Quick connect dryer vent

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6682415
  • Patent Number
    6,682,415
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, April 15, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, January 27, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
A replacement dryer vent for remodelers includes a typical exterior vent portion and an interior tube portion. The tube portion extends into the building and has an internal diameter that increases towards its innermost edge, i.e., toward the interior of the building. The extension is designed to slip over an existing cylindrical duct already in a wall. This allows one to replace an existing dryer vent by simply removing the exterior vent portion and leaving the duct work in position. The new vent is simply inserted in the existing hole with the tube slipping over the duct making a tight connection.
Description




BACKGROUND




Dryer vents typically include an external hood or louvered vent which attaches to a metal tube which extends through a building wall. This in turn is attached to the dryer via a flexible duct or sheet metal duct.




When houses are remodeled, it is typical to replace these dryer vents particularly if vinyl siding is being applied to the exterior of the building. In such situations the old dryer vent must be replaced and a complete new dryer vent installed with a new metal tube extending back through the wall. This is relatively time consuming in that it requires the individual to disconnect the dryer, move it out of the way and the install the new dryer vent. It would be preferable, however, to simply replace the exterior hood or louvered vent without replacing the internal metal tubing. This, however, is impossible with current structures because the metal tube is typically attached to the hood or louvered vent by a small channel that extends either only to the exterior surface of the building or slightly inwardly approximately an inch.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a dryer vent wherein the dryer vent can be replaced without replacing the metal duct which extends through the house. More particularly, the present invention is an external vent adapted to be attached to the exterior of a building. The vent includes an inwardly extended tube portion. The tube portion extends inwardly approximately two to three inches and its interior most surface has an interior diameter that increases as it extends away from the vent. In other words, the internal diameter of the interior side edge is wider than the internal diameter of the tube at its extension side. This allows the existing duct to simply slide within the tube to provide an adequate connection between the dryer vent and the duct.











The objects and advantages of the present invention will be further appreciated in light of the following detailed descriptions and drawings in which:




BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a cross-sectional view taken at lines


2





2


of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 3

is a perspective view of the present invention partially in phantom and partially broken away.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




The present invention is a dryer vent


10


shown with a hood portion


12


, a rearwardly extended tubular extension or tube member


16


which extends from circular opening


18


. The hood


12


is designed to face away from the exterior of the building with the tube


16


extending into the building. Between the hood portion


12


and the tube


16


is a plate


20


having a nailing flange


22


which attaches to the side of the building and defines opening


18


.




The embodiment shown in

FIG. 1

is exemplary. This uses a hooded vent portion. The present invention can also be used with a typical flat louvered vent, metal grading or the like, basically any structure used for a dryer vent. It can also include a siding reveal (i.e., J-channel) if desired. These exterior portions such as hood


12


are designed to prevent rain from entering the building through the vent. Also, they are designed to prevent cold air from entering through the vent. The particular embodiment shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

also incorporates a paddlewheel


46


which rotates on axle


44


which extends between tabs


38


and


40


. These are more particularly described in pending application Ser. No. 10/277,034 filed Oct. 21, 2002 entitled DRYER VENT, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.




Further the embodiment shown in

FIGS. 1-3

incorporate a circular flap


32


which is pivotally attached to plate


20


at tab


34


allowing it to rotate open in the direction of arrow


36


in response to air pressure. This simply is an added feature to prevent birds and rodents from entering through the opening.




As shown more particularly in

FIG. 2

, tube member


16


is designed to extend two to three inches or more inwardly beyond the plane of plate


20


. The first portion


49


of tube


16


, i.e., the first three-quarters of an inch has a diameter approximately equal to the external diameter of duct


50


, generally about four inches in diameter. As one extends rearwardly in the direction away from plate


20


, the internal diameter of tube


16


expands so that at its innermost edge


52


, its innermost surface has a diameter which is greater than the external diameter of tube


50


, generally approximately 0.2 inches or more in diameter greater than the exterior diameter of tube


50


. In a preferred embodiment, the tube


16


is about two inches and preferably three inches in length and has an internal tapered portion


51


which is approximately 2.75 inches in length so that the internal diameter increases from 4.0 inches to 4.2 inches over 2.75 inches culminating in the maximum diameter at edge


52


. This allows the tube


16


to slide easily over duct


50


providing a quick generally air-tight fit.




In use, the vent


10


of the present invention would be installed by first removing an existing vent from the side of a building leaving a duct


50


in place in an opening


55


. Siding


21


would be applied to the building if necessary and the replacement vent


10


of the present invention would be inserted through the hole


55


in the building with tube


16


fitting around the duct


50


. The vent


10


would then be nailed or secured to the walls as shown by nails


24


which extend through exterior flange


22


of plate


20


holding it in position.




This enables one to remove an existing vent, replace it with the vent of the present invention without disconnecting duct


50


from the dryer. This allows the entire work to be done from the exterior of the house so that the worker does not need to go into the interior. This significantly reduces the time necessary to replace the dryer vent in turn saving a significant amount of time.




This has been a description of the present invention along with the preferred method of practicing the invention, however, the invention itself should only be defined by the appended claims wherein



Claims
  • 1. A dryer vent having a vent portion adapted to attached to the exterior side of the building along a surface said vent including:a tube extending from said surface inwardly away from said vent portion; said tube having a cylindrical cross-section and an internal diameter said internal diameter increasing from a point near said surface to an innermost edge of said tube and said tube having a length adapted to extend into a building wall and engage a tubular duct within said wall.
  • 2. The vent claimed in claim 1 wherein said tube has a length of at least two inches.
  • 3. The vent claimed in claim 1 wherein said tube has a length of at least three inches.
  • 4. The vent claimed in claim 1 wherein said internal diameter of said tube increases at least about 0.2 inches.
  • 5. The vent claimed in claim 2 wherein said diameter of said tube increases at least about 0.2 inches.
  • 6. The vent claimed in claim 5 wherein said tube has an inner tapered portion extending at least about one inch.
US Referenced Citations (10)
Number Name Date Kind
4214380 Meyer Jul 1980 A
4967490 Berger et al. Nov 1990 A
5568947 Paquette Oct 1996 A
5584129 Williamson Dec 1996 A
5722181 Meyer Mar 1998 A
5916023 Meyer Jun 1999 A
5970623 Tuggle Oct 1999 A
6302788 Gagnon Oct 2001 B1
6443834 Berger Sep 2002 B1
6463673 Gherna Oct 2002 B1
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry
2001/0000834, Dryer Vent Connection and Method, Irey USSN 09/746,319, Filed Dec. 22, 2000, Published May 10, 2001.
2002/0149201, Apparatus for Coupling Dryer to Vent Ducting and Method of Use, Pichotta, USSN 10/162,013, Filed Jun. 4, 2002, Published Oct. 17, 2002.