Thermal insulation pad

Abstract

A thermal insulation pad is for attachment between a bracket and substructure in a building cladding assembly. The thermal insulation pad includes a thermal insulation material and at least one spacing member for limiting compression of the thermal insulation material during use.

Claims

1. A thermal insulation pad for attachment between a bracket and substructure in a building cladding assembly, the thermal insulation pad being planar in shape and oriented along a plane, the thermal insulation pad comprising: a thermal insulation material part; and a plurality of spacing members arranged in a two-dimensional array within said thermal insulation material part and in the plane of the thermal insulation pad, such that the plurality of spacing members are distributed in the plane of the thermal insulation pad in both a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, so as to limit compression of said thermal insulation material part during attachment between the bracket and the substructure in the building cladding assembly and to define a predetermined uniformed spacing between the bracket and the substructure.

2. The thermal insulation pad of claim 1, wherein said thermal insulation material part comprises a fibrous material.

3. The thermal insulation pad of claim 1, wherein said thermal insulation material part comprises a silica aerogel.

4. The thermal insulation pad of claim 1, wherein each spacing member of said plurality of spacing members is less compressible than said thermal insulation material part.

5. The thermal insulation pad of claim 1, wherein each spacing member of said plurality of spacing members is embedded in said thermal insulation material part.

6. The thermal insulation pad of claim 1, wherein said thermal insulation material part has a thickness in an uncompressed state, and wherein each spacing member of said plurality of spacing members has a dimension equal to said thickness of said thermal insulation material part in said uncompressed state.

7. The thermal insulation pad of claim 1, wherein each spacing member of said plurality of spacing members comprises a ceramic material.

8. The thermal insulation pad of claim 1, wherein each spacing member of said plurality of spacing members comprises a ceramic bead.

9. The thermal insulation pad of claim 1, wherein said thermal insulation material part comprises a plurality of openings, each opening of said plurality of openings receiving at least one spacing member of said plurality of spacing members.

10. The thermal insulation pad of claim 9, wherein each opening of said plurality of openings being in interference fit with a respective at least one spacing member of said plurality of spacing members.

11. A thermal insulation pad assembly, comprising: a thermal insulation pad according to claim 1; and a means for attaching the thermal insulation pad to a bracket in a building cladding assembly.

12. The thermal insulation pad assembly of claim 11, wherein the means for attaching comprises a sleeve.

13. The thermal insulation pad assembly of claim 12, wherein said sleeve comprises cardboard.

14. A bracket configured for attachment to a substructure in a building cladding assembly, the bracket comprising: a foot having a contact face being configured to face towards the substructure in use; and a thermal insulation pad according to claim 1, the thermal insulation pad being attached to said foot so as to sit between said contact face and the substructure in use.

15. The bracket of claim 14, wherein said foot has a footprint, and wherein said thermal insulation pad has a pad footprint equal to said footprint of said foot.

16. The bracket of claim 14, further comprising: an adaptor comprising a plate, the adaptor having a support surface positioned in contact against said contact face and having an opposed surface positioned against said thermal insulation pad.

17. The bracket of claim 16, wherein said adaptor comprises plastic.

18. The bracket of claim 14, further comprising: a means for attaching said thermal insulation pad to said foot.

19. The bracket of claim 14, wherein the means for attaching comprises a sleeve.

20. A bracket configured for attachment to a substructure in a building cladding assembly, the bracket comprising: a foot having a contact face being configured to face towards the substructure in use; and a thermal insulation pad being attached to said foot so as to sit between said contact face and the substructure in use, the thermal insulation pad being planar in shape and oriented along a plane, wherein said thermal insulation pad comprises: a thermal insulation material part; and a plurality of spacing members arranged in a two-dimensional array within said thermal insulation material part and in the plane of the thermal insulation pad, such that the plurality of spacing members are spaced apart in the plane of the thermal insulation pad in both a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, so as to limit compression of said thermal insulation material part during use and to define a predetermined uniform spacing between the bracket and the substructure, and wherein said foot has a footprint, and wherein said thermal insulation pad has a pad footprint equal to said footprint of said foot.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a thermal insulation pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a thermal insulation pad assembly comprising the thermal insulation pad of FIG. 1 and an attachment element in the form of a cardboard sleeve.

(4) FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a bracket for attachment to a substructure in a building cladding assembly, which comprises the thermal insulation pad assembly of FIG. 2 attached to a foot thereof.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an alternative bracket for attachment to a substructure in a building cladding assembly, which comprises an alternative thermal insulation pad assembly in which the attachment element comprises adhesive.

(6) FIGS. 5a and 5b show perspective views of a bracket similar to that shown in FIG. 4 but provided with an adaptor, wherein FIG. 5a shows an exploded perspective view of the components and FIG. 5b shows a perspective view of the assembled bracket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a thermal insulation pad 1 for attachment between a bracket (6, FIGS. 3 and 4) and substructure (not shown) in a building cladding assembly (not shown), the pad comprising a thermal insulation material 2 and at least one spacing member 3 for maintaining a predetermined spacing between the bracket and substructure during use.

