Wide band sound diffuser with self regulated low frequency absorption and methods of mounting

• US 7,261,182 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2003
• Issued: 08/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Liviu Nikolae Zainea
• Original Assignee: Liviu Nikolae Zainea
• Inventors: Zainea, Liviu Nikolae
• Primary Examiner(s): Donovan; Lincoln
• Assistant Examiner(s): LUKS, JEREMY AUSTIN
• Application Number:
  US10/510,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20060042875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,566 Days
• Field of Search: 181/293, 181/30, 181/286
• US Class Current: 181/293
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 2001/8414 with non-planar face, e.g. curved, egg-crate shaped
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 2001/8442 Tray type elements
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/20 Reflecting arrangements G10K11/28 takes precedence

Abstract

The present invention relates to an acoustical diffuser device, said apparatus comprising the main body from FIG. 1 and two lateral rigid supports (5), glued to the inside of the said diffuser which lateral supports are received, like a drawer, by two wooden rails (6), section T. The two wooden rails (6) are simply mounted on the wall or ceiling surface with screws or nails. The main diffuser body with his two drivers is mounted just like a drawer toward the two rails T or is embedded into the complex endless-screw containing base from FIGS. 6 (1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15). The main body is composed from three basically 3D shapes (1, 2, 3, and 4). Each fourth diffusers, displays together a new 3D shapes at their nearest point, FIGS. 10, 11 and 12. This diffuser may be used in any kind of room and geometry where the critical listening is needed such live or recorded music and music teaching. His main advantage is that it is working simultaneously in two ways: as a clean diffuser for mid and high frequencies and as a self controlled absorber, below 250 Hz, for low frequencies, as from FIG. 1 and related figures and very low frequencies when the apparatus from FIG. 6 is used. This is possible, because being mounted in two new different ways, his compartmented volumes behind the diffuser surfaces works like a complex Helmholtz resonator. There are described methods for mounting it for one and four grouped apparatus.

Claims

1. A wide band sound diffuser with self regulated low frequency absorption, said wide band sound diffuser comprising:

a center hemisphere like shape (1) which is confined and intersecting an octagon truncated pyramid (2);

wherein said octagon truncated pyramid (2) intersects on each of its four sides, respectively, four symmetrical one quarter cylinder like shapes (3);

said octagon truncated pyramid (2) also intersects four symmetrical quarter-hemisphere like shapes (4), each located on the corners of said diffuser;

wherein each symmetrical quarter-hemisphere like shape (4) consists of a quarter-hemisphere like shape embedded into a prism wherein each base prism intersects another lateral side of the central octagon truncated pyramid (2) at the remaining four sides, the angles between all intersected shapes are the same;

wherein at least 90% of said diffuser surface being convex therefore diffusing;

wherein said apparatus comprises two lateral rigid supports (5) glued or produced as one with the main body, and positioned on the inside of said diffuser on an opposite face by two T-shaped rails (6);

wherein the two T-shaped wooden rails are mounted on a wall or ceiling surface with screws or nails;

wherein at least four of said wide band sound diffusers are mounted together at a distance from one another, such that the rigid supports (5) and T-shaped rails (6) of each diffuser is in tight mechanical contact with one another;

wherein the at least four diffusers, at their nearest and common contact points display together a new three dimensional shape which consists of a sphere like shape embedded into a base prism;

wherein each base prism intersects a lateral side of the central truncated pyramid (2), and the angle between each three dimensional shape is the same along the four created directions, like a cross;

from the common point of the one-quarter cylinder like shape forms hemisphere like shapes, all being symmetrical towards two perpendicular axes and respectively towards two diagonal axes;

wherein the common point of each of the four diffusers forms a small inward decreasingly curvature which serves to avoid central sphere reflections and optimize more local diffusion;

wherein a small cross from four concave curvatures is formed on top of each shape (1);

