US3001602A - Load bearing sound absorbing clay tile unit - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 26, 1961 R. B. TAYLOR LOAD BEARING SOUND ABSORBING CLAY TILE UNIT Filed Jan. 25, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 DkOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO'OO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FIG] INVENTOR. ROBERT B. TAYLOR ATTO RN EYS Sept. 26, 1961 R. B. TAYLOR 3,001,602

LOAD BEARING SOUND ABSORBING CLAY TILE UNIT Filed Jan. 25, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ROBERT B. TAYLOR ATTORNEYS a, Hawk/.5 east l r 3,001,602 LOAD BEARING QSOUND .ABSORBING -CLA s hi'atf Robert B; Taylor, rElmhurst lll gss i gnor to strnctural clay Products Researcll Fol r I eneva, Ill.-

Filed enis 1 st. .4

SCIainrs. ((3.

This invention "relates ts stn iserial slay prophet and more particularly it "rel'ates a}strlieti.ira1 "elay tile unit having sound absorbing properties. I

An increasingly important demand in the construction of buildings is that the materials used in buildings have acoustical properties "or; that materials havin acoustical or sound absorbing properties be applied to themat rial out of which the building is eonstineted.- In this res ct; there are many panels andveneers made of fibrous and fiber-glass materials which are attached toot-overlay the materials out of whieh'a buildingis eonstrticted 1 Clay tile blocks, which are formed into well elements; ordinarily have relatively poor sound absorption ase acteristics. On the other hand, liy tile is a relatively good insulator against the passage or transmission of sound from one roomto an adjoining room: The sound transmission loss in the passage of-soiirld waves from one room to an adjoining usuall can be figured as a function of the density and thickness of the tile; that is, the denser and thieker the tile, the greater the sound transmission loss.

Sound absorption'in a wall can be improved by providing resonating chambers within the wen wherein sound is allowed to enter such chambers or cavities in a wall through apertures that are small with -r"ela tion to the volume of the cavities. The provision of such Chambers, however, by decreasing wall material thickness, ordinarily increases sound transmission. 11i an acoustical wall con;- struction, therefore the facilities that are best for sound transmission loss' are poorest for sound absorption whereas the facilities and features best for sonnd absorption are poorest for sound transmission loss,

In a tile wall element, it is highly desirable to provide an acoustical tile which is balanced in terms of sonnd transmission loss and sound absorption while at the same time retaining sufiicient strength in the tile with a minimum of weight in the tile body. Accordingly, a major urpose of the present invention is the provision of a load bearing wall tile element which balanced acoustical properties in terms of a relatively high transmission loss and a relatively high sound absorbing property, while at the same time holding the weight of the tile to a minimum and roviding ade'qiiate load bearing strength.

There have been attempts made to have the materials out 'of which a building is constructed possess sound absorbing or acoustical properties. One such form is shown in the prior art United States Patent No. 2,281,121, issued to Mr. M. T. Straight. I have found that the unit shown therein does possess acoustical properties; but that the absorption of sound 'waves of this type 'of unit is fairly low and the constant control of the range of aeoustieal qualities is diflicu'lt.

A general object of this invention, thereforeis to provide a load bearing structural clay tile unit having high sound absorbing qualities.

Another object of this invention is to provide a load bearing tile unit which will absorb and difliuse audible sound waves striking a wall or partition made from the subject tile units to prevent reflection of the-sound waves to such an extent that undesirable echoes may be eliminated within the room or building formed of said tile units. .Q V 7 Another object of this invention is to provide a load States Patent s 3,001,602 Patented Sept. 26 1961 bearingelay tile unit which may be made by and machinery new in eonimoii use by the meanteetsters ofclayunits. I l I I V Still another object or this invention is tb a load bearing structural eley tile unit, uognzed o ceramic glazed, h avingjhigh sound absorbing qual' e's which can be readily cleaned or provided with dee tive substances, such as paint, after the tile units have been placed into a wall or partition without interfering with the sound absorbing qualities "of the tile unit.

This invention contains additional novel features which make it an inexpensive anti practical unit to niannf'ae't ire and place into a Wall. These and other objects and an vantages will hereinafter appear; and for purposes or illustration, but not limitation,- a preferred embod ment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings,

1 in which face side 12 of the tile unit is positioned. The

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the exposed or face side of my new stru'ct iiral clay unit having sound absorbing qualities; and p 'FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2- 2 of FlGURE 1; and a 1 FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view 'of'a further ens bodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the numeral 10 generally designates the new clay tile unit; The nay tile unit is preferably formed of a plastic material having all the properties of a vitrified building block strength, appearance and density and,- in most res (its;

is manufactured in the same manner as clay tile units are made today.

The tile unit 10 is comprised of the tisu'a'l exposed or false side 12, a back side 14, a bottom wall 16 and a top wall 18. Of course, the top and bottom walls they be inverted depending upon which way the exposed oi tile iiiiit may be provided with ribs 2% to present a greater area for mortar (now shown) when the tile unit is laid into the wall to give greater strength t o'the wall.

In the face side 12 of the tile unit 10, I have provided a plurality of openings 22 which extend into the cavity 24 formed by the back of the face side 12 or the unit and a web 26 which runs longitudinally and substantially eehtrally of the tile unit 10, as Well as between the interior portions of the inner wall of the top and bottom walls 16 and 18 respectively. The web thus provides a cavity 24 which as is seen in the drawings has considerable height and width, the width approximating at least one fourth of the Width of the block while the heightis a tester portion of the height of the block. The cavity is this large enough to provide a resonating chamber effect. The openings 22 may be made by a conventional method such as punching them into a column of clay while 'it is still in a plastic stage or by an'y other method known in the set. The openings are preferably arranged in a design pattern, as shown in FIGURE 1; but of course, other design arrangements may be used without departing from the spirit of this invention, so lenges they attaintlle results The openings 22 are preferably of such a size as to pe'r mit ready entrance of the audible sound waves ifitb'the cavity 24 and the sound absorbing material 28 where the sound waves are absorbed and diffused. The openings 22 walls.

fire resistance of the tile.

' materials such as pencils and the like. This would especiallybe true in school buildings having walls made of as not to be clogged when 7 the subject tile unit. I have found that a diameterof approximately 7/ of an inch accomplishes these objects and purposes withoutdetracting from the sound absorbing qualities ,of the unit.

Preferably, this invention having a glazed finish made with permanent porcelain finishes and the like, on the face side 12 of the unit 10. As is well known, glazed'surfaces are impervious to acids,

stains,'smoke or soot; and can be easily cleaned with soap and water. A glazed surface offers the additional advantages of easy and low-cost maintenance.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the tile body has wall thicknesses such as to provide adequate load bearing" strength. The compressive strength 'of the tile so formed may be on the order of 3000 lbs. per square inch or more, which is entirely satisfactory for building The dimensions of a typical tile may be 4" x 5" x 12". The four inch Width of the tile is divided into relatively'large internal cavities which are highly efiicient in terms of sound absorption. Sound waves may pass through the apertures and into the cavity 24 so as V to provide the aforementioned resonating chamber effect.

Absorption of the sound waves is enhanced by the fiberglass body in the cavity 24. At the same time, the tile element is highly effective in descreasing the transmission contemplates a tile unit 10 FIGURES 1 and 2. In FIGURE 3, however, a single large cavity 41 is provided in the tile body which cavity 41 extends throughout the length of the body and has a height of the body. The overall width of the resonating chamber formed by the cavity 41' in FIGURE 3 with'relation to the width of the tile body is greater than'the width of the cavity 24 in FIGURES 1 and 2. A plurality of apertures 42-similar to the apertures of the blocks in FIG URES 1 and 2, are spaced throughout the face of the tile and the majority of these apertures are in communication with the single resonating chamber 41. In FIGURE 3, a

body of sound absorbent material such as fiberglass of the type aforementioned; is positioned in the, cavity 41. This cavity 41, the slight degree ,of. compression of the1b'ody'43 of sound through the tile body and into an adjoining 1' room.

For economy of construction, a satisfactory resonating chamber effect, high sound transmission loss and high sound absorption, the fiberglass filled cavity should have a width of at least of an inch, a height of at least one inch, and a length equal to the lengthof the tile. The height may be as much as five to eight inches in large tile elements providing the increased height in. a specific unit is shown by test to not reduce the strength of the unit below that neededfor load bearing purposes. The central web serves to strengthen the tile body and at the same time, by providing a dead air space,.provides what is generally equivalent to the same thickness of tile ifthe dead air space were not present. In other words,

properties, as generally equivalent to solid tile of this dimension. The use of the central web also increases the The central Web provides a cavity of practical dimensions for the resonating chamber effect and for holding the fibrous pad in place.

The fiberglass body may be provided from fiberglass in the sheet form. Fiberglass-has a relatively low density. It may be as low as one pound per cubic foot. The body of asheet of fiberglass, as is well known, consists of many fibres which are more or less interlaced with a substantial portion of the volume of such a sheet being consumed by air spaces. This type of material is highly effective as a sound absorbent. The many fibres of the body tend to break up and disperse sound waves.

It is advantageous to have the fiberglass body of a width slightly greater than the width of the cavity. For

example, in the case of a cavity having a width in a tile having a 3% overall width, the fiberglass sheet is effective in exerting anexpanding outward force so as to hold the body of sound absorbent material within the cavity. a

, In the embodiment of FIGURE 3, the wallthickness of the tile may be slightly greater than the wall thickness of the tile body ill-FIGURES l and 2 so as to insure adequate'strength. The desired proportions and sizes of the tile body, apertures-and cavities set forth with regard to r the form in FIGURE 1 are also applicable to the form of FIGURE 3.

v In both forms of the invention, the sound. absorbent tile element has aweight generally equivalent to that of normal hollow tile elements and at the same time has generally the same load bearing strength.

For light weight, while providing relatively large internal chambers, the volume of the tile material in the body overall should be approximately 7 5%;or less than the volume of the tile body.

