Patent Publication Number: US-2010120353-A1

Title: Removable vent trap

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to air duct vents and, more particularly, to venting covers for air ducts as used in home heating and cooling systems. Specifically, the present invention relates to a filtration and trapping device for capturing debris falling through a vent cover opening. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There are a wide variety of different types of filtration and/or ventilation arrangements for building heating and cooling systems. Some examples of these include the systems illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,279 and No. 7,250,000, and European Patent Applications No. EP 1,475,574 and No. EP 1,598,604. In such instances, there are a number of filtration arrangements that are designed to filter air as it moves through a building structure and its ductwork. However, these arrangements are all designed to be incorporated into the building structure itself at the time of construction. 
     A common problem associated with such airflow ductwork is that various material and animals can find their way into the ductwork through exterior air entrances. Examples of filtration devices designed to prevent this are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,660, No. 6,165,065, No. 6,601,356, No. 6,955,011, No. 7,128,643 and No. 7,281,972. However, these arrangements and devices do not address a very common problem encountered with residential or commercial air ducting systems. This particular problem revolves around the fact that most air duct openings are built into a structure&#39;s floor. As a result, the vent covers, which frequently have variable airflow flaps, are almost always open to enable air to flow through the ducts into the house or commercial structure. A problem inherent in this arrangement is that small articles such as pet or children&#39;s toys, pens or pencils, food, jewelry, money and anything else small enough to pass through the vent openings can easily fall therethrough and end up accumulating deep in the air system ductwork. This can lead to disruption of airflow as well as creation of odors and bacteria. 
     One approach to dealing with the problems inherent with such ductwork openings is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,709 which illustrates a closable cover to help reduce accessibility to the vent openings. However, this cover arrangement will also obviously inherently interfere with airflow through the vent opening unless it is left open. Another approach to the problem is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,235, wherein a raised temporary cover is positioned above the ductwork vent opening and incorporates a screen filter therein. This device, however, is designed as a temporary measure and also provides a trip hazard in that there is now a raised structure above the floor level. Still another approach to this problem is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,081, wherein a vent cover device incorporates a separate housing enclosure designed to support and carry a vent screen. While this arrangement does address the problem stated above, it requires that the entire vent cover assembly be replaced in order to incorporate a screen designed for use with only that particular device. It is also more cumbersome and expensive to manufacture and utilize. 
     As a result of the above, a number of designs have been created in attempts to overcome the problem inherent with preventing debris accumulation within ductwork caused by debris falling through vent openings located in a structure&#39;s floor. Unfortunately, the devices illustrated in these patents are either complex to install and use, or they do not fully address this common problem. Consequently, there remains the problem of finding a way or device for simply and inexpensively preventing debris and the like from falling through floor vent openings and accumulating in the lower ductwork of houses or other building structures. Therefore, there remains a need in the art for such a device, and the present invention addresses and solves this particular problem. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide a ventilation device for covering air duct openings in the floors or walls of a building or other similar structure which prevents debris from falling through the air duct opening and accumulating in the air ductwork below. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a debris filtration and trapping device for use with existing ventilation covers and which prevents debris accumulation from occurring within the system ductwork below. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a vent trap that is inexpensive and adaptable for use with a wide variety of variably sized air duct openings. 
     To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a ventilation device is disclosed for covering duct openings in the floor or wall of a building or other unit containing heating/cooling ductwork. The device includes a ventilation cover member sized and shaped to cover the duct opening of a building heating/cooling ductwork system. The cover member has a peripheral portion overlapping the duct opening, an outer face, an inner face, a central opening to permit airflow through the cover member, and a plurality of depending edge elements that engage the interior periphery of the duct opening. A filtration basket is provided and has a plurality of spaced peripheral side panels, a bottom panel and an open upper end portion. An attachment member is disposed about the peripheral side panels proximate the upper end portion and is adapted for securing the open end portion of the basket to the cover member depending edge elements. The basket is sized and shaped to project into the duct opening. Finally, each of the peripheral side panels and the bottom panel includes a plurality of perforations defined therein which are sized to permit airflow therethrough from the ductwork through the cover central opening, and prevent debris from entering the ductwork through the cover central opening. 
