PARTITION WALL AND CLIP FOR REMOVABLY JOINING A PANEL TO A SUPPORT ELEMENT FOR FORMING A PARTITION WALL

Description

TECHNICAL SECTOR

The present invention relates to the furnishing sector and more particularly relates to the sector of partition walls for dividing up a room, albeit only temporarily, or for screening off part of the room from another part. The present invention also relates to a clip for removably joining a panel to a support element and thus forming a support wall or the like.

PRIOR ART

Partition walls have been known for some time and typically are used to divide up a room into two or more parts. Partition walls may have a height the same as or lower than the height between floor and ceiling. For example, they may have a height sufficient to prevent a person from seeing beyond the partition wall. They are used in various situations to divide up a room and/or to hide from view a part of a room.

Partition walls may be permanent or temporary. In the latter case, partition walls can be assembled and, typically, disassembled.

One of the particularly valued features of a partition wall is the possibility of assembling it easily. However, despite the large number of partition walls which are currently known, ease of assembly is still a goal which is yet to be achieved.

According to known embodiments, the assembly of temporary walls involves the use of hooks, screws or bushes. The assembly and/or disassembly operations are often laborious and require specific tools or in any case operations for assembling the panels by means of screws, screwdrivers or other tools.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,320 describes a connecting structure for panels intended for use in a storage and/or display device.

US 2017/089066 describes straight and curved reconfigurable partition systems.

GB 2368078 describes a separating system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Applicant has defined the aim of providing a partition wall which is particularly easy to assemble and which can be transported disassembled so as to facilitate transport.

According to the Applicant, the aforementioned aim is achieved with a partition wall comprising an upright and a panel to which one or more clips are joined. The clips are configured to penetrate inside a groove of the upright and thus lock the panel to the upright.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a partition wall comprising a panel with a first side edge and a second side edge, a first upright and a second upright is provided,

• • wherein the panel is fastened to the first upright and to the second upright at, respectively, the first side edge and the second side edge,
  • wherein each upright comprises a longitudinal groove configured to receive, at least partially, the first side edge or the second side edge of the panel, and
  • wherein each side edge further comprises a fastening member configured to assume a penetration configuration for penetrating inside the groove and a retaining position for retaining the side edge of the panel inside the groove.

According to embodiments, the fastening member comprises a U-shaped clip with a bottom and two side walls, wherein each side wall comprises a tab elastically protruding outwards.

According to embodiments, the tab opens towards the outside of the U-shaped channel in the direction from the bottom towards the free ends of the side walls, wherein the tab is configured to retract and be seated inside a window in the side wall of the clip. This occurs in the penetration configuration when the edge of the panel, together with the clips firmly gripped thereon, penetrate into the groove of the upright. Once the edge of the panel is completely engaged inside the groove, the tabs open outwards and the panel remains locked to the upright.

According to embodiments, the fastening member comprises a gripping member, for example in the form of two pointed claws, for gripping the panel and firmly locking the fastening member to the panel.

According to embodiments, the groove comprises an opening, a bottom and two side walls, wherein the opening comprises two longitudinal teeth situated opposite each other along at least part of the length of the upright, the two longitudinal teeth being configured to retain the tabs of the clip.

According to embodiments, the opening of the groove comprises at least one cut-out, without longitudinal teeth, for facilitating separation of the panel from the upright.

According to embodiments, the panel comprises a wooden material, or a thermoplastic material, or a cellulose or cardboard-based material, or a composite material.

According to embodiments, the panel comprises, or essentially consists of, a sound-absorbing material, for example polyester.

According to embodiments, the partition wall further comprises a support base for at least one upright.

According to embodiments, the partition wall further comprises a first aligner, interposed between the base and the upright, for establishing at least a predetermined relative position of the support base and the upright.

According to embodiments, the partition wall further comprises a second aligner configured to engage with the groove and to support a bottom or top edge of the panel.

According to embodiments, the base comprises a first half-base and a second half-base and also a third aligner interposed between the first half-base and the second half-base and configured to establish a predetermined relative configuration of the first half-base and the second half-base.

According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a clip configured to connect an edge of a panel to a support member which is provided with a groove for receiving one or more clips, wherein the clip comprises a bottom surface and two side walls, wherein each side wall of the clip comprises a tab elastically protruding outwards and configured to retract and be seated inside a window in the side wall of the clip.

