Patent Application
20220056937
The present invention relates generally to a partition mounting device arranged to secure privacy, social distancing and sanitary dividers to desks, cubicle partitions and other office furniture. The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a partition mounting device.
In early 2020, SARS-CoV-2 spread worldwide, forcing many states in the United States to institute lock-down protocols. Those protocols resulted in the closing of many offices and businesses, requiring employees to work remotely. During the late spring and early summer of 2020, some states began allowing allow employees to return to physical offices so long as safety measures were instituted following OHSA's Guidance for Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19: https.//www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf.
One of OHSA's guidelines recommended the installation of physical barriers, either temporary, e.g., plexiglass panels, or permanent, e.g., walls. Due to the low cost of plexiglass, many business owners installed temporary fixtures to hold the plexiglass panels. Some of these options included simple 2×4 mounts, hanging panels from the ceiling by wires or string, or creating floor stands to provide barriers for open-concept offices.
A problem with these options is that they are normally unsightly, clunky, and are not designed for adjustability to accommodate changes that may occur in an office layout.
Thus, there is a long felt need for a partition mounting device that sturdily secures partition panels to various types of office furniture, and presents a minimalist and aesthetically pleasing appearance while still allowing quick and easy adjustments to partition configurations.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention broadly comprises a partition mounting device having a body, a pair of arms extending upwardly from the body, a pair of legs extending downwardly from the body, an upper trapezoidal-shaped channel formed between and by the pair of arms, and a lower trapezoidal-shaped channel formed between and by the pair of legs.
In an alternative embodiment the present invention broadly comprises a partition mounting device, comprising a middle section, a pair of arms extending upwardly from the middle section, a pair of legs extending perpendicularly from the middle section, an upper trapezoidal-shaped channel formed between and by the pair of arms, and, a perpendicular trapezoidal-shaped channel formed between and by the pair of legs.
In a further alternative embodiment the present invention broadly comprises a partition mounting stand, comprising a partition and a partition mounting device, wherein the partition mounting device comprises a body, a pair of arms extending upwardly from the body, a pair of legs extending outwardly from the body, a pair of feet extending perpendicularly outward from the pair of legs, a v-shaped channel formed between and by the pair of arms and arranged to hold and secure the partition, and a locking collar arranged to slidably engage the V-shaped channel at the distal end compressing the V-shaped channel to contact the partition.
The invention also includes a method of manufacturing a partition mounting device, comprising the steps of sending an installation kit to an end-user of the mounting device, the kit including an illustration of a typical workstation to be outfitted with one or more partitions, the illustration containing fields for the end-user to enter certain workstation dimensions, and, a pair of calipers; the method further including the steps of measuring thickness of a partition to which the partition mounting device will be affixed with the pair of calipers, where the measuring is performed by the end-user, photographing the pair of calipers in place while measuring the thickness of the partition to which the partition mounting device will be affixed, where the photographing is performed by the end-user, receiving the dimensions, measurements and photograph(s) from the end-user, and, manufacturing the partition mounting device according to dimensions and measurements provided by the end-user.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a device that temporarily secures partition panels to office desks and cubicle walls.
A secondary object of the present invention is to provide a device that temporarily secures partition panels and is easily assembled, disassembled, and reconfigured.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a minimalist and single-piece device that temporarily secures partition panels to office desks and cubicle walls.
Another object of the present invention is to provide for a plurality of the devices to be combined with a variety of sized partitions or a plurality of partitions to accommodate the needs of various office configurations.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide for a standalone partition barrier holder comprised of a singular piece that also includes a locking mechanism.
Various embodiments are disclosed, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which corresponding reference symbols indicate corresponding parts, in which:
At the outset, it should be appreciated that like drawing numbers on different drawing views identify identical, or functionally similar, structural elements. It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the disclosed aspects. It should be appreciated that, although the disclosed partition mounting device embodiments of the present invention finds particular application on a cubicle wall barrier and a desktop, that the invention likely has applications in other locations as well. For example, the invention could be used anywhere in an office setting where it is necessary to provide physical barriers as recommended by OSHA in view of SARS-CoV-2, e.g., bar tops, cashier or point of sale counters, reception desks, etc.
Furthermore, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular methodology, materials and modifications described and as such may, of course, vary. It is also understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. It should be understood that any methods, devices or materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the example embodiments.
It should be appreciated that the term “substantially” is synonymous with terms such as “nearly,” “very nearly,” “about,” “approximately,” “around,” “bordering on,” “close to,” “essentially,” “in the neighborhood of,” “in the vicinity of,” etc., and such terms may be used interchangeably as appearing in the specification and claims. It should be appreciated that the term “proximate” is synonymous with terms such as “nearby,” “close,” “adjacent,” “neighboring,” “immediate,” “adjoining,” etc., and such terms may be used interchangeably as appearing in the specification and claims.
Adverting to the figures,
Partition mounting device 10 comprises body 11, arms 12a and 12b, and legs 13a and 13b. In a preferred embodiment, body 11, arms 12a and 12b, and legs 13a and 13b comprise a single piece. The inside surfaces of first arm 12a and second arm 12b of partition mounting device 10 forms upper trapezoidal channel 14. The distal ends of arms 12a and 12b are spaced apart at a shorter distance than the proximal ends fixedly secured to body 11. The distal end of channel 14 forms a rounded end that has a center point. In a preferred embodiment, angle α1 is 89° and is formed from the inside surface of arm 12a and the midpoint of channel 14 rounded end. In a preferred embodiment, angle α2 is 89° and is formed by the inside surface of arm 12b and the midpoint of channel 14 rounded end. Legs 13a and 13b of partition mounting device 10 inside surface forms lower trapezoidal channel 15. The distal ends of legs 13a and 13b are spaced apart at a shorter distance than the proximal ends fixedly secured to body 11. In a preferred embodiment, angle α3 is 88° and is formed by the inside surface of leg 13a and the proximal inside surface of channel 15. In a preferred embodiment, angle α4 is 88° and is formed by the inside surface of leg 13b and the proximal inside surface of channel 15. Lower trapezoidal channel 15 is operatively arranged to slidably engage a cubicle barrier wall top surface contacting the lower surface of body 11. The distal ends of legs 13a and 13b create a greater force of friction on both sides of cubicle barrier compare to the proximal ends of legs 13a and 13b. Upper trapezoidal channel 14 is operatively arranged to accept and engage a partition barrier slot with a preferable width substantially the same of body 11 depth. It should be appreciated that slight variations in angles α1, α2, α3 and α4 are possible and such variations are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims.
Partition mounting device 10 may be used in pairs, or in a greater number depending on the length of a partition barrier. In a preferred embodiment the number of partition mounting devices required is determined from a one-to-one ratio with the number of partition barrier slots, as shown in
Adverting to
Partition mounting device 20 comprises body 21, pair of arms 22, and pair of legs 23. In a preferred embodiment, body 21, arms 22a and 22b, and legs 23a and 23b comprise a single piece. The inside surfaces of first arm 22a and second arm 22b of partition mounting device 20 form upper trapezoidal channel 24 of partition mounting device 20. The distal ends of arms 22a and 22b are spaced apart at a shorter distance than the proximal ends fixedly secured to body 21. The distal end of channel 24 forms a rounded end that has a center point. In a preferred embodiment, angle α5 is 89° and is formed from the inside surface of arm 22a and the midpoint of channel 24 rounded end. In a preferred embodiment, angle α6 is 89° and is formed by the inside surface of arm 22b and the midpoint of channel 24 rounded end. Legs 23a and 23b of partition mounting device 20 are designated by long leg 28 (leg 23b) and short leg 29 (leg 23a). Long leg 28 terminates at the distal end to tab 26. Tab 26 is operatively arranged to accept a screw to threadably secure an engaged partition mounting device 20 to a desktop although tab be configured with a gripping surface to frictionally secure to a desktop. Legs 23a and 23b of partition mounting device 20 inside surface forms perpendicular trapezoidal channel 25. The distal ends of pair of legs 23 are spaced apart at a shorter distance than the proximal ends fixedly secured to body 21. In a preferred embodiment, angle α7 is 90° and is formed by the inside surface of leg 23a and the inside surface of channel 25. In a preferred embodiment, angle α8 is 87° and is formed by the inside surface of leg 23b and the inside surface of channel 25. Perpendicular trapezoidal channel 25 is operatively arranged to slidably engage a desktop surface contacting the proximate side surface of body 21. The distal ends of legs 23a and 23b create a greater force of friction on the top and bottom surfaces of a desktop compared to the proximal ends of legs 23a and 23b. Upper trapezoidal channel 24 is operatively arranged to accept and engage a partition barrier slot, preferably a width that is substantially the same as body 21 width. It should be appreciated that slight variations in angles α5, α6, and α8 are possible and such variations are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims.
Partition mounting device 20 may be used in pairs, or in a greater number, depending on the length, height and weight of a partition barrier to be secured. In a preferred embodiment, the number of partition mounting devices used is a one-to-one ratio with the number of partition barrier slots, similar to partition mounting device 10 shown in
Partition mounting stand 30 may be used in pairs, or in a greater number, depending on the length, height and weight of a partition barrier to be secured. In a preferred embodiment, the number of partition mounting devices used is a one-to-one ratio with the number of partition barrier slots, similar to the arrangement of partition mounting device 10 shown in
The present invention also comprises a method of manufacturing a partition mounting device. First an installation kit is sent to an end-user requesting partitions 100 (
Thus, it is seen that the objects of the invention are efficiently obtained, although it should be apparent that alternative embodiments of the invention are possible and intended to be within the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63067216 | Aug 2020 | US |
