US3068535A - Acoustical treated building structure - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 18, 1962 .1.J. GRUBER lawn. 3,068,535

ACOUSTICAL TREATED BUILDING STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 25. 1958 1.11MB... nu

FIG.3A.

INVENTORS JOS EPH J.GR{JBER BY JOSEPH J. DSFALGO ATTORNEYS Dec. 18, 1962 J. J. GRUBER ETAL 3,068,535

ACOUSTICAL TREATED BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 25, 1958 2 Sheets-Smet 2 INVENTORS Jost-:PH J. GRUBER BY JOSEPH `LneFALoo ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,068,535 ACGUSTICAL TREATED BUILDING STRUC'IUR i Joseph J. Gruber, Depew, and Joseph J. De Falco, Bualo, N.Y., assignors to Fenestra, Incorporated, Detroit,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Aug. 25, 1953, Ser. No. 757,054 Claims. (Cl. 20-4) The present invention relates to a building construction and in particular to structures formed with the use of metal building panels wherein the panels serve as a ceiling and a support for a roof or a iioor of a structure and provide acoustical treatment for the ceiling.

It is an object of the present invention to provide metal building panels that serve as a ceiling and as a support for a roof or a floor of a building structure, with the panels having cells, the walls of the cells forming tension members of the roof support wherein the walls are vperforated and sound absorbing elements are received in the cells to provide acoustical treatment for the ceiling.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide mteal building panels that serve as a ceiling and as a support for a roof or a oor of a building structure, with the panels having cells for the reception of sound absorbing elements wherein the elements are fabricated having a portion adapted to support the element from the open .endof the cell and serve as an impervious or non-impervious closure for the open end.

It is another object to provide a series of formed units lwhich are interengageable to provide a simplified panel construction.

It is still a further object to provide sound absorbing elements which are formed to be self-supporting in the cells.

The foregoing as well as other objects will become more apparent as this description proceeds, especially when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention,

wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view partly in section and partly broken away illustrating the metal panels forming the ceiling and roof of a building structure;

FIG. 2 is a cross section taken through line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a cross section similar to FIG. 2 of an embodiment which is supported along the joint between adjacent ends;

FIG. 3 is a modification of the structure shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3A is a section showing an embodiment which is vsupported on the bottom of the channel along two edges;

FIG. 4 is another modication of the structure shown `in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective View of the sound absorbing element shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6-s a modification of the sound absorbing element of FIG. 5;

PIG. 7 is another modification of the sound absorbing `element of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is still another modification of the sound absorbing element; and

FIG. 9 is a further modification of the sound absorbing element.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated generally at 20 an acoustically treated ceiling andV roof structure. The struture is comprised of building panels 22 assembled in side by side relation. Each panel 22 has a flange portion 24 that serves as a compression member and webs 26 and 28. Ribs 25 serve to stiften flanges 24. Web 26 is bent at right angles to form a tension flange portion 30 that terminates in the channel-shaped female joint 32. Web

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28 is bent at right angles to form a tension ange portion 34 that terminates in the upstanding portion 36 to form the male portion of the joint. Flanges 30 and 34 lie in a plane that is parallel to and spaced from liange 24.

To form a ceiling and roof structure the panels are placed in side by side relationship with female joint 32 of one panel interlocked with the male joint portion 36 of the adjacent panel. The panels are of a convenient length to span adjacent structural supports such as member 38 and are welded thereto at 42. The panels can be secured to each other by welding as at 40.

With the panels assembled the flanges 30 and 34 and webs 26 and 28 of adjacent panels form a cell 44 into which sound absorbing element 50 is placed. The U- shaped member formed by the iianges and webs also serves as a load bearing channel to help support the load carried by the structure. The area formed by ange 24, and webs 26 and 28 of the panel forms a duct 46 opening to the interior of the structure that can be utilized by recessed lighting or other facilities if desired.

In FIG. 2A, a sound absorbing element 140 with a rounded, compressed end 156 is shown placed in a cell 44 with end 156 resting on a joint 32 to offer element support.

