Workstation

Details Workstation Workstation

1998-12-18

2001-01-16

Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)

Static structures (e.g., buildings)

Including component designed to receive a disparate article...

Component having specific attachment for an article...

C052S220100, C052S220700, C052S239000, C052S036100, C160S135000, C248S027100, C312S223600

Reexamination Certificate

active

06173536

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to office workstations, and in particular to workstation walls that include raceways for standard UL rated, off-the-shelf, electrical and utility wiring devices, and to workstation walls having releasable, reversible edge caps that can be refurbished or refinished.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Workstations, sometimes referred to as cubicles, are designed to provide a degree of privacy for the individual workers, while still permitting ease of rearrangement to accommodate changing office needs. Generally, workstations are comprised of a plurality of low walls that are joined at their abutting corners to enclose a workspace. For example, a workstation may have a back wall, a pair of parallel sidewalls, and a front wall that includes a doorway or access opening. Frequently, the back wall and/or one or both of the sidewalls also serve as a wall of an adjacent workstation.
A modern workstation is outfitted with various types of electrical and electronic equipment, such as computers, telephones, lighting, and the like, which require various kinds of electrical and data transmission wiring to connect the equipment to outlets. Thus, many prior art workstation walls make provision for conduits or raceways through which the wiring can be channeled from an external connection to the workstation equipment. Generally, these raceways are located in the wall interior, with a covering being placed over the raceways to hide the wiring and make the workstation more attractive.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,209,035 and 5,746,034 to Hodges et al., describe workstation utility panels comprised of a panel frame having a foot portion to support the utility panel on the floor and spaced sides. A horizontal utility trough extends from one side of the panel to the other. A detachable cover panel covers at least one face of the panel frame. The utility trough is shaped with open ends, so that a continuous, uninterrupted horizontal channel exists when two panels are joined in an end to end relationship.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,615 to Luchetti et al. also describes a workstation panel structure formed of an open framework that includes vertical uprights with first and second pairs of horizontal stringers attached to the opposite faces of the vertical uprights, forming horizontal raceway cavities between the uprights which open to opposite sides of the frame. The panel also includes detachable cover panels to enclose the interior of the panel.
Prior art workstation panels are also known to include edge facing components or end caps for decorative purposes and to protect the panels. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,005 to Timmons shows partition panels with parallel grooves on their edges and end caps with U-shaped members that are attached by inserting the legs of the U into the channels. A corner cap also includes U-shaped channel members that are fitted into the grooves at the ends of the panel corner members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,692 to Harper et al. describes attachment of panel walls and end caps using facing parallel grooves and connector plates that extend into the grooves. Clips are used to hold the end caps in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,519 to Jeffers describes attachment of end caps with metal clips that press against the inner sidewalls of an end cap.
Until the present invention, however, there has been no easily assembled workstation constructed primarily of wood components, and including wall sections providing separate isolated raceways for data and electrical components. Moreover, there has been no suggestion of a workstation walls with readily detachable edge and end caps that have the appearance of permanently attached wooden strips.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a workstation and to a workstation wall panel that includes separate horizontal raceways for data and electrical wiring. The invention also relates to a workstation wall having readily detachable edge caps.
Generally, the workstation is comprised of at least two walls, and an end support post joining to the abutting ends of the walls to form a corner. It will be understood that a third or fourth wall may be jointed to the corner post. Each wall may be formed of more than one section, so long as one of the sections is designed in accordance with the following description to enclose electrical wiring, computer cables and the like. The outer, i.e., upper and side, edges, of the workstation walls may include trim pieces attached in a unique manner as hereinafter described.
Preferably, each wall of the workstation is comprised of stacked, vertically aligned, upper and lower sections, joined at their ends to vertical corner support members. The corner support members or posts may be attached at their lower ends to a horizontal base member that extends beneath the wall.
The lower wall section is comprised of a center vertical plate with spaced upper, center and lower horizontal spacers projecting from each side. The spaces on each side of the center plate between the upper and center spacers, and between the center and lower spacers, form separate parallel, side opening, isolated raceways for cables and wiring. For example, the upper space can be used as a data raceway, and the lower space can be used as an electrical raceway. Thus, two raceways are available on each side of the workstation wall.
The center plate includes through openings so that junction boxes and outlets can be mounted onto the panel from either side, and joined to cable or wiring. Preferably, these openings are spaced along the raceways between the spacers. The openings may be of different shapes and sizes to accommodate different types and sizes of junction boxes and outlets.
Each support member or post is preferably of a rectangular cross-section, and includes a plurality of wall attachment faces, depending upon the number of walls to be joined to the post. That is, the post may have two, three or four wall attachment faces. Each wall attachment face includes through openings or holes, extending though the post to join with the openings in other attachment faces to form conduits through the post between attachment walls.
The wall ends are preferably connected at their ends to the wall attachment face of a post with releasable fasteners having one part attached to the wall attachment face and a mating part attached to the ends of some or all of the spacers forming a part of the center plate. These fasteners are positioned between on either side of the wall attachment openings, and the ends of the center plate include cut-outs between the spacers and adjacent the wall attachment openings, so that the wiring can be easily threaded through the support post conduits and the raceways.
In order to conceal the interior structure and wiring, cover plates are attached on either side of the center web plate using releasable fasteners, such as hook-and loop fasteners of the type sold under the trademark Velcro. For example, mating sections of the releasable fasteners may be attached to the inner faces of the cover plates and to the outer surfaces of the spacers. The cover plates may be formed of rectangular panels of a suitable material, such as pressed board, dry wall, corrugated paperboard, or similar material, with an optional plastic or fabric outer covering. Knock-out sections may be cut in the cover panels and aligned with outlets in the center plate so that openings can be readily formed in the cover plates to access the desired openings.
The upper section of the wall may be formed in various ways depending upon the privacy needs of the workstation, manufacturing costs, and aesthetic considerations. For example, the upper wall may be formed of a framework with upper, lower and spaced side members, and cover plates attached to the outer faces of the framework. With this configuration, the upper section is desirably of the same width as the lower section, and the cover plates are faced with the same surfacing material. Alternatively, the upper section

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