U.S. patent application number 12/925108 was filed with the patent office on 2011-04-14 for method of insulation formation and application.
This patent application is currently assigned to UPF Corporation. Invention is credited to Jack R. Pfeffer.
Application Number | 20110086211 12/925108 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46326283 |
Filed Date | 2011-04-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110086211 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pfeffer; Jack R. |
April 14, 2011 |
Method of insulation formation and application
Abstract
The method of forming a lightweight, high performance, glass
fiber blanket for acoustical and thermal insulation, that includes
treating glass fibers with a fluid binding agent at elevated
temperature to form a first cohesive glass fiber layer of thickness
t.sub.1 traveling endwise, and winding that layer into a roll above
a travel zone of that layer, repeating said treating to form a
second cohesive glass fiber layer of thickness t.sub.2 traveling
endwise over said zone below said roll and into an oven, and
unrolling said first layer from said roll to travel into the oven
in overlying surface to surface contacting relation to the
traveling second layer, subjecting said layers to heat treatment
and pressurization in the oven to compress the first and second
layers to a controlled density thickness t.sub.3 which is
substantially less than t.sub.1 and t.sub.2, and to progressively
bond said first and second layers together in laminated relation to
form the blanket, and removing said laminated product from the
oven.
Inventors: |
Pfeffer; Jack R.; (Eagle,
ID) |
Assignee: |
UPF Corporation
|
Family ID: |
46326283 |
Appl. No.: |
12/925108 |
Filed: |
October 15, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11545046 |
Oct 10, 2006 |
7862669 |
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12925108 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
428/213 ;
156/62.8 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B32B 5/26 20130101; F16L
59/026 20130101; D04H 1/4218 20130101; B32B 2309/105 20130101; B32B
37/10 20130101; B32B 38/0036 20130101; B32B 2262/101 20130101; E04B
1/7662 20130101; B32B 2307/304 20130101; B32B 2307/102 20130101;
D04H 1/732 20130101; Y10T 428/24975 20150115; Y10T 428/2495
20150115; B32B 17/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
428/213 ;
156/62.8 |
International
Class: |
B32B 7/02 20060101
B32B007/02; B32B 5/26 20060101 B32B005/26 |
Claims
1. The method of forming a lightweight, high performance, glass
fiber product blanket for acoustical and thermal insulation, that
includes: a) treating glass fibers with a fluid binding agent at
elevated temperature to form a first cohesive glass fiber layer of
thickness t.sub.1 traveling endwise, and winding that layer into a
roll above a travel zone of that layer, b) repeating said treating
to form a second cohesive glass fiber layer of thickness t.sub.2
traveling endwise over said zone below said roll and into an oven,
and unrolling said first layer from said roll to travel into the
oven in overlying surface to surface contacting relation to the
traveling second layer, c) subjecting said layers to heat treatment
and pressurization in the oven to compress the first and second
layers to a controlled density thickness t.sub.3 which is
substantially less than t.sub.1 and t.sub.2, and to progressively
bond said first and second layers together in laminated relation to
form the product blanket, d) and removing said laminated product
from the oven.
2. The method of claim 1 including slitting said laminated blanket
into controlled width sections.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein t.sub.3 is between about 1 inch
and 11/2 inch, and having about 0.105 pounds per square foot
weight.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the weight per cubic foot of the
product is about one of the following: i) 0.84 ii) 1.26.
5. The method of clam 1 including providing and operating endless
conveyor means to contact and convey the first and second layers
through the oven.
6. The product blanket formed by the method of claim 1.
7. The product blanked formed by the method of claim 3.
8. The product blanket formed by the method of claim 4.
9. The method of using the product blanket of claim 1, that
includes: i) installing the blanket as insulation to an aircraft or
marine wall structure, ii) and providing plastic retention pins,
effecting penetration of the pins through the blanket, and securing
the pins to said structure.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the bonding agent is a phenolic
resin sprayed into a falling stream of said glass fibers.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S.
application Ser. No. 10/340,889, filed Jan. 13, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to provision and use of a
lightweight, high performance, glass fiber blanket employed in
aircraft and marine applications to provide thermal and acoustical
insulation; and more particularly concerns an improved method of
producing that blanket.
[0003] For many years aircraft original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) have employed a light weight, high performance, and special
fiberglass for thermal and acoustical insulation. This insulation
is typically 1 inch, 0.42 pounds per cubic foot (pcf); 1 inch, 0.60
pcf; and 3/8 inch, 1.5 pcf.
[0004] The insulation is sold to the OEMs or their fabricators.
[0005] Typically, three layers of 1 inch material are stacked
together and encapsulated in a light weight Mylar film. The
finished blanket, approximately 3 inches thick, is installed in the
aircraft by a series of plastic pins that penetrate the insulation
and are then fastened to the aircraft interior. Caps and washers
are placed over the pins to secure the aircraft blanket in place.
During this process, the insulation is often compressed. Because
the 3 inch blanket is only 0.42 pcf, it is relatively limp and
requires several pins for sidewall and overhead installations to
prevent sagging.
[0006] There is need for an improved process and product which
provides the following advantages: [0007] 1. The fabricator only
needs to handle one layer of material instead of multiple layers.
[0008] 2. Shipping and storage of material requires less space.
[0009] 3. A density product is more rigid and could be fully or
partially friction fitted. This requires fewer pins for application
which, in turn, reduces installed weight per square foot. This is
the OEMs primary objective. [0010] 4. Requires less space in the
interior of the aircraft for insulation which is very critical in
smaller regional aircraft.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is a major object of the invention to provide a highly
affective, and unusually advantageous process and product meeting
the above needs. Basically the unusually advantageous method of
forming the needed lightweight, high performance, glass fiber
blanket for acoustical and thermal insulation, includes the steps:
[0012] a) treating glass fibers with a fluid bonding agent at
elevated temperature to form a first cohesive glass fiber layer of
thickness t.sub.1 traveling endwise, and winding that layer into a
roll above a travel zone of that layer, [0013] b) repeating said
treating to form a second cohesive glass fiber layer of thickness
t.sub.2 traveling endwise over said zone below said roll and into
an oven, and unrolling said first layer from the roll to travel
into the oven in overlying surface to surface contacting relation
to the traveling second layer, [0014] c) subjecting said layers to
heat treatment and pressurization in the oven to compress the first
and second layers to a controlled higher density thickness t.sub.3
which is substantially less than t.sub.1 and t.sub.2, and
progressively bonding said first and second layers together in
laminated relation to form the blanket, [0015] d) and removing the
laminated product from the oven.
[0016] Typically, t.sub.3 is between about 1 inch and 11/2 inch,
and has about 0.105 pounds per square foot weight; and the weight
per cubic foot of the product is one of the following: [0017] i)
0.84 [0018] ii) 1.26.
[0019] As will be seen, the resultant blanket form product is
highly useful in application as insulation for aircraft, as in
fuselages for example, and the method of installation includes the
steps [0020] i) installing the blanket as insulation to an aircraft
wall structure, [0021] ii) and providing plastic retention pins,
effecting penetration of the pins through the blanket, and securing
the pins to said structure.
[0022] It is a further object to provide and operate endless
conveyor means to contact and convey the first and second layers
through the oven; and to slit the produced, conveyor delivered
laminated blanket into controlled width sections enabling direct
installation into aircraft, as referred to.
[0023] These and other objects and advantages of the invention, as
well as the details of an illustrative embodiment, will be more
fully understood from the following specification and drawings, in
which:
DRAWING DESCRIPTION
[0024] FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken through overlying
insulative blankets;
[0025] FIG. 2 is a view showing the two FIG. 1 blankets during
reduction in thickness and bonding;
[0026] FIG. 3 is a section showing installation of the product
composite insulation to aircraft structure; and
[0027] FIGS. 4a and 4b are elevations showing further details of
product formation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] Referring first to FIG. 1, it shows two glass fiber layers
100 and 101 extending in face-to-face relation at 102, and having
thicknesses t.sub.1 and t.sub.2 which are preferably, but not
necessarily the same. Each of the layers 100 and 101 consists
essentially of glass fibers generally uniformly distributed in a
resinous binder, which upon heating as in FIG. 2, becomes cured to
bind the layers 100 and 101 together, at interface 106.
[0029] The glass fibers in each layer typically have cross
dimensions, as for example diameters, between 2.0 and 9.0 HT, where
HT=0.00001 inch. The bulk of the glass fibers have lengths between
1 and 2 microns.
[0030] The total thickness t.sub.1 and t.sub.2 of the layers in
FIG. 1 is preferably about 3 inches.
