Abstract:
An improved acoustical damping wall (ceiling or floor) or door material comprises a laminar structure having as an integral part thereof one or more layers of viscoelastic material which also functions as a glue and one or more constraining layers, such as metal, cellulose, wood, or petroleum-based products such as plastic, vinyl, plastic or rubber. In one embodiment, standard wallboard, typically gypsum, comprises the external surfaces of the laminar structure; and one or more constraining layers are fabricated between the gypsum exterior. The resulting structure improves the attenuation of sound transmitted through the structure.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/658,814 filed on Sep. 8, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,181,891, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to acoustical damping materials and, in particular, to soundproofing materials of a novel laminar construction which significantly improves the soundproofing ability of walls, ceilings, floors, and doors, thereby to prevent the transmission of sounds from one area to another. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Noise is emerging as both an economic and public policy issue. Soundproof rooms are required for a variety of purposes. For example, apartments, hotels and schools all require rooms with walls, ceilings and floors that minimize the transmission of sound thereby to avoid annoying people in adjacent rooms. Soundproofing is particularly important in buildings adjacent to public transportation, such as highways, airports and railroad lines, as well as in theaters, home theaters, music practice rooms, recording studios and others. One measure of the severity of the problem is the widespread emergence of city building ordinances that specify a minimum Sound Transmission Class (“STC”) rating. Another measure is the broad emergence of litigation between homeowners and builders over the issue of unacceptable noise. To the detriment of the U.S. economy, both problems have resulted in major builders refusing to build homes, condos and apartments in certain municipalities; and in widespread cancellation of liability insurance for builders. 
     In the past, walls typically were made up of studs with drywall on both exterior surfaces of the studs and baffles or plates commonly placed between the studs in an attempt to reduce the transmission of sound from one room to the next. Unfortunately, even the best of such walls using standard drywall are capable of only reducing sound transmission by approximately 30 db, and much of that is focused on mid-range and high frequencies rather than lower frequencies which cause most of the complaints and litigation. 
     Various techniques and products have emerged to abate this problem, such as: replacement of wooden studs by steel studs; resilient channels to offset and isolate drywall panels from studs; mass-loaded vinyl barriers; cellulose sound-board; cellulose and fiberglass batt insulation; and techniques such as staggered-beam and double-beam construction. All help reduce the transmission of noise, but, again, not to such an extent that certain sounds (e.g., lower frequencies, high decibel) in a given room are prevented from being transmitted to an adjacent room, including rooms above or below. A brief review of commercially available products shows that there has been little innovation in these techniques and technologies for many years. 
     Accordingly, what is needed is a new material and a new method of construction to reduce the transmission of sound from a given room to an adjacent room. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with this invention a new laminated structure and associated manufacturing process is provided which significantly improves the ability of a wall, ceiling, floor or door to reduce the transmission of sound from one room to an adjacent room, or from the exterior to the interior of a room, or from the interior to the exterior of a room. 
     The material comprises a lamination of several different materials. In accordance with one embodiment, a laminated substitute for drywall comprises a sandwich of two outer layers of selected thickness gypsum board which are glued each to an interior constraining layer, such as a metal, cellulose (e.g., wood) or petroleum-based product such as vinyl, composite plastic or rubber, using a sound absorbent adhesive. In one embodiment, the constraining layer comprises a selected thickness galvanized steel and the glue layer is a specially formulated “QuietGlue™” of a specific thickness which is a viscoelastic material. Formed on the interior surfaces of the two gypsum boards, the glue layers are each about 1/16 inch thick and the galvanized steel between 0.005 and 0.5 inch thick. In one instance, a 4 foot×8 foot panel constructed using a 1/16″ layer of glue and 30 gauge galvanized steel weighs approximately 108 pounds versus the weight of a typical drywall of the same thickness of about 75 pounds, has a total thickness of approximately ⅝ inches and has an STC of approximately 38. The double-sided standard construction using this particular material will give an STC of approximately 58. The result is a reduction in noise transmitted through the wall of approximately 60 db compared to a 30 db reduction of transmitted noise using standard commercially available drywall. 
     In one embodiment, the galvanized steel metal layer is preferably not oiled and of regular spackle. The resulting product, even though it contains the galvanized steel center sheet, can be cut with a standard hand saw using wood blades, but cannot be scribed and broken like ordinary drywall. 
