Bendable tabs for attaching heat pump venting
AssigneeRheem Manufacturing Company
InventorsMichael Wood Hardy, Burak Muhammed Adanur, Sammy Alzaharna, Alex L. Williams
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heat pump water heater is disclosed. The heat pump water heater may include a housing that may include an air inlet and an air outlet. The air inlet may include a first perforated pattern configured to receive ambient air, and the air outlet may include a second perforated pattern configured to output exhaust air. The first perforated pattern and the second perforated pattern may include a plurality of bendable tabs. Each bendable tab may be configured to bend between a first position and a second position.
Claims20
An appliance comprising:
- an air inlet;
- an air outlet;
- and
- a plurality of bendable tabs disposed about the air inlet and/or the air outlet,
- wherein each bendable tab of the plurality of bendable tabs is configured to bend between a first position and a second position.
A heat pump water heater comprising:
- an air inlet comprising a first perforated pattern configured to receive ambient air;
- and
- an air outlet comprising a second perforated pattern configured to output exhaust air,
- wherein at least one of the first perforated pattern and the second perforated pattern comprises a plurality of bendable tabs, wherein each bendable tab is configured to bend between a first position and a second position, and wherein the plurality of bendable tabs comprises one or more outer bendable tabs and one or more inner bendable tabs.
A method to attach an external device to an appliance, the method comprising:
- bending a plurality of bendable tabs from a first position to a second position, wherein the plurality of bendable tabs is associated with at least one of a first perforated pattern and a second perforated pattern, wherein the first perforated pattern is disposed about an air inlet of the appliance and the second perforated pattern is disposed about an air outlet of the appliance;
- aligning the external device with the plurality of bendable tabs in the second position;
- and
- attaching the external device with one or more bendable tabs from the plurality of bendable tabs to secure the external device with the air inlet or the air outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.