Group of elements intended for creating an arrangement for composing furniture and/or acting as shielding and configuration formed with such a group of elements

In first instance, the present invention relates to a group of elements intended for creating an arrangement for composing furniture and/or acting as shielding.

More in particular, the present invention relates to such a group of elements which allows composing furniture and shielding typically suitable for lounges, offices, public places such as schools, hospitals, libraries, railway stations, airports, hotels and the like.

Nevertheless, it is not excluded from the invention to use the group of elements for creating an arrangement for composing furniture and/or acting as shielding for application in more private environments such as a living room, a bedroom and the like.

Without restricting the invention to such applications, the present invention relates still more in particular to a group of elements for creating an arrangement for composing furniture and/or screening, wherein the furniture and/or screening is meant to be arranged and/or combined into possibly different configurations, for example to form or define corresponding spaces in a larger surrounding environment.

Therefore, the invention also relates to a configuration formed with a group of elements of the invention, which configuration is typically used as furniture for persons and which is possibly at the same time fulfilling a role as a shield or screen, as a divider of a larger space, or as an enclosure.

According to the state of the art all kinds of furniture and shielding exist, composed by elements of varying shape and arranged into diverse configurations to limit certain spaces, such as spaces for an office desk.

A typical known example is the use of furniture and shielding for dividing a large office space into smaller office spaces in order to provide a more shielded office environment for one or several office workers.

The type of shielding such as screens which is often used for this purpose according to the state of the art is composed of a plate material usually installed into a surrounding frame and supported by one or more feet to support the screen on a floor.

Multiple such screens are coupled to one another by means of all kinds of rather complicated coupling means.

Within the environment enclosed by such screens classic, self-standing furniture is usually provided, such as tables, chairs, seats, benches, desks, cabinets, shelves.

In such known configurations composed by screens and separate furniture, the screens and furniture fulfil also completely separate functions, i.e. the screens divide the larger environment in the required smaller spaces and the furniture is used by persons to sit, write, read, work and store materials..

The afore-mentioned known examples can have certain advantages, typically in classic office spaces of larger companies, wherein for example dependent on changes in the organisational structure of the company, new office configurations are often required.

In such a known application, it is for example possible that workers arrange their furniture within the environment defined by the surrounding screen according to their needs, while furniture can be bought separately adapted to the task to be fulfilled, for example desks versus drawing tables etc.

These advantages are typically not of concern in the case of the applications for which the group of elements according to the invention and the configurations composed by these elements are typically intended, such as hotel lounges, airport halls.

Nevertheless, the present invention is evidently also very suitable for use in such classic office environments.

A disadvantage of the fore-mentioned known screens and separate known furniture is for example that a lot of effort is needed to support the separate screens on a floor.

In particular, the shieldings, such as screens, are composed of a lot of elements or material and a lot of time is required to install the screens in a stable manner.

Another disadvantage is that often a lot of space is lost between the screens and the furniture.

The screens in such systems also have typically no good acoustic characteristics, so that they don't fulfil their function as a screen according to current standards, in a way which is acceptable today from a qualitative point of view.

Furthermore, the separation of screen and furniture is also not cost-effective.

Other known furniture is of a type in which also a certain function as screen is immediately incorporated, so that both functions, i.e. the function as furniture and as screen are combined in the furniture.

A typical example of such known furniture is a seat or bench having a seat back and often also seat sides, which extend up to a considerable height, typically above the height of a sitting person, sometimes above the height of a right-up standing person.

In other, even more developed examples, the furniture comprises two or more seats surrounding a table, the seats having again a seat back of considerable height, and the table integrated in the furniture.

Sometimes, such known furniture even comprises a roof covering the table, the roof being supported on the seat backs.

Such known examples are very compact and provide usually a quite high level of privacy, within the environment of the office.

Nevertheless, in some cases such known furniture is not extending from the floor, but it is on the contrary supported on the floor by means of supports or legs leaving a certain open space under the seat of the furniture.

