Ceiling tile assembly

Abstract

A ceiling tile assembly includes a sheet of ornamental facing and a support frame or a supporting member with a retaining element.

1 . A ceiling tile assembly, comprising: 
 a sheet of ornamental facing having a main body and a margin; and    a support frame engaging and holding at least a portion of said margin;    said assembly being characterized by constructing said sheet of ornamental facing from a fiberglass veil.    
     
     
         2 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said fiberglass veil includes between about 17 to about 30 weight percent glass fibers, about 6 to about 10 weight percent polymer binder and about 58 to about 78 weight percent filler.  
     
     
         3 . The assembly of  claim 2 , wherein said glass fibers have a nominal diameter of between about 6.5 to about 11.0 microns and a length of between about 5.0 to about 7.0 mm.  
     
     
         4 . The assembly of  claim 2 , wherein said fiberglass veil has an areal weight of between about 50 to about 200 gsm and a thickness of between about 1.0 to about 2.0 mm.  
     
     
         5 . The assembly of  claim 4 , wherein said filler is a flame retardant.  
     
     
         6 . The assembly of  claim 5 , wherein said filler includes materials selected from a group consisting of alumina trihydrate, phosphorous compounds, antimony trioxide, borates, intumescent materials, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         7 . The assembly of  claim 2 , wherein said polymer binder is selected from a group of materials consisting of polyvinyl alcohol, styrene-acrylate, melamine formaldehyde and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         8 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said support frame is constructed from a material selected from a group consisting of polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, nylon, acrylic, polycarbonate and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         9 . The assembly of  claim 8 , wherein said support frame has a tensile strength at yield of between about 15 to about 70 MPa as measured by ASTM test method D638 and a flexural modulus of between about 40 to about 100 MPa as measured by ASTM test method D790.  
     
     
         10 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said fiberglass veil is characterized by a water hold number of greater than 180 seconds.  
     
     
         11 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein said margin and said support frame are continuous and have a width of between about 1.5 to about 2.0 mm.  
     
     
         12 . The assembly of  claim 11 , wherein said main body has a surface area of between about 3,800 to about 3,800 cm 2 .  
     
     
         13 . The assembly of  claim 12 , wherein said sheet of ornamental facing is unstretched and said main body spans across an opening in said support frame and is otherwise unsupported.  
     
     
         14 . The assembly of  claim 13 , wherein said sheet of ornamental facing has a thickness of between about 1.0 to about 2.0 mm, said support frame has a thickness of between about 2.0 to about 5.0 mm.  
     
     
         15 . The assembly of  claim 14 , wherein said main body is characterized by a sag of less than about 2.5 mm as measured by ASTM test method C367.  
     
     
         16 . The assembly of  claim 14 , wherein said main body is characterized by a sag of less than about 2.0 mm as measured by ASTM test method C367.  
     
     
         17 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein said support frame is discontinuous.  
     
     
         18 . The assembly of  claim 17 , wherein said support frame is substantially C-shaped in cross section and defines a channel holding said margin.  
     
     
         19 . The assembly of  claim 18 , wherein said support frame defines a corner.  
     
     
         20 . The assembly of  claim 18 , wherein said support frame is straight.  
     
     
         21 . A ceiling tile assembly, comprising: 
 a sheet of ornamental facing and a support frame having an overall thickness of less than 7.0 mm and characterized by a sag of less than about 2.5 mm for an unsupported surface area of about 3716 cm 2  as measured by ASTM test method C367.    
     
     
         22 . The ceiling tile assembly of  claim 21 , wherein said ceiling tile assembly has a weight per unit surface area of between about 50 to about 200 gsm.  
     
     
         23 . A ceiling tile assembly, comprising: 
 a facing sheet of breathable material and a support frame having an overall thickness of less than 7.0 mm.    
     
     
         24 . The ceiling tile assembly of  claim 23  having an overall thickness of less than 5.0 mm.  
     
     
         25 . A method of reducing shipping expenses relating to ceiling tiles, comprising: 
 producing ceiling tiles with an overall thickness of less than 7.0 mm and an overall weight per unit area of less than 200 gsm; and    packing those ceiling tiles in a shipping vessel.    
     
     
         26 . A ceiling tile assembly, comprising: 
 a sheet of ornamental facing having a main body and a margin; and    a supporting member including a retaining element engaging said ornamental facing.    
     
     
         27 . The assembly of  claim 26 , wherein said supporting member includes a supporting flange and said retaining element is displaceable between an open position and a closed position.  
     
     
         28 . The assembly of  claim 27 , wherein in said closed position said margin of said ornamental facing is engaged between said supporting flange and said retaining element.