VENT TERMINATION FOR HOUSEHOLD EXHAUST, COMBUSTION GASES AND AIR INTAKE

Abstract

A vent termination for a gas appliance is provided, the vent termination comprising: a back which includes an exhaust vent aperture for accepting an exhaust vent and an air intake aperture for accepting an air intake pipe; a cover opposite the back, the cover including a face and a margin, the margin surrounding the face, extending toward the back and including a plurality of slots, which are for fluid communication with an ambient environment and which form a grill; a base; a top opposite the base; sides attached to and extending between the back, the cover and the top; a frame surrounding the margin and attached to the margin; and a divider disposed between the exhaust vent aperture and the air intake aperture, the divider extending between the back and the cover and defining an exhaust chamber and an air intake chamber, the exhaust chamber in fluid communication with both the plurality of slots and the exhaust vent aperture, the air intake chamber in fluid communication with both the plurality of slots and the air intake chamber.

Claims

1. A vent termination for a gas appliance, the vent termination comprising: a back which includes an exhaust vent aperture for accepting an exhaust vent and an air intake aperture for accepting an air intake pipe; a cover opposite the back, the cover including a face and a margin, the margin surrounding the face, extending toward the back and including a plurality of slots, which are for fluid communication with an ambient environment and which form a grill; a base; a top opposite the base; sides attached to and extending between the back, the cover and the top; a frame surrounding the margin and attached to the margin; and a divider disposed between the exhaust vent aperture and the air intake aperture, the divider extending between the back and the cover and defining an exhaust chamber and an air intake chamber, the exhaust chamber in fluid communication with both the plurality of slots and the exhaust vent aperture, the air intake chamber in fluid communication with both the plurality of slots and the air intake chamber.

2. The vent termination of claim 1, further comprising: an upper baffle which is attached to the back and extends towards the face to define an upper gap between the face and the upper baffle and an upper channel between the upper baffle and the frame, the upper channel in fluid communication with the upper gap; and a lower baffle which is attached to the back and extends towards the face to define a lower gap between the face and the lower baffle and a lower channel between the lower baffle and the frame, the lower channel in fluid communication with the lower gap.

3. The vent termination of claim 2, wherein the upper baffle is angled downward.

4. The vent termination of claim 3, wherein the plurality of slots terminates within the frame.

5. The vent termination of claim 4, wherein the margin is angled toward an inner surface of the frame at an angle of 30 to 60 degrees.

6. The vent termination of claim 5, wherein the exhaust chamber is 33 to 55 percent larger than the air intake chamber.

7. The vent termination of claim 6, wherein the exhaust vent aperture is proximate to the air intake aperture.

8. The vent termination of claim 7, wherein the exhaust vent aperture is beside the air intake aperture.

9. The vent termination of claim 7, wherein the exhaust vent aperture is above the air intake aperture.

10. The vent termination of claim 8, wherein the divider is diagonally disposed.

11. The vent termination of claim 9, wherein the divider is diagonally disposed.

12. The vent termination of claim 7 wherein the vent termination has a depth of no more than 5 inches.

13. The vent termination of claim 12, further comprising an outer safety cage, the outer safety cage fitting over the cover.

14. A combination comprising an exhaust vent, an air intake pipe, and a vent termination, the vent termination including: a back which includes an exhaust vent aperture in fluid communication with the exhaust vent and an air intake vent in fluid communication with the air intake pipe; a cover opposite the back, the cover including a face and a margin, the margin surrounding the face, extending toward the back and including a plurality of slots, which are for fluid communication with an ambient environment and which form a grill; a base; a top opposite the base; sides attached to and extending between the back, the cover and the top; a frame surrounding the margin and attached to the margin; and a divider disposed between the exhaust vent aperture and the air intake aperture, the divider extending between the back and the cover and defining an exhaust chamber and an air intake chamber, the exhaust chamber in fluid communication with both the plurality of slots and the exhaust vent aperture, the air intake chamber in fluid communication with both the plurality of slots and the air intake chamber.

15. The combination of claim 14, wherein the exhaust vent and the air intake pipe terminate at the back of the vent termination and do not extend into the vent termination.

