MXPA00011858A - Universal insulation product and method for installing - Google Patents

Abstract

An insulation product (60) includes an elongated conformable body (62) of fibrous insulation having front and rear major surfaces (66, 74) and two elongated side surfaces (72). A facing (64) is adhered to the front major surface (66) of the conformable body (62), the facing (64) having sufficient tensile strength to withstand a pressure, without tearing, of about 1.0 pound per square foot from the fibrous insulation in a wall cavity (16, 18, 20) defined by wall studs (14), when the facing (64) is adhered to the wall studs (14). The facing (64) is bonded to the conformable body (62) with sufficient strength to provide product integrity to the insulation product (60) when it is cut lengthwise. The insulation product (60) can be expanded when unconstrained to a high loft thickness so that when the batt (60) is placed in an insulation cavity having a thickness less than or equal to the high loft thickness, the insulation product (60) can be expanded to fill the insulation cavity (16, 18, 20). The fibrous insulation material has a resistence to compression less than about 1.0 pound per square foot when compressed to a thickness of about 40 percent the unconstrained high loft thickness.

Description

UNIVERSAL INSULATED PRODUCT AND METHOD TO INSTALL THE SAME TECHNICAL FIELD AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to products for fibrous insulation, and in particular to those insulating products of the type suitable for fitting in cavities for insulation in buildings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Fibrous insulation is typically formed by forming a molten material into fibers and depositing the fibers in a collector conveyor. Typically the fibers for the insulating products are mineral fibers, such as glass fibers, although some insulating products are made of organic fibers, such as polypropylene. Most fibrous insulating products contain a binder or adhesive material to join the fibers together, where they are in contact with each other, forming a network or weft. The binder or adhesive gives the insulating product elasticity to recover after packing, and provides rigidity and workability so that the product can be handled and applied as needed in the cavities for building insulation. During manufacturing, the insulation is cut into sections to form individual insulating products, and insulating products are packaged for shipment to customer locations. A typical insulating product is a block of insulated cut fiber, usually about 8 feet (2.44 meters) in length, and generally suitable for use as insulation on walls in residential dwellings, or as an insulator in the cavities for insulation of the attic or the floor in the buildings. The width of the insulated cut fiber blocks designed for cavities in the walls conforms to the typical widths of the cavity for insulation, such as approximately 1 * inch (36.83 centimeters (cm)) or 22 ^ _ inches (57.15 cm) ), for asparagus separations of 16 and 24 inches (40.64 and 60.96 cm), respectively. Some insulating products have a coating on one of their larger surfaces. In many cases, the coating acts as a barrier to the vapor, and in some insulating products, such as in products without binder or adhesives, the coating of the product integrity for handling. The coated insulating products are installed with the coating placed flat on the edge of the insulation cavity, typically on the inner side or edge of the insulation cavity. Insulating products where the coating is a vapor barrier are commonly used to isolate cavities in the wall, floor or ceiling that separate a warm interior space from a cold exterior space. The vapor barrier is usually placed to prevent the air charged with moisture from the hot interior of the house from entering the insulation. Otherwise, water vapor in the warm indoor air would enter the insulating material and then cool and condense within the insulation. This would result in a wet insulating product, which is unable to perform to its design effectiveness. In hot climates, it is sometimes preferable to install the vapor barrier on the outside of the cavity for insulation, to reduce the amount of steam entering the building during the air conditioning season. There are some requirements for insulating products that need an insulation that is not impervious to steam, but instead allows water vapor to pass through. For example, reconverted or upgraded insulation products designed to add additional insulating material to the top of an existing penthouse insulation should not have a vapor barrier. Also, an insulator for wall cavities that have a separate, total vapor barrier, such as a 4.0 mil (0.09 mm) polyethylene film, on the inside or hot side of the wall, does not require a vapor barrier in the insulating product itself. In addition, the encapsulation of glass fiber cut fiber blocks for handling purposes is known. The U.S. Patent No. 5,277,995, to Schelhorn et al., Discloses a block of cut fiber encapsulated with an encapsulating material adhered with an adhesive that can be applied to longitudinal strips, or in patterns such as dots, or in an adhesive matrix. The Schelhorn et al. Patent also discloses that an alternative method of joining is that the adhesive layer is an integral part of the encapsulation film, which, when softened, is attached to the fibers in the cut fiber block. The U.S. Patent DO NOT. No. 5,733,624 to Syme et al., Discloses a fiber block cut from mineral fiber impregnated with a coextruded polymer layer system, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,854 to Romes et al., discloses a method for impregnating a block of fiber cut from mineral fiber with a co-extruded film. Vapor barriers for insulating products are typically created with an asphalt layer, along with a kraft paper or thin sheet coating material. The asphalt layer is applied in molten form and pressed against the fibrous insulating material before hardening to bond the kraft paper coating material to the insulating material. This system of asphalt and kraft paper has the advantage that it is relatively cheap. However, this coating system lacks flexibility, because the asphalt / kraft paper layer is rigid. Also, it is difficult to cut the coating without tearing the kraft paper, in temperatures of a cold environment, because the asphalt may be brittle. In addition, the asphalt material is sticky at temperatures of a hot environment, resulting in fouling of the cutting tool. Even when cut fiber blocks are manufactured to fit the typical insulation cavities, many of the cavities for insulation in buildings are non-standard in size. Window frames are obstructions that change the shape of the cavity for insulation. During the process of installing the cut fiber blocks, a significant portion of the cut fiber blocks must be cut to fit these cavities for non-standard insulation. In some homes, up to 50 percent of the cavities for insulation are non-standard. Therefore, an important attribute of a coated building insulation product is the ease with which the coating can be cut and the ability of the coating to lay flat on the edge of the cavity for insulation after the coating has been removed. has cut. If the coating is not flat at the edge of the cavity for insulation, the vapor barrier will only be partially effective. In addition, the customers of the insulator want a uniform coating that is relatively flat at the edge of the cavity for insulation. In view of the above problems with the currently available insulating products, it would be advantageous if a coated insulating product having a coating material that can be easily cut to fit into cavities for non-standard insulation, and having a coating material that is sufficiently flexible so that it can accommodate the installation of the insulated product cut into the cavities for non-standard insulation, with the coating in a flat condition at the edge of the cavity for insulation. In addition to the challenges of providing insulating products with adequate coatings, insulator manufacturers are also faced with the challenges of making insulating products that are easy to sell by retailers and other distributed building materials. Insulating materials require a large amount of retail space, and it would be useful if the space of the retail store floor were reduced. A factor that contributes to the requirement for a large space for retail is the need to sell products designed for numerous product applications. For example, most distributors of construction materials offer their customers separate insulating products for applications such as R-13 walls (2x4 construction with a nominal design thickness of 3 inches (8.89 cm)) and an insulator for attic R-19 (an uncompressed application with a high roof loft thickness that is typically greater than 6 inches (15.24 cm)). Other insulating products are also offered. In addition to the problem of retail space inherent in a large number of products, the multiplicity of products is often confusing for customers. Attempts in the past to provide a product that meets these requirements for three of these applications have not been successful, due to the amount of compressive force that is generated in reaction to compressing the uncompressed high loft product, in a 3-inch (8.89 cm) wall cavity, tends to throw out the screws in the masonry on the inner side, or force the foam coating on the outer side, away from the studs. It would be advantageous if a single product could be designed, which could be used for all three of these applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The above objects, as well as other objects not specifically listed, are achieved by an insulating product that includes an elongated conformable body of a fibrous insulator, having front and rear main surfaces, and two elongated side surfaces. A coating adheres to the main front surface of the conformable body, the coating has sufficient tensile strength to withstand a pressure, without tearing, of about 1.0 pounds per square foot (lb / ft2) (4.88 kilograms per square meter (kg / m2)) of fibrous insulation in the wall cavity defined by the studs in the wall, when the coating adheres to the studs in the wall. The coating is attached to the conformable body with sufficient strength to provide integrity to the insulating product when it is cut longitudinally. The insulating product can be expanded when it is not compressed to a ceiling thickness of the high loft, and therefore, when the cut fiber block is placed in a cavity for the insulation having a thickness less than or equal to the thickness of the roof of the roof. High loft of the insulating product, will expand to fill the cavity for insulation. The fibrous insulating material has a compressive strength of less than about 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2), when compressed to a thickness of about 40 percent of the roof thickness of the high, non-compressed loft.

