US3045578A

US3045578A - Air distribution assembly

Info

Publication number: US3045578A
Application number: US824066A
Authority: US
Inventors: William L Mcgrath
Original assignee: Carrier Corp
Current assignee: Carrier Corp
Priority date: 1959-06-30
Filing date: 1959-06-30
Publication date: 1962-07-24
Anticipated expiration: 1979-07-24

Description

July 24, 1962 w. L. MCGRATH 3,045,578

AIR DISTRIBUTION ASSEMBLY Filed June 30, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

FIG. 2

INVENTOR.

WILLIAM L. McGRATH.

ATTORNEY,

July 24, 1962 w. L. MCGRATH AIR DISTRIBUTION ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 30, 1959 III l i I FIG. 7

PK; 5 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM L. McGRATH.

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent Ofifice 3,045,578 Patented July 24, 1962 3,045,578 AIR DISTRIBUTION ASSEMBLY William L. McGrath, Syracuse, N.Y., assignor to Carrier Corporation, Syracuse, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 30, 1959, Ser. No. 824,066 13 Claims. (11. 98-40) This invention relates to an air distribution assembly and more particularly to an improved air distribution assembly for distributing conditioned air in a plurality of alternately selected directions.

In distributing air such as may be provided by an air conditioning unit, or other source thereof, it is desirable to provide more than one pattern in which the air may be discharged from the unit. This is particularly desirable in the case of room air conditioners where the unit may be located in a variety of positions with respect to the occupants of the room or other area being conditioned. Under certain circumstances individual occupants of the room may desire that the air conditioning unit discharge the conditioned air stream into the room directly towards the occupants, whereas under other corcumstances or when used by other individuals such distribution may be considered objectionable. It is, therefore, customary to provide some means whereby an alternate pattern of air distribution may be achieved. The distribution pattern may desirably provide for discharge of conditioned air air towards the ceiling of the room when the air conditioning unit is being employed as a room cooler, because air near the ceiling of a room is generally warmer than the air nearer the floor and cool air discharged towards the ceiling tends to fall promoting better circulation and cooling of the room than might be obtained by other distribution patterns. Furthermore, if the air conditioning unit is of a type which may alternately be employed as a heat pump where it is desired to warm the air entering the area being conditioned, it is desirable that the warm air from the unit, which has a tendency to rise, be discharged in a more nearly horizontal direction. From a manufacturing standpoint it is desirable that the means employed to selectively discharge conditioned air at the desired point be inexpensive, easily assembled, have as few parts as possible, and be reliable in operation.

Accordingly it is a principal object of this invention to provide an improved air distribution assembly adapted to be used in conjunction with an air conditioning unit or other air source whereby the pattern of air distribution may be easily selected by the user thereof.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an air distribution assembly which is inexpensive to manufacture, is easily assembled, employs a minimum of parts and is reliable in operation.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an air distribution assembly having minimal thickness and which can therefore be used in connection with other apparatus such as an air conditioning unit without materially increasing the overall dimensions of the apparatus.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an air distribution assembly which requires only a single moving part.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an air distribution assembly having a pleasing external appearance which presents substantially the same aesthetic effect regardless of the selected direction of air flow therefrom.

These and other objects of this invention which will become more apparent from a consideration of the specification and drawings are achieved by providing a grille for an air distribution panel having a plurality of angularly disposed vanes therein. Adjacent the vanes of the grille a baffle plate is positioned having a plurality of slats through which air may pass prior to being discharged from an air conditioning unit. Depending on the posi tion of the slats in relation to the vanes, the air is caused to be discharged at an angle to the grille corresponding generally to that of the vanes or alternatively, in a direction perpendicular to the grille. A handle or other manipulating means may be provided to enable the user to adjust to the desired position of the bafile and to obtain thereby the desired distribution pattern for the air.