16. The combination of claim 15, wherein the exhaust vent is a B vent.

Description

FIGURES

[0028] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the termination of the present technology attached to the exterior of a building; and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the termination of the present technology attached to or part of a snorkel.

[0029] FIG. 2A is a longitudinal sectional view through line A-A of FIG. 1A; and FIG. 2B is a cross sectional view through line B-B of FIG. 1A.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a cutaway perspective view of the termination of FIG. 1A.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the termination of FIG. 1A.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment termination.

[0033] FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment termination.

[0034] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the termination with a safety cage.

[0035] FIG. 8 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the termination of FIG. 1 on building.

DESCRIPTION

[0036] Except as otherwise expressly provided, the following rules of interpretation apply to this specification (written description and claims): (a) all words used herein shall be construed to be of such gender or number (singular or plural) as the circumstances require; (b) the singular terms “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in the specification and the appended claims include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise; (c) the antecedent term “about” applied to a recited range or value denotes an approximation within the deviation in the range or value known or expected in the art from the measurements method; (d) the words “herein”, “hereby”, “hereof”, “hereto”, “hereinbefore”, and “hereinafter”, and words of similar import, refer to this specification in its entirety and not to any particular paragraph, claim or other subdivision, unless otherwise specified; (e) descriptive headings are for convenience only and shall not control or affect the meaning or construction of any part of the specification; and (f) “or” and “any” are not exclusive and “include” and “including” are not limiting. Further, the terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted.

[0037] Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. Where a specific range of values is provided, it is understood that each intervening value, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range, is included therein. All smaller sub ranges are also included. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges are also included therein, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range.

[0038] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the relevant art. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also be used, the acceptable methods and materials are now described.

Definitions

[0039] Vent—in the context of the present technology, a vent refers to an exhaust vent, flue, duct or pipe through which exhaust gases or household exhaust passes to the outside of a building.

[0040] B vent—in the context of the present technology, a B vent is a double walled vent through which exhaust gases pass to the outside of a building. B vents normally are for vertical installation only.

[0041] Direct vent—in the context of the present technology, a direct vent is a double walled vent (a coaxial vent). The exhaust gases or household exhaust passes through the inner bore defined by the inner cylinder and the combustion air passes through the outer annular bore defined by the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder. A direct vent can be installed vertically or horizontally.

[0042] Termination—in the context of the present technology, a termination is attached to the exterior of the building or is attached to a snorkel or is part of a snorkel. The air intake and exhaust vent terminate at the termination.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] A termination, generally referred to as 10, is shown in FIGS. 1A and B. In FIG. 1A, the termination 10 is attached to the exterior 12 of a building. It extends outward about 3 or 4 inches from the exterior 12. In FIG. 1B, the termination 10 is attached to or is part of a snorkel 14. The termination 10 includes a cover 16 and a frame 18, which is spaced apart from the face 20 of the cover 16. The cover 16 has a margin 22 which has a plurality of slots 24 to provide a grill, generally referred to as 26. In one embodiment, the termination 10 is about 18 inches long by about 9 inches high.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 2A, the margin 22 is angled back from the face 20 of the cover 16 at an obtuse angle 28 of about 120 to about 150 degrees and is angled toward the inner surface 29 of the frame 18 at an angle of about 30 to 60 degrees. The margin 22 with its grill 26 extends around the periphery of the face 20 and is attached to the base 28 of the lower channel 30, the top 32 of the upper channel 34 and the sides 36 of both the lower channel 30 and the upper channel 34 (as shown in FIG. 2B). Without being bound to theory, the angle of the grill 26, the slots 24 terminating within the frame 18 and the presence of the face 20 reduces the effect of the ambient environment. The slots 24 are protected from wind, drafts and rain.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 3, the lower channel 30 is defined by the base 28 and a lower baffle 40 and the upper channel 34 is defined by the top 32 and an upper baffle 42. The baffles 40, 42 are attached to the back 66 and extend towards the back 46 of the cover 16, leaving a gap 48 between the back 46 of the cover 16 and the baffles 40, 42. The upper baffle 42 functions to direct rain and other moisture away from the interior space 50 (FIG. 4).

[0046] As shown in FIG. 4, the exhaust vent 62 and the air intake pipe 64 are in a horizontal relation. They terminate at the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60 and are attached to the back 66 (FIG. 3). A divider 52 separates the interior space, generally referred to as 50 into an exhaust chamber 54 and an air intake chamber 56. The divider 52 is located halfway between the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60, with their respective exhaust vent 62 and air intake pipe 64. As shown in FIG. 3, it is attached to the back 66 of the termination 10, the back 46 of the cover 16, the base 28 of the lower channel 30 and the top 32 of the upper channel 34. Returning to FIG. 4, the exhaust vent aperture 58 is centrally located in the back 66 of the termination 10 and is in fluid communication with the exhaust chamber 54. The air intake aperture 60 is located in the back 66 of the termination about ⅓ of the width of the interior space 50 from one side 36. Thus, the volume of the air intake chamber 56 is about 65% to about 75% of the volume of the exhaust vent chamber 54. The exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60 are adjacent to one another and are about 2 inches to about 10 inches apart. In one embodiment, the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60 are sized to accept 3 inch inside diameter pipes. In other embodiments, the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60 are sized to accept 4 inch to 8 inch inside diameter pipes. Without being bound to theory, the placement of the exhaust vent aperture 58 and its vent and the air intake aperture 60 and its vent in close proximity, allows the wind blowing by to equalize the pressure in the two chambers 54, 56. This prevents the wind from blowing out the flame in the fireplace or furnace. The flame may get overpressure from the wind, but this is balanced by the same pressure coming to the flame from the fresh air intake as comes from the exhaust vent. The angle of the grill 26, the slots 24 terminating within the frame 18 and the presence of the face 20 also ultimately protect the exhaust vent 62 and the air intake pipe 64, thus reducing the effect of wind and drafts.

[0047] The divider 52 is located between ⅓ and ½ of the width of the interior space 50. Thus, the exhaust chamber 54 for mixing with the outside air is much larger than the air intake chamber 56 by about 33% to 55%. The flow of exhaust gases and air are also shown in FIG. 4. It can be seen that the flows are identical but reversed. Exhaust gas enters the exhaust vent aperture 58 from the exhaust vent 62, into the exhaust chamber 54 where it may mix with the ambient air, flows around the baffles 40, 42, and exits through the grill 26. Although not shown, the exhaust gas flows through the grill 26 on all sides of the margin 22. Combustion air enters through the grill 26 on the sides, top and bottom of the margin 22, flows around the baffles 40, 42, into the air intake chamber 56, through the air intake aperture 60 and into the air intake pipe 64.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 5, the exhaust vent 62 and the air intake pipe 64 are in a vertical relation, with the exhaust vent 62 preferably above the air intake pipe 64. They terminate at the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60 and are attached to the back 66. A divider 52 separates the interior space 50 into an exhaust chamber 54 and an air intake chamber 56. The divider 52 is located halfway between the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60, with their respective exhaust vent 62 and air intake pipe 64. It is attached to the back 66 of the termination 10, the back 46 of the cover 16 and the sides 36 of both the lower channel 30 and the upper channel 34. The exhaust vent aperture 58 is centrally located in the back 66 of the termination 10 and is in fluid communication with the interior space 50. The air intake aperture 60 is located in the back 66 of the termination about ⅓ of the height of the interior space 50 from the base 28. In one embodiment, the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60 are sized to accept 3 inch inside diameter pipes. In other embodiments, the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60 are sized to accept 4 inch to 8 inch inside diameter pipes, and as big as 10 inch inside diameter pipes. Without being bound to theory, the placement of the exhaust vent aperture 58 and its vent and the air intake aperture 60 and its vent in close proximity, allows the wind blowing by to equalize the pressure in the two chambers 54, 56. This prevents the wind from blowing out the flame in the fireplace or furnace. The flame may get overpressure from the wind, but this is balanced by the same pressure coming to the flame from the fresh air intake as comes from the exhaust vent.

[0049] The divider 52 is located between ⅓ and ½ of the height of the interior space 50. Thus, the exhaust chamber 54 for mixing with the outside air is much larger than the air intake chamber 56 by about 33 to 55 percent. The flow of exhaust gases and air are also shown in FIG. 5. It can be seen that the flows are identical but reversed. Exhaust gas enters the exhaust vent aperture 58 into the exhaust chamber 54 where it may mix with the ambient air, flows around the baffles 40, 42, and exits through the grill 26. Although not shown, the exhaust gas flows through the grill 26 on all sides of the margin 22. Combustion air enters through the grill 26 on the sides, top and bottom of the margin 22, flows around the baffles 40, 42, into the air intake chamber 56 and through the air intake aperture 60 for deliver into the air intake pipe 64.

[0050] In another alternative embodiment the exhaust vent 62 and the air intake pipe 64 are in a diagonal relation, with the exhaust vent 62 preferably above the air intake pipe 64. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the divider 52 is diagonal and the exhaust vent 62 is above the air intake pipe 64. They terminate at the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60 and are attached to the back 66. A divider 52 separates the interior space 50 into an exhaust chamber 54 and an air intake chamber 56. The divider 52 is located halfway between the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60, with their respective exhaust vent 62 and air intake pipe 64. It is attached to the back 66 of the termination 10, the back 46 of the cover 16 and the sides 36 of both the lower channel 30 and the upper channel 34 to define two triangular prism shaped chambers 54, 56. The exhaust vent aperture 58 is centrally located in the back 66 of the termination 10 and is in fluid communication with the interior space 50. The air intake aperture 60 is located in the back 66 of the termination about ⅓ of the height of the interior space 50 from the base 28. The exhaust vent aperture 58 is diagonal from the air intake aperture 60. The baffles 40, 42 remain horizontally disposed as for FIGS. 4 and 5, but the divider 52 is diagonally disposed, again located such that the exhaust chamber 54 for mixing with the outside air is much larger than the air intake chamber 56, again by about 33 to 55 percent. The divider 52 is located halfway between the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60. The exhaust vent aperture 58 is centrally located in the interior space 50 and the air intake aperture 60 is located ⅓ of the width and height of the interior space 50 from the side and the base 28 of the lower channel 36, or side 36 and base 28 of the upper channel 34. Thus, the exhaust chamber 54 for mixing with the outside air is much larger than the air intake chamber 56 by about 33 to 55 percent.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 7, the termination 10 may include an exterior safety cage 70 to protect from burns. The safety cage 70 has a plurality of slots 72 on the face 74, top 76, bottom 78 and sides 80 to minimize impeding air and exhaust flow. It fits over the cover 16.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 8, the termination 10 may extend a length of the building 90 or may wrap around the entire building. For each gas burning appliance, the termination will have the divider 52 that separates the interior space 50 into an exhaust chamber 54 and an air intake chamber 56. The divider 52 is located halfway between the exhaust vent aperture 58 and the air intake aperture 60. The exhaust vent aperture 58 is centrally located in the interior space 50 and the air intake aperture 60 is located ⅓ of the width of the interior space 50 from one side 36. The exhaust vent aperture 54 and the air intake aperture 60 are sized to accept 3 inch inside diameter pipes. The exhaust vent 62 may be a B vent. The termination 10 is directly attached to the building with screws that extend through a flange on the back 66.

[0053] The divider 52 is located between ⅓ and ½ of the width of the interior space 50. Thus, the exhaust chamber for mixing with the outside air is much larger than the air intake chamber 56. The flow of exhaust gases and air are also shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0054] For household exhaust such as dryer vents, fan vents, kitchen hood vents and the like, a code approved vent is used and is directly vented into a single chamber 94, as there is no need for an air intake.

[0055] While example embodiments have been described in connection with what is presently considered to be an example of a possible most practical and/or suitable embodiment, it is to be understood that the descriptions are not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the example embodiment. Those skilled in the art will recognize or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific example embodiments specifically described herein. Such equivalents are intended to be encompassed in the scope of the claims, if appended hereto or subsequently filed.