Loose-fill insulation conditioning duct
AssigneeCertainTeed Corporation
InventorsAlain Yang, Ken Knapp
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for conditioning loose-fill insulation including an elongated tubular cylinder having a plurality of internal blades positioned in a helical configuration. Large nodules of glass fibrous material pass through the conditioning cylinder and are combed into smaller, more uniform sizes, thus allowing a more uniform additive application further downstream in the manufacturing process. The addition of a tangential airflow to the conditioning cylinder facilitates the combing process by adding a tangential force to move the nodules down the cylinder.
Claims25
A conditioning duct for conditioning material comprising:
- an elongated cylindrical tube;
- and
- a plurality of blades disposed inside the tube, the blades extending inward from an inside surface of the cylindrical tube;
- and
- the blades being positioned in a helix configuration in order to impart rotation to the material inside the tube.
An apparatus for conditioning loose-fill insulation comprising:
- an elongated cylindrical tube;
- a plurality of blades disposed inside the tube, the blades extending inward from an inside surface of the cylindrical tube;
- and
- an air inlet providing a tangential airflow into the duct, the tangential airflow imparting rotation to the loose-fill insulation in the duct.
A method of conditioning a loose-fill insulation material comprising the steps of:
- passing the loose-fill insulation material through an elongated duct having a plurality of internally disposed blades in a helical configuration;
- and
- providing tangential air flow into the duct to impart rotation to the loose-fill insulation material.
An apparatus for conditioning loose-fill insulation comprising:
- an elongated cylindrical tube;
- a plurality of blades disposed inside the tube, the blades extending inward from an inside surface of the cylindrical tube;
- and
- the blades being positioned in configuration in the cylindrical tube.
The apparatus of claim wherein the helix has a pitch between thirty (30) and seventy (70) degrees, more preferably between thirty-five (35) and fifty (50) degrees and most preferably of forty-five (45) degrees.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.