FR3075836A1 - THERMAL SPACER ASSEMBLY - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a bracing assembly comprising at least one deformable flat shank (10; 10 '), said at least one deformable flat shank (10; 10') being adapted to be folded so as to be installed as a bridge between a slab suspended ceiling (42) receiving a light source and a thermal insulation layer (46). Said at least one deformable flat shank (10; 10 ') has two end portions (18, 20; 18', 20 ') opposite one another and a central portion (16; said end portions, said end portions (18, 20; 18 ', 20') respectively being separated from said central portion (16; 16 ') by a deformable area (28, 30). And said two end portions (18, 20; 18 ', 20') are adapted to be driven towards each other, said two end portions (18, 20; 18 ', 20') coming from each other. extending back said central portion (16; 16 ').

Description

Thermal bracing kit

The present invention relates to a thermal bracing assembly for dissipating thermal energy from a lighting source in a suspended ceiling.

One area of application envisaged is notably, but not exclusively, that of insulating false ceilings for which it is necessary to remove the thermal insulation from the light sources to mitigate the risk of fire.

Usually, false ceilings have a metal frame suspended from the floor, into which ceiling tiles are adjusted. The plenum delimited by the false ceiling and the floor is then lined with thermal insulation. The ceiling tiles are equipped, for some of them, with a lighting device, which, when in operation, releases thermal energy. It is therefore advisable to separate the thermal insulator from the lighting device appreciably to prevent this thermal energy from causing the insulation to ignite.

To do this, known bracing assemblies include flat rods which are deformed and which are assembled together to form bridges. These bridges are then adjusted above the illuminating ceiling tiles, equipped with the lighting device, supported on the metal framework, so that the thermal insulation which comes to extend in the plenum, can be removed of the lighting panel. In this way, the thermal energy produced by the lighting device dissipates without causing the insulation to ignite.

Reference may be made to document FR 2 258 998 A1, which discloses the use of a plurality of deformable flat rods equipped with transverse fishbone elements, and hooking ends. The flat rods have a local thinning in the form of a transverse groove to facilitate folding and they are joined together by two or by three depending on the dimensions of the ceiling tile to be able to form bridges over it.

This type of deformable flat rod is relatively complex to produce and also to implement. In addition, when the weight of the thermal insulation is too great the flat rods tend to bend.

Also, a problem which arises and which the present invention aims to solve is not only to provide a bracing assembly which is simpler to produce and therefore at a more advantageous cost, but also which offers greater mechanical resistance to the deformation.

To this end, a thermal bracing assembly is proposed comprising at least one deformable flat rod having two opposite faces, said at least one deformable flat rod being adapted to be folded so that it can be installed as a bridge between a suspended ceiling tile receiving a light source and a layer of thermal insulator, so as to be able to dissipate the thermal energy produced by said light source. Said at least one deformable flat rod has two end portions opposite one another and a central portion situated between said end portions, said end portions being separated from said central portion respectively by a deformable zone, and said two end portions are adapted to be force-driven towards one another, while the deformable zones are deformed, said two end portions coming to extend back with respect to said central portion.

Thus, a characteristic of the invention lies in the implementation of a flat rod deformable into three foldable portions relative to each other. In this way, two end portions are intended to be folded towards each other substantially at 90 ° from a central portion and to form two support legs. The supporting legs are then carried on a metal frame, the deformable flat rod bent astride the ceiling tile, the central portion coming to extend substantially horizontally above the ceiling tile in order to be able to retain the layer of 'insulating. The insulation layer is then retained in a position away from the ceiling tile. Therefore, there is no need to assemble two parts with each other, at the risk of making the bracing assembly less mechanically resistant. In addition, the bracing assembly is obtained at an advantageous cost.

In addition, and according to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, said central portion has a longitudinal cylindrical deformation extending projecting from one of said faces to increase the resistance to bending of said central portion. In this way, the bracing assembly according to the invention withstands greater weights of thermal insulation than what the bracing assemblies according to the prior art can withstand. Also, said end portions preferably have a cylindrical longitudinal deformation extending projecting from one of said faces to increase the buckling resistance of said end portions. In this way, the rigidity of the bracing assembly is increased overall, and therefore the resistance to deformation.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, said at least one flat rod is formed in one piece. It is for example obtained from a metal strip cut and stamped in a suitable press. Also, said at least one flat rod is formed from a metallic material. For example, it is formed from galvanized steel. In this way, a flat rod is obtained at an advantageous cost and which resists corrosion. It will be observed that stamping precisely makes it possible to obtain this cylindrical longitudinal deformation with a single press stroke.

Also, and according to another particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, said at least one flat rod has recesses between said central portion and said end portions to form said deformable zones. In this way, the recesses make it possible to reduce the amount of material of the rod between the end portions and the central portion and therefore, at the level of its recesses, the resistance to bending of the flat rod is lower. Also, a preferential deformation of the flat rod takes place at the level of the recesses. For example, three holes are transversely aligned to make this deformable area.

