Johns Manville

Other

Schuller International, Inc.

Robert J Allwein

Larry J Weinstein

Jo M Teague, Iii

William H Olbert

Blake Boyd Bogrett

John A Fry

Vern C Plotts

Dennis Robert Larratt

Blake B Bogrett

Blake Bogrett

John Brooks Smith

Dean E Eppinger

Emerson C Harvey, Iii

Vernon C Plotts

An apparatus and method for loading insulation batts into a packaging station of a batt-packaging machine includes: an up-stacking station for receiving a plurality of the insulation batts to form a vertical stack of the insulation batts; a staging station from which the insulation batts are elevated into the up-stacking station of the batt-packaging machine; batt engaging members of a first endless conveyor on the first side of the staging station for successively feeding batts into the staging station; batt engaging members of a second endless conveyor on the second side of the staging station for successively engaging the bottom major surfaces of the insulation batts as the insulation batts are successively fed into the staging station and in cooperation with the batt engaging members of the first endless conveyor for vertically raising the insulation batts from the staging station into the up-stacking station.

Apparatus and method for loading a packaging station of an insulation batt packager

At least one longitudinally extending series of cuts and separable connectors is formed in a fibrous insulation blanket with one or more rotating compression-cutting blades and a cooperating anvil to form separable blanket sections in the insulation blanket. The size and configuration of the teeth and notches in the compression-cutting blade, which may be determined through the use of an empirical equation, insure that the insulation blanket has the integrity to be handled and installed as a unit, but can be separated by hand into the blanket sections. The anvil has a moving surface that drives the compression-cutting blade at the velocity blanket is being fed between the cutting blade and the anvil.

Compression-cutting assembly and method

An insulation package contains a plurality of unfaced or faced, uncut and pre-cut fibrous insulation batts of a pre-selected width enveloped within a covering in a compressed condition. Each of the pre-cut fibrous insulation batts has a plurality of longitudinally extending batt sections separably joined to adjacent batt sections by separable connectors. The separable connectors hold the pre-cut fibrous insulation batt together for handling but can be separated along the lengths of the batt sections by hand to separate adjacent batt sections. Preferably, between 20% and 70% of the fibrous insulation batts in each of the insulation packages are pre-cut fibrous insulation batts.

Insulation batt and package

An elongated fibrous insulation blanket is pre-cut for custom fitting the insulation blanket into wall, floor, ceiling and roof cavities of different widths formed by the framework of a building. The blanket has at least one, preferably two or three, series of cuts extending between major surfaces of the blanket with successive cuts of each series of cuts being separated by a series of separable connectors located intermediate the major surfaces of the blanket. Each series of separable connectors hold together adjacent sections of the blanket for handling, but are separable by hand so that the blanket can be handled as a unit for insulating a cavity having a predetermined width or easily separated by hand into two or more sections at one or more of the series of separable connectors for insulating a cavity having a lesser width. Either major surface of the blanket may have a facing bonded thereto with one or more perforated lines or overlapping tabs in the facing permitting the facing to be separated by hand at each series of cuts and separable connectors. Preferably, the perforations of any perforated line(s) in the facing are closed by the bonding agent bonding the facing to the blanket so that the facing functions as a vapor barrier in spite of the perforations.

Pre-cut fibrous insulation for custom fitting wall cavities of different widths

An elongated fibrous insulation blanket is pre-cut for custom fitting the insulation blanket into wall, floor, ceiling and roof cavities of different widths formed by the framework of a building. The blanket has one or more cuts extending for the length of the blanket which separate the blanket into two or more longitudinally extending sections. Adjacent sections of the blanket are joined together along the cut(s) by separable adhesive connectors which hold together the sections of the blanket for handling, but are separable by hand along the cut(s) so that the blanket can be handled as a unit for insulating a cavity having a predetermined width or easily separated by hand into two or more sections at a cut for insulating a cavity having a lesser width. The pre-cut insulation blanket may have a facing sheet, overlaying and bonded to a major surface of the blanket, that is separable by hand along the cut(s).

