Patent Publication Number: US-2002011042-A1

Title: Assembly and method for attaching insulation material

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The field of this invention relates to the installation of insulation materials in buildings and similar structures, and more specifically, to an assembly and method utilizing a clip and pin combination for attaching insulation to a frame member.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] The installation of insulation material in buildings may require that the insulation be attached to a frame member of the structure. Generally, pins have been welded or glued to the frame member and then the insulation material is attached using the pins. This has presented several problems. First, the welding and gluing processes are time consuming, which makes the attachment of the insulation material tedious and inefficient. This often leads to installation and construction delays, inefficient utilization of labor, and increased installation and construction costs. Second, the bonds created by the welding and gluing processes may weaken over time, causing the pin and thus the insulation to become detached from the frame member. Third, the pins are often attached to the frame member at unaligned positions of the member, resulting in uneven or crooked alignment of the insulation material.  
       [0003] Although U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,194 to Drury appears to disclose a securing device for affixing insulation material to a strip steel framing member, this device is believed to have several drawbacks. First, the insulation material must be specially manufactured to include a tab that can be clamped to the frame member. Second, the clamping pressure applied to this tab may cause the insulation material to tear, resulting in the detachment of the insulation material from the frame member. Third, even if the insulation material does not tear, the tab may be pulled out of the clip, causing the insulation material to become detached from the frame member.  
       [0004] Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an assembly for attaching insulation material to a frame member that overcomes the above disadvantages.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005] Generally speaking, the present invention fulfills the foregoing needs by providing an assembly for attaching insulation material to a building frame member having a flange. The assembly includes a clip with a length dimension extending along a longitudinal axis and a width dimension substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The clip includes a pair of resilient grabbing members defining an aperture substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis for receiving the flange. One of the grabbing members has at least one opening, with a pin having a head and a sharp end extending through this opening. One self-locking washer is used to secure the pin to the clip or grabbing member of the assembly. An additional self-locking washer is used to retain the insulation after the insulation has been pierced by the pin.  
       [0006] In addition, a method for attaching insulation material in a building or similar structure is provided that includes the step of providing a frame member with a flange. A grabbing step allows the flange to be grabbed with a clip having a length dimension extending along a longitudinal axis and a width dimension substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The clip includes a pair of resilient grabbing members defining an aperture along the longitudinal axis for receiving the flange, and one of the grabbing members has at least one opening thereon. An inserting step allows a pin having a head and a sharp end to be inserted through the opening so that the sharp end faces away from the flange, and a piercing step allows the sharp end of the pin to pierce the insulation material. Respective retaining steps allow the pin to be retained in the opening and the insulation material to be retained in the pin using respective self-locking washers. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0007]FIG. 1A is a side view of a clip and pin assembly of the present invention in one exemplary combination with a frame member and insulation material.  
     [0008]FIG. 1B shows another exemplary combination of the clip and pin assembly of the present invention wherein the insulation is suspended so as to create a thermal barrier and thus lessening heat flow by conduction.  
     [0009]FIG. 1C shows yet another exemplary combination of the clip and pin assembly of the present invention using a mass insulation.  
     [0010]FIG. 2 is a side view of the clip of the present invention.  
     [0011]FIG. 3A is a bottom view of one embodiment of the clip and pin assembly of the present invention.  
     [0012]FIG. 3B is a top view of another embodiment of the clip and pin assembly of the present invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0013] Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention is made up of a clip and pin assembly  10  that is attachable to a frame member  15  of a building. By way of example, frame member  15  may be configured in various forms, including a stud, joist, purlin, rib, trimmer, etc., and may be used to provide support to a roof or a wall of the building, and includes a flange  20  thereon. Clip  25  has a length dimension  30  extending along a longitudinal axis  35 , and a width dimension  40  that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis  35 , which is illustrated more completely in FIGS. 3A and 3B.  
     [0014] Referring to FIG. 2, clip  25  has a pair of resilient grabbing members  45 ,  50  defining an aperture  55  substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis  35 . Clip  25  may be formed from a single sheet of metallic material that is bent to form grabbing members  45 ,  50  and aperture  55 . Aperture  55  is sized to receive the flange  20  therein. In one embodiment of the present invention, one of the grabbing members  45  is configured to have a rounded edge  60  proximate the aperture  55 , and the other grabbing member  50  is configured to have a projection  65  extending at a predetermined angle  70  toward grabbing member  45 . Predetermined angle  70  should be selected to facilitate entry of the flange  20  into the aperture  55  and to frictionally impede exit of the flange  20  from the aperture  55  after the flange  20  has been inserted into the aperture  55 .  
