Patent Publication Number: US-6217189-B1

Title: Arrangement for and method of concealingly mounting flanged devices, especially ceiling light fixtures

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/078,215, filed May 13, 1998, now allowed. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates in general to an arrangement for and a method of mounting a flanged device, such as a light fixture, on a room wall, especially a ceiling and, more particularly, to concealing the flange of the mounted device from view. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     There are already known various constructions of room light fixtures and built-in recessed lighting installations that are used to illuminate a room in a non-obtrusive manner, i.e., without the use of pole lamps, table lamps, sconces, wall lamps, track lighting, or like fixtures that extend from a room wall into a room and occupy a non-negligible space within the room. Details of such constructions can be had by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,799,304; 2,218,731; 2,998,511; and 4,408,262. 
     Although generally satisfactory for their intended purpose, the known wall-mounted installations suffer from an objectionable drawback, namely, their presence is still noticeable after installation. An exposed part of the fixture, no matter how slight, represents an unsightly detail to be avoided. In the case of a ceiling light fixture, an abutment flange is typically located at the periphery of the lighting fixture. The purpose of this flange is to abut the underside of the ceiling when the fixture is inserted into a mounting hole cut into the ceiling. The flange limits how far the fixture is recessed into the ceiling. However, as stated above, the flange remains visible after installation, is unsightly, can cause objectionable shadow effects, and does not present a finished, uninterrupted, smooth, flush surface with the ceiling. Even worse, it often happens that the fixture drops below the ceiling due to poor installation or vibration, thereby causing the flange to be even more noticeable. Modern architectural and room design demand such continuous surfaces. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art. 
     More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting arrangement for a flanged fixture that does not possess the drawbacks of the known mounting arrangements of this type. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to devise a mounting arrangement of the type here under consideration which is capable of concealing the fixture, especially the exposed abutment flange. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to conceal the flange, to avoid objectionable shadow effects, and to present a finished, uninterrupted, smooth, flush surface with the ceiling. 
     A concomitant object of the present invention is so to construct the mounting arrangement of the above type as to be relatively simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and yet reliable in operation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In keeping with the above objects and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the present invention resides in a mounting arrangement for concealing a flange on a device, e.g., a lighting fixture, to be mounted on a wall, e.g., a ceiling. The mounting arrangement includes a support having a mounting hole extending through the support for mounting the device, a flange recess formed in the support for receiving the flange of the mounted device, and a mask recess formed in the support. A mask element is received in the mask recess and overlies the flange of the mounted device to hide the flange from view. The hidden flange no longer represents an unsightly, objectionable detail. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the support has opposite major surfaces, the hole extends through the major surfaces, the flange recess is located between the major surfaces within the support, and the mask recess is located at one of the major surfaces. More specifically, the major surfaces are generally planar, the hole extends along a longitudinal axis generally perpendicular to the major surfaces, and the flange recess and the mask recess extend circumferentially around the axis. Preferably, the flange recess and the mask recess have concentric, circular configurations, but they could have other shapes, such as square or rectangular. 
     In accordance with another feature of this invention, the flange recess and the mask recess are bounded by smooth, continuous boundary walls and have a complementary contour to the flange and the mask element, respectively. The support is molded of a moldable, non-metallic material, preferably plaster or plastic. The mask element is a circular ring molded of the same moldable, non-metallic material. The mask element has an outer face that is flush with said one major surface of the support, thereby obtaining the above-described finished look so sought after in modern architectural design. For even greater design interest, the outer face of the mask element can be molded and/or imprinted with any pattern or design, such as a geometric or floral design. 
     The method of mounting the device and of concealing the flange on the mounted device is performed as follows: 
     First, a section of a finished or partly finished ceiling is removed. Then, the support is inserted in the removed section. The support has previously been formed with the mounting hole, flange recess and mask recess described above. 
