Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1 INSULATION SYSTEM FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to an insulation
system that is easy to install and that therma11y isolates
most or all of the structural members of a building from the
interior of the building as well as from the exterior covering
of the building.
In the past, building structures such as metal
buildings or buildings made from concrete structural members,
~ or buildings made using combinations of concrete and metal
structural members have been insulated in many ways. For
example, fiber glass blanket insulation has been put between
the structural members and held in place with such things as
metal straps, chicken wire, etc. Rigid or semi-rigid boards
of felted fibers such as glass fibers, have also been used
for insulating metal and concrete buildings, but no attempt
was made to isolate the structural members from the interior
of the building and such rigid or semi-rigid boards did not
provide sufficient insulation to meet the newly emerging
standards.
Another insulating system used extensively, particularly
in metal buildings, is shown in FIG. 1 and is described in detail in
Canadian Patent No. 988,020 issued April 27, 1976. This insulation ~ -
product, which is available commercially under the trade mark
RIGIDLROLL, comprises a layer of bonded glass fibers A which is
flexible but yet board-like in that it tends to return to a board-
like product after being bent and released. The layer of bonded
glass fibers is faced with a vapor barrier B, such as a vinyl
film. The facing, along a longitudinal edge, extends beyond the
layer of bonded glass fibers to form a tab (not shown). The tab
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is reinforced so that when the insulation strips are butted
together and the tab overlies an adjacent strip, the tab forms a
vapor barrier seal between adjacent strips of insulation when the
metal roof sheets C are mounted in place over structural members
such as D.
While such an insulation system is easy to install and
offers many advantages over other systems, compression of the
fibrous layer between the outer sheets C and the structural members
D seriously reduces the insulating value of the insulation at those
areas. As a result, such a system alone will not meet some of the
high insulating standards required either by specifications or by
economics in many areas of the country.
Another insulation system, which does meet high insulating
standards and which may be used in metal buildings is described in
Canadian Application Serial No. 268,046, filed December l6, l976,
and which was allowed April l8, l978. This system shows as in FIG.
2 a first thermal insulation 4 located between the structural
members and the covering material, a second board-like thermal
insulation 8 spanning between adjacent structural members, a third
thermal insulation 12 having a higher insulating value than the
second thermal insulation and located between the second insulation
and the covering-material, and a fourth insulation means l4 which
serves to isolate the support members from the interior of the
building and to support the second thermal insulation 8 on either
side of a web 3 of support members 2. The chief drawback of this
insulation system lies in the fact that in the installation of the
system the fourth insulation means 14 must be secured to the -
support member in the conventional time consuming manner by
...
metal screws, rivets, bolts, etc. ---. Also the ease and
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simplicity of this method is hampered by the fact that the interior
ceiling layer of insulation comprises more than one insulation means;
for example the board-like insulation 8 and the insulation means 14.
The object of the present invention is to provide an
attractive insulating system which can be easily and rapidly installed
either in new construction or in the reinsulation of old construction,
that can be used either alone or in conjunction with prior art
insulation systems of the type shown in FIG. 1, and that will provide
a more efficient insulation system for the types of buildings described
above by insulating and isolating all or most of the structural members
of the buildings from the interior of the building, as well as from
the exterior covering of this building.
Brief Summary of the Invention
In one aspect, the present invention provides an insulation
system for building structures having a plurality of parallel structural
.
members and a covering material spanning the structural members on the
exterior side, both the structural members and the covering material
having a relatively high coefficient of thermal conductivity, comprising
first insulation board-like means for isolating the structural members
from the interior of the building, said first insulation means being
supported along the first edge portion adjacent to a lower portion of
a first structural member, said first insulation means spanning to and
having a second edge portion extending beneath an adjacent second
structural member, a second insulation means located adjacent to and
above a major surface of said first insulation means and between
adjacent structural me~bers, said second insulation means having a lower
density and a higher thermal insulation value than said first insulation
means, fastening means for urging the second edge p~rtion of said first
insulation means into contact with the lower portion of said second
structural member, said fastening means comprising a clip means for
holding the second edge portion of said first insulation means onto
said structural member, a portion of said clip means providing a support
for a first edge p~rtion of an adjacent first insulation means, said
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clip means extending from a major surface on said first insulation means
opposite said structural member, around a minor surface of said second
edge ~ortion, and onto an upper surface of the lower portion of said
structural member.
