An acoustical seal system that utilizes a sound absorbing material-based sound seal for the gap or flanking path between a closed door and the nearby surfaces (e.g., the door jam or frame and the floor). When the door is in a closed position, the acoustical seal system may leave a small gap around the door so that the door does not have to make contact with the surrounding structural components. The small gap is an air passage between the two adjacent rooms. The acoustical seal system includes a housing with one or more cavities. The housing is mounted on the sides of the door core or body or on the surrounding components such that the cavities face the small air gap when the door is in the closed position. The cavities are filled with sound-absorbing material, such as an acoustical foam, that is exposed to the air gap.
BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Description (1) The present description relates, in general, to acoustical seals and sound absorption and, more particularly, to a system or assembly for providing an acoustical seal that is at least partially provided in some embodiments as a non-contact sound seal for a door, while other embodiments may have some contacting seals such that the acoustic seal system may be thought of more generally as a sound seal with an absorptive portion or arrangement. 2. Relevant Background (2) There are numerous settings where it is desirable to provide a door between two rooms (or spaces) and to also try to limit the amount of sound that travels between the two rooms when the doors are shut. For example, venues that have multiple rooms in which different scenes or parts of a show or story are presented as well as multi-auditorium theaters. The rooms are separated from one another with architectural walls and doors that allow ingress and egress to the room. The walls and doors are important to limit audio transfer between the rooms when the doors are closed. (3) Sound leaking between rooms at doors can be a serious problem that can be difficult to adequately address. The doors themselves may be fabricated to absorb sound and to block its leakage between two rooms, but sound may still leak or propagate around the doors via the gaps or "flanking paths" between the door's sides or edges and the surrounding door frame, structural wall, or floor. Audio leaking from
1. A door assembly adapted for sound absorption, comprising: a door pivotally supported on a wall to be positionable in an opened position and in a closed position, wherein the wall is disposed between a first space with a sound source and a second space to be acoustically isolated from the first space; a door frame including an upper member extending along an upper side of the door between the wall and the upper side of the door and further including a side member extending along an outer side of the door between the wall and the outer side of the door; and an acoustical seal system including: a first air passageway between the upper member of the door frame and the upper side of the door; a second air passageway between the side member of the door frame and the outer side of the door, wherein the first and second air passageways define flanking paths around the door in the closed position through which sound is transferred from the sound source in the first space to the second space; a first housing in at least one of the upper member of the door frame and the upper side of the door, wherein the first housing includes a cavity in fluid communication with the first air passageway; a second housing in at least one of the side member of the door frame and the outer side of the door, wherein the second housing includes a cavity in fluid communication with the second air passageway; a first volume of sound absorbing material positioned in the cavity of the first housing; and a second volume of sound absorbing material positioned in the cavity of the second housing, wherein, when the door is in the closed position, the first and second volumes of sound absorbing material reduce an amount of the sound transferred through the first and second air passageways. ||
12. A door system with sound absorption in flanking paths, comprising: a door frame provided in an opening in a wall extending upward from a floor; a pair of swinging doors hung in the door frame, wherein an air passageway free of contact seals is provided between each joint between sides of the doors and the door frame, between an adjacent pair of the sides of the doors, and between the sides of the door and the floor; extending along at least half of the length of the each of the air passageways, a cavity facing a corresponding one of the air passageways; and sound absorbing material at a depth of at least 0.5 inches positioned in each of the cavities. ||
17. A door assembly adapted for sound absorption, comprising: a door pivotally supported on a wall to be positionable in an opened position and in a closed position; a door frame including an upper member extending along an upper side of the door between the wall and the upper side of the door and further including a side member extending along an outer side of the door between the wall and the outer side of the door; and an acoustical seal system including: a first air passageway between the upper member of the door frame and the upper side of the door; a second air passageway between the side member of the door frame and the outer side of the door, wherein the first and second air passageways are free of contact seals; a first housing in the upper side of the door, wherein the first housing includes a cavity in fluid communication with the first air passageway; a second housing in the outer side of the door, wherein the second housing includes a cavity in fluid communication with the second air passageway; a first volume of sound absorbing material positioned in the cavity of the first housing; and a second volume of sound absorbing material positioned in the cavity of the second housing.