U.S. patent application number 16/919812 was filed with the patent office on 2021-01-21 for air vent with snap-fit cover for foundation walls.
The applicant listed for this patent is William G. Sykes. Invention is credited to William G. Sykes.
Application Number | 20210017759 16/919812 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005060466 |
Filed Date | 2021-01-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210017759 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sykes; William G. |
January 21, 2021 |
AIR VENT WITH SNAP-FIT COVER FOR FOUNDATION WALLS
Abstract
A combination of an air vent for passing air through an opening
of a wall around an enclosed area, to facilitate ventilation, and a
cover readily installable on and removable from the air vent are
disclosed. The air vent includes a peripheral flange surrounding a
central opening and a screen fixed to the air vent and covering the
central opening. The air vent may include fixed false louvers and
may bear surface texturing for esthetics. The cover is dimensioned
and configured to overlie the central opening and may be releasably
held in place by opposed deflectable tabs formed integrally
therewith. Each of the tabs has a projection configured to enter
and occupy a corresponding hole in the air vent. The tabs may be
deflected to remove the projections from their respective holes,
thereby releasing the cover from the air vent.
Inventors: |
Sykes; William G.; (Virginia
Beach, VA) |
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Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Sykes; William G. |
Virginia Beach |
VA |
US |
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|
Family ID: |
1000005060466 |
Appl. No.: |
16/919812 |
Filed: |
July 2, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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16515419 |
Jul 18, 2019 |
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16919812 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 13/082 20130101;
E04B 1/7076 20130101 |
International
Class: |
E04B 1/70 20060101
E04B001/70; F24F 13/08 20060101 F24F013/08 |
Claims
1. A combination of an air vent for passing air through an opening
of a wall around an enclosed area, to facilitate ventilation, and a
cover for blocking air from passing through the opening, wherein
the cover is readily installable on and removable from the air
vent, the combination comprising: an air vent including a central
opening for ventilation, a screen fixed to the air vent and
covering the central opening, a planar peripheral flange
surrounding the central opening, wherein the peripheral flange
occupies a plane perpendicular to a direction of flow of air
through the central opening, and false louvers covering the screen,
the false louvers arranged to leave the central opening
unobstructed for passage of air past the screen; and a cover
dimensioned and configured to overlie the central opening in a
deployed position and to block air flow through the air vent when
the cover is installed, wherein one of the air vents and the cover
includes at least one integral deflectable tab configured to engage
by snap fit the other of the air vent and the cover, and to
releasably couple the air vent to the cover.
2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the other of the air vent
and the cover has at least one hole, and the at least one
deflectable tab includes a projection configured to enter and
occupy the at least one hole in the other of the air vent and the
cover when the at least one deflectable tab is not deflected, and
to be released from the at least one hole when the deflectable tab
is deflected.
3. The combination of claim 2, wherein the air vent has a right
side and a left side when installed over the opening of the wall,
the at least one deflectable tab comprises a first tab at the right
side of the air vent and a second tab at the left side of the air
vent; and the at least one hole comprises a first hole at the right
side of the air vent and a second hole at the left side of the air
vent.
4. The combination of claim 3, wherein the first tab and the second
tab are each defined on three sides by a slot formed in the air
vent and are attached to the air vent at a living hinge defined on
a fourth side.
5. The combination of claim 3, wherein the first tab and the second
tab are on the cover, and the first hole and the second hole are in
the air vent.
6. The combination of claim 5, wherein the cover comprises an
access opening dimensioned and configured to enable a person to
insert a finger thereinto and impose pressure on the air vent in a
direction releasing the cover from engagement with the air
vent.
7. The combination of claim 5, wherein the air vent comprises a
perimetric projection perpendicular to the peripheral flange and
surrounding the central opening, and the first hole and the second
hole are in the perimetric projection of the air vent.
8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the perimetric projection is
double walled and hollow in cross section along at least most of a
length of the perimetric projection.
9. The combination of claim 7, wherein the air vent further
comprises a central wall dividing the central opening into a right
portion and a left portion.
10. The combination of claim 9, wherein the false louvers are
coupled to the perimetric projection at the right side of the air
vent, at the left side of the air vent, and at the central wall of
the air vent, and wherein each false louver comprises a gusset
perpendicular to the false louver and spanning the respective false
louver and the right side and the left side of the air vent, and
each gusset seals an end of a respective false louver against loss
of air from air flow at the false louver through the air vent to
lateral air flow not passing through the air vent.
11. The combination of claim 1, wherein the cover is made
substantially from one or more plastic materials by pressure
molding.
12. The combination of claim 11, wherein the plastic material
comprises ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic
material.
13. The combination of claim 1, further comprising decorative
surface texturing on the air vent and on the cover.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This is a Continuation-In-Part application of the U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 16/515,419 for AIR VENT WITH SNAP-FIT
COVER FOR FOUNDATION WALLS filed Jul. 18, 2019 and which is
included by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to opening covers for building
foundation walls having openings in the wall and covers for
selectively ventilating a crawl space within, and for preventing
exchange of air between the crawl space and ambient air outside the
associated building.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Houses and other buildings may have foundation walls
projecting above surrounding grade and defining a basement or crawl
space within. Particularly in the case of crawl spaces, foundation
walls frequently have openings communicating between an enclosed
space inside the wall (i.e., the basement or crawl space) The
opening provide access and ventilation, and possibly other
purposes.
[0004] Crawl spaces and basements, where open to the surrounding
atmosphere, are susceptible to becoming objectionably humid.
Humidity may promote molds, mildew, and other damaging influences
on for example a wooden floor above the basement or crawl space.
The aforementioned openings are intended to enable passive
ventilation to prevent excessive buildup of humidity. However,
there are times when ventilation is undesirable. For example, in
cold weather, it may be desirable to exclude relatively cold
ambient air from the crawl space or basement. In another example,
building owners may prefer to utilize dehumidification equipment,
which would obviously benefit from excluding potentially humid
ambient air from the enclosed space. It becomes desirable then to
provide a cover for the air vent. It would also be desirable to
make the cover easy to use and to avoid presence of small articles
such as fasteners which could easily become lost when installing or
removing the cover.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention provides an air vent for openings in
basement and crawl space walls which address the above
concerns.
[0006] More particularly, the invention contemplates a combination
of an air vent for passing air through an opening of a wall around
e.g. a basement or crawl space, to facilitate ventilation, and a
cover readily installable on and removable from the air vent. The
air vent includes a peripheral flange surrounding a central opening
and a screen fixed to the air vent and covering the central
opening. The air vent may include fixed false louvers and may bear
surface texturing for esthetics. The cover is dimensioned and
configured to overlie the central opening and may be releasably
held in place by opposed deflectable tabs formed integrally
therewith. Each of the tabs has a projection configured to enter
and occupy a corresponding hole in the air vent. The tabs may be
deflected to remove the projections from their respective holes,
thereby releasing the cover from the air vent. The tabs bend
slightly at living hinges.
[0007] The tabs are a significant element of the invention,
enabling a snap fit which renders fasteners unnecessary. This
facilitates installation and removal of the cover from the air
vent, and eliminates the possibility of losing fasteners, which can
be relatively small, and which are easily lost or misplaced if left
loose upon removal of the cover.
[0008] The air vent may be made from molded plastic, such as ABS
plastic. Plastic articles may appear unsightly, as they may appear
to be insufficiently robust as part of a building. To offset this
visual effect, the flood vent may have decorative surface
texturing.
[0009] The present invention provides improved elements and
arrangements thereof by apparatus for the purposes described which
is inexpensive, dependable, and fully effective in accomplishing
its intended purposes.
[0010] These and other objects of the present invention will become
readily apparent upon further review of the following specification
and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Various objects, features, and attendant advantages of the
present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same
becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate
the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and
wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a combination of an air
vent and a cover therefor, according to at least one aspect of the
invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 is an exploded environmental front perspective view
of the combination of FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective detail view taken from the
left of the lowermost component shown in FIG. 2;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a side cross sectional view of the center
component shown in FIG. 2; and
[0016] FIG. 5 is an enlarged side cross sectional view of FIG.
4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, according to at least one
aspect of the invention, there is shown a combination 100 of an air
vent 102 for passing air through an opening 10 of a wall 12 around
an enclosed area, to facilitate ventilation, and a cover 104 for
blocking air from passing through opening 10, wherein cover 104 is
readily installable on and removable from air vent 102. Combination
100 may comprise air vent 102 including a central opening 108 for
ventilation, a screen 110 fixed to air vent 102 and covering
central opening 108, a planar peripheral flange 112 surrounding
central opening 108. Peripheral flange 112 occupies a plane
perpendicular to a direction of flow of air through central opening
108. False louvers 114 covering screen 110. False louvers 114 may
be arranged to leave central opening 108 unobstructed for passage
of air past screen 110.
[0018] Cover 104 may be dimensioned and configured to overlie
central opening 108 in a deployed position and to block air flow
through air vent 102 when cover 104 is installed. One of air vent
102 and cover 104 may include at least one integral deflectable tab
116 configured to engage by snap fit the other of air vent 102 and
cover 104, and to releasably couple air vent 102 to cover 104.
[0019] Flow of air through central opening 108 is indicated as
arrows A in FIG. 4.
[0020] Peripheral flange 112 provides a mounting member for
mounting air vent 102 over opening 10. Fasteners such as
stainless-steel nails (not shown) may be driven through peripheral
flange 112 into wall 12. Alternatively, adhesive may be applied to
peripheral flange 112 to bond air vent 102 to wall 12. Air vent 102
will then passively ventilate space behind wall 12 when cover 104
is not installed. The plane perpendicular to the direction 14 of
flow of air alluded to above will be parallel to the outer surface
of wall 12 when air vent 102 is mounted to wall 12, with direction
14 of air flow being perpendicular to the sides of wall 12 defining
opening 10.
[0021] Louvers 114 may be left in an open position enabling air
flow if louvers 114 are functional and pivotally coupled to air
vent 102. In one implementation of combination 100, and as
illustrated, louvers 114 are false louvers unadjustable relative to
air vent 102.
[0022] One of air vent 102 and cover 104 includes at least one
integral deflectable tab 116 configured to engage by snap fit the
other of air vent 102 and cover 104 and to releasably couple air
vent 102 to cover 104. In combination 100, the other of air vent
102 and cover 104 has at least one hole 118. The at least one
deflectable tab 116 includes a projection 120 configured to enter
and occupy the at least one hole 118 in the other of air vent 102
and cover 104 when the at least one deflectable tab 116 is not
deflected, and to be released from at least one hole 118 when
deflectable tab 116 is deflected. Each projection 120 frictionally
engages one-hole 118A or 118B, and may or may not be audible when
so engaging or disengaging from its respective hole 118A or 118B.
This frictional connection is referred to herein as a snap fit.
[0023] Air vent 102 may have a right side 122 and a left side 124
(FIG. 2) when installed over opening 10 of wall 12. The at least
one deflectable tab 116 may comprise a first tab 116A (FIG. 1) at
the right side 122 of air vent 102 and a second tab 116B (FIG. 1)
at left side 124 of air vent 102. The at least one hole 118 may
comprise first hole 118A at right side 122 of air vent 102 and
second hole 118B at left side 124 of air vent 102.
[0024] Unless otherwise indicated, the terms "first", "second",
etc., are used herein merely as labels, and are not intended to
impose ordinal, positional, or hierarchical requirements on the
items to which these terms refer. Moreover, reference to, e.g., a
"second" item does not either require or preclude the existence of,
e.g., a "first" or lower-numbered item, and/or, e.g., a "third" or
higher-numbered item.
[0025] Referring principally to FIG. 3 but also to FIGS. 1 and 2,
first tab 116A and second tab 116 may each be defined on three
sides (not called out by reference numerals) by a slot 126 formed
in cover 104 and are attached to cover 104 at a living hinge 128
defined on a fourth side (not called out by reference numeral) of
first or second tab 116A or 116B. Slot 126 may be U-shaped as shown
and formed in a side wall 130 of cover 104.
[0026] Ordinarily, the term "living hinge" implies a construction
wherein constituent material of the item bearing the living hinge
is thinner at the hinge than at other portions of the item. That
may or may not be the case with cover 104 (or with air vent 102, if
it is desired to form first and second tabs 116A and 116B in air
vent 102). It may be that the area represented by dashed line as
living hinge 128 may be a portion of cover 104 (or air vent 102)
undergoing bending when tab 116A or 116B deflects. In the
illustrated embodiment, first tab 116A and second tab 116B are on
cover 104, and first hole 118 and second hole 118 are in air vent
102.
[0027] As seen in greater scale in FIG. 3, cover 104 may comprise
access opening 132 dimensioned and configured to enable a person
(not shown) to insert a finger thereinto and impose pressure on air
vent 102 in a direct ion releasing cover 104 from engagement with
air vent 102. This may assist in releasing cover 104 from air vent
102.
