Soft batt insulation material and method for making

Abstract

An article of manufacture and a method of manufacturing a soft batt insulation material. The article of manufacture comprises fibers having crimps and surface features such as scales that provide a batt structure which is resiliently compressible. Fiber treatments provide fire, pest, fungus, and mold resistance. The treatments can be to the surface or to the internal structure of the fiber. The insulation batts are comprised of one or more layers of intermeshed fibers. The fibers can be wool or other protein based hair. The batts can include a restrainment structure that limits that expansion of the batts.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An insulation batt, consisting solely of: multiple layers of protein-based fibers, said fibers having been treated to resist pests, mold and fire by way of immersion in one or more baths, and characterized by surfaces irregularities that impede the fibers sliding over other fibers, said fibers further having crimps. 
     
     
         2 . The insulation batt of  claim 1 , wherein the protein based fibers are wool, wherein the crimps are spaced between 1/64 and ¼ inches, wherein the diameter of the fibers are 20 to 40 microns across, and wherein a majority of the fibers have a length of one half to six inches. 
     
     
         3 . The insulation batt of  claim 2 , wherein a treatment applied to the fibers comprises 0.2% to 15% of the batt weight. 
     
     
         4 . The insulation batt of  claim 3 , further comprising a means for restraining the insulation batt shape. 
     
     
         5 . The insulation batt of  claim 3 , wherein the batt has a density of 1.0 to 5.25 pounds per cubic foot. 
     
     
         6 . The insulation batt of  claim 2 , wherein the treatment is substantially dispersed throughout the internal structure of the fiber. 
     
     
         7 . The insulation batt of  claim 6 , wherein the treatment comprises one or more of: mono-ammonium phosphate, di-ammonium phosphate, poly-ammonium phosphate, mono-ammonium sulfate, di-ammonium sulfate, poly-ammonium sulfate, guanyl urea, phosphate, guanyl urea phosphate or a combination thereof; and one or more of: boric acid, disodium octaborate, boric acid with borates, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The insulation batt of  claim 7 , wherein the borates are one of: boric oxide, boric. acid, alkali earth, alkaline metal borates, disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, sodium pentaborate, calcium borates, zinc borates or a combination of any of the foregoing. 
     
     
         9 . The insulation batt of  claim 2 , wherein the treatment comprises one or more of permethrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, pyrethrod bifenthrin, fipronil, imidachlorprid, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The insulation batt of  claim 2 , wherein the treatment comprises one or more of: tributyltin oxide, acypetacs-zinc, copper, iothiazolinones, quaternary ammonium compounds (such as didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC), azoles such as propiconazole, iodopropynyl-butylcarbamate (IPBC), chlorothalanil, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . A method of manufacturing a resiliently compactable insulation batt comprising:
 forming protein based fibers into a sheet of intermeshed fibers with substantially even density thereby forming a bait sheet, wherein the fibers are free of lanoline, and wherein the fibers are between twenty and forty microns across and one half to five inches long;   exposing surfaces of the fibers to a treatment powder, wherein the powder comprises a flame retardant, a pesticide, a fungicide, or a combination thereof; and wherein the treatment comprises 2 to 15 percent of the sheet weight.   
     
     
         12 . A method of  claim 11 , further comprising exposing the fibers of the sheet to a bonding agent, thereby enhancing the bonding of the treatment with the fiber surface. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising the steps of overlaying one or more batt sheets and rolling over the batt sheets together thereby forming an insulation batt with a density of between 1.0 and 5.25 pounds per cubic foot. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the treatment includes a flame retardant comprising mono-ammonium phosphate, di-ammonium phosphate, poly-ammonium phosphate, mono-ammonium sulfate, di-ammonium sulfate, poly-ammonium sulfate, guanyl urea phosphate, guanyl urea phosphate or a combination thereof, and boric acid, disodium octaborate, boric acid with borates, or a combination thereof, wherein the treatment includes a pesticide comprising permethrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, pyrethroid, bifenthrin, fipronil, imidacloprid, or a combination thereof, and wherein the treatment includes a fungicide comprising tributyltin oxide, acypetacs-zinc, copper, iothiazolinones, quaternary ammonium compounds (such as didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC), azoles such as propiconazole, iodopropynyl-butylcarbamate (IPBC), chlorothalanil, or a combination thereof