US1971841A

US1971841A - Damper control device

Info

Publication number: US1971841A
Application number: US648872A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fred M Young
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1932-12-27
Filing date: 1932-12-27
Publication date: 1934-08-28
Anticipated expiration: 1951-08-28

Description

Aug.2fs,1934. F',MYOUNG 1,971,841

DAMPER CONTROL DEVICE Filed Dec. 27, 1932 lfatentecll ug. 2'8, 1,934

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE i DAMPER CONTROL DEVICE Fred M. Young, Racine, Wis. Applieatien December 27, 1932, serial No. 648,872

4 claims. (o1. sis-101) My inventionV relates generally to a damper controlling device for use on a cabinet form of. convection heater, wherein a cabinet forming `.a fluev is equipped with a radiator core and'r air is caused to naturallycirculate throughvthe core and cabinet, and a damper is positioned in theV cabinet with which to manually control the volume of air passing therethrough. Y

An object of my invention 'is to provideV a strong and simple hinge for the damper, having manual controlling means thereon, forming a unitary assembly which is positive, simple and proof against binding or misalignment.

A further object of my invention is Vto provide means to prevent sagging of the damperends, when removed a considerable distance from-the controlling hinge, whereby the ends'will contactV the wall of thecabinet ahead of the center portion. thereby to cause a close fitting damper throughout its entire lengthwhen closed i-.and further to pull the damper against the operating means thereby to cause the" damperto moref closely followfthe movement of thel operating means. f

I accomplish these objects by means of a manually operated worm drive centrally positioned, unitary hingeand end hinges having' springs which act to hold ends of the damper toward the closed position.

To these and other useful ends thisinvention consists in matter hereinafter Yset forth and' claimedand shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig.l 1 is a front elevation of 1a convectionV heater equipped with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectionalside view of the .heater as shown in Fig. 1 taken on line 2V of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a pictorial view ofthe unitary damperY control hinge. f 4 Fig. 4 is a rear plan view of the main half of thev damper control hinge. Fig. 5- is aside plan vview ofthe part 'ofthe hinge shown f1. s 'f 45 Fig. 6 Ais Ya fractional kview of the damper` showing 'a fraction'of the unitary hinge and one of the end hinges equipped'with a weight couninduce a strongair current to pass therethrough in a manner which will hereinafter appear.

In the preferred form shown the cabinet is supported by means of legs 11 whereby the air can readily enter the open bottom of the Ycabi-,60 net, as indicated by arrows in Fig. 2. Within the cabinet and at the bottom thereof is positioned a radiator core which Vin its entirety'is designated bythe reference character A, the ns of which extend substantially to or within close 65.'v proximity of the side and end walls of the cabinetlwhereby all of the air that enters the cabinet will be heated, the-air thus heated creating a natural draft as it rises in the cabinet.

VIn the form shown'in Figs. 1 and 2 in the 70 upper front panel of the Vcabinet IV provide a Y plurality-of narrowgclosely spaced openings 12 forming a grille, for the passage of the heated air into the room from the cabinet.

" '1 provideV a damper 13 and means whereby this 75 dampermay be used to regulate the flow of air through the chimneyinthev following manner: Thevends of damper 13 are positioned close to the end walls of the cabinet.Y These dampers are frequently quite long and, therefore, usually so Y require three hinges, one preferably atthe center and one at each end thereof. The unitary control-hinge is preferably positionedin the center of the damper andcomprises a vertical base portion'14 which isbent at right angle as at 15, 85 (seeFigs. 3 and) thus forming a horizontal piece 16, the end of which is formed to embrace pin 17, and cut out asat 18 to thus provide an f openingA for the otheror damper half 19 of the hinge, the rear end of kwhich is also bent to embrace pin 17 within-the openinglS as indicated in Fig;. 3. .The toothed sectorf20 is an integral part of119 but bent at right angle thereto, thereby to form `a 'sector' with teeth which arevon la radius with vthe pin17 which forms an axis for the hinge. Y

