Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to vents and in particular to roof vents. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Vents, for venting gases, such as air, through the roof of a building are well known. Such vents are used in a wide variety of applications, including in the venting of air from a bathroom or from a stove in a kitchen. In such circumstances, the vent is interconnected by way of flexible or rigid piping or ducting to an exhaust fan, which draws the air from the location and forces it through the piping and out of the vent at the roof. 
     The air vent itself is generally comprised of several parts including a conduit which includes an inlet for a connection to the piping, and a cover. The cover, as its name indicates, covers the outlet of the conduit, assisting to prevent rain or snow from entering the conduit, which could then pass down the piping. Air vents also typically have a hinged door flap mounted within the cover, which pivot between a closed position, wherein the cover substantially covers the outlet, and an open position wherein the forced air exiting the conduit&#39;s outlet can pass out of the vent through the opening in the cover. Louvres or vanes mounted within the opening of the cover also serve to help inhibit water and snow from entering the pipeline by way of the roof vent. 
     Although the door flap and the louvres serve the purpose of inhibiting the movement of moisture into the pipeline, there are particular extreme weather conditions where a further barrier to the moisture is highly desirable. As the door flap merely rests against the base of the vent, and typically is only a plastic surface meeting and contacting a plastic surface under the weight of the door flap, there is no positive seal between the base and the flap. The same is true at the side and rear edges of the flap, in so far as there is no positive seal with the walls of the cover. Thus in conditions of hard, wind driven rain, it is not unusual for moisture to be driven through the cover opening and past the door flap, and may thus reach inside the pipeline. 
     It is highly undesirable to have moisture seep into the pipeline. Aside from the matter of an increased chance of corrosion of the pipeline, if it is made from a material that is susceptible to corrosion, there is also the risk that water might reach the exhaust fan or another electrical appliance and cause damage thereto. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a further means to inhibit the movement of water from outside the vent into the pipeline. However, it is important that any additional features not add significantly to the overall cost of manufacturing the roof vent. 
     The roof vents also have a way to permit the vent to be secured to the roof. Typically, the vent is placed in a hole in the roof and secured in position by connecting a base to the frame of the roof, placing flashing over the base and then the roof material, such as roof shingles, is put in place over the flashing. It is usually only after the roof has been put in place, that the connection of the pipeline to the inlet of the conduit can be, and is, made. This however is a somewhat difficult and awkward task for the installer, as he/she has to make a connection between two sections of pipe, usually requiring clamping etc. in a confined, raised space (eg. in the attic of the building). It is thus desirable to have an improved way of connecting a roof vent to a pipeline. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a vent for venting gas, said vent comprising a conduit having an inlet for connecting to a source of gas and an outlet for venting gas from said conduit, a barrier disposed around said out let, a cover for securing to a structure, said cover having a roof portion disposed over said outlet and said barrier, said cover having a side portion with a cover opening spaced from said outlet of said conduit, said cover opening adapted to permit said gas vented from said outlet to pass through said cover opening, said barrier being adapted to inhibit the movement of water from said cover opening into said conduit at said outlet. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, a roof vent for venting a gas, said vent comprising a conduit having an inlet for connecting to a source of gas and an outlet for venting said gas carried by said conduit, said conduit having a first connector, a cover for covering said outlet, said cover having a side portion with an opening for venting gas from said outlet, and a roof portion, said cover having a second connector for securing said cover to a roof, said cover further comprising a third connector adapted to cooperate with said first connector to permit said first connector of said conduit to be connected to said second connector of said cover such that said outlet can received within said cover, with said roof portion positioned above said outlet, in such a manner that when gas vented is from said outlet it can pass out of said opening. 
     According to a further aspect of the invention, a roof vent for venting a gas from a building, said vent comprising a conduit having an inlet for connecting to a source of gas and an outlet for venting said gas carried by said conduit, a cover adapted to cover said outlet of said conduit, said cover having a roof portion adapted to be positioned above said outlet and having opposed side walls for supporting said roof portion, each side wall having an inner face, each inner face having at least one slot, said cover having an opening for venting gas received within said cover from said outlet and a bottom opening between said side walls for receiving said conduit, said conduit further comprising a plate member positioned proximate said outlet, said plate having an outer face having a plurality of projections, said plate member being adapted to be received between said side walls in said bottom opening so as to engage at least one of said projections on said outer face of said plate member with each of said at least one slots on said inner faces of said side walls, to permit said conduit to be connected to said cover. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention: 
     FIG. 1 is a front, right side perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, and the opposite, front left side perspective view is a mirror image. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the vent of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the vent. 
     FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the vent. 
     FIG. 5 is a rear elevation view of the vent. 
     FIG. 6 is a left side elevation view of the vent and the right side elevation view is a mirror image. 
     FIG. 7 is a front, right side partly exploded and partly separated perspective view from below of the vent, and opposite side exploded and separated perspective view is a mirror image. 
     FIG. 8 is a side, cross sectional elevation view of the vent, partly exploded and partly separated. 
     FIG. 9 is side, cross sectional elevation view of the vent. 
     FIG. 10 is a front, right side perspective view of part of the vent of FIG. 1, and the opposite, left front side perspective view is a mirror image. 
     FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view at  11 — 11  in FIG.  8 . 
     FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 11, but showing two parts of the vent interconnected with each other. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to the Figures, a vent for gases generally designated  10  comprises a cover  12  having a front opening  16 , a base  14  and a conduit  18 . All components of vent  10  are preferably made from a flexible plastic material such as for example, polypropylene or polyethylene. 
     Conduit  18  is formed with a short pipe section  19  that has an inlet  20  and an outlet  28 . Conduit  18  also has attached to it, or integrally formed therewith, a plate member  26  that is positioned proximate and surrounds outlet  28  (see FIGS. 7 and 10 ). As seen in FIG. 10, plate member  26  has an upward facing surface or floor  30  and a channel or moat  32  partly formed therein which surrounds outlet  28 . Channel  32  has a side wall  21  and floor  25  formed in plate  26 . The other side wall  23  of the channel is formed from the upper section of the outside surface of pipe section  19 . The channel could of course be formed in other ways such as being formed wholly within and by plate  26 . 
     All around the outside edge of plate  26  is a downward extending flange  35  having an outward facing peripheral face  34 . Preferably, as shown in phantom in FIG. 7, abutting the inside surface of the bottom of the plate  26  and the inside surface  33  of flange  35  are a plurality of spaced triangular reinforcing elements  37 , the purpose of which is to provide rigidity to flange  35  and so enhance the connection between surface  34  and the interior sides of cover  12 , which is described below. In FIG. 7, only a few of elements  37  are shown, but elements  37  are spaced around the entire inside surface  33  of flange  35 . On opposite side portions of side face  34  are a pair of longitudinally outward extending projections  40 . 
     Referring to FIG. 9, for reference purposes, axis x-x represents horizontal relative to the earth, and axis y-y is an orthogonal axis to x-x and which is completely vertical in a straight up direction relative to earth (ie. y-y is the direction in which gravity acts). Cover  12  has a roof portion  36 , which is set at an angle relative to base  14  and horizontal axis x-x such that water on roof  36  will slope to the rear of the roof portion  36  and away from opening  16 . Roof portion  36  has a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs  38  (FIG. 1) on its upper surface. Ribs  38  assist in directing moisture away from opening  16 . Cover  12 , when positioned on a slanted roof (not shown), has its opening  16  facing towards the bottom of the slanted roof. Cover  12  also has a plurality of slats or louvres  22  extending transversely across opening  16 . These slats  22  are oriented in such a manner so as to assist in inhibiting snow and rain from passing through opening  16  towards outlet  28  of conduit  18 . 
     Cover also has opposed side walls  60  and  62 , and a rear wall  70 . Formed within each of side walls  60  and  62  are a pair of slots  72  (FIG.  7 ), which are configured to receive projections  40  of plate  26 . Positioned within cover  12  is a door flap  42 , which in the preferred embodiment is generally square, or rectangular in shape. Formed along the rear edge  46  of flap  42  are a series of tubular or cylindrical protuberances  44 . In front of each protuberance  44  is a longitudinal slot  52  through flap  42 . Protuberances  44  are each received in an opening  48  of mounting brackets  50  that are spaced along the inside rear portion of cover  12 . Flap  42  can pivot about protuberances  44  held in openings  48 , between an outlet  28  covered or blocking position, as shown in solid lines in FIG. 9, and an outlet open position shown in broken lines in FIG.  9 . Each of the front portions  51  of brackets  50  can move into and out of slots  52  in plate  26  during the pivoting movement 
     Flap  42  has a peripheral edge, which comprises two side edges  56 , 58 , a back edge and a front edge. The side edges  56  and  58  do come close to abutting or do abut the inside faces  60   a    62   a  of side walls  60  and  62 , respectively. The cover  12  in FIG. 9 is shown to have its base  14  oriented at angle relative to axis x-x to depict the orientation of the vent when positioned on an inclined roof. Along its entire length, the peripheral edge of flap  42  extends horizontally beyond the horizontal (x-x) position of the outer side wall  21  of channel  32 , such that the flap completely covers channel  32 . 
