Abstract:
A clip for suspending ceiling panels from a horizontal channel having a C-shape formed by a vertical web and integral opposed horizontal upper and lower flanges, the clip comprising a sheet metal body, the body including a vertical web extending between upper and lower portions, the upper portion being configured to overlie the horizontal upper flange of the channel when installed thereon, the lower portion being configured to lie below the horizontal lower flange of the channel, the lower portion including a generally upstanding hook section adapted to be received in a downwardly open channel on the ceiling panel beneath the C-shaped channel to enable the clip to support the panel by transferring the weight of the panel to the C-shaped channel, the hook section being fixed against horizontal movement relative to the body vertical web.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates to suspended ceilings and, in particular, to improvements in gridless type suspended ceilings.  
       PRIOR ART  
       [0002]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,641 discloses a suspended ceiling construction that uses non-rectangular planks or metal pans butted together at their edges and supported directly by overhead suspension wires. Some overhead structures or super-structures make it difficult to hang suspension wires, particularly when such wires are required on specific overhead centers. When the suspended ceiling is a so-called free-form type and does not have a rectangular or an otherwise regular pattern, the layout of the anchor points for the suspension wires is difficult and can be extremely time consuming. Typically, a convenient anchor point will not lie directly above a location where a ceiling panel is designed to receive a wire. This condition can tax the skill and patience of the installer in an effort to find the best compromise to avoid shifting and/or distortion of the ceiling panels because of the side forces developed by angled suspension wires.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The invention provides a system for quickly and accurately suspending free-form ceiling panels. The system relies on a novel clip for connecting the panels to a set of overlying channels. The channels are situated in a plane just above the plane in which the ceiling panels are to be hung. With the channels suitably in place, the clips are assembled on the channels. The illustrated clips are readily installed and locked onto the channels without the need for separate fasteners or tools. Once the clips are assembled on the channels, the ceiling panels can be hung on the clips and thereby be suspended by the channels. The clips preferably have bendable tabs that, when deployed, lock the panels against accidental or unauthorized vertical movement and consequent separation from the clips.  
         [0004]     In one embodiment of the clip, a panel engaging hook is pivotally connected to upper portions of the clip. The pivot connection allows the hook to be twisted about a vertical axis to an angle that matches the angle between the edge of the panel to be supported and the respective channel. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the panel attachment clip of the invention;  
         [0006]      FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of the clip of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0007]      FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of the clip of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0008]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a part of a suspended ceiling system employing the clip of  FIGS. 1-3 ;  
         [0009]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of a free form suspended ceiling system as viewed from above in which the clips of the invention are utilized;  
         [0010]      FIG. 6  is a front elevational view of a clip constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0011]      FIG. 7  is a side elevational view of the clip of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0012]     Referring now to the drawings and, in particular, to  FIGS. 1-3 , there is shown a first embodiment of the panel attachment clip  10  of the invention. The clip or bracket  10  is a body formed of two pieces of steel sheet or other suitable metal. The clip includes an upper part  11  and a lower part  12  permanently joined together by a rivet  13 . The upper part  11 , initially, has a flat horizontal section  14 , a vertical web  16  and a bottom section  17 . The top section  14  has an elongated slot  18  leaving small land areas  19  at each end so as to establish a bend line through the slot and the land areas  19  parallel to the web  16 . A hole  22  in the top section  14  provides access for a tool to install the rivet  13 . The bottom section  17  has a horizontal zone  23  with an integral reversely bent or re-entrant lip  24  that, as described later, catches on the flange of a supporting channel shown in phantom at  36  in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0013]     The lower part  12  of the clip body has a vertical web  26  and an integral horizontal flange  27 . Bent upwardly from a lower edge of the web  26  is a generally upstanding flange or hook  28  having a free edge  29 . The vertical web  26  of the lower body part  12  has slots  30  at its vertical edges to form tabs  31  at these edges. Holes  32  associated with an inner end of the tabs  31  reduce the strength of the web along bend lines  33  created between the holes and tab forming slots  30 .  
         [0014]     The clip  10  can be mounted on a conventional cold rolled steel channel  36 . Such channels are used in the trade and are typically 1  1 / 2 ″ in nominal web width. The width of the channel flanges may be ⅜″, 7/16″, or 5/16″ or a similar dimension. In use, the channel web  37  is ordinarily positioned in a vertical plane. The clip  10  is installed on the channel  36  by tilting it to enable the lip  24  to enter the interior of the channel  36  and catch on the lower flange, designated  38  of the channel and then by swinging the body of the clip so that it is upright and the web  16  of the top section  14  abuts or is closely adjacent and parallel to the channel web  37 . With the clip in this upright position, the distal part  35  of the horizontal top section  14  beyond the bend line  21  is bent down around the upper flange, designated  39  of the channel  36  to lock the clip  10  on the channel.  FIG. 2  illustrates the channel  36  and the bent portion  35  of the top section  14  in phantom.  
