Structural assemblies

Claim 2

A structural assembly made from a plurality of detachably connected, standard structural parts, said standard structural parts being provided with identical, regularly, and accurately spaced apertures, some of said standard structural parts being profile members and others being substantially flat plate members, each of said plate members being generally disposed in only one plane and having two angularly disposed sides extending parallel to two sides of the structural assembly to be formed thereby and provided with several such apertures extending parallel to said sides, a corner of the assembly being formed by three right angle profile members each having two legs and extending with the line of connection between respective two legs at right angle to one another, one of said plate members detachably interconnecting a first and a second one of said profile members by way of respective legs of said first and second profile members which lie in the same plane, first pivotal connecting means being provided for interconnecting the first with the third profile member, second pivotal connecting means being provided for interconnecting the second with the third profile member, wherein each pivotal connecting means pivotally connecting respective profile members includes two disc-like portions, one behind the other in the axial direction and pivotally connected together, and each disc-like portion being adjoined by a leg portion provided with such spaced apertures for accepting connecting members to connect said leg portions with respective ones of said profile members.

Claim 3

A structural assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the two leg portions of one of said pivotal connecting means are disposed in the same plane as one disc-like element, the leg portion connected with the other disc-like element being offset with respect thereto by way of a bent connecting portion.

Claim 4

A structural assembly according to claim 1, wherein said standard structural parts are all of substantially the same thickness.

Claim 5

A structural assembly accordinG to claim 1, wherein said standard structural parts are provided with only one type of identical, regularly and accurately spaced apertures.

Claim 6

A structural assembly according to claim 1, wherein all of said apertures are substantially circular shaped only.

Claim 7

A structural assembly according to claim 3, wherein said standard structural parts are provided with only one type of identical, regularly and accurately spaced apertures.

Claim 8

A structural assembly according to claim 6, wherein all of said apertures are substantially circular shaped only.

Claim 9

A structural assembly according to claim 1, wherein said pivotal connecting means and said right angle profile members are constructed such that said three right angle profile members are foldable into a compact assembly with said profile members substantially parallel to one another when said plate member is removed.

Claim 10

A structural assembly according to claim 1, further comprising connecting members insertable into said spaced apertures to detachably connect said profile members and pivotal connecting means with one another; wherein each of said connecting members includes: a plug member having a head portion larger than one of said apertures and a shank portion of cross-sectional dimensions complementary to such aperture, said shank portion being provided with a groove spaced from said head portion by a distance corresponding to the combined thickness of an integer number of said structural parts, and locking means having an approximately flat base body provided with an aperture means of dimensions complementary to the reduced shank portion left by said groove for engagement with said groove, said locking means further having a locking portion connected to but spaced from said base body.

Claim 11

A structural assembly according to claim 9, characterized in that said locking portion is provided with an aperture complementary to said shank portion and so located that it will engage over said shank portion in the assembled position of the locking means.

Claim 12

A structural assembly according to claim 9, characterized in that said locking portion is spaced from the opposite surface of said base body a distance less than the axial length of the shank end portion from the groove to the end surface thereof to provide a frictional force opposing assembly and disassembly of the locking means.

Claim 13

A structural assembly according to claim 9, characterized in that said locking means is provided with means producing in effect unequal friction forces opposing assembly and disassembly of the locking means.

Claim 14

A structural assembly according to claim 12, characterized in that said last-mentioned means is formed by slightly inclined surfaces in said base body of unequal length and different slopes.

Claim 15

A structurally assembly according to claim 13, characterized by groove means in the plug member located from the head portion by a distance approximately equal to one-half the thickness of the standard structural part to anchor the plug member to said structural part by displacement of metal from the latter into said groove means.