     In the outlet covering position, flap  42  rests on a transversely extending rib  54 . The overall positioning of flap  42  when in the covered position is such that it will, in combination with slats  22 , generally prevent most moisture passing into conduit  18 . However, there is no positive seal between the underside of flap  42  and rib  54 , nor between side edges  56  and  58  of the peripheral edge of flap  42  and the inside faces  60   a ,  62   a  of cover side walls  60 ,  62  respectively. Nevertheless, any moisture which seeps past the peripheral edge of flap  42  and drops vertically (y-y) down at the peripheral edge onto plate  26 , or which seeps under flap  42  between the flap and rib  54 , will reach plate  26  on the side of the channel  32  remote from outlet  28 . Thus channel  32  provides a barrier preventing moisture reaching inside pipe section  19  of conduit  18 . Channel  32  is configured and arranged such that any moisture that tends to seep towards outlet  28 , for example from the rear portion of plate  26 , will migrate into, and be captured by channel  32 . 
     Other types of barriers that can be used as an alternative to channel  32 , include a raised wall, or an absorbent material such as a sponge like material capable of soaking up moisture, both or which surround the outlet  28 . 
     Conduit  18  including plate member  26 , can be releasably attached to the cover  12  in the following manner. Plate  26  is receivable into base opening  74  with outer face  34  in abutment with the inner faces of cover  12 , including the inner side faces  60   a  and  62   a . The plate  26  can be positioned in such a manner that projections  40  can be moved into and received in interlocking relationship with slots  72  (see FIGS.  11  and  12 ). Many other types of connectors known to persons skilled in the art could be substituted for the projection and slot connection described above. For example clips having resilient arms and a hook element adapted to be received in a suitable slot could be used. Alternatively, a pure frictional connection between the outer surface  34  and the inside face that defines bottom opening  74 . 
     Vent  10  is particularly suitable for placement on a building roof, and for connection by way of conduit  18  to a source of pressurized gas, such as air. Typically the source of gas might be a pipeline or hose  24  (FIG. 5) which is hooked up to the exhaust fan (not shown) such as for example one located in, or adjacent to, a bathroom, or to a range stove. 
     To install roof vent  10 , first the cover  12  is attached to the roof frame, for example by driving nails through holes  76  into roof support members. Thereafter, flashing (not shown) is laid over the base  14  and then the roofing material, such as roof shingles, is secured over top of the flashing. Thus the cover  12  is secured to the roof, and is typically not moved again, at least until the roofing material is changed. Thereafter, at an appropriate time, pipeline  24  can be connected to the inlet  20  of conduit  18 , while conduit  18  is detached from cover  12 . This connection, which may involve using one or more of clamps, duct tape, staple and adhesive. However, this connection can be effected relatively easily, as conduit  18  and pipeline  24  can be connected together at ground level. Thereafter, it only remains to “plug” conduit  18  into cover  12  by means of placing plate member  26  into position in opening  74  and ensuring projections  40  are received in slots  72 . 
     If it is desired to disconnect pipeline  24  from vent  10 , this can be easily accomplished by simply prying one or both of the side walls outward, thus releasing projections  40  from slots  72 , and providing sufficient clearance between the projections and the slots to “unplug” conduit  18  from cover  12 . 
     Once operational, the exhaust fan in communication with pipeline  24 , will from time to time, draw air from the bathroom or stove area, and force it into pipeline  24 . The air will then pass through the pipeline  24  and will then enter conduit  18  at inlet  20 . Passing through pipeline section  19  and exiting at outlet  28 , the pressure will force flap  42  into an open position. It will be difficult for moisture to penetrate outlet  28  when air is being forced out of the conduit and out cover opening  16 , because of air pressure blowing moisture away. However, when the exhaust fan is not operating, under extreme moisture conditions, moisture may pass through opening  16  and seep past flap  42 . However, this moisture will be trapped in channel  32 . Thereafter, once the extreme weather has subsided, any moisture captured in channel  32  will evaporate. The evaporation process of moisture from channel  32  is aided by forced air blowing over the channel, when the exhaust fan is operational. 
     Various modifications to the forgoing preferred embodiment are possible which are within the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Technology Category: f