VENTILATING APPARATUS

Abstract: Ventilating apparatus with a rotatable closing device (3) mounted between an upper and lower profile (1,2), sealing means (19,20,21,22) between the profiles (1,2) and the closing device (3), the outer boundary of the closing device lying partly on an imaginary cylinder and partly within the circumference of the same cylinder, whereby the shortest radial distance of the closing device is smaller than the distance between the sealing means (20,22) mounted on the respective profiles (1,2).

Description: The invention relates to a ventilating apparatus including a house consisting of two profiles, a rotatable closing device with cylinder wall portions between the profiles, the closing device consisting of at least two closing members spaced from each other and connected to end parts at their outer ends, and sealing means between the profiles and the closing members, whereby the closing device can be rotated from a first position with a closed air passage into a second position with a fully opened air passage. Such an apparatus is known from US-A-4.186.656 and also from NL-A-8105360. This known apparatus has the disadvantage that if only a relatively small air flow is wanted to pass the apparatus, for instance with strong winds, the direction of air flow is very difficult to control. This is caused by the very irregular inner surface of the closing members due to the means there provided to place a wire screen and means to connect the members to the end parts, whereby these means continue along the total length of the members. In practice this means that for instance in a sleeping room a person almost immediately experiences a sense of draught. Another disadvantage of the known apparatus is that cleaning the apparatus, more in particular the closing device and possibly mounted wire screens on the outside, is very difficult and in fact can only be done proper by taking the apparatus apart. This is also the case if new wire screens or new sealing means have to be mounted on the profiles. It is an object of the invention to overcome these disadvantages. Further it is an object of the invention to provide an improved ventilating apparatus of a simple construction, which requires a minimum of parts and which can also be manufactured easily. Accordingly the invention provides a ventilating apparatus as defined in claim 1. With such a closing device it is possible to remove the device from the ventilating apparatus without demounting the apparatus when the closing device is in the position with the maximum possible air passage or even before this position is reached. With the maximum air flow the air passes along both sides of the closing members, whereby the guide passage for the air between the closing members is smaller than the air passage of the known closing device, the total area of the different air passages together, however being at least equal to that of the known closing device. When only using the guide passage for the air between the closing members, the air flow can be directed very accurately. The ventilating apparatus known from the Dutch patent application NL-A-7505355 has a closing device with only one closing member, which makes it impossible to direct the air flow accurately by a small air passage. The same applies to the ventilating apparatus of Dutch patent application NL-A-8601402, which also has a closing device consisting of a single member. The ventilating apparatus described in the British Patent GB-A-1,006,828 also does not allow to take the closing device out of the ventilating apparatus without demounting the apparatus and to direct the air flow. From the Dutch patent application NL-A-7208739 an air flow box is known, having a central bar with a number of parallel radial bores. The air flow can be directed by rotating the central bore whereby the air coming through the radial bores is deflected by deflector plates mounted adjacent the central bar, which, however, does not allow to direct the air flow very accurately. With the closing device according to the invention the guide passage for the air is bounded by two parallel flat planes which ensures a very well guided air flow. When the ventilating apparatus is set in a position with only a small air passage, thus only using the central guide passage, the air flow can be directed very accurately over an angle which is dependent on the radial measurements of the closing members and the guide passage. The air flow will be directed inclined to the horizontal and preferably in a upward direction, so that considerable less draught is experienced than with an undirected air flow. A rigid and simple construction for the closing device is obtained by providing that the end parts fit into the closing members. To prevent a possible heat transmission between the outer ends of the closing members it is provided that the end parts are made of plastic material. A preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the closing member is removable and that a wire screen mounted at the outside thereof is removable to the inside. The wire screen can be mounted in grooves in a vertical or inclined position, the upper groove having a greater depth than the lower groove. For symmetry reasons of the upper and lower profile of the ventilating apparatus, both the grooves can be made with the same depth, whereafter filling pieces are inserted into the lower groove. The invention not only comprises a ventilating apparatus as depicted above, but also the closing device for the ventilating apparatus. The invention is elucidated in the following on hand of the drawing, in which: Figure 1 shows a view in perspective and a cross-section of the ventilating apparatus; Figure 2 shows schematically a front view of the closing device; Figure 3 shows a section along line III-III of fig. 2; and Figure 4 shows a section along line IV-IV in fig. 2. The ventilating apparatus according to fig. 1 consists of a bottom profile 1 and a top profile 2 with a rotatable closing device 3 mounted between these profiles. The closing device is mounted in bearings 26,27 (vide fig. 2, 3 and 4), which are part of the closing parts connecting the outer ends of the profiles 1,2. These closing parts are not shown in the drawing. The bottom and top profiles 1,2 both consist of two parts 4,5 and 6,7, which are connected to each other according to a known method with a connecting piece 8,9 of plastic material to prevent the forming of a "cold-connection". Further the profiles are provided with connecting means 11,12 for a not shown insect screen or wire screen, which are mounted in such a way, that the insect screen has a vertical position, but which just as good can be mounted in such a way that the screen has an inclined or horizontal position. To the top profile 2 a cap 10 is mounted to prevent the rain from coming in. The closing device 3 has two hollow closing members 13, 14, with in between a guide passage for the air 23. The boundary planes 15,16,17,18 of the closing members 13,14 are lying on an imaginary cylinder and are, with the two closing members 13,14 in a vertical position, in contact with the brushes 19,20,21,22 mounted in pairs on the bottom and top profile 1,2. Except for the brushes 19,20,21,22 used here, it is also possible to use sealing means of plastic material or of felt. With rotation of the closing device 3 the boundary planes 16,17 get out of contact with the brushes 20,21 and the boundary planes 15 and 18 respectively come into contact with the brushes 20 and 21, permitting the air to flow from the outside via the guide passage for the air 23 to the inside. The flow direction is directed upward, as a result of which less hindrance of draught is experienced than with an undirected air flow. With further rotation of the closing device the air can flow along both sides of the closing members 13,14 and a maximum possible air flow is reached with a horizontal position of the closing members 13,14, which position is indicated in the drawing with interrupted lines. Fig. 2 schematically shows a front view of the closing device 3, rotatable in bearings 26,27, which are mounted in or form part of the closing parts connecting the lower and top profiles 1,2. The closing members 13,14 are connected with end parts 24,25 fitting into bearings 26,27. These end parts 24,25 are made of plastic material to avoid a "cold-connection" also at this spot. In the bearing 26,27 cut-outs 28,29 with the form of a circle segment are made, so that the end parts 24,25 are free over less than 180 degrees, whereby in the free part of end part 25 holes 30,30′ are made for a control handle 31 for the closing device 3. The angle enclosed by the cut-outs is such that the closing device 3 with the control handle 31 can be rotated from a fully closed position to a completely opened position. Fig. 2, 3 and 4 show the construction that permits the removal of the closing device 3 out of the ventilating apparatus in an easy manner, as a result of which the screen placed on the outside can be reach from the inside. With the axial force exerted by the spring 32, mounted between end part 24 and bearing 26, the end part 25 is hold in the bearing 27, where it butts against a removable ring 34. Herewith sufficient space is left between the end part 24 and the bearing 26, so that by moving the closing device 3 against the force of the spring 32 the end part 25 can be moved out of the bearing 27, whereafter the closing device 3 can be removed from the ventilating apparatus to the outside. To ensure sufficient freedom of movement with bearing 26 the end part 24 has a somewhat tapered form. Although theoretically a spherical shape is needed, in practice a truncated cone shape will do in most cases. The bearings both have the same outer dimensions because of the equal measurements of the closing parts. This means that the bearing 27 has larger dimensions than is strictly necessary to support end part 25. Preferably the bearings 26,27 have exactly the same bores, whereby the space in bearing 27 is filled partly with a ring 34 and the spring 32 is kept in bearing 26 by mounting it to a removable plate 33. Herewith it is possible, by interchanging the ring 34 with the plate 33 and spring 32, to remove and control the closing device from both the left side and the right side, whereby the control handle has to be removed from hole 30 to hole 30' or vice versa.

Claims: Ventilating apparatus including a house consisting of two profiles (1,2), a rotatable closing device (3) with cylinder wall, portions (15,17;16,18) between the profiles, the closing device consisting of at least two closing members (13,14) spaced from each other and connected to end parts (24,25) at their outer ends, and sealing means (19,20;21,22) between the profiles and the closing members, whereby the closing device can be rotated from a first position with a closed air passage into a second position with a fully opened air passage, characterized in that each closing member has the shape of a cylinder slice, with two planes parallel to each other and parallel to the axis of the cylinder and two cylinder wall portions connecting the parallel planes, all cylinder wall portions (15,17;16,18) of said closing members (13,14) lying on the same imaginary cylinder, whereby the dimension of the closing device in a direction perpendicular to said parallel planes is smaller than the distance from the sealing means (21,22) on the first profile (1) to the sealing means (19,20) on the second profile (2). Ventilating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that portions of the end parts (24,25) fit into or close round the hollow closing members (13,14). Ventilating apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the end parts (24,25) are made of plastic material. Ventilating apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the closing device (3) is removable, whereby a wire screen mounted at the outside of the apparatus is removable to the inside. Closing device for a ventilating apparatus according to one or more of the claims 1-4, consisting of at least two closing members (13,14) spaced from each other and connected to end parts (24,25) at their outer ends, characterized in that each closing member has the shape of a cylinder slice, with two planes parallel to each other and parallel to the axis of the cylinder and two cylinder wall portions connecting the parallel planes, all cylinder wall portions (15,17;16,18) of said closing members (13,14) lying on the same imaginary cylinder.

Inventors: AARDEN, MATTHIEU, AARDEN, RONALD
Applicants: GIEMETA-LUVEMA B.V.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: E06B7
IPC codes: E06B7, F24F13