Abstract:
A ventilation-pipe plug includes a tubular sleeve having a sleeve outside periphery smaller than a ventilation pipe inside periphery. The sleeve includes an inlet end for receiving a gas and a hollow head attached to an end of the sleeve opposite the inlet end to allow the gas to flow from the sleeve into the head. The head includes a head outside periphery larger than the sleeve periphery diameter. The head also includes a plurality of passageways sized to allow egress of the gas from the head and to prevent ingress of animals and debris into the head.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part application claiming the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/105,665, filed Mar. 14, 2002, incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates to ventilation pipes that extend above roofs of buildings from plumbing and various spaces in the buildings and, more particularly, to a ventilation pipe protector in the form of a plug for insertion into the pipe to guard against intrusion by insects/rodents and debris.  
         BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
         [0003]    Numerous ventilating covers and caps for ventilating pipes above roofs of buildings are known, but not with the effectiveness, convenience of installation and convenience of removal, if desired, taught by this invention.  
           [0004]    Examples of most-closely related known but different devices are described in the following patent documents:  
                                                     U.S. Patent No.   Inventor   Issue Date                                5,291,707   McDonald   Mar. 08, 1994       421,098   Harririgton   Feb. 11, 1890       1,868,730   Dowrie   Jul. 26, 1932       6,244,006   Shue, et al.   Jun. 12, 2001       5,081,914   Mejia   Jan. 21, 1992       4,026,688   Patterson   May 31, 1977       4,399,743   Izzi, Sr.   Aug. 23, 1983       5,341,767   Smith   Aug. 30, 1994                  
 
           [0005]    All patents listed herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    Objects of patentable novelty and utility taught by this invention are to provide a ventilation-pipe plug which:  
           [0007]    prevents debris, bugs, rodents, snakes, frogs, roaches and other objectionable items from entry into ventilation pipes;  
           [0008]    is quick and easy to install;  
           [0009]    can be removed easily for maintenance if desired; and  
           [0010]    is long lasting without corrosion, and can be made to fit all sizes of ventilation pipes.  
           [0011]    In one embodiment, this invention accomplishes these and other objectives with a ventilation-pipe cap having a cap sleeve with an internal periphery having a pipe fastener which fastens predeterminedly to an external periphery of a ventilation pipe and has a plurality of cap-ventilation orifices sized and arranged to prevent entry of debris and life forms predeterminedly without diminishing gas-flow ventilation capacity of the ventilation pipe.  
           [0012]    In another embodiment of this invention, a ventilation pipe plug includes a tubular sleeve having a sleeve outside diameter smaller than a ventilation pipe inside diameter. The sleeve includes an inlet end for receiving a gas and a hollow head attached to an end of the sleeve opposite the inlet end to allow the gas to flow from the sleeve into the head. The head includes a head outside diameter larger than the sleeve outside diameter. The head also includes a plurality of passageways sized to allow egress of the gas from the head and to prevent ingress of animals and debris into the head.  
           [0013]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    This invention is described by appended claims in relation to description of preferred embodiments with reference to the following drawings which are explained briefly as follows:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of a ventilation-pipe cap having a domed apex on a cap sleeve with parallel cylindrical walls that fit predeterminedly onto an external periphery of the ventilation pipe which is shown extended from a ventilation-pipe base on a roof;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of the ventilation-pipe cap shown in FIG. 1, but with a cap sleeve that includes a pipe-receptacle section with a step wall for receiving the ventilation pipe within the inside periphery of the pipe-receptacle section and for resting the ventilation-pipe cap on the step wall;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of the ventilation-pipe cap shown in HG.  1 , but with slightly tapered cylindrical walls for a push-on fit of the internal periphery of the cap sleeve onto the external periphery of the ventilation pipe;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is the FIG. 3 illustration, but with addition of an apex-riser section intermediate the cap apex and a cap fastener that includes the slightly tapered cylindrical walls of the cap sleeve for inclusion of horizontal ventilation orifices;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of the ventilation-pipe cap having the domed cap apex and having a cap fastener that includes the cap sleeve with straight-threaded, tapered cylindrical walls screwed onto straight threads of a fastener sleeve that is adhered to the ventilation pipe;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 is the FIG. 5 illustration, but with addition of the apex-riser section  15  intermediate the cap apex and having the cap fastener that includes the cap sleeve with straight-threaded, tapered cylindrical walls screwed onto straight threads of a fastener sleeve that is adhered to the ventilation pipe;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of the ventilation-pipe cap having a perch-prevention point and having the slightly tapered cylindrical walls for a push-on fit of the internal periphery of the cap sleeve onto the external periphery of the ventilation pipe;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 8 is the FIG. 7 illustration, but with addition of an apex-riser section intermediate the cap apex and a cap fastener that includes the slightly tapered cylindrical walls of the cap sleeve for inclusion of horizontal ventilation orifices;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of the ventilation-pipe cap having the perch-prevention point and having the cap fastener that includes the cap sleeve with straight-threaded tapered cylindrical walls screwed onto straight threads of the fastener sleeve that is adhered to the ventilation pipe;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 10 is the FIG. 9 illustration, but with addition of the apex-riser section intermediate the perch-prevention point and having the cap fastener that includes the cap sleeve with the straight-threaded tapered cylindrical walls screwed onto the straight threads of the fastener sleeve that is adhered to the ventilation pipe;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway fragmentary view of the cap fastener that 10 includes the fastener sleeve with tapered threads onto which matching tapered threads of the cap sleeve are screwed and the fastener sleeve is adhered to the ventilation pipe;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway fragmentary view of the cap fastener that includes the fastener sleeve having a quick-disconnect pin extended horizontally into a circumferential channel in the cap sleeve and the fastener sleeve is adhered to the ventilation pipe;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 13 is the FIG. 12 illustration with the cap sleeve rotated ninety degrees to show the quick-disconnect pin in a lock bay from a front view; and  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 14 is a section view of the FIG. 13 illustration through a section line  13 - 13  of FIG. 13.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 15 is a side elevation view of a ventilation pipe.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 16 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of a ventilation-pipe plug of an alternate embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 17 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of a ventilation-pipe plug of an alternate embodiment of the present invention installed in a ventilation pipe.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 18 is a plan view of a collar extension for use with the ventilation pipe plug of the present invention.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 19 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of a ventilation-pipe plug of an alternate embodiment of the present invention installed in a ventilation pipe with the collar extension. 
     
    
       [0034]    Throughout the figures, the same reference numerals and characters, unless otherwise stated, are used to denote like features, elements, components or portions of the illustrated embodiment. Moreover, while the subject invention will now be described in detail with reference to the figures, it is done so in connection with a preferred embodiment. It is intended that changes and modifications can be made to the described embodiment without departing from the true scope and spirit of the subject invention as defined by the appended claims.  
       DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0035]    Listed numerically below with reference to the drawings are terms used to describe features of this invention. These terms and numbers assigned to them designate the same features throughout this description.  
                                                       1.   Cap sleeve           2.   Ventilation pipe           2a.   Ventilation pipe top opening           3.   Cap apex           4.   Ventilation orifices           5.   Ventilation-pipe base           6.   Roof           7.   Pipe-receptacle section           8.   Step wall           9.   Fastening taper           10.   Apex-riser section           11.   Cap-fastener section           12.   Fastener sleeve           13.   Ventilation-pipe threading           14.   Fastener-sleeve threading           15.   Quick-disconnect pin           16.   Circumferential channel           17.   Linear inlet           18.   Lock bay           19.   Arcuate dome           20.   Perch-prevention point           21.   Ventilation pipe plug           22.   Plug head           23.   Plug sleeve           24.   Plug neck           25.   Ventilation orifices           26.   Collar.                      
 
         [0036]    Referring to FIG. 1, a ventilation-pipe cap has a cap sleeve  1  with an internal periphery that is circumferential and includes a cap fastener for fastening the cap sleeve  1  to a ventilation pipe  2  predeterminedly. The ventilation-pipe cap includes a cap apex  3  predeterminedly above and proximate an axis of the cap sleeve  1 . A plurality of ventilation orifices  4  are arranged predeterminedly intermediate the cap fastener and the cap apex  3 .  
         [0037]    The ventilation pipe  2  extends from a ventilation-pipe base  5  that is sealed onto a roof  6  above plumbing and various building features that are ventilated with the ventilation pipe  2 . The ventilation orifices  4  are sized and arranged predeterminedly intermediate the cap fastener and the cap apex  3  to prevent entry of predetermined debris and life forms into the ventilation pipe  2 .  
