Office pod

Abstract

Closable cabin (1) comprising a floor (2), a ceiling (3) and sidewalls (4, 5, 6, 7), wherein at least one (7) of said sidewalls comprises a closable door (8) to enable entry 5 to and exit from the cabin (1) through a door opening (9), wherein inside the cabin (1) there is a seating or standing arrangement (10, 11) and a tabletop (12) so as to provide a working environment within the cabin (1), wherein the tabletop (12) is provided with a first dimension in a first direction 10 (A) perpendicular to a sidewall (6) and perpendicular to the door (8) that is opposite to such sidewall (6) which amounts to at least 80% of a distance between the door (8) and said sidewall (6) opposite to said door (8).

Description

[0001] OFFICE POD

[0002] The invention relates to a closable cabin comprising a floor, a ceiling, sidewalls, wherein at least one of said sidewalls comprises a closable door to enable entry to and exit from the cabin through a door opening, and wherein inside the cabin there is a seating or standing arrangement and a tabletop so as to provide a working environment within the cabin.

[0003] Such a closable cabin with a seating arrangement is known from the Chinese design patent CN 306544020 S. The closable cabin can be used as a secure working space for one person or more persons to avoid distraction because of noise from the environment. The closable cabin can also be tailored to avoid that a discussion held within the cabin can be eavesdropped.

[0004] One of the problems with the known closable cabin is that it is not well suited to accommodate a working environment wherein many documents or documents and a laptop can be on the tabletop at the same time. This problem associates with the fact that there must be sufficient room for a person to enter or to exit the closable cabin.

[0005] The preamble of the first claim is known from

[0006] Busypod: "Busypod Design of Silence", 15 December 2021 , pages 1 - 20 , XP093106416, downloaded from https; / / internationalacoustic. com / it / prodott i / busypod- large /

[0007] It is an objective of the invention to increase the versatility of the closable cabin, and to provide such a closable cabin which can house several persons at the same time and offer these persons sufficient working space, particularly with reference to the tabletop, without compromising the possibility to enter or exit the closable cabin.

[0008] The closable cabin of the invention is therefore provided with features according to one or more of the appended claims .

[0009] One of the eye-catching features of the closable cabin of the invention is that the tabletop is provided with a first dimension in a first direction (A) perpendicular to a sidewall and perpendicular to the door that is opposite to such sidewall which amounts to at least 80% of a distance between the door and said sidewall opposite to said door, and that the tabletop is provided with a second dimension in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, which second dimension amounts to at least 75%, more preferably at least 80%, and most preferably at least 85% of the width of the door opening, and that the tabletop is slidable alongside the door opening in a horizontal plane to enable entry to and exit from the seating or standing arrangement.

[0010] The features of the first claim provide that the usable working area of the tabletop can be as large so as to accommodate the working space required for four persons at the same time. In one embodiment the first dimension perpendicular to a sidewall and perpendicular to the door that is opposite to such sidewall amounts to 940 mm with an internal dimension between said sidewall and the door opposite to said sidewall amounting to 1100 mm. At the same time the second dimension of the tabletop can then be set at 750 mm, with the door opening amounting to 840 mm.

[0011] Preferably the seating or standing arrangement is provided on opposite sides of the tabletop. This makes cooperation between the persons within the closable cabin easy and comfortable and allows for more persons to take place in the cabin .

[0012] The feature that the tabletop is slidable alongside the door opening is particularly desirable in the case when the seating or standing arrangement is provided on opposite sides of the tabletop.

[0013] To accommodate different ways of using the closable cabin of the invention, it is preferable that the tabletop is height adjustable. This makes conversion between use of the cabin with a seating arrangement and use of the cabin with a standing arrangement easy, and makes possible to adapt the cabin to accommodate persons with considerably different heights.

[0014] The features in each of the following three paragraphs can be applied independent from any of the other features mentioned herein above, for instance said features in each of the following three paragraphs can be applied in combination with the features mentioned in the preamble of the first claim.