It is clear that in such cases there is little or no acoustic shielding provided to the user.

A more important disadvantage however of the known furniture which forms simultaneously a seat as well as a screen is that such known furniture is not suitable for forming configurations, for example in order to divide a larger surrounding environment in smaller spaces, or to form a long bench in a hall and so on.

Indeed, this type of known furniture is first of all not easily combined into a complete configuration that is practical in use, since each piece of such furniture is designed to stand on its own.

Furthermore, each piece of such known furniture has very specific dimensions, which are not easily adapted to conform for example with specific needs in the larger environment.

An adaptation of such a piece of furniture would require a complete change of the concerned piece of furniture, which would be very time consuming and costly.

Even from a consumer acceptance point of view, a combination of one or more of such known pieces of furniture would be far from appealing to the user , especially not in larger spaces.

Architects en designers responsible for creating an aforementioned configuration which is suitable as screen and/or as furniture in larger environments such as airports, hotels, railway station halls etc... are each time confronted with the problem that no standard solutions are available and they must therefore design the correct configuration, furniture and/or screen almost each time again from scratch.

It is now an objective of this invention to overcome one or more of the above-mentioned drawbacks or possibly other non-mentioned drawbacks of the known groups of elements intended to an arrangement for forming furniture and/or shielding.

In particular, it is an aim of the present invention to facilitate the work of architects and designers by providing a group of elements by which furniture and/or shielding can be easily created, as well as combinations of such furniture and shielding for forming all kinds of configurations.

It is furthermore, an aim of the present invention to provide a group of elements which has a very simple shape so that each element can be easily adapted into other dimensions, so to facilitate even more the work of architects and designers, while at the same time the proposed solution is aesthetically acceptable from a user point of view.

It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a group of elements by which furniture and shielding can be easily realized and which has at the same time a very high quality, providing a high acoustic damping, excellent sitting comfort, a good fire resistance and a long durability.

To this aim, the present invention proposes a group of elements intended for creating an arrangement for composing furniture and/or acting as a shielding such as a screen, the group of elements forming a system of modular blocks each modular block having a block shape, with a top face and a bottom face and with side faces between the bottom and top face and wherein, according to the invention, this system of modular blocks comprises at least one or more blocks which are wall blocks which can be placed in an upright position while standing alone on a floor, the concerned wall block forming in that upright position a wall or screen. The blocks can be straight and/or curved wall blocks.

In a preferred embodiment in accordance with the invention, the group of elements comprises additionally one or more straight and/or curved blocks which are seat blocks suitable for a sitting person and having no seat back.

Additionally, in another possible embodiment in accordance with the invention the group of elements comprises preferably also one or more blocks which are roof blocks and which are intended for being installed on top of one or more wall blocks to form a roof.

A great advantage of such a group of elements for creating an arrangement for forming furniture and/or acting as shielding in accordance with the invention is that it forms a system of modular blocks having a simple block shape, which can be very easily combined into all kinds of shapes and configurations.

Furthermore, each modular block has such a simple structure that the adaptation of its dimensions is completely no obstacle during production of the concerned block, so that it can be realized in no time, without great effort and cost.

In that way the required flexibility is given to architects and designers in order to allow them to design furniture, shielding and configurations, which can be easily fit into rooms and spaces of very varying shape and dimensions.

On the other hand, the use of a system of modular blocks allows for a kind of standardisation of the designs as well as of the production of the designs itself, which results in an extreme reduction of the implicated costs when compared to the existing situation.

What's more, the simple shape of each modular block results in designs which are very minimalistic, having very clearly visible straight or curved contours and flat surfaces without any further ornamental features, which is also in line with the design trends of today.

In a preferred embodiment in accordance with the invention, each aforementioned wall block and each aforementioned seat block is self-supporting on its own when placed with its bottom on a floor, the side faces of the block extending substantially from the floor in a self-supporting status.

Such an embodiment of a group of elements in accordance with the invention has for example the advantage that each block can be easily installed without the need of holding it during installation.

Although it is still preferable to interconnect wall blocks mutually and possibly with seat blocks in order to prevent them from being toppled, there is no strict need for special measures in order to stabilize the elements, since according to the invention each block, and in particular each wall block, is provided with a sufficient thickness to stand on its own.

Furthermore, the fact that each block extends from the floor and is sufficiently thick is extremely favourable for obtaining a good acoustic damping, certainly when the available thickness is filled with adapted acoustic material, which is of course preferably the case according to the present invention.

In a preferred embodiment in accordance with the invention the group of elements comprises attachment means for attaching blocks in a releasable manner to one another.

This makes it possible to combine the modular blocks in a very efficient way.

As mentioned in the introduction, the present invention also concerns a configuration formed with a group of elements as here before described.

Such a configuration in accordance with the invention comprises one or more wall blocks standing in an upright position to form a wall or screen as well as one or more seat blocks suitable for a sitting person, the seat blocks and wall blocks being interconnected in a releasable manner by attachment means.

In a preferred configuration according to the invention, one or more wall blocks are forming the seat back of one or more of the seat blocks.

Optionally, a configuration according to the invention can comprise one or more roof blocks installed on top of one or more wall blocks, so to form a roof of the configuration.

It is clear that in such a configuration in accordance with the invention the function of providing a seat for one or more persons is combined in the same structural unit, with the function of providing a screen and/or some privacy, at least to some extent.

In that way, the stability of the configuration is easily obtained, while the dimensions of the configuration can be kept within acceptable limits.

With the intention of demonstrating the characteristics of the invention, hereafter, as example without any limitative character, an embodiment of a group of elements according to the invention as well as some configurations formed with such a group of elements are described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

• figures 1 to 3 illustrate in perspective view different wall blocks of a group of elements in accordance with the invention;
• figures 4 to 7 illustrate in perspective view different seat blocks of a group of elements in accordance with the invention;
• figure 8 represents in perspective view some roof blocks of a group of elements in accordance with the invention;
• figures 9 and 12 illustrate the combination of some seat blocks and wall blocks with considerable height forming configurations of increasing complexity, wherein some wall blocks form a seat back and wherein the wall blocks are used as a kind of screen;
• figures 13 to 16 illustrate the combination of some seat blocks and wall blocks with rather low height forming configurations of increasing complexity, wherein some wall blocks form a seat back and wherein this time the wall blocks cannot be considered as a screen forming element;
• figures 17 to 19 illustrate in perspective view the combination of rounded and curved elements into configurations of increasing complexity;
• figure 20 illustrates in perspective view a configuration wherein rounded and curved blocks are combined with straight shaped blocks;
• figures 21 to 23 illustrate in perspective view some configuration formed by combining exclusively wall blocks so to from a screen; and,
• figures 24 and 25 represent two configurations obtained by assembling seat blocks wall blocks as well as roof blocks.
• Fig 26 represent a configuration in a round execution.

A possible embodiment of a group of elements 1 in accordance with the invention is illustrated in figures 1 to 8 and is intended for composing all kinds of configurations 2 forming furniture 3 or shielding 4 or a combination of both, which is illustrated in figures 9 to 25.

Characteristic for the invention is that this group of elements 1 is forming a system of modular blocks 5.

Each figure 1 to 7 represents in this case a different element 5 in the form of a single modular block 5, while figure 8 illustrates two additional types of elements 5, i.e. modular blocks 5 which are intended for use as a roof and which are therefore of a somewhat other kind, as will be explained hereafter.

Each modular block 5 represented in the different figures 1 to 8 has a block shape, with a top face 6 and a bottom face 7.

The top face 6 and the bottom face 7 of all the represented modular blocks 5 are in this case parallel to one another, which is the most practical shape, since it allows an easy production of the blocks 5 and ensures that blocks 5 can be efficiently combined into different configurations 2.

