US2071262A - Register with pivoted vanes - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 16, 1937.

J. D. M KNIGHT REGISTER WITH PIVOTED VANES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 50, 1952 ATTORNEY Feb. 16, 1937. J. D. M KNlGHT REGISTER WITH PIVOTED VANES 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed NOV. 30, 1932 2A N v INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented F eb. 16, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to registers of the type adapted to control the flow of air for ventilating, heating or air conditioning interiors of buildings.

An object of the invention is to devise an improved register of this character which is capable of accurately and positively controlling air passing therethrough. This is made possible by providing for expansion of the air as it passes through the register, particularly where the register is employed for supplying air. The im proved register, capable of accomplishing the result, is compact, simple to construct, easy to operate, and sturdy and durable in service. Another object is to provide such a register which shall be quiet mechanically as well as free from whistling. A feature of the invention resides in the provision in such a register of simple and efficient operating mechanism. A further feature is the provision of accurate, positive flow control means in a register of shallow depth and in such a way as to permit full flow through a large percentage of the cross-sectional area when the register is wide open.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in connection with the following detailed description of one illustrative embodiment of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a vertical section, partly broken away, taken on the line I| of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing one form of register constructed in accordance with the invention, the grille being shown in dot and. dash lines.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the register shown in Fig. 1, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and showing the register with the vanes open, the vanes being also shown in broken outline in partially closed position.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section, taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the central portion of the construction as shown in Fig. 2, but with the vanes closed, and

Fig. 5 is a partial vertical section, taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown at ID a box-shaped frame construction including upper and lower Walls H and I2 and side walls I3 and Hi, all preferably formed of sheet metal, though other suitable materials might be employed, the frame being open at the front and back. The walls of the frame may be joined adjacent their edges in any convenient manner (not shown) and may have suitable reenforcing beads or ribs or flanges (also not shown). The walls H and 52 may be provided with offset portions i5 and 56, respectively, spaced outwardly from the members H and [2, providing shoulders ii and I 8 adapted to receive suitable bolts or posts 19 for securing the grille 20 to the box-shaped frame. The side members I3 and i4 may be provided with extended portions 2i terminating adjacent the portions and I9, and thus closing the sides of the box. In this manner, as best shown in Fig. 5, the securing means l9 may engage the marginal portion of the grille 29 without closing off any of the grille openings 22, and the main walls of the frame it may be substantially aligned with the upper and lower edges of the openings 22 in the grille. This permits employment of an attractive grille and at the same time provides for eflicient use of the openings in the grille. Furthermore, the space between the portion l3 and the grille serves to house operating mechanism for the vanes or louvres, as will be hereinafter described in more detail.

Extending between the members H and I2 at points intermediate the side walls l3 and 14 there are preferably provided partitions 26 which may suitably be formed with re-enforcing beads 25 and may be secured to said members II and I2 by bent extensions 27, formed integral with or otherwise secured to the partitions, and bolts, rivets or the like as at 28. Angle members 29 may be aligned with the partitions 26 and secured as by rivets 39 to the wall members [3 and M. It will be understood that the members 29 could be formed as flanges integral with walls l3 and M, or even be omitted, these walls possibly being formed with curved portions, if desired, conforming to and closely adjacent the vanes. Similarly, the shape of members 26 may be varied.

A plurality of vanes 35, preferably curved on the arc of a circle may be advantageously employed for cooperating with the partitions 26 and angle members 29 to close the register. These vanes are preferably pivoted at their upper and lower ends about their centers of curvature upon means, such as are hereinafter described, carried by the walls ii and ii. The vanes should be of such extent that when closed they will abut against one another and will extend to and contact the edges of the partitions 26 and angle irons 29, thus cutting off the flow of air through the register. Depending upon the width of the register, an appropriate number of pair of vanes or louvres 35 may be employed, the vanes in each pair preferably being adapted to rotate in opposite directions toward or away from the face of the register to control the flow of air which enters or leaves the same. While the proportions and radius of the vanes may vary considerably, certain considerations make it desirable that they extend over an arc of a little more than 60 or one sixth of a circle, and preferably less than a quadrant. In this manner, an efficient use is made of available space, without requiring undue depth of the box shaped frame ID. At the same time, the ends of the vanes adjacent the face of the register do not interfere with the desired flow of air when the vanes are fully or partly open. Vanes of this type actually require less space than those heretofore commonly in use, while at the same time they provide an effective and efficient control of the air. In a typical structure the vanes may be spaced apart on two inch centers and the overall thickness or depth of the register may be kept within two or two and a half inches.

