Abstract:
A floor vent register and room humidifier comprising a main body with a liquid trough located proximate an air passageway; a wick disposed at least partly in the trough and extending at least partly into the passageway and operable to draw water from the trough towards the passageway; a removable grill protecting the wick and providing access to the wick and trough; and a deflector coupled to the grill for altering the direction of flow of the air exiting the grill.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to an air register having a built-in room humidifier. The invention further concerns a humidifying floor register having an air deflector.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    Room humidifiers have become a necessity in regions where significantly low relative humidity is prevalent, such as regions having extended winter periods. Excessive skin dryness and frequent static electricity shocks are undesirable consequences of such low humidity levels. Accordingly, room humidifiers have been developed to eliminate such concerns by providing a means for raising humidity levels to achieve optimum comfort.  
           [0005]    Room humidifiers of varying complexity are known in the art. A sophisticated and costly humidification system can be installed for use with an existing forced-air heating system. This type of system requires an electrical feed, a control system, and a water line tap in order to operate, and will provide humidification for a number of rooms. Another form of humidifier is the portable electric device which includes a water-holding reservoir and an electric fan for circulating humidified air throughout a room. Another device for raising room humidity levels consists of a receptacle which contains a water-holding reservoir and a filter and is designed for placement over a floor heat register. The bottom of the filter maintains contact with the water and the remainder of the filter remains damp as a result of capillary attraction. Room humidity levels are raised as air discharges from the floor register and passes through the filter.  
           [0006]    Devices of the prior art, however, have several notable drawbacks. The humidifier designed for use with an existing heating system can be very difficult to install. And significant ongoing maintenance is usually required. The portable room humidifier is typically noisy when in operation. Both the portable room humidifier and the floor register humidifying unit can be rather bulky in structure and thus present a somewhat unfavorable addition to the decor of a room. Further, such devices can present a safety hazard if placed in high traffic areas where occupants are likely to stumble over such devices. Finally, the floor register unit must be temporarily removed in order to adjust the damper to regulate the air flow through the register, which could be a strenuous endeavor if the water reservoir is completely full.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an air register with humidifier is provided. The air register comprises a body, a wick, and a rib. The body defines a flow passageway and includes a trough configured to hold a liquid. The wick includes a first portion projecting into the flow passageway and second portion extending at least partly into the trough. The rib contacts the wick in the trough to at least partly inhibit shifting of the wick in the trough.  
           [0008]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, an air register with humidifier for use with a floor vent is provided. The air register comprises a trough and a flow passageway. The trough extends at least partly below the surface of the floor and into the floor vent. The flow passageway allows for air charged to the floor vent to flow therethrough. The trough includes an outer wall spaced from the flow passageway and an inner wall proximate the floor passageway. The outer wall has an upper portion which converges towards the inner wall at a first angle of severity. The outer wall has a lower portion which converges towards the inner wall at a second angle of severity that is greater than the first angle of severity.  
           [0009]    In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, a deflector couplable to an air register and operable to alter the flow direction of the air exiting the register is provided. The deflector comprises a deflection wall adapted to extend at least partly over the outlet of the air register. The deflection wall includes a lower terminal edge The deflector presents a generally planar bottom surface formed at least in part by the lower terminal edge. A tab is protrudes generally downward from the lower terminal edge of the deflection wall. A leg protrudes generally downward from the bottom surface. A foot is coupled to the leg and extends in a direction generally transverse to the direction from which the leg extends from the bottom surface. The tab, leg, and foot cooperate to couple the deflector to the air register.  
           [0010]    In a still further embodiment of the present invention, an air register comprising a body, a wick, a grill, and a deflector is provided. The body defines a flow passageway and includes a trough configured to hold a liquid. The wick has a first portion extended at least partly into the flow passageway and a second portion extending at least partly into the trough. The grill is releasably coupled to the body and extends at least partly over the flow passageway and the trough. The deflector is coupled to the grill and operable to alter the direction of flow of the air exiting the grill.  
           [0011]    In a yet further embodiment of the present invention, a method of humidifying a room having a floor vent is provided. The method includes positioning a room humidifying assembly so that it is supported on the floor surface and extends at least partly into the floor vent below the floor surface. The method further includes positioning a wick in a trough of the assembly so that the wick contacts a rib in the trough to thereby at least partly inhibit shifting of the wick in the trough. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described herein with reference to the following drawing figures:  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is an assembly view of an air register with humidifier and air deflector in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is plan view of the air register with the air deflector being removed and certain sections of the grill being cut away to more clearly illustrate various features of the body of the register;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taking a long line  3 - 3  of FIG. 3 which illustrates the air register with humidifier and air deflector being positioned in a floor vent; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taking along line  4 - 4  in FIG. 2 illustrating the coupling of the air deflector to the grill with portions being cutting away to better illustrate to the interface of the deflector and grill. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0017]    Turning initially to FIG. 1, a room humidifying assembly  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Room humidifying assembly  10  is similar in design to the room humidifying assembly described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,248 issued Jul. 13, 1999, the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. Broadly, room humidifying assembly  10  includes a body  12 , a wick  14 , a grill  16 , and a deflector  18 .  
         [0018]    Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, body  12  is preferably integrally formed of a synthetic resin material. Body  12  can generally be described in terms of an upper superstructure  20  and a lower substructure  22 . As best seen in FIG. 3, superstructure  20  is configured to be disposed above a floor surface  24  while substructure  22  is configured to be disposed below floor surface  24 .  
         [0019]    Referring now to FIGS.  1 - 4 , superstructure  20  generally includes a flange  26  and a recess  28 . Flange  26  is generally rectangular in shape and continuously circumscribes recess  28 . Flange  26  includes a sloped wall  30  and top wall  32 . At the bottom of sloped wall  30  is and engagement edge  34  which engages floor surface  24  to thereby at least partly support room humidifying assembly  10  on floor surface  24 . Sloped wall  30  extends upwardly and inwardly from engagement edge  34  and joins with top wall  32 . A recess wall  36  extends generally downward from the inner edge of top wall  32  to thereby define the outer perimeter of generally rectangular recess  28 . Coupled to the bottom of recess wall  36  and extending inwardly therefrom is a recess ledge  38 . The outer perimeter of recess ledge  38  is defined by recess wall  36 . An inner perimeter  40  of recess ledge  38  defines a generally rectangular opening which provides access to sub-structure  22 .  
         [0020]    As perhaps best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, substructure  22  can generally be described in terms of a vent-side portion  42  and a trough-side portion  44 . Both vent-side portion  42  and trough-side  44  are coupled to and extend generally downwardly from the bottom of recess ledge  38  proximate inner perimeter  40 .  
         [0021]    Trough-side portion  44  of substructure  22  generally includes a trough  46  which is capable of hold a liquid, preferably water. The top of trough  46  presents a generally rectangular upper opening which is bounded on three sides by inner perimeter  40  of recess ledge  38 . The upper opening in trough  46  is bounded on the fourth side by the top edge of an inner wall  48  of trough  46 . Inner wall  48 , an outer wall  50 , opposing end walls  52  and  54 , and a base  56  cooperate to form trough  46 . Inner wall  48  is located proximate vent-side portion  42 . Outer wall  50  is spaced from vent-side portion  42 . End walls  52  and  54  and outer wall  50  extend generally downward from respective portions of inner perimeter  40  of a recess ledge  48 . Inner wall  40  is coupled to and extends between end walls  52  and  54  on the side of trough  46  opposite outer wall  50 . Base  56  is sealingly coupled to the bottom edges of inner wall  48 , outer wall  50 , and opposing end walls  52  and  54 .  
