Patent Publication Number: US-11383585-B1

Title: Safely vent for vehicles

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
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       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded side view of the ventilation device. 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of the ventilation device with the flaps closed. 
         FIG. 2B  is a perspective view of the ventilation device with the flaps open. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the ventilation device. 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the ventilation device 
         FIG. 5  is top view of another embodiment of the ventilation device. 
     
    
    
     It will be recognized that some or all of the figures are schematic representations for purposes of illustration and do not necessarily depict the actual relative sizes or locations of the elements shown. The figures are provided for the purpose of illustrating one or more embodiments of the invention with the explicit understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than as limitations on the invention. That is, the following description provides examples, and the accompanying drawings show various examples for the purposes of illustration. However, these examples should not be construed in a limiting sense as they are merely intended to provide examples of the invention rather than to provide an exhaustive list of all possible implementations of thereof. 
     Specific embodiments of the invention will now be further described by the following, non-limiting examples which will serve to illustrate various features. The examples are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the invention. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. In addition, reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. 
     Referring to the Figures, shown is a ventilation device comprising a housing  10 , one or more connecting elements  20 , one or more flaps  30 , and one or more springs  40 . In some embodiments, the housing is flexible enough to fit and bend between the curvature of a vehicle window and vehicle window channel as to provide for a weather-tight seal. As shown in  FIG. 2B , some embodiments have one or more openings  70  along the side of the housing  10  with one or more flaps  30  hingeably connected to the housing  10  near the openings  70 . In some embodiments, one or more flaps  30  are hingeably connected in unison to one or more connecting linkages  20 ′ which are connected to the one or more elements  20 , with the connecting elements  20  connected to one or more springs  40  located in the housing  10 . The connecting elements can either be rigid or flexible. The springs can be any mechanical energy storage device made of metal, rubber, plastic, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the flaps  40  are extended outward from the device and towards the posterior of the device. In some embodiments, one or more springs  40  are located in the interior of the housing  10 . 
     When the device is at rest or traveling at low speeds, the spring  40  mechanically presses against the connecting element  20  with force sufficient for the connecting element  20  to mechanically keep the hinged flaps  30  open as to allow for air flow through the openings  70 . When sufficient force is applied to the hinged flaps  30 , the hinged flaps  30  mechanically push the connecting elements  20  towards the spring  40  with sufficient force to mechanically compress the spring  40 , allowing the hinged flaps  30  to close, substantially preventing air flow through the openings  70 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3-4 , in some embodiments, the housing  10  is shaped to provide for an interference fit in between a vehicle window and a vehicle window channel. For example, in some embodiments the bottom of the housing  10  includes a channel  50  along the length thereof, the channel  50  configured to receive the top edge of a vehicle window. In some embodiments the top of the housing  10  includes a protrusion  60  which is configured to fit inside the window frame or door frame, for example at the top of the window opening. In some embodiments, the device could be built into and integral with window or door opening of a vehicle. 
     In some embodiments, when the device is installed in a vehicle that is still or traveling at less than five (5) miles per hour, the mechanical force of the spring  40  pressing against the connecting element  20  is enough to keep the flaps  30  open at to allow for air flow in the openings  70 . In some embodiments, when the device is installed in a vehicle traveling five (5) miles per hour or greater, the force applied by air resistance to the flaps  30  is sufficient to mechanically push the connecting element  20  with enough force to compress the spring  40 , allowing the flaps to close as to substantially reduce air flow in the openings  70 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 5 , shown is another embodiment of the device shown is a ventilation device comprising a housing  10 , one or more connecting elements  20 , one or more flaps  30 , and one or more springs  40 . In some embodiments, one or more flaps  30  are hingeably connected in unison to one or more connecting linkages  20 ′ which are connected to the one or more elements  20 , with the connecting elements  20  connected to one or more springs  40  located in the housing  10 . The connecting elements can either be rigid or flexible. The springs can be any mechanical energy storage device made of metal, rubber, plastic, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the flaps  30  are extended outward from the device and towards the posterior of the device. In some embodiments, one or more springs  40  are located in the interior of the housing  10 . In the embodiment shown, an additional spring linkage  80  is provided, which has a pivot point  81  located about the housing  10 . The spring linkage  80  is integral with or otherwise connected at one end to the one or more connection elements  20  which are attached to the flaps  30 . At the other end of the spring linkage  80  is plate or kite  82  with a prevailing surface area to which force can be applied and that is configured to create drag when in motion. Accordingly, application of force against the plate  82  causes the spring linkage  80  to pivot at pivot point  81 , with such force thereby creating an equal-but-opposite force against the spring. In this way, upon application of sufficient force against the plate  82 , the spring will compress and the flaps  30  will move. Accordingly, in some embodiments of this configuration, the flaps  30  are oriented to the inside of a vehicle with the plate  82  at the external, exposed to the prevailing wind. When the device is installed in a vehicle that is still or traveling at less than five (5) miles per hour, the mechanical force of the spring  40  pressing against the connecting element  20  is enough to keep the flaps  30  open at to allow for air flow in the openings  70 . When the device is installed in a vehicle traveling five (5) miles per hour or greater, the force applied by air resistance to the plate  82  is sufficient to mechanically push the spring linkage  80  with enough force to compress the spring  40 , thereby moving connecting element  20  and allowing the flaps  30  to close as to substantially reduce air flow in the openings  70 . 
     It is to be noticed that the term “comprising,” used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limitative to the means listed thereafter. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device comprising means A and B” should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B. Put differently, the terms “including”, “comprising” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise. 
     Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term “coupled”, also used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limitative to direct connections only. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device A coupled to a device B” should not be limited to devices or systems wherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input of device B. It means that there exists a path between an output of A and an input of B which may be a path including other devices or means. 
     The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise. 
     Elements of the invention that are in communication with each other need not be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly specified otherwise. In addition, elements of the invention that are in communication with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one or more other elements or other intermediaries. 
     One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the above-described embodiments, which are presented in this description for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. The specification and drawings are not intended to limit the exclusionary scope of this patent document. It is noted that various equivalents for the particular embodiments discussed in this description may practice the invention as well. That is, while the present invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is evident that any alternatives, modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims. The fact that a product, process or method exhibits differences from one or more of the above-described exemplary embodiments does not mean that the product or process is outside the scope (literal scope and/or other legally-recognized scope) of the following claims.