Patent Application
20060248833
The present invention relates to a fire retardant panel door and door frame, and more particularly to a fire retardant panel door and door frame that provides fire resistance of at least 90 minutes using a plurality of intumescent and fire resistant barrier layers therein for preventing the spread of fire through the fire retardant panel door and door frame.
A fire retardant panel door, often referred to as a “fire door,” is installed in homes, commercial buildings, and industrial plants for preventing the passage or spread of fire from one part of the building to another. In the interest of public safety, standards have been set by governmental agencies; and by municipal, county and state building code authorities and insurance companies for the installation and performance of fire doors. The standards require that the fire retardant doors be installed in wall openings and that they pass industry-wide acceptance tests.
Standard test methods for fire door assemblies, such as ASTM E-152, UL 10(b) or NFPA 252, measure the ability of a door assembly to remain in an opening during a fire to retard the passage of the fire and evaluate the fire resistant properties of the door. In conducting such tests, doors are mounted in an opening of a fire proof wall. One side of the door is exposed to a predetermined range of temperatures over a predetermined period of time, followed by the application of a high pressure hose stream that causes the door to erode and provides a thermal shock to the assembly. Doors are given a fire rating based on the duration of the heat exposure of 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes (one hour), 90 minutes (1½ hours) or 180 minutes (three hours). The door assembly receives the fire rating when it remains in the opening for the duration of the fire test and hose stream, within certain limitations of movement and without developing openings through the door either at the core or around the edge material.
A fire door must be made almost entirely of incombustible material. However, since a fire door is part of the interior or exterior of a personal living space or workspace, it must also be aesthetically pleasing. Usually, therefore, a core of incombustible material comprising the main structure of the fire door is overlaid with a thin wood veneer facing that provides the door with an attractive appearance. Fire door assemblies often fail, not because of the fire resistant properties of the fire door, but they fail because of inadequate placement of the fire resistance materials within the door, such that the fire door buckles. Additionally, the fire resistant blocking material of a core section of the fire door may need supplemental fire resistant materials strategically placed within the fire door to add to its fire door rating.
There remains a need for a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame which provides additional fire resistance using layers of intumescent and fire resistant materials in the fire retardant panel door and door frame in order to prevent buckling of the fire retardant panel door and door frame during a fire for at least 90 minutes. Further, the reinforced fire retardant panel door would include supplemental layers of fire resistant materials strategically embedded within the structural components of the fire retardant panel door.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fire retardant doors, and fire doors of various designs, configurations, structures and materials of construction have been disclosed in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,976 to Gomez discloses an assembly for sealing a fire resistant door within a door frame during a fire event. The door edge assembly includes a plurality of door edges for receiving an intumescent strip within a slot on each door edge. The intumescent strip is constructed and designed to expand upon reaching a certain reaction temperature when exposed to a fire event or other extreme heat source. This prior art patent does not disclose or teach the particular door structure having the use of intumescent and fire resistant materials in the door panel, stiles, rails, door frame and door joints in order to provide for a fire retardant panel door that prevents buckling of the door during a fire, as well as prevent the spread of fire through the door and door frame for at least 90 minutes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,017 to Hunt et al. discloses a fire retardant door and exit device for the fire retardant door. The fire retardant door includes a core of fire resistant-blocking material being Tectonite™ for providing the door with a fire rating of at least 90 minutes. The fire door uses intumescent material which expands when heated to fill the void in the channel between the channel walls and the vertical extending rods within the latch stile of the door. This prior art patent does not disclose or teach the particular door structure having the use of intumescent and fire resistant materials in the door panels, stiles, rails, door frame and door joints in order to provide for a fire retardant panel door that prevents buckling of the door during a fire, as well as prevents the spread of fire through the door and door frame for at least 90 minutes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,024 to San Paolo discloses a fire resistant panel door. The fire resistant panel door is constructed from panels, stiles, intermediate rail and rails having a core of fire resistant material. The door components are joined together so that the fire resistant material extends substantially continuously from side to side and from top to bottom of the finished door. The fire resistant core of each door panel is recessed within the fire resistant core of the associated rails and stiles to reduce air infiltration through the door which can compromise the door's fire resistance. This prior art patent does not disclose or teach the particular door structure having the use of intumescent and fire resistant materials in the door panels, stiles, rails, door frame and door joints in order to provide for a fire retardant panel door that prevents buckling of the door and also prevents the passage of heat through the double door during a fire for at least 90 minutes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,276 to Bawa et al. discloses a fire door window construction. The fire door includes a trim strip having inner and outer members. The inner member is of a high density incombustible mineral material or ceramic and is nailed in