Noise abatement apparatus for appliance cabinet and method for reducing noise generated by an appliance
First Claim
1. Apparatus for reducing noise emitted by an appliance having a cabinet that houses one or more components that emit two or more acoustical pressure waves, said apparatus comprising at least one diffuser sized for placement within said cabinet, said at least one diffuser having at least one deflection surface thereon for deflecting at least one acoustical pressure wave in a predetermined direction;
- wherein at least one said deflection surface on at said at least one diffuser deflects at least one acoustical pressure wave such that said deflected acoustical pressure wave collides with at least one other acoustical pressure wave.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for reducing noise emitted from an appliance having a cabinet that supports at least one component that emits at least one acoustic pressure wave therefrom. In a preferred form, the apparatus comprises at least one diffuser having at least one deflection surface. The diffuser is coupled to the cabinet and positioned relative to the one component such that the acoustic pressure wave emitted from the component is deflected by the one deflection surface in a predetermined direction. The diffuser can be used to deflect acoustic pressure waves such that they collide with each other. The apparatus may further include at least one absorber. The diffuser is strategically located to deflect acoustic pressure waves being emitted from the component into the absorber to reduce the noise emitted from the appliance.
43 Citations
15 Claims
-
1. Apparatus for reducing noise emitted by an appliance having a cabinet that houses one or more components that emit two or more acoustical pressure waves, said apparatus comprising at least one diffuser sized for placement within said cabinet, said at least one diffuser having at least one deflection surface thereon for deflecting at least one acoustical pressure wave in a predetermined direction;
wherein at least one said deflection surface on at said at least one diffuser deflects at least one acoustical pressure wave such that said deflected acoustical pressure wave collides with at least one other acoustical pressure wave. - View Dependent Claims (2)
-
3. Apparatus for reducing noise emitted by an appliance having a cabinet supporting at least one component that emits at least one acoustic pressure wave therefrom, said apparatus comprising:
-
at least one absorber coupled to an outer surface of said cabinet; and
at least one diffuser coupled to an outer surface of said cabinet and positioned relative to at least one component and said at least one absorber such that said at least one diffuser deflects said at least one said acoustic pressure wave to said at least one absorber to thereby reduce said noise emitted by said appliance. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method for reducing noise emitted from an appliance having a cabinet that supports at least one component that emits at least one acoustic pressure wave therefrom in a direction and at least one absorber coupled to an outer surface of said cabinet, said method comprising the steps of:
-
determining the direction of said at least one acoustic pressure wave; and
coupling at least one diffuser to an outer surface of said cabinet such that it is positioned relative to the direction of said at least one acoustic pressure wave and said at least one absorber, said diffuser directing said acoustic pressure wave toward said absorber. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
-
-
14. A method for altering the geometry of an appliance cabinet that supports at least one component that emits at least one acoustic pressure wave therefrom to reduce the noise emitted from said cabinet, said method comprising the steps of:
-
coupling at least one absorber to an outer surface of said cabinet; and
coupling at least one diffuser to an outer surface of said cabinet such that it is positioned relative to said component and said absorber, said diffuser deflecting said at least one acoustic pressure wave to said at least one absorber to thereby reduce noise emitted from said appliance. - View Dependent Claims (15)
-
Specification