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Patent Searching and Data


Title:
DRYWALL PROFILE FOR A DRYWALL CONSTRUCTION WITH SOUND INSULATION
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2017/101960
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
Drywall profile (1) for a drywall construction with sound insulation. The drywall profile (1) is elongated, has a first flange portion (2) and second flange portion (3), each of which being of a size and shape so as to be capable of attaching a drywall panel thereto. The first flange portion (2) is arranged at a web portion (4) so as to form a first edge portion (42), and the second flange portion (3) is arranged at the web portion (4) opposite to the first flange portion (2) so as to form a second edge portion (43). The first edge portion (42) or the second edge portion (43) comprises at least one cut-in section (5).

Inventors:
SEIDEL JOCHEN (DE)
Application Number:
PCT/EP2015/002558
Publication Date:
June 22, 2017
Filing Date:
December 18, 2015
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
KNAUF GIPS KG (DE)
International Classes:
E04B2/74; E04B2/78; E04C3/07; E04C3/09
Domestic Patent References:
WO2011038879A22011-04-07
Foreign References:
EP2333182A12011-06-15
US1867329A1932-07-12
US20150240486A12015-08-27
US20150204069A12015-07-23
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Claims:
Claims

1. Drywall profile (1 ) for a drywall construction with sound insulation, the drywall profile (1 ) being elongated, having a first flange portion (2) and second flange portion (3), each of which being of a size and shape so as to be capable of attaching drywall panels thereto, wherein the first flange portion (2) is arranged at a web portion (4) so as to form a first edge portion (42), and the second flange portion (3) is arranged at the web portion (4) opposite to the first flange portion (2) so as to form a second edge portion (43), and wherein the first edge portion (42) or the second edge portion (43) comprises at least one cut-in section (5).

2. Drywall profile (1) according to claim 1 , wherein the first edge portion (42) or the second edge portion (43) comprises at least two cut-in sections (5) and a bent portion (6) between adjacent cut-in sections (5), wherein the bent portion (6) connects the web portion (4) and the first flange portion (2) or the second flange portion (3), respectively.

3. Drywall profile (1 ) according to claim 2, wherein the bent portion (6) is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile (1 ) so as to allow for bending the first flange portion (2) and the second flange portion (3) relative to the web portion (4) in the direction normal the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile (1 )-

4. Drywall profile (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cut-in section (5) comprises a slit shaped opening, the slit shaped opening (5) being arranged so as to extend in a longitudinal direction of the drywall profile (1)ยท

5. Drywall profile (1 ) according to claim 3 and 4, wherein each slit shaped opening (5) is of a length larger than the length of each bent portion (6).

6. Drywall profile (1) according to claim 2, wherein the cut-in section (5) comprises at least one square shaped opening, the square shaped opening (5) being arranged so as to extend along a side length of the web portion (4).

7. Drywall profile (1 ) according to claim 6, wherein the bent portion (6) is arranged normal to the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile (1).

8. Drywall profile (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first flange portion (2) or the second flange portion (3) comprises a plurality of separation cuts (7) arranged normal to the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile (1 ).

9. Drywall profile (1 ) according claim 8, wherein each separation cut (7) is arranged at the first flange portion (2) or the second flange portion (3) at a location so as to be in connection to the cut-in section (5).

10. Drywall profile (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the web portion (4) comprises a corrugation (41 ) extending in the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile (1).

11. Drywall construction comprising a drywall profile (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims.

12. Method for producing a drywall profile (1 ) comprising the step of forming at least one cut-in section (5) at a first edge portion (42) or at a second edge portion (43) at the drywall profile (1).

13. Method according to claim 12, further comprising the step forming a plurality of slit shaped cut-in sections (5) at a first edge portion (42) or at a second edge portion (43) at the drywall profile (1 ).

14. Method according to claim 12, further comprising the step forming a plurality of square shaped cut-in sections (5) at a first edge portion (42) or at a second edge portion (43) at the drywall profile (1)-

Description:
Drywall profile for a drywall construction with sound insulation

The invention relates to a drywall profile for a drywall construction with sound insulation and to a method for producing a drywall profile according to the respective independent claim. The invention relates in general to the technical field of drywall constructions for improving the acoustics in buildings and in particular to the field of sound insulation. Such drywall constructions include walls or ceilings which are made of drywall panels attached to drywall profiles. Such a drywall panel might be a gypsum plasterboard, a gypsum fiber board, etc.

Structurally such a drywall construction comprises a sub-construction of drywall profiles which are arranged so as to be capable of attaching one or more layers of drywall panels thereto. This can be achieved by vertically arranging a plurality of drywall profiles which are attached to the floor and the ceiling of the building.

Drywall profiles are elongated (beam shaped) and comprise a first flange portion and second flange portion. The first flange portion and the second flange portion are of a size and shape so as to be capable of attaching drywall panels thereto, for example by means of screws or an adhesive. The first flange portion and the second flange portion are arranged at a common web portion so that for example the drywall profile has a c-shaped (or in general bracket shaped) cross-section. Such a c-shaped cross- section is formed by a first flange portion and a second flange portion which border opposite side edges of the common web portion. In this manner, the first flange portion is arranged at a web portion so as to form a first edge portion, and the second flange portion is arranged at the web portion opposite to the first flange portion so as to form a second edge portion. For acoustic insulation or sound insulation it is known to use drywall panels of a high mass. A high mass per surface area can be achieved by increasing the thickness or the density of drywall panels. In prior art it is known to use specific acoustic drywall profiles to improve the sound insulation of drywall constructions. In comparison to standard drywall profiles, the acoustic drywall profiles do not only provide a solid construction (which absorbs forces which typically occur) but additionally improves the acoustic insulation of the drywall construction.

For such a drywall construction of one or more layers of drywall panels (i.e. gypsum plasterboards) attached to drywall profiles, three frequency ranges for the occurring sound are of particular interest. The acoustic properties of this construction can be seen as a mass-spring-mass system having a predetermined resonance frequency which corresponds to the mass as well as to the "spring" characteristic of the construction.

The lowest frequency range of interest relates to the resonance frequency of the attached drywall panels, depending on their masses. With increasing frequency, the acoustic insulation is described by the mass-law which states a linear relation so that for doubling the mass or frequency, the acoustic insulation improves in identical steps (i.e. by 12 dB). By further increasing the frequency, the sound insulation does no longer follow the linear relation but shows a pronounced drop in the transmission loss. This drop represents the critical frequency of the drywall panels. At this critical frequency the wavelengths of structure, i.e. drywall panels, and the fluid medium, i.e. air, coincide. The combination of drywall stud and drywall panel has a second lower frequency of coincidence than the panel itself, because it is stiffer. This may cause a less pronounced drop in the middle frequency range ruled by the mass law. Acoustic drywall profiles aim to acoustically decouple the flange portions to which the respective layers of drywall panels are attached. Often those profiles aim to reduce the lateral stiffness of the web portion along an axis directing from the first flange portion to the second flange portion. In one particular example the drywall profile comprises a corrugation arranged at the web portion so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile. The corrugation allows a lateral movement of the first and second flange portions relative to each other in the direction along an axis from the first flange portion to the second flange portion (i.e. normal to the longitudinal direction of the profile). This lateral flexibility aims to decouple vibrations caused by sound waves. An alternative to the corrugations are z-shaped drywall profile cross-sections.

A disadvantage related to the prior art is that technical solutions in regard to sound insulation do not consider deformations of the drywall profile in the plane of the flange portions (i.e. a movement normal to the flange). The critical frequency depends on the relation of wavelength to frequency (dispersion) of the portion of the wall in contact with the fluid medium. In general these are the drywall panels in contact with the airspace of sending- and receiving room. As the web portion is mainly determining the stiffness of the total drywall profile, the flexibility of the flange portions attached to the web portion is relevant for sound insulation.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a drywall profile for a drywall construction with improved sound insulation which overcomes or at least reduces the disadvantages known from the prior art and which has a reduced flexural stiffness in the plane of the wall. It is a particular object of the invention to provide a drywall profile with flexibility for deformations of the drywall profile with a deformation vector normal to the plane of the flange portions The problem is solved by a drywall profile for a drywall construction with sound insulation and a method for producing a drywall profile according to the respective independent claim. Advantageous embodiments are explained by their features in the dependent claims. The invention comprises a drywall profile for a drywall construction with sound insulation. The drywall profile is elongated and has a first flange portion and second flange portion, each of which being of a size and shape so as to be capable of attaching drywall panels thereto. The first flange portion is arranged at a web portion so as to form a first edge portion, and the second flange portion is arranged at the web portion opposite to the first flange portion so as to form a second edge portion. The first edge portion (and/) or the second edge portion comprises at least one cut-in section.

By providing the cut-in section, the flexibility of the flange portions attached to the web portion is increased. Since the frequency of coincidence depends on the combined stiffness of drywall panel attached to the drywall profile, the increased flexibility of the flange portions attached to the web portion improves the sound insolation of those constructions. The cut-in sections allow for the drywall panel to vibrate with a wavelength shorter than the wavelength of the resonating drywall profile (in the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile). The drywall profile according to the invention overcomes the disadvantages known from the prior art since it provides more flexibility against a torque around axis normal to the web portion in a manner so as to reduce the propagation of sound waves.

Advantageously, the first edge portion (and/) or the second edge portion comprises at least two cut-in sections and a bent portion between adjacent cut-in sections. The bent portion connects the web portion and the respective flange portion. In principle it is possible to form a single cut-in section, wherein the arrangement of several bent portions improves the mechanical stability of the drywall profile. Particularly advantageous under the aspect of mechanical stability is the alternating arrangement of cut-in sections and bent portions along both edge portions. Preferred, the bent portion is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile so as to allow for bending the first flange portion and the second flange portion relative to the web portion in the direction normal the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile. This arrangement of the bent portion can be produced by forming the cut-in sections along a line in a predetermined adjacent distance.

Moreover preferred, the cut-in section comprises a slit shaped opening, the slit shaped opening being arranged so as to extend in a longitudinal direction of the drywall profile. The width of such a slit can be less than 1 mm. The slit can be easily formed during the production of the drywall profile.

Advantageously, each slit shaped opening is of a length larger than the length of each bent portion. Particularly preferred, each slit shaped opening is of a length larger than the length of adjacent bent portions. This arrangement provides a good flexibility for the flexural movement of the attached drywall panel along the direction of the drywall profile. In a particularly advantageous alternative, the cut-in section comprises a rectangular shaped opening. The rectangular shaped opening is arranged so as to extend along a side length of (and into) the web portion. The rectangular shaped opening can be formed by bending out a rectangular shaped portion from the web portion which forms part of the edge portion of the drywall profile. A further flange section can be formed at the rectangular formed section which can be bent in a manner so as to form the flange portion which is particularly efficient for the production of such a drywall profile. Hence, the bent portion is arranged normal to the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile. Preferably, the first flange portion (and/) or the second flange portion comprises a plurality of separation cuts arranged normal to the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile. By separating the flange portions the stiffness is further reduced so as to improve the sound insulation. Preferably, each separation cut is arranged at the first flange portion or the second flange portion, respectively, at a location so as to be in connection to the cut-in section. A straightforward solution thereto is the arrangement of the separation cut at the middle of the cut-in section. By arranging the separation cut in connection to the cut-in section, the flexibility of the flange portion attached to the web portion in the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile can be further increased.

It is moreover preferred that the web portion comprises a corrugation extending in the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile. The cut-in section can be formed at a known acoustic drywall profile without worsening the sound insulation effected by the corrugation.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a drywall construction (wall or ceiling) comprising a drywall profile as described herein.

A still further aspect of the invention relates to a method for producing a drywall profile comprising the step of forming at least one cut-in section at a first edge portion or at a second edge portion.

Advantageously, the method further comprises the step forming a plurality of slit shaped cut-in sections at a first edge portion or at a second edge portion at the drywall profile. Alternatively, the method further comprises the step of forming a plurality of square shaped cut-in sections at a first edge portion or at a second edge portion at the drywall profile.

In the following the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to drawings. Like reference numerals denote similar features throughout the drawings. In the drawings is:

Fig. 1 : Perspective view on a drywall profile according to a first embodiment of the invention having a plurality of slit shaped cut-in sections;

Fig. 2: Perspective view on a drywall profile according to a second embodiment of the invention having a plurality of square shaped cut-in sections;

Fig. 3: Perspective view on the drywall profile of Fig. 1 further comprising separations cuts at both flange portions; and

Fig. 4: Perspective view on the drywall profile of Fig. 1 further comprising a corrugation arranged at the web portion. Figure 1 is a perspective view at a drywall profile 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention comprising a plurality of slit shaped cut-in sections 5. Drywall profile

1 can be arranged in a drywall construction for improving the sound insulation. Drywall profile 1 is elongated metal beam which is to be cut to the required length at the construction site. A first flange portion 2 and a second flange portion 3 are formed so as to be of a size and shape capable of attaching a drywall panel (not shown), for example a gypsum plasterboard by means of a screw. First flange portion 2 is arranged at a web portion 4 so as to form a first edge portion

42 located where flange portion 2 borders web portion 4. The second flange portion 3 is arranged at web portion 4 opposite to first flange portion 2 so as to form a second edge portion 43. First edge portion 42 and second edge portion 43 comprises a plurality of slit shaped cut-in sections 5 which are arranged along a line extending in the longitudinal direction of drywall profile 1 , respectively. Between two cut-in sections 5 at the first edge portion 42 and the second edge portion 43, a bent portion 6 is provided connecting the web portion 4 to the first flange portion 2 as well as to the second flange portion 3. In the present embodiment, bent portion 6 is arranged in the longitudinal direction of drywall profile 1 so as to allow for bending first flange portion

2 as well as second flange portion 3 relative to web portion 4 around an axis extending in the longitudinal direction of drywall profile 1. By providing the cut-in sections 5, the lateral stiffness of drywall profile 1 in the axis normal to the web portion 4 is reduced. As shown, the slit shaped opening 5 can be of a length larger than the length of each bent portion 6. In particular the flexibility of the flange portions 42, 43 is improved. The increased flexibility of flange portions 42,

43 attached to web portion 4 allows that the mounted drywall panels can vibrate with a wavelength shorter than the wavelength of the drywall profile. Hence, more flexibility against a torque around the axis normal to the web portion 4 is provided and the propagation of sound waves is reduced. Figure 2 shows a drywall profile 1 according to a second embodiment (features of the individual embodiments of the invention can be combined), wherein the cut-in section 5 comprises a plurality of square shaped openings. The square shaped openings 5 are arranged at the edge portion so as to extend into the web portion 4. The first and second flange portion 2, 3 can be formed by bending out a part of the web portion 4 around a bending axis in the web portion oriented normal to the longitudinal axis of the drywall profile 1 and by bending this part in the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile. Hence, the bent portion 6 is arranged normal to the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile 1. In this way, the first flange portion 2 and the second flange portion 3 comprise a plurality of separation cuts 7 arranged normal to the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile 1 , wherein the each separation cut 7 is arranged at the first flange portion 2 as well as at the second flange portion 3 at a location so as to be in connection to the cut-in section 5. Figure 3 is an alternative of the drywall profile of Fig.1 which further comprises a plurality of separation cuts 7 arranged normal to the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile 1. Each separation cut 7 is arranged at the first flange portion 2 as well as at the second flange portion 3 at a location so as to be in connection to the cut-in section 5. The arrangement of the cut-in section 5 and the separation cut 7 is T- shaped.

Figure 4 is an alternative of the drywall profile of Fig.1 further comprising a corrugation 41 extending in the longitudinal direction of the drywall profile 1 along the web portion 4.