Faced fibrous insulation
A faced fibrous insulation having a facing on one or more surfaces of a fibrous insulation material is provided. The facing provides improved surface quality, high and controlled adhesion, and is easily manufactured. The facing of the present invention includes a pre-applied adhesive that is heat activated to provide adhesion to the fibrous insulation. The facing may be input into the glass fiber forming section of a fibrous insulation production line. Alternatively, the facing may be applied to the uncured pack prior to curing or applied to the cured fibrous insulation. As another alternative, a vapor barrier layer may be attached on a surface of the insulation opposite the facing.
This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/858,666, entitled “Faced Fibrous Insulation” (Inventor Roy E. Shaffer), hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to faced fibrous insulation. The faced insulation of the present invention provides improved thermal, acoustical properties as well as improved handling during installation of residential insulation. The faced insulation of the present invention also provides improved surface qualities for encapsulated insulation and improved facing adhesion qualities for during installation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFaced fibrous insulation is used in a variety of thermal, acoustical and residential applications. Conventional insulation typically include a facing layer adhered to a fibrous insulation layer. The facing layer is useful in preventing or at least limiting any air erosion damage, which may be caused by the flow of air directly across the insulation layer.
Encapsulated insulation is used to insulate building cavities, typically defined by framing members such as studs, joists or rafters in walls and attics. The insulation is typically low-density fibrous glass insulation. The encapsulated insulation may be held in place by stapling the lateral flanges to the framing members or by “friction-fit” or “press-fit” of oversized insulation between the framing members. One such encapsulated insulation is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,955, which discloses the use of a heated polyethylene film applied directly to the fibrous glass insulation and discloses that non-woven materials, such as a layer can also be used.
Another patent showing encapsulated insulation is U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,509 in which a non-woven covering is secured to the fibrous glass insulation using a hot melt adhesive applied to the facing or to the insulation just before the facing is applied.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,037 discloses an insulation assembly that includes an elongated batt of fibrous insulation material having a facing secured on a major surface thereof by the use of a series of spaced apart adhesive ribbons.
Other faced insulation products are used in insulation for HVAC equipment, duct board and other industrial insulation. One example of a conventional faced fibrous insulation product is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,444,289. U.S. Pat. No. 6,444,289 discloses the use of non-porous aluminum foil, foil reinforced paper, foil scrim paper, or polymeric material, which is adhered to the fibrous insulation by an adhesive. Perforations are formed in the facing layer after the facing layer and the insulation layer are joined and the adhesive bond is set or cured.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,783,268 and 6,270,865 disclose that faced fibrous insulation used in duct board provides an airflow surface with increased airflow and less turbulence. The faced fibrous insulation also provides a smooth surface that reduces the accumulation of dirt and dust. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,783,268 and 6,270,865 disclose the use of a central layer of compressed fiberglass one or one and one half inches thick with a polyester/glass facing having a density of about 0.01 pounds per square foot, a minimum tensile strength of 7 pounds/inch in the machine direction, and 5 pounds/inch in the cross-machine direction. The fibrous insulation is formed by the industry standard rotary fiber process, as developed by Owens CoRNing, in which molten glass is spun into fibers by a perforated spinner and blown by high temperature gas to elongate the individual fibers. The fibers are then sprayed with a phenol-formaldehyde binder to form an uncured pack of glass fibers. The facing is then applied to the pack of glass fibers so that the facing is adhered to the fiberglass solely by the uncured binder in the pack when the pack and facing are cured.
The '268 and '865 patents also disclose the formation of shiplap edges at the outer edges of the duct board to assist in the fabrication of a fiberglass duct. However, this method tends to result in poor adhesion of the mat facing to the fibrous insulation due to the inherent difficulty in controlling the amount of binder at the surface. The method also tends to increase manufacturing costs because the process of curing the fibrous insulation must be optimized to provide a suitable bond between the mat facing and the glass fibers rather than optimizing for improved efficiency in curing the binder in the pack of fibers.
In addition to the method disclosed in the '268 and '865 patents, it is known in the art to manufacture faced insulation by spraying a binder directly onto the facing prior to application of the facing to an uncured pack of fibers and subsequently curing the binder in the pack and on the facing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,178 discloses spraying a binder onto the interface where the facing meets the upper and lower surfaces of the uncured pack. This method tends to saturate the fibers on the surface of the finished board that causes a brashy surface on the fibrous insulation due to the fiber ends that are fixed in place by the high amount of binder at the surface. The high amount of binder on the mat also may cause discoloration of the mat facing causing a spotty or mottled surface on the fibrous insulation.
