Abstract:
A hinged vent unit is provided having a dome member, connected to a frame for mounting to a vehicle, which is selectively manipulable by an arm connected at or near one end thereof to the dome and connected at another portion thereof to a plurality of selectively engageable stops which, when connected to the arm, prevent the dome from moving relative to the frame.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Ventilators are commonly used to provide air intake and outlet and/or light to compartment spaces of vehicles, such as recreational vehicles, cargo trailers, truck cabs and other enclosed cab or vehicle spaces. Such ventilators (hereinafter, “vents”) may be mounted with a wall, ceiling or roof of the vehicle space, and must seal well enough to prevent air, water, dust and other environmental elements from entering the vehicle when the vents are shut. 
         [0002]    Various vents are described in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,694 to Jeffries (“Jeffries”) discloses a selectively adjustable vent that is opened or closed via a squeezable handle. A user squeezes the handle to release a locking rod from holding channels of opposing receivers. Pushing up on the handle while maintaining squeezing pressure allows the rod to travel upward within internal tracks of the receivers. Support members connected with the handle press upwards on a cover of the vent, causing the vent cover to pivot open. Releasing pressure on the handle allows the internal rod to settle in one of several alternate channels within the receiver tracks, to secure the vent in a selected open position. 
         [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,401,620 to Armstrong (“Armstrong”) et al. discloses a vent that is mounted with a vehicle roof such that an internal knob protrudes into the vehicle space. A user turns the knob to activate a screw that extends through the vehicle roof and pushes upward on a forward end of a damper within the vent housing. Turning the knob upward (i.e., tightening) pushes the internal screw into the forward end of the damper, causing the damper to pivot on a pivot pin to open an air intake chamber within the vent housing. Turning the knob in the opposite direction (i.e., loosening) releases the internal screw from the forward end of the damper. An internal spring biases the forward end of the damper downward, closing the air intake chamber and opening an outlet chamber for venting air from within the vehicle space to the outside environment. 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,291 to Kujawa (“Kujawa”) discloses a ventilator unit with dual pivoting handles attached to arm and crank units. Operation of the handles allows selective positioning of opposing sides or sections of a cover to various intake and/or exhaust positions. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,791 to Humphrey et al. discloses a window vent assembly, wherein the vent is mounted in an opening in a piece of glass. The vent includes a section that is rotatable relative to a frame of the vent, and can be positioned to act as a forced air vent or an exhaust vent. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,385, also to Humphrey et al. (“Humphrey &#39;385”) also discloses a rotatable vent (relative to a panel through which the vent is formed). In operation, a user pushes to open or close the vent. Force upon the handle causes a vent plate to pivot, in turn opening or closing a vent cover that is affixed to the vent plate. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    In one embodiment, a hinged vent unit includes a ceiling garnish for mounting with a ceiling of a vehicle space and a roof flange for mounting with a roof of a vehicle space and with the ceiling garnish, opposite the ceiling garnish. A cover member hinges with the roof flange, for covering or exposing a vent opening formed by the roof flange and ceiling garnish. A lever arm slidingly connected to the cover member and pivotally connected to the roof flange includes or connects with a handle that is serially engagable with a plurality of flange detents and lockable therein. The lever pivots upon retraction of the handle against a biasing member force and backward or forward motion of the handle. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is side perspective view of a hinged vent unit, according to an embodiment. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a partial top perspective view of the vent unit of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a top perspective view of a roof mounted flange portion of the vent unit of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to an embodiment. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a bottom perspective view of a ceiling garnish portion of the vent unit of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to an embodiment. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a partial bottom perspective view of the roof flange portion of  FIG. 3 , attached with a vent cover and including additional features, according to an embodiment. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of a portion of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a bottom perspective view of the roof flange and cover of  FIG. 5 , showing a screen fitted therewith. 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a top perspective view of the roof flange and cover of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is a partial, bottom view of vent  100  with ceiling garnish  102  removed to show details of a wiring component within roof flange  104 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is a partial, top view of roof flange  104  showing internal wire routing for a fan switch mounted therewith. 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  is a partial, schematic view of the bottom of the roof flange, showing mounting brackets for mounting an additional vent cover, according to an embodiment. 
           [0019]      FIG. 12  is a top perspective view of the roof flange, illustrating placement of a seal between the roof flange and vent cover, according to an embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]      FIGS. 1 and 2  depict a hinged vent unit  100  (or vent  100 ) including a cover member or domed top  102  (hereinafter, dome  102 ), a roof flange  104  and a ceiling garnish  106 .  FIGS. 3 and 4  show additional detail of roof flange  104  and ceiling garnish  106 , respectively. For ease of understanding,  FIGS. 1-4  are best viewed together with the following description. 
         [0021]    A dome handle  108  ( FIG. 1 ) facilitates opening or closing of dome  102  from within a vehicle or cargo space, for example when vent unit  100  is mounted with the vehicle such that roof flange  104  lies atop the vehicle roof (outside the vehicle) and ceiling garnish  106  mounts with the vehicle ceiling (within the vehicle) and within a garnish pocket  109  of roof flange  104  (see  FIGS. 2 and 5 ). 