The tile elements, when formed in the manner herein described, have a much superior sound absorbing-char- V acteristic and a greatersoundtransmissionloss than that of ordinary hollow tiles. In this respect, the apertures in the face of the tile allow the transmission of. sound waves to the'interior of the tile body and. minimize refiection thereof. By'providing the relatively large resonating chamber in the tile body and the fiberglass insert, sound absorption is greatly enhanced. The tile also has a relatively high sound transmission loss.

Theapertures in the face of the tile, elements have such a size and are so spaced that they do not detract materially from the strength of the wall section in which these apertures are located. The cross-sectional area of all of the apertures should be in the range of 5 to 18 percent of the area of the tile face in which they are located. At the same time, each aperture should be relatively small and of the dimension aforementioned. The arrangement of the apertures over the. entire facial area of the tile with the substantial portion of these apertures .in communication with the large internal cavities of hollow tile elements provides the resonating chamber effect without destroying the wall supporting and load bearing strength properties of the tile. V

In sound absorbing tests of units comprising this invention, the Riverbank Acoustical Laboratories reports that these tile units have a sound absorption of .60 or 60 percent which is. substantially higher, than tests conducted upon tile units of the type shown in United States Patent No. 2,281,121. I

Thus, it will be seen that I have provided a load bearing clay tile unit which is capable of being laid in partition walls of a building or in the exterior walls,'and at Additionally, I have provided a sound absorbing claytile unit which can be manufactured in substantially the same manner and with the sameequiprnent as used to manufacture and make ordinary tile units with the exception that a perforating machine is necessary to place the openings 22 into the tile.

Whereas the invention is shown and described, as using circular holes 22 in the tile wall, it should be understood that the holes may have other shapes, as for example, square or triangular shapes. 7

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 475,768, filed on December 16, 1954, which application is now abandoned.

Although I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, I am fully aware that modifications are possible. My invention, therefore, is to be limited only by the spirit of the appended claims as equivalents, obviously, can be substituted within the skill of the mechanic without departing from the principle of the invention.

I claim:

1. A load bearing acoustical tile comprising a tile body having top, bottom, front and rear walls of clay-like material, said walls having thicknesses such as to have substantial strength and to .be load bearing when a plurality of such bodies are superimposed upon one another to form a building wall, said front wall providing an exposed front face, said body having an opening therethrough from end to end, said opening being substantially filled with low density fibrous material, the front face of said body having apertures therein over substantially its entire area extending from the opening through said front face.

2. A load bearing acoustical tile comprising a tile body having top, bottom, front and rear Walls of clay-like inaterial, said walls having thicknesses such as to have substantial strength and to be load bearing when a plurality of such bodies are superimposed upon one another to form a building wall, said front wall providing an exposed front face, said body, having an opening therethrough from end to end, said opening being substantially filled with low density fibrous sheet Fiberglass material having substantial air spaces between the fibers thereof, the front face of said body having apertures therein over substantially its entire area extending from the opening through said front face.

3. A load bearing acoustical tile comprising a tile body having top, bottom, front and rear walls of clay-like material, said walls having thicknesses such as to have substantial strength and to be load bearing when a plurality of such bodies are superimposed upon one another to form a building wall, the walls of the tile body comprising approximately 75% or less of the volume of the overall body, said front wall providing an exposed front face,

said body having an opening therethrough from end to end, said opening being substantially filled with low density fibrous material, the front face of said body having apertures therein over substantially its entire area extending from the opening through said front face.

4. A load bearing acoustical tile comprising a tile body having top, bottom, front and rear walls of clay'like material, said wall-s having thicknesses such as to have substantial strength and to be load bearing when a plurality of such bodies are superimposed upon one another to form a buildingwall, said front wall providing an exposed front face, said body having an opening therethrough. from end to end, said opening having a width at least equal to approximately 4 of the width of the overall tile body, said opening being substantially filled with low density fibrous material, the front face of said body having apertures therein over substantially its entire area extending from the opening through said front face, said opening having a height such that a substantial number of vertically spaced apertures are horizontally opposed to said opening.

5. A load bearing acoustical tile comprising a. tile body having top, bottom, front and rear walls of clay-like material, said wall-s having thicknesses such as to have substantial strength and to be load hearing when a plurality of such bodies are superimposed upon one another to form a building wall, said front wall providing an exposed front face, said body having a central vertically extending web in the interior thereof, said web dividing the interior of said body into two openings, the opening adjacent to said front face being substantially filled with low density fibrous material, the front face of said body having apertures therein over substantially its entire area extending from the opening through said front face, the other opening in said body providing a dead air space.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,660,745 Delaney Feb. 28, 1928 2,007,130 Munroe et al July 2, 1935 2,281,121 Straight Apr. 28, 1942 2,362,859 Rosenblatt Nov. 14, 1944 2,681,865 Heine June 22, 1954 2,911,076 Saunders et a1 Nov. 3, 1959 2,933,146 Zaldastani et a1. Apr. 19, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 461,314 Great Britain Feb. 8, 1937 643,181 Great Britain Sept. 15, 1950 984,773 France Feb. 28, 1951

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