Patent Application
20250027674
The present invention relates generally to HVAC components, and more particularly to a surface mounted air diverting system that can be used to provide conditioned air to a plurality of different spaces.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
There are many known types of electric heaters that are designed to provide auxiliary heat for individual rooms or spaces within a house. Such units typically include a compact portable housing that has an internal fan and heating element. These units are designed to sit on the floor and have an elongated power cord for receiving power from a nearby receptacle.
Although useful in certain instances, these devices are not suitable for use in many locations such as bathrooms or shower stalls due to the danger of water exposure. For this reason, there are existing ducted rooms and shower heating systems that are designed to be used in such spaces. One suitable example is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2022/0381478 to Hoffacker, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In addition to the above noted systems, traditional air conditioning supply vents are installed throughout a building to supply cooled and heated air to the various rooms. However, there are often times when it would be beneficial to be able to divert air emanating from the supply duct in one room to a different adjoining room. In the past, the only way to accomplish this was to hire an HVAC technician to run a completely new supply duct. However, in locations such as tiled showers, for example, this simply is not an option as the work would damage the wall tile.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a surface mounted air diverting system that can be used in combination with any type of air supply vent to divert air from the vent into a shower stall or other such location, so as to alleviate the drawbacks described above.
The present invention is directed to a surface mounted air diverting system. One embodiment of the present invention can include an attachment plate device having a central opening for engaging a wall mounted air supply vent. Apertures can extend through the mounting plate for securement onto a wall, and connectors are positioned adjacent to the central opening.
In one embodiment, the system also includes an air diverter device that is designed to be positioned against the wall on which the air supply vent is located. The diverter device includes an air inlet opening and a first air outlet opening along one side, and a second air outlet opening on the other side.
In one embodiment, a diverter block can be slidingly positioned along the internal space of the main body between an open position and a closed position. When in the closed position, air from the supply vent is routed to the second air outlet opening, and in the open position air from the supply vent is routed to the first air outlet opening.
This summary is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
Presently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the description in conjunction with the drawings. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the inventive arrangements in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention.
As described herein, a “unit” means a series of identified physical components which are linked together and/or function together to perform a specified function.
As described throughout this document, the term “about,” “approximately,” “substantially,” and “generally” shall be used interchangeably to describe a feature, shape or measurement of a component within a tolerance such as, for example, manufacturing tolerances, measurement tolerances or the like.
As described herein, the term “removably secured,” and derivatives thereof shall be used to describe a situation wherein two or more objects are joined together in a non-permanent manner so as to allow the same objects to be repeatedly joined and separated.
As described throughout this document, the term “complementary shape,” and “complementary dimension,” shall be used to describe a shape and size of a component that is identical to, or substantially identical to the shape and size of another identified component within a tolerance such as, for example, manufacturing tolerances, measurement tolerances, or the like.
As described herein, the term “connector” includes any number of different elements that work alone or together to repeatedly join two items together in a nonpermanent manner. Several nonlimiting examples of connectors include, but are not limited to adhesives such as double sided tape, thread-to-connect, twist-to-connect, and push-to-connect type components, opposing strips of hook and loop material (e.g., Velcro®), attractively oriented magnetic elements or magnetic and metallic elements, buckles such as side release buckles, clamps, sockets, clips, carabiners, and compression fittings such as T-handle rubber draw latches, hooks, snaps and buttons, for example.
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In one embodiment, the attachment plate device 20 can include a generally planar main body member having a front surface 21a, a back surface 21b, a top end 21c, a bottom end 21d, and a pair of sides 21e, and 21f. In one embodiment, a plurality of apertures 22 can be provided along the attachment plate. Each of the aperture functions to receive wall anchors 6 for securing the main body onto any type of wall such as drywall, brick, stucco, tile, or wood, for example.
In one embodiment, a large central opening 23 can be provided along the main body. The central opening can include any number of different shapes and sizes, so as to be able to receive and engage a supply vent 5 (referred to hereinafter as a “native supply vent”) from an air source such as a traditional HVAC system or a ducted room and shower heating system, for example. In certain embodiments, the opening 23 can be manufactured to include a specific shape and size that is complementary to the known shape and size of a commercially available supply vent, such as a rectangular twelve-inch supply, for example.
In one embodiment, a plurality of connectors 15a such as the illustrated clips can be provided along the front surface of the main body 21a. Each of the clips can function to engage additional connectors 15b, such as the receptacles located along the below described diverter device, so as to connect the diverter onto the main body such that the output of the native supply vent is aligned with the inlet opening 32 of the diverters. Although described above as utilizing clips and receptacles, this is for illustrative purposes only, as any number of other interlocking parts, connectors and complementary connectors can be utilized to connect the attachment plate to the diverter 30.
As described herein, the main body may be constructed from materials that are relatively strong and stiff for their weight. Several nonlimiting examples include but are not limited to various metals or metal alloys (e.g., aluminum, steel, titanium, or alloys thereof), plastic/polymers (e.g., polyamide (Nylon), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC), malleable polyethylene terephthalate (PET)), and/or various composite materials (e.g., carbon fibers in a polymer matrix, fiberglass, etc.). Such a feature being important, as the device is intended to be secured onto the outside surface of at least one wall, where it must withstand impacts with foreign objects without bending or breaking.
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In one embodiment, a pair of outlet openings 33 and 34 are positioned along the main body at locations adjacent to sides 31e and 31f, respectively. In the preferred embodiment, a plurality of fixed or adjustable-orientation louvers 33a and 34a can be provided along the openings, respectively, so as to allow a user to direct the air discharged by each of the opening(s) in a desired direction.
In one embodiment, a plurality of mounting brackets 35 can be positioned along the main body in order to allow a user to secure the back surface 31b against the outside surface of a wall, shower stall, or other such structure.
The first air outlet opening 33 can be selectively opened and closed via a diverter block 40 that is located within the hollow interior of the main body. As shown, the diverter block can include a generally hollow-block shaped member having a front wall 41a, a top wall 41c, a bottom wall 41d and one side wall 41e. The block can include a handle 42 on the front wall and can be slidingly positioned (see arrow a) within the main body of the diverter such that walls 41a, 41c and 41d are adjacent to walls 31a, 31c and 31d, respectively.
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Although described and illustrated with regard to a generally block-shaped panel having an open back end and open side, this is for illustrative purposes only. As such, any number of other shaped and sized devices capable of allowing a user to selectively block or route air from one outlet opening to the other are also contemplated, and may be located completely within the main body, partially within the main body, or external to the main body along the front wall, for example.
Although illustrated with the outlet openings 33 and 34 being located along the front wall 31a of the main body, this is for illustrative purposes only. To this end, the outlet openings 33 and 34 may each be wholly or partially located along one or more of the front wall 31a, back wall 31b, top wall 31c, bottom wall 31d or side walls 31e or 31f. As such,
In operation, the attachment plate 20 can be secured onto a wall via the wall anchors such that the native supply vent is positioned through the central opening of the plate. Next, the plate can be connected onto the back wall of the duct device via the connectors described above, and the duct device can be secured onto the wall via the mounting brackets. Finally, a user can move the handle 42 to select which outlet openings 33 or 34 will discharge the air received by the native supply.
Although described above as only one outlet opening 33 or 34 receiving air, it is noted that both outlets can discharge the received air when the panel 41 is not positioned in the fully open or closed state as is shown at
As to a further description of the manner and use of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.
As described herein, one or more elements of the device 10 can be secured together utilizing any number of known attachment means such as, for example, screws, glue, compression fittings, and welds, among others. Moreover, although the above embodiments have been described as including separate individual elements, the inventive concepts disclosed herein are not so limiting. To this end, one of skill in the art will recognize that one or more individually identified elements may be formed together as one or more continuous elements, either through manufacturing processes, such as welding, casting, or molding, or through the use of a singular piece of material milled or machined with the aforementioned components forming identifiable sections thereof.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the,” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Likewise, the term “consisting” shall be used to describe only those components identified. In each instance where a device comprises certain elements, it will inherently consist of each of those identified elements as well.
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
