EP0971850A1

EP0971850A1 - Package for displaying and distributing insulation products

Info

Publication number: EP0971850A1
Application number: EP99905552A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Shawn E. Lambacher; Peter J. Koska; Thomas R. Osborn; Robert D. Heddens
Original assignee: Owens Corning; Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp
Current assignee: Owens Corning
Priority date: 1998-01-30
Filing date: 1999-01-29
Publication date: 2000-01-19
Also published as: WO1999038784A1; AU2569199A

Abstract

An insulation packaging assembly (17) includes two rolls (10) of insulation material and a bag (16) enclosing the two rolls (10), with the bag (16) holding each of the rolls (10) in compression. The bag (16) is capable of being divided into two parts, thereby forming two bag ends (24), each with an opening (26), with one of the insulation rolls (10) being contained in each bag end (24). Compression of the bag (16) around the rolls (10) is great enough that when the bag (16) is divided, the bag ends (24) maintain a grip on the roll (10) contained in the bag end (24), thereby preventing the roll (10) from falling out of the bag (16) even when the bag end (24) is held upside down.

Description

PACKAGE FOR DISPLAYING AND DISTRIBUTING INSULATION PRODUCTS

TECHNICAL FIELD AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to packaging for fibrous insulation products, useful for both storing insulation materials and displaying insulation materials in retail stores. More particularly, the invention pertains to packaging suitable not only for holding and displaying insulation products for sale, but also for covering and containing the insulation products during transportation and storage after the sale to the insulation purchaser.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fibrous insulation is typically formed by fiberizing molten material and depositing the fibers on a collecting conveyor. Most, but not all fibrous insulation products contain a binder material to bond the fibers together, 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. The fibrous insulation is cut into lengths to form insulation products, and the insulation products are packaged for shipping.

One typical insulation product is an insulation batt, usually 8 feet (2.44 m) long, and generally suitable for use as wall insulation in residential dwellings. Insulation batts are usually packaged by folding the batts in half, stacking numerous similarly folded batts on top of each other with the major faces parallel, and compressing the stack of batts. Another typical insulation product form is a continuous blanket, which is typically marketed in lengths of anywhere from about 25 to about 70 feet (7.62 to about 21.34 m) or more. The continuous blankets are rolled up in a highly compressed condition, and banded or bagged for shipping and storage.

The transportation and storage of fibrous insulation products is accomplished primarily by compressing the insulation material and inserting the compressed material into a water impervious bag. Typical compression ratios for light density fiberglass insulation are on the order of about 6: 1 to about 10:1, when comparing the recovered thickness of the insulation material after it is removed from the bag to the thickness of the

1 insulation material in the package. Light density fiberglass insulation has a density of about 0.3 to about 1.0 pounds per cubic foot (pcf) (1.47 to about 4.882 kg/m²). In order to maintain the insulation material at such high compression levels, the bag must be made of a high strength material. Also, the bag material must be strong to resist mechanical damage. Punctures or tears in the bag would enable moisture to enter the bag, thereby exposing the insulation product to moisture damage. A typical material is a 2 to 4 mil high density polyethylene, and this material is suitable for printing product labels and instructions for the benefit of the customer.

Numerous advances in packaging insulation batts and rolls have been made in the past, particularly in the area of compressing the insulation material to higher and higher compression ratios without damaging the product. Blackmore, in U.S. Patent No. 4,555,017, which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses the use of sleeves to enable greater compression of the insulation material. Other advances have increased the size of packages for economies of handling and storage. U.S. Patent No. 5,350,063 to Berdan, which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a cart-wheelable package containing numerous individual insulation packages. U.S. Patent No. 5,512,346 to Johnson et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses an insulation assembly of 7 individual insulation packages.

All of the above-described packaging arrangements are primarily concerned with transporting and storing large shipping units containing numerous insulation packages. Each of these units could possibly contain a total of at least several hundred square feet of insulation material, and typically even more material. These high capacity shipping units are appropriate for shipping to high-volume insulation material users, such as large volume insulation contractors and insulation distributors. However, there are situations where smaller packages are desired by various customers. Individual consumers purchasing insulation products at a retail outlet need insulation packages that are convenient to carry and small enough to fit into the customer's automobile for transport to the customer's home for installation. One convenient package for such retail use is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,747,743 to Hoffmann, which shows a roll of insulation material flattened into an oval shape and wrapped with an open tubular sleeve or carton that is fitted with a handle for convenient carrying. The tubular sleeve of this packaging

2 assembly has open ends, and therefore the roll of insulation material must have its own individual protective packaging if it is to be protected from the elements.

