AIR-CONDUCTING PASSAGES

CONDUITS D'AIR

English Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The invention relates to a device for holding the edge of
inner insulating mats which extends transversely to the longitud-
inal direction of an air-conducting passage in the area of a
frame-piecè of a prefabricated gland, where the metal frame-
piece has a stay running inside the appropriate wall of the air-
conducting passage and abutting the latte. A cross-conncetion is
provided which, in the ready-assembled state, connects an inner
stay of the frame-piece, resting on the outside of the wall,
firmly to the latter. The inner stay is bent back on itself with
multiple bends so as to form a pocket which is open in the
longitudinal direction of the air-conducting passage and which has
a catch strip extending transversely over the entire length of the
pocket and pointing towards the inner stay.
A plastic holding strip is provided, whose heat-conducting
value is considerably below that of the metal of the frame-piece,
and whose cross-section is large enough to hold the edge of the
insulating mat. A part of the holding strip has a catch strip
which is complementary to the catch strip of the pocket and which
is flexibly inserted in the pocket.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive
property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A flange connection for maintaining the edge of an
insulating mat of an air-conditioning duct in situ and adjacent a
flange connecting a pair of such duct members together, said
connection including primary and secondary interlocking and
cooperating members (13, 43) so disposed and related that at least
three pockets are formed, the first (68) of said pockets
receiving a portion 16 of said flange, a second (62) of said
pockets receiving an edge of said mat (53), and the third (34) of
said pockets being located intermediate the first (68) and second
pockets (62) and containing means (37, 51) whereby said primary
and secondary members are interlocked together.
2. A connection according to Claim 1 wherein said
interlocking means include a serrated limb (48) on said secondary
member (43) adapted to cooperate with a latch (37) on an adjacent
limb (36) of said primary member (13).
3. A connection according to Claim 2 wherein the
intermediate pocket (34) is of substantially U-shaped cross-
section and is defined by a pair of interconnected, spaced and
parallel limbs (17, 32) of said primary member (13).
4. A connection according to claim 3 wherein the
latch (37) is located adjacent the free terminal end of one (36)
of said limbs of said primary member (13) and the open end of

said intermediate pocket (34) faces towards the adjacent end of
the duct.
5. A connection according to Claim 4 wherein said
secondary member (43) includes a channel of substantially U-shaped
cross-section defined by a pair of interconnected, spaced and
parallel limbs (44, 48), one (48) of which is serrated to form a
latch detent (51) and which extends into said intermediate pocket
(34) and cooperates with said latch (37).
6. A connection according to Claim 5 wherein the second
pocket (62) is defined by the remaining limb of said secondary
member (43) and the latched limb (36) of said primary member (13),
said second pocket (62) facing away from the end of the adjacent
duct.
7. A connection according to Claim 2 wherein the
intermediate pocket (34) is of substantially U-shaped cross-
section and is defined by three parallel interconnected limbs
(17, 32, 63), a selected pair (17, 32) of which are in face-to-
face contact with one another and the remaining one (63) of which
is spaced from said pair thereof, the open end of said pocket (34)
facing away from the end of said duct.
8. A connection according to claim 7 wherein the ends
of said selected pair (32, 63) of limbs are interconnected to
form said latch (37).

9. A connection according to Claim 7 wherein the
free terminal end of said remaining one limb (63) forms said
latch (37).
10. A connection according to Claim 7 or 8 wherein the
secondary member (43) includes a pair of oppositely facing
channels each of substantially U-shaped cross-section defined by
three interconnected spaced and parallel limbs, one outer said
limb (48) being serrated to form a latch detent (51) extending
into said intermediate pocket (34), while the remaining outer
limb (44) and the intermediate limb (44') form said second channel,
facing away from the end of the duct to define a fourth pocket (64)
into which the latched limb (36) extends.
11. A connection according to Claim 5 wherein said
second pocket (62) receives said edge of said mat under
compression.
12. A connection according to Claim 10 wherein said
second pocket (62) receives said edge of said mat under
compression.

Description

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Previous types of flange connections have been
described, claimed and illustrated in my V.S. Patent No. 3,712,
650 which issued on January 23rd, 1973. The present invention,
relates, however, to a flange connection for an air conditioning
duct where the latter, either because of sound or heat
insulation, incorporated insulation on the interior of the walls
of the duct.
Securing such insulation to elongated portions of the
ducts poses very little problems but the same cannot be said
where the insulation is incorporated in the flanges connecting
a pair of ducts together. Hence, it is the object of the
present invention to overcome any previously known disadvantages
and to provide a flange connection which is of relatively simple
construction and which is inexpensive to manufacture.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a flange
connection for maintaining the edge of an insulating mat of an
air-conditioning duct _ situ and adjacent a flange connecting
a pair of such duct members together, said connection including
primary and secondary interlocking and cooperating members so
disposed and related that at least three pockets are formed, the
first of said pockets receiving a portion of said flange, a
second of said pockets receiviny an edge of said mat, and the
third of said pockets being located intermediate the first and
second pockets and containing means whereby said primary and
secondary members are interlocked together.
The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the
accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a part-sectional elevation of a first type
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of flange connection; and
Figures 2 and 3 are diagrammatic cross-sections of
two alternative forms of the invention.
Referrin~ to the drawings, and in particular to
Figure 1, an air-conditioning duct, indicated generally at 11,
includes four spaced sheet-metal walls 12 but as each is the
mirror image of the remainder, only one such wall is shown in
Figure 1 and it is that end of the duct capable of being
connected to an adjacent and substantially aligned duct that is
illustrated. The end of each wall is provided with a flange or
framing piece including a pair of interlocking and cooperating
members a primary one of which is indicated generally at 13 and
which contains a reinforcement member 16.
Member 13 forms a metal stay,which is bent to provide
many limbs,disposed about one end of the wall 12. A first limb
2~ extends outwardly from wall 12 at a substantially acute angle
and is then bent to form a further limb 27 extending along, and
in face-to-face contact with the outer face of wall 12 a
predetermined distance. This limb 27 is then bent to form an
outwardly extending limb 26 which, in turn, is bent at 24 to
form limb 23 extending normal to wall 12. Limb 23 is then bent
to form a short limb 22 which extends into another limb 19 spaced
from, but parallel with, limb 23, the short limh 22 connecting
the outer ends of limbs 23 and 19.
Limb 19 is then bent into limb 17 extending along the
inner face of wall 12. Thus, the end o~ the metal wall 12 is
located ~etween limbs 17 and 27 and the limbs 26, 23, 22, 19 and
17 define a first pocket 68 ~dapted to receive the metal
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reinforcing strip or member 16 therein.
Limb 17 is then bent at 29 to form a further limb 32
whi.ch extends part-way along limb 17 (and in face-to-face contact
therewith) until it is bent again at 33 before again extending
parallel to, but spaced from, limb 17 as a yet further limb 36
with a latch 37 formed on the free terminal end thereof, the area
defined by limbs 17, 33 and 36 constituting an intermediate pocket
34 of substantially U-shaped cross-section.
A secondary member, indicated generally at 43, is also
of substantially U-shaped cross-section and is defined.by a pair
of spaced and parallel limbs 44,48, interconnected by a limb 47,
the terminal end of limb 44 being slightly bent outwardly at 46.
Limb 48 is located in the intermediate pocket 34 and is serrated at
51 in order to serve as a cooperating detent for latch 37 whereby
said detent and latch serve as means whereby the primary and
secondary members 13 and 43 are interlocked together.
An insulating mat, indicated generally at 53 and
provided with inner and outer plies 54,56 separated by a quantity
of loose insulating material 57, is located to the rear of the
metal wall 12, with the outer ply 56 being in substantially face-
to-face contact with the inner face of said wall, the ~erminal end
58 of the mat being compressed within a second pocket 62 also of
substantially U-shaped cross-section and formed by limbs 44 and 47
of secondary member 43 and the limbs 32, 33 and 36 of primary
member 13.
As will be seen from the arrangement shown in Figure 1,
the open end of intermediate pocket 34 faces in the same direction
as the outer end of the duct ~.~.Jhereas the open end of the second
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pocket 62 faces away from the open end of the duct. Limbs 27,
17, 32 are spot welded together as at 55.
A quite similar, but slightly different arrangement is
shown in Figure 2.
In this arrangement, as well as that shown in Figure 3
and to be discussed later, four pockets or channels are formed,
i.e. a first pocket 68, a second pocket 62, a third pocket 34
and a fourth pocket 64. However, both primary and secondary
mem~ers 13 and 43 are formed differently to those shown in the
arrangement of Figure 1.
The primary member 13 of Figure 2 has an additional limb
63, while the ends of limbs 17 and 32, which are in face-to-face
contact with one another, form the latch 37. Limb 63 is parallel
with and spaced from, limbs 17 and 32 so as to form the third
pocket 34. On the other hand, secondary members 43 shown in the
arrangement of Figure 2 also has an additional limb 44' which is
intermediate limbs 44 and 48 so as to form a pair of parallel
pockets, namely the second 62 and a fourth pocket 64. Limb 48,
located in the third pocket 34, is again serrated at 51 to serve
as a detent for latch 37. In this arrangement, the second, third
and fourth pockets are each of substantially U-shaped cross-
section with the second and third pockets 34, 62 facing away from
the adjacent end of the duct where the fourth pocket 64 faces
towards the said end and contains the latch 37.
In the arrangement shown in Figure 3, limbs 17 and 32
of the primary member 13 are in face-to-face contact with one
another and spaced from parallel limb 63 on the free terminal end
of which the latch 37 is formed.
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Each form of secondary member 43 is of injection
moulded plastic having considerable less heat-conducting
resistallce than the primary member 13.
In operation, the secondary member 43 of each form of
the inventi.on is forced over the terminal end 58 of the
insulating mat 53 whereby said end will be compressed and, if
desired, the end can be cemented within the second pocket 62 for
additional s.ability.
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