     Another embodiment of this invention uses additional layers of material and is non-symmetric. Two external gypsum board layers have directly adjacent their faces layers of QuietGlue, followed by two metal layers, followed by two additional layers of glue, and then a central piece of laminated wood (in one embodiment a layer of laminated wood of the type used in plywood). The total finished thickness of this structure can vary, but the additional two layers of metal result in a significant increase in the attenuation of sound passing through the material. 
     The laminated sheets of this invention use unique glues capable of substantially absorbing sound and vibration together with one or more constraining layers which reduce the transmissibility of the sound from one layer to the adjacent layers of material. The constraining layers can be metal, cellulose, wood, plastic composites, vinyl or other porous or semi-porous materials. The resulting attenuation of sound is significantly improved compared to the attenuation of sound obtained using standard drywall. 
    
    
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       This invention will be more fully understood in light of the following drawings taken together with the following detailed description. 
         FIG. 1  shows the laminated structure of one embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows a second embodiment of a laminated structure containing nine (9) layers of material capable of significantly reducing the transmission of sound through the material. 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  show alternative embodiments of this invention capable of reducing the transmission of sound through the material. 
         FIGS. 5-10  show sound attenuation test results on several embodiments of this invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following detailed description is meant to be exemplary only and not limiting. Other embodiments of this invention—such as the number, type, thickness and placement order of both external and internal layer materials—will be obvious to those skilled in the art in view of this description. 
     The process for creating such laminar panels takes into account many factors: exact chemical composition of the glue; various symmetric and non-symmetric thicknesses of glue and layered material; pressing process; drying and dehumidification process. 
       FIG. 1  shows the laminated structure of one embodiment of this invention. In  FIG. 1 , the layers in the structure will be described from top to bottom with the structure oriented horizontally as shown. It should be understood, however, that the laminated structure of this invention will be oriented vertically when placed on vertical walls and doors, as well as horizontally or even at an angle when placed on ceilings and floors. Therefore, the reference to top and bottom layers is to be understood to refer only to these layers as oriented in  FIG. 1  and not in the context of the vertical use of this structure. In  FIG. 1 , the top layer  11  is made up of a standard gypsum material and in one embodiment is ¼ inch thick. Of course, many other combinations and thicknesses can be used for any of the layers as desired. The thicknesses are limited only by the acoustical attenuation (i.e., STC rating) desired for the resulting laminated structure and by the weight of the resulting structure which will limit the ability of workers to install the laminated structure on walls, ceilings, floors and doors for its intended use. 
     The gypsum board in top layer  11  typically is fabricated using standard well-known techniques and thus the method for fabricating the gypsum board will not be described. Next, on the bottom of the gypsum board  11  is a layer of glue  12  called QuietGlue. Glue  12 , made of a unique viscoelastic polymer, has the property that the energy in the sound which strikes the glue, when constrained by surrounding layers, will be significantly absorbed by the glue thereby reducing the sound&#39;s amplitude across a broad frequency spectrum, and thus the energy of sound which will transmit through the resulting laminated structure. Typically, this glue is made of the materials as set forth in TABLE 1, although other glues having the characteristics set forth directly below Table 1 can also be used in this invention. 
                                                           TABLE 1                   Quiet Glue ™ Chemical Makeup                WEIGHT %            Components   Min   Max                    acetaldehyde   0.00001%   0.00010%       acrylate polymer   33.00000%   65.00000%       acrylonitrile   0.00001%   0.00100%       ammonia   0.00100%   0.01000%       bis(1-hydroxy-2-pyridinethionato) Zinc   0.01000%   0.10000%       butyl acrylate   0.00100%   0.10000%       butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate,   5.00000%   15.00000%       styrene, methacrylic acid 2-       hydroxyethyl acrylate polymer       CI Pigment Yellow 14   0.01000%   0.02000%       ethyl acrylate   0.00001%   0.00010%       ethyl acrylate, methacrylic acid,   1.00000%   5.00000%       polymer with ethyl-2-propenoate       formaldehyde   0.00100%   0.01000%       hydrophobic silica   0.00100%   0.01000%       paraffin oil   0.10000%   1.00000%       polymeric dispersant   0.00100%   0.01000%       potassium tripolyphosphate   0.00000%   0.00200%       silicon dioxide   0.00100%   0.10000%       sodium carbonate   0.01000%   0.10000%       stearic acid, aluminum salt   0.00100%   0.10000%       surfactant   0.00100%   0.10000%       vinyl acetate   0.10000%   1.00000%       water   25.00000%   40.00000%       zinc compound   0.00100%   0.10000%                    
The physical solid-state characteristics of QuietGlue include:
 
     1) a broad glass transition temperature below room temperature; 
     2) mechanical response typical of a rubber (i.e., high elongation at break, low elastic modulus); 
     3) strong peel strength at room temperature; 
     4) weak shear strength at room temperature; 
     5) swell in organic solvents (e.g., Tetrahydrofuran, Methanol); 
     6) does not dissolve in water (swells poorly); 
     7) peels off the substrate easily at temperature of dry ice. 
