EP0104804A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Screen assembly and fastening element therefor
Assignee: Nimlok Ltd
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Filing: 1983-09-02
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2003-09-02
Abstract
Abstract A screen assembly includes at least one panel with slots (9) in its side edges, a plurality of upright poles (2) to which the panel is fastened and a plurality of fastening elements (4). The fastening elements (4) and the panel are arranged such that a fort portion (6) of a fastening element can be inserted into one of the slots (9) and can then be rotated in the slot about an axis transverse to the slot, whereupon the foot portion (6) becomes progressively more securely clamped in the slot (9) and in a final position is locked to the panel. The fastening element is thus easily fixed to the panel and provides a very secure fixing when so fixed.
Inventors
- 👤 Neil Duncan Nimmo
- 👤 Michael Kenny
- 👤 David Willis
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 10:54
CPC Classifications
E; E04; E04B; E04B2/00; E04B2/74; E04B2/7407; E04B2/7416; E04B2/7433; E04B2/7438; E04B2/7442; F; F16; F16B; F16B2/00; F16B2/20; F16B2/22; F16L; F16L3/00; F16L3/24; F16L3/243; F16L3/2431; G; G09; G09F; G09F15/00; G09F15/0006; G09F15/0018
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
98 words
A screen assembly including at least one panel with slots in its side edges, a plurality of upright poles to which the panel is fastened and a plurality of fastening elements, characterised in that the arrangement of the fastening elements and the panels of the is such that a foot portion of one/fastening elements can be inserted into one of the slots and can then be rotated in the slot about an axis transverse to the slot, whereupon the foot portion becomes progressively more securely clamped in the-slot and in a final position is locked to the panel.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
98 words
A screen assembly including at least one panel with slots in its side edges, a plurality of upright poles to which the panel is fastened and a plurality of fastening elements, characterised in that the arrangement of the fastening elements and the panels of the is such that a foot portion of one/fastening elements can be inserted into one of the slots and can then be rotated in the slot about an axis transverse to the slot, whereupon the foot portion becomes progressively more securely clamped in the-slot and in a final position is locked to the panel.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
An assembly as claimed in claim 1 further characterised in that the fastening element is arranged such that in normal use it is urged to rotate beyond said fixed position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
64 words
An assembly as claimed in claim 1 or 2 further characterised in that the fastening element has a substantially flat base to which a clamping head is connected by a neck, the clamping head having a width measured along a first direction less than the width of the slot and a width measured along a second direction greater than the width of the slot.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
67 words
An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim further characterised in that the head when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the base of the fastening element is generally of parallelogram form with two sides of the parallelogram spaced apart by a distance greater than the width of the slot and the other two sides spaced apart by a distance smaller than the width of the slot.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
59 words
An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim further characterised in that the slot is 'T' shaped with the bar of the 'T' defining an interior portion of the slot having longitudinal side walls and the stem of the 'T' defining an outer entrance portion of the slot whose width is reduced by inwardly projecting lips on the panel.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
An assembly as claimed in claim 5 further characterised in that a clamping action is provided by engagement of the foot portion with the longitudinal side walls of the slot.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
38 words
An assembly as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 further characterised in that a clamping action is provided by squeezing of the lips between opposing faces of the base of the fastening element and the foot portion.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
34 words
An assembly as claimed in claim 7 further characterised in that the base of the fastening element includes a resiliently deformable raised portion which engages one of the lips to effect the squeezing action.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
An assembly as claimed in claim 8 further characterised in that a slot is provided in the base of the clip which is able to close up to accommodate deformation of the raised portion.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim further characterised in that the fastening element is moulded from plastics material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
67 words
An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim further characterised in that at least one of the fastening elements is a bracket including a plate like portion from which the foot portion extends, a slot in the panel being in confronting relationship with the pole and the bracket being such that it can be fastened to said slot without affecting the connection between the panel and pole.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
126 words
A screen assembly including at least one panel with slots in its side edges, a plurality of upright poles and a plurality of clips, each clip comprising an arcuate portion which subtends an angle greater than 180° and is arranged to snap onto a pole, and a foot portion for fastening in one of the slots of a panel, the arrangement of the clips and the panels being such that the foot portion of the clip can be pushed into the slot with the axis of the arcuate portion angled relative to the slot and the clip can then be rotated in the slot until the axis of the arcuate portion becomes aligned with the slot, whereupon the foot portion is securely clamped in the slot.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
126 words
A screen assembly including at least one panel with slots in its side edges, a plurality of upright poles and a plurality of clips, each clip comprising an arcuate portion which subtends an angle greater than 180° and is arranged to snap onto a pole, and a foot portion for fastening in one of the slots of a panel, the arrangement of the clips and the panels being such that the foot portion of the clip can be pushed into the slot with the axis of the arcuate portion angled relative to the slot and the clip can then be rotated in the slot until the axis of the arcuate portion becomes aligned with the slot, whereupon the foot portion is securely clamped in the slot.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
53 words
An assembly as claimed in claim 12 further characterised in that the clip is manually rotatable to a position where the arcuate portion is close to alignment with the slot and is further rotatable to the aligned position when two clips are snapped onto a pole and so become aligned with the slot.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
85 words
A clip of plastics material for connecting a panel to an upright pole of a screen assembly, the clip comprising a foot portion and a resilient arcuate portion which subtends an angle greater than 180°, the clip having a substantially flat base to which a clamping head is connected by a neck, the clamping head having an overall width measured in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the arcuate portion less than the overall width measured in a direction inclined to said perpendicular direction.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
85 words
A clip of plastics material for connecting a panel to an upright pole of a screen assembly, the clip comprising a foot portion and a resilient arcuate portion which subtends an angle greater than 180°, the clip having a substantially flat base to which a clamping head is connected by a neck, the clamping head having an overall width measured in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the arcuate portion less than the overall width measured in a direction inclined to said perpendicular direction.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
36 words
A bracket of plastics material for connecting in a slot of a panel of a screen assembly, the bracket having a substantially flat plate like portion to which a clamping head is connected by a neck.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
36 words
A bracket of plastics material for connecting in a slot of a panel of a screen assembly, the bracket having a substantially flat plate like portion to which a clamping head is connected by a neck.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
17 words
A screen assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
17 words
A screen assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
21 words
A clip substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by Figures 1 to 10 of the accompanying drawings.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
21 words
A clip substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by Figures 1 to 10 of the accompanying drawings.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
21 words
A bracket substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by Figures 11 to 15 of the accompanying drawings.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
21 words
A bracket substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by Figures 11 to 15 of the accompanying drawings.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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