Abstract
An insulating strip is disclosed. The insulating strip includes a support layer and an insulating material strip secured to the support layer. The insulating material strip includes a first insulating material strip part and a second insulating material strip part where the first insulating material strip part and the second insulating material strip part are spaced apart from each other.
Claims
1. An insulating strip, comprising: a support layer; and an insulating material strip secured to the support layer; wherein the insulating material strip includes a first insulating material strip part and a second insulating material strip part; wherein the first insulating material strip part and the second insulating material strip part are spaced apart from each other.
2. The insulating strip according to claim 1, wherein the first insulating material strip part and the second insulating material strip part are comprised of a same material.
3. The insulating strip according to claim 1, further comprising a cover disposed on the insulating material strip.
4. The insulating strip according to claim 3: wherein the cover includes a first cover part and a second cover part; wherein the first cover part is disposed on the first insulating material strip part and the second cover part is disposed on the second insulating material strip part.
5. The insulating strip according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second insulating material strip parts have a same width.
6. The insulating strip according to claim 1, wherein a portion without an insulating material is disposed between the first and the second insulating material strip parts.
7. The insulating strip according to claim 3, wherein the insulating material strip is a putty which includes an intumescent additive and the cover is a tape.
8. The insulating strip according to claim 7, wherein the putty includes a reinforcing member.
9. The insulating strip according to claim 8, wherein the reinforcing member is comprised of glass fibers or a glass fiber fabric.
10. The insulating strip according to claim 1, wherein the insulating material strip includes a fire-resistant material and/or an acoustically insulating material.
11. A wall joint, comprising: a header track with a web and a leg; a horizontal support structure disposed apart from the header track; and an insulating strip, wherein the insulating strip includes: a support layer; and an insulating material strip secured to the support layer; wherein the insulating strip is attached to the header track; wherein the insulating material strip includes a first insulating material strip part and a second insulating material strip part; wherein the first insulating material strip part and the second insulating material strip part are spaced apart from each other.
12. The wall joint according to claim 11, wherein the first insulating material strip part and the second insulating material strip part are comprised of a same material.
13. The wall joint according to claim 11, further comprising a cover disposed on the insulating material strip.
14. The wall joint according to claim 13: wherein the cover includes a first cover part and a second cover part; wherein the first cover part is disposed on the first insulating material strip part and the second cover part is disposed on the second insulating material strip part.
15. The wall joint according to claim 11, wherein the first and the second insulating material strip parts have a same width.
16. The wall joint according to claim 11, wherein a portion without an insulating material is disposed between the first and the second insulating material strip parts.
17. The wall joint according to claim 11, wherein the insulating material strip is a putty which includes an intumescent additive, wherein the putty includes a reinforcing member, and wherein the reinforcing member is comprised of glass fibers or a glass fiber fabric.
18. The wall joint according to claim 11, wherein the insulating material strip includes a fire-resistant material and/or an acoustically insulating material.
19. The wall joint according to claim 11, wherein the first insulating material strip part is attached to the leg of the header track and the second insulating material strip part is attached to the web of the header track.
20. The wall joint according to claim 13: wherein the cover is not disposed on the second insulating material strip part; and wherein the first insulating material strip part is attached to the leg of the header track and the second insulating material strip part is attached to the web of the header track.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0046] FIG. 1a is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the insulating strip assembly having certain features, aspects and advantages of the present invention.
[0047] FIG. 1b is a cross-sectional view of second embodiment of the insulating strip assembly having certain features, aspects and advantages of the present invention.
[0048] FIG. 1c is a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of the insulating strip assembly having certain features, aspects and advantages of the present invention.
[0049] FIG. 1d is a cross-sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the insulating strip assembly having certain features, aspects and advantages of the present invention.
