2) comprises at least one side wall bearing a number of power outlets (7) located at different heights.