SECURITY PARTITION SYSTEM AND UNIVERSAL CLIP FOR SUCH SYSTEM

SYSTEME DE CLOISONS DE SECURITE ET AGRAFE UNIVERSELLE CONNEXE

English Abstract

A security partition system comprises an assembly of components, including: a) a vertical post having at least one vertical slot, b) a panel comprising evenly spaced horizontal and vertical wires bordering square openings, and c) a clip for connecting the panel to the post. The clip comprises: (i) a front plate having a finger projecting rearwardly from one side thereof and being configured and dimensioned to span the gap between and to overlap the vertical wires bordering one of panel openings along an edge of the panel, with the finger arranged outside of the edge; (ii) a back plate configured and dimensioned to span the gap between and to overlap the horizontal wires bordering the same panel opening; and (iii) a fastener for interconnecting and urging the back and front plates together, with the finger being received in a vertical slot in the post to thereby connect the panel to the post.

French Abstract

Système de cloisons de sécurité comprenant un ensemble de composants, incluant : a) un poteau vertical ayant au moins une fente verticale, b) un panneau possédant des fils métalliques verticaux et horizontaux également espacés bordant des ouvertures carrées et c) une agrafe pour relier le panneau au poteau. L'agrafe comprend : (i) une plaque avant ayant un doigt se projetant vers l'arrière à partir d'un côté de l'agrafe qui est configurée et dimensionnée pour couvrir l'espace entre les fils métalliques bordant une des ouvertures du panneau et chevaucher ce derniers le long d'un bord du panneau, le doigt est placé à l'extérieur du bord; (ii) une plaque arrière configurée et dimensionnée pour recouvrir l'espace entre les fils métalliques horizontaux bordant la même ouverture du panneau et chevaucher ces derniers; un (iii) dispositif de fixation pour interrelier et forcer les plaques avant et arrière ensemble, le doigt étant reçu dans une fente verticale dans le poteau pour ainsi relier le panneau au poteau.

Claims

1. A security partition system comprising an assembly of components,
including:
a) a vertical post having at least one vertical slot,
b) a panel comprising evenly spaced horizontal and vertical wires bordering
square openings, and
c) a clip for connecting said panel to said post, said clip comprising:
(i) a front plate having a finger projecting rearwardly from one side
thereof, said front plate being configured and dimensioned to span the gap
between and to overlap the vertical wires bordering one of said openings
along an edge of said panel, with said finger arranged outside of said edge;
(ii) a back plate configured and dimensioned to span the gap between and
to overlap the horizontal wires bordering the said one opening; and
(iii) fastening means for interconnecting and urging said back and front
plates together,
said finger being received in said vertical slot to thereby connect said panel
to said
post.
2. The security partition of claim 1 further comprising forwardly projecting
peripheral flanges on said back plate, said flanges being arranged to
mechanically engage
said horizontal wires.
3. A clip for attaching a panel comprised of evenly spaced horizontal and
vertical
wires defining square openings to a post having a vertical slot, said clip
comprising:
(i) a front plate having a finger projecting rearwardly from one side
thereof, said front plate being configured and dimensioned to span the gap
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between and to overlap the vertical wires bordering one of said openings
along an edge of said panel, with said finger arranged outside of said edge;
(ii) a back plate having forwardly projecting peripheral flanges, said back
plate being configured and dimensioned to span the gap between and to
overlap the horizontal wires bordering the said one opening, with said
peripheral flanges mechanically engaging said horizontal wires; and
(iii) fastening means for interconnecting and urging said back and front
plates together,
said finger being received in said vertical slot to thereby connect said panel
to said,
post.
4. The clip of claim 3 wherein said front plate is provided with an additional
rearwardly projecting finger at an opposite side thereof.
5. The clip of claim 3 wherein said finger is hook shaped and configured for
mechanical engagement with a bottom edge of said slot.
6. The clip of claim 3 wherein said front plate is additionally provided with
a
coplanar side flange adjacent to said finger, said side flange having an
aperture through
which a locking pin may be inserted into said slot to retain said finger in
mechanical
engagement with the bottom edge of said slot.
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Description

