EP0375641A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Open office system partition panel assembly
Assignee: Shaw Walker Co
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Filing: 1989-11-10
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-11-10
Abstract
Abstract An open office system partition panel assembly including a panel (11) having an outwardly opening wire raceway channel (31) on top with a removable cap (37) to permit wires to be laid in the top raceway channel (31). End wire raceway channels (31, 33) open away from the core (15) of the panel (11) and each has a panel connector support rail (43) closing its opening. The wire raceway channels (31, 33) form a steel frame of box section strength for the panel (11) and all metal-enclosed, non-snagging wire raceways (31, 33) from the top to the base of the panel. Legs (111) formed as part of the panel base support the panel connector support rails. Wire passageways extend from the panel base to the end wire raceway channels (33). The panel base has an end section (97) fastened to and supported on each leg (111). Upper panel connectors (57) facilitate the connection of panels (11), improve the rigidity of the connection between panels (11) and provide positive locking for the panel connection, both vertically and horizontally. The middle section, which fastens to and is supported on the end sections, may be omitted when electrical wiring is not installed in the panel base. A snap-in divider (141) separates the raceway of the panel base into upper and lower wire conduits.
Inventors
- 👤 Raymond P. Dull
- 👤 Bernard R. Lavas
- 👤 William D. Baxter
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 16:01
CPC Classifications
E; E04; E04B; E04B2/00; E04B2/74; E04B2/7407; E04B2/7416; E04B2/7422; E04B2/7425; H; H02; H02G; H02G3/00; H02G3/28; H02G3/286; H02G3/288
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
147 words
An open office system partition panel assembly, characterized by a base (41), a panel (11) located above said base and having a framework (13), said framework including interconnected top, bottom (31) and end (33) steel channels, a core (15) positioned inside said framework, a covering (17) on each exterior side of the framework and the core, said top, bottom and end channels (31, 33) intersecting one another to form wire raceways around the periphery of the core, with wire non-snagging transitions between the channels, the top channel opening outwardly and having a removable cap (37) to permit wires to be laid therein, the end channels opening away from the core and having panel connector support rails (43) closing their openings, and a leg (111) positioned in said base at opposite ends of said panel with said legs supporting said panel connector support rails of said end channels.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
147 words
An open office system partition panel assembly, characterized by a base (41), a panel (11) located above said base and having a framework (13), said framework including interconnected top, bottom (31) and end (33) steel channels, a core (15) positioned inside said framework, a covering (17) on each exterior side of the framework and the core, said top, bottom and end channels (31, 33) intersecting one another to form wire raceways around the periphery of the core, with wire non-snagging transitions between the channels, the top channel opening outwardly and having a removable cap (37) to permit wires to be laid therein, the end channels opening away from the core and having panel connector support rails (43) closing their openings, and a leg (111) positioned in said base at opposite ends of said panel with said legs supporting said panel connector support rails of said end channels.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
The panel assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that a passage (113) is provided between said base (41) and said end channels (33) adjacent each leg.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The panel assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the legs (111) support the base.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
38 words
4, The panel assembly according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said panel connector support rails (43) of said end channels (33) include bracket standards (45) located along the opposite sides of the panel.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
45 words
The panel assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that said standards (45) each includes a plurality of aligned and spaced apart rectangular slots (47) for receving brackets, each standard having raised dimples (49) between said rectangular slots to contact and position the hanger brackets.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
75 words
The panel assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said top channel (31) has a pair of upstanding side walls, a laterally-extending lip (169) formed on each side wall thereof, aligned openings (167) formed in said lips along the lengths thereof, an elongated cover (163) to close said top channel, said cover having a plurality of outwardly-extending tabs (165) fitting into said openings in the lips to lock the cover to the top channel.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
222 words
The panel assembly according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized by a top connector (57) for interconnecting the end walls of a pair of adjacent panels (11), said connector including an elongated body (65) of U-shaped, transverse cross-section having an end wall (67) connecting two side walls (69), with said side walls having end edges (71) which contact the end rail (41) of a panel, an upwardly opening hook (73) rearwardly extending from the end edge (71) of each connector side wall at the upper end thereof for insertion in a pair of spaced apart slots (14) formed in the end rail (43) of the partition panel (11), a tab (75) located at the lower end of the connector body and aligned with the end edges of the side walls, the tab having an opening extending therethrough to receive a fastener (77) to attach the tab to the end rail of the partition panel, a projection (79) extending outwardly from said front wall, a slot (81) complementary in size and shape to said projection formed in said end wall (67), said projection and said slot being located symmetrically relative to each other about a vertical centerline through said end wall, and a rearwardly-bent tab (83) formed on the top edge of said end wall to receive a clamp nut (61).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
165 words
The panel assembly according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized by a pair of elongated, channel-shaped housings (101), each housing having a top wall (103), a bottom wall (105) and a back wall (107), the channel-shaped housings being fastened to each other with their back walls abutting to form a base housing (97) having a center dividing wall and open sides, said center dividing wall terminating short of the longitudinal ends of the base housing, a leg (111) of rectangular, horizontal cross-section positioned in the base housing at each end thereof at a location beyond the end of the center dividing wall, and an elongated opening (113) formed in the top walls (103) of the channel-shaped housings (101) around each leg and extending longitudinally thereof to permit each leg to extend above the base housing to engage and support a panel supported on the base housing as well as to permit the passage of wires out of the base housing into said panel.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
108 words
The panel assembly according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized therein that said leg (111) includes end (119) and side walls (121) forming an upstanding structure of generally U-shaped horizontal cross-section, laterally-extending feet (129) formed at the bottom of said side walls, laterally-extending brackets (135) formed at the top of said side walls (121), the bottom of said end wall (119) bent to extend horizontally between said side walls to form a bottom wall, said end wall projecting substantially above said side walls, ledges (125) formed on said end wall, and means (139) to receive a threaded glide (137) formed at the bottom of the walls.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
70 words
The panel assembly according to claim 9, characterized in that said means to receive a threaded glide includes a threaded weld nut (139) fastened to the underside of said leg bottom wall and means to stabilize the threaded weld nut, said stabilizer means including an upstanding member (140) of U-shaped horizontal cross-section positioned inside said leg on said bottom wall (105) and fastened to said bottom wall and said leg.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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