According to the invention, there is also provided a method for installing an insulating product which includes providing an insulating product comprising an elongated conformable body, of a fibrous insulating material, with the body of the conformable fibrous insulating material having a coating adhered to a main front surface of the conformable body, where the coating is bonded to the insulating material with sufficient strength to provide integrity to the insulating product when cut in the longitudinal direction, where the fibrous insulating material is expandable so that it will expand when not compressed to a ceiling thickness of the high loft, and so that when placed in a cavity for insulation that has a thickness less than or equal to the thickness of the high loft roof, it will expand to fill the cavity for insulation. The fibrous insulating material has a compressive strength of less than about 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2), when compressed to a thickness of about 40 percent of a predetermined thickness. The method further includes selecting a cavity for the isolation of a group of insulation cavities having thicknesses in the range of a minimum of at least about 40 percent of the ceiling thickness of the high loft, to a maximum of approximately the height of the loft thickness, and install the insulating product in the cavity for the selected insulation. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the method for installing an insulating product includes providing an insulating product comprising a conformable elongate body, of a fibrous insulating material, with the conformable body of the fibrous insulation having a coating adhered to a major front surface of the conformable body and an encapsulation material on a main rear surface of the conformable body, wherein the coating and encapsulating material are attached to the insulating material with sufficient force to provide integrity to the insulating product when cut in the longitudinal direction, where the fibrous insulation material is expandable so that it will expand when not compressed to a ceiling thickness of the high loft, and so that when placed in a cavity for insulation having a thickness less than or equal to the thickness of the roof of the loft high, it will expand to fill the cavity for insulation, and wherein the fibrous insulating material has a compressive strength of less than about 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2), when compressed to a thickness of about 40 percent of a predetermined thickness. The method further includes selecting a cavity for the isolation of a group of insulation cavities having thicknesses in the range of a minimum of at least about 40 percent of the ceiling thickness of the high loft, to a maximum of approximately the height of the loft thickness, and install the insulating product in the cavity for the selected insulation. Various objects and advantages of the 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 perspective view of typical non-standard wall insulation cavities. Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the cavities in the wall of Figure 1, partially in section and isolated with the typical prior art insulating products. Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of an encapsulated and coated insulating product according to the present invention, with a portion in section.

Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the insulating product of Figure 3, partially in section and installed in the wall cavity of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an insulating product of the invention, which has been longitudinally divided along the rear face to provide a suitable insulating product for isolating one of the cavities for the non-standard insulation of Figure 1. Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view, illustrating a product coated and encapsulated insulation of the invention, which has been longitudinally divided lengthwise to provide a suitable insulating product for isolating one of the cavities for the non-standard insulation of Figure 1. Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of an apparatus for manufacturing the insulating products of the invention. Figure 8 illustrates an insulating product illustrated in Figure 6, installed in a cavity for the isolation of an attic. Figure 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view, with an elevation of a relatively deep wall insulation cavity, insulated with the insulating product illustrated in Figure 6.

Figure 10 is a schematic cross-sectional elevation view of a relatively shallow wall insulation cavity insulated with the insulating product illustrated in Figure 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION PREFERRED MODALITIES OF THE INVENTION Although the description and drawings describe insulating products of fiberglass insulation, it should be understood that the insulating material can be any compressible fibrous insulating material, such as rock wool and such as polypropylene. As shown in Figure 1, a typical wall structure, indicated generally as 10, includes a bottom plate 12, on which a plurality of studs 14 rests. The bottom plate, the studs and a top plate, as shown in FIG. sample, defines the four sides of the cavities for the insulation in the wall 16, 18 and 20. The front and back of the wall cavity are typically made of masonry from the inner side and from a foam or cardboard covering in the outside, both not shown. The cavity of the wall 16 can be considered as a non-standard wall cavity, since it has a width that is much narrower than that of a typical wall cavity. The cavity for the insulation of the wall 16 requires cutting the insulating product to a narrower width. The cavity for the insulation 18 is also difficult to insulate, since there is a ventilation tube 22 running vertically during the cavity, making the cavity 18 a non-standard cavity. The cavity for the insulation 18 usually requires cutting the insulated cut fiber bundle longitudinally into two narrower insulating pieces, not shown in Figure 1. For insulation purposes, the cavity for the insulation 18 can be considered as comprising two partial cavities, indicated in 24 and 26, each of which must be isolated. The cavity for the insulation 20 is also a non-standard cavity, since the insulating material must be placed around an electrical outlet box 28 and a conduit 30. The installation of the insulating material around these obstructions requires cutting the staple fiber block for fit around the obstruction. Other typical obstructions include door inserts, window frames, air ducts, and water pipes, all not shown. As shown in Figure 2, a prior art insulating product, with flanges, has been cut to a narrow partial insulation product 32, and installed in the cavity for insulation 16. The insulating product 34 of the prior art it has been installed in a non-standard wall cavity 18, and another similar prior art insulating product 36 has been installed in the non-standard wall cavity 20. The back of the cavities for insulation 16, 18 and 20 is It can be seen that in order to install the insulating product 34 in the cavity for non-standard insulation 18, the insulating product was divided longitudinally into two partial cut fiber blocks 40 and 42. In addition, the material of coating 44, which is a kraft paper bonded to the fibrous insulating material by asphalt, has been cut to form the two partial cut fiber blocks 40 and 42. The coating material of the The insulating product 34 is attached to the studs 14 by means of staples 46. Although the clamping of the flanges of the insulating product 32 can be done at the ends of the studs, it is preferred that the flanges are stapled laterally, on the sides of the studs. This procedure leaves the exposed ends or flanges of the studs uniform, for a potentially better application of the masonry. Unfortunately, lateral or interior stapling of the flanges requires that the asphalt / kraft paper coating be bent, creating a valley or crease depression 48 running along the insulating product. This wrinkle 48 is undesirable, since the insulating material is prevented from having a flat contact, uniform with the front edge of the cavity for the insulation, and additionally, the insulating material can be over-compressed, thereby decreasing the insulating value of the insulating material. insulating product. Also, the asphalt / rigid kraft paper 44 coating can not always staple flat against the side of the stud 14, leaving a V-crack or openings 50 between the coating and the sides of the studs. The isolation of the two partial cavities also presents a problem. It can be seen that the portions of the coating material in the two partial cut fiber blocks 40 and 42 are slightly spaced apart, forming a space 52 through which water vapor can move in the insulating material of the cut fiber block. The gap 52 is typically caused because the cutting of the material of the cut fiber blocks and the coating is difficult, when the coating material is an asphalt / kraft paper system, as shown in Figure 2. The openings 50 and space 52 are undesirable aspects of the insulation work illustrated in Figure 2. The installation of the prior art insulating product 36 in the cavity for insulation 20 involves cutting a portion of the fibrous insulating material around the electrical outlet box. If the insulation were installed without cutting for the electrical outlet box, the insulation would be over-compressed, and could even affect the masonry. Cutting the insulation to accommodate the outlet box requires that a portion of the flange be removed. With a conventional asphalt / kraft paper coating, it is difficult to obtain a good seal if a portion of a flange is missing. The difficulty in obtaining a good seal due to the cut-out of the outlet box and other obstructions, and due to other imperfections in the structure, results in the openings 50 between the covering material 44 and the studs of the walls 14. Due to the rigidity of the asphalt / kraft paper combination, openings similar to the openings 50 can occur, even with standard insulation cavities that have no obstructions in situations where the studs are not even or