SE2050268A1

SE2050268A1 - Telescopic pillar system and the use of such pillar system

Info

Publication number: SE2050268A1
Application number: SE2050268A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Tobias Rickardsson
Original assignee: Nordiska Balco Ab
Priority date: 2020-03-11
Filing date: 2020-03-11
Publication date: 2021-09-12
Also published as: EP4118283B1; WO2021180756A1; SE545619C2; FI4118283T3; EP4118283A1

Abstract

A telescopic pillar system (100) is provided comprising a male rail portion (10) having at least one protrusion (12) and a female rail portion (20). The female rail portion (20) has a longitudinal extension and a free end (26) comprising an end plate (40). The end plate (40) comprises at least one through-going opening (42) having a cross-sectional profile as seen in a geometrical plane extending transverse to the longitudinal extension. The cross-sectional profile is complementary to an outer cross-sectional profile of the at least one protrusion (12) of the male rail portion (10), thereby allowing insertion of the at least one protrusion (12) into said at least one through-going opening (40). In an inserted position, the male rail portion (10) is allowed to be displaced along the longitudinal extension of the female rail portion (20) and allowed to be tilted in view of the geometrical plane extending transverse to the longitudinal extension of the female rail portion (20).

Description

TELESCOPIC PILLAR SYSTEM AND THE USE OF SUCH PILLAR SYSTEM TECHNICAL FIELD The invention generally relates to the field of pillar systems, and morespecifically to telescopic pillar systems acting as supports of wall panels on aship or other offshore platforms.

BACKGROUND lt is well known to use partition walls to prevent or reduce viewbetween balconies and hence improve privacy. This may be in buildings ofdifferent types, but also on e.g. passenger ships.

The partition walls may be mounted on fixed pillars or on fixedsupports. Alternatively, telescopic pillar systems may be used to improveflexibility in terms of tolerances and to allow modules which may fit to differentapplications.

A known type of a telescopic pillar system comprises a first and asecond longitudinally extending member, wherein the two members areslidingly engaged such that the first member is inserted into the secondmember, thereby allowing a variable distance between the ends of thetelescopic pillar. The ends of such a telescopic pillar system typicallycomprise mounting plates which are fixedly arranged by e.g. welding, to therespective first and second members. This allows no flexibility in case thesupport surfaces should be provided with different angles. ln fact, supportsurfaces with different angles are very common, especially on ship balconies.Also, it is very common that not only the angles but also the longitudinaldistance varies between different balconies of the ship. lt goes without sayingthat this complicates mounting but also the use of, or provision of anymodular telescopic pillar systems for these types of applications. Anothercomplicating factor is that a ship hull is in constant movement when at sea.To accommodate this, and to avoid fatigue, any add-ons, such as partitionwalls and their pillar systems, must be able to accommodate suchmovements. Telescopic pillars as such are per definition favorable since they may accommodate longitudinal movements, but in the event their end platesshould be fixedly mounted, such connections will constitute weak zones.Thus, there is a need for an improved telescopic pillar system that allows animproved versatility in terms of installation dimensions to allow provision of amodular system. Also, there is a need for an improved telescopic pillarsystem which exhibits an improved resistance to fatigue caused byuncontrolled and constant movement of the installation.

SUMMARY ln the light of the above, it is a main object of the invention to provide atelescopic pillar system that allows an improved versatility in terms ofinstallation dimensions.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved resistance tofatigue caused by uncontrolled and constant movement of the installationduring its life time.

Yet another object is to provide a telescopic pillar system that may beused no matter type of installation, i.e. no matter if it is land based or marineand no matter if the pillar system should be used for any add-ons such aspartition walls.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a telescopicpillar system comprising a male rail portion having at least one protrusion anda female rail portion, said female rail portion having a longitudinal extensionand a free end comprising an end plate, said end plate comprising at leastone through-going opening having a cross-sectional profile as seen in ageometrical plane extending transverse to the longitudinal extension of thefemale rail portion, said cross-sectional profile being complementary to anouter cross-sectional profile of the at least one protrusion of the male railportion, thereby allowing insertion of the at least one protrusion into said atleast one through-going opening, wherein, in an inserted position, the malerail portion is allowed to be displaced along the longitudinal extension of thefemale rail portion, and allowed to be tilted in view of the geometrical planeextending transverse to the longitudinal extension of the female rail portion.

