Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A PLANAR SUSPENDED CEILING SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR
INSTALLING THE CEILING SYSTEM
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a planar suspended ceiling system and a
method for installing such a suspended ceiling system. The invention more
specifically relates to such a suspended ceiling system comprising foldable
ceiling tiles.
Background art
Suspended ceilings are well known and may serve a variety of purposes. One
purpose may be to provide sound absorption or other insulation in and
outside of a room. Typically, a suspended ceiling system comprises a grid of
profiles supporting a plurality of ceiling tiles arranged in frames formed by
the
grid of profiles.
Ceiling tiles are normally provided with groove arrangements adapted
to receive flanges of the grid of profiles. Present grove arrangements
typically
allow lifting and lateral displacement of ceiling tiles. Typical ceiling
systems
may provide concealed mounting, i.e. the groove arrangements of the ceiling
tiles being such arranged that the grid of profiles become concealed. These
ceiling systems may be complex to install and the edges of the ceiling tiles
may be fragile and thus easily harmed during handling. Also disassembly of
an installed suspended ceiling system may be cumbersome requiring careful
manipulation of each ceiling tile for enabling dismounting.
In U52011146183 a foldable ceiling tile for providing an inclination of a
ceiling tile is disclosed.
Summary of the invention
In view of that stated above, the object of the present invention is to
provide a
suspended ceiling system that reduces the possibility of weakened side
edges.
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Another object is to provide a suspended ceiling system reducing
complexity of mounting and/or dismounting ceiling tiles.
To achieve at least one of these objects and also other objects that will
be evident from the following description a suspended ceiling system having
the features defined in claim 1 and a method for installation of a suspended
ceiling system having the features defined in claim 7 are provided according
to the present invention. Preferred embodiments of the suspended ceiling
system and the method will be evident from the dependent claims.
According to a first aspect of the present inventive concept, there is
provided a planar suspended ceiling system comprising a ceiling tile having a
front side, a rear side and at least one side edge extending between the front
side and the rear side, the ceiling tile comprising an acoustical absorbing
body, and a front cover arranged at the front side of the ceiling tile,
wherein a slit is provided extending across the entire rear side of the
acoustical absorbing body thereby dividing said acoustical absorbing body
into a first and a second body section, and having a depth such that the
ceiling tile is foldable along the slit with the front cover acting as a
joint,
wherein opposing portions of the at least one side edge are provided
with each a groove and,
a grid of profiles supporting said ceiling tile in a planar, non-folded state
in which flanges of the grid of profiles extend into the grooves thereby
supporting the ceiling tile.
The suspended ceiling system thus comprises a foldable ceiling tile
which reduces the complexity of installing the ceiling system. Complexity of
mounting is reduced by the system being installable without additional tools.
The mounting is performed with a simple act of unfolding the folded ceiling
tile
into its position in the grid of profiles. Hence the proposed ceiling system
will
allow for a simple mounting of ceiling tiles. It follows that the disassemble
of
the ceiling system is of the same simple character. The grooves at the
opposing portions of the at least one side edge may be formed by a single
elongated recess. Thereby the cost and time for manufacturing of the ceiling
tiles may be reduced.
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A possible embodiment of the concept is that the ceiling tile may
comprise a compressed fiber material such as glass wool. The compressed
fiber material may enhance the acoustical insulation or absorption capacity of
the ceiling tile. Further, compressed fiber material may enable a variety of
proportions of the ceiling tiles due to the weight of the material.
The grid of profiles of the planar ceiling system may have an inverted
T-shape, thus enabling the use of present commonly used grid of profiles for
mounting ceiling tiles. Hence the manufacturing process may be simplified.
Another possible embodiment of the system is that the front cover may
comprise a woven or nonwoven glass fiber fabric. Glass fiber fabric may
provide the ceiling system with sturdiness and may expand the life-span of
the ceiling system. The use of a glass fabric may enable the ceiling tiles to
be
folded and unfolded without leaving visible tracks of the slits in the
installed
ceiling.
The ceiling tiles may further be comprised such that the front cover is
glued to the acoustical absorbing body. By using glue to attach the front
cover
to the acoustical body, the manufacturing process may be time reduced.
Previously used manufacturing processes may further be used since glue is a
common method for attachment.
To avoid visibility of the grid of profiles in an installed ceiling, the
grooves of the ceiling tile may be configured to conceal the grid profiles in
the
planar non-folded state of the ceiling tile, thereby enabling concealed
mounting.
