Air vent apparatus for blocking light

Abstract

An air vent apparatus for blocking light is provided for devices requiring a light source for generating light, such as a presentation projector, an arc lamp, a laser device and the like. The improved air vent apparatus employs a stacked chevron design to minimize the restriction of the flow of air through the air vent while blocking the escape of direct light. In one embodiment of the present invention, the stacked chevron is symmetrically disposed in the air vent housing of the device. In another embodiment of the present invention, the stacked chevron is asymmetrically disposed in the air vent housing so that a vane of the chevron extending towards the interior of the air vent is substantially perpendicular to the air vent housing and substantially parallel to the source of the flow of air. The use of a stacked chevron design allows the air vent in the device housing be constructed with vanes having a range of shallower angles than those of prior art vents so as to minimize the restriction of the flow of air through the vent, while at the same time blocking all or nearly all of the direct light emitted from the device's light source. Numerous variations in the length of the vanes of the chevron (i.e. the depth of the air vent), the vane angle, and the pitch (i.e. the distance between the stacked chevrons) may be employed to achieve a suitably optimal vent for a number of different devices, including presentation projectors, arc lamps, laser devices and the like.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.