GB2465029A

GB2465029A - Collapsible cover for securing over the end of a vent duct

Info

Publication number: GB2465029A
Application number: GB0820588A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Fabrice Andre Jean-Claude Goodale
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-11-11
Filing date: 2008-11-11
Publication date: 2010-05-12
Also published as: GB0820588D0

Abstract

A cover 10 for securing over the end of a vent duct (40, fig 4) is made collapsible to enable it to fit through an aperture smaller than the maximum areal dimension of the cover. The cover may comprise two halves 12, 13 hingedly 23 connected together and mounted on the end of a rod 30 enabling the cover to be folded in half and pushed through the duct from within a building, then opened up and manipulated by the rod into its working position fitted over the end of the duct. Leaf spring clips (35, fig 3) around the periphery of the cover enable it to be secured to the duct. The cover may be circular, square, rectangular or elliptical and may be an apertured vent comprising a plurality of louvers 15 or a blind cover closing off the vent. A spring may bias the two halves of the cover into their working position after the cover has passed through the duct.

Description

VENT COVER

This invention relates to a vent cover, and in particular to a cover for securing over the end of a duct passing through a wall.

Any ventilation and air conditioning systems require a vent duct passing through an external wall of a building to vent air, water vapour or other gaseous substances to the outside. An apertured vent cover is secured to the outer end of the duct to prevent extraneous matter being blown into the duct while allowing vapours and gases from the duct to pass through it.

In conventional systems of this type, the vent cover has to be fitted from the outside of the building. This can cause considerable fitt�ng problems, for example when a vent emerges above ground floor level. A ladder or scaffold tower may be required in order to fit the vent cover.

The present invention provides a cover for securing over the end of a duct, the cover being collapsible to enable it to fit through an aperture smaller than the maximum areal dimension of the cover, elongate means being provided for manipulating the cover from a remote position, to adjust the cover from its collapsed position to a working position and for locating the cover in its working position. The cover may be an apertured vent cover, but may also be a blind cover for closing off a vent.

By means of the invention, a vent cover can be collapsed to enable it to pass through a vent duct having a cross-sectional area smaller than the area of the cover and fitted over an outer end of the duct by manipulation from the inner end of the duct.

In one embodiment of the invention, the vent cover comprises two or more parts hingedly attached together so that the cover can be folded to a size such that it can fit through a duct.

The means for manipulating the vent cover may comprise a rod or the like, attached to the cover. The attachment to the cover preferably allows some pivotal movement of the cover relative to the rod, prevents significant rotation of the cover about the longitudinal axis of the rod, so that the rod can be used to turn the cover remotely into its desired orientation. In cases where the duct is wide enough for a hand to be inserted, a handle may be provided on the back of the vent cover.

In many cases however the vent duct, usually extending through the entire thickness of a wall that may be 30cm. or more in thickness, may be of too small a diameter for this to be feasible and a rod or the like will be needed.

Means may be provided for expanding the cover into its working configuration after it has passed through a duct. For example, where the cover comprises two or more parts hingedly connected together, a spring may be provided to bias the parts into their working position.

The cover can be collapsed against the bias of the spring for the purpose of pushing it through the duct, the cover then expanding into its working position once free of the duct.

The cover may carry means around its periphery of securing it to the duct, for example spring clips. Other means for securing the cover to the edges of the duct could comprise a screw thread or a bayonet fitting.

Alternatively, the manipulating means itself could be used to hold the cover in position by securing the end of the rod remote from the cover to a fixture on the inner duct wall at or adjacent its inner end. Instead of a rod, a wire or cord could be used to secure the cover in the same way. The fixture to which it is secured could be part of a fan or other device fitted at the inner end of the duct.

The cover may have any suitable shape, for example circular, square, rectangular or elliptical.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of fitting a cover to an outer end of a vent duct, the cover having a working position in which its area is greater than the area of the end of the duct, the method comprising collapsing the cover to a size and configuration such that it can pass through the duct, passing the cover through the duct from an inner end to an outer end in its collapsed configuration, opening up the cover into its working configuration when it has passed through the duct and, from the inner end of the duct, fitting the cover over the outer end of the duct.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a vent cover in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows the cover of Figure 1 in a folded configuration; Figure 3 is a rear view of one half of the vent cover of Figure 1; and Figures 4-6 illustrate three steps in a method of fitting the cover of Figure 1 to the outer end of a vent duct, shown in cross-section.

Referring first to Figure 1, a vent cover generally indicated by 10 comprises two semi-circular halves, each comprising a semi-circular outer wall 14 and a straight diameter wall 16, the two halves of the vent cover being in an abutting relationship in the working position of the vent cover shown in Figure 1.

Between the semi-circular and diameter walls of each half 12, 13, louvres 15 extend across the ventilation opening, to allow the passage of gases and vapours from a duct while excluding solid material and limiting the entry of rainwater.

As can be seen in Figure 2, the two halves 12, 13 of the vent cover are hingedly connected together, enabling the vent cover to fold substantially in half. Cylindrical hinge channels 23, integrally moulded to respective halves of the cover and spaced at �ntervals along the inner edges of diameter walls 16 can interdigitate and line when the two halves are placed together, to allow a hinge pin (not shown) to pass through all the cylindrical hinge sleeves to hold the two halves together.

