Patent Application
20240175255
The present technology relates to structural framing assemblies, and more particularly to the insulation of structural members through the use of thermal breaks.
Regulating the thermal performance of buildings and structures is an important consideration in design and manufacture as to minimize temperature changes and reduce costs related to heating and cooling structure. Current methods use a variety of insulation types positioned within a cavity formed between the structural members of the frame, but fail to directly insulate the structural members themselves. Conventional structural members are often manufactured from material having high thermal transmittance and poor insulation properties, such as wood or metal, and may introduce a major source of heat transfer. Therefore, there is an interest in addressing potential heat transfer through the frame of various buildings and structures.
The terms “invention,” “the invention,” “this invention” and “the present invention” used in this patent are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this patent and the patent claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described therein or to limit the meaning or scope of the patent claims below. Embodiments of the invention covered by this patent are defined by the below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the invention and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings and each claim.
Embodiments of the present invention may encompass framing assemblies that may include a plurality of framing members that are coupled together to form a cavity. Each of the plurality of framing members may include a structural member. The structural member may include a lateral surface extending along a length of the structural member. The structural member may include an exterior-facing surface extending along the length of the structural member. The exterior-facing surface may extend from a first edge of the lateral side in a substantially orthogonal direction relative to the lateral surface. The structural member may include an interior-facing surface opposite the exterior-facing surface and extending from a second edge of the lateral surface. The framing assembly may include at least one insulation member secured to one or both of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface of the structural member. A width of each insulation member may substantially match a width of a respective one of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface.
In some embodiments, the framing assemblies may include an external board coupled with the exterior-facing surface of at least some of the plurality of framing members and that at least partially covers the cavity. The framing assemblies may include an internal board coupled with the interior-facing surface of at least some of the plurality of framing members and that at least partially covers the cavity. Each insulation may include foam. The framing assemblies may include an insulation material disposed within the cavity. The insulation material may include at least one material selected from the group consisting of: spray foam insulation, pour in place insulation, an insulation batt, reflective insulation, radiant insulation, loose-fill insulation, and blown-in insulation. A thermal transmittance of the at least one insulation member may be less than about 0.1 BTU/hr-ft-° F. The at least one insulation member may include a first insulation member and a second insulation member. The first insulation member may be coupled with the exterior-facing surface. The second insulation member may be coupled with the interior-facing surface.
Some embodiments of the present technology may encompass structural framing members. The framing members may include a structural member. The structural member may include a lateral surface extending along a length of the structural member. The structural member may include an exterior-facing surface extending along the length of the structural member. The exterior-facing surface may extend from a first edge of the lateral side in a substantially orthogonal direction relative to the lateral surface. The structural member may include an interior-facing surface opposite the exterior-facing surface and extending from a second edge of the lateral surface. The framing members may include an insulation member secured to one or both of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface of the structural member. A width of the insulation member may substantially match a width of a respective one of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface.
In some embodiments, the insulation member may provide a thermal insulating performance of at least R-3 per inch. The insulation member may be secured to the structural member with a bond strength of at least 50 pounds per square inch. The insulation member may have a density between 1 lb/ft3 and 10 lb/ft3. The insulation member may be secured to the structural member using one or more adhesives. The insulation member may be secured to the structural member without adhesives or mechanical fasteners. The width of the insulation member may be within 20% of the width of the respective one of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface. The framing member may include at least one material selected from the group consisting of wood, engineered wood, oriented strand board, concrete, and steel.
Some embodiments of the present technology may encompass methods of manufacturing a structural framing member. The methods may include providing a structural member. The structural member may include a lateral surface extending along a length of the structural member. The structural member may include an exterior-facing surface extending along the length of the structural member. The exterior-facing surface may extend from a first edge of the lateral surface in a substantially orthogonal direction relative to the lateral surface. The structural member may include an interior-facing surface opposite the exterior-facing surface and extending from a second edge of the lateral surface. The methods may include adhering a foam insulation member to one or both of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface of the structural member. a width of the foam insulation member may substantially match a width of a respective one of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface.
In some embodiments, adhering the foam insulation may include applying uncured foam to one or both of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface of the structural member. Adhering the foam insulation may include curing the foam such that a tackiness of the foam adheres the foam to the structural member without use of adhesives or mechanical fasteners. Adhering the foam insulation may include applying an adhesive to one or both of the foam insulation member and the structural member. Adhering the foam insulation may include positioning the foam insulation member against the respective one of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface. Applying the adhesive may include at least one action selected from the group consisting of spraying the adhesive, roll-coating the adhesive, and applying a bead of the adhesive. The methods may include applying pressure to one or both of the foam insulation member and the structural member after positioning the foam insulation member against the respective one of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of various embodiments may be realized by reference to the following figures. In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.
The subject matter of embodiments of the present invention is described here with specificity to meet statutory requirements, but this description is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claims. The claimed subject matter may be embodied in other ways, may include different elements or steps, and may be used in conjunction with other existing or future technologies. This description should not be interpreted as implying any particular order or arrangement among or between various steps or elements except when the order of individual steps or arrangement of elements is explicitly described.
In the following description, positional terms like “above,” “below,” “vertical,” “horizontal,”, “bottom,” “top,” and the like are sometimes used to aid in explaining and specifying features illustrated in the drawings as presented, that is, in the orientation in which labels of the drawings read normally.
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to insulated framing members and methods of manufacturing such framing members. Embodiments of the insulated framing members may include structural members (such as framing boards) that include an insulating member, such as foam, on the exterior-facing and/or interior-facing surface of the structural member. Such insulating framing members may help insulate the structural members of a framing assembly to reduce the amount of heat transfer through the structural members. Embodiments may provide this additional level of insulation without the need to use insulation boards that extend over and cover all or a portion of a cavity defined by the framing members, which may help reduce the amount of materials needed to prevent heat transfer through the structural members. Additionally, embodiments may provided increased thickness relative to conventional framing members, which may provide deeper cavities that may accommodate higher volumes of more cost effective cavity insulation. This may enable the total insulation level of the structure to be improved.
As shown generally in
The structural members 110 may be coupled with other structural members to form at least a portion of the framing assembly 100 using a variety of coupling tools such as mechanical fasteners and/or adhesives. The structural members 110, as shown in
As noted above, each structural member 110 may be coupled with one or more insulation members 118, which may help insulate the structural members 110 and reduce heat transfer through the structural members 110 of a given framing assembly 100. For example, the addition of the insulation member 118 to the structural member creates a thermal break between the exterior of the framing assembly 100 and the structural member 110 as to reduce the transmission of temperature. Each insulation member 118 may be positioned at and secured to the exterior-facing surface 114 or the interior-facing surface 116 of the structural member 110 to insulate the respective surface. While shown with framing member 102 including only a single insulation member 118 (e.g., either on the exterior-facing surface 114 or the interior-facing surface 116 of the structural member 110), it will be appreciated that in some embodiments multiple insulation members 118 (e.g., at least one insulation member 118 on each of the exterior-facing surface 114 and the interior-facing surface 116 of the structural member 110) may be used in some embodiments. In embodiments with multiple insulation members 118, each insulation member 118 may be identical, or may have different makeups and/or structures (e.g., different chemical composition and/or dimensions). Additionally, in some embodiments a single surface (e.g., the exterior-facing surface 114 or the interior-facing surface 116 of the structural member 110) may include multiple insulation members 118 provided as different layers stacked atop one another.
Each insulation member 118 may include an insulation material, such as an insulating foam, or non-foam material. For example, the insulating foam may include a polyisocyanurate foam, a polyurethane foam, a polystyrene foam, a phenolic foam, and/or other type of foam. Non-foam insulating members may include fiberglass, mineral fiber, wood fiber, polyester fiber, or other materials made from natural or synthetic fibers. In some embodiments, the insulation member 118 may have a density of between about 1 lb/ft3 and 10 lb/ft, between about 2 lb/ft3 and 9 lb/ft3 between about 3 lb/ft3 and 8 lb/ft3, between about 4 lb/ft3 and 7 lb/ft3, or between about 5 lb/ft3 and 6 lb/ft3. The insulation member 118 may have an R-value of at least about R-3 per inch, at least about R-4 per inch, at least about R-5 per inch, at least about R-6 per inch, or greater.
The insulating member 118 may include an insulating strip that has a width that is substantially the same as a width of the exterior-facing surface 114 and/or the interior-facing surface 116. For example, the width of the insulating member 118 may be within about 20%, within about 15%, within about 10%, within about 5%, within about 3%, within about 1%, or less of the width of the exterior-facing surface 114 and/or the interior-facing surface 116. In some embodiments, the insulating member 118 may be centered about the exterior-facing surface 114 and/or the interior-facing surface 116 such that the insulating member 118 substantially covers (or extends slightly beyond one or both edges of) the exterior-facing surface 114 or the interior-facing surface 116 to provide thermal insulation to the structural member 110. A thickness of the insulating member 118 may be between about 0.5 inches and 5 inches, between or about 1 inch and 4.5 inches, between or about 1.5 inches and 4 inches, between or about 2 inches and 3.5 inches, or between or about 2.5 inches and 3 inches in various embodiments.
In some embodiments, the insulation member 118 may be coupled to the structural member 110 without the use of mechanical fasteners, although one or more mechanical fasteners may be used in some embodiments. For example, the insulation member 118 may be coupled with using one or more adhesives, such as (but not limited to) construction adhesives, polyurethane adhesives isocyanate adhesives, and/or acrylic adhesives, however, it is envisioned that other adhesives may be used. In some embodiments, the adhesive may be selected based on the materials used to form the structural member 110 and/or the insulation member 118 to ensure that the adhesive is capable of bonding the two materials together. To provide sufficient structural integrity as to reduce the possibility of failure and to increase the life span of the framing member 102, it is preferred that the minimum bond strength between the structural member 110 and the insulation member 118 is at least about 50 PSI, at least about 55 PSI, at least about 60 PSI, at least about 65 PSI, or more, as measured as tensile strength per ASTM C297. In some embodiments, the insulation member 118 and the structural member 110 may be coupled without the use of an adhesive or mechanical fasteners. For example, a tackiness of the foam itself may be sufficient to bond the two components together. As just one example, the foam may be applied to the structural member 110 in an uncured state (e.g., while tacky) and subsequently cured against the structural member 110 to secure the two components together.
Each cavity 104 may be defined by a number of framing members 102 coupled together to form a boundary of the cavity 104. For example, referring again to
As described above, one or more external layers 106, such as sheathing layers, may be positioned in contact with a plurality of framing members 102 and may extend across at least a portion of one or more cavities 104. As shown in
One or more internal layers 108 may be positioned in contact with the plurality of framing members 102 as to extend across an opposing side of at least a portion of one or more cavities 104 relative to the external layer 106. As shown in
Now referring to
The use of framing members 102 that include insulation member 118 and structural members 110 may result in a framing assembly 100 having an improved thermal transmittance of less than about 0.1 Btu/hr-ft2-° F., less than about 0.09 Btu/hr-ft2-° F., less than about 0.08 Btu/hr-ft2-° F., less than about 0.07 Btu/hr-ft2-° F., less than about 0.06 Btu/hr-ft2-° F., less than about 0.05 Btu/hr-ft2-° F., less than about 0.04 Btu/hr-ft2-° F., or less. In a particular embodiment in which a framing assembly 100 includes framing members 102 spaced 16 inches on-center and utilizes foam insulation members 118 that are between 1 inch and 2 inches thick in combination with a non-foam cavity insulation material that provides insulating performance (in terms of thermal resistance) of at least R-3.2 per inch (and preferably in the range of R-3.2 to R-4.2 per inch), the framing assembly 100 may provide thermal transmittance (U-factors) between 0.06 and 0.042 Btu/hr-ft2-° F. In a particular embodiment in which a framing assembly 100 includes framing members 102 spaced 16 inches on-center and utilizes foam insulation members 118 that are between 0.5 inches and 2 inches thick in combination with a closed-cell foam plastic cavity insulation material of between 1 and 4 inches thick (with the remaining cavity space insulated with other insulation materials (e.g., fiberglass, cellulose, etc.)), the framing assembly 100 may provide thermal transmittance (U-factors) between 0.057 and 0.037 Btu/hr-ft2-° F.
