The present disclosure relates to a ventilation unit, and particularly to a ventilation unit including an installation system. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a ventilation unit having an installation system with a plurality of fasteners that secure the ventilation unit to surrounding structures.
According to the present disclosure, a ventilation unit includes a housing including a plurality of walls defining an interior space. The ventilation unit may further include a temporary mount coupled to the housing and configured to at least temporarily couple the housing to the structure so that a user installing the housing on the structure can use both hands to install a plurality of primary mounts without having to hold the housing.
In some embodiments, the temporary mount includes an attachment flange configured to secure to the housing in a fixed position, an arm extending from the attachment flange, and a plurality of retainers that extend away from the arm on an opposite end of the arm from the attachment flange. In some embodiments, an upper end of each retainer extends above a top wall of the housing and engages a portion of the housing to provide a pivot point for each of the retainers as the ventilation system is installed. In some embodiments, the temporary mount further includes a first release lever coupled to the first retainer and a second release lever coupled to the second retainer.
In some embodiments, the plurality of retainers includes a first retainer and a second retainer that cooperate to provide variable-height, temporary attachment means to the structure. In some embodiments, the first retainer includes a first bottom edge and a first sloped upper edge and the second retainer includes a second bottom edge and a second sloped upper edge, and wherein the first bottom edge is located closer to the arm than the second bottom edge. In some embodiments, the first retainer extends to a first width from the arm and the second retainer extends to a second width from the arm, the second width being greater than the first width.
In some embodiments, the temporary mount includes an attachment flange configured to secure to the housing in a fixed position, a first arm extending from the attachment flange, a second arm coupled to the extending from the attachment flange, a first retainer coupled to the first arm, and a second retainer coupled to the second arm.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a ventilation unit includes a housing and an installation system. The housing includes a plurality of walls defining an interior space. The installation system is configured to retain the housing to a structure. In some embodiments, the installation system includes a plurality of primary mounts and a temporary mount coupled to the housing and configured to at least temporarily couple the housing to the structure so that a user installing the housing on the structure can use both hands to install the plurality of primary mounts without having to hold the housing.
In some embodiments, the temporary mount includes an attachment flange configured to secure to the housing in a fixed position, an arm extending from the attachment flange, and a plurality of retainers that extend away from the arm on an opposite end of the arm from the attachment flange. In some embodiments, the attachment flange is mounted to an interior surface of the housing such that the attachment flange and the arm are located within an interior space defined by the housing, and wherein the housing is formed to include a plurality of slots and each retainer passes through a corresponding slot included in the plurality of slots from the interior space to outside the interior space.
In some embodiments, an upper end of each retainer extends above a top wall of the housing outside the interior space and engages a portion of the housing to provide a pivot point for each of the retainers as the ventilation system is installed. In some embodiments, the arm is configured to flex and at least one of the plurality of retainers is configured to withdraw into the interior space as the ventilation system is installed on the structure.
In some embodiments, the plurality of retainers includes a first retainer and a second retainer that cooperate to provide variable-height, temporary attachment means to the structure, and wherein the first retainer includes a first bottom edge and a first sloped upper edge and the second retainer includes a second bottom edge and a second sloped upper edge, and wherein the first bottom edge is located closer to the arm than the second bottom edge. In some embodiments, the first retainer extends to a first width from the arm and the second retainer extends to a second width from the arm, the second width being greater than the first width.
In some embodiments, the temporary mount includes an attachment flange configured to secure to the housing in a fixed position, a first arm extending from the attachment flange, a second arm coupled to the extending from the attachment flange, a first retainer coupled to the first arm, and a second retainer coupled to the second arm.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a ventilation unit includes a housing and a mount. The housing may include a plurality of walls defining an interior space. The mount is coupled to the housing and is configured to at least temporarily couple the housing to a structure.
In some embodiments, the mount includes a first end fixed to one wall included in the plurality of walls and a second end spaced apart from the first end and movable relative to the housing. In some embodiments, the mount includes at least one retainer coupled to the second end and, during installation, the mount is configured to change from an undeformed position in which an end of the retainer is spaced from the housing a first distance and a deformed position in which the end of the retainer is spaced apart from the housing a second distance less than the first distance.
