Acoustics – Sound-modifying means – Sound absorbing panels
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-09
2004-01-06
Nappi, Robert E. (Department: 2837)
Acoustics
Sound-modifying means
Sound absorbing panels
C181S293000, C052S220100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06672426
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to sound-insulating floor structures, sound-insulating floor members and a method for constructing said sound-insulating floor structures. Particularly, the invention relates to sound-insulating floor structures for reducing heavy floor impact sounds.
2. Background Art
Many floors have been formerly used as architectural floors, including direct bond type floors in which a sound-insulating floor is directly bonded to a floor base, floors in which a finish floor material is provided on a reinforcement member as a base member, floors in which a underfloor member is provided on floor beams and then a finish floor material is provided thereon, double floors in which a floor base member is provided on support legs and then a finish floor material is placed thereon, etc. These floors reach almost satisfactory levels for impact sounds in the case of light-weight floors. However, although improvements have been largely demanded for heavy floor impact sounds of the architectures, there have been no good improving method of reducing such sounds for a long time. Such impact sounds have been coped with by imparting rigidity upon floors or beams and increasing the thickness of floor bases in the case of the architectures having rigid structures such as RC structures only.
However, in the case of soft structures such as residential housings and low-rise collective housings, the above countermeasure results in substantially too high costs, so that it is impossible to increase rigidity of columns and beams and enhance the rigidity and the weight of the floor base. Therefore, a countermeasure has been awaited.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is aimed at obtaining a floor sound-insulating floor structure, which can largely reduce heavy floor sounds. Further, the invention is also aimed at sound-insulating floor members which can remarkably reduce heavy floor impact sounds and have excellent workability.
The present invention relates to a sound-insulating floor structure comprising a floor base, a plurality of sound-insulating floor members arranged on the floor base, and an underfloor member placed on the sound-insulating floor members, each of said sound-insulating floor members comprising a plurality of impact-absorbing members and a support member supporting said impact-absorbing members, said impact-absorbing members being provided on at least one of upper and lower faces of the support member, and each of said sound-insulating floor members being fixed to the floor base or the underfloor member to support the underfloor member. The invention also relates to the sound-insulating floor members to be used in the sound-insulating floor structure, and a method for constructing the sound-insulating floor structure.
The present inventors solved the problems by a simple construction in which the sound-insulating floor members are arranged on the floor base, and the underfloor member is placed thereon.
Further, the present inventors noted the cost reduction, which enables wide propagation from the standpoint of the construction members and the number of construction steps.
The inventors noted that the sound-insulating floor structure can be adjusted to such a height level that makes the underfloor height as low as possible and on the other hand provides a piping space.
Having noted the above points, the present inventors conducted experiments on the sound-insulating floor structure in detail.
As a result, the inventors obtained the knowledge that a sound-insulating floor members in which a plurality of impact-absorbing members are arranged on at least one face of a support member is placed on a floor base, and an underfloor member is placed on the sound-insulating floor members, thereby reducing heavy floor impact sounds. Then, the inventors further repeated experiments, and discovered that the heavy floor impact sounds are surprisingly further reduced when the impact-absorbing members are supported by slender support members each having a length equivalent to a long or short side of the floor base or the underfloor member, and the supporting member is fixed to the underfloor member with the impact-absorbing members having a weight being about ½ times as much as that of the sound-insulating floor members. The present inventors reached the present invention based on the above discovery.
That is, the present invention relates to a sound-insulating floor structure comprising a floor base, a plurality of sound-insulating floor members arranged on the floor base, and an underfloor member placed on the sound-insulating floor members, each of said sound-insulating floor members comprising a plurality of impact-absorbing members and a support member supporting said impact-absorbing members, said impact-absorbing members being provided on at least one of upper and lower faces of the support member, and said sound-insulating floor member being fixed to the floor base or the underfloor member to support the underfloor member. The invention also relates to the sound-insulating floor members to be used in the sound-insulating floor structure, and a method for constructing the sound-insulating floor structure.
1. The provision of the supporting member on at least one face of the plural impact-absorbing members constitutes the sound-insulating floor member, which is provided between the floor base and the underfloor member. Thereby, the sound performance can be conspicuously enhanced.
2. When the impact-absorbing members are supported by slender support members each having a length equivalent to a long or short side of the floor base or the underfloor member, the sound performance can be remarkably improved.
3. When portions where the supporting member or the impact-absorbing members contact the underfloor member or portions where the supporting member or the impact-absorbing members contact the floor base are to be subjected to fixing with pressure-sensitive adhesive, the pressure-sensitive adhesive or the like is coated on those portions, and this adhesive-coated portions are protected by applying release papers thereto. In this case, a plurality of the impact-absorbing members can be simultaneously fixed merely by press fitting them after the release papers are removed.
Further, according to the present invention,
4. If the heavy floor impact sound can be kept to L
H
-55, a vibration control/sound-insulating floor member and other planar underfloor member can be omitted, which can reduce the cost of materials and the number of working steps.
5. The height of the underfloor can be adjusted by imparting vibration controllability upon the support member and/or increasing the thickness thereof, which is effective for improving the sound performance and lessens the displacement relative to the floor load.
According to the present invention, the provision of the sound-insulating floor members including the supporting members which supports the plural impact-absorbing members between the floor base or the underfloor member not only remarkably reduces the heavy floor impact sounds of the sound-insulating floor structure but also improves construction workability of the sound-insulating floor structure.
The present invention can be widely applied to residential houses, low-rise collective housings, high-rise collective housings, etc. The present invention can not only favorably employed in the residential housings, but also in case that upstairs heavy floor impact sounds are not to be transmitted or that the underfloor space is to be used as a space for piping, wiring or the like.
BEST MODES TO CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be explained.
In the following, constructing members of the present invention will be explained, and functions of the invention will be successively explained, too.
(1) Sound-insulating Floor Member
The sound-insulating floor member in the present invention comprises a plurality of the impact-absorbing members and the support member supporting these impact-abs
Kakimoto Hirofumi
Kiso Osamu
Colon-Santana Eduardo
Hayakawa Rubber Company Limited
Nappi Robert E.
LandOfFree
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