Patent ID: 8381458

Claim:
A vent baffle comprising: a base wall elongated in a longitudinal direction such that the vent baffle defines a maximum length in the longitudinal direction that is greater than a maximum width of the vent baffle in a transverse direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction; a first side wall extending upwardly from the base wall; a second side wall extending upwardly from the base wall, wherein the base wall cooperates with the first and second side walls to define a channel that is open above the base wall such that the channel is configured to direct airflow past an underside of a roof; a bending region that is configured to permit the vent baffle to transition from a columnar orientation to a bent orientation and that extends in the longitudinal direction, the bending region comprising a first set of accordion pleats that are present when the vent baffle is in the columnar orientation and that are configured to move relative to each other so as to permit the vent baffle to transition to the bent orientation, wherein the accordion pleats are arranged serially in the longitudinal direction such that at least a first accordion pleat is adjacent to a second accordion pleat in the longitudinal direction, and wherein at least a portion of the first accordion pleat is configured to one or more of expand and contract relative to at least a portion of the second accordion pleat in the longitudinal direction when the vent baffle is transitioned from the columnar orientation to the bent orientation; and a reinforcement member that extends in the longitudinal direction alongside the bending region with a length in the longitudinal direction that substantially corresponds with a length of the bending region in the longitudinal direction, wherein the reinforcement member is configured to resist transitioning of the vent baffle from the columnar orientation to the bent orientation.