are out of alignment. The partial insulation product 32 installed in a cavity for narrow insulation 16, has been cut longitudinally, forming a new cut fiber block edge 54, which does not have a flange extending beyond the edge of the insulating material of the cut fiber block. This lack of a flange makes the partial insulation product 32 difficult to install properly. As shown in Figure 3, the insulating product of the invention, generally indicated as 60, is comprised of an elongated body 62 of fibrous insulating material. Preferably, the body of the insulating material is a conformable body, which means that it can be formed to conform to the cavity for the desired insulation. A detailed description of conformable insulating bodies is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,508,079 to Grant and Berdan, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Preferably, the fibers of the conformable body are irregular glass fibers, although straight fibers can also be used. The conformable body preferably has no binder or adhesive. The glass fibers without binder or adhesive will be able to much more movement within the structure of the insulating package, than the fibers in a package structure with binder or adhesive. As used in the present specification and in the claims, the term "without binder or adhesive" means the absence of binder materials or adhesives or the presence of only small amounts of such binder materials or adhesives, constituting no more than one percent by weight of the insulating product. In addition to suppressants, for example, oils, for dust control or other purposes it is not considered a binder or adhesive. An example of an encapsulated product without binder or adhesive is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,955, to Schelhorn et al., As mentioned above. The conformable body 62 has a coating 64 adhered to the main front surface 66. The coating can be any material suitable for providing a barrier for flexible vapor, such as a single layer of a high density polyethylene having a thickness within the range of from about 0.6 to about 1.5 thousandths of an inch. The fibrous insulating material preferably has a density in the range of from about 0.3 to about 1.0 pounds per cubic foot (pcf) (about 4.80 to about 16.01 kg / m3), although other densities may be used. Also, other fibers, such as mineral fibers from rocks, slag or basalt, can also be used as organic fibers, such as polymer fibers such as polypropylene, polyester and polysulfide, as well as other organic fibers. An optional material for the coating 64 is a double layer coating, not shown, comprised of a co-extruded polymer film of a barrier layer and a tie layer, with the two layers having different softening points. A preferred material for the barrier layer is a high density polyethylene film (HDPE), while the preferred materials for the tie layer is one or more materials from the group consisting of ethylene N-butyl acrylate, ethylene methyl acrylate and ethylene ethyl acrylate. These three materials can be used either alone, in combination with one another, or in combination with other materials, such as a low melting polyethylene material. Alternatively, a coextruded three-layer film, containing a barrier layer and a tie layer that sandwich a higher melting point carrier layer, may be used. Also, a low density polyethylene film or low softening point could be used by itself for the tie layer. The cover 64 is provided with protruding flanges 68, on each of its longitudinal sides, for attaching the insulating product to the studs. The insulating product 60 has, in addition to the coating material 64 on the face of the main front surface 66, an encapsulation material 70, placed on the side edges 72 and on the main rear surface 74. The encapsulation material is preferably a Thinner layer of polyethylene, which has a thickness of approximately 0.6 thousandths of an inch (0.001524 cm). The coating 64 and the encapsulation material 70 must adhere to the body according to the insulation material 62, so that the insulating product can be handled during manufacturing, packaging and installation. The adhesive system must be one that does not cause the insulating product to fail within the applicable fire and smoke limits for such products. Although the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 3 includes an encapsulation on the lateral sides 72 and the main rear surface 74 of the conformable body of the insulating material 62, it should be understood that another embodiment of the invention provides an encapsulation material on the surface posterior only, with the lateral edges lacking encapsulation material. As shown in Figure 4, the insulating product 60 of the invention is applied to the cavities for non-standard insulation 16, 18 and 20. In order to install the insulating product 60 in the cavity for insulation 18, the product insulator has been divided or cut from the main rear surface 74, to partially divide the conformable insulating body 62 into two body sections 76 and 78, as shown in Figure 5. The partition 80 extends from the main rear surface 74 towards the coating 64, but does not cut the coating. The body sections 76 and 78 can be formed as needed in the cavity for the insulation 18 in order to fit around the ventilation tube 22. Due to the flexibility of the insulating product 60, there is no visible evidence of the fact that the product insulator 60 is divided into two body sections 76 and 78. This is a great improvement over the asphalt / kraft coated insulation product illustrated in Figure 2. In addition, the improved flexibility of the HDPE coating material over the asphalt coating / kraft paper, means that the wrinkle (crease 48 in Figure 2), associated with the rigid asphalt / kraft paper coating, is practically eliminated, and the openings 50 are no longer present. When the insulating product 60 is applied to the cavity for insulation 20, the coating 64 is cut around the outlet box 28, and the flexibility of the coating 64 allows the coating to be stapled to the sides of the studs, without undesirable openings in the coating at the edge of the cavity for insulation 20. Before the insulating product 60 is installed in a narrow cavity, such as the cavity 16, the insulating product must first be cut to fit into the cavity. The insulating product 60 can be cut longitudinally into two longitudinal portions 84 and 86, as shown in Figure 6. The coating 64 and the encapsulation material 70, which are adhered to the fibrous insulating material in the conformable body of the insulator, help to maintain together the conformable body of the insulator, after the cutting of the insulating product. It can be seen that the cut edge 88 leaves a longitudinal portion 86 without flange on one side edge, and with the original flange 68 on the other