         [0015]     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the clip  10  is located longitudinally on the channel  36  over an edge  41  of a panel  42  to be suspended. Reference is made to aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,641 for details on the construction of the ceiling panels.  
         [0016]     An edge portion  41  of the panel  42  is illustrated in phantom in  FIG. 3 . The edge  41  of the panel includes an upstanding flange  43  which forms an inverted channel  44 . The inverted channel  44  receives the hook  28  of a respective clip  10 . Once the channel  44  is received on a hook  28 , as shown in phantom in  FIG. 3 , one or both of the tabs  31  can be bent out of their original plane, as also indicated in phantom, so that they overlie the channel  44  and hook  28 . The panel  42  is thereby locked on the clip  10  because the tab or tabs  31  prevent the panel from being lifted due to interference with the adjacent area of the channel  44 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  illustrates an example of an installation of a free form suspended ceiling that is of the island-type, as viewed from above. Preferably, the channels  36  are rolled or otherwise bent out of their original straight manufactured condition so that they generally follow the form of the eventual suspended ceiling and, to the extent practical, are locally perpendicular to the straight edges of the panels  42 . Desirably, the channels  36  are located inboard of the free form ends of the panels  42  so that they are not seen from the occupied space below the ceiling and the suspension wires are similarly hidden or difficult to see, thereby obtaining a cleaner, more dramatic appearance. The channels  36  need not be precisely located nor do wires suspending the channels need be at specific points along the length of the channels. This very loose tolerance in the placement of the channels  36  is permitted because even precise location of the panels  42  can be accomplished by simply sliding the clips  10  along the channels  36  to obtain a lengthwise position and by sliding the channels of the panels  42  transversely to the support channels  36 . Consequently, it is easy to accurately position the panels  42  to their specified positions. The pivotal connection between the upper and lower parts  11 ,  12  of the clip provided by the rivet  13  enables the installer to adjust the hook  28  so that it is parallel to the straight edge of the panel  42  being installed regardless of the local orientation of the supporting channel  36 . While the rivet  13  is shown as a separate piece it can, alternately, be formed integrally out of one or both of the parts  11 ,  12 .  
         [0018]      FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate another embodiment of the invention in which a clip or bracket  50  is a one piece body. The clip is preferably formed of a single sheet of cold roll steel or other suitable metal. The body of the clip  50  is generally planar apart from a hook  52  and a stiffening flange  53 . The clip  50  is formed with a lip or catch  54  which projects into a rectangular cutout  56  adapted to receive a channel  36 . The lip  54  with adjacent areas of the body of the clip  50  surround the inner, outer and edge surfaces of the channel flange  38  when the clip is properly installed. A locking tab  51  can be manufactured so that it is bent out of the main plane of the clip body  50  or can be manufactured in the plane and temporarily manually bent out of this condition into the phantom configuration of  FIG. 7 . The clip  50  is installed by tilting it so that an edge  57  of the cutout  56  is out of plumb. In this orientation, the lip  54  is caused to catch on the lower channel flange  38  and the clip is then rotated to an upright condition where the edge  57  is vertical and close to or abuts the channel web  37 . The locking tab  51  is then bent downwardly into the vertical plane of the clip body proper to lock the clip  50  onto the channel  36 . A hole  55  creates a bend line at the base of the tab  51  to facilitate manual bending.  
         [0019]     A lower part of the body of the clip  50  is slotted at  58  from opposite edges to form oppositely extending locking tabs  59 . Holes  61  are formed at the inner ends of the locking tabs to create bend lines in the remaining areas of the clip body between the holes  61  and end of the slots  58 . A panel  42  is installed by positioning the inverted channel  44  of the panel on the hook  52 . The panel  42  can be locked against unwanted removal from its installed position by bending the tabs  59  out of their original plane and over the adjacent areas of the inverted channel  44  in essentially the same manner as described in connection with the clip of  FIG. 10 .  
         [0020]     The clip  50  is used in essentially the same way as that described in connection with the clip  10  in situations where there is limited deviation from a perpendicular relation between a panel edge  43  carrying the inverted channel  44  and the supporting channels  36 . The horizontal width of the rectangular cutout  56  can be made somewhat oversize in relation to the width of the channel flanges  38 ,  39  so as to allow the clip  50  to be turned out of square with the channel and accommodate a deviation of the panel edges  43  from an exactly transverse condition.  
         [0021]     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.