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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     Not Applicable  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not Applicable  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0004]     The present invention relates generally to portable, freestanding room dividers, more particularly, to such room dividers for use in defining exhibition booths in large meeting halls.  
         [0005]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0006]     Trade shows and exhibitions are commonly held in a multipurpose meeting hall which often has a floor area in excess of 150,000 square feet. Although the hall is used undivided for some events, for trade shows and exhibitions it is subdivided into individual exhibit booths in which different companies display goods and services. The smallest standard exhibition booth is ten feet by ten feet, however exhibitors requiring more space can rent larger areas in ten foot by ten foot increments.  
         [0007]     Regardless of its size, each exhibit booth is separated from the adjacent booths by pipe and drape staging. Specifically, the rear and side walls of the booth are defined by a frame of vertical and horizontal pipes from which drapes are hung to provide some degree of privacy for each exhibitor. The vertical pipes for the rear wall extend upward approximately eight feet from a movable metal plate on the hall floor, while the side wall pipes may extend the same height or be waist high from movable metal plates. The horizontal pipes have hooks at the ends which fit into brackets on the vertical pipes thereby forming the frame of the wall. The top horizontal pipe for each wall extends through a hemmed sleeve along the upper edge of the respective drape which then hangs downward from the pipe. Although the pipe and drape staging defines the exhibit booth area, it provides minimal sound insulation between booths and does not provide a surface on which exhibitors can hang displays.  
         [0008]     The staging system for a single wall comprises many individual pieces: metal floor plates, two or more vertical pipes selected from several sizes, one or more horizontal pipes, and the fabric drape material. All of which must be stored in an organized manner between events. Wheeled carts typically are used to transport the staging materials between the storeroom and the exhibition hall. This erecting and dismantling of conventional pipe and drape staging is a labor intensive, time consuming and thus an expensive process. In addition, the nature of the use often requires that the fabric drape material be cleaned after each use.  
         [0009]     Therefore, there is a need for a more convenient and efficient system for defining exhibition booths of various size increments of the standard ten by ten foot floor area.  
         [0010]     Large rooms of schools and churches can be divided into smaller classrooms by portable freestanding dividers, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,848. This room divider has a plurality of hinged wall panels positioned between a pair of end members. The wall panels are supported by casters mounted on feet which project laterally from the bottom of the wall panels. The end members also are supported by casters. The combination of wall panels and end members can be folded into a compact configuration for easy movement and storage. The wall panels of the divider can be open at angles to subdivide areas for a classrooms or other uses.  
         [0011]     Heretofore, such prior room dividers for schools and churches did not meet the needs of exhibition halls for a number of reasons. The previous dividers did not conform to the ten foot by ten foot size of the conventional exhibit booth. Dividers of different heights could not easily be attached to each other to create a sturdy standard booth. The rear and side walls of the booth have to be secured to each other not only to prevent separation during use, but for added stability when exhibitors hang heavy displays on the walls. The side walls have to be immobilized during use to withstand people pushing against the walls. Furthermore conventional room dividers do not have handles for easy gripping in order to move the units and do not have a self contained means to lock adjacent room dividers in a 180° position needed to create the perimeter of an exhibit booth.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     A portable, freestanding room divider system is provided to break up a large hall into one or more exhibition booths. In its basic form, this system comprises first and second sidewall partitions extending from a rear wall partition.  
         [0013]     The rear wall partition is formed by a plurality of wall panels connected together in a series by hinges at their vertical edges. A first wall panel and a last wall panel in the series both have a section along an outer edge that has two opposing sides with a first connector element on each of those sides. A first plurality of feet project outward from at least some of the plurality of wall panels and have wheels thereon to support the rear wall partition on a floor. A first end support extends transversely outward from each side of the first wall panel and a second end support extends transversely outward from each side of the last wall panel. Both of the first and second end supports have a pair of wheels for engaging the floor.  
         [0014]     The first sidewall partition is connected to the first wall panel and the second sidewall partition is connected to the last wall panel, thereby defining three sides of the exhibition booth. Each of the first and second sidewall partitions includes a plurality of sidewall panels connected together in a series by hinges. A first sidewall panel in the series has second connector element that releasably engages one of the first connector elements on the rear wall partition. A second plurality of feet project outward from at least some of the plurality of sidewall panels with at least one wheel thereon for supporting the respective sidewall partition on the floor.  
         [0015]     In a preferred embodiment, a last sidewall panel in the series has a support stand that in a first position engages the floor to resist movement of the sidewall and in a second position allows the sidewall to move on the floor. Preferably, the first connector element on the rear wall partition comprises a pair of keyholes and the second connector element on the sidewall partition comprises a pair of studs that are releasably captivated in the pair of keyholes to secure the sidewall partition to the rear wall partition. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a portable, freestanding room divider system assembled to form walls of a standard exhibition booth;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the rear wall partition folded for storing and transporting;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the embodiment of the folded rear wall partition of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a cut away isometric view illustrating a mechanism to attach a side wall partition to the rear wall partition;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is an end view of a side wall partition showing a stand which raises the casters above the floor;  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of several partitions connected to define a plurality of exhibition booths;  
         [0022]      FIG. 7  illustrates a connector mechanism fastening two abutting rear wall dividers together; and  
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is an isometric view of the novel partitions connected to define another configuration of a plurality of exhibition booths. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0024]     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a set of room dividers  10  for an exhibition booth comprises a rear wall partition  12  and two side wall partitions  14  and  15 . To comply with conventional dimensions of an exhibition booth, the rear wall partition  12  is ten feet long and stands eight feet high. The rear wall partition  12  comprises five fabric or vinyl covered wall panels  16 ,  17 ,  18   19  and  20  of equal width and eight feet high and connected vertical edge to vertical edge in series by hinges  30  (see also  FIGS. 2 and 3 ). The hinges allow the partition to be folded into a compact configuration for storing and transporting, as will be described.  
         [0025]     Three of the three wall panels  17 ,  18  and  19  have a separate foot  32  extending transversely across their bottom edges so as to project outward from both sides of the respective wall panel. A swivel caster  34  is mounted at each end of the foot  32 . The swivel caster  34  are self leveling in that each comprises a wheel held in a mounting bracket from which a rod extends upward through the foot  32 . A spring around the rod biases the mounting bracket downward with respect to the foot  32 .  
         [0026]     The first and last wall panels  16  and  20  in the series that forms the rear wall partition  12  are wider than the other wall panels because the first and last wall panels include a narrower metal end plate  21  or  22  rigidly attached to the outer vertical edge of the respective wall panel. Alternatively the fabric or vinyl covered portion of the first and last wall panels  16  and  20  themselves may be wider than the intermediate wall panels  17 ,  18  and  19 . As will be described, the end plates  21  and  22  have elements of connecting mechanisms which enable the side wall partitions  14  and  15  to be securely fastened to the rear wall partition  12 . An end support  24  or  26  extends transversely to each end plate  21  and  22 , respectively, and has a rectangular frame that is attached to the adjacent end plate  21  or  22 . The details of that attachment are shown in  FIG. 2 . The frame of end support  26  passes through the end plate  22  which thereby extends outward from the end support. A similar connection exists between the other end plate  21  and its end support  24 . Two swivel casters  36  are mounted beneath each end support  24  and  26 .  
         [0027]     With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the rear wall partition  12  can be folded at hinges  30  so that the major surfaces of the five wall panels  16 - 20  abut against one another. The folded wall panels  16 - 20  fit between the two end supports  24  and  26 . The rear wall partition  12  is held in the folded state by two fasteners  40  adjacent each end plate  21  and  22 . Each fastener  40  comprises a latch hook  41  that is pivotally attached to the respective end plate  21  or  22  and engaging a latch catch  42  attached to the edge of one of the wall panels  17  or  19 . A handle  45  is provided on the end plates to assist the user in folding and unfolding rear wall partition  12 .  
         [0028]     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , the two side wall partitions  14  and  15  have identical construction and consist of five side wall panels  50  with vertical edges abutting one another other in the unfolded state. Each of the wall panels  50  is covered with fabric or vinyl. Hinges connect the adjacent wall panels, allowing them to be unfolded into the illustrated linear arrangement and folded together for storage in the same manner as the rear wall partition  12 . The outermost side wall panels  50  have a side wall end plate  52  or  54  fixedly attached to their exposed vertical edge. Alternatively the first and last wall panels  50  of each partition may be wider than the intermediate wall panels. The side wall end plates  52  and  54  have a transverse foot  56  or  57  secured to its bottom edge and a pair of casters  58  is attached to each end of the foot  56 . Similarly, the middle three side wall panels  50  have a similar foot  60  attached transversely to their lower edges with swivel casters  62  mounted near the ends of the foot.  
         [0029]     The foot  56 , attached to the side wall end plate  52  at the remote end of the side wall  14  or  15  from the rear wall  12 , has a support stand  66  pivotally attached thereto. As depicted in  FIG. 5 , the foot  56  has a pair of spaced apart brackets  70  projecting outwardly. The support stand  65  is pivotally connected to the two brackets  70 . Specifically, the support stand  65  has a support bar  67  with a pair of foot pads  69  and a pair of legs  66  welded thereto. Each leg  66  is coupled to one of the brackets  70  by a spring loaded pin  72  that extends through holes in both components. This connection enables the support stand  65  to pivot 90° between a lowered position shown by solid lines in the drawing and a raised position depicted by the dashed lines. The raised position is used during storage and transportation of the sidewall partition  14  or  15 . In the lowered position, the foot pads  69  rest on the floor  68  of the exhibition hall so that the casters  58  are raised off the floor, thereby immobilizing the remote end of the respective sidewall partition  14  and  15 .  
         [0030]     The end plate  54  at the opposite end of each sidewall  14  and  15  is coupled to an end plate  21  or  22  of the rear wall partition  12 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the rear wall partition  12  has three upper keyholes  76  on adjacent faces of the end plates and a similar trio of lower keyholes  78 . Note that one of the upper and lower keyholes  76  and  78  is on the back surface of the rear wall end plate  22  in  FIG. 4  and thus is hidden from view. The vertical edge of each sidewall end plate  54  has two studs  80  for engaging a pair of upper and lower keyholes  76  and  78  on the adjacent rear wall end plate  21  or  22 . When assembling the partitions to form an exhibition booth, the assembler lifts the sidewall end plate  54  using a recessed flush pull handle  77 , so that the heads of the studs  80  are able to pass through the larger diameter portion of each keyhole  76  and  78 . After the studs have been inserted into the keyholes, the end plate  54  of the sidewall is lowered so that the stud shafts enters the narrower portion of the keyholes in which the stud becomes captivated, thereby securing the sidewall  14  or  15  to the rear wall partition  12 . The sidewall partition can be detached from the rear wall partition by lifting the sidewall partition using a recessed flush pull handle  77 , so that the heads of the studs  80  can pass out of the larger diameter portion of the keyholes thereby enabling sidewall partition to be separated from the rear wall partition.  
         [0031]     As also shown in  FIG. 4 , each rear wall end plate  21  and  22  has one upper slot  82  and two lower slots  83  to receive the hooks of horizontal pipes used with standard pipe and drape staging. This enables such staging to be used in combination with the rear wall partition  12 . Near the top of each rear wall end plate  21  and  22  are two alignment tabs  84  and  86  that are attached to the two major surfaces of the end plate  22  of rear wall partition  12 . The guide tabs  84  and  86  project from the side edge of the partition so that an adjacent rear wall partition  12  abutting that edge is received between those tabs to provide lateral support for that junction. The guide tabs  84  and  86  are offset vertically on a given rear wall end plate  21  or  22  to accommodate the two guide tabs  84  and  86  on the edge of the abutting rear wall partition  12 .  
         [0032]     When the present room divider system is used to subdivide a large hall into a plurality of exhibition booths as shown in  FIG. 6 , a plurality of unfolded rear wall partitions  12  are placed end to end. With reference to  FIG. 7 , the abutting edges of two adjacent rear wall partitions  91  and  92  are locked together by a connector  90  which secures the partitions together. A draw latch assembly  93  is attached by screws to the end plate  21  of each partition, partition  92  in the drawings, and has a hinged wing knob  95  connected by a can mechanism to a sliding hook  94 . A keeper  96  is attached by screws to the other end plate  22  of rear wall partition  91 . Rotating the wing knob  95 , slides the hook  94  behind the keeper  96 . Further rotation of the wing knob  95  draws the hook toward its room divider  92  and against the keeper  96 , thereby securing the two room dividers  91  and  92  together. Connecting the rear wall partitions in this manner adds to the stability of the exhibition booth walls and provides greater privacy between exhibitors than prior pipe and drape staging.  
         [0033]     Referring to the configuration  100  of a plurality of exhibition booths shown in  FIG. 6 , a separate sidewall partition  108 ,  110 ,  114  and  116  is attached to one of the end plates  21  or  22  at the junction between two rear wall partitions  102 ,  104  and  106 . These sidewall partitions extend on both sides of these rear wall partitions, thereby forming back to back exhibition booths. An additional pair of sidewall partitions  112  and  118  are attached at the exposed end of the outer most rear wall partition  106  to define the final pair of exhibition booths along the rear walls. If a particular exhibitor desires to have a larger booth, one or more of the interior sidewalls, such as unit  110 , can be eliminated to form a larger width booth.  
         [0034]      FIG. 8  illustrates an alternative configuration  120  for creating a larger exhibition booth by placing two sidewall partitions  128  and  130  and  132  and  134  aligned end to end so that the booth is twenty feet deep. The studs  80  on the end support  129  of one sidewall partition  130  and  134  of each sidewall engage the keyholes in the end section  131  of the other sidewall partition  128  and  132 , respectively to lock the aligned sidewall partitions together. The partition configuration  120  also illustrates how two rear wall partitions  122  and  124  can be placed end to end without an intermediate sidewall partition so that the booth is twenty feet wide.  
         [0035]     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present room divider system with the unique fastening mechanism can be interlocked in a large variety of configurations to provide exhibition booths that are customized to the needs of a particular exhibitor. Those configurations include sidewall or rear wall partitions positioned in a continuous straight line, partitions interlocked at 90° or 270° orientations, and any curvilinear configurations as allowed by such positioning of the hinged panels  
         [0036]     The foregoing description was primarily directed to preferred embodiments of the invention. Although some attention was given to various alternatives within the scope of the invention, it is anticipated that one skilled in the art will likely realize additional alternatives that are now apparent from disclosure of embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined from the following claims and not limited by the above disclosure.

Summary:
A portable, freestanding room divider system comprises first and second sidewall partitions extending from one or more rear wall partitions to define exhibition booths. Each rear wall and side wall partition has a plurality of wall panels hinged together in a series. The rear wall partition includes first and last wall panels with end panels that have keyholes on opposites sides and an end support with wheels. An end wall panel of each sidewall partition has studs that engage the keyholes to secure the sidewall partition to the rear wall partition. At least some of the wall panels of the rear and sidewall partitions have feet projecting outward therefrom with wheels. A foot on each sidewall has a stand which raises and lowers the wheels with respect to the floor to control movement of the sidewall.