Patent Application
20230095252
Portable and removable wall modules for residential living space are disclosed. The modules create a sound dampening or near-soundproof division of the living space. The modules are easy to install and remove by an ordinary consumer.
As urban living areas become denser with increasing housing costs, housing shortage in urban areas and college towns and lower income housing needs, it is increasingly important to be able to live comfortably with more people in the same space. When multiple people share the same living space, achieving privacy and creating separate “spaces” is a challenge. The need for separate spaces has been made more urgent in light of the current desire to minimize the transmission of airborne viruses such as COVID-19, particularly in shared college dormitories or bedrooms.
One prior art technique for dividing a residential living space is to install a permanent wall to divide the room. This typically involves installing a wooden frame and permanently attaching it to other permanent walls and adding insulation and drywall to the wooden frame and may require obtaining city permits. The wall is permanently affixed to other walls or beams and cannot be easily removed by an ordinary consumer without causing structural damage to other parts of the house or leased dwelling.
A less permanent prior art technique is to add a temporary room divider, which can be as simple as a curtain (which is commonly used to divide hospital rooms) or can involve a solid divider on wheels that provides a partial but not complete division of the space. For instance, there typically are gaps above or below the divider, which minimizes the effectiveness of the divider for privacy and sound dampening purposes and virus transmission. These prior art temporary room dividers are extremely limited in their ability to provide a feeling of privacy for users.
What is needed is an improved mechanism for dividing a residential living space into two or more parts, where the mechanism is portable and removable. What is further needed is a mechanism that is sound dampening or near-soundproof and that creates a seal vertically (e.g., from floor to ceiling) and/or horizontally (e.g., from one permanent wall to another). What is further needed is a mechanism that is easy to install and remove by an ordinary consumer and does not require the services of a contractor and is reusable when moving from one dwelling to another.
Portable and removable wall modules for residential living space are disclosed. The modules create a sound dampening or near-soundproof division of the living space. The modules comprise one or more u-channel bars that attach to the ceiling and wall and one or more adjustable baseboards that sit on the floor. The adjustable active baseboards each comprise a spring-loaded platform that pushes the wall panels up against the top interior of the u-channel bars to create a vertically-sealed division of the living space. The active baseboard allows for adjustment to differing ceiling heights and is adaptable to many different dwellings. Different room configurations using the modules are disclosed herein.
Each acoustic panel 101 is constructed from material that is sound dampening or near-soundproof. In one embodiment, acoustic panel 101 comprises a highly compacted polyester material that provides a rigid structure but is soft to the touch.
U-channel bar 102 is constructed from metal, plastic, or another rigid material. It attaches to the ceiling and wall of the living space through attachment mechanism 103 and receives one or more acoustic panels 101 in its channel area. Optionally the acoustic panels are affixed to attachment mechanism 103 with screws, bolts, or other mechanisms.
Attachment mechanism 103 secures u-channel bar 102 to the ceiling and wall. Attachment mechanism 103 can comprise screws, drywall screws, nails, staples, adhesive, or other mechanisms. Foam gasket 109 is constructed from a compressionable material is placed between U-channel bar 102 and the permanent wall.
Hinge 104 is constructed from metal, plastic, or another rigid material. It connects to two acoustic panels 101 and allows the panels to pivot. In straight module 100, the panels likely will not need to pivot and will be held parallel by u-channel bar 102. The hinge is a rigid molded plastic, connecting two adjacent panels. It has flexible grooves running lengthwise which allow the panels to continue in a straight line or to move at various angles; such as 90 degrees for the corner unit 200 or 180 degrees for shipping and storage purposes.
Adjustable baseboard 105 sits on the floor of the living space and receives the bottom edge of acoustic panels 101. Spring-loaded level 106 presses acoustic panels upward against the top interior surface of u-channel bar 102. In this manner, straight module 100 provides a vertically-sealed space that fills the entire vertical space between ceiling and floor. The bottom of the baseboard has a non-skid material 111 to prevent movement on hard flooring or carpets.
Acoustic panels 101, u-channel bars 102, attachment mechanisms 103, hinges 104, adjustable baseboards 105, and doorway 108 are identical to the same components described previously with reference to
In this example, door cover 110 fills the gap of doorway 108. Door cover 110 can comprise vertical blinds, a shade, or a rectangular piece of cloth.
Baseboard 112 is constructed from metal, plastic, wood, or another rigid material. Baseboard 112 sits on the floor of the living space. The bottom of the adjustable baseboard has a non-skid material 111 to prevent movement on hard flooring and carpets.
Level 113 is constructed from metal, plastic, wood, or another rigid material.
Springs 114 are constructed from metal or plastic.
Level 113 supports the bottom of acoustic panel 101. It can be appreciated that when a u-channel bar 102 is secured to the ceiling with attachment mechanism 103, springs 114 will push platform 113 upward against the bottom of acoustic panel 101 so that acoustic panel 101 forms a snug fit against the interior top of u-channel bar 102. Baseboard 112 covers the cap in which springs 114 are located and assists in creating a sound-dampening or near soundproof divider between the two portions of the room.
A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that straight module 100 and corner module 200 can be used to create an almost unlimited number of different configurations in the same room.
For example,
It should be noted that, as used herein, the terms “over” and “on” both inclusively include “directly on” (no intermediate materials, elements or space disposed therebetween) and “indirectly on” (intermediate materials, elements or space disposed therebetween). Likewise, the term “mounted to” includes “directly mounted to” (no intermediate materials, elements or space disposed there between) and “indirectly mounted to” (intermediate materials, elements or spaced disposed there between), and the term “attached to” includes “directly attached to” (no intermediate materials, elements or space disposed there between) and “indirectly attached to” (intermediate materials, elements or spaced disposed there between).
