§
Luxuse
Patent Intelligence
Sign In
← Back to Patent Explorer
US5003740A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Open office system partition panel assembly

Assignee: Knoll Inc
•
Filing: 1988-11-23
•
Granted: 1991-04-02
•
Expires: 2008-11-23
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract An open office system partition panel assembly including a panel having an outwardly opening wire raceway channel on top with a removable cap to permit wires to be laid in the top raceway channel. End wire raceway channels open away from the core of the panel and each has a panel connector support rail closing its opening. The wire raceway channels form a steel frame of box section strength for the panel and all metal-enclosed, non-snagging wire raceays from the top to the base of the panel. Legs 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. The panel base has and end section fastened to and supported on each leg. Upper panel connectors facilitate the connection of panels, improve the rigidity of the connection between panels 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 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 US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-07 18:13
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: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim 213 words
An open office system partition panel assembly including: a base, a panel located above said base and having a framework, said framework including interconnected top, bottom and end steel channels, a core positioned inside said framework, a covering on each exterior side of the framework in the core, said top, bottom and end channels intersecting one another to form wire raceways around the periphery of the core, with wire non-sagging transitions between the channels, the top channel opening outwardly and having a removable cap to permit wires to be laid therein, said top channel including a pair of upstanding side walls, a laterally-extending lip formed on each side wall thereof, aligned openings formed in said lips along the lengths thereof, an elongated cover to close said top channel, said cover having a plurality of outwardly-extending tabs fitting into said openings in the lips to lock the cover to the top channel, the end channels opening away from the core and having panel connector support rails closing their openings, and a leg positioned in said base at opposite ends of said panel, with said legs engaging and supporting said panel connector support rails of said end channels, with said panel connector support rails including bracket standards positioned along the opposite sides of the panel.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 213 words
An open office system partition panel assembly including: a base, a panel located above said base and having a framework, said framework including interconnected top, bottom and end steel channels, a core positioned inside said framework, a covering on each exterior side of the framework in the core, said top, bottom and end channels intersecting one another to form wire raceways around the periphery of the core, with wire non-sagging transitions between the channels, the top channel opening outwardly and having a removable cap to permit wires to be laid therein, said top channel including a pair of upstanding side walls, a laterally-extending lip formed on each side wall thereof, aligned openings formed in said lips along the lengths thereof, an elongated cover to close said top channel, said cover having a plurality of outwardly-extending tabs fitting into said openings in the lips to lock the cover to the top channel, the end channels opening away from the core and having panel connector support rails closing their openings, and a leg positioned in said base at opposite ends of said panel, with said legs engaging and supporting said panel connector support rails of said end channels, with said panel connector support rails including bracket standards positioned along the opposite sides of the panel.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 22 words
The panel assembly of claim 1 in which a passage is provided between said base and said end channels adjacent each leg.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 13 words
The panel assembly of claim 1 in which the legs support the base.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 40 words
The panel assembly of claim 1 in which said standards each includes a plurality of aligned and spaced apart rectangular slots for receiving brackets, each standard having raised dimples between said rectangular slots to contact and position the hanger brackets.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US2766855A Cited
DE1188259B Cited
US3408781A Cited
US3529389A Cited
US3871153A Cited
US3834093A Cited
US3844079A Cited
US3892095A Cited
US4060294A Cited
US4104838A Cited
US4144924A Cited
US4213493A Cited
GB2060022A Cited
US4391073A Cited
US4682457A Cited
US4862659A Cited
US4716692A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1994-04-01 1994-10-01 1995-04-02 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1998-04-01 1998-10-01 1999-04-02 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2002-04-01 2002-10-01 2003-04-02 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag