WO1995012718A1

WO1995012718A1 - Partitioning system

Info

Publication number: WO1995012718A1
Application number: PCT/GB1994/002270
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dean Leslie Knight; Adrian Desmond Charles Hire
Original assignee: Clix Interiors Limited
Priority date: 1993-11-03
Filing date: 1994-10-17
Publication date: 1995-05-11
Also published as: GB2283509B; GB9322637D0; AU7942094A; GB2283509A

Abstract

A partitioning system uses as its basic member (22) a channel-shaped extrusion which is capable of interlocking with itself. A member (24) similar to the basic member with the addition of a rebate is suitable for use as door-framing. Uprights and transoms can be formed by interlocking the members (22, 24) and completing with a trim member (48) which defines with the basic member (22) front and back recesses for receiving edges of panel sections (64, 66) which may be solid or glazing panels.

Description

PARTITIONING SYSTEM

The present invention relates to relocatable partitioning systems of the type generally used to divide office space in a temporary manner into individual offices or workspaces.

Relocatable, demountable partitioning is particularly desirable as it is, under current UK tax law, considered to qualify as "plant and machinery" and it is therefore eligible for capital allowances, whereas traditionally built partitions do not. For this reason much technical effort has been put into the design of aesthetically pleasing and functional systems which are also relocatable.

Existing systems consist of uprights and panels which can be assembled together to form walls and door openings. The panels used may be single or double glazed glass panels or solid panels.

There are many existing partitioning systems available on the market, which consist of extruded aluminium sections which can be combined in order to construct various types of uprights and transoms to provide corners, door frames and the like. The aluminium sections are intended to surround rolled steel studs which provide the internal framework for the completed assembly. The disadvantage of all these existing prior art partitioning systems is that they require a substantial range of different extruded sections in order to create the various types of uprights and transoms that may be required in a typical system and increases the amount of stock that must be held.

It is also a further disadvantage of existing systems that the uprights require the use of a structural internal stud which is surrounded by the extrusions which also provide the channels necessary for receiving glazing or wall panels as well as decorative trims.

In accordance with the present invention, a system is provided which is based on a self interlocking channel shaped member. Two identical basic members may be interlocked together to provide a self supporting upright or a basic member may be interlocked with a similar rebated member to provide door framing. The concept of self interlocking members has been shown in GB-A-2057529A

(Vale) and GB-A-2232175 (Hilltop) in order to produce structural studs for use in building construction. The member of the present invention in characterised by the features specified in the claim which permit, in particular, the exterior of the resulting rectangular section to be of smooth lines when provided with the necessary addition to enable use in conjunction with a variety of panels and for other purposes.

It is a further advantage of the system that it is only necessary to have a relatively small number of components with which to assemble almost any combination of uprights, horizontal transoms and door openings necessary to construct any designed office arrangement.

In order that the invention may be better understood, an embodiment of the system will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which;

Figure 1 shows a typical portion of an office partitioning system showing a door set in a part-solid, part-glazed wall constructed from the system of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a transverse section through a basic extruded member;

Figure 3 shows a transverse section through a door member;

Figure 4A and B shows transverse sections through two different styles of side trim members;

Figure 5 shows a transverse section through a headtrack member;

Figure 6 shows a transverse section through a single glazing adaptor;

Figure 7 shows a transverse section through a stud;

Figure 8 shows a transverse section through a track;

Figure 9 shows a transverse section through a portion of an office partition consisting of a double glazed panel and two uprights, one of which is a door jamb showing a typical configuration of the assembled members;

Figure 10 shows a transverse section of a door jamb adjacent to a solid panel;

Figure 11 shows a longitudinal section through a horizontal headtrack at the top of a solid panel;

Figure 12 shows a longitudinal section through a horizontal transom between a solid panel and a double glazed panel; and

Figure 13 shows a longitudinal section through a horizontal door head for a full height door.

Figure 1 illustrates a typical portion of an office partitioning system in which a door 2 is located in a partition with three glazed panels 4 to the right of it and solid panels 6 above and to the left. In order to construct this partition the system provides vertical uprights 8 and horizontal transoms 10 which separate the panels. The doorway has a frame defined by doorhead 12 and jambs 14. A skirting 16 is used on the lower horizontal edge of the lower panels 4, 6 at the junction between the panels and the floor. A horizontal headtrack 20 is provided at the junction between the panels and the ceiling.

