Patent Application
20220080698
The present invention relates generally to insulated building studs. More specifically, but not exclusively, the present invention concerns insulated building studs and methods of manufacture of the insulated building studs.
Currently, building studs used in construction create a thermal bypass, especially in exterior wall sections. A thermal bypass is an area where a portion or component of an item has higher thermal conductivity than the surrounding materials. The areas of higher thermal conductivity create a path of least resistance for heat transfer. Thus, heat and cold are able to pass across the building studs and decrease a buildings overall temperature efficiency. Conduction of heat through the building studs from the warmer side of the wall to the cooler side of the wall results in energy loss and more costly energy bills. Therefore, in order to avoid energy loss due to thermal bypass, insulated building studs which form a thermal break and methods for making those insulated building studs are needed.
Aspects of the present invention provide insulated building studs and methods of manufacturing the same.
In one aspect, provided herein is an insulated building stud, including a first portion, a second portion, an insulated portion with a first side and a second side, wherein the first portion is coupled to the first side of the insulated portion and the second portion is coupled to the second side of the insulated portion to form a building member, and at least one mesh coupled to at least one of a top and a bottom of the building member.
In another aspect, provided herein is a method of manufacturing an insulated building stud, including obtaining a first portion, obtaining a second portion, and obtaining an insulated portion. The method also includes coupling the first portion to a first side of the insulated portion and coupling the second portion to a second side of the insulated portion. The method further includes securing at least one mesh to the coupled first portion, second portion, and insulated portion.
These, and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the detailed description herein, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. It is emphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion. The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Generally stated, disclosed herein are embodiments of insulated building studs. Further, methods for manufacturing the insulated building studs are also disclosed.
Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to indicate like or analogous components throughout the several views, and with particular reference to
In some embodiments, the first portion 110 may be formed of wood (i.e., a first wood portion). The wood used to form the first portion 110 may be, for example, a spruce-pine-fir (SPF) mix wood or the like used in building and/or construction. In some other embodiments, the first portion 110 may be formed of, for example, a metal, a plastic, or a composite material. The first portion 110 may be a singular integral or monolithic piece (i.e., of one-piece construction), or may be formed from a plurality of components that are coupled (e.g., rigidly coupled) together to form the first portion 110. In some embodiments, the second portion 130 may be formed of, for example, a wood (i.e., a second wood portion). The wood used to form the second portion 130 may be, for example, a spruce-pine-fir (SPF) mix wood or the like used in building and/or construction. In some other embodiments, the second portion 130 may be formed of, for example, a metal, a plastic, or a composite material. The second portion 130 may be a singular integral or monolithic piece (i.e., of one-piece construction), or may be formed from a plurality of components that are coupled (e.g., rigidly coupled) together to form the second portion 130.
The size and shape of the building studs 100 may correspond to standard dimensional lumber and/or construction sizes and shapes, such as being, for example, 2″×6″, 2″×8″, or larger. The building studs 100 may also come in various lengths (e.g., standard dimensional lumber and/or construction lengths), for example, 8 feet, 9 feet, 10 feet, 12 feet and the like known lengths for studs. For example, a 2″×6″ building stud 100 may include a 2″×3″ first portion 110, a 2″×3″ second portion 130, and a 2.5″×2.5″ insulated portion 150. As known by one of ordinary skill in the art, a dimensional 2″×3″ board actually measures approximately 1.5″ by 2.5″, and a dimensional 2″×6″ stud actually measures approximately 1.5″ by 5.5″. However, it is also contemplated that the building stud 100 may have alternative dimensions with differing or like ratios between the first portion 110, the second portion 130, and the insulated portion 150, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. As also known by one of ordinary skill in the art, the dimensions of a 2.5″×2.5″ insulated portion 150 are actually 2.5″×2.5″ and the length is selected based on the length needed for the project and may be, for example, any standard dimensional lumber and/or construction length.
As shown in
As shown in
The first side 136 of the second portion 130 may be coupled to the second side 158 of the insulated portion 150. The second portion 130 and the insulated portion 150 may be directly or indirectly coupled together. In some embodiments, the second portion 130 and the insulated portion 150 may be in direct contact or abutment. In some other embodiments, the second portion 130 and the insulated portion 150 may be indirectly coupled via an intermediate member or material therebetween. In some embodiments, the first side 136 may be coupled to the second side 158 by an adhesive, for example, glue, construction adhesive, industrial SIPs adhesive, such as, polychloroprene adhesive, urethane adhesive (polyurethane adhesive), methacrylate adhesive, and the like. The coupled first portion 110, second portion 130, and insulated portion 150 form a building member 250 (which may be a standard dimensional lumber size), for example, a 2″×6″, 2″×8″ or larger.
With continued reference to
The at least one first mesh layer 170 and/or the at least one second mesh layer 190 may comprise or form through holes, openings or apertures that extend therethrough. For example, the at least one first mesh layer 170 may comprise a plurality of openings that extend from the top side 180 to the bottom side 182. Similarly, the at least one second mesh layer 190 may comprise a plurality of openings that extend from the top side 200 to the bottom side 202. In some other embodiments, the at least one first mesh layer 170 and/or the at least one second mesh layer 190 may be substantially solid (i.e., void of the above-discussed openings).