     Next, the device is inserted through the mounting hole until the flange is placed in and abuts the flange recess. The aforementioned mask element is placed in the mask recess in an overlying relationship with the flange of the mounted device to hide the flange from view. 
     The support is advantageously formed with an outer, generally planar surface and the mask element is formed with an outer, generally planar face. The outer surface of the support is made flush with the outer face of the mask element, typically by applying a spackling compound and sanding the compound flat in known manner. 
     Finally, it is advantageous if the support is provided with beveled edge regions at the periphery of the support. These beveled edge regions of the support are made flush with the wall as described before, that is, by spackling a joint compound and sanding the compound flat in known manner. 
     The support is held overhead by securement to ceiling joists or neighboring ceiling structures or, in an advantageous embodiment, by securement to the ceiling itself, either by fasteners or by resting on an upper, inner surface of the ceiling. The support may have a peripheral flange that is circumferentially complete, or split to form a plurality of radial arms. The ceiling is prepared by being formed with a cutout through which the support passes. Thereupon, by turning the support through an angular distance, the flange rests on the upper, inner ceiling surface, thereby enhancing the securement. 
     The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a support in accordance with the present invention during its manufacture in a mold; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the finished support of FIG. 1 after its manufacture; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a mask element in accordance with the present invention during its manufacture in a different mold; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the finished mask element of FIG. 3 after its manufacture; 
     FIG. 5 is a broken-away, sectional view of a first type of ceiling lighting fixture mounted using the support of FIG.  2  and the mask element of FIG. 4, the mask element also being shown in phantom lines prior to placement in the mask recess; 
     FIG. 6 is an exploded view analogous to FIG. 5, but of a second type of ceiling lighting fixture mounted using a modified support and a modified mask element in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a view analogous to FIG. 2, but of another embodiment of a support; 
     FIG. 8 is a plan view of the support of FIG. 7 during insertion into a cutout of a ceiling as viewed from below the ceiling; and 
     FIG. 9 is a view analogous to FIG. 5 taken on line  9 — 9  of FIG. 8, and showing the support of FIG. 7 in use. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawing in detail, and first to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, it may be seen that the reference numeral  10  has been used therein to identify a generally planar support, also known as a “tile”, of the present invention in its entirety. The reference numeral  20  has been used in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawing to identify a generally planar mask element, also known as a “ring”, in its entirety. The support  10  and the mask element  20  are used together to mount a device, such as a first type of light fixture  30  depicted in FIG. 5, or, the support and the mask element  20  can be modified, as explained below, to mount another device, such as a second type of light fixture  40  depicted in FIG.  6 . 
     The fixture  30  is entirely conventional and forms no part of this invention. The fixture includes a hollow housing or “can”  32  whose inner cylindrical end or “neck”  34  receives a non-illustrated electrical light socket and bulb, and whose outer cylindrical end  36  is bounded by a peripheral, flat, circular, metallic, abutment flange  38 . It is this metal flange that in conventional lighting installations abuts the underside of a ceiling and by its mere physical presence represents an “eyesore”. 
     In analogous manner, the fixture  40  is entirely conventional and forms no part of this invention. The fixture  40  also includes a hollow housing or “can” 42  whose inner cylindrical end or “neck”  44  receives a non-illustrated electrical light socket and bulb, and whose outer cylindrical end  46  is bounded by a peripheral, circular, metallic, abutment flange  48 . The metal flange  48  is not entirely flat as in the case of flange  38 , but instead also has a bent lip  49 . In conventional lighting installations, this lip digs into the underside of the ceiling and provides a more effective anchorage. Yet, the objectionable eyesore remains in view. 
     The support  10  includes, as shown in FIG. 2, opposite, generally planar, major surfaces  11  and  12 , a circular mounting hole  13  extending through the support between the major surfaces, a circular flange recess  14  formed between the major surfaces within the support for receiving the flange  38  of the mounted device  30 , and a circular mask recess  15  formed in the support and located at the major surface  11 . 
     A set of peripheral beveled edge regions  16  is located on the support. The support is generally square-shaped and, in the preferred embodiment, each side measures about sixteen inches in length. In some cases, the support can be circular. The height of the support measures about five-eighths of an inch. The hole  13  and the recesses  14  and  15  are concentric and have flat-bottomed boundary walls. The outer surface  11  can be provided with any pattern or shape, such as the representative checkerboard pattern  17 . 
     To obtain smooth, continuous, flat-bottomed walls, the support is molded from a moldable material, such as plaster or plastic. FIG. 1 depicts a plaster-forming mold consisting of upper mold part  50  and lower mold part  52 . Plaster is introduced between the mold parts and, after drying, the support assumes the shape depicted in FIG.  2 . 
     The mask element  20  has opposite, generally planar, faces  21  and  22  and a center clearance hole  23 . Both faces are essentially flat. The mask element is circular and has a complementary contour to that of the mask recess  15 . To obtain smooth, continuous, flat-bottomed faces, the mask element is molded from a moldable material, such as plaster. The outer face  21  can be unornamented or, as shown, can have any pattern or shape, such as the floral pattern  24 . FIG. 3 depicts a plaster-forming mold consisting of upper mold part  54  and lower mold part  56 . Plaster is introduced between the mold parts and, after drying, the mask element assumes the shape depicted in FIG.  4 . 
     Turning again to FIG. 5, a ceiling  60  is depicted after a section  62  has been removed therefrom. The ceiling is made of conventional materials, e.g., plaster or gypsum. The ceiling is supported from above by joists  64  fastened to framing structure  66 . The ceiling has an outer surface  68  against which the aforementioned flanges  38  and  48 , 49  abutted in open view in prior art installations. 
     In use, the support  10  is mounted in the removed ceiling section  62  and is secured therein, preferably with the aid of wall screws  70 . Next, the fixture  30  is inserted through the mounting hole  13  until the flange  38  is received in and abuts the flange recess  14 . The flat, smooth walls and the molding of the support assure the precise and repeated alignment of the fixture. 
     Thereupon, the mask element  20  is moved from its phantom line position  20 A to its solid line installed position in which the mask element is received in the mask recess  15 . The outer face  21  of the mask element is flush with the outer surface  11  of the support. The circular seam  72  between the mask element and the support is spackled over with a conventional joint compound, and sanded. A reveal or beveled edge at the periphery of the outer face  21  of the mask element can be formed in order to provide more room for the joint compound to be applied. The wedge-shaped areas  74  between the beveled edge regions of the support and the outer surface  68  of the ceiling  60  are also spackled over with a conventional joint compound, and sanded. The result is a fixture that is “buried” in the ceiling. The flange  38  cannot be seen because it is covered by the mask element. 
     The support  10   a  and the mask element  20   a  of FIG. 6 are essentially identical to their non-lettered counterparts, except provision has been made to accommodate the lip  49 . Thus, the support  10   a  also has a lip recess  80  in which the lip  49  is received. Otherwise, except for dimensional changes, the structure and operation are identical and need not be repeated. 
     Turning now to FIG. 7, the support  10  need not be configured as a generally planar, square tile of relatively large area, as depicted in FIG. 2, but could be configured in a more compact form, such as the generally cylindrical configuration identified by reference numeral  100  in FIG.  7 . The more compact shape is better able to resist cracks or breaks during transport and handling. 
     As before, the support  100  has a circular mounting hole  113  extending through the support between a pair of opposite, generally planar, major surfaces  111 ,  112 , a circular flange recess  114  formed between the major surfaces within the support for receiving the flange  38  of the mounted device  30  (see FIG.  9 ), and a circular mask recess  115  formed in the support and located at the major surface  111 . The hole  113  and the recesses  114 ,  115  are concentric about a central axis and have flat-bottomed boundary walls. 
     The support  100  also has a peripheral flange which may extend circumferentially completely about the axis or, as shown, is embodied by a plurality of radial arms  102 ,  104 ,  106 . More or less than three arms can be employed as the peripheral flange. Advantageously, the arms are equidistantly spaced around the axis, but this is not a requirement. The support  10  is molded in a one-piece unit from a moldable, non-metallic material, such as plaster or plastic. 
     FIG. 8 depicts a portion of the ceiling  60  as seen from below looking up. A cutout  90  is formed through the ceiling. The cutout has the general outline of the periphery of the support  100 , which includes a circular central section and a plurality of radial sections. To assist an installer in forming the cutout, a template can be provided to mark the outline prior to removal of the marked areas. The cutout is slightly larger than the periphery of the support to allow clearance for the support to be inserted through the cutout  90 . 
     The mounting of the support  100  on the ceiling  60  begins by aligning the arms  102 ,  104 ,  106  with the radial sections of the cutout. The support is then inserted through the cutout  90  in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the ceiling. Once the arms  102 ,  104 ,  106  clear the inner top surface of the ceiling, the support is turned, clockwise or counterclockwise, until the arms  102 ,  104 ,  106  assume their respective positions illustrated by dashed lines in FIG.  8 . In the illustrated embodiment, the arms are turned through an angular distance of 60°. 
     As depicted in FIG. 9, the arms rest on the inner top surface of the ceiling and hold the support  100  in position. Thus, the ceiling itself, rather than the joints  64  or the framing structure  66 , supports the support  100 . For additional anchorage, a construction adhesive, preferably one including a plaster mixture, is placed between each arm and the inner top ceiling surface. 
     As before, the fixture  30  is inserted though the mounting hole  113  until the flange  38  is received in and abuts the flange recess  114 . The mask element  20  is moved from its phantom line position  20 A to its solid line installed position in which the mask element is received in the mask recess  115 . The outer face  21  of the mask element is flush with the outer surface  111  of the support  100  and the outer surface  68  of the ceiling  60 . Plaster or a joint compound is used to fill in the radial sections, as well as all exposed areas of the cutout. The filled-in areas are then sanded smooth. 
     In case the peripheral flange is not embodied by the plurality of arms, but instead, is constituted by a circumferentially complete, annular flange, then the ceiling cutout may be configured as a rectangular slot through which the support is inserted sideways, that is to say, the support is oriented to be perpendicular to the plane of the ceiling, and is then inserted through the slot, and is finally turned until the annular flange rests on the inner top surface of the ceiling. Since such turning requires a relatively large clearance between the ceiling and the framing structure, the ceiling cutout may also be configured as an ellipse so that the support can be inserted though a central region of the ellipse and then slid toward one of the end regions of the ellipse. 
     In another approach, the peripheral flange may be eliminated, and the ceiling cutout may be formed to be slightly larger than the periphery of the support so that the support can be inserted and fitted into the cutout. Construction adhesive or plaster can be used in the space between the support periphery and the ceiling cutout. Nails or analogous fasteners can be toenailed through the ceiling into the support for additional holding power. Such fasteners would be countersunk and spackled over to provide a finished appearance. 
     The above-described mounting arrangements and methods are well suited for retrofitting existing installations, but can equally well be used for new installations. 
     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the type described above. 
     While the present invention has been described and illustrated herein as embodied in a specific arrangement for, and a method of, mounting a light fixture in a ceiling, it is not limited to the details of this particular construction, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
     So, for instance, the fixture need not be a lighting fixture, but could equally be any device that can be mounted on a wall of a room. Such devices may include an air vent for the passage of heating/cooling air, grilles for audio speakers, housings for detectors, etc. 
     In addition, the wall on which the device is to be mounted need not be the ceiling, but could equally well be any wall in the room including the upright side walls and the floor. 
     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims. 
     What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by letters patent is set forth in the appended claims.