Ceiling support grid system

Claim 2

A ceiling support arrangement, comprising: a. a plurality of longitudinally extending support runners, each of which includes i. a pair of horizontally spaced apart and aligned vertical sidewalls having respective outer surfaces and confronting inner surfaces, ii. means joining said sidewalls together, said joining means extending between the inner surfaces of the sidewalls adjacent the bottom edges thereof, and iii. a pair of support flanges respectively connected with the bottom edges of said sidewalls and extending horizontally out from the outer surfaces thereof; b. means for connecting one end of a first of said runners to a second runner at an intermediate point along the length of said runner, said means including: i. a first interlocking member connected with one of the said sidewalls of said second support runner at said intermediate point, said interlocking member including an upwardly extending segment having a top edge portion which is spaced outwardly from the outer face of said one sidewall and which is located above the horizontal support flange connected with said one sidewall, and ii. a second, vertical interlocking member connected to one end of said first runner, said second interlocking member extending inwardly from the inner surface of one of the sidewalls of said first runner and having a bottom edge portion which is spaced above the sidewall connecting means of said first runner, said bottom edge portion being adapted for vertically downward insertion into the space between the top edge portion of said first interlocking member and the sidewall to which the first interlocking member is connect; and c. means separate from said first and second interlocking members and located at and connected to said one end of said first runner in a horizontal plane including said support flanges of said first runner, said last-mentioned means being interlocked with a support flange of said second runner at said intermediate point for interlocking said end of said first support runner to the second support runner at said intermediate point along the length of said second runner for preventing said first runner from moving away from said second runner in said horizontal plane and for preventing said first runner from rotating in said plane relative to said second runner.

Claim 3

An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said first interlocking member is an integral punched out segment of said one sidewall of said second runner and wherein said second interlocking member is integral with said one sidewall of said first member.

Claim 4

An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said means for connecting said runners includes an additional first interlocking member connected with said one sidewall of said second support member, said last-mentioned interlocking member being spaced horizontally from said first interlocking member and being substantially indentical thereto, and wherein said connecting means includes an additional second interlocking member connected to said one end of said first runner, said additional second interlocking member extending inwardly from the inner surface of the other sidewall of said first runner and having a bottom edge portion which is spaced above the sidewall connecting means of said first runner, said last-mentioned bottom edge portion being adapted for vertically downward insertion into the space between the top edge portion of said additional first interlocking member and the sidewalls to which the additional first interlocking member is connected.

Claim 5

A ceiling support arrangement, comprising: a. a plurality of longitudinally extending support runners, each of which includes i. a pair of horizontally spaced apart and aligned vertical sidewalls having respective outer surfaces and confronting inner surfaces, ii. means joining said sidewalls together, said joining means extending between the inner surfaces of the sidewalls adjacent the bottom edges thereof, and iii. a pair of support flanges respectively connected with the bottom edges of said sidewalls and extending horizontally out from the outer surfaces thereof, each of said flanges including a vertically upwardly extending outer edge portion; and b. means for interlocking an end of a first one of said runners to a second one of said runners at an intermediate section along the length of said second runner, said interlocking means including i. a discontinuation in one of the support flanges of said second runner at said intermediate section, said discontinuation separating said one support flange into two sections which are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the width of said first runner from the outer edge of one support flange of said first runner to its other support flange, and ii. a pair of interlocking flange segments located at said end of said first runner and respectively connected with the sidewalls of said first runner adjacent the support flanges thereof, said segments respectively extending horizontally out from the outer surfaces of said last-mentioned sidewalls and including respective outer edge segments which are located outwardly beyond the outer edge portions of adjacent support flanges, said outer edge segments being approximately equal in length to the horizontal distance between the sidewalls of said second runner and the flange outer edge portions connected therewith.

Claim 6

A ceiling support arrangement, comprising: a. a plurality of longitudinally extending support runners, each of which includes i. a pair of horizontally spaced apart and aligned vertical sidewalls having respective outer surfaces and confronting inner surfaces, ii. means joining said sidewalls together, said joining means extending between the inner surfaces of the sidewalls adjacent the bottom edges thereof, and iii. a pair of support flanges respectively connected with the bottom edges of said sidewalls and extending horizontally out from the outer surfaces thereof, each of said flanges including a vertically upwardly extending outer edge portion; and b. means for interlocking an end of a first one of said runners to a second one of said runners at an intermediate section along the length of said second runner, said interlocking means including i. a discontinuation in one of the support flanges of said second runner at said intermediate section, said discontinuation separating said one support flange into two sections which are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the width of said first runner from the outer edge of one support flange of said first runner to its other support flange, and ii. a pair of interlocking flange segments located at said end of said first runner and respectively connected with the sidewalls of said first runner adjacent the support flanges thereof, said segments respectively extending horizontally out from the outer surfaces of said last-mentioned sidewalls and including respective outer edge segments which are located outwardly beyond the outer edge portions of adjacent support flanges, said outer edge segments being approximately equal in length to the horizontal distance between the sidewalls of said second runner and the flange outer edge portions connected therewith.

Claim 7

An arrangement according to claim 4 including second means separate from said interlocking means for interconnecting said end of said first runner with said intermediate section of said second runner.

Claim 8

An arrangement according to claim 4 wherein said interlocking flange segments are respectively integral segments of said adjacent support flanges.

Claim 9

An arrangement according to claim 6 wherein said interlocking flange segments are located slightly vertically above the horizontally portions of said adjacent support flanges.

