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US 7,530,540 B2Granted
Upright post with mounting collar
AssigneeHaworth, Inc.
InventorsDarren Long, Brian Gallant, Tom Brown
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A structural post arrangement and cooperating clamp assembly positioning and supporting related furniture components, such as beams. The clamping assembly includes a split clamping collar which surrounds the post and defines upper and lower rims for engagement with top and bottom jaws as coupled to a furniture component.
Claims18
A space-dividing post-and-beam arrangement for at least partially defining interior workspaces, comprising:
- a plurality of vertically elongate, upright posts disposed in sidewardly-spaced supportive upright engagement with a floor, each said post being generally circular in cross section and having a plurality of channel-like grooves formed therein and extending axially therealong in angularly spaced relationship around a post circumference;
- a ring-shaped clamping collar fixedly but removably engaged in encircling relationship on each of first and second said posts which are disposed in sidewardly-spaced relationship from one another;
- said clamping collar being defined by a pair of arcuate collar segments which when coupled in opposed relationship define said collar, said arcuate segments being relatively movable into an open or separated position to enable mounting around or removal from the post, and fasteners cooperating between opposed ends of the arcuate collar segments for rigidly coupling the collar segments together in encircling engagement with the post such that said collar segments clamp onto said post to prevent vertical displacement of said clamping collar along said post, each said collar segment having a pair of positioning keys projecting radially inwardly thereof in circumferentially spaced, non-movable relationship from one another and disposed for insertion within different ones of said channel-like grooves when the clamping collar is mounted on the post wherein said positioning keys circumferentially locate and prevent circumferential movement of said collar segments relative to said post;
- each of said collar segments having top and bottom rims which respectively project axially upwardly and downwardly and extend length-wise along the collar segment throughout the arcuate extent thereof, said rims defining on one side thereof an inner arcuate wall which is generated on a radius slightly greater than the radius defining an exterior diameter of the post so as to define a narrow clearance groove between the rim and the post, said groove defining a substantially complete annulus which externally surrounds the post and is defined between the post and the rims when the connecting collar is mounted on the post;
- a horizontally elongate beam having jaw assemblies fixedly but removably mounted on opposite ends thereof, said jaw assemblies being respectively fixedly but removably coupled to the connecting collars associated with said first and second posts so as to rigidly connect said beam to and between said posts;
- said jaw assembly having a support body rigidly joined to the beam and which mounts a first outwardly-protruding jaw part, and a second outwardly-protruding jaw part being movably mounted on said body and disposed in generally vertically opposed relationship to said first jaw part, said first and second jaw parts defining therein vertically opposed clamping grooves which have a horizontally elongate and arcuate shape so that the uppermost jaw part hooks downwardly over the top rim and the lowermost jaw part hooks upwardly over the bottom rim, and a tightening arrangement cooperating between the jaw parts for relatively moving them vertically toward one another to fixedly clampingly engage the top and bottom rims within the respective top and bottom clamping grooves;
- said clamping grooves and their cooperation with the rims on said connecting collar permitting the jaw assembly to be mounted at any desired location circumferentially around the post.
