Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ME~OD AND ~PP1~RATUS Er~R TEIE PRODUCTION OF FIBRO[~ INS~IATICN
Technical Field
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The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus
for -the production of fibrous insuLation and more particularly is
related to a method and apparatus for the production of relatively
thick fibrous insulation batts t~rough the lamination of t~o relatively
thin insuLation batts.
Background of Prior ~r
Recently, due to urgen-t needs for energy conservation, there
'nas been an increasing need for insulation of greater thickness which
generally -provides a greater insuLating value or an R value, e.g., R
vaLues on the order of ~-38 or more. It has been a common practice to
laminate or glue together -two relatively thin insulation batts in order
to for~l a relatively thick insulating batt. H~wever, la~ila-t1On of
insulating batts is some~hat cumberscme because of problems associated
~i~h ensuring a oomplete alignmen-t of the exterior edges of the
individual batts forming t~e final relatively thick insulation batt.
I~ore recently, a manufacturer of insulating material has
taken an insulating blanket and has partially cut through the
insulating material in order to form a continuous fibrous hinge between
the ~rmed insulating batts. Proxi~ate the terminal Fortion of the
insulation prcduction line, a worker uses the ~inge to ~elp in ali~ning
the two insulating batts to be joined. Unfortunately, because of the
nature of fibrous insulations, this continuous hinge is
unsatisfactorily unwieldly and does not allow for a substantially
perfect alignment of the exterior edges of the insulation bat~s.
Furthermore, the final laminated batt or product has an ob~ectionable
bulge on the side of the laminated ba-tt where the ori~inal continuous
fibrous ~nge was formed.
In another process of th2 manufact~re of fibrous insulation,
an insul~tion blanket is slitted along the machine direction into a
p~urality of insulaticn batts separated by 2 plurali-t~ of fibro~s
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pi 1 lars. NotchecL slit-ter blades are used to form -the
d:iscontirluo~ls slits het~een -the batts :in orAer to insure that
-the batts are aligned as they are conveyed towards -the
packaging area of the fibrous :insulation manufac-turing line.
If the batts were completely separated, -they could become
misaligned making packaging difEicult. However, the
relatively thin batts in this process have never been
laminated to form a relatively thick insulation produc-t.
According to one aspect of the present invention
-there is provided a process for the manufacture of fibrous
material, the process including the steps of forming fibrous
ma-terial, cutting the material to form a plurality of
individual pieces of fibrous material connected by discrete
pillars of fibrous material, applying an adhesive to one
of the fibrous pieces, and folding another of the fibrous
pieces onto -the one fibrous piece.
According to another aspect of the invention, the
apparatus of the present invention includes means for forming
fibrous material, means for cutting the material into a
plurality of individual pieces of fibrous material connected
by discrete pillars of fibrous material, means for applyins
an adhesive to one of the fibrous pieces and means for
folding another of the fibrous pieces onto the one fibrous
piece.
More specifically, the invention resides in the
forming of a laminated relatively thick insulation product in
which a cured insulation blanket is conducted past a notched
slitter blade which is disposed, e.g., in the mi~dle of the
blanket, in order to form a series of fibrous pillars or
hinges along the length of the insula-tion blanket. The
series of fibrous hinges are formed by at least one slitter
blade having a series of substantially non-cutting notches
removed from its exterior cutting surface. The material vf
the insulation blanket will therefore not be cut at t~e
portion of the slitter blade where the notches are forme~
whereby in use a series of discrete fibrous hinges are formed.
In a section downstream of the slitter blade an adhesive
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material may be applied -to one or more surEaces of the
indi-vidual insula-tion batts formed by -the slitter blade.
The adhesive ~aterial may be a water base~ or a hot melt
adhesive. Downs-tream of the adheslve applying section a
worker ro-ta-tes or flips one insulation batt onto the other
using the discrete fibrous hinges as an alignmen-t guide means
in order to form the final laminated relatively thick
insulation product of the present inven-tion.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view illustrating the
process steps and apparatus of the presen-t inven-tion.
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the present
invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates the final laminated relatively
thick insulation product of the present invention.
Descrip-tion of the Preferred Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a side view schema-tically illustrating
a production line 10 utilizing the method and apparatus
of the present invention. The method and apparatus of ~he
present invention are primarily intended for use in a fiber
glass manufactuing operation wherein mats,
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batts or blankets of insulating material are produced. ~wever, the
method and apparatus of the present invention can be used in any
manufacturing operation wherein fLe~ible pro~ucts in strip, ribbon, mat
or blanket form are being manufactured in a relatively thick
configuration.
