Partition device

Abstract

To provide a partition device with a movable partition that can be moved while maintaining perpendicularity to a floor surface.SOLUTION: A partition device is characterized in that a rail 10 for guiding a wheel 13 provided at a center part of a lower end of a moving partition 20 is laid on a floor surface F opposed to a guide rail 5 for guiding an upper end of the moving partition 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a partition device having a movable partition whose upper end is movably guided along a guide rail and whose lower end is supported on a floor surface via wheels. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of such a partition device is described in Patent Document 1. The partition device described in Patent Document 1 movably supports the upper end of a movable partition (panel) by a guide rail installed on the ceiling, and allows a pair of casters (wheels) provided on the lower end of the movable partition to run along the floor surface, thereby connecting multiple movable partitions to divide an indoor space. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4583661 (page 3, figure 1) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the partition device described in Patent Document 1, although the casters are used to enable smooth movement along the guide rails, the straight-line movement is poor when connected in a straight line, and it may be difficult to move the movable partition while keeping it perpendicular to the floor surface.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a partition device that allows a movable partition to be moved while remaining perpendicular to the floor surface. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the partition device of the present invention comprises: A partition device comprising a movable partition having an upper end movably guided along a guide rail and a lower end supported on a floor surface via wheels, A rail for guiding the guided means at the lower end of the movable partition is laid on the floor surface opposite to the guide rail. According to this feature, the upper end is guided along the guide rail, and the guided means at the lower end is guided by the rail, so that the movable partition can be moved while remaining perpendicular to the floor surface.

[0007] The wheel is provided at the center of the lower end of the movable partition, and the wheel serves as the guided means that is guided by the rail. According to this feature, the wheels also function as the guided means, so there is no need to provide a separate guided means, and costs can be reduced. Also, because the wheels run while rotating along the rails, the movable partition can be moved smoothly. Furthermore, by providing the wheels at the center of the lower end of the movable partition, the load of the movable partition acts on the center of the left and right, so the movable partition can be moved smoothly.

[0008] The wheels have a twin-wheel structure in which two individual wheels are attached to the axle at a distance from each other, and the wheels are guided by the two individual wheels running on either side of the rail. According to this feature, the wheels having a dual wheel structure arranged at a distance from each other at the front and rear run on either side of the rail, thereby enabling the movable partition to be moved stably while remaining perpendicular to the floor surface.

[0009] The rail is characterized by being a low-height flat rail. According to this feature, the wheels of the dual-wheel structure can easily ride over the flat rails, so even if the flat rails are laid crossing each other and the direction of the movable partition is changed at the crossing, the wheels can easily move from one flat rail to the other flat rail, and the direction of the movable partition can be changed without any trouble. Also, since the rails are not conspicuous, the appearance of the partition device is not impaired and they do not become an obstacle to passage.

[0010] The flat rail has curved or inclined surfaces on both widthwise edges thereof, and the outer peripheral edge of the wheel unit facing the inclined surfaces is curved or inclined. According to this feature, the dual-wheel structure wheels can climb over the flat rails even more easily, so that the movable partition can be changed direction smoothly.

[0011] The movable partition has a frame, and the wheels of the dual-wheel structure are characterized in that the two wheels are attached to the center of the frame so as to sandwich the lower end of the frame. According to this feature, the wheels of the dual wheel structure can be made larger in diameter, making it even easier to climb over flat rails.

[0012] The rails are laid so as to cross each other, and their ends in the crossing direction are spaced apart to be discontinuous. According to this feature, the dual-wheel structure wheels move from one rail to the other without climbing over the intersecting rails, so that the direction can be changed smoothly without moving the movable partition up and down. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a partition device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of a portion of the partition device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an enlarged bottom view of part A in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an enlarged bottom view of part B in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. [Figure 7] 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a wheel moving over two intersecting flat rails. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a wheel moves from one rail to the other rail in a partition device according to a second embodiment in which two intersecting rails are discontinuous. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A partition device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. EXAMPLES

[0015] A partition device according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 8. As shown in Fig. 1, a partition device 1 according to the first embodiment is installed on a floor surface F in order to divide a large indoor space, such as an office or an exhibition hall, into a square shape.

[0016] The partition device 1 comprises a frame body 2 that is installed freestanding on the floor surface. The frame body 2 comprises six support columns 3 that are aligned at regular intervals in the front, back, left and right directions and are lower than the ceiling surface in the vertical dimension, and seven beams 4 that connect the upper ends of the support columns 3 at right angles to each other in the front, back, left and right directions to form a "sun" shape in a plan view. The support columns 3 and beams 4 are manufactured by extrusion molding of aluminum material, for example.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 2, a guide rail 5 having a downward U-shaped cross section and inwardly facing pieces 5a, 5a facing each other at the lower end is fixed by a plurality of screws 6 to the downward concave lower surface formed at the lower end of each beam 4. The guide rails 5 are manufactured by extrusion molding of aluminum material, for example, and the lengths of the two guide rails 5 extending in the left-right direction at the front and the three guide rails 5 extending in the front-rear direction are formed to be shorter than the overall length of the beam 4 by a required dimension in order to connect a bridge rail 9 described later (see Figs. 4 and 5). Both side surfaces in the longitudinal direction of each beam 4, together with both side surfaces of the guide rails 5, are covered by cover members 7, 7, but such cover members 7 may be omitted.

