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The disclosure relates to protective devices and more particularly pertains to a new protective device for outdoor equipment. The present invention discloses a protective device which can be assemble around an outdoor article and which provides protection from solar radiation, weather, and airborne debris, while allowing for airflow through the protective device.
The prior art relates to protective devices for outdoor articles, which may comprise sunscreens attachable to outdoor element of an air conditioning systems. What is lacking in the prior art is a protective device which can be assemble around an outdoor article and which provides protection from solar radiation, weather, and airborne debris, while allowing for airflow through the protective device.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a tube and a lid. The tube is sized complementarily to an outdoor article, such as an outdoor element of an air conditioning system, to an exterior element of a heat pump system, or to an outdoor evaporative cooler. The tube is configured to be positioned around the outdoor article so that a bottom of the tube is substantially coplanar with a lower end of the outdoor article. The tube is configured to protect substantially all side surfaces of the outdoor article from solar radiation, weather, and airborne debris. A plurality of apertures is positioned in the tube and is configured to allow airflow into and out of the tube. The lid is selectively engageable to a top of the tube and thus is configured to protect an upper surface of the outdoor article.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The tube 12 may be sized complementarily to an outdoor element of an air conditioning system 24, to an exterior element of a heat pump system 26, to an outdoor evaporative cooler 30, or the like. The tube 12 may comprise an annular base 32, a plurality of pipes 34, and a plurality of panels 36. The annular base 32 may be rectangular, such as square, as shown in
The plurality of pipes 34 is selectively engageable to the annular base 32 so that the pipes 34 extend substantially perpendicularly from the annular base 32. The plurality of pipes 34 may comprise four pipes 34, which are positioned singly proximate to corners 38 of the annular base 32. The pipes 34 may have a rectangular cross-sectional profile 40, although the present invention anticipates pipes 34 having alternatively shaped cross-sectional profiles 40, such as, but not limited to, rectangular, circular, pentagonal, hexagonal, and the like.
Each of a plurality of tenons 42 is engaged to a lower terminus 44 of a respective pipe 34. A plurality of mortices 28 is positioned in the annular base 32. The mortices 28 are complementary to the tenons 42 so that each mortice 28 is positioned for insertion of a tenon 42 engaged to a respective pipe 34 to engage the respective pipe 34 to the annular base 32. The present invention anticipates the pipes 34 being hingedly engaged to the annular base 32 and being attachable to the annular base 32 by other attachment means, such as, but not limited to, screwing, bolting, and the like.
Each panel 36 is selectively engageable to a respective pair of adjacently positioned pipes 34 so that the panel 36 extends between the respective pair of adjacently positioned pipes 34. Each panel 36 comprises a frame 46, which defines a field 48, and a screen 50, a mesh 52, a grate 54, or the like, which is engaged to the frame 46 and extends across the field 48.
A plurality of slats 56 is engaged to the pipes 34 defines a plurality of channels 58. Two channels 58 are positioned on each pipe 34 with the channels 58 extending from proximate to the lower terminus 44 to proximate to an upper terminus 60 of the pipe 34. Respective channels 58, which are positioned on adjacently positioned pipes 34, are positioned for insertion of a frame 46 of a respective panel 36 to engage the respective panel 36 to the adjacently positioned pipes 34. The present invention anticipates the panels 36 be alternatively engaged to the pipes 34, such as, for example, by means of slots extending into the pipes 34, by hinged engagement to the pipes 34 allowing the tube 12 to be foldable, and the like.
The lid 14 is selectively engageable to a top 72 of the tube 12 and thus is configured to protect an upper surface 62 of the outdoor article 16. A plurality of recesses 64 extends into a lower face 66 of the lid 14 proximate to a perimeter 68 of the lid 14. Each of a plurality of rods 70 is selectively insertable into a respective recess 64 and a respective pipe 34. The lid 14 thus is engaged to the plurality of pipes 34 and is selectively positionable relative to the upper surface 62 of the outdoor article 16. The present invention also anticipates the lid 14 being engageable to the tube 12 by other engagement means, such as, but not limited to, screwing, clamping, and the like. The extent to which the rods 70 extend from the pipes 34 can be controlled by means well known to those skilled in the art of extendable pipes, tubes, and rods, such as, but not limited to, flip lock clamps, twist lock rings, button clips, ball lock pins, and the like.
In one example of use, as shown in
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20230349588 A1 | Nov 2023 | US |