US5511348A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Furniture system
Assignee: Steelcase Development Inc
•
Filing: 1991-10-08
•
Granted: 1996-04-30
•
Expires: 2011-10-08
Abstract
Abstract A furniture system is particularly adapted to support group activities in open plans, and the like. A plurality of columns support an overhead framework on the floor of a building in a freestanding fashion at a predetermined elevation, generally above average user height. A plurality of individual panels are provided, wherein each panel is constructed to permit easy, manual, bodily translation of the same by an adult user. A hanger arrangement is associated with the overhead framework, and cooperates with connectors on the panels to detachably suspend the panels at various locations along the overhead framework. The panels are manually reconfigurable between many different arrangements to efficiently and effectively support different group activities. Preferably, the panels are capable of providing a partitioning function to visually divide at least a portion of the workspace, and/or a display function to facilitate group communications.
Inventors
- 👤 Paul T. Cornell
- 👤 Robert J. Luchetti
- 👤 Gregg R. Draudt
- 👤 Kurt S. Bodden
- 👤 Linda K. Zimmer
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 21:39
CPC Classifications
G; G09; G09F; G09F15/00; G09F15/0068; E; E04; E04B; E04B2/00; E04B2/74; E04B2/82; E04B2/827; E04F; E04F13/00; E04F13/07; E04F13/072; E04F13/073; E04F13/0733; E04H; E04H1/00; E04H1/12; E04H1/1272; E06; E06B; E06B3/00; E06B3/90; E06B3/903; E04B1/00; E04B1/18; E04B1/24; E04B1/2403; E04B2001/2406; E04B2001/2466; E04B2001/2472; E04B2002/7488; E05; E05Y; E05Y2900/00; E05Y2900/10; E05Y2900/13; E05Y2900/132
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 44
Claim 1
Independent Claim
236 words
A furniture based partition system particularly adapted for use in open plans, and the like, comprising: an overhead support disposed in a generally horizontal orientation; a plurality of overhead support columns disposed in a generally vertical orientation; each of said columns having a lower portion thereof adapted to abut a floor surface of an associated building room, and an upper portion thereof connected with said overhead support to rigidly interconnect the same, such that said columns are adapted to be freestanding on the floor surface, and support said overhead support within the building room at a predetermined overhead elevation, with the floor surface beneath said overhead support being generally unobstructed to facilitate user passage thereunder; a plurality of individual panels, each being shaped to partition the building room, and having a generally rigid, lightweight construction which permits easy, manual, bodily translation of the same by an adult user; each of said panels includes a connector mounted thereon which detachably connects the same with said overhead support in a manner in which each of said panels hangs downwardly from said overhead support in a generally vertical orientation, and is readily and easily removable therefrom by the user; and an open sided hanger supported on said overhead support, and detachably engaging the connector of said panels to permit each of said panels to be manually lifted and detachably hung directly on said overhead support at various locations therealong.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
236 words
A furniture based partition system particularly adapted for use in open plans, and the like, comprising: an overhead support disposed in a generally horizontal orientation; a plurality of overhead support columns disposed in a generally vertical orientation; each of said columns having a lower portion thereof adapted to abut a floor surface of an associated building room, and an upper portion thereof connected with said overhead support to rigidly interconnect the same, such that said columns are adapted to be freestanding on the floor surface, and support said overhead support within the building room at a predetermined overhead elevation, with the floor surface beneath said overhead support being generally unobstructed to facilitate user passage thereunder; a plurality of individual panels, each being shaped to partition the building room, and having a generally rigid, lightweight construction which permits easy, manual, bodily translation of the same by an adult user; each of said panels includes a connector mounted thereon which detachably connects the same with said overhead support in a manner in which each of said panels hangs downwardly from said overhead support in a generally vertical orientation, and is readily and easily removable therefrom by the user; and an open sided hanger supported on said overhead support, and detachably engaging the connector of said panels to permit each of said panels to be manually lifted and detachably hung directly on said overhead support at various locations therealong.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said hanger and said panel connector are configured to permit said panels to be manually slid horizontally along said overhead support to facilitate configuring and reconfiguring said panels.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 2, wherein: said overhead support and said columns are detachably interconnected to facilitate quickly and easily assembling and disassembling said furniture based partition system at different locations.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
35 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 3, wherein: at least one of said panels has an acoustic construction to attenuate sound transmission into and out of said furniture based partition system.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 4, wherein: at least one of said panels is equipped to display information thereon.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 5, wherein: said columns and said overhead support are configured to route wires therealong to equip said furniture based partition system with power and signal.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
33 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 6, wherein: said columns and said overhead support are configured to physically separate power wires from cable wires to avoid electrical interference therebetween.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
