Abstract:
An energy transmission control mount comprises a carrier having a first major surface, an opposite second major surface and an aperture provided therein. Channels are provided adjacent opposite ends of the first surface. Vibration dampening material is provided on the carrier. The vibration dampening material substantially lines the channels and the aperture and extends over at least a portion of the second surface.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/489,187, filed Jul. 19, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,895,803, issued Mar. 1, 2011. The present application claims priority to the aforementioned patent application, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to energy transmission control and in particular, to an energy transmission control mount designed to reduce transmission of energy such as vibration and sound between components such as for example, building structures. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Insulating building structures to inhibit the transmission of vibration and sound from one region to another is common in many environments. For example, vibration dampening pads for use on floors to inhibit vibration from traveling through floor surfaces are well known. Until recently, very little was done however to attempt to inhibit vibration and sound from travelling through walls. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,347 to Ryan et al. discloses an acoustic mount for isolating wall structures. The acoustic mount comprises a mounting clip, a sound absorbing inset and a bush. The mounting clip has an orifice defining a single start thread for engaging the thread on the outer surface of a stub on the sound absorbing insert. The sound absorbing insert has an insert for receiving the bush. The sounding absorbing insert is formed of soft rubber and has dimples thereon. The bush when received by the sound absorbing insert is isolated from the mounting clip. 
     In use, the mounting clip is placed either directly or indirectly in contact with a thin wall or plaster board, while the bush is placed indirectly in contact with a block wall. The sound absorbing insert, which isolates the bush from the mounting clip, dampens the transmission of low frequency noise between the block wall and the thin wall or plaster board. 
     Another mount to isolate walls and ceilings is manufactured by Kinetics Noise Control Inc. of Dublin, Ohio and is sold under the name IsoMax. The IsoMax mount is in the form of a resilient sound isolation clip designed to attach to ceiling joists, wall studs or masonry. Layers of gypsum or plaster board are hung onto furring channels defined by the isolation clip. 
     Although the above mounts help to inhibit the transmission of vibration and sound between structures, they are costly to manufacture, complex and expensive to consumers. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel energy transmission control mount. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, in one aspect there is provided an energy transmission control mount comprising: 
     a carrier having a first major surface, an opposite second major surface and an aperture provided therein; 
     channels adjacent opposite ends of said first surface; and 
     vibration dampening material on said carrier, said vibration dampening material substantially lining said channels and said aperture and extending over at least a portion of said second surface. 
     In one embodiment, the vibration dampening material substantially lining the channels is isolated from the vibration dampening material substantially lining the aperture and extending over at least a portion of the second surface. The vibration dampening material substantially lining the aperture and extending over at least a portion of the second surface also extends over a portion of the first surface. 
     On the second surface, the vibration dampening material is configured to define a series of spaced ribs. The ribs are parallel and are generally equally spaced. On the first surface, the vibration dampening material is configured to define a disc. A washer is disposed on the disc. The vibration dampening material substantially lines the aperture of the washer and terminates at a flange overlying a portion of the washer to retain the washer to the disc. 
     In one embodiment, the ends of the carrier are folded back over the first surface of the carrier to define the channels and are sized to receive flanges of a furring channel. 
     According to another aspect there is provided an energy transmission control mount assembly to reduce transmission of energy between a first building structure and a second building structure, comprising: 
     a channel-like member adapted to be secured to the first building structure; 
     a carrier receiving and retaining said channel-like member, said carrier being adapted to be structurally secured to said second building structure; and 
     vibration dampening material acting between at least one of said channel-like member and carrier, and said carrier and second building structure. 
     In one embodiment, the vibration dampening material acts between both the channel and carrier and the carrier and second building structure. The vibration dampening material is permanently bonded to the carrier. An aperture is provided in the carrier through which a fastener passes to secure the carrier to the second building structure. Vibration dampening material substantially lines the aperture to isolate the fastener and the carrier. 
     According to yet another aspect there is provided an energy transmission control mount to act between a pair of components comprising: 
     a carrier having a first major surface and an opposite second major surface and an aperture provided therein; 
     vibration dampening material on said carrier, said vibration dampening material substantially lining said aperture and extending over at least a portion of said second surface, the vibration dampening material extending over said second surface being configured to bear against one of said components; and 
     retaining structure on the first surface of said carrier adapted to retain a second of said components. 
