Ventilation – Having inlet airway – Including specific air distributor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-02
2001-10-30
Lu, Jiping (Department: 3749)
Ventilation
Having inlet airway
Including specific air distributor
C454S325000, C055S491000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06309297
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a register assembly for covering an air duct opening in either the floor, wall or ceiling of a room. The register assembly may be employed with forced air heating and air conditioning systems and may also be employed in covering an air duct opening for a cold air return as well as other similar applications.
(2) Description of Related Art
There are many different types of registers employed in covering air duct openings. Many simply employ a faceplate having a grid or arrangement of louvers that cover over the air duct opening. Many have fixed louvers on their faceplates that direct and disperse air forced through the air duct opening whether heated air or cooled air. In some faceplates of this type, the louvers can be adjusted slightly to direct the air flow through the faceplate. Also, in some of these faceplates, the openings between the louvers can be closed off to stop the forced air through the faceplate.
Some prior art register assemblies include a base that is secured permanently with the faceplate and houses a damping assembly that functions to both block and unblock the flow of forced air through the base and also functions to provide some control over the direction at which the forced air passes through the faceplate of the assembly. These types of register assemblies are commonly used in covering over air duct openings in homes.
More recently, register assemblies have been developed that include a filter element that provides additional filtering of the air passing through the register assembly to the filtering of the air that occurs in the furnace or air conditioning system. Register assemblies have also been developed that include filters where the register assemblies are employed as cold air returns.
In addition, register assemblies have been designed with ornamental faceplates. These register assemblies are primarily intended for use in homes, however, many are finding use in the workplace where their ornamental appearance embellishes the work environment.
The many different types of register assemblies could all be improved upon by a register assembly designed to incorporate all of the desirable features of prior art register assemblies, i.e. a filter, a damping mechanism for regulating the air flow through the register assembly, and an ornamental faceplate. Such a register assembly could be further improved upon if the ornamental faceplate were detachable enabling selection from various different ornamental designs of faceplates to be used on the register assembly, and if the cost of manufacturing the register assembly was not significantly increased by the combination of all of these beneficial features into a single register assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The register assembly of the present invention combines several of the beneficial features of prior art register assemblies into a single register assembly that, despite combining these beneficial features, remains relatively inexpensive to manufacture and purchase. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, most of the component parts are constructed of plastic, however, they can be constructed of wood, ceramic, metal and other similar types of materials.
The register assembly of the present invention is basically comprised of a base, a faceplate, a damper mechanism and a filter frame. In the preferred embodiment, the base, damper mechanism and filter frame are constructed entirely of plastic, and the faceplate may be constructed of plastic, wood, ceramic or metal such as brass, or other types of materials. The plastic construction of the base, damper mechanism and filter frame significantly reduces their cost of manufacture and their cost of purchase.
The marketing aspect is also a key benefit of this new design, for both the consumer and the retailer. The system greatly enhances floor space and selection. Twice as many registers can be offered in half of the floor space necessary for current displayed products. The faceplate can be hung on a peg board or displayed in shipping boxes. They will only take up approximately ⅜″ to {fraction (2/4)}″ per unit compared to the traditional 2-2½″ necessary for a fully assembled unit. The dampening systems are then displayed in bulk boxes, neatly nested together in half the space necessary for existing dampening systems. None of the dampening systems available on the market are offered separately. Even if they were, none can be stacked together for shipping to the manufacturer for assembly to the faceplate. The customer also has the option of not buying any dampening system at all. Many consumers do not adjust their air flow in certain rooms. The tabs on the bottoms of the units will keep the faceplates from sliding out of the opening if knocked. In addition, the consumer also has the option of purchasing the filtration system. This all works toward the most economical use of space and selection that is unavailable today.
The base is comprised of first and second pairs of side walls that are preformed in a boxlike configuration with a top opening and bottom opening providing access to the base interior. No assembly of the base is required. Holes are formed in the interior surfaces of a pair of opposed sidewalls between the top and bottom edges of the sidewalls. A number of pawls are formed in the interior surfaces of the other pair of opposed side walls and project a short distance toward the interior of the base. A narrow slot is provided through one of the sidewalls and lower shoulders and upper shoulders are formed in the interior surfaces of the base sidewalls with the upper and lower shoulders having spacings between them that correspond to the width of the slot.
The damper mechanism in the preferred embodiment is comprised of three dampers, however, the number of dampers could be increased and decreased depending on the size of the register assembly being manufactured. The dampers are flat generally rectangular members that have lengths that are slightly smaller than the length of the base interior and have combined widths that are slightly larger than the width of the base interior. Stub shafts project from the opposite ends of the damper lengths and are received in the holes in the opposite sidewalls of the base for pivoting movement. The stub shafts at one end of the damper mechanism each have an arm projecting therefrom. An actuator is connected to the distal ends of the arms. Dampers are preassembled into bases by the manufacturer and are shipped nested together to save space. The actuators are shipped separate and are later assembled to the dampers. Movement of the actuator in a generally linear motion results in pivoting movement of the dampers between open and closed positions in the base interior where they respectively unblock and block the flow of air through the base interior. The multiple louver system allows for easier and smoother operation of the damping mechanism. It also allows for the filtering system and faceplates to be installed on the damping system without having to make a deeper damper that may not fit in some openings.
The filter frame is constructed of first and second sections that are mirror images of each other and are connected together at one end by a hinge. Each frame section has a generally rectangular configuration defined by four borders of each section. Cross-braces extend between the section borders providing rigidity to each section. The two frame sections are folded over onto each other enclosing filter material between the sections. The filter material has the same rectangular configuration as the frame sections and may be any conventionally used filter material such as woven or spun fibrous material, loosely matted fiber material, a plastic foam or a paper material. With the filter secured between the two sections of the frame, the frame is inserted through the filter slot in the base sidewall and positioned between the upper and lower shoulders of the base extending across the interior of th
Howell & Haferkamp L.C.
Lu Jiping
LandOfFree
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