AU646502B2 - Improved demountable panel system - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

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*5 0O *5 o a S 55 Name of Applicant: SCHIAVELLO BROS. (VIC.) PTY. LTD.

Actual Inventors: Antonino SCHIAVELLO and Richard Arthur RAMSDELL Address for service in Australia: CARTER SMITH BEADLE, Qantas House, 2 Railway Parade, Camberwell, Victoria, 3124, Australia, Attorney Code SA.

Invention Title: IMPROVED DEMOUJNTABLE PANEL SYSTEM Details of Associated Provisional Applications: No. PK 3024 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: -1I- -2- IMPROVED DEMOUNTABLE PANEL SYSTEM This invention relates to a vertical panel system and relates particularly to a system of vertical, demountable panels for use in partitioning, construction of work stations, and the like for any commercial or industril application such as in offices, schools or the like.

Demountable, vertical panel systems facilitate changes in office partitioning and work station design. Such systems are, therefore, relatively popular. However, some panel systems are relatively difficult to assemble and disassemble, and are relatively expensive.

In our earlier Australian Patent Application No. 80877/87, there is described a demountable panel system which uses panels which engage together, and with other parts of the system, using a clip rail section having a flange, or tongue, which is able to snap-engage with a second clip rail section, the clip rail sections being fastened to the edges of the panels or the like.

The system described in the earlier patent application is versatile, relatively economical and enables simple engagement of panel sections and corner posts, capping and the like. However, the system requires the use of extruded sections for panel edges and extruded clip rail sections for fastening thereto and for V interengagement.

20 It is desirable to provide a modified form of the demountable panel system as described in our earlier patent application which reduces the parts needed for a vertical, demountable panel system.

It is also desirable to provide an improved vertical panel system which is easy to assemble and dismantle.

It is also desirable to provide an improved vertical panel system which enables the construction of partitioning or work stations, or both, to any form.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a demountable, vertical panel system comprising a plurality of panels adapted to interconnect with each other, each panel having at least opposed side edges defined by an end section, the end section having a tubular core, channel means along at least ,one longitudinal edge of the core, and a tongue which extends substantially -3perpendicular to the plane of the panel, the tongue having a shape to snap-engage with a similar tongue of another panel or of another system integer by an engaging movement perpendicular to the panel.

The demountable, vertical panel system of the invention preferably includes corner posts for the intersection of two or more panels at right angles, or at any other desired angle. This system may also include an improved panel support which incorporates a pair of splines connected by a base plate and adapted to engage in tilhe hollow cores of interconnected sections. The splines and base plate act to lock the panels together, and a pair of threaded shafts each with an enlarged foot may be threadedly engaged with the base plat.; to support the panels and to provide panel height adjustment.

The upper edges of adjacent panels may also be locked together in the assembled position by the use of a locking cap which engages with the upper ends of the end sections, which preferably comprise metal extrusions.

15 As with the invention described in our previous application, the panel system

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of the present invention preferably includes a number of panel members of square or rectangular outline, the perimeter of which are formed by the extruded metal end sections along the vertical edges, and top and base sections along the upper and lower edges, respectively. The vertical, metal end sections and the upper and lower sections 20 are provided with coplanar legs defining spaced channels or recesses to receive and support lining material such as plasterboard, plywood, particle board, glass or the like.

:If desired, the lining material may be faced, such as with a fabric or other suitable facing material.

In constructing work stations of a variety of designs and arrangements, it may be necessary to support generally horizontal work platforms, desk tops, drawer sets, equipment supports, shelves and the like at desired locations. For this purpose, the extruded end section of the present invention is provided with at least one recess extending the length of the section, the mouth of the recess being defined on at least one side by a nib part. The arrangement is similar to that described in the previous patent application.

A work station bracket has a head portion which is engageable within the recess and which locks behind the nib part preventing lateral disengagement of the -4head portion, ijr a similar manner to that described in our previous application. The bracket may be used for supporting shelves, tops, drawer sets or the like from the panel system.

In order that the invention will be more readily understood, embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is an end elevational view of a metal section in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a sectional view of a panel incorporating a top cap in accordance with the invention; Figure 3 is a plan view of a panel of the invention; Figure 4 is an illustrative view of a panel support; see. Figure 5 is a perspective view illustrating the top of a pair of panels in accordance with the invention, Figure 6 is a sectional, elevational view of a shelf structure of the panel system 15 of the present invention; Figure 7 is a side view of a shelf support bracket engaging with a channel of the panel system; and Figures 8a, 8b and 8c are perspective views illustrating the positioning and re~cess locking of the shelf support bracket within ahe*&et of the panel system.