It would be advantageous if there could be developed a packaging assembly suitable for retail customers to conveniently carry one or two individual small packages of insulation material. Also, it would be particularly advantageous if there could be provided a retail package that could be easily divided so that customers could either take the entire retail package, or split the retail package and take one of the individual packages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above objects as well as other objects not specifically enumerated are achieved by an insulation packaging assembly including two rolls of insulation material and a bag enclosing the two rolls, with the bag holding each of the rolls in compression. The bag is capable of being divided into two parts, thereby forming two bag ends, each with an opening, with one of the insulation rolls being contained in each bag end.

Compression of the bag around the rolls is great enough that when the bag is divided, the bag ends maintain a grip on the roll contained in the bag end, thereby preventing the roll from falling out of the bag even when the bag end is held upside down.

The above objects are also achieved by an insulation packaging assembly includes a bag enclosing individual packages of insulation material, the bag holding each of the packages in compression, the bag being capable of being divided along a plane that includes a junction between two of the packages to form two bag ends, each with an opening, with at least one of the insulation packages being contained in each bag end, wherein the bag is formed from a sheet having a front face and a rear face, with the front face having first and second complementary labels forming a complete label system, and the rear face containing third and fourth complementary labels forming a complete label system, with the third label being substantially similar to the first label, and the fourth label being substantially similar to the second label, and wherein the first and the fourth labels are located on one side of the plane and the second and fourth labels are located on an opposite side of the plane to provide each bag end with a complete label system. The objects are also achieved by an insulation packaging assembly comprising two rolls of insulation material and a bag enclosing the two rolls, the bag holding each of the rolls in compression, the bag being capable of being divided substantially along a plane intersecting the junction of the two rolls, thereby forming two bag ends, each with an opening, with one insulation roll being contained in each bag end, wherein the insulation packaging assembly has an assembly bag label printed along the intersection of the plane and the bag, the bag label having information pertaining to the insulation packaging assembly containing the two rolls whereby division of the bag along the intersection substantially destroys the bag label so that it is rendered substantially unusable, and wherein each insulation roll includes a roll label having information pertaining to the insulation material contained therein whereby division of the bag exposes the roll labels through the bag end openings.

The objects of the invention are further achieved by a method of preparing a smaller package of insulation from a larger package of insulation including the steps of providing a package of insulation including at least two rolls of insulation, each having a roll label thereon containing roll information, a bag enclosing the rolls in compression, and a package label on the bag, and dividing the package into two smaller packages by severing the bag into two bag ends each containing a roll of insulation and thereby exposing the roll labels, wherein the severing step includes severing through the package label to render the package label substantially unusable.

Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of two rolls of insulation material.

Figure 2 is a schematic view in elevation of the two rolls of Fig. 1 enclosed in a bag, with the bag partially cut away to expose one of the rolls.

Figure 3 is a schematic view in perspective of half of the bag of Fig. 2, after the bag has been divided. Figure 4 is schematic view in perspective of the bag end of Fig. 3 being held upside down.

Figure 5 illustrates schematically the insulation roll being carried by grasping the edge of the bag end of Fig. 3. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the insulation packaging assembly of the invention, including a bag containing two rolls, and illustrating the labels on a major face of the insulation packaging assembly.

Figure 7 is a rear view in elevation of the bag shown in Fig. 6.

Figure 8 is a schematic plan view of a sheet of bag material printed with labels, and ready for assembly into a bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The description and drawings disclose packages of compressible fiberglass insulation. It is to be understood that the insulation material can be any compressible insulation material, such as rock wool.

As shown in Figure 1, two rolls 10 of insulation material are positioned side by side, with the rolls rolled up on generally parallel but spaced apart axes 12. The rolls come together at a junction 14. Even if the two rolls were separated, the space between them would still be considered the junction of the two rolls. The insulation material in the rolls is typically light density fiberglass insulation, having a density within the range of from about 0.3 to about 1.0 pcf (1.47 to about 4.882 kg/m²), and can be produced from molten glass by various production means, such as the well known rotary process. An example of an insulation product is a kraft faced R-l 1 material that is nominally 3' 2 inches (8.89 cm) thick after the insulation material is removed from the insulation package. The rolls are formed by rolling up the desired length of insulation material on a roll up machine, and are held in a rolled up condition by a band, not shown in Fig. 1. Other insulation products having different R values and thicknesses are also typically available in the form of a roll. While the rolls of different products are generally all the same size, the length of the insulation product within the roll will vary inversely with the thickness of the product, i.e., thicker insulation products will have a shorter linear length in each roll than the length of thinner products.

