Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02530271 2005-12-15
IMPROVED INSULATION MATERIAL
Background of the Invention
(1) Field of the Invention
[0001]The present invention relates generally to loose fill insulation, and
more
specifically to a pourable loose fill insulation that may be installed by
pouring the
insulation into the area to be insulated without blowing.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
[0002]Generally, to install loose fill insulation, it is necessary to use a
blower.
Insulation is often compacted during packaging and shipment so as to reduce
shipping
costs, thereby requiring a blower to install the insulation. However, since
one-half of all
insulation sales are for jobs covering only up to 200 square feet, it can be
costly to rent or
buy a blower. Further, many blowers are bulky and difficult for a do-it-
yourselfer to
operate. Thus, for small insulation installations especially, blowing
insulation is often
impractical.
[0003]Further, though rolls of insulation are available, rolling out
insulation can
be more difficult than would first appear. Blowing insulation is often easier
than rolling
out insulation.
[0004]'Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved, pourable insulation
material, which may be installed by pouring the product straight from the bag
and
packaged in such a way that the package density of the insulation is at least
about equal
to the density of the insulation at installation.
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Summary of the Invention
[0005]The present invention is directed to an improved, pourable insulation
material system. The improved insulation system may include: (a) an insulation
component further including an expansion ratio modifying agent, (b) a
compression
package, wherein the packed insulation density is greater than the installed
insulation
density, and (c) a secondary container for receiving the compression package.
[0006]Also in the preferred embodiment, the insulation material may be
selected
from the group consisting of fibrous material, granular material, pellet
material,
agglomerated material, aggregated material and mixtures thereof. 'The
insulation material
may also be an inorganic material selected from the group consisting of
fiberglass, rock
wool, pearlite, mineral wool, asbestos, and mixtures thereof.
[0007]In the preferred embodiment, the insulation material may also be
organic.
The organic material may be a natural material. The natural material may be
cellulosic.
[0008]The insulation material may also be a non-conductive material.
Preferably,
the non-conductive material may be a thermally non-conductive material or an
acoustically non-conductive material. The non-conductive material may be an
electrically non-conductive material.
[0009]In the preferred embodiment, the insulation system may further include
an
expansion ratio modifying agent (ERMA). Preferably, the expansion ratio
modifying
agent is a fiber or a particulate_ Also preferably, the expansion ratio
modifying agent
may be selected from the group consisting of synthetic or natural fibers such
as
polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, polyester or polyester terephthalate,
cotton, hemp,
glass, mineral wool, and mixtures thereof. The fibers may be chopped to a
specific
average length or continuous and of indeterminate length. The fibers of a
determinate
length may have various aspect ratios of fiber length to fiber diameter.
[0010]Also in the preferred embodiment, the amount of expansion ratio
modifying agent may be greater than about 1 wt.%. Preferably, the amount of
expansion
ratio modifying agent may be between about 1 wt.% and 20 wt.%.
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[0011]In the preferred embodiment, the insulation system may further include
an
expansion ratio coloring agent (ERCA). The ERCA may be inorganic. Preferably,
the
ERCA is selected from the group consisting of: inorganic and organic pigments,
dyes,
tints, or materials that contain a coloring agent, or materials that have
color that is present
for another use and not to impart color to the original material or the
insulation system,
and mixtures thereof. The materials may be natural or synthetic.
[0012]Preferably, the compression package may be gravity dispensed. Further,
the package may be a preformed bag. Further, the package may have improvements
such
as slots, braces, holes, or other devices or designs to enhance the expansion
of the product
during application so that a greater expansion from high to low density at
installation can
be made. In the preferred embodiment, the ratio of the packed insulation
density to the
installed insulation density is between about 3'/z and 10 to 1.
[0013]Also, in the preferred embodiment, the secondary container may be
flexible, semi-rigid, or rigid. The secondary container may be a Gaylord
package.
1 S Preferably, the secondary container may be adapted to receive a plurality
of packages.
[0014]Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide an
improved,
pourable insulation material system. The system may include: (a) an insulation
component, and (b) a compression package, wherein the packed insulation
density is
about equal to the installed insulation density.
[0015]Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved,
pourable
insulation material system. The system may include: (a) an insulation
component further
including an expansion ratio modifying agent, and (b) a compression package,
wherein
the packed insulation density is greater than the installed insulation
density.
[0016]Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved,
pourable insulation material system. The system may include: (a) an insulation
component further including an expansion ratio modifying agent, (b) a
compression
package, wherein the packed insulation density is greater than the installed
insulation
density, and (c) a secondary container for receiving the compression package.
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[0017~These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to
those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the
preferred
embodiment when considered with the drawings.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
[0018]Figure 1 is an illustration of a compression package filled with
insulation
constructed according to the present invention;
[0019]Figure 2 is an illustration of a Gaylord package filled with several
compression packages constructed according to the present invention; and
[0020]Figure 3 is a graphical representation of the expansion ratio versus the
expansion ratio modifying agent concentration showing the increased expansion
ratio of
the insulation product as the concentration of the expansion ratio modifying
agent
increases.
