Isolation block, method for sealing a flute of a fluted metal deck, and wall and deck configuration

Abstract

An isolation block is useful for sealing a flute of a fluted metal deck and a movement joint between the metal deck and an adjacent wall configuration. The isolation block includes a flute sealing portion adapted to snugly fit into one of the flutes of the fluted metal deck, a joint sealing portion for sealing a movement joint, and a corrugation sealing portion for sealing a corrugation between adjacent fluted deck elements or in one of the fluted deck elements.

Claims

1. An isolation block for sealing a flute of a fluted metal deck and a movement joint between the metal deck and an adjacent wall configuration, the isolation block comprising a flute sealing portion adapted to snugly fit into one of the flutes of the fluted metal deck, a joint sealing portion adapted to seal a movement joint, and a corrugation sealing portion adapted to seal a corrugation between adjacent fluted deck elements or in one of the fluted deck elements.

2. The isolation block of claim 1, wherein the flute sealing portion has a generally trapezoid cross section when seen in mounted state along a horizontal axis, wherein a top surface and two side surfaces of the flute sealing portion are adapted to be compressed against a corresponding wall section of one of the flutes respectively, and wherein a bottom surface of the flute sealing portion, being opposed to the top surface, is substantially parallel to the top surface.

3. The isolation block of claim 2, wherein the joint sealing portion has a substantially rectangular cross section, when seen in mounted state along the horizontal axis, and is attached to the bottom surface of the flute sealing portion.

4. The isolation block of claim 3, wherein the joint sealing portion is shorter than the flute sealing portion in a direction along the horizontal axis and protrudes over the flute sealing portion on at least one side, when seen in cross section.

5. The isolation block of claim 1, wherein the corrugation sealing portion has a generally triangular cross section when seen in mounted state along a horizontal axis.

6. The isolation block of claim 5, wherein the corrugation sealing portion is attached to the portion of the joint sealing portion protruding over the flute sealing portion, and wherein the corrugation sealing portion and the flute sealing portion are attached on the same side of the joint sealing portion.

7. The isolation block of claim 1, which is produced as one integral part.

8. An isolation block for sealing a flute of a fluted metal deck and a movement joint between the metal deck and an adjacent wall configuration, the isolation block comprising: a flute sealing portion adapted to snugly fit into one of the flutes of the fluted metal deck, and a joint sealing portion adapted to seal a movement joint, wherein the isolation block comprises a generally resilient material comprising at least one reinforcement element.

9. The isolation block of claim 8, wherein the isolation block comprises a corrugation sealing portion adapted to seal a corrugation between adjacent fluted deck elements or in one of the fluted deck elements.

10. The isolation block of claim 8, wherein the reinforcement element is a planar element having a length oriented along the joint sealing portion and a width oriented perpendicular to its length, wherein the reinforcement element is a flat strip.

11. The isolation block of claim 10, wherein the width of the reinforcement element is oriented vertically or horizontally when seen in a mounted condition of the isolation block.

12. The isolation block of claim 8, wherein the isolation block comprises one single reinforcement element which extends generally from one end of the joint sealing portion to the other end thereof when seen in mounted state along a horizontal axis.

13. The isolation block of claim 8, wherein the isolation block comprises two reinforcement elements, wherein each reinforcement element is located in a portion of the joint sealing portion protruding over the flute sealing portion.

14. The isolation block of claim 8, wherein a portion of the reinforcement element protrudes from the isolation block and is adapted to be positioned on or against a ceiling runner of the wall configuration when assembled.

15. The isolation block of claim 8, wherein the reinforcement element is an angled element having two legs, wherein in a mounted state one leg is oriented vertically and the other leg is oriented horizontally.

16. The isolation block of claim 8, wherein at least one portion of the reinforcement element is curved.

17. A method for sealing a flute of a fluted metal deck and a movement joint between the metal deck and an adjacent wall configuration wherein a wall plane (W) of the wall configuration (44) is positioned substantially perpendicular to a flute axis (50), and wherein the wall configuration (44) comprises a ceiling runner (46) being mounted on a lower side of the fluted metal deck (42), the method comprising the following steps: a) plugging one or more isolation blocks of claim 1 into a gap between the ceiling runner and the deck and b) subsequently mounting one or more gypsum boards.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the gypsum board is flapped into the wall plane (W) during step b) and compresses at least a portion of the isolation block into the wall plane.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the gypsum board is brought into the wall plane (W) during step b) and subsequently is slid towards the fluted deck, and wherein the gypsum board compresses at least a portion of the isolation block against the fluted deck.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the isolation block comprises at least one reinforcement element of which at least a portion protrudes from the isolation block, and wherein the protruding portion of the reinforcement element is brought into engagement with the wall configuration by compressing the isolation block during step b).

