Wall systems defined by upright space-dividing panels are widely utilized in offices and the like to divide large open areas into smaller workspaces. Such panels, which may be of floor-to-ceiling height or of lesser height, typically are prefabricated and employ a rigid frame to which side cover pads are attached for enclosing the frame and defining the desired aesthetics of the finished wall panel. The cover pads, which may extend the full vertical height of the frame, or which may be a plurality of smaller pads which attach to the frame, typically include a sheetlike or platelike pad substrate which is exteriorly covered by a thin flexible covering sheet to provide desired functionality with respect to aesthetics, acoustics and the like. Such covering sheet in some instances constitutes a thin flexible vinyl or foil-like material, but more frequently constitutes a thin fabric which is secured to the pad substrate so that the fabric defines the exposed side surface of the assembled wall panel. While constructions of this type are conventionally utilized, the construction of such cover pads and specifically the application of a thin flexible covering sheet to the support substrate has long been an undesirably inefficient and costly process requiring a high degree of manual labor and manipulation in order to ensure that the flexible covering sheet is properly attached to its underlying substrate in a manner which ensures proper alignment of the fabric while at the same time avoiding undesired looseness, puckering or wrinkling, particularly at the corners of the pad.
In the construction of upholstered pads or panels, as aforesaid, the substrate in one conventional construction is defined by a thin sheetlike facing pad which for example may be defined by a compressed mat of fiberglass, either with or without a supporting backer, and this facing pad in turn has a rigid ring-shaped rectangular frame fixed to the back side thereof. The frame extends along the peripheral edges of the pad and is contoured to accommodate clips or fasteners which mount the pad to the wall panel frame. This substrate is then covered by the covering sheet which extends across the front face of the facing pad and is manually wrapped around the side edges of the facing pad and frame to permit adhesive securement of the covering sheet edge portions (i.e. flaps) to a rear side of the substrate, typically a rearwardly facing surface on the frame. As noted above, this is a time consuming and hence an expensive manual assembly process.
In an alternative construction of the upholstered pad or panel, a substrate can be defined by a relatively rigid platelike member, such as an MDF board, which board has the flexible covering sheet adhered directly to the front face of the substrate or has a thin compressible mat (such as of fiberglass) interposed therebetween, and the edge flaps of the flexible covering sheet are manually wrapped around the edges of the substrate and adhesively secured to the back side and/or edges thereof. This construction, which is used as a wall panel pad or as a tack board, also involves significant and costly manual assembly.
In construction of the pads or panels of the types described above, the wrapping of the flexible cover sheet around the corners of the pad or panel requires special attention and create particular difficulties since the covering material necessarily involves an excess of such material which tends to bunch together at the corners as the flaps of covering material are wrapped around the edges of the pad or panel. This bunch of excess cover material at each corner is typically manually secured by first bunching the material together and then stretching it rearwardly and substantially simultaneously folding it downwardly over the back side of the pad or panel, with this bunched and folded corner material then typically being manually fixedly secured to the back side of the pad or panel. In the case of pads or panels formed primarily of wood or MDF board, the folded-over excess corner material, often referred to as a corner bunch or pigtail, is typically stapled to the back side of the MDF board. In the case of panels having a supportive metal frame, the corner of the metal frame is typically provided with a clearance slot, and this slot is utilized for securing the excess corner material, such as by the installer manually forcing some of the excess corner material into the slot by use of a thin blade or the like. Needless to say, these manufacturing and assembling techniques, particularly for securing the excess corner material which is folded around the corners of the pad or panel, are not only manually labor-intensive and hence time-consuming and costly, but they also result in a fairly high degree of irregularity with respect to the appearance and quality of the finished corners.
In an effort to improve on the manually intensive labor associated with covering pads or panels with flexible covering sheets, particularly in the office furniture industry as discussed above, the Assignee hereof has developed an apparatus which employs side rollers for effecting folding and pressing of the adhesive-coated edge flaps of the covering sheet around the lengthwise-extending edges of the pad or panel. Such apparatus is disclosed in co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 11/369,171, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. While the apparatus disclosed in this aforementioned application has been successfully adopted for folding and securing the adhesive-coated edge flaps of the covering sheet to the back sides and/or edges of panels and pads, this apparatus nevertheless still results in excess fabric or covering material being bunched at the corners of the pad or panel, which excess material (herein referred to as the corner flap) protrudes rearwardly adjacent the corner of the pad or panel, and must then be manually stretched, folded and secured using conventional manual securement techniques of the types described above.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which facilitates and at least partially automates the covering or upholstering of a pad or panel with a flexible covering material by enabling the excess material at the panel corner, namely the protruding tail of material, to be gathered, folded and secured to the back side of the pad or panel in an automated and uniform manner so as to eliminate the need to manually effect such steps.
This invention also relates to a process for operating an apparatus which is capable of effecting gathering, folding and securing of the excess corner material to the back side of a pad or panel.
In the apparatus of the present invention, there is provided a table-like support or base adapted to support at least one corner part of a pad or panel thereon. The pad or panel is already partially through the flexible covering sheet assembly process in that the covering sheet has already been stretched across the face of the panel, and the adhesive edge flaps have already been wrapped around the panel edges and adhesively secured to the back side and/or edges of the panel, thereby leaving bunches of excess fabric (i.e. tails or corner flaps) which protrude rearwardly at the corners of the panel. The table-like base is adapted to have the covered panel, with the covering sheet facing downwardly, disposed thereon, and the base has a positioning structure which cooperates with one corner of the panel to ensure that the panel is properly positioned and aligned with a corner tucking apparatus disposed adjacent the corner positioning structure. The corner tucking apparatus includes a gathering plate positioned adjacent and overlying the positioning structure, and which is slidably movable inwardly across the back side of the panel, approximately diagonally inwardly from the corner, to effect gathering and folding of the corner flap. The gathering plate has a generally V-shaped gathering notch which causes the excess corner material to be gathered together as the plate moves inwardly over the panel, with the gathered material upon reaching the apex of the notch being folded downwardly into contact with the back side of the panel as the gathering plate continues its inward movement. After folding down of the corner flap, a securing structure which is carried inwardly with the gathering plate is activated to fixedly secure the folded flap to the pad or panel. In the case of a pad or panel formed by MDF board or equivalent, the securing device includes a fastening tool which effects securement of the folded flap to the panel by means of a fastener such as a staple. In the case of a panel having a rear frame provided with a securing notch, the securing device includes a blade member which is moved downwardly into contact with the flap to effect insertion of at least part of the flap into the slot to effect securement therebetween. Following securement of the bunched flap to the pad or panel, the corner tucking device is retracted back to its initial position, which retraction typically involves lifting of the gathering plate away from the pad or panel, such as by vertical tilting of the plate, and retraction of the plate back to its original position, whereupon it is then lowered so as to be in position to carry out a further corner tucking operation.
Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons familiar with constructions of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, words like “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “rightwardly”, and “leftwardly” will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” will refer to directions towards and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the apparatus and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivative thereof, and words of similar import.