The at least one first cover 210 portion may include a first end 212, a second end 214 opposite the first end 212, a first side 216, a second side 218 opposite the first side 216, a top 220, and a bottom 222 opposite the top 220. The at least one second cover 230 may include a first end 232, a second end 234 opposite the first end 232, a first side 236, a second side 238 opposite the first side 236, a top 240, and a bottom 242 opposite the top 240. The at least one first cover 210 and the at least one second cover 230 may be, for example, house wrap, building paper, or a like material as known by one of ordinary skill in the art.
The at least one first mesh layer 170, the at least one second mesh layer 190, the at least one first cover 210 and/or the at least one second cover 230 may be substantially flexible (e.g., manually flexible), while the first portion 110, the second portion 130 and/or the insulated portion 150 may be substantially rigid or stiff.
The at least one first mesh layer 170 may be coupled (directly or indirectly) to the top surface 120, 140, 160 of the building member 250, as shown in
At least one first cover portion 210 may be applied over the at least one first mesh layer 170 and coupled to the top surface 180 of the at least one first mesh layer 170. The at least one first cover portion 210 may be coupled (directly or indirectly) by the adhesive or other material and/or coupling mechanism that couples the at least one first mesh layer 170 to the building member 250. In some other embodiments the at least one first cover portion 210 may be coupled to the at least one first mesh layer 170 and/or to the building member 250 by an additional material or mechanism. In some embodiments, the at least one first cover portion 210 and the at least one first mesh layer 170 may be in direct contact or abutment. In some other embodiments, the at least one first cover portion 210 and the at least one first mesh layer 170 may be indirectly coupled via an intermediate member or material therebetween. In some embodiments, the at least one first cover portion 210 may be, for example, one, two, or more cover portions 210. When more than one first cover portion 210 is used, the first cover portion 210 may be, for example, positioned layered on top of each other or alternatively, the first cover portions 210 may be positioned adjacent to each other or slightly overlapping the adjacent cover portion 210 along the length and/or width of the building member 250.
The at least one second mesh layer 190 may be coupled (directly or indirectly) to the bottom surface 122, 142, 162 of the building member 250, as shown in
At least one second cover portion 230 may be applied over the at least one second mesh layer 190 and coupled to the bottom surface 202 of the at least one second mesh layer 190. The at least one second cover portion 230 may be coupled (directly or indirectly) by the adhesive or other material and/or coupling mechanism that couples the at least one second mesh layer 190 to the building member 250. In some other embodiments, the at least one second cover portion 230 may be coupled to the at least one second mesh layer 190 and/or to the building member 250 by an additional material or mechanism. In some embodiments, the at least one second cover portion 230 and the at least one second mesh layer 190 may be in direct contact or abutment. In some other embodiments, the at least one second cover portion 230 and the at least one second mesh layer 190 may be indirectly coupled via an intermediate member or material therebetween. In some embodiments, the at least one second cover portion 230 may be, for example, one, two, or more cover portions 230. When more than one second cover portion 230 is used the second cover portion 230 may be, for example, positioned layered on top of each other or alternatively, the second cover portions 230 may be positioned adjacent to each other or slightly overlapping the adjacent cover portion 230 along the length and/or width of the building member 250.
In an alternative embodiment, it is also contemplated that the mesh layers 170, 190 may entirely surround the building member 250 along the length of the building member 250. In this alternative embodiment the cover portions 210, 230 may also entirely surround the building member 250 along the length. In yet a further alternative embodiment, it is contemplated that the mesh layers 170, 190 may be positioned on the top 120, 140, 160 and bottom 122, 142, 162 of the building member 250 and the cover portions 210, 230 may entirely surround the building member 250.
The insulated building studs 300 may provide, for example, less warping and a more consistent strength than prior studs, such as current typical wooden studs. In addition, the insulated building studs 300 may be less costly than prior insulated studs because they utilize fewer materials and less steps are needed to manufacture the insulated building studs 300. The insulated building studs 300 may also reduce vibration, thermal and/or sound transmission therethrough than compared to prior studs. For example, wall, floor and/or ceiling structures formed via the insulated building studs 300 may provide enhanced vibration and/or noise damping, and thermal insulative quality, than as compared to such structures formed with current studs.
The method of manufacturing the insulated building studs 300 is shown in
The method may also include forming the building member 250 using sheets of the first and second portions 110, 130, for example, sheets of wood, and a sheet of the insulated portion 150. Once the sheets are coupled together, the individual building members 250 may be cut to size. Then, the mesh layers 170, 190 and cover portions 210, 230 may be applied as discussed in greater detail above.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has”, and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”), and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a method or device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes,” or “contains” one or more steps or elements possesses those one or more steps or elements, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more steps or elements. Likewise, a step of a method or an element of a device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes,” or “contains” one or more features possesses those one or more features, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more features. Furthermore, a device or structure that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.
The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. It will be understood that the architectural and operational embodiments described herein are exemplary of a plurality of possible arrangements to provide the same general features, characteristics, and general system operation. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations.
This application claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. provisional application No. 62/706,802 filed Sep. 11, 2020, entitled Insulated Building Studs and Methods of Manufacture, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62706802 | Sep 2020 | US |