Nevertheless, it is according to the invention not excluded to design a group of elements 1 for composing furniture 3 and/or shielding 4 wherein some elements 5 have a top face 6 and bottom face 7 which are not necessarily parallel to one another, for example in order to realize configurations 2 of a special shape.

Each modular block 5 is furthermore provided with side faces 8 extending between the bottom face 6 and the top face 7.

Preferably, each modular block 5 has, according to the invention, an inner core made of wood or of wooden panels which is covered by technical foams and which is upholstered.

Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the invention each modular block 5 is provided with acoustic material.

The bottom face 7, in the case of figures 1 to 7, is intended for being placed on a floor and can be covered by a material which is different from the other faces 6 and 8 of the concerned modular block 5, for example in order to increase its anti-slip characteristics on a floor, but this is not necessarily the case.

It is also not excluded from the invention to provide small supports on the bottom face 7, for example in the corners of the bottom face 7.

Nevertheless, for acoustic reasons it is recommended to avoid that an open space between the bottom face 7 and a floor exists when the concerned modular block 5 is placed an a floor.

In other embodiments, the bottom face 7 of a modular block 5 can be executed in a complete similar manner as the other faces 6 and 8.

It is not excluded from the invention to use multiple faces of the modular block 5 as a bottom face 7.

In that case it is not obvious to define which face of the modular block 5 has to be considered as the bottom face 7 just by inspection of the modular block 5, but the face of the concerned modular block 5 which is used to support the block 5 on a floor will be indicated as such.

The distance H between the bottom face 7 and the top face 6 of each modular block defines its height H.

The different elements 5 or modular blocks 5 represented in figures 1 to 8 will now be described more in detail one by one.

More in particular, the elements 5 represented in figures 1 to 3 are different types of modular blocks 5, which will hereafter be indicated as wall blocks 9, since each of these wall blocks 9 can be placed in an upright position while standing alone on a floor, the concerned wall block 9 forming in that upright position a wall or screen 4.

In the case of figures 1 and 2, the wall blocks 9 are cuboid wall blocks 10 having the shape of a rectangular cuboid with a height H, a width W and a thickness T.

The wall block 9 of figure 1 has a rather limited height H, which is smaller than its width W, while the wall block 9 of figure 2 has a greater height H, which is larger than its width W.

Of course, by turning a cuboid wall block 10 of figure 1 over 90° and thus positioning one of its side faces 8 on the floor, a situation as in figure 2 is obtained.

The concerned side face 8 will in that case be indicated as a bottom face 7.

The wall block 9, represented in figure 3, is a rounded wall block 11 having the shape of a cylindrical sector.

Its height H is again defined by the distance H between the top face 6 and the bottom face 7.

The rounded wall block 11 has a rounded, circular shape with an inner radius Rin and outer radius Rout and with a thickness T defined between said inner radius Rin and said outer radius Rout.

The corresponding inner and outer side faces 8 with rounded shape are parallel to one another.

Furthermore, the rounded wall block 11 has a width corresponding to the width of a cylindrical sector spanning an angle A.

The corresponding flat side faces 8 are therefore also not parallel to one another, but lie in planes which extend under the same angle A with respect to one another.

Typical for the wall blocks 9 is that their thickness T is usually smaller than their other dimensions.

Nevertheless, as already suggested in the introduction, the thickness T is on the other hand preferably sufficiently large in order to realize wall blocks 9 which are self-supporting on their own, when placed with their bottom face 7 on a floor, while additional support for keeping the block walls 9 upright is not strictly needed.

Wall blocks 9 have also a considerable height H in order to be functional as a screen 4.

The height H of such a wall block 9 is therefore for example at least 60 cm, still more preferably at least 100 cm.

In some preferred embodiments the height H of a wall block 9 extends above the head of a sitting adult person of average length, i.e. for example above a height of at least 130 cm.

