LIGHT WEIGHT VAULT WALL

MUR LEGER POUR CHAMBRE FORTE

English Abstract

TITLE
LIGHT WEIGHT VAULT WALL
INVENTOR
W. R. Merritt
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A light weight composite panel for use in vaults or strong
rooms, having a foamed plastic core, metal mesh embedded in the major
faces of the core, a layer of wood on each face of the plastic core,
and a sheet metal skin covering the layers of wood. An inner one of
the sheet metal skins is preferably a heat conductive metal, such as
aluminum.

Claims

CLAIMS
1. A strong wall structure comprising:
- a foamed polymeric resin capable of bonding with power
tools and producing noxious fumes when burned;
- metal mesh embedded in said polymeric resin on at least
one major face;
- wood panels on each major face of said polymeric resin;
- a heat conductive metal on a covering face of said wall
structure; and
- sheet metal covering a second major face of said
structure.
2. A strong wall structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said
foamed polymeric resin is urethane.
3. A strong wall structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said
wood panel comprise plywood.
4. A strong wall structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said
heat conductive material is aluminum.
5. A strong wall structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein joints
between panels are covered metal strips bolted to adjoining panels by
bolts having their head welded to the inner face of the strip.

Description

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'rhis invention relates to securLty struct~lres such as strong
rooms or vaults and more particularly, to panels for use in walls or
doors of such structures.
Traditional vaults have provided higher security by using a
greater thickness and density oE materials. I~owever, the structural
loads inherent in such vaults exceed the normal live load limits of
floors designed for the usual office accommodations. Thus vaults of this
type are accommodated in the bàsement or ground floor levels of buildings
where floor loadings are adequate.
It is therefore desirable to develop security structures fabri-
cated of lightweight materials having comparable attack resistance which
are capable of being erected on ofEice floors having a live load bearing
capacity of approximately 50 lb. per square foot~
;~ This attack resistance o the proposed vaul-t relates to the
time required to gain access and is obtained by the selection and ar-
rangement of materials which will interefere with the operation of power
tools. Furthermore, a number OL tools will be required to penetrate the
structure because of the variety of materials used.
It is therefore an ob~ect o this invention to provide a wall
panel for a vault which is lighter in weight than conventional vaults
walls.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a panel
for a vault wall having attack resistance comparable to that of conven-
tional vaults.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a
; vault which can be dismantled and moved to another location.
:~ Accordingly, the present invention provides a foamed polymeric
resin capable of bonding with power tools and producing noxious fumes
when burned; metal mesh embedded in sa:Ld polymeric resin on at least one
;~ 30 major face; wood panels on each ma~or face of said polymeric resin; a
heat conductive metal on a covering face of said wall structure; and
sheet metal covering a second ma~or face of said structure.
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In the accompanying dra~ings ~hich ilLust~ate a preferred
embodiment of this invention:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a strong room vault.
Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of adjoining panels of the
vault taken along the line 2--2 of figure 1.
Figure 3 is an end elevational view of a bottom joint cover
includin~ floor and wall panels shown in broken lines.
Figure 4 is an end elevational view of a ceiling joint cover.
Referring now in detail to the drawings, a vault shown gener-
ally at 10 in figure 1, comprises a plurality of panels 14 forming the
walls 16, ceiling 18, and a floor 20. Corners of the vault 10 are formed
by panels having a substantially L-shaped cross section~
A suitable door 26 and door frame 28, for the vault 10, will be
described in a separate patent application.
As shown in detail in figure 2, the panels 14 and 22 comprise a
foamed plastic core 30, such as urethane, capable of producing noxious
fumes. Expanded metal mesh 32 is embedded in both major faces of the
plastic core and heavy plywood, particleboard or the like, 34 covers the
metal mesh on both faces. In addition, a thin sheet of stainless steel
36 is adhesively secured to an outer face of the plywood 34. A stucco
embossed aluminum sheet 38 is adhesively secured to the face of the panel
which will be on the inside of the vault 10. Vertical joints between the
panels 14~ or 14 and 22, are covered by joint covers 40. Bolts 41,
having th~ir heads welded to the joint cover 40, pass through suitable
apertures 42 adjacent ~he mating ends of the panels 14 or 22. The aper-
tures 42 are countersunk to receive recessed nuts 44 which also pass
through pairs of apertures in an aluminum strip 46 to engage pairs of
bolts l~1 on the joint cover 40.
The joint covers 50 and 52, shown in more detail in fig~lres 3
and 4, are bolted through the panels 14 and 22 in much the same manner
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as the vertical joint cover 40. The cover 50, for use on floor panels,
has a right angle bend ~o extend un(le~ the floor 20 and a bolt, the head
of which is welded to the upright portion of the cover is adaptecl to
extend through the wall panel 14 and through an aluminu~ angle bracket
56.
The wall panel 10 is preferably assembled so as to have the
stainless steel sheet glued to the smooth side of the ply~ood sheet
through the use oE a water dispersed adhesive. The layer of expanded
metal mesh 32 is attached to the rough side of the plywood ~7ith metal
staples prior to the plywood being glued to the stainless steel. The
aluminum sheet is stucco embossed and is adhesively secured to the second
plywood sheet as described with reference to the stainless steel sheet.
The foamed plastic core is preferably rigid urethane ~hich is
~; foamed in place at a pressure of approximately 60 psi, so as to bond
tenaciously to the interior and exterior layers of plywood. The expand-
ing agent used in the core 30 is Freon 11 having an inherent pressure of
38 psi at a temperature of 150F. The U factor of the urethane foam is
not in excess of .029. The rigid foam 30 is designed to be stable at
temperatures ranging from -90F to +250DF. The panel edges are provided
with tha tonglle and groove edges to assure airtight vapour-proof joints.
A flexible vinyl gasket may be fitted on the interior and exterior of
each panel along every tongae edge to provlde se-lint at each ~oint.
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