Patent Publication Number: US-2018038097-A1

Title: Sound Absorbing Panel

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims benefit to U.S. Patent Application Nos. 62/413,715 filed on Oct. 27, 2016 and 62/364,315 filed on Jul. 20, 2016. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT (IF APPLICABLE) 
     Not applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX (IF APPLICABLE) 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     No prior art is known to the Applicant. 
     Applicant acknowledges the presence of his previous patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,872 A, now expired) and treats the same as prior art for purposes of this application. 
     This invention concerns self-supporting sound-absorbing panels intended to be attached to indoor walls and ceilings of buildings. 
     It is often sought to diminish the noise level in indoor rooms, auditoriums, gymnasiums, restaurants, hallways, manufacturing plants and other indoor areas. Various types of sound-absorbing rigid panel products have been employed as ceiling tiles, and various rigid and soft wall coverings have been disclosed for sound absorption. 
     In general, prior sound-absorbing materials have either been difficult to install or have been deficient with respect to fireproof characteristics. Panels have been fabricated of fiberglass batting for application to indoor room surfaces. Although fiberglass panels provide good thermal insulation, their acoustic absorption characteristics and aesthetic appearance are generally poor. Such panels are also easily susceptible to physical damage as a result of abrasion or impact, as by a ball. 
     Products made of “rockwool”, sometimes called “mineral wool,” have been employed in the building industry in the form of loose batting used for thermal insulation. Rockwool is generally produced by the centrifugal spinning of molten mineral magna. The resultant fibers, unlike fiberglass fibers, are of indeterminate length, and are intermingled as a loose batting resulting from their manner of production. 
     Batting products, whether of fiberglass or rockwool can have various bulk densities, depending upon the degree of compaction of the fibers, the specific gravity of the fibers, and the amount of binder which may be employed to impart dimensional stability to the structure. When the batting is formed into a shape-retaining self-supporting structure, that structure is often referred to as a mat or panel. 
     It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a panel product that can be applied to flat indoor surfaces to achieve sound absorption. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide a self-supporting panel as in the foregoing object having a rectangular configuration which enables a multitude of the panels to be placed in abutting relationship to cover a wall surface. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a panel of the aforesaid nature improved with respect to aesthetic appearance, resistance to physical damage and fire-resistance. 
     It is a still further object of this invention to provide a panel of the aforesaid nature of simple construction amenable to low cost manufacture. 
     These and other beneficial objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description. 
     No prior art is known to the Applicant. 
     None of the known inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant disclosure as claimed. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A sound absorbing panel for managing acoustic environments with desired durability, stiffness and advantageous characteristics. A sound absorbing panel comprising a height, a width, a length, and a cover. A sound absorbing panel comprising materials characterized by a core density and a core binder percentage. A sound absorbing panel comprises primarily a Rockwool mat. Said core density is between 2.5-4.5 pounds/cubic-foot. Said core binder percentage is between 1.75-2.75 percent. A Rockwool mat weighs between 0.25-0.5 oz. A Rockwool mat comprises a thickness between 35-45 mm. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective overview view of a prior art panel  100 . 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective overview view of a sound absorbing panel  200 . 
         FIG. 3A  illustrates view of a materials properties table  300 . 
         FIG. 3B  illustrates view of a four charts  318 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention as claimed and is provided in the context of the particular examples discussed below, variations of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation (as in any development project), design decisions must be made to achieve the designers&#39; specific goals (e.g., compliance with system- and business-related constraints), and that these goals will vary from one implementation to another. It will also be appreciated that such development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the field of the appropriate art having the benefit of this disclosure. Accordingly, the claims appended hereto are not intended to be limited by the disclosed embodiments, but are to be accorded their widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. 
     These parts are illustrated in the figures and discussed below:
         a prior art panel  100     a Rockwool mat  102     a cloth facing  104     a front sheet  106     a frame  108     a sound absorbing panel  200     a height  202     a width  204     a length  206     a cover  208     a materials properties table  300     a technology column  300   a      a core density column  300   b      a core binder column  300   c      a mat weight column  300   d      a mat thickness column  300   e      a prior art characteristics  302     a current system characteristics  304     a four charts  318     a range of core density chart  320     a range of core binder percentage chart  322     a range of mat weight chart  324     a range of mat thickness chart  326         

       FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective overview view of a prior art panel  100 . 
     In one embodiment, said prior art panel  100  can comprise said Rockwool mat  102 , said cloth facing  104 , said front sheet  106  and said frame  108 . 
     This disclosure sets out to establish that the new system comprises (1) an improvement in durability, (2) keeps a firm edge, (3) has an improved sag resistance characteristics, and (4) that it does not need a frame. It also has proven, better sound absorption, better fire protection qualities, and can be used in a wide range of products regardless of shape or dimension. 
     Said prior art panel  100  can comprise an original core design for the Applicant and was a “framed” core. A that time, the Applicant had not yet perfected our product to the point of being able to create an absorber panel that was solid enough, had little enough sag, had great enough impact resistance and edge detail to do an unframed absorber as we now do. Said prior art panel  100  has undergone such an evolution over the years that no one thing was done at any one time, but the final outcome of the core we use today is different in EVERY parameter from the original patent. 
     As is known in the art, said prior art panel  100  can comprise said Rockwool mat  102  for sound absorption, said cloth facing  104  for containment of said Rockwool mat  102 , said front sheet  106  on one or more faces of said Rockwool mat  102 , said frame  108  for provision of stiffness and mounting of said prior art panel  100 . Said prior art panel  100  is well-known but does have shortcomings. First, said Rockwool mat  102  can have a flat front and rear surfaces and four substantially straight perimeter edges. As discussed below, said Rockwool mat  102  can comprise a density between 5 and 9 pounds per cubic foot and a thickness between 0.75 and 2.0 inches. These specifications were originally disclosed and claimed based on the observation that at densities below 5 lbs./cubic feet, the mat has insufficient rigidity to be useful in acoustic panels; whereas, at densities greater than 9 lbs./cubic feet, the mat provides insufficient sound absorption in acoustic panels. Further, the thickness of the Rockwool mat should be at least 0.75 inch in order to provide adequate sound absorption. Thicknesses greater than two inches do not afford significant further sound absorption, and had been found to cause bulging in the center of large panels. 
     It was further disclosed that for said Rockwool mat  102 , although said Rockwool mat  102  may be directly adhered to wall or ceiling surfaces for sound attenuation purposes, the cores are preferably converted into panels by way of the addition of said frame  108  and said front sheet  106  (a decorative fabric cover). Wherein, said frame  108  could be disposed about said Rockwool mat  102 . Said frame  108  may be made of metal or plastic and said front sheet  106  may be attached to said Rockwool mat  102  with adhesive. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective overview view of a sound absorbing panel  200 . 
     In one embodiment, said sound absorbing panel  200  can comprise said height  202 , said width  204 , said length  206  and said cover  208 . 
     One objective of this system is to produce a sound-absorbing acoustic panel suitable for mounting upon a wall or ceiling of a room. 
       FIG. 3A  illustrates view of a materials properties table  300 . 
       FIG. 3B  illustrates view of a four charts  318 . 
     In one embodiment, said materials properties table  300  can comprise said technology column  300   a , said core density column  300   b , said core binder column  300   c , said mat weight column  300   d , said mat thickness column  300   e , said prior art characteristics  302  and said current system characteristics  304 . 
     In one embodiment, said four charts  318  can comprise said range of core density chart  320 , said range of core binder percentage chart  322 , said range of mat weight chart  324  and said range of mat thickness chart  326 . 
     In one embodiment, said materials properties table  300  can comprise a technology column  300   a , a core density column  300   b , a core binder column  300   c , a mat weight column  300   d  and a mat thickness column  300   e . In one embodiment, said materials properties table  300  can compare a prior art characteristics  302  to a current system characteristics  304 . In one embodiment, said prior art characteristics  302  can comprise a range of specifications for well-known panels and are characterized as “prior art” here. In one embodiment, said current system characteristics  304  can comprise a range of characteristics of the disclosed system herein. 
     In one embodiment, said core density column  300   b  and said core binder column  300   c  can describe properties of said second panel  212 ; and said mat weight column  300   d  and said mat thickness column  300   e  can describe said front sheet  214 . 
     In one embodiment, said current system characteristics  304  can comprise said core density column  300   b  between 2.5-4.5 pounds per cubic foot; said core binder column  300   c  can comprise 1.75-2.75 percentage binder; said mat weight column  300   d  can comprise 0.25-0.50 ounces; and said mat thickness column  300   e  can comprise 35-45 mm. It is noted that the current system provides both an improved core (as to density and binder percentage), and a lighter yet thicker mat. These properties can be enabled by the inclusion of said first panel  210  which provides ample stiffness and allows other parts of said sound absorbing panel  200  to function according to desired acoustical characteristics. 
     Additional advancements of said sound absorbing panel  200  can comprise an improved fire rating. By using less binder the sound absorbing panel  200  can limit or eliminate the use of resins (such as phenolic resins); wherein, removing these resins can cause said sound absorbing panel  200  to be more fire resistant that said prior art panel  100  or similar prior art. 
     Accordingly, said sound absorbing panel  200  has been shown to be an improvement over the prior art in that it is lighter, fire resistant, simpler to manufacture, and can take on new forms for purposes of mounting said sound absorbing panel  200  (as illustrated and discussed below). 
     In one embodiment, preferred embodiment, said core density column  300   b  can comprise 4.5 pounds per cubic foot; said core binder column  300   c  can comprise 2.4 percent; said mat weight column  300   d  can comprise 0.375 ounce 
     The following sentences are included for completeness of this disclosure with reference to the claims. A sound absorbing panel for managing acoustic environments with desired durability, stiffness and advantageous characteristics. A sound absorbing panel comprising a height, a width, a length, and a cover. A sound absorbing panel comprising materials characterized by a core density and a core binder percentage. A sound absorbing panel comprises primarily a Rockwool mat. Said core density is between 2.5-4.5 pounds/cubic-foot. Said core binder percentage is between 1.75-2.75 percent. A Rockwool mat weighs between 0.25-0.5 oz. A Rockwool mat comprises a thickness between 35-45 mm. A sound absorbing panel for managing acoustic environments with desired durability, stiffness and advantageous characteristics. A sound absorbing panel comprising a height, a width, and a length. A sound absorbing panel comprising materials characterized by a core density and a core binder percentage. The sound absorbing panel from claim  2 . A sound absorbing panel comprises primarily a Rockwool mat. The sound absorbing panel from claim  2 . A sound absorbing panel further comprises a cover. A cover weighs between 0.25-0.5 oz. The sound absorbing panel from claim  4 . A cover comprises a thickness between 35-45 mm. The sound absorbing panel from claim  2 . said core binder percentage is between 1.75-2.75 percent. The sound absorbing panel from claim  2 . said core density is between 2.5-4.5 pounds/cubic-foot. 
     Various changes in the details of the illustrated operational methods are possible without departing from the scope of the following claims. Some embodiments may combine the activities described herein as being separate steps. Similarly, one or more of the described steps may be omitted, depending upon the specific operational environment the method is being implemented in. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described embodiments may be used in combination with each other. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.”