32 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 7, wherein: said columns and said overhead support have detachable covers to vary the exterior appearance of said furniture based partition system.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 8, wherein: said overhead support includes task lighting detachably mounted thereon.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
105 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 9, wherein: said overhead support is configured to permit said panels to be removably hung therefrom and reconfigurable between at least a first arrangement wherein said panels contribute to defining a workspace portion of the floor surface which is at least spatially and visually distinct from the rest of the floor surface, and is sufficiently large to comfortably accommodate at least one adult user therein for selected activities, and a second arrangement wherein at least some of said panels are removed from said overhead support and stored to permit free movement through the workspace portion.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
125 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 10, wherein: said overhead support is configured to permit said panels to be removably hung therefrom and reconfigurable between at least a first arrangement wherein said panels define a group workspace portion of the floor surface which is at least spatially and visually distinct from the rest of the floor surface, and is sufficiently large to comfortably accommodate a plurality of adult users therein for communal communications and actions, and a second arrangement wherein said panels subdivide the group workspace portion into at least two, sub-group workspaces which are at least spatially and visually distinct from one another, and are sufficiently large to accommodate at least one adult user therein for breakout-type communications and actions.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 11, wherein: said overhead support includes a substantially rigid frame, having a closed, top plan perimeter.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
45 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 12, wherein: said overhead support further includes at least one substantially rigid cross beam extending interior of the perimeter of said frame, and having said hanger thereon to facilitate configuring and reconfiguring said panels thereon.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
30 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 13, wherein: said cross beam is supported by said frame, and spans between the perimeter thereof without any intermediate support.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
28 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 14, wherein: said overhead support includes a plurality of said cross beams arranged in a mutually intersecting relationship.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
40 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 15, wherein: said panels are each shaped with a lowermost edge thereof adapted to be spaced above the floor surface a predetermined distance when hung anywhere along said overhead support.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
45 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 16, wherein: said overhead support has top and bottom horizontally oriented sides, and opposite vertically oriented sides; and said hanger is positioned along at least one of the vertically oriented sides of said overhead support.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
40 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 17, wherein: said hanger is positioned along both of the vertically oriented sides of said overhead support to facilitate hanging said panels along opposite side faces of said overhead support.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
65 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 18, wherein: said hanger comprises an inverted "T"-shaped rail extending substantially continuously along a lowermost edge of said overhead support, with a pair of upstanding flanges along opposite sides thereof on which said connector on said panels is abuttingly supported to removably hang said panels along opposite sides of each portion of said overhead support.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
34 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 19, wherein: said overhead support comprises a plurality of separate, substantially identical, elongate beam segments having opposite ends thereof detachably interconnected at said columns.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
28 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 20, wherein: said elongated beam segments have exterior ends thereof connected with oppositely positioned ones of said columns.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
72 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 21, including: a mobile cart having a ground engaging support to manually translate said cart over the floor surface of the building room, and a hanger adapted to cooperate with the connector of said panels to detachably support at least one of said panels on said mobile cart in a hanging fashion, and thereby facilitate the configuration and reconfiguration of said panels.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
52 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 22, wherein: said mobile cart comprises at least one inclined surface, which is adapted to support said one panel thereagainst, and includes means for displaying information thereon which is functional at least when said one panel is removed from said mobile cart.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
37 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said overhead support and said columns are detachably interconnected to facilitate quickly and easily assembling and disassembling said furniture based partition system at different locations.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
35 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: at least one of said panels has an acoustic construction to attenuate sound transmission into and out of said furniture based partition system.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
24 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: at least one of said panels is equipped to display information thereon.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