21. A wall and deck configuration, comprising a fluted metal deck and a wall configuration, wherein a wall plane of the wall configuration is positioned substantially perpendicular to a flute axis of the fluted metal deck, and wherein at least one isolation block of claim 1 is positioned between the fluted metal deck and the wall configuration, thereby sealing at least one flute of the fluted metal deck and a movement joint between the metal deck and an adjacent wall configuration.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a front view of an isolation block according to an embodiment of the invention,

[0042] FIG. 2 shows a top view of the isolation block of FIG. 1,

[0043] FIG. 3 shows a plurality of isolation blocks of FIGS. 1 and 2,

[0044] FIG. 4 shows an isolation block according to another embodiment of the invention in a cross sectional view IV-IV of FIG. 5

[0045] FIG. 5 shows the isolation block of FIG. 4 in a cross sectional view V-V of FIG. 4,

[0046] FIG. 6 shows an isolation block according to a further embodiment of the invention being an alternative to the isolation block of FIG. 4,

[0047] FIG. 7 shows an isolation block according to an additional embodiment of the invention in a cross sectional view VII-VII of FIG. 8,

[0048] FIG. 8 shows the isolation block of FIG. 7 in a cross sectional view VIII-VIII of FIG. 7,

[0049] FIG. 9 shows an isolation block according to a further embodiment of the invention in a cross sectional view IX-IX of FIG. 10,

[0050] FIG. 10 shows the isolation block of FIG. 9 in a cross sectional view X-X of FIG. 9,

[0051] FIG. 11 shows an isolation block according to a supplementary embodiment of the invention in a cross sectional view XI-XI of FIG. 12,

[0052] FIG. 12 shows the isolation block of FIG. 11 in a cross sectional view XII-XII of FIG. 11,

[0053] FIG. 13 shows an isolation block according to another embodiment of the invention in a cross sectional view XIII-XIII of FIG. 14,

[0054] FIG. 14 shows the isolation block of FIG. 13 in a cross sectional view XIV-XIV of FIG. 13,

[0055] FIG. 15 shows an isolation block according to still another embodiment of the invention in a cross sectional view XV-XV of FIG. 16,

[0056] FIG. 16 shows the isolation block of FIG. 15 in a cross sectional view XVI-XVI of FIG. 15,

[0057] FIG. 17 shows an isolation block according to an additional embodiment of the invention in a cross sectional view XVII-XVII of FIG. 18,

[0058] FIG. 18 shows the isolation block of FIG. 17 in a cross sectional view XVIII-XVIII of FIG. 17,

[0059] FIG. 19 shows a number of alternative reinforcement elements of an isolation block according to an embodiment of the invention,

[0060] FIG. 20 shows a wall and deck configuration according to an embodiment of the invention,

[0061] FIG. 21 shows a wall and deck configuration according to another embodiment of the,

[0062] FIG. 22 shows a wall and deck configuration according to a further embodiment of the invention,

[0063] FIG. 23 shows a wall and deck configuration according to an embodiment of the invention, in the corrugation sealing portion area,

[0064] FIG. 24 schematically shows two adjacent fluted deck elements of a wall and deck configuration according to an embodiment of the invention, and

[0065] FIG. 25 schematically shows an alternative configuration of a fluted deck element of a wall and deck configuration according to another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0066] FIGS. 1 and 2 show an isolation block 10 comprising a flute sealing portion 12, a joint sealing portion 14 and a corrugation sealing portion 16.

[0067] The flute sealing portion 12 has a generally trapezoid cross section when seen in mounted state along a horizontal axis 17, which corresponds to the perspective taken in FIG. 1. It comprises a top surface 18, two side surfaces 20, 22 and a bottom surface 24 which is opposed to the top surface 18 and substantially parallel to it.