     Following glue layer  12  is a metal layer  13 . Metal layer  13  is, in one embodiment, 30 gauge galvanized steel of 0.013 inch thickness. Of course, other gauge galvanized steel and even other metals can be used if desired. For example, aluminum can also be used if desired, as can specialty metals such as sheets of ultra-light weight titanium and laminated layers of metal including laminates of aluminum and titanium. Of importance is that galvanized steel, if used, be non-oiled and of regular spackle. Non-oil is required to insure that the QuietGlue layer  12  will adhere to the top surface of metal layer  13  and the adjacent QuietGlue layer  14  on the bottom of metal layer  13  will also adhere to the surfaced metal  13 . Regular spackle insures that the metal has uniform properties over its whole area. 
     Next, glue layer  14  is placed in a carefully controlled manner with respect to coverage and thickness on the bottom of metal layer  13 . Glue layer  14  is again a viscoelastic material which absorbs sound and is typically the same material as glue layer  12 . Finally, gypsum board layer  15  is placed on the bottom of the structure and carefully pressed in a controlled manner with respect to uniform pressure (pound per square inch), temperature and time 
     Finally, the assembly is subjected to dehumidification and drying to allow the panels to dry, typically for forty-eight (48) hours. 
     Typically, but not always, gypsum board layers  11  and  15  will contain fiber to reduce shrinkage so that the resulting laminar structure will meet fire codes. Typical fire codes require a wall structure capable of withstanding flames for up to one hour. The metal core, together with the external gypsum board layers are intended to give to the resulting laminar structure a minimum of one hour resistance to fire, and possibly as high as four (4) hours in certain configurations, and thereby allows the resulting structure to meet typical fire codes. 
     Metal layer  13 , typically 30-gauge steel (but may be other metals, ranging from 10 gauge to 40 gauge, depending on weight, thickness, and STC desired), is about the thickness of a business card. Of importance, before assembling, this metal should not be creased because creasing will ruin the ability of this metal to assist in reducing the transmission of sound. Only completely flat, undamaged pieces of metal can be used in the laminar structure. 
     In an alternative embodiment, steel  13  is replaced by mass-loaded vinyl or similar product. However, the steel has much less forgiveness than vinyl and thus can outperform vinyl as a constraining layer. However, for other ease-of-cutting reasons, vinyl can be used in the laminar structure in place of steel, if desired. Cellulose, wood, gypsum, plastic or other constraining materials may also be used in place of vinyl or metal. The alternative material can be any type and any appropriate thickness. 
     The resulting structure is capable of being cut using standard wood saws with wood blades. 
       FIG. 2  shows a second embodiment of this invention. Two external layers  21  and  29  of gypsum board have coated on each of their interior faces a layer of QuietGlue  22  and  22 , respectively, preferably made of a viscoelastic polymer, such as glue  12  in  FIG. 1 . Such a viscoelastic polymer has the ability to absorb sound energy through deformation of the viscoelastic material in response to the acoustic energy of the sound. On the interior faces of the QuietGlue are two sheet metal layers  23  and  27 . Typically, these sheet metal layers  23  and  27  are galvanized steel. In one embodiment, the galvanized steel is 30 gauge, 0.013 inches thick, but other thicknesses of steel, as well as other metals, can also be used as desired. The interior faces of the steel layers  23  and  27  are coated with additional layers  24  and  26 , respectively, of QuietGlue, again a viscoelastic material of the same type as glue layers  22  and  28 . Then the core of the structure is made up of a pine laminated sheet  25  which is of a type commonly used in plywood. In one embodiment, the pine laminated sheet is 1/10th of an inch thick, but may also be MDF or other wood types. 
