Soffit assembly for moveable wall system and removal tool therefor

Abstract

A soffit assembly is for use with a movable wall system having a track. The soffit assembly includes a soffit attachment device having a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is attachable to the track. A soffit snaps onto the second portion of the soffit attachment device such that the soffit at least partially conceals the track.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to operable walls movable to partition large rooms into smaller rooms, and, in particular, to the overhead track for the operable wall.

Operable walls or partitions, also known as movable wall panel systems, find useful application in a variety of venues, such as classrooms, offices, convention facilities and hospitals. In these venues, the operable wall panels can be moved along tracks from which they are suspended to efficiently compartmentalize a larger room of interior space into a multitude of separate, smaller rooms. In particular, the operable wall panels are typically connected to trolleys that roll within an overhead track. The track is suspended from structural supports so as to be installed at a height of, or typically slightly above, the ceiling of the room being compartmentalized.

One shortcoming of existing tracks of operable walls is that many people consider their appearance to detract from the aesthetics of the room in which the operable walls are installed. In order to at least partially alleviate this problem, it is known to provide track concealing systems in order to hide the track and trolleys from view. Such track concealing systems may include soffit portions which are visible within the room and which flank both sides of the slot through which extend the bolts that span the trolleys and panels. The soffit portions also have the advantage of muffling the sounds of the trolleys rolling across the tracks.

The soffit portions frequently are quite wide and naturally run the length of the track and therefore of the room being compartmentalized. Some soffit designs include laterally extending flanges integrally formed with the steel channel that forms the continuous track. Other known soffit designs include pans that are secured to the hanger brackets by which the continuous track is suspended from the structural support. Soffits are typically fastened to the brackets using bolts or screws. However, such screws and bolts may themselves be unappealing to the eye, thus negating the primary purpose of the soffit. Another problem is that the installation and removal of the screws and bolts are time consuming processes. Yet another problem is that the screws and bolts are subject to loosening and falling out of their holes and thus becoming lost or allowing the soffit to fall.

What is needed in the art is a soffit that may be quickly installed and removed without the use of screws or bolts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a snap-on soffit assembly for use with a movable wall system having movable walls, a track and a trolley. The soffit assembly may be easily removed with a novel tool of the present invention.

The invention comprises, in one form thereof, a soffit assembly for use with a movable wall system having a track. The soffit assembly includes a soffit attachment device having a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is attachable to the track. A soffit snaps onto the second portion of the soffit attachment device such that the soffit at least partially conceals the track.

The invention comprises, in another form thereof, a soffit assembly for use with a movable wall system having a track. The soffit assembly includes a soffit bracket attachable to the track. A soffit clip is coupled to the soffit bracket. A soffit snaps onto the soffit clip such that the soffit at least partially conceals the track.

The invention comprises, in yet another form thereof, a soffit arrangement for use with a movable wall system having a track. The soffit arrangement includes a soffit attachment device coupleable to the track. A soffit includes a side wall and a latch snapped onto the soffit attachment device such that the soffit at least partially conceals the track. An elongate soffit removal tool includes a body disposed between a handle end and a hooked end. The hooked end engages the latch of the soffit while the body engages the side wall such that torque applied to the handle end may pry the latch of the soffit away from the soffit attachment device.

An advantage of the present invention is that the soffit may be quickly and easily installed without any screws or bolts being visible.

Another advantage is that the soffit may be formed of a material that is less expensive than the steel material of which soffits have conventionally been made.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the soffit may be adapted to have some freedom of movement relative to the soffit bracket in a latitudinal direction. Thus, the soffit clip and the soffit bracket do not need to be formed with tight tolerances, and may be easily assembled together due to the play therebetween.

Still another advantage is that a single tool may be used to remove either of the two embodiments of a soffit that are disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above mentioned and other advantages and objects of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following descriptions of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a movable wall system with which the various embodiments of the soffit arrangement of the present invention may be employed;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of the moveable wall system along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, further illustrating a first embodiment of a soffit assembly of the present invention in use, wherein the room ceiling not shown in FIG. 1 is now shown, and wherein the trolley is connected to an abstractly shown operable wall panel;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the soffit and soffit clip of the soffit assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4A is a plan view of the soffit bracket of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the soffit bracket of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5A is a sectional view of an alternate embodiment of a soffit assembly of the present invention for use with a curved, planar track of a switch section rather than with the linear, tubular track of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the soffit of FIG. 3 abutted against the soffit assembly of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of a soffit removal tool of the present invention in a first configuration for removing the soffit of the soffit assembly of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the soffit removal tool of FIG. 6A in a second configuration for removing the soffit of the soffit assembly of FIG. 5A.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Although the drawings represent embodiments of the invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated or omitted in order to better illustrate and explain the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is diagrammatically shown a movable wall system which may be equipped with any of the soffit assemblies of the present invention. The movable wall system is shown as a paired panel system and includes operable partitions or movable wall panels 10, 11 and 13, 14 suspended from track 16 by trolleys 18. The term trolley is used generally herein and is intended to encompass devices, including wheeled carriages and carriers, of all types that are operably connected to and movable along the track. Wall panel 10 is linked to panel 11, and panel 13 is linked to panel 14, by multiple hinges 20 arranged along the panel height. Track 16 is mountable to a support structure above the room to be compartmentalized in a well known fashion, and the track parts along which the trolleys 18 ride is located above the ceiling of the room (not shown in FIG. 1) as further described below. Panels 10, 11 and 13, 14 may be moved along the track in any known fashion in wall stacking and wall extending directions. The wall panels may be of any conventional design. Furthermore, although shown as being employed with a paired panel system, the soffit arrangements described herein may be employed with different panel systems, including single panel systems, and with different or non-linear track layouts.

With reference now to FIGS. 2-4, one configuration of the track, trolley and a first embodiment of a soffit assembly of the present invention is further described. Track 16 is of a known design and is made of hardened cold-rolled steel in a generally square tubed shape including a top wall 22, vertical side walls 24 and 25, and bottom wall portions 27 and 28. Track 16 may be mounted to the ceiling support structure by any means known in the art, such as by hanger brackets 26, one of which is shown in FIG. 2. Hanger brackets 26 may be positioned at spaced intervals along the length of the track. For example, in one embodiment, hanger brackets 26 are each approximately 5 inches long in a direction into the page of FIG. 2 and are provided at 24 inch intervals along the length of track 16.

The upper surfaces of bottom wall portions 27 and 28 are the surfaces along which the wheels of trolley 18 roll when the wall panel is moved. The inward facing edges of bottom wall portions 27 and 28 are horizontally spaced to provide a slot or gap through which vertically extends trolley bolt 44. The cross-sectional configuration of track 16 shown in FIG. 2 generally corresponds to its configuration along its entire axial length.

Trolley 18 is of a conventional, four-wheel design and is intended to be illustrative and not limiting, as other trolleys may be employed. Trolley 18 includes a pair of wheels 38 that roll along track portion 27 and a pair of wheels 39 that roll along track portion 28. Portions of the axles that mount the wheels are not shown to facilitate illustration. Wheels 38 and 39 may be rotatably mounted to a steel trolley bolt 44 by any conventional means. In FIG. 2, the bolt head is shown as a nut which is attached to a threaded section of a rod that serves as the bolt. Other bolt heads can be formed as well. The distal or lower end of trolley bolt 44 is attached to the top end of operable partition 10, which is abstractly shown. The method of attachment of trolley bolt 44 to panel 10 is not fully shown or fully described herein as it may be of any type that is known in the art, as the particular form of the connection is not material to the present invention. Panel 10 is shown including a top seal 8 having resilient sweeps 9 which engage for acoustical reasons the bottom surfaces of the soffits described further below.

Attached to hanger brackets 26 are soffit assemblies generally designated 52 and 54. Soffit assembly 52 includes a soffit attachment device 53 and a soffit 60. Soffit attachment device 53 includes a first portion in the form of an L-shaped soffit bracket 56 and a second portion in the form of a soffit clip 58. Soffit clip 58 and soffit 60 are best illustrated in FIG. 3, while soffit bracket 56 is best illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

Soffit bracket 56 may include a vertically-oriented section 62 which may be welded or otherwise fixedly attached to track 16 via hanger bracket 26. Soffit bracket 56 may include a horizontally-oriented section 64 which may extend from section 62 at an angle 66 of approximately 90 degrees. Section 64 may include a hump 68 which may be formed by creating an indentation 70 on an opposite side of section 64. Soffit bracket 56 may be formed of steel, for example.

Soffit clip 58 may include a slot 72 defined by a top wall 74, side walls 76, 78, and bottom ledges 82, 84. Slot 72 may slidingly receive horizontally-oriented section 64 of soffit bracket 56. More particularly, soffit clip 58 may be manually slid over a distal edge 85 of section 64 and past hump 68. Although soffit clip 58 may be slid past hump 68 with manual force, hump 68 may retain soffit clip 58 on section 64. That is, hump 68 may prevent soffit clip 58 from inadvertently sliding off of section 64 after assembly. Slot 72 may have a width 86 that is greater than a width 88 of section 64 to thereby allow some side-to-side movement of soffit clip 58 relative to section 64. For example, in one embodiment, width 86 of slot 72 is 2.06 inches, and width 88 of section 64 is 2.00 inches.

Top wall 74 includes opposite arms 90, 92 extending past respective side walls 76, 78. On the distal ends of opposite arms 90, 92 are respective opposite edges 94, 96. Soffit clip 58 may be formed of a resilient material, such as plastic, for example.

Soffit 60 may include two opposite side walls 98, 100 each having a respective latch 102, 104 on its distal end. Latches 102, 104 may be snapped onto opposite edges 94, 96 of soffit clip 58 to thereby secure soffit 60 to soffit clip 58. The width of latch 102 in the lateral direction may be less than the width of latch 104 in the lateral direction, as best shown in FIG. 3, such that latch 102 is somewhat easier to snap onto and unsnap from soffit clip 58 than is latch 104. Thus, during assembly, latch 104 may be engaged with edge 96 before latch 102 is snapped onto edge 94. During disassembly, a removal tool may be applied to unsnap latch 102, as will be described in more detail below. When soffit 60 is snapped onto soffit clip 58, soffit 60 at least partially conceals track 16 from the view of a person standing below soffit 60 and adjacent to wall 10. In particular, soffit 60 may at least partially conceal the opening at the bottom of track 16, which may otherwise appear as a noticeably dark strip across a light colored ceiling.

A top surface of latch 104 may engage a bottom surface of a ceiling element, generally designated 80, as shown in FIG. 2. More particularly, the upper surface of latch 104 may function as a ledge that supports the edge of the ceiling element installed thereon. Ceiling element 80 may be of the same material as the rest of the ceiling adjacent the track and of the room in which the movable wall system is installed. For example, ceiling element 80 may be tiles of a suspended ceiling, or possibly plasterboard, also known as drywall or gypsum. Ceiling element 80 may be disposed directly below portions of the trolley, as well as the track.

Soffit 60 may include projections 107, 108, 110 (FIG. 3) that engage bottom ledge 82, horizontal section 64 and bottom ledge 84, respectively. A distal tip 112 of projection 110 may engage top wall 74. Projections 107, 108, 110 bias soffit clip 58 in a generally upward direction 114 (FIG. 2) and thus bias opposite edges 94, 96 of soffit clip 58 into engagement with distal ends 102, 104 of side walls 98, 100 of soffit 60. Projection 108 may support section 64 and thus bias soffit clip 58 via section 64. The support provided by projection 108 may protect ledges 82, 84 from being broken by any upward force exerted on soffit 60. Soffit 60 may be formed in one-piece from a flexible material, such as of aluminum, in an extrusion molding process.

Soffit assembly 54 includes a soffit bracket 106 that may be a mirror image of soffit bracket 56. Soffit assembly 54 also includes a soffit clip 58 and a soffit 60. However, as can be seen in FIG. 2, the orientations of soffit clip 58 and soffit 60 are rotated 180 degrees in soffit assembly 54 as compared to their orientations in soffit assembly 52. The details of soffit assembly 54 are substantially similar to those of soffit assembly 52, and thus are not described in detail herein.

Each soffit 60 may have a length into the page of FIG. 2 of approximately twenty-four inches to match the spacing between hanger brackets 26. Thus, soffits 60 may be aligned in abutting, end-to-end relationship with each other on opposite sides of track 16 and along the length of track 16. Soffits 60 may extend the entire length of track 16, and the shown cross-sectional configuration of soffits 60 generally corresponds to the configuration of each soffit along its entire axial length.

Referring now to FIG. 5A, there is shown a second embodiment of a soffit assembly 152 of a movable wall system of the present invention. Track 116 may be part of an arcuate switch section of a movable wall system rather than a linear track section as shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-2. Because the track may curve in the switch section, and a curving square tube track may be difficult to manufacture, track 116 may not have a square tube design. Rather, track 116 may be planar with flat track sections 127, 128. The trolley is not shown in FIG. 5A, but trolley 18 may be suitable for use in the embodiment of FIG. 5A. Track 116 may be mounted to the ceiling support structure by bolts 120. Bolts 120 also mount soffit assemblies 152, 154 to track sections 127, 128.

Soffit assembly 152 includes a soffit attachment device 153 and a soffit 160. Soffit attachment device 153 includes a first portion in the form of a U-shaped soffit bracket 156 and a second portion in the form of a soffit clip 158.

Soffit bracket 156 may include an upper horizontally-oriented leg section 163 which may be bolted by bolt 120 or otherwise fixedly attached to track 116. Soffit bracket 156 may also include a vertically-oriented section 162 and a lower horizontally-oriented leg section 164. Section 164 may be screwed to soffit clip 158 by a screw 168 or otherwise fixedly attached to soffit clip 158. Soffit bracket 156 may be formed of steel, for example.

Soffit clip 158 may include a top wall 174 having opposite downwardly extending legs 186, 188. Each of legs 186, 188 includes a respective catch 190, 192 on which soffit 160 may latch onto. On the distal ends of opposite legs 186, 188 are respective distal tips 194, 196. Soffit clip 158 may be formed of a resilient material, such as plastic, for example.

Soffit 160 may include an inner retainer 130 which may be bonded or otherwise attached to an outer soffit shell 132. In one embodiment, retainer 130 is formed of aluminum, and shell 132 is formed of plastic. Retainer 130 may include two opposite side walls 198, 200 each having a respective latch 202, 204 on its distal end. Latches 202, 204 may be snapped onto respective catches 190, 192 of soffit clip 158 to thereby secure soffit 160 to soffit clip 158. When soffit 160 is snapped onto soffit clip 158 in this manner, soffit 160 at least partially conceals track 116 from the view of a person standing below soffit 160 and adjacent to the movable walls. In particular, soffit 160 may at least partially conceal the opening at the bottom of track 116, which may otherwise appear as a noticeably dark strip across a light colored ceiling.

An alignment bar 134 may be bonded to soffit shell 132 and may extend through a throughhole (not shown) in retainer 130 to thereby align retainer 130 relative to soffit shell 132 for bonding. Bar 134 may engage distal tip 194 of leg 186 and thus bias catch 190 of soffit clip 158 into engagement with latch 202 of retainer 130.

Soffit shell 132 may include opposite upstanding side walls 136, 138. A top surface of side wall 138 may engage a bottom surface of a ceiling element, generally designated 180, as shown in FIG. 5A. More particularly, the upper surface of side wall 138 may function as a ledge that supports the edge of the ceiling element installed thereon. Ceiling element 180 may be of the same material as the rest of the ceiling adjacent the track and of the room in which the movable wall system is installed. For example, ceiling element 180 may be tiles of a suspended ceiling, or possibly plasterboard, also known as drywall or gypsum. Ceiling element 180 may be disposed directly below portions of the trolley, as well as the track.

Soffit assembly 154 includes a soffit bracket 156, a soffit clip 158 and a soffit 160. However, as can be seen in FIG. 5A, the orientations of soffit bracket 156, soffit clip 158 and soffit 160 are rotated 180 degrees in soffit assembly 154 as compared to their orientations in soffit assembly 152. The details of soffit assembly 154 are substantially similar to those of soffit assembly 152, and thus are not described in detail herein.

Each soffit 160 may have a length into the page of FIG. 5A that matches the distance between adjacent bolts 120 along track 116. Thus, soffits 160 may be aligned in abutting, end-to-end relationship with each other on opposite sides of track 116 and along the length of track 116. Soffits 160 may extend the entire length of track 116, and the shown cross-sectional configuration of soffits 160 may generally correspond to the configuration of each soffit along its entire axial length.

At the transition point between track 16 and track 116, i.e., at the transition between a linear track section and an arcuate switch section of a movable wall system, soffits 60 may abut against soffits 160, as shown in FIG. 5B. Soffits 60 and 160 may have substantially the same widths and heights, as is evident in FIG. 5B, such that an observer near the walls may discern no visual distinction or transition between soffits 60, 160.

In another aspect of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, an elongate soffit removal tool 300 is provided for quickly removing soffits 60, 160 from respective soffit clips 58, 158. Tool 300 includes a body 302 disposed between a handle end 304 and a hooked end 306. As shown in FIG. 6A, hooked end 306 may engage latch 102 of soffit 60 while body 302 engages side wall 98 such that torque applied to handle end 304 in the direction of arrow 308 may pry latch 102 away from soffit attachment device 53. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 6B, hooked end 306 may engage latch 202 of soffit 160 while body 302 engages side wall 136 such that torque applied to handle end 304 in the direction of arrow 308 may pry latch 202 away from soffit attachment device 153. The torque applied to handle end 304 in direction 308 may be in the plane of the page of FIGS. 6A, 6B as defined by hooked end 306.

Tool 300 defines a longitudinal direction 310 and a latitudinal direction 312 that is toward the soffit and that is oriented perpendicular to longitudinal direction 310. Body 302 has two surfaces 314, 316 at different respective positions in latitudinal direction 312. Surface 314 is provided on an engagement element 318, while surface 316 is provided on a base 320. Engagement element 318 may be slidably connected to base 320. In the embodiment shown, engagement element 318 is coupled to base 320 via a rivet 322 or by some other suitable fastener. Element 318 may be slid in longitudinal directions 310 relative to base 320, with the movement being limited by the engagement of rivet 322 with opposite ends 324, 326 of a slot 328 in element 318.

In one embodiment, base 320 and engagement element 318 each have a width in the direction into the page of FIGS. 6A, 6B of four inches, and handle end 304 has a width in the same direction of less than one-half inch. In this embodiment, engagement element 318 may have two slots 328 near respective opposite ends of element 318, i.e., slots 328 may be aligned with each other in a direction into the page of FIGS. 6A, 6B. A respective rivet 322 may be disposed within each of slots 328.

Surfaces 314, 316 may be selectively engageable with the side wall of the soffit. That is, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A, 6B, surface 314 may be selected for engagement with side wall 98, and surface 316 may be selected for engagement with side wall 136. More particularly, surfaces 314, 316 are selectively engageable with side walls 98, 136 dependent upon a distance in latitudinal direction 312 between side walls 98, 136 and their corresponding latches 102, 202. Surface 314, being very close to the distal tip of hooked end 306 in latitudinal direction 312, may be more appropriate for engagement with side wall 98, which is very close to latch 102 in latitudinal direction 312. Conversely, surface 316, being farther from the distal tip of hooked end 306 in latitudinal direction 312, may be more appropriate for engagement with side wall 136, which is farther from a corresponding latch 202 in latitudinal direction 312.

Although this invention has been shown and described as concealing a track installed in a ceiling support structure, it is contemplated that this invention can also be used to conceal tracks installed in other structures, such as walls and floors.

While this invention has been shown and described as having multiple designs, the present invention may be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains.

Claims

1. A soffit assembly for use with a movable wall system, the movable wall system having a track, said soffit assembly comprising: a soffit attachment device having a first portion and a second portion, said first portion being attachable to the track; and a soffit configured to be snapped onto said second portion of said soffit attachment device such that said soffit at least partially conceals the track.

2. The soffit assembly of claim 1, wherein said first portion of said soffit attachment device includes a substantially horizontally-oriented section, said second portion of said soffit attachment device having a slot configured to slidingly receive said substantially horizontally-oriented section of said first portion.

3. The soffit assembly of claim 2, wherein said substantially horizontally-oriented section of said first portion of said soffit attachment device includes a hump configured to retain said second portion on said first portion.

4. The soffit assembly of claim 1, wherein said second portion of said soffit attachment device includes two opposite edges, said soffit including two opposite side walls each having a respective distal end configured to be snapped onto a respective one of said opposite edges.

5. The soffit assembly of claim 4, wherein said second portion of said soffit attachment device includes two opposite arms, said two opposite edges being on respective distal ends of said opposite arms.

6. The soffit assembly of claim 4, wherein said soffit includes at least one projection configured to bias said opposite edges of said second portion of said soffit attachment device into engagement with said distal ends of said side walls of said soffit.

7. The soffit assembly of claim 1, further comprising a resilient sweep configured to be attached to a movable wall and to be biased thereby against a bottom surface of said soffit.

8. A soffit assembly for use with a movable wall system, the movable wall system having a track, said soffit assembly comprising: a soffit bracket attachable to the track; a soffit clip coupled to said soffit bracket; and a soffit configured to be snapped onto said soffit clip such that said soffit at least partially conceals the track.

9. The soffit assembly of claim 8 wherein said soffit bracket includes a substantially horizontally-oriented section, said soffit clip having a slot configured to slidingly receive said substantially horizontally-oriented section of said soffit bracket.

10. The soffit assembly of claim 9, wherein said substantially horizontally-oriented section of said soffit bracket device includes a hump configured to retain said soffit clip on said soffit bracket.

11. The soffit assembly of claim 8, wherein said soffit clip includes two opposite edges, said soffit including two opposite side walls each having a respective distal end configured to be snapped onto a respective one of said opposite edges.

12. The soffit assembly of claim 11, wherein said soffit clip includes two opposite arms, said two opposite edges being on respective distal ends of said opposite arms.

13. The soffit assembly of claim 11, wherein said soffit includes at least one projection configured to bias said opposite edges of said soffit clip into engagement with said distal ends of said side walls of said soffit.

14. The soffit assembly of claim 8, further comprising a resilient sweep configured to be attached to a movable wall and to be biased thereby against a bottom surface of said soffit.

15. A soffit arrangement for use with a movable wall system, the movable wall system having a track, said soffit arrangement comprising: a soffit attachment device coupleable to the track; a soffit including a side wall and a latch configured to be snapped onto said soffit attachment device such that said soffit at least partially conceals the track; and an elongate soffit removal tool including a body disposed between a handle end and a hooked end, said hooked end being configured to engage said latch of said soffit while said body engages said side wall such that torque applied to said handle end may pry said latch of said soffit away from said soffit attachment device.

16. The soffit arrangement of claim 15, wherein the torque is applied to said handle end in a plane defined by said hooked end.

17. The soffit arrangement of claim 15, wherein said tool defines a longitudinal direction and a latitudinal direction oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, said body of said tool having a plurality of surfaces at different respective positions in the latitudinal direction, said surfaces being selectively engageable with said side wall of said soffit.

18. The soffit arrangement of claim 17, wherein said surfaces of said body of said tool are selectively engageable with said side wall of said soffit dependent upon a distance in the latitudinal direction between said latch of said soffit and said side wall of said soffit.

19. The soffit arrangement of claim 17, wherein said body of said tool includes: a base having a first of the surfaces; and an engagement element having a second of said surfaces, said engagement element being movable relative to said base in the longitudinal direction.

20. The soffit arrangement of claim 19, wherein said engagement element is slidably connected to said base.