Cuff structure for ventilation outlet

Abstract

The invention relates to a sleeve structure (1), intended to be placed on a wall orifice O, for receiving a ventilation outlet (B), and which comprises - a sleeve tube (2) provided with a tube collar (25), and - an annular flange (3), the assembly being fixed by means of fixing screws (4). The annular flange (3) comprises a flange collar (31) from the internal annular edge of which at least three flange tabs (36) extend, which include a tab foot (361) and end in a tab head (362) provided with at least one through-hole of the tab head. After penetration of the tab feet (361) into the wall orifice (O), the tab heads (362) are designed to be positioned at least partly opposite the rear wall face (P2). The fixing screws (4) pass through the assembly to force the tab head (362) to come into contact with the rear face of the wall (P2) and allow tightening.Figure for abstract: Figure 5.

Description

Title of the invention: Cuff structure for ventilation outlet Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the general technical field of building ventilation installations.

[0002] It relates more particularly to a cuff structure for receiving a ventilation outlet. State of the art

[0003] In housing and more generally in any type of occupied and ventilated room, it is common to use sleeve structures to accommodate air vents.

[0004] These sleeve structures are fixed within an orifice made in a vertical wall or a ceiling of the building. They allow, on one side, the reception of the ventilation outlet attached, fixed by force fitting, glued or screwed, and on the other side, the connection to the ventilation network.

[0005] Conventional cuff structures consist of a single component (plastic or metallic) in the form of a tube, the external surface of which is equipped with three bevelled blades placed at 120° and oriented outwards to allow its fixing by contact with the periphery of the associated wall orifice.

[0006] Such cuff structures are very simple and very easy to install by one person.

[0007] However, the fixation obtained is not always optimal and play in the connection may appear over time.

[0008] One way to address this constraint is to block the possibility of reverse rotation by gluing or screwing the sleeve structure into the wall at the end of the partial rotation tightening operation. This then requires using glue or drilling the support to place a dowel capable of receiving the fixing screw, which is time-consuming and not always easy to implement.

[0009] Another disadvantage of fixing by gluing is that it is no longer possible to dismantle the cuff structure without irreparably damaging the support wall.

[0010] Another disadvantage of fixing with dowels is the difficulty of drilling certain supports which can deteriorate and ultimately not accommodate the dowels with sufficient support. Presentation of the invention

[0011] In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the state of the art, the present invention proposes a sleeve structure for receiving a vent tilation, which cuff structure is designed to be fixed on a wall orifice made in a wall comprising a front wall face, a rear wall face and a wall thickness separating said front wall face and said rear wall face,

[0012] which cuff structure comprises a cuff tube provided with - a tubular body with a central axis, delimited by an inner surface and by an outer surface, - and a tube collar which extends from a front end of said tubular body, in a plane perpendicular to said central axis, which tube collar comprises a tube collar front face oriented away from said tubular body, and a tube collar rear face oriented towards said tubular body,

[0013] which cuff structure comprises fixing means for fixing said tube collar on the periphery of the wall orifice of said wall,

[0014] this cuff structure being characterized by the fact that said fixing means comprise an annular flange, comprising a flange collar designed to be positioned between said front wall face and said rear tube collar face,

[0015] which flange collar is delimited by:

[0016] - an external annular flange border,

[0017] - an internal annular flange edge, adapted to correspond at least ap approximately to the outline of said wall orifice,

[0018] - an internal flange face adapted to come opposite said front wall face, on the perimeter of said wall orifice,

[0019] - an external flange face adapted to come opposite said rear face of tube collar,

[0020] which annular flange further comprises at least three flange tabs which extend from said internal annular flange edge, and which are oriented towards said internal flange face,

[0021] and which flange legs comprise a leg foot which extends from said inner annular flange edge and which terminates in a leg head provided with at least one leg head through-hole,

[0022] said leg foot being designed to penetrate into said wall orifice when said internal flange face comes to bear against said front wall face, and said leg head then being designed to come to position itself at least partly opposite said rear wall face,

[0023] said flange collar comprising a flange collar through-hole provided opposite each of said leg feet,

[0024] and said tube collar comprising through-holes each designed to mate with one of said flange collar through-holes,

[0025] said fixing means further comprising fixing screws each comprising a screw head and a screw body,

[0026] which screw head is arranged to come to bear against a periphery of one of the tube collar through-holes, on the side of said tube collar front face, with the associated screw body which successively passes through: said tube collar through-hole, one of said flange collar through-holes, said wall possibly, and said at least one lug head through-hole, so as to force said lug head to come to bear against said wall rear face, and to lock said sleeve tube on the periphery of the wall orifice.

[0027] The fixing of such a cuff structure proves to be effective and durable, even in the event of deterioration of the perimeter of the wall hole. In addition, it is not necessary to fix dowels in the wall.

[0028] Other non-limiting and advantageous characteristics of the cuff structure according to the invention, taken individually or in all technically possible combinations, are the following:

[0029] - said leg heads comprise a plurality of through-holes of the head of leg, in a number advantageously between 2 and 20 orifices;

[0030] - said paw heads have a general shape that is enlarged relative to the paw feet;

[0031] - said leg heads have a general circular, ovoid, triangular, square shape or rectangular;

[0032] - the cuff structure comprises an attached flat annular seal between the flange collar and the front face of the wall;

[0033] - said leg feet have a length greater than the wall thickness;

[0034] - said paw feet and said paw heads each have a flat shape and extend, at rest, before fixation, in two planes angularly offset from each other;

[0035] - said paw feet extend, at rest, before fixation, in an angular offset plane broadly 40 to 70° relative to the plane of the flange collar,

[0036] and said leg heads extend, at rest, before fixing, in a plane angularly offset by 80 to 100° relative to the plane of said associated leg feet.

[0037] Of course, the various features, variants and embodiments of the invention may be combined with each other in various combinations to the extent that they are not incompatible or mutually exclusive. Detailed description of the invention

[0038] Furthermore, various other characteristics of the invention emerge from the appended description given with reference to the drawings which illustrate a non-limiting form of embodiment of the invention and where:

[0039] [Fig.l] is a perspective view of a sleeve structure according to the invention for receiving a ventilation outlet, the sleeve structure being shown exploded from its constituent elements;

[0040] [Fig.2] is a vertical sectional view of the cuff structure of [Fig.l], always represented exploded into its constituent elements;

[0041] [Fig.3] is a sectional view which illustrates a first stage of the assembly of the cuff structure of figures 1 and 2 on the receiving wall;

[0042] [Fig.4] is a sectional view which illustrates a following step in the assembly of the cuff structure of figures 1 and 2 on the receiving wall;

[0043] [Fig.5] is a sectional view illustrating a final stage of the assembly of the structure cuff of figures 1 and 2 on the receiving wall.

[0044] A possible embodiment of the sleeve structure 1 according to the invention is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, intended to be fixed on or in a wall P, and to accommodate a ventilation outlet B; and the assembly of this sleeve structure 1 is illustrated in three stages by Figures 3, 4 and 5.

[0045] The front end of the cuff structure 1 is intended to receive the ventilation outlet B, for example by simple interlocking / force fitting; and its rear end is intended to be connected to a rigid or flexible tube of the ventilation network (of the pulsed air or sucked air type), for example by simple interlocking / force fitting.

[0046] The cuff structure 1 is designed to be fixed to a wall orifice O made in a wall P comprising a front wall face PI, a rear wall face P2, and a wall thickness E which separates the front wall face PI and the rear wall face P2.

[0047] The wall P may be a plasterboard wall, for example a Placoplâtre wall (registered trademark) of the BA10, BA13 or BA15 type.

[0048] The cuff structure 1 comprises a cuff tube 2 provided with - a tubular body 21 with a central axis 22, delimited by an inner surface 23 and by an outer surface 24, - and a tube collar 25 which extends from a front end 26 of the tubular body 21, in a plane perpendicular to the central axis 22.

[0049] The tubular body 21 and the tube collar 25 here have generally circular shapes.

[0050] The tube collar 25 comprises a tube collar front face 251 and a tube collar rear face 252.

[0051] The tube collar front face 251 is oriented away from the tubular body 21, and the tube collar rear face 252 is oriented toward the tubular body 21.

[0052] The tube collar 25 comprises through-holes 253, called “tube collar through-holes 253”, which are offset by 120° around its periphery.

