METHOD AND DEVICE FOR APPLYING INSULATING MATERIAL IN SPACES IN CONSTRUCTION PARTS

Abstract: A method and a device for applying insulating material in spaces (5) in construction parts (4) relies on bringing the insulating material into position in the space through a conduit (2). The construction part (4) is designed so that it on one side has the space (5) open to the surroundings. A mold arrangement (9) arranged to substantially close the open side of the space is applied on this side. The insulating material is introduced into the space delimited by the construction part (4) and the mold arrangement (9) through the conduit (2). The mold arrangement (9) is after that removed and a desired coating is applied over the space (5) now filled by the insulating material.

Description: Method and device for applying insulating material in spaces in construction parts FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART This invention relates to a method for applying insulating material in spaces in construction parts, said insulating material being brought into position in the space through a conduit. The invention also relates to a device for such an application. The construction parts in question are primarily constituted by building compo- nents. The insulating material is normally a heat insulating material. This have to be flowing, fibrous, pulverulent, in pieces or otherwise in particle form for being able to be transported through a conduit. The function may be such that the insulating material is pumped or blown through the conduit in a way known per se. A cellulose fibre material is primarily preferred as insulating material, but also other insulating materials having a fibrous as well as another form may be used, for example mineral fibres and plastic foam. It is indeed an excellent technique to bring insulating material into position in the space in question in the building through a conduit. However, even competent staff has difficulties to carry out the in¬ sulating procedure so that the space in question gets completely accurately filled by insulating material when the space is sub¬ stantially closed. Furthermore there is a problem to convince the customer that the insulating material really come into position in a satisfactory way. The consequence hereof is that the technique to apply insulating material by transport through a conduit has not been so extensively used as this technique otherwise deserves. However, in cases in which the final result could be inspected, for instance when applying insulating material upon the floor struc¬ ture in unfurnished attics and the like, the technique has been satisfactorily accepted. The technique to arrange pre-manufac- tured sheet elements in the building component is still primarily used to insulate walls. The problem then consists substantially in that the insulating result sometimes gets rather mediocre as a consequence of insufficient tightness between adjacent sheets and also between sheets and girders when such exist. The appli¬ cation of the insulating material through a conduit has on the other hand the decisive advantage that the insulating material will form one single pillow or bed in the space in question without any joints and without any defective bearing against surrounding building components. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to further develop the method defined in the introduction so that on one hand the insu¬ lating operation may be carried out rationally and surely for ob¬ taining a good result and on the other the work result may be well inspected. This object is in accordance with the invention obtained by carry¬ ing out the method according to the features defined in the follow¬ ing claims 1-6, and in particular the features according to claim 1. The features concerning the device according to the invention are defined in the following claims 7-19. Thus, the inventional solution means that the mold arrangement and the rest of the construction part define a mold space, into which the insulating material is introduced. The mold arrangement is after that removed, so that the filling of the space by the insu- lating material may be verified. Construction elements forming the closure, preferably of a permanent character, of the space in the construction is not until then brought in place. Such construction elements are in practise sheets, panels etc., which are normally fastened by means of fixing members, such as nails, screws, riv¬ ets etc. Further characteristics and advantages of the invention appear from the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With reference to the appended drawings, below follows a spe¬ cific description of embodiments of the invention cited as exam- pies. In the drawings: Fig 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating how the method according to the invention is carried out, Fig 2 is a horizontal section through the building part illustrated in Fig 1 and the mold arrangement applied thereon, and Fig 3 is a perspective view illustrating a variant. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT ACCORDING TO FIGS 1 AND 2 This invention relates to a method and a device for applying insu¬ lating material in spaces in construction parts, said insulating material being brought into position in the space through a con¬ duit designated by 2 in Fig 1. An arrangement 1 for feeding insu¬ lating material comprises besides said conduit 2 a unit 3 taking care of the transport of the insulating material in the conduit 2. In the case of flowing insulating material the unit 3 may be consti¬ tuted by a pump or the like and in the case of fibrous or otherwise particle-like material the unit 3 could have the character of a fan or a blowing device arranged to move the insulating material in question in the conduit 2 by means of a carrier gas, for instance air. The construction part will hereinafter be described as being a building component. The building component is in the drawings illustrated as having the character of a wall construction 4. The spaces in which the insulating material is to be introduced is designated by 5 in Figs 1 and 2. The wall construction 4 is in the example produced by means of a frame work, which more exactly comprises on one hand substantially horizontal girders 6 and on the other substantially vertical girders 7. The wall construction 4 is on one side thereof intended to be closed by a coating 8, for example sheets or panels, so that the space 5 will be open to the environment on the side of the wall constructions 4 opposite to the coating 8. Thus, in the case of a frame work the space 5 will be delimited by the girders 6 and 7 and by the coating 8. It should be mentioned that the "open" side of the wall construc¬ tion 4 may be turned outwardly away from the centre of the build¬ ing as well as inwardly thereof. Thus, in the first cas.e the isola¬ tion is intended to be carried out from the outside, while the insu¬ lation is carried out from the inside in the latter case. Accordingly, the expression "open to the surroundings" used in claims 1 and 7 with respect to the space 5 is intended to cover these two cases of application. A mold arrangement 9 is intended to be applied on the open side of the space 5 so that it substantially close the open side of the space. As it appears from Figs 1 and 2 the mold arrangement will then form a mold delimiting the insulating material in combination with the wall construction 4. The mold arrangement will in the ex¬ ample illustrated be applied against the girders 6 and 7 defining the width and height of the space 5. The mold arrangement 9 has the character of a substantially plane sheet structure on at least one side, namely the one in¬ tended to be applied on the wall construction 4. The mold arrangement 9 has at least an opening 10 (see Fig 2) for bringing the conduit 2 into communication with the space 5. Furthermore, the mold arrangement 9 comprises at least an opening 10 for evacuating air from the space 5 during the intro¬ duction of the insulating material therein through the conduit 2. There are in practise a plurality of openings 10 of the type men¬ tioned and it is preferred that each of these openings may func¬ tion for inserting the conduit 2 as well as for evacuating air from the space 5. The individual opening 10 may be covered by means of a loosen- able cover element 1 1 appearing from Fig 2. This cover element co-operates with the sheet structure of the mold arrangement through any suitable type of quick-acting locking means, for in¬ stance a bayonet catch, so that the cover element 11 may be rapidly and comfortably placed on the sheet structure and re¬ moved therefrom again, respectively. It is preferred that the cover element 11 has perforations 12 es¬ tablishing air-permeability and which have such a restricted size that the components of the insulating material used are to a sub¬ stantial extent prevented from passing. These perforations may for example be established by openings in a net applied over a passage 13 in a plate member 14 of the cover element. The cover element may also comprise a yoke-like handle 15 so as to facili- tate the operation. It appears from Fig 1 how a plurality of openings 10 exist and how these openings may be covered by cover elements 11 in the nor¬ mal work situation except for exactly that opening in which the conduit 2 is presently inserted. The mold arrangement 9 is in the example formed by a sheet 16, which has reinforcements 17, for instance in the form of edge beams 17, along the edges thereof. The sheet 16 itself is in¬ tended to be turned towards the wall construction 4, so that the reinforcements 17 accordingly will be located turned away from the wall construction. The mold arrangement 9 has means 18 for securing thereof to the wall construction 4. These means 18 are connected to the mold arrangement for following the same. The securing means 18 com¬ prise shoes 19, 20 adapted to be applied against opposite sur¬ faces 21 of the wall construction 4 delimiting the space 5. The extension of these opposite surfaces 21 makes an angle, prefer¬ ably a substantially right angle, with planes of the mold arrange- ment 9. The expression "planes of the mold arrangement" is here intended to mean one or several planes coinciding or being sub¬ stantially parallel to the plane in which the opening outwardly of the space 5 is present, i. e. a plane coinciding with the surfaces of the girders 6, 7 turned outwardly in the case of a frame work. The shoes 19, 20 project advantageously through slits 22 in the mold arrangement 9. These slits 22 extend substantially horizon¬ tally in the normal position of use of the mold arrangement 9, so that the shoes 19, 20 may be moved along the slits towards and away from the opposite surfaces 21 of the wall construction. As it appears from Fig 1 there is a plurality of slits 22 and each of these is associated with securing means 18. The shoes 19, 20 are according to a preferred embodiment mov¬ able along a guide 23 secured to the mold arrangement. This guide 23 may for example have the character of a ruler, which at the ends thereof is fixed to the edge portions of the mold ar¬ rangement 9 through members 24. The shoes 19, 30 may be de- signed to co-operate displaceably with the guide 23 while grip¬ ping therearound. The arrangement may of course also be in¬ verted so that the guide 23 gets the character of a female element arranged to receive at least a portion having a male character on the shoes 19, 20 instead of , as in the example shown, that the guide 23 has a male character and the shoes 19, 20 are female as a consequence of their gripping around the guide. At least one of the shoes 19, 20, in the example the one desig¬ nated by 20, is associated with a tightening or bracing mechanism 25, by means of which this shoe may be moved in such a direc¬ tion, in Fig 2 to the right