EP3604924B1 - Draft moderator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a draft moderator intended to equip a smoke evacuation duct or a heating appliance, such as a wood stove or an oil boiler for example.

The draft of a smoke evacuation duct must be adjusted to a value recommended by the manufacturer of the device to which the duct is connected.

Certain climatic conditions, such as cooling of the air in winter or strong wind, can increase the depression in the duct and deteriorate the performance of the installation.

To compensate for this depression, it is known to place a draft moderator, also called a draft regulator, on the conduit, this assembly generally being carried out using a tee made of stainless steel or an equivalent material. The moderator includes a movable valve which reacts to the depression to open and provide a surplus of fresh air which reduces the temperature of the hearth and therefore the draft of air in the hearth.

Generally, the valve is pivoted and returned to the closed position by a counterweight.

Various mechanisms have been proposed to allow the return force of the valve to be adjusted in the closed position in order to bring in more or less air for a given depression.

The applicant company thus offers under the brand "Moderator" a draft regulator comprising a flap whose orientation of the axis of rotation can be modified relative to the horizontal to change the return force of the counterweight.

Such a device is relatively complex to produce.

Other known moderators have an apparent counterweight, located on the side of the front face of the shutter, which can move on an adjustment screw. Such devices may prove insufficiently aesthetic to equip heating appliances installed in residential rooms, such as wood stoves.

Some moderators are designed for factory adjustment, for example including a counterweight adjusted and locked in the factory, and do not allow the draft to be precisely adjusted according to the specific needs of the installation.

Requirement FR 3 008 482 discloses a regulator comprising a counterweight located on the exterior side of the shutter, accessible through an access hatch. The document US 2,416,765 describes a draft moderator, comprising a cover, a shutter movable relative to the cover, capable of taking a closed position and an open air intake position, a counterweight to return the shutter to the closed position, movable relative to the shutter so as to allow adjustment of the return torque thereof in the closed position, the counterweight being mounted in a pivoting manner relative to the shutter around a rod.

There is therefore a need to further improve draft moderators and benefit from a device which is both easy to manufacture, in stainless steel in particular, robust, allowing precise adjustment of the restoring force and aesthetic.

• un capot,
• un volet mobile par rapport au capot, pouvant prendre une position fermée et une position ouverte d'admission d'air,
• un contrepoids pour rappeler le volet en position fermée, disposé du côté intérieur du volet de sorte que, en position de montage, le contrepoids n'est pas visible lorsque le volet est en position fermée, mobile par rapport au volet de façon à permettre un réglage du couple de rappel de celui-ci en position fermée, le contrepoids étant monté de façon pivotante par rapport au volet et l'articulation du contrepoids sur le volet se faisant grâce à des découpes réalisées dans le volet.

The invention meets these objectives by proposing a draft moderator comprising:

• a cap,
• a shutter movable relative to the hood, capable of taking a closed position and an open air intake position,
• a counterweight to return the shutter to the closed position, arranged on the interior side of the shutter so that, in the mounting position, the counterweight is not visible when the shutter is in the closed position, movable relative to the shutter so as to allow a adjustment of the return torque thereof in the closed position, the counterweight being mounted in a pivoting manner relative to the shutter and the articulation of the counterweight on the shutter being done thanks to cutouts made in the shutter.

The moderator according to the invention is aesthetic because the counterweight is not visible from the outside when the shutter is in the closed position.

The device can be adjusted precisely by moving the counterweight relative to the shutter, without needing to modify the orientation of the axis of rotation of the shutter relative to the horizontal. The construction of the moderator is thus simplified.

Preferably, the counterweight is mounted in a pivoting manner relative to the shutter. This facilitates the creation of the device and makes it possible to preserve its compactness.

Preferably, the moderator includes a member for adjusting the position of the counterweight relative to the shutter, accessible from the front face of the moderator. Thus, access to the adjustment member is easy, and adjustment can be carried out easily once the moderator is installed. In particular, it is possible to easily modify the setting during the year, to take into account, for example, particular operating conditions, or the replacement of a heating appliance with a new one. The adjustment member is preferably consisting of a latch made by cutting a single piece with the counterweight and ending with a gripping tab.

It is particularly advantageous for the adjustment member to pass through an opening in the shutter. This allows for greater simplicity and compactness. Especially, this can make it possible to use the opening of the shutter to lock the adjustment member in the desired position. The adjustment member and the shutter can thus include cooperating reliefs defining several notches for adjusting the position of the counterweight relative to the shutter. These cooperating reliefs include for example a tooth cut with the shutter and successive openings provided on the adjustment member, in each of which the tooth can engage and defining a corresponding immobilization position of the counterweight relative to the shutter. The cooperating reliefs can allow adjustment of the depression in the flue in increments of a predefined value, chosen for example between 5 and 10 Pa, preferably of the order of 5 Pa.

