Patent Application
20180274811
This is invention relates to HVAC duct joints and couplings. In particular it relates to drive slips.
The current standard for securing two pieces of ductwork together at their abutting drive folds is this use of a metal sleeve that slides over the outside of the drive fold, sometimes called drive cleats, drive clips, or drive slips (henceforth called drive slips as it pertains to this disclosure). They come in standard shapes including “S”, “C”, and others. The standard “C” drive slip has the cross-sectional appearance of a “C” compressed along its vertical axis, having tight top and bottoms curves. The standard “C” drive slip used has been on the market for many years, and do not come with a sealant. Application of a sealant prior to installation would result in removal or disruption of the sealant and a non-uniform and/or messy installation process. Thus, if sealing is required, an installer will seal the joint manually. Otherwise, the connections remain unsealed and leak air.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a sealed drive slip that may be used to connect and seal ductwork together. The sealed drive slip disclosed herein may be fashioned from a strip of sheet metal, the sealed drive slip having a main flat portion, two curved portions on the edges of the flat portion, and two securing end portions that curve back toward the center thereby creating two channels and a gap between the two securing end portions. The two end securing portions exist in a plane that meets the plane of the main flat portion at an angle. The angle may be about 25 degrees to about 30 degrees. The sealed drive slip further has a gasket on the flat portion of the sheet metal and the gasket is generally in line with the gap between the securing end portions. As disclosed herein, the sealed drive slip may be fashioned from a metal sheet that is less than 2.125 inches. In some embodiments, it is 1.725 inches. In some embodiments, the gap between the two securing end portions is greater than 0.250 inches. In some embodiments, the gap is between 0.500 inches and 0.625 inches. The gasket may be any thickness, for example, between 0.1200 inches and 0.200 inches. In some embodiments it is 0.1875 inches.
In another aspect the present invention provides a method for connecting ends of ductwork using a sealed drive slip, the method comprising the steps of:
Further aspects of the present disclosure together with additional features contributing thereto and advantages accruing there from will be apparent from the following description of embodiments of the disclosure which are shown in the accompanying drawing figures wherein:
The invention will be described with respect to
In one aspect, the present invention provides a sealed drive slip. The sealed drive slip may be roll formed from a strip of sheet metal. One embodiment of a sealed drive slip according to the present invention is shown in
The sealed drive slip may be manufactured from sheet metal. In contrast to the drive slip commonly used in the art today (e.g.,
The gasket may be made from materials well-known and often used in the art. For example, the gasket may be rubber based, foams, or other materials often used in the field. Examples of suitable rubber-based materials include EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer), neoprene, natural rubbers, polyurethane, santoprene, silicone, urethane, polyethylene, E84 closed cell sponge, vinyl nitride, NBR/PV and/or the like. The gasket could be a factory applied tape with an adhesive, it could be liquid applied and it could be any sealant that allows for sealing of the drive slip. Any material that can compress and be resilient to compensate for the unconformity of the mated edges of the ductwork is suitable and is contemplated as within the scope of the present invention.
The metal used to make the sealed drive slip may be, but is not limited to, galvanized steel, galvannealed steel, aluminized steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.
The systems, apparatus, and methods disclosed herein are well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those that are inherent therein. The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the teachings of the present disclosure may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular illustrative embodiments disclosed above may be altered, combined, or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope of the present disclosure. The systems, apparatus, and methods illustratively disclosed herein may suitably be practiced in the absence of any element that is not specifically disclosed herein and/or any optional element disclosed herein. While compositions and methods are described in terms of “comprising,” “containing,” or “including” various components or steps, the compositions and methods can also “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the various components and steps. 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. Within the context of the present disclosure, the term “about” when modifying an absolute measurement, such as time, mass, or volume, means the recited value plus or minus 10% of that value. 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 elements 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.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of connecting and sealing two pieces of ductwork together using a sealed drive slip as disclosed herein. One of skill in the art would readily know how to install drive folds on each piece of ductwork that is to be joined together. Once the drive folds are properly installed, the sealed drive slip may be slid over the drive fold, similar to how drive slips in the prior art are installed. Each end of the sealed drive slip will extend beyond the dimensions of the duct. This extra portion may be bent backwards, for example, with a hammer, to contour to the shape of the duct to secure the sealed drive slip in place.
By utilizing the sealed drive slip as disclosed and provided herein, connections between ductwork may be made that are improved over prior art. The connections may be both strong and air tight as a gasket is incorporated to prevent air leakage. The installation as simple as is presently used in the field and the use of messy sealants is avoided. Further, the sealed drive slip disclosed herein is fashioned from a smaller piece of metal, greatly reducing the amount of metal required to manufacture the part when done so on an industrial scale.
Although various example embodiments have been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this disclosure. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the scope and content of this disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/476,294 filed Mar. 24, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62476294 | Mar 2017 | US |