The specific constructional details of preferred embodiments of this invention will become apparent by a consideration of the attached drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioning unit showing a front panel of an air distribution assembly constructed according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary back view similar to FIGURE 1 of the front panel of the air conditioning unit illustrated therein;

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of an air distribution assembly taken substantially on line IIIIII of FIG- URE 2 showing the baffle employed in a position to discharge air in a direction perpendicular to the assembly;

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view of an air distribution assembly similar to FIGURE 3 with the baffle in a position to discharge air at an angle to the assembly;

FIGURE 5 is a cross section view of a modified air distribution assembly;

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view of a modified air distribution panel;

FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional View of an air distribution assembly taken substantially on line VIIVII of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a cross sectional view of an air distribution assembly showing another modification thereof.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in FIGURE 1 a room air conditioner 10 of the type generally known as a portable air conditioning unit, which may be employed as a room cooler or as a heat pump to warm the air in the room in which it is used. The changeover in operation may be accomplished either by a reverse cycle valve or by merely reversing the position of the air conditioning unit in the window in which it is placed so that either the evaporator or the condenser is in heat exchange relation with the air being discharged into the room. While only a front panel assembly will be described in this specification it should be understood that the air conditioner may, if desired, have a similar side or rear panel as for example in cases where it is of the type which is adapted to be reversed in the window to secure an alternate mode of operation. It will also be understood that words such as front, rear, vertical, horizontal are employed throughout for purposes of description and are meant to be relative rather than to imply limitations.

Air conditioner 10 is provided with a front air distribution panel assembly 11 which for purposes of description can be said to be relatively thin and therefore lying sub stantially in a plane although it will be understood that the panel assembly has thickness as shown in FIGURE 3. Front panel assembly 11 is provided with an air distribution grille designated generally as 12. Grille 12 which also can be said to lie in a plane comprises a plurality of vanes 13 which are parellel to each other, spaced from one another and have a curved face 13a disposed at a predetermined inclination to the plane of the grille. Vanes 13 may extend completely across the louvered portion of panel 11, or as shown in FIGURE 1 may be supported at one or more intermediate portions across their width for structural rigidity. Since vanes 13 are spaced from one another they form between adjacent vanes a plurality of apertures '14 in grille 12. Because the vanes are set in the grille at an angle, their projection in the so-called plane of the grille is a dimension less than their actual width measured along their acutely inclined surface 13a. As can best be seen from a consideration of FIGURE 3, vanes 13 are spaced from one another by a distance substantially greater than their projected dimension in the plane of the grille. This spacing is shown in the embodiment of FIGURE 3 to be at least twice as great as the projected dimension of the vanes in the so-called plane of the grille (which could be any geometic plane parallel with the faces of the grille). Apertures 14 formed in the grille, therefore, have an unobstructed space for air to pass through the grille without having to contact and be deflected by the vanes. Vanes 13 of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 3 are curved in order to give at least portions thereof an inclined disposition with the plane of the grille but it will be understood that other shapes and configurations of vanes are satisfactory for the purposes of this invention providing they have portions disposed at an acute angle or inclination to the plane of the grille so as to impart an angular direction to a stream of air passing in contact therewith.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 2, there is positioned adjacent and behind grille 12, a baflle plate 15 which is mounted in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the grille. In the embodiment shown, the bafile is conveniently mounted on panel 11 by a fastener 16 which is generally convex in cross section and made of spring material so as to frictionally retain baflle 15 in contact with panel 11. It is necessary to permit limited reciprocating movement of baffle 15 in the plane thereof as well as to fix the direction of movement thereof. The means shown in the drawing for accomplishing these functions comprise projpections 19 which may be integral with panel 11, and corresponding slots 20 in battle 15 of a width just sufficient to receive the outer dimension of projection 19. Slot 20 as shown in FIGURE 2 has a length greater than the corresponding dimension of projection 19, and is of length which permits the desired reciprocating movement of bafile 15 but limits the extent of that movement by engagement of the ends of slot 20 with projection 19. The ends of baffie 15 are shown retained in engagement with panel 11 by the provisions of lugs 17 on each side of the panel which ride in shallow recesses 18 in baflle 15.

Bafile plate 15 carries a plurality of slats 23. Slats 23 substantially correspond in position and spacing with respective vanes 13 and may extend continuously across the entire dimension of bafile 15, or as shown in FIGURE 2 may be more rigidly supported by a plurality of ribs 25 which for aesthetic reasons may correspond in position to the structural supports provided for vanes 13, In either event, pairs of adjacent slats 23 may form a plurality of apertures 24 carried by baflle 15 which correspond with apertures 14 in grille 12. The slats should have a width sufiicient to cover the inclined faces 13a of vanes 13, so that air passing through apertures 24 is not deflected by the vanes but flows unobstructedly through the assembly in one position of the baffle. The slats should have a width less than the width of apertures 14 in the grille so that the passage of air through the assembly is permitted.

Manipulating handle 28 having brackets 29 projecting from grille .12 and coacting with bafile 15 may be provided for selecting the desired position of slats 23 with respect to vanes 13. A pair of L-shaped brackets 29 are shown connecting manipulator 28 to bathe 15.

In operation, slats 23 and apertures 24 may be positioned as shown in FIGURE 3 in one position of the baffle, or alternatively baffle 15 may be reciprocated so that slats 23 and apertures 24 assume the position shown in FIGURE 4 with respect to grille 12. As shown in FIGURE 3, slats 23 extend upwardly from one of two adjacent pairs of vanes 13 forming apertures 14 and cover the portion of apertures 14 extending from the lower edge of each pair of adjacent vanes which form the aperture.

In other words, in the position shown in FIGURE 3, slats 23 cover the section of apertures 14 opposite the acutely inclined face of vanes 13. In this position air passing through the assembly avoids the vanes and is unobstructedly discharged perpendicularly from the grille as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 3 because apertures 14 in the baffie are aligned with the unobstructed portion of apertures 24 in the grille.

When the slats 23 assume the position shown in FIG- URE 4 by moving baffle 15 downwardly from position shown in FIGURE 3, slats 23 cover another portion of apertures 14 extending downwardly from the upper of the two adjacent pairs of vanes forming apertures 24. In this position air passing through the assembly is forced into contact with the inclined portion of vanes 13 and is discharged at an angle to the grille as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 4 because apertures 24 in the bafile are aligned with inclined faces 13a of the vanes.

FIGURE 5 shows a modified embodiment of the air distribution assembly shown in FIGURE 3. Bafile plate 15 of FIGURE 5 is generally similar to the bafile shown in FIGURE 3 except that manipulator handle 58 comprises an integral tongue projecting outwardly from the top of panel 51. Apertures 54 are formed by the adjacent vanes 53 in grille 52. Vanes 53 of this embodiment differ from those of the preceding embodiment in that they are generally V shaped in cross section having a portion thereof comprising one leg 55 of the V extending at a predetermined acute angle with the plane of the grille thereby forming acutely inclined fiat face 55a and having the other leg 56 extending substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the grille. In addition, separator bars 57 having perpendicularly disposed face 57 remote from vane faces 55a divide apertures 54 of the grille into two substantially

equal sections

59 and 60 and serve to direct the flow of the air from apertures 24' in a direction perpendicular to grille 52, when bafile 15' is in the position shown in FIGURE 5, as indicated by the solid arrows.

When baffle 15' is raised by the operation of manipulator handle 58 to the position shown in broken lines in FIGURE 5, slats 23 and apertures 24 carried by the baffle will be raised from a position in which they cover the one section 60 of apertures 54 opposite vanes 53 to a position where they uncover sections 60 and cover another section 59 of apertures 54 extending in the opposite direction from separator bars 57, and will consequently direct the air in an angular direction substantially determined by the inclination of leg 55 to the plane of the grille as shown in broken lines.

FIGURE 6 shows a modified embodiment of the invention wherein a pair of air distribution grilles 62 comprise air distribution panel 61. In this embodiment it will be observed that parallel vanes 63 differ from the horizontal vanes in the preceding embodiment in that they are disposed at an angle to the horizontal. The air distribution assembly of this embodiment is shown in cross sectional detail in FIGURE 7. A pair of baffle plates 75 carry slats 73 and apertures 74 at an angle to the horizontal corresponding to the angular disposition of vanes 63. Fastening means similar to that shown in FIGURE 2 may secure baffles 75 to grilles 62. Manipulator handles 63 are provided for each of baffles 75 and move horizontally in slots 69 to limit the reciprocating movement of the baflle between the desired portions. Vanes 63 are generally similar to the vanes in the described embodiment of FIGURE 5 and apertures 64 are formed between adjacent pairs of vanes in each grille to permit the passage of air therethrough. It will be observed that separator bars 76 have been added to the grilles to assure a more positive directional flow in the direction of the solid arrows when bafile 75 is in the position shown.

In the position shown in FIGURE 7, slats 73 cover one section 65 of apertures 64 in grille 61 and the other sections 66 are uncovered. In this position, air passing and the bathe.

through the air distribution assembly is deflected by the acutely inclined curved faces 63a of vanes 63, which are inclined at an acute angle to the plane of grille 61, as shown by the solid arrows in FIGURE 7.

When manipulator handles 68 are moved inwardly towards the center of panel 61, as shown in FIGURE 6, slats 73 carried by baffles 75 Will be moved downwardly from the position shown in FIGURE 7 thereby covering the sections 66 of apertures 64 between separator bars 76 and the lower adjacent vanes and uncovering sections 65. Air passing through the assembly will then be discharged perpendicularly to the grille as shown by the broken arrows in FIGURE 7.

It will be observed that the diagonal vanes of the two grilles in FIGURE 6 are disposed at an angle relative to the horizontal and are oppositely angled relative to one another. This construction is well adapted to the use of a separate baffle for each grille, and separate manipulators for each baflle. However, if it is desired to use in a single manipulator handle the same can be done by providing a single baffle with the slats in the same relative position as when a pair of baflles is employed. In this case the movement of the balfle plate across one of the grilles will be slightly different from that across the other grille. Because of the different inclinations of the vanes in the two grilles, the slats of the bafile will move in a downward direction across the vanes of one grille while the slats of the other baflle will move in an upward direction as the balfie is moved diagonally across the panel. This will not necessarily alter the functioning of the two grilles in the panel because as can be observed from the FIGURE 7 it makes no difference in the function of the assembly whether slats 73 of bafile 75 move upwardly or downwardly from any given position as long as slats '73 are sufficiently wide to cover substantially half of the apertures 64 and if separator bars 76 are disposed substantially at the midpoint of these apertures.

An advantage to be gained from the use of grille of the type shown in FIGURE 6 is that when it is desired to circulate cool air from an air conditioning unit towards the ceiling of the room in which the unit is placed, the air is displaced both upwardly and at an angle to the unit thereby promoting circulation about the side walls of the room. Another advantage to be gained from the construction shown in FIGURE 6 where separate baffles are used between each grille is that air may be directed upwardly and side-wise from one grille towards a far corner of the room, and at the same time air passing through the other grille may be directed straight outwardly if desired. It will be appreciated that numerous patterns of air distribution are possible which separate baffles employed with the construction shown in FIG- URE 6. For example, air may be directed generally straight out from each grille or the air may be directed upwardly at an angle to the grille and fanned outwardly from the center of the panel assembly thereby providing air diffusion and freedom from drafts. In addition, any desired combination of these patterns may be achieved by separately adapting each baflle andany intermediate position between the described extreme patterns may be achieved by adjusting the baffles to a position part way between their extreme positions.

In the modification shown in FIGURE 8, grille 81 has vanes 87 and apertures 86 between adjacent pairs of vanes similar to the embodiment shown in FIGURE 7. Instead of the separator bars shown in the preceding embodiment, a bafile plate 85 having molded, riveted, or

otherwise secured thereto a plurality of channel shaped slats 83 is employed. Each of slats 83 carried by baffle plate'85 have extending therefrom one leg 88 facing an acutely inclined curved faces 87a of vanes 87 and is acutely inclined with respect to the plane of the grille Slats 83 may have another leg 89 perpendicularly disposed to the aforementioned planes.