position to securely and uniformly hold the pane of glass in the door opening. The outer trim member is of a fire retardant particle board and has an exposed wood veneer facing throughout. An intumescent caulking compound is applied between an inner portion of the outer trim member and the pane of glass. This prior art patent does not disclose or teach the particular door structure having the use of intumescent and fire resistant materials in the door panels, stiles, rails, door frame and door joints in order to provide for a fire retardant panel door that prevents buckling of the door during a fire, as well as prevents the spread of fire through the door and door frame for at least 90 minutes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,296 to Grabendike et al. discloses a fire resistant wood door structure designed to pass code and testing laboratories' requirements. The fire resistant wood door structure includes a door assembly having a support frame assembly with a panel assembly connected to the support frame assembly. The support frame assembly includes top, bottom, side, central and transverse frame members. The panel members include a main body connected through a peripheral edge by a double connector assembly. The double connector assembly functions to only remove about ⅓ of the door's normal 1¾ inch thickness during the burn testing procedure, thus passing the fire resistant testing of 20 minutes. This prior art patent does not disclose or teach the particular door structure having the use of intumescent and fire resistant materials in the door panels, stiles, rails, door frame and door joints in order to provide for a fire retardant panel door that prevents buckling of the door during a fire, as well as prevents the spread of fire through the door and door frame for at least 90 minutes.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,529,742; 6,031,040; and 6,153,674 all disclose the use of intumescent compounds/fire barrier materials within door construction to reduce or eliminate the passage of smoke and fire through the door and door frame. These prior art patents do not disclose or teach the particular door structure having the use of intumescent and fire resistant materials in the door panels, stiles, rails, door frame and door joints in order to provide for a fire retardant panel door that prevents buckling of the door during a fire, as well as prevents the spread of fire through the door and door frame for at least 90 minutes.
In addition, the aforementioned prior art patents do not disclose or teach the particular structure and configuration of the reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame of the present invention that provides additional fire resistance to the door in order to prevent the buckling of the door during a fire.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that prevents buckling of the door during a fire, and also prevents the passage of heat through the door for at least 90 minutes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that has supplemental fire resistant materials strategically embedded and placed within the tongue and groove joints of the fire resistant panel door, as well as supplemental fire resistant materials placed on the perimeter edges of the fire resistant panel door for preventing the spread of fire through the door and door frame.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that has intumescent and fire resistant material layers within the panel door and door frame for preventing the spread of fire through the door and door frame.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that has fire resistant materials being multiple layers of intumescent material that expands in the presence of fire such that the intumescent material closes and seals the component tongue and groove joints, as well as the perimeter edges of the fire retardant panel door for preventing the spread of fire through the door and door frame.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that is used as part of an interior or exterior personal living space, or workspace being installed within home dwellings, commercial buildings or industrial plants.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced panel door and door frame that has improved aesthetic qualities by having minimum overall door panel thickness of 7/16 of an inch allowing for a thickness of 1¾ inches of the fire resistant and reinforced panel door which allows for greater profiling (depth) of the exterior wood molding between the center panel and the stiles and rails.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that is aesthetically pleasing having the appearance of natural wood, and has achieved a successful fire rating of at least 90 minutes and passes a positive pressure test, and is easily installed in a building.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that can be mass produced in an automated and economical matter and is readily affordable to the builder or consumer.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a fire retardant panel door for use in providing fire protection for a period of at least 90 minutes. The fire retardant panel door includes at least one door panel and stiles and rails. The door panel includes an interior composite section formed by a first plurality of layers of intumescent materials and a first plurality of layers of fire resistant materials disposed between and laminated to a first pair of outer coverings to form a composite laminated door panel. Each of the stiles includes a first core formed of an incombustible material and a second plurality of layers of intumescent materials and a second outer covering to form a composite laminated stile. Each of the rails includes a second core formed of an incombustible material and a third plurality of layers of intumescent materials and a third outer covering to form a composite laminated rail. The first, second, and third plurality of layers of intumescent materials are activated to expand upon exposure to heat and/or fire to prevent the heat and/or fire from passing through the at least one door panel, the stiles and the rails of the panel door during a fire for at least 90 minutes. The at least one door panel is connected to the panel door by joints; and the joints include a fourth plurality of layers each comprising intumescent and fire resistant materials, wherein the fourth plurality of layers of intumescent and fire resistant materials on the joints are activated to expand upon exposure to heat and/or fire to seal the joints in order to prevent the heat and/or fire from passing through the panel door during a fire for at least 90 minutes.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon the consideration of the following detailed description of the presently-preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