The invention provides an enhanced telescopic pillar system allowed tobe mounted between two separate supports, wherein a mounting of thetelescopic pillar system is less sensitive not only in terms of a longitudinalseparation between the two supports, but also in terms of the angle betweenthe surfaces of the supports. This means that manufacturers do not have toindividually adapt their production of telescopic pillar systems to each andevery specific angle between the supports, thereby reducing time and cost.

A further advantage is that the telescopic pillar system allows forlongitudinally and tiltably flexible supports as the system is not rigid, neither inthe longitudinal nor along at least one angular extension. Such a flexibilityallows accommodation of the frequently occurring movement of e.g. a shiphull, thereby preventing fatigue of such otherwise weak zones in vicinity of theconnections between the attaching points of the pillar and the supports.

A further advantage is that the male rail portion and the female rail portion aresubstantially prevented from rotating relative to each other, at least in a planetransverse to the longitudinal extension. This applies even though if the outergeometries should be circular.

According to an embodiment, the male rail portion may be allowed tobe tilted about a tilting axis extending transverse to the longitudinal extensionof the female rail portion, and wherein the outer cross-sectional profile of theat least one protrusion comprises at least one leg extending substantiallyorthogonally to said tilting axis.

Allowing the male rail portion to be substantially restricted to be tiltedabout a specific tilting axis enhances a transversely extended stability suchthat the telescopic pillar system may resist a significant load applied in theextension of the tilting axis. Thereby the telescopic pillar system will be loadcarrying against, for instance sideways strong wind gusts. However, the malerail portion will still have a certain flexibility in the extension along the tiltingaxis, thereby preventing fatigue of the articulating connection between themale rail portion and the female rail portion.

The outer cross-sectional profile of the at least one protrusion mayhave an H-profile, an l-profile or a T-profile.

An H-shaped cross-sectional profile has two legs interconnected by anintermediate web extending substantially perpendicular between the two legs.The legs may preferably be hollow, which further enhances the strength of theprotrusion. The tilting axis in the context of the invention, extends along theextension of web of the H-shaped profile as seen in a plane extendingtransverse to the longitudinal extension of the pillar system.

A similar description is applicable for the I- and T-shaped profile, wherethe l-shaped profile has two legs and an intermediate web, thereby beingsubstantially similar to the H-shaped profile.

The portions of the T-shaped profile are oriented such that thehorizontal portion of the letter "T" constitutes the leg and the vertical portionconstitutes the web. Correspondingly, the vertical portion of the letter "l"constitutes a web. ln both embodiments the tilting axis is substantially alignedalong the web. The legs of such profiles substantially restrict rotation of themale rail portion relative to the female rail portion along the tilting axis. Thelegs further improve a torsional stiffness of the male rail portion.

The female rail portion may have a length as seen in the longitudinalextension being substantially longer than a length of the at least oneprotrusion of the male rail portion.

This assures that an outermost tip of the male rail portion, which duringuse is to be received in the female rail portion, is prevented from physicalinteraction between the inserted free end of the mail rail portion and aninterior wall portion of the female rail portion in the event the tilting angleshould be too large. The length ratio between the female rail portion and themail rail portion may be set to allow a tilting angle of up to +/-45 degrees andmore preferred up to +/-30 degrees.

The at least one through-going opening may comprise a bushing.

The use of a bushing may prevent water from entering an interior of thefemale rail portion. Another advantage is that the bushing may contribute todampen vibrations and thereby reduce unwanted noise that may occur in theinterface between the male rail portion and the boundaries of the through-going opening. Another advantage is that the bushing may introduceadditional, but controlled, friction between the male rail portion and the through-going opening of the female rail portion, thereby enhancing theIongitudinal and transverse stability of the telescopic pillar system.

The bushing may preferable be manufactured by rubber. The rubbermay be ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM), which is adurable material that has elastic properties and absorption properties that arewell suited for vibration damping, as well as having good sealing properties.Alternatively, the rubber may be any other natural or synthetic rubber such asnatural rubber (NR), styrene rubber (SBR), chloroprene rubber (CR), butylrubber (llR), silicone rubber (Q), or a mixture thereof, such as a mixture ofnatural rubber and styrene rubber (NR/SBR).