FIGURE 3 illustrates a modification of the building panel in which the compression flange terminates in a downwardly extending portion 122 at one side edge and is bent at right angles at the opposite side edge to form the web 124. The tension ange 126 is in a plane parallel to flange 120 and with webs 12.8 and 124 forms a cell 136. Flange 128 terminates in the return bent portion 132 when the panels are assembled together in side by side relationship to form a ceiling and roof structure. The portions 122 and 132 can be permanently fastened together by welding, crimping or any suitable manner.

The sound absorbing element 134 is similar to the elements later described and is received in the cell 136. Perforations 138 allow sound Waves to enter the cell to be absorbed by the element. Built up rooiing 140 covers the structure. In FIG. 3A, element 160 has been placed in cell 136 and is supported by rounded portions 180, 182 which are in contact with iiange 126. In FIG- URE 4, a recess 102 is formed in flange 104 to accommodate a particular, later described insulating element.

To provide acoustical treatment to the ceiling', sound absorbing element 50 is used. Element 50 can be fabricated from any sound absorbing material such as mineral fibers, vegetable fibers or materials which are capable of absorbing sound energy by virtue of cellular construction. Excellent results have been obtained by molding the element from glass fibers having a diameter of from .0001 to .0003 inch impregnated with a suitable thermosetting binder such as phenolic resin.

In fabricating the element, an elongated batt is laid up with the fibers running in a direction along the length of the batt and in parallel layers, with the layers having a horizontal orientation. As the batt is formed the fibers are lightly impregnated with phenolic resin with the batt being formed having a density of approximately 1 pound per cubic foot.

A mold is provided having a cross-sectional shape conforming to the iinal shape of the sound absorbing element. The element can be of any length suitable for handling, shipping or fabricating convenience and is determined by the length of the mold.

With the two sections of the mold open, the batt, cut to conform to the length of the mold, is placed in one element of the mold with the fibers running generally parallel with the face of the mold which will give the molded element resiliency in a transverse direction. The iibers have an orientation, the result of which places many iibers in parallelism. The batt is made to a width that will allow the ibers to be distributed across the cross 'can vary in density throughout its cross section.

section of the mold in a manner to obtain the desired material density throughout the element.

When the mold is closed the batt is compressed into the shape of the mold and by heating the fibers to a required temperature (approximately 350 F.) the fibers will set and retain the shape of the mold after removing. inasmuch as the compression takes place initially and primarily along the surfaces of the batt, the finished element is of unequal density and the surface strata are somewhat compacted forming a shell-like surface providing extra strength. The strength of the material varies with the density of the fibers, the higher the density the stronger the material. The molded material is resilient and can be compressed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the fibers and will return to its original shape.

The element 50 has a flat compressed surface 54 that terminates at each side in the flange portions 56 and 58. Walls 60 and 62 extend at right angles to the flange portions 56 and 58 to the points 64 and o6 Where they extend inwardly to form the walls 68 and 7b. rl`he sidewalls terminate in a rounded portion 72. The element can be fabricated in various lengths. Lengths of from 4 feet to 8 feet are found suitable for convenience in handling. The element is higher than it is wide thereby exposing a large area of sound absorbing material for a (given ceiling width.

The density of the material varies throughout the elelrnent with the material in flange portions S6 and 5S and adjacent the surface S4 compressed to a greater density than the remainder of the element to obtain higher strength in these areas. The distance between walls 60 and 62 of the element is slightly greater in dimension than that between the surfaces 74 and 7 6 of adjacent panels 22 when the panels are assembled in side by side relationship to form the cell 44. When the element Sil is inserted in the cell 44 the element will compress slightly due to the resiliency of the material and form a snug fit. Flange portions 56 and 58 overlap the portions 24 of adjacent panels 22 and with surface 54 of the element form a closure for the cell 44.

anels 22 have perforations 7S through the surfaces 26, 23 and Si) of the panel to allow sound waves to pass into the cell 44 to be absorbed by the element 5G. The perforations can vary in size and spacing but perforations having a diameter of lds of an inch with staggered spacing of 2%4 of an inch giving approximately 1150 holes per square foot, gives excellent acoustical results while still retaining the structural advantages of the metal.

:Due to the configuration of the element Sil the surfaces 63 7i? of the element are spaced away from the surfaces 74 and '7o of webs 26 and 28 that face toward the inside of cell 44 so that dirt or paint will not accumulate in the perforations to block the entrance of sound waves if the element was directly against surfaces 74- and 76. it will be noted that the Webs 26 and 28 are not perforated where the walls e@ and 62 of the element contact "the surfaces 74 and 76 of the cell. Perforations can continue, however, for the entire height of the web if desired.

