Abstract:
Apparatus for unrolling rolls of building insulation in vertical strips from the roof eave down, and adapted to be carried by an aerial work platform that in turn is carried by an elevator, has a pair of spars as well as an arbor and a tensioning control mechanism. The spars are spaced apart and are mounted to as well as project away from the aerial work platform. The arbor is carried between the spaced spars for inserting through the core of a role of insulation and allowing the insulation to be unrolled from the roll in the form of strips to be hung on the building. The tensioning control mechanism is provided for controlling the unrolling of the roll.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO PROVISIONAL APPLICATION(S) 
     This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/152,727, filed Jan. 10, 2015, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/848,733, of accorded filing date Jan. 10, 2013. The foregoing disclosure is incorporated herein by this reference thereto. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to insulation installation and, more particularly, to an apparatus for unrolling bulk rolls of insulation in vertical strips from the top down. 
     The inspiration for the apparatus in accordance with the invention—ie., for unrolling bulk rolls of insulation in vertical strips from the top down—comes from the construction industry. More particularly, it comes from the work done to hang the wall insulation and the cladding sheet metal thereover to pre-engineered and/or structural steel buildings. 
     Pre-engineered and/or structural steel buildings are a representative construction option for factories or warehouses and the like. The walls of such buildings are typically constructed of ‘studs’ of structural steel stood as spaced columns, or otherwise as stood in a formation referred to as a balustrade. The studs of structural steel may be heavy I-beams. This balustrade of studs typically carries multiple rows of vertically spaced cross members, which are typically called wall ‘girts.’ (Their counterparts running across the roof are typically called ‘purlins,’ but sometimes the usage between the two terms is mixed.) In the case of pre-engineered steel buildings, the wall girts typically comprise cold roll sheet metal formed into C-shaped channels (or Z-shapes and so on). The wall girts for structural steel buildings are much more heavy duty, like C-shaped channels in schedule 40 grade. 
     A common height for the walls of these buildings is 107 feet high (˜32 m high) (and, these buildings will be even taller at the crown of the roofs). The wall girts can be spaced apart anywhere between about two feet apart in elevation to seven feet (between about ˜0.6 m and ˜2.1 m). The spacing between wall girts is specified by the design plans and depends on such design factors as wind load and so on. Customarily, the typical spacing between wall girts is about five feet apart (˜1.5 m). Insulation is applied in vertical strips to the outside of these wall girts in strips typically in widths anywhere between about (and without limitation) four and six feet (˜1.2 to ˜1.8 m). An example of the manner of how this insulation is hung according to the prior art includes the following. 
     One serious challenge to hanging insulation like this is, the wind. Even a moderate wind will frustrate or complicate the job for the installers at every step of the process. The conventional way of hanging this insulation is to quilt the insulation together in small pieces. Twenty-five foot long or so (˜7.6 m) strips of insulation are cut off stock rolls that are six foot laterally wide or so (˜1.7 m wide) and maybe have a plush thickness or depth of six inches or so (˜0.15 m). It is also conventional to, deploy boom loaders to do this work. And not just one, but a tandem of two. Each boom loader supports an aerial work platform at the end of a telescopic or articulating boom. Both of the two boom loaders are conventionally crewed by a two person crew. The crews of the two boom loaders work in concert to handle and hang each small strip, one strip at a time. In addition to those four personnel in the boom loaders, a ground assistant works non-stop to serially supply the crews of the boom loaders with the many small strips. 
     The small strips are hung by having their top edges attached first. So for a short time-being, the whole weight of the strip is carried only by the attachment along its top edge alone. However, as soon as the crew can get around to it, the strip is fastened with back-up attachments at several more belts at elevations below its top edge. One reason to keep the strips under twenty-five feet or so (˜7.6 m) is:—so that the strips just don&#39;t tear apart (for the short time-being while hung from their top edges only) under the force of their own weight. Another reason is to combat the wind from making the strips overly crooked or billowed (eg., in full sail) when fastened. That is, the effect of wind tends to make the fastened strip not straight or else warped out between the left and right sides. 
     The small strips have to meet at splices at the short top and bottom ends to attain the full one-hundred and seven feet height (˜32 m height) of the wall. The small strips have to meet at splices along the long left and right sides with neighboring strips. The more seamless and neat the splices are, the better climate barrier the quilt-work of insulation serves as a whole for the building. 
     It is a problem for the insulation crew that, even when five workers strong, the insulation crew is barely able to stay ahead of the sheet metal cladding crew because of the work of splicing together so many small strips of insulation. 
     Given the foregoing, while insulation is hung this way according to the prior art, there are certain undesirable outcomes. One is, keeping the strips straight is difficult. Two is, splicing one not quite straight strip to another not quite straight strip is also difficult, especially when the two strips are on even just slightly different slants. Three is, the edges seldom meet up seamlessly . . . and so on. 
     The splices are visible from the inside of the building. Not only that but, the splices are visible from the inside of the building—for the life of the building. However, the horizontal splices between the ends of the small strips are particularly unsightly. And, the horizontal splices only become more unsightly as the building ages. As time extends, the vinyl covering for the insulation (which serves as the interior surface of the outer walls of the building), often (very often) becomes covered with a film of grime. For a variety of reasons, the grime collects more intensely around the splices at the horizontal seams between the ends of such strips. It is not known if the horizontal seams between the ends of such strips serve as shelves or ledges to intensify the collection of such grime. 
     Regardless, those portions of the splices just become more unsightly over time. 
     What is needed is a solution over the shortcomings of the prior art. 
     It is an object of the invention to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art. 
     A number of additional features and objects will be apparent in connection with the following discussion of the preferred embodiments and examples with reference to the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       There are shown in the drawings certain exemplary embodiments of the invention as presently preferred. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed as examples, and is capable of variation within the scope of the skills of a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. In the drawings, 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of apparatus in accordance with the invention for unrolling bulk rolls of insulation in vertical strips from the top down, wherein the outside wall of a structural or pre-engineered steel building is shown as an example operative use environment; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged-scale side elevation detail view in connection with detail of the aerial platform at the end of the boom in  FIG. 1 , with the vehicle portion of the boom loader and then also portions of the wall of the building removed from view; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of  FIG. 2 , with the wall of the building and boom of the boom loader removed from view; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view comparable to  FIG. 3  except showing an insulation roll having a larger radius than the insulation roll in  FIG. 3  and to better show aspects of the tensioning control mechanism in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged scale exploded view taken from  FIG. 4  and showing the framework of one of the two sides of the roll dispenser in accordance with the invention, with other portions broken away; 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged scaled perspective view of detail VI-VI in  FIG. 4 ; and 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged scaled perspective view of detail VII-VII in  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  shows apparatus  10  for unrolling bulk rolls  12  of insulation in vertical strips  14  from the top down. The work environment which inspired the invention comprises insulation installation on structural and pre-engineered steel buildings  16 . However, the applicability of the invention is in no way limited to such use environments or otherwise exclusively to unrolling rolls  12  of insulation. 
     Pre-engineered steel buildings  16  are a representative construction option for factories and/or warehouses, and as example and without limitation of potential uses for such buildings  16 . The wall of such a pre-engineered steel building  16  is typically constructed of columns of ‘studs,’ or a balustrade, of structural steel. The structural steel may be heavy I-beams.  FIG. 1  illustrates just as much as the outboard flange(s)  18  of structural I-beams, wherein the web and inboard flange(s) are not shown. This balustrade of studs (eg., the outboard faces of which are indicated by reference numeral  18 ) typically carries multiple rows of vertically spaced cross members, which in the case of pre-engineered steel buildings  16  typically comprise C-shaped wall girts  22 . The wall girts  22  are typically formed of cold roll sheet metal. However, once the C-shaped wall girts  22  are oriented for fastening on the balustrade of studs, they take on a U-shaped orientation. Other shapes are known, for example and without limitation, Z-shaped and so on. 
     The foregoing describes the preparation of a structure which is representative without limitation for the applicability of the insulation unrolling apparatus  10  in accordance with the invention. 