An exterior wall portion of the female rail portion may comprise at leastone groove configured to allow direct or indirect support of a wall panel orbracket.

The female rail portion may preferably be an extruded profile allowinggrooves along at least one of its longitudinally extending sides. A transversecross-sectional profile of the female rail portion may comprise four sides,wherein the two opposing sides being perpendicular to the tilting axiscomprise grooves configured to allow direct or indirect support of wall panels.lndirect support may be allowed by brackets which are used to mount the wallpanel to the telescopic pillar system.

These grooves may further comprise additional protrusions/groovessuch that a complementary profile of a wall panel or a bracket may beslidingly engaged to the female rail portion, which reduces mounting time aswell as enhanced stability against, for instance substantially horiziontal strongwind gusts that oftentimes occur, when mounted, transversely to theIongitudinal extension of the female rail portion. Mounting of wall panelswithout using screws, or similar fastening means, may further allow anenhanced aesthetically pleasing impression.

The female rail portion may comprise, as seen in a direction transverseto the Iongitudinal extension of the female rail portion, two oppositelyprotruding flanges, and wherein said at least one protrusion of the male railportion comprises a cut-out allowing the at least one protrusion to at leastpartly receive said oppositely protruding flanges.

The interior flanges serve as an interior reinforcement of the female railportion to thereby improve its torsional stiffness. Thereby a more slender pillarmay be used. The drawback is however that such flanges also may restrictthe available tilting angle of the male rail portion. By providing the at least oneprotrusion for the mail rail portion with a cut-out, this cut-out allows the atleast one protrusion to straddle the flanges during tilting thereby not undulyaffecting the available tilting angle.

The male rail portion may comprise a support plate, said support platebeing configured to be attached to a support.

As outlined above, the support plate may be tilted relative to the femalerail portion. ln use, the support plate may preferably be attached to a ceilingconsole. The support plate may preferably be attached by a plurality of bolts,allowing for the telescopic pillar system to be rigidly clamped and therebyresist wind gusts and movement of the ship hull.

The support plate may be fixedly or articulately attached to the femalerail portion.

The support plate being fixedly attached to the female rail portion mayallow the telescopic pillar system to be mounted in areas where one wish tohave further rigidity both in the longitudinal extension and in the transverseextension. Allowing the support plate to be articulately attached to the femalerail portion allows enhanced flexibility in that the telescopic pillar systemadjusts itself longitudinally and transversely to an oftentimes occurringmovement of the ship hull. lt is to be understood that a support platealternatively or also may be fixedly or articulately attached to the male railportion. Thus, one or both ends of the telescopic pillar system may beprovided with a fixed or articulately attached support plate.

According to another aspect, the invention refers to the use of atelescopic pillar system for mounting a partition wall on a ship or on anoffshore oil or gas platform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be better understood through the followingillustrative and non-limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments,with reference to the appended drawings, where the same referencenumerals will be used for similar elements, wherein: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a freestandingtelescopic pillar system.

Figs 2A-2C schematically show the telescopic pillar system beingdisassembled into its male rail portion and its female rail portion.

Fig. 3 discloses one embodiment of a cross section of the female railportion.

Fig. 4 discloses a top view of an end plate forming part of thetelescopic pillar system.

Figs 5A and 5B show one embodiment of a bushing, and a crosssection thereof, configured to be received in an interface between the malerail portion and the female rail portion.

Fig. 6 schematically discloses one embodiment of a T-shapedprotrusion of the male rail portion.

Fig. 7 schematically discloses one embodiment of an l-shapedprotrusion of the male rail portion.

Fig. 8 schematically discloses a side view of the telescopic pillarsystem demonstrating how the involved parts may move relative to eachother.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONTurning to Fig. 1, one embodiment of a freestanding telescopic pillar system 100 is disclosed. The telescopic pillar system 100 may, as a non-limiting example, be configured to be mounted between a ship deck (notshown) and a ceiling console (not shown) or a cantilever (not shown)projecting from a wall or the like. The ceiling console may be tilted relative tothe ship deck. ln the disclosed embodiment, the telescopic pillar system comprises afirst support plate 11 and a second support plate 27 that are configured to bedirectly or indirectly attached to the ship deck and the ceiling consolerespectively by one or more bolts (not shown).

The telescopic pillar system 100 comprises a male rail portion 10 and afemale rail portion 20. The female rail portion 20 extends along a longitudinalextension EZ. The male rail portion 10 is configured to be inserted into, and tobe movable relative to the female rail portion 20 along the longitudinalextension EZ. Further, the male rail portion 10 is configured to be tiltablerelative to the female rail portion 20 about a tilting axis coinciding with a firsttransverse extension EX being transverse to the longitudinal extension EZ. Thetilting is allowed not only in a condition when the telescopic pillar system isfreestanding as is disclosed in Fig. 1, but also in a condition when thetelescopic pillar system is mounted between the ship deck and the ceilingconsole. Accordingly, the tilting and movability is allowed not only prior to, andduring mounting, but also after mounting.

Turning to Figs 2A and 2B, one embodiment of the male rail portion 10will be discussed. To facilitate understanding of its design, the male railportion is disclosed in Fig. 2A as being oriented upside down as compared toits intended ordinary use.

The male rail portion 10 comprises a support plate 11 which isconfigured to be directly or indirectly attached to a non-disclosed support by aplurality of bolts (not shown) extending in holes 18 in the support plate 11.The support may by way of example be a ceiling console or a cantileverprojection from a wall. ln the event of the support plate 11 being attached to aceiling console, the plane of the support plate 11 will substantially coincidewith a horizontal direction. lt is to be understood that other extensions mayapply depening on the orientation of the support.

Further, the male rail portion comprises a protruding portion 12. Theprotruding portion 12 extends substantially perpendicular to the plane of thesupport plate 11. ln the disclosed embodiment, the protruding portion 12 has,as seen in the plane of the support plate 11, a substantially H-shaped outercross-sectional profile.

The H-shaped cross-sectional profile comprises two substantiallyparallel elongated leg portions 14 which are interconnected by a, relative tothe elongated leg portions 14, perpendicularly oriented web portion 15. Theweb portion 15 is configured to substantially extend in parallel with an tiltingaxis 50 of the tiltable male rail portion 10 in a condition when the male railportion 10 has been inserted into the end plate 40 of the female rail portion20, see Fig. 8. The tilting axis 50 substantially intersects the center of mass ofthe H-shaped cross-sectional profile.

The leg portions 14 may preferably, but not necessarily, havesubstantially equal lengths L1;L2. The elongated leg portions 14 may havesubstantially different lengths L1;L2.

The H-shaped cross-sectional profile 70 is disclosed as being hollow.The cross-sectional profile may with remained function be solid.

The protruding portion 12 as such may be formed by an extrudedprofile. The web 15 comprises, in its free end, a substantially rectangular cut-out 16. The cut-out is disclosed as having two substantially parallel sides 17which are aligned along the extension of the protrusion. A transverse side 19of the cut-out 16 is aligned substantially perpendicular to the substantiallyparallel sides. The cut-out 16 may, within the scope of the invention, haveother geometries. lt is to be understood that the cut-out may even be omitted.

The protruding portion 12 may be attached to the support plate 11 byplurality of screws extending through corresponding holes in the support plate11. This is best seen in Fig. 1. Alternatively, the protruding portion 12 may beattached to the support plate 10 by, e.g. welding.

The male rail portion 10 may preferably be manufactured fromaluminum, steel or any other durable material such as a compsite material.

Turning to Fig. 2C, the female rail portion 20 comprises, as previouslygiven, a support plate 22 located at a support end 24 of the female rail portion20. ln the disclosed embodiment, the support end 24 is arranged at the end ofthe female rail portion 20 opposite to a free end 26 configured to receive themale rail portion 10. The support end 24 will, in use, typically form thevertically lower end of the telescopic pillar system.

The support plate 22 may be configured to be directly or indirectlyattached to a support, such as a floor or a ship deck, by a plurality of bolts(not disclosed). For this purpose, the support plate is provided with a pluralityof holes 28. ln the event of the support plate 22 being attached to a ship deck,the plane of the support plate 22 will substantially coincide with a horizontaldirection.

The female rail portion 20 has a longitudinal extension along an axisEz, see Fig. 1.

The female rail portion 20 may be an extruded profile. The female railportion 20 may preferably be manufactured from aluminum, steel or any otherdurable material.

Turning to Fig. 3 there is disclosed one embodiment of a cross section30 of the female rail portion 20. The cross section 30 discloses, in an interior33 of the female rail portion 20, two oppositely protruding flanges 39. Theflanges 39 contribute to the torsional strength of the female rail portion 20.The flanges 39 are oriented to extend in a plane extending transverse Ey tothe intended tilting axis 50 of the male rail portion 10. The flanges 39 maywith remained function be omitted.

The oppositely protruding ﬂanges 39 have a geometry that allows themto be at least partly received in the cut-out 16 of the web 15 of the male railportion 10. Thus, the web 15 of the male rail portion 10 will not be undulyprevented from tilting by the presence of these flanges 39. lnstead, the cut-out 16 will allow to straddle the flanges 39.

The cross section 30 discloses two opposing grooves 35 that areconfigured to at least partly directly or indirectly receive wall panels orbrackets of any type (not disclosed). The grooves 35 may further compriseadditional tracks 37 allowing the wall panels or brackets to be directly orindirectly slidingly engaged with the female rail portion 20.

An outer edge 34 of the cross section 30 substantially constitutes aquadrangular geometry having rounded corners 32. As given above, thegeometry of the outer edge 48 of the end plate 40 preferably substantiallycorresponds to the geometry of an outer edge of the cross-sectional profile 30 of the female rai| portion 20. Thereby the two rai| portions 10, 20 may beprevented from mutual rotation. lt is to be understood that other profiles may be used with remainedfunction.

Now turning to Fig. 4, the free end 26 of the female rai| portion 20comprises an end plate 40. The end plate 40 is configured to be attached tothe free end 26 of the female rai| portion 20 by a plurality of screws (notdisclosed) which are configured to extend through through-going holes 43 inthe end plate 40 and further to engage threaded channels 31 which areformed in the interior 33 of the female rai| portion 20. The end plate 40 mayalternatively be attached to the free end 22 by other fastening means, such aswelding.

The end plate 40 comprises a through-going opening 42 that has, asseen in a plane extending transverse to the longitudinal extension, an H-shaped cross-sectional profile. The cross-sectional profile of the through-going opening 42 is complementary to the outer cross-sectional profile of theprotruding portion 12 of the male rai| portion 10. ln an assembled condition,the protruding portion 12 of the male rai| portion 10 is configured to beinserted into and be slidingly received in the through-going opeing 42. Thus,the male rai| portion 10 and the female rai| portion 20 are configured to bemutually displacable in view of each other as seen along the longitudinalextension, see Ezin Fig. 1. lt is preferred that the cross-sectional profile of the through-goingportion 42 is complementary to the outer cross-sectional profile of theprotruding portion 12 of the male rai| portion 10. By way of example, in thecase of the protruding portion 10 instead has a T-shape or l-shape, thethrough-going opening 42 is provided with a complementary T-shape or l-shape. lt is however to be understood that a protruding portion having a T-shaped or l-shaped cross-sectional profile may be received in an through-going opening having an H-shaped cross-sectional profile.

The outer edge 48 of the end plate 40 is disclosed as having aquadrangular geometry with rounded corners 41. The geometry of the outeredge 48 of the end plate 40 preferably substantially corresponds to the geometry of an outer edge of the cross-sectional profile 30 of the female railportion 20.

The end plate 40 may preferably be manufactured from aluminum,steel or any other durable material such as a composite material.

Figs. 5A and 5B disclose one embodiment of a bushing 60 and a crosssection thereof. The bushing 60 is configured to fitted in the through-goingopening 42 of the end plate 40 and hence to extend along an edge 46 of thethrough-going opening 42, see Fig. 4.

The bushing 60 may be manufactured by rubber, where the rubber isethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM), but other natural orsynthetic rubbers such as natural rubber (NR), styrene rubber (SBR),chloroprene rubber (CR), butyl rubber (llR), silicone rubber (Q) or a mixturethereof, such as a mixture of natural rubber and styrene rubber (NR/SBR) arealso possible.

Fig. 5A discloses a perspective view of the bushing 60. The bushing 60is preferably elastically fastened along the edge 46 of the through-goingopening 42 of the end plate 40. The fastening may be provided by thebushing 60 preferably at least partly receiving an edge portion of the through-going opening 42 of the end plate 40. For this purpose, a circumferentialwaist-portion of the bushing 60 is provided with an opening 62 forming a gapG which is configured to grasp around the edge 44 encircling the through-going opening 42 in end plate 40.

Fig. 5B shows a cross section of the bushing 60 as seen in a planeperpendicular to an elongated web portion 63 of the bushing 60.

The web 15 of the male rail portion 10 is configured to be received in athrough-going interspace 68 of the web portion 63 of the bushing 60. As seenin the interspace 68, a proximal surface 67 of the bushing 60 constitute asurface portion of the bushing 60 that may be in sealing contact with theprotruding portion 12 of the male rail portion 10. The orientation of theproximal surface 67 as seen in view of the longitudinal extension, maypreferably be slanted. The orientation of the slanted surfaces may, to acertain extent affect a tilting angle ß of the male rail portion 10 relative to thefemale rail portion 20, see Fig. 8. With the same reasoning, the edge 44 of the through-going opening 42 of the end plate 40 may be chamfered to allowother tilting angles ß. The minimal distance D between a first and a secondbushing portion 69, separated by the interface region 68 may substantially besimilar to the thickness T of the web 15 of the male rail potion 10. lt is to be understood that other cross sections and designs of thebushing 60 are available with remained function.

Turning to Fig. 6 there is schematically disclosed an alternativeembodiment of a protruding portion of a male rail portion having a T-shapedcross-sectional profile 80. The definitions used in the description of the H-shaped cross-sectional profile are, unless nothing else is said, reused whendescribing the T-shaped cross-sectional profile 80. ln the context of the invention, a T-shaped cross-sectional profile 80may be described as a one-legged version of the above described H-shapedcross-sectional profile. Again, a web portion 82 extends substantiallyperpendicular to the extension of a leg portion 84. The T-shaped cross-sectional profile 80 is disclosed as being solid, however it is to be understoodthat it with remained function may be hollow. ln use, the tilting axis 50 isconfigured to be substantially aligned with the web portion 82. The tilting axis50 preferably substantially intersects the centre of mass of the T-shapedcross-sectional profile 80.

Turning to Fig. 7 there is schematically disclosed one embodiment of aprotruding portion of the male rail portion 10 having an l-shaped cross-sectional profile 90. The definitions that were used when describing the H-shaped cross-sectional profile are, unless nothing else is said, reused whendescribing the l-shaped cross-sectional profile 70.

The l-shaped cross-sectional profile 90 basically differs from the abovedescribed H-shaped cross-sectional profile 70 in the height of the legs 94. lt isto be understood that the leg 94 with remained function may be omitted in anl-shaped cross-sectional profile.

A web portion 92 extends substantially perpendicular to the extensionof two substantially parallel leg portions 94. The cross-sectional profile 90 isdisclosed as being solid, although it with remained function may be hollow. lnuse, the tilting axis 50 is configured to be substantially aligned along the web portion 92. The tilting axis 50 preferably substantially intersects the centre ofmass of the l-shaped cross-sectional profile 90. lt is to be understood that any cross-sectional profile having featuressimilar to the embodiments described above may be configured to achievethe tilting function of the telescopic pillar system 100. For instance, theprotruding portion may have an H-shaped cross-sectional profile comprisingan additional intermediate leg parallel to the legs 14. ln fact, it would also bepossible to solely use profiles comprising two or more substantially parallellegs with no interconnecting web.

Turning to Fig. 8 there is disclosed a highly schematically sideview of afreestanding telescopic pillar system 100 demonstrating how the involvedparts may move relative to each other. To facilitate understanding, the pillarsystem 100 is illustrated as standing on a horizontal ground with the male andfemale rail portions 10;20 extending in the vertical direction.

The male rail portion 10 is disclosed as being substantially tiltable, seearrow A, relative to the female rail portion 20 about a tilting axis 50. The tiltingaxis 50 is disclosed as extending along axis Ey i.e along the viewing directionof Fig. 8, i.e. into or outwards from the screen/paper. When tilted, the plane ofthe support plate 11 spans an angle ß relative to a horizontal plane 54. ln apreferred embodiment this angle ß may lie within a range of angles from -45to +45 degrees and more preferred -30 to +30 degrees.