In another aspect, the present invention provides an
insulation system for building structures having a plurality of parallel
structural members and a covering material sF~nning the structural
members on the exterior side, both the structural members and the
covering material having a relatively high coefficient of thermal
conductivity, comprising first insulation board-like means for isolating
the structural members from the interior of the building, said first ~-
insulation means being supported along a first edge portion above an
adjacent to a lower portion of a first structural member by an upper
surface of the second edge portion of an a~jacent first insulation
means, said first insulation means spanning to and having a second edge
portion extending beneath an adjacent second structural member, the
upper surface of said second edge portion of said first insulation means . - -
containing a depression means for accomodating a bottom Fortion of the~.
structural member such that ~hen said depression is in contact with :
the lower portion of the structural member, a non-depressed edge portion .
of the second edge portion extends above an upper surface of the lower :
portion of the structural member to provide the support for the first
edge portion of an adjacent first insulation means, a second insulation ~: :
means located adjacent to and above a major surface of said first ~
insulation means and between adjacent structural members, said second . :
insulation means having a lower density and a higher thermal insulation
value than said first insulation means, and fastening means for urging -
the second edge portion of said first insulation means into contact
with the lower portion of said second structural member. :~.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides an
insulation system for building structures having structural members
and a covering material spanning the structural members on the exterior
side, both the structural members and the covering material having a
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relatively high coefficient of thermal conductivity, comprising a first
insulation board-like means supported along a first edge portion above
a second edge portion of an adjacent first insulation means and a
portion of a first structural member, and spanning to and having a
second edge portion extending beneath an adjacent second structural
member, said second edge portion having a depression means therein in
a major surface for accomodating a bottom portion of a structural
member, clip means for holding the second edge portion of said first
insulation means onto said structural member such that a portion of
said structural member occupies said depression means, said clip means
extending from a major surface on said first insulation means opposite
said depression means, around a minor surface of said second edge
portion and onto an upper surface of the lower portion of said
structural member, said clip means being so shaped that a portion of
the exterior of said clip means provides a support for the first edge
portion of an adjacent first insulation means, and a second insulation
means located adjacent to and above a major surface of said first
insulation means and between adjacent structural members, the thermal :
insulating value of said second insulation means being greater than : :
the thermal insulating value of said first insulation means.
In still another aspect, the present invention provides an
insulation system for building structures having structural members
and a covering material spanning the structural members on the exterior
side, both the structural members and the covering material having a
relatively high coefficient of thermal conductivity, comprising a first :
insulation board-like means supported along a first edge portion
adjacent a second e~ge portion of an adjacent first insulation means
and a lower portion of a first structural member and spanning to and .
having a second edge portion extending beneath an adjacent second .~.
structural member, clip means for holding the second edge portion of
said first insulation means onto a lower portion of said second
structural member, said clip means extending from a major surface on
said first insulation means opposite a major surface adjacent said
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second structural member, around a minor surface of said second edge
portion and onto an upper surface of the lower portion of said second
structural member, said clip means so shaped that a portion of the
exterior of said clip means provides support for a first edge portion
of an adjacent first insulation means, and a second insulation means
located adjacent to and above a major surface of said first insulation
means and between adjacent structural members, said second insulation
means having a lower density and a higher thermal insulation value than
said first insulation means.
In yet a further aspect, the present invention provides a
thermal insulation system for buildings having a plurality of
longitudinally extending structural members spanning between supports,
said members being uniformly spaced and parallel, said building also
having a covering material for the exterior thereof, said system
consisting of the combination of a first board-like thermal insulation
consisting of a plurality of longitudinally extending elements, each
being at least wide enough to span the space between said structural
members and located at the interior side thereof, a second thermal
insulation substantially filling the spaces between said structural -.
members and bet een said covering material and said first thermal :
insulation, said second insulation having a lower density and a higher ~ ::
thermal insulation value than said first insulation, and a support means :
associated with each of said structural members and adapted to support -
the adjacent edges of two of said first thermal insulation elements
in generally the same plane, said support means comprising a clip for
urging edge portions of each of said first insulation elements into :
contact with said structural memhers and for supporting other edge
portions of adjacent first insulation elements, said clip extending
from an upper surface of the lower portions of said structural members,
around the edges therèof, between minor surfaces of adjacent first
insulation elements and extending beneath a portion of ~he lower major
surfaces of said adjacent first insulation elements. -
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1 Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view, partly in perspective
and partly in section of a typical prior art insulation
system including some of the structural members and the
covering mater;als, and i~lustrating a known technique for
isolating the covering materials from the structural members.
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view partly in section and
partly in perspective of an insulation system according to
the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a
second embodiment of an insulation system according to the
present invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a mounting
clip used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 2 of
a third embodiment of the insulation system according to the
present invention.
