IP Library Granted Patent US 10,017,937
Granted Patent B2
US 10,017,937 · App. 15/583,284 · Granted Jul 10, 2018

Flood vent having a panel

Inventors: Winfield Scott Anderson, Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, FL); Tom Little (Pitman, NJ); Michael J. Graham (Pitman, NJ)
Assignee: SMART VENT PRODUCTS, INC.
E04B1/7076E04H9/145E06B5/10E06B7/14
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,017,937
App. No.
15/583,284
Granted
Jul 10, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

According to one embodiment, a flood vent panel includes a plurality of insulation pieces coupled together to form at least a portion of the flood vent panel. The flood vent panel further includes one or more insulation piece connectors coupled to the plurality of insulation pieces, and configured to couple the plurality of insulation pieces together. The flood vent panel is configured to be coupled, at least indirectly, to a structure, so as to at least partially block a fluid passageway through an opening in the structure. The one or more insulation piece connectors are further configured to uncouple one or more of the plurality of insulation pieces from the panel when at least a predetermined amount of pressure is applied to a portion of the flood vent panel by one or more of a fluid or an object carried by the fluid.

Claims (26)

1. A flood vent, comprising:

a frame configured to form a fluid passageway through an opening in a structure; and

a panel configured to be coupled to the frame in the fluid passageway so as to at least partially block the fluid passageway through the opening in the structure, the panel comprising:

a plurality of insulation pieces positioned together; and

a panel frame surrounding the plurality of insulation pieces;

wherein one or more of the plurality of insulation pieces is configured to uncouple from the panel when at least a predetermined amount of pressure is applied to a portion of the panel by one or more of a fluid or an object carried by the fluid, so as to reduce an amount of blockage of the fluid passageway provided by the panel.

2. The flood vent of claim 1 , wherein the panel further comprises one or more insulation piece connectors configured to couple the one or more of the plurality of insulation pieces to the panel until at least the predetermined amount of pressure is applied to the portion of the panel by one or more of the fluid or the object carried by the fluid.

3. The flood vent of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of insulation pieces comprises at least 10 insulation pieces.

4. The flood vent of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of insulation pieces comprises at least 20 insulation pieces.

5. The flood vent of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of insulation pieces comprises at least 50 insulation pieces.

6. The flood vent of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of insulation pieces are each made of cross linked polyethylene.

7. The flood vent of claim 6 , wherein the panel frame is made of cross linked polyethylene.

8. The flood vent of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined amount of pressure is 0.5-5.0 pounds per square inch.

9. A flood vent panel, comprising:

a plurality of insulation pieces positioned together; and

a panel frame surrounding the plurality of insulation pieces;

wherein the flood vent panel is configured to be coupled, at least indirectly, to a structure, so as to at least partially block a fluid passageway through an opening in the structure;

wherein one or more of the plurality of insulation pieces is configured to uncouple from the flood vent panel when at least a predetermined amount of pressure is applied to a portion of the flood vent panel by one or more of a fluid or an object carried by the fluid, so as to reduce an amount of blockage of the fluid passageway provided by the flood vent panel.

10. The flood vent panel of claim 9 , wherein the flood vent panel further comprises one or more insulation piece connectors configured to couple the one or more of the plurality of insulation pieces to the flood vent panel until at least the predetermined amount of pressure is applied to the portion of the flood vent panel by one or more of the fluid or the object carried by the fluid.

11. The flood vent panel of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of insulation pieces comprises at least 10 insulation pieces.

12. The flood vent panel of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of insulation pieces comprises at least 20 insulation pieces.

13. The flood vent panel of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of insulation pieces comprises at least 50 insulation pieces.

14. The flood vent panel of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of insulation pieces are each made of cross linked polyethylene.

15. The flood vent panel of claim 14 , wherein the panel frame is made of cross linked polyethylene.

16. The flood vent panel of claim 9 , wherein the predetermined amount of pressure is 0.5-5.0 pounds per square inch.

17. The flood vent panel of claim 9 , wherein the flood vent panel is configured to be coupled directly to the opening in the structure.

Assignments (4)
CERTIFICATE OF CONVERSION Recorded Aug 31, 2023
From: SMART VENT PRODUCTS, INC.
To: SMART VENT PRODUCTS LLC
Reel/Frame 064790/0064 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 7, 2023
From: SMART VENT HOLDINGS LLC; SMART VENT ACQUISITION LLC; SMART VENT PRODUCTS LLC; SMART PRODUCT INNOVATIONS LLC; RISK REDUCTION PLUS GROUP, INC.; FLOODPROOFING.COM, INC.
To: ALDINE CAPITAL FUND IV, L.P.
Reel/Frame 064179/0412 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 6, 2023
From: SMART VENT HOLDINGS LLC; SMART VENT ACQUISITION LLC; SMART VENT PRODUCTS LLC; SMART PRODUCT INNOVATIONS LLC; RISK REDUCTION PLUS GROUP, INC.; FLOODPROOFING.COM, INC.
To: FIRST COMMONWEALTH BANK, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT FOR THE BANKS
Reel/Frame 064170/0992 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 1, 2017
From: ANDERSON, W. SCOTT, JR.; LITTLE, TOM; GRAHAM, MICHAEL J.
To: SMART VENT PRODUCTS, INC.
Reel/Frame 042195/0248 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 14965360 · Dec 10, 2015
Related Publication 20170234001A1 · Aug 17, 2017
Cited By (1)
US 12,215,495