As shown in Fig. 2 the two rolls of insulation are placed or positioned in a bag 16, with the axes 12 of the insulation rolls still parallel but spaced apart. The two rolls and the bag form an insulation packaging assembly 17. Although two rolls 10 of insulation material are shown, it is to be understood that any number of individual packages of insulation material can be enclosed in the bag. The bag can be of any suitable packaging material, and is preferably formed from a 3.25 mil polyethylene film. Other packaging materials, such as other plastic films, can be used. A plane 18 is shown intersecting the junction 14 of the two rolls 10, generally parallel to the axes 12 of the rolls. A bag label or assembly label is indicated generally at 20, and is printed on the bag 16 for identification purposes, and is positioned at the intersection 22 of the plane 18 and the bag 16. The bag label 20 contains information pertaining to the packaging assembly containing the two rolls. The rolls are positioned within the bag in such a manner that the bag can be cut or otherwise divided around the intersection 22 of the plane 18 and the bag 16 to form two parts or halves of the bag.

When the insulation packaging assembly 17 is divided by cutting the bag 16, two bag ends 24 are formed, with one of the bag ends 24 shown in Fig. 3. The roll 10 is visible within the bag end 24 because of the opening 26 formed by the dividing of the bag. The opening 26 has edges 28. The roll 10 is held in a rolled up condition, i.e., in compression, by a band 30, which can be any suitable banding material, such as a clear plastic adhesive tape. The band 30 can be provided with a label, indicated generally at 32, appropriate for the single roll 10. Typically, the label 32 will contain identification information 34 in readable text form as well as a bar code label 36 for machine scanners. Therefore, it can be seen that dividing the bag 16 into the two bag ends 24 exposes the individual roll label 32 containing information pertaining to the insulation material contained in each individual roll, and this roll label 32 is exposed through the bag end opening 26.

After the insulation packaging assembly 17 is divided in half to form the two bag ends 24, the bag ends must be supplied with suitable identification and advertising for retail purposes, and to provide installation instructions for the insulation installer. Other

6 important functions of the bag end is that it must provide protection for the insulation material in the roll 10, and it must enable the roll to be picked up and carried. In order to assure that the bag end 24 can perform these last two functions, it is critical that the bag end 24 be fixed or adhered to the insulation roll 10. Otherwise, the insulation roll could fall out of the bag end 24 and be exposed unnecessarily to the elements. Also, if the insulation roll could easily fall out of the bag end 24, the bag end would not be suitable for carrying the insulation roll. The fixing of the insulation roll 10 to the bag end 24 is preferably accomplished by making sure the bag end holds the insulation roll is compression. Therefore, when the two insulation rolls are originally packaged in the bag 16 to form the insulation packaging assembly 17, the roll is preferably held in compression by the bag 16. Further, the bag must be shaped with an appropriate circumferential dimension at the approximate centerline 38 of the roll 10 to assure that the bag end 24 will still maintain a grip on the roll and hold the insulation roll 10 in compression after the insulation packaging assembly is divided. A preferred bag shape is a generally parallelepiped shape, which is similar to the shape of batt bags commonly used to package fiberglass insulation batts.

One method of determining that the bag end 24 is suitably fixed to the insulation roll to maintain a grip on the insulation roll is that when the bag end is held upside down with the opening 26 facing downward, the insulation roll 10 will not fall out of the bag. This is illustrated in Fig. 4. As shown, the grip of the bag end 24 on the insulation roll 10 prevents the roll from falling out of the bag, even when the bag end 24 is shaken. Another advantage of the tight grip of the bag end 24 on the insulation roll is that the edge 28 of the bag end 24 is available for grasping by hand so that the entire bag end with the insulation roll can be carried away, as shown in Fig. 5. In a typical insulation packaging assembly 17 of the invention, approximately 30 square feet (2.79 square meters) of insulation material (R-l 1 material, 3 /4 inches thick by 24 feet long by 15 inches wide (8.89 cm thick by 7.32 m thick by 38.1 cm wide)) is rolled up in each insulation roll 10 to make a roll having a diameter of approximately 24 inches (60.96 cm). Insulation products having higher R values will have shorter lengths to produce the same size roll. The two rolls are placed side by side as shown in Fig. 1 in a standard batt bagger, not shown, having a length of about 48 inches (121.92 cm). The

