Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
R IEF SUl~R'~ ~
A s~gniflcant purpose o~ this lnvention resides ~ the
prov~ sion of ~ roofing element ~or a building whlch proYide~ means
therein functionin~ a~ a ~lre barrier in the event of a ~ire
within the buildlng. The roofing ~tructure of thl~ e~tion
include~ a plurality of element6 one o~ which is lnsulatlon whlch
may be of the plast~ c air entrapment type " l~hen ~ fire occurs in
the bullding covered by the roof o:f this inventlon the heat from
such fire causes the insulation to become m~lten and f'lo~Yable,
lQ and the insulat~on and a reservolr board are mounted on ~ flreproof
member which includes a plurality o~ abutt~ng sectionsg and this
molten in~ul~tion will leak between the 8eam8 at the abutt~ng
edge~ of the ~ectlon~ of the ~reproo~ member. It 1~ one of the
~l~nlficant ob~ect~ of thl~ lnvention to provide means incorporated
in the roo~ structure ror preventing such molten lnsulatlon from
flowing d~nwardly between the 6eam~ of the abutting edge~ of the
section~ of the flreproo~ memb~r o~ the roo~. This hlghly
advantageous characteri~tic o~ the roof ~8 ~ccompli~hed by means
of what I ~hall term a "re~ervoir board" which ~8 provlded with a
20 plurality of spaced apart apertures therein. The reæervolr board
be~ng mounted on the sections o~ the flreproof member and the
~nsulatlon being mounted on the re~ervolr board~ The plurallty of
apertures in the reservolr board ln combinatlon with lt~ mountlng
on Pnd adherence to the section~ of the fireproof member proYide
in effect CUp8 lnto ~Jhlch the ~olten ~n~ulat~on flow~ and whlch
function to retaln guch molten ~n~ulation and to keep lt ~rom
reaching the ~eams between the 8ection8 of the fireproo~ member
ror lea~age therethrough, It 1~ al~o wlth~n ~y contemplatiQn to
~i~
-- 2 --
~ 3 ~ ~
ellmin~te the re~ervolr b~rd ~nd ln~t~ad form the ~ect$on~ of the
fireproor member wlth cutouts therein which proYlde CUp3 ~or
recelv~ng the molten ln~ulatlon~ In this ~orm of the invent~on
the ~nsulatlvn would be ~upported upon the ~ection~ of the flre-
proor member and ~uch CUp8 therein would prevent the fl~w of
molten in~ulation from reaching the seam~ between sect10ns of the
~lreproo~ member ~o that there w~uld be n~ leakage of the ~olten
~nsulat~on through ~uch ~e~ms.
Since it i~ not deslrable to have the apertures ~n the
0 reservolr board in a vertical plane ~hich coincides w$th the
vertical plane o~ the seams between the sections of the fireproo~
member. To accomplish this I have devlsed a v~6u~1 indlcation to
the roo~ installer so that the apertures in the re~er~oir bo~rd
will not be aligned with the seams between sections of the fire-
proof member when the roof ~ a~sembled.
~ n one form of thl~ invention the fireproof member 1~
eliminated ~nd ln lts ~tead a wood flberboard barrler i8 used and
th~s barrler 18 provided with a plurallty of spaced apart Rpertures
therein fo~ming cups for r~ceiv~ng the molten lnsulation in the
20 event of a rire and keeping ~uch molten lnsulat~on ~rom flowlng
on ~nd distorting the remainlng elements of the roof structure.
It must be appreeiated that the wood flberboard whlch funct~ ons as
a fire barrier in this form of the invention will not burn, lnstead
it will become charcoal and it has been determ~ned that ~t has a
better burn r~ting than the element~ of the ~teel deck which are
disposed beneath the ~Jood flberboaro bsrrier and are protected
thereby from the molten ~nsulat~on. It should also be under~tood
that when the f~reproof member 1~ eliminated ~nd this wood f~ber-
board barrler 1~ subst~uted therefor the problem of 8eam8 between
30 6ectlon8 0~ the ~lreproo~ member ls no loneer eneountered.
1~2432~
Addltlo~al ob~ects and ad~antages of the pre~ent lnventlon
~:~11 become more readily ~pparent to those skilled in the art when
the follow~ng general ~t~tements and descriptlons are read ~n the
llg~t o~ the appended drawing~.
3~
BRXEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIF~'S O~ THE DRA~7~GS
Fi~. 1 Is a perspect~e vlew ln sectlon of' a p~rt Or a roof
embodying this invention, the elements of the roof belng lllus-
trated in exploded posltlo~s.
Flg. 2 i~ a vie~; taken on the ?ine 2-2 of Fi~. 1.
Fl~. 3 ls a vie~ similar to Fig~ 2 ~ith the addition
therein o~ a lamination to the reservolr board~
Flg. 4 is a view in section Or ~ ~o~lf~ed for,~ Or the
invention, the ele,~nts of the roor beinc illustrated ln e~ploded
o posltionS.
Fi~o 5 is a pl~n ~ic~: illustr~t~n~ the in~ici~ Je~rin~ on
the rescrvoir bozr~ to properly locate said boards rclati~r~ to the
se~ms between the sEctions of the fireproof ~ember~
Fi~. 6 i~ ~n exploded vle~: in p~rspectivc Or ~ roor~n~
~tructure rorming a modi~ication of the ~nvention ~nd in~olvcs the
~ub~tltution oP ~ wood ~iberboard barrler for the barricrs
prevlously illu~trated.
Fi~, 7 ~s ~ vie~ in section Or the ~Jood fib~rbo~rd barrier
~;ith parts ther~of bro~en a~Jay an~ ~articularly illu~tr~tin~ the
20 ap~rturcs thercin ~:hlch pro~lne cu~ for recelvin~ the molten
~nsulation.
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a further modification of the
invention.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view, partly in section and partly broken away,
showing another embodirnent of the invention.
FIG. 10 is a sectional view, partly broken away, showing yet another
embodiment of the invention.
FIG. I l is a sectional view, partJy broken away, oi a reservoir board
showing a modification of its apertures ior receiving rnolten insulation.
-- 4 --
~2~32~
DET~ILED DESCRIPTION
In the accompanyln~ drawing~ ~nd partlcularly Flg. 1
thereo~ a roo~ing ~tructure 18 illustrated which includes spaced
apart ~t~el ~oist~ lllustrated generally by the numeral 1. Upon
such roo~ ~olsts a metal deckln~ 3 ls supported and on thls metsl
deck~ng is mounted a flreproo~ member 5 composed of a plurallty of
sections deslgnatPd by the numeral~ 7, 9 and 11, the edges Or the
sectlons abutting to provlde seams 13 therebetween~ The section~
5 of the fireproof member are preferably formed o~ sheet rock and
lo such sheet rock sections may be on the order of 5/8" in thickness.
The sheet rock sectlons 5 may be secured in any sultable manner
to the metal deck 3. The reservoir board ha~ been desi~nated in
its entlrety by the numeral 15 and may be formed of gypsum,
fiberboard, Perllte, or any other suitable materlal and i pre-
ferably on the order of 1~2" ~n thlc~nes~. The reservoir board 15
~5 provided w~th a plurality o~ apertures 17 therein and iB al80
provided wlth vlslble lndlcla llnes 19 on the upper surface
~hereo~, the funct~on of the~e ~nd~cla llnes ~1111 be made cle~r
herelna~ter. ~t ttl~S tlme, however, it should be noted that no
apertures 17 ~re for~ed on the vlsible lndicia line~ 19 and whlle
I have illustrated ~n the drawings the apertures 17 beln6 of
circular con~Lguratlon lt is to be distinctly under~tood that they
may be rectangular, di~mond shaped, or of any other ~uitable con-
fl~ur~tlon and ~till fall hithln the ~p4 rlt hri scoDe o~ this
inventlon. The re~ervolr board 15 1E mounted on the ~lreproo~
sheet rGek sectio~s 7, 9 an~ nd ls afrixed thereto by ~luelng
or ln any other ~uitable ma~ner, Insulatlon 21 1~ mounted anâ
~upported on and cover~ the top of the re~erYoir board 15. The
~,Z2~
lnsulat~ on 21 1~ pref'erably of a pla~tic air entrapment type and,
as wlll become more evident a~ this de~crlptlon proceeds~, when
the insulation ls ~ub~ected to hent it becomes a flo~able molten
mas~. The lnsulation 21 may be affixed to the reservoir board 1
ln any suitable manner. A rubber roofing membr~ne 23 1~ afflxed
to a l~m~natlon 25 whlch 1~ turn i~ caused to adhere to the
insulatlon 21.
~ Ihen the elementsor the roo~ have been assembled in roof
forming posltion, it wlll be under~tood that the reservoir board
o 15 ls glued or otherwise cau~ed to adhere to the top surface of
the flreproof members ~ and the apertures 17 in the reser~oir
board comblned ~ith the fireproof member 5 will form CUpS3 the
upper surface of the fireproof sections forminG the bottoms of
such cups. In the eYent of ~ ~ire wlthln the buildlng whlch is
covered by the described roofing structure the lntense hea~
generated u~ll cause the lnsulation 21 to melt and become a
flowable molten mass. Such molten mas8 O~ ~nsulatlon wlll flow
into the cup ~orm~ng aperture6 17 and wlll be held thereln and
prevented ~rom rlowing to the ~eams 13 between the ~ireproo~
20 member sectlons and then leaklng down into the roof to cause
intenslficatlon o~ the flre. In other ~ords, thl~ ~ngen1ous
arrangement provldes ln effect ~ flre barrier for preventlng
lntensl~icatlon Or a fire wlthin the buildlng. In order to be
fully effectlve the apertures 17 ln the reserYolr boQrd 15 must
be formed therein out of alignment w~th the seams 13 in the
sections o~ the ~reproof ~ember. Ilhen ~he roof ls belng installed
the rooflng installer line~ up the ~islble indlciA line 19 on the
upper ~urf~ce of the reservolr board with the ~eams 13 between the
sectlon~ 7, 9 and 11 of the ~$reproof member. S~nce, a5 has been
30 ~tated herelnbefore, the aperture~ are not ~ormed at the lndic~a
-- 6 --
lines 19 and hence when the lines 19 are lined up with the ~eam
13, there wlll be no cup forming apertures over the seams 13.
In certain installatlons lt is found to be desirable to
laminate the.reservoir board 15 ln order to provide sufflcient
stability thereto. ~n F~g. 3 of the dra~1ings ~uch lamlnation ls
illustrated at 27 and ~t ~lill be e~ident that this p~ovides the
reservoir board 15 ~lith substantlally greater stabll~ty.
Fi~. 4 illustra~es a modified form of this invention and
the same reference nu~erals have been uced to illustrate parts
o thereln ~lhich have ~een used to illustrate slmilar parts in
Figs. 1-3. ~1 th~s form Or the invention the reservolr board has
been ~ inated and the ~ireproof sections designated by the
numeral 2~ serves in place of the hereinbe~ore reserYo~r board.
The f~reproof sections 29 of the fireproof member are pro~ided
~lt'u a plurality of cups 31 ~hich, as will be apparent ~rom
consideratlon of Fig. 4 of the drawlngs, do not extend all the
way through the ~ireproof sections 23 Or the f~reproof member 30.
Thus, ~hen a fire occurs in the buildlng ~:hich ls covered by this
roo~ the insulation 21 w~ll melt and become a molten mass and ~
20 flo~l into the cups ~1 ~n the flreproo~ sect~ons 2~ and such molten
m~s~ ~.111 bs prev~nted from flo~ling to the seams 33 wlth con-
fiequent lea}-~e therethrouzh.
In Fl~s. 6 an~ 7 a modified form o~ thls ~nvention is
dlsclosed an~ ~n the descrlption thereo~ I s-hall use the same
reference numerals as heretofore used ~or slmilar parts. The
roofln~ structure includes spaced apart steel ~olsts 111ustrated
gener~lly by the numeral 1 and upon such roof Joi~ts a metal
decklng is supported and upon thl~ metal deck~ng a wosd Piberboard
~ire barrier ~3 is supported. Thls wood rlberb~ard member 33 ~s
13~
provided wlth a plurallty Or spaced apart epertures thereln whlch
extend inwardly toward the bottom of the member 33 but are spaced
therefrom so that the apertures 35 fsrm a plurallty o~ cups
~ithln the wood fiberboard ~lember 33. This ~;ood fiberboard member
is preferably on the or~er of 1~2" in thickne~s and functlons ln
the roofing ~tructure comb~nat~on as a flre barrier to keep the
molten insulation from flowing do-:nwardly to and ln contact with
the ~etal roo~in~ 3. The metal roofin~ ~hen sub~ected to the
heat of the molten in~ulatlon would become distorted. The ~;ood
.0 ~iberbozrd ~lem~er 3 acts ~s a rireproor member and under the
lnfluence of heat fro~ the r.lolten insu].ation in t!le event o~ a
fire becomes charcoal and tests have e~tablished that this ~ood
flberboard mel~ber 33 has a better burn rntln~ than the steel
decl~ 3,
Supported upon the wood fiberboard 33 i~ the insul~tion 21
and the roofing membrane 23 ~lth its la~ln~tlon 25 :hich are
mounted on and caused to adhere to the insulation 21. It will
no~ be reco~nized that ~n the roofin~ structure of Fi~s. 6 ~nd 7
the fireproof ~em~ber and the separate f~re rcserYoir board are
eli~nated and the ~:ood flberboard member 33 functions in their
pl~cec as a flre- b~rrier me.~.lbcr.
3~L
In FIG. 8t a building covering structure is illus-
trated wherein spaced apart steel joists designated 110 support
metal decking 112 on which is mounted an integral fireproof or
fire resistant member designated 133, insulation 121 and an
overlying lamination 125 and covering membrane 123. Fire
resistant member 133 may be formed o~ plasterboard or the like
and serves as a reservoir board with a series of suitable
apertures 135 shown as bein~ of a generally diamond-shaped con-
figuration. Apertures 135 extend partially through board 133.
In the event of a fire in a building covered by this structural
assembly, insulation 121 will melt and become a molten mass and
will flow into the apertures 135 of member 133 to preven~ the
molten mass from flowing to its seams, not shown! and possible
Jeakage into the building interior. Intensification of the
fire within the building due to leaka~e of the insulation 121
in a hot melt state is accordingly effectively prevented.
To further improve the disclosed structure, wherein
an underlying fire resistant member, such as illustrated at 5
in FIG. I is divided into sections 7, 9 and 11 with abutting
seams 13, a fire barrier of high integrity which is effectively
impervious to the flow of molten insulation is provided by
seams 13 positively secured, preferably with a tape, not
shown. The tape may be formed of a suitable fire resistant
material. This construction further ensures against leakage of
melted insulation into the building interior in the event of
fire. If desired, such tapin~ likewise can be applied to seams
19 (FIG. I) of adjacent sections of reservoir board 15 itself
which directly underlies insulation 21.
L3~
For quick and easy installation of a modular type
building covering, FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of
this invention wherein the basic structural components are
formed in an elongated integrated panel 230 with a suitable
~ire resistant reservoir board 232 o~ unitary construction
(similar to that illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6) in underlying
assembled relation to a block o~ insulation 234 which, as in
the previously described embodiments, may be formed of plastic,
preferably an air or gas entrapment type plastic which, when
lo subjected to heat, becomes a flowable molten mass. A rubber
roofing membrane 236 is provided as a cover for an exterior
surface of the insulation 234. Prior to being installed, the
membrane 236 has longitudinally extending free side edges 236A
and 236~, it being understood that the membrane body between
the free side edges 236A and 236B is fixed in any suitable
fashion to the insulation 234.
This embodiment of the invention is particularly
suited to be installed as a modular panel between spaced
parallel I beams 238, 240 each having a central web 242 and
laterally extending upper and lower plates 244, 246. As
illustrated, the insulation and reservoir board panel assernbly
is dimensioned and configured to be supported on confronting
lower plates 246, 246 of adjacent beams 238, 240. Ii desired,
~illers such as the illustrated longitudinally extending wooden
runners 248 may be provided to secure the panel 230 in position
on beams 238, 240 which serve as the supporting means for the
236A, 236B structure. The longitudinaliy extending iree side
edges of the roofing membrane 236 may then be secured in lapped
relation to a membrane side edge of an adjacent panel and in
overlying relation to upper plate 244 of the supporting bearn
-- I O
with any suitable adhesive, not shown. As illustrated in FIG.
9, apertures or channels 25~ are provided by arcuate depres-
sions formed to extend partially through reservoir board 232
for receiving and retaining any molten insulation 234. If the
structure of FIG. ~, for example, were provided on a sloping
roof or were to serve as a sloping wall of a building, an end
wall such as at 252 (FIG. Il) of each channel 250 is preferably
formed so as to be generally vertically disposed in an in-
stalled position~ and the end wall 252 o~ channel 250 forms an
lo acute angle 254 relative to an upper surface 256 of reservoir
board 232.
Turning now to FIG. 10, another embodiment of this
invention is illustrated wherein the fire barrier 260 mounted
on a suitable supporting means 262 is illustrated as comprising
a plurality of reservoir board sections 264 wlth edge portions
oi adjacent reservoir board sections 264 in lapping relation to
one another. Such construction provides a saw tooth profile by
virtue oi a leading edge 266 of a trailing section such as 264A
overlapping a trailing edge 268 of each leading reservoir board
section such a-s 264~ and thereby creating a containment barrier
on the face o~ each board section 264 defined by an end wall
270 of its trailing board section for containing an excessive
molten rnass oi insulation or overilow due to a building fire.
Such construction is particularly suited to be applied on a
sloping roof or sloping wall serving as a buildin~ covering
structure. While the overlying insulation 272 supported on
sections 264 oi the reservoir board in FIG. 10 is illustrated
as havin~ a base proIile corresponding to the underlying
reservoir board and a generally f lat planar exposed sur~ace 274
on the insulation layer, such profiling of the insulation 272
~3L~Z~3;2~
rnay or may not be desired in a given installation. As in the
previously descr;bed embodiments, a suitable cover such as a
rubber roof membrane may be applied to the exposed surface of
the insulation.
As will be apparent to persons skiJled in the art,
various modifications, adaptatlons and variations of the fore-
goin~ specific disclosure can be made without departin~ irom
the teachin~s of this invention.