FIG. 1 illustrates a cured blanket 12 of insulating material
ccming from a conventional felting operation or other source (not
shown) wherein glass fibers or other filaments are felted into a
blanket. The blanket 12 is carried by a conveyor 14 to a slitter blade
15 rotatable about an axis and modified in order to perform -the ~rocess
s-teps and form the product of the present invention. As can be seen
frcm FIG. 1, the slitter blade 16 is of fairly conventional design
wherein a slitting or a cutting surface 18 is defined on the entire
periphery or circumference of the blade 16. A plurality of
substantially non-cutting notches 20 are provided at convenient
locations about the periphery of the blade. These notches 20 ~o nct
substantially cut the blanket 12 and therefore form a pLurality of
fibrous pillars or hinges 22 along the length of the blanXet 12. The
width of each notch 20 is selected to ensure that the width of the
fibrous hinge 22 produced is not -too large, as will be better explained
hereinafter. me slitter blade 16 cooperates with an anvil roll 24 in
order to Ferform the cutting function ar.d subdivide the blanket 12 into
two equally sized insulation batts 26 and 28.
The insulation batts 26 and 28 are joined mereLy by the
discrete fibrous Qlnses 22 and are conveyed ,o a convey~r 30 where an
adhesive material such as a water based adhesive or a hot melt a~hesive
is applied (fully or partially) to the upper surfacss of ei-ther ~he
batt 26 and/or the batt 28. For purposes of illus~rltion c~nly, an
2dhesive 32 is shown being applied by means of a spray no~zle ~ ~see
FIG. 1). If a hot melt adhesive is used, it mQy be conveniently
~oame~.
After the adhesive material 32 is applied to ei~her the batt
26 and/or the ba~t 28 the p~rtially joined batts are conveysd to a
conveyor 36 which ~ransports the batts to a w~rk tabls 38 where a
worker grabs either the batt 26 or the batt 28 and rotates or ~lips the
selected batt onto the o~her ba-~t using the fibrous hinges 22 as a
guide or an alignment aid. ay ~eans of ~his man~al operation a final
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relatively thick laminated product 40 is fo~med as s~own in ~he right
hand Fortion of FIGS. 1, 2 and in FIG. ~.
~ ote that as a result of, e.g., batt 26 being flippe~ or
folded over onto batt 28, the fibers of the original fibrous pillars or
hinges 22 tear as at 42 allowing alignment of the batts to readily ta}ce
place. A unique feature of the fibrous hinges 22 is that they work
either way, i.e., rotation of one b~tt versus another ~ay talce pLace
either in a clockwise or o~unter-clockwise direction. This is due to
the fact that the non-cutting notches 20 do not cut the fibrous
bla~cet and because the hinges 22 are relatively narrGw. If t~e
notches 20 cut too deeply into the material at 22, the hinges will
break too readily thereby greatly increasing the liXlihood of
misalignment of the batts 26, 28 as they are being folded and laminated
together. If the hinges are too wide, the tears at 42 may not take
place. If t'ne tears 42 do not occur, the irsulation may be
objectionably crimped or ocmpressed at the location of the hinges 22
kecause of the strength of the fibers. .~s an illustration, at least a
~ inch deep, 3/4 inch wide notch should be used for fibrous insulation
inches to 7~2 inches thick. T~ h this configuration, the fibrous
insulation will merely be crus'ned within the notches and not cut.
By this method and apparatus, a lamina-ted relatively thick
product 40 may be formed whose exterior edges are substantially alig~led
and which does not have an objectionable continuous hinge along one
surface (due to the small number of narrow hinges 22). The nl~nber of
discrete fibrous hinges 22 T~hich are fonmed in the original cured
insulation blanket is dependent u~on -the length of the blanket and upon
choice.
Furthermore, while the process has been described ~s ~n in-
line process, the process step of laminating the tw~ insulation batts
may ke done off the production line. .~lso, while a generally
contir.uous type of slitter described in the present invention may be
used, it is quite possible that a reclprocating type of cutter may be
used in order to ~rm discontinuous cuts thereby forming t~e discrete
fibrous pillars or hinges 22. Lastly, while the flipping of t~e katts
has keen disclosed as a ~anual operation, it is clear that this
operation may be perfor~ed by a suitable mechanism.
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'~hile the slitter blade 16 has been shown as being disposed
above the anvil roll 24, it is quite possible to position the slitter
blade on the bottom and generate the f.ibrous hinges in the insulation
blanket 12. Again, this is due to the fact that the r.on-cutting
5 notches 20 do not cut the fibrous blanket.
It is also possible to use a plurality of slitter bl~des 16
in order to form a plurality of batts which may be rotated, c~unter
rotated or flip-flopped one onto the other to form a multiple layer
laminated relatively thick blanket. In this way the orlginal blanket
would be slit thereby forming an accordian-like insulating
material. The wGrker at the end of the production line would simply
alternately flip and ~hen flop one batt on-to another. It is clear
therefore, that the present me~hod and apparatus can provide for
extremely thick insulation.
The present method and apparatus does not produce an
objectionable bulge of material or a hinge because ~ost oE -the fibers
at the discrete fibrous hinges or pillars actually separate and ~ull
apart, leaving only a small portion of the heiqhts of the pillar intact
when the batts are ~olded over (The direction of rotation is
unimp~rtant, as explained earlier). The size and number of pilLars can
be vari.ed to suit the requirements of the product and the producti.on
line.
~ hat is claimed is:
