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(11) | EP 0 468 755 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Suspended ceiling system |
| (57) A suspended ceiling system in which a two part ceiling tile (1) is suspended from
an overhead grid system (2). The tile comprises a main portion (1A) and a secondary
tile portion (1B) which is removably mounted in a central aperture (3)in the main
tile portion (1A). The secondary tile portion (1B) includes delineating means in the
form of a groove (23) surrounding an inner area (6) which can provide a decorative
feature for the ceiling tile or the inner area 6 can be omitted or removed to facilitate
adaptation of the secondary tile portion to mount auxiliary services thereon such
as lighting systems, sprinkler sytems, public address system etc. |
[0001] The present invention relates to a suspended ceiling system and, more particularly, to a suspended ceiling system using a two part ceiling tile.
[0002] Suspended ceiling system are widely used in modern buildings. Such ceilings normally comprise a plurality of standard sized ceiling tiles which are suspended from a grid system located above them. Access to the over-space above the ceiling is usually necessary to allow auxiliary services to be fitted or maintained and this is normally achieved by removing one or more of the ceiling tiles.
[0003] Suspended ceilings using standard sized tiles are generally designed to have a monolythic overall appearance and it can be difficult to vary that appearance other than by replacing whole ceiling tiles with an alternative tile to create an alternative visual effect. Furthermore, it is usual with known ceiling designs to have to remove a whole ceiling tile to gain access to the over-space for inspection or services of items such as lighting or air conditioning.
[0004] It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially reduce these problems by providing a more versatile tile which is both visually appealling and also readily adaptable to enable service fittings to be mounted thereon.
[0005] The tile of the present invention characterised by the feature that it is formed in two parts and comprises a main portion with an aperture therein into which a secondary portion is releasably fitted, the secondary portion forming an integral part of the visual appearance of the tile.
[0006] The secondary portion is preferably formed of a different material from the main portion but a major part thereof is non transparent.
[0007] Preferably, mounting means are provided on the rear of the removable secondary portion for attaching thereto services fittings such as lights, air conditioning, sprinkler systems, smoke and fire detection systems, or speaker units. Conveniently, the mounting means comprises bosses located on the rear face of the secondary portion, each boss being provided adjacent to each comer thereof. Conveniently, each boss has a hole therein to receive a self tapping screw or alternatively the hole is threaded to receive a screw for securing the appropriate service fitting thereto. It is not however essential that the service fitted be mounted on the secondary tile portion using these bosses.
[0008] A preferred feature of the present invention is that the secondary tile portion includes means thereon delineating an inner area within the perimeter of the tile adapting it to provide a secondary function. This secondary function may be the removal of all or part of the area within the delineation means to provide a hole in the ceiling tile for the fitting of lighting systems, sprinklers or other services. The area within the delineation means could however simply be decorative or plain, coplanar or in relief.
[0009] In the preferred embodiment, the secondary portion has means which engage with the main tile portion to retain it in position in the aperture therein. Preferably, the secondary tile portion has a front face which may be substantially coplanar with the front face of the main tile portion. Alternatively, the part of the front face of the secondary tile portion within the delineation means is not coplanar with either the outer face of the remainder of the secondary tile portion or the outer face of the main tile portion.
[0010] In the preferred embodiment, the inner area on the secondary tile portion is delineated by means of a groove formed in the front face thereof. Conveniently the edges of the main tile portion are bevelled so that a V-shape groove is formed between two juxtaposed tiles.
[0011] Suitably, the delineating means encloses a circular area within the secondary tile portion. Furthermore, the main tile portion preferably also includes a V-shaped groove which extends from the mid-point of each side edge of the tile to the central aperture at 90° to said edge. Preferably the central aperture is square, each of said V-shaped grooves meeting the central aperture at a comer of said opening. The aperture may however be any other convenient shape.
[0012] The main portion of the tile is preferably made of metal. It can either be formed from a single sheet of metal e.g. by a stamping or pressing process or alternatively it can be fabricated from several separate segments attached to each other e.g by spot-welding or stitch-welding.
[0014] A preferred ceiling system of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-
Figure 1, is an underneath plan view of a preferred ceiling of the present invention,
Figure 2A, is a perspective view from above of one form of ceiling tile suspended from an overhead grid system,
Figure 2B is a perspective view from above of another form of ceiling tile suspended from an overhead grid system.
Figure 3, is a scrap view showing the method of mounting the ceiling tiles on the overhead grid system,
Figure 4A, is a perspective view of the rear of one form of secondary ceiling tile portion,
Figure 4B, is a perspective view of the rear of another form of secondary ceiling tile portion,
Figure 5A, is an underneath plan view of the secondary ceiling tile portion shown in Figure 4A, and
Figure 5B is an underneath plan view of the secondary ceiling tile portion shown in Figure 4B.
