Patent Abstract:
A clip for mounting an elongated trim strip on ends of ceiling grid runners, having a right angle configuration with two intersecting legs, one leg adapted to laterally abut an end of a grid runner and the other being adapted to engage the trim strip, said other leg having oppositely extending upper and lower grips for reception into upper and lower opposing channels of the trim strip, the grips being relatively moveable, and a toggle arrangement for moving said grips away from one another, when retracted, the grips being capable of passing between the opposed channels, the toggle arrangement selectively maintaining said grips in an extended position to frictionally lock onto the opposed channels of the trim strip.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates to suspended ceiling systems and, in particular, to accessories for mounting ceiling edge trim. 
       PRIOR ART 
       [0002]    Suspended ceiling islands and soffits are frequently finished at their perimeter or edge with an elongated trim strip to conceal the ends of the suspended grid runners and edges of the tile and to obtain a desired visual effect. Clips or brackets have been devised to connect the ends of the grid runners to the trim strip. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,744,188; 5,195,289; 5,201,787; and 7,930,864 disclose examples of prior art clips developed for this purpose. The clip shown in the last mentioned &#39;864 patent is an example of a product intended to connect with trim strips having mounting channels on their concealed sides. This prior art clip and other known design which have a set screw to locate the trim in place can create a problem if the screw is over-tightened causing the trim strip to be permanently deformed. Another known type of clip arrangement incorporates a separate metal piece to distribute the screw forces over a large area to minimize distortion of the trim. The types of clips incorporating set screws have the added cost of their separate parts and their assembly. There is a risk that the screw can be cross-threaded, particularly if it is assembled by the ceiling grid installer. Moreover, there is a potential problem that the clip parts can be dropped by the installer who is trying to hold and align several elements together at the same time and trying to tighten a screw. From the foregoing, it can be understood that there is a need for a simplified clip that reduces the number of parts required and avoids the potential for over-tightening of a set screw. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The invention provides a one-piece clip for mounting trim strips on the ends of suspended ceiling grid runners. The clip avoids the cost and complications attendant with an assembly of multiple parts. The installer need only handle one element, namely the clip, and the clip can be initially assembled with the trim strip without the use of a tool. Once the parts are aligned, the clip is caused to lock the trim in place by simple lever-like manipulation with a screwdriver or similar tool. 
         [0004]    More particularly, once the trim is located in the lengthwise direction, the clip is forced into a locked position by prying an integral lever and tab into tight engagement with the associated mounting channel. This is simply and quickly accomplished with a screwdriver or a similar tool. 
         [0005]    The disclosed clip, on a leg thereof associated with the grid runner has a tab for locking the clip on the grid runner end without separate fasteners. The tab is insertable in a hole existing in a web of the grid runner. When the clip leg is seated laterally against the grid runner, the tab can be manually bent to fix the clip on the grid runner. 
         [0006]    The disclosed clip, by avoiding the need for separate clip parts and fasteners, facilitates rapid assembly of the trim on the grid runners. Moreover, the clip installation requires minimal dexterity and skill to obtain high quality fit and finish. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a clip constructed in accordance with the invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a rear elevational view of the clip; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of the clip; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the clip; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the clip in a first stage of assembly with the trim strip; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the clip showing the assembly of the clip and trim strip after completion of the second stage; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6A  is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of an area of a lever and overlying port of an associated leg; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the clip assembled with a grid runner and a trim strip. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0015]    A clip  10  embodying the invention has the general shape of a right angle bracket with perpendicular legs  11 ,  12 . The clip  10  is shown, other than in  FIG. 4 , in its upright in-use orientation. The clip  10 , preferably, is a rigid, one-piece stamping of sheet metal, for example, of 0.048 in. thick hot dipped galvanized steel. A first one  11  of the legs is adapted to be joined with a grid runner  13 . The leg  11  is generally planar, with a pair of horizontally spaced holes  16  for receiving optional screws or rivets. At a distal end of the leg  11 , there is formed a relatively narrow tab  17  extending horizontally from a horizontal bend line  18 . A hole  19  interrupts the bend line  18  to facilitate manual bending of the tab  17  during installation of the clip  10 . 
         [0016]    The legs  11 ,  12  are joined at a vertical corner  21 . The leg  12  is adapted to connect an elongated trim strip  20  of known construction that conceals the ends of laterally spaced parallel grid runners  13  and ceiling tiles at the perimeter of an island ceiling or at a soffit. The leg  12  has a main area  22  with planar portions  23  interrupted by vertical embossments  26 ,  27  that serve as stiffening elements. Slots  28 ,  29  and slits  31  form and surround a central lever  32 . At its opposite sides, the lever  32  is connected to other parts of the main area  22  by lands or webs  33  which as will be described serve as a combined fulcrum and living hinge. 
         [0017]    A lower end of the lever  32  is offset in the forward direction to form a depending tab  34  forward of the main area  22 . Along an upper edge of the leg  12  is formed an upstanding tab  36  forward of the main area  22  and coplanar with the lever tab  34 . A vertical slot  37  is formed in the leg  12  adjacent the corner  21 . 
         [0018]    The illustrated trim strip  20  is known in the art and is representative of various cross-sectional shapes to be selected by a ceiling designer. The trim strip  20  is an aluminum extrusion, typically  10  foot in length, having on its rear side  38 , which is normally concealed in use, a pair of opposed longitudinally extending channels  39 ,  41  facing one another. 
         [0019]    The illustrated grid runner  13  is a cross runner and has a conventional cross-section in the form of an inverted T and is commonly referred to as a grid tee. Other grid runner cross-sectional configurations can be used with the clip  10 . The illustrated grid runner  13  has an upper reinforcing bulb  46 , a vertical web  47  depending from the bulb and a horizontal flange  48  at the bottom of the web. The grid runner  13  includes an end connector  49  of known construction ordinarily used to join with an identical connector of another cross runner usually in a common slot of a main runner. The illustrated cross runner includes an indexing hole  51  rearward of the connector  49 . Cross runners ordinarily will be spaced in parallel alignment on 2 ft. or 4 ft. centers, or industry metric equivalents. A clip  10  is mounted on the end of each cross runner  13  to collectively support a trim strip  20 . In the simplest case, the clip  10  is mounted on a grid runner  13  by inserting its end connector  49  in the vertical slot  37  and the tab  17  through the indexing hole  51  and abutting the leg  11  against a side of the grid runner web  47 . The clip  10  is locked in position on the grid runner  13  by bending the tab  17  upwardly as shown in  FIG. 7 . The vertical height of the leg  11  is proportioned to fit closely between the underside of the grid runner bulb  46  and the top of the grid runner flange  48  so that the clip is properly positioned or indexed to the grid runner  13 . 
         [0020]    The trim strip  20  can be mounted on the clips  10  in a two step process. The trim strip  20  is first hung on the clips  10  by lowering the upper mounting channel  39  onto the upper clip tabs or grips  36 . During this initial step, the central lever  32  is in a position illustrated in  FIG. 5  where an upper end  53  is displaced rearward of the main area  22  of the leg  12 . The lower end of the lever  32  represented by the depending tab or grip  34  is forward and upward from a final position where it lies in the same vertical plane as the upper tab  36  and is vertically farthest from the upper tab. The clip  10  may be supplied from the manufacturer with the displaced position of the lever  32  illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0021]    With the upper tab  36  seated in the upper trim strip channel  39 , the lever  32  can be manually pushed, for example, with a screwdriver in contact with the depression in the center of the lever above the lands  33  until the upper end  53  contacts a part of the leg  12  overlying the slits  31 . This motion of the lever  32  swings the lower tab  34  into the lower trim strip channel  41  to provisionally capture the trim strip  20  on the clip  10 . Lengthwise adjustment of the strip  20  can be made at this time. When the longitudinal position of the strip  20  is correct, the lever  32  is forced back into the plane of the main area  22  of the leg  12  causing the lower tab  34  to move vertically downwardly away from the upper tab  36  and thereby frictionally lock the tabs to the respective channels  41 ,  39  with an interference fit.  FIG. 6A  is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of the geometry of the slits  31 . Preferably, as shown in  FIG. 6A  with some exaggeration, the slits  31  are inclined upwardly from the rear to the front of the clip leg  12 . The lever  32  pivots on the lands  33  with the lands acting as a living hinge. The undercut or inclined geometry of the slits  31  along with an interference fit created by proportioning the clip to be oversized to the channel to channel dimension prevent the lever from unintentionally moving back to its initial position where the lever is out of the plane of the main area  22 . A flat blade screwdriver (not illustrated) can be used to toggle or pry the lever from its initial out of plane condition into the final position where it is coplanar with the remainder of the main area  22 . The blade of the screwdriver is inserted in the central slot  29  to permit this prying action. The lands  33 , in addition to working as a living hinge, operate as a fulcrum and cause the lower part of the lever represented by the depending tab  34  to swing into the lower trim strip channel  41 . When the upper end  53  of the lever  32  is forced over center of the slit surface of the main or planar portion of the leg  12 , interference caused by the slit geometry strongly resists a reverse or unlocking movement of the lever 
         [0022]    The clip  10  can be used with main runners or with cross runners that are less than full length and do not have the end detail described above. In this case, the tab  17  can be bent back into the plane of the remainder of the leg  11  and the holes  16  can accept self-tapping screws or rivets to secure the leg  11  to the web of the grid runner in question. Small projections  54  can be stamped in the tabs  34 ,  36  to improve the retention force of the clip  10  on the trim strip  20 . 
         [0023]    It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure. The invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4