Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor – With separate heating means for work
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-29
2002-03-19
Sells, James (Department: 1734)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor
With separate heating means for work
C156S510000, C156S555000, C156S580100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06357504
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to fibrous insulation products, and in particular those insulation products of the type suitable for insulating buildings. More specifically, this invention pertains to insulation products having a facing system for providing a vapor barrier and/or for assisting in handling the insulation products. The invention also relates to technology for attaching the facing system to insulation products
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fibrous insulation is typically formed by fiberizing molten material and depositing the fibers on a collecting conveyor. Typically the fibers for insulation products are mineral fibers, such as glass fibers, although some insulation products are made of organic fibers, such as polypropylene and polyester. Most fibrous insulation products contain a binder material to bond the fibers together where they contact each other, forming a lattice or network. The binder gives the insulation product resiliency for recovery after packaging, and provides stiffness and handleability so that the product can be handled and applied as needed in the insulation cavities of buildings. During manufacturing the insulation is cut into lengths to form individual insulation products, and the insulation products are packaged for shipping to customer locations.
One typical insulation product is an insulation batt, usually about 8 feet long, and generally suitable for use as wall insulation in residential dwellings, or as insulation in the attic and floor insulation cavities in buildings. The width of insulation batts designed for wall cavities is set to typical insulation cavity widths, such as about 14½ inches or 22½ inches for stud spacings of 16 and 24 inches, respectively. Some insulation products have a facing on one of the major surfaces. In many cases the facing acts as a vapor barrier, and in some insulation products, such as binderless products, the facing gives the product integrity for handleability. Faced insulation products are installed with the facing placed flat on the edge of the insulation cavity, typically the interior side or edge of the insulation cavity.
Insulation products where the facing is a vapor barrier are commonly used to insulate wall, floor or ceiling cavities that separate a warm interior space from a cold exterior space. The vapor barrier is usually placed to prevent moisture-laden air from the warm interior of the dwelling from entering the insulation. Otherwise, the water vapor in the warm interior air would enter the insulation material and then cool and condense within the insulation. This would result in a damp insulation product, which is incapable of performing at its designed efficiency. In warm climates it is sometimes preferable to install the vapor barrier on the exterior side of the insulation cavity to reduce the amount of vapor entering the building during the air conditioning season. The stiffness of typical asphalt-kraft-faced insulation enhances the difficulty of such installations.
There are some insulation product requirements that call for insulation that is not vapor impermeable, but rather allows water vapor to pass through. For example, retrofit insulation products designed for adding additional insulation material on top of existing attic insulation should not have a vapor barrier. Also, insulation for wall cavities having a separate fall wall vapor barrier, such as a 4.0 mil polyethylene film on the interior or warm side of the wall, do not require a vapor barrier on the insulation product itself.
Encapsulation of fibrous glass batts for handling purposes is known. The Schelhom patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,955 to Schelhom et al.) discloses an encapsulated batt with an encapsulation material adhered with an adhesive that can be applied in longitudinal stripes, or in patterns such as dots, or in an adhesive matrix. The Schelhorn et al. patent also discloses that an alternative method of attachment is for the adhesive layer to be an integral part of the encapsulation film, which, when softened, bonds to the fibers in the batt.
The Syme patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,624 to Syme et al.) discloses a mineral fiber batt impregnated with a coextruded polymer layering system, and the Romes patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,854 to Romes et al.) discloses a method for impregnating a mineral fiber batt with a coextruded film. Both of these patents disclose attaching the coextruded film to the batt by heating at least the coextruded film if not also the batt. The heat energy is primarily transferred by conduction to the film as the film passes against a heated cylinder. Optional radiant infrared (IR) heaters are also disclosed as a supplemental source of heat energy.
Attaching the coextruded film in this manner has some disadvantages. Heating cannot be abruptly terminated or quickly varied. The heated cylinder of the Syme patent and the Romes patent is a large reservoir of temperature that cannot change its temperature quickly. In addition, target areas to be heated cannot be energized with great precision. Because of the need to come in close proximity to the hot surface of the heated cylinder, areas near the targeted areas are also inadvertently heated, creating a significant penumbra of unwanted temperature elevation.
Vapor barriers for insulation products are typically created with a layer of asphalt in conjunction with a kraft paper or foil facing material. The asphalt layer is applied in molten form and it is pressed against the fibrous insulation material before hardening to bond the kraft facing material to the insulation material. This asphalt and kraft paper system has the advantage of being relatively inexpensive. However, this facing system lacks flexibility because the asphalt/kraft layer is stiff, and working with the stiff asphalt/kraft facing slows down the installation of the insulation products. Also, cutting the facing without tearing the kraft paper is difficult in cool ambient temperatures because the asphalt can be brittle. Further, and the asphalt material is sticky in hot ambient temperatures, resulting in a gumming up of the cutting tool.
Even though the batts are manufactured to fit typical insulation cavities, many of the insulation cavities in buildings are of nonstandard dimensions. Window frames, door jambs, vent pipes, air ducts and electrical conduit are some of the typical obstructions that change the shape of the insulation cavity. During the process of installing the batts a significant portion of the batts must be cut to fit these non standard insulation cavities. In some dwellings up to 50 percent of the insulation cavities are nonstandard. Therefore, an important attribute of a faced building insulation product is the ease with which the facing can be cut and the ability of the facing to be placed flat on the edge of the insulation cavity after the facing has been cut. If the facing is not flat on the edge of the insulation cavity, the vapor barrier will be only partially effective. Further, insulation customers desire a smooth facing that is relatively flat on the edge of the insulation cavity.
In view of the above problems with currently available insulation products, it would be advantageous if there could be developed a faced insulation product (and technology for the attachment thereof) having a facing material that can be easily cut to fit into nonstandard insulation cavities, and having a facing material that is flexible enough that it can accommodate faster installation of the cut insulation product into nonstandard insulation cavities with the facing in a flat condition at the edge of the insulation cavity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed, in part, to an insulation product comprising an elongated batt of fibrous insulation material, and a facing adhered to a major surface of the batt, wherein the facing is a coextruded polymer film of barrier and bonding layers, with the bonding layer having a softening point lower than the softening point of the barrier layer, where the bonding layer can
Patel Bharat Dahyabhai
Qi Weigang
Barns Stephen W.
Eckert Inger H.
Owens Corning Fiberglas Technology Inc.
Sells James
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