Design and Verification of Acoustic Room for Consumer Product Safety Testing

Sound Producing Toys consists the sound emitting characteristics to attract children’s attention, such as emitting music or simulating animal’s call. The excess sound pressure level (SPL) could damage the human hearing. The international toy safety standards are established to limit the maximum sound pressure level emitted from the product. The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR established the Task Force on Economic Challenges (TFEC) on October 2008. In early 2009, the TFEC has identified six economic areas where Hong Kong enjoys clear advantages. The Six Industries are (i) testing, inspection and certification (TIC), (ii) medical services, (iii) innovation and technology, (iv) cultural and creative industries, (v) environmental industries, and (vi) educational services. The Open University of Hong Kong is offering the undergraduate degree programmes in testing and certification. For the teaching and research purpose, an acoustic room was built to support the areas of sound pressure level measurement in the Open University of Hong Kong. The acoustic room was primarily designed to serve the sound pressure level measurement of the consumer products, including toys and children’s products and gain the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS) with reference to ISO/IEC 17025. This paper describes the flow of design, consideration of design factors, verification method, applications and limitations of acoustic chamber.