     Such structures ought to be and typically are insulated with a layer of insulation before the final exterior skin is affixed (eg., sometimes which final exterior skin is referred to as the sheet metal ‘cladding’). 
     The apparatus  10  comprises a boom loader  24 , 26 , 30  comprising a ground vehicle  24  supporting an aerial work platform  26  at the end of a telescopic or articulating boom  30 . The boom  30  can be extended and foreshortened, and tilted through a range of angles from nearly horizontal to nearly vertical. The work platform  26  comprises a floor  32 , a kick plate  34 , and a worker basket  36  having a rim formed as a hand rail  38 . The work platform  26  includes a control console  42  for driving and/or otherwise operating the controls of the boom loader  24 , 26 , 30 . 
     A boom loader  24 , 26 , 30  is shown for example only and is not the only means that will work to accomplish the objects of the invention in regards of elevating an aerial work platform. Other suitable lifting means certainly include cranes, and, for some low height buildings perhaps telescoping reach fork lifts (eg., the ‘elevator’ for the work platform). 
     Suspended below the level of the floor  32  of the work platform  26  is a roll dispenser  44  in accordance with the invention. With reference to  FIGS. 2 through 5 , the roll dispenser  44  comprises a spaced pair of legs  46  (or stiles or spars). The legs  46  themselves might be produced from C-shaped steel channel pieces hung from hanger hardware  48  from underneath the aerial work platform  26 . Preferably the legs  46  are spread apart approximately the width of the rolls  12  to be hoisted. Typically and without limitation this would be between four and one-half to six and one-half feet (˜1.4 to ˜2.0 m). 
     As  FIG. 5  shows better, the hanger hardware  48  comprises for example and without limitation an I-beam  492  more or less permanently mounted under the floor  32  of the work platform  26 . The mounting of the I-beam  492  can be accomplished by bolts, or welding, and so forth. Welded to the very end of the I-beam  492  is a plate, and then also, welded to fairly near the end of the I-beam  492  is an angle piece. The plate and angle piece are arranged and spaced apart to form a pair of opposed flanges  494 . As mentioned above, the legs  46  of the roll dispenser  44  are C-shaped steel channel pieces which, accordingly, have web portions. The upper end of the web portions of the legs  46  insert between the spaced flanges  494  of the hanger hardware  48  until a pattern of holes  496  align (which pattern  496  is common to both flanges  494  and the web portion of the legs  46 ). A pair of quick connnect/disconnect pins  498  insert through these holes  496  and thus secure the legs  46  suspended from the hanger hardware  48 . Given the foregoing, a single worker can quickly hang the roll dispenser  44  in accordance with the invention from underneath the aerial work platform  26  in order to perform insulation installation in accordance with the invention. Later, perhaps the next day or another day, the single worker can just as quickly dismount the roll dispenser  44  in accordance with the invention from the aerial work platform  26 . That way, the aerial work platform  26  is freed to be put to other uses without the unneeded roll dispenser  44  being an encumbrance. 
     Spanning across the legs  46  near the bottom ends of the legs  46  is an arbor  50 . The arbor  50  is optionally pinned both inside and outside of each leg  46  to prevent the legs  46  from either spreading further apart or pinching the roll  12 . However, perhaps only the outside pins or, if the legs  46  are stiff enough, the inside pins are truly necessary. (Moreover, this function of trapping the legs both on the inside and outside of each leg by a cross bar, and in order to prevent unwanted spreading or pinching, can be performed by another cross bar. Namely, such as a tensioning control mechanism  60  more particularly described below.) 
       FIG. 1  shows a roll  12  loaded onto the arbor  50  and hoisted aloft. Typical rolls  12  of insulation comprise a rolled up strip  14  of fiberglass insulation which might have a nominal thickness of 3½ inches, 5½ inches and onward to even greater thicknesses (eg., ˜9 to ˜14 cm and onward). One of the two broad faces (ie., not the edges) will be covered by a backing material  52 . This can be anything from a polymer film, to a geotextile, to a paper product and so on. The roll  12  is usually rolled such that the backing material  52  is on the outside of the roll  12  (the backing material  52  will actually become interior surface of the outer walls of the building  16 ). Hence as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the backing material  52  is applied directly up against the wall girts  22 . 
