US3544787A - Louver construction - Google Patents

Description

United States "Patent inventor Georges Marceau Audeval Montreal North, Quebec, Canada Appl. No. 761,251 Filed Sept. 20, 1968 Patented Dec. 1, 1970 Assignee Integrated Lighting Limited Montreal, Quebec, Canada Priority June 24, 1968 Canada No. 023,387

LOUVER CONSTRUCTION 4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

us. 0. 240/78, i 240/9 1 Int. Cl. FZls 3/00 Field of Search 240/9, E 78(LD7 [S6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,939,543 6/1960 Zingone 240/9X 3,033,979 5/1962 Cahill 240/9 3,050,162 8/1962 Zingone 240/78X FOREIGN PATENTS 861,088 12/1952 Germany 240/78 Primary Examiner-John M. Horan Assistant Examiner-Michael Harris Attorney-Smart & Biggar PATENTED HEB! BTU SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTOR GEORGES MARCEAU AUDEVAL By gm+figy A TTORNEYS 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to a louver construction for ceilings or other purposes, and more particularly to a simplified louver construction comprising parallel support runners and rows of light-diffusing panels adapted to be supported on adjacent pairs of the runners for quick and easy installation and subsequent removal.

While high levels of illumination have been achieved with high-intensity light sources, such as fluorescent lamps, it has been necessary to control the brightness and glare to provide visual comfort. This has been accomplished with light diffusing means, such as false ceilings provided with louver'constructions formed from a plurality of light diffusing panels, baffles or grids. Each panel may be a cellular or eggcrate construction comprising a latticework arrangement of intersecting ribs which may be open through the top and bottom. Light is permitted to pass directly downwardly through the cells formed by the intersection of ribs, however, when viewed from an angle, the ribs ofthe panels block direct light so that much of the light observed is deflected or diffused light. The light-diffusing panels may, for example, be square or rectangular units about 2 feet across and may be supported in edge-toedge relation to form a louver construction false ceiling that extends across the entire room from wall to wall, or across only a portion of the ceiling area. It is desirable that some, if not all, of the panels be individually removable with facility to afford access to the area above the false ceiling and particularly to the light fixtures. It is also desirable that the meeting or joining lines between adjacent panels be as inconspicuous or unnoticable as possible to create the illusion of an unbroken latticework arrangement of intersecting ribs across the entireceiling area.

In addition to these requirements, it is most important to be able to install these panels quickly and easily, without special tools or skills, and with a minimum of support structure. It is also desirable, of course, that the panels be relatively simple and economical to manufacture and assemble.

2. Description of the Prior Art Prior light-diffusing panel louver ceiling constructions have not been fully satisfactory. Some prior constructions, whilev being simple, have been difficult, time consuming, and costly to properly install and/or have not permitted rapid and easy removal of individual parts. Further, light leaks between adjacent panels have often been present, creating distractions and impairing the continuous uniform appearance of the ceiling. Other constructions have been excessively complicated and costly to manufacture and install and/or have not afforded ready removal of individual parts. In particular, support structures for the panels have been complicated, difficult to install and to connect to the panels, and required particular tools and/or skills for the installation. Some of the current light-diffusing panels employ the trackless construction which means that there are no apparent support runners. This is as opposed to constructions using inverted T-shaped suspension members or the like. The current trackless louver suspension systems have a relatively straight line of abutment between adjacent panels alongthe suspension member and thus any slight gaps between the abutting panels show-up as;a

line of light'and thus uniform light diffusion is interrupted.

The present louver suspension systems place the support means or runners outside 'the endmost ribs of the panels in'engagement with projecting portions of the. ribs-which are at right angles to said endmost ribs and therefore the dimensions of the panel must not exceed given amounts if sagging of the.

manufacturing, packaging,'handling, installing, and maintain-.

ing the suspension points orthe points atfvliich the ribs interengage with the support means may not hold their relation-' ship to one another thereby making it difficultto insert the projecting ends of the ribs into the slots in the support runners. Additionally, the angle of light reflectance from bent projections causes the projections to take on either a lighter or darker shadowing than the balance of the louver blades, seriously impairing the overallappearance of the ceiling,

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a light-diffusing panel louver construction which is simple and economical to manufacture and install, which provides quick and easy removal of individual panels and which'creates the illusion of a continuous louver ceiling because there is uniform light diffusion over the whole of its surface.

In a louver construction in accordance with the invention, there is provided elongate, spaced, parallel support runners adapted to be supported below a ceiling carrying a light source; light-diffusing panels adapted to be mounted on said support runners, each panel comprising an incomplete latticework arrangement of intersecting ribs, said runners being of the same thickness as said ribs, two opposed ends of said panel having endmost ribs, such engagement occurring at a distance inside said endmost ribs which is equal to oris a multiple of the distance between adjacent ribs, said runners when engaged with the panel, completing the latticework arrangement and extending beyond edges of the panel to complete the incomplete latticework arrangements in at least two adjacent panels, means for suspending said runners being located on the runners at locations which correspond to an edge of a panel to enableassembly of a plurality of such panels and runners in coplanar relationship.

Installation of current panels is very often difficult because some of the projecting ribs adapted to intersect with and interengage the support runners become bent or twisted, thus preventing proper alinement In the panel according to the present invention, the suspension points or the points at which the ribs are to interengage the support runners are inside the endmost ribs and therefore are not subject to this sort of damage. The relatively fixed position of the suspension points also facilitates installation. I This invention possesses many other advantages, and has other objects which may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of a form .in which it may be embodied, but it is to be understood that the detailed description of this form is notto be taken in a limiting sense. This form is shown in the accompanying drawings. It-will now be described in detail,'for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention.

