Flexible tile wall system
A wall system comprising a flexible frame and modular tile assemblies. The flexible frame includes a plurality of spaced apart, generally parallel vertical posts and a plurality of spaced apart, generally parallel support members mounted with the vertical posts and pivotally connected to each other. The modular tile assemblies are removably mounted with the frame along the vertical posts and the support members.
This application claims the benefit of the filing date pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/475,122, filed May 30, 2003, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a wall system and in particular to a wall system for use in a work environment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wall system having a flexible frame and tiles mounted therewith.
2. Background Information
Typically, wall panel systems are used to divide office space into separate workspaces. For example, Herman Miller, Inc., the assignee of the present application, manufactures and sells two such work space management systems: the ACTION OFFICES® system and the ETHOSPACE® system. Those systems commonly include rigid wall panels having an internal frame made from roll-formed or extruded material with a sheet of wall board or comparable material adhesively attached to the side of the metal frame. Each side of the wall panel usually is covered with a fabric that is either bonded to the frame, or attached with an elastic band, so as to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance to the user.
Adjacent wall panels in those systems typically are connected to one another with a variety of connector assemblies. For example, wall panels placed end-to-end commonly are connected to each other, while wall panels oriented perpendicular to each other in a two-way, three-way or four-way configuration typically are connected to a corner post located at the junction of the intersecting panels.
BRIEF SUMMARYIn one aspect of the invention, a wall system comprising a flexible frame and modular tile assemblies is provided. The flexible frame includes a plurality of spaced apart, generally parallel vertical posts and a plurality of spaced apart, generally parallel support members mounted with the vertical posts and pivotally connected to each other. The modular tile assemblies are removably mounted with the frame on the vertical posts and the support members
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to the drawings,
The frame 12 includes a plurality of spaced apart and generally parallel vertical posts 16 and a plurality of spaced apart and generally parallel support members 18. The support members 18 are mounted with the vertical posts 16 and are interconnected to each other as described in detail further below.
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Each support member 18 includes a plurality of cross-shaped configurations 60 that are joined end-to-end in a linear arrangement. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the cross-shaped configurations 60 of a support member 18 may be integrally formed or may be separately joined together to form a support member 18. A plurality of spaced apart pass-through openings 62 are formed through each support member 18 along its vertical centerline and are shaped to receive the body of the pins 54 without play. The pass-through openings 62 are spaced apart at the same distance as the mounting openings 52 of a vertical post 16. The pass-through openings 62 are provided to mount the support member 18 with a vertical post 16 such that there is equal overhang of the support member 18 on each side of the vertical post 16. When a support member 18 is positioned over the front wall 20 of a vertical post 16 such that the pass-through openings 62 of the support member 18 are aligned with the mounting openings 52 of the vertical post, each mounting and pass-through opening pair receives a pin 54 to center the support member 18 on the vertical post 16.
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A mounting surface 88 connects the vertical side walls 84 of the vertical cross member 82. The mounting surface 88 extends substantially in the same plane as the edges 74 of the outer tile element 70 or slightly below. A pair of locator openings 90 is formed in the mounting surface along the vertical centerline of the outer tile element 70. The locator openings 90 are spaced apart at the same distance as the mounting openings 52 of the vertical posts 16. The locator openings 90 are slotted along the vertical direction to receive and securely hold the pins 54 for mounting the outer tile element 70 with the rear wall 22 of a vertical post 16. It should be understood that the shape and configuration of the outer tile element 70 as described above is meant to be illustrative, rather than limiting, and that other fastening means, such as press-fit rubber plugs, may be used to removably mount the outer tile element 70 with the vertical posts 16.
