| WO/1999/017922 | HONEYCOMB CORE |
| JP3088634 | DIVIDER FOR FOLDING CARDBOARD BOX AND MANUFACTURE OF THE DIVIDER |
| JP09315430 | BOX PALLET |
ROCKWELL, Anthony, L. (5365 Blacklick Eastern Road, Pickerington, OH, 43147, US)
| CLAIMS: 1. An expandable insulation blanket ( 10), comprising: a body of insulation material (12) including a first edge (14) and a second edge (16) wherein said first edge is opposite said second edge; a first slit ( 18) defmmg a first hinge point (20) between a first end (2! ) of said first slit and said first edge, a second hinge point (22) between a second end (23) of said first slit and said second edge and a third hinge point {24} between, a third end (43) of said first slit and said first edge; a first hinge body (26) outlined by said first slit. said first hinge point and said third hinge point; and a second slit (28) extending across said first hinge body and defining a fourth hinge point (30} between said second slit and said first slit. 2. The insulation blanket of claim 1 wherein said first slit is substantially h -shaped (56). 3. The insulation blanket of claim 1 , wherein said insulation material is a polymer material. 4. The insulation blanket of claim 3, wherein said insulation material is selected from a group consisting of non-woven synthetic material, non-woven natural material and mixtures thereof, 5. The insulation blanket of claim 3, wherein said insulation material is selected from a group consisting of thermoplastic fiber material thermosetting fiber material, bicomponent fiber material and mixtures thereof 6. The insolation blanket of claim 5, wherein said insulation material is selected from a group consisting of polyolefhv, polypropylene, potyetVn lene, polyester, avion. rayon, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, cotton, kenaf, silk, cellulose, hemp, jute, sisal, shoddy and mixtures thereof. 7 The insulation blanket of claim 6, wherein said insulation material includes reinforcing fibers selected fiom a group consisting of glass fibers, metal fibers, mineral fibers, carbon fibers, graphite fibers, natural fibers and mixtures thereof 8. The insulation blanket of claim 1 , further including: a third siit (36) defining a fifth hinge point (38) between a first end (39) of said third slit and said second edge (16). a sixth hinge point (40) between a second end {41 ) of said third slit and satd first edge ( 14) and a seventh hinge point (42) between a third end (43) of said third slit and said second edge; a second hinge body (44) outlined by said third slit, said fifth hinge point and said seventh hinge point; and a fourth slit (46) extending across said second hinge body and defining an eighth hmge pomt (48) between said fourth slit and said third slit. 9. The insulation blanket of claim 8, wherein said third si it is substantially h-shaped (56). 10. The insulation blanket of claim 8. wherein said insulation material is a polymer material. 1 1. The insulation blanket of claim 10. wherein said insulation material is selected from a group consisting of non-woven synthetic material. nøn-woven natural material and mixtures thereof 12. The insulation blanket of claim 11. wherein said insulation material is selected from a group consisting of thermoplastic fiber material, thermosetting fiber material, bicomponent fiber material and mixtures thereof. 13 The insulation blanket of claim 12. wheretn said insulation material is selected from a group consisting of polyolefin, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester nylon, rayon, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephathalte. cotton, kenaf. silk, cellulose, hemp, jute, sisal, shoddv and mixtures theteof 14 The insulation blanket of claim 13, wherein said insulation material includes reinforeing fibers selected from a group consisting of glass fibers, metal fibers, mineral fibers, carbon fibers, graphite fibers, natural fibers and mixtures thereof 15 The insulation blanket of claim 1, wherein upon expanding said first hmge body said insulation blanket includes a substantially triangular opening 16 The insulatton blanket of claim 8, wherein upon expanding said first hinge body and said second hinge body said insulation blanket includes two substantially, triangular openings (θ2) 17 An expandable msulation blanket ( 10), comprising: a body of insulation material (12) including a first edge ( 14) and a second edge (16) a substantially h- shaped first slit ( 18) adjacent said first edge. a first hinge body (26) outlined by said first slit: and a second slit (28) extendiag partially across said first bulge body. 18 The insulation blanket of claim 17. further including (a) a substantially h-,shaped third slit (36) adjacent one of said first edge and ,said second edge, (b) a second hinge bod> (44) outlined by said third sht and (c) a fomth slit (46) extending partially across said second hinge body .. |
TECHNICAL FIE LD AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILIT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a die cut insulation blanket that may be made utilizing less material per unit of perimeter area.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Perforated now-woven fabrics of polymer material are well known in the art. Representative examples include U.S. Patents 5,714,107 to Levy et al, 4,615,671 to Bernal and 3,864.198 to Jackson. In each of these prior art patents the polymer material is slit or cut and then subjected to stretching to provide a honeycomb web or open cell structure.
Unfortunately, the stretching of the material to open the honeycomb or cellular structure leads to the tearing of a significant number of the fϊber-to-fiber bonds thereby reducing the strength and integrity of the resulting material. Further, the tearing of so many bonds also increases the friability of the material. Thus, erection of the honeycomb web or cellular material in accordance with prior art methods leads to two significant detrimental results.
