Workstation arrangement for laboratories, production facilities and the like

• US 4,863,223 A
• Filed: 11/01/1988
• Issued: 09/05/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Zumtobel Lighting GmbH (Zumtobel Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Zumtobel GmbH & Company
• Inventors: Weissenbach, Albertus, Schaumann, Gerd, Wanner, Wolfgang H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Falk, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US07/265,535
• Time in Patent Office: 308 Days
• Field of Search: 312/209, 312/223, 312/245
• US Class Current: 312/209
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2037/005 Tables specially adapted for laboratories
• CPC Class Codes: H02B 1/04 Mounting thereon of switches or of other devices in general, the switch or device having, or being without, casing
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/0493 Service poles

Abstract

Arrangements for forming working areas or workstations equipped with supply connections for power, gaseous and/or liquid media, communication connections and monitoring connections and the like, in laboratories, production locations and the like, wherein all supply means are combined in fixedly mounted connecting devices while the actual working surfaces are formed by selectable working and standing position elements that can be freely set up and grouped as desired, with respect to the connecting devices. The position elements are free of any connections. Discharge or removal of the media is also effected by way of a system which is laid out in accordance with a predetermined pattern. Additional removal or discharge elements may be arranged in a row with the working and standing position elements, or alternately the removal or discharge devices may be incorporated into the connecting devices.

Claims

1. Equipment for forming workstations adapted for use on floor areas of laboratories, production locations, and testing and research facilities, said equipment comprising in combination:

(a) a plurality of portable workbench elements adapted to rest on said floor areas, and

(b) a plurality of horizontally disposed connecting devices separate and apart from said workbench elements, for connection with supplies for electrical energy and devices that handle fluid media, and for use with communications and monitoring apparati,

(c) said connecting devices being arranged and fixedly mounted in a predetermined pattern distribution within a working space over said floor areas and being disposed in a substantially horizontal plane at a predetermined vertical distance above said floor areas,

(d) said connecting devices being elongate and comprising conduit means having a determinate structural configuration and having supply devices for said electrical energy, for said fluid media, and for said communications and monitoring apparati, said supply devices being carried in the said conduit means,

(e) said supply devices being arranged in a predetermined pattern of groups along the said conduit means to form at least one group of supply devices for different fluid media and at least one group of supply devices for different electrical power supply and at least one group of supply devices for electrical communication and control circuits, wherein said supply devices for electrical power supply and electrical communication and control circuits, and for fluid media alternate with each other along the said conduit means,

(f) said workbench elements being free to be placed on the said floor areas below the said connecting devices in any desired disposition and configuration, and in any desired position with respect to each other and with respect to said connecting devices and with respect to the said predetermined pattern of alternating groups of supply devices for different fluid media and groups of supply devices for different electrical power supply and groups of electrical communication and control circuits along the said conduit means, thereby to form a work facility which is adaptable to various respective laboratory, production, test or research tasks.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1, and further including:

(a) support means extending upwardly from said connecting devices, for suspending the latter from the ceiling of the facility in which the workstations are located,

(b) at least one of said support means being adapted to form a vertical channel in which the electrical supply devices are mounted and at least one other support means being adapted to form a vertical channel in which the supply devices for fluid media are mounted.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 11, and further including cleaning apparati for the said fluid media and additional supply devices for cleaned fluid media on said conduit means, each one of said cleaning apparati being mounted on the said conduit means and being connected between one of said supply devices for fluid media and at least one of said additional supply devices for cleaned fluid media.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 3, wherein the said additional supply means for cleaned fluid media is arranged to form at least one additional group of supply devices on said conduit means.

5. The invention as set forth in claim 1, and further including gas cleaning apparati adapted to clean a respective gaseous medium to the status of high purity gas and additional supply devices for high purity gas on the said conduit means, each one of said gas cleaning apparati being mounted on the said conduit means and being connected between one of said supply lines for gases and at least one of said additional supply devices for high purity gases.

6. The invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein the said additional supply means for high purity gases are arranged to form at least one additional group of supply devices on said conduit means.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 1, and further including:

(a) laboratory test equipment carried by said workbench elements, and

(b) freely removable electrical leads connecting said laboratory test equipment to said supply devices.

8. The invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

(a) one of said workbench elements has a fluid discharge element adapted for connection to a fluid discharge conduit located in the floor of the facility.

9. The invention as set forth in claim 8, wherein:

(a) said fluid discharge element comprises a sink, and a drainpipe connected between said sink and said fluid discharge conduit.

10. The invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said connecting devices comprise removal and connection means,

(b) said conduit means and the removal and connection means are arranged in two separate planes,

(c) said workbench elements being arranged in a predetermined position with respect to said conduit means and to said removal and connection means.

11. The invention as set forth in claim 10, wherein:

(a) said workbench elements have work surfaces disposed in a third plane,

(b) one of said first-mentioned planes comprising a supply plane (V) located above the said third plane, and the other of said planes, comprising a removal plane (E) disposed substantially below the said third plane.

