Steelcase Inc.

Melissa A DuBuis

Robert E Jeffers

Scott Michael Miller

Karl Jahn Mead

Daniel Grabowski

Allen C Hager

Steven F Goodman

Kurt A Jonker

Kenneth D Brickner

A furniture system for outfitting a building space, includes a plurality of partition frames, each having horizontally spaced apart uprights with opposing sides, and having horizontal frame members connecting the uprights. A top one of the horizontal frame members is one-piece and attached to a top of the uprights. The top one horizontal frame member includes opposing side faces that are spaced apart a distance greater than the opposing sides and that include cover-supporting connectors. Cover panels are provided having frame-engaging connectors extending horizontally beyond an inside surface of the frame. The frame-engaging connectors are configured to releasably engage the cover-supporting connectors. This allows the cover panels, when attached to the partition frames, to define an internal cavity in the frame that extends horizontally a width of the frame and vertically substantially the height of the frame. This in turn allows utilities to be flexibly routed vertically and horizontally within the partition frame, and from partition frame to partition frame.

Partition construction

A partition panel includes a partition frame with a planar face having clip-receiving apertures for supporting cover panels and bracket-receiving apertures for supporting furniture components. A pair of cover panels configured to cover the partition frame include side edges that define a gap therebetween for providing access to the bracket-receiving apertures when the cover panels are attached to the partition frame. Clips on the cover panels are constructed to releasably engage the clip-receiving apertures for retaining the cover panels on the partition frame in a coplanar arrangement. The clips each include an antidislodgement tooth for interlockingly engaging a back surface of the face when the clips are engaged with the clip-receiving apertures, and further include a release tab that is depressible to move the tooth to a disengaged position for releasing the clip from the associated clip-receiving aperture. The clips are located at a position spaced away from the gap and behind the cover panels so that the clips are not visible through the gap from a position in front of the cover panels. A flexible strip is attached to one of the cover panels for covering the gap when the cover panels are attached to the partition frame in a coplanar and adjacent position thereon.

Partition construction including removable cover panels

Growing community of inventors

Jenison, MI, United States of America

Melissa A DuBuis