Co-pending U.S. Patent Application serial numbers 10/889,442 filed on 12 July 2004 and 1 1/024,081 filed on 28 December 2004 (owned by the assignee of the present invention) disclose a honeycomb web precursor and a method of producing a honeycomb web of polymer material wherein the precursor is erected by folding rather than stretching. Accordingly, the resulting product has improved fiber-to-tiber bond integrity and exhibits reduced friability when compared to prior art cellular structures.
The present invention relates to a further improvement that utilizes a novel slit pattern to produce an expanded panel with substantially triangular shaped openings that is suited for a number of different applications. SUMMAR OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the purposes of the present invention as described herein, an expandable insulation blanket is provided The insulation blanket comprises, a body of insulation material including a first edge and a second edge wherein the first edge is opposite the second edge. The Insulation blanket futther includes a first, substantially h-shaped slit defining a first hinge point between a first end of the first slit and the first edge, a second hmge point between a second end of the first slit and the second edge and a thiid hinge point between a third end of the first slit and the first edge. A first hinge body is outlined by the first slit, the first hinge point and the third hinge point. In addition the insulation blanket includes a second silt extending across the first hinge body and defining a fourth hinge point between the second slit and the first slit The insulation material is a polv mei material The insulation material is selected from a non-wov en synthetic material, a non-woven natural material and mixtures thereof More specifically the insulation material is selected from a group consisting of thermoplastic fiber material thermosetting fiber material, bicomponent fiber material and mixtures thereof. Still more specifically, the insulation material may be selected from a group of materials consisting of poiv olefin, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, nylon, rayon, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, cotton, kenaf. silk, cellulose, hemp, jute, sisal, shoddy and mixtures thereof.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention the insulation material includes reinforcing fibers. Those reinforcing fibers may be selected from a group of materials consisting of glass fibers, metal fibeis, mineral fibers, carbon fibers, graphite fibers, natural fibers and mixtures thereof,
In one possible embodiment of the invention, the insulation blanket further includes a third, substantially h-shaped slit defining a fifth hinge point between a fust end of the third slit and the second edge, a sixth hinge point between a second end of the third slit and the first edge and a seventh hinge point between a third end of the third slit and the second edge Accordingly, a second hinge body is outlined by the third slit, the fifth hinge point and the seventh hinge point Λ fourth slit the fourth siit and the third slit.
In accordance with an additional aspect of the present invention the expandable insulation blanket may be alternatively defined as comprising a body of insulation material including a first edge and a second edge wherein the first edge is opposite the second edge. A substantially h-shaped first slit is provided adjacent the first edge, A first hinge body is outlined by the first slit. In addition, the insulation blanket includes a second slit extending partially across the first hinge body, In one possible embodiment the insulation blanket further includes a substantially h-shaped third slit adjacent one of the first edge and the second edge, a second hinge body outlined by the third slit and a fourth slit extending partially across the second hinge body.
In the following description there is shown and described several possible embodiments of the present invention, simply by way of illustration of some of the modes best suited to earn' out the invention. As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive..
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings incorporated herein and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the present imention and together with the description serve to explain certain principles of the invention, In the drawings:
Figure I is a top plan view illustrating the slitting of an unexpanded first embodiment of the insulation blanket of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a top plan view illustrating the expanded first embodiment of the insulation blanket illustrated in Figure 1 :
Figure 3 is a top plan view illustrating the slitting of an unexpanded second embodiment of the insulation blanket of the present invention; embodiment of the insulation blanket;
Figure 5 is a top plan view illustrating the slintting of an unexpanded third embodiment of the insulation blanket of the present invention, and Figure 6 is a top plan view illustrating the expanded third embodiment of the insulation blanket of the present inv ention.
