Mounting apparatus for securing an electrical appliance to a suspended ceiling structure

Apparatus for securely and easily mounting an electrical fixture such as a ceiling fan or overhead lighting fixture from a suspended ceiling or standard drywall ceiling and having a support assembly including a ceiling engagement portion, a load supporting portion and an electrical connecting portion. In an embodiment for use with a suspended ceiling, the three portions are integrally formed from a single plate with the ceiling engagement portion formed of four sets of tabs for engaging intersecting suspension grid members; the load supporting portion formed of at least one tab and cable to attach the plate to a ceiling load bearing member, such as a joist; and the electrical connecting portion formed of a housing within which electrical connections may be made. In an embodiment for standard drywall ceiling use, the support assembly is formed in two subassemblies, the first of which is in the form of a plate having an opening and tabs for engagement with the drywall to provide a nesting ring. The second subassembly contains another plate and an electrical junction box over an opening smaller than the opening in the first plate. The plate has locating tabs so that the second subassembly nests within the nesting ring formed by the first assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to support structures for mounting electrical 
fixtures and more particularly, to mounting apparatus which can be 
utilized to easily mount a variety of electrical appliances such as 
ceiling fans and electrical lighting fixtures securely to suspended 
ceilings. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
With any overhead electrical fixture such as a ceiling fan or overhead 
light, there is a need to mount the fixture in a convenient manner to 
either a drop or suspended ceiling. Several methods have existed in the 
prior art for attaching or mounting fixtures to drop ceilings, including 
those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,001 to Bibb and U.S. Pat. No. 
3,440,331 to Cohen. Further, brackets and apparatus for mounting standard 
electrical boxes to drop ceilings are known, such as that taught in U.S. 
Pat. No. 3,025,338 to Cook. However, each of these methods suffers from a 
number of shortcomings in complexity, difficulty of installation, 
disturbance of existing structure and lack of flexibility of application. 
In Bibb for instance, a housing which straddles a suspended ceiling runner 
intersection is taught. However, the configuration in Bibb requires a 
complicated housing with a number of distinctive interior chambers 
configured for appropriate attachment to a specifically configured ceiling 
grid structure. The structure taught in Bibb is not universally mountable 
on a number of different grid configurations, and requires a multitude of 
separately configured complex structures. Further, the mounting apparatus 
taught in Bibb gains all of its structural support from the grid structure 
itself, and does not provide auxiliary suspension for the electrical 
fixture mounted thereto. 
In Cohen, which also teaches the mounting of fixtures in the vicinity of a 
drop ceiling runner intersection, there is a further requirement that the 
intersection be eliminated entirely and replaced with the device shown. 
The removal or elimination of the intersection obviously adds expense, 
makes the mounting process more complicated, and may interfere with the 
structural integrity of the ceiling assembly. Use of the Cohen device and 
the necessary adaptation of the grid structure also renders the grid 
structure unusable should the fixture and mounting bracket need to be 
eliminated or moved to a new location. 
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention 
which enables the mounting of appliances such as ceiling fans or light 
fixtures to newly installed or existing ceilings without extensive 
installation modifications and in a manner which assures solid, 
vibration-free attachment of the appliance. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is summarized in that mounting apparatus for securing 
an electrical appliance to a suspended ceiling structure, includes a 
support assembly having a ceiling engagement portion cooperating with the 
ceiling structure to prevent horizontal movement of the support assembly 
with respect to the ceiling structure, a load support portion for 
cooperation with a load bearing member of the ceiling structure to prevent 
vertical displacement of the support assembly under load, and an 
electrical coupling portion defining a recess within which electrical 
connections between a source of electrical power and the electrical 
appliance may be made, the support assembly having a suitable mounting 
arrangement to which the electrical appliance may be attached. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, inexpensive 
and efficient mounting assembly for easily and securely attaching a 
variety of electrical appliances to a suspended ceiling. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mounting bracket 
for electrical fixtures which can be configured for attachment to the 
intersection of perpendicular runners of a variety of drop ceiling grids. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a means for 
securing an electrical fixture or appliance flush with the lowest planar 
surface of a suspended or drop ceiling. 
