Abstract:
A non-planar suspended panel system comprising a metal grid formed of curved main runners and straight cross runners extending between the main runners, a plurality of panels supported on the grid, the panels each having flat major faces with quadrilateral profiles, the edges of a panel being aligned with a pair of main runners and a pair of cross runners, each panel having flanges at its edges extending between its flat face and the runners in a manner that disposes the plane of its flat face generally parallel to chordal lines in the planes of the main runners between the intersections of the associated cross runners and main runners, whereby the panel system extends over a three dimensional surface and the surface is formed of a multitude of facets each formed by one of said panels.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates to ceiling and wall construction and, in particular, to a unique assembly of planar faced panels suspended on a curved supporting grid. 
       PRIOR ART 
       [0002]    Architects, building owners, and developers strive to create unique structures that depart from traditional flat plane ceiling and wall structures. A designer looks to achieve a distinctive unconventional or dramatic appearance in an expansive wall or ceiling or combination of these static structures. These efforts are usually hampered by increased cost in material and/or its fabrication and its installation. Grid tees are commonly used for suspending tiles in ceilings. A known adaptation of such grid tee technology is to curve the main tee either convexly or concavely to produce a non-planar ceiling. Typically, in these ceiling constructions, the curved main tees are combined with non-planar panels or flexible sheets that conform to the radius of curvature of the main tees. As far as known, use of this type of construction has been limited to curvature in a single plane corresponding to parallel planes of the curved main tees. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The invention provides a construction for ceilings and walls as well as a combination of these structural elements to form vaults, domes, overhead valleys, non-planar walls and similar expanses that exhibit a unique and distinctive faceted distinctive look. The invention, moreover, is not constrained to single plane curvatures, nor to symmetrical expanses. 
         [0004]    The invention utilizes curved main tees and straight cross tees to form an open network having a three dimensional shape corresponding to the expanse of the finished faceted ceiling, wall or combination structure. The faceted face of the expanse is made up of flat quadrilateral panels that bridge the individual spaces between the main and cross tees. Inturned flanges along the edges of the panels serve to stiffen the panels and act as standoffs to space their respective panels from the grid or network in a stable manner. The flanges, optionally, can be shaped on their free edges to conform to the curvature of the main tees. The panels are releasably mounted on the tees by torsion springs so that a finished installation has the grid concealed and the face of the panels free of fasteners while ready access is available to the rear of the panels. 
         [0005]    The invention provides a unique look for ceilings, walls and integrations of the same and is obtained with relative low manufacturing and installation costs. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a fragmentary perspective view of a convex ceiling area, as seen from below, constructed in accordance with the invention; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a fragmentary perspective view of the ceiling of  FIG. 1  as seen from above; 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a fragmentary plan view of the ceiling of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is an elevational view of a typical torsion spring associated with a panel; 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is a fragmentary perspective view of a concave ceiling area as seen from below; 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is a schematic rear view of a ceiling, wall, or combined ceiling and wall that is either concave or convex in two planes; 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is a fragmentary side view of a variant construction of a concave structure; 
           [0013]      FIG. 8  is a fragmentary side elevational view of a variant of a convex structure; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 9  is a fragmentary plan view of a cross tee having slots for receiving torsion springs associated with the flat panels of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    Referring now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  illustrates an application of the invention to a ceiling structure that is convex with reference to an observer standing below. The structure  10  includes main runners  11 , cross runners  12  and panels  13 . In this and other disclosed embodiments, the runners  11 ,  12  have the cross-sectional shape of an inverted T and, accordingly, are referred to as tees as is customary in the art. However, it will be understood that the runners can have other cross-sectional shapes such as a U, I, or C. In the various embodiments disclosed herein, the main runners or tees can be relatively long, for example, 10′ in length, but can be of shorter length, such as 4′ in length, or metric equivalent. The cross tees can be considerably shorter than the main tees, being for example, 2′ or 4′ in length. It will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to these dimensions. 
         [0016]    The tees  11 ,  12  are fitted with respective end connectors, known in the art that can be snapped together with identical end connectors, to enable the tees to be joined end-to-end. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,729,100 and 5,761,868 are examples of connectors that can be used for main tees and cross tees, respectively. Cross tee connectors  16  are typically joined together at slots  17  formed in the webs or vertical elements of the main tees  11  at the desired locations of the cross tees  12 . While the various embodiments disclosed herein show the cross tees  12  in end-to-end alignment, it is contemplated that the invention is applicable to arrangements where the cross-tees between adjacent pairs of main tees are staggered such that they are not in end-to-end alignment. Suitable slots  17  can be provided to receive the connectors  16  of such cross tees. 