At operation 510, a foam insulation member may be adhered to one or both of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface of the structural member. For example, in some embodiments, an uncured foam may be applied to one or both of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface of the structural member. The foam may be cured against the structural member such that a tackiness of the foam adheres the foam to the structural member without use of adhesives or mechanical fasteners. In other embodiments, one or more adhesives m ay be applied to an existing foam insulation member and/or the structural member. For example, the adhesive may be sprayed, roll-coated, applied as a bead, and/or otherwise applied to the foam insulation member and/or the structural member. The foam insulation member may then be positioned against a respective one of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface of the structural member to adhere the components together. In some embodiments, heat and/or pressure may be to the foam insulation member and/or the structural member after positioning the foam insulation member against the respective one of the exterior-facing surface and the interior-facing surface to help adhere the components. For example, one or more rollers, presses, and/or other mechanisms may be used to apply pressure to one or both components to improve the bond of the adhesive. In some embodiments, fans, ovens, and/or other curing devices may be used to circulate air and/or heat the foam insulation member and/or the structural member to cure the adhesive. The process described herein may be performed at either a factory or at a construction site and may be used to create pre-assembled panels or whole building modules.
The various aspects, embodiments, implementations, or features of the described embodiments can be used separately or in any combination. In particular, it should be appreciated that the various elements of concepts from
The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Some embodiments were described as processes depicted as flow diagrams or block diagrams. Although each may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps not included in the figure. It will be further appreciated that all testing methods described here may be based on the testing standards in use at the time of filing or those developed after filing.
Specific details are given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known structures and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments. This description provides example embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention. Rather, the preceding description of the embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing embodiments of the invention. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Also, the words “comprise”, “comprising”, “contains”, “containing”, “include”, “including”, and “includes”, when used in this specification and in the following claims, are intended to specify the presence of stated features, integers, components, or steps, but they do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, components, steps, acts, or groups.
Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that each intervening value, to the smallest fraction of the unit of the lower limit, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limits of that range is also specifically disclosed. Any narrower range between any stated values or unstated intervening values in a stated range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is encompassed. The upper and lower limits of those smaller ranges may independently be included or excluded in the range, and each range where either, neither, or both limits are included in the smaller ranges is also encompassed within the technology, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those included limits are also included.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly or conventionally understood. As used herein, the articles “a” and “an” refer to one or to more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means one element or more than one element. “About” and/or “approximately” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like, encompasses variations of ±20% or +10%, 5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate to in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. “Substantially” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, a physical attribute (such as frequency), and the like, also encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, 5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate to in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.
As used herein, including in the claims, “and” as used in a list of items prefaced by “at least one of” or “one or more of” indicates that any combination of the listed items may be used. For example, a list of “at least one of A, B, and C” includes any of the combinations A or B or C or AB or AC or BC and/or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Furthermore, to the extent more than one occurrence or use of the items A, B, or C is possible, multiple uses of A, B, and/or C may form part of the contemplated combinations. For example, a list of “at least one of A, B, and C” may also include AA, AAB, AAA, BB, etc.
