Acoustical Deck Panel Assembly

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to metal roof and floor deck assemblies and more particularly to acoustical roof and floor panel assemblies having structural integrity, efficient sound absorbing properties and superior thermal insulation values.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Convention centers, arenas, office buildings and other major structures normally must provide for the economical handling of noise control. One way to accomplish this is to form metal roof panels into acoustical ceiling roof panel assemblies to meet the necessary noise reduction coefficients.

Conventional acoustical roof decking consists of a metal panel which forms a balanced section over the ceiling supports. By balanced section, it is meant that the panels include alternating flat sections and ribs of approximately the same width. In order not to materially reduce the load bearing capacity of the panel, perforations are placed in the sidewalls of the ribs and not on the flat surfaces which form the ceiling and which extend between ribs. Fiberglass units are then laid in the ribs to complete the acoustical ceiling.

At one time, Fenestra Incorporated produced an acoustical roof in which the width of the flat sections substantially exceeded the width of the ribs and perforations occurred along the flat sections. This product included a sound absorbing element formed of a formed arched pad, 1 inch thick, molded from a 1 pound density, extra fine glass fiber. The sound absorbing element was placed between the ribs and a ply of roofing felt was laid dry over the tops of the exposed ribs and sound absorbing element to form a vapor seal and asphalt stop. However, because the insulation element had an arched configuration, special equipment had to be designed and the insulation custom made. This substantially increased the cost of the product so as to be noncompetitive with the conventional prior art acoustical deck. In general, it is also known to use spacers to separate a sound absorbing pad from the face of the ceiling, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,293,351; 2,271,929; 2,148,496; 2,112,631 and 1,899,403.

A need remains for an acoustical metal roof deck panel assembly providing adequate structural support and efficient sound absorbing properties which can be manufactured with existing conventional techniques. The need also exists for an acoustical panel which can be finally painted after installation without getting substantial amounts of paint on the insulation member itself.

My acoustical roof panel assembly accomplishes all of the above-stated objectives and consists of a plurality of roof deck panels assembled in side-by-side and/or end-to-end relationship and secured to roof supports such as purlins with each panel including a plurality of parallel and spaced apart perforated flat sections, with each flat section being separated from its adjacent flat section by a frusto-pyramidal rib section. The flat sections, as measured in the plane of the flat sections, have a width at least three times greater than the width of the rib and preferably a width five times greater than the width of the rib. Lengths of insulation are positioned between the ribs and atop a spacer means which spaces the insulation from the inner surface of the flat sections. The preferred spacer is a reticulated wire mesh positioned in contact with and between each of the perforated flat sections and the length of insulation positioned between adjacent ribs. The insulation is preferably fiberglass and the assembly has a noise reduction coefficient on the order of 0.95 to 1. There preferably are no perforations in the area of the ribs.

In a further embodiment of my invention, the panels may include insulation cover plates which allow the roof panels to be utilized for a composite floor deck. Concrete may be added on top of the panels to complete the composite floor deck. Each cover plate protects the acoustical insulation from the concrete and prevents the concrete from going through the perforations in the flat sections.

A complete understanding of the invention will be obtained from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters identify like parts throughout .

FIG. 1 is a perspective view partly in section of a portion of an entire roof assembly including a pair of acoustical ceiling roof panel units;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view partly in section showing a portion of the acoustical ceiling roof panel unit;

FIG. 3 is a section of a portion of the acoustical ceiling roof panel unit;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a metal panel;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the metal panel;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the reticulated metal mesh spacer;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the fiberglass insulation; and

FIG. 8 is a section of a portion of modified roof and floor assembly.

A portion of an entire roof system, including the acoustical ceiling roof panel assembly, generally designated 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The roof panel assembly 10, which includes a metal roof deck panel 12, is positioned on transversely extending purlins 14 which are generally spaced on 6 foot to 12 foot centers and are connected to the building superstructure by conventional means recognized in the art.

The acoustical ceiling roof panel assembly 10 is connected to the purlins 14 by welds 32 with the size and location of the welds being in compliance with conventional or specified erection instructions. The assembly 10 is then covered with a thin gypsum board 34, which in turn is covered with conventional thermal insulation 36. The thermal insulation 36 is secured in place by means of threaded fasteners and fastener plates 37 which connect to the gypsum board 34 or metal roof deck panels 12. The thermal insulation 36 is normally covered with a single ply plastic material (not shown), although it will be recognized that other forms of conventional roof construction can be used in conjunction with the acoustical ceiling roof panel assembly 10 of my invention.

The entire assembly 10 is best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The individual components of the assembly 10 are metal panel 12, wire mesh 20 and acoustic insulation 22.

