Insulation batt with integral air vent

Abstract

An insulation product having an integral air vent channel is disclosed for use in attic and cathedral ceiling applications. The product includes an insulation blanket having at least a pair of raised strips formed on one side thereof. When installed, the blanket is fit up between a pair of roof rafters until the raised strips contact the undersurface of the roof. The strips ensure that a predetermined offset exists between the insulation blanket and the roof, thus forming an unobstructed ventilation path running from the soffit to the roof peak. The raised strips can be foamed polyurethane or other polymer material that is dispensed or laminated onto the insulation blanket after the blanket exits the curing oven. The blanket may be a foamed polymer insulation that is extruded as a blanket at the proper insulation height for installation or may be cut to size from an overthick bun of insulation. The blanket and strips may be formed by a mold that shapes a pour in place foam. The blanket, with attached strips, can then be compressed for packaging and shipping. When unpackaged at the work site, the insulation product can be installed between roof rafters without the need for a separate vent panel, thus simplifying the installation process.

1 . An insulating structure for maintaining a ventilation space between insulation material and a roof structure, the insulating structure comprising:
 an insulating body portion having first and second major surfaces and a longitudinal axis; and   a plurality of support members disposed on the first major surface, said support members each having a length oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the insulating body portion and a height which extends said support members outwardly from said first major surface;   wherein the plurality of support members are positioned in laterally spaced apart relation across a width of the first major surface to create at least one ventilation opening, said ventilation opening formed by the first major surface of the insulating body portion and opposing inner side surfaces of said adjacent support members; and   wherein the insulating body portion is resilient and comprises a fiberous or foam insulation material, and the plurality of support members comprise a stiffness substantially different from a stiffness of said insulating body portion.   
   
   
       2 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the insulating body portion comprises glass fibers and the plurality of support members comprise a foamed polymer. 
   
   
       3 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the insulating body portion comprise a foamed polymer and the plurality of support members comprise a foamed polymer. 
   
   
       4 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of support members each has a height as measured from the first major surface of the insulating body portion, the height being predetermined to provide the ventilation opening with a predetermined cross-sectional area. 
   
   
       5 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of support members is offset from a respective lateral side of the insulation body portion by a predetermined offset distance. 
   
   
       6 . The structure of  claim 5 , wherein a width of the insulating body portion is about 15 or 23 inches and the offset distance is about 2½ inches. 
   
   
       7 . The structure of  claim 6 , wherein the width of the insulating body portion is about 23 inches, and the plurality of support members comprises at least three longitudinal strips spaced apart from each other across the width. 
   
   
       8 . The structure of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of support members form peripheral ventilation openings defined by the first major surface of the insulating body portion and respective outer side surfaces of the support members. 
   
   
       9 . The structure of  claim 1 , the insulating structure further being configurable into a compressed state upon application of a compression force. 
   
   
       10 . The structure of  claim 9 , the insulating structure further having an uncompressed state and an uncompressed thickness greater than a thickness of the structure in the compressed state, wherein the insulating structure is capable of self-expanding from the compressed state to the uncompressed state upon removal of said compression force. 
   
   
       11 . The structure of  claim 10 , wherein the insulating structure is configured in the compressed state for packaging, and is configured in the uncompressed state prior to installation between a pair of roof rafters. 
   
   
       12 . The structure of  claim 9 , wherein a thickness of the insulating structure prior to application of the compression force is about 105% to about 130% of the thickness of the insulating structure subsequent to release of the compression force. 
   
   
       13 . The structure of  claim 9 , wherein a thickness of the insulating structure prior to application of the compression force is about 110% of the thickness of the insulating structure subsequent to release of the compression force. 
   
   
       14 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of support members are resilient. 
   
   
       15 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of support members are rigid. 
   
   
       16 . A method for insulating a roof structure, comprising:
 providing an insulating body portion having first and second major surfaces and a longitudinal axis, a first major surface of the insulating body portion containing a plurality of support members disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the insulating body portion, each of said support members further being disposed to extend outward from said first major surface and spaced laterally apart from one or more adjacent support members; and   disposing the insulating body portion adjacent to a roof sheathing member such that said support members contact said roof sheathing member to thereby create a ventilation space between the first major surface of the insulating body portion, opposing inner side surfaces of adjacent support members, and a surface of the roof sheathing member.   
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the insulating body portion and the plurality of support members are resilient. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein either the insulating body portion or the plurality of support members are rigid. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the step of disposing the insulating body portion adjacent the roof sheathing member further creates peripheral ventilation spaces between the first major surface of the insulating body portion, outer side surfaces of respective support members, inner side surfaces of adjacent roof rafters, and a surface of the roof sheathing member. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the providing step comprises dispensing a foamed material onto said first major surface to form said plurality of support members. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the providing step comprises laminating strips of a foamed polymer material onto said first major surface to form said plurality of support members. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the foamed insulation material comprises polyurethane foam and the insulating body portion comprises glass fibers. 
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the dispensing step is performed after the insulating body portion exits a curing oven. 
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the dispensing step fixes the foamed insulation material in at least two longitudinal strips along the first major surface of the insulating body portion. 
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein after the dispensing step the insulating body portion and the plurality of support members are configured to a compressed state, packaged, shipped to a work site, and configured to an uncompressed state prior to disposing the insulating body portion adjacent to the roof sheathing member. 
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the insulating body portion has a thickness prior to being configured to the compressed state that is about 105% to about 130% of the thickness of the insulating body portion subsequent to being configured to the uncompressed state. 
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the insulating body portion has a thickness prior to being configured to the compressed state that is about 110% of the thickness of the insulating body portion subsequent to being configured to the uncompressed state. 
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the plurality of support members have a thickness prior to being configured to the compressed state that is about 105% to about 130% of the thickness of the plurality of support members subsequent to being configured to the uncompressed state. 
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the plurality of support members have a thickness prior to being configured to the compressed state that is about 110% of the thickness of the plurality of support members subsequent to being configured to the uncompressed state. 
   
