Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
TITLE
[0001] Vent Cover
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The present application relates generally to vent cover, more
specifically it relates to a child
proof vent cover.
BACKGROUND
[0003] This section provides background information to facilitate a better
understanding of the various
aspects of the invention. It should be understood that the statements in this
section of this document
are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
[0004] Vent covers are used throughout buildings to prevent unwanted access to
air ducts while still
allowing access when needed. Many vent covers are held in place with screws,
requiring the use of a
screw driver to open. This can be inconvenient when access to a duct is
required quickly. The challenge
is providing a vent cover that can allow quick access to a duct while still
being a challenge for some, like
children, to open.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0005] There is provided a vent cover having a hollow cover with a front face,
a rear face and peripheral
side walls. The front face and the rear face have apertures that allow air to
pass through the hollow
cover. A mounting flange extends from the edges of the front face of the
hollow cover. At least one
securing mechanism is positioned within the hollow cove. The securing
mechanism has at least one
locking pin for securing the hollow cover in position. The securing mechanism
is movable between a
locking position in which the hollow cover is held in position and an
unlocking position in which the
hollow cover is removable. The securing mechanism is movable between a locking
and an unlocking
position by at least one tab accessible from the front face of the hollow
cover.
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[0006] In one embodiment, the at least one securing mechanism has a first
locking pin and a second
locking pin. The first locking pin is biased into a locking position by a
first biasing spring. The second
locking pin is in a locking position. The first locking pin and the second
locking pin are positioned along
the same vertical axis. The first locking pin is movable into an unlocking
position and the at least one tab
is in communication with the first locking pin.
[0007] In another embodiment, both the first locking pin and the second
locking pin are movable into
the unlocking position.
[0008] In one embodiment, the second locking pin is biased into a locking
position by a second biasing
spring.
[0009] In one embodiment, the at least one tab is in communication with the
second locking pin.
[0010] In another embodiment, the first locking pin is in communication with a
first tab and the second
locking pin is in communication with a second tab. The first tab and the
second tab are on the same
vertical axis. The first tab and the second tab cause the first locking pin
and the second locking pin to be
moved to the unlocked position when pushed towards each other.
[0011] In one embodiment, the front face has at least one unlocking channel
through which the at least
one tab is accessible.
[0012] In one embodiment, the first locking pin and the second locking pin
have contact plates for
contacting a surface to be secured to. Contact plates provide a larger surface
area for first locking pin
and second locking pin to contact the surface to which the vent cover is to be
secured.
[0013] In one embodiment, an aperture damper is provided for opening and
closing the apertures on
the front face of the hollow cover.
.. [0014] In one embodiment, there are two securing mechanisms. In a preferred
embodiment, the two
securing mechanisms are positioned adjacent opposing peripheral side walls of
the hollow cover.
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[0015] There is also provided a vent cover that has a hollow cover with a
front face, a rear face and
peripheral side walls. The front face and the rear face having apertures such
that air may pass through
the hollow cover. A mounting flange extends from the edges of the front face
of the hollow cover. At
least one securing mechanism is positioned within the hollow cover. The at
least one securing
mechanism has a first locking pin and a second locking pin. The first locking
pin is biased into a locking
position by a first biasing spring. The second locking pin is positioned in a
locking position. The first
locking pin and the second locking pin is positioned along the same vertical
axis. The first locking pin is
movable between a locking and an unlocking position by a first tab accessible
from the front face of the
hollow cover.
[0016] In one embodiment, both the first locking pin and the second locking
pin are movable into the
unlocking position.
[0017] In one embodiment, the second locking pin is biased into a locking
position by a second biasing
spring.
[0018] In one embodiment, a second tab is provided in communication with the
second locking pin. The
first tab and the second tab are on the same vertical axis and cause the first
locking pin and the second
locking pin to be moved to the unlocked position when pushed towards each
other.
[0019] In another embodiment, the front face has at least one unlocking
channel through which the
first tab and the second tab are accessible.
[0020] In one embodiment, the first locking pin and the second locking pin
have contact plates for
contacting a surface to be secured to. Contact plates provide a larger surface
area for first locking pin
and second locking pin to contact the surface to which the vent cover is to be
secured.
[0021] In one embodiment, an aperture damper is provided for opening and
closing the apertures on
the front face of the hollow cover.
[0022] In one embodiment, there are two securing mechanisms. In a preferred
embodiment, the two
securing mechanisms are positioned adjacent opposing peripheral side walls of
the hollow cover.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] These and other features will become more apparent from the following
description in which
references are made to the following drawings, in which numerical references
denote like parts. The
drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in
any way limit the scope of
the invention to the particular embodiments shown.
[0024] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view, partially in section, of a vent
cover.
[0025] FIG. 2 is a front plan view, partially in section, of the vent cover.
[0026] FIG. 3 is a side elevation view, partially in section, of the vent
cover.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0027] A vent cover, generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be
described with reference
to FIG. 1 through FIG. 3.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 3, a vent cover 10 has a hollow cover 12 with a front
face 14, a rear face 16 and
peripheral side walls 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d, shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2,
front face 14 has apertures 20 and rear face 16 has apertures 22 to allow air
to pass through hollow
cover 12. A mounting flange 24 extends from the edges of front face 14 of
hollow cover 12. Hollow
cover 12 is designed to fit within a wall, ceiling or vent opening while
mounting flange 24 contacts the
wall or ceiling and prevents vent cover 10 from sliding into the opening to
which it is secured. A securing
mechanism 26 is positioned within hollow cover 12. In the embodiment shown,
two securing
mechanisms 26 are used and positioned adjacent opposing peripheral side walls
18a and 18c of hollow
cover 12. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that the
positioning of securing mechanisms
26 may be altered. Two securing mechanisms 26 are beneficial as it can be used
to make it more difficult
for children to removing vent cover 10 as both securing mechanisms 26 must be
moved into the
unlocking position to move. Generally, a child's hands will not be large
enough to operate a single
securing mechanism without assistance. While more than two securing mechanisms
26 can be used, this
could, in some embodiments, require that more than one person be required to
remove vent cover 10.
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[0029] Referring to FIG. 3, a first locking pin 28 is used to secure hollow
cover 12 in position within a
wall, ceiling, vent opening or any other location known to a person skilled in
the art. Securing
mechanism 26 is movable between a locking position in which hollow cover 12 is
held in position and an
unlocking position in which hollow cover 12 is removable to provide access.
Referring to FIG. 1, securing
mechanism 26 is movable between a locking and an unlocking position by a first
tab 30 accessible from
front face 14 of hollow cover 12. First tab 30 may cause securing mechanism 26
to be moved between
the locking and unlocking position by any method known in the art, including a
direct connection to
locking pin 28 or an indirect connection to locking pin 28. Magnets, levers
and pulley systems are
examples of methods that could be used to allow first tab 30 to move securing
mechanism 26 between
the locking and unlocking position.
[0030] Referring to FIG. 3, in the embodiment shown, securing mechanism 26 has
a first locking pin 28
biased into a locking position by a first biasing spring 32. A second locking
pin 34 is provided in a locking
position. First locking pin 28 and second locking pin 34 are positioned along
the same vertical axis 36.
First locking pin 28 is movable into an unlocking position by movement of
first tab 30 which is provided
in communication with first locking pin 28. In the embodiment shown, both
first locking pin 28 and
second locking pin 34 are movable into the unlocking position. Second locking
pin 34 is biased into a
locking position by a second biasing spring 38. Referring to FIG. 2, a second
tab 40 is provided in
communication with second locking pin 34 to facilitate movement between the
locking and unlocking
position. First tab 30 and second tab 40 cause first locking pin 28 and second
locking pin 34 to be moved
to the unlocked position when pushed towards each other. First tab 30 and
second tab 40 are
positioned on the same vertical axis 42.
[0031] Referring to FIG. 2, an unlocking channel 44 in front face 14 provides
access to an interior of
hollow cover 12 and first tab 30 and second tab 40. It will be understood by a
person skilled in the art
that unlocking channel 44 may be wide or narrow and that the size of unlocking
channel 44 may be
altered to limit the ability of a person from sliding their fingers into
interior of hollow cover 12. It will be
understood that other types of securing mechanisms 26 may be used. First
locking pin 28 may be biased
into a locking position through the use of opposing magnets or may be lockable
into a locking position
through a locking mechanism.
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[0032] Referring to FIG. 3, in the embodiment shown, first locking pin 28 and
second locking pin 34
have contact plates 46 for contacting a surface to be secured to. Contact
plates 46 provide a larger
surface area for first locking pin 28 and second locking pin 34 to contact the
surface to which vent cover
is to be secured.
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[0033] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an aperture damper 48 is provided to
allow apertures 20 on front
face 14 to be opened and closed. This allows the amount of air flow through
hollow cover 12 to be
controlled by a user. In the embodiment shown, aperture damper 48 is
positioned below apertures 20,
however it will be understood by a person skilled in the art that aperture
damper 48 may be placed
10 anywhere on front face 14 of vent cover 10.
[0034] Any use herein of any terms describing an interaction between elements
is not meant to limit
the interaction to direct interaction between the subject elements, and may
also include indirect
interaction between the elements such as through secondary or intermediary
structure unless
specifically stated otherwise.
[0035] 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
one and only one of the
elements.
[0036] It will be apparent that changes may be made to the illustrative
embodiments, while falling
within the scope of the invention. As such, the scope of the following claims
should not be limited by the
preferred embodiments set forth in the examples and drawings described above,
but should be given
the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
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