The invention relates to a container for insulation material and in particular to a container for rigid insulation panels according to claim 1.

For insulating buildings, i.e. thermal insulation, often large amounts of insulation material are needed at the construction site in particular because of normally the entire surface of the building needs to be covered and since these materials can be applied very quickly so that the entire material needs to be stored at once. Common insulation materials are, amongst others, mineral fibers as rock wool and glass wool, mineral foams and artificial organic foams as, for example, polyethylene, polystyrol, Neopor®, polyurethane, or Resol foam. Especially for heat insulation of external walls of buildings, preferably, light-weight insulation panel material, as e.g., polystyrol (EPS, expandable polystyrene).

Storing such an insulation material on the construction site, however, is problematic. Often, the insulation material is stored in an unorganized manner and in bulky coherent quantities without any protection. Frequently, access paths to the buildings or to the construction site thereby are obstructed.

For improving the storage of insulation materials, in particular, of thermal insulation panels or panels, in prior art it is known to provide the panels in a package which may be fixed to the scaffolding.

For example, from EP 1 036 016, a package for expandable polystyrene insulation material panels, is known. The package comprises a film sheathing surrounding the insulation panels, and the end sections of which are closed by respective holding devices. Further, the film sheathing is equipped with a suspension device which enables the packing which is formed by the film sheathing to be fixed to the scaffolding.

By this packing known from prior art, light-weight insulation panels or panels may be stored on the construction site in a space-saving manner. Additionally, this solution has the advantage that the panels may be stored right there where they are needed for being further processed, i.e. for being attached to the exterior wall of a building. With respect to the above mentioned solution, however, there still exists a problem as to the provision of sufficient protection of thus stored insulation material. Specifically, in case a fire starts on the construction site, since the above mentioned insulation materials are flammable materials. Thus, the safety on the construction site is strongly affected.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention, to provide a container for insulation materials which further increases the safety on the construction site, in particular, an inflammable packing for rigid insulation panels.

According to the invention, the object is solved by a container for insulation material having the features according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

According to the invention is provided, a container for insulation panels. The container has at least one insulation material compartment for accommodating one or more insulation panels and at least one outer wall which surrounds the material compartment. The insulation material compartment has an upper end portion and a lower end portion of which at least one is closable by a closure lid. At the at least one outer wall, a support sling for attaching the container to a scaffolding is provided. The at least one outer wall and the support sling are made from a non-flammable material.

Since the outer wall and the support sling, respectively, are made from a non-flammable material, the fire safety on the construction site with respect to inflammable insulation panels (e.g. EPS foam rigid insulation panel) is improved. On the other hand, in case of a fire being started at the construction site, a falling off of the package containing the insulation material from the scaffolding is prevented, because of the fixing means withstands the fire at least for a predetermined time period, and therefore, the container may not come loose from the scaffolding and fall down.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the non-flammable material comprises at least one of a non-flammable textile fabric, non-flammable foil, wool which has been subjected to a flame-retardant treatment, basalt fiber fabric or glass fiber fabric.

It is particularly preferred, if the non-flammable material also is tear-resistant in order to withstand stresses and strains as will occur when picking up insulation panels which are molten by a fire.

According to still a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the non-flammable material comprises a flammable proportion having a non-flammable coating which may constitute, for example, a more inexpensive variant of a protective container.

According to yet still a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one outer wall and/or the at least one support sling are made from a layered material which preferably has various functionally different layers. According to this configuration, therefore, various purposes may be fulfilled, for example, beyond the primary purpose of protection against fire.

Preferably, the at least one outer wall and/or the at least one support sling is/are made from functional materials e.g. which are flexible to be easily storable when not filled or are elastic to allow to fix the insulation panels therein.

The at least one outer wall and/or the at least one support sling may also be made from a self-extinguishing (Self-extinguishing polymers e.g. PEEK, PSU, PPSU, PES, PPS) or from a cooling material (i.e. cooling fluid containing capsules).

Moreover, it is preferred, if the insulation material compartment has at least one insulation material compartment for construction material, in particular, for light-weight insulation panels. The insulation material compartment advantageously serves for arranging therein the insulation panels in a particularly convenient manner (i.e. easy to reach partitions).

The at least one insulation material compartment may further also comprise one or more partition walls which is/are arranged in a horizontal or vertical direction within the compartment and are capable of separately receiving a single insulation panel in each of which.

Moreover, it is especially preferred, if the at least one outer wall is formed by a tube-like or bag-like member which at the lower end portion is closable by means of a first closing lid means and/or at the upper end portion is closable by a second closing lid means. A packing according to this configuration may be produced in a particularly simple and thus cost-effective manner. Preferably, the insulation material comprises EPS insulation panels, XPS insulation panels, polyurethane insulation panels, phenol resin insulation panels, vacuum insulation panels, or insulation panels made from wood fibers which are specifically suitable for thermal insulation of exterior facades of buildings. In the following, the invention will be described in further detail by means of an embodiment with reference to the drawings, in which

Fig.1 is a perspective view of a container for insulation panels according to an embodiment;

is a sectional view through a container for insulation panels according to embodiment; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through a container for insulation panels according to a further embodiment.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a container 1 for insulation panels according to an embodiment of the invention. Here, the container 1 is adapted for receiving rigid insulation panels 2 (see Fig. 2) which are used for thermal insulation of exterior facades of buildings. The insulation panels 2 to be accommodated within the container 1 may be, for example, EPS or XPS insulation panels, polyurethane insulation panels, phenol resin insulation panels, vacuum insulation panels, or insulation panels made from wood fibers, and thus constitute flammable material. In this context, the term "flammable" here is understood on the basis of the definition for the following fire rating classes according to DIN 4102-1 : low flammability (B1 ), normal flammability (B2), and high flammability (B3) to be B1 or at least B2.

In the inner space 4 (see Fig. 2), a storage insulation material compartment 3 for the insulation panels 2 (see Fig. 2) is located which in the embodiment shown here has a height of 1250 mm, a length of 1150 mm, and a depth of 500 mm. Based on to these dimensions, a capacity of the storage insulation material compartment 3 and the container 1 , respectively, of 0.6 m ³ results. Also other dimensions are conceivable depending respectively on the requirements and application area of the container 1. The length of the container 1 , for example, depends on the width of the bay to which the container 1 is to be attached. The width of the bay usually is 2.50 m such that with the dimensions of a container 1 indicated above, two containers 1 may be suspended adjacent to each other. Typically 3 to 10 insulation panels are stored parallel in such a container 1.

The insulation material compartment of the container 1 which is not visible in the figure showing the closed container, is surrounded by a circumferential outer wall 5. The outer wall 5 may be part of a tube-like member which is kept closed at its lower end portion 6 and an upper end portion 7 by the corresponding closure lid 8. As closure lid, here, a simple strap or string is used at the upper end portion 7 in order to tie up the open end of the upper end portion 7. Also, cable ties, wire, an adhesive tape or the like may be employed for closing the opening of the compartment. For filling the container 1 , the strap or the closure lid 8 is opened such that the insulation panels 2 may then be arranged within the insulation material compartment 3 through the thus resulting opening at the upper end portion 7. At the lower end portion 6, the open end of the tube-like member may be closed either by the same closure means 8 as has been used for closing the upper end portion 7, or may be closed by a differently configured closure means. For example, instead of stringing the lower end of the tube-like member at its lower end portion 6, the latter may rather be folded and then may be closed, for example, by an adhesive, by means of sewing, by means of staples, or the like.

At the outer wall 5 of the container 1 or the storage insulation material compartment 3 there are four support slings 9 provided in the embodiment shown here, from which the one being arranged in the rear side of the figure is not visible. The support slings 9 are formed as loops or tabs 10 which on the one hand serve for grasping and carrying the container 1 by a construction worker. On the other hand, respectively two adjacent tabs 10 will be used for fixing the container 1 to the scaffolding (not shown). As can be seen in the figure, the loops or tabs 10 are formed from a strap-like member 14 which at the respective corners 1 1 of the container 1 runs along the entire edge 12 on a first side face 13, forms at the upper end the loop 10, and runs back to the lower end of the container 1 along the edge 12 on a second side face 13' which is adjacent to the first side face 13. This configuration serves for a safe support of the support sling 9 at the outer wall 5 of the container 1. At the same time, it provides a certain reinforcement of the respective edges of container 1 along which it is directed.

Other types of support sling 9 are also conceivable. For example, cable ties or the like may be used for fixing the container 1 to the scaffolding. In this case, at least one spot on the container 1 needs to be adapted for receiving a cable tie. By fixing the container 1 to the scaffolding, pathways, e.g., exit or escape paths as well as storage areas on the ground are kept clear, thereby increasing the safety on the construction site. To still further increase the safety on the construction site, the outer wall 5 of the container as well as the support sling 9, the strap-like member 14 in the example shown here, are made from a non-flammable material. Non-flammable within the meaning of this application means that in case a fire starts on the construction site, its further propagation is prevented. This means, in particular, that the temperature transmission is impeded, and at least 20 minutes, preferably 30 minutes, ideally 60 minutes, can be assumed as resistance time for the material to withstand the fire before failure.

As already mentioned above, non-flammable textile fabrics, non-flammable foils, materials coated with a non-flammable layer, self-extinguishing or cooling materials, wool treated so as to be flame-retardant, basalt fiber fabrics, glass fiber fabrics, in particular, products as Fibreflam®, nowetex® or Nomex®, etc., may be employed. All materials which are used for protective wear of the fire brigade, fire extinguishing blankets, heat protection and/or flame protection fabrics, etc. may be used for the outer wall and the support sling. Thereby, it further is particularly advantageous, if as already mentioned above, the materials used for this purpose moreover are tear-resistant.

As proof for the corresponding properties of the non-flammable material for the outer wall 5 and/or the support sling 9, amongst others, the following verification methods and insulation material and/or technical fabrics can be applied:

- DIN EN ISO 1716 ..Reaction to fire tests for products - Determination of the gross heat of combustion (calorific value)";

- DIN EN ISO 1182 ..Reaction to fire tests for products - Non-combustibility test";

- DIN EN ISO 1 1925 ..Reaction to fire tests - Ignitability of products subjected to direct impingement of flame";

- DIN EN 1634-1 „Fire resistance and smoke control tests for door and shutter assemblies, openable windows and elements of building hardware - Part 1 : Fire resistance test for door and shutter assemblies and openable windows";

- DIN EN ISO 15025: 2003-02 ..Protective clothing - Protection against heat and flame - Method of test for limited flame spread";

- DIN EN ISO 6942: 2002-09 ..Protective clothing - Protection against heat and fire Method of test: Evaluation of materials and material assemblies when exposed to a heat radiation source"; - EN 702 ..Protective clothing - Protection against heat and flame - Test method: Determination of the contact heat transmission through protective clothing or its materials";

- EN 367„ Protective clothing against heat and flame - Determination of heat transmission on exposure to flame ";

EN 469 „ Protective clothing for firefighters - Performance requirements protective clothing for firefighting ", etc.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through a container 1 for insulation panels according to an embodiment. In the insulation material compartment 15 of the container 1 forming the storage insulation material compartment 3, a plurality of insulation panels 2 is arranged in parallel side by side such that the flammable material of the insulation panels 2 is completely surrounded by the non-flammable material of the outer wall 5 (see also Fig. 1 ).

Fig. 3 is a further sectional view through a container 1 for insulation panels according to an embodiment. As can be seen here, the insulation material compartment 4 of the storage insulation material compartment 3 is separated by two transverse walls 15, 15' and one longitudinal wall 16 allowing for either a vertical filling with insulation panels 2 or a horizontal filling (see Fig. 2). This, on the one hand, serves for the filling or loading procedure being facilitated by the partition walls. On the other hand, the transverse walls 15, 15' and/or the longitudinal wall 16 serve for stabilizing the entire container 1.