GB2335975A

GB2335975A - Ventilation device

Info

Publication number: GB2335975A
Application number: GB9806956A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Rhodes
Original assignee: GLAZPART Ltd
Current assignee: GLAZPART Ltd
Priority date: 1998-03-31
Filing date: 1998-03-31
Publication date: 1999-10-06
Anticipated expiration: 2018-03-31
Also published as: GB2335975B; GB9806956D0

Abstract

A ventilation device for mounting over an air passageway 12 in a window or a door frame 10, the device comprising: (a) a housing 20 having an aperture formed therein; (b) a closure member 30 pivotally mounted on the housing, the closure member being moveable from a closed position at which it obstructs the aperture to one or more open positions; (c) attachment means 40 for securely locating the housing over an air passageway in a window or a door frame; (d) a spring member 47 disposed in the housing and cooperable with one or more complementary features on the closure member, whereby the spring member acts to bias the closure member in the closed position and in the one or more open positions; wherein the spring member is integrally formed with the attachment means.

Description

2335975 - 1 ventilation Device The present invention relates to a

ventilation device and, in particular, to a ventilation device for installation adjacent to a glass panel of a door or a window.

Ventilation devices for installation adjacent to the glass panels of doors and windows are known in which an air inlet is situated on the outside of the window or door with appropriate shielding from the rain, and an air outlet is situated on the inside of the window or door, the passage connecting the air inlet and the air outlet together having mounted therein means to control the flow of air therethrough. Examples of such ventilation devices are disclosed in GB-A-2 156 967, GB-A-2 224 826, EP-A0 327 186, EP-A-0 429 322 and W093/09237.

Traditionally new property has been fitted with wooden casement windows. A key factor for this choice is that frames are fitted in the early stages of building and are sometimes damaged during the course of later building operations. Simple wooden frames may be repaired during subsequent decoration by the use of fillers and paint. However, with an increasing demand for high- performance frames using wood, aluminium or PVC, any damage will often necessitate complete frame replacement.

This problem is presently addressed by inserting a composite frame during construction. These frames allow the subsequent placement of the conventional window system into the previously fitted frame upon completion of the building works.

The header rail of these frames are generally of considerable depth and, consequently, ventilation devices can readily be incorporated therein. This not - 2 only avoids weakening of the window frame member itself by the routing of a slot, but enables a wider slot to be cut, which, in turn, reduces the overall length of a ventilator for any given open area. This is of particular benefit to manufacturers of frames because they generally fit the higher requirement of 8000 square mm. into each frame, not knowing how many frames will be fitted into a particular room.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a ventilator which can be attached to a window or door frame and which aims to minimise obstruction of the routed slot.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a ventilation device for mounting over an air is passageway in a window frame or a door frame, the device comprising:

(a) a housing having an aperture formed therein; (b) a closure member pivotally mounted on the housing, the closure member being moveable from a closed position at which it obstructs the aperture to one or more open positions, (c) attachment means for securely locating the housing over an air passageway in a window or a door frame, (d) a spring member disposed in the housing and cooperable with one or more complementary features on the closure member, whereby the spring member acts to bias the closure member in the closed position and in the one or more open positions, - 3 wherein the spring member is integrally formed with the attachment means.

The ventilation device according to the present invention may be mounted in the frame of a window or a door, for example, which may be single, double or triple glazed, the frame having an aperture formed therein to allow for the passage of air.

The closure member and/or the housing may be moulded from a synthetic plastics material, such as polyvinyl chloride, or from extruded aluminium, for example. The housing will generally take the form of an open rectangular frame, whilst the closure member will generally take the form of an elongate channel member of similar dimensions. It will be understood that the dimensions of the device may be tailored to the specific application and to the size of the window or door in which the device is to be mounted.

The attachment means preferably comprises a firtree connector adapted to fit securely in a pre-routed slot, although it will be appreciated that any other suitable connector may be used.

The attachment ineans is preferably connected to the housing by a pair of deformable retention clips adapted to securely locate in or behind complimentary recesses provided in the housing, but again it will be appreciated that any other suitable connector may be used to secure the attachment means to the housing.

The ventilation device preferably comprises two attachment means, which will generally be located adjacent to respective ends of the housing.

The attachment means and the spring member integrally formed therewith preferably lie substantially within the same plane, and preferably have a substantially uniform thickness of less than 10 mm, and more preferably from 2 mm to 5 mm, hence minimising obstruction of the pre-routed slot or aperture.

The attachment means and spring member are preferably integrally formed from a material which can be flexed repeatedly without a significant deterioration in the mechanical properties thereof. For example, a resilient metal or alloy, or a resilient plastics material, such as polypropylene, nylon or an acetal resin. The attachment means and spring member are advantageously injection moulded from an acetal resin commercially available under the Trade Names Delrin and Celcon.

The complementary features on the closure member is and the spring member may be cooperable by virtue of one or more detent means, such as, for example, protuberances, ridges or a combination thereof.

Preferably, the complementary features on the closure member are provided by a ratchet attached thereto and adapted to cooperate with the spring member to bias the closure member in the closed position and in the one or more open positions. In this case, the spring member preferably comprises a resilient member having a protuberance adjacent an end thereof adapted to cooperate with the teeth of the ratchet.

The closure member may comprise an actuator to facilitate movement from the closed position to the one or more open positions. The actuator may be integrally formed with the closure member or may be attached thereto by any suitable means.

The closure member may be pivotally mounted on the housing by any suitable means conventional in the art, for example by a pivot pin located in a complementary hole at each end of the closure member. In this case, the pivot pins are advantageously - adapted to act as torsion springs to assist in biasing the closure member in the closed position. This may be achieved by fixing one end of the pin relative to the closure member, and the other end of the pin relative to the housing. Accordingly, if the pin is formed from a resilient material, then pivotal movement of the closure member relative to the housing when opening the device will result in a torsional stress in the pin body, which, in turn, will bias the closure member towards the closed position. The pivot pins may be formed from any one of the materials discussed above in relation to the attachment means and spring member.

The present invention also provides for a window or door comprising at least one ventilation device as herein described. In order to prevent the ingress of rain, sleet, snow or debris into the device a weatherproofing canopy mounted above and adjacent to the aperture in the window or door frame and opposing the closure member is advantageously provided.

An additional feature of the ventilation device according to the present invention is that it may be constructed in modular units which can be connected together in order to extend the length of the ventilation device and, therefore, augment ventilation capacity. It will be appreciated that connection of modular units to one another may be achieved in a number of ways. For example, each ventilation module may carry a male and female dovetail at respective ends thereof. End caps are advantageously provided to cover the exposed male and female dovetails at the extreme ends of the modular construction.

The present invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a cross-section of a ventilation device according to the present invention mounted in a frame and in the closed position; Figure 2a illustrates the ventilation device of Figure 1, but in a partially open position; Figure 2b is an exploded view of the encircled region of Figure 2a; Figure 3a illustrates the ventilation device of Figure 1, but in a fully open position; Figure 3b is an exploded view of the encircled is region of Figure 3a; Figure 4 is a plan view of a ventilation device according to the present invention mounted in a frame and in the closed position; Figures 5a illustrates the ventilation device of Figure 1, but in a partially open position; and Figures 5b is an illustration of the underside of the ratchet shown in Figure Sa.

Referring to the drawings, in Figure 1 a crosssection of a ventilation device 1 according to the present invention is shown in the closed position.

The device 1 is located on the interior face 11 of a frame 10 which has a pre-routed slot or aperture 12 formed therein. The exterior face of the frame is not shown.

The ventilation device 1 comprises an elongated housing 20 (see Figure 4) having an aperture (not shown) formed therein which coincides substantially with the aperture 12 in the frame 10, thereby defining an air passageway. Housing 20 is an open rectangular frame with parallel end walls 21a and 21b (see Figure 4) and parallel upper and lower walls 22a and 22b (see Figure 1).