Faced fibrous insulation may also be formed by applying a polymer directly to the surface of a cured fiberglass pack. U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,298 discloses the use of a row of spiral spray extrusion heads for directly extruding ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) fibers onto the cured pack of fibers in an amount of 1.2 to 3.5 g/ft2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,412 discloses a duct board including an applied layer of an acrylic foam coating having a dry solids content of 10-20 g/ft2 of the surface of the board. The coating also includes an inorganic biocide such as silver nitrate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a facing on one or more surfaces of a fibrous insulation material. The facing provides improved surface quality, high and controlled adhesion, and is easily manufactured. The facing of the present invention includes a pre-applied adhesive that is heat activated. The facing may be input into the glass fiber forming section of a fibrous insulation production line. Alternatively, the facing may be applied to an uncured pack prior to curing or applied to cured fibrous insulation. The facing may be applied to one or more surfaces of the insulation and may be applied in conjunction with a standard vapor barrier facing such as a kraft asphalt facing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facing on one or more surfaces of a fibrous insulation material to provide improved surface quality, high and controlled adhesion, and is easily processed. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a faced fibrous insulation that may be reliably manufactured through a wide variety of process parameters without adversely affecting the surface quality or the adhesion of the facing to the fibrous insulation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The facing of the present invention includes a pre-applied adhesive that is heat activated to provide adhesion to the fibrous insulation. The facing may be input into the glass fiber forming section of a fibrous insulation production line, or alternatively may be applied to the uncured pack prior to curing, or applied to the cured fibrous insulation or in yet another alternative may be applied in a post-curing oven or offline process. The facing may be applied to one or more surfaces of the insulation. The facing may also be applied on a major surface of the insulation with a conventional facing, such as kraft/asphalt, kraft/polymer or foil/scrim/kraft facing on another surface of the insulation.
The faced fibrous insulation product of the present invention includes at least one layer of fibrous insulation such as glass fibers, mineral wool, rock wool, or polymer fibers and at least one layer that is a facing. Faced insulation products according to the invention include products that have a single layer of fibrous insulation and a facing applied to one surface; a single layer of fibrous insulation and a facing applied to opposed major surfaces; a single layer of fibrous insulation, a facing applied to opposed major surfaces where at least one layer of the facing is wider than the major surfaces so that one or more minor surfaces of the fibrous insulation may be faced and a facing applied to one major surface of the insulation while a vapor barrier is applied to the opposite major surface.
In the embodiment shown in
The non-woven web 20 may be formed of any suitable fibers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyesters, rayon, nylon, and blends of such fibers. The fibers may be staple fibers or continuous filaments. In addition, the fibers may be bicomponent to facilitate bonding. For example, a fiber having a sheath and core of different polymers such a polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) may be used or mixtures of PE and PP fibers may be used. The non-woven web 20 may optionally be treated with any suitable fungicide. Fungicides are well known in the non-woven field. One particularly suitable fungicide is diiodomethyl-p-tolysulfone, which is available from Angus Chemical Company of Buffalo Grove, N.Y., USA under the trade name AMICAL FLOWABLE. However, other suitable fungicides identified by one of skill in the art may be used. The non-woven web 20 may be treated with a fungicide either during manufacture or in a post manufacture process.
Particles of an adhesive 22 are distributed on a surface of the non-woven web 20 and heated to a temperature above the melting point of the adhesive 22 to adhere t adhesive powder 22 to the non-woven web 20, as shown in
Fibrous particles of an adhesive 24 may also be distributed on a surface of the non-woven web 20 and heated to a temperature above the melting point of the adhesive fibers 24 to adhere the adhesive fiber 24 to the non-woven web 20, as shown in
The non-woven included acrylic binder, halogen antimony oxide fire retardant, carbon black, organic dies and diiodomethyl-p-tolysulfone. The web 20 may also include colored fibers, a dye or colored filler, such as carbon black to provide any desired color to the facer.
As shown in
The uncured pack 64 and facer 12 exit the forming section 58 under exit roller 66 and enter the curing oven 70. The uncured pack 64 and facer 12 are compressed between the upper curing oven chain 72 and the lower curing oven chain 74. Heated air is forced from fan 76 through the lower chain 72, the pack 64 and upper chain 74 to cure the binder in pack 64 and to adhere the facer 12 to the pack to form the faced fibrous insulation 10. The heated air passes out of the curing oven 70 through exhaust section 78.
The faced fibrous insulation 10 then exits curing oven and is rolled by the roll-up device 82 for storage and shipment. The faced fibrous insulation 10 may subsequently be cut or die pressed to form fibrous insulation parts.
