US3327984A

US3327984A - Device for mounting recessed fixtures

Info

Publication number: US3327984A
Application number: US458886A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert D Rennie
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-05-26
Filing date: 1965-05-26
Publication date: 1967-06-27
Anticipated expiration: 1984-06-27

Description

R. D. RENNIE I DEVICE FOR MOUNTING RECESSED FIXTURES June 27, 1967 Filed May 26, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

f z Z P w; p m M 5 M 0 6 e w M Q m 3 .LW

R. D. RENNIE DEVICE FOR- MOUNTING RECESSED FIXTURES June 27, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed May 26, 1965 uunur= INVENTOR. 0. P'A/N/E BY ran 15?, AVA/0655 ATTOFA/F/S.

United States Patent 3,327,984 DEVICE FOR MOUNTING RECESSED FIXTURES Robert D. Rennie, 155i) Sheffield Drive,

La Habra, Calif. 90631 Filed May 26, 1965, Ser. No. 458,886 7 Claims. (Cl. 248343) This invention relates to a device for framing an opening through a wall or ceiling to mount a recessed fixture, and more particularly to such a device which is adaptable for use with electric light fixtures requiring openings of different shapes.

Electric light fixtures are now quite often recessed into the ceiling. Generally, such recessed fixtures have a housing portion including a reflect-or and one or more bulb sockets mounted above the ceiling. Light from the bulb passes through an opening in the ceiling into the room below. A decorative face or trim plate is mounted below the ceiling around the opening to provide a finished appearance. Often a glass or plastic cover for the opening is supported by the trim plate.

The opening in the ceiling is generally framed by a strip of metal, plastic, wood or other suitable material. The strip serves to protect the edge of the opening, and sometimes also acts as a support for the light fixture. In plaster ceilings, the strip further serves as a plaster ground or guide in placing the plaster adjacent the opening. The framing strip is commonly attached to a mounting device which includes a plate supported in position at the upper surface of the ceiling. The frame extends downward from the plate through the opening.

Since the trim plate and the glass cover are visible from the room which the fixture is lighting, they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes to add to the decor of the room. The opening in the ceiling is preferably substantially the same shape as the trim plate.

Fixture suppliers must maintain a large inventory of various shapes of frames in order to accommodate the various shapes of openings required. This results in a considerable expense for the supplier. In addition, inconvenience results when the supplier or the contractor on the job-site is without the particular size or shape of .frame required at the time.

Therefore, it is desirable that a framing device be made which is adaptable to more than one size or shape of opening. This invention provides such a device, which includes a pair of flanges depending from opposite sides of a plate to form a pair of frames for ceiling openings. The flanges each define a frame of a different shape, one circular and the other rectangular. The plate may be installed alternatively with one or the other of the flanges extending down to provide the frame shape desired.

In one specific embodiment the flanges are integral with the plate. One flange depends perpendicularly at the periphery of the plate, and the other depends from the other side of the plate at the periphery of the opening through the plate. The housing portion of the fixture is supported in position above the ceiling from the latter of the twoflanges, in each of the alternative installed positions. The plate is supported from the ceiling joists by a pair of horizontal bar hangers which extend between adjacent joists and through ears on the plate.

Other types of fixtures such as fans and heat lamps are also commonly recessed, and the device'of this in- .vention is also useful in mounting them;

The advantages of this invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment. Throughout the description reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which: l i I FIG. 1 is a perspective View of the framing device of a preferred embodiment of this invention in one position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 with the framing device in a reversed position;

FIG. 3 is a vertical elevation partly in section showing the device framing and opening in a ceiling and supporting an electric light fixture;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 with the framing device in a reversed position;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged elevation view of a portion of the framing device;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the framing device; and,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the framing device supporting a fan.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the framing device, designated generally as 10, is shown in place between two adjacent ceiling joists 8. The framing device 10 is supported from the joists by a pair of strap or bar hangers 13 in a manner to be described below. The bar hangers are attached to the joists in any suitable manner, as by screws 15. In new construction, the framing device may be placed as shown before installing the ceiling.