An elongated closure member 30 is pivotally connected along its upper edge 31 to the housing 20. The closure member 30 pivots about a centre shown at 32 and is mounted on the housing by means of a pivot pin (not shown) at each end thereof. The closure member 30 is shown in the closed position in Figure 1, wherein lip 33 abuts wall portion 22b of housing 20. In this position the flow of air through the air passageway is obstructed. It will be appreciated that one or more seals may be provided in order to further obstruct the flow of air. A ratchet 34 is attached to the closure member adjacent to its upper edge 31 and has a set of teeth 34a and 34b, as shown in Figure 2b.

A recess 35 is provided on an inner surface of lip 33 (see Figure 5a).

With reference to Figure 2a, the housing 20 is anchored into place over the aperture 12 by means of a spring clip shown generally at 40. Clip 40 is injection moulded from a resilient plastics materials and comprises a body portion 41 having compliant limbs 42a and 42b at one end thereof. Limbs 42a and 42b extend at an angle away from body portion 41 in an arrow-like formation, which points away from the housing 20. Angled portions 43a and 43b are provided at the ends of the limbs 42a and 42b respectively and extend inwardly towards body portion 41. A plurality of gripping teeth 43c are formed in the outer surfaces of angled portions 43a and 43b.

Adjacent the other end of body portion 41, there are provided two additional limbs 44a and 44b as shown in Figure 3a. Limbs 44a and 44b extend substantially at right angles from body portion 41 and have stepped recesses 45a and 45b respectively formed at their ends.

In use, as the clip 40 is inserted into the aperture 12, limbs 42a and 42b abut the inner peripheral edge of the aperture 12 and are thus deflected inwardly towards body portion 41. Upon further insertion, limbs 42a and 42b pass through the aperture 12 and are allowed to relax until angled portions 43a and 43b interfere with the outer peripheral edge of the aperture 12. As can be seen from Figure 2a, in this position gripping teeth 43c lock firmly behind the frame 10. Secure location of the housing 20 is further facilitated by the stepped recesses 45a and 45b which abut the surface of the frame 10 defining the aperture 12, as best shown in Figure 3a.

Figure 3b illustrates the manner by which the clip 40 is located securely within the housing 20. A pair of deformable retention clips 46a and 46b extend from the body portion 41 and locate securely behind complementary recesses 23a and 23b formed in the housing 20.

As best shown in Figures 2b and 3a, the clip 40 has a resilient spring member 47 integrally formed therewith, which extends from limb 44a and is angled towards the interior of the housing 20. A protuberance 48 is located at the end of the spring member 47 and is adapted to interact with the complementary ratchet teeth 34a and 34b provided adjacent the upper edge 31 of the closure member 30.

With reference to Figure 5a, a spring-loaded member 49 extends from limb 44b at an approximate right angle towards closure member 30. A projection is located at the end of spring-loaded member 49 and is adapted to cooperate with recess 35 in lip 33 of closure member 30.

Clip 40 has a uniform thickness of approximately 4 mm and all portions thereof lie substantially within the same plane.

Resilient spring member 47 and protuberance 48 thereof, in conjunction with ratchet 34, serve to bias the closure member 30 in the closed position (Figure 1), a position lying between fully open and the closed position (Figures 2a and 2b and Figure 5) and a fully open position (Figure 3).

In the closed position (Figure 1), the spring member 47 is flexed to an extent such that protuberance 48 bears against ratchet 34, hence biasing the closure member 30 in the closed position.

Retention of closure member 30 in the closed position is facilitated by projection 50 located at the end of spring-loaded member 49 which cooperates with recess in lip 33.

Upon application of sufficient force to the closure member in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 2a, tooth 34a of ratchet 34 bears against protuberance 48. This causes spring member 47 to flex towards limb 44a, thereby allowing the closure member to pivot about centre 32. Pivotal movement continues and tooth 34a rides over protuberance 48 until the first open position is reached, as shown in Figures 2a and 2b. Here, protuberance 48 lies in the gap between teeth 34a and 34b. In this position the spring member 47 is still flexed to a degree such that protuberance 48 bears against ratchet 34, hence biasing the closure member in the partially open position.

- Again, upon application of sufficient force to the closure member 30, tooth 34b bears against protuberance 48 causing spring member 47 to flex towards limb 44a. The closure member 30 continues to pivot about centre 32 and tooth 34b rides over protuberance 48 until the fully open position is reached, as shown in Figure 3a. Again, in this position, spring member 47 is flexed to a degree such that protuberance 48 bears against the ratchet 34, hence biasing the closure member in the fully open position. With reference to Figures 5a and 5b, it can be seen that further pivotal movement of closure member 30 after the fully open position has been reached is prevented by virtue of a projection 36, located adjacent to the ratchet 34, which abuts an opening restraint 24 formed in the housing 20.

It will be appreciated that intermediate positions of the closure member 30 relative to the housing 20 between the positions shown in Figures 1, 2a and 3a may be achieved by providing additional teeth in the ratchet 34 and adjusting the size of the protuberance 48 accordingly.

If the pivot pins (not shown) are also adapted to act as torsion springs, then this will assist in biasing the closure member 30 in the closed position.

By reducing the number of components associated with the biasing means and the attachment means, the present invention simplifies and reduces the cost of ventilation devices. The simplified design also lends itself to automatic assembly. Furthermore, the ventilation device according to the present invention provides a significant spring force to hold the closure member in the closed and open positions. More importantly, because the spring member is integrally formed with the attachment means, the present 11 invention provides a ventilation device which minimises obstruction of a routed slot in a frame. Minimising the size of the device relative to the area of the routed slot provides a more compact device which is less unsightly than the prior art devices. Additionally, the amount of routing is minimised and this is advantageous because it leads to a minimum loss of strength in the frame.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A ventilation device for mounting over an air passageway in a window or a door frame, the device comprising:

(a) a housing having an aperture formed therein; (b) a closure member pivotally mounted on the housing, the closure member being moveable from a closed position at which it obstructs the aperture to one or more open positions; (c) attachment means for securely locating the housing over an air passageway in a window or a door frame; (d) a spring member disposed in the housing and cooperable with one or more complementary features on the closure member, whereby the spring member acts to bias the closure member in the closed position and in the one or more open positions; wherein the spring member is integrally formed with the attachment means.

2. A ventilation device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the attachment means comprises a f tree connector adapted to fit securely in and/or behind a complementary aperture in a window or a door frame.

1 1 ir-

3. A ventilation device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the attachment means comprises a pair - 13 of deformable retention clips adapted to securely locate in and/or behind complimentary recesses provided in the housing.

4. A ventilation device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising two attachment means.

5. A ventilation device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the attachment means and spring member integrally formed therewith lie substantially within the same plane.

6. A ventilation device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the attachment means and spring member integrally formed therewith have a substantially uniform thickness of less than 10 mm,

7. A ventilation device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the attachment means and spring member integrally formed therewith have a substantially uniform thickness of from 2 mm to 5 mm.

8. A ventilation device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the attachment means and spring member are integrally formed from a resilient plastics material.

9. A ventilation device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the resilient plastics material comprises polypropylene, nylon or an acetal resin.

10. A ventilation device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the complementary features on the closure member are provided by a ratchet attached to the closure member and adapted to cooperate with the spring member to bias the closure member in the closed position and in the one or more open positions.

11. A ventilation device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the spring member comprises an elongate resilient arm extending from the attachment means.

12. A ventilation device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the closure member comprises an actuator to facilitate movement from the closed position to the one or more open positions.

13. A ventilation device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the closure member is pivotally mounted on the housing by a pivot pin adjacent each end thereof.

14. A ventilation'device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the pivot pins are adapted to act as torsion springs to assist in biasing the closure member into the closed position.

15. A ventilation device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14 having male and female connectors at respective ends thereof to allowing a modular construction of two or more devices.

16. A window or door comprising at least one ventilation device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. A window or door as claimed in claim 15, further comprising a weatherproofing canopy mounted adjacent to the aperture of the main housing and opposing the 1 closure member.

18. A ventilation device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as illustrated in any one of Figure 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

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