The present invention relates to a sealed duct cab post.
This document (including all drawings) claims priority based on U.S. application Ser. No. 12/248,524, filed 9 Oct. 2008, and entitled, METHOD OF MAKING A SEALED DUCT FROM A CAB POST under 35 U.S.C. 119(e).
Utility vehicles such as tractors have cabs which include heating-ventilation-air conditioning (HVAC) units in the cab roof. It is well known that roof HVAC systems do not condition the air at the floor very well unless a duct is included that runs down to the floor. Such ducts can interfere with visibility from the inside of the cab.
Most utility vehicles have a roll-over protection system “ROPS” formed from hollow tubing. In some utility vehicles such hollow ROPS tubes have been used as air ducts, this has been done with very heavy tubes and welded plates on the bottom to force the air out of a hole where a vent louver is placed. This has the disadvantage of high cost and problems with holding paint when using an e-coat system.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a sealed duct cab post.
This and other objects are achieved by the present invention, wherein a hollow cab post has open ends and a vent opening in a side surface. A piece of unexpanded foam is assembled to a clip. The clip is inserted through the vent opening so that the unexpanded foam is held inside the post to one side of the vent opening. The cab frame, including the post assembly, may be dunked in an e-coat tank, after which the paint drains out of the post and around the unexpanded foam. This assembly is then heated, such as in a e-coat oven. The foam expands until it sealingly engages the inner walls of the post. This seals one end of the post and forces conditioned air to flow out of'the post, through the vent opening and into the interior of the cab.
Referring to
Referring now to
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The entire cab frame 10, including the post assembly as shown in
This design is reasonably simple. Yet, it eliminates the need for welding, avoids paint problems, and avoids the difficulty of trying to install already expanded foam into a tube in a manner which guarantees it won't fall out, completely plugs the tube.
While the present invention has been described in conjunction with a specific embodiment, it is understood that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations which fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | |
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20130244561 A1 | Sep 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12248524 | Oct 2008 | US |
Child | 13420057 | US |