In a second embodiment depicted in
As the faced fibrous insulation 10 exits curing oven, it is bisected by bisect saw 80 and rolled into two rolls by lower roll-up 82 and upper roll-up 84 for storage and shipment. It is also contemplated that the bisected material may be rolled on a single roll-up to form a double layer single roll. It is also contemplated that the faced fibrous insulation will not be bisected and will be supplied as a double-faced insulation product as shown in
A further embodiment is shown in
The faced fibrous insulation 10 exits curing oven and is cut to length by blade 86 to form panels 88 of faced fibrous insulation which may then be stacked or bagged by packaging unit 92. It is also contemplated that panels 88 of faced fibrous insulation 10 will be supplied as a double-faced product as shown in
The faced fibrous insulation of the present invention includes at least one layer of fibrous insulation such as glass fibers, mineral wool, rock wool, or polymer fibers and at least one layer of a facer. One skilled in the art it will recognize that it is possible to manufacture a number of product configurations based on the teachings hereof, including a single layer of fibrous insulation with a single layer of facer applied to one surface, a single layer of fibrous insulation with facer applied to opposed major surfaces, a single layer of fibrous insulation with facer applied to opposed major surfaces wherein the at least one layer of the facer is wider than the major surfaces so that one or more minor surfaces of the fibrous insulation may be facer faced. It is also possible to apply multiple layers of fibrous insulation with facing there between with any one of the above-mentioned facings applied thereto. It is also possible to supply a vapor barrier material in place of at least one facing in the products described above.
The invention of this application has been described above both generically and with regard to specific embodiments. Although the invention has been set forth in what is believed to be the preferred embodiments, a wide variety of alternatives known to those of skill in the art can be selected within the generic disclosure. The invention is not otherwise limited, except for the recitation of the claims set forth below.
Claims
1.) A faced fibrous insulation product, comprising:
- a fibrous insulation layer having first and second opposed major surfaces; and
- a first facing adhered to a first major surface of the fibrous insulation layer, the facing including a facing layer having a particulate adhesive sintered thereto having a point and, wherein the facing is adhered to the first major surface of the fibrous insulation layer by heating the facing and the fibrous insulation layer to a temperature above the melting point of said adhesive for a time sufficient to adhere the facing to the fibrous insulation layer.
2.) The faced fibrous insulation product of claim 1, further comprising:
- a thermally activated binder applied to the fibrous insulation layer, wherein said thermally activated binder is cured by the heat used to adhere the facing to the first major surface.
3.) The faced fibrous insulation product of claim 1, wherein the particulate adhesive is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, polyamide, epoxy, urea formaldehyde, melamine, urethane, phenolics and combinations thereof.
4.) The mat faced fibrous insulation product of claim 1, wherein the particulate adhesive is a powdered adhesive.
5.) The faced fibrous insulation product of claim 4, wherein the particulate adhesive is a fibrous adhesive.
6.) The faced fibrous insulation product of claim 1, wherein the facing layer is formed of fibers selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyesters, rayon, nylon and blends thereof.
7.) The faced fibrous insulation product of claim 6, wherein the facing layer is formed of a blend of polyester and rayon fibers.
8.) The faced fibrous insulation product of claim 1, further comprising:
- a second facing adhered to the second major surface of the fibrous insulation.
9.) The faced fibrous insulation product of claim 1, wherein the fibrous insulation is glass fibers.
10.) A method of making a faced fibrous insulation product comprising the steps of:
- forming a pack of fibers having thereon an uncured binder;
- applying a facer to a first surface of said pack of fibers, said facer including a facing layer, a particulate adhesive sintered to said facing layer; and
- curing the pack of fibers to form a fibrous insulation product,
- wherein the facer is adhered to the pack of fibers during said curing step.
11.) The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of applying a second facer to a second surface of said pack of fibers prior to said curing step.
12.) The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of applying a second facer to a second surface of said the faced fibrous insulation after said curing step.
13.) The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of applying a vapor barrier to a second surface of said the faced fibrous insulation.
14.) The method of claim 10, wherein the particulate adhesive is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, polyamide, epoxy, urea formaldehyde, melamine, urethane, phenolics and combinations thereof.
15.) The method of claim 10, wherein the particulate adhesive is a powdered adhesive.
16.) The method of claim 10, wherein the particulate adhesive is a fibrous adhesive.
17.) The method of claim 10, wherein the facing layer is formed of fibers selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyesters, rayon, nylon and blends thereof.
18.) A method of making a faced fibrous insulation product comprising the steps of:
- forming an uncured pack of glass fibers and uncured binder on said mat;
- curing said pack by to form an insulation product; and
- supplying facer having a facing layer and a particulate adhesive adhered to said facing layer to said insulation product; and
- activating said particulate adhesive to adhere the facer to the insulation product.
19.) The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of applying a second facer to the insulation product.
20.) The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of applying a vapor barrier to a second surface of said the faced fibrous insulation after said curing step.
21.) The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of applying a vapor barrier to a second surface of said the faced fibrous insulation.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 20, 2005
Publication Date: Dec 29, 2005
Inventor: Roy Shaffer (Granville, OH)
Application Number: 11/110,365