GB2198870A - Joining frame members, display screens - Google Patents

Abstract

In the joining of two frame members 2 in spaced parallel relationship, for example when building up display panels from tubular supports, a plate 16 having spaced apertures 18 is placed so that a respective aperture registers with the open top of each support, and a plug 13 is then pushed through the respective aperture 18 into the underlying support. An auxiliary casting 8 may be used, enabling upright frame members to be attached to cross-members 4. The plug 13 may be a friction fit in the casting 8 whose sleeve 10 is a tight fit in the frame member 2. The frame members can be moved angularly. A better friction grip is provided by the embodiment of Figs. 6 to 8 (not shown) where the plate (50) includes a bush 52 at each aperture with inner and outer gripping formations. <IMAGE>

Description

"JOINING FRAME MEMBERS" This invention relates to the joining of frame members, for example in the manufacture of display screens, door fittings and like structures in which it is required that the frame members should be angularly movable relatively to each other.

A typical display screen or panel is formed from four frame members, joined together to form a rectangular frame structure with two upright members and two horizontal members, a panel of wood, card, plastics material or the like being mounted to the frame. Modern display screens consist of two or more such display screens in which adjacent vertical frame members or uprights are joined together, e.g. by spaced hinges, in close parallel relationship. A particularly useful form of hinge for the production of such display systems is described in our British Patent Specification No: 2115478 , wherein adjacent uprights are joined together by resilient strips passing around the uprights in "S" or "8" fashion.

Such hinges are extremely efficient, hard wearing, and attractive, and are becoming widely used. A disadvantage of their use, however, is that they take a while to assemble. Thus, in the normal course of things two upright frame members will be assembled together using a strip-type hinge in the factory, and will then be transported to the site where they will be used to construct display screens.

A need exists for a means for joining adjacent upright frame members together which can be effected simply, quickly and on site. Such would enable display screens and other structures to be assembled, on site, from a supply of individual frame members and screen members. It is an object of the present invention to provide such a means.

According to the invention means for joining two frame members in spaced parallel relationship comprises a plate having spaced apertures, and two plug members each adapted to enter one of said frame members through an aperture in said plate.

The apertured plate, which may otherwise be termed a link plate, may have any suitable number of apertures, but from a practical point of view it will normally have no more than five, suitably two to four, apertures.

The frame members will be joined by standing them in parallel relationship, placing the link plate over the tops of the frame members so that the apertures in the link plate align with corresponding apertures in the frame members, and then inserting the plug members into the frame members through the apertures in the link plate.

Preferably the plug members, which may be plastics mouldings or metal, e.g. aluminium castings, are a friction or push fit in the frame members. The plug members are preferably so shaped as to lock the link plate in position when the plug members are pushed fully home. For example, the plug members may be "mushroom"- or T-shaped, the shank or stem entering the aperture in the frame member and the head overlying the link plate radially outwardly of the aperture in the link plate. In many cases the frame members will be hollow metal tubes, e.g. aluminium extrusions, and the shanks of the plug members will be a tight fit against the internal walls of the frame members. When both the plug member and the frame member are metallic in nature, an auxiliary bushing, e.g. a nylon bushing, retained within the aperture in the frame member, will receive the shank of the plug member.

In a preferred embodiment, the plug member is a push fit in a casting having two limbs at right angles, one of said limbs entering one of said two frame members and the other of said limbs being attached to a further frame member disposed at right angles to said two frame members. In this way, not only can two upright frame members be joined together in spaced parallel relationship, but they can also be readily joined to adjacent horizontal frame members. The casting suitably comprises a cylindrical sleeve, which fits closely within the aperture in the frame member., and receives the plug member, or a bushing which fits tightly within it and in turn receives the plug member, with, at right angles to the axis of the sleeve, a nose portion which is suitably (RUM) push-fitted or pop rivettedlto a horizontal frame member.The nose portion may contain an aperture for receiving a screw or other means for holding a panel in place.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, each aperture in the link plate is provided with a bushing which is adapted to enter a respective frame member in a nonrotatable manner, and to receive a plug member. In this way, any tendency of the frame members, joined in parallel relationship, to twist relative to each other, is prevented. Thus, for example, a bushing may be formed integrally with, or tack welded to, the link plate surrounding the aperture, and may have a knurled or serrated outer wall which engages the inner wall of for example a nylon bush seated in the respective frame member.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a section through a corner of a rectangular frame, showing the manner in which the vertical and horizontal frame members are joined; Figure 2 i s a plan view of the link plate used in the structure of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, of an alternative embodiment; Figure 4 is a plan view of an alternative link plate; Figure 5 is a plan view of one of the components in Figure 3; Figure 6 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, showing a further, preferred embodiment; Figure 7 is an elevated view of a portion of the link plate of the Figure 6 construction; and Figure 8 is a plan view of the link plate used in the Figure 6 construction.