A resilient fibrous insulation blanket is compression-cut longitudinally at one and typically a plurality of laterally spaced apart locations to form a form a pre-cut fibrous insulation blanket having a plurality of blanket sections that can be separated from each other by hand. The compression cutting of the blanket to form the blanket sections causes a first major surface of the blanket to become temporarily deformed and destabilized. When the blanket is faced, the facing is applied to the other major surface of the blanket while the first major surface is still deformed. Where the blanket is formed from a wider blanket, the wider blanket is at least partially cut prior to the compression-cutting operation to reduce lateral stresses in the blanket when the blanket is compression-cut.

Compression-cutting and facing method

Pre-cut fibrous insulation blanket

Facings for pre-cut fibrous insulation blankets

An easy-opening insulation package for containing a stack of resilient insulation batts, such as but not limited to glass fiber insulation batts, is formed from a sheet material. The sheet material completely encircles the batts and has a stress riser that extends longitudinally with respect to the batts for the length of the batts. Preferably, the sheet material has at least one tear line, such as a perforated line, extending generally perpendicular to and crossing the stress riser for creating an opening in the package through the rupture of the sheet material by hand along the perforated line and for permitting the stress riser to be separated by hand from the opening created along the perforated line to gain access to the batts within the package. Preferably, the ends of the package are closed and the perforated line completely encircles the package to permit the package to be separated into two sections by rupturing the perforated line along its entire length.

Tool free, easy-opening insulation package

An elongated fibrous insulation blanket is pre-cut for custom fitting the insulation blanket into wall, floor, ceiling and roof cavities of different widths formed by the framework of a building. The blanket has one or more cuts extending for the length of the blanket which separate the blanket into two or more longitudinally extending sections. Adjacent sections of the blanket are joined together along the cut(s) by separable connectors which hold together the sections of the blanket for handling, but are separable by hand along the cut(s) so that the blanket can be handled as a unit for insulating a cavity having a predetermined width or easily separated by hand into two or more sections at a cut for insulating a cavity having a lesser width. Preferably, the separable connectors are formed by portions of sheets, overlaying and bonded to either or both major surfaces of the blanket, that are separable by hand along the cut(s) or by strips that extend along the cut(s) and are bonded to either or both major surfaces of the blanket on each side of the cut(s).

A fibrous insulation blanket is pre-cut for custom fitting the insulation blanket into wall, floor, ceiling and roof cavities of different widths formed by the framework of a building. The insulation blanket has one or more pairs of longitudinally extending cuts in the major surfaces of the blanket. Each pair of cut(s) leaves a separable connector within the blanket between adjacent sections of the insulation blanket whereby the blanket can be handled as a unit for insulating a cavity having a width about equal to the width of the blanket or easily separated or torn apart by hand at a separable connector for insulating a cavity having a lesser width. A major surface of the blanket may have a facing bonded thereto that is separable by hand along the cut(s) in the major surface to facilitate separating the blanket by hand.

Pre-cut fibrous insulation for custom fitting building cavities of different widths

A portable batt cutter custom cuts standard width, continuous, extended length fibrous insulation blankets at a construction site to form batts with specific dimensions corresponding to the dimensions of the structural framework cavities to be insulated. The portable batt cutter includes storage for retaining a fibrous insulation blanket; a feed mechanism for feeding the fibrous insulation blanket from the storage to a transverse cutter; and the transverse cutter which makes a transverse cut across the width of the fibrous insulation blanket to determine the length of the batt. The portable batt cutter may also include a cutter for making a longitudinal cut in the fibrous insulation blanket to form a batt having a width less than the width of the fibrous insulation blanket and a measuring device to measure the length of the batt prior to forming the transverse cut in the fibrous insulation blanket. The portable batt cutter has a size and weight enabling the cutter to be readily moved from construction site to construction site.

Growing community of inventors

Highlands Ranch, CO, United States of America

Robert J Allwein