Rollable ridge vent
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rollable ridge vents sacrifice thermal efficiency or require costly modifications to facilitate rolling, compromising their ability to effectively vent heat and moisture from attics.
Innovation Solution
A ridge vent design featuring a flexible central panel with vent openings, flow projections, and end gussets that can be rolled for transport and installation, while maintaining structural integrity and thermal efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If ridge vents are made rollable for compact packaging and transport, then ease of installation and storage is improved, but thermal efficiency and structural features are sacrificed
Solution Approach 1:
The ridge vent is divided into multiple modular sections that can be rolled individually for compact packaging and transport. Each section maintains the essential venting features while being small enough to roll, solving the contradiction between rollability and thermal efficiency by segmenting the overall structure into manageable units that preserve functional integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The ridge vent incorporates curved or spiral rolling configurations that allow the vent to be compacted for transport while maintaining its structural integrity. The curvature enables the vent to roll into a spiral form without compromising the baffles and vent openings, thus preserving thermal efficiency while achieving compact packaging.
2Ease of manufacture
If ridge vents are made rollable, then transport and storage efficiency is improved, but costly modifications to the baffle structure are required
Solution Approach 1:
The ridge vent incorporates flexible and dynamic elements that allow the structure to adapt between its installed rigid state and its rolled compact state. The baffle structure is designed with inherent flexibility that enables rolling without requiring additional modification components, thus achieving transport efficiency while minimizing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The ridge vent utilizes flexible polymeric materials and thin-film constructions that inherently allow rolling without additional modifications. The flexible nature of these materials enables the baffle structure to be rolled for transport while maintaining its structural integrity and functional features, eliminating the need for costly modifications.
3Reliability
If ridge vents use complex baffle structures to prevent rolling modifications, then thermal efficiency is maintained, but rollability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The complex baffle structure is segmented into multiple smaller units that can roll more easily. Each segment maintains the necessary thermal efficiency features while being small enough to roll, thus preserving thermal performance while enabling rollability through strategic segmentation of the overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The ridge vent design allows smaller functional elements to be nested within a compact rolled configuration. The baffle structures are arranged in a nested or layered pattern that enables them to be rolled together without compromising their structural integrity or thermal efficiency, thus achieving both thermal performance and rollability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design balances attic ventilation, reduces debris and weather ingress, eases installation, and minimizes job site waste while providing robust joints and efficient manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
Ridge vents are passive ventilation systems that provide openings through which air can convectively flow to and from under the roof structure to provide attic ventilation.
Implementation Method 2
It is further desirable that ridge vents are designed to create a 'Venturi effect' or air draft to draw hot air outwardly from the underlying attic.
Data Source
AI summary
A ridge vent includes an elongated flexible member having a central panel defined between a pair of lateral edges, a first end, and a second end, the central panel having top and bottom major surfaces; a pair of vent openings defining openings through the central panel with one each located inward of a corresponding lateral edge; and a plurality of flow projections extending from a central portion of the central panel to at least one of the pair of lateral edges.