BRIEF DECRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a panel made in accordance with the invention; and v FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of adjacent panels and a support runner made in accordance with the invention.

DESGRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS the'panels intheadjacent rows, shown in phantom in FIG. 1 at 208; Each panel is comprised of an incomplete latticework arrangement.ofintersecting ribs 30 and 32 which interengage the support runners 26 whereby the panel is supported.

The ends of the ribs 30, 32 terminated at different points lengthwise and crosswise of a panel to mate with ribs of adjacent panels and with the support runners to provide continuity in the latticework arrangement between adjacent baffles andto avoid the straight line light leaks between adjacent panels as described above. The support runners 26 are the same thickness as the ribs and extend beyond the edges of the panel to complete the incomplete latticework arrangements in -The embodiment shown and described is a preferred form of the invention and it is to be .understood that the panels 28 could also be rectangularin shape without departing from the invention.

In the embodiment shown, a t'ongue-and-groove arrangement is provided wherein each support runner passes through the tongue 40 and across the groove 42 ofadjacent'panels 28.

In this arrangement the length of the runners 26 exceedsthe width of the panel 28 and thus not only supports adjacent panels A indicated by thetongue-and-groove configuration but also abutting panels 208. Each runner thus completes the latticework arrangement in its 'own plus three other panels- Each-ofthe support runner's has-spaced.verticalslots 34 (FIG. 2) extending downwardly from its upper edgeto about its midpoint. Each runner 26v also includes apertures 36 ad-' jacent to its upper edge to receivethe lower ends of a suspension means, such as wires 38. (FIG. 2) or the like, supporting the runners,'the upper ends of the suspension means being secured'to eyes (not shown) fixed to the permanent ceiling. To enable assembly of a plurality of panels 'and runners in coplanar relationship, each of the apertures 36 must be located on the runners at 'a location which corresponds to an edge of a panel; The vertical slots 34 in the runners receive ribs 30 of the panels, and thereby support the panels on the runners.

A louver construction will normally be made up of a number of light-diffusing panels 28. i Y

The ribs 30,32 are slotted in a known manner so as to interengage with one another to form a latticework arrangement of intersecting ribs. Of course, if it is desirable from an aestheticor design point of view,.the lower edges of the ribs of the intermediate portions of the panels;

The installed louver ceiling construction thus conveys the illusion of continuity in both directions by virtue of the continuous, regularly spaced series of longitudinally extending ribs or strips 30 and support runners 26, and the continuous regularly spaced series of transversely extending ribs or strip's'3 2? Any one of the panels 28 may be readily removedby lifting upwardly from the support runners 26 and tilting it-to permit its lowering through the space it occupied between adjacent support runners 26 and adjacentpanels Thus a louver construction has been provided which is particularly simple toinstall without'the necessity of special tools orskills,"and in which any one of the panels may be quickly and easily removed when desired; At the same time, an illusion of continuity is provided of the entire area of the louver ceiling.

Unlike other current trackless louver suspensionsystems,

the system described above could successfully emplo the use of light-diffusing plastic panels on top of t e pane s 28 by trimming the plastic panels to the tongue-and-groove shape of the panels 28 and by restricting therib projections to one-half cell. This would change thelouver from an-open ended cellular construction to a closed cellular construction.

lclaim: I

1. In a louver construction, elongate, spaced, parallel support runners adapted to be supported below a ceiling; lightdiffusing panels removably mounted on said support runners; each panel comprising an incomplete latticework arrangement of intersecting ribs, said runners being of the same I thickness as said ribs, two opposed ends of said panel being endmost ribs, said runners engaging the ribs which intersect the endmost'ribs,such engagement occuring at a distance inside said endmost ribs whichis equal to or is a multiple of a may be provided with projections and recesses so as to give metal and the slots are made very slightly shallower than one distancebetween adjacent ribs, said runners 'when engaged .with the panel completing the latticework arrangement and extending beyond edges of the panel to completethe incomplete latticework arrangements in at least two adjacent panels, for means for suspending said runners being located on the runners at locations which correspond to an edge of a panel to enable assembly of a plurality of such panels and runners in coplanar relationship.

2. A louver construction according to claim 1, wherein said panel is formed at one of said two opposed ends with a projechalf the height of'thev ribs 30, 32 which they respectively receive, so that the ribs are interconnected by a press fit which serves to displace metal and provide a relatively permanent connection between the ribs. Alternatively, if desired, the strips may beinterconnectedpermanently as, for example, by means of welding. v j

The runners 26 engagethe ribs 30' with intersect the endmost of t4the ribs 32. The engagement may occur at a distance inside the endmost of the ribs 32 which is equal to oris a multiple of the distance between adjacent ribs. lf comparatively long panels are to be used, then it is recommended that the runners 26 be a number 'of cell widths inside the endmost of the ribs 32 to reduce the span between them and avoid sagging tion of said latticework and at the other of said ends with a recess in said latticework whereby a tongueand groove arrangement is formed.

3. A louver construction according to claim 2, wherein said runner passes through said projection of one panel and across said recess of an adjacent panel.

4. A louver construction according to claim 1, wherein each of said panels has certain of its "ribs freely extending beyond the edges thereof and adapted to abut and aline with freely extending ribs of adjacent panels thereby to create the illusion of I a continuous latticework arrangement of intersecting ribs between adjacent panels.

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