The invention relates to booths for personal use.
Personal booths are found in a multitude of different environments, from office spaces to airports to homes. These booths usually consist of three or four walls, a floor and ceiling to provide support for the walls, and a set of wheels to permit movement thereof.
Structures such as these may be found, for example, in PCT/US2017/027793 entitled “Modular Booth” and PCT/IB2020/050306 entitled “A Mobile Cabin with Ventilation System and A Method for Ventilation Thereof.”
A common feature among known art, such as referenced above, is the provision of a small number of wheels for assisting with movement from one position to another. Structures such as these may be heavy, having a weight which may vary from 150-350 kg. Each wheel, and its accompanying support is liable to cause an uneven application of force to the structure, the force being concentrated at a small number of points, namely, at each of the wheel supports. The force to be borne by each of the wheel supports includes not only that arising from the self-weight of the structure but also dynamic forces when the structure is moved. It will thus be appreciated that provision has to be made to redistribute these concentrated forces throughout the structure, as well as local strengthening of the structure in the region of each of the wheel supports. This inherently limits the number of times that the structure can be moved without deleteriously affecting its structural integrity, thus shortening its useful life.
PCT/IB2020/050306 entitled “A Mobile Cabin with Ventilation System and A Method for Ventilation Thereof” describes a relatively massive structure. While such a structure potentially solves the above disadvantage by being more robust and therefore able to absorb greater forces, this also increases its self-weight making it more difficult to move.
The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope.
In one embodiment, there is provided a low-slung movable personal booth for positioning on a support surface, which includes a first and second opposing sidewalls, each having a rear edge portion, a front edge portion, an upper edge portion, and a lower edge portion which terminates in a lower sidewall edge; a rear wall having a pair of parallel side edge portions, a lower edge portion which terminates in a lower rear wall edge, and an upper edge portion which terminates in an upper rear wall edge; the rear edge portion of each of the first and second opposing sidewalls is rigidly connected to one of the pair of parallel side edge portions of the rear wall, such that the sidewalls and rear wall form a cubicle structure having a usable space therein; one or more structural continuity members connect between the pair of opposing sidewalls so as to provide structural continuity within the cubicle structure; a low friction mobility apparatus, mounted along the lower edge portion of each of the first and second sidewalls and of the rear wall, arranged to support the cubicle structure on the support surface and to facilitate movement thereof along the support surface in response to a lateral force, wherein the mobility apparatus is configured to distribute both static and dynamic loads, respectively caused by self-weight of the cubicle structure and movement thereof along the support surface, in a generally uniform distribution along the sidewalls and the rear wall.
Additionally, in accordance with an embodiment, one or more structural continuity members includes a planar support element connecting between the lower edge portions of the cubicle structure, positioned so as to support the cubicle structure on the support surface.
Further, in accordance with an embodiment, a planar support element also includes a low friction mobility apparatus so as to assist movement of the personal booth along the support surface.
Additionally, in accordance with an embodiment, the planar support element is a floor element which includes an upward facing surface and a downward facing surface, and the low friction mobility apparatus includes a plurality of low friction mobility elements embedded into the downward facing surface of the floor element, wherein the low friction mobility elements protrude from the downward facing surface to support the floor element on the support surface.
Further, in accordance with an embodiment, the one or more structural continuity element includes a ceiling element connected between the upper edge portions of the cubicle structure.
Additionally, in accordance with an embodiment, the cubicle structure includes a front facing opening, a closure element for providing access to the interior, and a mounting element for mounting the closure element in association with the front facing opening.
Further, in accordance with an embodiment, the low friction mobility apparatus is a plurality of ball transfer units aligned linearly and mounted in association with the lower edge portion of the first and second sidewalls and the rear wall, configured to evenly distribute both static and dynamic loads.
Additionally, in accordance with an embodiment, the one or more structural continuity member includes a tie member removably fastenable to the front edge portions of the first and second opposing sidewalls, for fastening thereto prior to movement of the low-slung movable personal booth and removal therefrom after movement.
Further, in accordance with an embodiment, the low friction mobility apparatus is a planar element formed of a low friction material.
Additionally, in accordance with an embodiment, there is provided a low-slung movable personal booth for positioning on a support surface including a first and second opposing sidewalls, each having a rear edge portion, a front edge portion, an upper edge portion, and a lower edge portion which terminates in a lower sidewall edge; a rear wall having a pair of parallel side edge portions, a lower edge portion which terminates in a lower rear wall edge, and an upper edge portion which terminates in an upper rear wall edge, wherein the rear edge portion of each of the first and second opposing sidewalls is rigidly connected to one of the pair of parallel side portions, such that the sidewalls and rear wall form a cubicle structure having a usable space therein; a floor element which includes an upward facing surface and a downward facing surface connecting between the pair of opposing sidewalls in association with the lower edge portions of the cubicle structure so as to provide structural continuity within the cubicle structure the sidewalls and the rear wall; an array of low friction mobility elements embedded into the downward facing surface of the floor element, arranged to support the cubicle structure on the support surface and to facilitate movement thereof along the support surface in response to a lateral force.
Further, in accordance with an embodiment, the low friction mobility elements protrude through the upward facing surface of the floor element.
The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated from the detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
Identical, duplicate, equivalent or similar structures, elements or parts that appear in one or more drawings are generally labelled with the same reference numeral, optionally with an additional letter or letters to distinguish between similar entities or variants of entities, and may not be otherwise repeatedly labelled and/or described. References to previously presented elements are implied without necessarily further citing the drawing or description in which they appear.
Dimensions of components and features shown in the figures are chosen for convenience or clarity of presentation and are not necessarily shown to scale or true perspective. For convenience or clarity, some elements or structures are not shown or shown only partially and/or with different perspective or from different viewpoints.
Disclosed herein is a low-slung movable personal booth, denoted generally in the drawings by reference numeral 100.
Referring now to
In some embodiments, there may be provided one or more structural continuity member 126, connecting between opposing sidewalls 102 and 104, for providing structural continuity among the different constructional elements of cubicle 100. Structural continuity member 126, illustrated in the drawings schematically, can be a crossbeam, an L-shaped bracket, or any other structural tie or a constructional element such as a floor or ceiling member that fulfils this function, thereby generally reinforcing and providing structural integrity to booth 100.
Optionally, there may also be provided additional ties, struts, bracing members or other structural elements (not shown) which may be either external or internal to the structural members illustrated.
Mounted to respective lower edge portions 116 and 124 is elongate low friction mobility apparatus 108. Low friction mobility apparatus 108 is operative to support the cubicle structure on a support surface 350 (
In some embodiments, low friction mobility apparatus 108 is an elongate track member made from anti-static sliding material configured to be attached to respective lower edge portions 116 and 124 of the cubicle 100. This anti-static material can be constructed from LubX CV material, as can be found at www.roechling-industrial.com, or any other suitable material.
Referring now to
This provides the present booth 100 with a significant advantage when compared with known wheel-mounted structures. Such structures to be both movable and to provide privacy. As movability is provided by the provision of a small number of relatively large wheels, the floor of the booth—required so as to provide privacy—is elevated, normally some 10-20 cm above the surface on which the booth stands. The provision of a suspended floor requires an appropriate support structure, constituting an additional weight and cost component. Furthermore, the elevated floor at the height required by the provision of the wheels, as described, requires a user to step up into the booth in order to enter. It has been found, however, that having a single step up into a room does not easily register to the human eye and can thus be a tripping hazard. All of the above issues are solved by the provision of low friction mobility apparatus 108, facilitating full support of booth 100 at negligible elevation, as described.
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In some embodiments, as seen in
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In some embodiments, as schematically illustrated in
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Floor member 402 is connected to lower edge portion 419. A ramp member 403 is connected to floor member 402 at the front-facing opening 420 thereby bridging the gap that is formed between floor member 402 and a support surface 450, allowing users to safely enter booth 400. Closure member or door 404 is mounted onto mounting member 416. Ceiling element 411 is connected to upper wall portion 418 of booth 400.
In some embodiments, booth 400 includes a step-shaped feature 405, positioned along rear wall 422. Step 405 can be configured as a bench. In some embodiments, step 405 is hollow and houses a braking mechanism 503, which is further described in greater detail below, in conjunction with
In some embodiments, there is provided a water supply line 412, which enters booth 400 through the ceiling element 411, to provide water for a fire sprinkler system within the booth 400. In some embodiments, there is provided an air conditioning or ventilation supply pipe 413 for climate control within the booth 400. In some embodiments water supply line 412 supplies water to a faucet (not shown) within booth 400.
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As used herein the term “configuring” and/or ‘adapting’ for an objective, or a variation thereof, implies using materials and/or components in a manner designed for and/or implemented and/or operable or operative to achieve the objective.
Unless otherwise specified, the terms ‘about’ and/or ‘close’ with respect to a magnitude or a numerical value implies within an inclusive range of −10% to +10% of the respective magnitude or value. Unless otherwise specified, the terms ‘about’ and/or ‘close’ with respect to a dimension or extent, such as length, implies within an inclusive range of −10% to +10% of the respective dimension or extent. Unless otherwise specified, the terms ‘about’ or ‘close’ imply at or in a region of, or close to a location or a part of an object relative to other parts or regions of the object.
When a range of values is recited, it is merely for convenience or brevity and includes all the possible sub-ranges as well as individual numerical values within and about the boundary of that range. Any numeric value, unless otherwise specified, includes also practical close values enabling an embodiment or a method, and integral values do not exclude fractional values. A sub-range values and practical close values should be considered as specifically disclosed values. As used herein, ellipsis ( . . . ) between two entities or values denotes an inclusive range of entities or values, respectively. For example, A . . . Z implies all the letters from A to Z, inclusively.
The terminology used herein should not be understood as limiting, unless otherwise specified, and is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosed subject matter. While certain embodiments of the disclosed subject matter have been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents are not precluded.
Terms in the claims that follow should be interpreted, without limiting, as characterized or described in the specification.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been specifically shown and described in conjunction with the drawings, hereinabove. Rather, the invention is limited solely by the claims, which follow:
This U.S. Non-Provisional patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/156,365, filed on Mar. 4, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference.
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