Patent Publication Number: US-2010107539-A1

Title: Insulating wall panel apparatuses, systems, and methods

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is related to building construction, and more particularly to the construction of insulating walls that may be prefabricated and may be for use as building exterior walls. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Traditional exterior building walls are frequently constructed of solid masonry or wood framing with fascia such as brick, stucco, or siding on the exterior side and plaster or wall board on the interior side. Insulation, such as fiberglass insulation if frequently positioned between the wood framing of such walls. Each of those construction methods are typically performed on the building site sequentially and frequently by different trades people. Thus, such construction can be time consuming and expensive. Such construction furthermore provides limited insulation value, often in the range of R-11 to R-17, lacks effective radiant barriers, and permit air infiltration through the walls. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a pre-manufactured wall that is quickly installed, there is a need for a pre-manufactured wall that may be installed by a single crew of trades people, there is a need for a pre-manufactured wall that is highly insulating, there is a need for a pre-manufactured wall that includes an effective radiant barrier, and there is a need for a pre-manufactured wall that minimizes air infiltration. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to systems, methods and apparatuses for insulating wall panels. In accordance with one form of the present invention, there is provided an insulating wall panel having sheathing, an insulating layer adjacent the sheathing, and a plurality of studs adjacent the insulating layer opposite the sheathing. 
     In another embodiment, the insulated wall panel includes sheathing, a plurality of studs adjacent the insulating layer opposite the sheathing, and an insulating panel disposed between two of the plurality of studs, the insulating panel having a removable chase portion formed therein. 
     In yet another embodiment, the insulated wall panel includes sheathing having a first side and a second side, an insulating material having a first side attached continuously to the first side of the sheathing and a second side, a plurality of structural support members adjacent the second side of the insulating material, and a radiant barrier adjacent the second side of the sheathing; 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides solutions to the shortcomings of prior wall systems and methods. Those of ordinary skill in wall construction will readily appreciate, therefore, that those details described above and other details, features, and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are employed to designate like components, are included to provide a further understanding of insulating wall apparatuses, systems, and methods, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, and illustrate embodiments of a insulating wall apparatuses, systems, and methods that together with the description serve to explain the principles of insulating wall apparatuses, systems and methods. 
       Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent according to the following description exemplified by the drawings, which are shown by way of example only, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of an insulated wall panel; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a top view of the foundation wall of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a side view of the foundation wall of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; and 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a partial cut-away detail of an embodiment of an insulated wall panel to floor structure interconnection. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made to embodiments of insulated wall panel apparatuses, systems, and methods, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Details, features, and advantages of the insulated wall panel apparatuses, systems, and methods will become further apparent in the following detailed description of embodiments thereof. 
     As used herein, an “insulated wall panel” refers to an insulated panel used to construct a building. An insulated wall panel may comprise a portion or all of a residential or commercial building wall installed mostly or completely above grade. The insulated wall panel may include one or more components described herein with respect to insulated wall panel, such as, for example, support elements, elements that secure or facilitate the securing of portions of the insulated wall panel to other panels or other structures, and/or elements that accommodate the inclusion of elements of a structure, such as, for example, doors, windows, driveways, brick and other facades, supports such as support beams, the extension of wiring or pipes through the insulated wall panel, and/or other elements. 
     Any reference in the specification to “one embodiment,” “a certain embodiment,” or a similar reference to an embodiment is intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of such terms in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. References to “or” are furthermore intended as inclusive, so “or” may indicate one or another of the ored terms or more than one ored term. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an insulated wall panel  100  having a base plate  102 , a header plate  104 , a plurality of studs  106 , a plurality of insulating panels  108 , an insulating layer  110 , a radiant barrier  112 , or emissivity barrier, and sheathing  114 . 
     The base plate  102  may be of any desired material suitable for building construction, including wood, steel, or concrete. The base plate may furthermore set on or be attached to a footer, foundation wall, or other structure. 
     The header plate  104  may also be of any desired material suitable for building construction, including wood, steel, or concrete. The base plate may furthermore support another structure such as, for example, another wall or a roof structure. 