A double door assembly 100 and door frame 130 of the second embodiment of the present invention is represented in detail by
Fire retardant panel door 110 includes stiles 112 and 114, rails 116 and 118, and a center panel 120, as shown in
As shown in
Intumescent layers 152a, 152b, 152c, 154b and 154c are made of TECHNO FIRE 2000™ product being manufactured by the Technical Fibre Products Subsidiary in Newburg, N.Y., U.S.A. is an intumescent panel consisting essentially of a core having rockwool fibers with chopped strand glass fibre reinforcement and a small portion of organic binder. A coating of epoxy resin is applied to each side of the core which protect the composite intumescent panel from atmospheric influences of carbon dioxide, water and/or steam. The density of the composite intumescent laminate sheet end layers is in the range of 78.0 to 90.5 5 lbs/ft3 (1250 to 1450 kg/m3). The intumescent laminate end layers has a mximum thickness of 1.3 mm (0.0512 inches). The mass per unit area of the intumescent laminate end layers is in the range of 0.333 to 0.386 pounds per foot2. The intumescent laminate end layers upon exposure to heat and/or fire has expansion ratio of 22:1 for imparting linear gap seals between the fire retardant panel doors 10 and 310 and door frame 130 in order to prevent the spread of excessive heat and/or fire through the fire retardant panel double door 100 and door frame sections 130A and 130B of door frame 130. The mass per unit area of each of the intumescent laminate (panel) layers 152a, 152b, 152c, 154b and 154c is in the range of 0.333 to 0.386 pounds per foot2. The thickness of the intumescent laminate layers 152a, 152b, 152c, 154b and 154c is in the range 0.0590 inches to 0.0906 inches.
Wood molding 144 is applied to the exterior surface of stiles 112 and 114, rails 116 and 118, and center panel 120, as shown in
The center panel 120 is formed from a composite laminate structure 170. The composite laminate structure 170 includes outer wood sections 172 and 176 and sandwiched there between is an interior center intumescent section 174, as depicted in FIGS. 15 to 19 of the patent drawings. The interior center composite intumescent section 174 includes a first outer intumescent layer 178, a second inner intumescent layer 180, a third middle fire resistant barrier layer 182, a fourth middle fire resistant barrier layer 184, a fifth inner intumescent layer 186, a sixth outer intumescent layer 188. The first outer, second inner, fifth inner and sixth outer intumescent layers 178, 180, 186, and 188 are made of the PALUSOL™ P-210 product, as previously described. The third and fourth inner fire resistant barrier layers 182 and 184, are made of the FYRE ROC™ fire resistant barrier laminate sheet. Prior to the lamination of layers 178 to 188 under pressure, and a plurality of metal fasteners or staples 120s are used to connect each of the intumescent and fire resistant barrier layers 178, 180 and 182 together and connected of the intumescent and fire resistant barrier layers 184, 186 and 188 together, as shown in
In a further alternate design, the composite laminate structure 170′ includes outer covering sections 172′ and 176′ made of metal materials such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum and the like.
The inner fire resistant barrier layers are made of FYRE ROCT™ (FR-1001) product being manufactured by the Goodrich Corporation, Engineered Polymer Products Division, of Jacksonville, Fla., U.S.A. The FYRE ROC™ panel is a laminate sheet consisting of a fire resistant metallo alumino silicate and stainless steel screen layers for foming a reinforced composite laminate sheet that has the ability to maintain excellent mechanical and physical properties at elevated temperatures up to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, without significant smoke or toxicity emissions. The density of the laminate fire resistant barrier (sheet) layers 178 to 188 are 2.5±0.5 grams per cubic centimeter. The thickness of the laminate fire resistant barrier layers 178 to 188 are in the range of 0.020 to 0.050 inches (due to reinforcement thickness variability).
Tongue and groove joints 190 and 192 are used to connect center panel 120 to stiles 112 or 114, respectively, and tongue and groove joints 194 and 196 are used to connect center panel 120 to rails 116 or 118, respectively, as depicted in
As shown in
Fire retardant panel door 310 includes stiles 312 and 314, rails 316 and 318, an upper panel 320, a lower panel 322, a first raised panel 323, and a second raised panel 324, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Wood molding 344 is applied to the exterior surface of stiles 312 and 314, rails 316 and 318, intermediate rails 326, 327, and 328, and panels 320, 322, 323 and 324, as shown in
The panels 320, 322, 323, and 324 are formed from a composite laminate structure 370, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 18 and 21 of the drawings. The composite laminate structure 370 includes outer wood sections 372 and 376 and an interior center intumescent section 374 sandwiched therebetween. The interior center intumescent section 374 includes a first outer intumescent layer 378, a second inner intumescent layer 380, a third middle fire resistant barrier layer 382, a fourth middle fire resistant barrier layer 384 a fifth inner intumescent layer 386, and a sixth outer intumescent layer 388. The first outer, second inner, fifth inner, and sixth outer intumescent layers 378, 380, 386, and 388 are made of the PALUSOL™ P-210 product as previously described. The third and fourth fire resistant barrier layers 382 and 384 are made of the FYRE ROC™ fire resistant barrier laminate sheet, as previously described. The aforementioned outer wood sections 372, 376 and the intumescent and fire resistant barrier layer 378, 380, 382, 384, 386 and 388 are laminated together under pressure P using an adhesive system between layers consisting of a Simpson ISR 70-07 isocyanate adhesive A or an equivalent adhesive in order to form the composite laminated center panel 374, as shown in
In a further alternate design, the composite laminate structure 370′ includes outer covering sections 372′ and 376′ made of metal materials such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum and the like.
