Shaped beam suspended ceiling

Abstract

A suspended ceiling system including shaped beams coupled to connecting blocks that enable a variety of geometric configurations of tiles. The beams may appear to be structural members of an ornate fixed ceiling in a building, and may have any desirable cross sectional shape such as a V, a U, or other custom shape. The beams also include ledges for supporting tiles. The connecting blocks are suspended from the fixed ceiling or other structure and include a plurality of beam interface surfaces that couple to the beams. The connecting blocks may have any desirable cross sectional shape to provide a desired number and geometric arrangement of beam interface surfaces, so that the beams form a desired geometric configuration such as a triangle, square, a pentagon, a hexagon and the like. Tiles are cut to match the geometric configuration and placed on the ledges of the beams.

1 . A suspended ceiling system comprising; 
 a shaped beam including a ledge for supporting a tile; and    a connecting block for coupling to a fixed ceiling of a structure, wherein the connecting block includes a plurality of beam interface surfaces, each of which can be coupled to an end of the shaped beam.    
   
   
       2 . The suspended ceiling system of  claim 1 , further comprising a suspension support that attaches to the connecting block and to the fixed ceiling to suspend the connecting block from the fixed ceiling.  
   
   
       3 . The suspended ceiling system of  claim 2 , wherein the suspension support comprises one of the following: a wire, a bracket, and a threaded shaft.  
   
   
       4 . The suspended ceiling system of  claim 1 , wherein the shaped beam includes a beam fastener hole and the connecting block includes a block fastener hole that can be aligned with the beam fastener hole for coupling the shaped beam to the connecting block.  
   
   
       5 . The suspended ceiling system of  claim 4 , wherein the beam fastener hole intersects an access hole in the shaped beam for access to a fastener.  
   
   
       6 . The suspended ceiling system of  claim 1 , wherein the connecting block comprises one of the following: a single solid and a plurality of side pieces.  
   
   
       7 . The suspended ceiling system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of beam interface surfaces of the connecting block form a cross section of the connecting block into one of the following: a triangle, a square, a pentagon, and a hexagon.  
   
   
       8 . The suspended ceiling system of  claim 1 , wherein the shaped beam comprises a cross section of one of the following: a V, a U, a W, and a semicircle.  
   
   
       9 . The suspended ceiling system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the following: 
 the shaped beam comprises a wood product; and    the connecting block comprises a wood product.    
   
   
       10 . The suspended ceiling system of  claim 1 , further comprising a tile to be supported at least partially by the shaped beam.  
   
   
       11 . A suspended ceiling, comprising: 
 a plurality of shaped beams, each including a ledge for supporting a tile; and    a plurality of connecting blocks for suspension from a fixed ceiling of a structure, wherein each connecting block includes a plurality of beam interface surfaces for coupling to the plurality of shaped beams to form a geometric grid of shaped beams to support a geometric configuration of tiles.    
   
   
       12 . The suspended ceiling of  claim 10 , wherein the geometric grid comprises at least one of the following: a triangle, a square, a rectangle, and a hexagon.  
   
   
       13 . The suspended ceiling of  claim 10 , wherein a subset of the plurality of shaped beams are coupled to a wall.  
   
   
       14 . A method for forming a suspended ceiling system, comprising: 
 providing a shaped beam to include a ledge for supporting a tile; and    providing a connecting block for coupling to a fixed ceiling of a structure, wherein the connecting block includes a plurality of beam interface surfaces, each of which can be coupled to an end of the shaped beam.    
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising: 
 coupling the connecting block to a fixed ceiling; and    coupling an end of the shaped beam to one of the plurality of beam interface surfaces of the connecting block.    
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising: 
 coupling an additional shaped beam to another one of the plurality of beam interface surfaces, wherein the additional shaped beam includes another ledge for supporting the tile; and    placing a portion of the tile on the ledge of the shaped beam and another portion of the tile on the other ledge of the additional shaped beam.    
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising coupling an opposite end of the shaped beam to a support, wherein the support comprises one of the following: another connecting block and a wall.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the connecting block is coupled to the fixed ceiling with one of the following: a wire, a bracket, and a threaded shaft.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein coupling the end of the shaped beam to one of the plurality of beam interface surfaces comprises: 
 aligning a beam fastener hole in the shaped beam with a block fastener hole in the connecting block; and    inserting a fastener through the beam fastening hole and the block fastener hole such that the fastener mates the end of the shaped beam to the one of the plurality of beam interface surfaces of the connecting block.    
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising: 
 coupling a plurality of additional connecting blocks to the fixed ceiling, wherein each of the plurality of connecting blocks includes a plurality of beam interface surfaces;    coupling a plurality of additional shaped beams to each of the plurality of connecting blocks, such that at least one of the plurality of additional shaped beams is coupled to the connecting block.