side edge. One of the significant properties of the conformable body of the insulator is that it can be pushed around or molded into the cavity for insulation to conform to the shape of the cavity. To take advantage of this property, and to create a flange on the cut edge 88, the insulator installer only needs to cut the longitudinal portion wider than the width of the cavity for the narrow insulation 16. When the cut product 86 is installed in the cavity 16, the extra coating material 64 becomes the new flange, and this new flange is stapled to the side of the stud 14. The fibers along the cut are pushed around to fit into the cavity. This would be more difficult with a conventional bonded insulation, because the insulating material does not mesh so well with the shape of the cavity. The primary factor in allowing the insulating product to be successfully cut into partial cut fiber blocks however, is the strength of the bond between the cover 96 and the staple fiber block 98. The joint must have sufficient strength to provide integrity to the product. insulator when cut in the longitudinal direction. For purposes of this invention, the term "sufficient strength to provide integrity to the insulating product when cut in the longitudinal direction" means that when an insulating product of a length of 8 feet (244 meters) of the invention is cut into two portions along the length of the insulating product, each of the two portions can be picked up and held by holding one end of the portion. The integrity of the product is sufficient to allow an insulator installer to cut the product in the longitudinal direction, pick it up, transport and install it, either of the two portions in a wall cavity without the portion falling off. If a suitable coating and bonding of the coating, a split portion of an insulating product of unbonded glass fibers or without binder or adhesive would fall, they could not be collected for an installation in a wall cavity. When the product is additionally encapsulated by adding an encapsulation film to the main rear face, and even the side edges, the integrity of the product is further improved. The encapsulating material can be applied to a continuous conformable body of an insulating material by any suitable process, such as a direct deformed process, not shown, which is known to those skilled in the art. Alternatively, the coating and encapsulating material can be applied as shown in Figure 7, in which a sheet of a material with a double coating layer 100, having barrier and binding layers is distributed within the roller 114 and directed in contact with a conformable body of insulation transported by a conveyor 112. The coating material 100 is pressed into forced contact with the conformable body 98 by the action of articulated pressure rollers 116 and 118, which compress the body conformable fiberglass in a ratio of up to 25: 1, and preferably a ratio of approximately 10: 1. The upper pressure roller 116 is heated so that the temperature of the coating 100 will increase to a point above the softening point of the bonding layer. The roller heating 116 can be achieved by any means, such as by heating by electrical resistance or by circulating hot oil. The combination of the softened bond layer and the extreme pressure applied by the two pressure rollers 116 and 118, causes the bonding layer to bond firmly to the conformable body barrier layer. An alternative method of heating the bonding layer is with an infrared heater 120, as shown. Such a heater would have to be placed immediately upstream of a pair of pressure rollers, not shown, similar to rollers 116 and 118, so that the softened bonding layer could be pressed into the fibrous material and integrally attached to the fibers. The ultrasonic connection by laser and microwave can also be used. Optionally, a cooling section not shown can be used to cool the softened bonding layer after the joining process. As also shown in Figure 7, the rest of the conformable body surface, i.e. the side edges 72 and the main back surface 74, can be encapsulated with an encapsulating material or film 70, which can be supplied by the film roll of encapsulation 122. The film 100 can be applied using a folding shoe 124, an example of which is described in the above-identified U.S. Patent No. 5,545,279 to Hall et al. As described above, the encapsulation film can be joined with small amounts of discrete adhesive bands. The adhesive can be applied by any suitable means, such as by an adhesive nozzle 126, provided with an appropriate adhesive from a source, not shown. Alternatively, the encapsulation film 100 can be securely attached to the total surface of the side edges, and to the main back surface with a coextruded multilayer film similar to the coating 100, as described above. Also, it should be understood that the application material can be applied only to the back surface, leaving the side edges un-encapsulated. As shown in Figure 8, the insulating products 60 of the type shown in Figure 3 are installed in cavities for the insulation of an attic, defined by parallel extending beams 128, and by ceiling masonry 130. The product Insulator contains glass fibers without binder or adhesive. Since the attic cavities have no upper limit the glass fiber is not compressed, and the insulator is free to recover or expand its uncompressed expansion height, i.e., a predetermined height. When the insulating product 60 of the type shown in Figure 3 is installed in more confined cavities for insulation, the fibrous insulating material of the insulating product 60 should be compressed, as shown in Figures 9 and 10. In Figure 9, the product The insulator is installed in a cavity for relatively deep insulation 144, such as a wall cavity having its thickness defined by a stud of the wall of 2 x 6. The main rear surface 74 of the insulating product 60 is in contact with the walls. outer coatings 38, and cover 64 is in contact with masonry 146. In Figure 10, the same insulator 60 is installed in a cavity for relatively shallow wall insulation, such as a cavity in the wall defined by a 2 x 4 wall stud. Comparing the system in Figures 8, 9 and 10 it can be seen that the same insulating product 60 can be installed in cavities for insulation that have two dif different compressed thicknesses, and an uncompressed application, that is to say the attic. This flexibility allows users of isolation to take an uncompressed R-19 product and use it in compressed spaces as well. The insulating material can be expanded to the thickness of the cavity. Selling insulating products similar to insulating product 60, sellers of insulating materials can offer a single product that will suit the needs of the non-compressed application, and will also fit into the compressed insulation cavities of smaller thicknesses, for example, a cavity having a