Ceiling system

Abstract

A ceiling system including a support grid and a panel assembly. The panel assembly includes backslats that are arranged parallel to one another, panels that are coupled to the backslats, and mounting assemblies for mounting the panel assembly to the support grid. The mounting assemblies include a mounting bracket and a torsion spring. A first pair of the mounting assemblies is coupled to a first one of the backslats and a second pair of the mounting assemblies is coupled to a second one of the backslats. The panel assembly may be mounted to the support grid via the torsion springs of the first pair of the mounting assemblies engaging a first one of the first grid beams of the support grid and the torsion springs of the second pair of the mounting assemblies engaging a second one of the first grid beams of the support grid

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A ceiling system comprising:
 a support grid comprising a plurality of first grid beams that are configured to be arranged adjacent to one another;   a panel assembly comprising:
 first and second backslats that are configured to be arranged adjacent to one another, at least a portion of each of the first and second backslats extending along a backslat axis; 
 a plurality of panels configured to be arranged adjacent to one another, at least a portion of each of the panels extending along a panel axis from a first end to a second end, and each of the panels configured to be coupled to each of the first and second backslats; 
 a plurality of mounting assemblies, each of the mounting assemblies comprising a mounting bracket and a torsion spring configured to be operably coupled to the mounting bracket; 
 a first pair of the mounting assemblies configured to be coupled to the first backslat; and 
 a second pair of the mounting assemblies configured to be coupled to the second backslat; 
   the panel assembly configured to be mounted to the support grid via the torsion springs of the first pair of the mounting assemblies engaging a first one of the first grid beams of the support grid and the torsion springs of the second pair of the mounting assemblies engaging a second one of the first grid beams of the support grid.   
     
     
         2 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of panels comprises panels having different widths. 
     
     
         3 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of panels comprises a first type of panel and a second type of panel that is different from the first type of panel. 
     
     
         4 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of panels are configured to be arranged substantially parallel to one another. 
     
     
         5 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of panels are configured to be equally spaced to one another. 
     
     
         6 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first backslats are configured to be arranged substantially parallel to one another. 
     
     
         7 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the second backslats are configured to be arranged substantially parallel to one another. 
     
     
         8 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first backslats are configured to be equally spaced to one another. 
     
     
         9 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein the second backslats are configured to be equally spaced to one another. 
     
     
         10 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of panels are configured to be oriented horizontally. 
     
     
         11 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of panels are configured to be oriented vertically. 
     
     
         12 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1  further comprising:
 each of the first and second backslats formed of a first metal; 
 each of the mounting brackets formed of a second metal that is different than the first metal; and 
 wherein the first metal has a first strength characteristic and the second metal has a second strength characteristic that is greater than the first strength characteristic. 
 
     
     
         13 . The ceiling system according to  claim 12  wherein the first and second strength characteristics are selected from the group consisting of yield strength, tensile strength, ultimate strength, compressive strength, impact strength, and shear strength, wherein the first metal is an aluminum and the second material is a steel. 
     
     
         14 . The ceiling system according to  claim 12  further comprising:
 each of the first and second backslats formed by a sheet of the first metal having a first thickness; 
 each of the mounting brackets formed by a sheet of the second metal having a second thickness; and 
 the first thickness being greater than the second thickness. 
 
     
     
         15 . The ceiling system according to  claim 1  further comprising:
 each of the first and second backslats formed by a bent first sheet metal of a first thickness; 
 each of the mounting brackets formed by a bent second sheet metal of a second thickness; and 
 wherein the second thickness is greater than the first thickness. 
 
     
     
         16 . The ceiling system according to  claim 15  further comprising:
 the floor plates of the first and second backslats comprising a series of pre-formed apertures, the pre-formed apertures evenly spaced from one another and extending along an entire length of the first and second backslats; and 
 each of the panels configured to be coupled to the first and second backslats by fasteners extending through selected ones of the pre-formed apertures. 
 
     
     
         17 . A ceiling system comprising:
 a support grid comprising a plurality of first grid beams configured to be arranged adjacent to one another;   a panel assembly comprising:
 first and second backslats configured to be arranged adjacent to one another, each of the first and second backslats comprising a floor plate comprising a series of pre-formed apertures, the pre-formed apertures evenly spaced from one another along a length of the first and second backslats; and 
 a plurality of panels configured to be arranged adjacent to one another, each of the panels configured to be coupled to each of the first and second backslats by fasteners extending through selected ones of the pre-formed apertures; 
   wherein the panel assembly is configured to be mounted to the support grid by coupling the first backslat to a first one of the first grid beams of the support grid and coupling the second backslat to a second one of the first grid beams of the support grid; and   wherein the plurality of panels comprises panels having different widths.   
     
     
         18 . The ceiling system according to  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of panels comprises a first type of panel and a second type of panel that is different from the first type of panel. 
     
     
         19 . The ceiling system according to  claim 17 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of panels are configured to be oriented horizontally. 
     
     
         20 . The ceiling system according to  claim 17 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of panels are configured to be oriented vertically.