According to a second aspect of the inventive concept, there is
provided a method for installation of a suspended ceiling system comprising a
ceiling tile having a front side, a rear side and at least one side edge
extending between the front side and the rear side, and a grid of profiles
comprising flanges for supporting the ceiling tile, the ceiling tile
comprising an
acoustical absorbing body, and a front cover arranged at the front side of the
ceiling tile, wherein a slit is provided extending across the entire rear side
of
the acoustical absorbing body thereby dividing said acoustical body into a
first
and a second body section, and having a depth such that the ceiling tile is
foldable along the slit with the front cover acting as a joint, wherein
opposing
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portions of the at least one side edge are provided with each a groove, the
method comprising:
installing the grid of profiles in a room of a building,
mounting the ceiling tile in the grid of profiles by
arranging the ceiling tile in a folded state by folding the ceiling tile along
the slit with the front cover acting as a joint,
directing an apex of the folded ceiling tile in an upward direction,
advancing the folded ceiling tile from below to position in which the
groves are aligned with an opposing pair of flanges of the grid of profiles,
and
straightening the folded ceiling tile to a planar, non-folded state such
that the flanges are received by the grooves of the ceiling tile.
The foldable ceiling tile may be mounted without additional tools, thus
reducing the complexity of mounting the ceiling tile into the grid of
profiles.
The ceiling tile may be displaced and moved around with a reduced
risk of weakening the side edges.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the
present invention, will be better understood through the following
illustrative
and non-limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present
invention, with reference to the appended drawings, where the same
reference numerals will be used for similar elements, wherein:
Fig 1 is a perspective view of a suspended ceiling system.
Fig 2 is a schematic side view of a section of a suspended ceiling
system comprising a ceiling tile in a non-folded planar state.
Fig 3 is a schematic side view of a section of a suspended ceiling
system during mounting of a ceiling tile.
Fig 4a-e are schematic side views of different embodiments of ceiling
tiles.
Description of Embodiments
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which currently preferred
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embodiments of the invention are shown. It is to be understood that the
presented figures are to illustrate a close view of an example of the
inventive
concept. The figures are not designed to any certain scale, and any other
proportions than disclosed in the drawings will be obvious to the skilled
5 person. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms
and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein;
rather, these embodiments are provided for thoroughness and completeness,
and fully convey the scope of the invention to the skilled person.
Fig 1 illustrates mounted ceiling tiles 10 in a grid of profiles 11. The grid
of profiles 11 comprises main runners 12 and cross girders 13 having a U-
shaped cross section. The grid of profiles 11 is suspended from a building
structure by suspension means (not shown). The main runners 12 have
flanges 7 for providing support to the ceiling tiles 10. The main runners 12
may have an inverted T-shape. The main runners 12 are arranged such that a
ceiling tile 10 fits, in a planar, non-folded state, in the space defined
between
two adjacent main runners 12. Each cross girder 13 is provided with spaced
apart slots enabling mounting of the cross girder 13 on top of, and thus at an
elevated level, main runners extending in parallel. The cross girders 13 thus
provide rigidity to the grid of profiles 11 and assure the main runners 12 are
spaced apart in a fixed manner while at the same time not occupying the
space defined between each pair of adjacent main runners 12.
Fig 2 illustrates a ceiling tile 10 mounted in the space defined between
two main runners 12 of a grid of profiles 11. The ceiling tile 10 has a front
side
1 intended to face the interior of a room and a rear side 2, and at least one
side edge extending between the front side 1 and the rear side 2. In the
shown embodiment, the ceiling tile 10 comprises four side edges. It is to be
noted that the ceiling tile 10 may have different shapes.
By way of example, the ceiling tile 10 may have a round or oval shape,
and in such an embodiment, the ceiling tile 10 comprises one side edge
extending around the whole ceiling tile 10. Such a ceiling tile 10 may be
provided with two opposing portions, where each opposing portion of the
ceiling tile 10 comprises a groove 6 for reception of a flange. In such an
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embodiment, each opposing portion is associated with the same single side
edge extending around the ceiling tile 10.
The ceiling tile 10 comprises a front cover 3 and an acoustical
absorbing body 4.
The front cover 3 is arranged at the front side 1 of the ceiling tile 10.
The front cover 3 may be arranged to the acoustical absorbing body 4 with
attaching means, such as glue.
The front cover 3 comprises a material that is foldable and may
comprise a woven or nonwoven glass fiber fabric.
The acoustical absorbing body 4 may comprise a compressed fiber
material such as glass wool. It is to be understood that the acoustical
absorbing body 4 may comprise other materials.
The acoustical absorbing body 4 is provided with a slit 5. The slit 5
extends across the entire rear side 2 of the ceiling tile 1. The slit 5 thus
divides the acoustical absorbing body 4 into a first and second body section
4a, 4b. The slit 5 has a depth such that the ceiling tile 10 is foldable along
the
slit 5 with the front cover 3 acting as a joint between the first and second
body
section 4a, 4b.
Opposing portions of the at least one side edge of the ceiling tile 10 are
provided with each a groove 6. As mentioned above, the shown embodiment
of the ceiling tile 10 comprises four side edges, and in this case the
opposing
portions of the at least one side edge are represented by a first side edge
and
an opposing second side edge.
