US2996138A - Perforated panel construction - Google Patents

Description

Aug.` 15, 1961 A.'D.IvScHwAT-z E r AL 2,996,138v

' l PERFORATAED PANEL CONSTRUCTIONA 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed July 1o, 1959 INVENTOR. @oaf/zr A. D. SCHWARTZ w77 .rroeA/EY naaronarrtn PANEL coNsTRUcnoN Robert A. D. Schwartz, 1081 Annerley Road,v Piedmont,

Calif.,v and Stephen W. Llndhelm, 1146 4KeelerSt.,

Berkeley, Calif. v

Filed July 10, 1959, Ser. No. 826,360

4 Claims. .'(Cl. ISI- 33) This invention relates to ventilated', Iacoustical ceiling construction.-

In the installation of acoustical ceilings-it is a common practr'ceto` suspend a metal `framewo'rlcffrom theperma-y nent ceiling of a 'room 'and to mount acoustical panels or tiles on the framework, such panels or tiles being of a solid but porous character. It-is desirable, particularly in the case of large rooms, to Ventil-ate the roomby blowing air into the plenum (which .isv thespace between the lower suspendedceiling and th'e upper, permanent ceiling) and providing air passages in the acoustical panels through which the air the acoustical ceiling.

In a ceiling structure of-this character it is advantageous to provide a means for adjusting the number and size of the air passages in the acoustical panels', and lit is advantageous that such adjustment means be easily manipulated so that the number and/or size of the air passages can be varied. f

There area number of .factors which determine the optimum number, size and distribution of air passages. These factors; Ahence the optimum air passage arrangejment,'wi1l vary from one ceiling to the next, and-they will vary vwiththe same ceiling as conditions change. Typical relevant factors are the air pressure and volume rate of the source of air; the shape and,` dimensions of the plenum andthe presence and nature of obstructions in the plenum; thel relative volumes of the plenum and the room or rooms', beneath; thespresencefand nature of obstructions in the room space beneath the plenum; 'other means which ventilatethe room, etc; Clearly, the fac-- tors are such'that a formula of general application relating air passage area anddis'tribution to total ceiling area is not practicable. Of necessity', trial and errormust be relied upon,` and from time to time it may be' necessary to make changes'irr the air passage'. area and/or distribution. v f

For these reasons, jt is desirable to employ a means whereby the air passage area and distribution can be controlled and varied atwill and with ease, and wherein the disturbing effect ofl clogging and fouling of air passages is minimized.

Heretofore rath-er complicated means have been pirovided for the control of air passage area and distribution. Also, the air' passage orifices have been in the form of slots and have been prone to become clogged with dust, which renders them inefficient, and which also has a detrimental effect on appearance of theceiling. p

It is an object of the presentv invention to provide improvements upon acoustical ceilings.

can pass into the room beneath p from a'permanent ceiling ceiling is formed by acoustical panels 12 also provided with means for controlling the air passage area at will.l l

4These and other objects will be apparent from the ensuing description and the appended claims.

One form of the invention is'illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view in vertical section of a room equipped with an acoustical ceiling in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view as seen along the line v2--2 of FIGURE 1, showing one `of the ceiling panels on alarger scale than that of FIGURE l and showing -the valve plate employed to adjust the effective size of the air passages in the panel.

lFIGURES` is a section taken along the line' 3 3 of FIGURE 2.

v'FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, sectional view of an acousticalpanel with a different and preferred vtype of air passage.

FIGURE 5 -is a fragmentary perspective view showing one way in which the ceiling panels of my invention can be mounted.

Referring now to the drawings and preliminarily to FIGURES l, 2 and 3, in FIGURE 1 a room is shown equipped with an acoustical ceiling 10 which is suspended 11 and which forms a plenum 11a into which a blower 11b blows air. The-acoustical which may be of any suitable type of construction of solid, porous character which is both heat insulating and sound absorbing.v vThe ceiling 10s suspended from the permanent ceiling'll 4by means of wires or lrods 13 attached to longitudinal frame members 14, such frame members held against the upper surface of the panel 12 by means of a shaft or pin 19 which is preferably flush with the be apparent that rotation of the valve It is a further object of the invention to provide' an v improved means of Ventilating ceilings.'

Itis another and particular object of the invention to provide improved means of adjusting theair passages in an acoustical ceiling.

Yet anotherv object is to provide an orifice of improved character for'acoustica'l ceiling panels.

It is a particularfobject of the inventionto provide an acoustical ceiling panel which-can be inserted in and rooms having acoustical lremoved from an acoustical ceiling at will, such panel being provided ai'r passages of superior design which do notbec'ome readily cloggedwith dust, such panel being than an ordinary screwdriver.

lower surface of the panel. 12. The connection between the upper end of each shaft or pin 19 and its valve plate 16 is rigid so that `by inserting a screw driver in the head of the shaft 19 and rotating it, the valve plate 16 will be rotated correspondingly. By this means it will plate 16 is very easy, and requires nothing more in the way of equipment Also this rotating means is conveniently accessible from below, and it does not require removal of any of the panels or access to the plenum 11a. It should be pointed out that the valve plates 16 can also be rotated from above, eg., during installation of the ceiling, but it is very advantageous that they can be rotated from below after a ceiling has been installed, thereby avoiding the necessity of removing any .of the panels 12 to gain access to the valve plate 16, and

avoiding the need for any complex or difficult operations, or any skill or of special tools or instruments. Instead of a rotary valve member such as the valve plate 16 a sliding valve plate (not shown) may be used, but a rotary plateis preferred.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURE 3, it will be seen that each of the air passages 18 comprises an holes completely through the panel and lgiving them the shape shown. j 1 l Referring to FIGURE 4, an-orifee 18a of a different and preferred shape is there shown, which is more rounded from top to bottom, having a rounded flaring portion 26 at the top which tapers inwardly and uninterruptedly to a restricted throat at 27.

Referring now to FIGURE 5 an acoustical panel 12 is there shown which is ttedlwith a valve plate 16 and is formed with air passages 18, suchipanel being mount-` ed on a longitudinal member`14 and a transverse member 28. The longitudinal member 14 comprises an upright body portion 29 and`horizontal anges 30 atthe bottom and it has guide and supporting grooves or guideways 31 on each side and at top and `bottom which are intended to slidably receivethe head 32 of a connector clip 33 whose. tip 34 extends through a slot 35 formed in the cross member 28, such tip being bent back upon the cross member 28 as shown. The cross members 28 are also formed with horizontal oppositely extending flanges 36. As will be seen each panel 12 is slotted along its edges at 40 for reception of the flanges 30 and 36 of the longitudinal and cross members 14 and 28, respectively, a'nd it is recessed above the slots so that the lower edges of adjacent panels can be brought together to conceal the frame members14 and- 28. A grid of framemembers 14 and 28 is employed to support acoustical panels in this manner and to form an acoustical ceiling..`

Further details of this type of framework and ceiling construction will be found in Schwartz andLindheiml The valve plates 16 are very easily manipulated. Their holes 17 are arranged to register precisely with the air passages 18 so that each valve plate 16 canbe adjusted to wide open, completely closed and all intermediate positions of the air passages 18 or 18a. Such adjustments, as noted, can be made very easily by means of an ordinary screwdriver from beneath vthe ceiling.

The air passages or orifices 18 and 18a are advantageous because they do not plug up and clog nearly as much as passages of other shapesgfor example, slots or cylindrical passages of uniform diameter. The air passages 18 and 18av conform to thenatural ilow of air.

.On the basis of experience 4and teststhe number and allel faces and formed with air passages extending between said faces for passage of air through the panel,

` saidvpassages having a generally truste-conical shape in cross section, said panel including a rotary valve member having openings adapted to register with said air passages, said valve member being rotatably mounted on said panel'V adjacent the wide endsof said ai'r passages, and means accessible from the' other face of .theA panel for rotating said valve member.

2. A solid, porous acoustical panel having two parallel faces and formed with air -passages extending between said faces for-passage of air through the panel, said passages having a tapered -cross section tapering from a widest portion at one face to a narrowest portion at theA other face', said panel including a rotary valve member having openings" adapted to register with said t air passages, said valve member being .rotatably mounted 'on said panel adjacent the wide ends `of said air passages, and means accessible Vfrom the other face of `the panely for rotatingv said valve member.

3. An lacoustical panel vof solid, porous construction having an upper face and a lower face, said panel being formed with a plurality of airpassages extending bejtween said fac'esand adapted to pass air through the panel, said passages being of circular cross section and tapering in width from the upper face to the lower face, and a valve plate mounted rotatably` on the upper face of the panel and formed with openings adapted to register with said air passageswhen they plate is in a predetermined angular position, said plate being rotatable from and to said position and being adapted to be rotated to other positions to adjust said air passages between fully closedand fully opened positions, said panel also having a shaft extending through the panel, one end of which is accessible from the lower face and is rotatable from such position, the otherv end-,of said shaft being Afixed to said plate to rotate therewith.

4. An acoustical panel of solid, porous construction having an upper face and a4 lower face, said panel being formed with aplUIality of air passages extending between said facesA and adapted to pass air through the panels,

said passages being of vcircular cross section and tapering in width 'from the vupper face to the lower face, a valve plate mounted on the upper face of thel panel and formed with openings adapted to register with said air passages, and a shaftvextending through said panel, fixed at its upper end to the center of said plate to rotate therewith and to hold the plate against the upper facev'of the panel,` the lower end of said shaft having means for enga'ging a screwdriver to bring about rotation of the shaft and panel.

t References Cited in the tile of Vthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Airsou4 System, pamphlet, received in U.S. Patent Oflice on September 15, 1956, rst 5 pages.

Images