WALL VENT

EVENT D'AERATION MURAL

English Abstract

An air vent is installed in an outside wall
and contains a screw thread on an inner surface of an
inner end. An abutment is located inside the vent. A
cap is shaped to screw into the vent and rests against
the abutment when it is in a closed position. The cap
and the abutment contain openings that permit air to
flow through the vent when the cap is open and prevent
air from flowing through the vent when the cap is
closed. The cap can be partially open so that some
air flows through the vent. The vent can be easily
installed and maintained. It can be left open when
the building is unoccupied, without any sacrifice in
security.

French Abstract

Cette invention concerne un dispositif d'aération monté dans un mur extérieur et comportant un filetage intérieur du côté intérieur. Un épaulement est prévu dans le dispositif d'aération. Un capuchon à visser dans le dispositif prend appui contre l'épaulement lorsqu'il est en position fermée. Le capuchon et l'épaulement comportent des ouvertures permettant la circulation d'air à travers le dispositif lorsque le capuchon est ouvert, aucune circulation d'air n'étant possible lorsque le capuchon est fermé. Celui-ci peut être partiellement ouvert pour permettre une certaine circulation d'air. L'objet de l'invention est facile à installer et à entretenir. Il peut être laissé ouvert lorsque le bâtiment est inoccupé, sans compromettre la sécurité de celui-ci.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive
property or privilege is claimed are defined as
follows:
1, An air vent for use in an outside wall, said
vent comprising an elongated passage extending through
said wall, said passage having an outer end and an
inner end, said inner end having an end portion with a
circular cross-section and a screw thread on an inner
surface thereof, said screw thread extending from said
inner end toward said outer end, a cap sized to fit
within said end portion, said cap having an outer
surface with a screw thread thereon corresponding to
said screw thread of said passage, said cap having a
base and a top portion, with a plurality of first
openings extending from said base to said top portion,
said passage containing an abutment which blocks the
passage except for a plurality of second openings
therein, said passage being located so that a base of
said cap will rest against said abutment when said cap
is in a closed position within said passage, there
being sealing means between said cap and said abutment
said first and second openings being arranged relative
to one another so that when said cap is in a closed
position in said passage, said sealing means prevents
air from flowing between said first and second
openings, said second openings being accessible to
said first openings by air in said passage when said
cap is in an open position in said passage, the degree
of accessibility being adjustable by further opening
or closing the cap.
2. An air vent as claimed in Claim 1 wherein
the first openings in the top portion of the cap
extend radially outward from said cap.

3. An air vent as claimed in Claim 2 wherein
the first openings are located near a centre of said
base.
4. An air vent as claimed in Claim 3 wherein
the second openings are located near a periphery of
said abutment.
5. An air vent as claimed in Claim 4 wherein
the sealing means is located on said cap and said
sealing means blocks said second openings when said
cap is in a closed position relative to said abutment.
6. An air vent as claimed in Claim 5 wherein
there is a flange located at said inner end of said
passage, said flange being affixed to said passage,
said outer end of said passage having a screw thread
on an outer surface thereof, said screw thread having
an outside diameter that is slightly smaller than a
remainder of said passage, a second flange that is
sized to fit over said outer screw thread, said flange
being held in position by a lock nut that contains a
screw thread corresponding to said outer screw thread
said outer end being shaped to receive a screen that
extends completely across the passage, said screen
being held in place by a nut that has screw threads
corresponding to the second screw thread.
7. An air vent as claimed in Claim 6 wherein
there is a rain cap affixed to said outer flange, said
rain cap being open on the bottom and extending over
said outer end of said passage.

Description

206~9~7
This invention relates to an air vent and
more particularly to an air vent that is located in an
outside wall of a building.
Air vents are known but previous air vents
are too drafty; or, they are not adju~table; or, they
cannot be closed; or, they are too expensive to
install; or, they are too e~pensive to manufacture;
or, they provide a security risk; or, they can jam
with snow or ice during the win~er; or, they cannot be
easily opened and closed; or, they reguire an
electrical connection; or, they are expensive to
maintain; or, they cannot be readily installed in
existing homes.
It is an object of the present invention to
provide an air vent that is inexpensive, simple to
install and can be easily opened and closed.
An air vent for use in an outside wall has
an elongated passage extending through said wall. The
passage has an outer end and an inner end. The inner
end has an end portion with a circular cross-section
and a screw thread on an inner sur~ace thereon. The
screw thread extends from said inner end toward said
outer end. A cap is sized to fit within said end
portion, the cap having an outer surface with a screw
thread thereon corresponding to the screw thread of
said passage. The cap has a base and a top portion
with a plurality of first openings extending from said
base to said top portion. The passage contains an
abutment which blocks the passage except for a
plurality of second openings therein, said passage
being located so that a base of said cap will rest
against said abutment when said cap is in a closed
position within said passaye. There are sealing means
between said cap and said abutment and said first and

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second openings are arranged relative to one anoth~r
so that when said cap is in a closed position ln said
passage, said sealing means prevents air from flowing
between said first and second openings. The second
openings are accessible to said first openin~s by air
in said passage when said cap is in an open position
in said passage. The degree of accessibility is
adjustable by further opening and closing the cap.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a sectional side view of an air
vent with a cap removed;
Figure 2 is a sectional side view of a cap;
Figure 3 is an end view of said cap;
Figure 4 is an end view of an inner end of
said vent.
In Figure 1, an air vent 2 has an elongated
passage 4. The passage is cylindrically-shaped and
extends through an outside wall (not shown) from
inside to outside. The passage has an outer end 6 and
an inner end 8, the inner end ~3 having an end portion
10 with a circular cro$s-section and a screw thread 12
on an inner surface 14 thereof. The screw thread 12
extends from the inner end 8 toward the outer end 6.
The passage contains an abutment 16 which blocks the
passage 4 except for second openings 18 therein.
The outer end 6 of the passage 4 has a screw
thread 20 on an outer surface thereof. A flange 22 is
designed to fit over the outer end 6 and to abut
against an outside surface (not shown) of the wall
(not shown) and to be held in place by a lock nut 24.
The lock nut 24 is turned onto the screw thread 20. A
screen 26 fits within the outer end 6 and is held in
place by a nut 28 which is turned onto the screw
thread 20. ~ rain cap 30 is secured to the flange 22

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by a screw 32. The rain cap extends downward and
ou-tward ~rom the screw 32 to cover the outer end 6. A
bottom 34 of the rain cap 30 is open.
The inner end 8 is surrounded by a flange 36
and a gasket 38 is located on an outer side of the
flange 36.
In Figures 2 and 3, there is shown a cap 40
which has a base 42 and a top portion 44. The base
contains a plurality of first openings 46 which are
located near a centre 48 of said base. The first
openings 46 are surrounded by sealing means 50. The
sealing means could be any suitable seal and could be
separate from the base 42 or molded as an integral
part of said base. For example, the sealing means 50
could be made of rubber.
The top portion has a screw thread 52
thereon, which corresponds to the screw thread 12 of
the passage 4. At an end opposite to the base 4~,
there is located a handle 54 for turning the cap to an
open or closed position when the screw thread 52 is
interlocked with the screw thread 12. Between the
handle 54 and the screw thread 44 is a band 56. The
first openings 46 extend from the base 42 through the
cap 40 and radially outward from the band 56. Between
the band 56 and the screw thread 44, there is located
an O-ring 58. The purpose o~ the O-ring is to seal an
area between the cap 40 and the location of the O-ring
58 and the inner surface 14 of the passage 4. Thus,
outside air will be prevented from travelling between
the corresponding screw threads 12, 52 to the inside.
Instead, outside air will travel through the openings
46 when the cap is in an open pusition within the
passage 4.

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-- 4 --
In Figure 4, the arrangement of the second
openings 18 in the abutment 16 is shown. It can be
seen that the second openings 18 are located near a
periphery 60 of the abutment 16. The ~irst openings
46 and the second openings 18 are located relative to
one another so that when the cap 40 is in a closed
position within the end portion 10 of the passage ~,
the base 42 will rest against the abutment 16 and the
sealing means 50 will prevent outside air from passing
through the second vpenings 18 to the first openings
46. Preferably, the sealing means 50 is located so
that when the cap is in a closed position, the sealing
means 50 covers the second openings 18. In this
arrangement, when the cap is in a closed position
within the passage 4, outside air cannot pass through
the second openings 18. If the sealing means were
located so that it did not block the second openings
18 when the cap was in a closed position but only
prevented air from travelling from the second openings
18 to the first openings 46, some air might enter the
inside between the screw threads 12, 52 and around the
O-ring 58.
To install the air vent of the present
invention, a circular opening of suitable size must be
made in an outside wall where the vent is to be
installed. The outer end 6 is then inserted through
the circular opening in the outside wall until the
gasket 3~ rests against an inside surface (not shown)
of the wall. In this po~ition, the outer end 6 will
protrude slightly beyond the outer sur~ace of the wall
(not shown). The flange 22 is then inserted over the
screw thread 20 and held in place by the lock nut 24
which is tightened to pull the passage 4 outward so
that there is some pressure by the flange 36 on the

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- 5 -
gasket 38. Next, the screen 26 and nu-t 28 are
installed and finally the ring cap is installed using
the screw 32. Once the vent has been installed, the
cap can be inserted into the end portion 10 and moved
to a closed position or a fully open position or a
position between these two extremes. For example, i~
the cap is only loosened slightly ~rom the closed
position, less air will flow then if the cap is fully
open so that the seali~g means 50 no longer contacts
the abutment 6. As the openings 46 located in the
band 56 extend radially outward within said band, the
air flow from the vent is directed parallel to an
inner surface of the wall and is less likely to cause
users of the vent to ~eel a dra~t. If maximum air is
lS required, the cap could be removed entirely from the
passage, but this is not recommended. While the air
vent could be made in any convenient size, it can be
seen that generally the air vent is relatively small
and is about the same size or slightly smaller than a
conventional domestic dryer vent. Unlike windows,
which can create a security problem when they are left
open, the air vent of the present invention can be
left in a closed, partially open or fully open
position without incurring any security risk
whatsoever.
While only one vent is shown and described,
it will usually be desirable to have two vents
installed in a residence, one in one outside wall and
one in an opposing outside wall. Usually, one wall in
which a vent is installed will be in the direction o~
the prevailing wind. In this manner, outside air can
enter a building through one vent and stale air can
exit the building through the vent in the opposing
wall.

Representative Drawing