Workstation arrangement for laboratories, production facilities and the like

Equipment for forming workstations adapted for use on floor areas of laboratories, production locations, and testing and research facilities, said equipment comprising in combination:

• (a) a plurality of portable workbench elements adapted to rest on said floor areas, and
• (b) a plurality of vertically disposed connecting devices separate and apart from said workbench elements, for connection with supplies for electrical energy and devices that handle fluid media, and for use with communications and monitoring apparati,
• (c) said connecting devices being arranged and fixedly mounted in a predetermined pattern distribution within a working space on said floor areas and being disposed vertically at predetermined intervals around said floor areas,
• (d) said connecting devices comprising conduit means having a determinate structural configuration and having supply devices for said electrical energy, for said fluid media, and for said communications and monitoring apparati, said supply devices being carried in the said conduit means,
• (e) said supply devices being arranged in a predetermined number of groups on said conduit means to form at least one group of supply devices for different fluid media and at least one group of supply devices for different electrical power supplies and at least one group of supply devices for electrical communication and control circuit, wherein said groups of supply devices for electrical power and electrical communication and control circuits, and fluid media alternate with each other on the said conduit means,
• (f) said workbench elements being free to be placed on the said floor areas at a side of the said connecting devices in any desired disposition and configuration with respect to each other and with respect to the said connecting devices, and with respect to said predetermined pattern of alternating groups of supply devices for different fluid media and groups of supply devices for different electrical power supplies, and groups of supply devices for electrical communication and control circuits on said conduit means, thereby to form a work facility which is adaptable to various respective laboratory, production, test or research tasks,
• (g) said connecting devices being permanently mounted to the floor of the facility.