Patent Publication Number: US-8991467-B2

Title: Flexible room dividers

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     This patent generally pertains to demising walls and, more specifically, to flexible room dividers. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A demising wall is an interior wall usually dividing one leased portion of a building from another. Although such walls may not be as permanent as the building&#39;s exterior walls, demising walls preferably are sturdy for security and other reasons and also often have insulating characteristics. The sturdiness of the wall, however, can make the wall expensive to erect and difficult to reposition or modify later to meet changing needs of the tenants. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an example curtain of an example room divider described herein. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of two example curtains of  FIG. 1  connected to each other. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is an end view of the curtain of  FIG. 1  suspended from an overhead support. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of another example curtain described herein. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the curtain of  FIG. 5  but showing the curtain in an assembled state. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a plurality of curtains shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6  that are coupled to form an example room divider or structure described herein. 
         FIG. 8  is an end view similar to  FIG. 4  but showing the curtain example of  FIGS. 5-7 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1-4  show an example room divider  10  having one or more interconnectable, interlockable curtains  12  for separating two areas of a room. In other words, one or more curtains  12  can be interlocked, integrated or coupled together to define the room divider  10 . In some examples, curtains  12  are suspended from an overhead structure  14 , such as a ceiling, a rafter, a beam, a cable, etc. A lower end  16  of curtains  12 , in some examples, is attached or coupled to a floor-mounted anchor  18 , such as a structural angle iron, taut horizontal cable, eyebolt, etc. 
     For some applications, a room divider must have certain insulating characteristics (e.g., an R-value of at least 2) but must also be flame resistant. Traditional flexible insulated curtains use organic polymer components (e.g., polyester, PVC, polyethylene, etc.) for both the outer sheets and insulating material because the construction provides a curtain that is flexible, relatively easy to manufacture, simple and inexpensive to install, and with moderate insulating characteristics. However, these traditional insulated curtains are not flame resistant and are, therefore, excluded from applications where a fire-rated wall or barrier is required. 
     Some examples of room divider  10  are flame resistant, which makes such dividers particularly suited for use in areas subject to certain fire safety codes or regulations. The expression, “flame resistant,” means the curtain is of a material that generally fails to burn or ignite even when exposed to an open flame. 
     In some examples, each curtain  12  includes an insulation pad  20  (e.g., matting, sheet, blanket, etc.) sandwiched or disposed between a pair of outer sheets  22 . Pad  20 , in some examples, includes an inorganic carbon fiber, wherein the expression, “inorganic carbon fiber” means the carbon therein is a mineral rather than derived from an organism or animal source. One example of pad  20  includes, but is not limited to, PYRON, which is a registered trademark of Zoltek Companies, Inc. of Bridgeton, Mo. Each outer sheet  22 , in some examples, includes a flame resistant fiberglass fabric with a silicone rubber coating. One example of sheet  22  is a silver silica fabric provided by Alpha Associates, Inc. of Lakewood, N.J. In some examples, insulation pad  20  is less dense than the sheets  22 . 
     Although the actual construction of curtain  12  may vary, in some examples, a sewn seam  24  along an outer perimeter  26  of curtain  12  connects or couples pad  20  and sheets  22 . Additionally or alternatively, a plurality of grommets  28  are disposed around perimeter  26  to help hold curtain  12  together. Grommets  28  also enable connecting one sheet  22  to another, and/or to connect sheet  22  to overhead structure  14  and/or to anchor  18 . In the illustrated example, at least one edge or side of sheets  22  are wider or larger than pad  20  so that the edge or side of sheets  22  extend beyond pad  20  to create a groove  30  between sheets  22 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
     In some examples, to connect a second curtain  12   b  and a first curtain  12   a  (wherein curtains  12   a  and  12   b  are substantially identical to curtain  12  of  FIG. 1 ), a tongue edge  32  of second curtain  12   b  is inserted or disposed in groove  30  of first curtain  12   a , thereby creating a tongue-and-groove joint or connection  34  between curtains  12   a  and  12   b . In examples where curtain  12  has one or more frayed edges  36  (e.g., due to the fiberglass fibers in sheet  22 ), tongue-and-groove joint  34  effectively covers or contains the exposed fibers, as shown in  FIG. 3 . Tongue-and-groove joint  34  ensures that connected curtains  12   a  and  12   b  overlap, which inhibits a fire from breaching room divider  10  through an otherwise non-overlapping joint. In some examples, a plurality of fasteners  38  (e.g., screws, bolts, buttons, snaps, ratchet-style ties, etc.) extend through grommets  28  and/or tongue-and-groove  34  to help hold curtains  12   a  and  12   b  together. 