[0018] A plurality of fixed partitions 8 having adjusters (not shown) at their lower ends are installed between guide rails (not shown) attached to the undersides of the beams 4, 4 extending left and right in the rear and the floor surface F. Each fixed partition 8 can also be movably suspended from the guide rails.

[0019] 1, the upper ends of movable partitions 20, 20 are supported so as to be movable in the left-right direction by two guide rails 5, 5 extending in the left-right direction at the front facing each other across the support 3 (details will be described later). Note that, although only two movable partitions 20 are shown in the embodiment, it goes without saying that three or more movable partitions may be supported by making the beam 4 and guide rails 5 longer.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 4, at the ends of the guide rails 5, 5 at the left corner of the front side of the frame body 2 (part A in FIG. 1), that is, at the ends of the linearly adjacent guide rails 5, 5 attached to the two beams 4, 4 connected at right angles to the support 3 in an L-shape from two directions, a bridge rail 9 having the same cross-sectional shape as the guide rail 5 is installed so as to form 45 degrees in plan and bottom views and to be continuous with the guide rails 5, 5. The upper surfaces of both ends of the bridge rail 9 are screwed to the lower surface of the beam 4. The lower ends of the adjacent cover members 7, 7 are cut out so that the bridge rail 9 can be inserted therethrough. A similar bridge rail 9 is also installed on the guide rail 5 at the L-shaped intersection on the right side.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 5, at the ends of the three guide rails 5 at the T-shaped intersection (part B in FIG. 1) in the center of the front of the frame body 2, i.e., the three linearly adjacent guide rails 5 attached to each beam 4 connected at right angles to the support pillars 3 from three directions, bridge rails 9, 9 similar to those described above are installed so that both ends form 45 degrees in plan and bottom views and are continuous with the three guide rails 5.

[0022] In this way, by installing bridge rails 9 on guide rails 5 at the L-shaped intersection and T-shaped intersection of beam 4, the movable partition 20 can be changed direction (rotated) in the direction of the arrows in Figures 4 and 5, bypassing the support pillars 3.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 to FIG. 8, on the floor surface F facing the guide rails 5, 5 extending in the left-right direction in the front, flat rails 10, 10 with flat upper surfaces for guiding the wheels 13 of the movable partition 20 described later are laid so that both left and right ends abut the opposing surfaces of the lower ends of the three front pillars 3. In addition, a similar flat rail 10 is laid on the floor surface F facing the three left and right guide rails 5 extending in the front-rear direction. The flat rail 10 can be laid on the floor surface F using screws or adhesive. When using screws, it is preferable to make the upper end of the screw flush with the upper surface of the flat rail 10. The flat rail 10 is manufactured by extrusion molding of synthetic resin, aluminum material, etc., and has inclined surfaces 10a, 10a of, for example, 45 degrees on both side edges in the width direction, and has a flat upper surface 10b between the inclined surfaces 10a, 10a. This upper surface 10b is formed to occupy most of the area in the width direction of the flat rail 10, more than half in this case. In this embodiment, the maximum vertical dimension (height) of the flat rail 10 is approximately 3 mm, and preferably 2 mm to 10 mm. The width of the flat rail 10 is 30 mm, and preferably 20 mm to 100 mm. By setting the vertical and width dimensions as described above, smooth guiding can be achieved when using a pair of single wheels 3a, 3a that form a twin wheel set, which will be described later.

[0024] Next, the configuration of the movable partition 20 will be described. The movable partition 20, 20 comprises a hollow frame 21 having a rectangular cross section, and a panel 22 having both ends fixed to the opposing surfaces of the left and right vertical frame portions 21a, 21a of the frame 21 and shorter than the vertical dimension of the frame 21. Note that a whiteboard or the like may be attached instead of the panel 22.

[0025] 2 and 3, the lower ends of a pair of left and right support shafts 11 facing in the up-down direction are fixed to the upper surface of the upper horizontal frame portion 21b of the frame-shaped frame 21, and guide rollers 12 are attached to the upper ends of both support shafts 11 so as to be freely rotatable horizontally. The left and right guide rollers 12, 12 of the movable partitions 20, 20 are respectively inserted so as to be rollable and movable up and down into two guide rails 5, 5 extending in the left-right direction at the front and facing each other across the support post 3. As a result, the upper ends of the left and right movable partitions 20 are guided so as to be movably left and right along the guide rails 5, 5.

