초록 ▼

An acoustic noise reduction accessory device is attachable to or integral with a personal computer or other electronic equipment. The device reduces acoustic noise emitted from the rear of the equipment, in particular the acoustic noise from fans. The device comprises an acoustic barrier or shieldin

An acoustic noise reduction accessory device is attachable to or integral with a personal computer or other electronic equipment. The device reduces acoustic noise emitted from the rear of the equipment, in particular the acoustic noise from fans. The device comprises an acoustic barrier or shielding member. The barrier is shaped in various forms external to the computer or integrally extending from its back around one or more fans of the computer so as to reduce airflow minimally. Acoustic absorbing material is layered upon the acoustic barrier and may be combined with vibration-absorbing material. The barrier may be shaped from a solid or flexible member(s) to accommodate different-sized electronics and formed to include baffles and structures to direct airflow while absorbing noise. Also it may be made adjustable by one or more slidable members. The device is easily assembled and collapsible for storage.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. An acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device such as a computer that contains (a) an air-outlet side having a fan air outlet and having a width within a predetermined range of sizes and (b) a pair of bordering sides adjacent and bordering opposite

The invention claimed is: 1. An acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device such as a computer that contains (a) an air-outlet side having a fan air outlet and having a width within a predetermined range of sizes and (b) a pair of bordering sides adjacent and bordering opposite sides of said air-outlet side, said acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood comprising: a sheet of acoustic-reflecting material having a predetermined size, an inside surface, an opposing outside surface, and a plurality of edges, namely a bottom edge, a top edge, and two side edges, the width of said sheet being measured between said side edges, said sheet of acoustic-reflecting material being bendable or foldable and the width of said sheet having a predetermined size so that it can be bent from a flat condition to a U-shaped condition and back so that a pair of opposing edge portions of said sheet can be affixed to said pair of bordering sides of said electronic device and the portion of said sheet between said opposing edges will be bent to extend over said air-outlet side of said electronic device in a spaced relation to said air-outlet side so as to provide a gap between said sheet and said air-outlet side and provide an open area at the top or bottom of said sheet to allow air from said air outlet to exit said air-outlet side and flow past at least one of said bottom or top edges of said sheet, said pair of opposing edge portions of said sheet of acoustic-reflecting material containing means for attaching said edge portions of said sheet to said bordering sides of said electronic device so that said edge portions of said sheet lie flat against said respective bordering sides, said sheet being flexible enough to be stored and shipped in a flat or bent condition and to be bent from a flat condition to a U-shaped condition and attached to bordering sides of electronic devices of a range of sizes so that said cover will be spaced from and not block said air outlet and will have an open area to allow air from said air outlet to escape. 2. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 1, further including a layer of flexible acoustic-absorbing material attached to said inside surface of said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material, thereby to form a composite sheet, said layer of flexible acoustic-absorbing material being free of any acoustic reflecting material covering so that when said composite sheet is attached to said electronic device said layer will face said air-outlet side of said electronic device directly so as to be able to absorb sound from said electronic device, layer of flexible acoustic-absorbing material having a width narrower than the width of said sheet of acoustic-reflecting material so that said edge portions of said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material are free of said acoustic-absorbing material so that said edge portions can be attached readily to said bordering sides of said electronic device. 3. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 1, further including a plurality of flaps or fingers extending from a top edge of said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material, a pair of said flaps or fingers having attachment means thereon so that said flaps of said pair can be attached together or to a top of said electronic device, whereby said flaps or fingers can be positioned to overlap each other and extend over a top of said electronic device to form a top seal for electronic devices of different dimensions. 4. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 1 wherein said sheet of acoustic-reflecting material has a rectangular shape. 5. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 1, further including a plurality of flaps or fingers extending from a top edge of said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material, an outside pair of said flaps or fingers having a rectangular shape with attachment means thereon so that said flaps of said pair can be attached together or to a top of said electronic device, and wherein the rest of said flaps or fingers having a tapering shape so they will have reduced overlap when said sheet is bent and said flaps or fingers extend over a top of said electronic device. 6. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 1 wherein said means for attaching said edge portions of said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material to said sides of said electronic device comprises a pair of strips of hook-and-loop material attached to said edge portions of said sheet with adhesive on the external surfaces thereof, said adhesive being covered by a pair of respective release strips to protect said adhesive. 7. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 1 wherein said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material has a rectangular shape and said means for attaching said edge portions of said sheet to the sides of said electronic device comprises a pair of strips of hook-and-loop material attached to said edge portions of said sheet with adhesive on the external surfaces thereof, said adhesive being covered by a pair of respective release strips to protect said adhesive, and further including a plurality of flaps or fingers extending from a top edge of said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material, an outside pair of said flaps or fingers having a rectangular shape with attachment means thereon so that said flaps of said pair can be attached together or to a top of said electronic device, the rest of said flaps or fingers having a tapering shape so they will have reduced overlap when said sheet is bent and said flaps or fingers extend over a top of said electronic device. 8. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 1 wherein said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material is constructed from material selected from the group consisting of metals, plastics, composites, rubbers, ceramics, metal filled rubber, wood, processed wood, leather, vinyl, and combinations thereof. 9. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 1 wherein said layer of acoustic-absorbing material is selected from the group consisting of foam, fiberglass, batting material, open-cell melamine foams, polyurethanes, urethanes, thermoplastics, and combinations thereof. 10. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 1 wherein said means for attaching said edge portions of said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material to said sides of said electronic device is selected from the group consisting of adhesives, tapes, hook-and-loop fasteners, adjustable straps, magnets, the weight of said sheet, and combinations thereof. 11. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 1 wherein said electronic device is a personal computer having a tower chassis and said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material is attached to said tower chassis of said personal computer. 12. An acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device such as a computer that contains a fan with an air outlet on a air-outlet side of said electronic device, said electronic device also containing a pair of bordering sides adjacent and bordering opposite sides of said air-outlet side, comprising: a sheet of acoustic-reflecting material having an inside surface, an opposing outside surface, and a plurality of edges, namely a bottom edge, a top edge, and two side edges, the width of said sheet being measured between said side edges, said sheet of acoustic-reflecting material being flexible, bendable, or foldable so that it can be bent from a flat condition to a U-shaped condition and back and having a predetermined size so that a pair of opposing edge portions of said sheet can be affixed to said pair of bordering sides of said electronic device and the portion of said sheet between said opposing edges will can extend over in a spaced relation from said air-outlet side of said electronic device so as to allow air from said air outlet to exit said air-outlet side, a layer of flexible acoustic-absorbing material attached to said inside surface of said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material, thereby to form a composite sheet, the width of said composite sheet having a predetermined size so that when it is bent to said U-shaped condition, and its opposing edges are attached to said bordering sides of said electronic device having said air-outlet side and a width within a predetermined range of sizes, said composite sheet will extend over said air-outlet side of said electronic device in a spaced relation from said air-outlet side so as to provide a gap between said sheet and said air-outlet side of said electronic device and an open area at the top or bottom of said sheet to allow air from said air outlet to exit said air-outlet side and flow past at least one of said bottom or top edges of said sheet, said layer of flexible acoustic-absorbing material being free of any acoustic reflecting material covering so that when said composite sheet is attached to said electronic device said layer will face said air-outlet side of said electronic device directly so as to be able to absorb sound from said electronic device, said composite sheet also having a plurality of flaps or fingers extending from a top edge of said composite sheet, a pair of said flaps or fingers having attachment means thereon so that said flaps of said pair can be attached together or to a top of said electronic device, whereby said flaps or fingers thereof can be positioned to overlap each other and extend over a top of said electronic device, said inside of said composite sheet also having, on a pair of edge portions of said sheet adjacent said side edges of said sheet, means for attaching said edge portions of said sheet to said bordering sides of said electronic device, said composite sheet being flexible enough to be stored and shipped in a flat or bent condition and be bent from a flat condition to a U-shaped condition and attached to bordering sides of electronic devices of a range of sizes so that said cover will be spaced from and not block said air outlet and will have an open area to allow air from said air outlet to escape. 13. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood of claim 12 wherein an outside pair of said flaps or fingers extending from a top edge of said sheet of, acoustic-reflecting material have a rectangular shape with attachment means thereon so that said flaps of said pair can be attached together or to a top of said electronic device, and wherein the rest of said flaps or fingers have a tapering shape so they will have reduced overlap when said sheet is bent and said flaps or fingers extend over a top of said electronic device. 14. The acoustic noise-reduction cover or hood for an electronic device of claim 12 wherein said layer of flexible acoustic-absorbing material has a width narrower than the width of said sheet of acoustic-reflecting material so that said edge portions adjacent said side edges are free of said acoustic-absorbing material such that said edge portions can be attached readily to said bordering sides of said electronic device. 15. A method of reducing acoustic noise from an electronic device such as a computer that contains a fan with an air outlet on a side of said electronic device, comprising: providing a sheet of acoustic-reflecting material having an inside surface and a predetermined size, providing a layer of flexible acoustic-absorbing material on said inside surface of said sheet of acoustic-reflecting material to form a multi-layered sound-blocking sheet, said multi-layered sound-blocking sheet being flexible enough to be stored and shipped in a flat or bent condition and to be bent from a flat condition to a U-shaped condition and attached to bordering sides of electronic devices of a range of sizes so that said cover will be spaced from and not block said air outlet and will have an open area to allow air from said air outlet to escape, said layer of flexible acoustic-absorbing material being free of any acoustic reflecting material covering so that when said composite sheet is attached to said electronic device said layer will face said air-outlet side of said electronic device directly so as to be able to absorb sound from said electronic device, the width of said multi-layered sound-blocking sheet having a predetermined dimension so that when it is bent to said U-shaped condition, and its opposing edges are attached to said bordering sides of said electronic device having said air-outlet side and a width within a predetermined range of sizes, said sheet will extend over said air-outlet side of said electronic device in a spaced relation from said air-outlet side so as to provide a gap between said sheet and said air-outlet side of said electronic device and an open area at the top or bottom of said sheet to allow air from said air outlet to exit said air-outlet side and flow past at least one of said bottom or top edges of said sheet, bending or folding said multi-layered sound-blocking sheet so that it has a generally U-shaped configuration attaching a pair of opposing edge portions of multi-layered sound-blocking sheet to said electronic device at a pair of locations on opposite sides of said air outlet so that a portion of said sheet between said opposing edge portions will extend over said air outlet in a spaced relation to said air outlet so as to allow air from said air outlet to exit said air outlet, whereby said sheet of acoustic-reflecting material (a) can be attached to said electronic device, (b) will be spaced from and not block said air outlet, (c) will absorb sound from said air outlet, and (d) has an open area to allow air from said air outlet to escape. 16. The method of claim 15, further including providing a plurality of flaps or fingers extending from an edge of said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material, said edge being spaced from said opposing edge portions, a pair of said flaps or fingers having attachment means thereon so that said flaps of said pair can be attached together or to a top of said electronic device, whereby said flaps or fingers thereof can be positioned to overlap each other and extend over a top of said electronic device. 17. The method of claim 15, further including providing a plurality of flaps or fingers extending from an edge of said sheet of flexible acoustic-reflecting material, said edge being spaced from said opposing edge portions, an outside pair of said flaps or fingers having a rectangular shape with attachment means thereon so that said outside pair or flaps can be attached together or to a top of said electronic device, the rest of said flaps or fingers having a tapering shape so they will have reduced overlap when said sheet is bent and said flaps or fingers extend over a top of said electronic device. 18. The method of claim 15 wherein said attaching a pair of opposing edges comprises providing a pair of fasteners on said edge portions of said sheet and attaching said fasteners to mating fasteners on said locations on said electronic device. 19. The method of claim 15 wherein said sheet has a rectangular shape and said attaching a pair of opposing edges comprises providing a pair of fasteners on said edge portions of said sheet and attaching mating fasteners to said locations on said electronic device. 20. The method of claim 15 wherein said layer of acoustic-absorbing material has a width shorter than the width of said sheet of acoustic-reflecting material so that said edge portions are free of said acoustic-absorbing material so that said edge portions can be attached readily to said bordering sides of said electronic device.