Referring to
The inner tile element 100 includes a generally planar face 102. The face 102 has a ribbed exterior surface 104 that is intended for viewing. A series of concentric indentations 106 are formed on the exterior surface 104 of the face 102 to provide sound attenuation. The inner tile element 100 also includes an inwardly facing rim 108 that extends perpendicularly from the face 102 and runs around the perimeter of the inner tile element 100. The rim 108 forms a recessed cavity 110 for receiving a mounting flange 112. Preferably, the mounting flange 112 is molded in the recessed cavity 110. The mounting flange 112 is generally a rectangular shape with a pair of notched vertical edges 114 configured to receive ribs 116 formed by the indentations 106. A support surface 118 connects the vertical edges 114 of the mounting flange 112. The support surface 118 extends substantially in the same plane as the edge of the rim 108 or slightly below. A pair of locator openings 120 is formed in the support surface 118 along the vertical centerline of the inner tile element 100. The locator openings 120 are spaced apart at the same distance as the mounting openings 52 of the vertical posts 16. The locator openings 120 are slotted along the vertical direction to receive and securely hold the pins 54 for mounting the outer tile element 70 with the rear wall 22 of a vertical post 16.
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The inner tile elements 100 are located on the support members 18 and mounted with the front walls 20 of the vertical posts 16 using locator openings 120 having a circular region 122 connected to an upwardly extending slot 124 and the pins 54 in a similar manner as described above. Moreover, the outer and inner tile elements 70 and 100 are removed from the frame 12 by sliding the elements upward until the locator openings 90 and 120 receive the head portions 56 of the pins 54, such that the tiles can be removed from the frame 12. In this way, the outer and inner tile elements 70 and 100 form interchangeable tile assemblies that allow the wall system 10 to be easily reconfigured.
Although the mounting openings 52 are shown as being located along the centerline of each vertical post 16, it should be understood that the openings could be located off the center line in a linear or a nonlinear vertical configuration and still function to mount the support member 18 and the tiles with the vertical post 16. Also, it should be understood that the locator openings of the outer and inner tile elements 70 and 100 could assume other shapes, including for example a triangular shape, so long as they receive and securely hold the pins 54. Moreover, it should be understood that one or more locator openings, and preferably more than one, can be used to locate, the outer tile element 70 on the rear wall 22 of a vertical post 16, and that the disclosure of two locator openings is meant to be illustrative, rather than limiting.
The wall system 10 is highly flexible and sub-architectural such that it may be suited or adapted to a wide variety of functional purposes, including space division, association with other areas and objects, and communication of information, according to preferred and other alternative embodiments.
In one embodiment, the exterior surface of the inner tile element 100 is covered by an exterior membrane 126 that is intended for viewing. The exterior membrane 126 may be constructed from various materials having different graphics display, corporate logos, messaging text, colors and patterns. The exterior membrane 126 may be attached to the outer tile element exterior surface by an adhesive, such as a hot-melt thermoplastic or thermoset adhesive.
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Likewise, the horizontal arm 134 has a generally convex shape and a pair of inwardly curving ends. Preferably, a first connector 144 having a cylindrical shape is connected at one end and a second connector 146 having a semi-cylindrical shape is connected at the opposite end of the horizontal arm 134. The second connector 146 of a horizontal arm 134 is adapted to receive the first connector 144 of another horizontal for pivotally connecting adjoining tile assemblies 130 in the horizontal direction.
The tile assembly 130 also includes an outer tile element 150 and an inner tile element 152. The outer tile element 150 has a generally rounded square periphery and a generally convex shape. Again, it should be understood that alternative oblong tile designs, including curved, rectangular and circular, are also possible. Preferably, the outer tile element 150 is made of lightweight molded plywood. However, it should be understood that other materials, such as plastic, could also be used. The outer tile element 150 is removably mounted with the brace 132 over its outer surface. Alternatively, the outer tile element is removably mounted with the rear wall 22 of a vertical post 16 over the outer surface of the brace 132. For example, the outer tile element 150 may have locator openings that are spaced apart at the same distance as the holes of the cross brace 130 and are slotted along the vertical direction to receive and securely hold the pins 54. However, it should be understood that other attaching means, including reusable adhesive materials or VELCRO® brand fasteners, straps or tapes, may be fixed to the outer tile element 150 and the brace 132 for detachably securing the outer tile element to the brace.
