Insulated dual wall duct
OwnerWilliam K. Stoutinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An insulated duct. The duct includes a concentric arrangement of a flowpath-defining inner wall and an outer wall, with insulation disposed in the annular region between the walls. A portion of the axial length of the annular region away from the end of the duct is filled with lower-density insulation, while another portion adjacent the duct end is filled with higher-density insulation than that of the portion away from the duct end. The higher-density insulation helps keep the concentric walls in their as-manufactured relative spacing and shape. Flanges may be attached to one or both of the walls at the ends of the duct to facilitate joining of adjacent duct segments.
Claims18
An air duct assembly formed from a plurality of interconnected ducts, each of said ducts comprising:
- an inner wall;
- an outer wall disposed concentrically around said inner wall such that an annular region is defined therebetween;
- a flange attached to said outer wall, said flange configured to allow an adjoining pair of said plurality of interconnected ducts to be secured to one another;
- and
- insulation disposed in said annular region, said insulation comprising a first portion situated along a length of said annular region that is generally away from an end of said duct, and a second portion situated adjacent said end of said duct, said second portion comprising a greater amount of structural rigidity than said first portion.
An insulated double wall duct comprising:
- an inner wall defining opposing free ends and a plurality of perforations therebetween;
- an outer wall disposed concentrically around said inner wall such that an annular region is defined therebetween, said outer wall defining opposing free ends such that said opposing free ends of said outer wall are substantially coextensive with respective ones of said opposing free ends of said inner wall;
- a flange attached to said outer wall, said flange configured to allow an adjoining pair of said ducts to be secured to one another;
- a first insulation portion situated along a length of said annular region that is generally away from said free ends, said first insulation portion comprising a first value of at least one thermal insulative capacity and an acoustic insulative capacity;
- and
- a second insulation portion situated adjacent said free ends, said second portion comprising a greater amount of structural rigidity than said first insulation portion, as well as a second value of at least one thermal insulative capacity and an acoustic insulative capacity, said second value lower than said first value.
A method of assembling a double wall duct, said method comprising:
- bringing two said ducts into engagement with one another, each of said ducts flanged on an outer surface thereof to promote secure connection therebetween;
- aligning respective outer walls of each of said ducts along said flanges;
- aligning respective inner walls of each of said ducts such that a fluid-conveying flow path is established, said inner walls supported by a relatively rigid insulation disposed in an annular space formed between said inner and outer walls such that spacing between said inner and outer walls remains substantially constant;
- and
- securing together said plurality of ducts that are brought into engagement with one another such that substantially leakage-free fluid communication is established therebetween.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.