The element Si) may be molded to various shapes and it has been found that densities of from l pound per cubic foot to 5 pounds per cubic foot gives excellent results in sound absorbing properties to the element. The supporting portions of the element Si), such as flanges 5d and 5S, are compressed to a density greater than the batt density which offers adequate structural support for the embodiment shown. xcellent results have been obtained by compressing the flanges to a density of about l2 pounds per cubic foot.

After the element is in place in the cell a built-up roofing can be placed over the structure 26, comprised of a layer of bitumen or felt S4 rigid insulation 36 covered by bitumen or felt lt will be noted that by leaving the duct 4e open to the interior of the structure Zu and varying the depth of the cell 44, the acoustically treated area of the ceiling can also be varied. ln this manner more sound absorbing area can be provided for the ceiling than if the entire ceiling in one plane, for example a plane through the bottom of the cell or flanges 3d and 34, were acoustically treated.

FIGURE 6 shows a modication of the sound absorbing element where a sheet of light gage metal 90 serves as a vapor barrier. The sheet of metal is attached to the el ent by an adhesive or other suitable means and ivo-en in place extends beyond the surfaces 94 and to form the flanges 9i; and 105i. The element 92 is fabricated in the same manner and of the same materials as for element A recess lt@ can be formed in the compression flanges ltlli of the panels 106, as shown in FiG. 4, to accom nodate the flanges 98 and 100 and allow the top surface of sheet it@ to be tiush with the top surfaces of aange l f. if desirable, caulking 108 can be applied to insure greater moisture resistance. The panel is acoustically treated in the same manner as panel 22.

rEhe sheet of metal 98 also serves as a support for the built-up roof litt and as a closure for the cell 112.

The sheet can be fabricated from other impervious m terials and if desirable the surface 54 of the element 'l be treated 'with a film forming material such as neoprene or the like to make the surface vaport. Element can also be installed in panel 106 with the franges 55 and 5; in recesses 1.62.

Another modification is shown in PEG. 7 in which the member serves as a vapor barrier for the element The member can be fabricated from a plastic her vapor-resistant material and has a flat portion eturn bent at E24 and TLT/6 to encompass the flanges o and of element and terminates in portions 128 no lfi'. As the material of the element is resilient it will compress slightly where the portions 128 and 130 against it to allow the assembly to fit into the cell 't te i ancl structure.

'the sound absorbing element illustrated in FIG. 8 is molded of the same materials and in the same manner as previouslydescribed. Surfaces M2 and 144 extend d from surface lo to the points 148 and 150. ces and entend downward and inwardly to e they meet in the rounded portion 156. When installing in the cells of the ceiling roof structure,vthe element being greater in dimension between surfaces 142 and t then the width of the inner Walls of the cell will compress due to the resiliency of the material of the element giving the element a snug fit to hold it in place in nhe surface can be flush with thertop surface of the compression member of the roof structure. Portion is compressed to density greater than the batt density so that the element Mtl may be placed directly o a supporting ledge or joint as shown in FIG. 2A. This on-; ression may be accomplished by placing a rod cenally of the batt during the molding operation to coms portion E56 against the mold. A density often imes the batt density has been found to give very satisactors results.

9 illustrates another modification of the sound bsorbing element. The element lo@ has a flat cornpressed surface i162 that terminates in flange portions 164 and 66. Walls 163 and 170 extend at right angles to portions i645- and 166 to the points 172 and 174 where they extend downwardly and inwardly to form the side walls i276 and 178. The walls terminate in compressed rounded portions i8@ and 1&2 which have properties similar to those of portion 1156 in element 140. Walls and ld are slightly compressed and extend upwardly and inwardly to meet at the rounded compressed portion 183 to form the open space Element 160 can be fabricated in the same manner and of the same materials as Ivireviously described for element 50 and installed in the panel in the same way. The batt is placed over the width of a lower mold portion with rods or like members placed in compressive relation to portions 180, 182. The batt is dimensioned so that after walls of the mold have been lined with the batt material, there is a remainder which is folded against itself and then folded across the top. The top mold portion is then placed into position.