     When room divider  10  is suspended between overhead structure  14  and anchor  18 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , curtain  12 , in some examples, is sufficiently flexible to balloon, bend, deflect, or puff out in response to an air pressure differential between areas  40  and  42 . Such deflection can provide firefighters with insight as to the best way to deal with a fire that might respond positively or negatively to maintaining or relieving the pressure differential. 
     Although room divider  10  is described primarily for use in separating, or dividing, two areas of a room, room divider  10  may also be used to create three or four-sided structures within a larger room. In this manner, room divider  10  can be used to partition off a room within a room. 
     In another example, shown in  FIGS. 5-8 , a room divider  44  includes one or more interconnectable flexible curtains  46  that are not necessarily flame resistant; however, divider  44  is particularly useful as a security barrier partitioning two areas  40  and  42  of a room. In this example, each curtain  46  includes a wire mesh  48  sandwiched or disposed between a pair of flexible outer sheets  50 . The expression, “wire mesh,” means a porous flexible structure composed of, for example, a metal sheet or any other suitable material. Examples of wire mesh  48  include, but are not limited to, chain link fencing, metal screen, metal fabric, chain mail type fabric, cloth fabric with interwoven metal fibers, plastic sheet impregnated with metal fibers, metal netting, poultry netting, chicken wire, etc. 
     Each outer sheet  50 , in this example, includes a flexible vinyl coated polyester fabric. Additionally or alternatively, outer sheet  50  includes a mass-loaded vinyl that improves the sound dampening characteristics of curtain  46 . Examples of mass-loaded vinyl are offered by Super Soundproofing Company of San Marcos, Calif. In other examples, sheet  50  includes a flame resistant material similar or identical to sheet  22  of divider  10 . 
     In the illustrated example, a touch-and-hold fastener  52  (e.g., VELCRO—a registered trademark of Velcro Co. of Manchester, N.H.) with mating hook-and-loop halves disposed around an outer perimeter  56  of sheets  50  not only holds two sheets  50  to each other but also holds wire mesh  48  in place or position. Wire mesh  48 , in this example, includes a plurality of hexagonal openings  54  through which the hooks and/or loops of touch-and-hold fastener  52  extend, thereby firmly holding wire mesh  48  between sheets  50 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     Additionally or alternatively, a plurality of grommets  28  are disposed around perimeter  56  to help hold curtain  46  together. Grommets  28  also enable connecting one sheet  50  to another, and/or to connect curtain  46  to overhead structure  14  and/or to anchor  18 .  FIG. 7 , for example, shows fasteners  38  extending through grommets  28  to interconnect a plurality of curtains  46 . 
       FIG. 8  shows fasteners  38  extending through grommets  28  to suspend one or more curtains  46  between overhead structure  14  and floor-mounted anchor  18 . In some examples, curtain  46  is sufficiently flexible to restorably deflect in response to an impact  58  such as, for example, the impact of a forklift accidentally striking curtain  46 . 
     Although room divider  44  is described primarily for use in separating, or dividing, two areas of a room, room divider  44  may also be used to create three or four-sided structures within a larger room. In this manner, room divider  44  can be used to partition off a room within a room. 
     Some of the aforementioned examples may include one or more features and/or benefits including, but not limited to, the following: 
     Some example room dividers resiliently withstand an impact, provide a flame resistant barrier between areas, provide a visual barrier between areas, provide a physical partition that is relatively lightweight yet tamper-resistant for security, are easy to install and reconfigure, provide sound dampening, and/or react to air pressure for assisting firefighters in certain situations. 
     Some example room dividers include a full-width wire mesh secured between mating halves of a touch-and-hold fastener. 
     Some example room dividers include curtains with flexible sheets held together with both a touch-and-hold fastener and a series of grommets. 
     Some example room dividers include one or more curtains comprising an inorganic carbon fiber pad sandwiched between two sheets of fiberglass cloth fabric coated with silicone rubber. 
     Some example room dividers comprise a plurality of flexible curtains interconnected by tongue-and-groove joints. 
     Some example room dividers include one or more flexible curtains hanging suspended from and overhead structure with a lower edge of the curtains anchored to the floor. 
     Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been described herein, the scope of the coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.