[0068] The flute sealing portion 12 is adapted to snugly fit into a flute 25 of a fluted metal deck (cf. FIGS. 24 and 25). Therefore, the top surface 18 and the side surfaces 20, 22 are adapted to be compressed against a corresponding wall section of such a flute 25.

[0069] The joint sealing portion 14 is adapted to seal a movement joint 26 between a fluted metal deck and a wall configuration. This will be explained later with respect to FIGS. 20 to 23. The joint sealing portion 14 has a substantially rectangular cross-section, preferably with rounded corners or having a conical shape, when seen in mounted state along the horizontal axis 17.

[0070] The joint sealing portion 14 is attached to the bottom surface 24 of the flute sealing portion 12. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the joint sealing portion 14 protrudes over the sealing portion 12, preferably on both sides.

[0071] In a direction along the horizontal axis 17, the joint sealing portion 14 is shorter than the flute sealing portion 12 (cf. FIG. 2).

[0072] The corrugation sealing portion 16 is adapted to seal a corrugation 27 between adjacent fluted deck elements 28 or in one of the fluted deck elements 28 (see FIGS. 24 and 25) and has a generally triangular cross section when seen in mounted state along the horizontal axis 17, which is the perspective taken for example in FIG. 1.

[0073] The corrugation sealing portion 16 is attached to the portion of the joint sealing portion 14 protruding over the flute sealing portion 12. Additionally, the corrugation sealing portion 16 is attached on the same side of the joint sealing portion 14 as the sealing portion 12.

[0074] The isolation block 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 23 is produced as one integral part, for example from polyurethane foam.

[0075] The isolation block 10 can also be produced from any other air-tight, sound-attenuating or even sound-proof, fire-resistant, fire-retardant, intumescent, smoke-proof and/or thermally isolating material.

[0076] The material from which isolation block 10 is made, is generally resilient.

[0077] The isolation blocks 10 are designed to be lined up in a modular way in order to seal a wall configuration to a fluted deck. By placing several isolation blocks 10 in a row, wall configurations of different length can be sealed (cf. FIG. 3)

[0078] FIGS. 4 to 18 show embodiments of the isolation block 10 comprising a reinforcement element 30.

[0079] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the reinforcement element 30 is a planar element, e. g. a flat metal strip.

[0080] A length 32 of the reinforcement element 30 is oriented along the joint sealing portion 14 and extends generally from one end of the joint sealing portion 14 to the other one.

[0081] The reinforcement element 30 substantially is located in the joint sealing portion 14 of the isolation block 10.

[0082] A width 34 of the reinforcement element 30 extends in a vertical direction as can be seen in FIG. 5 for example.

[0083] The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 4, but comprises two reinforcement elements 30a and 30b. Thus, the reinforcement element 30 does not extend over the full length of the joint sealing portion 14 (cf. FIGS. 4 and 6).

[0084] The two reinforcement elements 30a, 30b are respectively located in a portion of the joint sealing portion 14 protruding over the flute sealing portion 12.

[0085] In the example shown, the reinforcement elements 30a, 30b also are flat metal strips.

[0086] The embodiment according to FIGS. 7 and 8 shows a way to create a reinforcement effect which varies over the length 32 of the reinforcement element 30. To this end, in the embodiment shown, the width 34 of the reinforcement element 30 varies over its length 32.

[0087] In the embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10, the reinforcement element 30 again extends generally over the full length of the joint sealing portion 14.

[0088] In contrast to the other embodiments, the width 34 of the reinforcement element 30 now is oriented differently, i.e. in the direction of the horizontal axis 17.

[0089] In embodiment of FIGS. 11 and 12 the reinforcement element 30 is made of a wire, a wire-like element or a bar with a substantially circular cross-section.

[0090] The embodiment according to FIGS. 13 and 14 is similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10 with respect to the form and orientation of the reinforcement element 30.

[0091] The difference is that in the embodiment of FIGS. 13 and 14, the reinforcement element 30 protrudes from the isolation block.

[0092] By doing so, the reinforcement element 30 is adapted to be positioned on or between a ceiling runner and the fluted deck of a wall configuration as will be explained later with respect to FIGS. 22 and 23.

[0093] Also the reinforcement element 30 according to the embodiment of FIGS. 15 and 16 protrudes from the isolation block 10 in the same way the embodiment of FIGS. 13 and 14 does.