The framing device includes a square flat plate 20 which is installed in a generally horizontal position. A circular flange 21 depends perpendicularly from one side of the plate 20 and is integral with the plate. The entire area of the plate within the boundary of the flange 21 is removed to form a fixture communicating opening 22. A second flange 24 depends perpendicularly from the other side of the plate 20 at the periphery of the plate. The second flange 24 is square and is integral with the plate.

When the framing device is installed in the position shown in FIG. 1, the circular flange 21 serves to frame a corresponding circular opening in the ceiling. As shown in FIG. 2, the framing device 10 may be reversed and installed with the circular flange 21 extending upward and the square flange 24 extending downward to frame a square ceiling opening.

In FIG. 3, an electric light fixture is shown mounted on the framing device 10. The fixture includes a semispherical housing 30, the inner surface of which is polished to serve as a reflector. A lip 31 extends radically outward from the lower edge of the housing 30 and a circular wall 32 extends downward from the lip 31. The framing device is placed in the position of FIG. 1, with its circular flange 21 down to frame a circular opening in the ceiling 35. The circular flange 21 is of a size appropriate to receive the wall 32 of the housing in telescoping relationship. The housing is supported on the circular flange 21 by a plurality of screws 36 extending through threaded openings in the flange 21 and the wall 32 at spaced points on their circumference.

A circular decorative trim plate 40 has an upwardly and outwardly extending decorative shield portion 42 below the ceiling. A vertical circular flange 41 extends upwardly from the shield portion into the opening in the ceiling. The trim plate 40 is supported from the housing 30 by a pair of coil springs 43 connected between inwardly extending hooks 44 on the housing and outwardly extending hooks 45 on the circular flange 41 of the trim plate. The springs 43 pull the shield 42 into tight engagement with the underside of the ceiling 35.

A bulb socket (not shown) is located in the upper portion of the housing 30 to receive the bulb 48. A power cord 49 is connected to the bulb socket in a junction box 50 at the top of the housing. A plug 51 at the end of the cord 49 is removably connected to a source of electric power supply 52 through an outlet box 55.

Referring to FIG. 6 as well as FIG. 3, the outlet box 55 includes a plurality of knockouts 56 for receiving the power supply conduit 52 and a socket (not shown) for receiving the plug 51. The outlet box is mounted from the square flange 24 of the framing device by a bracket designated generally as 60.

The bracket is formed of a single flat plate which is bent to form a horizontal support 61, an arm portion 62 extending down and in from the support 61 and a downturned vertical flange 63. The flange 63 includes a plurality of slots 64 for receiving screws 65 which are connected in threaded holes in the square flange 24 to support the bracket 60. The slots are elongated to permit the position of the bracket and outlet box to be adjusted relative to the flange 24 to avoid any obstructions above the ceiling. The outlet box 55 is attached to the support 61 by screws 66. Thus, the outlet box is conveniently located above the ceiling in a position near the housing 30, but not over the housing where it would interfere with installation and be subjected to excess heat.

In FIG. 4 the framing device 10 is shown installed in a ceiling 35 with the square flange 24 extending down to frame a square opening through the ceiling. The housing 30 is supported from the upwardly extending circular flange 21 by screws 36. An annular square trim plate 70 has a horizontal decorative shield 72 covering the edges of the ceiling opening. A vertical wall 73 extends from the upper side of the square shield 72 into the framed ceiling opening. The trim plate 70 is supported from the framing device 10 by a pair of conventional wire springs 78 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 4) each having two opposed arms 79 which are received in slots 80 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) in the plate 20 on opposite sides of the circular flange 21. The coiled portion of each spring 78 is connected around a pin 84 extending inwardly from the wall 73. The arms 79 are urged apart by the action of the spring and cooperate with the ends of slots 80 to urge the trim plate 70 flush against the ceiling.

A square translucent cover 85 of a suitable material such as glass or plastic rests on lips 71 formed around the inner periphery of the square shield 72 of the trim plate 70. The trim plate may be lowered by pulling it down against the action of the springs 78 until ofi'iset portions 86 of the arms 79 engage the ends of the slots 80. The trim plate is thus locked in a lowered position in which the supper surface of the cover 85 may be cleaned or the bulb 48 replaced. The trim plate and cover may be completely removed if desired by manually disengaging the offset portions 86 of the arms from the slots 80.

A translucent cover plate may also be used with the circular trim plate of FIG. 3 if desired.

The bracket 60 is connected to the square flange 24 in FIG. 4 in end-to-end reverse position from that of FIG. 6, so that it extends upward and outward therefrom even though the framing device 10 is placed with the square flange down. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the slots 64 are arranged to permit this flexibility.

The connection between the bar hangers 13 and the framing device 10 is most clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. The plate 20 has four depending ears 90, one near each of its corners. Each ear 90 forms a loop for receiving a bar hanger 13 in sliding relationship. Pairs of the ears are aligned so that one bar hanger passes through each pair. The cars '90 depend from the same side of the plate 20 as does the circular flange 21, so that the bar hangers extend across the plate on opposite sides of the flange 21 Without passing through either the circular flange 21 or the square flange 24. As the plate is slidable relative to the bar hangers, the location of the frame between the joists may be adjusted as desired.

The upper surface of each bar hanger and the upper surface of theceiling are both flush against the bottom of the joists 8, the lath being considered part of a plaster ceiling. In order that the lower edge of the flange framing the ceiling opening will extend to a position flush with t the bottom surface of the ceiling, the distance from the top of the bar hanger to the lower edge of the downward extending flange of the framing device 10 is equal to the ceiling thickness. When the square flange is down, this dimension is that designated as A in FIG. 5, and when the circular flange 21 is down the dimension is that designated as B. A of course is equal to B, and the circular flange 21 extends away from the plate 20 farther than does the square flange 24 by an amount equal to the thickness of the hanger 13.

FIG. 7 illustrates the framing device 10 of FIGS. 1-6, with a recessed electric ventilating fan mounted on it. The fan includes a blower housing 95 which is mounted on the circular flange 21 and a motor 96. The fan pulls air in the direction of arrows 94 through the opening 22 in the plate 20 and out an outlet 97.

The'mounting device is preferably stamped from thin sheet metal. A thin square plate is bent along its edges to form the square flange 24. A circular opening is punched out of the center of the plate and the portion of the plate near the periphery of the opening is drawn to form the circular flange 21. The ears 90 are formed by standard punching procedures as are the slots and the screw holes. The screw holes are then threaded by selfthreading screws. The bracket 80 is similarly punched and stamped from a sheet metal plate.

Thus, the invention provides a recessed fixture mounting device and frame for a ceiling opening which is usable with either of two different shaped openings. Since circular and square, or other rectangular shapes are the most common, a supplier can substantially reduce his inventory requirements by keeping a supply of the combination frames of this invention incorporating frames of those shapes in the most commonly used sizes. Other shapes may also be used, including two sizes of the same geometric configuration.

The framing and mounting device has been described above with particular reference to installation in a ceiling. It is also useful for recessed installation in other room panels, such as walls, room dividers or floors. The room panel may be of conventional plaster construction or of wood, acoustical tile, gysum, masonry, ceramic tile, or other suitable construction material.

I claim:

1. A reversible framing device for use in mounting recessed fixtures in a room panel so that a housing portion of the fixture is disposed behind the panel and a trim portion of selected circular or rectangular shape is disposed in front of the panel, comprising,

(a) a fiat plate having a fixture communicating opening therein;

(b) a first room panel framing flange depending perpendicularly from one side of said plate and defining a closed circular boundary around a first area of said plate which includes said opening;

(c) a second room panel framing flange depending perpendicularly from the other side of said plate and defining a closed rectangular boundary around a second area of said plate which includes said opening;

(d) and, means for mounting said plate adjacent and parallel to a room panel alternatively with said first flange or said second flange extending forward for framing an opening through the room panel.

2. A reversible framing device for use in mounting recessed electric fixtures in a ceiling panel so that a housing portion of the fixture is disposed above the panel and a trim plate of selected circular or rectangular shape is disposed below the panel, comprising (a) a flat plate having a fixture communicating opening therein;

(b) first and second flanges depending from opposite sides of said plate and defining closed boundaries around rectangular and circular areas respectively of said plate, said circular area being entirely within said rectangular area;

(c) said fixture communicating opening being substantially coincident with said circular area;

(d) means for mounting said plate adjacent and parallel to a ceiling panel alternatively with said first or said second flange extending forward for framing an opening through the panel;

(e) means for selectively supporting fixture housing and trim portions on either side of the plate.

