Telescoping Hanger Bar with Bendable Flanges for Tool-Free Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hanger bar systems for recessed lighting fixtures face challenges in adapting to different ceiling types, such as standard wooden joists and T-bar grid systems, often requiring additional height and lacking flexibility to fit various building structures without increasing the footprint or requiring tools for installation.
Innovation Solution
A hanger bar assembly with bendable flanges and returns made from sheet metal, featuring fold lines and through holes for easy bending, allowing attachment to T-bar grids, steel studs, furring strips, and wooden joists without tools, and a recessed housing assembly with a swivel-opening side wall and telescoping bars for secure mounting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional hanger bar systems are used for different ceiling types, then the system can support various ceiling structures, but the system requires additional height and lacks flexibility to fit various building structures
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger bar incorporates a telescoping mechanism with sliding bars that can extend and retract, transforming a static structure into a dynamic one. This allows the hanger bar to adjust its length to fit different ceiling heights without requiring additional height clearance, while maintaining adaptability to various ceiling types through the same mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The hanger bar is divided into multiple segmented sections that can slide relative to each other. This segmentation allows the bar to be compressed into a compact form for installations with limited height clearance, while still being able to extend to accommodate taller ceiling structures when needed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional hanger bar systems are used for different ceiling types, then the system can support various ceiling structures, but the system increases the footprint
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting brackets incorporate movable components that can adjust their position and orientation dynamically. This allows the hanger bar system to adapt to different ceiling structures without requiring additional lateral space, maintaining a compact footprint while preserving versatility across ceiling types.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional hanger bar systems are installed on various building structures, then the system can be mounted on different surfaces, but tools are required for installation
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting brackets are designed with self-adjusting features that automatically adapt to the mounting surface geometry. The brackets can be manually positioned and secured without requiring specialized tools, as the design incorporates features that self-align and self-secure to different surface types including T-bar grids, steel studs, furring strips, and wooden joists.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting brackets incorporate adjustable geometric parameters such as angles and positions that can be manually configured to match different ceiling structures. This flexibility allows the same bracket design to accommodate various mounting surfaces without requiring tool-assisted adjustment mechanisms.
4Strength
If the hanger bar is made rigid for secure attachment, then the attachment strength is improved, but the flexibility to adapt to different structures is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger bar is divided into rigid segments connected by sliding joints. Each segment maintains structural strength for secure attachment, while the sliding joints between segments provide the necessary flexibility to adapt to different ceiling structures. This segmentation allows the system to combine strength with adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid segments are connected through dynamic sliding mechanisms that allow relative movement. This creates a structure that is rigid at the attachment points for secure mounting, yet flexible overall to accommodate variations in ceiling structure geometry and positioning.
Data Source
AI summary
A recessed housing assembly includes a pan, a can, a junction box, and hanger bars. The telescoping hanger bar includes mounting brackets each including an ear defining a plane, and each ear includes a nail holder, a bendable flange, and a bendable return. Each ear plane contains the nail holder adjacent to the bendable flange partially separated by a score line. The bendable flange and bendable return allow the hanger bar to be configured by the user for attachment to a T-bar grid, steel studs, furring strips, engineered joists, or standard wooden joists commonly found in building construction.