GB2330372A

GB2330372A - An acoustic sealing arrangement for a door comprising a combination of compression and inflatable seal members

Info

Publication number: GB2330372A
Application number: GB9822610A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Colin Douglas Johnstone
Original assignee: Clark Door Ltd
Current assignee: Clark Door Ltd
Priority date: 1997-10-18
Filing date: 1998-10-16
Publication date: 1999-04-21
Anticipated expiration: 2018-10-16
Also published as: GB2330372B; GB9721996D0; GB9822610D0

Abstract

An acoustic seal 16 for a door comprising a compression seal 28 and an inflatable seal 18 arranged to engage one another when the door is in a closed position. The pressure exerted by the inflated seal deforms the compression seal, thereby reducing the load transferred to the door and its surround.

Description

TITLE: Acoustic Seals DESCRIPTION This invention concerns acoustic seals for doors.

Sealing of acoustic sliding doors has generally relied upon provision of resilient foam-filled bulb seals on a wall that are compressed in a mating channel on the door leaf. For very large doors such an arrangement is not practical because of the required accuracy of the mating faces and the difficulty of for example achieving a tapered action for the door when sliding.

The use of pneumatic seals, commonly found in applications where control of pressure between zones is required, has been proposed for acoustic doors but there are problems with their use in that way. A pneumatic acoustic seal on its own will not provide a high mass acoustic barrier, so that overall acoustic performance will be impaired. Furthermore, when such seals are inflated they will impart significant horizontal loads onto the door leaf, so that structural reinforcement of the door and/or wall would be required. Also, the projection of the seal when inflated gives little tolerance for adjustment over long lengths or widths.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved acoustic seal for doors.

According to this invention there is provided an acoustic seal for a door comprising a compression seal and an inflatable seal arranged to overlie one another when the door is in a closed position, whereby inflation of the inflatable seal causes it to contact and compress the compression seal.

The invention further provides a door having an acoustic seal along at least one edge, the acoustic seal comprising a compression seal and an inflatable seal arranged to overlie one another when the door is in a closed position, whereby inflation of the inflatable seal causes it to contact and compress the compression seal.

The acoustic seal of the invention preferably includes means for ensuring correct alignment of the seals, whereby inflation of the inflatable seal is only possible when the seals are aligned. Interlinking seal components may be provided for ensuring correct alignment.

The compression seal is preferably on the door leaf and the inflatable, especially pneumatic, seal is preferably on a surround of the door opening.

A preferred acoustic seal of the invention comprises a pair of compression seals and a pair of inflatable seals. The seals of each pair are preferably spaced apart and are preferably parallel. The space between the seals of each pair is preferably filled with a sound absorbing material, such as of acoustic fibre.

The compression seal may be made of any suitable material provided that it is resilient. An open or closed cell rubber or elastomeric material may be suitable and may be coated or covered with a protective layer, such as of cloth reinforced neoprene. The compression seal is preferably on an adjustable mounting, so that the distance the compression seals extend can be altered.

The inflatable seal preferably comprises a tubular member retained in an adjustable mounting block again for adjusting the distance the inflatable seal extends.

The tubular member preferably has an intended outer surface that is profiled to improve contact with the compression seal. Preferably when deflated the tubular member does not extend more than slightly from its mounting block.

The inflatable seal may be inflated by a gaseous or liquid medium. Evacuation of the inflated seal may be assisted, such as by means of a vacuum pump, or may be self deflation.

The acoustic seal of the invention may be used for horizontally sliding and vertically sliding doors as well as folding and hinged doors.

This invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a sliding door of the invention; Figure 2 is a section through a part of the door of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section through a part of a wall against which the door of Figure 1 seals; and Figure 4 is a section through part of the door and wall combination showing how the seal between them operates.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, an acoustic door 10 has a door leaf 12 arranged for sliding movement in the direction of arrow 0 (see Figure 4 of the drawings) for opening and the reverse for closing relative to an opening in a wall 14.

