Folding door for office cubicle

Details Folding door for office cubicle Folding door for office cubicle

2000-02-08

2001-07-03

Purol, David M. (Department: 3634)

Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel

Plural strip, slat, or panel type

With mounting or supporting means

C160SDIG001, C292S251500

Reexamination Certificate

active

06253826

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to office partition systems and in particular to a folding door that can be secured to a partition wall, adjacent an entryway, to allow selective closure of the entryway.
BRIEF SUMMARY
2. Description of Prior Art
In the modern office environment, partition systems are commonly used to divide large open areas into rows of adjacent cubicles that are separated by commonly shared aisles. A typical office cubicle is a rectangular configuration of partition walls in which an open space is left between two partition sections, facing the common aisle, to allow user entry. This typical design pattern provides the cubicle user with a constant source of peripheral distractions and ad-hoc interruptions stemming from coworkers using the common aisle.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a simple mechanism for closing the entryway in order to eliminate these peripheral distractions and in particular, a universally applicable mechanism which does not require modification of the cubicle and that users can personally afford, transport and install themselves.
Some workspace modules such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,513 (1997) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,341 (1994) to Baloga include doors that have been specifically designed to function within their respective modular systems. These doors are shaped to fit a pre-determined entryway and are supported by a specific panel construction. Thus, these doors do not provide a universal solution for the installed base of office cubicles.
Folding screens of the floor standing type such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,718 (1999) to Westgarth, U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,909 (1994) to King and U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,931 (1990) to Miller are not ergonomically functional as a cubicle door. Employing these screens on a daily basis would be tedious because a user would be required to lift, unfold and carefully position the screen each time the user wanted close the entryway and to lift, fold and remove the screen each time the user wanted to open the entryway.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,946 (1997) to Verbeek describes a privacy screen for workspaces using a framed LEXAN panel supported by one or more telescopic slides attached to a side panel using a bracketed mechanism. The solution provided by Verbeek is not accessible to many users because the expensive construction prohibits an out of pocket purchase. Because of the expense, a potential user would be forced to seek budget approval from management for the screen. In addition, installation of the Verbeek screen is complicated because it requires panel specific mounting brackets and the use of tools to install fasteners. Finally, its three to four foot panel width significantly inhibits transport by an average user to the workplace.
The folding doors of prior art are not generally applicable as an inexpensive, universal, office cubicle door because they fail to address the specific constraints and ergonomic requirements associated with cubicle construction and modular office layout common in the workplace.
A primary design factor is that cubicle openings lack the lintel means required by many folding door designs. The designs proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,123 (1998) to Kuyama, U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,834 (1995) to Borgart, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,861 (1976) to Fromme as well as the design revealed by Galietti in U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,878 (1969) reference a lintel means for support during extension. In modular office systems, a partition height of five feet is very common. Installing track acting as a lintel means across the entryway would effectively block the entryway. Thus, these designs are not readily applicable for use as a cubicle door because the entryway lacks the required lintel means.
Another key design constraint is the desire to not make permanent modifications to partitions because invasive modifications, such as drilling holes, inhibits future reuse of the disfigured partition section. Minimizing weight was not the primary objective of the previously described folding doors or of the folding door described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,395 (1985) to Carroll. Thus, these doors cannot be supported in an extended manner without using an embedded hardware fastener to attach the hinge to the jamb. Thus, these designs are not an optimal solution as a folding door for an office cubicle.
Finally, the previously described folding doors contain expensive features, which are not applicable to office cubicles. The Carroll and Kuyama doors have automatic opening and release mechanisms, the Borgardt door has a break-away feature, the Fromme door has tension spring assembly and the Galietti door has a framed, double panel construction all of which are not relevant or useful features for office cubicle doors.
SUMMARY
In accordance with the present invention, a folding door for an office cubicle comprises an accordion-style folding door panel including a plurality of surface mounted magnets, a plurality of vertical hinges attached along one panel edge and a dual-sided latching member attached to the opposite panel edge which is used to selectively secure the door panel when the door panel is unfolded in the closed entryway position and to retain the door panel out of the cubicle entryway when the door is folded in the open entryway position.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
According, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
(a) to provide a cubicle door which can be used with the vast majority of existing office partition systems regardless of panel height or thickness;
(b) to provide a cubicle door which is inexpensive and can be purchased by an average office worker;
(c) to provide a cubicle door which can be easily installed without tools by an average office worker;
(d) to provide a lightweight cubicle door which can be deployed without permanent modification to the office partition system; and
(e) to provide a cubicle door which is portable and can be readily removed or reinstalled on demand.
Further objects and advantages are to provide a cubicle door which takes up minimal space when not in use, requires minimal swing space to operate, and can be decorated en masse using an inexpensive standard printing method. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3418666 (1968-12-01), Rockey
patent: 3422878 (1969-01-01), Galietti
patent: 3799237 (1974-03-01), Proserpi
patent: 3979861 (1976-09-01), Fromme
patent: 4276919 (1981-07-01), Waters
patent: 4534395 (1985-08-01), Carrol
patent: 4924931 (1990-05-01), Miller
patent: 5214885 (1993-06-01), Maas et al.
patent: 5275220 (1994-01-01), Siegal
patent: 5282341 (1994-02-01), Balogna
patent: 5287909 (1994-02-01), King
patent: 5392834 (1995-02-01), Borgart
patent: 5675946 (1997-10-01), Verbeek
patent: 5687513 (1997-11-01), Balogna
patent: 5762123 (1998-06-01), Koyama
patent: 5896718 (1999-04-01), Westgarth
patent: 6012504 (2000-01-01), Siegal

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