In accordance with the system of the present inventions, all of these structural components can be formed from the six basic extrusions illustrated in Figures 2-6 together with conventional studs and tracks as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 and conventional skirting. It will be appreciated that extrusions to construct more complex shapes such as 135° corners can readily be designed along the same principles.

The basic extrusion 22 illustrated in Figure 2 is a U- shaped basic member which is self-interlocking so that two such extrusions can be combined to form a rectangular section member of substantial structural strength which does not require the use of an internal stud. The basic member 22 may be interlocked in the same manner with a door member 24 which is of the same channel configuration but with the addition of a rebate 26 so that the member 24 can be used to define door heads 12 and door jambs 14.

The U-shaped basic member 22 has a planar base wall 28 which adjoins side walls 30 at either side. The side walls 30 are identical and each defines a recessed channel 32 of T-shaped section which is designed to receive a root of a sealing bead when the member 22 is used in conjunction with a glazing panel. The channels 32 can also receive a single glazing adaptor 70 (to be described further below) . The remote ends of the side walls 30 each merge into a respective laterally extending flange 34. The flanges 34 support the interlocking components which are symmetrical. On one side a dog-leg post 36 extends substantially at right angles to the flange 34 and in the same direction as the side wall 30. The post 36 terminates in a outwardly projecting nib 38. On the other side the interlocking configuration comprises an inwardly positioned post 40 which extends substantially at right angles to its associated flange 34 and a shorter outward post 42 which terminates in a latching flange 44 which projects towards the inner post 40 to create a hook-shaped post. When two extruded members 22 are interlocked together the post 36 of one member is positioned between the posts 40 and 42 of the other member and the nib 38 interlocks under the latching flange 44 of the hook-shaped post of the other member. This interlocked position is illustrated in the right- hand upright in Figure 9 which would be the configuration of the upright 8 shown in Figure 1.

As illustrated in Figure 3, it will be appreciated that the interlocking components of the door member 24 are identical to the arrangement described with reference to Figure 2. Therefore, the basic member 22 and the door member 24 can similarly interlock to define a structurally strong rectangular-section upright. This type of upright would be used to define the door frame 12, 14 in the partition system illustrated in Figure 1.

The section of the door member 24 has a curved wall portion 26 formed on the planar base 28 to define a rebate which also includes a T-shaped groove 27 for receiving a root of a sealing bead. In this section the planar base 28 extends beyond the side walls 30 and further defines circular recessed channels 25 which may be used to receive hinge components for mounting a door in a conventional manner.

In order to complete the uprights or transoms of the system two alternative trim members 46 and 48 are provided as illustrated in Figure 4A and 4B. As with the members 22 and 24 these are elongate extrusions. The trim member 46 is particularly designed for use when two basic members 22 are joined together to produce a transom 10. This trim member 46 has a central U-shaped channel 50 with two laterally projecting flanges 52. The outer surfaces of the flanges 52 are formed as parts of a continuous curve. The inner surfaces are planar and adjacent to the channel 50 are recessed to define shallow grooves 54. In use, the channel 50 is received between two adjacent flanges 34 and the edges of the flanges 34 seat in the grooves 54. A weakened depression 56 is defined in the base of the channel 50 to provide a locating position in order to allow the trim strip 46 to be screwed or pinned at intervals through the base of the channel 50 into the adjacent post 36 and/or post 40 of the member and any stud or track within. The outer surface of the post 36 may also be provided with a similar locating depression (not shown) .

The trim member 46 is intended for use as a horizontal transom between two double glazed panels or, as shown in Figure 12, between a double glazed panel and a double solid panel. In Figure 12 a screw or tack is shown fixing the trim member 46 through post 40 to an interior track 57 which reinforces the edge of the solid panel preventing the two skins from moving together. The fixings 55 can be obscured by filling the channel 50 with a decorative strip.

The trim member 48 is designed for use with uprights and provides an upright with an overall rectangular section as can be seen by the use of such trim member in the uprights illustrated in Figure 9. Again the trim member 48 has a central U-shaped channel 58 which has a weakened depression 60 in its case to provide a location for fixing screws or pins. The channel 58 is designed to receive a cover decorative strip, which may be of a contrasting plastics material which can be snapped into grooves 59 formed in side walls of the channel 58. This type of decorative feature also covers any fixing pins which may be used. The fixings, where used, secure the trim member 48 to the members 22 or 24 in the same way as described in relation to the trim member 46.

