CA1224321A - Fire barrier reservoir - Google Patents

Abstract

FIRE BARRIER RESERVOIR

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A roofing structure including a plurality of abutting fireproof sections and a reservoir board having apertures therein, the reservoir board mounted on and secured to the sections of the fireproof member, Insulation mounted on said reservoir board and covering said apertures therein. In the event of a fire in the building covered by the roof, the insulation will become molten and under normal circumstances would flow on to the fireproof member and leak therefrom at the seems between abutting sections of the fireproof member and flow therethrough downwardly of the roof. This molten insulation would serve to intensify the fire within the building. Indicia is provided on the reservoir board to aid in the proper installation thereof so that the apertures therein will not be positioned above the seams in the fireproof member. In a modification of the invention the reservoir board is eliminated and the fireproof member is provided with a plurality of cups formed therein to receive and to hold the molten insulation.
A further modification involves a roofing structure in which the fire reservoir board upon which the insulation is mounted is composed of wood fiberboard and is provided with the apertures therein for holding the molten insulation and keeping it from flowing on to the lower roofing structure elements. In this form of the invention the fireproof member is eliminated.

Description

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~

~ 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.

~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 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.

Claims (22)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A roof structure including, in combination, a supporting means, a fireproof member mounted on said supporting means and comprising a plurality of sections with their adjacent edges in abutting relationship providing seams therebetween, a reservoir board mounted on and secured to said sections of the fireproof member, said reservoir board being provided with an aperture therein extending at least partially through the reservoir board, insulation mounted on said reservoir board, the insulation being meltable into a molten flowable mass when subjected to heat, and means covering the top surface of said insulation.

2. A roof structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein said reservoir board extends over said sections of the fireproof member and over the seams provided by the abutting edges of the sections.

3. A roof structure in accordance with claim 2, wherein the reservoir board has a plurality of apertures formed therein outside the vertical planes of said seams.

4. A roof structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein said reservoir board is provided with visible indicia lines in the vertical planes of the seams between sections of the fireproof member, in the assembled roof structure the visible indicia lines on the reservoir board being vertically aligned with the seams between sections of the fireproof member.

5. A roof structure in accordance with claim i, wherein the reservoir board includes a plurality of cup forming apertures, and wherein when said insulation is subjected to heat and it becomes a flowable molten mass, the cup forming apertures in said reservoir board being in position to receive the molten mass and restrain such molten mass from flowing to the seams between sections of said fireproof member.

6. A roof structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein the insulation is of a plastic air entrapment type.

7. A roof structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein said reservoir board is of laminated construction.

8. A roof structure including, in combination, a supporting means, a fireproof member mounted on said supporting means and comprising a plurality of sections with their adjacent edges in abutting relationship providing seams therein, each section of said fireproof member having an aperture therein extending at least partially through said fireproof member, insulation mounted on and covering each section of said fireproof member and the aperture formed therein, the insulation being meltable into a molten flowable mass when subjected to heat, said flowable mass being received in the open end of the aperture of each section of said fireproof member, and means covering the top surface of the said insulation.

9. A roof structure in accordance with claim 8, wherein the apertures formed in the sections of said fireproof member are respectively formed therein in positions remote from the seams therein.

10. A roof structure including, in combination, a supporting means, a wood fiber reservoir board mounted on said means, said reservoir board being provided with an aperture therein extending at least partially through said reservoir board, insulation mounted on said reservoir board, the insulation being meltable into a molten flowable mass when subjected to heat, and means covering the top surface of said insulation.

11. A roof structure in accordance with claim I
wherein the aperture extends completely through the fireproof member.

12. A building covering structure including, in combination, a supporting means, a fire resistant reservoir board mounted on said supporting means, said reservoir board being provided with an aperture therein extending at least partially through said reservoir board, and insulation mounted on said reservoir board, the insulation being meltable into a molten flowable mass when subjected to heat.

13. A structure in accordance with claim 10 wherein the aperture extends completely through the reservoir board, and wherein said reservoir board is mounted on an underlying fire resistant member supported on said supporting means.

14. A structure in accordance with claim 12, wherein the insulation is of a plastic gas entrapment type, and wherein means is provided covering an exterior surface of the insulation.

15. A structure in accordance with claim 13, wherein the fire resistant member underlying the reservoir board comprises a plurality of sections with their adjacent edges in abutting relationship providing seams therebetween.

16. A structure in accordance with claim 15, wherein the sections of the fire resistant member are secured at the seams to provide an underlying fire resistant member of high integrity impervious to the flow of molten insulation.

17. A structure in accordance with claim 15, wherein the sections of the fire resistant member are taped together at the seams.

18. A structure in accordance with claim 12, wherein said reservoir board comprises a plurality of sections with edge portions of adjacent reservoir board sections in lapping relation to one another.

19. A structure in accordance with claim 12, wherein the supporting means includes elongated beams in spaced parallel relation, the beams being of I shaped cross-section having a central web and laterally extending upper and lower plates, and wherein tile insulation and reservoir board are assembled as an elongated panel dimensioned and configured to be supported on confronting lower plates of adjacent beams.

20. A structure in accordance with claim 19, wherein the insulation and reservoir board panel includes a rubber membrane covering the insulation with longitudinally extending side edges for lapping a membrane side edge of an adjacent panel in overlying relation to the upper plate of the supporting beam.

21. A structure in accordance with claim 12 wherein the aperture extends completely through the reservoir board, and wherein said reservoir board is mounted on an underlying fire resistant member supported on said supporting means.

22. A structure in accordance with claim 21, wherein the fire resistant member underlying the reservoir board comprises a plurality of sections with their adjacent edges in abutting relationship providing seams therebetween.