Gable vent that blocks fire, rain and water
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing attic vents allow fire embers, water, and rain to enter the attic, posing a risk of fire damage and mold growth, and failing to provide adequate protection for homes and buildings in fire-prone areas.
Innovation Solution
An outside house gable vent with a design that blocks fire embers and water using a combination of angled louvers and screens, which redirects water and embers away from the attic, while allowing air to enter, and includes a drainage system to prevent water accumulation and insect intrusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional attic vents are used to allow air flow into the attic, then ventilation effectiveness is improved, but fire embers and water can enter the attic causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The vent assembly is divided into multiple functional components: an outer housing, inner housing, screens with specific mesh patterns, and baffles. Each component serves a specific function in filtering embers while maintaining air flow, resolving the contradiction between ventilation effectiveness and ember protection
Solution Approach 2:
Screens and baffles act as intermediary elements between the incoming air flow and the attic space. These intermediaries capture and redirect embers and water while allowing air to pass through, preventing harmful factors from reaching the attic while maintaining ventilation
2Productivity
If traditional attic vents are used to allow air flow into the attic, then ventilation effectiveness is improved, but rain and water can be blown into the attic causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The vent assembly segments the air flow path using multiple screens and baffles positioned at different angles. This segmentation allows air to pass through while water and rain are redirected by the angled surfaces and captured by the screening system
Solution Approach 2:
The baffles and screens are positioned at various angles and depths within the vent assembly, creating a three-dimensional filtering structure. This multi-dimensional arrangement effectively blocks water and rain from entering the attic while maintaining air flow paths
3Reliability
If screen coverage is increased to block more embers and water, then fire protection is improved, but air flow through the vent is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The screening system is divided into multiple screens with different mesh sizes and patterns positioned at different locations within the vent. This segmentation allows for optimized protection at each stage while maintaining overall air flow through the distributed screening arrangement
Solution Approach 2:
Different screens with varying mesh densities are used at different locations within the vent assembly. Areas requiring higher protection have denser screening, while other areas maintain more open structures to preserve air flow, achieving local optimization of the protection-to-flow ratio
Data Source
AI summary
Improvements in an outside house vent that blocks embers, water and rain that can cause damage to a house of building. The prevention of fire and ember intrusion into a building prevents fires in homes where invalids and children are left alone. The prevention of water into structure further reduces the potential for mold growth in the attic or walls of a home or structure. The filtering further prevents intrusion of creatures such as but not limited to bugs, insects, bees, wasps, animals, critters and other flying and crawling animals from entering the building. The vent is a fireproof set of louver or filter pads with fire arresting screens that is passed through a wall that vents into the building. The vent can be installed on old and new construction to provide improved fire prevention, increase the value and salability in fire prone areas.