Patent Grant
11161392
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure relates to venting device and more particularly pertains to a new venting device for positioning in the window opening of a vehicle door to allow smoke to be vented outwardly from the vehicle while keeping the window opening substantially closed.
The prior art relates to venting devices in general which are used to vent cigarette smoke as needed.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a panel that has an outer surface, an inner surface and a perimeter edge extending between the outer and inner surfaces. The perimeter edge includes a top edge, a bottom edge, a forward edge and a rear edge. The top edge has a shape matching a contour of an upper edge of a vehicle door window opening. The top edge is removably extendable into a window receiving slot of the upper edge. The panel has a vent opening therein extending through the outer and inner surfaces. A tube is coextensive with a peripheral edge of the vent opening and extends outwardly away from the outer surface. The inner surface faces an interior of the vehicle when the top edge is in the upper edge.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The top edge 20 has a shape matching a contour of an upper edge 28 of a vehicle door 30 window opening 32. As such, the top edge 20 will vary in shape and length but will typically have a convex arcuate shape. The length of the panel 12 will typically be such that it extends from a front side 34 to a back side 36 of the vehicle door 30 window opening 32. The top edge 20 is configured to be removably extendable into a window receiving slot 38 of the upper edge 28. This slot 38 is most often formed by a pair of seals or gaskets that envelope an upper side of a window 40. The panel 12 perimeter edge 18 has a depth from the outer surface to the inner surface 16 that is less than 0.40 inches and is frictionally engaged by the upper edge 28.
The bottom edge 22 has a shape matching an upper side 42 of the window 40 mounted in the vehicle door 30 window opening 32 such that the bottom edge 22 abuts the upper side 42 when the top edge 20 is positioned in the upper edge 28. Thus, as can be appreciated, the panel 12 will utilize and seal a portion of the window opening 32 typically occupied by the window 40 when the window 40 is in the fully closed position. The bottom edge 22 may include a slot, not shown, for receiving and forming a seal around the upper side 42 of the window 40.
The panel 12 has a vent opening 44 therein extending through the outer 14 and inner 16 surfaces. The vent opening 44 has a greatest width that is between 1.0 inches and 4.0 inches and may have a circular shape though other shapes are contemplated. A tube 46 is coextensive with a peripheral edge 48 of the vent opening 44 and extends outwardly away from the outer surface 14. For clarification, the inner surface 16 faces an interior of the vehicle 50 when the top edge 20 is in the upper edge 28. The tube 46 and panel 12 may be a unitary structure, the tube 46 may be positioned in the vent opening 44 and secured to the peripheral edge 48, or the tube 46 may be attached to the outer surface 14 and extend away therefrom. The tube 46 extends away from the outer surface 14 a distance between 1.0 inches and 5.0 inches and may extend slightly inwardly as well away from the inner surface.
A mount 52 is positioned in the tube 46 and is configured to releasably engage a personal smoking device 54. The personal smoking device 54 will typically comprise a cigarette but may comprise any device which is used by a person who is smoking and which typically has a burning, i.e. lit, end. The mount 52 may include a V-shaped wedge having a pair of angled legs 56 configured to frictionally engage the personal smoking device 54. The mount 52 will typically be comprised of a metallic material to prevent damage from heat emitted by the personal smoking device 54.
In use, the window 40 is opened sufficiently to place the panel 12 between the window 40 and the upper edge 28 of the window opening 32 such that the panel 12 can be extended into the upper edge 28 and the window 40 moved toward a closed position to abut the bottom edge 22. The window 40 and the friction of the upper edge 28 retain the panel 12 in position to close the window opening 32. When the vehicle 50 is being operated, its fan system will draw air into its interior such that the higher pressure will cause air to exit through the vent opening 44. By placing the personal smoking device 54, such as a cigarette, in or near the vent opening 44, the smoke emitted from the personal smoking device 54 will be vented to an exterior of the vehicle 50. The tube 46 protects the personal smoking device 54 from wind currents traveling over the vent opening 44.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1847861 | Bradbury | Mar 1932 | A |
| 2295245 | Tuttle | Sep 1942 | A |
| 4986169 | Chen | Jan 1991 | A |
| D324418 | Shtanko | Mar 1992 | S |
| 5094151 | Bernard | Mar 1992 | A |
| 5683293 | Mohammed | Nov 1997 | A |
| 6672954 | Shtanko | Jan 2004 | B2 |
| 7762876 | McClary | Jul 2010 | B2 |
| 20140311500 | Sanders | Oct 2014 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| WO2000066381 | Sep 2000 | WO |
