US2941900A - Method and apparatus for producing insulating walls - Google Patents

Description

June 21, 1960 F. SCHRODER-STRANZ 2,941,900

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING INSULATING WALLS Filed Aug. 17, 1955 United States Patent METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING INSULATING WALLS Friedrich Schriider-Stranz, Laufenburg, Germany (Sackingerstrasse 28, Laufenburg, Baden, Germany) Filed Aug. 17, 1955, Ser. No. 528,861

Claims priority, application Germany Aug. 19, 1954 6 Claims. (Cl. 117-72) The present invention relates to a method of producing sound and heat insulating walls or partitions, and to an apparatus for carrying out such method.

It is in many cases desired to partition larger or smaller rooms by walls of porous material. For this purpose, prior. to this invention, boards of porous material have been used. However, erecting walls of such material has been found to be a very costly procedure due to the fact that a considerable portion of the material is lost for any practical purposes when the boards are being fitted to their proper size. Also, when using individual boards, it is necessary to join them to each other, as well as to their supporting structure. For forming, such joints and to fill out the intervening spaces, cracks; and seams, a rather thick mass is usually applied which, however, rarely forms a secure and permanent connection.

It is the principal object of the present invention to overcome this deficiency of the. prior methods and to form heat or sound insulating screens, walls, floors,-or ceilings by applying upon a suitable supporting base a foamlike substance which solidifies into a self-supporting structure.

Another object of the present invention is to form such self-supporting walls and the like by spraying the teamlike substance upon the original supporting base by means of compressed gas or air.

The present invention presents the great advantage that it permits the formation of large platelike wall surfaces without any seams or joints, either between the individual wall portions or between such walls and adjacent supporting structures. Also, all corners or other places which due to the difiiculty of reaching them were by previous methods, improperly sealed, may, by applying the inventive method, be filledout and sealed securely, and. without any difiiculty.

Further, the materials to be used according to the invention are readily available and applicable at any time, require very little storing space and, contrary to readymanufactured wall boards, are easily shipped, carried, stored, and applied without danger of breakage during such times.

The present invention permits the production of insulating walls against sound, heat, or cold which may be regarded as ideal, and it may be applied either for coating existing walls with a layer of porous material, for filling out skeleton or screen walls, or for filling hollow spaces. It is thus of great importance at all points or places where any kind of insulating walls or wall portions are to be built, cracks or seams are to be sealed, or gas-tight closures are to be formed. The foamy substance may, according to the invention, preferably be sprayed either to form outer wall surfaces or to act as a filler between existing wall surfaces so as to fill out the intervening spaces and to insulate them for various purposes too numerous to be mentioned individually.

The present invention preferably resides in the application of a foamy substance which is formed on the spot by means of compressed air of a basic foam solution of any suitable type known as such, a resinous urea solution, and a catalyst. A great number of foam-forming substances have been known for a long time and may be used, such as fatty alcohol sulfate soaps, other soap solutions, solutions of detergents. Thus, for example, a watery solution of a precondensate of a urea compound and formaldehyde, and a watery foam-forming solution may be used. The catalyst for the dissolved, intermediate product of resinous urea, for example, phosphoric acid or oxalic acid may be added to the foam-forming solution. The resinous urea constitutes "a hardener or solidifying agent for the foam produced of the foam-forming solution by means of compressed air, and is adapted to solidify or congeal the foam so that it will permanently retain its original volume and structure.

According to the invention it has been found advisable first to whip up the foam-producing solution into a foam, and immediately prior to the time when the foam is being sprayed, to add the resinous solution thereto as a hardening agent.

The surfaces to be covered with the congealing foam may first be provided with a thin filmlike coating with high adhesive qualities. Such adhesive coating which may also be applied by spraying may consist, for example, of a solution of an acrylic acid polymeride which has been diluted with water. Such a coating solidly adheres to wood, metal, stone, or synthetic materials, and also adheres tightly to the sprayed-on foam according to the invention, even though such foam may not be sprayed-on for many hours subsequent to the application of the ad-,

hesive coating. Thus, it is possible to apply a layer of solidified foam, for example, on walls, ceilings, and entire buildings, and to seal such structures or to build solid walls of porous material in the most inexpensive and quickest possible manner.

The foam may also be forced into container-like rooms, for example, closed chambers which are provided with an inlet and an outlet opening. It then uniformly permeates the entire hollow space and adheres tightly on the walls thereof. Thus, for example, doors and windows may be reliably sealed and insulated with very little effort and at a low expense. The same applies to pipe lines and channels in walls and ceilings.

If framelike supporting or skeleton structures are .provided and such frames are covered up in a suitable manner, the foam may be sprayed therein, and, if desired, be

leveled off to form a smooth outer surface. It may, however, also be applied to a framelike supporting structure in which a suitable latticework or wire mesh is provided. This will then result in a reinforced solidified foam structure which may, for instance, form the ceilings of rooms in buildings.

