Pipes and tubular conduits – With flow regulators and/or baffles – Flow facilitating
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-10
2001-06-12
Brinson, Patrick (Department: 3752)
Pipes and tubular conduits
With flow regulators and/or baffles
Flow facilitating
C138S037000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244300
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In air ducts for commercial and residential installations, for heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, it is known that it is frequently desirable to provide a means for facilitating the turning of air from one direction to another within the duct. Such turning of air in a duct not only assists in the delivery of air in a most efficient manner, but also reduces the energy requirements for delivering air around comers.
Accordingly, there has developed the use of turning vanes for assisting the turning of air. Such vanes are sometime of sheet metal construction. Other times they are constructed of a fibrous material, such as fiberglass formed and reinforced with plastic resin or the like. Examples of turning vanes are present in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,467,829 and 5,529,092.
Often, the turning vanes are mounted on rails disposed on opposite sides of a duct, inside the duct, generally at the junction where the duct is enabling a change in direction of air flow. Usually, a plurality of vanes will be mounted in the duct at that location, to allow for the impingement of air at various locations where the turn in air flow is to be effected in the duct.
It is also known in the art to make the rails that hold the vanes out of sheet metal, and to perforate the sheet metal to allow for the formation of tabs from the sheet metal, which tabs may be bent at right angles to the rail to engage the vanes and hold them in place.
Where the vanes are of a fibrous material, it is known to have tabs inserted into the fibrous material, often with barbs or other sharp edges associated with the tabs, to engage inside the fibrous material of the vanes, in order to hold the vanes onto the tabs, to prevent the vanes from moving under any forces applied by blown air coming through the ducts and engaging the vanes.
However, the application of the tabs into the vanes tends to disturb the structural integrity of the vanes and can result in reducing the ability of the rail tabs to hold the vanes in place over time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an improvement in the manner in which rail tabs engage vanes, by avoiding interference with the structural integrity of the vanes, particularly when the vanes are of fibrous construction, but not limited thereto.
In accordance with the present invention, the vanes are held at each end by a plurality of tabs, in sandwiched relation.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel vane rail for mounting air turning vanes, wherein each rail has a base with a plurality of pairs of tabs adapted to receive an end of an air turning vane between each pair of tabs, in sandwiched relation.
It is another object of this invention to provide an air turning vane and rail assembly wherein the vanes are engaged between pairs of tabs of a rail, in sandwiched relation.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an air duct assembly having a plurality of air duct legs and an air turning section, having the vane and rail assembly of the object immediately above.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3405737 (1968-10-01), Harper
patent: 3602262 (1971-08-01), Hinden
patent: 4467829 (1984-08-01), Myers
patent: 4586540 (1986-05-01), DeLord
patent: 4641684 (1987-02-01), DeLord
patent: 4911205 (1990-03-01), Myers
patent: 5529092 (1996-06-01), Arnoldt
patent: 5927339 (1999-07-01), Ellis et al.
Brinson Patrick
Certain-Teed Corporation
Paul & Paul
LandOfFree
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