         [0022]    In accordance with an embodiment with the present invention, outer wall  50  includes an upper angled portion  58  and a lower angled portion  60 . Upper angled portion  58  converges toward inner wall  48  at a first angle of severity. Lower angled portion  60  converges towards inner wall  48  at a second angle of severity. The second angle of severity is greater than the first angle of severity. As used herein, the term “angle of severity” means an angle measure between a wall or surface of room humidifying assembly  10  and a line or plane extending perpendicular to floor surface  24 . As best seen in FIG. 3, the sloped configuration of outer wall  50  allows trough  46  to extend as far downward as possible into a vent shaft  62 , thereby maximizing the quantity of liquid which can be stored in trough  46 . If outer wall  50  of trough  46  were not configured as described herein, the quantity of liquid which could be stored in trough  46  would be dramatically reduced because the depth of trough  46  would need to be reduced in order to avoid interference with an outer duct wall  64  of ventilation shaft  62 . Although outer wall  50  of trough  46  is shown in the drawing figures as including a relatively flat upper angled portion  58  and a relatively flat lower angled portion  60 , it is contemplated by the present invention that outer wall  50  could be curved to provide a smooth transition between upper angled portion  58  and lower angle portion  60 . It is further contemplated by the present invention that a cross section of inner wall  48 , base  56 , and outer wall  50  (similar to that shown in FIG. 3) could be generally U-shaped to provide a smooth transition between inner wall  48 , base  56 , and outer wall  50 . Preferably, inner wall  48  is shaped so that it is substantially a mirror image of outer wall  50 , with a top angled portion  66 , a bottom angled portion  68 , and bottom angled portion  68  having a greater angle of severity than top angled portion  66 .  
         [0023]    Referring again to FIGS.  1 - 4 , vent-side portion  42  of substructure  22  defines air passageways  70  which are adjacent trough  46 . Air passageways  70  are defined on three sides by a lip  72  which extends generally downward from the portion of inner perimeter  40  that does not define a portion of the upper opening of trough  46 . A plurality of support members  74  extend from inner wall  48  of trough  46  to lip  72 . Support members  74  are operable to at least partially support trough  46  relative to recess ledge  36 . Support members  74  are preferably generally triangular in shape and present a top surface  76  extending along a plane which is at least substantially perpendicular to the normal direction of air flow through air passageways  70 .  
         [0024]    Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, wick  14  generally includes an upper portion  78  and a lower portion  80 . Upper portion  78  is configured to extend at least partially, preferably substantially, over air passageways  70  so that a substantial portion of the air passing through air passageways  70  must pass through upper portion  78 . Lower portion  80  is configured to extend generally downwardly into trough  46 . Preferably, the lower end of lower portion  80  is located proximate base  56  so that even when trough  46  contains only a minimal amount of liquid, lower portion  80  contacts the liquid. Wick  14  is operable to conduct a liquid stored in trough  46  from lower portion  80  to upper portion  78  by capillary attraction. Preferably, wick  14  is formed of lamented layers of expanded cellulose material.  
         [0025]    It is preferred that wick  14  be well supported relative to body  12  so as to maintain wick  14  in a generally L-shaped configuration, with upper portion  78  extending substantially over air passageway  70  and lower portion  80  extending substantially downward into trough  46 . Referring now to FIGS.  1 - 3 , a wick-supporting structure including a plurality of pins  82  and plurality of ribs  84  operates to maintain wick  14  in its desired position relative to body  12 . Ribs  84  are fixedly coupled to base  56  of trough  46  and extend generally upward into trough  46  between outer wall  50  and inner wall  48 . Lower portion  80  of wick  14  can be placed against ribs  84  to restrain wick  14  from its natural tendency to flatten out from the desired L-shaped position. Pins  82  are configured to be inserted into upper portion  78  of wick  14  to restrain wick  14  from shifting relative to air passageways  70 .  