12. The invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said conduit means includes substantially horizontally extending guides under which the workbench elements can be arranged.

13. The invention as set forth in claim 12, and further including:

(a) carriages which are displaceable along the said guides.

14. The invention as set forth in claim 12, and further including:

(a) carriages which are horizontally displaceable along said guides,

(b) said guides being aligned in substantially parallel relationship to the said conduit means.

15. The invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said conduit means comprises a pair of elongate channel members which are coextensive with each other and further comprises a transverse channel member joined to said coextensive channel members,

(b) said coextensive members and transverse channel member having openings to interconnect the interior spaces of said members,

(c) each of said coextensive members having a plurality of canals,

(d) said supply devices extending through said transverse channel member,

(e) some of said supply devices extending in first canals of said coextensive channel members, and other supply devices extending through second canals of said coextensive channel members.

16. The invention as set forth in claim 15, wherein:

(a) a portion of said transverse channel member being interposed between the said coextensive channel members.

17. The invention as set forth in claim 15, wherein:

(a) said coextensive channel members having electrical receptacles and fluid media ports disposed in exterior face surfaces of the members,

(b) said coextensive members being disposed in back-to-back relation.

18. The invention as set forth in claim 17, wherein:

(a) back portions of said coextensive channel members have openings,

(b) said transverse channel member having supply devices extending through it, and through the said back openings of the coextensive channel members.

19. Equipment for forming workstations adapted for use on floor areas of laboratories, production locations, and testing and research facilities, said equipment comprising in combination:

(a) a plurality of portable workbench elements adapted to rest on said floor areas, and

(b) a plurality of vertically disposed connecting devices separate and apart from said workbench elements, for connection with supplies for electrical energy and devices that handle fluid media, and for use with communications and monitoring apparati,

(c) said connecting devices being arranged and fixedly mounted in a predetermined pattern distribution within a working space on said floor areas and being disposed vertically at predetermined intervals around said floor areas,

(d) said connecting devices comprising conduit means having a determinate structural configuration and having supply devices for said electrical energy, for said fluid media, and for said communications and monitoring apparati, said supply devices being carried in the said conduit means,

(e) said supply devices being arranged in a predetermined number of groups on said conduit means to form at least one group of supply devices for different fluid media and at least one group of supply devices for different electrical power supplies and at least one group of supply devices for electrical communication and control circuit, wherein said groups of supply devices for electrical power and electrical communication and control circuits, and fluid media alternate with each other on the said conduit means,

(f) said workbench elements being free to be placed on the said floor areas at a side of the said connecting devices in any desired disposition and configuration with respect to each other and with respect to the said connecting devices, and with respect to said predetermined pattern of alternating groups of supply devices for different fluid media and groups of supply devices for different electrical power supplies, and groups of supply devices for electrical communication and control circuits on said conduit means, thereby to form a work facility which is adaptable to various respective laboratory, production, test or research tasks,

(g) said connecting devices being permanently mounted to the floor of the facility.

20. The invention as set forth in claim 19, and further including cleaning apparati for the said fluid media and additional supply devices for cleaned fluid media on said conduit means, each one of said cleaning apparati being mounted on the said conduit means and being connected between one of said supply devices for fluid media and at least one of said additional supply devices for cleaned fluid media.

21. The invention as set forth in claim 20, wherein the said additional supply devices for cleaned fluid media are carried on said conduit means.

22. The invention as set forth in claim 19, and further including gas cleaning apparati adapted to clean a respective gaseous medium to the status of a high purity gas and additional supply devices for high purity gas on the said conduit means, each one of said gas cleaning apparati being mounted on the said conduit means and being connected between one of said supply devices for gases and at least one of said additional supply devices for high purity gases.

23. The invention as set forth in claim 22, wherein the said additional supply devices for high purity gases are carried on said conduit means.

24. The invention as set forth in claim 19, and further including:

(a) laboratory test equipment carried by said workbench elements, and

(b) electrical leads removably connecting said test equipment with said supply devices.

25. The invention as s et forth in claim 19, wherein:

(a) one of said workbench elements comprises a fluid discharge element adapted for connection to a fluid discharge conduit located in the floor of the facility.

26. The invention as set forth in claim 19, where:

(a) said connecting devices include removal and connection means, for the discharge of fluid media,

(b) said removal and connection means being fixedly attached to the conduit means in accordance with a fixed pattern at the workstation.

27. The invention as set forth in claim 26, wherein:

(a) said removal and connection means are disposed on said conduit means.

28. The invention as set forth in claim 19, wherein:

(a) the conduit means include column-like connecting portions which in their upper parts have said supply devices and installation connections and which contain in their lower parts removal and connection means (I).

29. The invention as set forth in claim 19, and further including:

(a) working lamps mounted on said conduit means.