Diffuser concealable, volume control, heat-responsive, semi-automatic resetting, butterfly damper and operator
AssigneePrefco Products, Inc.
InventorFrancis J. McCabe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A novel operator is disclosed for use in combination with a butterfly fire and volume control damper, which operator may be concealed behind a standard concentric diffuser. Only a screwdriver aperture need be provided in the diffuser to facilitate volume adjustment or resetting of the bufferfly damper. In response to excessive heat in the vicinity of the damper, or alternatively, in response to a remote signal received by the operator, the blades of the damper will move to their fully closed position. Once activation conditions have passed, a screwdriver is used to reset the damper to resume its volume control function.
Claims29
An operator for use with a damper having a frame and at least one pivotally mounted blade dimensioned to abutt said frame, said blade being movable between open and closed positions with respect to said frame, said operator comprising:
- (a) a pawl member associated with said frame,
- (b) blade positioning means for positioning said at least one blade relative to said frame, said blade positioning means having an end pivotally mounted adjacent to said frame and a free end extending to a position adjacent said pawl member;
- and
- (c) heat responsive means having a fixed portion mounted adjacent to said frame and a free portion positioned relative to said pawl member and said free end of said blade positioning means for retaining said pawl member and said blade positioning means in an attached position for operatively moving said blade during normal conditions, and releasing said pawl member and said blade positioning means to an unattached position for releasing said blade in response to a preselected increase in ambient temperatures.
A damper operator for use with a damper comprising a frame and at least one blade pivotally mounted on said frame for movement between opened and closed positions with respect to said frame, said damper operator comprising:
- (a) blade positioning means pivotally mounted with respect to said frame for engaging at least one blade for moving said blade between said opened and closed positions;
- (b) means for defining the arc of rotation of said blade positioning means, said arc of rotation corresponding to the movement of at least one blade in response thereto between said opened and closed positions;
- (c) a pawl member mounted for reciprocal movement with respect to said frame;
- (d) heat responsive means connecting said blade positioning means to said pawl member in response to normal conditions for retaining said at least one blade in a first position and for disconnecting said pawl member from said blade positioning means in response to increases in ambient temperature to release said blade positioning means from engagement with said blade, whereby said blade is free for unrestrained movement;
- (e) pawl tracking means for selectively moving and maintaining said pawl member through a variety of positions between said opened and closed positions, and further including a reconnection position where, under normal conditions, said heat responsive means reconnects said pawl member with said blade positioning means.
A damper operator for use with a damper comprising:
- (a) a frame and two blades pivotally disposed for movement with respect to a main mounting member on said frame for movement between opened and closed positions with respect to said frame;
- (b) blade positioning means pivotally mounted with respect to said frame for engaging said blades for moving said blades between said opened and closed positions, wherein said blade positioning means further comprises blade positioning wings, one for each of said blades, for movement on generally opposing sides of said main mounting member for moving said blades towards their opened positions;
- (c) a pawl member mounted for reciprocal movement with respect to said frame;
- and
- (d) heat responsive means connecting said blade positioning means to said pawl member in response to normal conditions for retaining said blades in a first position and for disconnecting said pawl member from said blade positioning means in response to increases in ambient temperature to release said blade positioning means from engagement with said blades, whereby said blades are free for unrestrained movement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.