Patent Application
20200331693
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings that form a part of this document: Copyright 2018-2019 Michael A. THORNBROUGH, All Rights Reserved.
This patent application relates to air vents according to one embodiment, and more specifically to air vents for shipping containers with corrugated sides.
Many types of air vents are well-known in the prior art. For example, air vents for building structures with flat or smooth sides are well-known. However, air vents configured for shipping containers with corrugated sides are not known in the prior art.
The various embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It will be evident, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.
In various example embodiments described herein, an air vent configured for shipping containers with corrugated sides is disclosed. The various example embodiments and methods for fabricating the disclosed air vents are described in more detail below.
Referring to the figures included herewith, an air vent configured for shipping containers with corrugated sides is disclosed and explained in more detail below.
Thousands of Shipping/Cargo Containers, used to ship goods from other Countries to the US, via cargo ship are sold every year across the Country to property owners and businesses to be used as storage containers. These containers are sealed very well to protect the cargo from water, rodents, and other damaging elements while in transport at sea. While at sea, and while sitting at loading facilities, these containers often are exposed to direct sunlight which can heat up the inside of the containers. Another concern is moisture build up inside the container due to condensation. For these reasons container manufacturers install very small vents to allow any pressure and/or fumes, which may build up inside the container, to escape the sealed enclosure. But these vents are not intended, nor do they allow, significant airflow through the container, when the container is being used for storage, to keep the contents cool or dry. Cargo shipped in these containers doesn't stay in the container very long unlike items placed in a container for storage, which may stay in the container for several years. To protect the stored contents from excessive heat and/or moisture damage the container must have significant venting to allow a steady airflow into and out of the container.
Some container suppliers offer modification services and will install such accessories as windows, doors, and vents to suit a purchaser's needs. All of these containers are constructed utilizing corrugated metal sides, backs, and roofs, for strength to allow these containers to be stacked many high for transport on cargo ships. Consequently adding such things as windows, doors, and vents, isn't as simple as it would be on a flat surface. So custom mounting adaptors must be fabricated to permit the installation of flat objects, such as windows, doors, and vents, to the corrugations of the metal sides.
Many years ago I purchased a 40′ container, to be used on my property for storage, from a company that offered the installation of vents, which I opted for. The installation basically consisted of a fabricated flat metal frame, metal inserts to adapt to the corrugations, and a very cheap and thin aluminum louvered horizontal vent screwed to the frame. And a lot of caulking to seal the frame work to the container. Recently I purchased another 40′ Container but from a company that did not offer modifications so I figured I would simply install my own vents.
After extensive searches on the Internet I discovered that in the many years between my container purchases I couldn't find a single vent being manufactured and designed specifically for use on containers, that would flow a significant amount of air, and that was simple and effective to install on my container. And I also read many comments from other container owners who were expressing the very same complaint. Though there were several ideas and videos on how to install vents on containers every one of them were focused on installing wide horizontal vents with a variety of techniques to adapt to the corrugated siding, which were very difficult to install. I could only find one style of vent, designed for installation on containers, available on the entire Internet. However this particular vent was simply a plastic copy of the very same vent style that container manufacturers install on containers for pressure relief, and do not allow for airflow through a Container.
After many hours, over several days, of research on the Internet and reading the many complaints about the lack of simple and effective vents specifically designed for containers I decided to simply build my own. After a lot of thought, and measuring I decided that the simplest and easiest solution was to design a vertical vent utilizing the configuration of the corrugations instead of trying to adapt a horizontal vent to the corrugations. Since such a vent would have to be fabricated to conform exactly to standard container wall corrugations, and obviously must have louvers to keep rain out, I tried to find metal panels with 2″ louvers but I could not find any such panels. So I explored the cost to purchase a 2″ louver punch and die set, and press, to perform the work. Realizing the very high cost of such equipment I decided to manufacture these vents and sell them initially to offset the cost to install vents on my own container.
But then I came up with two different styles of the same vent design to address different uses for containers. One style fits over the outer rib of the corrugation so that if a container was packed to the walls, air would still flow through the container by traveling up the unobstructed corrugation on the inside of the container. But some of these containers are used for jobsite storage and for transport from one location to another. This constant loading and unloading, as well as hazards at jobsites, could cause damage to the exposed vent louvers on the exterior wall. So by simply bending the vent in the opposite direction the vent could be installed on the inner corrugation on the outside wall therefore protecting the vent louvers from damage. And since jobsite storage containers are typically not packed to the walls, air would still flow through the container at the same rate. So I purchased the needed equipment to fabricate the vents. After a lot of trial and error I finally got the vents fabricated to fit exactly over the corrugations.
But then I realized that the doors of containers have flat areas to allow for attachment of the door latching mechanisms. I realized that I could simply attach one of the vents, without bending it, directly to the flat section up high on the doors therefore creating a larger high point in the container for heat to exhaust. I also realized that since I didn't have to consider the width of the wall corrugations, which limited the size of the louvers to 2 inches, I could utilize 4 inch louvers for the door vents and significantly increase the amount of air being exhausted from the container. So I have 3 styles of the same basic design of vent.
I also needed some sort of screen to keep out rodents, reptiles, bees, and bugs, and such a screen needed to be very strong. So I decided to use perforated metal, the same size as the vent. But I couldn't locate perforated sheet metal that had any sort of Galvanized coating to prevent rust. But I did locate perforated aluminum sheet, which won't rust. I needed very small holes to keep out the bugs but very small holes would restrict the amount of airflow. Then I realized that if I spaced the screen from the louvers, I would not lose any of the needed airflow that would pass through the louvers. So my design is to sandwich the container wall with the louvers on the outside, and the screen on the inside. This method allows for all of the air passing through the louvers to also pass through the screen. An added benefit of this design is that it makes for a cleaner appearance on the inside of the Container and also removes the safety hazard of having the sharp edges of the cut hole exposed.
These vents operate passively under the concept that warm air rises. So, for example, if you install one wall vent low on the wall, and another vent high on the opposite wall, the warmer air will exhaust through the higher vent while bringing in cooler air through the lower vent. Or, if you utilize a door vent mounted high on the door of the container, you would install 2 wall vents down low on the opposite end of the container resulting in more airflow through the container.
A huge benefit to the design of these vents is that no roof penetrations are required to achieve excellent airflow through a container. I've seen a few venting practices which actually penetrate the roof of the container. Typically a wind turbine or solar-powered exhaust fan is utilized. However, container roofs are also constructed with corrugated metal so adapting wind turbines or exhaust fans to these corrugations creates a very high probability of eventual water leaks through the roof.
All of my Vents are 6 inches wide by 12 inches high and constructed with 20 gauge galvanized coated mild steel sheet metal. The screens are made with 20 gauge perforated aluminum with 1/16 inch holes. The corners of the vents and screens are rounded with a ¾ inch radius. Each vent and screen has 6 mounting holes, which vary in size depending on the style of Vent. Mounting hardware consists of a stainless steel wide head Phillips screw, (#10-24), a #10 stainless steel extra-large washer, and a stainless steel 10-24 nylon locknut.
I conducted airflow tests on my vents to determine how many vents should be installed on a container to achieve plenty of airflow through the container. A 20′ standard container's volume is 1,280 cubic feet and a 40′ container's volume is 2,560 cubic feet. I measured my 2″ louvered vents, with screens attached, spaced the thickness of a container wall, and I achieved up to 6,200 cubic feet per minute, which calculates up to 2.4 air changes within a 40 foot container per minute, which is excellent! And up to 4.8 air changes per minute on a 20 foot container! This is based on installing two wall vents on the container, one at the lowest point and one at the highest point. My door vent achieved 6,450 cubic feet per minute. So, a Container owner has several combination options utilizing my vent designs.
The figures included herewith show the front and back view of each style of vent installed on a container. The figures also include detailed drawings for each type of vent. In particular,
The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
This non-provisional patent application draws priority from U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/835,171; filed Apr. 17, 2019. This present non-provisional patent application draws priority from the referenced patent application. The entire disclosure of the referenced patent application is considered part of the disclosure of the present application and is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62835171 | Apr 2019 | US |
