Sound absorbing device, electronic device, and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9972298-B2
Application number	US-201515307133-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2015
Priority date	Apr 28, 2014
Publication date	May 15, 2018
Grant date	May 15, 2018

Abstract

A sound absorbing device includes: a plurality of sound absorbing units. A frequency of sound absorbed by at least one of the sound absorbing units overlaps, at least partially, with a frequency of sound with a volume increased by installation of another sound absorbing unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sound absorbing device comprising:
a plurality of sound absorbing units, wherein
at least a first one of the plurality of sound absorbing units is configured to absorb a frequency of sound that overlaps, at least partially, with a frequency of sound with a volume increased by installation of a second one of the plurality of sound absorbing unit.

2. The sound absorbing device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sound absorbing units are structured as Helmholtz resonators.

3. The sound absorbing device according to claim 2 , wherein the Helmholtz resonators includes members made of a resin material, and an interval between a frequency of sound absorbed by a first one of the Helmholtz resonators and a frequency of sound absorbed by a second one of the Helmholtz resonators is 30 hertz to 70 hertz.

4. The sound absorbing device according to claim 2 , wherein the Helmholtz resonators include a member made of a metallic material, and an interval between a frequency of sound absorbed by a first one of the Helmholtz resonators and a frequency of sound absorbed by a second one of the Helmholtz resonators is 70 hertz to 200 hertz.

5. The sound absorbing device according to claim 4 , further comprising:
a first member that forms a first wall defining cavities of the Helmholtz resonators, the first member being made of a metallic material, the first wall including communicating portions communicating to external, the communicating portions formed via burring the metallic material; and
a second member that forms a second wall defining the cavities.

6. The sound absorbing device according to claim 5 , wherein
the communication portions have different lengths such that frequencies of sound absorbed by the Helmholtz resonators are differentiated by the different lengths of the communicating portions.

7. The sound absorbing device according to claim 2 , wherein
the Helmholtz resonators includes at least a first Helmholtz resonator and a second Helmholtz resonator, and
the first Helmholtz resonator is adjacent to the second Helmholtz resonator.

8. The sound absorbing device according to claim 2 , wherein a frequency of sound absorbed by at least one of the Helmholtz resonators is within a range greater than or equal to 100 hertz and less than or equal to 1500 hertz.

9. The sound absorbing device according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a first member that forms a first wall defining cavities of the Helmholtz resonators, the first wall including communicating portions communicating to external; and
a second member that forms a second wall defining the cavities, wherein
the first member includes a plurality of holes each of which serves as one of the communicating portions,
the second member includes a plurality of opened spaces each of which serves as one of the cavities by being surrounded by the second wall and having an opening closed by the first member,
the Helmholtz resonators are formed by assembling the first member and the second member such that each of the plurality of holes faces corresponding one of the plurality of opened spaces,
at least a first one of the plurality of holes has a different diameter or length from that of a second one of the plurality of holes, and at least a first one of the plurality of opened spaces has a different volume from that of a second one of the plurality of opened spaces, and
pairing of the plurality of holes and corresponding ones of the plurality of opened spaces facing each other is changeable.

10. The sound absorbing device according to claim 9 , wherein the pairing of the plurality of holes and corresponding ones of the plurality of opened spaces facing each other is changed by changing a relative position of the second member with respect to the first member.

11. The sound absorbing device according to claim 10 , further comprising:
a sound detector on the first member, the sound detector configured to detect sound;
a cavity forming member moving device configured to move a first one of the first member and the second member relatively to a second one of the first member and the second member; and
a cavity forming member movement control device configured to change the relative position of the second member with respect to the first member by controlling the cavity forming member moving device based on a detection result of the sound detector.

12. The sound absorbing device according to claim 10 , wherein the plurality of holes and the plurality of opened spaces are circumferentially arranged.

13. The sound absorbing device according to claim 10 , wherein the plurality of holes and the plurality of opened spaces are linearly arranged.

14. The sound absorbing device according to claim 9 , wherein a first one of the first member and the second member is a magnet, and a second one of the first member and the second member is a ferromagnetic body.

15. An electronic device comprising:
the sound absorbing device according to claim 1 , the sound absorbing device configured to absorb sound generated in an operation.

16. An electrophotographic image forming apparatus comprising:
the electronic device according to claim 15 .

Assignees

• Ishida Masahiro
• Matsuda Naoki
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ishida Masahiro
• Matsuda Naoki

Classifications

• B41J29/13

  Cases or covers · CPC title

• G10K11/002 Primary

  Devices for damping, suppressing, obstructing or conducting sound in acoustic devices (G10K1/06 - G10K1/10 take precedence; for electro-mechanical transducers for communication H04R3/002) · CPC title

• G10K11/172 Primary

  using resonance effects · CPC title

• B41J29/08 Primary

  Sound-deadening, or shock-absorbing stands, supports, cases or pads separate from machines · CPC title

• B41J29/02

  Framework · CPC title