The telescopic pillar system 100 may be configured to allow a largerangular range, for instance, using an end plate 40 having a wider through-going opening 42. The angular range may also be changed by chamfering theedge portion 46 of the through-going opening 42 in the end plate 40 or byreducing the thickness of the end plate 40.

The male rail portion 10 may also, to a certain extent, be tiltable in anextension perpendicular to the tilting axis 50.

When tilted, the male rail portion 10 is movable relative to the femalerail portion 20 substantially along a longitudinal extension of the protrudingportion 12, see arrow B.

Also, in a non-tilted position, the male rail portion 10 is dispiaceablealong the longitudinal extension of the female rail portion 20, i.e. along axisEz, see arrow C.

The above-mentioned movability and tiltability is applicable both whenthe telescopic pillar system 100 is freestanding as of Fig. 8, as well as whenthe telescopic pillar system is mounted between e.g. a ship deck and a ceilingconsole. Accordingly, the tilting and movability is allowed not only prior to, andduring mounting, but also after mounting.

Although the telescopic pillar system 100 has been disclosed as beingarranged with the male rail portion 10 received in the upper end of the femalerail portion 20, it is to be understood that the male rail portion 10 withremained function may be arranged in the lower end of the female portion 20.Correspondingly, it is to be understood that the female rail portion 20 may beprovided with one male rail portion 10 in each end.

Claims

1. 1. A telescopic pillar system (100) comprising a male rail portion (10)having at least one protrusion (12) and a female rail portion (20), saidfemale rail portion (20) having a longitudinal extension and a free end(26) comprising an end plate (40), said end plate (40) comprising atleast one through-going opening (42) having a cross-sectional profileas seen in a geometrical plane extending transverse to the longitudinalextension of the female rail portion (20), said cross-sectional profilebeing complementary to an outer cross-sectional profile of the at leastone protrusion (12) of the male rail portion (10), thereby allowinginsertion of the at least one protrusion (12) into said at least onethrough-going opening (40), wherein, in an inserted position, the malerail portion (10) is allowed to be displaced along the longitudinalextension of the female rail portion (20), and allowed to be tilted in viewof the geometrical plane extending transverse to the longitudinalextension of the female rail portion (20).

2. The telescopic pillar system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the male rail portion (10) is allowed to be tilted about a tilting axis (50)extending transverse to the longitudinal extension of the female railportion (20), and wherein the outer cross-sectional profile of the atleast one protrusion (12) comprises at least one leg (14) extendingsubstantially orthogonally to said tilting axis (50).

3. The telescopic pillar system (100) according to claim 1 or 2, whereinthe outer cross-sectional profile of the at least one protrusion (12) hasan H-profile, an l-profile or a T-profile.

4. The telescopic pillar system (100) according to any of the precedingclaims, wherein the female rail portion (20) has a length as seen in thelongitudinal extension being substantially longer than a length of the atleast one protrusion (12) of the male rail portion (10).

5. The telescopic pillar system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one through-going opening (42) comprisesa bushing (60).

6. The telescopic pillar system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein an exterior wall portion (21) of the female rail portion(20) comprises at least one groove (35) configured to allow direct orindirect support of a wall panel or bracket.

7. The telescopic pillar system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein an interior wall portion (33) of the female rail portion(20) comprises, seen in a direction transverse to the longitudinalextension of the female rail portion (20), two oppositely protrudingflanges (39), and wherein said at least one protrusion (12) of the malerail portion (10) comprises a cut-out (16) allowing the at least oneprotrusion (12) to at least partly receive said oppositely protrudingflanges (39).

8. The telescopic pillar system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the male rail portion (10) comprises a support plate(11), said support plate (11) being configured to be attached to asupport.

9. The telescopic pillar system (100) according to claim 7, wherein the support plate (11) is fixedly or articulately attached to the female railportion (20).

10. Use of a telescopic pillar system according (100) to any of claims 1-9 for mounting a partition wall on a ship or on an offshore oil or gasplatform.