CA 02683414 2009-10-23
SECURITY PARTITION SYSTEM AND
Wire.8930
UNIVERSAL CLIP FOR SUCH SYSTEM
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to security partition systems employing wire panels
secured
to and interconnected by vertical support posts, and is concerned in
particular with a
universal clip used to connect the panels to the support posts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional security partition systems are prefabricated with standard length
wire panels. The wire panels have integral attachment clips at their ends
designed to
mechanically interengage in pre-positioned slots in the support posts.
The partition systems are normally shipped in a disassembled state, and are
designed for on site erection. Space limitations at the site may dictate that
one or more of
the panels be shortened. Doing so necessitates trimming and removing end
sections
carrying the integral attachment clips, which leaves the trimmed panel edges
without a
means of attachment to the support posts.
The universal clip of the present invention is designed to be attached, at the
erection site, to the trimmed edge at either end of a shortened panel to
thereby serve as a
means for connecting the shortened panel to a support post.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a security partition system
comprises an
assembly of components, including a plurality of laterally spaced vertical
support posts
with vertical slots, and a plurality of panels comprised of evenly spaced
horizontal and
vertical wires bordering square openings.
Clips serve to connect the panels to the support posts. The clips comprise:
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(i) a front plate configured and dimensioned to span the gap between and to
overlap the vertical wires bordering an opening along an edge of the panel,
with a finger projecting from at least one side of the front plate and being
arranged outside of the panel edge;
(ii) a back plate configured and dimensioned to span the gap between and to
overlap the horizontal wires bordering the same opening, with peripheral
flanges on the back plate mechanically engaging the horizontal wires; and
(iii) a fastener interconnecting and urging the front and back plates
together,
with the fmger on the front plate received in the vertical slot of a support
post to thereby establish a connection therebetween.
Preferably, the front plate is provided with fingers at both of its sides,
thus
adapting the clip for attachment to either end of the panel. Each finger is
preferably
hook-shaped for mechanical engagement with the bottom edge of the vertical
slot in the
support post.
The front plate is preferably provided with an additional coplanar side flange
adjacent to each finger, with an aperture in the side flange through which a
locking pin
may be inserted and tapped into place in the vertical slot to retain the
finger in
mechanical engagement with the bottom edge of the slot.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will now be
described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
Figure I is a perspective view of an exemplary section of a security partition
system in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the clip;
Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along line 3-
3 of
Figure 1; and
Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference iriitially to Figure 1, a security partition system in
accordance with
the present invention is generally depicted at 10. The system includes
vertical posts 12a,
12b with vertical slots indicated typically at 14. A wire panel 16 spans the
gap between
the posts. The panel comprises evenly spaced horizontal and vertical wires 18,
20
bordering square opening.
In Figure 1, the left hand side of the panel 16 is shown equipped with
standard
permanently attached clips 22 serving to secure the panel to post 12a.
However, because
the distance "X" between the posts is less than the standard length of the
panel, the right
hand side of the panel has been trimmed, resulting in the standard clips at
that side having
been removed with the trimmed panel segment. Clips 24 in accordance with the
present
invention provide the means for securing the timed edge of the panel to the
post 12b.
With reference additionally to Figures 2-4, it will be seen that each clip 24
comprises a front plate 26 having at least one and preferably two fingers 28a,
28b,
projecting rearwardly from each side. The front plate is configured and
dimensioned to
span the gap between and to overlap the vertical wires 20 bordering an opening
along the
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trimmed edge of the panel. When the front plate is thus positioned, its finger
28b is
arranged outside of the trinuned panel edge. If the front plate was being
positioned along
a trimmed edge at the opposite side of the panel, then finger 28a would be
arranged
outside that edge. The front plate thus adapts the clip for universal
application to a
trimmed edge at either panel side.
A back plate 30 is configured and dimensioned to span the gap between and to
overlap the horizontal wires 18 bordering the same opening. Forwardly
projecting
peripheral flanges 32 on the back plate are arranged to mechanically engage
the
horizontal wires 18.
Fastening means in the form of a threaded screw 34 and nut 36 serves to urge
the
front and back plates together to thereby attach the clip 24 at the trimmed
edge of the
panel.
The fingers 28 are sized to enter respective vertical slots 14 in the support
posts
12a, 12b, and are preferably hook-shaped to mechanically engage the bottom
edges of the
slots.
The front plate 26 is preferably additionally provided with coplanar side
flanges
38 adjacent to and above the fingers 28. The flanges 38 have apertures 40
designed to
accept locking pins 42. The locking pins are inserted through the apertures
and are
tapped into place in the slots 14 to thereby lock the fingers 28 into
mechanical
engagement within the slots.
In light of the foregoing, it will now be evident to those skilled in the art
that the
clips 24 of the present invention are readily attachable to the trimmed sides
of the panels,
thus making it possible to accommodate on site shortening of the panel
lengths. With
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finger 28 at both sides of the front plates 26, the clips are designed for
universal
application to either panel edge.
I claim:
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Representative Drawing