The present invention is advantageous over the prior art in that it is 
simple, inexpensive, flexible in application, usable for a variety of 
different fixtures and able to solidly and securely mount appliances such 
as ceiling fans to a ceiling structure without vibration. Other objects 
and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the 
following description of the preferred embodiments when taken in 
conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a mounting apparatus 12 would 
be secured to intersecting grid members 18 and 20 by four sets of 
restraining tabs 30, 32, 34 and 36. The mounting apparatus 12 cooperates 
with grid members 18 and 20 accordingly preventing horizontal movement of 
the entire structure. Support tabs 42 and 44 provide a means for receiving 
vertical load support from a structure spaced above the suspended ceiling. 
Recess 50 provides a means for receiving an electrical connector box 56 
within which all connections between the source of power and the 
electrical fixture or appliance will be made. Screws 62 and 64 provide a 
standard means for attachment of an electrical lighting fixture or heavy 
electrical appliance such as a fan. 
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the mounting apparatus 12 consists of a 
substantially flat metal plate 26 having restraining tabs 30, 32, 34, and 
36 through which horizontal movement of the mounting apparatus 12 is 
prevented. Each restraining tab has a pair of supporting tabs 38, 40 
positioned so that the mounting apparatus 12 securely engages the support 
grid members 18, 20 of the suspended ceiling structure 16, thus preventing 
horizontal movement of the entire apparatus 12. In each instance, the 
mounting apparatus 12 will be placed at an intersection of intersecting 
support grid members, such as grid members 18 and 20. 
Under the system of the present invention, vertical movement of the 
mounting apparatus 1 is also precluded. Vertical stability is achieved by 
two raised tabs 42, 44 each having an eye 45 through which a support cable 
46 can be placed to secure the mounting apparatus 12 to a load bearing 
member 48 such as a joist, which also supports the ceiling structure 16. 
As shown in FIG. 2, these raised tabs are positioned opposite to each 
other to properly balance the entire apparatus. 
As shown in FIG. 4 & 5 one portion of the flat metal plate 26 forming the 
mounting apparatus 12 is a recessed area 50 which receives wires 52 that 
connect the electrical apparatus 14 to a power source. The housing 50 has 
a passage through which the wires 52 pass and which is adapted to receive 
a means for connecting the top of the housing 50 to an electrical box 56, 
preferrably a hollow off-set nipple 54, although any commercially 
available connection means which provides a passageway for the wires 52 
can be used. Electrical box 56 contains any elements needed to achieve the 
connection from a power source to the electrical apparatus 14 and also can 
be of any suitable design such as those of boxes that are commercially 
available in electrical supply stores. 
As shown in FIG. 2, 4, & 5, two holes 58 and 60 are positioned within the 
metal plate 26 forming the mounting apparatus 12, which are adapted to 
receive screws 62 and 64. The screws 62 and 64 are inserted through holes 
70 in electrical apparatus 14, then threaded into holes 56 and 60 in 
mounting apparatus 12 securing electrical apparatus 14 flush to grids 18 
and 20. 
In the event that the ceiling tiles 21, 22, 23 and 24 supported by grid 
members 18 and 20 extend below the grid members 18 and 20, spacers 72 or 
72A or 72B of appropriate thickness as shown in FIG. 6, 7, & 8 may be used 
to fill the space between the bottom surface of apparatus 12 and the top 
surface of electrical apparatus 14 allowing the to surface of 14 to be 
along the same plane as protruding tiles 21, 22, 23, and 24. The corners 
of tiles 21, 22, 23, and 24 which meet apparatus plate 12 will be cut to 
allow them to drop into their respective grids 18 and 20. 
As shown in FIG. 6, spacer 72 has the same size and shape as the planar 
surface of the entire metal plate 26 of the mounting apparatus 12. 
Necessarily, cut-outs for the screws 62, 64 and housing 50 are provided 
therein. This spacer may be used with the average electrical apparatus, 
which is compatible with mounting apparatus 12. For an electrical 
apparatus which is very large FIGS. 7 and 8 are to be used. Spacer 72a, 
having the same size and shape as the planar surface of the body of metal 
plate 26, is used to fill the space between the electrical apparatus 14 
and the mounting apparatus 12, and spacers 72b are used to fill the space 
between the electrical apparatus 14 and the grid members 18, 20. Such 
spacers may be sized according to the dimensions of the top of the 
electrical apparatus 14. 
In as much as the present invention is subject to many variations, 
modifications and changes in detail, it is intended that all matter 
contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying 
drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.