Decorative Ceiling Panel Interlocking Flange Mounting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Attaching ceiling panels to an existing ceiling is a time-consuming and expensive process due to the need for complex hardware and mechanisms, especially when the ceiling surface is made of sheet rock, which has limited weight-bearing capacity.
Innovation Solution
A decorative panel made from a metal sheet or other materials is designed with female and male flanges that interlock to form a contiguous pattern, allowing direct attachment to the ceiling surface with screws, hiding the screws from view and distributing the weight effectively across the surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex hardware mechanisms are used to attach ceiling panels to the ceiling, then the panels can be securely attached, but the installation time and expense increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the complex hardware mechanisms (hangers, clips, grids, rails) from the attachment system. Instead, it uses a simple screw directly attached to the ceiling surface, removing the intermediate components that caused installation complexity and time consumption while maintaining secure attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of suspending the panel from the ceiling joists or existing structure above, the invention inverts the attachment approach by directly fastening the panel to the ceiling surface below using screws, eliminating the need for overhead hardware mechanisms.
2Reliability
If complex hardware mechanisms are used to attach ceiling panels, then secure attachment is achieved, but the overall installation expense increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the expensive intermediate hardware components (hangers, clips, grids, rails) from the attachment system, retaining only the essential screw fastener. This extraction of unnecessary components directly reduces material costs and installation expenses while maintaining secure panel attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex hardware mechanisms with simple, inexpensive screw fasteners. The screws are basic, readily available fastening elements that provide sufficient attachment security at a fraction of the cost of specialized ceiling attachment hardware.
3Reliability
If ceiling panels are attached using traditional methods with plywood or wood/metal rails, then panels can be securely mounted, but the design flexibility is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the rigid structural intermediaries (plywood substrates, wood rails, metal channels) that constrained design flexibility. By attaching panels directly to the ceiling surface with screws, the system allows for greater variety in panel shapes, sizes, materials, and decorative patterns without being limited by hardware requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The simple screw attachment system serves multiple functions: it provides secure mounting, allows for various panel designs, works with different ceiling surfaces, and enables easy installation and replacement. This universal attachment method replaces multiple specialized hardware systems with a single versatile solution.
4Reliability
If multiple attachment mechanisms are used on sheet rock ceiling, then panels can be securely attached, but the limited weight-bearing capacity of sheet rock is exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the attachment load into multiple discrete screw fasteners distributed across the panel and ceiling surface. Each screw carries a portion of the panel weight, and the interlocking flange system distributes lateral forces, preventing any single attachment point from exceeding the sheet rock's weight-bearing capacity while maintaining secure panel attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The interlocking flange system provides dynamic load distribution, allowing the attachment system to adapt to the varying strength characteristics of the sheet rock surface. The male and female flanges work together to distribute both vertical and lateral loads across multiple screw attachment points, preventing localized stress concentration that could exceed sheet rock capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
A decorative panel is manufactured for installation on a surface of a room. The decorative panel is formed from a material that can be shaped having a decorative portion, two female mounting portions and two male portions. The female portions have punched holes for fastening the panels directly to a surface, and the male portions of an adjacent panel are positioned into the female portions to partially hold the adjacent panel and to obscure from view the punched holes and fastening hardware. The panel design and installation method allows the decorative panels to be attached directly to a building material such as sheet rock without any intervening supporting structure.