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Description of the Preferred Embodiments
[0021]In the following description, like reference characters designate like
or
corresponding parts throughout the several views. Also in the following
description, it is
to be understood that such terms as "forward," "rearward," "left," "right,"
"upwardly,"
"downwardly," and the like are words of convenience and are not to be
construed as
limiting terms.
[0022]Referring now to the drawings in general and Figure 1 in particular, it
will
be understood that the illustrations are for the purpose of describing a
preferred
embodiment of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention
thereto.
[0023]As best seen in Figure 1, an improved pourable insulation material
system
10 is shown. The system includes an insulation component 12 and a compression
package 14. The density of the packed insulation is at least about equal to
the insulation
density after installation 16.
[0024]Generally, the insulation component 12 is selected from the group
consisting of fibrous material, granular material, pellet material,
agglomerated material,
aggregated material and mixtures thereof. Also, the insulation component 12 is
inorganic, and is selected from the group consisting of fiberglass, rock wool,
pearlite,
mineral wool, asbestos, and mixtures thereof. Alternatively, the insulation
component 12
is organic.
[0025]The organic material is a natural material, and is cellulosic. The
insulation
component 12 is a non-conductive material, and is a thermally non-conductive
material
or an acoustically non-conductive material. The non-conductive material is an
electrically non-conductive material.
[0026]Also as seen in Figure 1, the package 14 is gravity dispensed. Further,
in
the preferred embodiment, the package 14 is a pre-formed bag.
[0027]Turning now to Figure 2, there is shown a secondary container 16 for
receiving the compression package 14. The secondary container 16 is semi-
rigid.
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Further, the secondary container 16 is a Gaylord package. Also, the secondary
container
16 is adapted to receive a plurality of compression packages 14.
[0028jPreferably, the ratio of the packed insulation density to the installed
insulation density is between about 3'/2 and 10 to 1.
[0029]In the preferred embodiment, the insulation system includes an expansion
ratio expansion ratio modifying agent (ERMA). The ERMA is preferable a fiber
or a
particulate. Further, the ERMA may be selected from the group consisting of:
synthetic
or natural fibers such as polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, polyester or
polyester
terephthalate, cotton, hemp, glass, mineral wool, and mixtures thereof. In the
most
preferred embodiment, the ERMA is chopped polyester terephthalate (PET) fiber.
[0030)As best seen in Figure 3, there is shown a graphical representation of
the
effect of the wt.% of ERMA on the expansion ratio (ER) of the insulation
material. As
used herein, ER is the ratio of packed density to poured density of the
insulation material.
Generally, the amount of ERMA is greater than about 1 wt.% with between about
1
wt.% and 20 wt.% being the preferred range.
[0031)As can be seen, the curve of ER v. wt.% of ERMA unrepentantly flattens
out to almost a horizontal line above about 20 wt.% ERMA for a cellulose/PET
fiber
insulation/ERMA system. Additional amounts of ERMA appear to provide little
improvement in ER for this particular insulation system.
[0032] While, it is believed that the ER will behave differently in other
fiber type
insulation systems, such as fiberglass insulation, those systems should
generally follow
the relationship illustrated in Figure 3.
[0033)Another unexpected result is that this expansion upon pouring occurs
without further manipulation, such as blowing, of the fiber matrix. Typically,
in the prior
art, when opening a bag of cellulose insulation, there is no expansion per se
without
further manipulation such as with a blowing machine. The product comes out in
unexpanded clumps. This is true even when paper mulch has seed and fertilizer
added to
it, in which case, it falls to the ground and has to be spread by hand, thus
opening the
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fiber through manual manipulation. Accordingly, cellulose and chopped
fiberglass
insulation, for example, are generally blown in order to cause the insulation
to expand
greater than its packed density. However, in the present invention, the
expansion ratio
exists even when there is no further manipulation upon the part of the
installer beyond
simple leveling of the poured mass. Little or any further energy or special
equipment is
required to produce a satisfactory expansion.
[0034]Finally, as used herein, "pourability" is particularly intended to
describe the
ability of insulation systems constructed according to the present invention
to reach the
ER without further manipulation. However, "pourability" also refers generally
to the
additional ability of the insulation system of the present invention to exit
its bag easily.
[0035]The insulation system may further include an expansion ratio coloring
agent (ERCA). In the preferred embodiment, the ERCA is inorganic. The
inorganic
ERCA may be selected from the group consisting of: inorganic and organic
pigments,
dyes, tints, or materials that contain a coloring agent, or materials that
have color that is
present for another use and not to impart color to the original material or
the insulation
system, and mixtures thereof. The materials may be natural or synthetic.
[0036]Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in
the
art upon a reading of the foregoing description. For instance, the insulation
may include
a fire retardant component. Further, the insulation may contain pesticides,
such as
herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, insecticides, and other pest preventing
agents. It
should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been
deleted
herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the
scope of the
following claims.
71000.doc