Claim 16

A structural assembly made from a plurality of standard structural parts, characterized in that all of said standard structural parts are of substantially the same thickness and are provided with identical apertures which are spaced regularly and accurately in an analogous manner in all of said parts, and in that various parts are readily detachably interconnected with one another by the use of detachable two-partite connecting means, each of which includes a plug-type connector means having a head portion and adapted to be extended with its non-threaded shank portion through aligned apertures of two structural parts, and unthreaded locking means for securely and form-lockingly holding said connecting means in the assembled condition including a head portion abutting against the outer surface of a standard-ized part and a shank portion extending through the respective aligned apertures of saId standard structural parts, a circumferential groove being provided in said shank portion at a distance from the head portion corresponding approximately to the thickness of at least two standard structural parts with said distance being substantially equal to the thickness of an integer number of structural parts, said locking means being assembled and disassembled by displacement relative to said two structural parts in a direction substantially at right angle to the axis of said shank portion and including a base portion and a bent back portion connected to said base portion by a web portion, said bent back portion including a first part converging toward said base portion adjoined by a second part diverging from said base portion, the distance of the connection of the first and second parts from said base portion being smaller than the distance from said groove to the free end of said shank portion, and said base portion being provided with a slot only open on the side of said web portion and of such length that said second part will have substantially cleared the end surface of said shank portion when the bottom of said groove abuts against the end of said slot, wherein said base portion includes oppositely inclined sections of unequal length extending from a position of frictional engagement with said groove when in the locked position, whereby the frictional force between said groove and base portion which opposes disassembly is greater than the force opposing assembly.

Claim 17

A structural assembly made from a plurality of standard structural parts, characterized in that all of said standard structural parts are of substantially the same thickness and are provided with identical apertures which are spaced regularly and accurately in an analogous manner in all of said parts, and in that various parts are readily detachably interconnected with one another by the use of detachable two-partite connecting means, each of which includes a plug-type connector means having a head portion and adapted to be extended with its non-threaded shank portion through aligned apertures of two structural parts, and unthreaded locking means for securely and form-lockingly holding said connecting means in the assembled condition including a head portion abutting against the outer surface of a standard-ized part and a shank portion extending through the respective aligned apertures of saId standard structural parts, a circumferential groove being provided in said shank portion at a distance from the head portion corresponding approximately to the thickness of at least two standard structural parts with said distance being substantially equal to the thickness of an integer number of structural parts, said locking means being assembled and disassembled by displacement relative to said two structural parts in a direction substantially at right angle to the axis of said shank portion and including a base portion and a bent back portion connected to said base portion by a web portion, said bent back portion including a first part converging toward said base portion adjoined by a second part diverging from said base portion, the distance of the connection of the first and second parts from said base portion being smaller than the distance from said groove to the free end of said shank portion, and said base portion being provided with a slot only open on the side of said web portion and of such length that said second part will have substantially cleared the end surface of said shank portion when the bottom of said groove abuts against the end of said slot, wherein said base portion includes oppositely inclined sections of unequal length extending from a position of frictional engagement with said groove when in the locked position, whereby the frictional force between said groove and base portion which opposes disassembly is greater than the force opposing assembly.

Claim 18

A structural assembly according to claim 15, characterized by an additional groove in said shank portion spaced from said head portion a distance equal to about one-third to one half the thickness of a standard structural part to enable the displacement of material into said last-mentioned groove from the central area, as viewed in cross section, of a structural part abutting against said head portion.

Claim 19

A structural assembly according to claim 15, characterized in that a corner assembly of such structural assembly consists of three mutually perpendicularly arranged structural elements detachably interconnected by at least one additional connecting part, said structural elements and said additional connecting part being all standardized parts, and in that two of said detachable connecting means connect a respective structural element with the corresponding connecting part of the corner assembly.

Claim 20

A structural assembly according to claim 17, characterized in that the connecting parts are plate members, and in that three plate members are provided for a corner assembly.

Claim 21

A structural assembly according to claim 17, characterized in that said connecting parts consist of two pivotal connecting means and one plate member.

Claim 22

A structural assembly according to claim 19, characterized in that each pivotal connecting means consists of two disk-like parts pivotally connected with each other, each disk-like part being provided with a leg portion provided with some of said apertures, and the leg portions extending in the same plane.

Claim 23

A structural assembly according to claim 17, characterized in that a corner assembly of such structural assembly consists of a three-legged unitary structure to which the structural elements are detachably connected.

Claim 24

A structural assembly according to claim 15, characterized in that said base portion includes an actuating portion at the end opposite said web portion and extending generally perpendicularly to said base portion.

Claim 25

A structural assembly according to claim 15, wherein said standard structural parts are provided with only one type of identical, regularly and accurately spaced apertures.