[0026] Wheels 13 are attached to the center of the lower horizontal frame portion 21b of the frame-shaped frame 21, and rotate in contact with the floor surface F during movement.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, the wheel 13 has a twin wheel structure in which two wheel units 13a, 13a are attached to both ends of the axle 14 facing in a direction (thickness direction) perpendicular to the moving direction of the movable partition 20, and the wheel 13 is attached to the upper surface of the lower horizontal frame part 21b by a mounting member 15 (details will be described later). The wheel units 13a, 13a are formed with a relatively large diameter (for example, a diameter of about 15 to 20 cm) from a light metal such as synthetic resin or aluminum. The outer periphery of the wheel units 13a, 13a is an arc-shaped curved surface (or inclined surface) to make it easier to ride over the inclined surface 10a of the flat rail 10. The distance between the wheel units 13a, 13a is approximately equal to the width dimension of the flat rail 10, and the wheel units 13a, 13a run with the flat rail 10 sandwiched between them. In addition, the individual wheels 13a, 13a may ride up onto the inclined surfaces 10a, 10a of the flat rail 10 while running.

[0028] The wheel 13 is pre-assembled as follows: First, the axle 14, which has an enlarged diameter portion at one end, is inserted from the outside into a stepped hole (not shown) at the center of one of the wheel units 13a, and the middle portion of the axle 14 is rotatably supported via a bearing (rolling bearing) 16 fitted into a mounting member 15 and a pair of cylindrical spacers 17, 17 on either side of the bearing.

[0029] Next, the other end of the axle 14 is inserted into the stepped hole (not shown) of the other wheel unit 13a, and a screw with a washer (not shown) is screwed into a female threaded hole (not shown) formed in the end face of the axle 14. As a result, the two wheel units 13a, 13a, the axle 14, the mounting member 15, and the pair of spacers 17 are assembled together into a unit. The wheel units 13a, 13a are adapted to rotate together with the axle 14. The wheel units 13a, 13a are assembled so as to sandwich the lower horizontal frame portion 21b.

[0030] As shown in Figure 7, hexagonal socket screws 18, 18 are inserted from above into mounting holes formed in a pair of fixing portions 15a, 15a of the mounting member 15 and screwed into female threaded holes formed in the upper surface of the center of the lower horizontal frame portion 21b, so that the wheel 13 is detachably fixed to the upper surface of the center of the lower horizontal frame portion 21b with the axle 14 positioned above the lower horizontal frame portion 21b.

[0031] Next, with reference to Figure 8, a case will be described in which the movable partition 20 changes direction by climbing over two intersecting flat rails 10, 10 (the two flat rails below part A in Figure 1). When the left-side movable partition 20 is moved toward the L-shaped intersection at part A in Figure 1, the guide rollers 12, 12 move toward the bridge rail 9, and the movable partition 20 changes direction, bypassing the support pillar 3, from the guide rail 5 facing left-right to the guide rail 5 facing forward-rearward.

[0032] At this time, the outer wheel unit 13a of the wheels 13 guided by the flat rail 10 facing in the left-right direction climbs over the flat rail 10, causing the wheels 13 to run along the floor surface F on the indoor side of the intersection. Then, when the outer wheel unit 13a moves up to the flat rail 10 facing in the front-to-rear direction, the wheel 13 climbs over it and transfers to the flat rail 10 facing in the front-to-rear direction, causing the movable partition 20 to change direction. When the outer wheel unit 13a climbs over the flat rail 10, the movable partition 20 moves up and down, but because the guide roller 12 is guided by the guide rail 5 so as to be able to move up and down, the movable partition 20 can be changed direction without hindrance. In order to prevent the wheels 13 from climbing over the flat rails 10, it is also possible to make the flat rails 10 in the left-right and front-to-back directions shorter than those shown in Figure 8, and connect the ends with flat rails tilted at 45 degrees left-right and front-to-back, and connect them at the intersections with an inclination angle of 45 degrees. However, if this is done, the flat rails tilted at 45 degrees will be exposed on the indoor side of the corners of the partition device 1, which will look unsightly, and is therefore not desirable.

[0033] As described above, in the partition device 1 of Example 1, the upper end of the movable partition 20 is guided along the guide rail 5, and the dual-wheel structure wheel 13 at the lower end is guided between the flat rail 10, thereby allowing the movable partition 20 to be moved stably while remaining perpendicular to the floor surface F.

[0034] In addition, since the wheels 13 of the dual-wheel structure are attached to the center of the lower horizontal frame portion 21b so as to sandwich the horizontal frame portion 21b, the wheels 13 can have a large diameter and easily climb over the flat rail 10. Moreover, since the flat rail 10 can be visually confirmed through the space between the individual wheels 13a, 13a, it is easy to check whether the wheels 13 are being properly guided by the flat rail 10, or whether the wheels 13 have properly transferred from one flat rail 10 to the other flat rail 10 at the intersection.

[0035] Furthermore, a low-height flat rail 10 with inclined surfaces 10a formed on both widthwise edges is used, and the outer peripheral edge of the wheel unit 13a is also curved surface 13c, so that the wheel unit 13a can easily climb over the flat rail 10. As a result, the wheel 13 can easily move from one flat rail 10 to the other flat rail 10 at the intersection, and the movable partition 20 can smoothly change direction. Moreover, since the flat rail 10 is not conspicuous, the appearance of the partition device 1 is not deteriorated, and it does not become an obstacle when entering and exiting the partition device 1. Note that both widthwise edges of the flat rail 10 may be curved surfaces, and the outer peripheral edge of the wheel unit 13a may be an inclined surface.

[0036] In addition, the flat upper surface 10b of the flat rail 10 occupies most of the width direction, so that the wheels 13 can easily change direction on the upper surface 10b after transferring onto the flat rail 10. EXAMPLES

[0037] A partition device according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Components that are the same as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again. In the partition device of the second embodiment, the ends of the flat rails 10 facing the left-right direction and the flat rails 10 facing the front-rear direction that intersect with each other are cut and the ends are spaced apart to make them discontinuous. The cut position is the same as the turning trajectory of the outer wheel unit 13a, and the cut end face is curved in an arc shape so as to follow the turning trajectory of the outer wheel unit 13a.

[0038] In this way, by cutting the ends of the intersecting flat rails 10, 10 in the intersecting direction to make them discontinuous, the outer wheel unit 13a of the wheel 13 moves from one flat rail 10 to the other flat rail 10 without climbing over the flat rail 10, so that the direction can be changed smoothly without moving the movable partition 20 up and down. Even in this case, the flat rail 10 can be visually confirmed through the space between the wheel units 13a, 13a, so it is easy to check whether the wheel 13 is being properly guided by the flat rail 10 and whether the wheel 13 has properly transferred from one flat rail 10 to the other flat rail 10 at the intersection.

[0039] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and additions and modifications that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention.

[0040] For example, in the above embodiment, the wheel 13 with a twin wheel structure provided in the center of the lower end of the movable partition 20 is used as the guided means guided by the flat rail 10, but separately from the wheel 13, a guided means such as a pin may be provided protruding downward from the lower end of the movable partition 20, and the lower end of this pin may be slidably fitted into a longitudinal guide groove provided in the rail.

[0041] In the above embodiment, the wheels 13 have a double wheel structure, but a single wheel may be used. In this case, a groove or the like for guiding the lower end of the single wheel may be provided on the upper surface of the rail.

[0042] Furthermore, although the partition device 1 in the above embodiment is installed freestanding on the floor surface F, the present invention can also be applied to a partition device in which a plurality of movable partitions are moved laterally along guide rails 5 attached to the ceiling to divide an indoor space. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1 Partition device 2 Frame body 3 pillars 4 Beam 5 Guide rail 7 Cover material 8 Fixed Partition 9 Bridge Rail 10 Flat Rail 10a Slope 11 Support shaft 12 Guide roller 13 Wheel (guided means) 13a Single wheel 14 axles 15 Mounting material 16 Bearings 17 Spacer 20 Movable Partition 21 Frame 21a Vertical frame section 21b Horizontal frame part Panel 22 F Floor

Claims

1. A partition device comprising a movable partition having an upper end movably guided along a guide rail and a lower end supported on a floor surface via wheels, A partition device characterized in that a rail for guiding a guided means at the lower end of the movable partition is laid on a floor surface opposite to the guide rail.

2. 2. The partition device according to claim 1, wherein the wheels are provided at the center of the lower end of the movable partition, and the wheels serve as the guided means that is guided by the rails.

3. The partition device described in claim 2, characterized in that the wheel has a twin-wheel structure in which two individual wheels are attached to an axle at a distance from each other, and the wheel is guided by the two individual wheels running on either side of the rail.

4. 3. The partition device according to claim 2, wherein the rail is a low-height flat rail.

5. A partition device as described in claim 4, characterized in that curved or inclined surfaces are formed on both side edges of the flat rail in the width direction, and the outer peripheral edge of the wheel alone opposite the inclined surfaces is curved or inclined.

6. The partition device according to claim 3, characterized in that the movable partition has a frame-shaped frame, and the wheels having a dual-wheel structure are attached to the center of the frame so that the two wheels sandwich the lower end of the frame.

7. 4. The partition device according to claim 3, wherein the ends of the two rails laid so as to intersect with each other in the intersecting direction are spaced apart from each other to be discontinuous.

Images