Patent ID: 7614195

Claim:
In a ceiling grid for a suspended ceiling intended for use in zones subject to earthquakes, the improvement comprising a joint clip that (1) in a connection in the grid between a main beam and a pair of cross beams, each of which extends from an opposite side of the main beam, (2) permits, during an earthquake, the main beam and each of the pair of cross beams to move independently of one another, without transmitting forces between or among the beams; (3) is formed of a pair of loosely connected segments movable with respect to one another longitudinally of the main beam; and (4) has a) an overhang that extends above, and laterally across, the main beam and is slidably secured to the main beam by a cut-out in the overhang that conforms in shape generally to the cross-section of the bulb in the main beam, with a stop below the cut-out; b) an underhang on each side of the main beam integral with the overhang, that forms, with the overhang, a pocket that conforms in shape generally to the bulb and web in the cross beam, on each side of the main beam, and that extends laterally of the main beam over each cross beam, and slidably receives a cross beam, and; c) slots in each underhang that slidably receive a screw embedded in an end of the cross beam; whereby, by using a clip at connections along a selected main beam in the ceiling grid, one area of the ceiling grid is isolated from forces created in another area of the ceiling grid, during the earthquake.