Noise barrier

Abstract

A noise barrier including a front wall, a rear wall, and two opposite and spaced apart side walls which extend from the front wall to the rear wall. A compartment is enclosed by at least the front wall, the rear wall, and the side walls. A channel is located spaced apart from the enclosed compartment, wherein the channel has an inlet for enabling a part of an approaching sound wave to enter and propagate through the channel, and an outlet through which said part of the sound wave is enabled to leave the channel so as to interfere with the original part of the sound wave that propagates above the noise barrier. The inlet is located in the front wall and faces a noise source area. The outlet is located at a vertically higher level than the inlet and rearward of the front wall.

1 . A noise barrier, comprising:
 a front wall which defines a first exterior surface of the noise barrier, the first exterior surface being configured to face a noise source area,   a rear wall which defines a second exterior surface of the noise barrier, the second exterior surface being configured to face away from the noise source area,   two opposite and spaced apart side walls which extend from the front wall to the rear wall,   a compartment enclosed by at least the front wall, the rear wall and the two side walls, and   a channel located spaced apart from the enclosed compartment,   wherein the channel has an inlet for enabling a part of an approaching sound wave to enter and propagate through the channel, and an outlet through which said part of the sound wave is enabled to leave the channel so as to interfere with the original part of the sound wave that propagates above the noise barrier,   wherein the inlet is located in the front wall and faces the noise source area, and   wherein the outlet is located at a vertically higher level than the inlet and rearward of the front wall.   
     
     
         2 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the channel is located vertically above the compartment. 
     
     
         3 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the channel is separated from said compartment by a dividing wall extending from the front wall to the rear wall, wherein the dividing wall defines an upper end of the compartment. 
     
     
         4 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the dividing wall defines a lower end of the channel. 
     
     
         5 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the channel is partly defined by the rear wall. 
     
     
         6 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the channel is partly defined by the front wall. 
     
     
         7 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the outlet is located at the top of the noise barrier and is facing vertically upwardly. 
     
     
         8 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising a cover wall extending from an upper end of the front wall diagonally upwards and rearwards, wherein the outlet is located between the cover wall and the rear wall. 
     
     
         9 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the channel guides the entered part of the sound wave along a substantially L-shaped path from the inlet to the outlet. 
     
     
         10 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein, downstream of the inlet, the channel guides the entered part of the sound wave along a substantially U-shaped path to the outlet. 
     
     
         11 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said channel is provided with at least one baffle member dividing said channel into at least two parallel sub-channels extending from the inlet to or towards the outlet. 
     
     
         12 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein a first one of said sub-channels has a first channel height and a first channel length, wherein a second one of said sub-channels has a second channel height and a second channel length, wherein the first channel height is larger than the second channel height, and wherein the first channel length is larger than the second channel length. 
     
     
         13 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the volume of the compartment is filled with acoustic absorption material for resistive damping of sound. 
     
     
         14 . The noise barrier as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the noise barrier is configured to stand on the ground. 
     
     
         15 . A sound-arresting arrangement, comprising a plurality of noise barriers as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the noise barriers are arranged side by side such that side walls of adjacent noise barriers are in contact with each other.