US4852325A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Reinforced bead
Assignee: Chicago Metallic Co LLC
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Filing: 1989-01-13
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Granted: 1989-08-01
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Expires: 2009-01-13
Abstract
Abstract A grid tee or member for suspended ceilings has a reinforced bead, a central web and a pair of flangs formed from a single sheet of metal. The reinforced bead has a continuous outer upper surface and can either be a hollow reinforced bead with a rectangular or triangular configuration or a solid bead having a thickness of at least four layers. The hollow bead structure can have a single layer for the top continuous surface with at least two side portions having at least three layer thicknesses, or can be a single top layer, which has more than three layers.
Inventors
- 👤 James J. Dunn
- 👤 Martin D. Jahn
- 👤 Ronald W. Vukmanic
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 02:12
CPC Classifications
E; E04; E04B; E04B9/00; E04B9/06; E04B9/065; E04B9/067; E04B9/068; E04C; E04C3/00; E04C3/02; E04C3/04; E04C3/06; E04C3/07; E04B2009/062; E04C2003/0404; E04C2003/0408; E04C2003/0413; E04C2003/0426; E04C2003/0434; E04C2003/0439; E04C2003/0443; E04C2003/0452; E04C2003/046
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 31
Claim 1
Independent Claim
133 words
A grid tee for a suspended ceiling having a central web, a reinforced bead on one edge of the web and a pair of oppositely extending panel support flanges on an edge of the web opposite said bead, said tee comprising an elongated strip of metal bent substantially along a center line to form the bead with a double layer central web extending from the bead and being bent to form the flanges, said bead having at least one side with the strip being bent to have at least two reversed bends interconnecting three layers of the strips to form a thickness of at least three layers for the one side, and said bead having an upper side having a continuous outer layer to form a continuous outer surface for the upper side.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
133 words
A grid tee for a suspended ceiling having a central web, a reinforced bead on one edge of the web and a pair of oppositely extending panel support flanges on an edge of the web opposite said bead, said tee comprising an elongated strip of metal bent substantially along a center line to form the bead with a double layer central web extending from the bead and being bent to form the flanges, said bead having at least one side with the strip being bent to have at least two reversed bends interconnecting three layers of the strips to form a thickness of at least three layers for the one side, and said bead having an upper side having a continuous outer layer to form a continuous outer surface for the upper side.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
A grid tee according to claim 1, wherein the reinforced bead is a solid bead with the one side being the upper side and having at least four layer thicknesses.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
70 words
A grid tee according to claim 2, wherein said reinforced bead has a pair of outwardly extending layers bent at right angles to the layers of the central web covered by an upper layer, said outwardly extending layers and upper layer being connected by reversed bends to two layers folded under the outwardly extending layers on each side of the bead to form a bottom two layers for the bead.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
A grid tee according to claim 3, wherein the bottom two layers on each side of the bead have portions connected by right angle bends extending along top portions of the layers forming said central web so that the bead has a T-shaped configuration.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
A grid tee according to claim 2, wherein the solid bead has six layers with an upper two layers overlapping a middle two layers which rest on a bottom two layers.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
13 words
A grid tee according to claim 2, wherein the bead has six layers.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
A grid tee according to claim 1, wherein the reinforced bead is a hollow reinforced bead with a cross section with the upper side and two other sides.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
A grid tee according to claim 7, wherein the upper side is a single layer connected to two sides having at least three layers each.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
30 words
A grid tee according to claim 8, wherein an outer layer of each of the two sides is connected to the single layer of the upper side of the bead.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
A grid tee according to claim 9, wherein the hollow reinforced bead has triangle configuration and an inner layer of each of the two sides is connected by a bend to the layers forming the central web.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
25 words
A grid tee according to claim 8, wherein the hollow reinforced bead has a rectangular configuration and the two sides extend parallel to each other.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
A grid tee according to claim 11 wherein an inner layer of each of the two sides of the bead are connected to the single layer of the upper side by a right angle bend.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
38 words
A grid tee according to claim 11, wherein the single layer of the upper side of the bead is connected by right angle bends to each of the outer layers of the two sides of the hollow bead.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
28 words
A grid tee according to claim 7, wherein the hollow reinforced bead has two side portions of a single layer connected to the layers forming the central web.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
A grid tee according to claim 14, wherein the upper side is the one side and has a thickness of five layers.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
21 words
A grid tee according to claim 7, wherein the hollow reinforced bead has only three sides arranged in a triangular configuration.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
28 words
A grid tee according to claim 16, wherein the upper side is a single layer and the two sides of the triangular bead have the three layer thickness.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
27 words
A grid tee according to claim 16, wherein the one side having at least three layers is the upper side and has a thickness of five layers.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
37 words
A grid tee according to claim 1, wherein each of said flanges has an outer edge with a reversed bend and said tee includes a cap strip having edges bent on said reverse bends of the flanges.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
145 words
A grid tee for a suspended ceiling having a central web, a reinforced bead on one edge of the web and a pair of oppositely extending flanges for supporting panels on an opposite edge of the web from said bead, said tee being composed of an elongated strip of metal bent substantially along a longitudinal center to form the bead with a double layer central web extending from the bead and being bent to form the flanges, said bead being formed by the strip being bent with reverse bends to form a solid bead having a thickness of four layers with an inner two layers of the layer being formed by outer edges of an outer two layers of the four layers being folded underneath the outer two layers and with the layer of the bead most remote from the flanges being a continuous layer.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
145 words
A grid tee for a suspended ceiling having a central web, a reinforced bead on one edge of the web and a pair of oppositely extending flanges for supporting panels on an opposite edge of the web from said bead, said tee being composed of an elongated strip of metal bent substantially along a longitudinal center to form the bead with a double layer central web extending from the bead and being bent to form the flanges, said bead being formed by the strip being bent with reverse bends to form a solid bead having a thickness of four layers with an inner two layers of the layer being formed by outer edges of an outer two layers of the four layers being folded underneath the outer two layers and with the layer of the bead most remote from the flanges being a continuous layer.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
35 words
A grid tee according to claim 20, wherein the inner two layers of the four layers have portions extending for a short distance along the webs to form a T-shaped configuration for the reinforced bead.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
123 words
A grid tee for a suspended ceiling having a central web, a reinforced bead on one edge of the web and a pair of flanges extending in opposite directions from an opposite edge of the web for supporting panels, said tee comprising an elongated strip being bent along a center line to form the bead with a double layer central web extending from the bead and being bent to form the flanges, said bead having a hollow configuration with an upper side of hollow configuration having at least an outer continuous layer to form an outer continuous upper surface for the bead and said bead having at least one side of the configuration having at least three layers interconnected by two reversed bends.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
123 words
A grid tee for a suspended ceiling having a central web, a reinforced bead on one edge of the web and a pair of flanges extending in opposite directions from an opposite edge of the web for supporting panels, said tee comprising an elongated strip being bent along a center line to form the bead with a double layer central web extending from the bead and being bent to form the flanges, said bead having a hollow configuration with an upper side of hollow configuration having at least an outer continuous layer to form an outer continuous upper surface for the bead and said bead having at least one side of the configuration having at least three layers interconnected by two reversed bends.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
38 words
A grid tee according to claim 22, wherein the bead has two sides having at least three layers each and the upper side of the hollow bead is a single layer which is connected to the two sides.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
14 words
A grid tee according to claim 23, wherein the bead has a rectangular configuration.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
15 words
A grid tee according to claim 23, wherein the hollow bead has a triangular configuration.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
40 words
A grid tee according to claim 22, wherein the hollow bead has only three sides arranged in a triangular configuration and the one side having at least three layers is the upper side and has a thickness of five layers.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
149 words
A grid tee for a suspended ceiling having a central web, a reinforced bead on one edge of the web and a pair of flanges extending in opposite directions from an opposite edge of the web for supporting panels, said tee comprising an elongated strip being bent along a center line to form a hollow bead with a double layer central web extending from the hollow bead and being bent to form the flanges, said hollow bead having a hollow rectangular configuration with an upper side extending between two parallel lateral sides, each of said two lateral sides having a portion of three layers interconnected by two reversed bends adjacent said upper side, said upper side being a single layer connected by right angle bends to an outer layer of each portion of the two parallel lateral sides to form an outer continuous upper surface for the hollow bead.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
149 words
A grid tee for a suspended ceiling having a central web, a reinforced bead on one edge of the web and a pair of flanges extending in opposite directions from an opposite edge of the web for supporting panels, said tee comprising an elongated strip being bent along a center line to form a hollow bead with a double layer central web extending from the hollow bead and being bent to form the flanges, said hollow bead having a hollow rectangular configuration with an upper side extending between two parallel lateral sides, each of said two lateral sides having a portion of three layers interconnected by two reversed bends adjacent said upper side, said upper side being a single layer connected by right angle bends to an outer layer of each portion of the two parallel lateral sides to form an outer continuous upper surface for the hollow bead.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1992-07-31 | 1993-01-30 | 1993-08-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1996-07-31 | 1997-01-30 | 1997-08-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2000-07-31 | 2001-01-30 | 2001-08-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |