Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Including grain – strips – or filamentary elements in...
Reexamination Certificate
1997-09-10
2001-06-19
Cole, Elizabeth M. (Department: 1771)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Including grain, strips, or filamentary elements in...
C428S121000, C428S212000, C428S298100, C428S299400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06248420
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to the technical field of producing mineral fiber-insulating plates. Mineral fibers generally comprise fibers such as rockwool fibers, glass fibers, etc. More precisely, the present invention relates to a novel technique of producing a mineral fiber-insulating web from which mineral fiber-insulating plates are cut. The mineral fiber-insulating plates produced from the mineral fiber-insulating web produced in accordance with the present invention exhibit advantageous characeristics as to mechanical performance, such as modulus of elasticity and strength, low weight and good thermal-insulating property.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Mineral fiber-insulating webs are normally hitherto produced as homogeneous webs, i.e. webs in which the mineral fibers of which the mineral fiber-insulating web is composed, are generally orientated in a single predominant orientation which is determined by the orientation of the production line on which the mineral fiber-insulating web is produced and transmitted during the process of producing the mineral fiber-insulating web. The product made from a homogeneous mineral fiber-insulating web exhibits characteristics which are determined by the integrity of the mineral fiber-insulating web and which are predominantly determined by the binding of the mineral fibers within the mineral fiber-insulating plate produced from the mineral fiber-insulating web, and further predominantly determined by the area weight or density of the mineral fibers of the mineral fiber-insulating plate.
The advantageous characteristics of mineral fiber-insulating plates of a different structure has to some extent already been realized as techniques for the production of mineral fiber-insulating plates in which the mineral fibers are orientated in an overall orientation different from the orientation determined by the production line, has been devised, vide Published International Patent Application, International Application No. PCT/DK91/00383, International Publication No. WO92/10602, U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,355, Published International Patent Application, International Application No. PCT/DK87/00082, International Publication No. WO
88
/
00265
, French Patent No. 938294, U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,955 and Swedish Patent No. 452.040. Reference is made to the above patent applications and patents, and the above U.S. patents are hereby incorporated in the present specification by reference.
From the above published international patent application, International Publication No. WO92/10602, a method of producing an insulating mineral fiber plate composed of interconnected rod-shaped mineral fiber elements is known. The method includes cutting a continuous mineral fiber web in the longitudinal direction thereof in order to form lamellae, cutting the lamellae into desired lengths, turning the lamellae 90° about the longitudinal axis and bonding the lamellae together for forming the plate. The method also includes a step of curing the continuous mineral fiber web, or alternatively the plate composed of the individual lengths of lamellae bonded together for the formation of the plate.
From the above-mentioned published international patent application, International Publication No. WO88/00255, a method of folding a continuous mineral fiber web in a transversal direction relative to the longitudinal direction of the mineral fiber web is known for the formation of an undulated mineral fiber web. Dependent of the origin of the mineral fiber web from which the undulated mineral fiber web is produced, the undulated mineral fiber web may include mineral fibers orientated along the undulations or perpendicular to the undulations.
From French patent No. 938294 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,995, techniques of producing mineral fiber boards or plates composed of rod-shaped elements are known, which techniques are similar to the technique described in the above first-mentioned international patent application. Thus, according to the techniques described in the above French and U.S. patents, a board or plate of a mineral fiber material is cut into lengths of rod-shaped elements which are thereupon turned and reassembled into a composite rod-shaped mineral fiber plate structure. These well-known prior art techniques involve a separate step of bonding the rod-shaped lamellae together by means of an appropriate bonding agent or foamed agent as described in the above-mentioned U.S. patent.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of producing a mineral fiber-insulating web from which mineral fiber-insulating plates may be cut which method renders it possible in an online production plant to produce mineral fiber-insulating plates which are of a composite structure providing distinct advantages as compared to the prior art mineral fiber-containing plates.
A particular advantage of the present invention relates to the novel mineral fiber-insulating plate according to the present invention and produced in accordance with the method according to the present invention which as compared to prior art mineral fiber-insulating plates contains less mineral fibers and is consequently less costly than the prior art mineral fiber-insulating plates, still exhibiting advantages as compared to the prior art mineral fiber-insulating plates relating to mechanical strength and thermal-insulating properties.
A particular feature of the present invention relates to the fact that the novel mineral fiber-insulating plate according to the present invention and produced in accordance with the method according to the present invention is produceable from less mineral fibers or less material as compared to the prior art mineral fiber-insulating plate still providing the same properties as the prior art mineral fiber-insulating plate regarding mechanical strength and thermal-insulating properties, thus, providing a more lightweight and more compact mineral fiber-insulating plate product as compared to the prior art mineral fiber-insulating plate product reducing transport, storage and handling costs.
The above object, the above advantage and the above feature together with numerous other objects, advantages and features which will be evident from the below detailed description of present preferred embodiments of the invention are obtained by a method according to the present invention comprising the following steps:
a) producing a first non-woven mineral fiber web defining a first longitudinal direction parallel with the first mineral fiber web and a second transversal direction parallel with the first mineral fiber web, the first mineral fiber web containing mineral fibers arranged generally in the first longitudinal direction thereof and including a first heat-curable bonding agent, the first mineral fiber web being a loosely compacted mineral fiber web of a low area weight, such as an area weight of 50-1500 g/m
2
, e.g. 100-1200 g/m
2
, such as 200-600 g/m
2
or 600-1200 g/m
2
,
b) moving the first mineral fiber web in the first longitudinal direction of the first mineral fiber web,
c) folding the first mineral fiber web transversely relative to the first longitudinal direction and parallel with the second transversal direction so as to produce a second non-woven mineral fiber web, the second mineral fiber web comprising a central body containing mineral fibers arranged generally perpendicular to the first longitudinal direction and the second transversal direction,
d) moving the second mineral fiber web in the first longitudinal direction, and
e) introducing the second mineral fiber web into a curing oven for hardening the first curable agent so as to cause the mineral fibers of the second mineral fiber web to bond to one another, thereby forming the mineral fiber-insulating web.
In accordance with the technique described in the above-mentioned published international patent application, application No. PCT/DK91/00383, publication No. WO92/10602, the first and second non-woven mineral fiber webs are preferably exposed to compact
Brandt Kim
Holtze Erik
Cole Elizabeth M.
Merchant & Gould P.C.
Rockwool International A/S
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