7 bagger compresses the batts along the centerlines 38 of the rolls to a dimension (diameter) of about 11 inches (27.94 cm), and the bag 16 is placed over the two compressed rolls. The bag and the compressed rolls are removed from the bagger, and the rolls are allowed to expand to the maximum dimensions allowed by the bag. A typical bag 16 will have final dimensions of about 15 inches high by about 13 inches deep (i.e., diameter) by about 48 or 50 inches long (38.1 cm high by about 33.02 cm deep by about 121.92 cm or 127 cm long), although it is to be understood that several sizes of bags are commonly used for packaging insulation products.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the insulation packaging assembly 17 can be furnished with a marking system adapted to provide the required labeling information both before the insulation packaging assembly is divided, and after it is divided into the two bag ends 24. To accomplish this, each bag end 24 must be provided with a complete labeling system. As shown, front major face 40 is provided with two front labels A and B, so that a customer viewing the insulation packaging assembly 17 in a retail outlet can see all the required information (i.e., all the information contained in label A and label B). For example, label A might be R value guidelines and a map to assist the customer in determining the appropriate insulation levels for a particular geographical location, and label B might be installation instructions. The rear major face 42 contains an identical labeling scheme, with substantially identical rear labels A' and B'. Thus, because the labels A and B' are located on one side of the plane 18 and the labels A' and B are located on the opposite side of the plane 18, it can be seen that when the insulation packaging assembly is divided in half, each bag end 24 will furnished with both labels A and B. One of the bag ends 24 will have labels B and A' (one on each side of the bag end), and the other bag end will have labels A and B' (as shown schematically in Fig. 5). Also, as long as the A and B label are facing upright, none of the labels A, B, A' or B' will be upside down. Therefore, the insulation packaging assembly of this embodiment of the invention provides complete labeling information on each major face of the bag before dividing, and provides complete labeling information on each bag end after dividing.

The assembly label 20 for the entire insulation packaging assembly is preferably provided with text information 44, a bar code 46 appropriate for scanner, and cutting instructions 48. The cutting instructions can include a suggested cut line 50. It can be

8 seen that when the insulation packaging assembly 17 of the invention is divided, the assembly label 20 for the entire bag 16 is cut through or destroyed, so that the text information 44 and bar code 46 for the entire insulation packaging assembly 17 are rendered substantially unreadable or unusable. This forces the retail operator and customer to refer to the single roll label 32 found on each individual roll 10 of insulation material after the insulation packaging assembly is divided. It should be understood that means for assisting the cutting or dividing of the bag into two bag halves can be provided. Such means could include a pull tab, indicated at 51 in Fig. 7, which, when pulled, separates the two bag halves. The means for dividing could also include a serrated or perforated portion along the intersection 22 of the plane 18 and the bag 16. A zipper system, such as a Ziploc® fastener, not shown, could also be used.

As shown in Fig. 8, the sheet 52 of bag material is provided with labels A and B on front major face 40 and labels A' and B' on the rear major face. It is to be understood that the top face 54 and bottom face 56 can also be provided with additional labels, not shown, although these are optional. The printing of the labels can take place either before or after the sheet 52 is folded and formed into a bag 16. As an example of how this labeling system of the invention could operate, the front face of the bag would have first and second complementary labels (such as A and B) forming a complete label system (A + B), and the rear face containing third and fourth complementary labels (A' and B') forming a complete label system (A' + B'), with the third label being substantially similar to the first label, and the fourth label being substantially similar to the second label, wherein the labels are arranged on the sheet so that when sheet is formed into the bag, and the bag is divided into the two bag ends, one bag end has the first and fourth label (A and B') and the other bag end has the second and third label (B and A'), thereby providing each bag end with a complete label system (A + B', and B + A', respectively). This arrangement enables a retailer to service customers that want less than a full package of rolls of insulation, by allowing the retailer to divide a bag for the customer, and still retain a saleable, appropriately - labeled package of insulation

The principle and mode of operation of this invention have been described in its preferred embodiments. However, it should be noted that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its scope.

