Cabinet Cover Clearance With Bent Passage for Noise and Heat

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional cabinet structures with multiple cover members fail to effectively reduce sound leakage while preventing temperature rises, as overlapping exterior-cover pieces can block airflow and allow noise to escape through clearances.

Innovation Solution

A cabinet structure with adjacent cover members leaving a clearance between them, featuring a passage with multiple bends that allows airflow and diffracts sound waves, reducing noise emission and temperature rise.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If adjacent exterior-cover pieces are partially overlapped in contact with each other to eliminate clearances, then sound leakage is reduced, but air flow is blocked causing temperature rise inside the cabinet

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesound leakageVSAvoidtemperature rise inside cabinet

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

The cabinet side surface is divided into multiple exterior-cover pieces rather than using a single large cover. This segmentation allows strategic placement of clearances between specific adjacent pieces to maintain air flow while other overlapping pieces provide sound isolation. The segmentation enables selective optimization of different regions for either thermal management or acoustic isolation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the cabinet employ different cover piece configurations: some adjacent pieces are overlapped in contact to block sound in critical areas, while other pieces maintain clearances to ensure adequate air flow in thermal management zones. This local differentiation allows simultaneous optimization of sound isolation and heat dissipation in different parts of the same cabinet structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Ease of manufacture

If a single large exterior cover is used to cover the entire side surface, then manufacturing and assembly are simplified, but maintenance operations become more difficult requiring removal of the entire cover

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecover manufacturing and assemblyVSAvoidmaintenance operation difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSEase of repair

Solution Approach 1:

The side surface cover is divided into multiple smaller exterior-cover pieces that can be independently removed. During maintenance, only the specific cover piece containing the faulty component needs to be removed, rather than the entire side cover assembly. This segmentation dramatically reduces maintenance time and complexity while the modular design keeps manufacturing and assembly relatively simple through standardized connection interfaces.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Ease of repair

If multiple exterior-cover pieces are used to cover the side surface, then maintenance operations are facilitated by removing only specific pieces, but clearances between pieces allow sound leakage

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemaintenance operation easeVSAvoidsound leakage through clearance

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of repairVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Different regions of the cabinet employ different cover piece configurations: some adjacent pieces are overlapped in contact to block sound in critical areas, while other pieces maintain clearances to ensure adequate air flow in thermal management zones. This local differentiation allows simultaneous optimization of sound isolation and heat dissipation in different parts of the same cabinet structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The cabinet side surface is divided into multiple exterior-cover pieces rather than using a single large cover. This segmentation allows strategic placement of clearances between specific adjacent pieces to maintain air flow while other overlapping pieces provide sound isolation. The segmentation enables selective optimization of different regions for either thermal management or acoustic isolation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The design effectively suppresses sound leakage and temperature rise by allowing airflow and diffraction of sound waves, maintaining the structural integrity and usability of the cabinet.

Implementation Method 1

a clearance communicating between the inside and the outside of the cabinet is left between two cover members, the two cover members being adjacent to each other, of the cover members

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAir flow: Convection

Implementation Method 2

a passage defined by the clearance and leading from the inside to the outside of the cabinet through the clearance has a shape with multiple bends

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectSound wave diffraction: Diffraction

Data Source

PatentUS20150248880A1Cabinet structure, electronic equipment, and image forming apparatus

Publication Date: 2015.09.03 RICOH CO LTD

AI summary

A cabinet structure includes multiple cover members configured to spatially partition an inside from an outside of a cabinet, and a clearance communicating between the inside and the outside of the cabinet is left between two cover members, the two cover members being adjacent to each other, of the cover members, and a passage defined by the clearance and leading from the inside to the outside of the cabinet through the clearance has a shape with multiple bends.