[0053] The sleeve structure 1 comprises means which allow the tube collar 25 to be fixed to the periphery of the wall orifice O of the wall P, and which are here in the form of an annular flange 3 associated with fixing screws 4.

[0054] The annular flange 3 comprises a flange collar 31 designed to be positioned between the front face of wall PI and the rear face of tube collar 252.

[0055] The flange collar 31, here of generally circular shape, is delimited by:

[0056] - an external annular flange border 32,

[0057] - an internal annular flange border 33, adapted to correspond at least ap approximately to the contour of the wall orifice O,

[0058] - an internal flange face 34 adapted to come opposite the front wall face PI, on the perimeter of said wall orifice O,

[0059] - an external flange face 35 adapted to come opposite the rear face of tube collar 252.

[0060] The annular flange 3 further comprises three flange tabs 36 which extend from the inner annular flange edge 33, and which are oriented towards the inner flange face 34.

[0061] The flange legs 36 comprise a leg foot 361 which extends from the inner annular flange edge 33 and which terminates in a leg head 362 provided with at least one leg head through-hole 363.

[0062] As can be seen in [Fig.2], the leg foot 361 is designed to penetrate into the wall orifice O when the inner flange face 34 comes to bear against the front wall face PI of the wall P; and the leg head 362 is then designed to come to be positioned at least partly opposite the rear wall face P2.

[0063] Each leg head 362 comprises a plurality of leg head through-holes 363, for example in a number between 2 and 20. Preferably, the leg head through-holes 363 are in a number between 5 and 15 on each leg head 362.

[0064] The leg head through-holes 363 may have a circular shape, or an elongated shape resembling a slot.

[0065] The leg heads 362 can be of any shape, for example square, rectangular, triangular, ovoid, or even circular as shown in the attached figures.

[0066] The leg feet 361 here have a generally rectangular shape, with a width less than their length. They each end with a leg head 362. The leg heads 362 have a generally wider shape compared to the leg feet 361.

[0067] More precisely, the leg feet 361 have a length greater than the wall thickness E (and preferably a length slightly greater by a few millimeters than the wall thickness E).

[0068] According to a preferred embodiment, the leg feet 361 and the leg heads 362 each have a planar shape and extend, at rest, before fixing, in two planes angularly offset from each other.

[0069] And even more preferably, as can be seen in Figures 1 to 3, the leg feet 361 extend, at rest, before fixing, in a plane angularly offset by 40 to 70° relative to the plane of the flange collar 31, and the leg heads 362 extend, still at rest, before fixing, in a plane angularly offset by 80 to 100° relative to the plane of the leg feet 361.

[0070] In [Fig.l] in particular, it can be seen that the flange collar 31 comprises a flange collar through-hole 364 arranged opposite each of the leg feet 361.

[0071] The flange collar through-holes 364 are therefore three in number, offset by 120° around the periphery of the flange collar 31.

[0072] The through holes 253 of the tube collar 25 are designed to mate with the through holes of the flange collar 364.

[0073] The means for fixing the tube collar 25 on the periphery of the wall orifice O of the wall P also comprise fixing screws 4, here three in number.

[0074] The fixing screws 4 each comprise a screw head 41 and a screw body 42 provided with a thread.

[0075] As detailed later in the description, each screw head 41 is arranged to come to bear against a periphery of a tube collar through-hole 253, on the side of the front face of the tube collar 251, with the associated screw body 42 which successively passes through: the tube collar through-hole 253, one of the flange collar through-holes 364, the wall P possibly, and one of the lug head through-holes 363, so as to force the lug head 362 to come to bear against the rear face of the wall P2, and to lock the sleeve tube 2 on the periphery of the wall orifice O.

[0076] A flat annular seal 5 may be fitted between the flange collar 31 and the front face of wall PI of wall P. This seal 5, visible in FIGS. 2 and 3 in particular, may have dimensions similar to those of the flange collar 31. It advantageously comprises orifices adapted for the passage of the fixing screws 4.

[0077] The sealing gasket 5 can be made of compressible foam. Before finalizing the installation, it is held in position by means of the flange tabs 36.

[0078] The diameter of the wall orifice O is provided to be slightly greater than the diameter of the inner annular flange edge 33 of the flange collar 31; and this diameter of the inner annular flange edge 33 is itself provided to be slightly greater than the outer diameter of the tubular body 21 of the cuff tube 2.

[0079] The annular flange 3 with its one-piece fixing lugs 36 and the cuff tube 2 with its tube collar 25 can be made of any material, for example zinc-plated steel sheet or aluminum, having a thickness of the order of 0.4 mm to 1 mm.

[0080] The thread of the screw bodies 42 advantageously comprises a metal screw thread to optimize tightening.

[0081] In an alternative embodiment, the cuff structure 1 according to the invention may comprise more than three regularly distributed fixing lugs.

[0082] The installation of the cuff structure 1 according to the invention is illustrated in three stages in Figures 3, 4 and 5.

[0083] As can be seen in [Fig. 3], after the creation of the wall orifice O in the wall P, the annular flange 3, possibly associated with the sealing gasket 5 pressed against the internal face of the flange 34, is attached to the side of the front face of the wall PL

[0084] The fixing lugs 36 are introduced into the wall orifice O, with the internal flange face 34, or the sealing gasket 5 if present, positioned opposite the circular part of the front wall face PI which surrounds the wall orifice O.

[0085] After introduction of the fixing lugs 36 into the wall orifice O, the lug feet 361 extend into the thickness of the wall P; and the lug heads 362 are moved outwards to come and position themselves at least partly opposite the rear wall face P2. This positioning of the fixing lugs 36 is carried out manually by folding around the fold lines which connect - the lug feet 361 to the flange collar 31, and - the lug feet 361 to the lug heads 362.

[0086] The annular flange 3 is then temporarily held on the periphery of the wall orifice O, by the simple contact of the fixing lugs 36 with the rear face of the wall P2, on the periphery of the wall orifice O.

[0087] Then, as illustrated by [Fig.4], the tubular body 21 of the cuff tube 2 is introduced into the annular flange 3 and the wall orifice O, this by its rear end 27 opposite the tube collar 25, until the latter comes into abutment against the front face of the wall PL

[0088] During this introduction, the outer surface 24 of the tubular body 21 straightens the feet of the legs 361 to bring them back towards the edge of the wall orifice O and, simultaneously, the heads of the legs 362 fold back towards the rear face of the wall P2 ([Fig-4]).

[0089] The next operation consists of installing the fixing screws 4 from the outside, that is to say from the through holes of the tube collar 253, as illustrated in [Fig.5].

[0090] The screw heads 41 of the fixing screws 4 come to bear against a periphery of one of the through-holes of the tube collar 253, on the side of the front face of tube collar 251; and the associated screw bodies 42 successively pass through:

[0091] - the through-hole of tube collar 253,

[0092] - one of the through holes of flange collar 364,

[0093] - the seal 5, if present,

[0094] - the wall P, and

[0095] - one of the through holes of the leg head 363.

[0096] The corresponding screwing is carried out until the fixing screws 4 are completely tightened to obtain effective fixing of the cuff tube 2, via the annular flange 3, on the periphery of the wall orifice O.

[0097] It is understood that screwing the fixing screws 4 into the lug heads 362 is carried out blindly and the plurality of through holes in the lug head 363 multiplies, and practically guarantees, the chances of catching.

[0098] The fixing screws 4 then make it possible to force the heads of the tabs 362 to come into contact with the rear face of the wall P2, and to lock the cuff tube 2 around the perimeter of the wall orifice O, as illustrated in [Fig.5].

[0099] In certain cases, depending on the site intended to be equipped, one or even two fixing screws 4 may be installed on the edge of the wall orifice O, and therefore may not pass through the wall P. This may be the case in particular for renovation work, when the edge of the wall orifice O is degraded, is not circular, or even has a diameter that is a little too large compared to the dimensions of the annular flange 3.

[0100] Depending on the site to be equipped, such a sleeve structure 1 can be fixed to a horizontal wall, for example a ceiling, or even to a vertical wall.

[0101] Once the cuff structure 1 is placed on its receiving wall P, the rear end 27 of the cuff tube 2 can be connected to a rigid or flexible tube (not shown) of the ventilation network.

[0102] For its part, the front end 26 of the cuff tube 2 can receive the ventilation opening B, for example by force fitting / interlocking.