[0050] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a stud wall assembly with the insulating strip assembly of FIG. 1a installed at the head-of-wall according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0051] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a stud wall assembly with the insulating strip assembly of FIG. 1a installed at the head-of-wall in an alternative way according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0052] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a stud wall assembly with the insulating strip assembly of FIG. 1a installed at the head-of-wall in an alternative way according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0053] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a stud wall assembly with the insulating strip assembly of FIG. 1b installed at the head-of-wall in an alternative way according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0054] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a stud wall assembly with the insulating strip assembly of FIG. 1c installed at the head-of-wall in an alternative way according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0055] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a portion of a stud wall assembly with the insulating strip assembly of FIG. 1d installed at the head-of-wall in an alternative way according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0056] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a portion of a stud wall assembly with the insulating strip assembly of FIG. 1c installed at the head-of-wall in an alternative way according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0057] FIGS. 9a and 9b are side views of further embodiments of a portion of a stud wall assembly having a slotted track with a similar insulating strip assembly shown in FIG. 1b adapted to the slotted track installed at the head-of-wall according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0058] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a portion of a stud wall assembly with the insulating strip installed at the head-of-wall according to FIGS. 9a and 9b according to another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0059] FIGS. 1a to 1d illustrate various types of an elongated insulating strip assembly 1, which is also referred to herein as an insulating strip, according to preferred embodiments of the present invention.
[0060] FIG. 1a illustrates an elongated insulating strip assembly 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The insulating strip 1 is an elongate strip assembly that preferably is constructed as an integrated assembly of multiple components. The insulating strip 1 may be supplied on a roll, in a folded arrangement or any other suitable manner. Preferably, the insulating strip 1 is provided as a separate component that is applied to a head-of-wall in the field, as is described in greater detail below.
[0061] The illustrated insulating strip 1 includes a fire-resistant material strip portion 2 (“insulating material strip 2”) and a support layer 3. A cover layer 4 covers the insulating material strip 2. The cover layer 4, however, does not include side portions that extend outwardly from the insulating material strip 2. The cover layer 4 covers only the insulating material strip 2. In such an arrangement, the insulating strip 1 may be secured to a construction product by an adhesive (not shown) applied to the bottom of the strip. An additional adhesive may be applied to the upper face of the insulating material strip 2 to secure the insulating material strip 2 to the cover layer 4.
[0062] The insulating material strip 2 may be constructed from putty that may additionally contain intumescent additives or from an inorganic fiber material such as a felt, fabric or the like made from glass fibers. In case the insulating material is made from putty, the putty may be provided with a supporting structure, in particular internal supporting structure, such as a web or fabric, in particular metal or glass fiber web or fabric.
[0063] For the first embodiment the insulating material preferably is made from putty, in particular soft putty, felt or felt like material.
[0064] Preferably, a removable protective layer (not shown) covers the underneath surface of the insulating strip 1. The cover layer provides protection in the event that the wall is designed to accommodate vertical deflection, which could result in the wallboard rubbing against the insulating material, leading to loss of insulating material for example. In addition, the cover layer includes an adhesive layer (not shown) on the underneath side that faces the insulating material strip 2 and protective layer. Thus, in some arrangements, the cover layer 4 is a tape, such as a polypropylene tape, also referred to herein as poly tape. Other suitable tapes may also be used. The cover layer 4 may be clear or somewhat clear so that the insulating material strip 2 is visible through the cover layer 4 to ease assembly onto a header track or other head-of-wall structure. In addition or in the alternative, a marking (such as a mark line) may be provided on the outer (upper) surface of the cover layer 4 to indicate the location of the edge between the web and the leg of the header track. The marking can be used to locate the insulating strip 1 relative to the structure on which it is placed, such as the edge of a top or bottom track, for example.
[0065] FIGS. 1b and 1c illustrate elongated insulating strip assemblies 1 according to a second (FIG. 1b) and third (FIG. 1c) embodiment of the insulating strip 1 of the present invention, which are similar to the insulating strip assembly 1 of FIG. 1a. Accordingly, the same reference numbers are used to indicate the same or similar components or features between these embodiments. According to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 1b the intumescent material strip 1 is divided into two portions 2a and 2b including different insulating materials. According to the third embodiment shown in FIG. 1c the intumescent material strip 1 is also divided into two portions 2a and 2b but including the same material. The cover layer 4 may also be divided into two portions 4a and 4b as best shown in the encircled view in FIG. 1b, which also holds for the cover layer 4 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1c.
