Ceiling system
AssigneeAWI Licensing LLC
InventorDaniel M. Holdridge
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spring clip for mounting ceiling panels equipped with torsion springs to a ceiling support grid and ceiling systems including the same. The ceiling system may include a grid support member that is elongated along a longitudinal axis and has a bulbous top portion having a downward facing bottom surface and a spring clip that is configured to be mounted to the grid support member. The spring clip may include an upper portion that defines a receptacle that is configured to receive the bulbous top portion of the grid support member and a lower portion that is configured to be located below the downward facing bottom surface of the bulbous top portion when the bulbous top portion is received within the receptacle of the upper portion.
Claims17
A spring clip for mounting ceiling panels equipped with torsion springs to a ceiling support grid, the spring clip comprising:
- a bottom surface, a top surface, and a longitudinal axis extending from the bottom surface to the top surface;
- a mounting portion comprising:
- an upper portion configured to receive a top portion of a ceiling grid support member, the upper portion comprising a top wall, a first sidewall extending downwardly from the top wall, and a second sidewall extending downwardly from the top wall, inner surfaces of the first and second sidewalls being spaced apart from one another by a first distance;
- and
- a lower portion configured to be located below the top portion of the ceiling grid support member while the top portion of the ceiling grid support member is received within the upper portion, the lower portion comprising a first inner surface portion located closest to the longitudinal axis on a first side of the longitudinal axis and a second inner surface portion located closest to the longitudinal axis on a second side of the longitudinal axis, the first and second inner surface portions being spaced apart from one another by a second distance that is less than the first distance;
- and
- a spring mounting portion configured to receive arms of one of the torsion springs to mount the ceiling panels to the ceiling support grid;
- wherein the top wall comprises a first top wall portion and a second top wall portion that are separated by a gap or an aperture.
A ceiling system comprising:
- a grid support member that is elongated along a longitudinal axis, the grid support member comprising a bulbous top portion having a downward facing bottom surface;
- a spring clip configured to be mounted to the grid support member, the spring clip comprising:
- an upper portion that defines a receptacle that is configured to receive the bulbous top portion of the grid support member;
- and
- a lower portion that is configured to be located below the downward facing bottom surface of the bulbous top portion when the bulbous top portion is received within the receptacle of the upper portion;
- a spring mounting portion defining a first end configured to receive a first arm of a torsion spring and a second end configured to receive a second arm of the torsion spring;
- and
- wherein the spring clip comprises a top wall that defines an aperture, a first sidewall extending downwardly from the top wall and defining a first sidewall aperture, and a second sidewall extending downwardly from the top wall and defining a second sidewall aperture;
- and
- a mounting bracket having a hook member configured to couple with a coil of the torsion spring.
A ceiling system comprising:
- a grid support member that is elongated along a longitudinal axis, the grid support member comprising a bulbous top portion having a downward facing bottom surface;
- a spring clip configured to be mounted to the grid support member, the spring clip comprising:
- an upper portion that defines a receptacle that is configured to receive the bulbous top portion of the grid support member;
- and
- a lower portion that is configured to be located below the downward facing bottom surface of the bulbous top portion when the bulbous top portion is received within the receptacle of the upper portion;
- a spring mounting portion defining a first end configured to receive a first arm of a torsion spring and a second end configured to receive a second arm of the torsion spring;
- and
- a top wall, a first sidewall extending downwardly from the top wall and defining a first sidewall aperture, and a second sidewall extending downwardly from the top wall and defining a second sidewall aperture;
- a mounting bracket having a hook member configured to couple with a coil of the torsion spring;
- and
- wherein the spring clip comprises a first side end and a second side end, and wherein when the spring clip is mounted to the grid support member a portion of the bulbous top portion of the grid support member that is located between the first and second side ends of the spring clip is visible through an opening in the upper portion of the spring clip.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.