Ceiling System With Tensioned Fabric Concealing Grid
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Acoustic ceilings face a challenge in balancing acoustic performance and visual appearance, as integrally formed ceilings sacrifice acoustic performance for a seamless visual appearance, while grid-based systems improve acoustics but compromise on aesthetics, and existing solutions fail to decouple these two factors effectively.
Innovation Solution
A ceiling system featuring a perimeter frame with fabric gripping members and tensioned fabric sheets that cover central openings, creating a seamless visual appearance while allowing for improved acoustic performance by hiding the grid system and supporting acoustic ceiling panels without compromising aesthetics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If acoustic ceiling panels are installed within a grid system, then acoustic performance is significantly increased, but visual appearance becomes compromised due to visible grid structure
Solution Approach 1:
A fabric sheet is introduced as an intermediary element that conceals the grid system while allowing acoustic panels to function underneath. The fabric sheet acts as a mediator between the visible surface requirement and the acoustic performance requirement, creating a seamless appearance while maintaining the acoustic benefits of the grid-based panel system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible fabric sheet that can be tensioned across the ceiling space to cover and conceal the grid structure. This thin film element provides the necessary visual concealment while being flexible enough to accommodate the underlying acoustic ceiling panels and their grid configuration
2Shape
If ceiling is integrally formed with top surface of space, then visual appearance achieves uniform seamless look, but acoustic performance is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The ceiling system is segmented into multiple functional layers: the visible fabric sheet layer providing aesthetic appearance, and the underlying grid system layer providing acoustic performance. This segmentation allows each layer to independently fulfill its specific function without compromising the other, resolving the contradiction between visual uniformity and acoustic effectiveness
3Shape
If grid system is concealed within edges of acoustic ceiling panels, then visual appearance is improved, but grid structure remains visible and seamless appearance is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The fabric sheet is extracted as a separate concealment element from the grid system, allowing the grid to be completely hidden beneath the fabric surface. This extraction enables total concealment of the grid structure, achieving true seamlessness while simplifying the overall system architecture compared to attempts to integrate concealment features directly into the grid components
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The ceiling system achieves a balance between acoustic performance and visual appeal by concealing the grid system with tensioned fabric sheets, providing uniform acoustics and a seamless visual appearance, decoupling the two factors effectively.
Implementation Method 1
a first tensioned fabric sheet having a perimeter portion that is engaged by the first fabric gripping member of the perimeter frame, the first tensioned fabric sheet covering the central opening
Data Source
AI summary
A ceiling system including: a ceiling structure suspended in an interior space. The ceiling structure includes: a perimeter frame defining a central opening, the perimeter frame comprising a fabric gripping member; a support grid comprising a plurality of intersecting struts defining a plurality of grid openings, the support grid disposed within the central opening and coupled to the perimeter frame; a plurality of acoustic ceiling panels, each of the acoustic ceiling panels mounted to the support grid and disposed in one of the grid openings; and a tensioned fabric sheet having a perimeter portion that is engaged by the fabric gripping member of the perimeter frame, the tensioned fabric sheet located below the acoustic ceiling panels and covering the central opening.