Patent Application
20210190343
This invention relates to climate control systems for buildings used to house animals, and more particularly to a ventilation shutter used to control the passage of air between the interior and the outside of the building.
Maintaining a proper climate in buildings where living creatures such as poultry, swine or livestock are maintained is highly desirable. A well-controlled environment involves monitoring and regulating the temperature, relative humidity and air quality in the building. For example, properly controlled temperatures enable animals to use feed for growth rather than for body heat. A properly heated animal house results in lower feed costs and increased animal productivity. Additionally, control over the level of humidity in the building is necessary because excess humidity contributes to animal discomfort and promotes the growth of harmful air born bacteria that can cause respiration diseases. Having an elevated humidity level in the animal house may also lead to more frequent changes of bedding and litter which increases production costs. An important component in maintaining a proper environment in such buildings is providing proper ventilation.
There are many designs of air ventilating systems that can be used to control ventilation. These systems typically contain ventilating fans in cooperation with shutters over air openings used to bring in fresh air into and exhaust stale air from the interior of the building. The shutters typically have pivoted louvers moveable between an open position and a closed position. When ambient temperatures are high, movement of air into the interior of the building is essential to maintain proper conditions inside the building. However, when ambient temperatures are low, introduction of cold outside air increases heating costs. Most traditional shutters allow outside air to leak into the building. Leakage of unwanted outside air into the building during cold temperatures increases heating costs, since more fuel is required to maintain the desired temperature. Desirably, the louvers operate automatically in response to the negative or positive pressure created in the building by the ventilation fans. However, with known ventilation shutters of the automatic type, the louvers often do not seal completely, thus allowing outside air to leak into the building.
There is therefore a need for an improved shutter system having multiple louvers which when mounted in the wall of the building will provide an airtight system, resulting in minimal air leakage with minimal heat loss or cold air entering the building.
In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a ventilation shutter for use in a building having an exhaust fan that provides air flow from an interior of the building to an exterior of the building. The shutter includes a frame providing an opening between the exterior and the interior of the building. The frame has a top member, a bottom member and side members extending between the top member and the bottom member. The shutter has a plurality of louvers positioned in the frame, each of the plurality of louvers having a top edge, a bottom edge and outer ends. Each louver is pivotally mounted in the frame such that each louver is moveable between an open position and a closed position where the bottom edge of one louver engages the top edge of the next lower louver. The top edge of each louver has a sealing lip extending therefrom configured to engage with the bottom edge of the adjacent louver when the plurality of louvers are in the closed position. The bottom edge of each louver has a sealing tail extending therefrom, wherein sealing lip contacts the adjacent sealing tail so as to provide a seal between adjacent louvers.
These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods according to this invention.
The above mentioned and other features of this invention will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the views of the drawings.
The invention will now be described in the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, wherein preferred embodiments are described in detail to enable practice of the invention. Although the invention is described with reference to these specific preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these preferred embodiments. But to the contrary, the invention includes numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents as will become apparent from consideration of the following detailed description.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the inside edge of each side member 18 (and each vertical cross member 22 that also mounts louvers 20) has a base strip 32 configured to interface with the louvers 20. In the illustrated embodiment, the base strip 32 has an inwardly extending pivot pin 40 for each louver 20 received by the base strip 32. The outer ends 30 of each louver 20 have an opening 42 near the upper edge 26 for receiving the pivot pin 40 such that the louver 20 is capable of pivoting movement about an axis formed by the pivot pins 40 on either side of the louver 20 used to mount the louver 20. However, one skilled in the art will understand that the pivot pin 40 may be part of the louver 20 and the openings may be on the base strip 32 without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the louvers 20 are moveable from an open position to a closed position where the bottom edge 28 of a louver 20 engages the top edge 26 of the next lower louver 20.
Desirably, the base strip 32 has a sealing interface 44 formed to match the curved shape of the louver 20. The sealing interface 44 extends inwardly a sufficient distance to engage the surface of the louver 20 along its outer end 30 when the louver 20 in a closed position. The engagement of the outer end 30 of the louver 20 with the sealing interface 44 provides for a seal at the outer ends 30 of the louvers 20 when the louvers 20 are in a closed position, thus minimizing any leakage of outside air into the building when the fans are operating.
Turning now to
In one embodiment, the sealing tail 62 forms a compound geometric shape such that it has a first leg 74 extending downward as shown in the orientation of
Thus, the louvers 20 will seal tightly with adjacent louvers 20 when in the closed position and discourage cold air or light from leaking into the building. Desirably, the louvers 20 will remain in the closed position and not open until fan power is applied. When fans within the building are turned on, negative pressure will pull the louvers 20 in the open position, allowing air to flow through the ventilation shutter 10. The louvers 20 will remain in the open position as long as the fans are in operation.
The foregoing has broadly outlined some of the more pertinent aspects and features of the present invention. These should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed information in a different manner or by modifying the disclosed embodiments. Accordingly, other aspects and a more comprehensive understanding of the invention may be obtained by referring to the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/949,726, filed Dec. 18, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62949726 | Dec 2019 | US |