         [0038]    The cap fastener can include a circumferential internal periphery of the cap sleeve  1  that fits predeterminedly snug on an external periphery of the ventilation pipe  2  as shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0039]    Referring to FIG. 2, the cap sleeve  1  can include a pipe-receptacle section  7  with a step wall  8  for receiving the ventilation pipe within the inside periphery of the pipe-receptacle section  7  and for resting the step wall  8  and, therefore, resting the ventilation-pipe cap on a top perimeter of the ventilation pipe  2 . The pipe-receptacle section  7  and the step wall  8  are a cap fastener that can be gravity operable. Optionally, fit of the pipe-receptacle section  7  on the outside periphery of the ventilation pipe  2  can have a relatively low tolerance for inexpensive manufacture and can be adhered with an adherent.  
         [0040]    Referring to FIGS.  3 - 4 , the cap fastener can include a circumferential internal periphery of the cap sleeve  1  that has a predeterminedly fastening taper  9  outward radially from the axis of the cap sleeve  1  for a push-on fit of the internal periphery of the cap sleeve  1  onto the external periphery of the ventilation pipe  2 . The fastening taper  9  outward radially is preferably one-half-to-one degree. This is less expensive to machine for a suitable fit than for machining the internal periphery of the FIG. 1 cap sleeve  1  to fit snugly onto the outside periphery of the ventilation pipe  2 . This fastening taper  9  is so slight that it is not easily detectable in the drawing where it is shown in FIGS.  3 - 4  at the inside periphery of the cap sleeve  1 . It is an additional inexpensive option to the pipe-receptacle section  7  and the step wall  8  of the FIG. 2 illustration.  
         [0041]    As depicted in FIGS. 4, 6,  8  and  10 , the cap sleeve  1  can include an apex-riser section  10  intermediate the cap apex  3  and a cap-fastener section  11  of the cap sleeve  1 . The apex-riser section  10  includes the ventilation orifices  4  in fluid communication intermediate an outside periphery and an inside periphery of, the apex-riser section  10 .  
         [0042]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 14 , an adherent that can be a sealant and that can include lead can be applied between the internal periphery of the cap sleeve  1  and the outside periphery of the ventilation pipe  2 .  
         [0043]    Referring further to FIGS.  5 - 6  and  9 - 11 , the cap fastener can include a fastener sleeve  12  having a circumferential inside periphery that fits predeterminedly onto the external periphery of the ventilation pipe  2 . The fastener sleeve  12  includes an external periphery having ventilation-pipe threading  13  and the internal periphery of the cap sleeve  1  includes fastener-sleeve threading  14  that matches the ventilation-pipe threading  13 . The ventilation-pipe threading  13  and the fastener sleeve threading  14  can be tapered threading or what is known as pipe threading as depicted in FIG. 11. Optionally, the ventilation-pipe threading  13  and the fastener-sleeve threading  14  can be un-tapered, parallel threading or what is known as straight threading as depicted in FIGS.  5 - 6 , and  9 - 10 .  
         [0044]    Optionally, the fastener sleeve  12  can have an internal periphery with either a fit on the outside periphery of the ventilation pipe  2  as shown and described in relation to FIG. 1, a fastening taper  9  as shown and described in relation to FIGS.  5 - 6  and  9 , or a pipe-receptacle section  7  with a step wall  8  as shown and described in relation to FIGS. 2, 10 and  12 - 13 . An adherent is optional for either.  
         [0045]    Referring to FIGS.  12 - 14 , the cap fastener can include a quick-disconnect pin  15  that is extended radially from the fastener sleeve  12  into a circumferential channel  16  having a linear inlet  17  to receive the quick-disconnect pin  15 . The linear inlet  17  terminates in the circumferential channel  16  that extends circumferentially for a partial rotation intermediate the linear inlet  17  and a lock bay  18  which receives the quick-disconnect pin  15  in a locked mode. To prevent weight of the ventilation-pipe cap from resting on the quick-disconnect pin  15  in the locked mode, the fastener sleeve  12  can be made to support the cap sleeve  1  with the step wall  8  in the cap sleeve  1  as described in relation to FIG. 2 for the ventilation pipe  2  to support the weight of the ventilation-pipe cap.  
         [0046]    Referring further to FIGS.  1 - 6 , the cap apex  3  can be domed upwardly with an arcuate dome  19  predeterminedly proximate the axis of the cap sleeve  1 . The arcuate dome  19  can include the ventilation orifices  4  in fluid communication intermediate an outside periphery and an inside periphery of the arcuate dome  19 .  