Claim 10

A ceiling support arrangement, comprising: a. a plurality of longitudinally extending support runners, each of which includes i. a pair of horizontally spaced apart and aligned vertical sidewalls having respective outer surfaces and confronting inner surfaces, ii. a horizontal base integrally connected with and extending between the inner surfaces of said sidewalls at the bottom edges of said inner surfaces, and iii. a pair of support flanges respectively integrally connected with and extending horizontally out from the outer surfaces of said sidewalls, each of said flanges including a vertically upwardly extending outer edge portion; b. first means for interlocking an end of a first on of said runners to a second one of said runners at an intermediate section along the length of said second runner, said first means including i. a pair of first interlocking members integrally connected with one of the sidewalls of said second support runner at said intermediate section, said interlocking members being horizontally spaced from one another and respectively including upwardly extending segments having top edge portions which are spaced outwardly from the outer face of said one sidewall and upwardly from the support flange connected with said one sidewall, and ii. A pair of second, vertical interlocking members respectively integrally connected with said one end of said first runner, said second interlocking members respectively extending inwardly towards one another from the inner surfaces of the sidewalls of said first runner and having respective bottom edge portions spaced above the horizontal base of said first runner, said bottom edge portions being respectively adapted for vertically downward insertion into the spaces between the top edge portions of said first interlocking members and the sidewall to which the first interlocking members are connected; and c. second means for interlocking said one end of said first runner to said intermediate section of said second runner, said second interlocking means including i. a discontinuation in the support flange of said one sidewall of the second runner at said intermediate section and directly below said first interlocking members, said discontinuation separating said last-mentioned support flange into two sections which are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the width of said first runner from the outer edge portion of one of its support flanges to the outer edge portion of its other support flange, and ii. a pair of interlocking flange segments located at said end of said first runner and respectively integrally connected with the support flanges thereof, said flange segments respectively extending horizontally out from the outer surfaces of the sidewalls of said first runner and including respective outer edge segments which are located outwardly beyond the outer edge portions of the support flanges to which they are integrally connected, said outer edge segments being approximately equal in length to the horizontal space between each of the sidewalls of said second runner and flange edge portion connected therewith, whereby said outer edge segments are respectively adapted for insertion within said last-mentioned spaces.

Claim 11

A ceiling support arrangement, comprising: a. a plurality of longitudinally extending support runners, each of which includes i. a pair of horizontally spaced apart and aligned vertical sidewalls having respective outer surfaces and confronting inner surfaces, ii. a horizontal base integrally connected with and extending between the inner surfaces of said sidewalls at the bottom edges of said inner surfaces, and iii. a pair of support flanges respectively integrally connected with and extending horizontally out from the outer surfaces of said sidewalls, each of said flanges including a vertically upwardly extending outer edge portion; b. first means for interlocking an end of a first on of said runners to a second one of said runners at an intermediate section along the length of said second runner, said first means including i. a pair of first interlocking members integrally connected with one of the sidewalls of said second support runner at said intermediate section, said interlocking members being horizontally spaced from one another and respectively including upwardly extending segments having top edge portions which are spaced outwardly from the outer face of said one sidewall and upwardly from the support flange connected with said one sidewall, and ii. A pair of second, vertical interlocking members respectively integrally connected with said one end of said first runner, said second interlocking members respectively extending inwardly towards one another from the inner surfaces of the sidewalls of said first runner and having respective bottom edge portions spaced above the horizontal base of said first runner, said bottom edge portions being respectively adapted for vertically downward insertion into the spaces between the top edge portions of said first interlocking members and the sidewall to which the first interlocking members are connected; and c. second means for interlocking said one end of said first runner to said intermediate section of said second runner, said second interlocking means including i. a discontinuation in the support flange of said one sidewall of the second runner at said intermediate section and directly below said first interlocking members, said discontinuation separating said last-mentioned support flange into two sections which are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the width of said first runner from the outer edge portion of one of its support flanges to the outer edge portion of its other support flange, and ii. a pair of interlocking flange segments located at said end of said first runner and respectively integrally connected with the support flanges thereof, said flange segments respectively extending horizontally out from the outer surfaces of the sidewalls of said first runner and including respective outer edge segments which are located outwardly beyond the outer edge portions of the support flanges to which they are integrally connected, said outer edge segments being approximately equal in length to the horizontal space between each of the sidewalls of said second runner and flange edge portion connected therewith, whereby said outer edge segments are respectively adapted for insertion within said last-mentioned spaces.

Claim 12

An arrangement, according to claim 8 wherein each of said interlocking flange segments is located slightly vertically above the horizontal portion of the support flange to which it is integrally connected.

Claim 13

An arrangement, according to claim 8 wherein the sidewalls, base and support flanges of said first runner all terminate in a vertical plane at the opposite end of said first runner and wherein said system further includes: c. an end cap adapted for connection with said opposite end of said first runner, said end cap including means for connecting said opposite end of said first runner to an intermediate section of a third runner having interlocking members indentical to said interlocking members integrally connected with said second member.

Claim 14

An arrangement according to claim 8 wherein the sidewalls, base and support flanges of said first runner all terminate in a vertical plane at the opposite end of said first runner and wherein said system further includes: c. a pair of clips for joining said opposite end to or intermediate section of a third runner each of said clips including two inverted U-shaped sections disposed 90° from one another and means joining said sections together, one section of each of said clips being interlocked over a respective sidewall of said first runner at said opposite end and the other section of each clip being interlocked over one of the sidewalls of the third runner at said intermediate section of said third runner.