[0028] Referring particularly to FIG. 4, air vent 102 may comprise
a perimetric projection 134 perpendicular to peripheral flange 112
and surrounding central opening 108. First hole 118 and second hole
118 may be in the perimetric projection of the air vent. Perimetric
projection 134 extends from peripheral flange 112 along a direction
indicated by projection line 136 in FIG. 4. Peripheral flange 112
extends in a direction indicated by projection line 138. It will be
seen that projection lines 136 and 138 are mutually
perpendicular.
[0029] Perimetric projection 134 may be double walled and hollow in
cross section along at least most of a length of perimetric
projection 134. Hollow double walled configuration of perimetric
projection 134 is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The length of
perimetric projection 134 is best depicted in FIG. 2, wherein
perimetric projection 134 is seen to take the form of a generally
rectangular low wall projecting from flange 112 of air vent
102.
[0030] Turning again to FIG. 1, air vent 102 may further comprise a
central wall 140 dividing central opening 108 into a right portion
108A and a left portion 108B. Central wall 140 is mostly seen in
FIG. 1 as a planar member parallel to peripheral flange 112 but may
include structure concealed in the view of FIG. 1 providing center
support to louvers 114. Therefore, louvers 114 may be coupled to
perimetric projection 134 at right side 122 of air vent 102, at
left side 124 of air vent 102, and at central wall 140 of air vent
102.
[0031] False louvers 114 are coupled to perimetric projection 134
at a right side of air vent 102, at a left side of air vent 102,
and at central wall 140 of air vent 102. Each false louver 114 may
comprise a gusset 142 perpendicular to false louver 114 and
spanning respective false louver 114 and the right side and the
left side of air vent 102. Each gusset 142 seals an end of a
respective false louver 114 against loss of air from air flow at
false louver 114 through air vent 102 to lateral air flow not
passing through air vent 102. It will be understood then that
gussets 142 are continuously joined to false louvers 114 along
their respective common abutting lengths and similarly,
continuously joined to peripheral flange 112, to seal against loss
of air flow.
[0032] Gussets 142 are called out in FIG. 4.
[0033] Cover 104 may be made substantially from one or more plastic
materials by pressure molding. The plastic material may comprise
ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic material.
[0034] Cover 104 may thus be formed monolithically in a single
molding. The selected constituent material has sufficient
flexibility so that when components and walls of cover 104 are
about one sixteenth of an inch thick, deflectable tabs 116 will
bend sufficiently to enable performance as described herein, while
being half an inch wide and one half to five eighths of an inch in
length. Central wall 140 may comprise ribs or other structure and
supports louvers 114 as well as dividing opening 108.
[0035] For the purposes of this application, pressure molding
signifies that form is imparted to a constituent material by
exerting either pressure above ambient pressures, thereby forcing
the constituent material when in a fluent or flexible form into a
mold or die, or alternatively, by subjecting the constituent
material in the fluent or flexible form to vacuum, or pressures
below ambient pressures.
[0036] Combination 100 may further comprise decorative surface
texturing on air vent 102 and on cover 104. Such texturing may be
limited to surfaces exposed to view when installed on wall 12.
[0037] For the purposes of this application, surface texturing
signifies that there is a feature imparted to the surface
intentionally formed in the surface in a repeating pattern. A
repeating pattern signifies that there are at least three identical
or substantially similar occurrences of the artistic element, each
abutting at least one of the others or closely adjacent thereto
without actual contact.
[0038] Examples of surface texturing include, by way of
illustration but not limitation, simulation of natural wood grain;
simulation of animal hair; simulation of animal skin, such as
including simulated scales or simulated leather grain; a simulation
of so-called wrinkle paint, which when cured forms irregular ridges
in what would otherwise be a substantially planar surface;
simulation of ball peen hammering of a metal surface, or dimpling;
repeating geometric shapes separated from one another by a distance
less than a minimum longitudinal, transverse, or diametric
dimension of the geometric shape, where the greatest transverse or
height dimension of a geometric shape is less than one inch; and
combinations of these.
[0039] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is to be understood that the present invention is
not to be limited to the disclosed arrangements, but is intended to
cover various arrangements which are included within the spirit and
scope of the broadest possible interpretation of the appended
claims so as to encompass all modifications and equivalent
arrangements which are possible.
* * * * *