4 more elements
An upright post arrangement for use in an interior office environment, comprising:
- a vertically elongate upright post having a lower end supported on a floor;
- said post being defined by a generally hollow cylindrical member having a plurality of channel-like grooves formed radially inwardly from the outer periphery thereof with said grooves extending axially throughout substantially the full length of the post and being disposed in angularly spaced relationship around the post;
- a ring-shaped clamping collar disposed in encircling relationship to the post and fixedly engaged therewith at a selected axial location along the post, said clamping collar having an axially intermediate portion which substantially encircles the post and defines thereon surface areas generated on a cylindrical profile which substantially corresponds to the outer cylindrical surface of said post for substantial clamping engagement therebetween when the clamping collar is engaged exteriorly around the post;
- said clamping collar also including upper and lower axial end portions which are disposed axially on opposite sides of said intermediate portion, each said axial end portion including a substantially annular flange which projects axially so as to terminate at an outer free end and which is disposed in surrounding and concentric relationship to the exterior periphery of the post but is spaced radially outwardly therefrom by a small radial distance so as to define an annular clearance groove therebetween which opens axially away from the intermediate portion;
- said clamping collar being defined by a pair of substantially semi-cylindrical collar segments which are disposed in generally opposed relation with opposed ends of said collar segments being joined together through fasteners to effect gripping of the collar to the post when the collar is disposed so as to exteriorly surround the post;
- each said collar segment having a non-movable key part fixed thereto in a stationary position and protruding radially inwardly beyond the cylindrical surface area, said key part being engaged within one of the channel-like grooves associated with the post when the collar segments are secured together in surrounding relationship thereto so as to circumferentially locate said collar segment on said post;
- a component positioned exteriorly adjacent to said post and having a jaw structure carried thereon for fixed but releasable engagement with the collar on said post;
- said jaw structure including upper and lower jaws defining respectively opposed upper and lower jaw parts, said upper and jaw parts respectively defining therein vertically opposed downwardly-facing and upwardly-facing clamping channels which are horizontally elongated and shaped for effecting clamping engagement with the respective upper and lower rims on said clamping collar, said jaws and their cooperation with the respective annular rim on the clamping collar permitting the jaw to be positioned at substantially any desired angular orientation relative to the surrounding circumference of the post, and an adjustable securing structure cooperating between the opposed upper and lower jaws for effecting relative vertical movement therebetween to simultaneously rigidly clamp the upper and lower rims of the collar within the respective upper and lower clamping channels;
- each of said substantially semi-cylindrical collar segments having substantially semi-cylindrical rim parts which protrude axially upwardly and axially downwardly from the respective upper and lower edges thereof, the rim parts on said collar segments cooperating to define said annular rims when the semi-cylindrical collar segments are fixedly engaged in encircling relationship to the post.
6 more elements
An upright post arrangement for use in conjunction with an interior work space, comprising:
- a vertically-elongate upright post disposed in upright supportive engagement with a floor, said post being defined as a hollow cylinder having a plurality of channel-like grooves opening radially inwardly from an outer cylindrical peripheral surface of the post, said grooves extending axially along the length of the post and being disposed in angularly spaced relationship therearound;
- a clamping arrangement fixedly but releasably engaged with said post at any axial location therealong, said clamping arrangement including an arcuate collar segment which extends circumferentially around the exterior of the post through an angular extent of no more than 180°, said collar segment being defined by two arcuate collar parts having opposed ends rigidly join together by fasteners so as to form said collar segment;
- said collar segment including a pair of circumferentially spaced securing keys projecting radially inwardly from an inner peripheral surface thereof so that each said key projects into and engages a side wall of a different one of said grooves, each said securing key being disposed non-movably in a stationary position on a respective said collar part whereby said collar parts when drawn together in end-to-end relationship cause said securing keys to be drawn toward one another for engaging oppositely-oriented side walls of said different ones of said grooves to effect clamping engagement with said post;
- said collar segment having top and bottom rims which extend lengthwise therealong and which are respectively cantilevered upwardly and downwardly, each of said ribs being generally concentric with and spaced radially outwardly a small distance from the adjacent outer cylindrical surface of the post so as to define a narrow clearance slot therebetween;
- and
- a jaw-type clamping structure fixedly but releasably engaged with said clamping arrangement, said jaw-type clamping structure including vertically opposed first and second jaw parts which respectively define therein downwardly and upwardly facing clamping channels having a horizontally elongate arcuate configuration corresponding to the configuration of the rims on said collar segment, said first and second jaw parts being respectively hooked over the top and bottom rims at any desired angular location throughout the length of the rims so that the top and bottom rims are respectively disposed within the downwardly and upwardly facing clamping channels, and an adjustable securing means connected between said first and second jaw parts for relatively urging the jaw parts toward one another to stationarily and fixedly clampingly engage the top and bottom rims with the respective top and bottom jaw parts.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.