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a
joint in the first insulation means of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 of a different
type of joint. -
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view in eleYation showing
how a joint member shown in FIG. 7 is supported.
FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 5 of an
alternative embodiment of an insulation system according to
the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view
showing an alternative technique for isolatlng the covering
material from the structural members.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a mounting
clip used in the embodiment shown In FIG. 9.
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1 Description of the Preferred Embodiments
Commercial and industrial buildings are frequently
of the type shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,121,649 and comprise
metal or concrete structures with an outer covering of a
material, such as corregated metal, concrete panels, etc.,
spanning the structure. Both metal and concrete have a
relatively high coefficient of thermal conductivity compared
to wood and thermal insulating materials and therefore it
usually is desirable, and sometimes essential, that these
buildings be insulated with a material having a relatively
low coefficient of thermal conductivity to reduce the rate
of heat flow either into or out of the building. A coefficient
of thermal conductivity of about 1.5 BTU/sq.ft./in./F/hr.
or less is a relatively low coefficient of thermal conductivity
for purposes of defining the terminology herein. Since the
structural members themselves provide paths for substantial
heat flow through the walls, insulation systems which do not -
insulate all or most of the structural members from the
interior of the building, and preferably from the covering
0
spanning the structural members of the exterior side of the
structural members, permit excessive heat flow through the
structural members.
Referring to FIG. 2, one aspect of the present
invention insulates and isolates structural members 2, which
are illustrated as "5" shaped purlins spanning between
conventional supporting columns (not shown). The insulation
system of the present invention comprises first board-like
insulation means 4 which spans the purlins 2 on the interior
of the structure. A covering material such as a corregated
metal sheet 6 forms the exterior layer on the structure.
The first insulation 4 may be strips of glass fiber blankets
1 ~N~8~
1 or boards, strips of foamed plastic material, or any other
material having a relatively low coefficient of thermal
conductivity, compàred with the thermal conductance of the
structural members and the covering material 6 and having
sufficient strength and rigidity to resist significant
sagging, say not more than about 1" bow or sag between
adjacent structural members which often are spaced about 5'
apart~ Preferably, no more than 1/2" sag is experienced. A
preferable material for the first insulation 4 in the present
invention is a board of bonded glass fibers having an apparent
density of about 1.75 to 2.5 lbs./cu.ft. or more, most
preferably about 3pcf or more.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2, each of the strips
constituting the first insulation means 4 overlies and is
supported along one of its edge portions 10 by an adjacent
first insulation means 4 and spans to and extends beneath an
adjacent structural member 2. Each of the first insulation
means 4 has a second edge portion 12 in which a depression
14 is formed for accommodating a bottom flange 2a of a
purlin 2. The depression 14 is sufficiently deep so that
when the bottom surface of the flange 2a is in contact with
the bottom of the depress;on 14 an edge rib 15 of the second
edge portion 12 extends aboYe the upper surface of the
flange 2a to provide support for the first edge portion 10
of an adjacent first insulation 4. The depression 14 can
be cut or pressed into a fiber glass board, either being
done in a well known manner.
Preferably, a major surface 18 of the first
insulation 4 opposite the surface having the depression 14
is coated or faced with a material that will constitute a
vapor barrier, such as a vihyl film. This coating or facing
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8~;8
1 19 also can provide a pleasing appearance to the interior of
` the building. The facing or coating 19 should extend around
and over an exposed edge 20 of the second edge portion 12
and the rib 15, so as to provide a better vapor seal between
the overlapped portions of the adjacent boards of the first
insulation 4. To enhance the vapor seal, if preferred, a
caulking or sealing material can be applied to the rib 15
prior to installing the adjacent first insulation board 4.
In a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the
present invention, the first insulation 4 is a vinyl faced,
glass fiber insulation board about 1.125 inches thick and
having an insulation value (R-value) as determined by an ASTM
C236-66 of about 5.
; Any suitable fastening means can be used to hold
the first insulation 4 against the flanges 2a. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 2, pop rivets 22 are used with
plastic washers 24, e.g., polyethlene or nylon washers can
be used.
A second insulation 8 is positioned above the
. 20 first insulation 4 and between adjacent purlins 2. Any
suitable insulating material haying a high insulating value
is suitable as the second insulation, e.g., blankets or
clumps of glass fibers or mineral wool or equivalents. For
ease of installation, it is preferred to use batts or con-
tinuous strips of bonded glass fibers or mineral wool having
an R-value of R-5 or above, preferably R-l9 or above, and
most preferably an insulating value of about R-30 or higher.
