Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Honeycomb-like
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-20
2001-02-06
Lorin, Francis J. (Department: 1775)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Honeycomb-like
C181S292000, C428S593000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06183837
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates, in general, to a soundproof panel, and in particular, to a panel for use in soundproofing walls, having a multilayer organization in which an aluminum honeycomb structure is applied with a sound-absorbing board and a noise insulator at each side of the structure.
Originating from machinery, traffic vehicles, such as cars, trains, airplanes and the like, construction sites, audio instruments, etc., unfavorable sound, that is, noise, is a daily event. It is well known that noise is an injurious factor to personal health by causing hardness of hearing, headaches, uneasiness, etc. In addition, in industrial fields, noise and vibrations from machinery and instruments make a poor environment for workers, giving rise to a serious decrease in productivity and product quality.
Thus, it is strongly demanded that such a noise source be designed to operate as quietly as possible and that measures be taken to prevent the noise, once occurring, from propagating outside its own environment.
Now, this soundproofing is needed for almost all life environments, including working places, roadsides, railway sides, airports, construction sites, common living spaces, such as apartments and offices, performance places, such as concert halls, and theaters, gymnasiums and various resort complexes.
Conventionally, soundproof structures made from sound-controlling material or soundproof materials capable of absorbing or insulating sound, such as noise barriers, soundproof partitions and soundproof rooms, are provided for the noise sources, in order to absorb noise and block its propagation.
General construction materials, such as wood and concrete, synthetic resins, such as polyurethane, polyethylene and polyester, inorganic fiber materials, such as glass wool and rock wool, metal materials, such as perforated metal plate, alone or in combination, are most widely used as soundproofing or sound-insulating materials.
Soundproofing or sound-insulating materials are required to show high sound absorption or insulation power over a wide frequency range and superiority in mechanical properties, such as durability, and thermal properties, such as incombustibility, as well as to be low in production cost with ease in carrying out construction therewith.
The aluminum fences which are now widely used as soundproofing walls for roadsides, have a front side which is usually processed in a gallery shape or a void structure. Because these aluminum fences are of low perforation, they reflect but do not absorb sounds effectively. In result, they are poor in soundproofing performance. Furthermore, the aluminum fences in current use are weak and do not endure for a long time, so that they are easily crushed, broken or otherwise damaged.
Such a conventional aluminum fence is usually provided with a sound-absorbing member, such as glass wool or rock wool, with the aim of enhancing its soundproofing performance. For a time immediately after being installed within the aluminum fence, the sound-absorbing member is maintained at its regular position, enabling the aluminum fence to absorb noise. With the lapse of time, the sound-absorbing member falls due to its own weight or the external conditions including rain, moisture and wind, which diminishes the sound-absorption ability of the soundproofing aluminum wall as well as abridges the life span thereof.
To the rear side of the conventional aluminum fence, a plated steel board would be attached to function as a noise insulator as well as a structural material. After a long period, the plated steel board is eroded, deleteriously affecting the appearance of the aluminum fence and decreasing the structural strength thereof.
The conventional aluminum fence is too heavy and weak as a soundproof panel. Thus, before an aluminum fence is constructed, H-beam props are usually arranged at a close distance (e.g. a distance of 2,000 mm) to support the aluminum fence, so that a large quantity of secondary materials are required. In addition, the foundation for the aluminum fence should be firm. For these reasons, the conventional aluminum fence is disadvantageous in construction cost.
On the other hand, soundproofing wood walls are high in construction and material cost. In addition, they are difficult to maintain or repair and have a problem of being short in life span. Soundproofing synthetic resin walls are vulnerable to flame and easily altered into other shapes, so that they are short in life span.
Glass wool or rock wool, which is used to increase sound-absorption ability, is poor in durability. What is worse, it produces pollution of the environment. Perforated metal plates themselves have not sound-absorption ability, so that they should be used in combination with other sound-absorbing members, such as glass wool. Moreover, almost all conventional soundproof materials except metal materials, are poor in appearance and incapable of being recycled, so they produce wastes upon being discarded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the above problems encountered in prior arts and to provide a light panel for use in soundproofing walls, which is high in strength and superior in soundproofing ability with a complex structure in which an aluminum honeycomb and an aluminum foam are combined.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an aluminum honeycomb-foam panel for use in soundproofing walls, which can be manufactured into a large-size, thereby relieving the need for excessive secondary materials.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a semi-permanent aluminum honeycomb-foam panel, which gives facility to the construction of soundproofing walls and to maintenance and post-management.
In accordance with the present invention, the above objects could be accomplished by a provision of an aluminum honeycomb-foam panel for use in soundproofing walls, comprising an aluminum honeycomb structure comprising a plurality of hexagonal aluminum cells; a sound-absorbing aluminum foam board with a plurality of open pores, which is attached to one side of the aluminum honeycomb structure via an adhesive sheet; a noise-insulating metal board, selected from a steel board, a zinc-plated steel board, an aluminum board, or a stainless steel board, which is attached to the other side of the aluminum honeycomb structure via an adhesive sheet.
The aluminum honeycomb-foam panel in accordance with the present invention is a lamination construction having excellent soundproofing ability, in which a honeycomb structure formed of aluminum thin plates is underlaid by a noise insulator and overlaid by a sound-absorbing, aluminum foam board. That is, many hexagonal cells in the aluminum honeycomb structure serve as air pockets in which resonance occurs to attenuate low-frequency noise of 500 Hz or less while the open pores in the aluminum foam board absorb medium to high-frequency noise. Meanwhile, the noise insulator in the aluminum honeycomb-foam panel acts to prevent the propagation of sound waves.
In addition, the central position of the aluminum honeycomb structure in the aluminum honeycomb-foam panel of the present invention gives a great contribution to improving the strength of the panel. That is, the presence of numerous hexagonal aluminum cells between the sound-absorbing aluminum foam board and the noise insulator in the aluminum honeycomb-foam panel, result in the fact that more numerous I-shaped aluminum beams support the board and the noise insulator, giving rise to an increase in structural strength.
Because the panel of the present invention is, for the most part, made of aluminum, which is a light metal, and the air pockets and the open pores amount, in volume, to at least 97% and 90% of the honeycomb structure and the sound-absorbing aluminum foam board, respectively, the soundproofing walls made of the panels of the invention weigh little.
Accordingly, the aluminum honeycomb-foam panel for use in soundproofing walls shows excellency in sound absorption a
Lorin Francis J.
Snell & Wilmer
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