US1483366A

US1483366A - Sound-absorbing method and material

Info

Publication number: US1483366A
Application number: US593353A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mazer Jacob
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1922-10-09
Filing date: 1922-10-09
Publication date: 1924-02-12
Anticipated expiration: 1941-02-12

Description

Patented Feb. 12, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,483,366 PATENT OFFICE.

JAG JOB mm, 01 BHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

sounn-ansoimmo METHOD AND MATERIAL.

Continuation-o! application Serial Ho. 242,272, filed June 27, 1918 This application filed October 9, 1922.

Serial 1T0. 598,353.

To all whom it may com-em;

Be it known that I, JACOB MAznR, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sound-Absorbing Methods and Material;

and I do hereby declare the following to b; a full, clear, and exact description there- My invention relates to the art of correcting the acoustics of rooms, auditoriums and other enclosures, and its object is to provide a novel and effective method and means for modifying the boundary surfaces of such enclosures to produce definite and predetermined sound modification.

In m" application for Letters Patent filed June 2, 1918, Serial No. 242,272, I have described and claimed an improvement in the sound-modifying art consistingin providing the surface of an enclosure with apertures communicating freely with the auditorium or other enclosure, and so disposed as to their size, number and arrangement as to give a definite and predetermined sound-absorbing capacit per unit area of the exposed surface. 11 my said prior application I have described some of the many difierent ways in which such sound-absorbing apertures may be formed.

My present application is a continuation of this prior application and relates specifically to the use, for sound-modifying purposes, of apertures in the nature of grooves penetrating one or more ofthe'exposed surfaces of the enclosure to be treated. Such grooves may be formed by scoring or otherwise forming indented lines in a wall or ceiling coated with plaster or other material capable of such. treatment. Or, the grooves may be made by building up a, composite-material, for example, by laying together strips of thin material and secur- .ing the assembled strips to a suitable backin When such composite material is'applled toa wallyor ceiling the edges of the stri s or other elements form the boundary sur ace of that portion of the enclosure and present spaces or grooves between them of greater or less width, according to the character of the material used. The spaces between the laminations of such composite material may be varied by placing separating elements between them, and such separating elements may be of various forms, some of which will be described below.

The grooves formed in these various ways need not all be parallel with each other, but may run in different directions in accordance with anydesign that .may be desired,

while still maintaining the definite and predetermined sound-absorbing value that is characteristic of my system of sound-control as set forth in this application and in my prior application mentioned above.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the embodiment of my invention in which a previously erected wall or ceiling is scored to present a grooved surface; Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a modification in which kerfs or, slots are employed; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of-a sound-modifying body composed of corrugated sheet material; and Figs. 4 to -7, inclusive, are fragmentary perspective views showing various methods of producing grooved surfaces throu h the use of superposed laminations.

In Fig. 1 the numeral 2 indicates a fragment of a'wall, ceiling or floor of an enclosure having its exposed surface provided with a multitude of closely adjacent grooves 3. Such grooves may readily be made after the plaster, or other like material, has been placed in position and before it has completely hardened. It will be understood that these grooves maybe arranged in various different ways to produce a variety of decorative effects, and that the grooves may be of different widths and depths and may be spaced from each other either regularly orirregularly, the only requirement being that the grooves be sufficiently numerous to have a substantial sound-modifying effect, and that the grooved surface shall have definite and predetermined sound absorbing capacity per unit of its area.

In Iig. 2 is shown a modification in which a block 5 of plaster or the like is kerfed-or slotted, as at 6, to form longitudinal grooves. When such blocks are used to produce walls or ceilings with the grooves exposed, they produce a similar effect as to the absorption of sound as the grooved surface shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows another modification of my invention in which the sound-absorbing material consists of units or blocks of corboard or the like, which is bent into convolutions 8, thus presenting at the outer surface grooves or passages similar to the

grooves

3 and 6 of Figs. 1 and 2.- This corrugated material may be secured to a backing sheet 9 by which the material is held together as a unitary structure. By dipping such materi'al in a solution of silicate of soda or other stiffening medium, a rigid and effective sound-modifying material is very cheaply made.

