Sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material

• US 5,905,234 A
• Filed: 06/20/1995
• Issued: 05/18/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation), Mitsubishi Electric Home Appliance Co., Ltd. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation), Mitsubishi Electric Home Appliance Co., Ltd. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Ootsuta, Katsuhisa, Tsukamoto, Kouji, Imai, Toshihisa, Tani, Shuichi, Kurashina, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Khanh
• Application Number:
  US08/492,550
• Time in Patent Office: 1,428 Days
• Field of Search: 181/286, 181/288, 181/290, 181/291, 181/292, 181/294, 181/295, 181/210
• US Class Current: 181/286
• 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 11/172 using resonance effects

Abstract

A sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material has a sound absorbing plate of a thin plate porous material made by partially heating for welding plastic particles and a supporting member for supporting the sound absorbing plate and forming a back air space. More than one pair of resonators having a separated back air space in the aforementioned back air space are fixed to the sound absorbing plate, and the resonators are disposed to be opposed to a sound insulator with the supporting member between. Plural reflecting members or increased sound absorbers may be disposed to be opposed to the surface of the sound absorbing plate opposite to the surface equipped with the resonators, or a perforated protecting plate fixing the plural reflecting members or the increased sound absorbers thereon are may be equipped. The sound absorbing mechanism has a superior sound absorption characteristic from lower frequencies to higher frequencies.

Claims

1. A sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material to be placed on a sound insulator comprising:

a sound absorbing plate made of a thin plate of a porous material;

supporting members for supporting said sound absorbing plate above said sound insulator, the supporting members forming separated plural first back air spaces by

defining a space between said sound absorbing plate and said sound insulator; and

first hollow members placed on a back of said sound absorbing plate within each said first back air space for forming first resonators defining second back air spaces separated and independent from said first back air spaces

wherein an air gap is maintained between said first hollow members and said sound insulator such that said first hollow member is not in contact with said sound insulator and wherein each first back air space has a substantially U-shape, defined by said sound absorbing plate, said sound insulator, said supporting members, said first hollow members and said air gap.

2. The sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material according to claim 1, which further comprises plural reflecting members disposed in front of said sound absorbing plate with a space from the sound absorbing plate.

3. The sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material according to claim 1, which further comprises:

plural reflecting members disposed in front of said sound absorbing plate with a space from the sound absorbing plate; and

a protecting plate disposed in front of said reflecting members for fixing the reflecting members, the protecting plate having an opening.

4. The sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material according to claim 1, which further comprises plural sound absorbers composed of a thin plate of a porous material and a second hollow member, the sound absorbers being disposed in front of said sound absorbing plate with a space from the sound absorbing plate.

5. The sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material according to claim 1, which further comprises:

plural sound absorbers composed of a thin plate of a porous material and a second hollow member, the sound absorbers being disposed in front of said sound absorbing plate with a space from the sound absorbing plate; and

a protecting plate disposed in front of said sound absorbers for fixing the sound absorbers, said protecting plate having an opening.

6. The sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material according to claim 1, wherein said sound absorbing plate is made by welding plastic particles partially.

7. The sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material according to claim 1, which is formed as a sound absorbing panel by equipping a sound insulating plate corresponding to said sound insulator at a back of a sound absorbing mechanism.

8. The sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material according to claim 1, which further comprises a third hollow member fixed to a back of said sound absorbing plate for forming a second resonator having a third back air space separated from said second back air space in each inside of said first hollow members.

9. The sound absorbing mechanism using a porous material according to claim 1, wherein said first hollow members comprise

two parallel elongated walls each connected along an elongated side to said sound absorbing plate;

and

a floor connected between said two parallel elongated walls along another elongated side thereof, wherein said first hollow members form a rectangular protrusion into said first air spaces, creating the substantially U-shaped first air spaces.