Insulated vent cover

Abstract

This invention, the insulated vent cover, fixed a type of insulation gap in buildings. It adds a layer of insulation attached to any type of vent cover either at the fan or appliance side such as bathroom ventilation fan or range hood, or at the exit of the building structure such as roof, so the vent is insulated while not in use or in open position.

Description

Insulated Vent CoverBackground

[0001] Many buildings today use lots of extra energy during the winter for heating, and summer for cooling. A lot of the heat energy escapes due to poor insulation. A weak spot in the insulation is in the vents from bathroom ventilation fan, range hood or from clothes dryer. When the appliances are not in use or there is no air being pushed out, the hole allows heat energy to escape.

[0002] In the current market, there are some solutions to address the air draft coming in, but many designs fail to provide a completely airtight cover, also none of the designs provide insulation.

[0003] The current draft prevention solutions are using valve type of cap, which opens one big cover or many small covers while the fan or appliance turning on to push the air out of the building. The cap then closes when the fan is turned off. Their open mechanism is one way to ensure that external draft cannot get through. However, the cap can still transfer heat between the outside and the inside of the building.

[0004] This invention adds a layer of insulation to the cap which will much slow down the process of heat transfer through the cap, while using the soft insulation material (such as rock wool), it also seals the hole airtight. And with the proper choice of the insulation material (rock wool), it can also work under high temperatures, and is fire proof.This invention fills a type of insulation hole – the vents in buildings. This reduces energy loss of heating during the winter and cooling during the summer.Description of Drawings

[0005] There are different insulation materials could be used, which will affect how the vent cap open and close. While attaching the lighter and less friction insulation materials on the cap, the cap could be opened and closed easily. the air blown out by the appliances could carry enough power to open the cap (and). However attaching the heavier and / or more friction insulation material on the cap makes it harder to open and will require additional power to drive it, such as using a motor or a solenoid to drive the cap (and).of the diagrams is a cross section of the lid from the side. The area labeled 2 is the lid. We cannot just keep the lid on its own since heat may be able to escape through the lid. This is why we have the cross hatched area labeled 3, which is the layer of insulating material. The cap is also slightly small compared to the hole. This is because the cap is hard, and if we make it perfectly fit in the hole, there would be too much friction on the cap making it too hard to open. The part labeled 1 is the pivot on which the lid rotates to open and close. The pivot is placed closer to the top so that it will rotate the right way according to where the air is blowing. The parts labeled 4 are the stoppers making sure that the lid rotates in the right direction.of the diagrams is a 3d view of the lid. The cross hatched layer labeled 3 is the insulating layer on the inside of the vent. The big plate labeled 2 is the outer lid. The part labeled 1 is the pivot. The part labeled 4 is a part of the lid cut off in the diagram to show more of the insulating layer beneath.of the diagrams shows another kind of vent cap in which the concept can be applied to. Often in the market, two very popular designs for the vent cap are ones with a singular cap, and ones with multiple caps., 5, and 6 show various ways in which the lid can be opened.In, we show the cap being blown open by wind from the appliance, labeled 1. The part labeled 3 is the pivot where the cap rotates around. The two parts labeled 2 are the stoppers making sure the cap rotates around in the right direction.In, we use a motor, labeled 1, to turn the cap, labeled 5. We would use an arrangement inwhen the cap either is too heavy, or has too much friction between the hole, that just wind form the appliances does not provide enough power to open up the cap. The motor is connected in parallel with the appliance, labeled 2, has an AC to DC converter labeled 3, a capacitor labeled 4, and a resistor labeled 6 to ensure the right amount of current in the right direction is applied to the motor.In figure 6, we use a solenoid, labeled 1, to open the same cap. The solenoid consists of a looped wire that will have a current running through it when there is a current running through the appliance. The part labeled C represents the rest of the circuitry, similar to that inexcluding the motor. The part labeled with 2 is the piece of metal that will be sucked into the solenoid when the current turns on. The part labeled 3 is the pivot connected to an extrusion which gets pulled up when there is a current through the solenoid and part 2 gets pulled up.

Claims

In an insulated vent lid, there is a lid that may be made from any material attached to another layer of insulation such as wool.The insulating wool would be placed on the inner side and the lid is on the outer side.The combination defined in claim 1 where the wool layer may not be the inner layer or is put between 2 other layers.The combination defined in claim 1 where there may be more than 1 layer of insulation.The combination defined in claim 1 where the opening and closing of the lid is controlled by anything.

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