Claims
- 1. An insulating material comprising an air tight enclosure containing insulating components including a plurality of alternate, successive layers of thin reflective foil and thin insulating sheeting tightly packed together and arranged generally perpendicular to the direction of heat flow, wherein the interior of the air tight enclosure is subject of a vacuum which causes the enclosure to deform and compress the insulating components and the air tight enclosure together to thereby form a rigid and strong structural member having exceptional insulating qualities.
- 2. The insulating material defined in claim 1 in which the enclosure has walls that are sufficiently ductile to transmit atmospheric load to the layers of foil and sheeting in response to application of vacuum to the enclosure.
- 3. The insulating material defined in claim 1 in which the layers of foil and sheeting retain insulating capability while supporting load.
- 4. The insulating material defined in claim 1 in which the foil layers are of stainless steel or aluminum metal.
- 5. The insulating material defined in claim 1 in which the foil layers are of plastic resin carrying a reflective surface coating.
- 6. The insulating material defined in claim 1 in which the foil and sheeting layers have a thickness of about 0.0002 to 0.0003 inches.
- 7. The insulating material defined in claim 1 in which the enclosure walls are of stainless steel having a thickness of about 0.20 inches.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of our application Ser. No. 07/285,641, filed Dec. 16, 1988, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4726974 |
Nowobilski et al. |
Feb 1988 |
|
4745015 |
Cheng et al. |
May 1988 |
|
4915998 |
Parenti, Jr. et al. |
Apr 1990 |
|
4985106 |
Nelson |
Jan 1991 |
|
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
285641 |
Dec 1988 |
|