The structural component of the assembly 10 is the metal roof deck panel 12 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. This panel 12 is roll-formed from coils of the appropriate gauge coated steel or uncoated steel (example: 16 to 22 gauge), which are then cut into specified sheet lengths. Each panel 12 consists of parallel extending alternately positioned flat sections 16 and ribs 18. The panels 12 terminate along their longitudinal edges in side laps 19 normally of the interlocking type so that panels can be joined in side-by-side relationship, see FIG. 3. The panels may also terminate in end laps so that panels may likewise be positioned in end-to-end relationships. The side laps and end laps (where required) are conventional and do not form a part of this invention.

The flat sections 16 contain a substantial plurality of perforations 24. The number of perforations will vary depending upon the acoustical requirements. A typical requirement would be 1/8 inch round holes of approximately 1100 per square foot. The ribs 18 are formed by two diverging side walls 28 each of which connects to an adjacent flat section 16. A top wall 30 connects the diverging end walls 28 to each other. The top wall 30 extends in a plane parallel to the plane of the flat sections 16. The ribs 18 are frusto-pyramidal in cross section. The flat sections 16 have a width dimension as measured in the plane P of the flat sections, shown as Y in FIG. 3, generally at least three times and preferably five times greater than the width dimension of ribs 18, shown as X. The typical width for a flat section 16 would be 51/2 inches as measured in the plane P of the flat sections 16. The rib 18 would generally have a width X of between 11/2 inches to 15/8 inches and an opening in the plane P of the flat sections 16 of 5/8 inch. The depth of the rib 18 would typically be 2 inches. A typical panel may be 2 feet wide and consists of four flat sections and three ribs, another typical panel contains two ribs and three flat sections.

The reticulated expanded metal mesh 20 is positioned between the ribs 18 adjacent to a top surface 40 of flat 16, see FIGS. 3 and 6. The metal mesh acts as a spacer between the panel and the fiberglass insulation 22. The metal mesh 20 which is a conventional expanded metal wire permits painting of the exposed bottom surface of the flat sections 16 without getting a lot of paint on the insulation 22. Paint detrimentally affects the acoustical properties of the insulation 22. In addition, by positioning the insulation 22 on the wire mesh 20, some advantage is achieved in the sound deadening capacity of the assembly 10. Preferably, the bottom surface 42 of the panel 12 is painted with a finish coat after it is attached to the purlins 14, and the mesh 20 and insulation 22 are set in place.

The insulation 22, best seen in FIG. 7, is preferably a fiberglass type of insulation having a density on the order of 3 pounds per cubic foot and a thickness of 2 inches.

The panel assembly 10 of the type described hereinabove will have a noise reduction coefficient on the order of 0.95 to 1. Further, it is easily assembled and does not require any custom fabricated components. Finally, the structural integrity of the metal panel is maintained even though the flat sections of the metal panel are substantially perforated.

Generally, panel 12, which does not have a painted finish coat, is first attached to the purlin 14. Then the mesh 20 is set in place and the insulation 22 is then placed on top of the mesh 20 so that the mesh 20 is positioned between the flat sections 16 and the insulation 22. The panel 12 and purlin 14 are then painted with the finish coat.

FIG. 8 discloses an alternative roof and floor panel assembly 50 which allows the assembly 50 to be used for a composite roof or floor deck. The assembly 50 includes metal roof deck panel 12 containing ribs 18 and flat sections 16 with perforations 24, wire mesh 20 and insulation 22 as described above. However, when the present system is used as a composite floor or roof deck, the wire mesh 20 and 11/2 inch thick insulation 22 are installed prior to insulation cover plates 52, with the spans of the panels 12 being up to 15 feet. The assembly 50 includes the insulation cover plates 52 extending between adjacent ribs 18 and cooperating with the flat sections 16 to substantially cover the insulation 22, wire mesh 20 and perforations 24. Concrete 54 is placed on the composite roof or floor deck. The insulation cover plates 52 protect the insulation 22 from the concrete and prevents the concrete from going through the perforations 24. The insulation cover plates 52 allow the concrete 54 to substantially surround the ribs 18 to provide sufficient interlocking between the concrete 54 and panels 12. The modified roof and floor assembly 50 has a noise reduction coefficient on the order of 0.75 and is particularly well-suited for multilevel structures.

The typical dimensions for the roof and floor assembly 50 as shown in FIG. 8 include:

width Y of each of the flat sections 16 in plane of flat sections is about 51/2 inches;

width X of each of the ribs 18 is about 15/8 inches;

gap Z between adjacent flat sections 16 in plane of flat sections 16 is about 5/8 inch;

depth D of the ribs 18 is about 2 inches;

depth B of the insulation cover plates 52 is about 11/2 inches;

centerline distance C between adjacent ribs 18 is about 61/8 inches;

width L of effective insulation is about 4 inches;

width M of the top of insulation cover plates 52 is about 3 inches;

gap G between sides 28 and insulation cover plates 52 is about 11/16 inch; and

spacing S between adjacent ribs 18 is about 41/2 inches.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described herein, it is to be understood that the invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claims.