Sound absorbing body, sound absorbing structural body, and method of manufacturing these bodies

• US 20050252714A1
• Filed: 04/25/2003
• Published: 11/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daikyo Nishikawa Corporation, Prime Polymer Company Limited (Mitsui Chemicals)
• Original Assignee: Daikyo Nishikawa Corporation
• Inventors: Goda, Hirofumi, Sakai, Toshifumi, Saito, Yoshiaki, Okamura, Masaharu, Suga, Takeharu, Sugawara, Minoru
• Granted Patent: US 7,364,014 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 181/252
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 44/583 for making articles with cavities
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 44/586 with a cavity increasing in size during foaming
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2323/04 Polyethylene
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2323/10 Polypropylene
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2355/02 ABS polymers, i.e. acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2367/00 Polyesters, e.g. PET, i.e. polyethylene terephthalate
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2369/00 Polycarbonates
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2371/00 Polyethers, e.g. PEEK, i.e. polyether-etherketone; PEK, i.e. polyetherketone
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2377/00 Polyamides
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/12 next to a fibrous or filamentary layer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/266 characterised by an apertured layer, the apertures going through the whole thickness of the layer, e.g. expanded metal, perforated layer, slit layer regular cells B32B3/12
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/16 Methods or devices for protecting against, or for damping, noise or other acoustic waves in general G10K11/36 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/168 Plural layers of different materials, e.g. sandwiches
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/172 using resonance effects

Abstract

A sound absorbing body 40 has a molded body 44 including two unexpanded layers 41, 42 and an expanded layer 43 having a number of voids and held between these unexpanded layers 41, 42, a plurality of holes 41A of a depth that passes through the unexpanded layer 41 and does not reach the other unexpanded layer 42 are formed at any positions on the molded body 44, a cross-sectional area of the hole 41A is in the range from 0.785 to 314 mm², and the pitch is 1 mm or larger. Laminating a plurality of materials is not required, and both the sound absorbing capability and sound insulating capability can be secured by integral molding, and further, only unpleasant sounds can selectively be absorbed.

Claims

1. A sound absorbing body comprising a molded body including two unexpanded layers and an expanded layer with a number of voids and held between these unexpanded layers,

wherein a plurality of holes each of a depth that passes through one of the unexpanded layers and do not reach the other one of the unexpanded layers are formed at any positions of the molded body, and

a cross-sectional area of the hole is in the range from 0.785 to 314 mm² and the pitch is 1 mm or more.

2. The sound absorbing body according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area and/or the pitch of the hole are of two types or more.

3. The sound absorbing body according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of at least one of the unexpanded layers is in the range from 0.5 to 2.0 mm.

4. The sound absorbing body according to claim 1, wherein the expanded layer has a plurality of regions having different expansion ratios.

5. The sound absorbing body according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of regions include a highly expanded region with the expansion ratio in the range from 1.2 to 3.0 times.

6. The sound absorbing body according to claim 5, wherein the holes are formed in the highly expanded region.

7. A sound absorbing structural body used in applications requiring the sound absorbing capability and containing the sound absorbing body according to claim 1, wherein the sound absorbing structural body is used as a cylinder head, a timing belt cover, an air cleaner, an air duct, an engine cover, a resonator for air absorption or air exhaustion, an intake manifold, an insulating plate between an engine room and a room, and a trunk room.

8. The sound absorbing structural body according to claim 7,

wherein a smaller one of angles formed by the sonic wave propagating direction and a surface of the unexpanded layer is in the range from 60 to 90 degrees.

9. A method of manufacturing a sound absorbing body comprising the steps of:

molding a formed body comprising two unexpanded layers and an expanded layer having a number of voids therein and held between these unexpanded layers with a die having a movable die capable of moving forward to and backward from an internal cavity by melting fiber-containing thermoplastic resin containing reinforcing fiber pieces each with the length adjusted within a range from 2 to 100 mm and injecting the melted resin into the cavity of the die, and then moving backward the movable die to expand the cavity for forming voids in the fiber-containing thermoplastic resin; and

forming a plurality of holes of a depth that passes through one of the unexpanded layers and does not reach the other one of the unexpanded layers at any positions of the molded body, wherein a cross-sectional area of the hole is in the range from 0.785 to 314 mm² and the pitch is 1 mm or larger.

11. The method of manufacturing a sound absorbing body according to claim 9 further comprising the step of forming the holes after the molded body is molded.

12. A method of manufacturing a sound absorbing structural body used in applications requiring the sound absorbing capability comprising the steps of:

dividing a cylindrical molded body into a plurality of divided bodies each having holes of a depth not passing through the molded body on an internal surface thereof manufactured by the method of manufacturing a sound absorbing body according to claim 9;

and

integrally jointing the divided bodies with the opposite surfaces of the divided bodies faced to each other.

13. The method of manufacturing a sound-absorbing body according to claim 12,

wherein the method of jointing the divided bodies is any of the die slide injection process, die rotary injection process, vibration welding, hot-plate welding, or laser welding.

10. A method of manufacturing a sound absorbing body comprising the step of:

molding a molded body comprising two unexpanded layers and an expanded layer having a number of voids therein and held between these unexpanded layers with a die comprising a movable die having a plurality of cavity forming surfaces capable of moving forward to and backward from an internal cavity by melting fiber-containing thermoplastic resin containing reinforcing fiber pieces each with the length adjusted within a range from 2 to 100 mm and injecting the melted resin into the cavity of the die, and then moving backward the movable die to expand the cavity for forming voids in the fiber-containing thermoplastic resin and also forming a region having a different expansion ratio from that of the peripheral area in sections corresponding to the cavity forming surfaces of the unexpanded layers; and

forming a plurality of holes of a depth that passes through one of the unexpanded layers and does not reach the other one of the unexpanded layers at any positions of the molded body, wherein a cross-sectional area of the hole is in the range from 0.785 to 314 mm² and the pitch is 1 mm or larger.