Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
FLUSH MOUNTED POP-UP DATA, TELECOMMUNICATION AND ELECTRICAL
STATION FOR TABLETOPS
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of electrical, data and telecommunication
service
boxes, and in particular service boxes which may be flush mounted within a
work surface.
Background of the Invention
With the need for rapid access to up-to-date information, business executives
are
utilising personal computers and telecommunication devices in boardrooms or
the like for access
to, and retrieval of, information as well as for video conferencing. At the
present time personal
computers, cellular telephones or the like when brought into a boardroom for
use during a meeting
are usually battery powered since there is insufficient data,
telecommunication or electrical
connections in most boardrooms to accommodate individual connections for each
person in
attendance. If connections of this type are available they are usually limited
in number and are
of the conventional wall or floor mounted type which require extension cords
or computer cables
of some length so as to typically interfere with passage around the boardroom
table.
It is desirable, therefore, to have outlets for data, telecommunications and
electricity accessible to each person seated around the boardroom table.
Consequently, it is an
object of the present invention to provide electrical, data and
telecommunication stations which
are mounted through or under a hole in the table. In the present invention the
stations, when not
2 5 in use, are retracted down into the hole in the table so as to be
disguised, the stations each having
a lid which is flush with, and advantageously camouflaged to match, the upper
surface of the table.
Thus, when the station is retracted into the hole in the table, the lid is
flush with the tabletop so
that the tabletop is unobstructed. The stations may have a depress and release
latch mechanism
so that depressing and releasing the edge of the lid of the station closest to
the user for that station
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CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
pops up the edge of the station lid. A wiring and outlet chamber housed within
the station may
then be raised, or raises by means of an actuator so as to expose the outlets
for use.
In the prior art, applicant is aware of United States patent numbers 4,984,982
and
5,122,069 which both issued for the Retractable Access Flooring Module of
Brownlie et al. The
Brownlie et al device has a floor mounted outer assembly supporting a
pivotable inner assembly.
The inner assembly supports electrical power and signal outlets and pivots
relative to the outer
assembly between a closed position wherein a cover is flush with the outer
assembly, and an open
position exposing the outlets for use. The inner assembly pivots about opposed
co-linear pivot
members mounted on opposite sides of the inner assembly. This allows the
resting of a
corresponding surface of the inner assembly on a matching shoulder of the
outer assembly, the
inner assembly surface sliding over the outer assembly shoulder during
pivoting of the inner
assembly. The sliding engagement between the surface and shoulder provides for
transfer of a
downward force applied to the cover of the inner assembly, such as would occur
if the cover was
stepped on, to the outer assembly. The pivoting of the inner assembly about
the pivot members
means, however, that when the forward edge of the cover of the inner assembly
is raised to expose
the outlets, the opposite, that is, rear edge of the cover of the inner
assembly rotates downwardly
beneath the surface of the flooring, contrary to the teaching and one of the
objects of the present
invention in which a pop-up inner assembly pivots about a virtual pivot axis
so that no edge of the
2 0 inner assembly cover rotates downwardly, thus allowing for close tolerance
clearance between the
edges of the lid and the surrounding edge of a table in which the station of
the present invention
is mounted. Such close tolerances provide for better disguising the lid when
closed and flush with
the tabletop surface.
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CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
Summary of the Invention
The data, telecommunication and electrical station of the present invention
includes a rigid container, mountable within an aperture formed through a
table, such as a
boardroom table. The container may be a rectangular box having surrounding an
upper perimeter
edge thereof, a container support such as a lip projecting outwardly
therefrom. The upper surface
of the lip may, in one embodiment, lie in a first plane parallel to an upper
surface of the table when
the container is mounted in the table through the aperture in the table. The
lip may be a
circumferential lip extending contiguously around the upper perimeter edge.
The upper perimeter
edge of the container may form a trim-ring land flush with, and protecting,
the corresponding edge
of the aperture in the table.
The container will typically include perimeter walls secured to and depending
from
the container support in planes for example at right angles to the first
plane, and a bottom wall
mounted to a lower edge of, or formed contiguously with, the perimeter walls
spaced from the
container support. The perimeter walls have a conduit aperture or plurality of
apertures therein
to provide insertion access for electrical, data and telecommunication
conduit. The container
support and the perimeter walls define an upper opening into the container. A
wiring and outlet
chamber is mountable or mounted into the container for supporting thereon
electrical, data and
2 0 telecommunication service outlets in co-operation with the electrical,
data and telecommunication
conduit. The wiring and outlet chamber is pivotally mounted in the container
by a pivot means,
which in one embodiment is a pair of arcuate sliding tracks, one on either
side of the chamber, so
as to allow pivoting of the chamber about a virtual pivot axis between open
and closed positions.