The door leaf has on its face one part of an acoustic seal arrangement 16 and the surrounding wall has another part. The seal arrangement comprises a continuous inflatable seal 18 mounted on the wall surrounding the opening 14 therein. The seal 18 provides parallel seals on each side and across the top of the opening. The space between the parallel seals is occupied by an acoustic fibre infill 20. The inflatable seal 18 comprises channel section seal mounting strips 22 containing a continuous pneumatic seal member 24. The pneumatic seal 24 comprises a tubular member having an outer profiled part 26 that on inflation extends beyond the channel section strips to present a profiled sealing strip and on deflation retracts into the strips to clear the door for sliding movement. The pneumatic seal is gas operated and activated by movement sensors associated with the door.

The position of the mounting strips relative to the door leaf may be adjusted by means of shims between the strips and the wall.

The seal arrangement 16 further comprises on the door leaf a continuous compression seal member 28 positioned to align with the pneumatic seals when the door is closed. The seal member 28 presents parallel seals near the sides and across the top of the door leaf. Between the parallel runs of the seal is an acoustic fibre infill 30. The compression seal members comprise a mounting block strips 32, whose position is adjustable relative to the door leaf by means of shims, closed cell rubber strips 34 on the mounting strips and a cloth reinforced neoprene cover 36 over the closed cell rubber strips 34.

When the door is closed, the pneumatic seal 24 is inflated to the hatched position shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, so that it acts on the compression seal on the door leaf to form a seal therebetween. When the door is to be opened, the pneumatic seal is deflated to clear the compression seals. As the pneumatic seal is inflated it compresses the compression seals and forms the neoprene cover around its profiled part to give a larger mass to attenuate the noise level effectively. The action of compressing the seal allows all of the horizontal load to be absorbed by the compression seal instead of being taken by the door itself and consequently the door hanging arrangements.

Whilst the invention has been illustrated with respected to doors that open and close horizontally, the invention may also be applicable to doors that open and close vertically, as well as hinged and folding doors of single or multiple leaf designs.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. An acoustic seal for a door comprising a compression seal and an inflatable seal arranged to overlie one another when the door is in a closed position, whereby inflation of the inflatable seal causes it to contact and compress the compression seal.
2. An acoustic seal as claimed in claim 1, comprising a pair of compression seals and a pair of inflatable seals.
3. An acoustic seal as claimed in claim 2, wherein seals of each pair are spaced apart.
4. An acoustic seal as claimed in claim 3, wherein the seals of each pair are parallel.
5. An acoustic seal as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the space between the seals of a pair of seals is filled with a sound absorbing material.
6. An acoustic seal as claimed in claim 5, wherein the sound absorbing material is acoustic fibre.
7. An acoustic seal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the compression seal is of resilient material.
8. An acoustic seal as claimed in claim 7, wherein the compression seal is of an open or closed cell rubber or elastomeric material.
9. An acoustic seal as claimed in claim 8, wherein the rubber or elastomeric material is covered or coated with a protective layer.
10. An acoustic seal as claimed in claim 9, wherein the protective layer is a neoprene reinforced cloth.
11. An acoustic seal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the compression seal is on an adjustable mounting.
12. An acoustic seal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the inflatable seal comprises a tubular member retained in an adjustable mounting block.
13. An acoustic seal as claimed in claim 12, wherein the tubular member has an intended outer surface that is profiled to improve contact with the compression seal.
14. An acoustic seal as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein, when deflated, the tubular member does not extend more than slightly from its mounting block.
15. An acoustic seal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the inflatable seal is a pneumatic seal.
16. An acoustic seal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15 further comprising means for ensuring correct alignment of the compression and inflatable seals before inflation of the inflatable seal.
17. An acoustic seal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16 wherein the inflatable seal is inflatable by a gaseous medium.
18. An acoustic seal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the inflatable seal is inflatable by a liquid medium.
19. An acoustic seal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein deflation of the inflatable seal is assisted.
20. A door having an acoustic seal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19 fitted along at least one edge thereof.
21. A door as claimed in claim 20, wherein the compression seal is on the door leaf and the inflatable seal is on a surround of the door opening.
22. An acoustic seal substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
23. A door having an acoustic seal, the door being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.