Patent Abstract:
An uninsulated portable spa unit is inverted, and a seal plate having a flat interior surface and a plurality of doors is lowered onto the bottom surface of the inverted spa. The doors are successively opened and glass wool installation apparatus is successively inserted through the door openings and operated to install glass wool insulation into the interior of the spa unit.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/510,957, filed Jul. 22, 2011, entitled “Portable Spa Insulation,” the contents of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The subject disclosure relates to portable spa construction and, more particularly, to a portable spa with improved insulation. 
     2. Related Art 
     Portable spas have become quite popular as a result of their ease of use and multiplicity of features such as varied jet and seating configurations. One area where the inventor has recognized that improvement would be desirable concerns the methods and apparatus used to insulate the spa. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to an illustrative embodiment, glass wool insulation is utilized to replace all or part of the conventional two part rigid polyurethane foam spa insulation. An illustrative method of insulating a portable spa may comprise inverting an uninsulated spa, providing a seal plate comprising a flat interior surface having at least one openable door positioned therein, lowering the sealing plate onto the bottom surface of the inverted spa, opening the door, inserting a glass wool installation apparatus into the door opening, and operating the installation apparatus to install glass wool insulation into the interior of the spa. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portable spa placed upside down with glass wool insulation installed in the interior thereof; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view and further illustrating a blower installation tube; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial perspective view of an interior portion of a portable spa wherein previously installed glass wool insulation has been partially removed to expose interior spa piping; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating apparatus employed in an illustrative embodiment to install glass wool insulation in a portable spa unit; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating installation of batting material prior to blowing glass wool insulation into interior cavities of a portable spa; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a typical spa firewall; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view illustrating opening of doors of a spa sealing plate according to an illustrative embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view illustrating operation of an illustrative door embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of a spa door opening in an illustrative seal plate structure; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view illustrating positioning of a blower tube in a spa door opening for purposes of blowing glass wool insulation into an interior cavity of the spa; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view illustrating removal of a spa sealing plate after installation of glass wool insulation into the interior cavity of a portable spa unit; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view illustrating packing down of glass wool insulation into a spa interior after removal of the spa sealing plate; and 
         FIGS. 13 and 14  are perspective views illustrating attachment of a plastic bottom sheet after packing down of the glass wool insulation. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     According to illustrative embodiments, glass wool insulation is utilized to replace all or part of conventional two part rigid polyurethane foam spa insulation. The glass wool may be, for example, the JM Spider spray-in fiberglass insulation product available from John Manville, Denver, Colo. Antistatic silicone may be added to the John Manville formula in order to eliminate static and prevent the glass wool from wicking up moisture. 
     In a first illustrative embodiment, a spa is positioned with its bottom end  13  up, for example, as shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . A cloth or other cover may be placed over the bottom  13  of the spa  11  and fixed in position, for example, across the parallel wooden bottom rails  15 . A glass wool spraying tube  17  ( FIG. 2 ) may be then inserted through the cloth and the glass wool  16  blown into the spa interior through the tube  17 . In a production embodiment, a reusable fixture may be constructed and used to cover the spa bottom  13  during the process of blowing the glass wool  16  into the spa interior.  FIG. 1  illustrates the spa  11  after insulation has been blown into several of the interior regions or cavities beneath the parallel horizontal bottom frame members or rails  15 . An advantage over rigid polyurethane foam is that the glass wool  16  may be removed in the field to facilitate repair and then replaced.  FIG. 3  illustrates an area  21  where glass wool  16  has been removed to expose interior spa water piping  23 . 
     According to a second illustrative embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 4-14 , a spa  111  ready for insulation installment is placed upside down resting on its top rim so that glass wool insulation may be shot into it from its under or bottom side  113 . Typically, the spa  111  at this stage will comprise a spa shell  115  ( FIG. 5 ) attached to a surrounding frame  117  with exterior paneling  119  attached to the frame  117  and with all spa equipment such as pump, filter, heater, jets, and controls installed. The surrounding frame  117  may include, for example, a base frame, formed for example of perpendicularly or rectangularly arranged wooded studs  121  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The spa will also typically include a “firewall”  123  ( FIG. 6 ), which, in one embodiment, may be a sheet of black corrugated polypropylene that separates the equipment compartment of the spa from the tub area, similar to the firewall in a car. Such a sheet  123  may be cut on a Numerical Controlled (NC) Router to the proper shape and to create holes, e.g.  124 , for the plumbing pipes, e.g.  125  ( FIG. 5 ), and electronics to pass through. 