In one embodiment the sliding tracks are circular arcs.
The virtual pivot axis lies flush with the upper surface of the tabletop
between a
pivot or rear edge of the lid of the chamber and the corresponding edge of the
hole in the tabletop.
When the sliding tracks are circular arcs, the virtual pivot axis remains
fixed in the first plane in
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CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
the gap between the lid and the tabletop edge as the wiring and outlet chamber
is pivoted between
its retracted position in the container and its extended or open position.
Preferably, when the wiring and outlet chamber is in either the retracted or
the
open position, a service outlet mounting face on the chamber lies in a plane
which is canted with
respect to the first plane. When the chamber is in the open position, the
service outlet mounting
face is canted away from a user facing the mounting face. In one embodiment
the mounting face
is canted away, that is, the top is further away from the user than the bottom
of the mounting face,
by 15 degrees. In that embodiment, because the chamber pivots through
approximately 55 degrees
about the virtual pivot axis between the open and closed positions, when the
chamber is in the
closed position, the service outlet mounting face is negatively canted by
approximately 40 degrees.
That is, the bottom of the mounting face is further away from the user than
the top of the
mounting face by a 40 degree inclination of the mounting face.
The 15 degree positive cant of the mounting face when the chamber is in the
open
position, provides ease of access to the outlets, assuming the plugs are
conventionally oriented
perpendicularly to the mounting face, and aesthetic appeal. Further, if the
mounting face was
vertical when the chamber was in the open position, this would mean the
mounting face would be
negatively canted by 55 degrees when the chamber was in the closed position,
assuming the
2 0 sliding tracks traverse a 55 degree arc so that the chamber pivots 55
degrees between its open and
closed positions. A negative cant of the mounting face of 55 degrees reduces
significantly the
interior volume of the chamber, thereby reducing the space available for
wiring etc.
Service outlets are generally vertical and in a line of sight to a user
sitting at the
2 5 table when the station is mounted in the table and the chamber pivoted
upwardly into its open or
elevated position. Insertion and removal of electrical plugs and data and
telecommunication jacks
is thereby facilitated. It is understood that the specific form of electrical,
data and
telecommunication receptacle is not intended to be limiting and may in
addition to power plugs
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and telephone line jacks include optical fiber connections, threaded terminals
such as for cable
connection, s-video separate video channels, audio speaker jacks such as RCA
format or bare wire
terminals or other connection formats that have or will become conventional.
In the preferred embodiment the container of the telecommunication, data and
electrical station further includes a selectively positionable lid mounted
onto the top of the wiring
and outlet chamber which, in the retracted position, lies within the aperture
in the tabletop, flush
and coplanar with the tabletop upper surface. The lid is sized to snugly fit
into the aperture in the
tabletop so that when the wiring and outlet chamber is in the retracted
position only a thin or
hairline border is left between the lid and the tabletop surface.
Advantageously, the lid is
fashioned to match the tabletop surface, and may be made from the piece of the
table removed to
form the aperture. The lid then disguises the existence of the station,
including the container and
chamber, beneath it. The chamber is mounted within the container, for example,
by means of an
arcuate sliding track on either side of the chamber, so that the chamber
pivots as it extends and
retracts relative to the container about a virtual pivot axis located along
the border between one
side of the lid and the corresponding edge of the table.
Advantageously the lid is adjustably mounted onto the upper surface of the
chamber, for example by means of PEMTM clinch fasteners. Adjustably mounting
the lid allows
2 0 for centering the lid in the hole in the tabletop once the container has
been installed. Thus the
hairline border between the lid and the tabletop may be adjusted in size so
that it is even around
the lid.
In summary, the telecommunication, data and electrical station of the present
2 5 invention includes a container mountable to an underside surface of a
tabletop. The container
defines therein a chamber space. The container has an upper opening
communicating with the
chamber space. The upper opening is sized to correspond to a corresponding
aperture in the
tabletop when the container is mounted to the underside surface of the
tabletop.
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CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
A wiring and outlet chamber is pivotally mounted within the container so as to
be
positionable between a closed position and an open position. In the closed
position the chamber
is contained within the chamber space. In the open position a first side of
the chamber is exposed
above an upper surface of the tabletop when the container is mounted to the
underside surface of
the tabletop. Telecommunication, data or electrical outlets are mounted to the
first side of the
chamber so as to be exposed above the upper surface of the tabletop when the
chamber is in the
open position.
The chamber is pivotable by pivoting means between the open and closed
positions. The chamber pivots about a virtual pivot axis. The virtual pivot
axis is parallel to a
second side of the chamber opposite the first side of the chamber. The pivot
axis lies between the
second side of the chamber and a corresponding edge of the aperture in the
tabletop. The virtual
pivot axis also lies in a plane containing the upper surface of the tabletop.
The chamber has a lid which is flush with the upper surface of the tabletop
when
the chamber is in the closed position.
In one embodiment, not intended to be limiting, the pivoting means are an
opposed
2 0 pair of arcuate track means disposed on oppusite ends of the container
cooperating with a pair of
cooperating means such as track followers disposed on opposite ends of the
chamber. The arcuate
track means includes a length of track following or having a circular arc, the
circular arc a radius
of curvature, having a center of curvature lying on the virtual pivot axis.
Thus as the chamber
initially pivots along its trajectory from the closed to the open position,
the second side of the
2 5 chamber does not contact the corresponding edge of the aperture in the
tabletop.
In a preferred embodiment, the lid includes upper surface material matching in
appearance the upper surface of the tabletop so as to disguise the station
when the chamber is in
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CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
the closed position. Thus in the case of a wood tabletop such as found on many
boardroom tables,
the upper surface material is wood veneer, and the wood veneer is mounted, as
by gluing, so that
the wood grain of the veneer matches the wocd grain of the upper surface of
the tabletop when the
chamber is in the closed position.
In one aspect of the present invention, the wood veneer is machined from a
tabletop cutout removed from the aperture in the tabletop when the aperture is
formed in the
tabletop. That is, the underside of the piece cut out of the tabletop is
removed so as to leave the
upper finished surface as a thin veneer for mounting into or onto a lid, the
lid then mounted,
preferably adjustably, onto the top of the chamber.
In a further aspect the container has a first land, which may be thought of as
a trim
ring, formed around an upper perimeter edge of the container. The first land
is sized to fit snugly
around, and flush with, a circumferential edge of the aperture in the tabletop
when the container
is mounted to the underside surface of the tabletop. The lid has a second land
in the form of a lip
around a perimeter edge of the lid. The second land is sized to nest within,
evenly spaced from,
the first land when the chamber is in the closed position. Thus, the upper
surface material
matching in appearance the upper surface of the tabletop may be mounted on the
lid within and
flush with the second land. The first and second lands are evenly spaced apart
when nested so as
2 0 to form a hairline border between the lid and the upper surface of the
tabletop when the chamber
is in the closed position, thereby maximizing the disguise of the station
mounted into the tabletop,
and minimizing marring of the appearance of the surface finish of the
tabletop.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is, in perspective view, the pop-up station of the present invention
in
pivoting motion near its fully open position.
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CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
Figure 1 a is an exploded isometric view of the station of Figure 1.
Figure lb is, in perspective view, the station of Figure 1 in its closed
position.
Figure 1 c is, in partially cut-away enlarged view, the station of Figure 1.
Figure 2 is, in partially exploded isometric view, the mounting frame of
Figure 1.
Figure 3 is, in isometric view, the housing of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a sectional view along line 4-4 in Figure 1, with the station
installed in
a tabletop.
Figure 5 is the station of Figure 4 in the partially closed position
illustrating the
operation of the magnetic latch.
Figure 6 is the station of Figure 4 in the closed or retracted position.
Figure 7 is a sectional view along line 7-7 in Figure 4.
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, as illustrated in Figures 1-7, a
rectangular container or housing 16 is mounted within aperture 12 in boardroom
tabletop 14.
2 5 Housing 16 has secured at its upper perimeter a support flange 60. Flange
60 is mounted to collar
60a. Collar or trim ring 60a fits snugly inside the upper edge of housing 16.