[0015] The closable cabin of the invention can suitably be arranged such that the tabletop is provided with a rail or rails mounted at its underside, which rail or rails are slidably provided on a mounting structure within the cabin.

[0016] To promote the sturdiness of the closable cabin of the invention, it is preferable that the mounting structure comprises a bar that is mountable or mounted on a sidewall or sidewalls within the cabin, and that the bar supports a frame which is further supported by a stander resting on the floor of the cabin.

[0017] It is preferred that the bar that is mountable or mounted on the sidewall within the cabin is opposite to the door opening .

[0018] The accompanying drawing, which is incorporated into and forms a part of the specification, illustrates one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serves to explain the principles of the invention. The drawing is only for the purpose of illustrating one or more embodiments of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention.

[0019] In the drawing:

[0020] -figure 1A and IB show two embodiments of a closable cabin of the invention in an isometric view;

[0021] -figures 2A - 2C show the slidable tabletop provided in the closable cabin of the invention from the top, a side, and from below respectively; and

[0022] -figure 3 shows an exploded view of the tabletop and a mountable structure supporting the tabletop. Whenever in the figures the same reference numerals are applied, these numerals refer to the same parts.

[0023] The closable cabin 1 of the invention is depicted in figure 1A and figure IB, wherein the closable cabin 1 comprises a floor 2, a ceiling 3, sidewalls 4, 5, 6, 7. In the shown embodiments the opposite sidewalls 4, 5 are nontransparent, whereas the opposite sidewalls 6, 7 are transparent. Whether or not a sidewall is transparent is however not essential to the invention, and the choice of embodying a sidewall transparent or nontransparent may be made according to the needs of the situation .

[0024] The shown embodiments comprise a closable door 8 to enable entry to and exit from the cabin 1 through a door opening 9.

[0025] Figure 1A and figure IB further show that inside the cabin 1 there is a seating arrangement 10, 11 (for instance benches or stools) and a tabletop 12 so as to provide a working environment within the cabin 1. Instead of a seating arrangement there may be a standing arrangement.

[0026] According to the invention the tabletop 12 is provided with a first dimension in a first direction A perpendicular to a sidewall 6 and perpendicular to the door 8 that is opposite to such sidewall 6 which amounts to at least 70%, more preferably at least 80% of a distance between the door 8 and said sidewall 6 opposite to said door 6.

[0027] Further the tabletop 12 is provided with a second dimension in a second direction B perpendicular to the first direction A, which second dimension B equates to at least 75%, more preferably at least 80%, and most preferably at least 85% of the width of the door opening 9.

[0028] Figure 1A and IB further show that the seating or standing arrangement 10, 11 is provided on opposite sides of the tabletop 12.

[0029] With reference to figures 2 and 3, hereinafter the construction will be elucidated that is used to arrange that the tabletop 12 is slidable alongside the door opening 9. This construction enables in particular that the tabletop 12 is slidable in opposite directions in a horizontal plane to enable easy entry to and exit from the seating or standing arrangement 10, 11, as this seating or standing arrangement 10, 11 is provided on opposite sides of the tabletop 12. It is further remarked that the tabletop 12 is height adjustable.

[0030] Making in particular reference to figure 2C and figure 3 it is shown that the tabletop 12 is provided with a rail or rails 13 mounted at its underside 12' , which rail or rails 13 are slidably provided on a mounting structure 14 within the cabin 1. Although not shown the cabin 1, and in particular the tabletop 12 can be provided with ancillary equipment to support that the laptops or other equipment that may be placed on the tabletop 12 can be adequately powered.