Advantageously, said end portions respectively have an enlarged free end to form a foot. In this way, the feet can come to bear in the metal framework of the suspended ceiling, while the end portions forming legs extend vertically and the central part horizontally.

According to a particularly advantageous variant, each of said end portions has a length close to 20% of the total length of said flat deformable rod. In this way a sufficiently rigid bracing set is obtained thanks to the proportion of the lengths of the central portion and of the end portions.

In addition, and preferably, the thermal bracing assembly comprises a set of two deformable flat rods. In this way, the two deformable flat rods are deformed and adjusted at a distance from one another in parallel directions in order to be able to offer increased mechanical resistance to the thermal insulation above the illuminated ceiling tile. Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge on reading the description given below of a particular embodiment of the invention, given by way of indication but not limitation, with reference to the appended drawings in which: - Figure 1A is a schematic top view of an element of the bracing assembly according to the invention; - Figure 1B is a schematic sectional view of the element illustrated in Figure 1A; - Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of detail of the element shown in Figure 1A in a first state; - Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of detail of the element shown in Figure 1A in a second state; - Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a spacer assembly according to the invention; and, - Figure 5 is a schematic view in cross section of the bracing assembly shown in Figure 4 in the implementation situation.

Figure 1A illustrates a top view of a deformable flat rod 10 according to the invention. It is made for example of galvanized steel from a strip with a thickness close to 8/10 of a millimeter and it is cut and stamped. The deformable flat rod 10 extends longitudinally between two opposite free ends 12, 14. It has a central portion 16 and two opposite end portions 18, 20. It also has two opposite faces of one another 23, 25.

In the example presented here, in FIG. 1A, the deformable flat rod 10 extends over a total length L of 820 mm. The central portion extends over a length I of 520 mm, while the opposite end portions 18, 20 extend respectively over a length of 150 mm. The deformable flat rod 10 has an average width of 30 mm, except at the free ends 12, 14, where it widens by a factor of about four. Obviously, these dimensions are given by way of example and they could be different in other circumstances of implementation.

Furthermore, the central portion 16, and the opposite end portions 18, 20 are stamped, so as to present respectively a central cylindrical longitudinal deformation 22, and two longitudinal cylindrical end deformations 24, 26.

As can be seen in FIG. 1B, the central cylindrical longitudinal deformation 22 at the level of the section IB-IB of the central portion 16 of the deformable flat rod 10. This central cylindrical longitudinal deformation 22 comes to project from one 23 , upper, of the two opposite faces 23, 25 of the deformable flat rod 10. The two longitudinal cylindrical end deformations 24, 26 obviously have the same profile.

In this way, the mechanical rigidity of the central portion 16 and of the two end portions 18, 20 is increased as will be explained in more detail below.

It will be observed that between the central cylindrical longitudinal deformation 22, and the two longitudinal cylindrical end deformations 24, 26, two flat zones are non-deformed 28, 30. Also, a row of three orifices 32 is practiced, extending transversely at these two non-deformed flat areas 28, 30.

We find in Figure 2, partially, the deformable flat rod 10 at one of the non-deformed flat areas 30 at the junction between the central portion 16 and the corresponding end portion 20. And we observe in detail the row three orifices 32 oriented transversely to the deformable flat rod 10 substantially equidistant from the central cylindrical longitudinal deformation 22 and the cylindrical longitudinal end deformation 26.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, a plurality of deformable flat rods of the type of that shown in these figures, can be stacked flat on top of each other according to a particularly advantageous storage mode.

Also, we will now describe the different stages of implementation of a set of two completely identical deformable flat rods 10, 10 ’.

According to a first step, the two opposite end portions 18, 20 are folded back at the level of the two non-deformed flat areas 28, 30 along the row of three orifices 32. In fact, the non-deformed flat areas 28, 30 are all the more deformable, as they are located between two more rigid portions, the central portion 16, and the opposite end portions 18, 20, and that, moreover, the mechanical resistance of these flat non-deformed areas 28 , 30 is less given the rows of three orifices 32.

It will be observed that the rows of orifices are not absolutely necessary, since the portions of deformable flat rod 10 are more rigid on each side. However, they facilitate manual folding, not only in effort, but also to perform folding locally in the right place.

Thus, we find in FIG. 3, one of said non-deformed zones 30 folded so that the central portion 16 and the corresponding end portion 20 are inclined from one another by an angle close to 90 °. It will also be observed that the central cylindrical longitudinal deformation 22 and the cylindrical longitudinal end deformation 26 both extend from the upper face 23 of the deformable flat rod 10.

Similarly, the other end portion 18 is folded so that the two end portions 18, 20 extend substantially parallel to each other to form two legs while the central portion 16 connects these two legs substantially perpendicularly.

We proceed identically with the other deformable flat rod 10 ’of the set of two deformable flat rods.

We will now refer to Figure 4, in order to describe in a second step, the mode of implementation of the two deformable flat rods 10 above.

First of all, FIG. 4 partially illustrates a suspended ceiling framework having two parallel T profiles 34, 36 oriented upside down, in order to provide respectively two pairs of opposite support wings 38, 40. It will be observed that the opposite support wings 38, 40 are substantially coplanar, while a central wing 44 extends perpendicular to the junction of the two coplanar wings 38, 40. The two T-sections 34, 36 are spaced from one of the other by a distance substantially greater than 520 mm in this case, relative to the central wings 44.

Thus, a luminous ceiling tile 42 is fitted between these T-shaped sections 34, 36, of which two opposite parallel edges come to bear respectively on the two facing wings 40, 38 of the two sections 34, 36.

Consequently, the luminous ceiling tile 42 can easily be adjusted on the two coplanar wings 38, 40 while a functional clearance remains between the edges of the luminous ceiling tile 42 and the central wings 44.

Therefore, we just install the two deformable flat rods 10, 10 'folded in a bridge so as to insert the two end portions 18, 20; 18 ’, 20’ forming legs between the edges of the luminous ceiling tile 42 and the central wings 44 respectively, while the free ends 12, 14; 12 ’, 14’, forming feet also bear on the two coplanar wings 38, 40 facing each other.

The two deformable flat rods 10, 10 'are spaced from each other by a distance of 400 mm for example, and their central portion 16, 16' then extend parallel to each other at right of the luminous ceiling tile 42 with a height of 100 mm for example. It is understood that the deformable flat rods 10, 10 ′ bent in a bridge, are stable thanks to their enlarged free ends 12, 14; 12 ', 14' forming feet and resting on the coplanar wings 38, 40. There is then no need to provide additional fixing means to ensure the connection of the deformable flat rods 10, 10 'folded in bridge with the profiles in T 34, 36, and the luminous ceiling tile 42.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 5 showing the luminous ceiling tile 42 and the two deformable flat rods 10, 10 ’of which the two central portions 16, 16’ respectively retain a layer of thermal insulator 46.

Thus, although the central portions 16, 16 ′ extend over a relatively large distance, they resist deflection despite the thickness of the thermal insulating layer 46, thanks to the central cylindrical longitudinal deformation 22 which then mechanically reinforces these central portions 16, 16 '.

Likewise, the end portions 18, 20; 18 ’, 20’ of the two deformable flat rods 10, 10 ’bent, are much more resistant to buckling thanks to their cylindrical longitudinal end deformation.

Claims (10)

1. A thermal bracing assembly comprising at least one deformable flat rod (10; 10 ') having two opposite faces (23, 25), said at least one deformable flat rod (10; 10') being adapted to be folded so as to be able be installed as a bridge between a suspended ceiling tile (42) receiving a light source and a layer of thermal insulator (46), so as to be able to dissipate the thermal energy produced by said light source, characterized in that said at least a deformable flat rod (10; 10 ') has two end portions (18, 20; 18', 20 ') opposite one another and a central portion (16; 16') located between said portions 'end, said end portions (18, 20; 18', 20 ') being separated respectively from said central portion (16; 16') by a deformable zone (28, 30), and in that said two portions d 'end (18, 20; 18', 20 ') are adapted to be th ntrained towards each other, while the deformable zones (28, 30) deform, said two end portions (18, 20; 18 ’, 20’) extending back in relation to said central portion (16; 16 ’). 2. A thermal bracing assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said central portion (16; 16 ') has a longitudinal cylindrical deformation (22; 22') projecting from one of said faces (23) to increase the resistance to deflection of said central portion (16; 16 '). 3. thermal bracing assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said end portions (18, 20; 18 ', 20') have a cylindrical longitudinal deformation (24, 26) projecting from one of said faces (23) to increase the buckling resistance of said end portions (18, 20; 18 ', 20'). 4. A thermal bracing assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said at least one flat rod (10; 10 ’) is formed in one piece. 5. A thermal bracing assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said at least one flat rod (10; 10 ’) is formed in a metallic material. 6. A thermal bracing assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that said flat rod (10; 10 ’) is formed from galvanized steel. 7. thermal bracing assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said at least one flat rod (10; 10 ') has recesses (32) between said central portion (16) and said portions end (18, 20) to form said deformable zones (28, 30). 8. thermal bracing assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said end portions (18, 20; 18 ', 20') respectively have an enlarged free end to form a foot (12 , 14; 12 ', 14'). 9. thermal bracing assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that each of said end portions (18, 20; 18 ', 20') has a length close to 20% of the total length of said deformable flat rod (10; 10 '). 10. A thermal bracing assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises a set of two deformable flat rods (10; 10 ’).