When two members 22 or a member 22 and a door member 24 are interlocked or snapped together and completed with trim members 46 and 48, the resulting upright defines front and back longitudinal panel grooves between the side walls 30 of the member 22 and the under-surface of the trim member. These grooves are intended to receive the edges of solid or glazing panels which are held in position by conventional sealing beads 62 which have roots adapted to be received within the grooves 32.

When solid panels are required, it is usually desirable to provide both front and back skins or panels 64 and 66 as illustrated in Figure 9 in order to provide a reasonable degree of noise reduction by the presence of an air gap between the panels.

In some .circumstances, however, the design may call for single glazing rather than double glazing. For example, this may arise where economy is an important factor as glazing panels are relatively more expensive than solid panels. For single glazing, the glazing panel will be received within, say, the front grooves defined between one side wall 30 of the basic member 22 and its corresponding trim member. However, this will leave an empty set of back panel grooves in each upright. These panel grooves can be filled by a single glazing adaptor 70 as illustrated in Figure 6. The adaptor 70 may be an aluminium extrusion.

This adaptor 70 is of substantially square cross-section with one side wall 72 being "broken" and the free edges being defined by outwardly extending flanges 74 each of which terminates in a lug projecting in the same direction as the adjacent part of the side wall 72. The adaptor 70 is fitted by squeezing the opposite, entire side walls adjacent broken side 72 to bring the flanges 74 together so that they can be inserted within the groove 32. When pressure on the side walls is released the lugs 76 spring apart and engage in the recesses of opposite edges of the T-shaped groove 32 t hold the adaptor in position. One side wall of the adaptor 70 adjacent broken wall 72 forms a continuous surface with the base wall 28 and the outer surface of the trim member so that it is not necessary to provide basic members of a different design when the customer specifies single glazing. The use of such a single glazing adaptor has the further advantage that it is relatively straightforward to convert from single glazing to double glazing without changing any other components of the system. A single glazing adaptor 70 is shown in use in the right-hand side upright of Figure 9. Although it is not necessary for the structural integrity of the uprights and transoms for there to be any internal stud, on some occasions only a single basic member may be used, such as the situations illustrated in Figures 10, 11 and 12. In these cases conventional rolled steel studs as illustrated in Figure 7 or track as illustrated in Figure 8 may be used to provide the necessary structural strength and support the single member 22 or 24 and provide an internal support to which the trim member may be fixed as well as to keep the panels at the proper spacing.

At the bottoms of the panels a skirting is provided and this may be of any suitable profile as it provides no structural function but serves only as a decorative trim and also, optionally, as a conduit for cabling.

The tops of the panels adjacent the ceiling are finished with a headtrack 82 as illustrated in Figure 4. The headtrack is preferably another extruded aluminium member which is also adapted to interlock with either the basic member 22 or the door member 24 as illustrated in Figure 13.

The extrusion 82 has a base 84 adapted, and used, to be pressed against the ceiling of the building. A central internal part of the base 84 is recessed over a width corresponding to the width of a standard stud or track in order to assist location of such a stud or track. Side walls 88 extend from each edge of the base 84 and are turned inwardly facing lugs 90. A recessed channel 92 is defined underneath each lug 90 in order to engage with the end of a flange 34 of a door member as illustrated in Figure 13. Figure 13 shows that the door member 24 and the headtrack 82 can be combined to produce a door head which has a continuous surface of aesthetic appearance. If the design calls for a solid panel adjacent to the ceiling then this can be readily constructed as illustrated in Figure 11.

The constructions shown as examples in Figures 9-13 are some of the many combinations which can be constructed from the components described.

Each of the members shown in Figures 2-6 is preferably formed as an aluminium extrusion which can be finished in any conventional manner according to the decorative requirement . It would also be possible to construct the members of a plastics material.

Claims

1. An elongate channel shaped member provided with interlocking means such that two members may be interlocked to define a structural rectangular section, characterised in that the interlocking means comprise a resilient post provided with a nib at one side of the channel and a hook-shaped post wherein the nib of one member interlocks with the hook-shaped post of another member providing interlocking engagement between the members on each side of the channel.

2. A member as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hook- shaped post is one of two spaced posts between which the resilient post is received in the interlocked position.

3. A member as claimed in claim 1, further provided with a rebate defined on the exterior base of the channel in order to enable the member to be used as part of a door frame.

4. A member as claimed in claim 1, which is made of aluminium.

5. A partitioning system comprising a kit of members as defined in claim 1, together with trim members adapted to fit to the side of the interlocked members to provide recesses for receiving edges of panels.