Ventilation – Blast or shock wave prevention
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-29
2001-03-20
Joyce, Harold (Department: 3749)
Ventilation
Blast or shock wave prevention
C454S358000, C454S369000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06203421
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a ceiling vent for releasing heat from a room to reduce the temperature in the room to thereby enhance comfort and reduce the load on energy-consuming air-conditioning units. The vent has a safety feature that causes it to close when the temperature in the vent becomes hot enough to indicate a fire or when it is subject to a shock indicative of an explosion. The vent can be used in any room that becomes uncomfortably hot, especially rooms with sun exposure and kitchen with heating-releasing appliances such as refrigerators, stoves, and ovens.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention comprises a duct pipe that extends through a hole in the ceiling of a room. There is a damper plate that is in contact with the ceiling when the vent is closed. The damper plate would contact a tube called the lower guide. The top of the lower guide is a series of stepped notches. The vent contains another tube, the upper guide, concentric with the lower guide. Attached to the upper guide is a metal sleeve encompassing part of a plastic fuse pin. When the vent is closed, the fuse pin engages the lowest notch of the lower guide. The two concentric tubes contain a spring. A hook attached to the upper end of the spring loops around the metal sleeve. A second hook at the bottom of the spring engages a retaining screw that is attached to the bottom lower guide. To lower the damper plate and open the vent, the second hook is lowered and rotated until the fuse pin engages the notch on the lower guide that results in the desired opening of the vent. The fuse pin is made of a plastic with a relatively low melting point. The fuse pin would melt when air with temperatures characteristic of a fire in the room being ventilated passes through the vent. Melting of the fuse pin would cause it to disengage the notch on the lower guide, which results in the damper plate closing. Shock from an explosion could cause the damper plate to slide up the lower guide to close the vent a short time before heat from the explosion would cause the fuse pin to melt.
A ceiling vent helps to cool a room using the property that warmer air is less dense than cooler air and consequently tends to rise and escape through the vent. It is a simple, inexpensive way to provide some cooling to enhance comfort or reduce the load on air conditioning units. However, building codes provide that if a room has a ceiling vent, that vent should close in the event of a fire to close a pathway for the fire to another area. Thus it is one object of this invention to provide a ceiling vent that will close in the event of a fire. An explosion may lead to the spread of fire. Thus, it is another object of this invention to provide a ceiling vent that will close in event of an explosion.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 3182581 (1965-05-01), Poederoyen et al.
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patent: 4080978 (1978-03-01), McCabe
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patent: 4958687 (1990-09-01), Nakagawa
patent: 2 323 082 (1977-04-01), None
patent: 2 338 091 (1977-08-01), None
Joyce Harold
Kier Philip H.
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