Tongue and groove joints 390 and 392 are used to connect upper panel 320 to stiles 312 or 314, respectively, and tongue and groove joints 394 and 396 are used to connect upper panel 320 to rail 316, as depicted in
In operation, when fire or excessive heat occurs, the intumescent materials expand and provide closing and sealing of all the tongue and groove joints within panel doors 110 and 310 as well as thermal insulation to thin areas within panel doors 110 and 310, respectively, of the double door assembly 100 of the preferred embodiment. This includes also the closing and sealing of the as perimeter edges of the fire retardant panel doors 110 and 310 within the door frame 130 respectively, thus preventing the spread of the fire through the fire retardant panel door 110 and 310 and door frame 130, respectively.
The fire retardant panel doors 110 and 310 and the door frame 130, respectively, of this invention have undergone special testing by I.T.S. Warnock Hersey Laboratory for fire resistance and have passed the fire burn test known as ANSI/U.L. 10B1978 including the hose stream test. By passing this fire burn test, the doors 110 and 310 and the door frame 130 respectively, can be specified by architects for many building uses where metal doors and wood flush doors would have been previously used.
The I.T.S. test under ANSI/U.L. 10B1978 includes the following steps:
1. The door structure to be tested is placed within a steel studded and gypsum wall.
2. One side of the door is subjected to an intense fire on a time temperature curve from 0 to 90 minutes and room temperature to 1785° F. temperature. More specifically, the time-temperature is as follows:
3. Immediately after the 90 minute burn period, the burned side of the door is subjected to a hose stream test from: a) a 2½ inch water supply hose; b) discharged through a tapered nozzle with a one (1) inch outlet opening; c) regulated to a 30 PSI discharge pressure; d) applied a distance of 20 feet from the door structure; and e) the time period of application of the water stream against the middle and all exposed parts of the door structure is controlled at a rate of 1.5 seconds per square foot.
The door being tested passes this testing procedure if no door panel or door members are disengaged from the supporting door frame assembly and if no openings are created.
In summary, the fire retardant panel doors 110 and 310 and the door frame 130, respectively, of the present invention have passed a ninety (90) minute burn test performed by a I.T.S. testing laboratory to obtain and meet the fire resistant specification known as the ANSI/U.L. 10B fire burn test for doors.
Accordingly, it is an advantage of the present invention that it provides a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that prevents buckling of the door during a fire.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that has supplemental fire resistant materials strategically embedded and placed within the tongue and groove joints of the fire resistant panel door, as well as supplemental fire resistant materials placed on the perimeter edges of the fire resistant panel door for preventing the spread of fire through the door and door frame
Another advantage of the present invention is that is provides for a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that has intumescent and fire resistant material layers within the panel door and door frame for preventing the spread of fire through the door and door frame.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that has fire resistant materials being multiple layers of intumescent material that expands in the presence of fire such that the intumescent material closes and seals the component tongue and groove joints, as well as the perimeter edges of the fire retardant panel door for preventing the spread of fire through the door and door frame.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that is used as part of an interior or exterior personal living space, or workspace being installed within home dwellings, commercial buildings or industrial plants.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a reinforced panel door and door frame that has improved aesthetic qualities by having a minimum panel thickness of 7/16 of an inch allowing for a minimum thickness of 1¾ inches of the fire resistant and reinforced panel door which allows for greater profiling (depth) of the exterior wood molding between the center panel and the stiles and rails.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that is aesthetically pleasing having the appearance of natural wood, and has achieved a successful fire rating of at least 90 minutes and passes a positive pressure test, and is easily installed in a building.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a reinforced fire retardant panel door and door frame that can be mass produced in an automated and economical matter and is readily affordable to the builder or consumer.
A latitude of modification, change, and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein.
