MUSEUM SHOWCASE, HAVING A LOAD-BEARING FRAME COMPRISING TUBULAR BEAMS CONNECTED TOGETHER BY JOINTS THAT HAVE A RATIONALIZED STRUCTURE

Abstract

This museum showcase comprises a load-bearing frame comprising tubular beams with quadrangular section connected together by at least one joint, and is characterized in that the joint comprises two flat and parallel plates, wherein each plate comprises a middle portion and at least two attachment wings, wherein the two attachment wings of each plate are respectively inserted in a first and a second of the tubular beams and fixed to them. In this way, the showcase can be designed and built in a particularly quick and easy manner. Both the beams and the joints can be made starting from extremely simple and cost-effective semi-finished products (tubes and plates, respectively), with elementary processes, basically simple cuts to the desired sizes.

Claims

1. Museum showcase having a load-bearing frame comprising tubular beams with quadrangular section connected together by at least one joint, characterised in that the joint comprises two flat and parallel plates, wherein each plate comprises at least two attachment wings, wherein the two attachment wings of each plate are respectively inserted in a first and a second of the tubular beams and fixed to them.

2. Museum showcase according to claim 1, wherein the joint also comprises an attachment block having a parallelepiped shape, fixed to a first of the two plates on the opposite side with respect to the second of the two plates, inserted in a third of the tubular beams of the frame, different from the first and second tubular beams in which the attachment wings are inserted and fixed, and fixed to the third of the tubular beams.

3. Museum showcase according to claim 1, wherein the joint also comprises a spacer block with a parallelepiped shape, arranged between the plates and fixed to them.

4. Museum showcase according to claim 2, wherein the attachment block has a section matching the internal section of the tubular beams, so as to be able to insert therein with forcing or with minimal clearance.

5. Museum showcase according to claim 1, wherein the joint comprises first attachment screws, inserted in through holes in the first and second beams and screwed into threaded holes formed in the attachment wings of the plates.

6. Museum showcase according to claim 3, wherein the spacer block is outside of the tubular beams, abutting at the ends thereof.

7. Museum showcase according to claim 1, wherein each plate comprises three or four attachment wings.

8. Museum showcase according to claim 1, wherein the joint also comprises two attachment blocks having a parallelepiped shape, fixed to a middle portion of a respective one of the two plates on the opposite side with respect to the other of the two plates, inserted in a third and a fourth of the tubular beams of the frame, different from the first and second tubular beams in which the attachment wings are inserted and fixed, and fixed to the third and fourth of the tubular beams.

9. Museum showcase according to claim 1, wherein the plates comprise abutment seats for the tubular beams, formed between the attachment wings and a middle portion, so that the middle portion cannot enter inside the tubular beams.

10. Museum showcase according to claim 1, wherein the plates are completely inserted in the tubular beams, cut at 45°.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Further features and advantages of a museum showcase according to the present invention will appear more clearly from the following description of some preferred embodiments thereof, made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In such drawings:

[0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a showcase according to the invention;

[0026] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a part of the frame of the showcase in FIG. 1;

[0027] FIG. 3 is an enlarged scale view of a joint of the frame in FIG. 2;

[0028] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the joint in FIG. 3;

[0029] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a joint similar to the joint in FIGS. 3 and 4, adapted to connect only two beams;

[0030] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a joint similar to the joint in FIGS. 3 and 4, adapted to connect six beams;

[0031] FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of part of the frame in FIG. 1, according to a different embodiment of the invention;

[0032] FIG. 8 is an enlarged scale view of a joint of the frame in FIG. 7;

[0033] FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the joint in FIG. 8;

[0034] FIG. 10 is an enlarged scale view of a joint similar to the joint in FIGS. 8 and 9, adapted to connect only two beams;

[0035] FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the joint in FIG. 10.

DESCRIPTION

[0036] FIG. 1 schematically shows a showcase 10 according to the invention. Showcase 10 comprises a frame 11, 3 fixed walls 12 and an opening wall 13, which are all supported by the load-bearing frame 11 and define an exhibit space S of showcase 10.

[0037] Frame 11 of showcase 10 is shown in FIG. 2. Frame 11 comprises tubular beams 20 with quadrangular section (in particular, square) connected together by joints 30, one of which is better shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0038] Joint 30 shown connects three tubular beams 20 together, arranged at 90° each one with respect to the plane of the others, i.e. according to three classical orthogonal axes X, Y, Z. Joint 30 comprises two plates 31 and 32, flat and parallel to each other according to the plane defined by axes XY. Plates 31 and 32 are substantially L-shaped, with respective middle portions 33 and 34 and two attachment wings each: one wing 35 and one wing 37 of plate 31, one wing 36 and one wing 38 of plate 32. Wings 35 and 36 are directed according to axis X, while wings 37 and 38 are directed according to axis Y.

