GB1601064A - Mounting ceiling tiles on hatch - Google Patents

Description

(54) MOUNTING CEILING TILES ON HATCH (71) We, L. J. WATSON & SONS LTD., a British company, of 18, Ingram Road, Steyning, Sussex do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for mounting tiles on a ceiling hatch.

It is now common practice to construct a suspended ceiling below a solid floor in a building and to run the necessary services (e.g. gas, electricity, water and ventilating conduits) between the ceiling and floor. A common method of ceiling construction is to hang a series of parallel metal (e.g. steel or aluminium) strips from the floor above and to insert a row of ceiling tiles between each pair of adjacent parallel strips. A typical tile comprises a square approximately 300X 300 mm of compressed fibrous material provided with a groove in each edge for reception of an edge of one of the parallel metal strips.

A disadvantage of this kind of suspended ceiling is that if it is-desired to obtain access to any of the services in the ceiling for repair or maintenance purposes it is necessary to remove all of the tiles from between at least one pair of strips from one edge of the ceiling to the point at which access is required. A concert hall, for example, may have a ceiling which is 20 m high and 50 m across and the difflculty and danger of this process can easily be appreciated.

We have accordingly proposed a ceiling hatch for suspended ceilings which is now often incorporated in ceilings below points in the services (e.g. stopcocks or junction boxes) to which access may be required. The ceiling hatch comprises a rectangular frame to which is hinged a door in the shape of a shallow rectangular tray; such a hatch is shown in our Design Registration No.

961,403. The ceiling hatches are made in a number of shapes and sizes being multiples of 300X 300 mm, and in use an appropriate number of ceiling tiles is affixed to the underside of the door by means of an adhesive.

This method of mounting the ceiling tiles on the hatch has proved inconvenient in practice, and if the adhesive is not correctly used, there is a danger that a tile might become detached from the hatch, possibly resulting in damage or injury.

According to the invention, there is pro vided a hatch for use in a suspended ceiling, comprising a door having means for mounting at least one ceiling tile on the door, said mounting means comprising a plurality of members secured to the door and each having an edge portion extending generally parallel to the face of the door for reception in a cooperating groove in an edge of a ceiling tile.

The mounting means preferably comprises a plurality of elongate members each having a flat face portion for securing on the face of the door, an upstanding portion connected to the face portion, and a flat portion connected to the upstanding portion and defining a said edge portion parallel to the face portion.

The elongate members may be made by extrusion, of a plastics material for example, but preferably each elongate member is formed by bending an elongate metal strip along two parallel longitudinal fold lines.

The members may be securable to the door by means of cut-outs, such as slots, in the face of the door and registering portions, such as relieved tongues depending from the members, arranged to be retained in the cutouts. The use of tongues, which may be inser:ed in the slots and twisted behind the door, provides a very simple, economical and reliable securing of the members to the door.

According to a preferred feature of the invention, the mounting means comprises a plurality of elongate members of which the registering portions are equidistant from the ends of the elongate members whereby each elongate member will register with the cut-outs in either of two positions. This enables the use of only a single type of elongate member for supporting either side of a tile.

Preferably, the cut-outs are spaced from an edge of the door such that an end of each elongate member is located at said edge of thc door when the registering portions register with the cut-outs. This leads to the important advantage that a filter may align the cutouts and registering portions without the need to see them, simply by aligning the end of the elongate member with the edge of the door.

The invention also provides a method of mounting a ceiling tile on the door of a ceiling hatch, comprising securing one edge of the ceiling tile to the door with a member having a portion which engages in a groove in said edge of the tile, engaging a groove in the opposite edge of the tile with another member, and securing said other member to the door.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of a ceiling hatch according to the invention shown in the open position; Figure 2 is a perspective view from below of the hatch of Fig. 1 shown partially assembled and in the closed position; Figure 3 is a plan view of a tile mounting member of the hatch of Fig. 1; and Figure 4 is an end view of the member of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the hatch 1 comprises a rectangular frame 2 having a door 3 connected thereto by a hinge 4. A latch 5 is provided for retaining the door 2 in the closed position shown in Fig. 2.

The hatch comprises means for mounting four ceiling tiles on the door, in the form of four elongate members 6 secured to the door. Each member 6 has a flat face portion 7 for securing on the face of the door 3, an upstanding portion 8 connected to the face portion 7, and a fiat portion 9 connected to the upstanding portion 8 and defining an edge portion extending generally parallel to the face of the door 3. Each member 6 is formed by bending a flat elongate metal strip along two parallel longitudinal fold lines.

The fiat edge portion 9 is adapted to fit into a groove 10 in the edge of a standard 300X 300 mm ceiling tile 11.

The door 3 carrics a series of cut-outs in the form of slots 12 and the members 6 are provided with a corresponding series of relieved depending tongues 13 arranged to register with, and be retained in, the slots 12.

It is to be noted that adjacent tongues 13 are equally spaced apart and the topgues at each end of the member 6 are equally spaced from the respective end of the member.

This enables the use of a single form of member 6, which may be reversed for use at two opposite sides of a tile while still registering with the slots 12. The distance of each end tongue from the end of the member 6 is indicated by 'x' in Fig. 3.

Further, the distance of each series of slots 12 from the hinge end of the door 3 (shown as 'y' in Fig. 2) is substantially equal to the distance 'x'. This means that if a member 6 is positioned with an end at the hinge end of the door, the tongues 13 will all be the correct distance from the hinge end of the door for registering with the slots 12.

The operation of mounting tiles on the hatch 1 proceeds as follows: firstly, if desired an appropriate number of spots of adhesive are placed on the underside of the door 3. The adhesive is not needed to assist in holding the tiles in place but it may be useful to avoid vibration of the tiles. As an alternative, one or more strips of foam material 14 may be positioned under each tile. The elongate member 6 at the left of Fig. 2 is then secured to the door 3 by passing its tongues 13 into the corresponding slots 12 and twisting each tongue 13 behind the door with a pair of pliers. Two tiles 11 (only one being shown in Fig. 2) may then be positioned such that the flat portion 9 of the leftmost member 6 enters the grooves in the edges of the tiles. A second elongate member 6 is then positioned with its flat portion 9 in the grooves in the opposite edges of the tiles and the tongues of the second elongate member are inserted in the second series of slots 12 are secured as before. This completes the fixing of the leftmost pair of tiles; the other pair is fixed in substantially the same manner.

As the last elongate member 6 (such as the rightmost member in Fig. 2) is moved towards the face of the door, the fitter's vision of the tongues and slots is obscured.

However, since the distance of the last of the series of slots from the hinge end of the door is substantially equal to the distance of the last of the series of tongues from the end of the elongate member, it is merely necessary to position the end of the elongate member at the edge of the door to ensure registry of the slots and tongues.

The described embodiment enables the rapid mounting of ceiling tiles on the door of a hatch in a simple and reliable manner.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A hatch for use in a suspended ceiling, comprising a door having means for mounting at least one ceiling tile on the door, said mounting means comprising a plurality of members secured to the door and each having an edge portion extending generally parallel to the face of the door for reception in a cooperating groove in an edge of a ceiling tile.

2. A hatch as claimed in claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises a plurality of elongate members each having a fiat face portion for securing on the face of the door, an upstanding portion connected to the face portion, and a flat portion connected to the upstanding portion and defining a said edge portion parallel to the face portion.

3. A hatch as claimed in claim 2 wherein each elongate member is formed by bending an elongate metal strip along two parallel longitudinal fold lines.

4. A hatch as claimed in any preceding claim comprising means for securing said members to the door, in the form of cutouts in the face of the door and registering portions on the members arranged to be retained in the cut-outs.

5. A hatch as claimed in claim 4 wherein the securing means comprises a plurality of slots in the face of the door and a corresponding plurality of relieved tongues depending from said members.

6. A hatch as claimed in claim 4 or 5 when dependent on claim 2 wherein the registering portions are equidistant from the ends of the elongate members whereby each elongate member will register with the cutouts in either of two positions.

7. A hatch as claimed in claim 6 wherein the cut-outs are spaced from an edge of the door such that an end of each elongate member is located at said edge of the door when the registering portions register with the cut-outs.

8. A hatch for use in a suspended ceiling, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A method of mounting a ceiling tile on the door of a ceiling hatch, comprising securing one edge of the ceiling tile to the door with a member having a portion which engages in a groove in said edge of the tile, engaging a groove in the opposite edge of the tile with another member, and securing said other member to the door.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said members each comprise an elongate member having an edge portion arranged to extend generally parallel to the face of the door and to be received in a said groove.

11. A method of mounting a ceiling tile on a hatch, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (11)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. The described embodiment enables the rapid mounting of ceiling tiles on the door of a hatch in a simple and reliable manner. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A hatch for use in a suspended ceiling, comprising a door having means for mounting at least one ceiling tile on the door, said mounting means comprising a plurality of members secured to the door and each having an edge portion extending generally parallel to the face of the door for reception in a cooperating groove in an edge of a ceiling tile.

2. A hatch as claimed in claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises a plurality of elongate members each having a fiat face portion for securing on the face of the door, an upstanding portion connected to the face portion, and a flat portion connected to the upstanding portion and defining a said edge portion parallel to the face portion.

3. A hatch as claimed in claim 2 wherein each elongate member is formed by bending an elongate metal strip along two parallel longitudinal fold lines.

4. A hatch as claimed in any preceding claim comprising means for securing said members to the door, in the form of cutouts in the face of the door and registering portions on the members arranged to be retained in the cut-outs.

5. A hatch as claimed in claim 4 wherein the securing means comprises a plurality of slots in the face of the door and a corresponding plurality of relieved tongues depending from said members.

6. A hatch as claimed in claim 4 or 5 when dependent on claim 2 wherein the registering portions are equidistant from the ends of the elongate members whereby each elongate member will register with the cutouts in either of two positions.

7. A hatch as claimed in claim 6 wherein the cut-outs are spaced from an edge of the door such that an end of each elongate member is located at said edge of the door when the registering portions register with the cut-outs.

8. A hatch for use in a suspended ceiling, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A method of mounting a ceiling tile on the door of a ceiling hatch, comprising securing one edge of the ceiling tile to the door with a member having a portion which engages in a groove in said edge of the tile, engaging a groove in the opposite edge of the tile with another member, and securing said other member to the door.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said members each comprise an elongate member having an edge portion arranged to extend generally parallel to the face of the door and to be received in a said groove.

11. A method of mounting a ceiling tile on a hatch, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.