Carpet construction providing noise suppression

DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a carpet which is not effected by the load placed to the degree that the vibration/noise attenuating characteristics of the same are deteriorated in the manner wherein above marked transmitivity peak shifting occurs.
In brief, this is achieved by an arrangement wherein a plurality of small blocks are disposed between an upper flexible layer and a more rigid and thicker layer.
The blocks prevent the compression of portions of the carpet surrounding the area on which a load, such as the passenger's feet, is placed.
By preventing the compression of the major portion of the carpet, essentially unchanged carpet transmitivity characteristics are maintained.
More specifically, a first aspect of the invention takes the form of a carpet comprising: a rigid sheet; an elastomeric layer disposed on the upper surface of said rigid sheet; and a plurality of spaced bocks disposed between said rigid sheet and said elastomeric layer.
A second aspect of the present invention comes in a vehicle which features: a vehicle cabin sound/vibration attenuating system which includes: a carpet the carpet being laid on a metallic panel of the vehicle, the carpet comprising: a first sheet which is disposed in direct contact with the metallic panel, the first sheet having a predetermined rigidity and a first predetermined thickness; a second sheet disposed on the upper surface of the first sheet, the second sheet having a predetermined elasticity; and a plurality of relatively small, spaced and relatively rigid bodies disposed between the first and second sheets.