When collar 60a is
secured thereto by spot welding or the like, flange 60 protrudes outwardly
from the housing at
right angles. Each of end walls 26 have a curved or arcuate-shaped slot 72. A
fixed magnetic
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CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
latch 74, such as EPCOTM model number 1014, is mounted on the upper exterior
faces of the end
walls in alignment with the upper ends of the corresponding slot 72. A pair of
press-and-release
magnetic touch latches 76, such as EPCOTM model number 507, are mounted to the
inside face
of bottom wall 22 of housing 16. Positioned in parallel alignment with each of
slots 72 on the
interior face of end walls 26 are guides 78, better seen in Figure 7.
Wiring chamber 32 provides support for service outlets. Slots 72 are long
enough
to allow pivoting of wiring chamber 32 through 55 degrees. Chamber 32 has end
walls 80. End
walls 80 have apertures or insertion holes 82 for electrical, data and
telecommunication conduit
81. Clips 83 are positioned on the exterior faces of end walls 80. Clips 83
nest within guides 78.
The sliding of clips 83 along guides 78 in direction A defines the rotational
or pivotal movement
or trajectory of the wiring chamber 32 in direction A', that is, in a circular
arc of 55 degrees about
line B. Line B is a virtual pivot axis for pivoting of chamber 32 and lies in
the plane of surface
14a, in the gap between land 46a and land 60b along edge 47a'. Magnetic
contact plates 84 are
mounted on, so as to protrude from, frame end walls 80. Flanges 84a of contact
plates 84 extend
through slot 72 so as to contact latches 74 when wiring chamber 32 is elevated
to its open, that is,
its uppermost elevated position. When wiring chamber 32 is in its open
position, the electrical and
telecommunication service outlets or receptacles are exposed for use, as seen
in Figure 1.
2 0 Advantageously, conduit 81 is wrapped in a flexible protective covering
such as
coil spring 81 a for at least the portion of conduit 81 passing through hole
82 and slot 72. A coil
spring covering provides, not only protection against abrasion of the conduit
but also resilient
cantilevering of the conduit to inhibit excessive bending of the conduit such
as might for example
harm fiber optic conduit.
The side entry arrangement for conduit journalled through hole 82 and
corresponding slot 72, on one or both sides of chamber 32, provides for
minimized extension and
travel deformation of conduit 81 as chamber 32 pivots between its open and
closed positions. As
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CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
compared for example with a strictly vertical translating pop-up wiring
chamber which would
entail a translation distance and thus require increased allowance for conduit
extension and travel
deformation, and would also entail greater conduit complexity and weight (due
to increased slack
length of conduit required, and in particular the weight of electrical power
conduit), the side entry
and pivot arrangement of the present invention only entails twisting of the
conduit in the order of
degrees and only several inches of travel along slot 72. Thus the length, and
consequently the
weight of conduit 81 may be reduced, reducing the burden on the latches
holding chamber 32 in
the open position. In applicants' experience only a foot or so of slack in
conduit 81 is required.
10 Contact plates 75, for contact with magnetic touch latches 76, are mounted
on a
lower face 86 of wiring chamber 32. When contact plates 75 engage the touch
latch plungers 88
as seen in Figure 5, and then further depress the latch plungers as the wiring
chamber 32 is closed,
that is, rotated downwardly, wiring chamber 32 is releasably secured in its
closed or retracted
position as seen in Figure 6. Downward pressure on lid 47 by a user when the
mounting frame
15 is in its retracted position such as seen in Figure lb, forces the spring
loaded plunger 88 inwardly
to release a ratchet latch (not shown) built into touch latch 76. Upon release
of the user-applied
pressure, plunger 88 extends outwards slightly in direction C, rotating wiring
chamber 32
upwardly, extending forward edges 46a and 47a of, respectively, lid face plate
46 and lid 47, that
is, those edges closest to a user sitting at a table facing the service
outlets, above surface 14a of
2 0 tabletop 14, as seen in Figure 5. Forward edges 46a and 47a may then be
grasped by the user and
wiring chamber 32 rotated to its fully elevated position. Alternatively, an
actuating cylinder (not
shown) may viscously elevate chamber 32. In its fully elevated position,
contact plate flanges 84a
contact fixed magnetic latches 74 to thereby releasably secure wiring chamber
32, preventing
unwanted closure due, for example, to the weight of the conduit bundle pulling
downwardly on
2 5 chamber 32 or the force of the user pushing a power plug into its
receptacle 94a. To release wiring
chamber 32 from its fully open position, the user tugs the forward edges 46a
and 47a downwardly
to disengage flanges 84a from latches 74. Wiring chamber 32 may then be
lowered, in the
CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
alternative embodiment against the return biasing force of the actuating
cylinder, until plates 75
contact plungers 88.