When a bafile is in the position shown in full lines in FIGURE 8, air passing through apertures 84 will contact the acutely inclined surfaces of vanes 87, and the exposed surface of acute leg 88, and will be directed up wardly as shown by the solid arrow. When baffle plate 85 is moved downwardly slats 83 will be moved into the position shown in broken lines in FIGURE 8, and air passing through the assembly will contact the perpendicular faces 87b of vanes 87 and the perpendicular faces 89 of slats 83, and will be directed perpendicularly to the plane of grille as shown by the broken arrow.

The operation of this invention in its various embodiments has been described with reference to the extreme positions of the baflie plate with respect to the grille. It will be appreciated, however, that the battle plate may assume intermediate positions such that the slats carried thereby partially cover the inclined portion of the vanes and partially cover the unobstructed portion of the grille. These intermediate positions of the slats are useful because under such circumstances a portion of the air passing through the air distribution assembly is directed in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the grille and another portion of the air passing through the assembly is directed at an angle to the plane of the grille. When the two streams of air converge they tend to combine thereby providing intermediate distribution patterns at various angles between the patterns provided by the two extreme positions of the bafiie.

The operation of the described embodiments of this invention may be thought of in two ways. Looking first at the slats carried by the baffles described in the various embodiments of the invention, it will be observed that the slats are of a width suificient to cover the projection of the acutely inclined faces of the vanes in the plane or" the grille when they are opposite the faces of the vanes. The slats also have a width such that when the inclined portion of the vanes are covered at least a portion of the unobstructed apertures between the vanes in the grille are uncovered so that air may pass directly through the panel in a direction perpendicular thereto. Thought of in this way, the slats move covering one or another portion of the apertures between the vanes thereby directing air in a perpendicular or an angular direction. Thinking about the operation of this invention in another way, the apertures in the bathe plates can be said to move thereby aligning themselves either with the inclined face of the vanes or with the unobstructed apertures between the vanes, consequently directing the air either in an angular direction or in a perpendicular direction to the plane of the grilles.

While specified preferred embodiments of this invention have been described in detail it will be understood that these forms of this invention have been presented by way of illustration rather than limitation. The invention may take various forms within the scope of the claims. For example any of the grilles illustrated in FIGURES 2, 5, 7, and 8 are adapted to be used with either the panel shown in FIGURE 1 or the panel shown in FIGURE 6. Likewise, other forms of grilles and bafile plates may be employed together for the purpose of this invention. It will be appreciated for example that separator bars such as shown in FIGURE 5 and FIGURE 7 may be added to the grille of FIGURE 3 if desired. Vanes with either flat or curved inclined faces may be employed successfully in the various embodiments shown.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be appreciated that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. I therefore do not wish to be limited to the construction shown since it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An assembly for directing air alternately in a plurality of directions, one of which is perpendicular to the plane of said assembly, and another of which is at an angle to said plane comprising an air distribution grille having a plurality of spaced angularly disposed rigid vanes, each having a face thereof disposed at a predetermined inclination to the plane of said grille, said grille further having a plurality of apertures formed therein between adjacent pairs of spaced vanes, said apertures forming a corresponding plurality of air how passages positioncd between respective spaced vanes so that air may pass through said grille, said vanes being spaced apart a distance greater than the geometric projection thereof in the plane of said grille so that the upper edges of said vanes extend upwardly a distance less than the distance between the vanes, a bathe plate, means to slidably mount said bathe plate adjacent said grille in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said grille for movement in the plane of said bathe, a plurality of spaced slats carried by said bathe, said bathe further having a plurality of apertures formed between adjacent pairs of spaced slats, said apertures between said slats forming air passages through said bathe, said slats having a width less than that of the corresponding apertures between said vanes in said grille, each of said slats being disposed on said bathe so as to cover only a portion of said apertures in said grille extending from the respective adjacent vanes when said bathe is in one position with the slats opposite the acutely inclined faces of said vanes thereby directing air passing through said assembly in a perpendicular direction to the plane of said grille, and to cover only another portion of said apertrues in said grille extending from the other respective adjacent vanes when said bathe is in another portion thereby directing air passing through said assembly in an angular direction to the plane of said grille, and manipulating means coacting with said bathe to enable the selection of the desired position of said slats thereby to select the desired direction of air flow through said assembly.

