Patent ID: 8062108

Claim:
A fire safety auto-closing air vent, comprising: a vent housing having a substantially open front and a substantially open rear; a top panel having an interior side, an exterior side, and a top mounting flange, and a top panel recess; a bottom panel having an interior side, an exterior side, a bottom mounting flange, and at least one transverse slot; a right side panel adjoining and connecting each of the top and bottom panels and having a side mounting flange and a threaded hinge pin hole proximate its upper right rear corner and through which a threaded right hinge pin is threadably inserted; and a left side panel adjoining and connecting each of said top and bottom panels and having a left mounting flange and a hinge pin hole proximate its upper left rear corner through which a left threaded hinge pin is threadably inserted; a first permanent magnet disposed in said top panel recess; a first hook affixed to said interior side of said top panel; at least one flexible metal spring attached to said exterior side of said bottom panel, each of said at least one spring having a ramp extending vertically through one of said at least one transverse slots in said bottom panel, said flexible metal spring locks adapted for use a mechanical locks; at least one hinge disposed proximate said top panel; a damper blade pivotally connected to said at least one hinge, said damper blade having an interior side, an exterior side, a top edge, a bottom edge, a damper blade recess on said interior side, whereby said damper swings either upwardly toward said interior side of said top panel or toward said rear of said open rear of said vent housing; a second permanent magnet disposed in said damper blade recess, said second magnet oriented so as to be in a repelling relationship to said first magnet and such that said first and second magnets cooperate to urge said damper blade to swing downwardly toward said open rear of said vent housing; a temperature sensitive fuseable link having an upper hole disposed over said first hook and a lower hole disposed over said second hook, thereby restraining said damper blade in an open position; wherein when said fuseable link is broken by exposure to high temperature, said damper blade is repelled away from said top panel and into a downwardly curving arc toward said open rear of said vent housing, and wherein as said damper blade swings, said lower edge of said damper blade engages said ramp of said at least one flexible metal spring, pushing it downwardly such that said ramp is depressed in said at least one slot in said bottom panel so that said damper blades passes entirely over said ramp, and after passing over said ramp, said flexible spring is urged upwardly to secure said damper blade in a closed position.