Sound absorbing structure

Sept. 5, 1933.

1,925,453

J. MAZER

SOUND ABSORBING- STRUCTURE

Filed Dec. 22, 1928

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Patented Sept. 5, 1933

1,925,453

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

1,925,453

SOUND ABSORBING STRUCTURE Jacob Mazer, Philadelphia, Pa. Application December 22, 1928 Serial No. 327,968

Claims.

My invention relates to sound-absorbing materials and a method of making the same, and more particularly to materials for facing the interiors of buildings, and materials which not 5 only possess desirable acoustical or sound-absorbing properties, but which may also be utilized in the walls of buildings as sound and heat insulation.

One object of my invention is to provide a ma10 terial of the character referred to, which is of simple and cheap construction, but which is nevertheless highly efficient.

Another object of my invention is to provide a sound-absorbing material of such form that it 15 may be readily applied to walls, floors, ceilings and the like, which presents a smooth exposed surface and which may be conveniently painted or otherwise finished in a decorative manner.

Some of the forms which the invention may 20 take are shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of one form of wall structure in which my soundabsorbing units are employed; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a wall to which the 25 units are applied as in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the units of Figs. 1 and 2, in a preliminary stage of formation; Fig. 4 is a view showing the unit of Fig. 3, crushed or deformed to produce a desired acoustical or 30 heat-insulating property; Fig. 5 is a composite structure involving a plurality of the units of Fig. 4 in laminated relation; Fig. 6 is a face view of the structure of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 shows a structure similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating another 35 manner in which the units may be applied to a wall; and Figs. 8 and 9 are modifications of the structure of Fig. 3, showing still othei’ forms of corrugated board from which the sound-absorbing units may be formed.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 4, I show a wall structure having an outer facing 10, studding 11, and sound-absorbing units 12. The units or panels 12 are nailed or otherwise suitably fastened to the studding and have the 45 appearance more clearly shown in Fig. 4. These units are formed of what is generally designated as “corrugated board” which may be of paper, asbestos sheets, or the like. The boards initially, and in their commercial form, have the appear50 ance shown in Fig. 3. A crimped or corrugated sheet 13 is suitably glued or otherwise secured to face sheets 14 and 15. Due to the fact that only the crimps or corrugations of sheet 13 abut the facing sheets, these are the only points which 55 are glued to the facing sheets, thereby rendering (Cl. 154-45) the material free to flex under the influence of sound waves.

I have found that by crushing the board, through pressing of the sheets 14 and 15 toward one another, a very efficient sound-absorbing or so heat-insulating unit is produced. The crushing of the board results in the formation of a great number of grooves or recesses in the crimped sheet 13, as compared to the fewer number of larger recesses or grooves, present in the board 65 of Fig. 3, and also results in the elimination of the stiffness and» comparative rigidity of the board, by reason of the fact that the truss-like effect of the corrugations is destroyed, rendering them yieldable, and the films of glue employed 70 for securing the sheets 13, 14 and 15 together are broken up, thus permitting the sheets 14 and 15 to bend or yield under the influence of sound waves.

The yieldability of the structure after crushing 75 results in a greater coefficient of sound absorption. Furthermore, it can be readily handled and cut to fit desired locations without affecting its acoustical properties.

Where greater sound-absorbing capacity is de- 80 sired than is possible through the employment of single-layer panels, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I will arrange a plurality of the units of Fig. 4 in laminated relation, as shown in Fig. 5, such laminations being held together by wire stitch- 85 ing 16, if desired, or they can be simply fastened to a wall structure without being first assembled as a unit.

It will be apparent that the corrugations of adjacent composite sheets entering into the con- 90 struction of Fig. 5 may be disposed at right angles to one another instead of having the grooves in the sheet of each layer extending'parallel to the grooves, of the adjacent corrugated sheet, thus producing a panel of greater strength and differ- 95 ent acoustical properties than possessed by that shown in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 7,1 show a structure wherein the units 12, instead of being fastened directly to the studding, may be fastened to the faces of a partition 100 or wall, by gluing at various points, as indicated at 17.

In order to prevent absorption of moisture by the panel from within the wall structure, I contemplate the water-proofing of either the flat 105 sheet lying next to the framework or studding, or the corrugated sheet. . It will be understood that the inner fiat sheet of paper may be omitted, if desired, and the corrugations bear directly against the. supporting framework. The water- 110

1,925,453 proofing may be effected by coating or impregnating the sheet with material having an asphalt base or other suitable water-proofing material.

Instead of crushing the units before placing them in position upon a wall, I may first fasten the unit of the corrugated board of Fig. 3 to the wall and then crush it. This procedure results in the edges of adjacent units being brought into snugly abutting engagement. Furthermore, the units may be marketed as shown in Fig. 3 and may be crushed by a desired pressure, to suit acoustical conditions or requirements at the particular places where they are to be employed, it being understood that the acoustical properties of a board crushed by a given force will be different than if the board were crushed with a much greater force.

The degree of yieldability of the material will depend to some extent upon the sizes of the units. If a given area is substantially coextensive with the exposed surface of a unit, such surface will yield more readily than if it merely constituted a portion of a larger unit.

In Figs. 8 and 9,1 show still other forms which the corrugated board, similar to that of Fig. 3, may take. Various other modifications can obviously be made, if desired, including the omission of one sheet of the facing 14—15, for example.

The type of sound-absorbing structure abovedescribed lends itself readily to almost unlimited forms of decorativeness, either before or after being put into place, thus making it more desirable than those sound-absorbing materials which cannot be decorated or which can at most be decorated only to a very limited extent.

While the term “wall” is employed in the appended claims, it will be understood that the term is used in its broad sense to include ceilings, floors, columns, beams, and any other structure to which the units may be applied. 80