Any exposed solidified foam surfaces may also be coated with a covering layer, which may preferably also be done by a spraying method.

Another advantage of the new foam spray consists in the fact that it may be mixed with a suitable dye substance or a fine-grained filler, or both. Such admixtures may also contain a suitable coating material, if desired.

Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof and from the accompanying drawings which diagrammatically illustrate an apparatus which is preferably to be used according to the invention to carry out the new method, and in which- Fig. 1 shows a plan view of the apparatus; while Fig. 2 shows a side view thereof.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus as illustrated is operated by a suitable source of compressed air, not shown, for example, an air compressor or a compressedair bottle. Such compressed air is supplied through a Patented June 21, 1960.

pipe '1 and a second pipe 2, which is. provided with a control valve 3, to a container 4 in which a supply of hardening or solidifying solution is stored. Pipe 2 further leads to a container 5 in which the foam-forming solusears stofed' "Container 5 is connected by a hose line 8 spray' gun, the tubular handle of which serves as a connection for the hose line 13 and is provided 'with a springcontrolled shutofif valve 14. The forward end of chamber serves as a mixing chamber for mixing the foam with the solidifying agent. For this purpose, a hose line 7 leading from container 4 and provided with a control valve 9 near the spray gun connects with chamber 10 near the front end thereof. For obtaining an intimate and uniform mixture of foam and solidifying agent, line 7 preferably terminates into chamber 10 at an acute angle. For the same purpose, the connecting end of line 7 leading the solidifying agent into chamber 10 may also-be provided with a spiral-shaped mixing nozzle.

' The front end of the foam and mixing chamber 10 is provided with a spraying nozzle 11 which may be operated with or without a removable guiding tube 12 for pointing the foam jet in a straight forward direction.

As illustrated in the drawings, the compressed air enters into the containers 4 and 5 at the top, while the outlet pipes which are connected to hose lines 7 and 8 are preferably mounted in containers 4 and 5, respectively, so as to terminate at a point close to the bottom of the containers. Each of the containers is also provided witha filling hole 6 which may be securely closed.

The container 10 may be filled with spherical bodies so as to insure that the foam produced therein will consist of uniformly small bubbles.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments or to the specific examples described, but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim is:

1. Method of rendering objects heat and sound-insulating, comprising propelling a foam-forming solution tion of a urea-formaldehyde precondensate adapted toharden when in contact with said catalyst from a second storage zone into a oommon'foam-forming and mixing zone by means of a gaseous pressure medium; introducing said pressure medium into said common zone to form foam and to cause mixing of said foam with said precondensate solution; and spraying the mixture produced with the aid of said pressure medium upon the object to be treated, the precondensate solution being propelled to the common zone immediately prior to the spraying.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein prior to the application of the foam, said object is provided with a filmlike coating ofv a-highly adhesive material.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said object forms a framelike structure closed at least at one side, and wherein said foam is forced under pressure into said frame to solidify therein.

'4. ,A method as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid object forms a frame having a latticework therein, and wherein said foam is forced under pressure upon said latticework to solidify thereon and close the interstices to form a solid wall;

5. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of adding at least one pigment to the foam before applying the same to said object.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of adding a fine-grained filler to the foam before applying the same to said object.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,158,033 McKinney May 9, 1939 2,178,358 Howald et a1 Oct. 31, 1939 2,432,389 Daly Dec. 9, 1947 2,602,759 Mollo July 8, 1952 2,608,536 Sterling Aug. 26, 1952 2,629,698 Sterling Feb. 24, 1953 2,653,139 Sterling Sept. 22, 1953 2,695,246 Iurgensen et al. Nov. 23, 1954 2,705,683 Hazeltine et al. Apr. 5, 1955 2,715,045 Thomson Aug. 9, 1955 2,747,934 Fisher May 29, 1956 2,823,143 Upperman Feb. 11, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 652,705 Great Britain May 2, 1951 OTHER REFERENCES

Claims (1)

1. METHOD OF RENDERING OBJECTS HEAT AND SOUND INSULATING, COMPRISING PROPELLING A FOAM-FORMING SOLUTION CONTAINING A CATALYST FROM A FIRST STORAGE ZONE, AND A SOLUTION OF A UREA-FORMALDEHYDE PRECODENSATE ADAPTED TO HARDEN WHEN IN CONTACT WITH SAID CATALYST FROM A SECOND STORAGE ZONE INTO A COMMON FOAM-FROMING AND MIXING ZONE BY MEANS OF A GASEOUS PRESSURE MEDIUM, INTRODUCING SAID PRESSURE MEDIUM INTO SAID COMMON ZONE TO FORM FOAM AND TO CAUSE MIXING OF SAID FOAM WITH SAID PRECONDENSATE SOLUTION, AND SPRAYING THE MIXTURE PRODUCED WITH THE AID OF SAID PRESSURE MEDIUM UPON THE OBJECT TO BE TREATED, THE PRECONDENSATE SOLUTION BEING PROPELLED TO THE COMMON ZONE IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE SPRAYING.

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