     The studs  106  may be of any desired material suitable for building construction, including wood, steel, or concrete. The studs  106 , base plate  102  and header plate  104  may furthermore be formed in any desired size, such as a nominal 2×4 or 2×6 dimension, and in any desired length. Alternately, any structural support member or members may be used in place of the studs. The structural support members or studs may furthermore provide one or more of an axial, shear, and lateral load bearing aspect to the insulated wall panel  100 . 
     In traditional walls, the studs create an undesirable thermal break since insulation is placed between the studs  106 . In embodiments of the present insulated wall panel  100 , the insulating layer  110  is continuously unbroken by studs  106  or other support members. The studs  106  or support members forming a support structure are situated on one side of the insulating layer  110  and the sheathing  114  on the other side of the insulating layer  110 . In embodiments, the insulating layer  110  may be a structural element to which the support structure and the sheathing  114  may be attached by adhesives or otherwise. In other embodiments, fasteners may extend from the sheathing  114 , through the insulating layer  110  into the support structure to provide rigidity to the insulated wall panel  100  or otherwise to retain the insulated wall panel  100  components in a unit. 
     The insulating panels  108  and insulating layer  110  may be formed together as a single unit or separately as desired. The insulating panels  108  may be planar insulating elements and may also provide structural support to the insulated wall panel  100 . For example, the insulating panels  108  and insulating layer  110  may be formed of any insulating material including, for example, fire retardant polystyrene foam or another foam material. The insulating panels  108  and insulating layer  110  may furthermore be formed in any desired thickness, such as eight inch or ten inch thickness. The thickness may furthermore be determined based on the location of the building such that a building constructed in a cold climate may be constructed with a thicker insulating panel  108  or insulating layer  110 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a top view  120  of the foundation wall  100  of  FIG. 1  without the header plate  104  attached thereto.  FIG. 2  illustrates an embodiment in which the insulating panels  108  and insulating layer  110  are formed together as an insulating base  121 . The insulating base  121  may be cut or otherwise formed to include recesses  122  in which the studs  106  may be placed. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a side view  150  of the foundation wall  100  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  with the base plate  102 , header plate  104 , and studs  106  attached thereto. An embodiment of the foundation wall  100  includes a header recess  152  in which the header plate  104  may be disposed and a bottom plate recess  154  in which the base plate  102  may be disposed. Studs  106  may be fastened to the base plate  102  or header plate prior to or after placement in the insulating base  121 . 
     Referring again to  FIG. 2 , one or more removable chase portions  124  may be formed in the insulating panels  108 . In an embodiment, removable chase portions  124  of the insulating panels  108  are formed so they may be simply removed to create a chase (not shown) in the insulated wall panel  100 . For example, where an insulating panel  108  is separate from the insulating layer  110 , a parallel cut  126  may be placed in a vertical line parallel to the studs  106  through the insulating panel  108  so that the removable chase portion  124  of the insulating panel  108  may be grasped and pulled from the remainder of the insulating panel  108  along the parallel cut  126  to expose a chase (not shown) where the removable chase portion  124  of the insulating panel  108  was removed. 
     In another embodiment where the insulating panels  108  are formed with the insulating layer  110 , a perpendicular cut  128  may be placed perpendicular to a stud  106  through the chase portion  124  of the insulating panel  108  to separate the chase portion  124  of the insulating panel  108  from the insulating layer  110  or divide the insulating panel  108 . A parallel cut  126  may also be placed in a vertical line through the removable chase portion  124  of the insulating panel  108  so that the removable chase portion  124  of the insulating panel  108  may be grasped and pulled from the remainder of the insulating panel  108  along the vertical line to expose a chase where the removable chase portion  124  of the insulating panel  108  was removed. 
     It should be recognized that one or more parallel cuts  126  may be used to form the removable chase portion  124 . In an embodiment, a single parallel cut  126  is created adjacent a stud  106  to form a chase adjacent the stud  106 . The parallel cuts  126  may furthermore be positioned to create a chase of a desired width, such as the width of a standard wall outlet box. Similarly, the perpendicular cut  128  may be positioned at any desired depth from an inside surface  130  of the insulating panel  108  to create a chase of a desired depth and maximize the thickness of the insulating panel  108  to maximize the insulating property of the insulated wall panel  100 . 
