Suspended Ceiling Clip Clearance Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Direct-fix suspended ceiling systems face installation difficulties and limited clearance issues, making it challenging to mount items like lighting and air conditioning components due to the close spacing between top cross rails and furring channels, which can lead to cluttered appearances and interference with air supply.
Innovation Solution
A suspended ceiling clip with longitudinally extending base, downwardly extending flanges, and hooks that connect to furring channels, providing a pre-determined distance to create a void between the top cross rail and furring channel, allowing for adjustable spacing and easy mounting of components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If plasterboard is directly fixed to furring channel with locking key, then installation is simpler, but clearance between top cross rail and furring channel is insufficient for mounting components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a suspension clip as an intermediary component between the top cross rail and the furring channel. This clip includes a body portion that engages with the top cross rail and extended side flanges that engage with the furring channel, thereby mediating the connection and providing the necessary clearance space for mounting components like lighting fixtures and air conditioning equipment.
2Shape
If grid-work of channels is used to suspend plasterboard, then aesthetic flush finish is achieved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex grid-work of channels from the ceiling system and replaces it with a simplified suspension clip mechanism. The clip allows direct suspension of plasterboard from top cross rails without requiring an intermediate furring channel grid, thereby maintaining the aesthetic flush finish while significantly reducing device complexity and material requirements.
3Ease of operation
If supporting T-grid is used for drop-in panels, then installation is easy, but visual appearance becomes unattractive and cluttered
Solution Approach 1:
The suspension clip acts as an intermediary that enables the plasterboard to be suspended without exposing the supporting structure. By engaging the clip with the top cross rail and providing a clean suspension point, the system maintains visual simplicity and aesthetic appearance while preserving the ease of installation characteristics of traditional T-grid systems.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates in general to a suspended ceiling clip and method of using the clip to support a grid-work of channels in a key lock concealed grid suspended ceiling system. The suspended ceiling clip is used for mounting a furring channel to a top cross rail. The clip comprising a longitudinally extending base; a pair of flanges extending downwardly from the base and between which the base is located; a pair of hooks on each flange, each pair of hooks adapted to releasably connect to the furring channel; at least one projection in each flange, each projection engaging with a surface on the top cross rail to secure the clip within a longitudinal slot of the top cross rail; and wherein the air of flanges extend a predetermined distance from the base so as to space apart the top cross rail and the furring channel to provide a void therebetween.