Vent closure member with lift spacer

Details Vent closure member with lift spacer Vent closure member with lift spacer

2001-12-28

2003-07-08

Joyce, Harold (Department: 3749)

Ventilation

Having outlet airway

Along roof ridge

C137S521000, C454S259000, C454S359000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06589113

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a roof ventilating device which is provided with a movable member that prevents wind driven snow or rain from entering the building.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
Roof ventilators have been used to prevent dangerous heat build-up in the attics or upper floors of houses and other structures. One such roof ventilator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,657 incorporated herein by reference. The roof ventilators disclosed in this patent provide a cover for an elongated opening cut along the ridge of a roof. The ventilating device covers the opening, and provides relatively narrow passages to vent heat from the interior of the structure. The passages are designed to be small enough so that entry of moisture is restricted. However, during storms, wind driven rain or snow could be forced into the roof opening through the passages if the wind is strong enough.
According to prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,863, incorporated herein by reference, a movable member has a pressure-responsive surface that responds to ambient winds speeds in excess of a predetermined level to move into a closed position closing the passages. Accordingly, entry of moisture into the structure is restricted. The movable member in this prior application is relatively inflexible. Furthermore, it has been learned that under certain atmospheric conditions, wind speed across the tip of the baffle and the top of the ventilating device can act to partially open the baffle even after it has been closed, thereby permitting moisture to enter the structure.
Other pressure-responsive moveable members are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,868 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09,727,720 by Applicant, both incorporated herein by reference.
One of the prior art roof ventilating devices is shown in
FIGS. 1
,
1
A,
2
,
3
,
4
, and
5
. A roof ventilating device is shown generally by the numeral
10
and is installed on the ridge of a roof generally indicated by the numeral
12
. Roof
12
includes a longitudinally extending ridge member
14
and transversely spaced rafters
16
which are covered by underlayment or sheathing generally indicated by the numeral
18
. A portion of the sheathing or underlayment
18
adjacent the ridge board
14
is cut away to define a longitudinally extending vent opening
20
(FIG.
3
). Shingles
22
are applied to the sheathing or underlayment
18
to complete the roof.
The ventilating device
10
includes a pair of vent parts
26
that are connected by a connecting portion
28
. Each of the vent parts
26
extend along opposite sides of the ridge board
14
and provide a cap or cover extending over the vent openings
20
. As more clearly described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,657, (the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference) the vent parts
26
each include several courses or plies of a corrugated material manufactured of a waterproof or weatherproof construction, such as plastic box stock. Plies are generally indicated by the numeral
30
. Accordingly, each of the plies
30
consists of generally parallel passages
32
provided by the box stock corrugations each of which provide a small diameter passage for communicating the vent openings
20
with ambient atmosphere. The ends of the passages
32
define an inner edge
34
of the vent part
26
which extends over the vent openings
20
, and the outer ends of the passages
32
define an outer edge
36
. The ventilating device
10
is installed on the roof
12
by appropriate fasteners (not shown), such as roofing nails driven through each of the vent parts
26
at appropriate intervals along the length of the ventilating device.
According to the invention, a flexible baffle generally indicated by the numeral
38
consists of a strip of cloth that extends along the outer edge
36
of each vent part
26
. In the embodiment of
FIGS. 1-5
, the member
38
is constructed of TYPAR® Barn Construction Fabric, Part No. 3304T-002, available from Reemay, Inc., Old Hickory, Tenn. TYPAR® barn construction fabric consists of a one or more layers of spunbonded olefin sheets, as indicated at
39
of high-density polyethelene fibers, available from DuPont, Inc., as “Tyvek®”, which has been coated with a polymer coating
41
available from Techmer Corp., Knoxville, Tenn., sold as PM-9098E4. The barn construction fabric was selected because of its durability, in that roofs are commonly replaced only after 20-25 years, and the TYPAR barn construction fabric has the necessary durability. Other fabrics, such as canvas, may be used, but may have be replaced at shorter intervals. The ventilating device
10
also includes an opposite upper surface
44
, which is normally covered by shingles
46
.
The baffle
38
includes an inner edge
40
(
FIGS. 1 and 4
) which is secured to the lower surface
42
(
FIG. 3
) of the ventilating device
10
, which is applied directly to the roof
12
. The ventilating device
10
also includes an opposite upper surface
44
, which is normally covered by shingles
46
. The movable member
38
is secured to the lower surface by a longitudinally extending sonic weld or impulse bond
48
. The impulse bond
48
is formed in a conventional manner by bringing the welding head against the baffle
38
and compressing it against the vent part
26
, heating the head, cooling the head, and then withdrawing the head. The head is heated for only a very brief time necessary to effect the weld, since the fabric or the cloth strip from which the baffle is made is relatively thin and appreciable heating would burn through the baffle. The outer end
50
(
FIG. 4
) of this movable member
38
is looped around and sealed to the flexible member by sonic welding or an impulse seal
52
, which is formed in the same way as the impulse seal described above which attaches the baffle
38
to the corresponding vent part
26
. Accordingly, an enclosed compartment is formed defining a compressible bubble
54
. Of course, the movable member
38
may also be used without the bubble if desired, but as discussed above, the bubble
54
provides additional sealing when the movable member
38
is in the closed position.
As illustrated in
FIG. 1
, the member
38
may be divided into sections by kerfs
57
cut transversely across the strip, thereby permitting each individual section of the movable member to respond individually to ambient wind conditions. Of course, if a continuous and uninterrupted strip is provided, the strip opens and closes as a unit. In addition to kerfs
57
, the movable member may also include slits
59
as shown in
FIG. 1A
to increase the flexibility of the member and provide a tighter fit against vent part
26
when closed. The slits may extend transversely across the bubble
54
to seal
52
or the slits may extend across only a portion of the bubble. These slits may also extend beyond seal
52
, but this may result in tearing of the baffle under high wind conditions. The flexible member may contain both kerfs
47
and slits
59
or only one or the other.
When ambient wind conditions are low, the movable member
38
rests on the shingles
22
, thereby opening the passages
32
to permit venting of air from the attic or upper story of the structure covered by the roof through the vent opening
20
and the passages
32
. However, when ambient speeds increases to a predetermined wind speed, the movable member
38
responds to the wind, it being noted that the bubble
54
forms a lip which is caught by the wind, which forces the movable member to the closed position illustrated in FIG.
3
. The width of the movable member
38
is such that the bubble
54
engages the corner
56
between the outer edge
36
and the upper surface
44
of the vent parts
26
. Increasing wind speed thereafter compresses the bubble
54
against the corner
56
, it being noted that the width of the movable member
38
is such that the bubble extends above the surface
54
a small distance. Because of the compression of the bubble
54
against the corner
56
, a seal restraining entry of wind driven

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