Owens Corning Intellectual Capital, LLC

Owens Corning Fiberglas Technology, Inc.

Ocv Intellectual Capital, LLC

Owens-corning Fiberglass Technology, Inc.

Phil Johnson

Anthony L Rockwell

Jeffrey A Tilton

Kurt George Melia

Charles F Pratt

Gary James Newman

Allen L Panther

Acoustically insulated machines have an internal source of noise and an insulation member. The insulation member may include a plurality of porous, sound absorbing layers and a plurality of dense or facing layers attached to faces of the sound absorbing layers. The dense or facing layers each have a density that is greater than the densities of the sound absorbing layers. The insulation member may be oriented such that one of the dense or facing layers faces toward the internal source of noise. The insulation member may be configured such that most of the low frequency sound energy generated by the internal source of noise is not reflected back into the machine. That is, the dense or facing layer may be configured to allow a majority of low frequency sound energy from the internal source of noise to pass into the insulation member.

Acoustically insulated machine

A home appliance, such as a clothes washing machine, has a source of noise and an acoustic insulator. The source of noise moves between a first position and a second position during operation of the appliance. The acoustic insulator has a movable portion that moves with the source of noise between the first position and the second position during operation of the appliance and an interface that remains substantially stationary as the source of noise moves between the first and second positions.

An insulation element is provided for installation in a gap of thickness G provided between two objects. The insulation element includes a body made from a thermoplastic polymer material. The body has a first face, a second face and a thickness defined between the first and second faces. The body is characterized by a semi permanently pre-installation thickness Twhere Tis less than G. The body swells upon heating to a thickness Twhere Tis greater than or equal to G so that the insulation element bridges the gap, engages the two objects and provides a spring rate of between 4.0 and 275.0 grams per square inch.

Insulation element for an electrical appliance such as a dishwasher

A dishwasher tub includes a main body having opposing side walls that are interconnected by a rear wall, all formed from a multi-layered composite material. A cap member is joined atop the opposing side and rear walls, a base member is joined to lower edge portions of the opposing side walls and rear wall, and a frontal halo member is mounted between the cap and base member to define an overall washing chamber having a front opening. Preferably, the multi-layered composite material includes an inner stainless layer, a rigid layer and an outer protective layer, such as a layer of stainless steel, a rigid polyester mat, and a protective layer of hard plastic or aluminum foil. The outer layer also preferably serves as a shipping container for the dishwasher, enabling components of the dishwasher to be transported to a designated location for final assembly.

Composite tub body for a dishwasher

Methods and apparatus are provided for acoustically insulating a washing machine and, specifically, a laundry tub. An acoustical blanket of thermoplastic material extends around and insulates the laundry tub. A wall of the tub has at least one protuberance for mating with a hole of the acoustical blanket. The acoustical blanket may be crimped over a top of the wall. Protuberances include knobs and elongate members. The thermoplastic material is selected from a group consisting of a polyester, polyethylene, polyolefin, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, rayon, nylon, acrylic, hemp, kenaf, cotton and combinations thereof. A facing layer(s) may additionally be provided on the acoustical blanket. The facing layer being selected from a group consisting of polyester, rayon, metallic foil and combinations thereof. The blanket may also mate directly with a cylinder around the tub.

Acoustical laundry tub blanket

A dishwasher includes a housing having a washing chamber and a door for gaining access to the washing chamber. A washing nozzle is provided in the washing chamber for directing a fluid stream against dishes held in the washing chamber. A circulation pump circulates fluid under pressure through the washing nozzle. A supply line delivers fluid to the circulation pump while a drain line discharges fluid from the washing chamber. Additionally the dishwasher includes an acoustical insulation blanket of thermoplastic material. That blanket extends around the washing chamber and the circulation pump and is precisely cut to fit snugly around the fluid supply line and the drain line so as to eliminate gaps therebetween and the acoustical leaks associated therewith. A method is also disclosed for enclosing the noise-generating components of the dishwasher in an acoustical insulation blanket of thermoplastic material.

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Louisville, KY, United States of America

Phil Johnson