with respect to the guide 23, that the mold arrangement is braced with respect to the surfaces 21 de¬ limiting the space 5. The other shoe 19 could certainly also com¬ prise a bracing arrangement 25, but in the example it is thought that this shoe 19 is only displaceable into desired positions with respect to the guide 23, said shoe 19 being arranged to co-oper- ate with the guide 23 so that the shoe 19 is secured with respect to the guide 23 in a determined position for obtaining the bracing effect. The braceable or tightenable shoe 20 has a suitable regulating member 26 for releasing the shoe from the guide 23 when the mold arrangement shall be loosened from the wall construction. The mold arrangement 9 has a compressible coating 27 arranged to function sealingly on the side to be directed to and applied against the wall construction 4. It is in particular intended that this coating is so designed that it under normal application conditions will function sealingly between the mold arrangement 9 and the surfaces 28 delimiting the open side of the space 5 and which in the example are constituted by the sides of the girders 6, 7 turned outwardly. Otherwise expressed, it is intended that the mold ar¬ rangement 9 is pressed against the wall construction 4 on appli¬ cation thereon, so that the coating 27 is slightly compressed, as it appears at 29 in Fig 2. The coating 27 may consist of any material suitable for the task, such as foamed plastic. It is preferred that openings 30 are carried out in the coating 27 in the region of the openings 10 and which have a smaller diameter than the diameter of the openings 10. This means that when the conduit 2 is introduced through an opening 10, the edge portion of the corresponding opening 30 in the coating 27 will sealingly bear against the outside of the conduit 2 in the way indicated at 31 in Fig 2. The coating 29 has in the region of the slits 22 corresponding slits, so that the shoes 19, 20 get displaceable in the way aimed at. The slits in the coating 27 corresponding to the slits 22 are advantageously made as a pure cut having a minimum opening in the uninfluenced state, so that the coating material in the region of the shoes 19 and 20 will bear sealingly against theses shoes and to the side of the shoes substantially seal against exit of in- sulataing material through the coating 27 and through the slits 22. It appears from this that it is preferred that the coating 27 is ap¬ plied over substantially the entire surface of the side of the mold arrangement 9 intended to be located towards the wall construc¬ tion. It is in practise intended that the coating 27 on one hand is arranged in such a way along a circumferential portion of the mold arrangement 9 that it may function sealingly between the mold arrangement and the surfaces 28 delimiting the open side of the space 5, on one hand in the region inside this circumferential portion, i.e. right in front of the space to be filled with insulating material. A total covering of the mold forming side of the mold ar¬ rangement by the coating 27 is in practise preferred, apart from such areas, for instance in correspondence with the openings 30, which are difficult or impossible to bridge by means of the coating 27. However, a compensation in this regard could possibly be obtained by providing the cover element 1 1 at the inner side thereof with a compressible coating corresponding to the one designated by 27. The mold arrangement 9 may if desired have any suitable type of support device, feet or the like for supporting the arrangement with respect to the underlayer or the floor. The height position of the mold arrangement may be adjusted as wanted should this support device, these feet or the like be made adjustable. When using the device described, i.e. carrying out the method ac¬ cording to the invention, the building component or the wall con¬ struction 4 is brought in such a state that the space 5 thereof gets open on one side thereof to the surroundings. As appears from Fig 1 and 2 the mold arrangement 9 is applied so that it closes the space 5. One of the cover elements 11 is after that removed and the conduit 2 is introduced through the opening 10 exposed thereby. The supply of insulating material is started so that the material reaches the space 5 through the conduit and will succes¬ sively fill the same. As the space 5 is filled air may be evacuated through the other openings 10, since they are covered by air-per¬ meable cover elements. The conduit 2 may in the filling operation initially be applied in an opening 10 located at the bottom and the filling may successively be continued upwardly through openings 10 located higher and higher until the entire space is filled by in- sulating material. The insulating material used shall be such that it either by itself or by means of an adhesive included in the material gives rise to such a uniformly continuous pillow or bed of insulating material that the mold arrangement 9 may possibly after a certain curing time be removed without causing the insulating material to fall away from the place in question. It is instead intended that the in¬ sulating material remains uniformly in the space in question while totally filling it in the way indicated to the right in Fig 1. When a mold arrangement 9 has been removed from its position right in front of a space 5, the insulating work is then proceeded with further spaces 5 to the extent desired. The quality of the in¬ sulating work may easily be inspected, since the insulating mate- rial will be totally exposed after the removal of the mold arrange¬ ment 9. Coating in the form of sheets or the like is not until after such an inspection intended to be applied over the building com- ponent or the wall construction 4 on the opposite side thereof with respect to the coating 8, so that the insulating material gets en¬ closed between these opposite coatings. A further advantage of the compressible coating 