[0039] The attachment wings 35 and 36 are inserted in a first one of the tubular beams 20, also indicated with reference numeral 20a, oriented according to axis X; the attachment wings 37 and 38 are inserted in a second one of the tubular beams 20, also indicated with reference numeral 20b, oriented according to axis Y. The attachment wings—38 are attached to the respective tubular beams 20a, 20b by means of first attachment screws 41, inserted in through holes 42 formed in the tubular beams 20a, 20b and screwed into threaded holes 43 formed in the attachment wings 35-38. In frame 11 shown, two attachment screws 41 are provided for each of the attachment wings 35-38. It is noted that the attachment wings 35-38 are perfectly lying along opposite inner walls of the tubular beams 20, due to the quadrangular section of the latter.

[0040] Joint 30 also comprises an attachment block 50, with parallelepiped shape, attached to the middle portion 33 of plate 31, opposite to plate 32. The attachment block 50 has a section matching the internal section of the tubular beams 20, so as to be able to insert therein with forcing or with minimal clearance. The attachment block 50 is inserted in a third one of the tubular beams 20, oriented according to axis Z and also indicated with reference numeral 20c, different from the tubular beams 20a and 20b in which the attachment wings 33-38 are inserted and attached. The attachment block 50 is fixed to plate 31 by means of a second attachment screw 51, inserted in a through hole 52 formed in the middle portion 33 of plate 31 and screwed into a threaded hole 53 formed in the attachment block 50. Moreover, the attachment block 50 is fixed to beam 20c by means of a third attachment screw 55, inserted in a through hole 56 formed in beam 20c and screwed into a threaded hole 57 formed in the attachment block 50.

[0041] The two plates 31 and 32 are mutually spaced apart and a spacer block 60, with parallelepiped shape, is arranged between them. The spacer block 60 is attached between the middle portions 33 and 34 of the two plates 31 and 32 by means of the same screw 51 which, in addition to the through hole 52, crosses a through hole 62 formed in the middle portion 34 of plate 32 and another through hole 63 formed in the spacer block, as clearly seen in FIG. 4.

[0042] The spacer block 60 and the middle portions 33 and 34 of plates 31 and 32 attached to it are outside of the tubular beams 20, abutting at ends thereof.

[0043] Plate 31 and 32 also comprise abutment seats, all indicated with reference numeral 39, for providing a support to the ends of the tubular beams 20. The abutment seats 39 are formed between the attachment wings 35-38 and the respective middle portions 33 and 34, so that the latter cannot enter inside the tubular beams 20.

[0044] In frame 11, joints 30 connect the three tubular beams 20a, 20b, 20c together. In a showcase according to the invention, however, there may also be portions of frame in which there are only two tubular beams, as shown in FIG. 5. Joint 130 shown in FIG. 5 is completely similar to joint 30 just described, except that it is lacking the attachment block, since it does not need to connect any beam in direction Z. The elements of joint 130 are therefore substantially identical to those of joint 30 and are not described herein, while in FIG. 5, the same reference numerals used for joint 30 are used; the only difference is screw 151, which is inserted in through holes 62 and 63 and is screwed into a threaded hole 152 formed in the middle portion 33 of plate 31.

[0045] In a showcase according to the invention, there may also be portions of frame in which there are multiple tubular beams, such as six tubular beams, as shown in FIG. 6. Joint 230 shown in FIG. 6 is similar to joint 30 described above, however, it has two attachment blocks and plates with four attachment wings. The elements of joint 230 therefore are substantially identical to those of joint 30 and are not described herein, while in FIG. 6, the same reference numerals used for joint 30 are used, except for the different parts described hereinafter.

[0046] Joint 230 can connect four tubular beams 20a, 20b, 20d, 20e at 90° with respect to one another, two by two opposite at 180° and two tubular beams 20c, 20f, opposite at 180° with respect to each other and orthogonal to the plane of the four tubular beams 20a, 20b, 20d, 20e. To this end, joint 230 comprises two plates 231 and 232 each with four attachment wings, 35, 35a, 37, 37a and respectively 36, 36a, 38, 38a; these attachment wings are fixed to the tubular beams in a totally identical manner to what was seen for joint 30. Moreover, joint 230 comprises two attachment blocks 50 and 50a, opposite at 180° and fixed to plates 231 and 232; these attachment blocks are fixed to the plates and to the tubular plates in the same manner as provided for joint 30, i.e. by means of screws, except that screws 251, 251a are arranged in an opposite manner with respect to joint 30, i.e. they pass in through holes 253, 253a formed in the attachment blocks 50, 50a and are screwed in threaded holes 252, 252a formed into the middle portions 33, 34 of plates 231, 232. In joint 230, there is no spacer block between plates 231 and 232, which therefore are integral E with each other through the attachment to the tubular beams 20.

[0047] FIG. 7 shows a different embodiment of frame 311 of showcase 10. Frame 311 comprises tubular beams 320 with quadrangular section (in particular, square) connected together by joints 330, one of which is better shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0048] Joint 330 shown connects three tubular beams 320 together, arranged at 90° each one with respect to the plane of the others, i.e. according to three classical orthogonal axes X, Y, Z. Joint 330 comprises two plates 331 and 332, flat and parallel to each other according to the plane defined by axes XY. Plates 331 and 332 are substantially L-shaped, with respective attachment wings each: one wing 335 and one wing 337 of plate 331, one wing 336 and one wing 338 of plate 332. Wings 335 and 336 are directed according to axis X, while wings 337 and 338 are directed according to axis Y.

[0049] The attachment wings 335 and 336 are inserted in a first one of the tubular beams 320, also indicated with reference numeral 320a, oriented according to axis X; the attachment wings 337 and 338 are inserted in a second one of the tubular beams 320, also indicated with reference numeral 320b, oriented according to axis Y. The attachment wings—338 are attached to the respective tubular beams 320a, 320b by means of first attachment screws 341, inserted in through holes 342 formed in the tubular beams 320a, 320b and screwed into threaded holes 343 formed in the attachment wings 335-338. In frame 311 shown, two attachment screws 341 are provided for each of the attachment wings 335-338. It is noted that the attachment wings 335-338 are perfectly lying along opposite inner walls of the tubular beams 320, due to the quadrangular section of the latter.

[0050] Joint 330 also comprises an attachment block 350, with parallelepiped shape, attached to plate 331, opposite to plate 332. The attachment block 350 has a section matching the internal section of the tubular beams 320, so as to be able to insert therein with forcing or with minimal clearance. The attachment block 350 is inserted in a third one of the tubular beams 320, oriented according to axis Z and also indicated with reference numeral 320c, different from the tubular beams 320a and 320b in which the attachment wings 333-338 are inserted and attached. The attachment block 350 is fixed to plate 331 by means of a second attachment screw 351, inserted in a through hole 352 formed in the attachment block 350 and screwed into a threaded hole 353 formed in plate 331. Moreover, the attachment block 350 is fixed to beam 320c by means of two third attachment screws 355, inserted in respective through holes 356 formed in beam 320c and screwed into respective threaded holes 357 formed in the attachment block 350.

[0051] The two plates 331 and 332 are mutually spaced apart and a spacer block (similar to block 60) may optionally be arranged between them; in joint 330 shows there is no spacer block.

[0052] Plates 331 and 332 are fully inserted into the corresponding beams 320 (having no intermediate portion similar to the intermediate portions 33-34 of joint 30). The tubular beams 320a and 320b have ends cut at 45° so as to abut on each other, thereby completely hiding plates 331 and 332 from view; in contrast, beam 320c has ends cut at 90°, having to abut to the side of beams 320a and 320b. It is noted that a hole (not shown in figure) is formed on the side of these beams for the passage of screw 351.

[0053] In frame 311, joints 330 connect the three tubular beams 320a, 320b, 320c together. In a showcase according to the invention, however, there may also be portions of frame in which there are only two tubular beams, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. Joint 430 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is completely similar to joint 330 just described, except that it is lacking the attachment block, since it does not need to connect any beam in direction Z. The elements of joint 430 therefore are substantially identical to those of joint 330 and are not described herein, while in FIGS. 10 and 11, the same reference numerals used for joint 330 are used.

[0054] Of course, other configurations are possible, while not departing from the scope defined by the following claims. In particular, joints may be provided in which the plates have any a number of attachment wings from two to six, and/or in which zero to two attachment blocks are provided, in any combination. Moreover, depending on the circumstances and the strength requirements, a spacer block may be or not provided between the two plates. The tubular beams may have ends cut at 45° or 90°.