         [0026]    Referring again to FIGS.  1 - 4 , grill  16  is configured to be removably received in recess  28  of body  12  and includes a plurality of openings therein to allow air to pass generally upwardly therethrough. Grill  16  includes a generally rectangular cover plate  86  bounded by a circumscribing lip  88  extending downwardly from the outer perimeter of cover plate  86 . The bottom edge of lip  88  contacts recess ledge  38  and supports grill  16  on recess ledge  38  when grill  16  is coupled to body  12 . Tabs  90  extend generally outwardly from one side of lip  88  and are configured to be releasably received in slots  92  of body  12 . An opposite side of cover plate  86  includes a projecting handle  94  which is configured to be received at least partly in a groove  96  in body  12 . As best seen in FIG. 3, catches  98  extend generally outward from the bottom of lip  88  on the same side of cover plate  86  as handle  94  and are configured to be releasably received in openings  100  in body  12 . Referring again to FIGS.  104 , grill  16  further includes a dampener  102  which is slidably coupled to the bottom of cover plate  86 . Dampener  102  includes openings which correspond to the openings in cover plate  86  so that when dampener  102  is shifted, via a knob  104 , into an open position, the slots in cover plate  86  and dampener  102  are generally aligned to allow air to flow therethrough. When dampener is shifted into a closed position, the corresponding openings in cover plate  86  and dampener  102  are misaligned so that dampener  102  at least partially covers the openings in cover plate  86  to thereby inhibit the flow of air through grill  16 . Grill  16  is preferably formed of a durable synthetic resin material.  
         [0027]    In order to couple grill  16  to body  12 , tabs  90  are inserted into slots  92  and grill  16  is pivoted downward by handle  94  until catches  98  are received in openings  102 . To decouple grill  16  from body  12 , handle  94  can be grasped and raise to remove catches  98  from openings  100 . Grill  16  can then be pivoted upwards by handle  94  to a raised position. Once in the raised position, tabs  90  can be removed from slots  92  to decouple grill  16  from body  12 .  
         [0028]    Deflector  18  generally comprises a deflection wall  106  and a pair of opposing sidewalls  108  and  110  coupled to respective ends  112  and  114  of deflection wall  106  and extending generally downward therefrom. Mounting flanges  116  are coupled to the bottom edge of respective sidewalls  110  and  112  and extend generally transverse to the plane along which sidewalls  108  and  110  extend. Deflection wall  106  is configured to cover a portion, preferably a substantial portion, of cover plate  86 . Deflection wall is operable to alter the direction of flow of air passing upwardly through the openings cover plate  86 . Deflection wall  106  preferably presents a curved inner deflection surface  116  for contacting the air exiting grill  16 . Deflection wall  116  presents a lower terminal edge  118  which is at least substantially co-planar with the bottom of mounting flange  116 . Projections  122  extend generally downwardly from lower terminal edge  118  and are configured to be received in apertures  124  of grill  16 . Protrusions  126  extend generally downward from the bottom of mounting flange  116 . Protrusions include a foot portion  128  which extends transversely to the direction in which protrusions  126  extend from mounting flange  116 . Foot portion  128  is configured to be snapped into openings  130  in grill  16  to thereby couple deflector  18  to grill  16 . Deflector  18  can be formed of any suitable synthetic resin material.  
         [0029]    To assemble room humidifying assembly  110 , wick  14  is placed in body  12  so that lower portion  80  is received in trough  46  and rests against ribs  84 . Upper portion  78  of wick  14  is placed on top surfaces  76  of support members  74  with pins  82  being inserted at least partly into wick  14  to prevent wick  14  from pulling away from air passageways  70 . After wick  14  is placed in body  20  in a generally L-shaped configuration, grill  16  can be coupled to body  12  as described above. Once grill  16  is coupled to body  12 , a bottom surface of grill  16  contacts upper portion  78  of wick  14  to prevent upper portion  78  of wick  14  from raising out of contact with pins  82 . Thus, upper portion  78  of wick  14  is at least partially compressed between the bottom surface of grill  16  and top surface  76  of support members  74  when grill  16  is coupled to body  12 . Deflector  18  can then be coupled to grill  16  by inserting projections  122  into apertures  124  and extending feet  128  of protrusions  126  into openings  130 .  
         [0030]    The preferred forms of the invention described above are to be used as illustration only, and should not be utilized in a limiting sense in interpreting the scope of the present invention. Obvious modifications to the exemplary embodiments, as hereinabove set forth, could be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0031]    The inventor hereby states his intent to rely on the doctrine of equivalents to determine and assess the reasonably fair scope of the present invention as pertains to any apparatus not materially departing from but outside the literal scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.