Patent Application
20220275954
The present disclosure relates generally to a ventilation system that is installed in a ceiling of a room to provide ventilation for the room and particularly to a ventilation system including a housing and a grille. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an attachment feature for attaching a grille to a housing.
Conventional ventilation fans, such as those typically installed in a room of a building structure, such as a bathroom, can draw air from within an area of the room, through the fan and exhaust the air to another location, such as through a vent in the gable or roof of a home or other building structure. Many conventional ventilation fans include a housing positioned within or adjacent an aperture formed in a wall or ceiling and include a grille covering the opening to obscure view of the aperture and access to fan. Grilles are typically removable for cleaning or maintenance and may be retained to the ventilation fan using conventional grille springs. The grille springs may need to be compressed during installation of the grille. In some instances, it may be difficult to simultaneously compress the spring and position the spring in a proper location for installation. Additionally, the user may need to be elevated to reach the ventilation fan to install the grille such as, for example, when the ventilation fan is installed in a ceiling.
Therefore, a need exists for an attachment feature that allows the grille to be installed with minimal effort from the user. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present disclosure is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The description provided in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely because it is mentioned in or associated with the background section. The background section may include information that describes one or more aspects of the subject technology.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide further understanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate disclosed embodiments and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings:
In one or more implementations, not all of the depicted components in each figure may be required, and one or more implementations may include additional components not shown in a figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure. Additional components, different components, or fewer components may be utilized within the scope of the subject disclosure.
In
The main housing 12 includes at least one bracket 28 adapted to secure the ventilation system 10 to the building structure to position the system 10 relative to a room to be ventilated. The bracket 28 may be shaped and sized to mate with ceiling structure, such as joist or other support member of the building structure. The external wall 18 is includes a plurality of side walls 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d and a top wall 18e that define the internal region 20 as shown in
The main housing 12 can be formed of any material known to those skilled in the art capable of withstanding varying temperatures, namely to withstand any heat radiated and/or conducted from the blower 14 and/or other components while providing structural integrity to the system 10. In some embodiments, the main housing 12 is formed of sheet metal, but could instead be formed of a ceramic or a polymer having a relatively high melting temperature and/or glass transition temperature. The main housing 12 can have any shape, including a box-like or cubical shape, a hemi-spherical shape, a spherical shape, a pyramidal shape, and the like. The main housing 12 can form a base or frame for the ventilation system 10, thereby providing points and areas of attachment for other components of the ventilation system 10. For example, the main housing 12 can provide places of attachment for the attachment features 126, 226, 326, 426, 526, and 626, as will be described below.
In one embodiment, the blower assembly 14 is a centrifugal fan including the motor 22 and the bladed rotor 24, as is well-known to those skilled in the art. However, other types of blower assemblies can be employed as desired. Illustratively, the blower assembly 14 is located entirely within the main housing 12, however in other embodiments, the blower 14 can be in fluid communication with the main housing 12 via one or more ducts coupled to the main housing 12. In yet another embodiment, the internal region 20 may include multiple sub-cavities and the blower 14 may be located in only one of the sub-cavities.
The grille 16 is configured to couple to the main housing 12 to block view of the main housing 12 and the blower 14, thereby providing a more aesthetic appearance of the system 10 from the room to which the system 10 is connected. The grille 16 includes a peripheral trim 34 that defines an outermost dimension 36 of the grille 16 and a plurality of ribs 38 that extend between the peripheral trim 34. The outermost dimension 36 is greater than the cutout in the ceiling panel and the inlet opening 30 of the main housing 12 to obscure view of the cutout and the main housing 12 when the grille 16 is fully installed. The ribs 38 are spaced apart from one another to define apertures 39 therebetween. The apertures 39 allow air to flow between the ribs 38 and into the inlet opening 30 of the main housing 12. In the illustrative embodiment, a majority of the ribs 38 are parallel to one another while a minority of the ribs 38 extend perpendicular to the majority to provide reinforcement. In other embodiments, any suitable number and arrangement of ribs 38 or other features may be used.
In the depicted embodiments, portions of the attachment features 126, 226, 326, 426, 526, and 626 attach to the main housing 12 to facilitate retaining the grille 16 in an installed position while allowing for easy removal and/or installation of the grille 16 as described above. However, in other embodiments, the attachment features 126, 226, 326, 426, 526, and 626 may be configured to attach to another suitable structure such as an intermediate structure between the grille 16 and the main housing 12, the blower 14, or the ceiling panel.
A first embodiment of an attachment feature 126 is shown in
The plurality of magnets 128 include a first set of magnets 132 positioned on a first side 40 of the grille 16 and a second set of magnets 134 positioned on a second side 42 of the grille 16 opposite of the first side 40. The first and second sets of magnets 132, 134 each include a pair of circular shaped magnets 136 and a rectangular shaped magnet 138 between each of the circular shaped magnets 136. Each of the magnets 136, 138 are matched with corresponding mating elements 130 coupled to the main housing 12. The magnets 136, 138 cooperate with the mating elements 130 to locate the grille 16 relative to the main housing 12 when the grille 16 is installed.
In the depicted embodiment, the plurality of mating elements 130 include a first set of magnets 140 coupled to side wall 18a of the main housing 12 and a second set of magnets 142 coupled to side wall 18c of the main housing 12. Each of the magnets 140, 142 is coupled to the main housing 12 within the internal region 20, however, in other embodiments the magnets 140, 142 may be coupled to other areas of the main housing, an intermediate structure between the housing 12 and the grille, or the blower 14. The first and second sets of magnets 140, 142 each include a pair of circular shaped magnets 144 and a rectangular shaped magnet 146 between each of the circular shaped magnets 144.
In the depicted embodiment, the attachment feature 126 is attached to the grille 16 and the main housing 12 on only two sides of the system 10 as described above. In this arrangement, space is provided on the other two sides of the system 10 for other structures or features to be included in the system such as, for example, an additional attachment feature. However, in other embodiments, it is contemplated that the attachment feature may be arranged on all four sides of the system 10, along three sides of the system 10, or on only one side of the system 10. In yet another example, the attachment feature 126 may be located in a generally central region of the grille 16.
In the depicted embodiment, the magnet 136 is housed within the grille mount 148 as shown in
Installation of the grille occurs as the grille 16 is moved closer the main housing 12 such that the magnet 144 carried by the housing mount 150 translates through the central openings 152, 154 as shown in the progression of
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The attachment feature 126 compensates for misalignments between the main housing 12 and the ceiling panel. For example, if the main housing 12 is improperly installed such that the main housing 12 is angled relative the ceiling panel, the attachment feature 126 aligns the grille 16 with the ceiling panel. This eliminates unaesthetic gaps between the grille 16 and the ceiling panel and allows the grille 16 to cover the misaligned housing 12 to improve overall aesthetics for the system 10. In the installed position, the magnet 144 of the housing mount 150 is spaced apart from the magnet 136 of the grille mount 148 by a tolerance space 174 as shown in
A second embodiment of an attachment feature 226 is shown in
As depicted in
This band wraps around each of the grille spring arms 232, 234 as shown in
In use, the spring-compression link 230 is translated relative to (i.e. slid along) the arms 232, 234 toward the distal ends 236, 238 as shown in
The attachment retainer 330 further includes a horizontal slot 336 that extends generally perpendicular to the vertical slot 334 as shown in
A fourth embodiment of an attachment feature 426 for the grille 16 is shown in
The at least one key 432 is configured to engage the plurality of teeth 435 during installation of the grille 16. The at least one key 432 applies a force on the attachment retainer 430 between adjacent teeth 435 to block removal of the attachment post 328 from the slot 434 until a user overcomes the force. The at least one key 432 may interact with any of the teeth 435 along the length of the inner wall 437 to control the position of the grille 16 relative to the main housing 12 or to compensate for misalignments of the housing relative to the ceiling panel.
In the illustrative embodiment, the attachment post 428 defines a fork that includes a first tong 440 with a key 432 and a second tong 442 with a key 432. Each of the keys 432 engage corresponding teeth 435 as the attachment post 428 is inserted into the slot 434. The first and second tongs 440, 442 are configured to flex inwardly toward one another as the keys 432 move along the teeth 435. In this way, the attachment post 428 applies a force on the attachment retainer 430.
The attachment retainer 430 further includes a guide 444 that locates the attachment post 428 relative to the slot 434. The guide 444 includes a first curved surface 446 and a second curved 448 surface opposite the first curved surface 446. Each of the curved surfaces 446, 448 are joined with the inner wall 437 of the slot 434 to direct the attachment post 428 into the slot 434. Although not shown in
In a fifth embodiment, an attachment feature 526 is shown in
The attachment post 528 includes a horizontal slot 536 that receives a detent structure 538 therein. In the illustrative embodiment, the detent structure 538 includes a spring 540 and a pair of caps 542 coupled with the spring 540 at respective ends of the spring 540. The spring 540 biases the caps 542 outwardly and into engagement with the inner walls 537 of the slot 534 between adjacent teeth 535. The teeth 535 cooperate with the detent structure 538 to retain the attachment post 528 in the slot 534 until the user applied a force sufficient to overcome the spring 540 and remove the attachment post 528 from the attachment retainer 530. Although not shown in
Each of the attachment posts 328, 428, 528 may be removed from the grille 16 for storage and/or shipping as shown in
Attachment feature 626 for the grille 16 is shown in
While preferred embodiments have been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from this disclosure. Such modifications are considered as possible variants comprised in the scope of the disclosure. Headings and subheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit the disclosure. The word exemplary is used to mean serving as an example or illustration. To the extent that the term include, have, or the like is used, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term comprise as comprise is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions.
Phrases such as an aspect, the aspect, another aspect, some aspects, one or more aspects, an implementation, the implementation, another implementation, some implementations, one or more implementations, an embodiment, the embodiment, another embodiment, some embodiments, one or more embodiments, a configuration, the configuration, another configuration, some configurations, one or more configurations, the subject technology, the disclosure, the present disclosure, other variations thereof and alike are for convenience and do not imply that a disclosure relating to such phrase(s) is essential to the subject technology or that such disclosure applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as an aspect or some aspects may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa, and this applies similarly to other foregoing phrases.
All numbers and ranges disclosed above may vary by some amount. Whenever a numerical range with a lower limit and an upper limit is disclosed, any number and any included range falling within the range are specifically disclosed. In particular, every range of values (of the form, “from about a to about b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a to b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a-b”) disclosed herein is to be understood to set forth every number and range encompassed within the broader range of values. Also, the terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee. Moreover, the indefinite articles “a” or “an,” as used in the claims, are defined herein to mean one or more than one of the element that it introduces. If there is any conflict in the usages of a word or term in this specification and one or more patent or other documents that may be incorporated herein by reference, the definitions that are consistent with this specification should be adopted.
A phrase “at least one of” preceding a series of items, with the terms “and” or “or” to separate any of the items, modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member of the list. The phrase “at least one of” does not require selection of at least one item; rather, the phrase allows a meaning that includes at least one of any one of the items, and/or at least one of any combination of the items, and/or at least one of each of the items. By way of example, each of the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” or “at least one of A, B, or C” refers to only A, only B, or only C; any combination of A, B, and C; and/or at least one of each of A, B, and C.
The title, background, brief description of the drawings, abstract, and drawings are hereby incorporated into the disclosure and are provided as illustrative examples of the disclosure, not as restrictive descriptions. It is submitted with the understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the detailed description, it can be seen that the description provides illustrative examples and the various features are grouped together in various implementations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed configuration or operation. The claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and “said” and similar references in the context of describing the disclosure (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. An element proceeded by “a,” “an,” “the,” or “said” does not, without further constraints, preclude the existence of additional same elements. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the disclosure and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the disclosure unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosure.
Numerous modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Preferred embodiments of this disclosure are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the disclosure. It should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the disclosure.
This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/777,012 filed on Jan. 30, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/806,236, filed on Feb. 15, 2019, which applications are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference and made a part hereof.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62806236 | Feb 2019 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16777012 | Jan 2020 | US |
| Child | 17689044 | US |
