Back to results
US 12,629,986 B2Granted
Vehicle air extractor having multilayered flaps
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsEric Jay MacLean, Scott Christopher Sterbenz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An air extractor assembly includes a housing, and at least one multilayered flap pivotably secured to the housing, the at least one multilayered flap configured to transition from a sealed position to a pressure-releasing position relative to at least one first aperture of the housing. The at least one multilayered flap can include a first flap layer directly adjacent a second flap layer. The first flap layer can shield the second flap layer from debris.
Claims19
An air extractor assembly, comprising:
- a housing defining at least one aperture and a plurality of arrow-shaped tabs extending from the housing;
- and
- at least one multilayered flap pivotably secured to the housing, the at least one multilayered flap configured to transition from a sealed position to a pressure-releasing position relative to the at least one aperture of the housing,
- wherein the at least one multilayered flap comprises a first flap layer directly adjacent a second flap layer, the first flap layer including a plurality of first openings, the second flap layer including a plurality of second openings aligned with the first openings, and
- wherein each arrow-shaped tab includes a stem portion and an enlarged head portion, the stem portion extending through one of the first openings in the plurality of first openings and one of the second openings in the plurality of second openings, and the enlarged head portion configured to mechanically retain the at least one multilayered flap to the housing.
2 more elements
An air extractor shielding method, comprising:
- positioning a first flap layer adjacent a second flap layer to provide a multilayered flap of an air extractor, the multilayered flap defining a plurality of first openings in the first flap layer and a plurality of second openings in the second flap layer;
- and
- inserting a plurality of arrow-shaped tabs extending from a housing through the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings until a stem portion of each arrow-shaped tab extends through the first and second openings and an enlarged head portion of each arrow-shaped tab mechanically retains the multilayered flap to the housing, the multilayered flap configured to transition from a sealed position to a pressure-releasing position relative to at least one first aperture of the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.