In still other embodiments the height H of a wall block 9 extends above the head of a standing adult person of average length, i.e. above a height of at least 180 cm or even 200 cm and more.

The other elements 5 represented in figures 4 to 7 are different types of modular blocks 5, which will hereafter be indicated as seat blocks 12, since each of these seat blocks 12 is suitable for being used as a seat for a sitting person.

The seat blocks 12 have no seat back.

The seat blocks 12 of figures 4 to 6 are all cuboid seat blocks 13, having a shape of rectangular cuboid with height G extending between the bottom face 7 and the top face 6, a length L between a pair of side faces 8 and a width V between the remaining pair of side faces 8.

The cuboid seat blocks 13 are represented with increasing length L, while the other dimensions I and V are also varying.

The seat block 12 of figure 7 is a rounded seat block 14, having the shape of a cylindrical sector, with a height G and a width V which extends from an inner radius Sin to an outer radius Sout and spanning an angle A.

In the case represented in figures 3 and 7, the inner radius Rin of the rounded wall block 11 is equal to the outer radius Sout of the rounded seat block 14, so that a rounded seat block 14 perfectly fits against a side face 8 of the rounded wall block 11.

Each seat block 12 has a seat height G which is preferably such that the seat block 12 can function as a seat.

Therefore the seat height G is preferably corresponding to a lower leg length of an adult person of average length, i.e. the seat height G is preferably in the range between 30 cm and 60 cm.

Nevertheless, all dimensions given in this text are just possible examples and indications and it is not excluded from the invention to design a group of elements 1 for composing furniture 3 and/or shielding 4 having completely other dimensions.

Each wall block 9 and seat block 12 has in the represented cases of figures 1 to 7 a block shape which is either a rectangular cuboid shape or a cylindrical sector shape.

It is however not excluded from the invention to design wall blocks 9 and seat blocks 12 having another shape, for example, a prism shape with a polygonal bottom face 7 and polygonal top face 6 which are identic.

Figure 8 illustrates still other elements 5 of the group of elements 1 in accordance with the invention, which elements 5 are modular blocks 5 intended for being installed on top of wall blocks 9 in order to form a roof 15 and these elements 5 are therefore indicated in this text as roof blocks 16.

A first roof block 16 represented in figure 8 is intended for forming a so-called gable 17 of a gabled or ridged roof 15 and has a triangular shape with a thickness U.

Two other roof blocks 16 are each intended for forming a roof part 18 of the ridged roof 15 and have a rectangular shape with a thickness Q.

The end faces 19 of the roof parts 18 which are intended to form the ridge 20 of the roof 15 are mitred.

In that way, when both roof parts 18 are joined, a perfectly fitting seam is formed.

Similarly, the other end faces 21 which are intended to abut on a top face 6 of an underlying wall block 9 are also mitred in order to obtain a perfect joint between the underling wall block 9 and the concerned roof part 18.

Again, the illustrated embodiments of some roof blocks 16 in accordance with the invention are just some examples and roof blocks 16 with other shapes and dimensions are not excluded from the invention.

It is also obvious that the shapes of the modular blocks 5 are very simple and that an adaptation of the dimensions and the shapes of the modular blocks 5 in general does not imply any technical problem.

According to the invention the group of elements 1 comprises furthermore attachment means for attaching modular blocks 5 in a releasable manner to one another.

These attachment means are not illustrated in the figures, but can be any means, such as screws, bolts and nuts, hooks, straps, and so on ... by which blocks 5 which are suitable for forming furniture 3 and which are therefore typically covered with textile, leather and so on, can be attached to one another in a releasable manner.

The remaining figures 9 to 25 illustrate all kinds of configurations 2 which can be composed by combining elements 5 of the group of elements 1 of the invention, illustrated in figures 1 to 8.