A third insulation A, which is often an embodiment
of the prior art insulation of the type shown in FIG. 1, is
. 30
provided between the top of the purlin 2 and the covering
material 6 to isolate purlins 2 from the covering material -
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8~8
6. This third insulation A completes the isolation of the
purlins 2 and minimizes heat transfer from those structural
members to the covering material 6, thereby also minimizing
moisture condensation problems. When the third insulation
is in the form of the insulation A shown in FIG. 2, which
occurs particularly when an insulation system according to
the invention is used to reinsulate a building structure
having prior art insulation of the type shown in FIG. 1, the
added second insulation 8 can be thinner because the tnsulation
L0 A of the prior art system cooperates therewith. In some
instances, such as when the covering material is always on
the hot side of the insulation, it is acceptable to have the
n structural members or purlins 2 in direct contact with the
covering material.
FIG. 3 illustrates a modification of the insulation
system shown in FIG. 2. In this modification, the second
edge portion 12 of the first insulation 4 is fastened to the
flange 2a in the depression 14 using an elongated clip 26
` that extends along the edge of the first insulation means 4.
- 20
A bottom portion 28 of the clip 26 supports the bottom face
of the second edge portion 12 and extends away from the edge
~ portion 12 past a vertical web 30 of the purlin 2 preferably
-~ about an inch or more. An upper portion 32 of the clip 26
supports the first edge portion 10 of the adjacent first
` insulation means 4.
The longer leg 28 of the clip 26 is designed to
support the ends of transversely extending "H" or "T" bars, ~-
or the like, between longitudinally adjacent edges of the ~-
first insulation means 4 as more fully descr~bed below with
- 30
reference to FIGS. 6-8, inclusive.
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1 As shown in FIG. 4, the clip 26 comprises the
longer leg 28, the upper leg 32 which has an edge 34 offset
by a web 36 toward the leg 28, the legs 28 and 32 being
connected by a web 38 which is wider than the web 36. As
best can be seen in FIG. 3, the clip 26 is opened from its
normal configuration and slipped over the rib 16 to embrace
the flange 2a and the edge portion 12 of a first insulation
board 4 to retain the board 4 firmly in place. The clip 26
can be made of any material having sufficient resilience so
that its legs 28 and 32 can be separated to allow for its
installation and still try to return to its original con-
figuration with sufficient force to hold the first insulation
4 in its proper position. A preferred material is rigid
polyvinyl chloride, preferably having the same or similar
color as the facing 19.
One significant advantage of the modification
. ~
shown in FIG. 3 over the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is that
the insulation system of FIG. 3 can be more easily installed
;; from the exterior sides of the structural members 2, i.e. on
top of the roof, than can the embodiment of FIG. 2. This is
often important, particularly when reinsulating an existing
structure where equipment and other objects permanently in
the building would hamper the erection of scaffolds for
working below the rafters 2, or in high roofed buildings
where it is easier to work from the roof than to erect tall
scaffolds that have to be moved frequently during construction.
The clip 26 as used in the modification shown in FIG. 3 also
provides a continuous support for the first insulation 4 as
opposed to the periodic support provided by the fastening
means 22 and 24 used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.
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1 FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the
present invention. This embodiment differs from the embodiment
shown in FIG. 3 in that the first insulation 4 does not have
a depression. This modification requires that a web 38a of
a clip 26 be wider than the web 38 of the clip 26 used in
the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. Also, the first insulation
4 lies at a slightly greater angle with respect to the
flange 2a of the purlin 2 in this embodiment than in the
embodiment shown in FIG. 3. The two important advantages of
the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 over the embodiment shown in
FIG. 3 are that (1) the purlin 2 is better isolated thermally
from the interior of the building due to the fact that the
insulation boards 4 do not need a depression like the depression
14 shown in FIG. 3, and (2) the added expense of forming the
`- depression 14 is avoided. An open region 40 resulting from
the wider web 38a in this embodiment if desired can be
; filled with a strip of any suitable insulating material to
even further insulate the purlin 2 from the interior of the
building. A foaming type insulation also could be injected -~ into the open region 40 after installation. ~`
`~ In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the clip 26 is
~ so designed that when in the installed position, the leg 28
-~ fits against the faced surface 18 of the first insulation 4
and the second shorter leg 34 fits against the upper surface
of the flange 2a of the purlin 2. In this position, the .
upper leg 32 of the clip 26 will support the first edge
portion 10 of an adjacent first insulation board 4.
; Frequently, the structural members 2 are longer
than the first insulation boards 4. ~hen this occurs it is
necessary to use more than one panel or board or strip of
the first insulation means 4 resulting in a joint between -~
two longitudinally adjacent panels. - ~
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1 FIGS. 6-8 show several suitable methods of providing
a vapor barrier seal and support at these joints. In FIG.
6, with either of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2, 3 or 5,
an H-shaped member 42 can be used to provide a vapor barrier
at the joint between two adjacent panels 4. The H-shaped
member 42 is preferably made of a metal or a plastic material
such as a rigid polyvinyl chloride, and at least that portion
exposed to the interior of the building is preferably of the
same color as the facing 19. A good seal is insured if the
combination of the thickness of the insulation board 4 and
the facing 19 is slightly thicker than the spaces between
the parallel arms of the H-shaped member 42 so that the
first insulation boards 4 must be slightly compressed in
order to insert them therebetween. ~hen used in the embodi-
ment shown in FIG. 5, the length of the H-shaped member 42
should be the same as the width of the first insulation
board 4. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 the member 42
will rest on that portion of the leg 28 of the clip 26
extending beyond the web 30 of the purlin 2.
FIG. 7 is a cross-section taken from the same
- position as FIG. 6 and illustrates the use of a T~shaped
member 44 filling the joint between two longitudinally
~ adjacent pieces of the first insulation 4. It can be noted
that one end of the T-shaped member 44 rests on an upper
surface of the long leg 28 of the clip 26. ~hen used with
~ the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, one end of the T-shaped;
member 44 can extend completely under the flange 2a of the
purlin 2, as shown in FIG. 8.
Preferably, cross bars 46 of the T-shaped members
44 that would rest on the legs 28 and 32 of the clips 26 are
removed, as shown ln the righthand portion of FIG. 8, to
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1 provide a better vapor seal between the first insulation
boards 4 and the legs 28 and 32. Removing those portions of
the cross bars 46 aligns the top surface 48 of the bottom
member 46 with the upper surfaces of the legs 28, 32, thus
eliminating the small gaps 50 shown in FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 illustrates another preferred embodiment of
the present invention in which the first insulation means 4
are supported so as to provide a flat ceiling. This modi-
fication provides a clip 52 that extends along the edge of
the first insulation means 4 similar to clip 26.
As shown in FIG. 11, the clip 52 comprises a long
bottom leg 54, an upper leg 56, which has an edge 58 offset by
- a web 60 toward the leg 54, the legs 54 and 56 being connected
by a web 62. The bottom leg 54 has an integral portion 64
extending past the juncture of the leg 54 and the web 62.
Like the clip 26, each clip 52 is fabricated from
resilient material so that its legs 54 and 56 together with
edge 58 can be moved away from each other and the clip can
be slid into embracing relationship to an edge portion 10 of ~ -
a first insulation means 4 and a flange 2a of a purlin 2 and
~ the edge 12 of the adjacent insulation means 4 is supported
; by the extending portion 64 as shown in FIG. 9.
In all of the embodiments shown, it is preferred
that the second insulation 8 be of sufficient thickness that
it must be compressed somewhat when the first insulation 4
is put into the positions shown in the drawings. When
compressed, the second insulation 8 applies a small downward
force against the first insulation improving the vapor
barrier seal between the facings 19 of the first insulation
s means 4 and the various supports. Better vapor barriers are
desirable, of course, because the structural members may be
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1 either significantly cooler or warmer than the interior of
the building. If warm air from the interior of the building
is permitted to flow up around the structural members, the
cooler structural members will cool this warmer air leaving
water condensation on the structural members. Such a result
is undesirable and can damage both the structual members and
the insulation system. Adhesives, sealing compounds, or
pressure sensitive tapes can be used in the vapor sealing
areas previously described, but this is usually not necessary
in the system of the present invention and therefore would,
in most cases, needlessly add to the cost of the installation.
~` When the insulation system of the present invention
is used along with a prior art insulation system, such as
that shown in FIG. 1, the structural members 2 are isolated
by the prior art insulation system from the covering material
~ 6. When the third insulation A has a vapor barrier layer B
.~ on its lower or interior face, the barrier layer can be
punctured periodically to prevent trapping moisture between
the second insulation 8 and the barrier layer facing on
layer A.
As shown in FIG. 10, the third insulation means
for isolating the covering material 6 from the structural
members 2 may be a strip of material 66, having a relatively
low coefficient of thermal conductivity as compared with the
covering material 6 and the purlins 2. For example, the
insulation material 52 can be strips of glass fiber blanket
or board, strips of foamed plastic material, strips of wood,
or any other material having a relatively low coefficient of
thermal conductivity.
' 30
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