     Again, the galvanized steel is non-oiled and regular spackle for the reasons discussed above in conjunction with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . The layers of glue are all viscoelastic material capable of absorbing sound. The resulting product has a thickness of approximately ⅞ th  of an inch and weighs approximately 148 pounds per 4×8 section. The stand-alone STC for the resulting material is 42 which yields a double-sided standard construction STC of 62. The steel layers should not be creased before assembly. Creasing of the steel may ruin the steel for its intended purpose. Using completely flat pieces undamaged is required to achieve optimal results. The resulting structure again is cutable with a standard power saw using wood blades. The interior layer  25  of wood is in one embodiment Sierra pine 1/10 inch thick MDF acquired in Rocklin, Calif. (http://www.sierrapine.com). 
     In fabricating the structures of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the glue is first rolled in a prescribed manner, typically to 1/16 inch thickness, although other thicknesses can be used if desired, onto the gypsum and then steel is laid on the glue. Depending on the drying and dehumidification techniques deployed, anywhere from 10 to 30 hours are required to dry totally the glue in the case that the glue is water-based. A solvent-based viscoelastic glue can be substituted. The resulting structure is dried in a prescribed manner under a pressure of approximately 2 to 5 pounds per square inch, depending on the exact requirements of each assembly, although other pressures can be used as desired. To make the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , each of the gypsum board-glue-metal layer structures has an additional layer of glue rolled onto the exposed surface of the metal to approximately 1/16 th  inch thickness and then the thin pine wood layer is placed between the two layers of glue on the already fabricated gypsum-glue-metal sheets. The resulting structure is placed in a press and 1 to 5 pounds per square inch of pressure is applied to the structure and up to 48 hours is allowed for drying. 
       FIG. 3  shows another embodiment of the acoustical soundproofing material of this invention. In  FIG. 3 , two external layers of gypsum board  30  and  34  have on their interior faces glue layers  31  and  33 , respectively. Between the two glue layers  31  and  33  is a constraining material  32  made up of vinyl. This vinyl is mass loaded and, in one embodiment, is 1 pound per square foot or greater, and is available from a number of manufacturers, including Technifoam, Minneapolis, Minn. The total weight of this structure when the external layers  30  and  34  of gypsum board are each ⅝ inch thick, the layers of viscoelastic QuietGlue  31  and  33  are each approximately 1/16 of an inch thick and the mass loaded vinyl is approximately 1/32 of an inch thick, is about 190 pounds per 4×8 foot section. The total finished thickness of the material is 1.3 to 1.5 inches depending on the thickness of the vinyl and the actual thicknesses of the viscoelastic QuietGlue layers  31  and  33 . 
     The embodiment of  FIG. 3  cannot be scored like regular drywall, but rather must be cut using a wood saw. A typical wood saw blade is adequate to actually cut the soundproofing material of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4  shows an additional embodiment of the soundproofing material of this invention. In this embodiment, two external layers  35  and  39  are ⅝ inch plywood and have on their interior faces layers  36  and  38  of QuietGlue, respectively. Between the QuietGlue is a layer of mass loaded vinyl  37 . The structure shown in  FIG. 4  is meant to be used on floors or in other construction areas where wood would normally be used. The plywood sheets  35  and  39  are each typically ⅝ inch thick in one embodiment. In this embodiment, the layers of QuietGlue  36  and  38  are each approximately 1/16 inch thick (although other thicknesses can be used if desired) and the mass loaded vinyl  37  is typically 1/16 to ¼ inch thick. When the mass loaded vinyl is ⅛ inch thick, then the total thickness of the structure of  FIG. 4  is approximately 1.5 inches thick. If the vinyl is 1/16 inch thick, then the total thickness is approximately 1.4 inches. 
     The structure of  FIG. 3  standing alone has an STC of 38, while the structure of  FIG. 4  has an STC of 36. The structures of  FIGS. 1 and 2  have STCs of 37 and 38, respectively. 
     It is noted that uneven application of QuietGlue or leaving an air gap at the ends of the sheets of soundproofing material described above may hurt the STC ratings by several db. Moreover, to improve the soundproofing qualities of walls, floors, ceilings or doors made with these materials, glue must be evenly applied all the way to the ends and corners of the sheets. None of the panels described above can be scored like regular drywall. Rather, these panels must be cut using a saw blade, typically a wood saw blade. 