According to embodiments, each of the two side walls terminates in a gripping member configured to penetrate into the edge of the panel when the clip is joined to the edge of the panel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described in detail in the detailed description below, provided by way of a non-limiting example, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of an example of embodiment of a partition wall according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2.1 and 2.2 are two views (axonometric view and enlarged cross-sectional view) of an upright which may be used to assemble a partition wall according to the invention;

FIGS. 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 are three views (axonometric view, front view and side view) of a panel which may be used to assemble a partition wall according to the invention;

FIGS. 4.1 and 4.2 are two views (axonometric view and side view) of a clip which may be used to assemble a partition wall according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a view of a clip while it is being joined to the edge of a panel, only partly shown;

FIG. 6 is an axonometric view of a portion of the panel with the clip joined thereto, the panel with the clip being inserted into a groove of the upright;

FIG. 7 is an axonometric view of the panel with clip joined thereto inserted inside the groove of the upright;

FIG. 8 is a view of an upright, a base, an upright aligner, a panel portion, a clip and an external aligner for aligning and the supporting the panel;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a panel, a clip, a base, an upright, an aligner interposed between base and upright, and a further aligner;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a panel, a clip, two half-bases with associated aligner, an upright, and an aligner interposed between base and upright;

FIGS. 11.1-11.5 are views which show further configurations of the partition wall according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 shows another use of the clips for hanging a panel from a ceiling or in relation to a wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows by way of example a partition wall according to an embodiment of the present invention. The partition wall is denoted overall by the reference number 1.

The partition wall 1 comprises a pair of substantially vertical uprights 2 and a panel 4 supported between the two uprights 2. In some embodiments, only one upright 2 may be provided.

An example of embodiment of an upright 2 according to the present invention is shown, for example, in FIG. 2.1, which is an axonometric view, and in FIG. 2.2, which is an enlarged cross-section. FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show only a section of an upright. According to embodiments, the upright 2 may be substantially as high as the panel, or as high as the panel together with the associated aligner which will be described below. Obviously, the upright may also be higher or lower than the panel.

The upright 2 is in the form of an elongated body with a longitudinal axis X-X. It may be made of any material, for example a thermoplastic material or a metallic material such as aluminium, aluminium alloy, steel or the like. It may be obtained, for example, by means of extrusion.

The upright 2 may comprise one or more grooves 21. In the embodiment shown, there are four grooves 21 which are open along the outer surface 2e of the upright 2. The longitudinal planes of the four grooves 21 are at 90° with respect to each other. Obviously, with a different number of grooves, the angles formed by the longitudinal planes of the grooves 21 may be different from 90°. For the sake of clarity in FIG. 2.2, the reference numbers which identify some of the details of the grooves 21 will not be shown in all of the grooves 21.

According to embodiments, each groove 21 comprises an opening 211, a bottom 212 opposite the opening 211, two first, opposite, side walls 213 and two second, opposite, side walls 215, otherwise referred to as “bottom side walls 215”. Each of the first opposite side walls 213 may in turn comprise an inset recess 213′. According to embodiments, the bottom side walls 215 are slightly inclined towards the bottom 212.

According to embodiments, the opening 211 of each groove 21 is delimited by two longitudinal teeth 214.

The upright 21 may also comprise a central longitudinal hole 25, which is for example circular.

With reference to FIGS. 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 a panel 4 which may be used to assemble a partition wall 1 according to the invention is described here below.

The panel 4 may be made of any material, such as a wooden material (wood, wood fibre panels, or panels comprising wood flakes of the OSB type), a thermoplastic material, a cellulose or cardboard-based material, a composite material such as Alucobond®, etc.

According to embodiments, the panel 4 may comprise, or essentially consists of, a sound-absorbing material. For example, the panel may comprise, or be substantially made entirely of polyester. The panel may be as described in EP2820199. The panel shown in FIGS. 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 may be a sound-absorbing panel.

According to embodiments, the panel 4 has a substantially constant thickness smaller then or substantially the same as the distance between the two longitudinal teeth 214.

According to embodiments, the panel 4 has an edge (along one or more sides, optionally along its entire perimeter) with a thickness smaller than or substantially the same as the distance between the longitudinal teeth 214. The edge of the panel comprises two side edges 42 and top/bottom edges 43.

According to the present invention, the connection between one panel 4 and an upright 2 is performed by means of special pegs or clips 5, shown in particular in FIGS. 4.1 and 4.2.

Only one clip 5 may be used to connect the edge 42 of a panel 4 to an upright 2 or, advantageously, two or more clips 5 may be used for each edge 42 of the panel 4. The number of clips 5 may be established depending on the material of the panel 4, the height of the panel or other factors.

The clip 5 may be made of any material, but is preferably made of a metallic material, for example steel. The clip 5 may be formed by a metal sheet, suitably shaped as can be seen in the figures and as will be described below.