2. An air distribution assembly comprising a grille having a plurality of parallel vanes each having a face thereof disposed at a predetermined acute inclination with the plane of said grille, said vanes being substantially parallel to each other and spaced apart to form apertures in the grille between adjacent pairs of vanes for passing air through said grille, said vanes being spaced apart a distance greater than the geometrically projected dimension of said vanes in the plane of said grille so that the upper edges of said vanes extend upwardly a distance less than the distance between the vanes, a bathe plate mounted adjacent said grille in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said grille, a plurality of slats carried by said bathe, said slats being spaced from each other to form a plurality of apertures in said bathe corresponding to the apertures in said grille, said apertures having a width less than the spacing between said vanes in said grille, means for slidably mounting said bathe for limited motion in a direction in the plane of said bathe,

said bathe being positioned so that said slats cover only a portion of said apertures in said grille extending from one vane of each of the adjacent pairs of vanes, thereby shielding the acutely inclined face of said vanes when said bathe is in one position, and said slats covering only another portion of said apertures extending from their respective adjacent other vanes, thereby exposing said acutely inclined faces of said vanes when said bathe is in another position; and manipulating means coacting with said bathe to select the desired position of said slats with respect to said vanes to direct an air stream adapted to pass through said panel in a direction perpendicular thereto when said slats are in said one position opposite said inclined faces of said vanes and adapted to direct said air stream through said assembly at an angle thereto when said slats are in said other position whereby said slats cover said other portion in said apertures and said grille.

3. An air distribution assembly as defined in claim 2 comprising a pair of said grilles, the vanes of each of the grilles being disposed at an angle to the horizontal and the vanes of one grille diverging from the vanes of the other grille, and a pair of said bathe plates having the respective slats carried thereby disposed at a correspondingly diverging angle to direct air through said assembly upwardly and outwardly when said slats are in said other position.

4. An air distribution assembly, as defined in claim 3, wherein said bathe plates are independently slidable with respect to each other.

5. An air distribution assembly comprising a grille having a plurality of spaced vanes disposed parallel to one another, each said vane having an acutely inclined face at predetermined angle to the plane of said grille, said vanes being spaced apart a distance greater than the geometrically projected dimension of said vanes in the plane of said grille so that the upper edges of said vanes extend upwardly a distance less than the distance between the vanes, a plurality of apertures formed in said grille between adjacent pairs of said spaced vanes adapted to permit air to pass through said grille, a portion of said apertures being unobstructed by said vanes, a bathe plate, means to slidably mount said bathe plate adjacent to and in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of said grille, said bathe plate having formed therein a plurality of apertures adapted to be aligned with said unobstructed portions of said apertures in said grille and thereby adapted to permit air to how unobstructedly through said apertures in said bathe and in said grille in a direction perpendicular thereto, said apertures in said bathe being further adapted to be aligned opposite the said acutely inclined faces of said vanes to impose a corresponding angular direction to air adapted to how through said assembly when said bathe is in another position thereof, and manipulating means to select the desired position of said bathe thereby to select the desired direction of air flow from said assembly.

6. An air distribution assembly according to claim 5 wherein said bathe plate is mounted on said grille to form a unitary assembly.

7. An air distribution assembly according to claim 5 wherein said assembly comprises a pair of said grilles and a pair of said bathe plates and wherein said vanes and the apertures formed in said grille and the apertures formed in said bathe extend in an angular direction with respect to a horizontal plane when said assembly is in a vertical position and said apertures in a grille and bathe diverge from the aperture in the other grille and bathe.

8. An air distribution assembly according to claim 7 wherein said bathe plates are independently slidable with respect to each other.