9

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An insulation packaging assembly comprising two rolls of insulation material and a bag enclosing the two rolls, the bag holding each of the rolls in compression, the bag being capable of being divided into two parts, to form two bag ends, each with an opening, with one of the insulation rolls being contained in each bag end, wherein the compression of the bag around the rolls is great enough that, when the bag is divided, each bag end maintains a grip on the roll contained therein, thereby preventing the roll from falling out of the bag end even when the bag end is held upside down.

2. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 1 in which the insulation material is light density fiberglass insulation capable of recovering, after the rolls are opened up, to a density within the range of from about 0.3 to about 1.0 pounds per cubic foot (1.47 to about 4.882 kg/m²).

3. The insulation packaging system of claim 1 in which each roll is held in a rolled up condition by a band.

4. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 3 in which the band is an adhesive tape.

5. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 1 in which the bag is capable of being divided substantially along the intersection of (a) a plane intersecting the junction of the two rolls, and (b) the bag to form the two bag ends.

6. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 5 in which the bag is marked with a cut line at the intersection of the plane and the bag.

7. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 1 including means for assisting the dividing of the bag into two bag halves.

10

8. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 7 in which the insulation material is light density fiberglass insulation capable of recovering, after the rolls are opened up, to a density within the range of from about 0.3 to about 1.0 pounds per cubic foot (1.47 to about 4.882 kg/m²), and each roll is held in a rolled up condition by a tape band.

9. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 1 in which the bag ends maintain the grip on the roll contained in the bag end by maintaining the roll in compression.

10. An insulation packaging assembly comprising a bag enclosing individual packages of insulation material, the bag holding each of the packages in compression, the bag being capable of being divided along a plane that includes a junction between two of the packages to form two bag ends, each with an opening, with at least one of the insulation packages being contained in each bag end, wherein the bag is formed from a sheet having a front face and a rear face, with the front face having first and second complementary labels forming a complete label system, and the rear face containing third and fourth complementary labels forming a complete label system, with the third label being substantially similar to the first label, and the fourth label being substantially similar to the second label, and wherein said first and said fourth labels are located on one side of said plane and said second and fourth labels are located on an opposite side of said plane to provide each bag end with a complete label system.

11. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 10 in which the individual packages of insulation material comprise two rolls of insulation material, and the bag encloses the two rolls, the bag holding each of the rolls in compression, and the bag being capable of being divided into two parts, thereby forming two bag ends, each with an opening, with one of the insulation rolls being contained in each bag end.

12. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 10 in which the bag is marked with a cut line to assist in dividing the bag into two bag ends.

11

13. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 10 including means for assisting the dividing of the bag into two bag halves.

14. An insulation packaging assembly comprising two rolls of insulation material and a bag enclosing the two rolls, the bag holding each of the rolls in compression, the bag being capable of being divided substantially along a plane intersecting the junction of the two rolls, thereby forming two bag ends, each with an opening, with one insulation roll being contained in each bag end, wherein the insulation packaging assembly has an assembly bag label printed along the intersection of the plane and the bag, the bag label having information pertaining to the insulation packaging assembly containing the two rolls whereby division of the bag along the intersection substantially destroys the bag label so that it is rendered substantially unusable, and wherein each insulation roll includes a roll label having information pertaining to the insulation material contained therein whereby division of the bag exposes the roll labels through the bag end openings.

15. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 14 in which the bag label contains text information and a bar code for the entire insulation packaging assembly, and the roll labels have text information and a bar code for the insulation material contained in each individual roll.

16. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 14 including means for assisting the dividing of the bag into two bag halves.

17. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 14 the bag is marked with a cut line to assist in dividing the bag into two bag ends.

18. The insulation packaging assembly of claim 14 in which the bag is marked with a cut line at the intersection of the plane and the bag, and the insulation material is light density fiberglass insulation capable of recovering, after the rolls are opened up, to a

12 density within the range of from about 0.3 to about 1.0 pounds per cubic foot (1.47 to about 4.882 kg/m²), and each roll is held in a rolled up condition by a tape band.

19. A method of preparing a smaller package of insulation from a larger package of insulation including the steps of: providing a package of insulation including at least two rolls of insulation, each having a roll label thereon containing roll information, a bag enclosing the rolls in compression, and a package label on the bag; and dividing the package into two smaller packages by severing the bag into two bag ends each containing a roll of insulation and thereby exposing said roll labels, wherein said severing step includes severing through the package label to render the package label substantially unusable.

13