Patent Issued for Fire suppressing insulation (USPTO 11957941): United Services Automobile Association

2024 MAY 02 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Amann, Manfred (San Antonio, TX, US), Beveridge, Meredith (Golden, CO, US), Brown, Donnette Moncrief (San Antonio, TX, US), Gray, Emily Margaret (San Antonio, TX, US), Haslam, Justin Dax (San Antonio, TX, US), Maciolek, Michael J. (Boerne, TX, US), Mohs, Bobby Lawrence (San Antonio, TX, US), Schroeder, Eric David (San Antonio, TX, US), Shipley, Brian Francisco (Plano, TX, US), Simpson, Robert Wiseman (Fair Oaks Ranch, TX, US), Tijerina, Rochelle Ann (San Antonio, TX, US), filed on July 28, 2020, was published online on April 16, 2024, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11957941 is assigned to United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors:

“1. Field of the Invention

“The present disclosure relates to fire-suppressing insulation. In particular, the invention relates to insulation that uses intumescence to suppress fire and mitigate damage to a structure. The disclosure also relates to a system for fire suppression.

“2. Description of Related Art

“Insulation, particularly insulation against hot and cold exterior temperatures, often is placed in exterior walls of structures. Such insulation may take many forms, such as batts of fiber, blown-in fiber, and solid slabs. Fibers typically include fiber glass, rock wool, paper, and particulates, such as vermiculite. Slabs may include foamed thermoplastic or thermoset plastics.

“Such thermal insulation typically is not a fire-suppressant. Whereas the insulation may not itself be flammable, it typically does not serve as a fire block and does little to no fire suppression. Indeed, some types, such as foamed polystyrene, are flammable and may require fireproofing for use in an occupied building.

“There is a need in the art for a system and method that addresses the shortcomings of the prior art discussed above.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The disclosure is directed to a fire suppressing insulation. This insulation will create a barrier that blocks a fire to protect a structure from damage and will assist in suppressing the fire.

“In one aspect, the disclosure provides fire suppressing insulation, the insulation comprising fiber treated with an intumescent material in quantity sufficient to form a fire suppressing intumescent barrier when exposed to the heat of a fire.

“In another aspect, the disclosure provides a fire suppressing system. The system comprises a wall having an interior wall and an exterior wall. The interior wall is spaced apart from the exterior wall by a divider disposed between the interior wall and the exterior wall. The interior wall and the exterior wall define an interior volume. A portion of the interior volume includes fire suppressing insulation, the fire suppressing insulation comprising fiber treated with an intumescent material in quantity sufficient to form a fire suppressing intumescent barrier between the interior wall and the exterior wall when exposed to the heat of a fire.

“In still another aspect, the disclosure provides a fire suppressing system. The system comprises a wall having a first interior wall and a second interior wall. The first interior wall is spaced apart from the second interior wall by a divider disposed between the first interior wall and the second interior wall. The first interior wall and the second interior wall define an interior volume. A portion of the interior volume includes fire suppressing insulation, the fire suppressing insulation comprising fiber treated with an intumescent material in quantity sufficient to form a fire suppressing intumescent barrier between the first interior wall and the second interior wall when exposed to the heat of a fire.

“In all aspects, the intumescent material expands in the heat of a fire and forms an essentially continuous fire suppressing layer during a fire. The fire suppressing layer protects flammable material on the side opposite the flame from burning.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A fire suppressing insulation, the insulation comprising a plurality of fibers treated with an intumescent material in quantity sufficient to form a fire suppressing intumescent barrier when exposed to the heat of a fire; wherein each individual fiber in the plurality of fibers is evenly coated with the intumescent material prior to any exposure to a fire along a length of each individual fiber so as to create an even cross-section around each fiber, the intumescent material being coated onto the plurality of fibers in such a manner that individual intumescent material expands and overlaps with adjacent intumescent material to form a continuous char barrier layer that is a unified slab during a fire; and wherein the intumescent material is adhesive, so as to bind the plurality of fibers together during manufacturing of the insulation prior to any exposure to a fire.

“2. The fire suppressing insulation of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fibers are in the form of fiber-containing batts.

“3. The fire suppressing insulation of claim 1, wherein the intumescent material yields a soft char.

“4. The fire suppressing insulation of claim 3, wherein the intumescent material is an ablative material.

“5. The fire suppressing insulation of claim 1, wherein the intumescent material yields a hard char.

“6. The fire suppressing insulation of claim 1, wherein the intumescent material is evenly coated onto the fibers along an axial length of each individual fiber; and the intumescent material is evenly coated onto each individual fiber around its exterior.

“7. The fire suppressing insulation of claim 1, wherein the intumescent material is evenly coated onto the fibers so as to completely surround each fiber around a cross section of each fiber.

“8. The fire suppressing insulation of claim 7, wherein the intumescent material is adhered to the fibers.

“9. The fire suppressing insulation of claim 8, wherein the intumescent material is adhered to the fiber with a second intumescent material.

“10. A fire suppressing system, the system comprising a wall having an interior wall and an exterior wall; the interior wall spaced apart from the exterior wall by a divider disposed between the interior wall and the exterior wall; the interior wall and the exterior wall defining an interior volume; and a portion of the interior volume including fire suppressing insulation, the fire suppressing insulation comprising a plurality of fibers treated with an intumescent material in quantity sufficient to form a fire suppressing intumescent barrier between the interior wall and the exterior wall when exposed to heat of a fire; wherein each individual fiber in the plurality of fibers is evenly coated with the intumescent material prior to any exposure to a fire along a length of each individual fiber so as to create an even cross-section around each fiber, the intumescent material being coated onto the plurality of fibers in such a manner that individual intumescent material expands and overlaps with adjacent intumescent material to form a continuous char barrier layer that is a unified slab during a fire; and wherein the intumescent material is adhesive, so as to bind the plurality of fibers together during manufacturing of the insulation prior to any exposure to a fire.

“11. The fire suppressing system of claim 10, wherein the fire suppressing insulation fibers are in the form of batts.

“12. The fire suppressing system of claim 10, wherein the intumescent material yields a soft char.

“13. The fire suppressing system of claim 10, wherein the intumescent material is coated onto the fibers.

“14. The fire suppressing system of claim 10, wherein the intumescent material comprises particulate material dispersed in a batt and is adhered to the fibers.

“15. A fire suppressing system, the system comprising a wall having a first interior wall and a second interior wall; the first interior wall spaced apart from the second interior wall by a divider disposed between the first interior wall and the second interior wall; the first interior wall and the second interior wall defining an interior volume; and a portion of the interior volume including fire suppressing insulation, the fire suppressing insulation comprising a plurality of fibers treated with an intumescent material in quantity sufficient to form a fire suppressing intumescent barrier between the first interior wall and the second interior wall when exposed to heat of a fire; wherein each individual fiber in the plurality of fibers is evenly coated with the intumescent material prior to any exposure to a fire along a length of each individual fiber so as to create an even cross-section around each fiber, the intumescent material being coated onto the plurality of fibers in such a manner that individual intumescent material expands and overlaps with adjacent intumescent material to form a continuous char barrier layer that is a unified slab during a fire; and wherein the intumescent material is adhesive, so as to bind the plurality of fibers together during manufacturing of the insulation prior to any exposure to a fire.

“16. The fire suppressing system of claim 15, wherein the fire suppressing insulation fibers are in the form of batts.

“17. The fire suppressing system of claim 15, wherein the intumescent material yields a soft char.

“18. The fire suppressing system of claim 15, wherein the intumescent material is coated onto the fibers.

“19. The fire suppressing system of claim 15, wherein the intumescent material comprises particulate material dispersed in a batt and is adhered to the fibers.

“20. The fire suppressing system of claim 15, wherein the intumescent material is selected from the group consisting of: slag wool, Portland cement, quartz, mineral wool, rock wool, polyphosphates, polyols, cyanamides, silicates, and graphite.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Amann, Manfred. Fire suppressing insulation. U.S. Patent Number 11957941, filed July 28, 2020, and published online on April 16, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11957941)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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