     The hand rail  38  of the basket  36  carries another ‘wound-up’ winding of material, this time, a spool  54  of steel or poly banding material  56  supported on a spindle about a vertical axis (the steel banding used for fastening insulation like here in this use environment is a much softer material than the hard stuff used on, for example, lumber). 
     Pause can taken now to introduce a manner of use of the apparatus  10  in accordance with the invention. Fresh rolls  12  of insulation might be brought to the job site in van trucks (or perhaps semi-trailers), with the rolls  12  laying on their sides, and with a hollow cardboard or plastic tube defining the core  57  of the roll  12 . 
     It is an aspect of the invention that the insulation work for insulating structural and/or pre-engineered steel buildings  16  can be performed by a single worker:—again, not a crew of five as in accordance with the prior art, but, a single worker. Moreover, with planing, the single worker can work faster (eg., get more done in less time) than the crew of five does, operating in accordance with prior art practices. 
     Here, the worker is expected to do a little planning ahead (albeit the planning function is performed by others for the worker). Typically, the planning involves the following various factors. Assume the construction site is operating on single shift days. That is, the insulation worker and the cladding crew coming behind him or her are going to work a single shift, and then knock off to return to work on the next business day. Why a ‘day’ or ‘shift’ matters is because the insulation is preferably not left exposed to the elements overnight, whether that be rain or just dew. The consequences of the preference is two fold. Preferably no rolls of insulation intended to be hung the next day are left outside overnight. Preferably all insulation hung on the building in a shift is covered by the cladding to before the end of the shift, or nightfall. 
     Given the foregoing, the first calculation involves estimating how many rolls the job will require. The second calculation involves estimating how many rolls can be hung—and covered over by cladding—in a day. If the job is going to be a several day job, then the worker wants to have on hand for each day at least about as many rolls he or she will have to hang that day. 
     Let&#39;s assume the worker is going to have a day&#39;s worth of insulation rolls brought to the job site in a single day. Let&#39;s further assume that this is some difference between which rolls which be hung first, and which will be hung last. The worker preferably wants the rolls that will be hung last loaded first into the van (or semi-trailer or whatever). Correspondingly, the worker preferably want the rolls that will be hung first loaded last in the van. 
     That way, at the beginning of the day, the worker can access at the back of the van the rolls that will be hung first. Optionally, the worker operates a fork lift to unload the rolls out of the van, and, distribute the rolls around the job site. Let&#39;s assume the rolls are 250 feet long (˜76 m), six foot wide (˜1.8 m), and are going to be hung in 107 foot high (˜32 m) strips on the outside of the building. That means the following. One roll will provide two such strips before being spent. Thus, a new roll will be required every twelve feet. Thus, the worker preferably distributes the rolls at every twelve linear feet (˜3.6 m) of wall length. 
     The rolls are preferably left on cylindrical sides, eg., the core  57  of the roll is extending horizontally, parallel to the ground. That way, the worker plucks up the first roll, dispenses two strips on the building side before the roll is spent. Then the worker does the following operation. Since the worker has just completed the second strip out of the first roll, the first roll must be fairly close to the ground (if not already on the ground). With the spent first roll resting on the ground, the worker climbs out of the basket  36 , undoes the arbor  50 , and thereby has cut loose the first roll. The worker operates the boom loader  24 , 26 , 30  (perhaps with ground controls on the vehicle portion  24  thereof) to straddle the legs  46  of the dispenser  44  alongside the second roll (which is resting on the ground). The worker next slides the arbor  50  through the core  57  of the roll. And thus the worker is back in business with the second roll. 
     Pause can be taken to describe in a little more detail how to load a roll  12  into the dispenser  44 . Presumptively, the boom loader  24 , 26 , 30  starts off in the position with the legs  46  of the roll dispenser  44  standing on the ground. A user would withdraw the arbor  50  and presumptively set it aside on the floor  32  of the aerial work platform  26 . Then the user would climb into the basket  36  of the aerial work platform  26  by the ladder rungs  58  attached to one of the legs  46  of the roll dispenser  44  (none of this is shown, but ladder rungs  58  are shown in  FIGS. 3 through 5 ). 