wherein two T-shaped rails (6) are made from wood or any suitable material, and may be steady mounted parallel or perpendicular to the ground or similarly on a ceiling, providing two lateral supporting surfaces for the grouped apparatus;

wherein the remaining two sides are not sealed relative to the supporting surface, the distance between their bottom side and the supporting surface being equal to the height of the two T-shaped rails (6);

wherein air circulates freely in one direction on many parallel columns;

wherein the resulting parallel surfaces behaves like hard plates steady supported at the two longer edges;

wherein an empty space behind each diffuser follows their back geometry and the resulted geometry from the grouped diffuser forms a Helmholtz resonator;

where the lower frequencies are related to the inside highest points of the diffusers main body relative to the supported wall, and to the largest dimension of the grouped diffusers;

wherein the group mounted diffusers comprise at least two columns of diffusers in very tight contact, creating air resonance behind each of the grouped diffusers resonating at almost the same sound source spectral contents but, not at the same sound levels, resulting in the rooms standing waves being continuously variable and following their natural distribution; and

said diffuser having linearity for the low frequency and the diffusing capability of an inverse ultra fast automatic and signal adaptable wide range digital equalizer.

2. A wide band sound diffuser with self regulated low frequency absorption according to claim 1, and further comprising:

a base (11) molded from thermo-formable plastics, having an area equal to the apparatus main body minus a wall thickness;

wherein each of the four corners of the diffuser body comprises a first set of plastic cylindrical members (10) glued to said base (11);

wherein the four respective edges of said main body comprise a second set of four cylindrical members (9) glued below an inner surface, and having a slightly different interior diameter from said first set of cylindrical members (10);

wherein the second set of four cylindrical members (9) are each inserted into a respective one of a first set of cylindrical members (10);

wherein the tight contact between them permits controlled movements;

wherein each of the first (10) and second (9) sets of cylindrical members in tight contact further comprises a spring member (12) mounted and preloaded inside the cylinders (9 and 10), between the base (11) and a limiter (8);

wherein the limiter (8) is parallel with the base (11) surface and allows the spring (12) to function;

wherein the variable mechanical connection between the base (11) and the main diffuser body is provided by an endless screw (15) extending through the base and being secured on an outer portion of the base (11) by a screw-nut (16);

wherein the endless-screw (15) has a fixed portion (13) centered between the lower side of the central hemisphere (1) through a hole (17), and positioned relative to the geometrical center of the base (11), and adhered with glue;

wherein said endless-screw (15) and said fixed portion (13) are formed from any type of hard plastics;

wherein the endless-screw (15) function is secured by an adjusting key with a cross like section, and inserted trough the hole (17) coaxial into the endless-screw moving part at a center point (18);

wherein a centrally located spring (14) is secured and aligned by a thin inner plastic cylinder (20) covering the endless-screw (15);

wherein the centrally located spring (14) provide a continuous loading between the diffuser'"'"'s main body and the base (11);

wherein the force provided by the preloading of all four corner springs must be equal to the centrally located screw-nut spring (14);

wherein all of the springs (12 and 14) do not permit any kind of vibration of the suspended portions wherein a group of diffusers must all be adjusted by the adjusting key to have an equal distance between the main diffuser body and the base (11);

wherein the base (11) is mounted against a support surface of a wall or ceiling surface by screws from the three holes (19) arranged in a triangle disposition for an easier alignment;

wherein the diffuser body is fabricated from hard impact polystyrene or any other suitable material by thermoforming, injection molding or blow molding; and

wherein the internal mechanism and base (11) having all required supports being adhered with adhesives or produced from the same material as one piece with the diffuser device main body.

3. A wide band sound diffuser with self regulated low frequency absorption according to claim 2, and further comprising:

wherein the endless-screw has the possibility of a variable main body location relative to the base (11), thus permitting a lower fundamental frequency resonance to be between about 30 Hz and 1 Hz at the maximum distance of the main body relative to the base, simultaneously providing a clean diffusion at least for the standard 250-6300 Hz band.