Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Pleating type
Patent
1984-10-26
1986-07-08
Britts, Ramon S.
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Pleating type
E06B 394
Patent
active
045987513
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a folding wall mainly comprising a double row of panels foldable in zigzag fashion by means of hinges.
The invention has for its object to improve the folding wall in a manner such that in the stretched state the panels lie in co-planar positions with the aid of simple means which, at the same time, facilitate folding of the wall. The invention has furthermore for its object to provide a folding wall which reduces transport and mounting costs by its modular structure.
The folding wall according to the invention is distinguished in that at least two panels being in opposite positions in the rows are pivotally interconnected by a coupling piece having two relatively spaced supporting members, whilst two blades of resilient material slidable between two supporting members are each fastened to an inner side of a panel.
Owing to the resilient blades the panels connected with said blades will be subjected to an inwardly directed force when the wall is drawn out, so that these panels can be moved into parallel positions. By means of the pivotal connection with the further panels, the latter will follow said movement, and move to the same plane.
According to the invention opening of the folding wall is facilitated because a lever is connected at a distance from the members by means of a hinge with the coupling piece. By actuating said lever, which exerts pressure on the free ends of the resilient blades, an outwardly directed force is exerted on the associated panels so that the zigzag folding of the wall is facilitated.
The proximal sides of the spring blades are preferably coated with a layer of rough material to avoid slip between the spring blades and to ensure uniform flattening of the panels.
According to the invention the folding wall of the kind set forth in the preamble is furthermore characterized in that every four panels and two head strips are combined to form a hollow module, the head strips being provided with means for fastening the strips to one another. Thus the mounting operation is drastically simplified, since every module is suspended to the guide rail required for the wall, after which only one operator need fasten the modules to one another. Since the modules are easily separated, transport is also simplified.
The coupling piece mentioned above is preferably formed by a head strip of a module.
In order to reduce the friction of the spring blades along the supporting members, the latter are formed by rollers arranged, in the modular structure of the wall, in two opposite sides of an opening in the head strips.
A simple construction and an effective sound-proof assembly are obtained in that inter alia the panels and head strips are interconnected at the longitudinal edges by uninterrupted hinge profiles of synthetic resin.
The invention will be described more fully with reference to an embodiment. The accompanying drawing shows in:
FIG. 1 a perspective view of part of the folding wall in accordance with the invention,
FIG. 2 an enlarged sectional detail of the wall of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 a horizontal sectional view of part of the folding wall in the stretched position,
FIG. 4 a vertical sectional view of the folding wall of FIG. 3,
FIG. 5 a perspective view of part of the folding wall illustrating the mounting operation.
The folding wall shown in the Figures is suspended from the overhead rail R and is composed of a plurality of modules each consisting of two pairs of relatively pivotable panels. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, one pair of panels for each module is designated by the reference characters 1 and 2 whereas the other pair of panels for each module is designated as 3 and 4. The panels 1 and 2 are pivotally connected by respective hinge means 6 and 7 to the opposite side edges of coupling means comprising the head strip or coupling member 5 whereas the panels 3 and 4 are pivotally connected to the opposite side edges of the coupling means 8 by respective hinge means 9 and 10. The two panels 1 and 3 and the two panels 2 and 4 of each module are likewise pivotally connec
REFERENCES:
patent: 3029867 (1962-04-01), Maurer
patent: 3979861 (1976-09-01), Fromme
patent: 4199018 (1980-04-01), Hirschel
501 Pella B. V. Pannigen
Britts Ramon S.
Lieberman Cherney S.
Snyder John P.
LandOfFree
Folding wall does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Folding wall, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Folding wall will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1446694