     The sound transmission class numbers given above basically are numbers which are used in the architectural field to rate partitions, doors and windows for their effectiveness in blocking sound. The number assigned to a particular partition design as a result of STC testing represents a best fit type of approach to a set of curves that define the sound transmission class. The test is conducted in such a way to make it independent of the test environment and gives a number for the partition only. The STC measurement method is defined by ASTM E90 laboratory test for sound measurements obtained in ⅓ octave bands, and ASTM E413 for calculating “STC” (Sound Transmission Class) numbers from the sound transmission loss in each partition, and these standards are available on the internet at http://www.astm.org. 
     Data showing the transmission loss in decibels as a function of frequency for the soundproofing material of this invention is set forth in  FIGS. 5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9  and  10 .  FIG. 5  shows a standard 2×4 construction with Quiet Rock Ultra, as shown in  FIG. 3 , on both sides of studs with no insulation. The transmission loss in decibels varies from 25 db at 63 Hz to approximately 58 db at 4,000 Hz. 
     The center frequency of octave bands is set forth in the two rows of the table. The top line of each row represents the ⅓ octave band center frequency. The second row of numbers in each horizontal category represents the total in db, and the third set of numbers represents a 95% confidence level in db deficiencies. The EWR and OITC stand for External Wall Rating and Outdoor-Indoor Transmission Class, respectively, and represent other methods of measuring transmission loss. The final sound transmission class number is set forth under the notation STC in the lower right corner. For the use of two panels of the type shown in  FIG. 3 , on both sides of standard 2″×4″ wood stud construction, the STC is 54. 
     It is known to those practicing in this field that a similar configuration with standard ⅝ inch drywall on both sides of standard 2×4 construction yields an STC of 34. Accordingly, this invention yields a 20 STC point improvement over standard drywall in this particular construction. 
     The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) has documented the STC rating of many other configurations (e.g., using wood and steel studs in standard, staggered beam or double beam construction with various isolators such as resilient channels and with various acoustic insulation fillers such as sound board, cellulose and fiberglass batt). This invention has been subjected to the same types of tests. 
     The use of a single panel, alone, of the type shown in  FIG. 3  yields an STC of 38, as shown in the bottom right corner of  FIG. 6 . Thus, the use of the single panel of the type shown in  FIG. 1  to reduce sound transmission is less effective than the use of two panels on both sides of 2×4 studs as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     The use of the structure shown in  FIG. 4  on both sides of standard 2×4 construction results in an STC of 49, as shown in  FIG. 7 . This indicates that the wood structure shown in  FIG. 4  is less effective in reducing sound transmission than the structure shown in  FIG. 3 , which contains gypsum board on the external surfaces together with an internal layer of vinyl, though both are significant improvements over standard materials. 
     It is known to those practicing in this field that a similar wall to the wall in  FIG. 7  with standard plywood on both sides yields an STC rating of 29. Thus, the wall of  FIG. 7  represents a significant improvement over standard wood. 
     The use of the structure of  FIG. 4  on one side with no insulation with standard 2×4 construction results in an STC of 43, as shown in the graph of  FIG. 8 . This is a substantial improvement in sound attenuation over standard plywood, but not as good as use of standard 2×4 construction with the structure of  FIG. 4  on both sides of the studs, as shown in  FIG. 7 . Finally, the use of the structure of  FIG. 4  alone results in an STC of 36 as shown in  FIG. 10 , which is below the STC of 38 ( FIG. 6 ) for the structure of  FIG. 3  in a similar configuration. 
     Accordingly, the laminar structure of this invention provides a significant improvement in the sound transmission class number associated with the structures and thus reduces significantly the sound transmitted from one room to adjacent rooms. 
     An alternative embodiment of this invention is asymmetric, being made up of a relatively thick layer of material on one surface of which is placed viscoelastic glue. Over the viscoelastic glue is placed a thin layer of material relative to the first layer of material. This thin layer of material can be a constraining layer, such as metal or vinyl or rubber or any other appropriate thin material. This structure has sound reducing qualities, but is lighter and easier to handle than the structures described in  FIGS. 1 through 4 . Such a structure, for example, could be made up of layers  11 ,  12  and  13  of the structure shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The dimensions given for each material in the laminar structures of this invention can be varied as desired to control cost, overall thickness, weight and STC results. The described embodiments and their dimensions are illustrative only and not limiting. 
     Other embodiments of this invention will be obvious in view of the above description.