The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 18, 1992
Filed:
Dec. 20, 1990
David F Mieyal, Strongsville, OH (US);
James A Fletterick, Olmsted Falls, OH (US);
USG Interiors, Inc., Chicago, IL (US);
Abstract
A horizontally curved grid tee for suspension ceilings is bent in the direction parallel to the plane of the flanges of the grid tee. Such grid tee is provided with end connectors and openings so that the grid tee can be assembled in a suspension ceiling grid combining curved grid tees and/or straight grid tees to produce aesthetically pleasing patterns. When panels are installed in the openings defined by the curved grid tees, appropriate mating curves are formed in the panels so that the panels are supported at their periphery. A method and apparatus for producing such grid tees involves curved tooling which cooperates to confine a straight grid tee as it is bent to the curved shape. The tooling provides grooves into which the flanges project during the bending operation. Such grooves are constructed and dimensioned so that the inner portion of the flange which is subjected to compressive stresses is not buckled. Such tooling allows the production of curved grid tees having a planar smooth flange in which the exposed surface coating applied as a prepainting operation is not damaged.