Fig. 4: shows-the simplest method of carrying my invention into' etl'ect by the use of superposed laminations, the edges of which form the normally exposed surface of the material. As shown in this figure, strips 11 of paper, fiber-board, cloth, felt or the like may be laid together and secured to a backing member 12 by means of cement or otherwise. The edges 13 of these strips will necessarily present spaces or grooves between them of greater or less width. It the strips are made of smooth material and are closely compacted together, the spaces or grooves between them will be of small or even microscopic width, but will have substantial sound-modifying power. By employing stripsoi rougher material the efiective'spaces or rooves between the strips may be increased, as desired. The exposed edges 13 may present a flat even surface, as shown in Fig. l, or may be more or less irregular and rough, according to the desired appearance and sound absorbing capacity. I

Fig. 5 differs from Fig.4 in that the laminations 14 secured, as in Fig. 4, to a backing sheet 15, are separated by means of particles 16 of felt fiber, sand or other suitable finely-divided.material which produces effective spaces between the laminations of controllable width. The particles 16 may themselves be ofhigh sound-absorbing power, thus providing an additional means for regulating the absorption of sound.

In Fig. 6 the strips or layers 17 may be positively spaced apart in a uniform manner by means of spacing strips 18, thereby forming sound-absorbing apertures between the strips.

Fig. 7 shows a modification similar to that of Fig. 6 .with the difference that the laminations 19 are spaced apart by strips or blocks 20 which do not extend fully across the width of the strips 19, and which may be staggered in position, as illustrated, to form more 'orless irregular openings for the absorption of sound. In this case it will be noted that the openings extending inward from the'edges of the adjacent strips 19will communicate with cross openings, such, for example as 21, between the ends of the short spacers 20, and consequently the openings extending inwardly from the exposed surface of the material may also communicate one with the. other.

It will be understood that the foregoing examples are described merel to illustrate the many ways in which my invention may be employed, without limitingmy invention to the constructions herein shown. In particular, it will be noied that the grooves which I employ may be either uniform or non-uniform in width and depth, and may be regular or irregular as to their spacing and distribution on the exposed surface of the .material, and that such exposed surface may be either rough or even and may be produced after the surface has been placed in position or may be made in the form of blocks or sheets of predetermined sound-absorbing power, read i to be placed in position without any alteration. My invention includes all of these modifications, and such others as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

-1. The method of modifying the acoustics of a room, auditorium or other space that comprises providing such a space with a boundary surface having grooves communicating with said space, the Said grooves having definite and predetermined soundabsorbing capacity per unit area of the exposed surface.

2. Sound-modifying material having grooves communicating with a normally exposed surface of said material, said grooves being suflicientl numerous to have substantial sound-modifying effect, and said surface having definite-and predetermined sound-absorbing capacity per unit area of said surface.

3. Material for forming an exposed surface of a room enclosure, the said material having a normally exposed surface provided with sound-absorbing openings formed by the edges of laminations arranged side by side.

4. Material for forming anexposed surface of a room enclosure, the said material having a normally exposed surface pro vided with sound-absorbing openings formed by the edges of laminations arranged side by side, and a backing member openings I 1o prisi formed b .the edges of laminations arranged si e, by side, a backing member se-- J cured to said laminations, and means for spacing said laminations from one an- 6 other, said spacin means consisting of bodies which indivi ually have high soundabsorbing power.

7. Material for forming an exposedsurface of a room enclosure, said material coma backing member and laminations of sti ened fibrous material arranged side by side and secured to said backing memr. v

8. A room enclosure having an exposed sound-absorbing wall composed of material 5 comprising a'backingmember. and lamina- 20 tions of thin material arranged side by side and secured to'said backing member.

In testimony whereof I, the said JACOB MAZER, have hereunto set my hand.

JACOB MAZER.