Patent Abstract:
A vent cover plate system for the register of a ventilation system that securely and snugly fits over the register thereby blocking the flow of air from that register. The vent cover plate is releasably attached to the register by hook and loop fastening material, magnetic material and mixtures thereof, and can include a rectangular strip of rubber tubing insulation to provide an air tight seal. The vent cover plate system allows for the localized and selective control of airflow in a room or building. Therefore, the specific ventilation requirements of a room or building can be readily achieved.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/173,515, filed Dec. 29, 1999. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates generally to cover plates and more particularly, to ventilation cover plates that fit over the registers of a ventilation system. By placing the ventilation cover plates of the present invention over selected registers of a ventilation system, the airflow in an area can be selectively controlled.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0005]    The related art of interest describes various covers for ventilation registers, but none discloses the present invention. There is a need for efficient flow of air throughout a building resulting in a more comfortable and cost efficient indoor environment. The proper distribution of air to the various rooms of a home or office building makes for much more pleasant living or working conditions. Energy conservation is also achieved when the airflow throughout a building is made more efficient. The related art is discussed in the order of perceived relevance to the present invention.  
           [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,271, issued on Feb. 10, 1998, to Richard L. Paidosh describes a magnetic latch for an exhaust vent. The latch is designed for use with an exhaust vent for clothes dryers and the like. The vent includes a fixed face plate on one side of which is an inlet for admitting air expelled from a blower. On an opposite side is an air exhaust outlet for discharging the air into an outside atmosphere. A valve is provided for controlling the passage of air through the vent. A magnet is bonded to one plate and a striker plate is affixed to the other plate. The magnetic latch is distinguishable for its requirement for a valve to control the passage of air.  
           [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,622, issued on Nov. 3, 1998, to Joseph A. Neuman, describes a cover for an electric panel box. The cover is rectangular in shape with nonconducting magnetic strips applied adjacent to the longer edges of the rectangular cover. The length and width of the cover are made slightly larger than the standard length and width of an electrical panel box.  
           [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,739,521 issued on Mar. 27, 1956, to Walter A. Spear describes a magnetic damper holder to seal the discharge opening of a ventilator during periods when the fan is not in operation. The horseshoe magnet is placed within the duct to attract the steel damper plate and close the opening. The device is distinguishable for its position within the duct.  
           [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,934 issued on Nov. 23, 1982, to John Musacchia describes an emergency air vent comprising a dome cover mounted on a spring-loaded plunger and released by a solenoid upon detection of poisonous gases, smoke, heat, or lack of oxygen. The air vent cover is distinguishable for requiring solenoid means.  
           [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,801 issued on Apr. 29, 1997, for Otto Drumbl describes magnetic closures positioned in the corners of a rectangular tile or plate for covering an opening in masonry. The magnetic closing system is distinguishable for requiring an apertured diagonal brace for holding the magnets in place.  
           [0011]    Japan Patent Application No. 60-16124 published on Aug. 22, 1985, for Eiji Sasaki describes a device for regulating cabin pressure when an outside door is closed. A pair of magnets is provided on both inside and outside bottom edges of the shutter for preventing the roll up of an outside shutter. The device is distinguishable for its use of two attracting magnets.  
           [0012]    None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a vent cover plate that securely and snugly fits over the register of a ventilation system.  
           [0014]    It is another object of the invention to provide a vent cover plate that is easily applied and removed from the register of a ventilation system.  
           [0015]    It is a further object of the invention to provide a vent cover plate that allows for the selective control of airflow in a room or building.  
           [0016]    Still another object of the invention is to provide a vent cover assembly that securely and snugly fits into the terminal portion of a ventilation system conduit.  
           [0017]    It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a vent cover plate for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.  
           [0018]    To meet the above objects, the present invention provides a vent cover plate that fits over the register of a ventilation system. The vent cover plate of the present invention comprises a configured cover plate, an attachment means, and an insulating means. The configured cover plate is configured to fit the shape of a register. For example, the cover can have a raised area to accommodate the handle of a register or vent. The attachment means can be strips of hook and loop fasteners, magnetic strips, a combination of hook and loop fastening material and magnetic fasteners, or screws. The insulating means are strips of rubber tubing which form a tight seal over the register preventing the seepage of air. In a preferred embodiment, the cover plate is made of flexible plastic.  
           [0019]    In an alternate embodiment, a vent cover assembly is disposed beneath a register. The register is removed and the vent cover assembly is placed into the terminal portion of the ventilation duct. The register is then returned in place. The vent cover assembly comprises a rectangular rim of attachment material, such as hook and loop material, magnetic material or a combination thereof, that fits snugly into a ventilation duct, a rectangular plate having an attachment means, such as hook and loop material, magnetic material, or a combination thereof, and an insulating means, such as rubber tubing, that fits over or next to the rectangular rim of attachment material. The hook or loop fastening strip of the rectangular plate forms the mating surface of the rectangular rim of loop or hook fastening strip and together they form a tight and secure bond. Alternatively, magnetic strips alone can be utilized, or magnetic strips in combination with the hook and loop fastening material. Also, magnetic particles can be embedded in the vent cover.  
           [0020]    These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]    [0021]FIG. 1A is a side elevational view of a first embodiment of a vent cover plate according to the present invention.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 1B is a top plan view of the FIG. 1A vent cover plate showing the indentation designed to accommodate the handle of the ventilation register.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 1C is a bottom plan view of the FIG. 1A vent cover plate showing the arrangements of the adhesive portion and the insulating portion.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the component parts of the FIG. 1A vent cover plate.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a two-piece register of a second embodiment that has an intervening piece of fastening material between the two pieces of the register.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of a one-piece register covered by a vent cover assembly as a third embodiment.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 5 is an environmental, elevational view of a fourth embodiment wherein the top cover is displaced.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the FIG. 5 embodiment. 
