AU648941B2 - Improved insulation - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 648941 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: UNIONKRAFT PTY. LTD.

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*4 p a Address for Service: Invention Title: Details of Associated 5 DECEMBER 1991 CULLEN CO., Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 240 Queen Street, Brisbane, Qld. 4000, Australia.

IMPROVED INSULATION Provisional Application: No. PK9849 FILED The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: a

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Pi THIS INVENTION relates to improved insulation for buildings, and a method for installation of that insulation.

It is known to use batts in ceilings for insulation purposes. Typically, such batts are in the form of rectangular slabs of loosely matted glass fibres.

The fibreglass batts are dimensioned or cut to fit between the joists in the ceiling, and are laid directly on top of the ceiling, between the joists. The fibreglass material, or more correctly the air entrapped between the glass fibres, acts as an insulating layer between the ceiling and the roof, helping to reduce heat flow through the ceiling.

The insulating effect of fibreglass batts is due largely to the air trapped between the thin glass filaments. It is known that air is a good insulator.

The degree of thermal insulation can be increased by increasing the thickness of the fibreglass batt.

However, increasing the thickness of the batt also increases the amount of fibreglass material required, and hence the cost of the batt.

In an attempt to overcome the problems associated with fibreglass batts, it has been proposed to use reflective insulation batts of the type described in Australian patent no. 511833. Such batts comprise two spaced-apart reflective layers, the air trapped between the layers forming an insulating layer. The reflective batts are laid transversely across the top of the ceiling joists so as to be spaced from the ceiling itself. In this manner, the air between the ceiling and the reflective batts acts as a further insulating layer.

However, the reflective batts also possess certain disadvantages. For example, as the batts are laid across the joists, they conceal the location of the joists, thereby making it very difficult for builders and tradesmen to move around on the ceiling.

Furthermore, the two outer reflective layers of each batt are spaced apart by web portions hinged

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C C 3 thereto. The batts are normally purchased in a flat, closed form in which the two layers are juxtaposed faceto-face, and then moved transversely relative to each other to pivot the web portions and thereby space the layers apart. If excess w-ight is placed on the layers however, or if the layers are moved transversely in the opposite direction, the layers may once again return to the juxtaposed face-to-face configuration, rendering them largely ineffective for insulating purposes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved building insulation which overcomes or ameliorates the abovedescribed disadvantages of known batts or which at least provides the consumer with a useful choice.

In one broad form, this invention provides building insulation comprising: freestanding spacer means placed on the topside of a ceiling of the building between ceiling joists; and a layer of insulating material supported by the spacer means and located between the ceiling joists, whereby a layer of air is substantially entrapped between the ceiling and the insulation.

According to another form of this invention, o• there is provided a method of installing building e :25 insulation, comprising the steps of placing freestanding spacer means on the topside of a ceiling of the building between ceiling joists, and placing a layer of insulating material on top of the spacer means between the ceiling joists, whereby a layer of air is substantially entrapped 30 and between the ceiling and the insulation. This layer of air acts as a thermal insulator, and augments the insulative effect of the insulation itself.

In the preferred embodiment, the layer of insulation material is in the form of one or more batts, and the spacer means comprises an open or distributed self-supporting frame adapted to support the batt(s) in an elevated position above the ceiling, and generally Sparallel thereto. Typically, a separate supporting frame 4 is provided for each batt.

Preferably, each frame comprises a pair of interlocking, opposed V-shaped cardboard strips which form a self-standing structure. Such a frame can be manufactured economically using readily available materials.

The height of each cardboard strip determines the thickness of the air layer between the insulation and the ceiling. The thickness of the air layer can be increased simply by using cardboard strips of greater height, thereby increasing the degree of thermal insulation.

Each batt may be a relatively low density slab or layer of polymeric material having a reflective sheet member bonded to at least one major face thereof.

Typically, the slab or layer of polymeric material comprises a loose knit mass of thin or finespun, non-woven, polyester fibres which may be carded to some degree to form a fibrillous or fleecy pile. The air trapped within the pile of polyester fibres acts as a thermal insulator. Further, as the polyester fibres are S•flexible, there is negligible risk that the fibres will fracture into small airborne fragments. Hence, unlike conventional batts of glass fibres, the polyester fibre eo 25 insulation material does not pose a health risk to *e persons installing the insulation, nor inhabitants of buildings in which the insulation is installed.

Typically, a heat-reflective sheet is provided on both major faces of the batts. Each heat-reflective 30 sheet may suitably comprise at least one layer of paper, coated or impregnated if desired with a bituminous or fire resistant material, and a reflective metallised film or foil over the outermost surface of the layer(s) of paper. Each reflective sheet may be applied to a respective face of the slab of polyester fibres by bonding with suitable adhesive.

Each batt is suitably dimensioned, or cut on 3q site, to fit between the ceiling joists or the wall studs of a building. When the batts are laid between the joists on the spacer means, the location of each joist remains readily identifiable, thereby enabling persons to walk easily along the joists of the ceiling.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood and put into practice, a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the installation of batts on a ceiling; and Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the part of the supporting frame of Fig. i.

As st.'yqn in Fig. i, the insulation batt 10 of the preferred embodiment is designed to be installed above a ceiling 11 between adjacent ceiling joists 12.

