US 4,899,509 AGranted

Head track system and method

AssigneeInterior Creators, Inc.

InventorRichard S. Power

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Abstract

A head track and partition system using such head track and method of installing the same. The head track includes a horizontal web, a pair of vertical flanges extending downward from the web, and a pair of horizontal coplanar flanges extending laterally outward from the web. The horizontal flanges have a free edge and width greater that the thickness of a sheet of wall panel to be positioned therebelow, thereby creating an exposed flange portion extending outwardly above such wall panel. The exposed flange portion acts both to shield ceiling tiles from slopping of excess joint compound applied to the top end of the wall panel, and to form a cosmetic appearance along the interface of the partition wall and ceiling which is uniform with the T-bars and L-bars of the ceiling grid. The partition system is assembled in few steps, preferably using a head track fabricated at low cost.

Claims5

Dependent claims

A partition system, comprising:

(a) a suspended ceiling having a grid of bars supporting a plurality of ceiling tiles, said bars each having a flat bottom surface;
(b) a partition framework including a plurality of spaced, upright studs;
(c) a parallel pair of upright wall panels secured to opposite sides of said partition framework, said wall panels each having a thickness and an upper edge;
(d) a one-piece construction head track interconnecting said grid, said partition framework and said wall panels, said head track being secured to said ceiling grid and having:
an elongated, horizontal web;
a pair of laterally opposed, elongated, coplanar, horizontal flanges extending from said web over said upper edges of said wall panels, said horizontal flanges each having a flat upper surface in contact with the flat bottom surfaces of said plurality of bars and further having an exposed flat bottom surface outward of said wall panels;
and
a pair of laterally opposed, elongated, vertical flanges extending downward from said web between said wall panels and said partition framework,
wherein said web, said horizontal flanges, and said vertical flanges are integral;
and
(e) an exterior coating of finishing compound between said upper edges of said wall panels and said horizontal flanges;
wherein said web, said pair of laterally opposed horizontal flanges and said pair of laterally opposed vertical flanges of said head track are a unitary material;
and
wherein said web, said pair of laterally opposed horizontal flanges and said pair of laterally opposed vertical flanges of said head track are formed from a longitudinal sheet material having not more than four longitudinal folds.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.