     [0015] Referring to FIGS.  1 A- 1 C,  3 A, and  3 B, at least one opening  75  that is sized to receive and hold a pin  80  therein is included in one of the grabbing members  45 ,  50 . Although FIGS.  1 A- 1 C,  3 A, and  3 B illustrate that opening  75  is in grabbing member  50 , it will be appreciated that opening  75  may just as easily be formed in the other grabbing member  45 . Pin  80  includes a sharp end  85  and a head  90 . Opening  75  should be sized so that the sharp end  85  may pass through opening  75  but head  90  may not.  
     [0016] In order to enable a user to insert a pin  80  into opening  75 , for each such opening  75  a corresponding opening  95  may be included in the opposing grabbing member. Although FIGS.  1 A- 1 C,  3 A, and  3 B illustrate that corresponding opening  95  is in grabbing member  45 , it will be appreciated that opening  95  may just as easily be formed in grabbing member  50  if opening  75  is formed in grabbing member  45 . Opening  95  should be sized to pass the entire pin  80  therethrough, and should be positioned so that pin  80  can be passed through opening  95  and into opening  75 . Alternatively, it will be noted by those skilled in the art that pin  80  may be incorporated into opening  75  during the manufacture of clip  25 .  
     [0017] Referring to FIG. 1, a set of washers  100 ,  105  is connected to the pin  80  as shown. Washer  105  is fixed on pin  80  proximate the sharp end  85 , and applies an upward force on the insulation material  110  to retain the insulation material  110  in the pin  80 . Washer  100  is fixed on pin  80  proximate the head  90  and applies a force on grabbing member  50  to retain the pin  80  in the opening  75 . Pin  80  should be of sufficient size to receive the washers  100 ,  105  and the insulation material  110  as shown. As shown in FIG. 1B, it will be appreciated that, if desired, the length of pin  80  may be selected sufficiently long so as to allow for creating or interposing a thermal barrier, such as an air gap and the like, between insulation material  110  and frame member  15  so as to reduce conductive heat flow therebetween. In addition, and as better seen in FIG. 1C, the length of pin  80  may be selected to accommodate the thickness of the specific insulation material, e.g., mass insulation, being supported by the clip assembly. Washers  100 ,  105  are preferably self-locking, with washer  105  being proximate to the sharp end  85  of the pin  80  and providing support against one side of the insulation material  110 , and the other washer  100  being opposite the sharp end  85  and providing support against the other side of the insulation material  110 . In one embodiment of the present invention, washer  105  is capped to protect a user from sharp end  85 .  
     [0018] Clip  25  may be sized to have a relatively small length dimension  30 , as illustrated in FIG. 3B, or may have a relatively large length dimension  30 , as illustrated in FIG. 3A and in this case clip  25  may have a relatively low width to length ratio. Referring to FIG. 3A, for clips  25  with a relatively large length dimension  30 , grabbing member  50  may include additional openings  75  positioned along the longitudinal axis  35  for receiving respective additional pins  80 . Each opening  75  should include additional washer sets  100 ,  105  to provide substantially aligned attachment between the insulation material  110  and the frame member  15  along the longitudinal axis  35 . A clip  25  having a low width to length ratio may be conveniently selected if there are no physical structures, such as walls, beams and the like, obstructing the placement of such clip on flange  20 . If there are physical structures that prevent the use of a clip  25  with a larger length dimension  30 , a clip with a smaller length dimension  30  may be selected so that the clip  25  will fit on the flange  20 . A clip having a low width to length ratio allows for spanning a correspondingly long section of flange  20  with a single clip. This makes installation of the insulation material less time-consuming and more efficient. Further, the use of a single clip to span a longer section of flange  20  helps ensure that the insulation material will be positioned in a straight line along the length of the flange  20 . This will reduce the risk that the insulation material will be misaligned relative to flange  20 . It will be appreciated that the clip may be chosen to have any desired length so long as clip  25  maintains its structural integrity, or its handling does not become unwieldy to the user, or difficult to store and transport. The width dimension  40  may be relatively fixed, as the width of flange  20  may not vary much between frame members. However, the width dimension  40  may be sized to correspond to the width of flange  20  if necessary. By way of example of not of limitation, each of the respective embodiments shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B may have a width of about 1.5 inches while the embodiment of FIG. 3A may have a length of about 4 feet compared to a length of about 4 inches for the embodiment of FIG. 3A.  
     [0019] The method of the present invention will now be described in detail. Referring to FIG. 1, a frame member  15  with a flange  20  is provided. The flange  20  is grabbed with a clip  25  having a length dimension  30  and a width dimension  40  as described above. Flange  20  is grabbed by clip  25  by inserting the flange  20  into the aperture  55  defined by the pair of resilient grabbing members  45 ,  50 .  
