US4884383A — Ceiling panel carrier adapter member

Claim 1

Independent Claim 289 words

An adapter member for attaching ceiling panels to a support member of a ceiling construction which includes; (a) a ceiling support grid including main support members and cross-support members, said support members each including at least one laterally extending lower part, having a longitudinally extending lower surface and a lateral longitudinally extending free edge; (b) a plurality of ceiling elements; and (c) adapter members for connecting the elements to support members of the support grid; said adapter member including: (1) opposite elongated side edges and a central elongated body portion for parallel engagement with the lower surface of the main support member, (2) upwardly directed arm means bent over and extending above the body portion to define clip means for attaching the adapter member to said longitudinal free edge of the main support member, (3) downwardly directed ceiling element attachment means for engagement with the ceiling elements, (4) said arm means including a plurality of first flange portions spaced along one side edge of the elongated adapter member, (5) the spacing between the first flange portions along said one side edge being correlated with the pitch and dimensions of the cross support members so that said first flange portions will not coincide with said cross support members, (6) upturned spaced further flange portions extending along the opposite longitudinal side edge of the support member from said one side edge for limiting any transverse movement of the adapter member with respect to the support member, and (7) the spaces between the further flange portions along said one side edge being positioned so as to correlate with the pitch of the cross-support members at the relevant side and being dimensioned so as not to interfere with said cross-support members, if connected.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 289 words

An adapter member for attaching ceiling panels to a support member of a ceiling construction which includes; (a) a ceiling support grid including main support members and cross-support members, said support members each including at least one laterally extending lower part, having a longitudinally extending lower surface and a lateral longitudinally extending free edge; (b) a plurality of ceiling elements; and (c) adapter members for connecting the elements to support members of the support grid; said adapter member including: (1) opposite elongated side edges and a central elongated body portion for parallel engagement with the lower surface of the main support member, (2) upwardly directed arm means bent over and extending above the body portion to define clip means for attaching the adapter member to said longitudinal free edge of the main support member, (3) downwardly directed ceiling element attachment means for engagement with the ceiling elements, (4) said arm means including a plurality of first flange portions spaced along one side edge of the elongated adapter member, (5) the spacing between the first flange portions along said one side edge being correlated with the pitch and dimensions of the cross support members so that said first flange portions will not coincide with said cross support members, (6) upturned spaced further flange portions extending along the opposite longitudinal side edge of the support member from said one side edge for limiting any transverse movement of the adapter member with respect to the support member, and (7) the spaces between the further flange portions along said one side edge being positioned so as to correlate with the pitch of the cross-support members at the relevant side and being dimensioned so as not to interfere with said cross-support members, if connected.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 36 words

An adapter member according to claim 1, wherein the spaces between the further flange portions are each dimensioned to snugly accommodate any such cross-support member with little play in the longitudinal direction of the adapter member.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 51 words

An adapter member according to claim 1, wherein over the length of a space between two adjacent first flange portions on the one side of the adapter member there are a plurality of the spaces between further flange portion over the corresponding length at the other side of the adapter member.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 35 words

An adapter member according to claim 1, wherein the spacing between adjacent first flange portions is substantially greater than the dimension of each of said flange portions in the longitudinal direction of the adapter member.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 53 words

An adapter member according to claim 1 and for use with a ceiling construction in which the pitch of subsequent standard inverted T-shaped cross-support members is one foot or 30 cms or a multiple thereof, wherein the centre-on-centre distance of the spaces between the further flange portions is two inches or 5 cms.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 56 words

An adapter member according to any one of claims 1 to 4 claim and for use with a ceiling construction in which the pitch of subsequent standard inverted T-shaped cross-support members is one foot or 30 cms or a multiple thereof, wherein the centre-on-centre distance of the first flange portions is four inches or 10 cms.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 48 words

A suspended ceiling comprising a support grid including main support members and cross-support members of inverted T-shape, a plurality of ceiling elements and a plurality of adapter members for connecting the elements to support members of the support grid, the adapter members being in accordance with claim 6.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 26 words

An adapter member according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal position of each first flange portion coincides with that of one of said further flange portions.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 66 words

An adapter member according to claim 1, wherein the downwardly directed ceiling elements attachment means include a plurality of holding flange portions spaced along the full length of the elongated adapter member at locations different from any of the first flange portions, and in that each of said holding flange portions have engaging means for holding at least one of the edges of a ceiling element.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 30 words

The adapter member according to claim 9 wherein the downwardly directed ceiling elements attachment means are integral with and bent downwardly from the central body portion of the adapter member.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 53 words

A suspended ceiling comprising a support grid including main support members and cross-support members of inverted T-shape, a plurality of ceiling elements and a plurality of adapter members for connecting the elements to support members of the support grid, the adapter members being in accordance with any one of claims 1-5 and 7-9.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1992-12-04	1993-06-05	1993-12-05	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1996-12-04	1997-06-05	1997-12-05	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2000-12-04	2001-06-05	2001-12-05	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Ceiling panel carrier adapter member

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