20 Referring to the drawings, the panel system of the present invention is similar in many ways to that described in our previous application, and that description is incorporated herein by reference. In the present invention, however, instead of utilizing a separate clip rail section, the present invention utilizes vertical panel end sections 12, as shown in Figure 1. The end section 12 as illustrated is formed of S 25 extruded aluminium and has a tubular core 14 of generally rectangular outline.

The core 14 has side walls 16 from which extend, partway along their length, outwardly extending walls 18 which terminate in flanges 19, the side walls 16, walls 18 and flanges 19 defining a pair of channels 21 to receive panel sheets 22. The panel sheets 22 may be of composite material, such as plasterboard sheeting 23 with a facing of foam-backed fabric material 24. Alternative panel sheets include glass, particle board, metal, etc.

The core 14 of the end section 12 is formed with a shallow recess 26 which is partially closed by a substantially transversely extending tongue 27. The tongue has a wave or elongated S configuration to facilitate the interengagement of tongues of adjacent end sections 12, as shown in Figure 3.

The end sections 12 are also provided with outwardly extending walls 28 ree-eSSes spaced from the walls 18 to define with the walls 18 a pair of opposedhetea=e 29.

Both walls 18 have a nib part 31 which extends partway across the mouth of the respectivejcta 29.

Each panel member 10 has an upper and a lower rail which extends between the upper and lower ends of the opposed end sections 12. In one form, the panel member 10 has a top cap 32, as shown in Figure 2. This top cap is of hollow, aluminium or other metal extrusion and is formed with a pair of channels 33 to receive the edges of the panel sheets 22. At least one screw-receiving channel 34 is o* located on the undersurface of the top cap 32 to enable screws to be engaged therewith for attachment to the panel member 10 of other fitments, such as doorjambs, 15 lintels or the like. Where screws need to pass into the end sections 12, V-shaped grooves 36 are provided as a guide for holes to be drilled. Such grooves ensure that any holes are exactly located and are located at identical locations on all end sections, and other sections.

0 As will be seen in Figure 3, two panel members 10 are connected together by interengagement of the tongues 27. Such interengagement results from relative movement of the panel members 10 in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the respective panels 10. Naturally, the panels may be disengaged by an opposite relative q. movement, and to prevent accidental disengagement, upper and lower locks are provided. As shown in Figure 4, the lower lock forms part of a panel support with 25 an inbuilt height adjustment. For this purpose, there is provided a pair of splines 37 and 38 extending upwardly from a base plate 39. The spline 37 is of a longer length than the spline 38, and both splines are of a shape, seen particularly in Figure 3, to fit closely within the core 14. In use, the longer spline 37 is engaged within the respective core 14 of one end section 12. The other panel member is then engaged with that end section 12 and the panel member and its associated end section 12 moved relatively vertically so as to engage with the spline 38.

The base plate 39 is provided with two threaded holes into which are engaged -6threaded posts 41 each of which has a substantially inverted conically shaped foot 42 adapted to penetrate or closely compact a carpet or the like 43 and firmly support the panel system directly on a floor structure 44.

With the support system of the invention, the weight of each panel is directly borne by the respective end section 12 thus obviating any sagging of the 1 el members 10 between supports. It will be borne in mind that the end sections 12 also carry the weight of any structure such as work tops and the like which are carried by the panel system.

At the upper end of the interconnected panel members 10, a top connector 46 is formed with a pair of downwardly extending splines 47 and 48 adapted to engage in the adjacent cores 14 of the interconnected end sections 12. The splines 47 and 48 0 0 are formed integrally with an end top 49 which has an external si;ape corresponding to the top cap 32. Thus, when the end top 49 and the top caps 32 of the adjacent panel members 10 are connected, the edges of the top caps 32 abut the opposite ends 15 of the end top 49.

0* The top connector 46 also has an opening 50 in its end top 49 to enable tightening of a tension screw which screws into the screw-receiving channel 34 to secure the connection. A snap-in die-cast cap 55 is provided to close the opening in the end top 49.

0 o 20 It will be appreciated that, in some applications, the use of a clip rail section will still be required, such as when a panel member 10 is to be engaged with a post or where an end cover may be required to be fitted. Clip rail sections may also be required to facilitate securement of doorjambs and the like to the panel members The panel system of the present invention may incorporate power cable ducts and the like similar to those described in our earlier application. Further, the invention may provide a shelf system which includes a :,telf structure 51 formed of extruded aluminium or other metal, or plastics material, and which is engageable with Ire-e-sse-S the spaced 4 eamae6 29 of interconnected panel members 10. The shelf member 51 is formed with two or more laterally spaced keyhole shaped, L-shaped or T-shaped, longitudinally extending channels 52 which open at the undersurface of the shelf.

Such channels are able to carry a form of suspension file which can be easily engaged and disengaged from the support ahmnaHw. Alternatively, or in addition, the channels -7can be used to support structures such as paper trays or the like.

With such a shelf structure, which may be supported by the use of brackets of the type described in our previous application which can be either secured to the shelf ends, or be used as shelf supports 53, any desired number of shelves may be provided on any particular panel member, and a number of shelves 51 may be connected endto-end to form a substantially continuous shelf. The width of each shelf can be as desired commensurate with the intended use.

As shown in Figure 6, a preferred form of the shelf 51 comprises a substantially planar, upper surface 54 in which openings 56 communicate with two, parallel, T-shaped channels 57. The channels 57 are adapted to receive dividers, bookends or other supporting devices having cooperating projections to engage within see the channels 57 and extend upwardly from the upper surface 54.

Beneath the shelf 51, T-shaped channels 52 are provided to receive support legs from, for example, a suspension file or the like or to receive supports for carrying 15 a set of paper trays or shelves or other similar structure.

°The shelf 51 is also provided with front and rear support legs 58 and 59 which extend rearwardly and forwardly, respectively, to provide supports for other forms of suspension files 61 or similar file-carrying structures.

It will be appreciated that the channels 52 and 57 may be of any desired shape 20 and spacing. Thus, the channels may be of a keyhole shape, L shape or the like.

Because the shelf structure is of substantially constant cross-section, it may be formed sees• of extruded metal section, plastic material or other relatively rigid material capable of oextrusion. Thus, the shelf may be made of any suitable length for any particular 25 application.

S 25 At its rear end the shelf 51 is provided with rearwardly extending support i recessas brackets 53 which are engageable with the spaced ehanncs 29 of interconnected vertical members of the panel system. Each support brackets 53 includes along its rear edge a foot part 66 and an enlarged head part 62 which engages behind the nib recesss 31 in theefaHamal 29 to support the shelf from the panel members. The engagement re-c-ess of a bracket 53 with a e taad 29 is illustrated in more detail in Figure 7 and Figures 8a, 8b and 8c. The head part 62 of each bracket 53 has a rounded rear upper comer 63 and a rounded front lower comer 64 with a pointed rear lower comer 65 such that -8re.c.esS when the head part is inserted into a chanaml 29 with the bracket 53 at an angle (Fig. 8a), the bracket 53 may be moved up or down to the required vertical position (Fig. 7 and Fig. 8b) before being tilted to a horizontal position (Fig. 8c) in which it is locked in position by the engagement of the corner 65 and the foot part 66 with the rear wall 67 of the.c=ndl 29. It will be appreciated that this locking arrangement allows infinite adjustment of the height of the shelf support brackets with a minimum of effort.

Many modifications may be made in the design and/or construction of a panel system, including the shelfing system, of the present invention. All such modifications which come within the scope of the invention shall be deemed to be within the ambit of the above description.

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Claims (20)

1. A demountable panel for assembly with other similar panels to form a partition structure or work station, each of said panels comprising a panel member having at least opposed side edges defined by an end section, the end section having a tubular core, channel means along at least one longitudinal edge of the core, and a tongue which extends substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the panel member, the tongue having a shape to snap-engage with a similar tongue of another panel or a similar tongue of another integer of the partition structure or work station by an engaging movement perpendicular to the panel member.

2. A demountable panel according to claim 1 wherein said tubular core is adapted to receive a spline that is engageable with a locking member at the top or bottom of the end section.

3. A demountable panel according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the channel means comprises a plurality of laterally spaced, parallel channels to receive spaced, parallel sheets of panel material.

4. A demountable panel according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said end a section has a nib part on each side thereof which defines with an opposed flange part •co• and a leg portion of the end section a recess with a restricted mouth.

A demountable panel according to claim 4 wherein said nib part is cut-away S 20 at a location along its length to receive a head of a mounting bracket into the recess.

6. A demountable panel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein .,:said end section tongue is of elongated S-shape in cross section and is sufficiently resilient to snap-engage a similar tongue of an adjacent end section.

7. A demountable panel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said end section is an extruded aluminium alloy section and the panel member includes panel material selected from the group of foam-backed fabric covcred plasterboard, plywood, glass and veneered particle board.

8. A demountable panel system comprising a plurality of demountable panels according to any one of the preceding claims interengaged with each other by snap- engagement of the tongues of the end sections on each panel member with tongues of end sections of other panel members or with tongues on corner post means interposed between adjacent panel members. 10

9. A system according to claim 8 as appended to claim 4 or claim 5 wherein a mounting bracket is engaged with one of the recesses of the end sections, said mounting bracket having a body part of a width to pass through the recess mouth, a head on the body part of a width greater than the recess mouth but of dimensions to be slidably received in the recess, wall engaging means on the body part spaced from the head, and locking means, said head having shoulders which engage behind the nib part and on the rear wall of the recess, respectively, when downward forces are exerted on the body part, to thereby wedge the head in the recess, and the wall engaging means also engaging said recess rear wall below said head.

10. .r system according to claim 9 wherein said locking means comprises a corner on the head part and lug on the body part and arranged to engage a panel member to hold the bracket body part in the position with the shoulders wedged within the recess.

11. A demountable panel system according to any one of claims 8 to 10 wherein at least one of said panel members includes at least one cable channel extending S 15 substantially horizontally between side surround sections, said cable channel having internal partitioning dividing the channel into at least two compartments, and a front closure panel hinged along its lower edge to the channel and having an upper edge to snap-engage an upper edge port,'on of the channel.

12. A demountable panel system comprising a plurality of panel members, corner 20 post means for connecting panel members to extend at an angle to each other and 9 :bracket means for attaching work station structures to assembled panel members, said panel members having at least opposed side edges defined by end sections having a tubular core and channel means to receive sheet panel material, the end sections each including tongue means thereon extending generally perpendicularly to the plane of the panel member, said tongue means being formed to engage with and be held to tongue means of a similar; adjacent end section or of a corner post means by an engaging movement perpendicular to the panel member.

13. A panel system according to claim 12 wherein the end sections are each formed with a pair of channels laterally spaced to receive spaced sheets of panel material.

14. A panel system according to claim 13 wherein a nib part extends from a rear surface of each channel and each end section has a pair of legs extending substantially A A .t 11 parallel to the plane of the associated panel member and an outwardly extending flange at right angles to the respective leg, each leg forming with the rear surface of an adjacent channel and with the respective flange a recess the mouth of which is partially closed by said nib part.

15. A panel system according to claim 14 wherein a bracket means includes a head part which engages within said recess, said head part having shoulder edges to engage with the recess rear wall and the nib part to wedge the head part against movement along the recess in a given direction.

16. A panel system according to any one of claims 12 to 15 wherein said post means comprises an elongated section of a cross configuration with flanges on the ends of each cross arm to receive an end cap or corner cover.

17. A demountable panel system according to any one of claims 8 to 16 which includes locking means including one or more members engageable with end sections of adjacent panel members at the top and/or bottom ends thereof to lock the panels together.

18. A demountable panel system according to claim 17 wherein the locking means comprises a pair of splines interconnected by a base plate, the splines being adapted to engage in the hollow cores of interconnected end sections.

19. A demountable panel system according to claim 17 or 18 wherein a top lockii connector is provided which comprises a top cap having a pair of downwardly extending splines adapted to engage in the hollow cores of interconnected end S':sections.

"20. A panel system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference ta 0 accompanying drawings. DATED: 3 December 1993 CARTER SMITH BEADLE Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: SCHIAVELLO BROS (VIC) PTY LTD 12- ABSTRACT IMPROVED DEMOUNTABLE PAN SYSTEM An improved demountable panel system comprises a plurality of panels having opposed side edges formed of extruded metal end sections The end sections (12) have tubular cores channels (21) to receive panel material (22) and tongues (27) extending substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the panel member having a shape to snap-engage with similar tongues of other panels or integers of the panel system. Base or cap members (30,46) having a pair of splines (37) engaging in the hollow cores (14) of interconnected end sections (12) may also be S 10 provided to lock the panels together. S 0e 0 5 a