Referenee will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TH E PREFERRED EMBODIMETS OF O FTHE INVENTION
Reference is now made to Figure 1 illustrating a first embodiment of the insulation blanket 10 of the present invention As shown the insulation blanket 10 includes a body 12 formed from an insulation material The body 12 includes a first edge 14 and a second edge 16 wherein the first and second edges 14, 16 are provided opposite one another,
A typical material useful in the construction of the insulation blanket 10 of the present invention is a non-wo\en synthetic material a non- woven natural material and mixtures thereof The material may include thermoplastic fiber material thermosentting fiber material, bicoraponent fibet material and mixutures thereof Various, polymers are paiticularly useful in the present invention Still more specifically the material may be selected from a group consisting of polyolefin,, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, nylon, rayon, polyethylene terephthalate, pol.ybutyl.eue terephtiiaiate. cotton, kenaf, silk, cellulose, hemp, jute, sisal shoddy and mixtures thereof
The insulation material may furthei include reinfoieing fibers Those reinforcing fibers røay be selected from a group of materials consisting of glass fibers, metal fibers, mineral fibers, carbon fibers, graphite fibers, natural fibers and mixtures thereof. Where glass fibers are utilized the material is typically made from E-glass The glass fibers may be continuous libers or staple ilbets having a length of between about 1 27 and about 7 62 cm The glass fibers typically ha\e a diameter of between about 5 and about 50 microns. includes a first slit IH that is substantially h-shaped. I has, the first slit includes a substantially straight leg 15 and a substantially L-shaped leg 17 The first slit 18 defines a first hinge point 20 between a fust end 21 of the first slit 18 and the first edge 14, a second hinge point 22 between a second end 23 of the first slit 18 and the second edge 16 and a third hinge point 24 between a third end 25 of the first slit 18 and the fiist edge 14, Thus, a fitst hinge bodv 26 is outlined bv the legs 15, 17 of the first slit 18, the first hinge point 20 and the third hinge point 24
As further illustrated in Figure 1 a second sht 28 extends across the first hinge body 26 and defines a fourth hinge point 30 between the second slit 20 and the first slit 18. The second slit 28 divides the first hinge body 26 into a first hinge element 32 extending between the first binge point 20 and the fourth hinge point 30 and a second hinge element 34 extending between the third hinge point 24 and the fourth hinge point 30. Figure 2 illustrates, the embodiment of Figure 1 in the expanded or erected condition More specifically, the body 12 is expanded along the first slit 18 so that the first and second hinge elements 32, 34 open to extend along the first edge 14 of the body 12. I his results in a relatively large triangular shaped opening 35 as the body 12 is expanded and the living hinges unfold at the fust hinge point 20, second hinge point 22. third hinge point 24 and fourth hinge point 30
A second embodiment of the expandable insulation blanket 10 is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. As illustrated in Figure 3, the insulation blanket 10 includes all of the structures illustrated in the Figure 1 embodiment and each of those structures is labeled with an identical ieference number In addition, the insulation blanket 10 illustrated in Figure 3 includes a third slit 36 that is substantially h-shaped. The third sht 36 defines a fifth hinge point 38 between a first end 39 of the third slit 36 and the second edge 16. a sixth hinge point 40 between a second end 41 of the third slit 36 and the first edge 14 and a seventh hinge point 42 between a third end 43 of the third sht and the second edge. A second hinge bod> 44 is outlined by the third slit 36, the fifth hinge point 38 and the seventh hinge point 42. A fourth slit 46 extends across the second hinge body 44 and defines an eighth hinge point 48 between the fourth slit 46 and the third slit 36 expanded or erected position in Figure 4. When expanded, the first hinge body 26 opens to extend straight along the first edge 14 of the insulation blanket 10 while the second hinge body 44 opens to extend straight along the second edge 16 of the insulation blanket. As the hinges open at the hinge points 20, 22, 24, 30, 38, 40, 42 and 48, two triangular shaped openings 35 and 53 are formed.
Yet another embodiment of the insulation blanket 10 of the present invention is il lustra red in the unexpanded position in Figure 5 and the expanded position in Figure 6. This embodiment includes multiple h-shaped slits 56 and multiple straight slits 58 defining multiple hinge bodies 60 along the length of the insulation blanket 10. When the insulation blanket 10 is expanded, the hinge bodies open and extend along the two edges 14, 16 of the body 12 and define a plurality of triangular shaped openings 62.
Depending on the size and number of the h-shaped slits 56. the area covered by the expanded insulation blanket 10, as illustrated in Figure 6, compared to the original area of the insulation blanket 10, as illustrated in Figure 5, may be increased by perhaps 150-500 % When opened and extending along the edges 14, 16 of the blanket 10, the opened hinge bodies 26, 44 and 60 provide a relatively thin or narrow snip of material conveniently located for looping over a hook or other structure. This allows the blanket to be conveniently mounted on a structure to be insulated such as an electrical appliance: that is, a dishwasher, clothes washer, dryer, range top, stove, oven or the like. if desired, the insulation blanket 10 may be set in the erected or expanded condition illustrated in Figures 2, 4 and 6 in one of two ways. In the first way, the expanded insulation blanket 10 is heat treated above the thermoplastic and/or thermosetting fiber melt temperature and then cooled in order to thermally set the polymer material in the expanded or erected shape. Alternatively or in addition, a facing layer (not shown) may be adhered to a first face of the expanded insulation blanket 10. In yet another embodiment, a second facing layer (not shown) may be adhered to a second face of the insulation blanket 10. In either of these embodiments, the facing layers are sufficiently rigid to hold the insulation blanket 10 in the expanded or erected condition thereby maintaining the open cell structure with the triangular shaped openings 62. The first and second facing layers may be facings, foils, paper type facings, fiberglass reinforced mats, EVA (estervinylacetate), rubber materials and highly filled layers of materials around a reinforced web as well as mixtures thereof. The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described to prov ide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled. The drawings and preferred embodiments do not and are not intended to limit the ordinary meaning of the claims in their fair and broad interpretation in any way.
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