     The user would drive the boom loader  24 , 26 , 30  and operate the boom  30  in order orient the legs  46  of the roll dispenser  44  to straddle one roll  12 . Then the user would climb down the ladder rungs  58 , step off onto the ground, and secure the arbor  50  through the core  57  of the roll  12 . Now the user can lift the roll  12  by the stick boom  30 . The user only wants to lift the roll  12  just a small gap off the ground, and start to unroll the roll  12  of insulation and pull out the lead edge of the roll  12 , which becomes the head of the strip  14 . The user lines up the head with the handrail  38  of the basket  36 . The user fixes the head there with adhesive, or clamps or anything. 
     A little further pause can be taken to describe in a little more detail how to hang one strip  14  of insulation by means of the dispenser  44 . The user starts to drive the stick boom vehicle  24  to wherever he or she wants the vehicle  24  to be in order to orient the boom  30  and aerial work platform  26  in a proper place to attach the first strip  14  (of at least from this newly taken onboard roll  12 ). The user elevates the basket  36  to the eave strut or purlin of the building  16 , the roof edge or like highest elevation for attachment of the strip  14 . The user attaches the head of the strip  14  to the building  16 , by any number of ways. The user may apply double-sided adhesive tape to the eave strut purlin of the roof, and then sticks the head of the strip  14  to the adhesive too. The user may drive three to six self-tapping screws (or fasteners) along a row into an eave strut or purlin (or whatever the upper attachment member is). The user might optionally cut three short tabs of banding material  56  (about six inches long, or ˜0.15 m), and then secure on end of the head with two screws and a tab, about the middle of the head with two screws and a tab, and then secure the other end of the head with the last tab and two screws. By whichever way the user gets the head of the strip  14  to start off being held to the roof eave or purlin, the user thereafter wants to come back over that row with a whole belt of the banding material  56 . Alternatively, the user may try to directly attach the head of the strip  14  with a whole belt of banding material  56 , but that is often hard to do by a single person. 
     Eventually, the user will have wanted to pull about six to seven linear feet (˜1.8 to ˜2 m) of the banding material  56  off the spool  54 . This length of banding material may be referred to as a ‘belt.’ The user ultimately completes the fastening of the head of the strip  14  by driving self-tapping screws or the like through the belt of banding material  56  and the head of the insulation strip  14  to sink into the eave strut or purlin (or roof edge) of the building  16 . The user then severs the fastened banding material  56  from the rest of the spool  54 . Hence the first ‘belt’ is left behind. 
     The majority of the weight of the roll  12  of the insulation is carried by the dispenser  44  device hung underneath the basket  36 . The top band only has to carry about five to fifteen linear feet (˜1.5 to ˜4.5 m) of the weight of the strip  14 . Then the user lowers the basket  36  to attach a second length (‘belt’) of banding material  56  across the strip  14  at some lower wall girt  22 . And so on, successively, fastening a length (‘belt’) of banding material  56  across the strip  14  successively at each ‘chosen’ wall girt  22  from the top to bottom, lowering the stick boom  30  after finishing each ‘chosen’ wall girt  22 . 
     To call any wall girt  22  a ‘chosen’ wall girt  22  means the following. Assume the wall girts  22  are spaced at elevations five feet apart (˜1.5 m). Assume also that the installation is taking place on a fine windless day. The worker might belt the strip  14  at the head thereof, and then at every fifteen feet (˜4.5 m) spacing after that. The belts are not intended to support the strip  14  for the life of the building  16 . Instead, the belts are intended to only support the strip  14  for the length of time it takes the cladding crew to come back over and attach the exterior sheet metal skin of the building  16 . In contrast to a windless day, a windy day may force the worker to belt the strip  14  with banding material  56  at every wall girt  22  (ie., every wall girt  22  is a ‘chosen’ wall girt  22 ). 
     Various advantages of the invention include the following. Strips  14  of insulation in lengths of easily one-hundred feet or longer (˜ greater than thirty meters) can be fastened to buildings  16  in one single strip, without one or more splices in the middle. Moreover, the invention gives the user the opportunity to continue to work in windy conditions like never before, ie., the opportunity to apply insulation strips  14  in windy conditions. Furthermore, the invention provides a single worker with the ability to handle full rolls  12  of insulation and hang the insulation in strips  14 , without dependence on any help from anybody else. In other words, the invention replaces the usual crew of five or so workers with a crew of just one. 
     To turn to  FIGS. 3 through 7 , the roll dispenser  44  includes a tensioning control mechanism  60 . The tensioning control mechanism  60  comprises a brake pedal  62 , a drive shaft  64 , a shoe  66  formed of a heavy gauge steel T-beam, and, a non-slip lining  68  on the shoe  66  to frictionally brake the backing material  52  of the insulation roll  12 . The non-slip lining  68  might comprise neoprene or a like resilient material. The drive shaft  64  might extend through a bushing in the basket  36 &#39;s floor  32  which is likewise lined with neoprene or the like to prevent creep after the brake has been set. 
     Given the foregoing, the tensioning control mechanism  60  allows the user to prevent—from a standing posture within the basket  36 —the insulation roll  12  from freely unrolling unchecked and hence sending a backlash of the insulation roll  12  cascading to the ground. Additionally, the tensioning control mechanism  60  gives the user control over the unrolling of the insulation roll  12  as the stick boom  30  lowers from high elevation to low elevation. 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  show better that the drive shaft  64  of the tensioning control mechanism  60  is telescopic. A lower and inner sleeve slides inside an upper and outer sleeve. The purpose for making the drive shaft  64  telescopic is for adjusting its length during use.  FIGS. 3 and 4  show the dispenser  44  loaded with a fresh roll  12  of insulation. As strips  14  are installed on the building, the roll  12  will shrink such that is loses twenty inches in diameter (˜0.5 m). That means the drive shaft  64  of the tensioning control mechanism  60  will have to start out with the actual pedal  62  at least twenty inches above the surface of the floor  32  of the work platform  26 . Such a high elevation would make the pedal  62  unmanageably too high for some users. 
     However, the drive shaft  64  is telescopic. The user can start with the drive shaft  64  foreshortened such that the pedal  62  is about eight inches (˜0.2 m) off the floor  32 . Then as the user plunges the pedal  62  closer and closer to the floor  32 , the user can hook his or her foot under the pedal  62  and lengthen the drive shaft  64  until the pedal  62  is another eight inches (˜0.2 m) off the floor  32  or so. The telescopic sleeves of the drive shaft  64  have a one-way mechanism  72  which allows the sleeves to slide fairly freely when being pulled apart in extension from each other. But otherwise the one-way mechanism  72  remains relatively latched when the sleeves are driven in foreshortening strokes. 
       FIG. 7  shows better that the one-way mechanism  72  may comprise a simple mechanism sometimes known as a closer slide, or hold open clip, and which are common on the piston rod of the door-closing cylinder of patio screen doors. 
       FIG. 6  shows better that the tensioning control mechanism  60  includes a brake parking provision  74  to park the brake shoe  66 —not tight against a roll  12 —but in an upper and slack position. That way, a single user can load in a new roll  12  without the brake shoe  66  getting in the way. The brake parking provision  74  comprises a pair of tabs secured on the drive shaft  64  and a key hole in either the floor  32  of the platform  26  (or else a keyhole in the hanger hardware  48 ). A user can pull the shoe  66  up until the ears pass through the key hole, and then twist the shaft  64  so that ears are oriented to where the ears cannot pass through the keyhole. 
     The invention having been disclosed in connection with the foregoing variations and examples, additional variations will now be apparent to persons skilled in the art. The invention is not intended to be limited to the variations specifically mentioned, and accordingly reference should be made to the appended claims rather than the foregoing discussion of preferred examples, to assess the scope of the invention in which exclusive rights are claimed.