[0094] In contrast to the other embodiments, here the reinforcement element 30 is an angled element having two legs, with one of the legs being oriented horizontally, i.e. in the direction of the horizontal axis 17, and the other leg being preferably oriented perpendicular thereto.

[0095] It is also possible to use an angled reinforcement element 30 which does not protrude from the isolation block 10 (not shown).

[0096] FIGS. 17 and 18 show an embodiment of the isolation block 10 in which the reinforcement element 30 has a form comprising a curved portion.

[0097] In the embodiment shown, the curved portion is the non-protruding portion of the reinforcement element 30.

[0098] In FIG. 19, different examples of the reinforcement element 30 are shown.

[0099] The reinforcement element 30 shown in FIG. 19 a) is a wavy wire and especially suitable for the embodiment of the isolation block 10 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

[0100] The reinforcement elements 30 according to FIGS. 19 b) and 19 c) can be used in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, 9, 10, 13, and 14.

[0101] The reinforcement elements 30 comprise fixation openings 36 which help securely fixing the reinforcement elements 30 inside the isolation block 10. In the assembled state, the material from which the isolation block 30 is made, fills the fixation openings 36.

[0102] FIG. 19 d) shows the reinforcement element 30 according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. In this perspective also the fixation openings 36 can be seen.

[0103] FIGS. 20 to 23 show a wall and deck configuration 40 which is shown to be a drywall and deck configuration. The configuration 40 comprises a fluted metal deck 42 and a wall configuration 44.

[0104] In the example shown, the wall configuration 44 which defines a wall plane W, comprises a ceiling runner 46 being mounted on a lower side of the fluted metal deck 42 and two gypsum boards 48.

[0105] In all the embodiments, the wall plane W of the wall configuration 44 is positioned substantially perpendicular to a flute axis 50 of the fluted metal deck 42.

[0106] In the wall and deck configuration 40, one isolation block 10 is positioned between the fluted metal deck 42 and the wall configuration 44 from each side of the wall plane W. Thereby, the flutes 25 of the fluted metal deck 42 and the associated movement joints 26 towards the wall configuration 44 are sealed.

[0107] This wall and deck configuration 40 and especially the sealing of the flutes 25 of the fluted metal deck 42 and the associated movement joints 26 between the metal deck and wall construction is made as follows.

[0108] In a starting configuration, only the fluted metal deck 42 with the ceiling runner 46 fixed to it are present.

[0109] Then, in a first step, one or more isolation blocks 10 are plugged into a gap between the ceiling runner 46 and the deck 42. In the example shown, one isolation block 10 is plugged into such a gap from each side of the wall to be built.

[0110] Subsequently, one or more gypsum boards 48 are mounted. In doing so, they are fixed to the studs (not shown) and/or the studs of a floor assembly (not shown).

[0111] In a first alternative which is shown in FIG. 20, the gypsum boards 48 are flapped into the wall plane, thereby compressing at least a portion of the isolation block 10 into the direction of the wall plane. The compressed portion of the isolation block 10 is part of the joint sealing portion 14.

[0112] A second alternative is to bring an upper portion of the gypsum board 48 in contact with the ceiling runner 46 and then slide it towards the fluted deck 42, thereby compressing at least a portion of the isolation block 10 against the fluted deck 42. This alternative is shown in FIG. 21.

[0113] Consequently, the isolation block 10 is compressed between the gypsum board 48 and the fluted deck 42. Preferably, in this alternative, the isolation block 10 is not compressed between the ceiling runner 46 and the gypsum board 48.

[0114] FIGS. 22 and 23 show embodiments of the wall and deck configuration 40 in which isolation blocks 10 with protruding reinforcement elements 30 are shown (see also FIGS. 13 to 18).

[0115] On the left hand side of FIG. 22, the isolation block 10 is shown in a non-compressed state. The corresponding compressed state can be seen on the rights side of the figure.

[0116] As explained before, the reinforcement element 30, more precisely its portion protruding from the isolation block 10, is adapted to be positioned on or between the ceiling runner 46 and the fluted deck 42. So, when mounting the gypsum board 48, the reinforcement element 30 prevents the isolation block 10 from moving out of the flute, in particular from moving downwards thereby creating an unwanted unsealed opening.

[0117] The same applies to the embodiment shown in FIG. 23 where the reinforcement element 30 is of a different shape.