EP0935103A2

EP0935103A2 - Valve for an exhaust channel of a house

Info

Publication number: EP0935103A2
Application number: EP99200171A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jurriaan Gerrit Bol
Original assignee: ABB BV
Current assignee: ABB BV
Priority date: 1998-02-06
Filing date: 1999-01-22
Publication date: 1999-08-11
Also published as: EP0935103A3; NL1008230C1

Abstract

The invention relates to a valve for an exhaust channel for mechanical or natural ventilation of a house or the like, comprising a covering edge, a substantially pipe-shaped portion connecting to the covering edge and an adjustable portion for forming an adjustable exhaust slit.
According to the invention the adjustable portion is arranged near the rear edge of the pipe-shaped portion.

Description

The invention relates to a valve for an exhaust channel for mechanical or natural ventilation of a house and the like, comprising a covering edge, a substantially pipe-shaped portion connecting to the covering edge and an adjustable portion for forming an adjustable exhaust slit.
Such a valve is known in practice and consists of a covering edge which connects to a funnel-shaped pipe portion which becomes narrower towards the rear, which pipe portion is inserted in the ventilation channel. There is a hood at the level of the covering edge and together with the funnel-shaped pipe portion, the hood forms a ventilation slit. A bush with for instance inner thread is held to the rear end of the funnel-shaped pipe portion, for instance by means of spokes. The hood is attached to a rod, which can be screwed into the bush. Thus the hood is adjustable and can be screwed rearwards, as a result of which the annular exhaust slit between the hood and the funnel-shaped pipe portion will become narrower. The quantity of ventilation can in that way be adjusted separately for each room in a house by the installer of the ventilation system.
A drawback of this known valve is that along the edge of the hood flowing air will cause noise, which in certain rooms may be annoying. To remove this drawback it is known to provide the hood with an additional part at the rear side, which part is rounded off and therefore better streamlined, as a result of which the air passing by causes less noise. The additional part however increases the number of main parts from two to three, and therefore also necessitates an extra assembling activity, as a result of which the product becomes more expensive.
Another drawback is, that the user of the house can himself get to the hood of the valve, and change its adjustment. This is undesirable, as the adjustment of the distribution of the quantity of mutual exhaustion between the various rooms in the house will be lost this way and a ventilation of the house which is less good may occur.
It is an objective of the invention to provide an improved valve, which is cheap to manufacture.
According to the invention this objective is achieved with a valve of the kind mentioned in the preamble, in which the adjustable portion is arranged near the rear edge of the pipe-shaped portion.
In this way it is effected that a fluent transition in the exhaust slit can be arranged, without an additional part being necessary for it. It is also achieved that the adjustable part is present at a location in the valve where only the installer can easily get to before the valve is placed, whereas it is difficult for the user of the house to get to it. An additional advantage is that pollution of the valve, which mainly occurs at the location of the highest air speed, will occur further to the inside of the valve and therefore will be less visible.
Preferably the adjustable part is at least partly funnel-shaped, as a result of which together with the rear edge of the pipe-shaped portion an adjustable exhaust slit with a fluent transition for air passing by is realized, which becomes wider when the funnel-shaped portion is placed to the rear. However, it is also possible to make the pipe-shaped portion funnel-shaped near its rear edge and to make the adjustable portion cylindrical. The adjustable slit then becomes wider when the adjustable portion is placed to the front.
According to a preferred embodiment the pipe-shaped portion is connected to a rigid guard by means of some ribs. The rigid guard conceals the adjustment parts of the funnel-shaped portion and gives the valve almost the same look in each adjustment position. The rigid guard also makes it difficult for the user of the house to change the adjustment of the valve.
Preferably the adjustable funnel-shaped portion has means to secure it to the rigid guard in a number of discrete positions. In this way the installer is able to easily place the funnel-shaped portion in a position which is suitable for a certain room.
Preferably the funnel-shaped portion connects to a pipe portion which can move in a sliding manner in a pipe portion which connects to the rigid guard, in which the pipe portion at the funnel-shaped portion is provided with slits with stops at various distances, to stop against ribs on the inside of the pipe portion at the guard. In this way the pipe portion at the funnel-shaped portion can easily be inserted in the pipe portion at the rigid guard, in which the stops determine the discrete adjustment positions.
According to a preferred embodiment the covering edge, the pipe-shaped portion and the rigid guard are integrally formed, and the funnel-shaped portion and the pipe-shaped portion attached to it are integrally formed. In this way the valve only consists of two main parts to be made, and therefore is cheap to manufacture.
Preferably on the outside the pipe-shaped portion is provided with some springy strips to be clamped in the ventilation pipe.
The invention will be elucidated on the basis of the exemplary embodiment, referring to the drawing.
Figure 1 shows a cross-section of a valve for a ventilation channel according to the invention.
Figure 2 shows the valve according to figure 1 in which the adjustable portion is arranged in a different position.
Figure 3 shows the valve of figure 1 in perspective taken apart.
Figure 4 shows a perspective rear view of the valve according to figure 1.
Figure 5 shows perspective front view of the valve according to figure 1.
Figure 1 shows wall 1 with a metal ventilation pipe 2 which wall is only shown in the lower part of the figure. In the ventilation pipe 2 the valve 10 is arranged, which consists of a covering edge 11 which connects to a pipe portion 12, at the inside of which three spokes 13 extend inwards and change into a pipe portion 14, which pipe portion 14 at the front changes into a guard 15. At the inside of the pipe portion 14 three lips 16 are arranged, see figure 2.
The adjustable portion of the valve 10 consists of a substantially funnel-shaped portion 20 which at the front changes into a pipe portion 21 which fits in the pipe portion 14 which is rigidly attached to the pipe portion 12 and the covering edge 11. In the pipe portion 21 slits 22 are arranged, in which lips 16 can slide. In the slits 22 stops 23 are arranged, which serve as stop against the lips 16. The pipe portion 21 changes at the front into a hood 24, with a shape which fits to the rigid guard 15.
At the outside of the pipe portion 12 retaining strips 17 are arranged at three location for retaining three springy strips 30, which after insertion in the ventilation pipe 2 keep the valve 10 in its place. Beneath covering edge 11 a foam edge has been arranged to prevent leakage and dirt tracks near the covering edge 11.
The figures 3, 4 and 5 show the valve 10 and its various parts in perspective.
The operation of the valve 10 is as follows. The rigid guard 15 and the accompanying pipe portion 14 are at a relatively large distance from the pipe portion 12, so that a relatively large exhaust slit remains. The resistance of the valve is determined by the slit which is adjusted between the funnel-shaped portion 20 and the rear edge of the pipe portion 12. The adjustment of the width of this exhaust slit is determined by rotating the funnel-shaped portion 20 and the accompanying pipe portion 21 prior to insertion of the pipe portion 21 in the pipe portion 14. Although the stops 23 are all depicted at the same distance from the funnel-shaped portion, in practice they will be arranged in pairs of three at a different distance from the funnel-shaped portion 20, so that the stops 23 at their stop against the lips 16 will extend the funnel-shaped portion 20 over a different distance in relation to the rear edge of the pipe-shaped portion 12. The installer thus has a number of different possibilities for adjusting the funnel-shaped portion 20 in relation to the pipe-shaped portion 12.
Figure 1 shows the situation in which the funnel-shaped portion 20 is arranged in the pipe-shaped portion 12 as far as possible and the hood 24 virtually abuts the rigid guard 15. The exhaust slit between the funnel-shaped portion 20 and the rear edge of the pipe-shaped portion 12 is now as small as possible.
Figure 2 shows the situation in which the funnel-shaped portion 20 extends as far as possible out of the pipe-shaped portion 12, as a result of which an exhaust slit is formed which is as large as possible. Between these two shown positions a number of other positions can be adjusted.
It is also possible to completely leave out the funnel-shaped portion and the accompanying pipe-portion 21 with hood 24, so that the effective exhaust slit is formed by the pipe-shaped portion 12 and the pipe portion 14 with guard 15 attached to said pipe-shaped portion 12 by means of the fingers 13.
Because the funnel-shaped portion 20 is arranged near the rear edge of the pipe-shaped portion 12, the exhausted air does not flow past a sharp edge but through a fluently narrowing exhaust slit, as a result of which relatively little noise arises. In all positions of the funnel-shaped portion 20, and also when the funnel-shaped portion 20 is left out, the rigid guard 15 ensures an almost identical look of the valve.
The valve is constructed such that (apart from the springy strips 30 and the foam edge 31) it can be manufactured of two parts only, namely the rigid portion with reference numbers 11 up to and including 17, and the adjustable portion with reference numbers 20 up to and including 24. These two parts are designed such, that the can easily and cheaply be manufactured from plastic by means of injection moulding.

Claims

Valve for an exhaust channel for mechanical or natural ventilation of a house or the like, comprising a covering edge, a substantially pipe-shaped portion connecting to the covering edge and an adjustable portion for forming an adjustable exhaust slit, characterized in that the adjustable portion is arranged near the rear edge of the pipe-shaped portion.
Valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the adjustable portion is at least partly funnel-shaped.
Valve according to claim 2, characterized in that the pipe-shaped portion is connected to a rigid guard by means of some ribs.
Valve according to claim 3, characterized in that the adjustable funnel-shaped portion has means to secure it to the rigid guard in a number of discrete positions.
Valve according to claim 4, characterized in that the funnel-shaped portion connects to a pipe portion which can move in a sliding manner in a pipe portion which connects to the rigid guard, in which the pipe portion at the funnel-shaped portion is provided with slits with stops at various distances, to stop against ribs on the inside of the pipe portion at the guard.
Valve according to claim 5, characterized in that the covering edge, the pipe-shaped portion and the rigid guard are integrally formed, and in that the funnel-shaped portion and the connecting pipe-shaped portion are integrally formed.
Valve according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the outside the pipe-shaped portion is provided with some springy strips to be clamped in the ventilation pipe.