US3511463A

US3511463A - Support means for a suspended ceiling structure

Info

Publication number: US3511463A
Application number: US741424A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ernest B Nute Jr; James C Ollinger; Ronald R Thomas
Original assignee: Armstrong Cork Co
Current assignee: Armstrong World Industries Inc
Priority date: 1968-07-01
Filing date: 1968-07-01
Publication date: 1970-05-12
Anticipated expiration: 1987-05-12

Description

" E. B. NLITE, JR}; ET AL 3,511,463

. May .12, 1970 SUPBORT. MEANS FOR A SUSPENDED CEILING STRUCTURE" Filed July 1, 1968 INVENTOR ERNEST B- NUTE, JR

JAMES C- OLLINGER RONALD R- THOMAS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,511,463 SUPPORT MEANS FOR A SUSPENDED CEILING STRUCTURE Ernest B. Nute, Jr., Mountville, and James C. Ollinger and Ronald R. Thomas, Lancaster, Pa., assignors to Armstrong Cork Company, Lancaster, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed July 1, 1968, Ser. No. 741,424 Int. Cl. E04b 5/55 US. Cl. 248-343 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An attaching means formed integrally with a lighting fixture adapted to be attached to the gridwork of a suspended ceiling including two slide plates slidably fastened to the top surface of a light fixture having offset end portions adapted to engage the horizontal flange portion of a suspended ceiling gridwork beam.

Cross reference to related application The invention herein is an improvement over the structure set forth in application Ser. No. 609,596, filed Jan. 16, 1967, now Pat. No. 3,459,399 in the name of William R. Everson.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to a quick-attach support means for securing to a T-bar or similar component of a supporting grid structure for securing articles to the suspended ceiling, and more particularly to an elongated light fixture having such quick-attach means formed integrally therewith.

Description of the prior art There are presently available a variety of clamps, brackets, etc. for installing elongated items such as pipes, drapery rods, electrical busways and lighting fixtures to the T-bars or other supporting elements of the grid utilized for a suspended or false ceiling structure. In all of such securing or supporting hardware, however, the clamps or bracket elements are unduly complicated and are therefore diflicult to install and unsightly in appearance when installed. In the case of elongated light fixtures such as 4 and 8 fluorescent-type fixtures, the nature of the available supporting and suspending hardware have required at least two workmen to make the installation. In most cases, the available supporting hardware for the light fixtures can only be used for mounting the light fixtures in the plenum chamber between the suspended ceiling and the actual ceiling. Although this arrangement is satisfactory for many applications, specifically constructed, transluscent or prismatic panels must be mounted in the suspended ceiling beneath the lighting fixture. Insofar as it is known, there is no available hardware for quickly and easily attaching light fixtures or other elongated items to the exposed surface of the ceiling; and more importantly, there is no such bracket, support or the like available which would permit such installation by a. single workman. By the same token, there is no light fixture available having means formed integrally with the reflector or bal-' last housing thereof for attaching the light fixture directly to the T-bar or the like of the ceiling grid without the use of external hardware. Moreover, in as far as is known, there is no presently available external hardware such as mounting clamps or brackets which can secure any elongated items such as a light fixture, pipes, electrical busways or drapery rods substantially flushed against the exposed surface of the suspended ceiling. Rather, presently available external hardware leaves unsightly spaces between these items and the ceiling surface, which spaces particularly in the case of light fixtures, considerably diminish the otherwise pleasing appearance thereof.

As pointed out previously, such external hardware as is available not only undesirably spaces the light fixture or other items from the ceiling surface, but also requires two or more workmen to install the fixture, owing to the relatively large number of component parts of the external hardware and the impossibility of manipulating the same with one hand while holding the fixture with the other. The use of separate or external hardware doubles the installation time, in the case of light fixtures, as external brackets must first be secured to the ceiling grid, and then the fixture to the supporting bracket. Moreover, the nature of such hardware frequently makes it diflicult to tighten the installation securely against potential loosening by vibration or the like imparted to the ceiling structure.

Finally, the apparatus herein differs from the apparatus of the above-mentioned application in that it provides versatility in the layout of the fixtures in the ceiling. The slide members are adjustable to run either transverse or longitudinal of the lighting fixture so that the lighting fixture may be mounted along a single grid member or span two adjacent grid members.

Summary of the invention The support means consists of two slide plates which are adapted to be held to the back of a lighting fixture by bolts. Slide plates are fastened to the back of the lighting fixture by bolts and wing nuts which are positioned in elongated slots in the lighting fixture back so that the slide plates may be moved from a position where they will not engage the horizontal flange of the grid of a ceiling suspension system to a position where the slide plates overlie and engage the horizontal flange of the grid. Both slide plates have tabs which engage the horizontal flange of the grid plate so that the fixture is held to the grid system. The slide plates are adapted to be mounted to the back of the ceiling fixture so that the ceiling fixture may be mounted to a single grid member or the fixture may be made to span to adjacent grid members.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective top view of the lighting fixture back; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective top view of the lighting fixture fastened to a grid member.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring to FIG. 1, the back of the lighting fixture body 2 is provided with four slots 4 for receiving the bolts and wing nuts which fasten the slide plates to the fixture back. Four right-angle embossed guides 6 are spaced relative to the slots 4.

Referring to FIG. 2, bolts 8 with wing nuts on their threaded ends pass through the slots 4 and a hole in the slide plate 10. Due to the elongated nature of the hole 4, the slide plate will be permitted a degree of reciprocating movement. The slide plate has a body portion 12 which rests on the fixture back and has the hole for receiving the bolt 8. The front end of the body 12 has a raised tab 14 which is meant to overlie the horizontal flange 16 of a grid 18. Loosening of the bolt 8 and sizing of the slot 4 will permit the slide plate to be in its forward position as shown in FIG. 2, where it overlies the horizontal flange of the grid or in its rearward position where the leading edge 20 of the tab is removed from an overlying position relative to the horizontal flange 16. This then permits the flange to be twisted slightly and removed from under the tab 14 of the adjacent slide plate 10. Likewise, both slide plates could be removed from an overlying position relative to the horizontal flange 16 so that the fixture body may be dropped perpendicularly from the grid system.

The embossed guides 6 function as guides to limit the slide plates to a reciprocating movement toward and away from the grid system. This guide feature prevents any rotation of the slide plate and assures that the slide plate will not be able to rotate to a position where the tab would not be overlying the horizontal flange 16. This arrangement of the guides 6 also serves as an alignment means for positioning the light fixture relative to the longitudinal edges 22 of the horizontal flange 16 of the grid. Finally, the embossed guides provide a strengthening of the fixture back in this particular region where the cutout areas have slightly weakened the back and where maximum strength is required because this is the point at which the lighting fixture is fastened to the grid system.

By the use of the four slots and the right-angle embossed guides, it is possible to position the slide plates for reciprocating movement along either line AA or line BB of FIG. 1. Since the normal lighting fixture has two of these support means mounted adjacent each end, there are actually four slide plates holding the lighting fixture relative to the grid. If the grid is placed along the longitudinal dimension of the lighting fixture, the tabs would be mounted for reciprocation along line AA and both support means of the lighting fixture would grasp a single grid element. However, in the layout of a room, it may be desirable to have the lights positioned crosswise of the longitudinal grids. Consequently, the slide plates would be mounted along line BB and the slide plate structure at one end of the lighting fixture would be fastened to one longitudinal grid while the slide plate structure at the other end of the lighting fixture would be mounted to an adjacent longitudinal grid.

It is possible that the leading edge 20 of the tab could eb turned up to permit the tab to readily slide over the horizontal flange and prevent scratching of the grid system. Likewise, it is true that the tab structure itself could be completely eliminated and the slide plate made as a flat plate with one end resting on the horizontal flange and the other end resting on the fixture back. The embossed guides could be made as lanced tabs punched from the fixture back, or even made as a series of dimples rather than a continuous right-angle section. The spacing between two adjacent guide sections would be made to accommodate the width of the slide plate and the width of the widest horizontal flange currently available on the market. Actually, the lighting fixture used with narrower flange structure would not have the edges of the horizontal flanges engaging the embossed guides.

What is claimed is:

1. Support means for supporting an item on a flange bar, said support means comprising a panel member having four elongated slots formed in the panel member with each pair of the elongated slots having their longitudinal axes along the same line and the two axes being perpendicular to each other, two guide plates fastened to the panel member by fastening means passing through the guide plates and a pair of the elongated slots whereby loosening of the fastening means and movement of the fastening means along the longitudinal slots will permit reciprocation of the guide plates from a forward position Where they overlie the flange bar to a rear position not overlying the flange bar so that the flange bar may be moved relative to the panel member, tab members on the forward ends of the guide plates, said tab members being the elements 'which overlie the flange bar, guide means positioned on either side of the guide plates to restrict the guide plates to a reciprocating movement parallel to the longitudinal axes of the elongated slots and whereby the four-slot structure is provided so that the guide plates may be mounted for reciprocation along either one of the two axes which are perpendicular to each other.

2. Support means for supporting an item on a flange bar, said support means comprising a panel member having four elongated slots formed in the panel member with each pair of the elongated slots having their longitudinal axes along the same line and the two axes being perpendicular to each other, two guide plates fastened to the panel member by fastening means passing through the guide plates and a pair of the elongated slots whereby loosening of the fastening means and movement of the fastening means along the longitudinal slots will permit reciprocation of the guide plates from a forward position where they overlie the flange bar to a rear position not overlying the flange bar so that the flange bar may be moved relative to the panel member, tab members on the forward ends of the guide plates, said tab members being the elements which overlie the flange bar, guide means positioned on either side of the guide plates to restrict the guide plates to a reciprocating movement parallel to the longitudinal axes of the elongated slots and whereby the four-slot structure is provided so that the guide plates may be mounted for reciprocation along either one of the two axes which are perpendicular to each other, and wherein the panel member is elongated and has two groupings of the four-slot structure, one grouping positioned at one end of the elongated panel member and the other grouping positioned at the other end of the elongated panel member so that the panel member may be mounted along the same flange bar or along adjacent flange bars.

3. The support means of claim 2 wherein said panel member is an integral part of an elongated fixture.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1940 Hillenbrand 248226 l/l962 Loudon 248228 U.S. Cl. X.R.