     [0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, one of the grabbing members  45  is provided with a rounded edge  60  proximate the aperture  55 , and the other grabbing member  50  is provided with a projection  65  extending at a predetermined angle  70  toward grabbing member  45 . Predetermined angle  70  should be selected to facilitate entry of the flange  20  into the aperture  55  and to frictionally impede exit of the flange  20  from the aperture  55  after the flange  20  has been inserted into the aperture  55 . By way of example, such angle may be chosen to be 45 degrees relative to grabbing member  50 .  
     [0021] Referring to FIGS. 1, 3A, and  3 B, at least one opening  75  that is sized to receive and hold a pin  80  therein is provided in one of the grabbing members  45 ,  50 . Although FIGS. 1, 3A, and  3 B illustrate that opening  75  is in grabbing member  50 , it will be appreciated that opening  75  may just as easily be formed in the other grabbing member  45 . Opening  75  should be sized to pass the sharp end  85  of the pin  80  therethrough, but should not allow the head  90  of the pin  80  to pass therethrough.  
     [0022] The pin  80  is then inserted through opening  75  so that the sharp end  85  faces away from the flange  20 . In order to enable a user to insert pin  80  into opening  75 , for each such opening  75  a corresponding opening  95  may be included in the opposing grabbing member. Although FIGS. 1, 3A, and  3 B illustrate that corresponding opening  95  is in grabbing member  45 , it will be appreciated that opening  95  may just as easily be formed in grabbing member  50  if opening  75  is formed in grabbing member  45 . Opening  95  should be sized to pass the entire pin  80  therethrough, and should be positioned so that pin  80  can be passed through opening  95  and into opening  75 . Alternatively, it will be noted by those skilled in the art that pin  80  may be incorporated into opening  75  during the manufacture of clip  25  and that the clip and pin may be optionally pre-assembled before being delivered to the user.  
     [0023] Referring to FIG. 1, washer  100  is fixed on pin  80  proximate the head  90  and applies a force on grabbing member  50  to retain the pin in the opening  75 . Sharp end  85  of pin  80  is then used to pierce the insulation material  110 . Finally, washer  105  is fixed on pin  80  proximate the sharp end  85 , and applies an upward force on the insulation material  110  to retain the insulation material  110  in the pin  80 .  
     [0024] Clip  25  may be sized to have a relatively small length dimension  30 , as illustrated in FIG. 3B, or may have a relatively large length dimension, as illustrated in FIG. 3A. Referring to FIG. 3A, for clips  25  with a relatively large length dimension, grabbing member  50  may be provided to include additional openings  75  positioned along the longitudinal axis  35  for receiving respective additional pins  80 . By way of example, these additional openings  75  may be positioned substantially equidistant relative to one another along the longitudinal axis  35 . The sharp ends  85  of these additional pins  80  are used to pierce the insulation material  110  at multiple points along the length of the material  110 . Additional washer sets  100 ,  105  are provided to retain the additional pins  80  in the additional openings  75  and to retain the pierced insulation material  110  in the additional pins  80 .  
     [0025] It is believed that the clip assembly of the present invention provides at least the following advantages:  
     [0026] New and improved method of relatively quickly and inexpensively insulating new and existing buildings.  
     [0027] Secure installation of insulating materials to horizontal and upright building frame members, such as purlins, joists, ribs, etc.  
     [0028] Insulation to cover the bottom of the frame member to create a substantially continuous insulation system with a thermal break or barrier from the frame member based on the longitudinal dimension of the pin.  
     [0029] Support of multiple types of insulation and facings, such as foam boards, also white poly/vinyl facings, and mass insulations including fibrous, cellulose, cotton and reflective insulation by the availability of different pin lengths.  
     [0030] Installation of the insulation in any desired geometrical configuration (e.g., parallel or perpendicular) relative to the building frame member.  
     [0031] A finished and aesthetically pleasing look to the ceiling or walls of the building by covering the beams behind the insulation.  
     [0032] A clip-assembly than can be ruggedly constructed to be safely used to support heavy duty materials. Further, the clip-assembly may be used to secure safety netting.  
     [0033] A clip-assembly readily configured to provide easy sliding entry over a lip or flange of, for example the purlin, and upon entry providing sufficient gripping or frictional force to that lip so that the clip assembly does not become dislodged due to the weight of the insulation. The assembly may be readily removed to perform any necessary maintenance or repairs. The assembly may also be opened by hand or without special tools to be released from the purlin.  
     [0034] A clip-assembly that can be readily installed without special machinery or substantial strength or dexterity.  
     [0035] A clip assembly that will not interfere with the normal use of the building or the frame members therein to which the assemblies are attached.  
     [0036] A clip assembly that can be re-used when the building life cycle is complete and therefore is a recyclable or environmentally-green building component.  
     [0037] It will be understood that the specific embodiment of the invention shown and described herein is exemplary only. Numerous variations, changes substitutions, and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that all subject matter described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings be regarded as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense and that the scope of the invention be solely determined by the appended claims.