         [0017]    The main tees  11  in the embodiment of  FIG. 1  are identical, being curved in a respective vertical plane and parallel to one another. The cross tees  12  are of equal length, are straight, and have their ends joined to adjacent aligned cross tees (i.e. where they are not staggered) with connectors coupled to one another through the slots  17  in the webs of the main tees  11 . The main tee slots  17  are arranged so that the cross tees are parallel. Preferably, the main and cross tees  11 ,  12  each have a flange  18  extending on opposite sides of a central web  19 . The flanges  18  are at an edge of the web  19  closest to the space for which the structure  10  forms a boundary or decorates. The flanges  18  of the main and cross tees  11 ,  12  typically can be substantially flush with each other where they intersect. 
         [0018]    A panel  13  is preferably formed of sheet metal such as aluminum and is of a gauge suitable for the application; a typical gauge can be 0.032″ or metric equivalent. The panel  13  has a flat or planar face  21  and peripheral flanges  22 ,  23  that extend along edges of the face. In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the face  21  is a quadrilateral in the form of a rectangle. An opposing pair of flanges  22  are aligned with the main tees  11  and have an arcuate edge  24  that substantially matches the arc of the main tee flange  18  such that this edge can abut the main tee flange along substantially the full length of the panel flange  22 . The other opposing pair of flanges  23  are proportioned to rest against the cross tee flanges  18  when the arcuate edges  27  are seated in contact with the main tees. 
         [0019]    The panels  13  are releasably retained on the grid, formed by the main and cross runners  11  and  12 , by torsion springs  26 . In the illustrated example, 4 torsion springs  26  are disposed on each panel. The torsion springs  26  are assembled in pairs, spaced from one another, on the flanges  23  associated with the cross tees  12 . Each spring  26  is retained on a flange  23  by a metal bracket  27  fixed on the side of the flange facing inwardly of the panel periphery. The cross tee flanges  18 , at a location corresponding to each torsion spring  26  are formed with a pair of elongated slots  28 . The slots  28  are staggered or offset longitudinally and laterally of the cross tee to accommodate the geometry of divergent spring tangs  29  that extend from turns of the coil of the torsion spring  26 . In the free state of a torsion spring  26 , the tangs  29  diverge at an angle greater than that permitted by the slots  28  when the panel is in place relative to its associated cross tee so that the springs hold the panel tightly in place against the cross tees. 
         [0020]    The shape of the planar face  21  generally coincides with a projection of the geometry of the grid tees  11 ,  12 , with which it is associated. The face  21  extends in one direction a distance approximating the distance between the webs of an adjacent pair of main tees and in the other direction a distance between the webs of adjacent cross tees. The brackets  27  and springs  26  provide a limited universal motion of the spring to permit the panel to be displaced and out of parallelism with its installed position while the springs remain in their respective slots. Each flange  23  associated with a cross tee  12  forms an acute angle with the plane of the face  21  so that it avoids interference with a flange  23  of an adjacent panel  13  on the same set of main tees. The flanges  22  associated with the main tees  11  are formed at substantially right angles although a slightly acute angle to the plane of the face is preferred to avoid interference with an adjacent panel  13 . 
         [0021]    The torsion springs  26  releasably hold a panel  13  in position on the grid. The tangs  29  are long enough and the connection of the springs to the panel is universal enough to allow one edge of the panel to be initially attached to the grid by inserting the tangs of the spring at a first edge of the panel into the grid tee slots  28 . The tangs  29  of each spring are manually squeezed together to fit them into the slots. With these first springs in their respective slots  28 , whether or not the tangs are allowed to spread and draw the associated panel edge towards the grid, the springs on the opposite side of the panel are inserted in the slots of the corresponding cross tee  12 . When the springs and/or panel is released, the springs tend to spread their tangs while they are confined to the slots with the result that the panel  13  is drawn up against the grid tees. In the installed position, the panel flanges abut and rest against the adjacent flanges of the grid tees  11  and  12 . The springs  26  are distributed around and remote from the geometric center of the panel to assure that it is drawn and rests stably against the grid. In the embodiment of  FIG. 1  and certain embodiments to be discussed, the panels are tangent to an imaginary surface that curves in a single plane. The effect of the flat panels  13  is a distinctive multi-faceted look quite different from a continuously smooth surface that would correspond to this imaginary surface. 