[0031] The mounting structure 14 comprises a bar 15 that is mountable or mounted on a sidewall 6, or sidewalls 4, 5 within the cabin 1. If the sidewall 6 is a glass sidewall, the bar 15 can for instance be glued on the sidewall 6. The bar 15 supports a frame 16 which is further supported by a stander 17 resting on the floor 2 of the cabin 1. Instead of the standard 17 other options to support the tabletop 12 may of course also be applied without departing from the invention. The frame 16 is or will be provided by sliders 18 as depicted in figure 3. On these sliders 18 the rails 13 that are provided at the underside 12' of the tabletop 12 can slidably move back and forth.

[0032] Embodiments of the present invention can include every combination of features that are disclosed herein independently from each other. Although the invention has been discussed in the foregoing with reference to exemplary embodiments of the invention, the invention is not restricted to these particular embodiments which can be varied in many ways without departing from the invention. The discussed exemplary embodiments shall therefore not be used to construe the appended claims strictly in accordance therewith. On the contrary the embodiments are merely intended to explain the wording of the appended claims without intent to limit the claims to these exemplary embodiments. The scope of protection of the invention shall therefore be construed in accordance with the appended claims only, wherein a possible ambiguity in the wording of the claims shall be resolved using these exemplary embodiments.

[0033] Variations and modifications of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications and equivalents. The entire disclosures of all references, applications, patents, and publications cited above are hereby incorporated by reference. Unless specifically stated as being "essential" above, none of the various components or the interrelationship thereof are essential to the operation of the invention. Rather, desirable results can be achieved by substituting various components and / or reconfiguration of their relationships with one another.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Closable cabin (1) comprising a floor (2) , a ceiling (3) , and sidewalls (4, 5, 6, 7) , wherein at least one (7) of said sidewalls comprises a closable door (8) to enable entry to and exit from the cabin (1) through a door opening (9) , wherein inside the cabin (1) there is a seating or standing arrangement (10, 11) and a tabletop (12) so as to provide a working environment within the cabin (1) , characterized in that the tabletop (12) is provided with a first dimension in a first direction (A) perpendicular to a sidewall (6) and perpendicular to the door (8) that is opposite to such sidewall (6) which amounts to at least 80% of a distance between the door (8) and said sidewall (6) opposite to said door (8) , and that the tabletop (12) is provided with a second dimension in a second direction (B) perpendicular to the first direction (A) , which second dimension amounts to at least 75% of the width of the door opening (9) , and that the tabletop (12) is slidable alongside the door opening (9) in a horizontal plane to enable entry to and exit from the seating or standing arrangement (10, 11) .

2. Closable cabin according to claim 1, characterized in that the second dimension of the tabletop (12) in the second direction (B) perpendicular to the first direction amounts to at least 80%, preferably at least 85% of the width of the door opening (9) .

3. Closable cabin according to any one of claims 1 - 2, characterized in that the seating or standing arrangement (10, 11) is provided on opposite sides of the tabletop (12) .

4. Closable cabin according to any one of claims 1 -3, characterized in that the tabletop (12) is slidable in opposite directions in a horizontal plane to enable entry to and exit from the seating or standing arrangement (10, 11) as provided on opposite sides of the tabletop (12) .

5. Closable cabin according to any one of claims 1 - 5, characterized in that the tabletop (12) is height adjustable.

6. Closable cabin according to the preamble of claim 1 or according to any one of claims 1 - 5, characterized in that the tabletop (12) is provided with a rail or rails (13) mounted at its underside (12' ) , which rail or rails(13) are slidably provided on a mounting structure (14) within the cabin (1) .

7. Closable cabin according to claim 6 or according to the preamble of claim 1 and claim 6, characterized in that the mounting structure (14) comprises a bar (15) that is mountable or mounted on a sidewall (4, 5, 6) within the cabin (1) , and that the bar (15) supports a frame (16) which is further supported by a stander (17) resting on the floor (2) of the cabin (1) .

8. Closable cabin according to claim 7 or according to the preamble of claim 1 and claim 7, characterized in that the bar (15) that is mountable or mounted on the sidewall (6) within the cabin (1) is opposite to the door opening (9) .

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