APPARATUS AND METHOD OF ROUTING CABLING AROUND LEVELER LEGS IN A THIN MODULAR OFFICE PANEL

• US 20070107335A1
• Filed: 10/16/2006
• Published: 05/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Group Dekko Incorporated (Graham Holdings Company)
• Original Assignee: Group Dekko Incorporated (Graham Holdings Company)
• Inventors: Laukhuf, Gregg
• Granted Patent: US 7,926,231 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 52/239
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 2/7422 with separate framed panels without intermediary support posts
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 2002/7488 Details of wiring
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 2002/749 Partitions with screw-type jacks

Abstract

A modular furniture component such as an electrified relatively thin panel has electrical wiring in a raceway near a downwardly depending adjustable leveler leg and a pluggable multiconductor cable for connecting the raceway electrical wiring with another modular furniture component. The components may each comprise a relatively thin upstanding generally rectangular modular office wall panel having an electrical wiring containing raceway near a bottom edge. Adjacent panels have the raceways generally horizontally aligned with one another. In one form, apparatus and method is disclosed for routing the power and data cables/conductors out of the bottom of the panels next to threaded leveler legs and back up into the adjacent panel. The cable is located closely adjacent a thinnest portion of the adjustable leveler leg and has a portion thereof displaced vertically below each raceway. The cables are enclosed in a removable device that clamshells around the legs with the clamshell located beneath a lowermost portion of the raceway for enclosing portions of the leveler leg and cable. The clamshell cable housings can be in a variety of shapes to accommodate any combination of panel intersections with straight, parallel, 90°, “T”, cross or four-way, and 120° described. In another form, the panel support posts are modified to present a thin portion of leveler legs about which the cables may be routed in horizontal alignment with the raceways.

Claims

1. An electrified modular wall panel system, comprising:

at least two relatively thin upstanding generally rectangular modular office wall panels, each having an electrical wiring containing raceway near a bottom edge thereof, and a pair of adjustable leveler legs extending from the panel bottom edge, one near each end of each panel bottom edge;

a removable jumper cable assembly for electrically coupling the wiring in one panel raceway with the wiring in the other panel raceway; and

a shroud for enclosing a central portion of the jumper cable assembly and a relatively thin adjustable length portion of one leveler leg of each panel.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the panel raceways are generally horizontally aligned with one another and the central portion of the jumper is vertically displace below the raceways.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the panels are positioned in quadrature with one another and the shroud comprises a pair of matable generally “

L”

shaped shroud portions.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the horizontal thickness of the shroud and enclosed jumper and leg portion is not greater than the horizontal thickness of each panel.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein there are four panels, each having an electrical wiring containing raceway near a bottom edge thereof and each extending at a generally right angle to an adjacent pair of panels, the system including two further jumper cable assemblies, each jumper cable assembly electrically coupling the wiring in a distinct pair of orthogonally disposed panel raceways.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the shroud encloses a central portion of each of the three assembly cables and a relatively thin adjustable length portion of one leveler leg of each of the four panels.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the shroud comprises four matable generally “

L”

shaped shroud portions.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the leveler legs have regions of various horizontal thicknesses and the shroud partially encloses regions of minimal horizontal thickness of each leg.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the regions of minimal horizontal thickness comprise generally cylindrical externally threaded regions.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the shroud comprises two substantially identical portions each having a first set of notches which, when the portions are joined, encircle respective legs, and a second set of notches which, when the portions are joined, provide passageways for the assembly cable to pass between the raceway and the shroud.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein there are three panels, one extending at a generally right angle to an adjacent pair of panels, the system including one further jumper cable assembly, each jumper cable assembly electrically coupling the wiring in a distinct pair of panel raceways.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the shroud encloses a central portion of each of the two assembly cables and a relatively thin adjustable length portion of one leveler leg of each of the three panels.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the shroud comprises two generally “

L”

shaped shroud portions having matable respective first legs and a generally linear shroud portion including halves each matable with a respective “

L”

shaped shroud portion second leg.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of n+1 relatively thin upstanding generally rectangular modular office wall panels, each having an electrical wiring containing raceway near a bottom edge thereof, the removable jumper cable assembly including n multiconductor cables terminating in n+1 cable end connectors n−

1 of which accommodate two cables and two of which accommodate a single cable, each cable end connector adapted to electrically connect with the electrical wiring of a panel raceway for electrically coupling the wiring in one panel raceway with the wiring in each of the other panel raceways.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein there are n+1 panels and the cover comprises n+1 matable cover portions, the cover portions being nearly identical only when n is an odd number.

16. A method of routing electrical cabling around adjustable length leveler legs in thin office panels, comprising:

coupling wiring in each of two office panels with a jumper cable assembly;

locating a leveler leg region of minimal lateral dimension vertically below and closely adjacent a panel lower edge;

utilizing the available space surrounding the located region of the leveler leg to route the jumper cable assembly between the panels; and

enclosing both a portion of the assembly cable and a portion of the located region of the leg within a cover.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the office panel wiring is disposed in generally horizontally extending raceways located near respective bottom edges of the panels and the located leveler leg region extends from within the panel and in general horizontal alignment with the panel wiring raceways downwardly beyond the respective panel lower edges.

18. A modular furniture component having electrical wiring in a raceway near a downwardly depending adjustable leveler leg, a pluggable multiconductor cable for connecting the raceway electrical wiring with another modular furniture component, and a removable clamshell located beneath a lowermost portion of the raceway for enclosing portions of the leveler leg and cable.

19. The modular furniture component of claim 18, wherein said modular furniture component and said another modular furniture component each comprise a relatively thin upstanding generally rectangular modular office wall panel having an electrical wiring containing raceway near a bottom edge thereof, and wherein the raceways are generally horizontally aligned with one another while the cable is misaligned by having a portion thereof displaced vertically below each raceway.

20. The modular furniture component of claim 19, wherein the misaligned cable portion is located closely adjacent a thinnest portion of the adjustable leveler leg.