         [0022]      FIG. 5  illustrates a second embodiment of the invention wherein flat faced panels  31  are arranged in a convex pattern when observed on a side of the panels opposite a side from which their flanges project. Similarly to the embodiment described above in connection with  FIG. 1 , the panels  31  are supported on a grid  33  of runners or tees. The grid  33  comprises a plurality of relatively long main tees  34  and a plurality of relative short cross tees  12 . The main tees  34  are identical, being curved in a single plane and concave with respect to a point of reference from which the face side of the panels  31  are to be observed. The cross tees  12  and their connectors can be identical to those described in connection with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . The main tees  34  can be produced, in a known manner, by curving conventional suspended ceiling grid tees and stretching their reinforcing bulbs  37  relative to their flanges  38 . As before described, the cross tees  12  are joined end-to-end by suitable connectors known in the art, that extend through strategically located longitudinally spaced slots in webs  40  of the main tees  34 . The cross tees  12  serve to maintain the main tees  34  in parallel alignment. 
         [0023]    The main tees  34  are joined end-to-end by conventional connectors, known in the art. Connection receiving slots in the main tees  34  are situated in predetermined locations corresponding to the geometry of the panels. The panels  31 , as in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , have flat or planar faces  41  with a quadrilateral or rectangular profile and peripheral flanges  42 ,  43  extending rearwardly from the plane of the face. A pair of the flanges  42  aligned with the main tees  34  have free edges  44  shaped to match and contact the arc of the concave main tee flanges  38 . The other panel flanges  43  have straight edges of a width sufficient to seat against the flanges of the cross tees  12 . The panels  31  are releasably held in place with torsion springs  26  received in the cross tee slots  28  as described above in connection with  FIG. 1 . The included angle between the plane of the panel flanges  43  and the plane of the panel face  41  can be slightly less than 90 degrees where the arc of the main tee is of a large radius or can be greater than 90 degrees to allow the torsion springs to align with the slots  28 . The arrangement of the panels  31  depicted in  FIG. 5  yields a distinctive faceted appearance in a structure, whether it be a ceiling, wall or combined ceiling and wall or segment thereof. 
         [0024]      FIG. 6  schematically illustrates application of the invention to a surface expanse again, such as a wall, ceiling, or combination of these structures where the expanse is a compound curve, being curved in two perpendicular planes.  FIG. 6  can be interpreted as a plan view of either a convex or concave grid  50  for supporting flat quadrilateral panels. The main runners or tees  51  are curved, either convexly or concavely in one or two planes but in either case are each situated in a plane different from the plane of an adjacent main runner. In one arrangement, suggested by  FIG. 6 , all or part of the main tees  51  can be supported on the surface of an imaginary sphere such that the main tees are located at selected longitudes and the cross tees are located at selected latitudes. In such arrangement, the cross tees of a given latitude would be equal in length, but different from the length of the cross tees of adjacent latitudes. Panels to be mounted on the grid  50  have a profile that generally corresponds to straight lines drawn between the intersections of the main and cross tees  51 ,  52 . The panels used with the grid  50  are like earlier described panels having a flat planar face of quadrilateral profile with rearwardly extending flanges arranged to contact overlying main and cross tees. 
         [0025]    Torsion springs can be used as described to releasably retain the panels to the grid  50  as previously described. 
         [0026]    It is important that a panel be seated in a stable manner against the grid tees at least at 3 distributed locations. This follows from the fact that three points determinate a plane and, therefore, represent a minimum of contact between a panel and grid for stability. 
         [0027]      FIGS. 7 and 8  illustrate arrangements where the panel edges associated with curved main tees have straight edges free of substantial contact with the flanges of the main tees. In these arrangements, the flanges associated with the cross tees are adequate to stably support their respective panel on the grid with the retention forces being applied by a plurality of torsion springs carried on these flanges and coupled with the cross tees. In the various described embodiments, the panels each have a flat major face with a quadrilateral profile. Peripheral flanges on each panel are preferably arranged to support the panel on associated cross and/or main runners so that it is parallel or substantially parallel to chordal lines drawn between the intersections of associated cross runners with associated main runners. 
         [0028]    In certain applications, it may be desirable or necessary to retain the panels on a grid by attaching torsion springs on the panel flanges overlying the main tees and providing these main tees with slots to receive the spring tangs. 
         [0029]    While the invention has been shown and described with respect to particular embodiments thereof, this is for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation, and other variations and modifications of the specific embodiments herein shown and described will be apparent to those skilled in the art all within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the patent is not to be limited in scope and effect to the specific embodiments herein shown and described nor in any other way that is inconsistent with the extent to which the progress in the art has been advanced by the invention.