It is also advantageous for the adjustment member and the cover to have reliefs which can cooperate to lock the shutter in the closed position. For example, the adjustment member has a notch open laterally and the cover has a corresponding tooth, which can engage in the notch to lock the shutter in the closed position.

Preferably, the adjustment member has sufficient elasticity to be able to be deformed by the user in order to move the adjustment member away from the tooth made on the shutter and allow the opening engaged therein to be changed, as well as release the side notch of the hood tooth to unlock the shutter. The notch can be made at the base of a gripping tab which is offset laterally and upwards relative to the rest of the adjustment member. Thus, in an example of implementation, to modify the adjustment, the adjustment member is deformable by a push exerted downwards while to unlock the shutter the adjustment member is manually deformable by the user by a push exercised laterally.

Preferably, the cover, the shutter and the counterweight are made of stainless steel. The moderator can be made without additional parts.

The flap may have a disc shape.

The flap may have a recess approximately halfway up, coming to rest against the edge of cutouts formed in a front wall of the cover.

The counterweight may have the shape of a disc portion. The counterweight is articulated on the shutter using cutouts made in the shutter.

• la figure 1 représente de façon schématique en perspective avant un modérateur de tirage réalisé conformément à l'invention, le volet étant représenté en position ouverte,
• la figure 2 est une vue en perspective arrière du modérateur de la figure 1, le volet étant représenté en position fermée,
• la figure 3 représente le détail III de la figure 1,
• la figure 4 est une vue arrière du modérateur,
• la figure 5 est une coupe axiale selon V-V de la figure 4,
• la figure 6 représente le détail VI de la figure 5,
• la figure 7 illustre le verrouillage du volet en position fermée,
• la figure 8 représente le détail VIII de la figure 5,
• la figure 9 est une vue arrière du modérateur, le volet étant fermé,
• la figure 10 est une coupe selon X-X de la figure 9,
• la figure 11 représente le détail XI de la figure 10,
• la figure 12 est une vue en perspective du modérateur, le volet étant représenté en position ouverte, et
• la figure 13 représente un détail de la figure 12.

The invention can be better understood on reading the description which follows, a non-limiting example of its implementation, and on examining the appended drawing, in which:

• there figure 1 schematically represents in front perspective a draft moderator produced in accordance with the invention, the shutter being represented in the open position,
• there figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the moderator of the figure 1 , the shutter being shown in the closed position,
• there Figure 3 represents detail III of the figure 1 ,
• there Figure 4 is a rear view of the moderator,
• there Figure 5 is an axial section along VV of the Figure 4 ,
• there Figure 6 represents detail VI of the Figure 5 ,
• there figure 7 illustrates the locking of the shutter in the closed position,
• there figure 8 represents detail VIII of the Figure 5 ,
• there Figure 9 is a rear view of the moderator, the shutter being closed,
• there Figure 10 is a cut according to XX of the Figure 9 ,
• there Figure 11 represents detail XI of the Figure 10 ,
• there Figure 12 is a perspective view of the moderator, the shutter being shown in the open position, and
• there Figure 13 represents a detail of the figure 12 .

The draft moderator 1 shown in the figures comprises a cover 10 on which a flap 20 is hinged so as to be able to take an open position illustrated in the figure 1 and a closed position shown in figure 2 .

The shutter 20 is equipped with a counterweight 30 which is pivotally mounted on the shutter 20 so as to allow the return force of the shutter 20 to be adjusted in the closed position.

In the example considered, the cover 10, the flap 20 and the counterweight 30 are made of stainless steel.

As can be seen on the Figure 4 in particular, the counterweight 30 is produced with an adjustment latch 31 which has a bent shape substantially at right angles, and which is engaged through a corresponding opening 21 of the flap 20.

The latch 31 is preferably, as illustrated, made in one piece with the rest of the counterweight 30 by cutting and folding a stainless steel sheet.

The latch 31 has on its distal portion 32 engaged through the opening 21 a series of adjustment openings 33, preferably equidistant as illustrated.

The latch 31 ends in a gripping tab 34 which can be grasped by a person to move it through the opening 21 of the flap 20, in order to modify the setting for example.

The tab 34 is slightly offset to the left side and upwards, as can be seen in the Figure 3 , and has on this side a lateral notch 35.

The opening 21 of the flap 20 is provided on its upper edge with a tooth 23 which is arranged to engage in the opening 33 which is chosen for adjusting the counterweight.

The latch 21 has sufficient flexibility to allow the user to bend it downwards, as illustrated by the arrow F on the Figure 6 , to modify the adjustment of the counterweight 30. The latch 21 is returned by its own elasticity upwards to come to rest against the upper edge of the opening 21.

Depending on the opening 33 in which the tooth 23 is engaged, the counterweight 30 is more or less pivoted backwards and thus exerts a greater or lesser restoring force on the shutter to bring it back to the closed position. We can thus adjust the depression to which the moderator reacts, for example in the range 5 to 40 Pa.