     In one modification of the invention, the basket is removable, and the attachment member is adjustable to permit removal and emptying of the basket. In one form of this modification, the attachment member is in the form of an elastic band. In an alternate aspect of this, the attachment member is a length adjustable tie element. 
     In yet another modification of the invention, the attachment member is adapted to permanently secured the peripheral side panels to the cover depending edge members, the ventilation cover member being removable from a duct opening in order to empty the basket. 
     In still another modification of the present invention, the peripheral side panels and the bottom panel are in the form of flexible sheets which are adaptable to variably sized duct openings. In one aspect of this modification, the flexible sheets are mesh screens. 
     In another modification of the invention, the peripheral side and bottom panels comprise inflexible sheet panels. In one aspect of this modification, the inflexible sheets are made from metal or plastic. 
     In still another modification of the present invention, a debris filtration and trapping device is provided for use with a ventilation cover member sized and shaped to cover the duct opening of a building heating/cooling ductwork system. The cover member has a central opening to permit airflow therethrough and a plurality of depending edge elements that project into the interior of the duct opening. The debris filtration and trapping device includes a filtration basket having a plurality of connected peripheral side panels, a bottom panel and an open upper end portion. The basket panels are sized and shaped to project into the duct opening. An attachment member is disposed about the peripheral side panels proximate the upper end portion. The attachment member is adapted to secure the open end portion of the basket about the depending edge elements. Finally, each peripheral side panel and the bottom panel have a plurality of perforations defined therein which are sized to prevent debris from entering the ductwork system through the cover central opening while simultaneously permitting airflow therethrough from the ductwork system into and through the cover central opening. 
     In yet another modification of the present invention, a vent trap is provided for capturing debris falling through a vent cover opening into a floor ventilation duct opening in order to prevent debris from accumulating in the duct work associated therewith. The vent trap includes a filtration basket having a plurality of peripheral side panels, a bottom panel and an open upper end portion. An attachment member is disposed about the peripheral side panels proximate the upper end portion and is adapted to secure the open end portion of the basket to the vent cover. The basket is sized and shaped to project into the ventilation duct opening. Finally, each of the peripheral side panels and the bottom panel has a plurality of apertures defined therein which are sized to permit airflow therethrough while preventing debris from entering the associated duct work through the vent cover opening. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and, together with a description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a ventilation floor cover with adjustable flues as typically known in the art; 
         FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of a ventilation trap constructed in accordance with the present invention for use with the standard ventilation floor cover illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a side schematic view of a ventilation trap constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of a ventilation trap similar to that of  FIG. 2  but illustrating an alternative cover attachment mechanism; and 
         FIG. 5  is a side schematic cross-sectional view of a ventilation trap constructed in accordance with the present invention as disposed in a duct opening and secured to a ventilation cover. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring first to  FIG. 1 , a typical vent cover  10  is illustrated. Such vent covers generally include a face or cover plate  12  which has a central opening  14 . The cover plate  12  is typically rectangular in shape with a decorative upper surface  13  and a lower surface  15 . However, the plate  12  can take any form and is sized to overlap a similar shaped opening  16  in a floor  18 . The rectangular floor opening  16  accesses air flow ductwork  26  for a heating and/or cooling system in a home, office, RV or the like. A plurality of louvers  20  typically extend across the opening  14  and are operated by a control arm  22 . The louvers  20  are preferably movable between an open position as illustrated in  FIG. 1  and a closed position which blocks the central opening  14 . In this manner, air flow through the cover  10  can be controlled by simply adjusting the position of the louvers  20 . 
     One of the problems inherent in such typical floor cover designs is that small objects can easily pass between the louvers  20  through the opening  14  into the ductwork  26  below. These objects are as diverse as the household which occupies a home and can include children&#39;s toys, puzzle pieces, pens or pencils, pet items, food, jewelry, money and the like. When such objects fall into the ductwork below the cover  10 , the cover  10  must be removed from the opening  16 , and a person must then reach down into the ductwork to physically try and recover the objects. Sometimes this can be accomplished, and sometimes the objects have fallen deep enough so that they are not readily recoverable. When this happens, it can be quite costly in the event that the lost item is valuable, such as with jewelry or expensive collectibles. Alternatively, the lost items can block airflow within the ductwork. Moreover, they can also cause a health problem if the items include food or candy pieces, since bacteria can then grow and be redistributed throughout a home as air passes through the ductwork and vent cover and into the structure. As discussed above, prior approaches have attempted to provide some sort of filtration device or arrangement built into the cover plate to prevent this from happening. However, the cost of converting such simple cover plates or registers in existing homes to those suggested in the prior art is prohibitive. Thus, the present invention is provided to solve this problem in a very cost effective and simple manner. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1-5 , a debris and filtration trapping device  24  is provided for engaging the cover plate  12  and collecting and trapping any debris or objects passing through the opening  14 , thereby preventing this material from accumulating within the ductwork  26 . In preferred form, the device  24  is a filtration basket  28  having a plurality of side panels  30 ,  32 ,  34  and  36  along with a bottom panel  38  and an open end portion  39 . All of the panels  30 - 38  include perforations or apertures  40  that are sized so as to allow air to easily flow therethrough yet prevent objects which fall through the opening  14  from passing therethrough into the ductwork  26 . The panels  30 - 38  may be flexible cloth material, which is adaptable to variably sized duct openings and is preferably made from a metal cloth screen or mesh. On the other hand, the panels  30 - 38  may also be inflexible and constructed from metal or plastic. 
     The filtration trapping device  24  is preferably secured to the cover plate  12  and is arranged to depend or hang therefrom through the floor opening  16  to just above the entrance  42  of the ductwork  26 . While the filtration trapping device  24  may be secured to the cover plate  12  in any desired manner, it is preferably secured thereto by an attachment member  44 . Most cover plates  12  include a plurality of depending edge elements  46  that are sized to snugly abut the edges  48  which define the floor opening  16 . When the cover plate  12  includes such depending edge elements  46 , the attachment member  44  is sized to snugly fit around the perimeter of the depending edges  46  as particularly illustrated in  FIG. 5 . In one form of the invention, the attachment member  44  may be an elastic band  50  as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Alternatively, the attachment member  44  may be a string or strap  52  threaded through the upper edges of the panels  30 - 36  proximate the open end portion  39 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , and includes end ties  54 ,  56  for snugly securing the strap  52  against the edge elements  46 . 
     When it is desired to empty the device  24  and remove any objects caught therein, the face plate or cover  12  is removed from the opening  16  with its attached filtration trapping device  24 . The device  24  is then disengaged from the depending edge elements  46 , emptied, and then reattached. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the attachment member  44  can be permanently secured to the depending edge elements  46  in any desired manner such as by glue, soldering or the like, to make a single unitary body which includes both the cover  12  and the filtration basket  24 . In this arrangement, the entire unitary body is removed from the opening  16 , and the filtration trapping device  24  is emptied by simply inverting the unit and allowing objects to fall back through the opening  14 . 
     It should be understood that the dimensions of the filtration device  24  with its panels  30 - 38  may be of any desired size and shape depending on the size and shape of the cover plate  12  and opening  16 . Moreover, the size of the apertures  40  may be of any desired dimension depending on the intended airflow that needs to pass through the device  24 . In this manner, the device  24  may be adapted for use with any type of existing ventilation cover thereby obviating the need to replace these covers as suggested by the prior art. 
     As can be seen from the above, the device of the present invention is simple in construction and can be used with a variety of different ventilation cover sizes and designs. Moreover, the device of the present invention can be adapted for use with new housing construction as well as retrofitting existing homes, offices, recreational vehicles and the like. The device of the present invention is easy to manufacture, install and use. Finally, the design of the present invention addresses a very real and significant need by preventing foreign objects from impairing airflow in heating and cooling ductwork while allowing retrieval of potentially valuable items that would otherwise be lost to the abyss of a home&#39;s ductwork. 
     The foregoing description and the illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail in varying modifications and alternate embodiments. It should be understood, however, that the foregoing description of the present invention is exemplary only, and that the scope of the present invention is to be limited to the claims as interpreted in view of the prior art. Moreover, the invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein.