VENT DIVERTER

Abstract

An apparatus for diverting air discharged from a forced air vent comprises a sheet of flexible material extending between front and rear edges and first and second side edges, the first and second side edges and the rear edges being securable to corresponding edges of the vent, wherein the front edge is free from the vent and movable between a resting position adjacent to the vent and a raised position when air is discharged through the vent.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to diverters in general and in particular to a method and apparatus for unobtrusively diverting air discharged from a forced air vent.

2. Description of Related Art

Many buildings including many residential constructions utilize forced air systems for either or both of heating and cooling of the buildings. Such forced air systems typically include a central furnace or air conditioner as a heating or cooling source having an associated fan for means of air distribution. The system will also typically include a plurality of ducts extending from the fan to distribute the heated or cooled air throughout the building. Such ducts may be located within a floor or the ceiling of the building and will exit the floor or ceiling through vents.

In particular, and with reference to FIG. 1, in many residential constructions, such vents and ducts are located within the floor 8 of a room and may typically comprise a rectangular shaped opening generally indicated at 6 through the floor 8 in fluidic communication with the duct 4. The vent 6 may typically include a vent grill or cover 10 applied thereover. The vent grill 10 typically includes a sleeve 12 sized to be received within the vent opening 6 and a top flange 14 sized to extend past and overlay the vent opening 6 so as to retain the vent grill proximate to the floor 8. Typically the vent grill 10 will also include slots 16 or an ornamental pattern through the top thereof to permit air provided from the duct 4 to be passed therethrough.

One difficulty with such vents is that the air discharged therefrom will be directed in a generally upward direction. This may be problematic for some situations as such vents are typically located proximate around the periphery of rooms proximate to the walls thereof. Accordingly, the air discharged from the vent will be directed in a generally upward direction against the walls or windows of the room and less air may be directed into the middle of the room where the occupants may want it.

Previous attempts to solve the aforementioned problem have been unsatisfactory. In particular, some previous attempts have been to provide a shield or diverter having a rigid arcuate shape extending above the grill which may be secured to the vent by magnets or the like. Examples of such devices may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,679 issued Dec. 28, 1965 to Meyer and U.S. Pat. No. 1,622,031 issued Mar. 22, 1927 to Elters. Such devices disadvantageously extend a significant distance above the grill and may therefore be prone to being tripped on or damaged by occupants of the room.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed an apparatus for diverting air discharged from a forced air vent comprising a sheet of flexible material extending between front and rear edges and first and second side edges, the first and second side edges and the rear edges being securable to corresponding edges of the vent, wherein the front edge is free from the vent and movable between a resting position adjacent to the vent and a raised position when air is discharged through the vent.

The sheet may be bendable to an arcuate shape cross-section at the raised position. The front edge may be adapted to lift up to 3 inches above the vent in the raised position.

The sheet may be formed of a material selected from the group consisting of plastic, rubber or fabric. The sheet may be formed of polyethylene. The sheet may have a thickness of between 1/32 and ¼ inches. The sheet may be substantially transparent.

The first and second side edges and the rear edge may include tabs extending therefrom. The tabs may extend a sufficient distance to extend around edges of the vent so as to be located thereunder. The tabs may be securable to a bottom surface of the vent. The tabs may be securable to a bottom surface of the vent with adhesives.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention wherein similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional forced air vent and vent grill.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of an apparatus for diverting air discharged from a forced air vent according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in a second or raised position as applied to a vent grill in a first or resting position.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in a second or raised position as applied to a vent grill in a second or raised position.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in the raised position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 2, an apparatus for diverting air discharged from a forced air vent according to a first embodiment of the invention is shown generally at 20. The apparatus 20 comprises a flexible sheet 22 of material having an outline corresponding substantially to the outline of the vent grill 10 to which it is intended to be applied. By way of non-limiting example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the sheet 22 may extend between front and rear edges, 24 and 26, respectively and first and second side edges 28 and 30, respectively so as to form a substantially rectangular shape. It will be appreciated, however that other shapes may be useful as well depending upon the shape of the vent, such as, by way of non-limiting example, square, ova, circular, octagonal, triangular or irregular. As illustrated, the sheet 22 has top and bottom surfaces, 32 and 34, respectively.

The sheet 22 may be formed of any suitable flexible material, such as by way of non-limiting example plastics such as polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, fabrics, and natural and synthetic rubbers. The sheet 22 may have a thickness selected to permit it to be sufficiently flexible while being strong enough to not be easily torn or damaged. By way of non-limiting example, it has been found that a thickness of between 1/32 and ¼ inch (0.8 and 6 mm) has been adequate although it will be appreciated that different thicknesses may also be useful depending upon the material selected and the size of the vent. The sheet 22 may also be selected to have any color as desired by a user as well as optionally transparent, translucent or opaque.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the sheet 22 includes curved side tabs 40 extending from the first and second side edges 28 and 38 thereof and a curved rear tab 50 extending from the rear edge 26 thereof. The first side tabs 40 and rear tab 50 are adapted to extend around and surround the flange 14 of the vent grill when applied thereto as will be more fully described below.

Each of the side tabs includes an arcuate portion 42 extending from the sheet and a planar portion 44 which is substantially parallel to the sheet and spaced apart therefrom. The planar portion 44 includes top and bottom surfaces, 46 and 48, respectively. The top surface 46 of the planar portion 44 is located to receive the flange 14 of the vent grill 10 between the top surface 46 and the bottom surface 34 of the sheet 22 and will therefore be spaced apart therefrom by a distance sufficient to receive the flange 14.

The rear tab includes an arcuate portion 52 extending from the sheet and a planar portion 54 which is substantially parallel to the sheet and spaced apart therefrom. The planar portion 54 includes top and bottom surfaces, 56 and 58, respectively. The top surface 56 of the planar portion 54 is located to receive the flange 14 of the vent grill 10 between the top surface 56 and the bottom surface 34 of the sheet 22 and will therefore be spaced apart therefrom by a distance sufficient to receive the flange 14. The side and rear tabs 40 and 52 may also have a width selected to permit the tabs to overlap the flange 14 of the vent grill 10 by a distance sufficient to grip it. In practice it has been found that a width of up to 1.5 inches (38 mm) has been adequate although it will be appreciated that other widths may be useful as well.

In some embodiments the top surface 56 of the rear tab 50 and the top surfaces 46 of the side tabs 40 may include an adhesive, such as, by way of non-limiting example, glue or double sided tape so as to adhere the tabs to the flange. The side tabs 40 and rear tab 50 may be formed of a continuous material with the sheet 22 or may optionally be formed of separate components and secured to the sheet, by adhesives, fasteners or the like.

In operation, the vent grill 10 may be removed from the vent 6 and the sheet applied to the flange 14 such that the side tabs 40 and rear tab 50 extend over and around the flange to bear against the bottom surface thereof as illustrated in FIG. 3 wherein the sheet 22 extends over and covers the vent slots 16. As set out above, optionally double sided tape or other suitable adhesives may be applied to the top surfaces 46 and 56 of the side and rear tabs. Thereafter, the vent grill may be returned to the vent therein the planar portions 44 and 54 of the side and rear tabs 40 and 50 will be located between the vent grill flange 14 and the floor so as to pinch or otherwise grip the tabs therebetween and thereby to assist in retaining the sheet on the vent grill 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the sheet 22 remains in a substantially planar or resting orientation when no air is forced through the vent. Turning now to

FIG. 4, when air is forced through the vent by the forced air heating, ventilation or air conditioning system (not shown) the pressure of the air pushes upwards on the middle of the sheet raising the free front edge 24 from contact with the vent grill 14, in a direction generally indicated at 60, to a raised position so as to permit air to be directed away from the grill in a direction generally indicated at 62. When the air flow from the forced air system is shut off, the sheet will be permitted to return to the resting position as illustrated in FIG. 3. It will be appreciated that the resting position of the sheet proximate to the flange will prevent it from being tripped over or otherwise damaged by occupants of the room.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for diverting air discharged from a forced air vent comprising:

a sheet of flexible material extending between front and rear edges and first and second side edges, said first and second side edges and said rear edges being securable to corresponding edges of said vent,

wherein said front edge is free from said vent and movable between a resting position adjacent to said vent and a raised position when air is discharged through said vent.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sheet is bendable to an arcuate shape cross-section at said raised position.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said front edge is adapted to lift up to 3 inches above said vent in said raised position.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sheet is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of plastic, rubber or fabric.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said sheet is formed of plastic.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said sheet has a thickness of between 1/32 and ¼ inches.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said sheet is substantially transparent.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first and second side edges and said rear edge include tabs extending therefrom.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said tabs extend a sufficient distance to extend around edges of said vent so as to be located thereunder.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said tabs are securable to a bottom surface of said vent.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said tabs are securable to a bottom surface of said vent with adhesives.