[0066] FIG. 1d illustrates an elongated insulating strip assembly 1 according to a fourth embodiment of the insulating strip 1 of the present invention, which is very similar to the insulating material strip assembly 1 of FIG. 1c. The difference between the assembly of FIG. 1c and FIG. 1d is that the insulating strip 1 in FIG. 1d comprises two identical two part material strips 2 including two part cover layers 4 and a support layer 3 which supports both material strips 2. Accordingly, the width of the support layer 3 is more than twice the width of the support layer 3 of the insulating strip 1 shown in FIG. 1c. The insulating strip 1 shown in FIG. 1d comprises a portion without an insulating material between the two portions, in particular the side portions which comprise an insulating material.
[0067] FIG. 2 illustrates the insulating strip 1 of FIG. 1a applied to a head-of-wall structure including a header track 7 with a web 8 and legs 9 extending downwardly from the web at opposite sides of the track and a plurality of studs (not shown). The insulating strip 1 is applied with a portion of the insulating strip 1 between the web 8 of the header track 7 and the horizontal support structure 10 and a portion between one leg 9 of the header track 7 and the wallboard 11. The insulating strip 1 wraps one corner of the header track 7. As discussed above, the insulating strip 1 may include a marking to assist in the proper positioning on the corner of the header track 7, such as a linear marking, for example. Alternatively, the insulating strip 1 may comprise two separate insulating material portions 2 that are arranged on opposing edge sections of the support layer 3 (arrangement not shown), so that one insulating material portion will wrap one corner of the header track 7 and the other insulating material portion 2 will wrap the other opposing corner of the header track 7.
[0068] As shown in FIG. 3 the insulating strip 1 of FIG. 1a is affixed lengthwise on at least one, preferably both legs 9 of the header track 7. The insulating strip 1 is positioned so that its top edge 5 does not extend above the top surface of the web 8. In this configuration the insulating strip 1 does not necessarily contact the horizontal support structure 10, e.g., a ceiling. Preferably, the insulating strip 1 is positioned so that its top edge 5 extends slightly above the top surface of the web 8 as is best shown in FIG. 4. In this configuration the insulating strip 1 contacts the horizontal support structure 10, e.g., a ceiling, and provides for enhanced sound and smoke containment especially in cases of an uneven or spawled horizontal support structure surface.
[0069] This effect of enhanced sound and smoke sealing obtained by the configuration shown in FIG. 4 will further be enhanced in case the intumescent material strip 1 is configured as a two-part material strip as best shown in FIG. 5, i.e., the insulating material strip is divided into two portions 2a and 2b so that the two portions consists of different materials as shown in FIG. 1b. Preferably, the insulating material strip portion 2b includes a compressible material, for example putty or foam like material to better adapt to an uneven contour of the horizontal support structure. More preferably, the insulating material strip portion 2a includes a pressure-resistant material, which more preferably additionally is abrasion-resistant, for example a hard synthetic material on an acrylate basis. The insulating material strip portions 2a and 2b may on their surface include a cover layer 4 which may be a single layer that covers both insulating material strip portions 2a and 2b. Alternatively the cover layer 4 may also be divided into two portions 4a and 4b (encircled view in FIG. 1b; but not shown in FIG. 5). In the latter case the cover layer portion 4a covers the material strip portion 2a and cover layer portion 4b covers material strip portion 2b.
[0070] In addition to or in the alternative, the insulating strip 1 shown in FIG. 1c which is divided into two portions 2a and 2b so that one portion (e.g., 2b) can be positioned on top of the header track 7, the web 8, and the other portion (e.g., 2a) can be positioned on the side of the header track 7, the leg 9, as shown in FIG. 6. This configuration is very similar to the configuration shown in FIG. 2, with the difference that the insulating strip 1 is the one which is shown in FIG. 1c. In this embodiment a cover layer may be omitted on the insulating material portion which is positioned on top of the web. Preferably and depending on the material used the insulating material portion that is positioned on the leg includes a cover layer to protect the insulating material, since this portion comes in direct contact with the wallboard.