The open space 190 having the walls 184 and 186 provides additional surface area of acoustical absorbing material to increase the acoustical efficiency and by being slightly compressed, provides sufficient structural rigidity even though walls 176, 178 are very spongy and sound absorbent. Portion 188` is compressed and maintains walls 184, 186 in their proper angular dispositions. Element 160 is supportable on portions 180, 182 as shown in FIG. 3A and provides increased sound absorbing area. lf desired, more folds may be molded into the element to further increase its sound absorbing properties and further increase the number of supporting portions.

The drawings and the foregoing specification constitute a description of the improved acoustical treated building structure in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as toenable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the appended claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. Acoustical structure comprising an elongated upwardly open channel having a pair of perforated side l Walls, a formed body of sound absorbing material in and substantially closing the open top of said channel, said body comprising loosely aggregated compressible fibrous material connected by a binder to provide a form Sustaining body, said body being spaced lfrom at least the lower and intermediate portions of said walls, said body having a compressed portion adjacent the plane of the open side to form overhanging flanges adapted to support the body in said channel, and a plate having return lbends formed -along opposite sides thereof, said bends engageable with said overhanging flanges to enclose and support said flanges, each of said plate bends having a laterally extending member for engaging and supporting the body sides adjacent said overhanging flanges.

2. Acoustical structure comprising an elongated formed body of sound absorbing material, said body having a -base including a compressed portion forming overhanging flanges adapted to support said body, a plate having return bends yformed along opposite sides thereof, said bends engageable with said overhanging flanges to enclose and support said flanges, each of said plate bends having a laterally extending member for engaging and supporting the body adjacent said overhanging anges.

3. Acoustical structure comprising an elongated upwardly open channel having perforated side walls, a formed body of sound absorbing material supported in said channel, said body having a base including a compressed portion adjacent the open side of said channel forming overhanging ilanges adapted to support said body, a plate having return bends formed along opposite sides thereof, said bends engageable with said overhanging flanges to enclose and support said flanges, each of said plate bends having a laterally extending member for engaging `and supporting the body adjacent said overhanging flanges, a plurality of said channels, each having said body of sound absorbing material placed therein, aligned in horizontal spaced relation,

horizontal supporting members transversely aligned with the ends of said channels, said channels being attached at either end to said transverse horizontal supporting members with the open side of said channels facing upwardly, the spaced channel construction being formed by a series of inverted L-shaped members having outward lateral extensions at their Open sides for engaging outward lateral extensions of similar members with said lateral extensions forming the bottom of said channel members.

4. Acoustical structure comprising an elongated upwardly open generally rectangular structural channel having perforated side walls and an elongated formed body of sound absorbing material having a generally triangular cross section within and supported by the structural channel, the base of the triangular cross section of the body extending substantially entirely across the open top of the channel and in contact with the sides of the channel at the top thereof, said sound absorbing material being of greater density at the base of the triangular cross section `and including flanges formed of the denser material which extend transversely of the body at the base thereof to provide added support for the body in assembly in the channel, the sides of the sound absorbing body converging toward the bottom of the channel to an apex so as to be in progressively greater spaced relation to the perforated sides of the channel from the base to the apex of the triangular cross section.

5. Acoustical structure comprising an elongated upwardly open generally rect-angular structural channel having perforated side walls and an elongated formed body of sound absorbing material supported by the structural channel and having sides converging toward the bottom of the structural channel, the top of the elongated formed body extending substantially entirely across the open top of the channel and in contact with the sides of the channel ,at the top thereof, said sound absorbing material being References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,465,452 Mathemy Aug. 21, 1923 1,833,174 Norris NOV. 24, 1931 1,894,592 Kilmer Ian. 17, 1933 1,901,999 Upson Mar. 21, 1933 1,921,518 lFrobisher Aug. 8, 1933 1,987,537 Oehrlein Jan. 8, 1935 1,998,422 McNeil Apu'. 16, 1935 2,001,733 Kellogg May 21, 1935 2,007,374 Kuehne July 9, 1935 2,128,549 Zier Aug. 30, 1938 2,388,968 Hedgren Nov. 13, 1945 2,655,348 Siering Oct. 13, 1953 2,706,314 Siering Apr. 19, 1955 2,730,942 Peterson Jan. 17, 1956 2,924,857 Gruber Feb. 16, 1960

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