Ventilation – Having outlet airway – Along roof ridge
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-07
2004-08-10
Boles, Derek (Department: 3749)
Ventilation
Having outlet airway
Along roof ridge
C454S366000, C052S198000, C052S199000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06773341
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a ventilating device for ventilating through a ridge, preferably through a top ridge of a roof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,863 describes a ventilating device for a roof. In one embodiment the device has venting material comprising courses or plies of a corrugated material, which defines passages communicating vent openings at the lower part of the venting material with the ambient atmosphere through the passages defined by the corrugated material and openings defined between cap tiles and roofing tiles. In another embodiment the device has a member consisting of vertical side panels individually spaced and mutually connected by a top edge. The member also has diverging legs extending downward from the side panels and being secured to an underlayment. Each of the side panels is provided with louvers for providing a venting passage from a lower part of the member to a space between the side panels and through the louvers in the side panels. Roof tiles are mounted to the top edge by securing the roof tiles to the top edge by means of screws or nails. Apart from the ventilating material and the ventilating member the ventilating device is also provided with movable members functioning as baffles and which may deflect between an open and inactive position and a closed and active position. The movable members are intended for preventing wind driven moisture from entering the interior of the roof construction.
The above ventilating device has however some disadvantages. The ventilating device comprises passages for air from the roof construction to the ambient atmosphere, which passages are dependent of the air having to be directed through either louvers or baffles underneath the cap tiles. The provision of baffles and the use of corrugated passages or louvers through which the air must pass is an advantage for preventing wind driven moisture from entering the roof construction. However, the possibility of the air from within the roof construction passing to the ambient atmosphere is very limited by use of baffles, corrugated passages or louvers. There is a severe risk that the passage of air is so limited that the air within the roof construction will not escape. This will lead to damages of the roof construction due to the entrapment of humid air with moisture from the house.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the above mentioned disadvantages and to provide a ventilating device that is capable of sufficiently ventilating the roof construction without any risk of moisture from the house being captured along ridges of the roof construction, but at the same time ensuring that wind driven moisture such as dew or snow will not enter the roof construction.
This object is obtained by a ventilating device where said ridge member having passages extending from a lower part of the ridge member to an upper part of the ridge member, said upper part being an uppermost part of the ridge member.
By providing passages extending all the way to the uppermost part of the ridge member of the ridge member it is obtained that the moisture in the humid air is effectively and safely passed to the ambient atmosphere. The passage led directly upwards to the ridge of the roof and the humid air do not have to pass bends through louvers, through corrugated passages or through baffles. By passing the humid air to an uppermost part of the ridge member, preferably as far as possible to the very ridge of the roof the risk is very limited of wind driven moisture entering the roof construction.
Also, surprisingly with a building element such as a ventilating device, even a chimney effect is obtained by the present invention when the humid air is passed as unhindered as possible through the ventilating device and when the upper part of the ridge member of the ventilating device constitutes the uppermost part of the ventilating device. Thus, not only is the humid air allowed to pass to the ridge member and further on unhindered through the ventilating device, but also the chimney effect will further enhance the ventilating of the underroof by actually drawing the humid air through the ventilating device. The draw that is established in the ventilating device according to the invention creates an overpressure. This overpressure further limits the risk of wind driven moisture such as snow or dew from entering the interior of the roof construction.
In a first embodiment of the invention the ventilating device said cross pieces extend from the lower part to the upper part of the ridge member transverse to a longitudinal direction of the ridge member and where ventilating passages are formed in spaces between the two opposing panels and between the cross pieces, said ventilating passages allowing air to pass from the lower part of the ridge member along the ventilating passages and to the uppermost part of the ridge member.
By providing cross pieces that extend substantially transverse to a longitudinal direction of the ridge member, it is ensured that the humid air form the roof construction is passed to the ambient atmosphere as easy and unrestricted as possible. The cross pieces may extend along any distance of the ridge member, but preferably the cross pieces extend form the lower part all the distance to the uppermost part of the ridge member or at least to the top part of the ridge member.
In a second embodiment of the invention the ventilating said cross pieces extend between the lower part to the upper part of the ridge member parallel to a longitudinal direction of the ridge member, and where ventilating passages are formed as holes penetrating the cross pieces, said ventilating passages allowing air to pass from the lower part of the ridge member along the ventilating passages and to the uppermost part of the ridge member.
By providing cross pieces that extend substantially parallel with the longitudinal extension of the ridge member and by providing holes through the cross pieces it is still ensured that the humid air form the roof construction is passed to the ambient atmosphere, however not as easy and unrestricted as when the cross pieces extend vertically. The cross pieces may extend along any distance of the ridge member, but preferably the cross pieces extend along the entire longitudinal extension of the ridge member.
The ventilating device may be made of any materiel that is structurally stable enough to function as a ridge member and which can withstand the mechanical and environmentally influences that the ridge member is presented for. Preferably, the ventilating device is made of any kind of plastic. The ventilating device may also be made of any kind of metal. Finally the ventilating device may be made of a combination of different types of plastic, of different types of metal or of a combination of plastic and metal. As example, the side panels may be made of metal and the cross pieces may be made of plastic or vice versa.
If the ventilating device is made of plastic it may be made in any suitable plastic-moulding manner. If the ventilating device is made of metal it is preferably made of sheet metal but may be made in any other way like extrusion or forging. However, the thickness of the side panels and of the cross pieces may be limited if the ventilating device is made of metal, which makes it cumbersome and expensive to manufacture the ventilating device y other methods than joining of sheet metal. Different from this, when the ventilating device is made of plastic, the thickness of the material has to be larger and the possibilities of moulding plastic are more than moulding metal or wood. Still further materials to be used either for both the ridge member and the flaps or for only the flaps or only the ridge member may be sheets, plates or casts of cardboard, of wood fibres, of roofing felt or of still other materials.
If the ventilating device is constructed like the above-mentioned first embodiment it may be difficult to manufacture the ventilating device by means of extrusion. In this case the side panels are made for
Cedergreen Christian
Olsen Kenneth
Boles Derek
Klein Howard J.
Klein O'Neill & Singh, LLP
LandOfFree
Ventilating device for ventilating through a ridge does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Ventilating device for ventilating through a ridge, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Ventilating device for ventilating through a ridge will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3318520