Vent assembly

Abstract

A vent assembly, suitable for marine use including, for example, venting an enclosure, such as an engine compartment, on a boat. The vent assembly has substantially the external appearance of a cast or machined, one piece, stainless steel vent, at a cost very little more than a molded plastics vent. A molded plastics vent has a head perforated by a pattern of ventilating slots separated by flanking strips. A decorative, corrosion-resistant, sheet metal cover shell lies tight against the front side of the molded plastics vent and has a pattern of slots and strips mapping substantially on the pattern of slots and strips of the molded plastics vent. Snap-fit fasteners fix the cover shell on the vent so that the cover shell slots are a substantially flush continuation of the vent slots, so as to provide the decorative appearance of a solid metal vent at substantially lower cost and without compromising or through flow capability.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to slotted vents, and more particularly to slotted vents usable in marine applications such as for ventilating a motor enclosure on a boat. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,908, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a apparatus for fixing a ventilating hose at an opening in a wall of an enclosure, e.g. for use on a boat in venting gases from the engine compartment, or venting cooking odor laden air from the galley, or admitting air. That apparatus includes a vent fitting comprising a radially extended, slotted head adapted to rest against the exterior face of the wall to hide an opening therein and a tubular body extending from the rear face of the head through the wall opening, to fix the vent fitting and an attached, rearwardly extending hose to the wall at the opening, to communicate flow through the hose and slotted head. To accomplish its various purposes, such vent fitting is of r...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] This invention relates to a vent assembly, suitable for marine uses including, for example, venting an enclosure, such as an engine compartment, on a boat, whic

Problems solved by technology

To accomplish its various purposes, such vent fitting is of relatively complex form.

However, the present assignee has found that for more expensive lines of boats, boat manufacturers and their buyers prefer more expensive looking fittings, e.g. stainless steel fittings, rather than less expensive looking molded plastics fittings.

While generally successful commercially, the present assignee has found that continuing contact, over a long period of time, with the elements in a harsh salt water marine environment, may attack, and eventually degrade the appearance of, the plated visible surfaces of such fittings.

Accordingly, the present assignee has considered producing such fittings of corrosion resistant metal, such as stainless steel, as by casting or machining, and while such product is durable and can maintain a rich, expensive appearance over long periods of use, it is many times more expensive to produce than the same product of molded plastics material, and because of this expense would have a very limited market.

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