Patent Abstract:
A portable room divider includes a plurality of wall panels interconnected by hinges. Each pair of adjacent wall panels also is connected by a position control hinge which provides resistance to pivotal motion between those wall panels. As a result, a force in excess of a given magnitude must be applied to pivot those wall panels, which provides stability to the room divider in use. Feet project laterally from both side of some of the wall panels and self-leveling casters are mounted to the feet. A spring biasing mechanism forces each caster against the floor to compensate for irregularities in the floor surface. Thus, the self-leveling casters are maintained against the floor to further stabilize the room divider when in use. A mechanism is provided to connect and join together multiple room dividers in a series.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   Not Applicable 
   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not Applicable 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates generally to room dividers, more particularly, to a portable, freestanding room dividers. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   There are times that it is desired to divide large areas, such as rooms or halls, into smaller more private areas. One method of doing this is by movable wall panels which are suspended from and move on tracks attached to the ceiling and/or floor. This method is relatively expensive and it is inflexible as the space only can be divided according to the pattern of tracks. 
   Another method for dividing large rooms into smaller private areas is to use movable freestanding screens. This method is relatively inexpensive and permits the formation of areas of a wide variety of sizes and shapes. However, many freestanding screen must be placed in a zigzag pattern in order to stand by themselves. That zigzag pattern consumes an amount of otherwise useable floor space. In addition those screens present storage and handling problems. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,848 discloses a portable room divider which has a plurality of hinged wall panels positioned between a pair of end members. The wall panels are supported by a plurality of 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 hinged wall panels can be unfolded to form a straight wall which is supported is a stable manner by the casters on the feet and end members. A hinged junction between two adjacent wall panels can be bent at an angle to form a corner of the temporary wall, for example a 90° corner for a rectangular subdivided area. 
   To further stabilize an extended portable room divider, removable clips were furnished to attach at the upper edges of two adjacent panels. Each rigid clip bridged the hinge joint to secure the angle between the panels. A set of clips for 90°, 135° and 180° panel angles were provided. Although the rigid clips worked well at preventing the installed panels from bending at the hinges, the placement and removal of the clips increased the time required to set-up and remove the portable room divider. Between use, the clips had to be stored in a container which had to be keep with the room divider and even with the container individual clips became lost over time. 
   This portable room divider described in the aforementioned patent functioned extremely well on relatively level floors. However, the floors in some new and many older buildings tend to be uneven with humps and depressions. When the portable room divider is unfolded in such buildings, some of the casters do not touch the low sections of the floor and thus do not properly support the associated wall panels. When a caster does not touch the floor, the associated wall panel will wobble with the slightest lateral force thereby rendering the entire room divider unstable. The obvious solution is to place shims between the casters and the floor, but this required additional set-up and removal steps. In addition, the shims have to be stored when not in use and located each time the portable room divider is needed. 
   There is a need for a more convenient technique for stabilizing a portable, freestanding room divider under a variety of floor conditions. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A portable, freestanding room divider is provided to partition large rooms into smaller areas. This room divider comprises a plurality of hinged wall panels, which can be folded against one another for compact storage and unfolded to form a wall. 
   The wall panels include a first wall panel, a last wall panel, and at least one intermediate wall panel. A plurality of hinges connect the first wall panel to an intermediate panel, the last wall panel to an intermediate panel, and each intermediate panel to two of the plurality of wall panels. A plurality of position control hinges are provided with each one being attached between two of the wall panels, Each position control hinge has a pair of surfaces which abut in a manner that resists pivotal motion between the attached wall panels. The position control hinge prevents low magnitude forces acting on the wall panels from causing one wall panel to pivot with respect to an adjacent wall panel, thus aiding the stability of the room divider. 
   A plurality of feet project outward from at least some of the plurality of wall panels. A plurality of self-leveling casters is moveably connected to the plurality of feet for supporting the wall panels on a floor of a room. Each caster is biased with respect to the associated foot by a spring to maintain the caster in contact with the floor. Therefore, even on an irregular, uneven floor having depressions or humps, all the casters will be in contact with the floor surface and continually bear their proportional share of the partition&#39;s weight, which further aids the stability of the room divider. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portable, freestanding, room divider according to the present invention with the panels folded storage and transportation; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the room divider of  FIG. 1  with the wall panels unfolded to form a straight wall; 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  partially unfolded; 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a position control hinge which couples two adjacent wall panels; 
       FIG. 5  show indentations in one component of the position control hinge; 
       FIG. 6  is an enlarged view showing a self-leveling caster attached to a wall panel; 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged view showing a self-leveling caster attached to an end member; and 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a multi-unit connector fastening two abutting room dividers together. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   With reference to  FIG. 1 , a room divider  10  with eleven wall panels  11  is held in a fully folded configuration by a clasp  20  for storage and transportation prior to use. The room divider  10  is shown in use in  FIG. 2  with the eleven wall panels  11  unfolded to form a straight wall. Alternatively, walls of various geometric shapes can be created by forming acute angles between adjacent wall panels  11 . Although an exemplary room divider  10  has eleven wall panels, the number of wall panels can vary to provide room dividers of different lengths.  FIG. 3  illustrates the wall panels  11  partially unfolded as they might appear between the fully folded and unfolded states. 
   With particular reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the first and last panels  11   a  and  11   b , respectively, are attached to the middle of end members  12   a  and  12   b , respectively. The end members  12   a  and  12   b  have a vertical post  13 , a horizontal base bar  14  and a pair of curved posts  15  and  16  connecting the base bar  14  to the vertical post  13 . The vertical post  13  of each end member  12   a  and  12   b  is rigidly attached to a vertical edge of the associated first or last panel  11   a  or  11   b . The end members  12   a  and  12   b  are wider than the panels  11  and their orthogonal orientation provides support for the unfolded panels  11 . The curved posts  15  and  16  serve as convenient handles for moving the room divider  10 . The base bar  14  of the end members  12   a  and  12   b  has casters  17  with wheels so that the room divider  10  is portable and can be moved easily from one location to another. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , each wall panel  11  is connected to each immediately adjacent wall panel by a separate hinge  22 , which extends substantially the entire height of the panels. This enables the wall panels to be readily folded for storage as seen in FIG.  1  and unfolded to form a wall as seen in FIG.  2 . The hinge  22  permits an angle from 0° to 180° to be formed in the wall between two adjacent panels. The full height hinge  22  provides stability at the junction between adjacent wall panels and resists flexing of the portable room divider at that junction. 
   For additional stability, a panel position control hinge  24  is located at the top of each junction between two wall panels  11 . The position control hinges  24  provide resistance to pivotal motion between adjacent wall panels so that, once positioned to divide a room, the wall panels  11  will not pivot about the hinged junction due to a slight amount of force. This resistance further stabilizes the room divider  10 . 
     FIG. 4  illustrates the details of each panel position control hinge  24  which includes a pair of hinge leaves  26  and  28 . Each hinge leaf  26  and  28  has a circular portion  30  or  31  from which a leg  32  or  33  respectively projects and each leg is attached by screws to the top edge of a different wall panel  11 . The illustrated panel position control hinge  24  depicts the orientation of the hinge leaf  26  and  28  when the two wall panels are folded side-by-side as in FIG.  1 . The first hinge leaf  26  has an integral tube  34  projecting upward at the center of the circular portion  30  and has a plurality of ribs  36  on its upper surface  35  extending radially around the integral tube. The second hinge leaf  28  has an aperture  38  at the center of its circular portion  31  through which the tube  34  of the first hinge leaf  26  extends in the assembled position control hinge  24 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the second hinge leaf  28  has a plurality of indentations  40  extending radially around the aperture  38  on the lower surface of its circular portion  31 . In the assembled position control hinge  24 , the two hinge leaves abut with the ribs  36  on first hinge leaf  26  being received in the indentations  40  in the second hinge leaf  28 . This engagement of the ribs in the indentations resists movement between the first and second hinge leaves  26  and  28  and thus pivoting of the hinge joint between the adjacent wall panels  11 . As a result of that resistance movement of the hinge occurs in a controlled manner. 
   A spring  42  is located between the upper surface of the second hinge leaf  28  and a cap  44  that engages the end of the tube  34  which projects through the aperture  38  in the second hinge leaf  28 . A machine screw  46  extends through the tube  34  and threads into an aperture in the cap  44  to hold the components of the position control hinge  24  together. 
   A gap exists in the assembled position control hinge  24  between second hinge leaf  28  and the cap  44  which allows the second hinge leaf to move along the tube  34 . Thus as the first and second hinge leaves  26  and  28  rotate about the axis of tube  34  the ribs  36  and indentations  40  on the hinge leaves ride up and down over each other against the force of the spring  42 . This action provides resistance to such rotation and thus to pivotal motion between the wall panels  11  to which the position control hinge  24  is attached. To increase the amount of such resistance, additional position control hinges can be placed at the bottom of each junction between adjacent wall panels  11 . 
   As seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a foot  18  is provided at the bottom of some of the wall panels  11 . Each foot  18  extends orthogonally outward from the associated wall panel  11 . A separate caster  19  is swivel mounted near the outer ends of each foot  18 . The feet  18  and casters  19  help support the room divider  10  when the wall panels are unfurled. Additional casters  17  are provided near the ends of the horizontal base bars  14  of the end members  12   a  and  12   b . These latter casters  17  have the same general design as the wall panel casters  19 , except that the ends casters  17  also have a conventional mechanism for locking the wheels. A wheel locking mechanism also can be provided on the wall panel casters  19 . 
   The casters  17  and  19  self adjust and level to variation in the floor on which the room divider  10  is located. With reference to  FIG. 6 , each self-leveling caster  19  has a wheel  50  that rotates about an axel pin  56  extending between a pair of spaced-apart plates  54  of a caster bracket  52 . Alternatively, a ball type caster could be used in which a ball, held captive in a bracket, rides on the floor of the room. A swivel pin  58  projects upward from the caster bracket  52  and extends through an aperture in the end section of a wall panel foot  18 . The swivel pin also extends through a coil spring  60  located between the foot  18  and the caster bracket  52  biasing those latter components apart. A cap is secured to the end of the swivel pin  58  which projects through the wall panel foot  18 . 
     FIG. 7  illustrates the mounting of a caster  17  on the horizontal base bar  14  of one of the end members  12   a  or  12   b . Here a bushing  62  is welded in an aperture extending into the hollow base bar  14  to receive the swivel pin  58  of the caster. A snap ring  64  fits in a groove at the end of the swivel pin  58  to lock the caster in the bushing  62 . The caster  17  is similar in design to caster  19 , but may differ in size. 
   When the room divider  10  is unfolded to partition a room, the coil springs  60  ensure that each wheel  50  contacts the floor in spite of any undulations in the floor surface. The spring force is selected whereby on a level floor, the weight of the wall panels  11  slightly compresses the coil spring  60  so that the caster  19  is at an intermediate travel position with respect to the foot  18 . In other words the caster  19  is not at either a fully raised or fully lowered position and thus can accommodate depressed and humped areas of an uneven floor. Because the set of casters  19  on the room divider  10  self-adjust to compensate for non-flat floors, the wall panels  11  always are supported by the casters and cannot easily wobble. 
   In the folded state in  FIG. 1 , the room divider  10  is easily moved into an area to be divided into one or more predetermined private areas. The clasps  20  on the end members  12   a  and  12   b  are then flexed outwardly and the panels  11  unfolded to form a wall of the desired shape. Once the panels are properly positioned to subdivide the room, such as in  FIG. 2 , the wheels of the casters  17  on the end members  12   a  and  12   b  are locked to anchor the ends of the wall. If desired, the casters  19  on the panels also can be provided with wheel locks to help immobilize the thus formed wall. 
   When two separate room dividers  10  abut end-to-end, multi-unit connectors  70  on the vertical posts  13  are interlocked to secure the room dividers  10  together. With reference to  FIG. 6 , a lever assembly is attached by screws to the vertical post  13  on one room divider  71  and has a lever  72  connected by a cam mechanism to a rotatable hook  74 . A catch  76  is attached by screws to the vertical post  13  on the abutting room divider  78 . Pivoting the lever  72  rotates the hook  74  behind the catch  76 . Further rotation of the lever  72  draws the hook toward its room divider  71  and against the catch  76 , thereby securing the two room dividers  71  and  78  together. This securing together can be repeated so as to join many room dividers in series. 
   When it is desired to disassemble the wall and store the wall panels  11 , the wheel locks on the casters  17 , and optionally casters  19 , are unlocked. The hinged panels  11  then are folded into the configuration shown in FIG.  1  and the clasps  20  retain the panels  11  in that folded state. 
   It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description and the drawings that the present invention provides a very convenient, inexpensive and flexible means for dividing large areas into smaller more private areas. The walls that are formed can be straight, angled or partially folded. The walls can be the width of a single wall panel or any multiple thereof and within limits they can extend in any direction. The self-adjusting casters  17  and  19  and position control hinges  24  provide increased stability to the room divider  10  in the unfolded state. 
   The foregoing description was primarily directed to a preferred embodiment 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.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8