[0015] Referring to the drawings, there is shown a suspended ceiling system of the present invention as viewed directly from below. For ease of illustration only four two part ceiling tiles 1 are shown. Each tile is suspended from an overhead grid system 2 (see Figures 2 and 3). Each individual ceiling tile comprises a main portion 1A having a central aperture 3 which receives a secondary portion 1B. In the illustrated embodiment, this central aperture 3 is square and it is located within the perimeter of the main tile portion 1a such that the comers of the square aperture align with the mid-point of each of the sides of the tile. Thus, a diamond shaped aperture is provided in effect in the centre of each tile 1. The secondary portion 1B could however be of other shapes and not necessarily located centrally within the tile.
[0016] It is a feature of the preferred ceiling of the present invention that the ceiling system includes a V-shaped groove 9 which runs throughout the whole of the ceiling system. Thus, where two adjacent tiles 1 abut, the V-shaped groove 9 is formed at all the join lines except at the edge of the ceiling where it meets walls or other upright structure where a half groove is used. Similarly, a V-shaped groove 9 is formed in the outer face of the tile 1 to extend from the mid-point of each edge of the tile to the corner of the central aperture 3. This gives the ceiling a particularly pleasing and distinctive appearance as indicated in Figure 1 in that all the straight edges of the tiles and the individual features of the ceiling are defined by the V-shaped grooves 9. This enhances the decorative features of the ceiling and makes them appear to be much sharper when viewed from below.
[0017] It is a further feature of the preferred ceiling illustrated in the drawings that each secondary tile portion 1B is provided with delineation means 4 (see Figure 1) defining two separate areas within the secondary tile portion namely an outer area 5 and an inner area 6. If desired, the secondary tile portion 1B can be moulded to omit the inner area 6 or part of the tile thereby leaving an opening which can be used to mount lighting fittings in the ceiling system or alternatively for the fitting of sprinklers, public address systems etc. Thus, great versatility is built into a ceiling system using two-part tiles of the invention. It also provides a very convenient decorative feature for the ceiling which is particularly pleasing. Another use for the inner area 6 of the secondary tile portion 1B is that a power pole can be fitted to it to provide power for office equipment located underneath the ceiling.
[0018] Referring now to Figure 2A, there is shown a single ceiling tile 1 which is suspended from the grid system 2. The ceiling tile has an upstanding web 7 extending along two opposite sides thereof with a specially shaped cut-out portion 8 formed at the end of each web adjacent to the comer of the tile 1. The purpose of the cut-out portion 8 will be described hereafter with reference to Figure 3. It can be seen that the grid system 2 is generally shaped like an inverted T and includes an upstanding lip 12 provided along the front edge of the laterally extending feet 11 of the T. The cut-out portion 8 is shaped to include a nose 13 which engages behind the lip 12. The cut-out portion 8 also includes a recess 14 and a generally flat surface 15 extending from the recess 14 to the comer of the tile. In oder to remove a tile 1 from grid system 2, it is pushed upwardly until the surface 15 engages with the bottom surface of the laterally extending feet 11 of the grid system 2. When this happens, the nose portion 13 of the tile will have disengaged from the lip 12 at both ends of the tile and the tile is therefore free from the grid system 2. In order to remove the tile however, it has to be pivoted upwardly and then moved laterally to allow the nose portion 13 to clear the lip 12 and then be dropped downwardly from the grid system 2. The recess 14 permits this lateral movement which is possible due to the fact that the endof the tile 16 can fit in the space defined between the laterally extending feet 11 of the grid system and the surface 15 of the adjacent tile.
[0019] The tile shown in Figure 2A is assembled from four separate pieces secured together in any convenient way e.g. stitch-welded or spot-welded. Each piece has a bevelled edge and an upstanding lip 18 around its periphery. Two of the side lips are taller than the other two lips 18 to provide the upstanding webs 7. Adjacent lips 18 are secured together to form the tile with its central aperture 3. The upstanding lips 18 defining the central aperture have holes 19 formed therein for reasons to be explained hereafter.
[0020] The tile 1 shown in Figure 2B is similar to that shown in Figure 2A except that it is formed as a one-piece metal pressing. The metal is preferably steel but other metals could be used. The tile 1 is formed with a central opening 3 whose edges are upturned to provide upstanding lips 18a on all four sides. Each lip 18a has an aperture 19a located centrally therein for reasons which will be explained hereafter. The tile is also formed with V-shaped grooves 9a as illustrated, the outer edges of the tile being bevelled at 9b so that when two tiles abut, their two edge bevels together form a V-shaped groove.
