This application claims the benefit of priority of Canadian Patent Application No. 3,097,159 filed Oct. 27, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention pertains generally to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. More specifically, the invention relates to a register vent having integrated bow-springs on its sidewalls for screwless attachment to a register box or other ductwork opening.
Register vents for heating are difficult to properly secure in ceilings. A typical method known in the prior art is to utilize screws to secure the front plate of the register vent to the ceiling surface, but often the ceiling surface is drywall or similar material and screws do not hold well. Attempting to insert drywall anchors into the edge of a drywall cut is not helpful as the anchor itself does not secure well immediately adjacent the drywall edge.
Another known approach is to utilize magnets to hold the register vent in the register box; however, magnets utilized for this purpose are awkward to work with as they need to be secured to the register vent at a location that will put them in close proximity to a metal surface of the register box. Due to the irregular shapes of the ductwork and associated register boxes, upon insertion of the vent into the box, it is a common problem that the magnets are not close enough to the metal surfaces and do not hold well. The position of the magnets on the vent surface may need to be adjusted several times and further insertion attempts made. Furthermore, adhesive utilized to secure one or more magnets to the side of the register vent may fail after a period of time due to the heat from the hot air passing through the vent.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention there is disclosed a vent register including a front plate having a perforated section for allowing airflow through the front plate, a plurality of sidewalls perpendicularly extending from a side of the front plate and forming a sleeve for insertion into an opening of a ventilation duct, and a first bow-spring attached to a first sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls. The first bow-spring is a length of spring-tempered wire attached at both ends to the first sidewall such that the first bow-spring forms a U-shape wing along the first sidewall.
In some embodiments, the vent register further includes a second bow-spring attached to a second sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls, the second sidewall being opposite the first sidewall. The second bow-spring is a second length of spring-tempered wire attached at both ends to the second sidewall such that the second bow-spring forms a second U-shape wing along the second sidewall
A benefit of some embodiments of the invention is that the register vent is particularly well-suited for use in ceiling installations. The bow-spring(s) exert a force on the inner sidewalls of a register box opening and the friction of the bow-springs pushing against these surfaces overcomes the force of gravity and the force of airflow on the vent register. In this way, the vent register is held secure in position without utilizing screws. Damage to the ceiling drywall is prevented and visual appeal is increased as the vent register lacks screws. Beneficially, a user in the room cannot see what is holding the register in place.
These and other advantages and embodiments of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which represent preferred embodiments thereof:
Extending laterally away from each of the longer length sidewalls 14a,c in this embodiment are U-shaped bow-spring wings 18a,b, each respectively formed by lengths of spring-tempered wire 20. The spring-tempered wire may be 20-gauge piano wire, also known as high-carbon steel wire. Commonly utilized for forming springs, the wire 20 holds its shape and bounces back to its original shape after bending, stretching, and twisting. In this embodiment, the register vent 10 includes first and second bow-springs 18a,b, each opposite one another on the longer sidewalls 14a,c of the rectangular shaped register 10.
As illustrated in
In an exemplary embodiment, register vent 10 is formed by the front plate 12 being eleven and a quarter inches long and four and quarter inches wide. The sidewalls 14 forming the perpendicularly-extending sleeve are ten inches long (sidewalls 14a,c) and three inches wide (sidewalls 14b,d). The first and second bow-springs 18 are attached to the each of the ten inch long sidewalls 14a,c approximately two inches from the ends of the sidewalls 14b,d. The bow-springs 18 are each formed by an eight inch length of 0.035 inch wire 20 that bows out laterally to a maximum distance at the center of the wire 20 of approximately one inch from the sidewall 14. The holes 20 in the sidewall 14 through which the wire 20 of the bow-springs 18 pass are about a quarter of an inch from the upper edge of the sidewalls 14.
As shown in
As shown in
A method of installing the register vent 10 by a user according to an exemplary embodiment includes bending up a first of the bow-springs 18a and inserting that side of the register vent 10 first into the register box 50. The user then bends the other side bow-spring 18b upwards and pushes the register vent 10 upwards into the opening 54 of the register box 50. At this point, the friction force of the sidewall bow-spring wings 18 holds the register vent 10 in place and the user can let go.
Beneficially, no screws are needed to be utilized in this embodiment to hold the register vent 10 in place in the ceiling. Besides providing a more secure hold, the register vent 10 of this embodiment prevents damage to the ceiling drywall material and has clean aesthetic look as there is no need to drill out any screw holes on the in-room facing surface of the front plate 12. When viewed from below, it is not apparent how the register vent 10 is being held in place. Furthermore, if needed, such as for cleaning, the register vent 10 may also be easily removed by a user overcoming the friction force of the bow-spring wings 18 in order to pull the register vent 10 downward and out of the register box 50. Unlike screw-based attachment, repeated removal and insertion of the register vent 10 with integrated bow-springs 18 in this embodiment has no negative impact to the ceiling drywall.
The stitched connection of wire 20 in this embodiment is beneficial as an easy to manufacture device. A number of holes 22 such as three or more holes is generally sufficient to provide a secure connection on the ends of the wire 20 and multiple bow-springs can easily be added to a prior art register vent that does include bow-springs.
In some embodiments, the above-described register vents 10, 90 may be either plastic or metal-based register vents. However, metal register vents may beneficially be manufactured with further techniques to attach the bow-springs 18 to the sidewalls that are more suitable to metal-to-metal connections such as crimping in addition to the above-described techniques.
In the embodiment of
A method of manufacturing register vents 10, 90, 130 according to an exemplary embodiment may comprising converting an existing, prior art register vent that does not include bow-springs 18 to include one or more bow-springs 18. In an exemplary embodiment, the manufacturing process includes drilling one or more holes 22 in the vertical sidewalls 14 to accept the spring-tempered wire 20 of the bow-spring(s) 18. Each bow-spring 18 is formed by a length of high carbon steel wire 20 and includes a friction increasing means 26 on at least a center portion of the wire 20. The two ends of the wire 20 for a bow-spring 18 are inserted and then secured to a register vent sidewall 14 such that the wire 20 bows outwards from the sidewall 14 by about one inch to form a U-shaped wing 18. The process of securing the wire 20 ends may be done in some embodiments utilizing one of the above-described connection techniques such as:
The process of attaching bow-springs 18 may be repeated for each sidewall 14 that is desired to include a bow-spring 18. In some embodiments, the register vent 10, 90, 130 is rectangular and two separate bow-springs 18a,b are respectively attached on each of the longer lengthwise sidewalls 14a,c.
The above manufacturing steps are not restricted to the exact order described, and, in other configurations, described steps may be omitted or other intermediate steps added. Furthermore, in some embodiments, a kit is sold comprising the bow-spring 18 wires 20 with preinstalled friction increasing means 26 along with instructions for an end-user to modify prior art register vents to include said bow-springs 18.
According to an exemplary embodiment, a vent register 10, 90, 130 includes a front plate 12 having a perforated section for allowing airflow through the front plate 12, and a plurality of sidewalls 14 perpendicularly extending from a side of the front plate 12 and forming a sleeve for insertion into an opening 54 of a ventilation duct. A first bow-spring 18a is attached to a first sidewall 14a of the plurality of sidewalls 14 and a second bow-spring 18b is attached to a second sidewall 14c, the second sidewall 14c being opposite the first sidewall 14a. The first and second bow-springs 18a,b are each respectively spring-tempered wires 20, the first bow-spring 18a being attached at both ends to the first sidewall 14a, and the second bow-spring 18b being attached at both ends to the second sidewall 14c. Each of the first and second bow-springs 18a,b thereby forms a U-shape wing respectively extending from the first and second sidewalls 14a,c. In some embodiments, the bow-springs 18 include friction increasing means 26 on at least a center portion for securing the register vent 10, 90, 130 in the opening 54.
Although the invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments, it should be understood that various modifications, additions and alterations may be made to the invention by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, although the above-description description has focused on a register vent 10, 90, 130 for use in a ceiling, in other situations the same designs of register vents 10, 90, 130 can also be utilized in conjunction with wall-mounted register boxes 50 and also floor-mounted register boxes 50.
In yet another example modification, although two bow-springs 18a,b mounted on the longer-length sidewalls 14a,c of a substantially rectangular register vent 10, 90, 130 is illustrated above in some beneficial embodiments, other embodiments are also possible. For instance, a register vent 10, 90, 130 in some embodiments may have a single bow-spring 18 on a single one of the sidewalls 14. Such a design may be of particular benefit to reduce costs for wall and floor-based register vents 10, 90, 130 that do not need as much frictional forces to be held in place. Likewise, more than two bow-springs 18 may be utilized such as illustrated in
Functions of single units may be separated into multiple units, or the functions of multiple units may be combined into a single unit. All combinations and permutations of the above described features and embodiments may be utilized in conjunction with the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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CA 3097159 | Oct 2020 | CA | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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3366031 | Hedrick | Jan 1968 | A |
5015917 | Nigg | May 1991 | A |
Entry |
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The Home Depot, “Speedi-Boot 4 in.×10 in.×5 in. 90 degree Register Vent Boot with Adj. Hangers for HVAC Duct Work”, downloaded on Apr. 8, 2021 from https://www.homedepot.ca/product/speedi-boot-4-in-x-10-in-x-5-in-90-degree-register-vent-boot-with-adj-hangers-for-hvac-duct-work/1000737689. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220128262 A1 | Apr 2022 | US |