27 mentioned above is that it may receive protruding portions of different ob¬ jects, such as electricity casings etc., by compression. These are namely normally so arranged that they project slightly outside the plane of the opening of the space 5, since the outer surface thereof is intended to be located at the level of the sheet or panel intended to be arranged over the building component after carry¬ ing out the insulation. In the case of electricity casings or the like the coating 27 bearing thereagainst will avoid that the casings are internally filled by insulating material, since the coating will bear against the edge portions of the casings delimiting the openings turned outwardly thereof. It appears from above that important advantages may be find by using the compressible coating 17 on substantially the entire mold side of the mold arrangement. The coating 27 has also the advantage of being able to receive irregu- larities in the elements of the building component surrounding the space 5 by varying compression in the boundaries against said elements. Finally, it would also be possible to make the com¬ pressible coating 27 air-permeable, so that the coating could contribute to air evacuation from the space 5 during the introduc- tion of the insulating material therein. DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIANT ACCORDING TO FIG 3 The mold arrangement 9 illustrated in Fig 3 is shown in a some- what simplified state with respect to the number of openings and cover elements 11 , but it is intended to principally have the same character as already disclosed by means of Figs 1 and 2. Espe¬ cially in such cases where the space 5 to be filled by insulating material has a considerable width, there is a risk that the portion 2a of the conduit 2 introduced in the space 5 become located obliquely in the space. This may give rise to that the density of the insulating material gets higher at one side of the space than at the other. It is desirable that the conduit 2 is located in the middle of the space 5 during the feeding of the insulating material therein so as to obtain the maximum uniformity of the density in such cases. This may be obtained by providing such centering means 32 which are arranged to co-operate on one hand with the mold arrangement 9 and on the other with the conduit 2 so as to determine the position of a portion of the conduit introduced into the space 5 in question with respect to the mold arrangement. These centering means 32 is in the example constituted by means which are introducable through holes in the mold arrangement 9, so that the means define a vertical channel between each other, in which the conduit 2 is receivable. The means 32 prevents the conduit portion 2a from moving laterally in the space 5 during the introduction of the insulating material. The means 32 is in the example constituted by yokes, the legs 33 of which may be pushed into holes 34 made in the mold arrange¬ ment 9, so that the extremities of these legs will be located inside the space 5 and preferably will come to bear against the rear de- limiting surface of this space. The number of the yokes 32 may of course vary depending on the height of the mold arrangement 9. It has been found suitable to provide the yokes 32 at vertical intervals of about 30 cm. It is then preferred that the mold arrangement 9 has holes 34 along a considerable part or suitably the entire height of the mold ar¬ rangement. The distance between the legs 33 of an individual yoke 32 shall of course be slightly greater than the diameter of the conduit 2. In order to ensure that the conduit 2 will really be located with the end portion 2a between the yoke legs 33 when introduced into the space 5, it is suitable to provide the extremity of the conduit 2 with a weight which results in that said extremity on the introduc¬ tion into the space 5 moves substantially straight downwardly in the space defined by the yoke legs 33. POSSIBLE MODIFICATIONS The invention is of course not solely restricted to the embodiment described. Although the invention has above been described in detail in connection with construction parts in the form of building components it should be observed that the invention is not at all restricted thereto. Thus, other types of construction parts may be possible. It may as an example be mentioned that the invention may be carried out in connection with carrying out an insulating of such constructions which form housings to water heaters or the like. With respect to the use for building components it should be noted that the invention is not at all restricted to the application for building components 4 in the form of wall constructions, al- though particular advantages are associated with performing the invention in such cases where the mold arrangement 9 will be substantially vertically orientated. Accordingly, it is also possible to carry out the invention in such situations where the mold ar¬ rangement 9 will be substantially horizontally orientated or orien- tated in inclinations between the vertical and the horizontal, while the mold arrangement functions closingly with respect to a space in the building component to be filled by the insulating, material. It would also be possible to provide one or several supplementary parts to the mold arrangement described so as to adapt the height and/or the width of the mold arrangement to the circumstances prevailing, said supplementary parts would then be designed to as supplementing increase the height and/or the width of the mold arrangement. These supplemental parts could then have connect¬ ing elements co-operating telescopically with corresponding ele- ments on the mold arrangement, so that the supplemental parts in question could then be pushed together and together with the mold arrangement form a great sheet-like mold assembly. Also other modifications and alternatives are well possible within the scope of the inventional idea.