     In a first step according to an illustrative process, illustrated in  FIG. 5 , suitable batting material  127 , for example, such as polyester batting, is installed to block the firewall openings and other openings as necessary or desirable. A spray adhesive may be used to secure the batting in place. Additionally, if desired, masking tape may be used to block other small openings, and Kraft paper or other shielding may be placed around the spa exterior to protect decorative paneling  119 . 
     In a next step, a sealing plate  129 , shown e.g.  FIGS. 4 and 7-9 , is installed by lowering it onto the spa frame members  121 . In one embodiment, this sealing plate  129  is fabricated from a flat interior sheet  131  surrounded by a rim  133 . In one embodiment, the flat sheet  131  may be attached to the rim  133  by screws or other fasteners. In one embodiment, the flat sheet  131  may be wood, such as plywood, or fiberglass, and the rim  133  may be a metal, such as, for example, aluminum. The shape of the sealing plate  129  is selected to conform to the shape of the spa bottom in illustrative embodiments. 
     A number of hinged doors or door “sliders”  135  are positioned on the top surface  137  of the flat sheet  131 . Each hinged door  135  is strategically positioned at a location where it is desired to inject the insulative glass wool material. In one embodiment, the doors  135  are positioned to be over the deeper parts of the spa interior in order to allow optimum filling of the spa  111 . 
     In one embodiment, a plate lifter  151 , e.g.,  FIG. 4 , comprising, for example, a chain hoist with wheels riding on a ceiling I beam or other track, may be used to suspend, mechanically lift, move and position a larger sealing plate  129 , while smaller sealing plates  129  may be handled manually. The sealing plate  129  may be placed in an initial position above the spa  111  and then aligned. In one embodiment, the alignment is by reference to locating the doors  135  over the deeper parts of the spa  111 , as mentioned above. In one embodiment shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , a door  135  is hinged by a screw or other device  136  to pivot in the plane of the top surface  137  to reveal a rectangular opening  141  wherein is disposed a rectangular shield or membrane  143  with an “X” or other opening cut or otherwise formed in it. In one embodiment, the flexible shield  143  may be fabricated of rubber or a flexible plastic material. 
     Once the sealing plate  129  is in place, one of the hinged doors  135  is opened and a blower tube  155  is inserted into the opening  157  above an internal spa cavity to be filled, for example, as illustrated in  FIG. 10 . The operator  159  may then employ manual assistance from other workers to hold the seal plate  127  in place against the spa unit&#39;s frame members, e.g.  121 . Of course, mechanical means may be provided in other embodiments to hold the seal plate  129  in place. Once the area beneath the blower tube  155  is visually detected to be filled, the blower  155  is turned off, and then another seal plate door  135  is opened, the blower tube  155  inserted, and the area beneath the tube  155  filled. This process is repeated for all the seal plate doors  135  until the spa&#39;s internal cavity or cavities, e.g.,  130 , are completely filled. 
     After filling, the seal plate  129  is removed, revealing the “filled” spa unit  111  as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 11-12 . The glass wool insulation  116  is then packed, pushed or tamped down by hand approximately one half inch, as shown in  FIG. 12 . Any excess glass wool  116  is removed from the intake and exhaust cavities, which are the intakes for cool air to the spa&#39;s pumps and exhausts for heat from the pumps. Glass wool  116  is also removed from the top surface area of the frame member studs  121 . Any excess glass wool is also blown from the spa equipment compartment area utilizing, for example, an air hose and subsequent vacuuming. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14 , a sheet of plastic  161  is next placed onto the pedestal frame, centered and stapled at its edges  163  flush with the pedestal edge. In illustrative embodiments, the plastic sheet  161  may be either ABS or Polyethylene. The plastic sheet  161  seals the bottom of the spa  111  so that the glass wool insulation will not fall out. Any excess plastic around the edges  163  of the spa  111  may be trimmed off using a router or other tool. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4