US 6,279,278 B1Granted

Top cap arrangement for upright wall panel

AssigneeAnderson Hickey Company

InventorsJohn F. Morris, William Thomas Cassidy, T. Lynn Roney

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A top cap arrangement for an interior space-dividing wall panel arrangement which mounts on and projects upwardly from a floor for dividing a floor area into a plurality of smaller working areas. The panel arrangement is defined by a plurality of individual panel members which are less than ceiling height, and have an interior frame construction which includes an elongate top frame element which extends along and defines the upper surface of the panel member. A top cap member mounts on and extends horizontally along the top frame element, and is constructed of a material which permits at least limited transverse flexibility. The top cap member has a channel-like configuration which includes outer side flanges which slidably overlap and embrace exterior sides of the panel member to permit at least limited vertical positional adjustability of the top cap member relative to the panel member. A corner cap member for creating a continuous top cap arrangement when the panels are arranged to define a two-panel right-angle corner is also provided.

Claims18

Dependent claims

In combination, an upright interior space-dividing wall panel having a generally rectangular configuration defined by generally parallel upper and lower edges which are horizontally elongated and are joined by generally parallel side edges which extend vertically therebetween, the panel defining therein an upwardly opening channel which extends lengthwise of the upper edge, the panel also having exterior side surfaces which define substantially parallel vertical planes, and a removable top cap structure which mounts on and extends lengthwise along the upper edge of said panel, comprising the improvement wherein said top cap structure includes an elongate one-piece top cap member which mounts on said upper edge and extends therealong through a length which approximately equals but does not exceed the length of said upper edge, said top cap member including a lengthwise extending outer channel part which opens downwardly and includes a top wall and a pair of side flanges which project downwardly from opposite lengthwise-extending edges of said top wall and which have downwardly cantilevered lower portions, the sideward spacing of said side flanges enabling said lower portions thereof to vertically overlap the exterior side surfaces of the panel in the vicinity of said upper edge, said top cap member also including a lengthwise-extending upwardly-oriented inner channel part which includes a bottom wall which is spaced downwardly from said top wall and extends between a pair of side walls which are disposed between and in inwardly-spaced relation from said side flanges, said side walls extending upwardly and joining to a center portion of said top wall, said inner channel part and the center portion of said top wall defining a tubular structure which extends throughout the length of said outer channel part, said bottom wall seating against the upper edge of said panel member, said top cap member further including a pair of sidewardly-spaced resiliently flexible retaining flanges which extend lengthwise of said tubular section and are cantilevered downwardly from said bottom wall for projection into said channel to create a releasable engagement with the panel member.

In an interior upright space-dividing wall system having a plurality of interior, upright, space-dividing wall panels which cooperate to at least partially define workspaces, including first and second said panels having upright end edges disposed in adjacent relationship to define a corner, and a top cap arrangement mounted on and extending along upper edges of said first and second panels and extending therebetween at said corner, the improvement wherein said top cap arrangement comprises:

an elongate one-piece top cap member releasably fixed to and extending along an upper edge of each of said first and second panels, said top cap member having a length which does not exceed the length of the upper edge of the respective panel and which terminates in free ends which are respectively disposed adjacent upper corners of the respective panel;
said top cap member including a tubular part which extends the length of the top cap member and includes vertically spaced top and bottom walls, said top wall defining the exposed upper wall of the top cap member, and said bottom wall being seated on the respective panel along the upper edge thereof;
said top cap member having a pair of side flanges which are sidewardly spaced to accommodate the width of the respective panel therebetween, said side flanges being cantilevered downwardly to vertically overlap exterior side surfaces of the respective panel through a small vertical distance which extends downwardly from the upper edge of the panel, said side flanges having at least limited resilient flexibility to embrace the panel therebetween;
and
a one-piece corner cap member disposed at the corner and extending between the adjacent free ends of the top cap members mounted on said first and second panels and being supportedly engaged with said top cap members, said corner cap member having substantially identical first and second edge walls each having an exterior size and configuration which corresponds to the exterior size and configuration of the top cap member at the free end thereof, each said edge wall being disposed in abutting engagement with the free edge of the respective top cap member to effectively define an extension thereof;
said corner cap member also including a projection which is associated with and cantilevered outwardly beyond each said end edge wall and which projects into the tubular part of the respective top cap member at the free end thereof to create a snug slidable engagement therewith, whereby said corner cap member is supported and carried by said top cap members.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.