         [0047]    Referring further to FIGS.  7 - 10 , the cap apex  3  can be pointed upwardly with a perch-prevention point  20  predeterminedly proximate the axis of the cap sleeve  1 . The perch-prevention point  20  includes the ventilation orifices  4  in fluid communication intermediate an outside periphery and an inside periphery of the perch-prevention point  20 . The perch-prevention point  20  is predeterminedly sharp and steep to prevent perching and consequential defecation of birds thereon.  
         [0048]    Referring further to FIGS.  1 - 14 , there are a plurality of standard diameters and materials of construction of ventilation pipes  2  on the market. These are subject to change and increase or decrease in plurality. Matching of inside and outside diameters of sleeves and threading as described within the specification and claims can be employed for size adaptations generally.  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 15 is a side elevation view of a ventilation pipe  2 , extending through a roof  6  and encased by a ventilation pipe base  5 , such as lead flashing, where the ventilation pipe  2  penetrates the roof  6 . It can be seen that the ventilation pipe top opening  2   a  is open to the elements.  
         [0050]    [0050]FIG. 16 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of a ventilation-pipe plug  21  of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. The pipe plug  21  includes a head  22  having a outside periphery, or, for ventilation pipes  2  having a circular cross section, an outside diameter (o.d.), larger than an o.d. of the ventilation pipe  2 . For example, the head  22  may have an o.d. of about 3.25 inches (82 millimeters). The head  22  includes a plurality of ventilation orifices  25  sized and arranged to prevent entry of debris and life forms into the ventilation pipe  2 . For example, the orifices  25  may be circular in cross section and about 0.125 inches (3 millimeters) in diameter. It should be understood that the size and geometry of the holes may be sized, positioned, and configured in any number of ways by a skilled artisan to achieve a desired sewer gas flow out of the head and prevent ingress of undesirable life forms or objects. The head  22  transitions at its neck  24  down to a sleeve  23  having an outside periphery, or o.d., smaller than an inside periphery, or inside diameter (i.d.) of the ventilation pipe  2  to allow the sleeve  23  to be inserted within the ventilation pipe  2  as shown in FIG. 17. In an aspect of the invention, the sleeve  23  may be about six inches (150 millimeters) long, and have an o.d. of 1.25 inches (32 millimeters).  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 17 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of the ventilation-pipe plug  21  installed in the ventilation pipe  2 . To install the ventilation pipe plug  21 , the sleeve  23  is inserted into the ventilation pipe  2 . The neck  24  of the ventilation pipe plug  21  (transitioning to a relatively larger o.d. of the head  22  compared to the o.d. of the ventilation pipe  2 ) rests atop the ventilation pipe top opening  2   a  with the head  22  exposed. The larger o.d. of the head  22  prevents the ventilation-pipe plug  21  from entering the relatively smaller o.d. of the ventilation pipe  2 . In this manner, ventilation-pipe plug  21  is gravity operable and remains securely in place. Advantageously, a fit of the neck  24  to the ventilation pipe  2  may have a relatively low tolerance for inexpensive manufacture and may be adhered with an adherent, such as a silicon-based caulk applied, for example, where the plug  21  rests on the ventilation pipe  2 .  
         [0052]    [0052]FIG. 18 is a plan view of a collar  26  extension for use with the ventilation pipe plug  21  of the present invention. To accommodate ventilation pipes  2  having a larger o.d than an o.d. of the head  22 , a washer, or collar  26 , having an collar i.d. slightly larger than the o.d. of the sleeve, but smaller than the o.d. of the head, and a collar o.d. slightly larger than an o.d. of the ventilation pipe  2 , may be provided. FIG. 19 is a partially cutaway side elevation view of a ventilation-pipe plug  21  of an alternate embodiment of the present invention installed in a ventilation pipe  2  with the collar  26  extension. Prior to installation into the ventilation pipe  2 , the collar  26  may be position on the sleeve  23  and slid against the neck  24  before placing the sleeve  23  into the ventilation pipe  2 . Once inserted into the ventilation pipe  2 , the collar  26  rests on the top of the ventilation pipe  2  and prevents the head  22 , having a larger o.d. than the collar i.d., from entering the pipe  2 . Advantageously, by employing the collar  26 , one size of a ventilation-pipe plug  21  may be configured to accommodate different diameter ventilation pipes  2 , even if the i.d. of the ventilation pipe  2  is larger than the head o.d.  
         [0053]    It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and application of the subject cap/plug are possible and contemplated. All changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention, which is limited only by the claims.