thickness of about 40 percent of the nominal uncompressed thickness, and any cavity having a thickness between 40 percent of the thickness and the uncompressed thickness. The insulator manufacturer and retailer gain an advantage because the number of products required to be offered is reduced, while still meeting all customer needs. The client wins because it is easier to calculate the isolation needs of any particular home. When the insulating product 60 of the invention is installed, the first step is to provide a coated insulating product 60 of the invention, with the coating 64 adhering to the front main surface 66 of the conformable insulation body. The coating 64 is attached to the insulating material with sufficient strength to provide integrity to the insulating product when cut in the longitudinal direction. The insulating material must be expandable so that it expands when it is not compressed to a high loft thickness, which is the maximum nominal thickness at which the insulating material can expand when it is not compressed. When the insulating product is placed in a cavity for insulation having a thickness less than or equal to the thickness of the roof of the high loft, the insulating product can be expanded to fill the cavity for insulation. The fibrous insulation material must have a compressive strength of less than 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2) when compressed to a thickness of approximately 40 percent of the thickness of uncompressed high loft. The insulator installer then selects a cavity for the insulation for a group of cavities for the insulation, that is, selecting a place to place the insulation of all the cavities for insulation for the building that need to be filled with an insulating product. The cavities for insulation in this group of cavities for insulation have all thicknesses greater than or equal to approximately 40 percent of the height of the height of the uncompressed high loft. The insulator installer then installs the insulating product in the cavity for the selected insulation, and expands the insulating product to fill the cavity for insulation. It can be seen that using the above installation method, a single insulating product of the invention can be installed in a cavity for the wall insulation of 2 x 4, for an insulating value of R-13, in a 2 x wall cavity. 6 for an insulating value of R-17, or in a non-compressed attic cavity for an insulating value of R-19, where the high or uncompressed loft thickness of the insulating product is in an excess of approximately 6 inches (15.24 centimeters) ). A unique attribute of the conformable insulating product of the invention is that when placed in a cavity for the insulation of a compressed thickness, the insulation can be expanded to fill the cavity, and the insulating fibers will generally conform themselves to provide a density almost uniform. This can not be done with conventional agglutinated insulating products. In addition, with products without binder or adhesive or high loft adhesive, of low weight per square foot (i.e., within the range of about 0.15 to about 0.25 lb / ft2 (about 0.73 to about 1.23 kg / m2), for a insulation product for attic of R-19), the formability provides another advantage. For the insulation of a high loft attic thickness, the width of the product is typically 16 inches (40.64 centimeters), for a separation of 16-inch (40.64 centimeters) beams. When this product is installed in a wall cavity only 141/2 inches (36.83 centimeters) wide, the insulating material conforms to the new shape, and changes the dimensions both in the direction of the width of the insulating cavity for insulation, and in the thickness of the cavity. The fibers of the conformable insulating product can be changed within the wall cavity to achieve a generally uniform density. This makes use of the fact that the change in the width of the cavity increases the weight per square foot, and therefore allows a high loft product to still perform with an adequate thermal value in the compressed cavity. Thus, the insulating product 60 of the invention takes advantage of the formability, which is not present in the conventional bonded insulating products. A potential problem in using the same insulating product for different cavities for insulation is that as the insulating product is compressed into cavities for shallower insulation, the reactive compression force is increased. If this opposite reactive force is too large, the effect will be the detachment of the outer covering 38 or of the external masonry 146. Therefore, it is imperative that the compressive force of the insulation within the cavity is not too great. For this purpose, the insulating product must have a compressive strength that is less than 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2), when compressed to a thickness of approximately 40 percent of the high loft thickness, which is the thickness at which the insulating product can expand when it is not compressed. As a practical step, most conventional fiberglass insulating products that have binder or adhesive on the fibers, for product integrity, will have a compressive strength that is much greater than about 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg) / m2) when compressed to a thickness of approximately 40 percent of the roof thickness of the high uncompressed loft. However, most insulating products without binder or adhesive will have a compressive strength that is less than 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2) when compressed to a thickness of approximately 40 of the roof thickness of the high loft not compressed Another important factor in containing the insulating product compressed in a cavity for relatively shallow insulation is the strength of the coating 64. Where the insulating product 60 is applied to cavities defined by studs in the wall, the coating must be stapled or adhered to another way to the studs 14, to hold the insulating product in the cavity. For cavities for shallow insulation, in which the insulating product is compressed significantly, the coating must have sufficient tensile strength to prevent the insulating material from tearing the coating of its staples. A typical HDPE encapsulation material of 0.4 mils (0.001016 cm) will be insufficient to contain the highly compressed insulating material without the risk of tearing the staple flanges. The coating must be sufficient to withstand a coating pressure of at least 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2) when attaching to the studs on the wall. The principle and mode of operation of this invention can be described in its preferred embodiments, however, it should be noted that this invention can be practiced in a manner other than that specifically shown and described, without departing from its scope.

Claims (17)

1. An insulating product characterized in that it comprises: an elongated conformable body of a fibrous insulator, having front and rear main surfaces, and two elongate side surfaces; a coating adhered to the main front surface of the conformable body, the coating has a tensile strength sufficient to carry a pressure, without tearing, of about 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2), of the fibrous insulation in a cavity of the wall defined by studs in the wall, when the coating adheres to the studs in the wall; and wherein the coating is attached to the conformable body with sufficient force to provide integrity to the insulating product when cut in the longitudinal direction; and where the insulating product can be expanded for when it is not compressed to a high loft thickness, so that when the cut fiber block is placed in a cavity for insulation having a thickness less than or equal to the thickness of the roof of the high loft, the insulating product can be expanded to fill the cavity for insulation; and wherein the fibrous insulating material has a compressive strength of less than about 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2), when a thickness of about 40 percent of the thickness of the roof of the high uncompressed loft is compressed.

2. The insulating product according to claim 2, characterized in that the conformable body of fibrous insulation is without binder or adhesive.

3. The insulating product according to claim 1, characterized in that the main rear surface of the conformable body of the fibrous insulation is coated with an encapsulation material. .

The insulating product according to claim 1, characterized in that the main rear surface and the two lateral surfaces of the conformable body of the fibrous insulation are coated with an encapsulation material.

The insulating product according to claim 4, characterized in that the coating and the encapsulation material are bonded to the insulating material with a sufficient tensile force to withstand a pressure of approximately 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2) , for an insulating product in a wall cavity, without tearing.

6. The insulating product according to claim 4, characterized in that the coating is easily cut at temperatures below about 110 ° F (43 ° C), the coating does not soften at temperatures less than about 110 ° F (43 ° C) , and the coating is not brittle at temperatures greater than about 30 ° F (-1.1 ° C).

7. The insulating product according to claim 4, characterized in that the expanded non-compressed expanded attic thickness is at least 6 inches (15.24 centimeters).

8. A method for installing an insulating product, characterized in that it comprises: providing an insulating product comprising an elongated conformable body of a fibrous insulating material, with the conformable fibrous insulating body having a coating adhered to its main front surface, of the body conformable, wherein the coating is bonded to the insulating material with sufficient strength to provide integrity to the insulating product when cut in the longitudinal direction, wherein the fibrous insulating material is expandable, so that it can expand when not compressed to a loft thickness high, and so that when placed in a cavity for insulation that has a thickness less than or equal to the high loft thickness, it can be expanded to fill the cavity for insulation, and where the fibrous insulating material has a resistance to less compression of approximately 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2), when compressed to a thickener or about 40 percent of the predetermined thickness; selecting a cavity for the isolation of a group of cavities for the insulation having thicknesses in the range of a minimum of at least about 40 percent of the high loft thickness to a maximum of approximately the high loft thickness; and install the insulating product in the cavity for the selected insulation.

The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the group of cavities for the insulation having a nominal design thickness of approximately 3 1/2 inches (8.89 centimeters), and cavities for the insulation having a design thickness nominally about 5 1/2 inches (13.97 centimeters).

10. The method of compliance with the claim 8, characterized in that the high loft thickness is at least 6 inches (15.24 centimeters).

11. The method according to the claim 8, characterized in that it includes the step of insulating a cavity for narrow insulation, having a predetermined width, which is substantially less than the width of a standard insulating product, by: longitudinally cutting the insulating product to create a longitudinal portion of the product insulator that is wider than the predetermined width, the longitudinal portion has a cut edge without a flange, and the cut edge has a conformable body portion of insulating fibers associated therewith; install the longitudinal portion in the cavity for the narrow insulation, joining the cut edge without flange to the stud of the wall; and for forcing the conformable body portion of insulating fibers associated with the cut edge in the narrow cavity, thereby creating a new flange.

A method for installing an insulating product, characterized in that it comprises: providing an insulating product comprising an elongate conformable body of a fibrous insulating material, with the conformable body of fibrous insulation having a coating adhered to the main frontal surface, of the body conformable, and an encapsulation material on the main rear surface of the conformable body, wherein the coating and the encapsulation material are attached to the insulating material with sufficient strength to provide integrity to the insulating product when cut in the longitudinal direction, wherein the fibrous insulation material is expandable, so that it can be expanded when it is not compressed to a high loft thickness, and such that when placed in a cavity for insulation, having a thickness less than or equal to the thickness of the high loft, can be expanded to fill the cavity for insulation, and where the insulation material fibrous suede has a compressive strength of less than about 1.0 lb / ft2 (4.88 kg / m2), when compressed to a thickness of about 40 percent of the predetermined thickness; selecting a cavity for the isolation of a group of cavities for the insulation having thicknesses in the range of a minimum of at least about 40 percent of the high loft thickness to a maximum of about the high loft thickness; and install the insulating product in the cavity for the selected insulation.

13. The method according to the claim 12, characterized in that the encapsulation material is also applied to the side edges of the conformable body of fibrous insulation.

14. The method according to the claim 13, characterized in that the group of cavities for the insulation include cavities for the insulation having a nominal design thickness of approximately 3 1/2 inches (8.89 centimeters), and cavities for the insulation having a nominal design thickness of approximately 5. 1/2 inch (13.97 centimeters).

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the high loft thickness is at least 6 inches (15.24 centimeters).

The method according to claim 13, which includes the step of isolating a cavity for narrow insulation, having a predetermined width, which is substantially less than the width of a standard insulating product, characterized by: longitudinally cutting the insulating product to create a longitudinal portion of the insulating product that is wider than the predetermined width, the longitudinal portion has a cut edge without a flange, and the cut edge has a conformable body portion of insulating fibers associated therewith; install the longitudinal portion in the cavity for the narrow insulation, joining the cut edge without flange to the stud of the wall; and for forcing the conformable body portion of insulating fibers associated with the cut edge in the narrow cavity, thereby creating a new flange.

17. A method for installing an insulating product characterized in that it comprises: providing an attic insulating product of low weight per square foot, of high loft, comprising an elongate conformable body of a fibrous insulating material, with the conformable body of fibrous insulation has a coating adhered to the main front surface of the conformable body, and an encapsulation material on the main upper surface of the conformable body, the attic insulation product has a width equal to the spacing of the separate attic beam centers; and install the insulation for the attic in a wall cavity defined by separate wall studs, the studs on the wall are separated at their centers by a distance equal to the spacing of the beams, with the wall cavity that has a width of the wall cavity smaller than the distance between the centers of the studs, so that the insulating product must be compressed in the direction of the width of the wall cavity for installation, where the insulating material assumes a new uniform density inside the wall cavity.