Acoustic panel for partition wall assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9850657-B2
Application number	US-201615053512-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 25, 2016
Priority date	Feb 25, 2016
Publication date	Dec 26, 2017
Grant date	Dec 26, 2017

Abstract

An office partition system including a partition frame having front and rear sides. Front and rear transparent sheet material is disposed on the front and rear sides of the partition frame, respectively. Horizontally and vertically extending dividers are disposed between the front and rear transparent sheet material to define a plurality of vertically juxtaposed interior chambers. The front transparent sheet material comprises a plurality of first sheets, each first sheet having horizontally-extending upper and lower edges. The upper and lower edges of adjacent first sheets are vertically spaced apart to define horizontally elongated gaps therebetween. The horizontally elongated gaps are fluidly connected to interior chambers disposed above and below the horizontal dividers to define Helmholtz resonators whereby sound that is incident on the front side of the partition frame is absorbed to the Helmholtz resonance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An office partition system comprising:
a partition frame including at least two upright partition frame members and at least two horizontally-extending partition frame members that are rigidly interconnected to the upright partition frame members;
upper and lower vertically juxtaposed acoustic panels disposed between the upright partition frame members, each acoustic panel comprising:
a generally quadrilateral panel frame comprising vertical side panel frame members and upper and lower horizontal panel frame members extending between and interconnecting the vertical side panel frame members such that the panel frame defines a central opening through the panel frame;
first and second sheets of light-transmitting impermeable solid material disposed on first and second opposite sides of the panel frame and extending over the central opening to define an interior chamber between the first and second sheets, the vertical side panel frame members, and the upper and lower horizontal panel frame members;
the first sheet defining upper and lower edges;
wherein the lower edge of the first sheet of the upper acoustic panel is vertically spaced from the upper edge of the first sheet of the lower acoustic panel to define an elongated horizontal opening on the first side that is fluidly connected to the interior chambers of the upper and lower acoustic panels and wherein the second side does not include openings that are fluidly connected to the interior chambers such that the elongated horizontal opening on the first side and the interior chambers form a Helmholtz resonator that provides maximum absorption for frequency between 125 and 500 Hz.

2. The office partition system of claim 1 , wherein:
the partition system has an average noise reduction coefficient of at least about 0.6 for frequencies of about 125 Hz to about 500 Hz.

3. The office partition of claim 1 , including:
porous material disposed in the elongated horizontal opening.

4. The office partition of claim 3 , wherein:
the upper and lower edges of the first sheets are spaced apart from the upper and lower horizontal panel frame members, respectively, to define upper and lower panel openings that are fluidly connected to the interior chambers of the acoustic panels.

5. The office partition of claim 4 , wherein:
the lower panel opening of the upper acoustic panel and the upper panel opening of the lower acoustic panel are fluidly connected to the elongated horizontal opening.

6. The office partition of claim 1 , wherein:
the vertical side panel frame members include connecting structures that connect the acoustic panels to the upright partition frame members.

7. The office partition of claim 1 , including:
at least one height adjustment assembly disposed at a lower portion of the partition frame, wherein the height adjustment assembly is configured to adjust a vertical position of the partition frame on a floor surface.

8. The office partition of claim 1 , wherein:
the first and second sheets are transparent.

9. The office partition of claim 8 , wherein:
the first and second sheets comprise glass.

Assignees

• Steelcase Inc

Inventors

• Fink Roy W
• Slager Mark T

Classifications

• E04B1/8209

  sound absorbing devices (E04B1/8218, E04B1/8227 take precedence) · CPC title

• E04B2/7409 Primary

  special measures for sound or thermal insulation, including fire protection · CPC title

• E04B2/7412 Primary

  Posts or frame members specially adapted for reduced sound or heat transmission · CPC title

• E04B2001/8485

  the opening being restricted, e.g. forming Helmoltz resonators · CPC title