   
       30 . A method of manufacturing an insulation product, comprising:
 providing a layer of insulation blanket material;   moving the layer of insulation blanket material in a machine direction;   dispensing a strip of foamed material on a surface of the layer of insulation blanket material.   
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the step of dispensing a strip of foamed material comprises dispensing a pair of substantially parallel lanes of said foamed material on the surface of the layer of insulation blanket material. 
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the layer of insulation blanket material has a width of about 15 inches or about 23 inches. 
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the width of the insulating body portion is about 23 inches, and dispensing step comprises dispensing three substantially parallel strips of foamed material on a surface of the layer of insulation blanket material. 
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the dispensing step comprises dispensing a thickness of foamed material to thereby provide a strip with a predetermined height as measured from the surface of the layer of insulation blanket material. 
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the dispensing step is performed after the layer of insulation blanket material exits a curing oven. 
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the layer of insulation blanket material is resilient, the foamed material is either resilient or rigid, and the foamed material has a stiffness that is greater than a stiffness of the layer of insulation blanket material. 
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising the steps of:
 cutting the insulation product to length;   compressing the insulation product so that the insulation product assumes a compressed state in which a compressed thickness of the insulation product is less than an uncompressed thickness of the insulation product; and   packaging the insulation product in the compressed state.   
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the layer of insulation blanket material comprises mineral wool, and the foamed material comprises polyurethane. 
   
   
       39 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the dispensing step fixes the foamed material to the insulation blanket material. 
   
   
       40 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the strip of foamed material is offset by a first distance from a lateral side edge of the layer of insulation blanket material. 
   
   
       41 . A method of manufacturing an insulation product, comprising:
 providing a layer of insulation blanket material;   moving the layer of insulation blanket material in a machine direction; and   laminating a strip of foamed material on a surface of the layer of insulation blanket material.   
   
   
       42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the insulation blanket has a width of about 15 inches or about 23 inches, and the step of laminating a strip of foamed material further comprises laminating a pair of substantially parallel lanes of said foamed material on the surface of the layer of insulation blanket material. 
   
   
       43 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein the width of the insulation blanket is about 23 inches, and the step of laminating a strip of foamed material further comprises laminating a third strip of foamed material between said pair of substantially parallel lanes, said third strip being substantially parallel to said pair of substantially parallel lanes. 
   
   
       44 . An insulating structure for maintaining a ventilation space between insulation material and a roof structure, the insulating structure comprising:
 an insulating body portion having first and second major surfaces and a longitudinal axis; and   a plurality of support members disposed on the first major surface, said support members each having a length oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the insulating body portion and a height which extends said support members outwardly from said first major surface;   wherein the plurality of support members are positioned in laterally spaced apart relation across a width of the first major surface to create at least one ventilation opening, said ventilation opening formed by the first major surface of the insulating body portion and opposing inner side surfaces of said adjacent support members; and   wherein the insulating body portion is resilient, the insulation body portion and the plurality of support members further comprise foam material, and the plurality of support members have a stiffness substantially the same as a stiffness of the insulating body portion.   
   
   
       45 . The structure of  claim 44 , wherein the insulating body portion and the plurality of support members comprise a foamed polymer. 
   
   
       46 . The structure of  claim 45 , wherein the insulating body portion and the plurality of support members comprise a pour in place foam 
   
   
       47 . The structure of  claim 44 , wherein the plurality of support members each has a height as measured from the first major surface of the insulating body portion, the height being predetermined to provide the ventilation opening with a predetermined cross-sectional area. 
   
   
       48 . The structure of  claim 44 , wherein each of the plurality of support members is offset from a respective lateral side of the insulation body portion by a predetermined offset distance. 
   
   
       49 . The structure of  claim 48 , wherein a width of the insulating body portion is about 15 or 23 inches and the offset distance is about 2½ inches. 
   
   
       50 . The structure of  claim 49 , wherein the width of the insulating body portion is about 23 inches, and the plurality of support members comprises at least three longitudinal strips spaced apart from each other across the width. 
   
   
       51 . The structure of  claim 48 , wherein the plurality of support members form peripheral ventilation openings defined by the first major surface of the insulating body portion and respective outer side surfaces of the support members. 
   
   
       52 . The structure of  claim 44 , the insulating structure further being configurable into a compressed state upon application of a compression force. 
   
   
       53 . The structure of  claim 52 , the insulating structure further having an uncompressed state and an uncompressed thickness greater than a thickness of the structure in the compressed state, wherein the insulating structure is capable of self-expanding from the compressed state to the uncompressed state upon removal of said compression force.