Granted Patent B2

US 12,529,225 · App. 18/433,792 · Granted Jan 20, 2026

Inventors: Dustin Headley (Hoffman Estates, IL); Jason Gillette (Chicago, IL)

Assignee: Turf Design, Inc.

E04B9/0407E04B9/001E04B9/366E04B9/0435E04B9/34E04B2103/04

Abstract

Claims (69)

1 . A ceiling system comprising:

a plurality of ceiling tiles comprising:

a felt backer panel comprising:

a top surface;

a bottom surface opposite the top surface;

a first side edge extending from the bottom surface to the top surface; and

a second side edge extending from the bottom surface to the top surface, the second side edge opposite the first side edge;

a plurality of felt slats mounted to the felt backer panel, each of the plurality of felt slats extending along the bottom surface of the felt backer panel from the first side edge of the felt backer panel to the second side edge of the felt backer panel, the plurality of felt slats extending substantially parallel to one another; and

a ceiling hanger system comprising a plurality of ceiling hangers arranged in a rectilinear grid defining a plurality of grid openings and lying within a drop ceiling plane; and

the plurality of ceiling tiles mounted to the ceiling hanger system so that for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles: (1) the felt backer panel is oriented parallel to the drop ceiling plane and encloses at least one of the plurality of grid openings; and (2) the felt backer panel is located below the drop ceiling plane and at least partially conceals bottom surfaces of the plurality of ceiling hangers.

2 . The ceiling system of claim 1 further comprising:

each of the plurality of ceiling tiles further comprising a plurality of hooks protruding from the top surface of the felt backer panel; and

the plurality of ceiling tiles mounted to the ceiling hanger system through engagement of the plurality of hooks and the plurality of ceiling hangers.

3 . The ceiling system of claim 2 wherein, for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the plurality of hooks are formed into tabs of the plurality of felt slats that protrude through openings in the backer panel.

4 . The ceiling system of claim 2 wherein, for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the plurality of hooks comprise a first set of hooks located adjacent the first side edge of the felt backer panel and a second set of hooks located adjacent the second side edge of the felt backer panel.

5 . The ceiling system of claim 1 wherein, for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, each of the plurality of felt slats comprises a panel orthogonal to the bottom surface of the backer panel that extends from the first side edge of the felt backer panel to the second side edge of the felt backer panel.

6 . The ceiling system of claim 1 wherein, for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, each of the plurality of felt slats comprises a first side and a second side opposite the first side, the first side being flush with the first side edge of the felt backer panel and the second side being flush with the second side edge of the felt backer panel.

7 . The ceiling system of claim 1 further comprising:

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the felt backer panel further comprising a plurality of openings extending from the top surface to the bottom surface;

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, each of the felt slats comprising at least one protuberance protruding from a top side of the felt slat; and

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the plurality of felt slats mounted to the felt backer panel so that the protuberances of the plurality of felt slats extend into the plurality of openings of the felt back panel.

8 . The ceiling system of claim 7 further comprising:

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the plurality of openings of the felt backer panel comprise a first set of openings and a second set of openings;

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, each of the felt slats comprises first and second protuberances protruding from the top side of the felt slat; and

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the plurality of felt slats are mounted to the felt backer panel so that, for each of the felt slats, the first protuberance extends into one of the first openings and the second protuberance extends into one of the second openings.

9 . The ceiling system of claim 8 wherein, for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the first set of openings are arranged in a first linear array and the plurality of second openings are arranged in a second linear array, the first and second linear arrays being spaced apart and parallel to one another, and wherein corresponding openings of the first and second linear arrays are aligned with one another to achieve the plurality of felt slats extending substantially parallel to one another.

10 . The ceiling system according to claim 1 further comprising;

the plurality of ceiling tiles mounted to the ceiling hanger system so that the felt slats of adjacent ones of the ceiling tiles are aligned with one another to collectively form a plurality of continuous linear elements when viewed from the floor.

11 . The ceiling system of claim 1 further comprising:

each of the plurality of ceiling tiles further comprising a first set of hooks protruding from the top surface of the backer panel and located adjacent the first side edge of the felt backer panel and a second set of hooks protruding from the top surface of the backer panel and located adjacent the second side edge of the felt backer panel;

the plurality of ceiling tiles mounted to the ceiling hanger system through engagement of the plurality of hooks and the plurality of ceiling hangers;

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, each of the plurality of felt slats comprises a panel orthogonal to the bottom surface of the backer panel that extends from the first side edge of the felt backer panel to the second side edge of the felt backer panel;

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the felt backer panel comprises a first set of openings arranged in a first linear array and a plurality of second openings arranged in a second linear array, the first and second linear arrays being spaced apart and parallel to one another;

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, each of the felt slats comprises first and second protuberances protruding from a top side of the panel of the felt slat; and

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the plurality of felt slats are mounted to the felt backer panel so that, for each of the felt slats, the first protuberance extends into one of the first openings and the second protuberance extends into one of the second openings.

12 . A ceiling system comprising:

a plurality of ceiling tiles comprising:

a felt backer panel comprising:

a top surface;

a bottom surface opposite the top surface;

a first side edge; and

a second side edge opposite the first side edge;

a plurality of elongated linear ceiling components mounted to the felt backer panel, each of the plurality of elongated linear ceiling components formed of felt and extending along the bottom surface of the felt backer panel from the first side edge of the felt backer panel to the second side edge of the felt backer panel, the plurality of elongated linear ceiling components extending substantially parallel to one another in a spaced apart manner so that an elongated channel exists between adjacent ones of the plurality of elongated linear ceiling components; and

a ceiling hanger system comprising a plurality of ceiling hangers arranged in a grid defining a plurality of grid openings; and

the plurality of ceiling tiles mounted to the ceiling hanger system so that for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles the felt backer panel encloses at least one of the plurality of grid openings.

13 . The ceiling system of claim 12 further comprising:

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the felt backer panel comprises a first set of openings arranged in a first linear array and a plurality of second openings arranged in a second linear array, the first and second linear arrays being spaced apart and parallel to one another;

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, each of the elongated linear ceiling components comprises first and second protuberances protruding from a top side of the elongated linear ceiling component; and

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the plurality of elongated linear ceiling components are mounted to the felt backer panel so that, for each of the plurality of elongated linear ceiling components, the first protuberance extends into one of the first openings and the second protuberance extends into one of the second openings.

14 . The ceiling system of claim 12 further comprising:

each of the plurality of ceiling tiles further comprising a plurality of hooks protruding from the top surface of the felt backer panel; and

the plurality of ceiling tiles mounted to the ceiling hanger system through engagement of the plurality of hooks and the plurality of ceiling hangers.

15 . The ceiling system of claim 12 wherein, for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the plurality of hooks comprise a first set of hooks located adjacent the first side edge of the felt backer panel and a second set of hooks located adjacent the second side edge of the felt backer panel.

16 . The ceiling system of claim 12 wherein, for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, each of the plurality of elongated linear ceiling components comprises a panel orthogonal to the bottom surface of the backer panel that extends from the first side edge of the felt backer panel to the second side edge of the felt backer panel.

17 . The ceiling system according to claim 12 further comprising;

the plurality of ceiling tiles mounted to the ceiling hanger system so that the plurality of elongated linear ceiling components of adjacent ones of the ceiling tiles are aligned with one another to collectively form a plurality of continuous linear elements when viewed from the floor.

18 . A ceiling system comprising:

a plurality of ceiling tiles configured to be mounted to a ceiling hanger system by engaging a plurality of ceiling hangers of the ceiling hanger system, each of the plurality of ceiling tiles comprising:

a felt backer panel comprising:

a top surface;

a bottom surface opposite the top surface;

a first side edge; and

a second side edge opposite the first side edge;

a plurality of felt slats mounted to the felt backer panel, each of the plurality of felt slats extending along a slat axis from the first side edge of the felt backer panel to the second side edge of the felt backer panel, the plurality of felt slats protruding from the bottom surface of the felt backer panel and arranged substantially parallel to one another.

19 . The ceiling system of claim 18 wherein each of the plurality of ceiling tiles further comprises: a plurality of hooks protruding from the top surface of the felt backer panel that are configured to engage the plurality of ceiling hangers so that the felt backer panel is supported below the plurality of ceiling hangers and at least partially conceals bottom surfaces of the plurality of ceiling hangers.

20 . The ceiling system of claim 19 further comprising:

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the felt backer panel comprises a first set of openings arranged in a first linear array and a plurality of second openings arranged in a second linear array, the first and second linear arrays being spaced apart and parallel to one another;

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, each of the felt planks comprises first and second protuberances protruding from a top side of the felt plank; and

for each of the plurality of ceiling tiles, the plurality of felt slats are mounted to the felt backer panel so that, for each of the plurality of felt slats, the first protuberance extends into one of the first openings and the second protuberance extends into one of the second openings.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (7)

References Cited (118)