The clip 5 is roughly in the form of a U-shaped channel with a bottom surface 51 and two side walls 54. Each of the two side walls 54 terminates in a gripping member 52, for example in the form of two pointed claws 52. The pointed claws 52 may be bent towards the inside of the U-shaped channel. The gripping member 52 is configured so as to penetrate into the edge 42 of the panel 4 when the clip 5 is pushed onto the edge 42 of the panel (from the position shown in FIG. 5 into the position shown in FIG. 6).

According to embodiments, each side wall 54 of the clip 5 comprises a tab 53 protruding outwards. In the embodiment shown, the tab 53 opens towards the outside of the U-shaped channel in the direction from the bottom 51 towards the free ends of the side walls 54. The tab 53 is only fastened to the side wall 54 along one side, in the vicinity of the bottom 51. When pushed inwards, the tab 53 may retract and be seated inside a window 55 in the side wall 54 of the clip 5.

In order to join a panel 4 to an upright 2, the clips 5 must first be mounted (one clip, however, may—at least theoretically—be sufficient) on the edge 42 of a panel 4. For example, two or three clips 5 may be mounted, preferably in predetermined positions for reasons which will be clarified below. The predetermined positions of the clips mat be indicated by means of visual references, for example a coloured mark or a notch/stop.

Each clip 5 is simply pushed until the bottom 51 of the clip bears against the end 41 of the edge 42 of the panel 4. By forcing the clip 5 in this way, the claws penetrate into the edge 42 of the panel and prevent the clip 5 from becoming detached or in any case moving with respect to the edge 42 of the panel.

Once the clips 5 have been mounted, it is sufficient to push the edge 42 of the panel 4 (with the clips mounted) towards the groove 21 of the upright 2. During the pushing movement, the two tabs 53 of the clip 5 retract inside the respective windows and snap back outwards into the open position once the bottom 51 of the clip 5 comes into contact with the bottom 212 of the groove 21. In this position, the free ends of the tabs 53 are retained by the longitudinal teeth 214 of the opening 211 of the groove 21. When the panel 4 is inserted into the groove 21, the clip is fastened laterally between the bottom side walls 215 which keep the panel 4 in the radial position. In other words, the side walls 54 of the clip 5 and the tabs 53 are retained by the bottom side walls 215.

When the panel 4 is inserted inside the groove 21, the clip 5 (which is firmly fastened to the edge 42 of the panel 4) does not allow the panel 4 to be separated from the upright 2. In other words, when the upright 2 and the panel 4 are arranged vertically, it is not possible to move them with respect to each other in the horizontal direction. The only way (without using tools) to separate an upright 2 from the panel 4 is to extract the panel 4 vertically, from the bottom upwards.

By repeating the operation on the other edge 42 of the panel 4, the panel 4 will be suitably retained and held in the correct position between two uprights 2.

A pair of uprights 2 may house a single panel 4 which is as high as the upright or several smaller panels which are arranged on top of each other so as to reach the desired height.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a groove 21 could have one or more sections with a cut-out 26, i.e. where there are no teeth 214. The cut-out 26 could for example be formed by means of a milled area. The milled area, advantageously, could have a size greater than the distance between the teeth 214 so as to facilitate further the extraction of the panel provided with the clip. In this way disassembly is facilitated. In fact, there is no need to extract the entire panel 4. The solution is particularly advantageous in the case of relatively low ceilings or very high configurations. It is sufficient to slide the panel 4 upwards a few centimetres along the upright 2 until each clip 5 reaches the cut-out 26, so that the tabs 53 are no longer fastened by the teeth 214 which have been removed by machining of the cut-out 26, in order to free the panel 4 from the upright 2. When the tabs 53 are situated in the region of the cut-out 26, they may be moved horizontally, thus separating the panel 4 from the upright 2.

In order to ensure the stability of the partition walls according to the present invention, in particular of the partition walls which have a straight composition, the uprights 2 may be mounted on bases 30, 33. According to embodiments, the bases may be straight or round (or have any other shape). For example, each upright 2 may be mounted on a base 30, 33 by means of a screw.

In other embodiments, each base may be kept in the correct position by means of a first aligner 6, placed between the upright 2 and the base 4. The first aligner 6 is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

According to embodiments, the first aligner 6 comprises a disc 61 with an upper face 62 and a lower face 63. The aligner 6 also comprises first projections 64 protruding from the upper face 62 and second projections 65 protruding from the lower face 63 of the disc 61. In the embodiment shown, the first projections 64 are eight in number, divided up into four pairs (one pair of projections 64 for each groove 21) and the second projections 65 are two in number.