Figure 9 for example, illustrates how the aforementioned attachment means can be used for attaching a side face 8 of a cuboid seat block 13 of the type illustrated in figure 6 in direct contact with a side face 8 of a cuboid wall block 10 of a type illustrated in figure 2.

The result is a piece of furniture 3, i.e. a seat 22, wherein the seat back 23 is formed by the wall block 10.

Since the cuboid wall block 10 has a considerable height H, i.e. preferably a height H which extends above the head of a sitting adult person of average length, the configuration 2 is forming at the same time a kind of screen 4, at least at the back side of the seat 23.

In figure 10, the seat 22 has been somewhat extended by adding a second wall block 10 which forms a seat side panel 24 having the same height H as the seat back 23.

In that way a person sitting on the seat 22 is still more shielded from the environment at the back and at one of the lateral sides.

Figure 11 illustrates a configuration 2 wherein two seats 22 of a type represented in figure 10 are positioned face to face to one another, so that a shielding 4 is formed which forms a kind of enclosure 25, of course still having an opening used for accessing the enclosure 25.

This idea is somewhat further elaborated in figure 12 by adding additional wall blocks 10 and a seat block 13, while a table 26 is placed within a rectangular enclosure 25 composed by the wall blocks 10, which serve as seat backs 23 and seat side panels 24 and form at the same time a shielding 4.

Figures 13 to 16 illustrate similar configurations 2, formed with cuboid wall blocks 10 and cuboid seat blocks 13.

The cuboid wall blocks 10 are this time more of a type as illustrated in figure 1, having a lower height H, which is still extending above the top face 6 of the seat block 13 to which it is attached to form a seat back 23 or seat side panel 24, but which is however not extending to a height which can be considered as a height forming a screen 4 for a person sitting on the seat blocks 13.

In short, the group of elements 1 of the invention is in the case of figures 13 to 16 used to from furniture 3 and for forming shielding 4.

Figures 17 to 19 illustrates configurations 2 obtained by attaching a side face 8 of rounded seat blocks 14, of a type previously illustrated in figure 7, directly to a side face 8 of a corresponding rounded wall black 11, of a type previously illustrated in figure 3.

In that way furniture 3 and shielding 4 is again realized in a very simple manner and enclosures 25 of a circular shape instead of a rectangular shape can be formed, as is illustrated in figure 19.

In figure 20, a semi-circular enclosure 25 is formed by combining rounded seat blocks 14 and rounded wall blocks 11 which is extended at its free extremities by means of cuboid seat blocks 13 and cuboid wall blocks 10 in order to form a U-shaped enclosure 25.

The seat backs 23 are again formed by wall blocks 10 and 11 which are attached to a corresponding seat block 13 or 14 and form a shielding 4.

Figures 21 to 23 illustrate still another case, wherein exclusively cuboid wall blocks 10 are combined into different configurations 2 which form a shielding 4, but no furniture 3.

In the cases of figures 21 and 22 a rectangular enclosure 25 is formed, while in figure 23 the shielding 4 consists of a U-shaped wall 27.

Although it is according to the invention not strictly necessary, it is evident that by connecting the concerned adjacent wall blocks 9 of the screens 4 at their side edges, a more stable structure can be obtained.

Finally, figures 24 and 25 represent embodiments of the invention of configurations 2 composed by means of elements 5 of the invention, wherein this time also a ridged roof 15 is formed by means of roof blocks 17.

In figure 24 such a ridged roof 15 is placed on top of the cuboid wall blocks 10 of a configuration 2, which is similar to the configuration represented in figure 11, the roof 15 covering the entire enclosure 25.

In the embodiment of figure 25 the roof 15 covers the underlying structure only partly.

The present invention is by no means limited to a group of elements 1 according to the invention and configurations 2 formed with such elements 5, described as examples and illustrated in the drawings, but such a group of elements 1 and such configurations 2 according to the invention can be realised in all kinds of variants, without departing from the scope of the invention.