In some embodiments, the mount includes an attachment flange at the first end and configured to secure to the housing in a fixed position, an arm extending from the attachment flange, and a plurality of retainers that extend away from the arm on the second end of the arm spaced apart from the attachment flange. In some embodiments, the attachment flange is mounted to an interior surface of the housing such that the attachment flange and the arm are located within an interior space defined by the housing, and wherein the housing is formed to include a plurality of slots and each retainer passes through a corresponding slot included in the plurality of slots from the interior space to outside the interior space.
In some embodiments, the plurality of retainers includes a first retainer and a second retainer that cooperate to provide variable-height, attachment means to the structure, and wherein the first retainer includes a first bottom edge and a first sloped upper edge and the second retainer includes a second bottom edge and a second sloped upper edge, and wherein the first bottom edge is located closer to the arm than the second bottom edge.
Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.
The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:
A ventilation unit 10 includes a housing 12 as shown in
The ventilation unit 10 further includes an installation system 14 that mounts the housing 12 to one or more structures such as a cabinet 16 (see
Only one temporary mount 20 is shown in
In the depicted embodiment, the plurality of retainers 26 includes a first retainer 28 and a second retainer 30 to provide temporary installation of the housing 12 at two different heights. In this way, the housing 12 may be temporarily held in place for subsequent, full installation with primary mounts 18 no matter the size, form, or dimensions of the structure to which the housing 12 is installed. For example, the cabinet 16 may include a vertical side wall 32 and a bottom wall 34 as shown in
In another example, the cabinet 16 includes only the vertical side wall 32 as shown in
The arm 24 is configured to flex as the housing 12 is being installed, as depicted in
In the illustrative embodiment, the arm 24 and the retainers 26 are configured to twist relative to the housing 12 as suggested in
The first retainer 28 and the second retainer 30 are spaced apart from one another along a length 54 of the temporary mount 20 as shown in
The first retainer 28 extends to a first width 56 from the arm 24 and the second retainer 30 extends to a second width 58 from the arm 24 as shown in
Each of the retainers 28, 30 further includes a release lever 60, 62 as shown in
In some embodiments, on the inner side of the housing 12, release levers 60, 62 are provided (integral with the dual level snapping action arm), in order to allow the end user to unlatch the ventilation unit 10 from the cabinetry 16, should a major overhaul of the unit be required. A twisting motion may occur when the first and second retainers 28, 30 are triggered. The other extremity of the arm (i.e. attachment flange 22) is rigidly attached to the housing 12 by two anchoring points, represented by two holes 64, 66 (intended for rivets 23 or another suitable fastener).
The temporary mount 20 may snap to the housing 12 in the following installation configurations: The second retainer 30 member may be used for installations where the cabinet bottom wall 34 is present after a cutout has been formed in the cabinet 16 by the installer. The first retainer 28 may be used for tighter installation configurations, where there is no cabinet bottom wall 34 after the cutout has been formed. In this case, a supplementary L-shaped bracket 36 may be installed to the cabinet 16, in order to allow the first retainer 28 to engage the bracket 36 and hold the housing 12 to the cabinet 16.
Another embodiment of a temporary mount 220, in accordance with the present disclosure, is shown in
Each temporary mount 220 includes an attachment flange 222 configured to be coupled to the housing 12. An arm 224 has a first end and a second end. The first end of the arm 224 extends from the attachment flange 222. A plurality of retainers 226 extends from the second end of the arm 224. The attachment flange 222 is configured to be fixed to an inside wall of the housing 12 by one or more fasteners. The arm 224 interconnects the attachment flange 222 and the plurality of retainers 226.
In the depicted embodiment, the plurality of retainers 226 includes a first retainer 228 and a second retainer 230 to provide temporary installation of the housing 12 at two different heights. The arm 224 is configured to flex as the housing 12 is being installed. Each of the retainers 228, 230 includes main body 229, 231 having a sloped upper edge 238, 240 and a bottom edge 242, 244, and a nose 233, 235 extend from a distal end of the main body 229, 231 relative to the arm 224. The sloped upper edges 238, 240 are configured to engage the bottom wall 32 or the attachment bracket 36 while the housing 12 is being installed and cause the arm 224 to flex inward and the retainers 226 to retract into the interior 13 out of the way of the bottom wall 34 of the cabinet 16 or the attachment bracket 36. Once either the first retainer 228 or the second retainer 230 have cleared the bottom wall 34 or the attachment bracket 36, the arm 224 returns to an at least partially undeformed position where one or both of the retainers 226 temporarily hold the housing 12 during installation as discussed above. The noses 233, 235 extend downwardly below each respective bottom surface 242, 244 and are configured to engage the bottom wall 34 or the bracket 36 to retain the housing 12 in place.
In the illustrative embodiment, the arm 224 and the retainers 226 are configured to twist relative to the housing 12 when the temporary mount flexes during installation. One or both of the retainers 228, 230 may further include an upper end 246, 248 that extends above a top wall 50 of the housing 12 and engages the housing 12 to block a portion of the retainers 226 from retracting into the interior 13 of the housing 12 as shown in
The first retainer 228 and the second retainer 230 are spaced apart from one another along a length of the temporary mount 220 as shown in
Each temporary mount 220 may be formed from a single piece of material (e.g. metal) or multiple pieces of material and is machined and/or deformed to provide the various features included in each temporary mount 220. In the embodiment depicted in
Each of the retainers 228, 230 further includes a release lever 260, 262. The release levers 260, 262 extend from lower ends of each respective retainer 228, 230 and are arranged to lie within the interior 13 of the housing 12. The release levers 260, 262 may be engaged by a user to manually flex the arms 224, 224′ and the retainers 226 thereby retracting the retainers 226 into the interior 13 to disengage the retainers 226 from the bottom wall 234, attachment bracket 236 or another structure to which the retainers 226 are coupled so that the housing 12 can be separated or uninstalled from the cabinet 16. The release lever 262 coupled to the second retainer 230 extends at least partially over the other release lever 260 so that movement of the release lever 262 in a releasing direction will also move the other release lever 260 to flex both of the retainers 226 at the same time. The release lever 260 may be independently moveable relative to release lever 262.
In another embodiment, the housing 12 may include a stopper 270 that extends across one or more of the slots 25 defined in the housing 12 and through which the retainers 226 extend. The stopper is configured to block full retraction of the retainers 226 into the interior 13 of the housing 12 (such as be catching the nose 235 of the second retainer 230, as depicted in
Another embodiment of an attachment bracket 336 that can be used to at least temporarily mount the housing 12 to the cabinet 16 is shown in
The attachment bracket 336 includes an attachment panel 380, a first mount flange 382 coupled to a first end 381 of the attachment panel 380, and a second mount panel 384 coupled to a second, opposite second end 383 of the attachment panel 380 as shown in
The attachment panel 380 is formed to define a plurality of fastener openings 386 arranged at different locations along a length 385 of the attachment panel 380 as shown in
Some fastener openings 386 may also be formed in a central area 390 of the attachment panel 380. In the illustrative embodiment, the attachment panel 380 is also formed to include vertical cutouts 391 that are arranged along a line 392 extending across a vertical width of the attachment panel 380. The vertical cutouts 391 provide a frangible breakaway point where the attachment bracket 336 can be broken (i.e. by repetitive bending) to divide the attachment bracket 336 into a plurality of sections 336′, 336″. One or more sections 336′, 336″ can be installed on a vertical wall 32 to fit structures having various depths. Each section 336′, 336″ includes first and second mount flanges 382, 384 and fastener openings 386 at their respective longitudinal ends.
The first mount flange 382 has a first width 388 and the second mount flange 384 has a second width 394 as shown in
The attachment panel 380 defines a plurality of horizontal apertures 393 that extend along a horizontal line 398 along the length 385 of the attachment panel 380. The horizontal apertures 393 are formed in the shape of an elongated oval each separated by a divider material section 399. Each divider material section 399 has a length that is less than a length of each horizontal aperture 393 so that the attachment bracket 336 can be deformed along a pivot point 400 at the horizontal line 398 as shown in
Attachment panel 380 may also be defined to include one or more support apertures 404 that receive a support 406 (depicted as a bolt) as shown in
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/167,253, filed Mar. 29, 2021, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63167253 | Mar 2021 | US |