Abstract:
A system of interlocking components that provides on-site assembly of frames for holding panels of any solid material or cloth. The frame components can be manufactured in a variety of shapes, and can be cut to accommodate desired panel dimensions and orientations, thus providing customized temporary or permanent partitioning in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority from provisional patent application 60/456,692 filed Mar. 21, 2003. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the construction field. More specifically, the present invention relates to the fields of customized, remodeled, and partitioned indoor and outdoor residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Living, working, and recreational spaces frequently must be divided into partitions. Restaurants are required by municipal ordinance to provide designated non-smoking areas. Population growth and constrained budgets force schools to divide classrooms, libraries, or laboratories. Museums may need temporary panels for displaying loaned art or permanent dividers for displaying donated art. Businesses may need to quickly partition spaces to accommodate unplanned workforce expansion, new product lines, or the addition of employee daycare facilities. Newly implemented security concerns have forced airports to quickly add passenger and baggage screening area partitions, and could present a need for emergency containment of airborne contaminants and toxins.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    There are many needs for temporary, semi-permanent, and permanent partitions and walls for which typical construction methods are too time-consuming and costly. There is a need for economical, quickly constructed dividers, panels, barriers, sound baffles, decorations, theater sets, animal corrals, children play areas, or other divisions of space. The present invention enhances the construction field with a system of pre-formed interlocking components that can be cut to desired lengths and assembled on site into frames that can be anchored to any solid surface with conventional fasteners and adhesives. The frames can receive and hold panels of any solid material including wood, composite, metal, granite, glass, plastic, sheetrock, and cloth. A plurality of frames can be interlocked with each other in parallel, perpendicular, or other angular orientations to form customized partitions and walls. The present invention permits on-site construction of customized partitions and walls in a timely and cost-effective manner. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]    [0005]FIG. 1 is an end view of one embodiment of a base member  100  of the present invention.  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 2 is an end view of one embodiment of one of the members  200  of the present invention capable of capturing a member such as panel member  1000  and mating with a member such as member  100 .  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 a  is an isometric view of one embodiment of one of the members  200  of the present invention capable of capturing a member such as panel member  1000  and mating with a member such as member  100 .  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is an end view of one embodiment of one of the members  300  of the present invention capable of mating with a member such as member  200 .  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 is an end view of one embodiment of one of the members  400  of the present invention capable of mating with one or two members such as member  200 .  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 5 is an end view of one embodiment of one of the members  500  of the present invention capable of mating with one or two members such as member  200 .  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 6 is an end view of one embodiment of one of the members  600  of the present invention capable of mating with one or two members such as member  200 .  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 is an end view of one embodiment of one of the members  700  of the present invention capable of mating with as many as four members such as member  200 .  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 8 is an end view of one embodiment of a present invention frame assembly comprising a base member  100 , two members  200 , a member  400 , and a panel member  1000 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of one of the members of the present invention. It is a two-part base member  100 . Member  1  can be attached with conventional fasteners or adhesives to a surface  99  upon or against which a partition or wall of the present invention is to be attached.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of one of the members of the present invention. When the male dovetail feature, as commonly understood in the carpentry and building trades, of member  2  is received and seated in the female dovetail feature of member  100 , created by the proximity of members  4  and  1 , and member  4  of member  100  is pushed against member  1  of member  100  and attached to mounting surface  99 , to member  1 , or both, member  2  is captured and secured. A panel  1000  can be secured in member  200  by capturing it between member  2  and member  5  and securing member  5  to member  2  with any number of readily available fasteners, including nails, screws, clamps, or adhesives.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 a  illustrates a panel member  1000  captured in one embodiment of member  200 . Member  5  is pushed against members  2  and  1000 , and secured with fasteners or adhesive (not shown) so that panel member  1000  is securely captured.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of one of the members of the present invention. The female dovetail feature of member  7  can receive any member having a matching male dovetail feature. For example, the female dovetail feature of member  7  can receive the male dovetail feature of member  2 , or a similar member with a male dovetail feature, thus creating a member comprised of members  200  and  300 . A panel  1000  can be secured in member  300  by capturing it between member  7  and member  6  and securing member  6  to member  7  with any number of readily available fasteners, such as screws, or adhesives. Thus, the composite member consisting of members  200  and  300  can act as a joining device between two panels  1000 .  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of one of the members of the present invention. Member  400  provides for extension of partitions and walls. It provides two female dovetail features  40  and  41  in which members with male dovetail features, such as member  200 , or a similar member with a male dovetail feature, can be received. The two member  400  female dovetail features  40  and  41  illustrated in FIG. 4 are situated in member  400  at equal angles from the member  400  axis of symmetry  42 . If the equal orientation angles of the female dovetail members are, for example,  45  degrees, member  400 , assembled with a member  200 , or a similar member with a male dovetail feature, received in both of its female dovetail members  40  and  41 , provides a joining device between two perpendicular panels  1000 . Member  400  could be constructed of two mirror-image blocks that are attached with commonly understood fasteners or adhesive so that they share the common surface in the symmetry plane  42 .  
         [0019]    In another embodiment of the FIG. 4 member  400 , the female dovetail features  40  and  41  can be situated at dissimilar angles from the axis of symmetry  42 . Such an embodiment would provide a joining device between two panels  1000  that describe an angle that could range from a small acute angle to 180 degrees.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 shows one embodiment of one of the members of the present invention. Member  500  provides two opposed female dovetail features  50  and  51  in which members with male dovetail features, such as member  200 , or similar members having a male dovetail feature, can be received. The two opposed member  500  female dovetail features  50  and  51  illustrated in FIG. 5 are mirror images. When a member  200 , or a similar member with a male dovetail feature, is received in both of the member  500  female dovetail features  50  and  51 , member  500  becomes a device for joining two coplanar panels  1000 .  
         [0021]    In another embodiment of member  500 , the female dovetail features  50  and  51  on opposite sides of member  500  can be parallel but offset so as to be asymmetrical. When a member  200 , or a similar member with a male dovetail feature, is received in both of the alternate embodiment member  500  female dovetail features, member  500  becomes a device for joining two parallel but noncoplanar panels  1000 .  
         [0022]    In another embodiment of member  500 , either side of member  500  can have more than one female dovetail feature. When a member  200 , or a similar member with a male dovetail feature, is received in, for example, one female dovetail feature on one side of member  500  and two female dovetail features on the opposite side of member  500 , member  500  becomes a device for joining one panel  1000  to two panels  1000  that are parallel but not necessarily coplanar.  
         [0023]    In another embodiment of member  500 , one side of member  500  can be constructed without a dovetail feature. The resultant flat surface on one side of the alternate embodiment member  500  can function as a cap to provide a decorative finish or functional appendage to the edge of a partition or wall that emanates from the side of member  500 , or a similar member, having a dovetail feature. Such decorative or functional features can include, for example, millwork, a capital, light fixture, sprinkler head, mister, or electrical outlet.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of one of the members of the present invention. Member  600  is one embodiment of a member that provides, in conjunction with two members  200 , or similar members with male dovetail features, a joining device for two perpendicular panels  1000 . Member  600  also provides a prominent surface  18  that can be manufactured in special-order decorative or functional profiles, finishes, and colors. Member  600  can thus function as a decorative partition or wall corner. Member  600  could be constructed of two mirror-image blocks that are attached with commonly understood fasteners or adhesive so that they share the common surface in the symmetry plane  62 .  
         [0025]    In another embodiment of member  600 , one side of member  600  can have more than one female dovetail feature. When a member  200 , or a similar member with a male dovetail feature, is received in, for example, one female dovetail feature on one side of member  600  and two female dovetail features on an adjacent side of member  600 , member  600  becomes a device for joining one panel  1000  perpendicularly to two parallel but noncoplanar panels  1000 .  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 shows one embodiment of one of the members of the present invention. Member  700  is comprised of two or more members, such as members  70  and  71 , that are joined by the receiving of a male dovetail feature on one member by a female dovetail feature on the other member. With only members  70  and  71 , member  700  can function as a vertical center post providing for two, three, or four partitions or walls, or as a horizontal center post providing for both vertical and horizontal partitioning. A member  700 , in conjunction with several members  200 , or similar members having male dovetail features, can thus provide a joining device for any number of parallel and perpendicular panels  1000 . The eight orthogonal surfaces  21  provide member  700  with exposed surfaces that can be stained, painted, or otherwise made decorative or functional.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of one of the members of the present invention. Member  800  is one embodiment of an assembly of several of the present invention&#39;s members. A member  100  and a member  400  combine with two members  200  to receive and hold a panel  1000 . In the dovetail slot of member  400  illustrated as being empty in FIG. 8, another member  200  could be received. In that additional member  200  could be received another panel  1000  for a continuation of the panel assembly in a direction  45  degrees from the illustrated panel  1000 . In the FIG. 8 embodiment of member  800 , members  5  are located on opposite sides of panel  1000 . Another embodiment of member  800  could be assembled with members  2  oriented so that members  5  are located on the same side of the illustrated member  1000 .  
         [0028]    The members of the present invention can be manufactured in sizes customized to job specifications. A typical partition might require members  100  to have a height of one and three- quarters inches and the narrow opening at the top of the member  100  dovetail feature to have a width sufficient to accommodate a panel  1000  with a width of one inch.  
         [0029]    Individual members of the present invention can be any solid material suitable for construction such as metal, plastic, wood, foam, or composite, and can be manufactured in any manner suitable for industry such as machining, extrusion, molding, laser-cutting, or sintering. Surfaces  10 ,  11 ,  12 ,  13 ,  14 ,  15 ,  16 ,  17 ,  18 ,  19 ,  20 , and  21  can be manufactured in special-order decorative or functional profiles, finishes, and colors, but any of the invention&#39;s exposed surfaces can be so manufactured. The disclosed embodiment utilizes dovetails to provide the interlocks, but other mortise and tenon designs could be used. A mortise is commonly understood in the building trades to be a hole, slot, groove, square opening, or other cavity in or on one member for receiving a projection on another member for the purpose of joining the two members.  
         [0030]    While the present invention has been described in terms of a single preferred embodiment with a few variations, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that form and detail modifications may be made to that embodiment without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, any member described as part of the preferred embodiment could have male, instead of female, dovetail features, or vice versa.