35 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said columns and said overhead support are configured to route wires therealong to equip said furniture based partition system with power and signal.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
33 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said columns and said overhead support are configured to physically separate power wires from cable wires to avoid electrical interference therebetween.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
32 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said columns and said overhead support have detachable covers to vary the exterior appearance of said furniture based partition system.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
21 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said overhead support includes task lighting detachably mounted thereon.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
105 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said overhead support is configured to permit said panels to be removably hung therefrom and reconfigurable between at least a first arrangement wherein said panels contribute to defining a workspace portion of the floor surface which is at least spatially and visually distinct from the rest of the floor surface, and is sufficiently large to comfortably accommodate at least one adult user therein for selected activities, and a second arrangement wherein at least some of said panels are removed from said overhead support and stored to permit free movement through the workspace portion.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
125 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said overhead support is configured to permit said panels to be removably hung therefrom and reconfigurable between at least a first arrangement wherein said panels define a group workspace portion of the floor surface which is at least spatially and visually distinct from the rest of the floor surface, and is sufficiently large to comfortably accommodate a plurality of adult users therein for communal communications and actions, and a second arrangement wherein said panels subdivide the group workspace portion into at least two, sub-group workspaces which are at least spatially and visually distinct from one another, and are sufficiently large to accommodate at least one adult user therein for breakout-type communications and actions.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
26 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said overhead support includes a substantially rigid frame, having a closed, top plan perimeter.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
45 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 33, wherein: said overhead support further includes at least one substantially rigid cross beam extending interior of the perimeter of said frame, and having said hanger thereon to facilitate configuring and reconfiguring said panels thereon.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
30 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 34, wherein: said cross beam is supported by said frame, and spans between the perimeter thereof without any intermediate support.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
28 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 35, wherein: said overhead support includes a plurality of said cross beams arranged in a mutually intersecting relationship.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
40 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said panels are each shaped with a lowermost edge thereof adapted to be spaced above the floor surface a predetermined distance when hung anywhere along said overhead support.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
45 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said overhead support has top and bottom horizontally oriented sides, and opposite vertically oriented sides; and said hanger is positioned along at least one of the vertically oriented sides of said overhead support.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
40 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 38, wherein: said hanger is positioned along both of the vertically oriented sides of said overhead support to facilitate hanging said panels along opposite side faces of said overhead support.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
65 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 39, wherein: said hanger comprises an inverted "T"-shaped rail extending substantially continuously along a lowermost edge of said overhead support, with a pair of upstanding flanges along opposite sides thereof on which said connector on said panels is abuttingly supported to removably hang said panels along opposite sides of each portion of said overhead support.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
34 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said overhead support comprises a plurality of separate, substantially identical, elongate beam segments having opposite ends thereof detachably interconnected at said columns.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
72 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 1, including: a mobile cart having a ground engaging support to manually translate said cart over the floor surface of the building room, and a hanger adapted to cooperate with the connector of said panels to detachably support at least one of said panels on said mobile cart in a hanging fashion, and thereby facilitate the configuration and reconfiguration of said panels.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
53 words
A furniture based partition system as set forth in claim 42, wherein: said mobile cart comprises at least one inclined surface, which is adapted to support said one panel there against, and includes means for displaying information thereon which is functional at least when said one panel is removed from said mobile cart.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1999-04-30 | 1999-10-30 | 2000-04-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2003-04-30 | 2003-10-30 | 2004-04-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2007-04-30 | 2007-10-30 | 2008-04-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |