Fire resistant panel with structural inserts
A fire resistant panel includes a first sheet and a second sheet of non-combustible material positioned in parallel spaced relation to define a sandwich structure with a central cavity. The sandwich structure has a top, a bottom and opposed ends. Cement posts are positioned in spaced relation in the central cavity, in a substantially vertical orientation extending between the top and the bottom. A cement beam is positioned along the top of the central cavity, supported by the cement posts. Rigid foam insulation fills a remainder of the central cavity, with the cement posts and cement beam providing enhanced structural stability to the sandwich structure.
The present invention relates to fire resistant panel with structural inserts, which are adapted to prevent collapse of the panel in the event of a fire.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONCanadian Patent Application 2,498,562 filed Feb. 25, 2005 entitled “Fire resistant rigid foam construction panel,” describes a panel that is highly resistant to fire. However, even fire resistant panels deteriorate when exposed to fire and will eventually collapse.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to the present invention there is provided a fire resistant panel, which includes a first sheet and a second sheet of non-combustible material positioned in parallel spaced relation to define a sandwich structure with a central cavity. The sandwich structure has a top, a bottom and opposed ends. Cement posts are positioned in spaced relation in the central cavity. The cement posts are in a substantially vertical orientation between the top and the bottom. A cement beam is positioned along the top of the central cavity supported by the cement posts. Rigid foam insulation fills a remainder of the central cavity, and the cement posts and cement beam provide enhanced structural stability to the sandwich structure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThese and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
The preferred embodiment, a fire resistant panel generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring to
Operation:
The use of foam panel 10 will now be discussed with reference to
In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the Claims.
Claims
1. A fire resistant panel, comprising;
- a first sheet and a second sheet of non-combustible material positioned in parallel spaced relation to define a sandwich structure with a central cavity, the sandwich structure having a top, a bottom and opposed ends;
- cement posts positioned in spaced relation in the central cavity, with the cement posts being in a substantially vertical orientation between the top and the bottom;
- a cement beam positioned along the top of the central cavity supported by the cement posts; and
- a rigid foam insulation filling a remainder of the central cavity, such that the cement posts and cement beam provide enhanced structural stability to the sandwich structure.
2. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein the non-combustible material of the first sheet and the second sheet is one of magnesium oxide, calcium silicate or cement.
3. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein the cement beam and the cement posts are made from reinforced concrete.
4. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein the rigid foam insulation is non-combustible foam glass.
5. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein a bottom plate is positioned at the bottom of the sandwich structure.
6. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 5, wherein the bottom plate includes means for mechanical attachment of the bottom plate to an underlying structure.
7. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein strips of non-combustible sheet material are positioned transversely on end across the central cavity between the first sheet and the second sheet to increase the rigidity of the sandwich structure.
8. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, wherein all joints have non-combustible backing.
9. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 1, where one of the opposed ends has a male connector and another of the opposed ends has a female connector, whereby the sandwich structure is connected is end to end relation.
10. A fire resistant panel, comprising:
- a first sheet and a second sheet made from one of magnesium oxide, calcium silicate or cement positioned in parallel spaced relation to define a sandwich structure with a central cavity, the sandwich structure having a top, a bottom and opposed ends;
- cement posts made from reinforced concrete positioned in spaced relation in the central cavity, with the cement posts being in a substantially vertical orientation between the top and the bottom;
- a cement beam made from reinforced concrete positioned along the top of the central cavity supported by the cement posts; and
- a rigid non-combustible foam glass insulation filling a remainder of the central cavity, such that the cement posts and cement beam provide enhanced structural stability to the sandwich structure;
- one of the opposed ends has a non-combustible male connector and another of the opposed ends has a female connector, whereby the sandwich structure is connected is end to end relation with all joints having a non-combustible backing provided by the male connector.
11. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 10, wherein a bottom plate is positioned at the bottom of the sandwich structure.
12. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 11, wherein the bottom plate includes means for mechanical attachment of the bottom plate to an underlying structure.
13. The fire resistant panel as defined in claim 10, wherein strips of non-combustible sheet material are positioned transversely on end across the central cavity between the first sheet and the second sheet to increase the rigidity of the sandwich structure.
Type: Application
Filed: May 18, 2006
Publication Date: Nov 23, 2006
Inventor: Gordon Ritchie (Edmonton)
Application Number: 11/437,567
International Classification: E04C 2/00 (20060101);