9. An air distribution assembly comprising a grille member having a plurality of spaced parallel vanes, a face of each of said vanes being disposed at a predetermined acute inclination to the plane of said grille memher, said grille having apertures formed between adjacent pairs of said spaced vanes adapted to permit the passage of air through said grille, separator bars disposed between said vanes having a face thereof perpendicular to the plane of said grille thereby dividing each of said apertures into two sections, a bathe plate, means to mount said bathe plate adjacent and substantially parallel to the plane of said grille for limited reciprocating movement in the plane of said bathe, a plurality of slats carried by said bathe having corresponding portions spaced apart a distance substantially corresponding to the spacing of said vanes, said bathe having apertures formed therein between said spaced slats and corresponding in location to said apertures in said grille, said apertures in said bathe being adapted to permit passage of air therethrough, each of said slats being positioned relative to said apertures in said grille so as to substantially cover one of said two sections formed between a separator bar and an acutely inclined face of an adjacent vane when said bafile is in one position, said slats being of a width such that the others of said two sections are uncovered when said baffle is in said one position thereby permitting air to How through said assembly unobstructedly in a direction perpendicular to the plane of said grille, and said slats substantially covering the others of said sections between separator bars and the other of said pair of adjacent vanes and uncovering said one section when said bafile is in another position thereby permitting air to flow through said assembly at an angle to the plane of said grille, and manipulating means coacting with said bafile to move said slats from said one position to said other position.

10. Air distribution assembly as defined in claim 9 where said vanes have a leg having a face disposed substantially perpendicular to said plane of said grille to guide air in a similar direction when said baffle is in said one position.

11. An air distribution assembly as defined in claim 9 wherein the face of said vanes inclined to said plane of said grille comprises a flat surface.

12. An air distribution assembly as defined in claim 9 wherein the face of said vanes inclined to said plane of said grille comprises a curved surface.

13. An air distribution assembly for directing air in a plurality of directions comprising a grille having a plurality of vanes each of which has a face thereof acutely inclined with the plane of said grille, said vanes being spaced apart a distance greater than their geometric projection in the plane of said grille so that the upper edges of said vanes extend upwardly a distance less than the distance between the vanes, said vanes being disposed parallel to one another and having apertures formed at a location between adjacent pairs of spaced vanes in said grille for permitting the passage of air therethrough,

a baffle plate, means to mount said baffle plate adjacent to and in a plane parallel with the plane of said grille for limited recirpocating movement in the plane of said baifle, a plurality of slats carried by said baflie, said slats being spaced apart and parallel to one another to form apertures in said bafile between adjacent pairs of said slats for permitting the passages of air therethrough, said slats comprising generally channel shaped members each having a pair of portions forming said channel extending towards said grille from said slat, one of said portions being inclined at an acute angle to said plane of said bafile and the other of said portions being disposed substantially perpendicularly to the plane of said battle, the acute portion of said slats facing respective acutely inclined faces of said vanes, said slats being arranged to cover a portion of the apertures in said grille opposite the inclined portion of said vanes in one position of said grille whereby air is adapted to be directed through the said apertures in said assembly in a direction perpendicular to the plane of said grille, said slats being adapted to cover another portion of said apertures in said grille when said baffie is in another position thereof whereby air is adapted to be directed through the apertures in said assembly and across the inclined faces of said grille and said slats at an angle to the plane of said grille, and manipulating means coacting with said bafiie to move said slats from said one position to said other position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,982,125 Stacy Nov. 27, 1934 2,077,734 Anderson Apr. 20, 1937 2,474,152 Levy June 6, 1949 2,976,795 Brugles Mar. 28, 1961 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,045,578 July 24,. 1962 William L. McGrath It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent req'iiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 23, for "corcumstances" read circumstance: line 29, strike out "air", first, occurrencej; column 2 line 64, for "parellel" read parallel column 3, line 14, for

"deffected" read deflected line 34, for "projpections" read projections line 43, for "provisions" read provision line 52, for "13," read 13,, same column 3, line 56, for "faces" read face column 5, line 20, strike out "in"; line 72, for "faces" read face column 9, line 9, for '"section" read sections Signed and sealed this 11th day of December 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 7