[0031] FIG. 2 is like FIG. 1, except that the layers are being
compressed and heated in an oven between surfaces 104 and 105, and
to reduced thickness t.sub.3. The resultant cured resinous bond
between the layers is located at 106.
[0032] The elevated curing temperature is typically about
425.degree. F., for binder resin consisting of Phenol Formaldehyde,
Melamine and/or other thermal/set resins. Drying and curing at such
elevated temperature or temperatures is completed during a time
interval between 2 and 4 minutes. The layers are preferably
traveled endwise through a curing oven 110 (see heating elements
111) for that purpose, and thereafter the product blanket is slit
into strips, as may be required. The strips may then be cut into
sections for use in application to aircraft structure such as
frames. See FIG. 3.
[0033] FIGS. 4a and 4b show the complete, flame attenuation
process, with numerals 1-22 applied to elements or steps of the
process. Such numerals identify the following: [0034] 1. holding
tanks for batch glass ingredients [0035] 2. batch weighing and
mixing apparatus [0036] 3. batch transport apparatus [0037] 4.
binder resin tank [0038] 5. batch holding tank, proximate furnace
[0039] 6. apparatus to feed bath ingredients from tank 5 to furnace
7 [0040] 7. furnace operated at or near 2450.degree. F., for
example [0041] 8. bushings (typically consisting of platinum and
rhodium) through which molten glass flows from furnace, at about
1750.degree. F. [0042] 9. rolls to pull glass through bushings, to
produce fibers [0043] 10. burners, for producing hot gas jets to
melt the fibers, to attenuate them into finer fibers displaced or
blown rightwardly (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,121) to mix with binder
resin, sprayed at 11 [0044] 11. binder spray nozzles receiving
binder pumped from 4 [0045] 12. roll, feeding backer sheet to
travel rightwardly on chain conveyor 15, within enclosure 13a, to
support the homogenized (mixed) glass fibers and binder resin,
collecting at 13 [0046] 13. homogenized mix collection [0047] 14.
forming fans [0048] 15. chain conveyor [0049] 16. curing oven
through which formed layers travel and laminate (see layers 100 and
100a, in FIG. 2) [0050] 17. slitters, to slit cured product into
strips [0051] 18. choppers to cut strips to selected length [0052]
19. roll-up roll, for roll-up of product sheet as in FIG. 4a. FIG.
4b shows unrolling of the rolled first sheet 100 onto second sheet
101 being formed and fed to curing oven 16 [0053] 20. furnace air
pollution control and treating apparatus [0054] 21. oven gas
pollution control and treating apparatus [0055] 22a. roll of rolled
up first (upper layer 100 (see FIG. 4a) [0056] 22a'. roll 22a being
unrolled (see FIG. 4b) to feed layer 100 onto layer 101 [0057] 23.
laminated composite product traveling on conveyor 24a, toward
slitters 17.
[0058] The resultant laminated blanket product indicated at 120 in
FIG. 3 is in one layer, and typically replaces the need for three
layers. For example, the density of the product is typically, but
not limited to the following: [0059] 0.84 pound per cubic foot
(pcf) where t.sub.3 is 11/2 inches, or [0060] 1.26 pcf where
t.sub.3=1 inch.
[0061] In each of the above, the density of the original layers 100
and 101 is 0.42 pcf (three inches total original thickness t.sub.1
to t.sub.2).
[0062] In each of the above the weight per square foot of the
product is 0.105 lbs.
[0063] Accordingly, the weight per square foot of the layer 100
unrolled from the base roll is 0.0525; and the weight per square
foot of the layer 101 being produced (in FIGS. 4a and 4b) is
0.0525.
[0064] The top oven conveyor is then set to 11/2''. The base roll
is unrolled on top of the material being produced and both layers
are fed into the oven. As both layers contain uncured resin, the
two layers are laminated into one finished layer, being bonded by
the resin being cured in the oven.
[0065] The finished product is then slit to the proper width and
rolled.
[0066] FIG. 3 shows application of the composite product to
aircraft frame or support structure 50, which may be metallic, as
by fasteners at 51, to protect structure 50. Note that the
composite blanket is locally compressed at 52, as by such
fasteners. The composite itself is openly exposed to aircraft
interior zone 60. Sections 53 of the composite completely and
openly cover selected areas defined by the frame. The sections 53
may be installed in abutting edge-to-edge configuration, as at
54.
* * * * *