In the drawings, like parts are given the same references.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown one cornerof a rectangular frame made from two vertical tubular supports 2 and two horizontal tubular members 4. The tubular members 2 and 4 are suitably aluminium extrusions. The upright 2 is joined to the horizontal member 4 by means of a connector 6.

Connector 6 comprises a right-angled member 8, which may be a plastics moulding or a metal casting, having a tubular sleeve 10 integral with a nose portion 12 at right-angles thereto. The connector also includes a plug 13, the shank 14 of which is a tight fit in the sleeve 10. Completing the connector 6 is a link plate 16.

As shown in Figure- 2, the link plate 16 comprises three circular apertures 18; it will be appreciated that the number of apertures in the link plate depends on the number of frames which it is required to connect together. As shown in Figure 4, the link plate has four such apertures.

The frame is assembled in any convenient way. One suitable method of assembly is as follows. A connector 8 is fitted to the top of a tube 2, with the sleeve portion 10 fitting tightly within the top of the tube.

The nose portion 12 of the connector is fitted within a horizontal frame member 4and attached to it by means for example of a pop rivet (RTM) 20. Apanel, board or other screen member forming the main display face of the article under construction (not shown) is then mounted on the frame by means of a screw 22 passing through an aperture 24 in the nose portion 12 and entering the board or panel.

A suitable number, e.g. 2,3 or 4, such frames are assembled in this manner. Each corner of each frame may be identically assembled as described above, although the bottoms of the upright members 2 will suitably be provided with foot members.

The assembled frame members are then stood with their respective uprights 2 in upright and parallel close relation, and a link plate 16 is placed over the adjacent connectors 8 so that an aperture 18 is in alignment with a respective sleeve 10. Plugs 13 are then applied to the frames, by inserting the spigot portion 14 of each plug through the respective aperture 18 of the link plate and into the sleeve 10 of the connector 8. The spigot 14 is a tight fit in the sleeve 10 (it may have a knurled or ribbed configuration to facilitate this), and so the frames are tightly held in closely spaced relationship, being angularly movable relative to each other, and the connection is a neat, unobtrusive and aesthetically-pleasing one.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, the connector 8 is a metal casting, and the plug 13 is a plastics injection moulding.

The structure shown in Figures 3 to 5 is similar in general to that of Figures 1 and 2, but the corner connection differs.

In this case, the connector 6 is a metal, e.g.

aluminium, casting 28 having a sleeve portion 30 and a nose portion 32. The sleeve portion 30 and nose portion 32 are relatively loose fits within the respective tubular members 2 and 4. A plastics bushing 34, e.g. a nylon bushing, is inserted in the sleeve portion 30 of casting 28. The bushing 34 is tightly held within the sleeve 30 by means of a lip 36 at its upper end and a radially-outwardly directed bead 38 at its lower end which engages the lower annular face of the sleeve 30. Nose portion 32 is, as before, pop-rivettedLto horizontal frame member 4.

After assembly of the required number of frames, the link plate 16 is placed over the tops of the tubular uprights 2, with the apertures 18 aligned with respective bushings 34, and plugs 40 are applied to the respective corner structures. In this case each plug 40 is an aluminium casting, broadly of T-shape, and its shank 42 is a tight push fit in bushing 34.

It may happen that with the constructions illustrated in Figures lto 5, there is a tendancy for adjacent parallel upright frame members 2 to twist relative to each other. This can be overcome by clamping the upright frame members together, or indeed by hingeing them together, using for example the hinge structure of our Patent No: 2115478. Using such a hinge would, however, to a certain extent defeat the object of the present invention. Relative twisting of the structure is avoided by the construction shown in Figures 6 to 8.

This construction is similar to that of Figures 3 and 4 (and like references indicate similar parts), but the link plate 50 is different. As will be seen, each aperture 52 is formed by a hollow bushing 54, e.g.

of mild steel or aluminium, welded, e.g. tack welded, to the plate. The outer surface of the bushing is knurled or serrated, as at 56. Its inner surface is also ribbed or screw-threaded, as at 58. The feet of the upright members 2 are suitably provided with similar connectors to those used at the tops.

As with the embodiments of Figures 1 to 5, the structure is assembled by first fitting the connector 28 to the upright 2 and the horizontal 4. The nylon bush 34 is then press-fitted into the sleeve 30, which suitably has a knurled or serrated inner surface for the purpose of making it a non-rotatable fit, and, two, three or four upright members having been placed in parallel relationship, a link plate 50 is placed over them and its bushings 54 are pressed firmly into respective bushes 34. The serrated surface 56 "bites" into the inner wall of nylon bush 34, and the link plate 50 is thereby "locked" relative to the upright 2.

The structure is completed, as before, by hammering plugs 60 into the bushes 54, the shanks of the plugs 60 being a tight fit in the bushes 54 and thus contributing to the solidity of the connection In an alternative embodiment the plugs 60 may be screwed into the bushes 54, and such an arrangement may be preferable for the bottom corners of the frame, where an adjustment of the position of the plugs constituting the feet of the assembly may be necessary in order to "square up" the frame should it be standing on an uneven floor.

It will be seen that by means of the invention it is possible to assemble a number of frame members together, in parallel relationship but angularly movable relative to each other, in a speedy manner and without the use of hinges. The construction may be readily dismantled by simply removing the plugs, whereupon the link plate may be removed and the frames become individually accessible. Thus, the present invention provides a means for the rapid assembly and dis-assembly of frame systems which are emminently suitable as temporary or semi-permanent display screens.

Claims (12)

CLAIMS:

1. Means for joining two frame members in spaced parallel relationship comprising a plate having spaced apertures and two plug members each adapted to enter a respective one of said frame members through an aperture in said plate.

2. Means as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plate has up to five said apertures.

3. Means as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein each said plug member is a friction or push fit in the respective frame member.

4. Means as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the plug members are so shaped as to lock the plate in position when the plug members are positioned in said respective frame members.

5. Means as claimed in claim 4 wherein each said plug member is substantially T-shaped, the shank of said member being adapted to enter said respective frame member and the head of said plug member overlying the plate radially outwardly of the aperture in said plate.

6. Means as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5 comprising an auxiliary bushing retained within said respective frame member to receive a respective plug member.

7. Means as claimed in claim 1 wherein each said plug member is a push fit in a casting having two limbs at right angles, one of said limbs entering one of said two frame members and the other of said limbs being attached to a further frame member disposed at right angles to said two frame members.

8. Means as claimed in claim 7 wherein the casting comprises a cylindrical sleeve adapted to fit closely within the respective frame member, and to receive the respective plug member, or a bushing which fits tightly within it and in turn receives the plug member, with, at right angles to the axis of the sleeve, a nose por tion adapted to be attached to a horizontal frame member.

9. Means as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each aperture in said plate is provided with a bushing which is adapted to enter a respective frame member in a non-rotatable manner, and to receive a plug member.

10. Means as claimed in claim 9 wherein said bushing has a knurled or serrated outer wall adapted to engage the inner wall of the respective frame member or a bush seated in the respective frame member.

11. Means as claimed in claim 1, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

12. A display screen comprising frame members joined together in spaced parallel relationship by means as claimed in any preceding claim.