Patent Publication Number: US-2020299955-A1

Title: Insulated Framing Member Assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
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     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM. 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     (2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The disclosure and prior art relates to insulated devices and more particularly pertains to a new insulated device for improving the thermal efficiently between the joint of a framing member and sheathing. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a framing member for constructing the framing a building. An insulating layer is coupled to the framing member and the insulating layer is comprised of a thermally insulating material. A sheathing panel is positioned against the insulating layer and the insulating layer inhibits thermal communication between the framing member and the sheathing panel. In this way the insulating layer enhances thermal efficiency of the building. Additionally, the sheathing panel defines a planar component of the structure of the building. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an insulated framing member assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a right side view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 4  thereof, a new insulated device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , the insulated framing member assembly  10  generally comprises a framing member  12  that has a front surface  14  and a back surface  16 . The framing member  12  has a thickness of approximately 4.5 inches between the front  14  and back  16  surfaces. The framing member  12  may be a wood stud or a metal stud used in constructing the framing of a building. Moreover, the framing member  12  may be employed for framing an exterior wall, an interior wall, a ceiling, a floor or any other structural component of a building for which a builder seeks to improve thermal transfer properties. Additionally, the framing member  12  may have a thickness of approximately 2.5 inches between the front  14  and back  16  surfaces. 
     An insulating layer  18  is provided and the insulating layer  18  is coupled to the framing member  12 . The insulating layer  18  has a thickness of approximately 1.0 inches and the insulating layer  18  is attached to the front surface  14  of the framing member  12 . Moreover, the insulating layer  18  is coextensive with a length of the front surface  14  and the insulating layer  18  has a distal surface  20  with respect to the front surface  14  of the framing member  12 . The insulating layer  18  is comprised of a thermally insulating material  18 , such as insulating foam or the like. 
     The framing member  12  with the thickness of approximately 4.5 inches and the insulating layer  18  form a unit having a thickness of approximately 5.5 inches in the convention of existing 2×6 framing members. The framing member  12  with the thickness of approximately 2.5 inches and the insulating layer  18  form a unit having a thickness of approximately 3.5 inches in the convention of existing 2×4 framing members. The framing member  12  may have the traditional thickness of either 5.5 inches or 3.5 inches, and the insulating layer  18  may be a liquefied, insulating material that is infused into the framing member  12 , extending from the front surface  14  of the framing member  12  toward the back surface  16  of the framing member  12 . In this way the load bearing capacity of the framing member  12  is not compromised due to a reduction in thickness between the front  14  and back  16  surfaces. 
     A sheathing panel  22  is provided and the sheathing panel  22  is positioned against the insulating layer  18 . The insulating layer  18  inhibits thermal communication between the framing member  12  and the sheathing panel  22 . In this way the insulating layer  18  enhances thermal efficiency of the building. The sheathing panel  22  has a rear surface  24  and the rear surface  24  abuts the distal surface  20  of the insulating layer  18  when the sheathing panel  22  is applied to define the wall of the building. Fasteners  26 , such as framing nails or the like, can be extended through the sheathing panel  33 , the insulating layer  18  and the framing member  12  for attaching the sheathing panel  22  to the framing member  12 . 
     In use, the framing member  12  and insulating layer  18  are employed to construct a building in accordance with either the International Commercial or Residential Code. The sheathing panel  22  is attached to the insulating layer  18  on the framing member  12  to construct the building. Thus, the insulating layer  18  inhibits thermal communication between the framing member  12  and the sheathing panel  22 . In this way the insulating layer  18  enhances the thermal efficiency of the building. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.