(8) The thermal insulation material may comprise a fibrous material. In a particularly preferred arrangement, it comprises a silica aerogel. An exemplary silica aerogel comprises AEROGEL POLY manufactured by AMA Composites S.r.l. The thermal insulation pad may be formed by cutting a sheet of suitable thickness to the required dimensions. It should be noted that a range of differently sized pads may be made available to suit a range of differently sized brackets. Note, for example, the differing pad sizes in FIGS. 3 and 4. In exemplary arrangements, the thermal insulation pad has an uncompressed thickness of 10 mm. It could, however, be thicker or thinner, as appropriate.

(9) The spacing member 3 is less compressible than the thermal insulation pad and, as discussed, acts to restrict compression of the thermal insulation material/pad in a thickness direction. For such purposes, the spacing member 3 preferably has a dimension substantially equal to the thickness of the thermal insulation material when the thermal insulation material is in an uncompressed state.

(10) As is preferred, in the present arrangement there is a plurality of spacing members 3 provided, such that loads are balanced. Specifically, in the present arrangement, there are six spacing members 3 provided in an array. It should be appreciated that in alternative arrangements there may be more or less spacing members provided. The spacing members 3 comprise ceramic beads that have a thickness slightly less than the uncompressed thickness of the thermal insulation material 2 defining the thermal insulation pad. In alternative arrangements, the spacing members 3 may be otherwise formed and need not comprise ceramic material as long as they have suitable thermal insulation properties and are uncompressible under the required working loads. As best seen in FIG. 1, there is a plurality of openings 4 provided for receiving the spacing members 3. Each of the openings 4 is arranged such that there is an interference fit between the opening 4 and the respective spacing member 3 received thereby. In alternative arrangements the openings 4 may be omitted or otherwise formed.

(11) Whilst in the present arrangement there is an array of spacing members 3, in alternative arrangements there may be a single spacing member 3 only. Where there is a single spacing member provided, it could take the form of a frame around the periphery of the thermal insulation material or it could comprise a suitable embedded member that provides multiple spaced points of support, received by a suitably formed opening or otherwise.

(12) With reference to FIG. 2, there is shown a thermal insulation pad assembly 10 comprising a thermal insulation pad 1 and an attachment element 5 for attaching the thermal insulation pad 1 (comprising the thermal insulation material 2 and the spacing members 3). With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the thermal insulation pad assembly 10 is shown attached to a bracket 6 for use in a building cladding assembly, wherein a first form of attachment element 5 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and a second form of attachment element is discussed with reference to FIG. 4.

(13) The first form of attachment element 5 comprises a cardboard sleeve. The thermal insulation pad 1 is received by the sleeve as shown in FIG. 2. The sleeve preferably comprises an opening 11 to allow (obstruction free) access to openings 9 in the foot 7 of the bracket 6, as seen in FIG. 3. The sleeve has a greater depth than the thickness of the pad 1, such that there is a space 12 provided between the pad 1 and a face of the sleeve. In use, as seen in FIG. 3, the sleeve is slid onto the foot 7 of the bracket 6, wherein the thermal insulation pad 1 contacts a contact face 8 of the foot 7 and the foot 7 is sandwiched between the pad 1 and the face of the sleeve (the upper face of the sleeve with the bracket 6 oriented as in FIG. 3). The compressibility of the thermal insulation material 6 results in an interference fit. Whilst the sleeve is cardboard, which is preferred due to its low cost, thermal and fire properties, it may be plastic or otherwise. Moreover, it need not be limited to the form of the present arrangement for performing the function of attaching the thermal insulation pad 1 to the bracket 6 for installation of the bracket 6, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

(14) The second form of attachment element is an adhesive, wherein the thermal insulation pad 1 is adhered to the contact face 8 of the foot 7. The adhesive may be applied directly to the thermal insulation material 2 of the pad 1 or the pad 1 may be covered, for example by shrink wrapping in plastic, with the adhesive applied to the covering layer. An alternative form of cover may comprise a cardboard box that is suitably sized to receive the thermal insulation pad 1 with a snug fit.

(15) Regardless of the form of attachment, it is preferable that the thermal insulation pad 1 has a footprint substantially equal to the footprint of the foot 7 of the bracket 6.

(16) It should be noted that the form of the bracket 6 for forming part of a building cladding assembly is not limited to the arrangement shown. In the exemplary arrangement shown, the bracket 6 comprises the foot 7 and a neck that extends to a head that is provided at an opposite end of the neck to the foot, the head comprises a pair of opposed plates that are substantially parallel to one another and spaced from one another to provide a mouth for engaging a flange or tail part of a rail system that may in turn support external cladding panels.

(17) With reference to FIGS. 5a and 5b, a further bracket is shown, which comprises the bracket 6, the thermal insulation pad 1 and an adaptor 13. The adaptor 13 comprises a plate formed of plastic, which comprises a support surface 14 for positioning in contact against the contact face of the foot 7 and an opposed surface for positioning against the thermal insulation pad 1, as seen in FIG. 5b. A raised lip 15 extends around a perimeter of the plate to define a space for at least partially housing the foot 7, as again best seen in FIG. 5b. The adaptor 13 may be arranged to snap fit to the foot 7. The thermal insulation pad 1 may be attached to the adaptor using adhesive or otherwise. Any of the above described arrangements that omit the adaptor may be modified by the inclusion of an adaptor.

(18) Whilst a number of exemplary embodiments have been detailed above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications may be made to those embodiments, without departing from the scope of the claims that follow.