Each groove 6 is configured such that the flange 7 of a profile extends
into or is received by the groove 6 when the ceiling tile 10 is mounted. Each
groove 6 may be configured as a single elongated recess. Further it is to be
understood that the grooves 6 may be configured differently. It is also to be
understood that the groove 6 may be configured to restrict any substantial
lifting or lateral displacement of the ceiling tile 10.
The groove 6 may further be configured such that when mounting the
ceiling tiles 10, the grid of profiles 11 may become concealed.
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In the planar non-folded state of the ceiling tile 10, the flanges 7 of the
grid of profiles extend into the grooves 6 thereby providing support for the
ceiling tile 10.
The provision of a groove 6 extending along the side edge of the
ceiling tile 10 results in the formation of an upper and a lower lip defining
the
groove 6. In the mounted, planar state of the ceiling tile 10, the upper lip
will
be positioned above, and the lower lip will be positioned below the flange 7
of
the main runner 12. As evident from Fig 2, the lower lip may be given such an
extension that the distal end of the lower lip is positioned approximately
below
a web portion of the main runner 12. The distal end of the lower lip of an
adjacent ceiling tile will thus be positioned in close proximity to the distal
end
of the lower lip of ceiling tile 10, and thus the main runner 12 will not be
visible
from below thereby enabling concealment of the grid of profiles also referred
to as concealed mounting.
When in the planar non-folded state, a stopper may be arranged in the
slit 5, thus defining the non-folded state of the ceiling tile 10 in the
mounted
non-folded position such that sagging is counteracted, which will be described
below more in detail.
Fig 3 illustrates the process of mounting the ceiling tile 10 in the grid of
profiles. The process is started by arranging the ceiling tile 10 in a folded
state. When folding the ceiling tile 10 along the slit 5, the front cover 3
acts as
a joint.
To mount the ceiling tile 10 into the grid of profiles 11, an apex of the
folded ceiling tile 10 is to be in an upward direction and then the folded
ceiling
tile 10 is advanced from below into the space defined between two adjacent
main runners 12 of the grid of profiles. The folded ceiling tile 10 is
advanced
to a position in which the groves 6 are aligned with the opposing pair of
flanges 7 of the grid of profiles 11. Subsequently, the ceiling tile is
unfolded or
flattened, thus allowing the flanges 7 to be received by and to extend into
the
.. grooves 6 of the ceiling tile 10. When straightening the folded ceiling
tile 10 to
the planar state, the flanges 7 consequently extend into corresponding
grooves 6 thereby enabling the grid of profiles to support the ceiling tile
10.
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The ceiling tiles 10 may be dismounted or removed in a reversed
procedure to the installing. To remove a ceiling tile 10, the part of the
ceiling
tile 10 comprising the slit 5 may be pressed in an upward direction, causing
the ceiling tile 10 to fold along the slit 5 with the front cover acting as a
joint.
As a consequence, the flanges of the grid of profiles will be retracted from
the
grooves and the ceiling tile will become disengaged. By maintaining the
ceiling tile 10 in a folded state, the ceiling tile may be removed by movement
in a downward direction from the grid of profiles 11.
The slit 5 extends in a straight extension across the entire rear surface
of the ceiling tile 10 and has a depth which essentially corresponds to the
thickness of the acoustical absorbing body 4 such that the ceiling tile 10
foldable with the front cover acting as a joint. The slit 5 may be configured
in
many different ways as illustrated in Figs 4a-e.
For instance, the slit 5 may, as illustrated in Fig 4a, be a simple
elongated cut having no essential width.
Alternatively, the slit 5 may be formed as an elongated recess, as
illustrated in Figs 4b and 4d, having a certain width. Such a slit 5 may for
instance be formed by a sawing or milling operation. The slit 5 formed as a
recess thus provides a gap 5b spanning between the first and second body
.. section 4a, 4b of the acoustical absorbing body 4.
The recess may as shown in Figs 4b and 4d have a rectangular or a
triangular cross section, respectively. A rectangular cross section will
result in
a more undefined joint axis, which may counteract formation folding marks or
tracks in the front cover. On the other hand, a triangular cross section
results
in a well-defined folding axis, which may promote controlled folding of the
ceiling tile.
According to another embodiment, a stopper 5a may be arranged in
the slit as shown if Figs 4c and 4e.
The stopper 5a is arranged to clearly define the non-folded state of the
ceiling tile 10 and to prevent sagging in said non-folded state.
The stopper 5a may further be arranged to act as a biasing element
and may in this case for instance be formed as a spring element. Hereby, the
risk for sagging may be further reduced.
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It will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the
embodiments shown. Several modifications and variations are thus
conceivable within the scope of the invention which thus is exclusively
defined
by the appended claims.
