Method Of Making An Insulation Material And An Insulated Mailer

1 . A method for producing an insulation material, the method comprising:

mixing cellulose reinforcement fibers with thermoplastic binder fibers to form a mixture;

applying heat to the mixture to melt the thermoplastic binder fibers such that the thermoplastic binder fibers bind the cellulose reinforcement fibers together to form a batt, the thermoplastic binder fibers making up about 0.5% to about 25% by weight of the batt; and

slicing the batt along a horizontal plane to form a first pad having a first thickness and a second pad having a second thickness, wherein each of the first and second thicknesses is greater than or equal to about 1/16 of an inch.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second thicknesses are equal to one another.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second thickness is different than the first thickness.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic binder fibers have a length of less than about 24 mm.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic binder fibers include at least one of bicomponent fibers and fibers made of a material selected from a group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene, polyester, polypropylene, and mixtures thereof.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic binder fibers make up less than about 10% by weight of the batt.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the cellulose reinforcement fibers include at least one of paper fibers and cardboard fibers.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein the batt has a weight within a range from 1000 GSM to 1600 GSM.

9 . A method for producing an insulation material, the method comprising:

mixing cellulose reinforcement fibers with thermoplastic binder fibers to form a mixture;

applying heat to the mixture to melt the thermoplastic binder fibers such that the thermoplastic binder fibers bind the cellulose reinforcement fibers together to form a continuous batt, the thermoplastic binder fibers making up about 0.5% to about 25% by weight of the continuous batt;

cutting the continuous batt along a first plane extending through its thickness form a discrete pad; and

slicing the discrete pad along a second plane extending along its length to form a first pad having a first thickness and a second pad having a second thickness, wherein each of the first and second thicknesses is greater than or equal to about 1/16 of an inch.

10 . The method of claim 9 wherein the discrete pad has a third thickness that is equal to a sum of the first and second thicknesses of the first and second pads.

11 . The method of claim 9 wherein at least one of the first and second thicknesses is equal to about 1/16 of an inch.

12 . The method of claim 9 wherein the thermoplastic binder fibers make up less than about 10% by weight of the batt.

13 . The method of claim 9 wherein the discrete pad has a weight within a range from 1000 GSM to 1600 GSM.

14 . A system for producing an insulation material, the system comprising:

a mixer configured to mix cellulose reinforcement fibers with thermoplastic binder fibers to form a mixture, the thermoplastic binder fibers making up about 0.5% to about 25% by weight of the mixture;

a heat tunnel configured to apply heat to the mixture to melt the thermoplastic binder fibers such that the thermoplastic binder fibers bind the cellulose reinforcement fibers together to form a continuous batt; and

a first cutting apparatus configured to:

cut the continuous batt along a first plane extending through its thickness form a discrete pad; and

slice the discrete pad along a second plane extending along its length to form a first pad having a first thickness and a second pad having a second thickness, wherein at least one of the first and second thicknesses is greater than or equal to about 1/16 of an inch.

15 . The system of claim 14 further comprising a plurality of conveyors configured to move the continuous batt through the heat tunnel and past the first cutting apparatus.

16 . The system of claim 14 further comprising a series of rollers configured to position first and second paper layers about one of the first and second pads.

17 . The system of claim 16 further comprising a second cutting apparatus configured to separate the first and second paper layers from a continuous paper layer.

18 . The system of claim 16 wherein:

the rollers are positioned within a first distance from the first cutting apparatus; and

the first distance is within a range from about 0 mm to about 2 mm.

19 . The system of claim 14 further comprising a pair of tapered edge plates configured to compress the batt to a target width.

20 . The system of claim 14 further comprising a compression roller configured to compress the batt to adjust at least one of a thickness of the batt and a density of the batt to a target value.