     
    
       [0029]    Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]    The present invention, as depicted in FIGS.  1 A-C, is a vent cover plate system  100  for covering a ventilation register having a raised area  108  to cover an air flow control handle to prevent the seepage of air from the register. The vent cover plate system  100  comprises a planar rectangular metal, plastic or rubber cover plate  102 , an edge attachment means such as magnetic strips and/or hook and loop fastening material (such as Velcro®) strips  104 , for securing the cover plate  102  to the register, and a rectangular insulating cover strip such as rubber strip  106  for forming an airtight bubble seal to prevent the seepage of air from the register.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 1A is a side view of a vent cover plate  100  showing an raised area  108  designed to accommodate a ventilation register handle (not shown), the attachment means  104 , and the insulating portion  106 . FIG. 1B is a top view of a vent cover plate  100  showing the relative location of the raised area  108 .  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 1C is a bottom view of the vent cover plate system  100  showing the arrangement of the hook and loop strips  104  and the insulating portion  106 . The fastener strips  104  are arranged around the border of the cover plate in such a manner as to provide a secure attachment to the register. The rectangular arrangement of hook and loop fastening material  104  shown in FIG. 1C is an example of one possible arrangement. The fastening material  104  can be arranged in any appropriate manner that provides a good attachment to the register. The insulating portion  106  is arranged in such a manner as to provide a tight seal around the periphery of the register. The rectangular insulating portion  106  arrangement shown in FIG. 1C is an example of one possible arrangement. The insulating portion  106  can be arranged in any appropriate manner that provides an airtight seal for vent cover configurations such as circular, oval, square, and the like.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a vent cover plate  100  showing the cover plate  102 , the hook and loop fastener and/or magnetic strip  104 , and the rubber insulation strip  106 .  
         [0034]    A vent cover plate system  120  for a register without a protruding lever is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively, because not all ventilation registers  122  have a flow control lever.  
         [0035]    The embodiment of FIG. 3 illustrates a two-piece ventilator housing system comprising a register panel  122  which interfits a coextensive base unit  123 . A rectangular edging strip of hook and loop fastening and/or magnetic material  104  is disposed between the metal, plastic or rubber vent cover plate  103  (the vent cover plate is referred to as  103  in FIGS. 3 and 4, differing from the cover plate  102  in that the plate  103  is flat, without the raised area  108 ) and the register  122 . The corresponding rectangular mating surface of hook and loop fastening and/or magnetic material  112  is applied directly to the exterior edge surface  109  of the register  122  using an adhesive. Other suitable means such as screws or clips for attaching layer  104  to the cover plate  103  can be used. The rubber insulating portion  106  of the rectangular cover plate  120  is made thick to ensure a tight seal. When the vent cover plate  103  is applied to the register  122 , the thick rubber insulating portion  106  is compressed and ensures an airtight seal between the vent cover plate  120  and the register  122 . The register  122  fits into the peripheral groove  125  of the second piece or the register base unit  123 .  
         [0036]    In a second embodiment, depicted in FIG. 4, the rectangular mating surface is disposed between the register  122  and the ventilation duct  124 . FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of a one-piece register  122  covered by a vent cover assembly  103  and  112 . In this embodiment, the one-piece register  122  fits directly into the ventilation duct  124 . However, before the register  122  is placed into the duct  124 , a separate piece of rectangular fastening material  112  is placed onto the duct  124  and extends around the periphery of the duct  124 . When the one-piece register  122  is placed into the duct  124 , the fastening material  112  extends around the edges of the register  124  as depicted in FIG. 4, and provides a mating surface for the fastening material  104  of the vent cover plate  103 , thereby forming a tight and secure adhesive bond. As noted above, the fastening material can be hook and loop material, magnetic material, a combination of hook and loop material strips and magnetic strips, or rubber strips having magnetic particles embedded therein.  
         [0037]    In FIGS. 5 and 6, a vent cover plate system  126  is shown comprising a rectangular plastic (which may be a flexible plastic, such as vinyl) cover  128  having a rectangular hook and loop fastening strip  130  along the edge of the cover  128 . The register  132  fits within the confines of the hook and loop fastening strip  130  and locks with the hook and loop fastening strip  134  positioned underneath the flanges  136  of the register  132 . The hook and loop fastening strip  134  may be adhesively attached to a vinyl plastic backing having a rectangular cutout defined therein having a perimeter slightly larger than the register shaft but smaller than the flanges  136  of the register  132  so that the register shaft extends through the cutout while the backing is clamped between the register flanges  136  and the wall or floor. This embodiment is a simpler version omitting a rubber insulator.  
         [0038]    Thus, it has been shown that the vent cover plate systems of the present invention provide an economical and cost efficient way of regulating airflow within a building by covering ventilation registers that are not needed. In fact, a vent cover plate can replace a register. Vent cover plates can be placed in rooms that are not frequently used to decrease the circulation of air in certain areas of a building during certain seasons. The vent cover plate is lightweight and easy to install and remove. The cover plate can be made of plastic, rubber, metal, or any other suitable material and can be made in different colors.  
         [0039]    The preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein are intended to be illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and adaptations of the present invention as well as alternative embodiments of the present invention may be contemplated. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5