         [0022]      FIG. 3  shows roof flange (or roof-mounted flange)  104 . Roof flange  104  includes garnish pocket  109 , a flange hinge  110 , a raceway  112  for wiring, integral mounting bosses  114  and an operator bar  116  for supporting a medial frame member  168  (shown as an arc  168 ) and for providing dual apertures  120  (one shown) for connecting with a fastener to form a pivot point  122 . In one aspect, operator bar  116  includes opposing bar arms  124  interconnected via supports  126 . Discontinuous, diagonal supports  126 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , may strengthen operator bar  116  while adding minimal weight and/or bulk. In one aspect, flange hinge  110 , operator bar  116  and garnish pocket  109  are molded into roof flange  104  (i.e., as one part). Mounting bosses  114 , which are used to attach roof vent cover brackets (see  FIG. 9 ), may also be formed with or molded into roof flange  104 . However, one or more components of roof flange  104  may be formed separately and joined with roof flange  102 . In one aspect, roof flange  104  is made of durable plastic such as polypropylene or a thermoplastic olefin (TPO), such that roof flange  104  is compatible with roofing systems and sealants that are incompatible with unprimed steel products. Roof flange  104  is for example formed by extrusion or injection molding. Further options include cast aluminum or zinc. Alternately, where roof flange  104  is made from steel or another metal, it may be powder coated or painted plastic, or an adhesive polypropylene or TPO gasket may be affixed to a roof-contact surface of flange  104 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 4  is an interior view of ceiling garnish  106 , as seen from the bottom. Ceiling garnish  106  includes peripheral ceiling trim  128  extending from an insert  130 , sized for fitting into garnish pocket  109  of roof flange  102 . Vent  100  is fitted with a vehicle or vehicle space (hereinafter, the “vehicle”) such that roof flange  104  is mounted atop the roof of the vehicle, and ceiling garnish  106  is placed with the vehicle ceiling in alignment with roof flange  104 . In particular, an upper face  132  of ceiling trim  128  fits with the vehicle ceiling surrounding a cutout sized to fit vent  100 . Insert  130  fits into garnish pocket  109  of roof flange  104 , and roof flange  104  and ceiling garnish  106  are fastened together and with the vehicle via a plurality of fasteners. Roof flange  104  for example includes a plurality of apertures  134  that align with a plurality of apertures  136  through ceiling trim  128 . 
         [0024]    In one aspect, ceiling trim  128  includes a light switch  138  for operating one or more LED lights  140 . LED lights  140  are shown arranged with an LED bar  142  along one side of ceiling trim  157 ; however, it will be appreciated that LED lights  140  may be alternately arranged. For example, LED lights  140  may be placed about the perimeter of ceiling trim  128 , proximate each corner of ceiling trim  128  or otherwise arranged with ceiling trim  128 . 
         [0025]    Dome  102  mates with roof flange  104  via flange hinge  110 , and is opened or closed via user-operable handle  108  connected with a proximal end  144  of an angled arm  146  ( FIG. 2 ). Arm  146  joins with or is molded with a slide mechanism  148  at a distal end  150  of arm  146 . In one aspect, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , slide mechanism  148  is a slider clip  148  having a fastener  152  for fastening a slot or notch  154  of clip  148  with distal end  150 , and a receptacle  156  opposite fastener  152 , for receiving and sliding along a slider leg or rail configured with or attached with the underside of dome  102 . Fastener  152  may be a snap in clip or other fastener that pivotally secures slider clip  148  with distal end  150  of arm  146 . Arm  146  is for example made of steel. 
         [0026]    In one aspect, receptacle  156  slides directly on a rail  158  extending from the underside of dome  102 . In another aspect, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , rail  158  extends from the underside of dome  102  and a separate slider leg  160  fits with rail  158 . Receptacle  156  of slider clip  148  fits over and slides along slider leg  160 . 
         [0027]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , arm  146  bends at an elbow  162  proximate pivot point  122  for arm  146 . In one aspect, elbow  162  forms an obtuse angle, such that back and forth motion of handle  108  translates to a greater degree of up and down motion of dome  102 . 
         [0028]    In operation, a user grasps handle  108  and pulls down to release a locking bar  164  ( FIG. 1 ) from detents or teeth  166  of medial member/arc  168  configured with roof flange  104 . The user then moves handle  108  forward or backward (with respect to a front end  170  of vent  100 ) to respectively lower or raise dome  102 . Moving handle  108  away from front end  170  causes arm  146  to pivot about pivot point  122  proximate elbow  162 , thus exerting upward pressure on dome  102  as slide mechanism  148  moves toward front end  170  along slider leg  160 /rail  158 , to open vent  100 . Moving handle  108  towards front end  170  in turn moves slide mechanism  148  away from front end  170  (again, along slider leg  160 /rail  158 ), closing vent  100 . When dome  102  is opened or closed to the desired degree, the user releases downward pressure on handle  108  to engage and secure locking bar  164  with teeth  166  of arc  168 . Tension provided by an extension spring at a lateral position  172  between handle  108  and proximal end  144  of arm  146  (or by dual springs at opposing sides of handle  108 , between handle  108  and distal end  150  of arm  146 ) biases locking bar  164  against teeth  166 , to hold handle  108  in place. The wedge shape of dome  102  accommodates function of slide mechanism  148  along slider leg  160 /rail  158 , and may also enhance aerodynamics and appearance of vent  100 . 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8  (among others), roof flange  104  may support a fan  174  for enhancing air circulation via vent  102 . In one aspect, fan  174  is supported on a fan extension  176  extending from an inner aspect .of a peripheral side wall  178  of roof flange  104 . Fan  174  may be a passive fan, or fan  174  may be activated by a user, for example by pressing a button or flipping or sliding a switch, such as switch  179 , configured with vent  100 . In one example, a user slides a switch or presses a button on ceiling trim  128  to turn on, turn off or change direction of the fan (i.e., to encourage air intake or exhaust). It will be appreciated that power would be provided to a user-activated fan, for example via suitable wiring run through raceway  112  and/or an additional raceway, the wiring being in communication with the fan button, switch or slide. 
         [0030]    Roof flange  104  may also support a screen  180  for preventing solid matter from entering the vehicle while dome  102  is open. Screen  180  may be inserted into or removed from an internal track  182  of roof flange  180  via a plurality of tabs  184 . In addition, roof flange  104  may include one or more placement features  186  (for example, pegs or surface features) for aligning with complementary placement features within dome  102 , to encourage proper alignment between dome  102  and roof flange  104  as vent  100  closes. 
         [0031]    It will be appreciated that although not specified above, dome  102  may include cut-outs, protrusions or other features for aligning with and/or accommodating features of roof flange  104 . 
         [0032]    Turning to  FIG. 8 , a wiring junction box  188  (or field service wiring component  188 ) may be incorporated for use when a Canadian Standards Association (“CSA”) or Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (“UL) product listing is required. According to code, a junction box switch cannot be mounted in the junction box cover, and the box must be made of flame retardant/self-extinguishing plastic rated UL V0 grade. Existing plastic vents make the entire vent or vent housings out of the V0 grade plastic, in order comply with UL standards. This adds significant cost to the plastic vents, as UL V0 grade plastic is expensive. 
         [0033]    Vent  100  may provide significant cost reduction and ease of installation/removal by providing a switch mounted into the vent frame. For example, as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , switch  179  mounts with roof flange  104 . Junction box  188  and a cover  190  surround switch  179  and cover its non user-actuable portion; however, switch  179  is mounted to flange  104  and not within junction box  188 . Junction box  188  creates a wiring compartment  192  for supply wiring hookup. Therefore, junction box  188 /wiring compartment  192  and cover  190  may be installed and/or removed even after switch  179  is inserted and wired. As such, only wiring compartment  192  need be flame retardant. Roof flange  104  itself may be made of an alternate, less expensive material (for example, one with a UL flame rating of 94 HB), without vent  100  violating UL requirements. Hereinafter, “junction box  188 ” and “wiring compartment  192 ” may be used interchangeably. 
         [0034]    In one aspect, wiring compartment  192  forms opposing lateral apertures  194 , which align with opposing apertures formed by wiring mounts  196  that are integral to or mounted within roof flange  104  when junction box mounts with roof flange  104 . Wiring compartment  192  may thus be secured to roof flange  104  with two screws (e.g., screws  198 , as shown). Cover  190  includes an aperture  200  that aligns with an aperture  202  of junction box  188 /wiring compartment  192  and includes a cutout  204  for surrounding, but not covering, switch  179 . As such, cover  190  may be joined with wiring compartment  192  via a single screw, wiring compartment  192  surrounds switch  179 , yet switch  179  is mounted with roof flange  104 , and not with junction box  188 . A user need only place or remove three screws to install or remove junction box  188 , and need only remove one screw to access wiring  206  within junction box  188  (see  FIG. 10 ). 
         [0035]    As shown in  FIG. 11 , mounting bosses  114  of roof flange  104  provide for connection of mounting brackets  208 , which in turn support an additional vent cover (not shown). In one aspect, the additional vent cover fits over vent  100  (i.e., over dome  102 ), such that vent  100  (dome  102 ) may be opened to allow light into the vehicle or vehicle space while keeping precipitation out. As such, the additional cover may be a translucent cover. Offsets  210  in dome  102  ( FIG. 1 ) provide clearance for mounting hardware  212  to be attached with mounting bosses  114 . 
         [0036]    Vent  100  may feature or support an additional seal  214  between dome  102  and roof flange  104 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , an upper aspect of roof flange  104  may include an outer partial channel or shelf  216  for accommodating a gasket/seal  218 . Seal  218  may be an adhesive-backed rubber seal sized to fit with channel or shelf  216 . Although not shown, dome  102  may include a complementary inner shelf or channel for fitting with the top surface of seal  218 . 
         [0037]    While the present invention has been described above, it should be clear that many changes and modifications may be made to the process and product without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.