The batt 10 can be pre-dimensioned to fit snugly between the joists 12 spaced at standard spacing, or may be cut to size on site to suit non-standard spacing of the joists 12. The locations of the joists remain readily visible or discernible after the batts have been "installed.

i a "dThe batt 10 of the preferred embodiment comprises a rectangular slab 13 formed by a loosely packed, non-woven, fibrillous or fleecy pile of thin S 25 fibres, for example polyester fibres. However, any other suitable polymeric fibre material may be used. The thinly spun polyester fibres may be at least partially carded to form a roughly stratified fleecy pile. T h e fleecy pile 13 is spongy and may therefore be compressed 30 for packing and distribution.

The flexible polyester fibres are not susceptible to fracturing, and therefore unlikely to pose S• any health risk.

Top and bottom reflective sheets 14 are glued to the major faces of the polyester fibre slab 13. Each reflective sheet member 14 typically comprises at least one layer of paper coated on the outside thereof with a metallised film or foil. The layer(s) of paper may be coated or impregnated with a fire retardant, if desired.

On installation, each batt 10 is spaced above the ceiling 11 by spacer means in the form of a supporting frame 15 placed on the ceiling 11. In the preferred embodiment, the frame 15 is formed by two strips of cardboard 15A, 15B. Each strip 15A, 15B is bent into V-shaped form, and the two opposed V-shaped strips 15A, 15B are interlocked to form a freestanding support structure having a height equal to the width of the strips 15A, 15B. That is, the cardboard strips are configured to be self supported in their edge-on orientation to the ceiling 11. Two half slots 16A, 16B are formed in each respective strip 15A, 15B to facilitate interlocking. Further, a line may be scored on the inside surface of each strip to facilitate the bending of the strip into V-shaped form.

Each supporting frame 15 is located under a respective batt 10, and adjacent frames 15 may abut each other. The supporting frame 15 may be cut easily to suit batts of non-standard sizes.

The abovedescribed insulation system is not only safe, but also provides a higher degree of thermal insulation than conventional batts. During summer, heat from above will be reflected by the top reflective layer 25 14. Further, the transfer of heat will be impeded firstly by the fleecy polyester pile 13 and the air trapped therein, and secondly by the layer of air trapped between the batt 10 and the ceiling 11. During winter, loss of heat through the ceiling 11 is impeded by the 30 layer of air trapped between the ceiling and the batt the reflective layer on the bottom face of the batt and the fleecy pile 13 and layer of air trapped therein.

These individual iiniulative components combine to provide a high level of thermal insulation.

The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the invention, and modifications which are obvious to those skilled in the art may be made thereto without Sdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

For example, other suitable spacer means may be interposed between the ceiling and each batt, e.g.

cardboard or plastic grids, polystyrene blocks or rods.

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Claims (11)

1. 2. Insulation as claimed in claim i, wherein the spacer means comprises an open distributed frame.
2. 3. Insulation as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacer means comprises at least one thin planar strip placed edge-on to the ceiling in a self-supporting configuration.
3. 4. Insulation as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the layer of insulating material is in the form of one or more batts. Insulation as claimed in claim 4, wherein the S. 20 spacer means comprises a separate supporting frame for each batt.
4. 6. Insulation as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the layer of insulating material comprises a fleecy pile of thin non-woven polyester fibres, having a e 25 reflective sheet member bonded to at least one major face thereof.
5. 7. Insulation substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
6. 8. A method of installing building insulation, S 30 comprising the steps of placing freestanding spacer means on the top side of a ceiling of the building between ceiling joists, and placing a layer of insulating o v" material on top of the spacer means between the ceiling joists, whereby a layer of air is substantially entrapped between the ceiling and the insulation.
7. 9. A method of installing insulation as claimed in claim 8, wherein the spacer means comprises an open /09"iT distributed frame. A method of installing insulation as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the spacer means comprises at least one thin planar strip, further comprising the step of placing the strip(s) on its/their edge(s) on the ceiling in a self-supporting configuration.
8. 11. A method of installing insulation as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the layer of insulating material is in the form of one or more batts.
9. 12. A method of installing insulation as claimed in claim 11, wherein the spacer means comprises a separate supporting frame for each batt.
10. 13. A method of installing insulation as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the layer of insulating material comprises a fleecy pile of thin non- woven polyester fibres, having a reflective sheet member bonded to at least one major face thereof.
11. 14. A method of installing insulation substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 20 DATED this sixteenth day of February 1994 UNIONKRAFT PTY. LTD. By their Patent Attorneys S* CULLEN CO. *9 9 9* 9 9 ABSTRACT An insulation batt (10) comprises a layer of thin non- woven polyester fibres carded to form a fleecy pile (13). Reflective sheets (14) are adhered to the top and bottom faces of the polyester layer The batts (10) are placed above a ceiling (11) between the ceiling joists A spacer (15) is interposed between the batt and ceiling (11) so that the layer of air entrapped between the batt (10) and ceiling (11) provides additional thermal insulation. The spacer (15) typically comprises thin cardboard strips (15A, 15B) placed edge-on to the upper surface of the ceiling in a self supporting configuration. S. S **0 S. *o S