Claims: Claims 1. A method for applying insulating material in spaces (5) in con¬ struction parts (4), said insulating material being brought into position in the space through a conduit (2), characterised in that the construction part is designed so that it on one side has the space (5) open to the surroundings, that a mold arrangement (9) is applied on this side and adapted to substantially close the open side of the space, that the insulating material is introduced into the space delimited by the construction part and the mold ar¬ rangement through the conduit and that the mold arrangement (9) is then removed. 2. A method according to claim 1 , characterised in that the mold arrangement (9) is applied so that it forms a substantially vertical delimiting wall for the space (5). 3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that it is used for spaces (5) in construction parts (4) having a mainly ver- tical extension. 4. A method according to any of the claims 1-3, characterised in that the conduit (2) is brought into communication with the space (5) through at least an opening (10) in the mold arrangement (9). 5. A method according to any of the preceding claims, character¬ ised in that air from the space (5) is evacuated during introduction of the insulating material through at least an opening (10) in the mold arrangement. 6. A method according to any of the preceding claims, character¬ ised in that the mold arrangement (9) is secured with respect to the construction part (4) by means of securing means (18) ar¬ ranged on the mold arrangement. 7. A device for applying insulating material in spaces in construc¬ tion parts, which comprises an arrangement (1 ) for bringing the insulating material into position in the space through a conduit (2), characterised in that it also comprises a mold arrangement (9) adapted to be loosenably applied on such a side of the con¬ struction part (4) that has the space (5) open to the surroundings so as to substantially close the open side of the space and by that form a mold delimiting the insulting material in combination with the construction part. 8. A device according to claim 7, characterised in that the mold arrangement (9) has the character of a sheet structure substan¬ tially plane on at least one side thereof. 9. A device according to any of the claims 7-8, characterised in that the mold arrangement (9) has at least one opening (10) for bringing the conduit (2) into communication with the space. 10. A device according to any of the claims 7-9, characterised in that the mold arrangement (9) has at least one opening (10) for evacuating air from the space (5) during the introduction of the in- sulating material. 1 1. A device according to claim 9 or 10, characterised in that the opening (10) may be covered by means of a loosenable cover element (11). 12. A device according to claim 11 , characterised in that the cover element (11) has perforations establishing air-permeability, for instance established by a net or grating, and that these perfo¬ rations have such a limited size that components of the insulating material used are prevented from passing to a substantial extent through the perforations. 13. A device according to any of the claims 7-12, characterised by means (18) for securing the mold arrangement to the construc- tion part. 14. A device according to claim 13, characterised in that the se¬ curing means (18) are arranged on the mold arrangement (9). 15. A device according to claim 14, characterised in that the se- curing means (18) comprise shoes (19, 20) arranged to be ap¬ plied on opposite surfaces (21 ) of the construction part (4) de¬ limiting the space. 16. A device according to claim 15, characterised in that the ex- tensions of said opposite surfaces (21 ) make an angle with the plane of the mold arrangement (9). 17. A device according to claim 15 or 16, characterised in that the shoes (19, 20) project through slits (22) in the mold arrangement (9). 18. A device according to any of the preceding claims, character¬ ised in that the mold arrangement (9) has a compressible coating (27) adapted to function sealingly on at least a part of the side thereof to be directed towards the construction part (4). 19. A device according to claim 18, characterised . in that the compressible coating is applied over substantially the entire sur¬ face of that side of the mold arrangement (9) to be directed to ^ wards the construction part (4).

Inventors: BERGLUND REIDAR, PANT ROLAND, BERGLUND, REIDAR, PANT, ROLAND
Applicants: BERGLUND REIDAR, PANT ROLAND, BERGLUND, REIDAR, PANT, ROLAND
Application year: 1993
Main classification: E04B1
IPC codes: E04B1