The first projections 64 are configured to engage with the grooves 21 between the faces 24 (not shown in the drawings) of the upright 2. The second projections 65 are configured to engage inside corresponding holes 36 in a base 30 (or 33) (FIG. 9). In the embodiment shown, the holes 36 in the base 30 (or 33) are four in number, arranged in a cross shape so as to form two configurations at 90° with respect to each other or two in-line configurations.

The first aligner 6 may be made of thermoplastic material or metallic material, for example could be made of pressed Zamak alloy or deep-drawn steel.

The bases 30 may be made of metallic material, for example laser-cut or pressed sheet steel or other metal (for example aluminium or Zamak) or wooden or stone material which has been suitably processed.

In embodiments, in order to ensure better alignment and greater stability of the partition wall, two second external aligners 7, visible in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, may be provided. The further external aligners 7 may be made of thermoplastic material or also, advantageously, metallic material. For example, they could be made of pressed Zamak alloy or deep-drawn steel. A top external aligner and/or bottom external aligner may be provided for each upright 2 and for each panel 4.

Each external aligner 7 comprises a housing 72 for seating the bottom/top edge 43 of the panel 4, keeping it in a predetermined radial position with respect to the upright 2.

The external aligner 7 comprises flanges 71 (see FIG. 9) configured to be seated inside the grooves 21 of the upright 2.

In a further embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the base 30 may comprise two half-bases 30A and 30B which are kept aligned (or in any case in a desired configuration) by a third aligner 8. The third aligner 8 may comprise a disc 81, preferably with a central hole, with an upper face 82 and a lower face 83. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, third projections 84 protrude from the upper face 82 and fourth projections 85 protrude from the lower face 83. As can be seen in FIG. 9, the pair of third projections 84 is situated directly opposite the pair of fourth projections 85.

The third projections 84 are configured to engage inside holes 36 of the half-base 30A, and the fourth projections 85 are configured to engage inside holes 36 of the half-base 30B, keeping the bases in line at 180° or inclined in a V shape at 90° so as to be able to move together more easily two configurations of walls 1 provided with the bases 30A and 30B. The misalignment which is created between the two bases may be compensated for by support feet of varying height, not shown.

The assembly of the base and the spacers with the upright involves the use of a screw which will be screwed into a suitable thread formed in the hole 25 of the upright 2.

In a further embodiment, the base may be round, such as the base 33 in the configuration 104 shown in FIG. 11.4.

The upright 2 shown in the various figures has four grooves 21 arranged at 90° which will allow the wall 1 to assume different configurations. For example, various configurations are possible: the configuration 101 shown in FIG. 11.1, or the configuration 102 shown in FIG. 11.2, or the configuration 103 shown in FIG. 11.3, or the aforementioned configuration 104 shown in FIG. 11.4, or the configuration 105 shown in FIG. 11.5. Obviously these are only a few examples of a plurality of solutions which may be realized according to the present invention.

In the case of a 90° connection, such as those shown in FIGS. 11.3 and 11.5, the upright 2 located centrally with respect to the corner may not be provided with bases, but only with a support foot, not shown.

Advantageously, according to the present invention, the assembly of the clips 5 on the panel 4 is performed manually and the engagement of the unit (namely of the panel with the clip) on the upright is performed by means of a slight pressure.

Advantageously, the panels may be sound-absorbing panels of a type already known and not designed exclusively for the creation of partition walls. Therefore, the system may use panels which are not specifically designed, allowing the user to decide also subsequently whether to mount a sound-absorbing panel fixed on the wall, directionally adjustable or on the partition wall according to the present invention.

The clips can in any case be detached for example using a screwdriver. This is an advantageous aspect since it allows the metal parts and the plastic parts (sound-absorbing panel) to be recycled separately. Therefore the total recyclability of the product for the purposes of environmental sustainability is ensured.

According to embodiments shown in the figures, the bases are flat and elongated and this favours the use of relatively small size packaging, thus favouring environmental sustainability.

The clip 5 may also be used to engage a panel with a support element other than an upright. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a panel 4 may be hung from a ceiling by means of a support element (or mounting block) 7 and a cable 8. It is possible to mount one or more clips 5 on the top edge of a panel (for example a panel of the same type as that described above) and insert with pressure the edge of the panel (with the clip(s) mounted) inside a groove 71 of the mounting block 7 hung from the ceiling. Advantageously, the groove 71 also comprises opposite teeth 74 for retaining the clip. For the sake of clarity, the mounting block 7 is shown cross-sectioned in FIG. 12.