     The energy transmission control mount is effective, easy to install and inexpensive to manufacture. Its one-piece construction makes the energy transmission control mount simple to use. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an energy transmission control mount; 
         FIG. 2  is a rear elevational view of the energy transmission control mount of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 3  is a side cross-sectional view of the energy transmission control mount interposed between a wall stud and drywall and secured to the wall stud via a fastener. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an energy transmission control mount for isolating components such as for example, building structures is shown and is generally identified by reference numeral  10 . In this particular example, energy transmission control mount  10  acts between a wall stud and a wall structure such as for example drywall, plaster board, gypsum or the like to reduce the transmission of energy between the wall stud and the wall structure. As can be seen, the energy transmission control mount  10  comprises a generally rectangular carrier  12  formed of metal such as for example steel. The top and bottom ends  14  and  16  of the carrier  12  are folded back over the front surface  18  of the carrier  12  to define channels  20 . Vibration dampening material  22  substantially lines each of the channels  20 . A central aperture  26  is also provided through the carrier  12 . Vibration dampening material  30  substantially lines the aperture  26  and extends over a portion of both the front surface  18  and the back surface  32  of the carrier  12 . The vibration dampening material  22  and  30  may be for example polyurethane bonded recycled rubber, polyether urethane foam or other suitable energy absorbing material. 
     On the back surface  32 , the vibration dampening material  30  is configured to define a plurality of vertically and generally equally spaced, horizontal ribs  34 . On the front surface  18 , the vibration dampening material  30  is configured to define a disc  36  on which a washer  38  is disposed. The vibration dampening material  30  substantially lines the aperture of the washer  38  and forms an annular flange  40  over the washer  38  to retain the washer on the disc  36 . The vibration dampening material  22  substantially lining the channels  20  is isolated from the vibration dampening material  30  substantially lining the aperture  26  and extending over the front surface  18  of the carrier  12 . The vibration dampening material  22  and  30  is permanently bonded to the carrier  12   
     Turning now to  FIG. 3 , the energy transmission control mount  10  is shown in use interposed between a wall stud  50  and drywall  52 . Energy transmission control mount  10  is designed to increase the sound transmission loss characteristics of the wall stud and drywall assembly. During installation of the energy transmission control mount  10 , a fastener  54  is passed through the aligned apertures of the washer  38  and carrier  12  and engages the wall stud  50  to secure the energy transmission control mount  10  to the wall stud  50 . The head of the fastener  54  rests on the flange  40  to isolate the head of the fastener  54  from the washer  38 . In this position, the ribs  34  bear directly against the wall stud  50 . A standard furring channel  56 , typically formed of steel, is snapped into the front of the carrier  12  by inserting its upper and lower flanges  58  and  60 , respectively, into the lined channels  20  thereby to retain the furring channel. Drywall fasteners (not shown) pass through the drywall  52  and engage the furring channel  56  to secure the drywall  52  to the furring channel  56 . In this manner, the energy transmission control mount  10  acts between the drywall  52  and the wall stud  52  to reduce energy from being transmitted therebetween. 
     If energy such as vibration or sound is transmitted to the wall stud  50 , the ribs  34  resist transmission of that energy to the carrier  12 . The vibration dampening material  30  substantially lining the apertures of the carrier  12  and the washer  38  resists transmission of energy to the fastener  54 . Energy that is transmitted to the carrier  12  moves to the extremities of the carrier. The vibration dampening material  22  lining the channels  20  resists transmission of this energy to the furring channel  56 . In this manner, the energy transmission control mount  10  reduces the transfer of energy between the wall stud  50  and the furring channel  56  and hence the drywall  52 . 
     In the example described above, the energy transmission control mount is shown interposed between a wall stud  50  and drywall  52 . Those of skill in the art will however appreciate that the energy transmission control mount may be used to isolate other building structures such as for example floors and joists, masonry and wall studs, exterior walls and wall studs etc. 
     Although the energy transmission control mount is particularly suited to isolate building structures, the energy transmission control mount may be used in other environments to isolate components to inhibit vibration/sound from propagating between components. For example, the energy transmission control mount may be used in automobiles as an engine mount, or as a mount for vehicle body parts. 
     Although embodiments have been described, those of skill in the art will appreciate that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.