Worthington Armstrong Venture

National Rolling Mills, Inc.

The Worthington Steel Company

William J. Platt

Yu Lin

Daniel C. Ziegler

William J Platt

Daniel C Ziegler

Thomas E Rose

Brett Wayne Sareyka

Joseph J Kelly

Donald C Miller

Sandor A Frecska

Eugene E Brady

Paul C Gillenwater

Rick J Jones

William L Heath

Prior art rolled T-beams used in horizontal grids in suspended ceilings, serve as vertical studs in a grid that supports wallboard in a liner for a structural wall. A horizontal strut extends along, and is connected to, the studs, to unite the studs and the strut to form the vertical grid. The grid is braced from the structural wall.

Wall liner

A balanced, single-layered web beam for a grid in a panel suspended ceiling, wherein opposing flanges at the bottom of the web are cantilevered directly from the bottom of the web. When the flanges are equally loaded by the panels, the resultant load on the beam passes through the vertical plane of the web, so the beam does not twist or bend.

Single-layered web beam for a panel suspended ceiling

A balanced, single-layered web beam for a grid in a suspended ceiling, wherein opposing flanges at the bottom of the web are cantilevered directly from the bottom of the web. When the flanges are equally loaded, the resultant load on the beam passes through the vertical plane of the web, so the beam does not twist or bend.

Single-layered web beam for a suspended ceiling

The space above a suspended ceiling grid that extends along a corridor is kept open and free of hang wires by creating a truss at each end of a beam in the grid. The truss includes the beam itself, an opposing wall along one side of the space, and a gusset stay that extends from the wall to the beam.

Suspended ceiling gusset stay

A balanced, single-layered web beam for a grid in a drywall suspended ceiling, wherein opposing flanges at the bottom of the web are cantilevered directly from the bottom of the web. When the flanges are equally loaded by the drywall sheets, the resultant load on the beam passes through the vertical plane of the web, so the beam does not twist or bend.

Single layered web beam for a drywall suspended ceiling

In a suspended ceiling segment known as a cloud, lengths of flat, flexible sheets form panels that are held on the main beams of the segment by flexible, plastic tracks adhesively fixed on the panels that engage plastic tracks hooked onto flanges of the main beams of the cloud. The flexible sheets bend to conform to the vertical contour of the main beams when the tracks on the sheets engage the tracks on the beams.

Suspended ceiling cloud with flexible panel

A stab-in connector that locks with an opposing identical connector, through a slot in the main beam of a suspended ceiling grid. The connector has a straight locking latch that is cantilevered from a bend at a base of the connector. The bend is in the form of an arc. The bend forms a pivot for the latch. Contact between the cantilevered straight locking latch and the side of the slot is delayed as the connector is being stabbed into the slot. During the delay, the connectors are positioned within the slot, and relative to each other, so that substantially less force is needed than the force that was necessary to engage prior art stab-in connectors into locking position.

Stab-in connector

In a suspended ceiling for earthquake prone locations, a line of seismic main beam connections of the invention between main beams separates the ceiling into segments that move independently of each other during a quake, to limit a build-up in ceiling momentum. A slotted fishplate in the connection is set to keep the beam ends stable about a gap before a quake, and slidably connected about the gap during a quake.

Seismic main beam connection

A straight rollformed beam made for use in a suspended horizontal drywall ceiling is modified so that it can be used in a drywall ceiling underhang known as a drywall ceiling soffit. The beam is made with repetitive configurations along the length of the beam that are selectively cut, in the field, so that the beam can be bent to, and then fixed at, a desired angle. Drywall panels are secured to a plurality of such beams that form a framework for the soffit.

Beam for a drywall ceiling soffit

A V-shaped indent is formed in a stab-in connector for a suspended ceiling grid. The indent forms a vertical bend line. In a fire, the connector bends along the vertical bend line to permit a cross beam in the grid to expand while keeping the grid intact, and thus capable of continuing to support the panels.

Stab-in connector with expansion relief

Joint clips of the invention are used in grids for suspended ceilings, at selected intersections, to create separate areas of ceiling that move independently of one another during an earthquake, to prevent a buildup of momentum in the entire ceiling. In one embodiment disclosed herein, the clips extend laterally of a selected main beam, and are formed of a pair of loosely connected identical segments that are slidably secured to a selected main beam by a cut-out in the segments. The clip extends laterally across a selected main beam and slidably receives the end of a cross beam in a pocket of the clip that extends laterally on each side of the selected main beam.

Suspended ceiling grid network utilizing seismic separation joint clips

A horizontally extending suspended ceiling segment that appears to float in space. Support hangers in an upper tier connect to a grid that forms a lower tier, and cantilever the outward ends of the beams in the lower tier. A perimeter trim strip surrounds the suspended ceiling segment, on the outward ends of the beams in the grid. The support hangers, and hanger wires that support the suspended ceiling segment, are hidden behind the line of sight of a viewer positioned below the segment.

Suspended ceiling segment

The invention relates to a right-angle connection in the grid of a suspended ceiling, between inverted T-beams having a vertical web extending between a bulb at the top and flanges at the bottom. A connector on the end of a cross beam hooks into a slot in the web of a main beam. The connector has a plastic encasement that forms abutments about a metallic core. The abutments position the connector within the slot in the web, and prevent further entry of the connector into the slot, under normal conditions. The plastic abutments melt away during a fire, so that the beam can expand longitudinally into the slot to relieve stresses in the beam, without the beam buckling. Ridges on the bottom of the metallic core that engage the web at the bottom of the slot, prevent pullback of the connector from the slot, during a fire, to prevent the ceiling from sagging or drooping.

Hook connector with plastic fire relief

A perimeter clip attached to a wall molding that supports a beam in a suspended ceiling intended to survive seismic disturbances. The clip is capable, during an earthquake, of permitting an end of a beam at one end of a connected line of beams, in a grid, to slide while being supported in the clip, or, in the alternative, to secure an end of a beam to the wall molding.

Perimeter clip for seismic ceilings

A wall molding for a panel suspended ceiling having a vertical leg that is attached to a wall, and a horizontal ledge that supports a beam extending outwardly from the wall, with the ledge having a pair of tabs and a ratchet tooth lanced from the ledge at regular intervals along the ledge that position and secure the beam end to the ledge. A cap extends over the bottom side of the ledge to hide the lanced tabs when viewed from below.

Growing community of inventors

Aston, PA, United States of America

William J Platt