[0103] For this purpose, the ventilation outlet B comprises:

[0104] - a cylindrical rear part B1 adapted for its fitting / fitting to force inside the tubular body 21, and

[0105] - a front part B2 whose periphery is adapted to cover and mask the tube collar 25 of cuff tube 2.

[0106] The cuff structure according to the invention and its implementation technique make it possible to overcome the drawbacks of fixing traditional cuff structures, while retaining the advantage of simple and efficient installation, by a single operator from the room housing the ventilation outlet.

Claims

Claims

1. Sleeve structure (1) for receiving a ventilation outlet (B), which sleeve structure (1) is designed to be fixed on a wall orifice (O) made in a wall (P) comprising a wall front face (PI), a wall rear face (P2), and a wall thickness (E) separating said wall front face (PI) and said wall rear face (P2), which sleeve structure (1) comprises a sleeve tube (2) provided with - a tubular body (21) with a central axis (22), delimited by an inner surface (23) and by an outer surface (24), - and a tube collar (25) which extends from a front end of said tubular body (21), in a plane perpendicular to said central axis (22), which tube collar (25) comprises a collar front face (251) oriented opposite said tubular body (21), and a collar rear face (252) oriented towards the side of said tubular body (21),which sleeve structure (1) comprises fixing means for fixing said tube collar (25) on the periphery of the wall orifice (O) of said wall (P), characterized in that said fixing means comprise an annular flange (3), comprising a flange collar (31) designed to be positioned between said wall front face (PI) and said tube collar rear face (252), which flange collar (31) is delimited by: - an external annular flange edge (32), - an internal annular flange edge (33), adapted to correspond at least approximately to the contour of said wall orifice (O), - an internal flange face (34) adapted to come opposite said wall front face (PI), on the periphery of said wall orifice (O), - an external flange face (35) adapted to come opposite said tube collar rear face (252),which annular flange (3) further comprises at least three flange lugs (36) which extend from said inner annular flange edge (33), and which are oriented towards said inner flange face (34), and which flange lugs (36) comprise a lug foot (361) which extends from said inner annular flange edge (33) and which ends in a lug head (362) provided with at least one orifice, through-hole of the lug head (363), said lug foot (361) being designed to penetrate into said wall orifice (0) when said inner flange face (34) comes to bear against said front wall face (PI), and said lug head (362) then being designed to come to be positioned at least partly opposite said rear wall face (P2), said flange collar (31) comprising a flange collar through-hole (364) arranged opposite each of said lug feet (361), and said tube collar (25) comprising through-holes (253) each designed to come into correspondence with one of said flange collar through-holes (364), said fixing means further comprising fixing screws (4) each comprising a screw head (41) and a screw body (42), which screw head (41) is arranged to come to bear against a periphery of one of tube collar through holes (253),on the side of said tube collar front face (251), with the associated screw body (42) which successively passes through: said tube collar through-hole (253), one of said flange collar through-holes (364), said wall (P) possibly, and said at least one lug head through-hole (363), so as to force said lug head (362) to come to bear against said wall rear face (P2), and come to lock the sleeve tube (2) on the periphery of said wall orifice (0).,

2. Cuff structure (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said tab heads (362) comprise a plurality of tab head through holes (363).

3. Cuff structure (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that said tab heads (362) comprise between 2 and 20 tab head through-holes (363).

4. Cuff structure (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said leg heads (362) have a generally enlarged shape relative to the leg feet (361).

5. Cuff structure (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that said tab heads (362) have a general circular, triangular, ovoid, square or rectangular shape.

6. Cuff structure (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises a seal (5) annular plane reported between the flange collar (31) and the front wall face (PI) of the wall (P).

7. Cuff structure (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said leg feet (361) have a length greater than the wall thickness (E).

8. Cuff structure (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said leg feet (361) and said leg heads (362) each have a planar shape and extend, at rest, before fixing, in two planes angularly offset from each other.

9. Cuff structure (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that said leg feet (361) extend, at rest, before fixing, in a plane angularly offset by 40 to 70° relative to the plane of the flange collar (31), and in that said leg heads (362) extend, at rest, before fixing, in a plane angularly offset by 80 to 100° relative to the plane of said leg feet (361).

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