The inner tile element 152 has a generally rounded square periphery and a generally concave shape. The inner tile element may be constructed from a variety of layers of different material. Some exemplary embodiments of the inner tile element 152 include a felt layer over a foam sound baffle layer, a molded rubber faux grass layer, a pressure-formed birch or cedar plywood layer, a spiral bamboo layer, an opaque or mirrored vacuum-formed styrene layer, and a die-cut and resin-coated molded recycled paper fiber layer. The inner tile element 152 may be removably attached to the brace 132 using strips of reusable adhesive material or VELCRO® brand fasteners, straps or tapes. Alternatively, the inner tile element 152 may have locator openings that are spaced apart at the same distance as the holes of the cross brace 130 and are slotted along the vertical direction to receive and securely hold the pins 54, so as to securely couple the inner tile element 152 and the brace 132.
In another embodiment, the inner tile element 152 includes a sheer mesh tile 154 with a snap-on image tile 158, as shown in
In yet another embodiment, the wall system 10 includes the flexible structural frame 12, the modular tile assemblies 14 and a variety of structures 150 adapted for mounting with the frame, as shown in
In yet another embodiment, the tile assemblies 14 and 130 of a wall system 10 may receive and display images projected from one or more sources, as shown in
It is important to note that the construction and arrangement of the elements of the flexible wall system in the exemplary embodiments is illustrative only. Although only a few exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments (such as variations in sizes, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, orientations, colors, combinations of shapes, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the invention. It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.
Claims
1. A wall system comprising:
- a flexible frame including a plurality of spaced apart, generally parallel vertical posts and a plurality of spaced apart, generally parallel support members mounted with said vertical posts and pivotally connected to each other; and
- modular tile assemblies removably mounted with said frame on said vertical posts and said support members.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein said posts have mounting openings and said support members have pass-through openings, and wherein said frame further comprises a plurality of pins, said pins disposed in said mounting and pass-through openings so as to mount said support members with said vertical posts.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein said mounting openings are disposed along a vertical centerline of said posts and said pass-through openings are disposed along a vertical centerline of said support members.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said posts has a threaded stud attached at one end therof, and wherein said frame further comprises a support leg removably attached to said threaded stud, said support leg adapted to support said frame on a floor in a spaced apart relationship with said floor.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said posts has a threaded stud attached at one end therof, said threaded stud positioned in a hole of a ceiling portion and engaging a threaded nut so as to secure said frame to said ceiling portion.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein a support member includes a plurality of integral cross-shaped configurations joined at opposite vertical ends thereof in a linear arrangement.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein said frame includes a plurality of hinges attached to opposite horizontal ends of said cross-shaped configurations, wherein said hinges pivotally connect adjoining support members.
8. The system of claim 2 wherein each of said tile assemblies comprises an outer tile element and an inner tile element.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein said outer tile element has a generally rounded square periphery and a convex face.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein said outer tile element is made of plastic.
11. The system of claim 8 wherein said outer tile element comprises a cross brace having at least one locator opening shaped to receive and securely hold one of said pins so as to removably mount said outer tile element on one of said posts.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein said locator opening is slotted.
13. The system of claim 8 wherein said inner tile element has a generally rounded square periphery and a generally planar face.
14. The system of claim 13 wherein said inner tile element is made of plastic.
15. The system of claim 8 wherein said inner tile element comprises a mounting flange having at least one locator opening shaped to receive and securely hold one of said pins so as to removably mount said inner tile element on one of said support members that is mounted with one of said posts.
16. The system of claim 15 wherein said locator opening is slotted.
17. The system of claim 8 wherein said inner tile element comprises a face having an exterior surface covered by a decorative membrane.
18. The system of claim 8 wherein said inner tile element comprises a flexible cross-shaped brace having a pair of generally perpendicular horizontal and vertical arms and a customizable tile frame, each of said horizontal and vertical arms having an inwardly curved lip at each end thereof, wherein said tile frame is securely received in said brace.
19. The system of claim 18 wherein said vertical arm has at least one locator opening shaped to receive and securely hold one of said pins.
Type: Application
Filed: May 24, 2004
Publication Date: Jan 13, 2005
Inventors: Daniel Peter (Portland, OR), Michael Simonian (Francisco, CA), Robert Beck (Zeeland, MI), Joel Dral (Zeeland, MI)
Application Number: 10/852,582