As can best be seen in Figure 2, the louvres of each half of the cover slope downwardly towards the front of the cover in its assembled state and working position. This means that the two halves must comprise different mouldings. In an alternative embodiment of the invention the two halves could be made as identical mouldings, one being inverted relative to the other to join them together, by for example replacing the sloping louvres with flat strips having inner edges curving away from the horizontal to prevent the entry of rainwater whichever way up the cover half.

At opposite ends of each diameter wall 16 on each vent cover half are provided slots 28 for fitting the cover over the end of a vent duct, as will be described in more detail below.

Figure 3 shows the rear side of one half 12 of the vent cover with its space h�nge sleeve 23.

Secured to an inwardly facing surface of the diameter wall 16 is a loop 33, which may be adhered to the diameter wall or integrally moulded with it. Linked to the loop 33 is a corresponding loop 32 on the end of a rod, wire or cord 30, thus securing the rod to the vent cover in such a way as to allow the rod to pivot in any direction relative to the cover but preventing any substantial rotation of the cover around the longitudinal axis of the rod.

On an inwardly facing portion of the semicircular wall 14 is a spring clip 35, to assist in securing the vent cover to the end of a vent duct. The spring clip is in the form of a leaf spring secured at the end remote from the rearwardly facing edge of the wall 14 and having an outwardly curled edge adjacent to the rear edge of the wall. A number of such clips can be positioned at intervals around the periphery of the cover.

Fitting of the vent cover 10 to the end of a vent duct is illustrated in Figures 4-6. In Figure 4 the vent duct 40 which may typically be cylindrical, is shown in cross-section as being mounted in a wall 45. The vent cover 10, folded substantially in half, is pushed through the vent duct from the inside of a building using the rod 30. Folding the cover in half enables it to be pushed through the duct even though in its working configuration the cover has a diameter larger than that of the duct.

As shown in Figure 5, when the cover emerges from the outer end of the duct, the two halves 12, 13 can open out into the working position of the cover. To assist with this, a leaf spring or taut�on spring may be positioned between the two halves to b�as them towards their flat working position shown in F�gure 1. Alternatively, they could be opened out by manipulation of the rod 30 pulling the cover back against the outer edges of the vent duct and rotating the cover. Once the cover is at least partially opened, it can be pulled back against the edges of the duct causing it to open out flat. It can then be rotated into the desired or�entation, as shown for example in Figure 6, with the louvres 15 sloping downwardly towards the outside to prevent the entry of rainwater.

The cover can then be positioned as shown in Figure 6, SO that its semi-circular walls 12, 13 surround the protruding cyclindrical wall of the vent duct. By pulling the cover back against the wall, the edges of the vent duct enter the recesses 28 �n the diameter walls of the cover and spring clips 35, of which there may be several or typically two or three in each vent cover half, engage over the edges of the duct to assist in holding the cover in position.

While the cover may be held in position on the end of the duct by means of spring clips such as 35, the cover may be more securely held in position by fastening the other end of the rod 30, for example to a fixture on the inner wall of the vent duct, to the wall through which the duct extends or to a device such as a fan at the inner end of the duct.

It can thus be seen that by means of the invention a vent cover can be fitted over the end of an external vent duct working entirely from the inside of the building, obviating the need to work on the outside wall which, in the case of an upper storey vent duct, might require the use of a ladder or scaffolding.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A cover for securing over the end of a duct, the cover being collapsible to enable it to fit through an aperture smaller than the maximum areal dimension of the cover and elongate means being provided for manipulating the cover from a remote position to adjust the cover from its collapsed position to a working position and for locating the cover in its working position.
2. A cover according to claim I in the form of an apertured vent cover.
3. A cover according to claim I or claim 2 which comprises two parts hingedly attached together so that the cover can be folded to a size so that it can fit through an aperture smaller than the maximum areal dimension of the cover.
4. A cover according to claim 3 wherein a spring is provided to bias the two hinged parts into their working position after the cover has passed through the Q duct.
5. A cover according to any preceding claim wherein the means for manipulating the cover comprises a rod or the like attached to the cover.
6. A cover according to claim 5 wherein the attachment of the rod to the cover allows some pivotal movement of the cover relative to the rod but prevents significant rotation of the cover about the longitudinal axes of the rod, so that the rod can be used to turn the cover remotely into a desired orientation.
7. A cover according to any preceding claim wherein a handle is provided on the back of the cover to manipulate it into position.
8. A cover according to any preceding claim wherein means are provided around the periphery for securing it over the end of the duct.
9. A cover according to any one of claims I to 7 wherein the manipulating means is adapted to hold the cover into position by securing an end of the manipulating means remote from the cover to a fixture on or adjacent an inner end of the duct.
10. A method of fitting a cover to an outer end of a vent duct, the cover having a working position in which its area is greater than the area of the end of the duct, the method comprising collapsing the cover to a size and configuration such that it can pass through the duct, passing the cover through the duct from an inner end to an outer end in its collapsed configuration, opening up the cover into its working configuration when it has passed through the duct and, from the inner end of the duct, fitting the cover over the outer end of the duct. a)