Abstract:
An open basket of a resilient mesh material having first and second side edges of a frictional flexible material. The side edges are adapted to provide for positioning of the basket either immediately partially between a vent cover and the duct, or alternatively, fully within the duct at a location immediately below and spaced apart from, the vent cover. The mesh size of the basket is chosen to preclude the passage therethrough of commonly experienced objects, such as rounded objects such as marbles, elongated objects such as nail clippers, pens, coins, etc. any of which may pass through the slots defined in the vent cover.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to devices for capturing miscellaneous objects that find their way into the duct work of a flow system through the common floor-mounted air flow vent of a heating, ventilation or other air flow system. (HVAC system, for example). 
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    Commonly floor-mounted air flow vents comprise a duct having a terminal end thereof mounted generally flush with an opening through the floor. Also commonly such opening is fitted with an air flow control vent cover whose primary function is to regulate the quantity of air allowed to flow from the duct into the atmosphere external of the duct opening. Whereas such devices may provide limited restriction of the passage of miscellaneous objects from the atmosphere external of the duct opening, through the vent cover, thence into the duct itself and/or on occasion into an air blower of the HVAC unit, such covers are inadequate as devices for precluding the passage of miscellaneous objects through the cover and into the duct, due to the need for relatively large openings through the vent cover for substantially unimpeded passage of air out of the duct. Further, such vent covers commonly define multiple parallel spaced apart slots through which objects may readily pass. Commonly, miscellaneous objects passing into a air duct may require the services of a costly HVAC technician for cleaning the air duct or for recovery of a valuable object from the air duct or even from the air blower of the HVAC unit. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0003]    In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an open basket of a resilient mesh material having first and second side edges of a frictional flexible material. The side edges are adapted to provide for positioning of the basket either immediately partially between a vent cover and the duct, or alternatively, fully within the duct at a location immediately below and spaced apart from, the vent cover. The mesh size of the basket is chosen to preclude the passage there through of commonly experienced objects, such as rounded objects such as marbles, elongated objects such as nail clippers, pens, coins, jewelry, small toys etc. any of which may pass through the slots defined in the vent cover. 
         [0004]    Anchoring of the basket of the present invention may be effected by positioning the side edges thereof laterally outwardly of the basket such that these side edges overlie the side edges of the vent opening, or by squeezing the side edges of the basket toward each other, then inserting the basket and its frictional side edges fully within the opening through the floor or fully into the duct, and then releasing the side edges of the basket so that their inherent resiliency urges the frictional side edges into frictional engagement with the side walls of the floor opening or of the duct itself. Reversing this action provides for ready withdrawal of the basket from the vent opening when and if such withdrawal becomes necessary. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a perspective representation of one embodiment of an object catcher of the present invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the basket depicted in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a schematic representation, partly in section, of a typical floor opening having an air duct terminating within such opening and depicting a basket of the present invention and a vent cover poised for insertion into the opening; 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a schematic representation as presented in  FIG. 4  and showing the basket and vent cover inserted within the floor opening with the basket at a level whereby the bottom portion of the vent cover is disposed partially with the interior of the basket; 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a schematic representation as presented in  FIG. 4  and showing the basket of the present invention and the vent cover positioned fully within an air duct at spaced apart locations; and, 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a side elevation view of the vent cover depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    Referring initially to  FIGS. 1-3 , the depicted embodiment of the present object catcher  10  comprises a body portion  12  of an open mesh material  14  formed in the shape of an elongated basket  16  having first and second opposite ends  18  and  20  and first and second opposite sides  22  and  24  in one embodiment, this body portion  12  of the basket  16  may be formed of a metal wire mesh  14 . In one embodiment, the first and second sides  22  and  24  of the body portion  12  of the basket  16  may be angled inwardly of the basket  16  from the top  26  toward the bottom  28  of the basket  16 . In an alternative embodiment, the mesh material  14  may comprise mesh of a plastic material. In either event, the mesh material  14  is flexible and resilient, at least to the extent that the side edges may be deformed inwardly toward one another to place these sides in comparison and will seek their relaxed state when such compression is released, thereby biasing the outer margins  30 ,  32  of the first and second sides  22  and  24  of the basket  16  outwardly of the body portion  12  of the basket  16 . 
         [0012]    The outer margin  30 ,  32  of each of the first and second sides  22  and  24  of the basket  16  are provided with an outer covering  34  which overwraps each of the outer margins  30  and  32  and extends inwardly of the basket  16  body portion  12  a relatively short distance, for example about one-eighth of the overall depth of the side wall. Alternatively, in another embodiment, there may be attached to the outer rim  36 ,  38  of each of the side edges  22  and  24  a rigid or semi-rigid strip  40 ,  41  of material such as a plastic strip or a relatively heavy weight paperboard. In either event, if the strip  40 ,  41  material is not inherently suitable for frictionally engaging the inner wall  42  of a floor opening  44  or the inner wall  46  of an air duct  48 , the strip  40 ,  41  material may be coated or covered with a material of the desired frictional property, such as a polymeric material. In any event, the strip  40 ,  41  material is to cooperate with the resiliency of the basket  16  itself to cause the strip  40 ,  41  material to frictionally engage the inner wall  42  of the floor opening  44  or the inner wall  46  of the air duct  48  with a force which will retain the basket  16  within the floor opening  44  or the duct  48  when the basket  16  mesh  14  is free to seek its relaxed state. 
         [0013]    In  FIG. 3 , there is depicted a typical floor-mounted air duct  48  of rectangular geometry disposed within an opening  44  through a floor. Further in  FIG. 3 , there is depicted an object catcher  10  of the present invention poised for insertion into the floor opening  44  which contains the air duct  48 . 
         [0014]    Still further, in  FIG. 3  there is depicted a typical rectangular air vent cover  50  poised to be inserted into the floor opening  44  and the duct  48  residing in the floor opening  44 . Notably, the depicted vent cover  50  includes a plurality of elongated vanes  52 , each of which is hingedly mounted within the vent cover on respective axels  74 ,  76 , each of which defines a respective rotational axis of a vane. Commonly, this axel includes a first end  78  which is rotationally mounted in a first end  80  of the vent cover and a second end  82  which is rotationally mounted in a second end  84  of the vent cover. These first and second ends of the axels commonly project outwardly from their respective ends of the vent cover. For this reason desired rotation function can be limited or interrupted as by physical engagement with an object or structural feature of the air duct or a basket. The present inventor provides for avoidance of such contact between these protruding axels and the present basket by providing a partial cutout  58 , 60  of each end of the basket. Without lessening the rigidity of the basket, the present inventor provides a cutout which is generally in the form of a “V” in which the open end  70  of the “V” is located adjacent and substantially fully across the width of the top end  26  of the basket, and its vertex  86  is disposed proximate, but terminating short of the bottom  28  of the basket thereby leaving a portion  88  of the bottom of the basket undisturbed so that an object entering the basket through the open top of the basket can not escape out one of the ends of the basket. 
         [0015]    As depicted in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , positioning of the present basket within an air duct and with a portion of the vent cover partially contained within the open top of the basket is permissible by reason of the “V” shaped cutouts of the basket at its opposite ends. As depicted, the size and location of the cutouts  58 , 60  in each of the opposite ends  18 , 20  of the basket are chosen to ensure that the basket, when installed in an air duct proximate a vent cover  50  does not physically engage one or more of the vane axels, thereby ensuring proper operation of the vent cover. Such proximity of the basket and vent cover as depicted in  FIGS. 4 and 5  is desirable to permit ready recovery of captured objects from the basket by merely removing the vent cover and thereby exposing the basket for ready withdrawal of any object which has been captured within the basket. 
         [0016]    In the embodiment of an object catcher  10  of the present invention depicted in the  FIGS. 1-5 , each of the reinforced, flexible and frictional outer margins  30  and  32  of each for the first and second sides  22  and  24  of the basket  16  comprises a respective strip  40 ,  41  having a concave cross section. This geometry of these side edges enhances the ability of these side edges to frictionally engage the inner wall of either the floor opening  44  or of the duct  48  when the catcher  10  is inserted into the floor opening  44 . The contribution of these contoured side edges of the basket  16  of the present invention is demonstrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . In  FIG. 4 , these side edges project outwardly from the basket  16  to engage the inner wall  46  of the duct  48  which is in the floor opening  44 . In this depicted embodiment, the bottom portion of the vent cover  50  resides within the open end of the basket  16  so that the arcuate strips  40 ,  41  are captured between the sides  62 ,  64  of the vent cover  50  and the inner wall  46  of the duct  48 , providing even further assurance that the basket  16  will remain anchored within the duct  48 . It will be recognized, however, that other geometrical configurations of the strips  40 ,  41  may be employed. 
         [0017]    In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 5 , the object catcher  10  of the present invention is disposed within the duct  48  at a location fully out of contact with the vent cover  50 . In this embodiment, the combination of the resiliency of the mesh material  14  of the basket  16  and the frictional nature of the strip  40 ,  41  material of marginal edges  30 ,  32  of the basket  16  function to securely anchor the basket  16  at the selected level within the duct  48 . Whereas the present object catcher  10  is depicted as being inserted within an air duct  48  which is itself disposed within a floor opening  44 , it will be recognized that the present object catcher  10  may also be positioned within a floor opening  44  within which no duct  48  is present, such as when the duct  48  terminates proximate the inner end  66  of a floor opening  44 . 
         [0018]    In one embodiment of the present invention the mesh opening of the basket  16  material  14  may be between about ⅜ and ⅝ inch in that such mesh  14  size will capture most anticipated objects  68 . However, a smaller or larger mesh  14  size may be preferred, depending upon such factors as the potential impedence of air flow, the anticipated size of objects  68 , and/or other factors well recognizable by one skilled in the art. 
         [0019]    While the present invention has been illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intentions of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to specific details, representative apparatus and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departure may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant&#39;s general inventive concept.