Method and system for fabricating thermal insulation for retrofit applications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016001508-A1
Application number	US-201514611335-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 2, 2015
Priority date	Feb 2, 2014
Publication date	Jan 7, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A three-dimensional (3D) laser-based scan of a façade of a structure is conducted. Based on data of the 3D laser-based scan, a 3D computer model of the façade is generated. Then, a design of insulation to be installed on the façade is determined based on the generated 3D computer model. According to the determined design, insulation is fabricated via an automated fabrication process.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method, comprising:
conducting a three-dimensional (3D) laser-based scan of a façade of a structure; generating a 3D computer model of the façade based on data of the 3D laser-based scan; determining a design of insulation to be installed on the façade based on the generated 3D computer model; and fabricating insulation via an automated fabrication process according to the determined design.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
installing the fabricated insulation on the façade.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
programming a computer numerical control (CNC) manufacturing tool according to the determined design; and fabricating the insulation using the CNC manufacturing tool.

4 . The method according to claim 3 , further comprising:
translating the determined design into a format suitable for the programming of the CNC manufacturing tool.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
programming a computer aided design (CAD) tool according to the data of the 3D laser-based scan; and generating the 3D computer model using the CAD tool.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the generated 3D computer model is a Building Information Model (BIM).

7 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
modifying an aspect of the generated 3D computer model, such that a performance of the insulation would be improved.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
estimating a cost of the determined design; and modifying the determined design based on the estimated cost.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
accessing a database of stored insulation design data; and determining the design further based on the stored insulation design data.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a plurality of insulation design alternatives based on the generated 3D computer model; and selecting one design of the plurality of insulation design alternatives as the determined design based on one or more criteria.

11 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the automated fabrication process comprises:
forming casting cavities in a substrate, creating casting barriers in the substrate operable to contain a resin-based substance to be casted, casting the resin-based substance in the formed casting cavities, and processing at least one of the substrate and the casted resin-based substance to form an insulation panel.

12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the automated fabrication process further comprises:
depositing a second resin-based substance on the insulation panel to create an additional feature, depositing a finishing coat on a surface of the insulation panel, and forming a foam gasket in the insulation panel to seal an edge of the insulation panel.

13 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fabricating of the insulation comprises:
adding a secondary functionality component to the insulation.

14 . A system, comprising:
a 3D laser-based scanning device that conducts a 3D laser-based scan of a façade of a structure; a model generating controller that generates a 3D computer model of the façade based on data of the 3D laser-based scan; a design controller that determines a design of insulation to be installed on the façade based on the generated 3D computer model; and an automated fabrication tool that fabricates insulation via an automated fabrication process according to the determined design.

15 . The system according to claim 14 , wherein the automated fabrication tool is a computer numerical control (CNC) manufacturing tool that is programmed according to the determined design.

16 . The system according to claim 15 , wherein the determined design is translated into a format suitable for the CNC manufacturing tool to be programmed.

17 . The system according to claim 14 , wherein the model generating controller is a component of a computer aided design (CAD) tool that is programmed according to the data of the 3D laser-based scan.

18 . The system according to claim 14 , wherein the generated 3D computer model is a Building Information Model (BIM).

19 . The system according to claim 14 , wherein the automated fabrication process comprises:
forming casting cavities in a substrate, creating casting barriers in the substrate operable to contain a resin-based substance to be casted, casting the resin-based substance in the formed casting cavities, and processing at least one of the substrate and the casted resin-based substance to form an insulation panel.

20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing program instructions executable by a controller, wherein a 3D laser-based scanning device conducts a 3D laser-based scan of a façade of a structure, a model generating controller generates a 3D computer model of the façade based on data of the 3D laser-based scan, and a design controller determines a design of insulation to be installed on the façade based on the generated 3D computer model, the computer-readable medium comprising:
program instructions that cause an automated fabrication tool to fabricate insulation via an automated fabrication process according to the determined design.

Assignees

• Worcester Polytech Inst

Inventors

• Dessel Steven Van

Classifications

• E04F13/16

  of fibres or chips, e.g. bonded with synthetic resins {, or with an outer layer of fibres or chips (E04F13/0864 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B29C39/123

  Making multilayered articles · CPC title

• E04F13/0875

  having a basic insulating layer and at least one covering layer · CPC title

• G06F2119/08

  Thermal analysis or thermal optimisation · CPC title

• G06F30/13

  Architectural design, e.g. computer-aided architectural design [CAAD] related to design of buildings, bridges, landscapes, production plants or roads · CPC title