3. A framing device as defined in claim 2 wherein said means for selectively supporting fixture housing portions on either side of the plate comprises a plurality of removable fasteners associated with said second flange.

4. A framing device as defined in claim 2 wherein said means for mounting said plate comprises a plurality of bar hangers connected to and extending across said plate, said flanges and bar hangers being dimensioned so that the forward extremity of each flange terminates substantially the same distance from the hangers.

5. For use in mounting a recessed electric light fixture in a ceiling panel with a reflector housing portion behind the panel and a face trim portion in front of the panel, a reversible framing device comprising, a thin plate having a fixture communicating opening therethrough, a first flange integral with said plate and depending perpendicularly from a first side of said plate at the periphery thereof, a second flange integral with said plate and depending perpendicularly from the second side of said plate at the periphery of the opening, said flanges both defining closed boundaries, one circular and the other rectangular, and means for mounting the plate adjacent the ceiling panel alternatively with said first or said secnd flange extending downward for framing an opening through the panel.

6. A framing device as defined above in claim 5 and further comprising means on said framing device for supporting a fixture housing portion selectively on either side of said plate.

7. For use in mounting a recessed electric light fixture in a ceiling panel supported by ceiling joists so that a reflector housing portion is disposed above the ceiling panel and a face trim portion of selected circular or square shape is disposed below the ceiling panel, a reversible framing device comprising,

(a) a thin rectangular plate having a circular opening therethrough;

(b) a first flange depending perpendicularly from one side of said plate at the periphery thereof to form a square frame;

(0) a second flange depending perpendicularly from the other side of said plate at the periphery of the circular opening to form a circular frame;

(d) a plurality of ears depending from said other side of said plate and two bar hangers slideably received in said ears and extending across said plate on opposite sides of said circular frame for supporting said plate between adjacent ceiling joists, the distance from the upper side of each bar hanger to the outer edge of each flange being substantially equal;

(e) a plurality of fasteners associated with said second flange for supporting a fixture housing portion selectively on either side of the plate;

(f) means including a pair of parallel elongated slots in the plate on diametrically opposed sides of said circular frame for selectively mounting fixture face trim portions on either side of said plate;

(g) a bracket including a vertical flange and an arm extending therefrom for supporting an electrical outlet box above the ceiling panel;

(h) and means for connecting said vertical flange remov-ably to said first flange alternatively in end-forend reversed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,802,933 8/1957 Broadwin 248343 X 2,898,076 8/1959 Versen 248- 343 2,998,511 8/1961 Chan 248343 X 3,130,949 4/1964 Erhardt et al. 248-343 FOREIGN PATENTS 694,861 9/ 1964 Canada.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner. R. P. SEITTER, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A REVERSIBLE FRAMING DEVICE FOR USE IN MOUNTING RECESSED FIXTURES IN A ROOM PANEL SO THAT A HOUSING PORTION OF THE FIXTURE IS DISPOSED BEHIND THE PANEL AND A TRIM PORTION OF SELECTED CIRCULAR OR RECTANGULAR SHAPE IS DISPOSED IN FRONT OF THE PANEL, COMPRISING, (A) A FLAT PLATE HAVING A FIXTURE COMMUNICATING OPENING THEREIN; (B) A FIRST ROOM PANEL FRAMING FLANGE DEPENDING PERPENDICULARLY FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID PLATE AND DEFINING A CLOSED CIRCULAR BOUNDARY AROUND A FIRST AREA OF SAID PLATE WHICH INCLUDES SAID OPENING; (C) A SECOND ROOM PANEL FRAMING FLANGE DEPENDING PERPENDICULARLY FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID PLATE AND DEFINING A CLOSED RECTANGULAR BOUNDARY AROUND A SECOND AREA OF SAID PLATE WHICH INCLUDES SAID OPENING; (D) AND, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID PLATE ADJACENT AND PARALLEL TO A ROOM PANEL ALTERNATIVELY WITH SAID FIRST FLANGE OR SAID SECOND FLANGE EXTENDING FORWARD FOR FRAMING AN OPENING THROUGH THE ROOM PANEL.