Upper and lower faces 38 and 86 respectively of the wiring chamber 32 have
upper
and lower brackets 90 and 92 respectively to which conventional electrical and
telecommunication
receptacles 94a and 96a respectively may be secured by means of face plates 94
and 96. The
brackets are positioned relative to each other so that, with chamber 32 in the
open position, the
face plates are positively canted, that is, from bottom to top, away from the
user 15 degrees (angle
in Figure 4). Thus, when chamber 32 is closed, the face plates are negatively
canted 40 degrees
relative to the plane of the tabletop (angle (3 in Figure 6).
A divider wall 42 may be provided as a moveable voltage for barrier mounting
within wiring chamber 32. Wall 42 keeps receptacles having dissimilar voltages
separated. Wall
42 mounts into pairs of slots 43 in brackets 90 and 92. Thus a plurality of
walls 42 may
compartmentalize wiring chamber 32 to accommodate two or more receptacles
having dissimilar
voltages, or the frame reconfigured to change receptacle types.
In one embodiment, lid face plate 46 is secured to upper face 38 of wiring
chamber
32 by adjustable mounting means such as PemTM clinch fasteners so that its
upper surface, or that
2 0 of lid 47 mounted onto face plate 46, is both coplanar to table surface
14a and adjustable relative
to chamber 32 so that the hairline border between the lid and tabletop is
evenly spaced. Face plate
46 is recessed to accommodate veneer or other finishing material, including
using the piece cut
from the table to form aperture 12, mu.ching the upper surface 14a of tabletop
14.
Advantageously, the wood grain surface from the piece of tabletop 14 removed
to form aperture
2 5 12 is inlaid into face plate 46, within circumferential land 46a, so that
the wood grain matches that
of tabletop surface 14a when wiring chamber 32 is closed.
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In the method of the present invention, aperture 12 in tabletop 14 is
generally of
a size matching the dimensions of rigid housing 16. In particular a template
is used on surface 14a
to accurately muter a 5/32 inch groove or gutter-shaped to snugly accommodate
therein, once the
cut-out has been removed, trim-ring land 60b around the outermost perimeter of
the groove and
land 46a around the innermost perimeter of the groove. Thus, as would be
understood by those
skilled in the art, the groove is centered on the gap between land 60b and
land 46a. Land 60b and
land 46a are each advantageously 1/16 inch thick, consequently leaving a 1/32
inch gap between
the lands when eventually mounted into the 5/32 inch initially formed groove.
The 1/32 inch gap
forms the visible hairline border on the tabletop upper surface 14a when lid
47 is closed.
Once the groove has been routered, the cut-out is removed to form aperture 12
by
routering the lower surface 14b of the tabletop, that is, the surface opposite
to surface 14a, so as
to form flange 60 and to intersect the groove formed in surface 14a. Once the
groove has been
intersected along its length by routering lower surface 14b, the cut-out is
removed for planing so
that the thickness of wood grain veneer matches the depth of land 46a, for
example, 1/8 inch. The
wood grain veneer may then be mounted to face plate 46 by glue or the like so
as to snugly reside
within, and flush to, circumferential land 46a. The wood grain of the veneer
is oriented to match
its original orientation before it was cut out of the tabletop. Land 46a thus
protects the edge finish
of the veneer forming the uppermost visible portion of lid 47, and land 60b
protects the
2 0 corresponding edge finish on the tabletop edge surrounding aperture 12.
Thus the finish on, for
example, the surface of an expensive boardroom table is preserved as much as
possible, while
retaining the disguised utility of the station of the present invention. The
surface of lid 47
including land 46a is positioned coplanar to upper surface 14a of tabletop 14
when the station is
mounted to the tabletop so that the tabletop is unobstructed when chamber 32
is closed.
Mounting clips 62 are insertable within pairs of slots 66 formed through
opposing
front and back walls of housing 16. Wood screws 65 or the like may pass
upwardly through
apertures 63 in clips 62 so as to engage the underside of tabletop 14 adjacent
flanges 60. Screws
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CA 02296190 2000-O1-19
65 apply an upward force on clips 62 support flange to secure the flush
mounted station of the
present invention firmly in place beneath tabletop 14.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing
disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of
this invention
without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of
the invention is to
be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.
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