Patent ID: 8563449

Claim:
A ceiling tile including a non-woven material comprising: a substantially planar and self-supporting core including an inorganic base fiber and an organic binding fiber wherein: the organic binding fiber being a bi-component thermal bonding fiber formed by an organic binding component and an organic structural component combined in unitary filaments; the binding component having a melting point sufficiently less than the melting point of the structural component so that when the organic binding fiber is heated to approximately the melting point of the binding component, the inorganic base fiber and organic binding fiber are at least partially bound to each other whereby said core is sufficiently self-supporting for use as a ceiling tile; and the structural component being a blend of a plastic resin and a filler that reduces the strength of the organic binding fiber so that the fiber strengths of the inorganic base fiber and organic binding fiber do not differ substantially whereby the core exhibits high flexural strength and can be cut manually such as with a common utility knife with light pressure or only minimal effort; the organic binding fiber having a fiber strength with a break load of about 10 grams or less and an elongation of about 20 percent or less.