As shown in Figs. 3, 4 ends, an extendedand -integral partof 14 is bent at right angle as at 21 and berit again as at 22,`forming apart 23 which isl parallel to' part 14 and extending far enough to 'thereby provide for spaced-apart bear- YingV openingsV 24e- '24 for the worm shaft Y25, as

shown in Fig. 5 by dotted lines. The wormr26 is preferablyformed integral with theV shaft 25.` The collar 27 and knurled knob 28 are positioned 'l0 on the-outer end of 'shaft 25 `whereby the worm 26 maybe manually turned to the right or Vleft `by means of the knob 28, the worm 26 engaging the teeth of sector 201fas shown;fthus the hinge portion A19"will beturned'on its axis 17. The 1.10 l

worm 26 will obviously be held against end movenient by means of collar 27.

Thus a unitary hinge is provided which is formed from two flat pieces of steel in a manner which will insure simplicity, low cost and rigidity. In order to stiften the bend at 15, a depression 29 is pressed into the parts 14 and l5 to thereby form a substantial brace for these parts. l

Referring now to Fig. 2 it will be seen that an angle bar 30 is attached to the front wall of the cabinet adjacent and above the grille openings l2 one leg of said angle bar eXtendingin-- wardly, thereby forming a support to which the hinge portion 16 is attached, as indicated, in any suitable manner, but preerably in a position whereby the collar 27 will protrude through one or the openings 12 at or near the centerof the cabinet.

Considerable horizontal width is required fo the unitary hinge. I show a novel form oiihinge support or mounting, wherein this support is used for several purposes. The inwardly extending leg of angle bar 30 is of a suitable width to thereby form a suitable support for the hinges and a closure between the upper edge of the damper 13 and the cabinet wall. A urtheradvantage of this angle bar is that it materially strengthens the cabinet wall at a point adjacent the grilles where it has been weakened. There may be a narrow opening between the damper and its support when the damper vis in its closed or open position as shown in Figs. 2 and 8.- In order to seal this opening an inwardly projecting plate 38 is attached to the Vupper surface of the horizontal leg or angle bar 30 as'shown.

Thus it will be observed that by turning the knob 28, the damper 13 which is attached to'19,l as indicated, may be movedto and held in the position'shown in Fig. 2, thus permitting free passage of air through the cabinet 10 and grillev openings 12, or this damper may be moved to the position shown by dotted lines, thereby clos-v ing the grille and stopping the passage of air through the cabinet or the damper may be'moved to any intermediate position. o Y

Referring now to Fig. 8, it will ybe seen thatv the grilles 41 are positioned in the top of cabinet 40. In this design the damper and hinges may be` positioned and designed exactlyas shown in Figs. 1 and 2,v a special opening, however, being necessary in the front wall of the cabinet for the collar 27. t

Thus it will be seen that whilethe construction and position or the damper 13 in Fig. 8 is exactly like the showing in Fig. 2, the order of operation is reversed.A That is, when the damper- 13 is in the position shown in Fig. 8, the passage of air through the cabinet-will be prevented or shut oi. The opening may be enlarged by turn-r ing the knob 28 until there is no obstruction to the passage of air through the cabinet.V I

In the form of cabinet shown -in Figs. 1, 2 and 8, end hinges are necessarybut in very large and long units the ends of the damper will sag, thus leaving an opening at the ends, when the damper .is closed, through which heated air mayl pass.

To remedy this fault, I provide springs 34 which are positioned in the end hinges whereby they vwill counteract the weight and rpermit sag of the damper at its ends and thereby hold the ends of the damper snugly against the rear or front` wall of the cabinet.

Referring to Fig. 6 the main endl hinge portion 30 is formed thereby to engage the hinge pin.31.

The opening 32 is made long enough to provide room for hinge portion 33 and spring 34 as illustrated. This spring is adapted to move the damper 13 into a closed position in the design shown in either Figs. 2 or 8. In either event, the free ends of the damper 13 will be held slightly ahead of, the center edge in the direction of the closed position, thus contact with the front or rear wall of the cabinetl will be'rst made at the ends of the damper. A further turning of the knob 28 will result in bringing the entire free edge of the damper in close contact with the wall of the cabinet.

It will be seen that the action of the springs will be to take up all slack or lost motion in the operating means to thereby cause the damper to more closely follow the movement of the knob, thus to make the adjusting operation more dennite.

It will be understood that the air inlet may be in the form of a grilleat the bottom of the front panel of the cabinet, in which case the radiating core would be' positioned just above the inlet grille.

Thus it will be seen thatI have provided a simple, strong, reliable damper control with means whereby the heated air may beeasily and denitely controlled. f

It will be understood that minor detailed changes may be made without departing from the scope .ofmy invention, and that my improved device isfapplicable to many forms of cabinets or for various otherpurposes.

f lHaving thus shown and described my invention, what IV claim as newk and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: i l

` 1.` A damper control device of the class describedcomprising a cabinet, a radiator core, a damper, acentrally positioned vunitary control hinge and end hinges, said cabinet being rectangular in horizontal section and having an air inlet vat the bottom and an air outlet at the top thereof, said radiator positioned in said cabinet adjacent said inlet, said damper hingedly attached to the frontV Wallof saidjcabinet and on the inside thereof by means of said unitary and end Vhinges and having a'size and shape whereby said air outlet may be closed or the'quantity of air passing therethrough regulated, said unitary hinge having -a Worm and sector and a `worm shaft which extends through an enlarged `opening in the front wall of said cabinet, said shaft having controlling means on the protruding 'end' thereof cooperating vwith said worm whereby said damper may be manually moved and held inA any predetermined position, said end hinges having springs which actto cause the ends of said damper to contactthe wallszofr 'said' cabinet ahead of the central portion when approachingtheclosed position.;` f y 2. A damper control :device of the class described, comprising a cabinet, a damper,l a unitary self-locking centrally positioned controlling hinge and end hinges, said damper hingedly supported to the wall `of said cabineton the' inside thereofbymeans of said-unitary andjend hinges, said unitary hinge having a main/'body and a swinging portion adapted to hingedlyl support said damper'and having a sector, said main body having a shaft wholly supported thereon, a worm onthe inner end of said shaft 'adapted to engage saidsector, the outer end of said shaft protruding through an enlarged opening in said `cabinet and having ,means whereby'A said damper may `be manually controlled, springs o said end hinges adapted to warp the ends thereof toward the closing direction.

3. A damper control device of the class described comprising, a cabinet, a damper, a damper Supporting member, a centrally positioned unitary hinge and end hinges, said cabinet being rectangular in horizontal section and having an air outlet at or near the top thereof, said damper supporting member being L shaped in cross section and attached to the wall of said cabinet on the inside thereof adjacent said air outlet, one leg projecting inwardly, said damper hingedly attached to said inwardly projecting leg by said unitary and end hinges, the axes of which are adjacent the inner edge of said projecting leg, said unitary hinge having a sector and a worm and a shaft the end of which extends through an enlarged opening in the front wall of said cabinet, controlling means on the end of said projecting shaft, whereby said damper, cooperating with said supporting means, may be manually moved to thereby close said air outlet or regulate the opening thereof.

4. A damper control device of the class de-V scribed comprising, a cabinet, a damper, a damper supporting member, a centrally positioned unitary hinge and end hinges, said cabinet being rectangular in horizontal section and having an air outlet at or near the top thereof, said damper supporting member having anvinwardly project'- ing leg attached to the inner wall of said cabinet moved to thereby close said air outlet or regulate the opening thereof.

FRED M. YOUNG.

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