[0071] FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the invention, in which the insulating strip shown in FIG. 1d is applied to the header track 8. In this embodiment the insulating strip 1 comprises two separate insulating material portions that are arranged on opposing edge sections of the support layer 3 (see encircled section). Each insulating material portion 2 and 2′ is divided into two portions 2a, 2a′ and 2b, 2b′ so that one part of the material portions (e.g., 2b and 2b′) can be positioned on top of the header track 7, on the web 8, and the other part of the material portions (e.g., 2a and 2a′) can be positioned on the side of the header track 7, on the leg 9. In this embodiment a cover layer may be omitted on the insulating material portions that are positioned on top of the web. Preferably and depending on the material used, the insulating material portions that are positioned on the leg each include a cover layer to protect the insulating material, since these portions come in direct contact with the wallboards.
[0072] FIG. 8 illustrates a further positioning of the insulating strip 1 shown in FIG. 1c, which arrangement is very similar to that shown in FIG. 3 with respect to the insulating strip 1 shown in FIG. 1a. The insulating strip 1 is affixed lengthwise on at least one, preferably both legs 9 of the header track 7. The insulating strip 1 is positioned so that its top edge 5 does not extend above the top surface of the web 8. In this configuration the insulating strip 1 does not necessarily contact the horizontal support structure 10, e.g. a ceiling. Alternatively, the insulating strip 1 may also extend above the top surface of the 8 to achieve a better sealing against the horizontal support structure 10, similar to the arrangement shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0073] FIG. 9a illustrates a further embodiment of the insulating strip 1 applied to a slotted header track 27 having a plurality of slots 30. The insulating strip 1 is very similar to the one shown in FIG. 1b but is adapted to the slotted structure of the header track. The insulating material strip 2 of the insulating strip 1 is divided into two material portions 2a and 2b which include different materials. Preferably the material strip 2a includes a pressure-resistant and preferably also an abrasive-resistant material, for example an acrylate-based material. The material portion 2b preferably includes a compressible material, for example, a putty or a foamed material. Both material portions 2a and 2b are covered by a cover layer 4. The insulating strip 1 also includes a support layer 3. Preferably the material strips are provided with an adhesive (not shown) to secure the material strips to the support layer 3. In this embodiment, the material strip portion 2a is adapted to the slotted structure of the track 27 by subdividing the material strip portion 2a into a plurality of small stripes as best shown in FIG. 9a so that the material strip portion 2a is interrupted by portions free of insulating material 2. In other words, the insulating material portion 2a includes alternating portions with insulating material and portions free of insulating material. The portions with insulating material are aligned with leg 29 portions so that the portion of the material strip 2a free of insulating material is aligned with the slots 30. The thickness of the material strip depends on the screws or the like used to fix the studs (not shown) to the header track. Preferably the thickness of the insulating material corresponds to the thickness of the head of the screws protruding beyond the leg 29, whereas movement of the screw still must be possible. This provides sufficient sealing of the gap whilst ensuring at the same time a movement of the screws. The insulating strip may be installed before or after fixation of the header track and the studs. The insulating strip 1 is positioned so that its top edge 5 extends above the top surface of the web 28. In this configuration the insulating strip 1 contacts the horizontal support structure (not shown), e.g., a ceiling, and provides for enhanced sound and smoke containment especially in cases of an uneven or spawled horizontal support structure surface. The material stripes may also be positioned on the support layer 3 in such a manner that the stripes diagonally cover the slots 30 as best shown in FIG. 9b.
[0074] Preferably the thickness of the insulating material 2 corresponds to the thickness of the head of the screws 31 protruding beyond the slotted leg 29, whereas movement of the screws 31 still must be possible when the wallboard 11 is fixed to the studs 40 as best shown in FIG. 10. The insulating strip 1 is positioned so that its top edge extends above the top surface of the web 28. In this configuration the insulating strip contacts the ceiling 10, and provides for enhanced sound and smoke containment especially in cases of an uneven or spawled horizontal support structure surface.
[0075] While particular embodiments of this invention have been shown in the drawings and described above, it will be apparent that many changes may be made in the form, arrangement and positioning of the various elements of the combination. In consideration thereof, it should be understood that preferred embodiments of this invention disclosed herein are intended to be illustrative only and not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
[0076] The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