The vanes are preferably provided at their upper and lower ends with radial arms 35, 37 having bent end portions 38 (Fig. 3) secured to the vanes, as at 39, in any convenient manner. The arms 35, 31 may be provided at their ends opposite the vanes 35 with suitable openings for receiving pivot pins 40, both arms for a given pair of vanes being pivoted on the same pin, and the ends of arms 31 being offset as at M in Fig. 1, to overlie the ends of arms 3%. The pivot pins 453 may be suitably secured to the members i l and i2, as shown in Fig. 3, or otherwise. The vanes 35, at their inner ends, may have suitable flanges 43 for engaging the edges of the partitions 35 and angle members 29, to limit the movement of the vanes into open position, and for abutting against one another when the vanes are closed, thus preventing the edges of the vanes from becoming overlapped and wedged together.

For operating the vanes 35, mechanism of the character about to be described may be employed to advantage. In the pocket 45 (Fig. 3) provided by the portions and E8 of the wall l2, there may be located a transverse bar 43, preferably of channel form and provided with a block within the channel threaded onto a screw member 47 one end 48 of which extends through the shoulder portion iii of the frame 10 and is secured against longitudinal movement as by a pin 55, but is free to rotate. The forward end of member 41 extends into an opening in the grille to a point substan tially flush with the the outer face of the same and is provided with a square recess 5! or other convenient means for engagement by a key. The ends of the bar 46 may be supported and aligned by the posts or bolts I9 which have a smooth outer surface and extend through the bar, being held in place by screws 52 which extend through the grille and are threaded into the posts 99. These posts and their screws having heads 53 countersunk in the grille thus serve the double purpose of securing the grille to the box and guiding the bar 46. Pivotally connected adjacent their ends to the bar 45 and to intermediate points of the several radial arms 36, 37, by suitable studs or pins 54, 55, respectively, are links 56. One of these links is provided for each vane.

In order to adjust the device it is merely necessary to turn the screw member 41' in the proper direction to move the bar 46 inwardly from its position in Fig. 2 toward its position in Fig. 4,

to close the vanes, and oppositely to open them. It will be apparent that movement of the bar 46 toward and from the register face will be imparted to the vanes through the links 53. Obviously a variety of other mechanisms might be employed for rocking the vanes in unison upon the turning of a screw or similar operating member.

While the present construction is particularly advantageous for exhaust work in connection with ventilating systems, by virtue of the fact that it saves almost one third of the usual depth required in constructions of this character, it is also advantageous for the inlet or supply end of such a system. It is ordinarily particularly necessary or desirable to economize in the space required by the depth of the register on exhaust lines but this advantage of the present construction is also helpful on supply lines as well. The construction of the vanes and their relation to the members and 29 provides, in an excellent way, a series of compression and expansion chambers on the two sides of the vanes. When the louvres or vanes are only partly open, as shown in broken outline in Fig. 2, the air coming from the duct, for example, will be pocketed between adjacent vanes, the ends of the pockets being blocked olT by the members 25. At the ends of the register similar pockets are formed by the end vanes and the members 29. As the result of the formation of these pockets the air coming from the fan will build up a certain amount of pressure at the back of the register and a definitely regulated amount will be permitted to pass through the openings between opposed vanes and expand into the chamber adjacent the register face. There results, therefore, positive control of the flow of air and an even distribution of the air at the register face. When the vanes are full open, as shown in full lines in Figure 2, the register ofiers very little obstruction to the free passage of air. Less than 25% of the area of the register is blocked off. At the same time, the construction is particularly quiet both mechanically due to avoidance of rattling by virtue of the construction and operation of the vanes, and also from the standpoint of whistling of the air as it passes through the register and of the transmission of fan noises. While the construction is such that little or no rattling would be apt to 4 occur in any case, it will be seen that when the vanes are partly closed, for instance, as shown by the dot and dash lines in Fig. 2, the air in back of the register being under pressure will force the vanes toward the front and thus take up any loose play. Any minor fluctuations in the pressure will have no effect since there will always be sufficient pressure on the vanes to hold them in fixed position. Through the even distribution of the air and the possibility of exact adjustment of the flow through the register, the necessity for control dampers in other portions of the system, as well as for elbow diffusers, is virtually eliminated. An air conditioning system embodying these registers may be readily balanced by the simple use of anemometers for determining the amount of air flowing through each register, for with the present construction there is not only provided a positive control at each register but accuracy of the air flow measurements is facilitated, due to the fact that high velocity jets of air at certain points across the register face are avoided.

Certain features described to some extent in the present application are not claimed herein inasmuch as they are covered in my copending application, Serial No. 435,076 filed March 12, 1930.

While several specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in considerable detail, it will be understood that these are illustrative only and that numerous changes may be made in the specific details of construction and the arrangement of the parts without departing from the general principles and scope of the invention. The terms and expressions used herein are for purposes of description and are not intended to impose any unnecessary limitations upon the invention.

I claim:

1. In a register construction including a boxshaped frame open at either end, spaced members extending between opposed walls of said frame, curved vanes extending parallel to said members and cooperating therewith to close said frame, certain of said vanes being movable into direct engagement with each other, means to pivot the vanes at either end thereof upon said walls and at points offset from the curved surfaces of the vanes, and operating mechanism adapted to simultaneously shift some of the vanes clockwise and others counter-clockwise to open and close the register, said operating mechanism being also adapted to lock said vanes in any position.

2. In a register construction including a boxshaped frame open at either end, spaced members extending between opposed walls of said frame, curved vanes extending parallel to said members and cooperating therewith to close said frame, certain of said vanes being movable into direct engagement with each other, means to pivot the vanes, and operating mechanism adapter to open and close the vanes in unison, said mechanism comprising a member adapted to shift in a direction perpendicular to the face of the frame and links operatively connected to said vanes.

3. In a register construction including a boxshaped frame open at either end, spaced members extending between opposed walls of said frame, curved vanes extending parallel to said members and cooperating therewith to close said conduit, said vanes being arranged in oppositely curved pairs, means to pivot the vanes about their centers of curvature, and operating mechanism adapted to shift the vanes simultaneously to open and close the register, the vanes forming a smooth continuous are when closed.

4. In a register construction including a boxshaped frame open at either end, one of the walls of said frame forming an inwardly facing recess adjacent one end thereof extending substantially the entire length of said wall, spaced members extending between opposed walls of said frame, curved vanes extending parallel to said members and cooperating therewith to close said frame, means to pivot the vanes, and operating mechanism adapted to open and close the vanes, said mechanism comprising a member Within said recess and adapted to slide therein, in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of the pivots of said vanes.

5. In a register, a plurality of pairs of oppositely curved vanes, each of said vanes extending over an arc of about a sixth of a circle, means to pivot said vanes about their centers of curvature, and means comprising a member shiftable perpendicular to the face of the register to move the vanes of each pair in opposite angular directions either toward or away from the face of the register.

6. In a register, a frame, a plurality of pairs of pivoted, fiow control vanes, said vanes of each pair having a common pivot and being curved in an arc about said pivot and adapted to abut each other to close a passage between them, means for simultaneously rocking said vanes of each pair in opposite directions about said pivot to vary the distance between their adjacent edges, and means separating and closing the space between the pairs of vanes, said means being spaced rearwardly from the face of the register and providing a chamber in communication with all of the vanes in rear of the register face.

JAMES D. MCKNIGHT.

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