[0021] Figures 4 and 5, illustrate the two alternative secondary tile portions 1B of the tile 1. The Figures 4A and 5A construction is made from a moulded plastics material whereas the Figures 4B and 5B construction is made from an aluminium or zinc casting.
[0022] The construction shown in Figure 5A has a bevelled outer edge 20. The inner area 6 is enclosed by delineation means in the form of a V-shaped groove 23. A laterally extending flange 21 extends around the perimeter of the secondary tile portion and has cut-outs 22 to provide access to nibs 25 formed at spaced locations on each side face of the secondary tile portion as illustrated. These nibs 25 engage in the slots 19 provided in the upstanding edges around the central hole 3. The cooperating slots 19 and nibs 25 in the main tile portion 1 (see Figure 2A) are given by way of example only and it will be appreciated that other arrangements could equally well be used to retain the secondary tile portion 1B within the central hole 3 in the main tile portion 1A.
[0023] Figure 4A shows the rear of the secondary tile portion shown in Figure 5A, which includes mounting means in the form of four bosses 26 provided adjacent each comer of the tile. Each boss is provided with a hole 27 extending therethrough but not penetrating the outer face of the tile and each boss 26 is located in relation to the corner of the tile by means of strengthening webs 28. Service fittings such as spotlights or downlighters can be attached to the secondary tile portion 1B by screwing suitably located mounting assemblies thereon to the bosses 26.
[0024] The annular groove 23 encloses an inner area 6 which can be varied to suit the use to which the secondary tile portion 1B is to be used. For instance, during manufacture the moulding tool can be readily adapted to omit all or part of the entire area 6 within the annular groove 26 to provide a hole for lighting. In fact, this inner area 6 can be varied to suit whatever purposes the tile has to perform.
[0025] The secondary tile portion construction shown in Figures 4B and 5B is very similar to that shown in Figures 4A and 5A except that the spaced pairs of nibs 25 on each side edge are replaced by a single centrally located nib 25a. Similarly, the two spaced cut-outs 22 in each side edge flange are replaced by a single centrally located cut-out 22a located above the nibs 25a in the peripheral flange 21. Nibs 25a locate in the holes 19a in the upstanding lips 18a around said central aperture 3 to retain the secondary tile portion in position in the main tile portion. Downwardly depending sections 30 are provided at each comer of the secondary tile portion 1B which are dimensioned and located so that when the secondary tile portion is fitted in the hole 3 in the main tile portion 1A using the co-operating nibs 25a and locating holes 19a, the comer joints or junctions therebetween are covered by the sections 30. As a result, any possibility of light leakage through the ceiling which could be visible from below when light fittings are mounted in the ceiling structure is reduced.
1. A ceiling tile characterised by the feature that it is in two parts and comprises
a main portion (1) with an aperture (3) therein into which a secondary portion (1B)
is releasably fitted, the secondary portion forming an integral part of the visual
appearance of the tile.
2. A tile as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that mounting means (26) are provided
on the rear of the removable secondary portion (1B) for attaching service fittings
thereto.
3. A tile as claim in claim 2 characterised in that the mounting means comprises bosses
on the rear face of the secondary tile portion with an aperture (27) therein to receive
a screw for securing the appropriate service fitting thereto.
4. A tile as claimed in any one of claims 1-3 characterised in that the secondary tile
portion (1B) includes means (23) thereon delineating an inner area (6) within the
perimeter of the tile adapted to perform a secondary function.
5. A tile as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the secondary
portion (1B) has means (25,25a) which engage with means (19,19a) on the main tile
portion to retain it in position therein.
6. A tile as claimed in claim 4 characterised in that the inner area (6) is delineated
by a groove (23) formed in the front face of the secondary tile portion (1B).
7. A tile as claimed in any of the preceding claims characterised in that the edges of
the main tile portion (1A) are bevelled so that a V-shaped groove is formed between
two juxtaposed tiles.
8. A tile as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the aperture
(3) is located centrally in the main tile portion (1A) which also includes a V-shaped
groove (9) which extends from the mid point of each side of the tile to the central
aperture at 90° to said edge.
9. A tile as claimed in claim 8 characterised in that the central aperture (3) is square
and each of said V-shaped grooves (9) meet the central aperture at a corner of said
opening.
10. A tile as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the main
tile portion (1A) includes means (8) for releasably suspending it from an overhead
grid system (2).