     It should also be recognized that the parallel cut  126  or the perpendicular cut  128  may be continuous, thus relying on friction to retain the removable chase portion  124  in the insulating panel  108  until removal of the removable chase portion  124  from the insulating panel  108  is desired. Alternately, the parallel cut  126  or the perpendicular cut  128  may include a series of linear cuts separated by uncut portions so that the uncut portions of the removable chase portion  124  may be cut or torn to remove the removable chase portion  124 . 
     The sheathing  114  may be plywood, pressed wood board or any type of sheathing desired. The sheathing  114  may be attached to the insulating layer  110  by glue, such as a polyurethane adhesive or a construction adhesive, or otherwise as desired. The radiant barrier  112  may be a reflective insulation, for example, carrying a thin layer of aluminum, Mylar, or another reflective material. The radiant barrier  112  may also be attached to the sheathing  114  opposite the insulating layer  110  by glue or as desired. 
     Screws or other fasteners  130  may be placed through the sheathing  114  and the insulating layer  110  into the studs  106 , the header plate  104 , or the base plate  102 . The screws or other fasteners  130  may be placed after the radiant barrier  112  and thus pass through the radiant barrier  112  as well as the sheathing  114  and the insulating layer  110 . 
     Such a construction, where studs  106 , chases and the like are built into the insulating portions  108  and  110  of the insulated wall panel  100 , may also permit the insulated wall panel  100  to be thinner than previous highly insulating walls. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 3 , one or more removable chase portions  124  may be positioned horizontally in the insulating panels  108 . Such horizontal removable chase portions  124  may be removed from the insulating panels  108  to provide an opening in the wall for any desired purpose including, for example, the insertion of piping or wire. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a partial cut-away detail  180  of an embodiment of an insulated wall panel  100  to floor structure  182  interconnection. In traditional construction, walls are normally set on floors and air infiltration and heat transfer can be problems at the connection area between the wall and the uninsulated, exposed portion of the floor structure. Accordingly, the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4  has been designed to extend the insulating layer  110  along the floor structure  182  and provide a long joint  183  that can be filled to prevent or minimize air infiltration and heat transfer. For example, insulating material may be placed between the insulated wall panel  100  and the support structure  184  or floor structure  182  to minimize air infiltration or heat transfer in the area where the insulated wall panel  100  is supported. The support structure  184  may furthermore be any support structure  184  such as, for example, a foundation wall or a lower floor wall. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the floor structure  182  is set or constructed to partially rest on a support structure  184  such as a footer, foundation wall, or an insulated wall panel  100 . The insulated wall panel  100  to be set on the floor structure  182  is notched  186  from its inner surface  187 . The insulated wall panel  100  may furthermore be constructed having two base plates  102  a support structure base plate  188  and a floor base plate  190  or may be constructed with a single base plate  102  that sets on the floor structure  182 . In an embodiment having two base plates  188  and  190 , the support structure base plate  188  is placed on the support structure  184  and the floor base plate  190  is placed on the floor structure  182 . 
     The insulating wall panels  100  can be used as exterior, above grade walls for commercial and residential buildings. The insulating wall panels  100  can be manufactured in any size, such as for example the size of a side of a house. 
     In an embodiment, an insulating wall panel  100  is manufactured in an eight foot by fifty foot section. Holes are cut in the insulated wall panel  100  to create openings desired in a side of a house, such as openings to a accommodate windows and doors. The insulated wall panel  100  is then set on a support structure, such as a footer, foundation wall, or another insulated wall panel  100 . Additional insulated wall panels  100  are then set to form all of the exterior, above grade walls of the house. Adjacent insulated wall panels  100  are then attached to one another to form the perimeter of the house. 
     Such insulated wall panels  100  may be manufactured in a manufacturing facility, transported to a building site, and set in place using a crane or other machinery. 
     While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternations could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements, apparatuses, systems, and methods disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention.