US20100015908A1

US20100015908A1 - Vent cover plate

Info

Publication number: US20100015908A1
Application number: US12/174,177
Authority: US
Inventors: Leon Prevost
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-07-16
Filing date: 2008-07-16
Publication date: 2010-01-21

Abstract

A vent plate for mounting in a termination receptacle for an air supply duct has an upper plate portion integrally molded with a sleeve portion having a hollow interior for receiving air from the termination receptacle and communicating with a central hole of the plate portion. The plate portion has a peripheral flange portion projecting outwardly from and surrounding the central area including a down turned edge flange so as to terminate at an outer sharp edge which is spaced axially from the plane of the front face. A separate center plate with a series of holes so as allow the air to escape is shaped and arranged to be received in the central opening and is held in place by peripheral ribs and sits against supporting abutments in the sleeve.

Description

The invention relates to a vent cover plate for use in a vent termination receptacle of an HVAC system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the construction of HVAC systems, a central air handler delivers air to the interior of the structure through a main plenum duct, and a series of branch ducts which terminate at a vent termination receptacle which attaches to a vent plate for controlling the discharge of air into the space.
With a higher pressure air system such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,800,024 (Prevost) issued Oct. 5, 2004, the vent termination receptacle includes a housing which is preferably of greater cross sectional area than the supply duct so that the air leaving the ductwork at the vents expands rapidly as it enters the housing and creates a lower air pressure zone around the vent. This is a practical application of Bernoulli's theorem and the Venturi effect. One of the problems of higher pressure air systems (commonly known as Hi-Velocity systems) is that conventional damper assemblies such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,513,655-4,628,954-4,653,725-5,411,438-5,806,830-5,813,430-5,857,617-5,921,277 and 6,082,704 will cause air noise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a vent cover plate for a termination receptacle for an air supply duct.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a vent plate for mounting in a termination receptacle for an air supply duct, the vent plate comprising:
a plate portion;
a sleeve portion connected to the plate portion so as to extend to one side of the plate portion;
the sleeve portion having a hollow interior for receiving air from the termination receptacle and communicating with a central area of the plate portion which has openings to allow passage of air through the plate portion;
the plate portion having a peripheral flange portion projecting outwardly from and surrounding the central area;
wherein the plate portion includes a central opening at the central area and a separate center portion which is perforated with a series of holes so as allow the air to escape;
the center portion being shaped and arranged to be received in the central opening and to be removed from the central opening leaving the central opening open.
Preferably the center portion has a front face with is coplanar with a front face of the peripheral flange portion.
Preferably the center portion has a peripheral wall engaging into an annular wall surrounding the center opening wherein the peripheral wall and the annular wall have cooperating peripheral ribs for snap fastening the center portion into the opening.
Preferably the sleeve has a plurality of angularly spaced inwardly projecting abutment members for engaging a rear face of the center portion.
Preferably the sleeve has a plurality of angularly spaced longitudinally extending ribs.
Preferably the peripheral flange portion includes a down turned edge flange so as to terminate at an outer edge which is spaced axially from the plane of the front face.
Preferably the outer edge lies in a plane substantially co-planar with a rear face of the center portion.
Preferably the sleeve and the flange portion are integrally molded from a plastics material.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a vent plate for mounting in a termination receptacle for an air supply duct, the vent plate comprising:
a plate portion;
a sleeve portion connected to the plate portion so as to extend to one side of the plate portion;
the sleeve portion having a hollow interior for receiving air from the termination receptacle and communicating with a central area of the plate portion which has openings to allow passage of air through the plate portion;
the plate portion having a peripheral flange portion projecting outwardly from and surrounding the central area;
wherein the peripheral flange portion includes a down turned edge flange so as to terminate at an outer edge which is spaced axially from the plane of the front face.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view showing the vent cover plate according to the present invention in place in the vent termination receptacle.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view on an enlarged scale showing the vent cover plate of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the vent cover plate of FIG. 1 from the top and one side.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the vent cover plate of FIG. 1 from the bottom and one side.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In FIG. 1 is shown an embodiment of the invention. The duct system from a central air source (not shown) provides a branch duct 10 communicating to a termination receptacle generally indicated at 11 which co-operates with a vent plate 12. The termination receptacle is formed in two pieces including a housing 13 and a damper sleeve 14.
The housing 13 forms a generally cylindrical wall 15 with a closed bottom end 16 and an open top end. At the top end is provided a peripheral flange 17 which as shown is square in plan view but can be circular or can be formed simply by a plurality of tabs with the flange lying in a plane which is at right angles to the longitudinal axis 18 of the cylindrical housing 13. The flange 17 is attached to the underside of a floor (not shown) forming a mounting surface for the housing.
In the alternative the flange can be mounted on the inside surface of a sheathing material forming a wall surface or on the top surface of a sheathing material forming a ceiling. Thus the housing is held in place in a fixed position with the axis 18 at right angles to the duct 10.
An inlet pipe 20 is connected to the duct 10 by suitable connection system and is formed as an integral structure with the housing providing an opening between the end of the inlet pipe and the interior of the housing. The inlet pipe is circular in cross section so that the opening is also circular and extends through the cylindrical wall 15 to the hollow interior of the housing. The inlet pipe is of smaller cross sectional area and thus smaller diameter than the housing 13 so that air entering the housing from the inlet pipe expands and slows in a conventional manner used in high pressure systems of this type.
The damper sleeve member 14 forms a generally cylindrical shape having an outer surface which co-operates with an inner surface of the cylindrical wall 15 of the housing in a sliding fit so that the damper sleeve can rotate around the axis 18 within the housing 15. A bottom edge 22 of the sleeve extends to the bottom of the housing to a position below the inlet pipe so as to extend to a portion of the housing beyond the bottom of the inlet pipe.
The longitudinal extent of the housing from the base 16 to the flange 17 is preferably 3.5 inches in length so that it can fit underneath the floor sheeting 19 and between the floor support studs 23 of a conventional 2×4 dimension.
The vent plate 12 includes a central area which is perforated with vent openings to allow air from the housing to escape through the vent plate into the space above the floor sheathing. Around the central discharge area of the vent plate is provided a flange section 12A which covers an opening in the sheathing so as to provide an attractive appearance for the discharge vent of the air supply system. On the back of the vent plate is provided a collar 24 which inserts into an upper discharge end 25 of the cylindrical sleeve as a tight fit. The angular orientation of the vent plate relative to this sleeve can be adjusted by pulling the collar from the sleeve and rotating the vent plate relative to the sleeve and reinserting the collar into the sleeve at the required angular orientation. When inserted the collar is held in place within the end of the sleeve by suitable projections such as a peripheral rib which frictionally engages the sleeve to hold the vent plate attached to the sleeve. Thus manual rotation of the vent plate causes similar rotation of the sleeve about the axis 18 within the housing 13.
The sleeve includes a cut-out 26 with a curved top edge 26A and two vertical sides 26B. When the cut-out is thus aligned with the inlet opening of the inlet pipe 20, air can flow from the inlet pipe into the hollow interior of the housing that is within the hollow interior of the sleeve since the sleeve is a close fit on the inside of the housing. However when the sleeve is rotated relative to the housing one of the side edges 26B crosses over into the area of the opening of the inlet thus cutting off a portion of the area of the opening to reduce the amount of air flow through the inlet pipe into the housing. When rotated through an angle of the order of 90°, the sleeve fully covers the opening of the inlet pipe to prevent air passage into the housing thus closing off that particular duct 10.
The damper sleeve thus provides a simple technique for closing off the duct 10 or for reducing air flow through the duct 10 simply by rotating the vent plate. The tight fit of the sleeve within the housing prevents or significantly reduces the passage of air around or through gaps in the system so that there is little noise or whistling effect due to the high pressure flow. When fully closed by the sleeve being turned, the opening of the inlet pipe is fully closed by the outside surface of the sleeve and the escape of air around the opening into the space between the sleeve and the housing is prevented or inhibited by the close tolerances between the surfaces and by the fact that the closure is formed not by a simple edge but by portions of the outside and inside surface respectively of the sleeve and housing.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the housing and the sleeve are both preferably formed from molded plastics material so as to provide a reduction in friction between the outside surface of the sleeve and the inside surface of the housing. Alternatively both pieces can be formed from plastics material.
The inlet pipe 20 leading to the opening 20A in the housing 13 is formed as an integrally molded structure with the housing. Further, the housing is molded to define a shoulder 30 between two cylindrical portions 31 and 32 so that the shoulder co-operates with a corresponding shoulder 33 formed on the sleeve between two cylindrical portions 34 and 35. The position of the shoulder co-operates with or is located at the bottom end of the collar 24 of the vent plate 12. Thus the sleeve can be inserted until the shoulder 33 sits on the shoulder 30 so as to locate the depth of the sleeve within the housing.
The bottom end of the sleeve is closed by a bottom end portion 40 which is molded with the wall 35. The bottom end portion 40 provides a surface which is curved so as to match the bottom circular portion of the opening 20A so that air entering the housing through the opening 20A passes smoothly onto the surface defined by the bottom portion 40 as a continuation of the pipe surface. The bottom portion 40 is also curved to define a semi-circular curved portion 40B which extends from the bottom surface portion of the inlet pipe 20 through 90° in a smooth curvature from a horizontal surface portion 40C at the inlet pipe to a vertical portion 40D at the wall 35. Thus the air entering from the inlet pipe is smoothly curved to move from a horizontal direction at the inlet pipe to a vertical direction along the axis 18 to the perforated vent area 12B of the vent plate 12.
The outside surface of the collar 24 carries a plurality of ribs 24A which co-operate with corresponding grooves in the wall 34 so as to act as a friction fit by which rotation of the vent plate 12 causes rotation of the sleeve 14. However the vent plate can be pulled out of the sleeve, rotated relative to the sleeve and reinserted so as to change the angular orientation with the grooves and ribs being arranged to locate and hold the angular orientation once set. This can be used to adjust the angular position of the vent openings of the vent area 12B relative to the location of the opening 20A so as to direct the air in the required position into the space.
The vent plate shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 includes a plate portion 51 having a front face 52 and rear face 53 and a sleeve portion 51 connected to the plate portion at the rear face so as to extend to the rear of the plate portion.
The sleeve portion defines a hollow interior as previously explained for receiving air from the termination receptacle and communicating with a hole 54 in the center area of the plate portion 51.
The plate portion 51 has a peripheral flange portion 55 projecting outwardly from and surrounding the central area. In the embodiment the hole and the peripheral flange are circular but this is not essential. The sleeve and the flange portion are integrally molded from a plastics material.
A separate center plate portion 57 also molded of a plastics material has an annular peripheral wall 58 and a central area which has openings 59 to allow passage of air through the plate portion.
The outer peripheral wall of the center portion is shaped and arranged to be received in the central hole 54 and to be removed from the central opening leaving the central opening open. This allows the vent plate to be used with the center plate as a cover or with it removed to allow free escape of the air from the sleeve.
The front face of the center portion is coplanar with a front face of the peripheral flange portion. In particular the peripheral wall 58 engages into an annular wall 60 surrounding the center opening. The peripheral wall and the annular wall have cooperating peripheral ribs 61, 62 for snap fastening the center portion into the opening. The sleeve has a plurality of angularly spaced inwardly projecting abutment members 63 having a top shoulder 65 for engaging a rear face 64 of the center portion.
The peripheral flange portion includes a down turned edge flange 70 which is smoothly curved downwardly so as to terminate at an outer edge 71 which is spaced axially from the plane of the front face 52 so as to leave a recess 72 underneath the top flange and inwardly of the edge 71. Conveniently the outer edge 71 lies in a plane substantially co-planar with the rear face 64 of the center portion so that the thickness of the center portion is equal to the thickness of the outer flange. This allows the relatively sharp edge 71 to engage a surface where the surface has projections and lumps which are received into the recess 72 such as a stippled ceiling or wall
While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. The invention is to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A vent plate for mounting in a termination receptacle for an air supply duct, the vent plate comprising:

a plate portion;

a sleeve portion connected to the plate portion so as to extend to one side of the plate portion;

the sleeve portion having a hollow interior for receiving air from the termination receptacle and communicating with a central area of the plate portion which has openings to allow passage of air through the plate portion;

the plate portion having a peripheral flange portion projecting outwardly from and surrounding the central area;

wherein the plate portion includes a central opening at the central area and a separate center portion which is perforated with a series of holes so as allow the air to escape;

the center portion being shaped and arranged to be received in the central opening and to be removed from the central opening leaving the central opening open.

2. The vent plate according to claim 1 wherein the center portion has a front face with is coplanar with a front face of the peripheral flange portion.

3. The vent plate according to claim 1 wherein the center portion has a peripheral wall engaging into an annular wall surrounding the center opening wherein the peripheral wall and the annular wall have cooperating peripheral ribs for snap fastening the center portion into the opening.

4. The vent plate according to claim 1 wherein the sleeve has a plurality of angularly spaced inwardly projecting abutment members for engaging a rear face of the center portion.

5. The vent plate according to claim 1 wherein the sleeve has a plurality of angularly spaced longitudinally extending ribs.

6. The vent plate according to claim 1 wherein the peripheral flange portion includes a down turned edge flange so as to terminate at an outer edge which is spaced axially from the plane of the front face.

7. The vent plate according to claim 1 wherein the outer edge lies in a plane substantially co-planar with a rear face of the center portion.

8. The vent plate according to claim 1 wherein the sleeve and the flange portion are integrally molded from a plastics material.

9. A vent plate for mounting in a termination receptacle for an air supply duct, the vent plate comprising:

a plate portion;

wherein the peripheral flange portion includes a down turned edge flange so as to terminate at an outer edge which is spaced axially from the plane of the front face.

10. The vent plate according to claim 9 wherein the sleeve and the flange portion are integrally molded from a plastics material.