Desk With Concealed Wire Storage

The increasing amount of electronic and mechanical equipment used in the office work area presents a problem to the designer of high-quality executive and secretarial furniture employing traditional designs, particularly wood furniture. The maintenance of a clean, classical appearance is a requirement, but is made difficult by the need to accommodate the endless mass of wires, conduits, and other support systems for the communication and computer devices the executive or his secretary must have available at all times. One approach to this problem has been to provide a covered trough in the top of a desk to receive this clutter of items. U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,202 discloses desk and storage units mounted on a metal rail. The storage containers are mounted on a rear side of the rail, and desk work surfaces are mounted at different heights on the front of the rail. When a lower height work surface is employed, the rail protrudes above the height of the work surface along the rear edge of the desk surface. The rail provides a wire storage receptacle with a front-facing slot to admit wires leading to devices in use on the desk. Devices of this nature normally take up desk space, are not compatible with traditional designs, and interfere with the movement and organization of the papers and reference material confronting the executive or his secretary. The present invention has been developed to provide a solution to these problems in a structure that can preserve the appearance of clean, classical design.

A desk is combined with an integral half-wall structure forming the rear panel and/or one or more side panels of the desk, the wall extending above the level of the desk top and providing space within the wall as a storage receptacle for wires and equipment used on or adjacent the desk. A slot in the wall structure above the desk top is traversed by the wires at selected and movable positions. The top of the wall structure is hinged for the installation access, and defines the top of the slot when the cover is closed. The inner panels forming the wall structure are adapted to support shelves under the desk. Accessory brackets traverse the slots to support devices above the desk, leaving work clearance below them while placing the devices in the best position for use. The accessory brackets connect to a coupling terminal within the half-wall structure that extends opposite the slot to provide lateral adjustability.

These and other features of the present invention are described in detail below in connection with preferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a desk in a U-shaped configuration, with the half-wall structure extending above the desk around three sides.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a tack board as an accessory installation in conjunction with the desk.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a group of four half-wall modules connected together around part of the periphery of a desk surface.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a book shelf as an accessory installed on a desk embodying this invention.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the installation shelves underneath the desk surface, supported by the half-wall structure.

FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 show successive views in section, illustrating the installation and securing of a bracket for supporting a desk accessory.

FIG. 9 the invention incorporated in an L-shaped desk, along both sides.

FIG. 10 shows a U-shaped desk, with the invention incorporated the closed side.

FIG. 11 shows an L-shaped desk, with the invention incorporated along one side only.

Referring to FIG. 1, a wood desk of the traditional design generally indicated at 10 has a half-wall structure 11 extending above the work surface 12 around all three sides of the desk. The structure providing the features of this desk are best shown in FIG. 3. The half-wall modules 13-16 are shown apart from the remainder of the desk structure, with the exception of the panel forming the top surface 12. The modules are similar in construction, and the details described in connection with one of them are essentially the same for the rest. The outer panels 18 are separated from the inner panels 19 and 20 by vertical spacer beams 21 and 22. The abutting spacer beams of adjacent modules are provided with aligned holes as shown at 23 and 24 to receive interengageable fasteners as shown at 25. The cover 26 is hinged to the outer panel 18 as shown at 27 and 28 to provide access to the space between the panels. The floor 29 defines the bottom of the space forming a receptacle for the equipment generally indicated at 30 associated with the various devices arranged on or near the desk top 12. At the right angle junctions of sections of the half-wall structure, it is preferable to include a hollow corner post 31 to receive the module fastenings, and the covers 26 may be interrelated as shown in FIG. 3 at this junction.

Referring to FIG. 5, the inner panel 32 is shown vertically separated from the upper inner panel 20, permitting the shelf brackets 33 and 34 to be hooked over the upper edge of the panel 32 as shown at 35-38. These shelf brackets are useful for the storage of support equipment that may be associated with the computers and communication devices positioned on or near the top of the desk. Conduits from such support equipment may be led through appropriate holes in the floor 29, if desired. Alternatively, the floor 29 may be terminated short of the vertical beams 21 and 22, as shown in FIG. 3. Wires from electrical outlets on the floor below the desk, as indicated at 30a, in FIG. 3, may also be led up into the wall structure at these points. The interior space may be partitioned as shown at P in FIG. 3 to separate the various items. It should also be noted that the tops of the beams 21 and 22 are also terminated or recessed below the covers 26 to provide for the running continuity of space in the successive modules.

FIGS. 2 and 4 illustrate examples of accessory devices that can be mounted on the half-wall structure without interfering with the space on the desk top. In FIG. 2, a tack board 39 is supported by the brackets 40 and 41 traversing the slot 42 in the upper portion of the half-wall structure 11. In FIG. 4, the book shelf 43 is shown supported by the brackets 44 and 45 traversing the same slot. The terminal system shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 extends along opposite the slot, and thus provides for a considerable degree of lateral adjustability of the accessories as may be required. The terminal member is an extrusion 46 having a hook portion 47 receiving the mating hook 48 of the coupling attachment 49 secured to the bracket 40 by screws as indicated at 50. The bracket arm 40 and its attachment 49 are first inserted into the space between the inner and outer wall panels, as shown in FIG. 6. Since the top of the slot 42 is defined by the cover 26 when the cover is closed, the opening of the cover opens the slot for the admission of the accessory bracket arm 40. After the hooks 47 and 48 are interengaged as shown in FIG. 7, the bracket arm is pivoted downwardly to bring the components into the FIG. 8 position. An abrasion reducing pad 51 can be adhesively (or otherwise) secured to the underside of the bracket arm 40 at a position at which it will rest upon the top edge of the inner panel 20 defining the lower extremity of the slot 42. Before closing the cover 26, a knob 52 controlling the bolt 53 is rotated so that it advances in its threaded engagement with the flange 54 of the attachment 49, and forms an abutment that can be tightened against the upper portion of the extrusion 46 to prevent an upward rotation of the assembly that might disengage the hooks forming the terminal connection. The final tightening of the knob 52 should take place after the lower part of the hook 48 interengages with the offset 64 of the extrusion 46 so that the position of the attachment is securely determined. The tightening action forces these portions of the components into solid engagement, and prevents both radial and tangential displacement of the coupling with respect to the hook of the terminal and prevents the bracket from sliding sideways in the slot.

FIGS. 9, 10, 11 show the invention incorporated in various desk configurations. In FIG. 9, the wall structure 55 extends along one side of an L-shaped desk 56, and the wall structure 57 along the other side. In FIG. 10, the wall structure 58 extends along the closed side of the U-shaped desk 59. In FIG. 11, the wall structure 60 extends along one side of the L-shaped desk 61. These views illustrate the adaptability of the structure to the various common forms of executive desks.