US008161711B2
(12) Unlted States Patent
(10) Patent No.:
Steed et a].
(54)
(45) Date of Patent:
REINFORCED PLASTIC PANELS AND
(58)
108/132, 901, 902; 52/7821, 239, 309.1,
52/309.7, 309.9, 787, 351, 135; 160/351,
Inventors: Brent Steed, Syracuse, UT (US); Jay
_
Calkin, Ogden’ UT (Us); Kent Ashby,
L
Ogan’ UT (U S )
_
(56)
Us‘ PATENT DOCUMENTS
383,353 A
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
CA
884059
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Feb 1, 2010
(65)
US. Appl. No. 29/180,870, ?led Apr. 2003, Calkin.
Prior Publication Data
US 2010/0132297 A1
Jun. 3, 2010
Related US. Application Data
(63)
Continuation of application No. 11/742,469, ?led on
Continued
)
Primary Examiner * Jose V Chen
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm * Workman Nydegger
(57)
ABSTRACT
_ _
_
A part1t1on system may mclude one or more panels. A panel
continuation of application No. 10/890,601, ?led on
may be Constructed using blow'molded plastic‘ A panel may
Ju1_ 14 2004 HOW Pat NO 7 210 277 application NO
12/698’ 052 ’ which is a ’ con’tinuétiondmpart of
include one or more depressions, Which may be aligned With
one ormore depressions on an opposing side of the panel. The
apphCa’tiOn’NQ 29/180 861 ?led on Apr‘ 30 2003
depressions may provide additional structural integrity for a
now Pat NO Des_ 500,604’ and a continuationdmpem
of application NO 29/180 870 ?led on Apr 30 2003
panel. The depressions on opposing sides of the panel may
extend toWard and engage each other. The panels may include
now abandoned; and ’a c’ominuationdimpgn 0%
patterns With Which one or more depressions may intersect.
application No. 29/186,355, ?led on Jul. 14, 2003, noW
The Pane1S may mclude symmemc Panems on OPPOSmg
_ _
sides. The partition system may include one or more connec
i
_
_
tors adapted to receive a portion of one or more panels. The
PrOVlslOnal aPPhCaUOn NO- 60/487,748, ?led 011 111115, 2003
(51) 210251200
(52)
(
Apt 30 2007 HOW Pat NO 7 65 4 060 which is a
abandoned
(60)
7/1974
(Continued)
(21) Appl. No.: 12/698,052
Filed:
5/1887 Baker
(Continued)
claimer.
(22)
160/135
References Cited
Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
U.S.C. 154(b) by 167 days.
This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
_
See apphcation ?le for complete search h1story.
(73) Assignee: ailfseatime Products, Inc., Clear?eld, UT
( * ) Notice:
*Apr. 24, 2012
Field of Classi?cation Search ............. .. 108/57.25,
STRUCTURES
(75)
US 8,161,711 B2
partition system may include one or more feet that may be
attached to one or more panels. The panels may include one or
(2006 01)
US. Cl. .................................................... .. 52/7821
more reinforcing members of various shapes disposed proxi
mate one or more edges of a panel.
23 Claims, 14 Drawing Sheets
US 8,161,711 B2
Page 2
US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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800% Feng
Zoos/0223655 Al
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100005 Mower et a1‘
110005 Fuccella et a1‘
Zoos/0279034 A1
2006/0048459 A1
12/2005 Tsang
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US. Patent
Apr. 24, 2012
Sheet 1 0f 14
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US. Patent
Apr. 24, 2012
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Fig. 2B
Fig. 1B
2:
US. Patent
Apr. 24, 2012
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Apr. 24, 2012
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US. Patent
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US. Patent
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US. Patent
Apr. 24, 2012
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Sheet 8 0f 14
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Apr. 24, 2012
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1
2
REINFORCED PLASTIC PANELS AND
STRUCTURES
often bent, tWisted, or otherwise deformed from the desired
con?guration. For example, these metal components may be
bent, tWisted or deformed during shipping, assembly or use.
The panels used in connection With these knoWn panels
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
APPLICATIONS
systems are made from a Wide variety of materials. For
This application is a continuation of US. patent applica
tion Ser. No. 11/742,469, entitled REINFORCED BLOW
MOLDED PLASTIC PANELS AND STRUCTURES, Which
and all or a portion of the panels may be covered With fabric
or other types of suitable materials. Disadvantageously, these
panels are often heavy, dif?cult to move and ship, expensive
Was ?led on Apr. 30, 2007, now US. Pat. No. 7,654,060;
Which is a continuation of US. patent application Ser. No.
10/890,601, entitled PARTITION SYSTEM, Which Was ?led
on Jul. 14, 2004, now US. Pat. No. 7,210,277.
to manufacture, and the panels generally require ?nishing
plastic. The plastic panels, hoWever, are often not suf?ciently
US. patent application Ser. No. 10/890,601 claims priority
rigid and the panels often create a ?imsy structure because the
to and the bene?t of US. Provisional Patent Application Ser.
No. 60/487,748, entitled PARTITION SYSTEM, Which Was
?led on Jul. 15, 2003, and this application is a continuation
panels may also be dif?cult to securely interconnect and the
plastic panels may buckle or crack.
in-part of US. Design patent application 29/ 1 80,861, entitled
Disadvantageously, the opposing sides of conventional
plastic panels may be different. For example, the design on
example, knoWn panels have been constructed from metal
PARTITION CONSTRUCTED FROM BLOW-MOLDED
PLASTIC, Which Was ?led on Apr. 30, 2003, now US. Pat.
such as sanding and/ or painting.
It is also knoWn to construct panels from materials such as
panels do not have adequate structural integrity. The plastic
20
one side of the panel may be different from the design on the
No. D500,604; a continuation-in-part of US. Design patent
application 29/180,870, entitled CLIP FOR CONNECTING
other side of the panel. Thus, the panels are not truly inter
changeable because the sides of the panels must be arranged
ONE OR MORE PARTITIONS, Which Was ?led on Apr. 30,
2003, noW abandoned; and a continuation-in-part of US.
in a particular relationship. For instance, one side of the
panels may include various recesses and indentations caused
during the manufacturing process. This may create a panel
Design patent application 29/186,355, entitled SUPPORT
25
FOR A PARTITION, Which Was ?led on Jul. 14, 2003, noW
that has a generally smooth surface on one side and an oppos
abandoned.
ing side that includes a number of bumps and bulges. The
opposing sides of the panels may also include one or more
beams or other similar structures that are designed to increase
Each of these patents and applications are incorporated by
reference in their entireties.
30
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a partition sys
tem and, in particular, to a petition system that may include a
plurality of panels or partitions that can be interconnected
into a variety of con?gurations and arrangements.
2. Description of Related Art
pleasing and it may be desirable to hide the other side from
35
40
tool sheds, furniture and containers. These knoWn systems
typically include one or more connectors that alloW one or
more panels to be connected.
A knoWn type of connector that is used to connect tWo
panels together are connector members that have a generally
I-beam type con?guration. In particular, these knoWn connec
tor members may have a generally I-shaped cross-section and
each side of the I-beam type connector may be siZed and
con?gured to be attached to a panel. For example, one side of
the I-beam type connector may form an edge portion that ?ts
Within slots in one of the panels. Thus, the sides of the I-beam
type connector members may engage the edges of the panels
nector members are often elongated members that are di?i
cult to attach to the panels. These elongated connector mem
bers are also relatively heavy, dif?cult to use and dif?cult to
position in the desired locations. It is also knoWn to use other
types of connectors to interconnect one or more panels. These
connectors, hoWever, often include a number of parts and are
complicated to use. In addition, many conventional connec
structures often include an outer Wall that encloses a holloW
45
50
55
Wise Weaken over time. Further, these metal components are
interior space. Conventional panels constructed from bloW
molded plastic, hoWever, are typically not hi gh-strength com
ponents because, for example, of the holloW interior space. In
fact, conventional bloW-molded panels are often relatively
loW-strength, Which may alloW the panels to buckle or fail.
In order to increase the strength of conventional bloW
molded structures, it is knoWn to form structures With integral
plastic ribs or beams. These ribs are generally large, elon
gated portions that require thicker outer Walls so that the ribs
are correctly formed in the structure. Disadvantageously, the
thicker outer Walls of the ribs require additional plastic mate
rials be used to create the structure, Which increases costs and
Weight. In addition, the thicker outer Walls retain more heat
during the manufacturing process. Thus, a longer cooling
time is required during the manufacturing process in order to
60
tors are constructed from metal, Which is heavy and may
include sharp edges. These metal connectors, Which are typi
cally exposed to the elements, may rust, deteriorate or other
also limit the usefulness of the panels.
These knoWn plastic panels may be constructed or formed
into the desired shapes and siZes using a bloW-molding pro
cess. As knoWn to those skilled in the art, bloW-moldedplastic
to alloW one or more of the panels to be connected. These
types of conventional connector members alloW the panels to
be joined at a right angle or in a straight line.
Disadvantageously, these conventional I-beam type con
vieW. Accordingly, because conventional panels constructed
from plastic often include opposing sides that have different
con?gurations, the usefulness of the panels may be limited. In
addition, one or more sides of conventional plastic panels
often include imperfections or other types of visual defects
that are created during the manufacturing process. This may
It is knoWn to use panels or panel systems to construct a
variety of structures such as building partitions, utility sheds,
the strength of the panels. Signi?cantly, the different oppos
ing sides of the panels may limit the usefulness of the panels.
In particular, only one side of the panel may be aesthetically
65
alloW the thicker outer Walls to cool. This undesirably
increases the time of the manufacturing process because
bloW-molded structures cannot be removed from the mold
until the structures are suf?ciently cooled.
While the large strengthening ribs may be designed to
prevent large portions of the bloW-molded plastic structures
from sagging, the ribs may alloW smaller, localiZed portions
of the structure to bend or sag. Additionally, because many