The distal portion 32 of the latch has an arcuate shape whose axis of curvature corresponds substantially to the axis of rotation of the counterweight 30 on the flap 20.

The notch 35 makes it possible to lock the shutter in the closed position by engaging on a tooth 12 of the cover 10 as illustrated in Figure 7 . A ramp 36 is provided to cause the notch to automatically engage in the tooth 12 when the latch is pushed against the front face 15 of the cover 10. In the locking position, the notch engages both on the shutter 20 and tooth 12, and thus blocks the pivoting of flap 20.

The latch 21 is elastically returned to a position where the notch 35 remains engaged on the tooth 12. To unlock the latch 21, the user moves the latch to the right on the Figure 3 , to release the notch 35. He can then pull on the latch 21 to bring one of the openings opposite the tooth 23 in order to engage it there. The latch has sufficient flexibility to allow these movements.

The flap 20 has a recess 26, which is preferably oriented horizontally when the moderator 1 is installed.

The lower part 27 of the flap 20, located under the recess 26, is applied against the rear face 13 of the cover 10 while the upper part 28 is applied against the front face 14, when the shutter is closed. The upper part 28 is offset towards the front relative to the lower part 27.

The articulation of the counterweight 30 on the flap 20 can be carried out without additional parts thanks to lugs 36 produced at the lateral ends of the counterweight 30, at its base, cooperating with lugs 29 produced on the flap 20.

The articulation of the flap 20 on the cover 10 can be carried out using diametrically opposed lugs made on the edge of the opening of the front face of the cover, on which the recess 26 comes to rest. The flap 20 is made with stops 40 which are formed by cutting and which are deformed after positioning the flap 20 on the cover 10 to ensure its retention on the latter.

To manufacture moderator 1, the flap and the counterweight can be cut from a stainless steel sheet. The cover can be made by cutting and stamping. The latch 21 is formed by folding.

The counterweight can be assembled on the shutter by engaging the legs 36 of the counterweight behind the legs 29 of the shutter 20 then bending them at right angles.

Then, the flap 20 can be engaged in the opening of the hood until the recess 26 stops against the corresponding lugs of the hood.

The contact of the shutter 20 in the closed position on the cover 10 can be metal to metal, and the seal proves satisfactory.

The cover 10 can have, as illustrated, diametrically opposite fixing holes, making it possible to fix the moderator on a tee fitting for example or at the end of a chimney flue.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the example illustrated. For example, if necessary, a flexible seal can be mounted on the hood and/or shutter. This joint has for example a U-shaped profile in section to engage on the edge of the sheet metal of the hood or shutter.

The adjustment member can be made differently, as can the counterweight. For example, the adjustment member includes a rotating handle driving a cam which allows the counterweight to be moved back more or less inside the device.

Claims (11)

1. Draught moderator (1), having:

   - a cover (10),

   - a flap (20) that is able to move relative to the cover (10), which can adopt a closed position and an open air intake position,

   - a counterweight (30) for returning the flap (20) to the closed position, which is disposed on the inside of the flap such that, in the mounting position, the counterweight is not visible when the flap is in the closed position, and which is able to move relative to the flap so as to allow adjustment of the torque returning the latter to the closed position,

   the counterweight (30) being mounted so as to be able to pivot relative to the flap (20) and the counterweight being articulated on the flap by virtue of cutouts made in the flap.
2. Moderator according to Claim 1, having a member (31) for adjusting the position of the counterweight (30) relative to the flap, which is accessible from the front face of the moderator.
3. Moderator according to Claim 2, the adjustment member (31) passing through an opening (21) in the flap (20) .
4. Moderator according to either of Claims 2 and 3, the adjustment member (31) and the flap (20) having cooperating reliefs (23, 33) defining a plurality of slots for adjusting the position of the counterweight (30) relative to the flap (20).
5. Moderator according to Claim 4, the cooperating reliefs having a tooth (23) cut out with the flap (20) and successive openings (33) provided on the adjustment member, in each of which the tooth (23) can engage and defining a corresponding position of the counterweight relative to the flap.
6. Moderator according to any one of Claims 2 to 5, the adjustment member (31) and the cover (10) having reliefs (35, 12) that can cooperate so as to block the flap (20) in the closed position.
7. Moderator according to Claim 6, the adjustment member having a laterally open notch (35) and the cover (10) a corresponding tooth (12), which can engage in the notch so as to block the flap in the closed position.
8. Moderator according to any one of the preceding claims, the cover, the flap and the counterweight being made from stainless steel.
9. Moderator according to any one of the preceding claims, the flap (20) having the shape of a disc.
10. Moderator according to Claim 9, the flap (20) having a discontinuity (26) substantially halfway up and bearing via this discontinuity against the edge of the cutouts that are formed in a frontal wall (15) of the cover.
11. Moderator according to any one of the preceding claims, the counterweight (30) having the shape of a portion of a disc.

Images