Two-way ventilator

Claim 2

A ventilator comprising a frame having inner and outer sides and having an opening therethrough, a closure located on the outer side of said frame and swingable outwardly and inwardly about a first margin of the opening between a closed position and a first open position and about a second and opposite margin of the opening between said closed position and a second open position, mechanism projecting inwardly from and swingable with said closure and engageable with the margins of said opening to guide the closure for swinging between said closed and open positions and to hold the closure releasably in either of said open positions, said mechanism including a latch selectively positionable in a latched position in latching engagement with both margins of said opening to hold said closure in said closed position, and means mounting said latch for movement back and forth between the margins of the opening and relative to said closure from said latched position to: a. a first released position in which said latch is disposed out of latching engagement with the second margin of said opening to permit swinging of said closure about said first margin to said first open position, and b. a second released position in which said latch is disposed out of latching engagement with the first margin of the opening to permit swinging of said closure about said second margin to said second open position.

Claim 3

A ventilator as defined in claim 1 in which said latch is mounted on said closure to swing in unison with the closure as the latter is swung between said closed and open positions and also is mounted to shift on the closure and toward and away from said margins upon being moved between said latched and released positions, said latch comprising a plate having first and second outwardly facing shoulders located adjacent the respective margins and both disposed in latching engagement with the inner side of said frame when the latch is in said latched position.

Claim 4

A ventilator as defined in claim 2 in which said first shoulder remains in latching engagement with the inner side of said frame and said second shoulder shifts out of latching engageMent with the inner side of the frame when said latch is moved from said latched position to said first released position, said second shoulder remaining in latching engagement with the inner side of the frame and said first shoulder shifting out of latching engagement with the inner side of the frame when said latch is moved from said latched position to said second released position.

Claim 5

A ventilator as defined in claim 3 further including tabs mounted on the inner side of said frame adjacent said margins and engaging said shoulders when said latch is in said latched position thereby to hold said closure inwardly against the outer side of said frame.

Claim 6

A ventilator as defined in claim 4 further including a rim extending around the outer side of said frame, a resiliently compressible gasket extending around the inner side of said closure and engageable with said rim when said closure is in said closed position, the spacing between the inner surfaces of said tabs and the outer surface of said rim being greater than the spacing between said shoulders and the inner surface of said gasket when the latter is relaxed.

Claim 7

A ventilator as defined in claim 2 in which first and second series of spaced notches are formed in the respective edges of said latch plate, and further including springs projecting toward said opening from each of said margins and biased into engagement with the opposite edges of said latch plate, the spring projecting from said first margin seating sequentially in the notches of said first series as said closure is swung toward said second open position, and the spring projecting from said second margin seating sequentially in the notches of said second series as said closure is swung toward said first open position.

Claim 8

A ventilator as defined in claim 1 further including springs projecting toward said opening from each of said margins and biased into engagement with said mechanism to hold said closure releasably in said first and second open positions.

Claim 9

A ventilator as defined in claim 7 in which said springs comprise resiliently yieldable metal strips cantilevered on said frame and biased to project into said opening.

Claim 10

A ventilator as defined in claim 1 further including a member anchored rigidly to the inner side of said closure and projecting inwardly through said opening, and an operating lever connected intermediate its ends to pivot on said member and connected at its outer end to said latch to shift the latter back and forth between said positions.

Claim 11

A ventilator as defined in claim 9 in which said member, said latch and said lever are disposed side-by-side, an inner pivot element connecting the lever pivotally on said member, at least one outer pivot element extending through the member and the latch and connecting the outer end of the lever pivotally to the latch, and a substantially straight elongated slot formed in said member and guiding said outer pivot element for sliding toward and away from said margins in response to swinging of said lever about said inner pivot element.

Claim 12

A ventilator as defined in claim 10 in which said inner pivot element extends through said member, said latch and said lever, and an elongated slot formed in said latch and receiving said inner pivot element to enable shifting of said latch.

Claim 13

A ventilator as defined in claim 9 in which first and second series of spaced notches are formed on opposite edges of said member, and further including springs projecting toward said opening from each of said margins and biased into engagement with the opposite edges of said member, the spring projecting from said first margin seating sequentially in the nothces of said first series as said closure is swung toward said second open position, and the spring projecting from said second margin seating sequentially in the notches of said second series as said closure is swung toward said first open position.

Claim 14

A ventilator comprising a frame having inner and outer sides and having an openinG therethrough, a closure located on the outer side of said frame and swingable outwardly and inwardly about a first margin of the opening between a closed position and a first open position and about a second and opposite margin of the opening between said closed position and a second open position, mechanism projecting inwardly from and swingable with said closure and engageable with the margins of said opening to guide the closure for swinging between said closed and open positions and to hold the closure releasably in each of said positions, and said mechanism including a latch mounted for movement back and forth between the margins of the opening and relative to said closure between: a. a first position latching against said first margin and disposed out of latching engagement with said second margin to permit swinging of said closure about the first margin from said closed position to said first open position, and b. a second position latching against said second margin and disposed out of latching engagement with said first margin to permit swinging of said closure about the second margin from said closed position to said second open position.

Claim 15

A ventilator comprising a frame having inner and outer sides and having an openinG therethrough, a closure located on the outer side of said frame and swingable outwardly and inwardly about a first margin of the opening between a closed position and a first open position and about a second and opposite margin of the opening between said closed position and a second open position, mechanism projecting inwardly from and swingable with said closure and engageable with the margins of said opening to guide the closure for swinging between said closed and open positions and to hold the closure releasably in each of said positions, and said mechanism including a latch mounted for movement back and forth between the margins of the opening and relative to said closure between: a. a first position latching against said first margin and disposed out of latching engagement with said second margin to permit swinging of said closure about the first margin from said closed position to said first open position, and b. a second position latching against said second margin and disposed out of latching engagement with said first margin to permit swinging of said closure about the second margin from said closed position to said second open position.

Claim 16

A ventilator comprising a frame having inner and outer sides and having an opening therethrough, a closure located on the outer side of said frame and swingable outwardly and inwardly about a first margin of the opening between a closed position and a first open position and about a second and opposite margin of the opening between said closed position and a second open position, first and second tabs of resiliently yieldable material cantilevered on the inner side of said frame and adjacent the respective margins, a latching plate mounted to swing with said closure as the latter is moved between its positions and also mounted to move relative to the closure between a latched position and first and second released positions on opposite sides of said latched position, said latching plate including first and second outwardly facing shoulders which engage the respective tabs when said plate is in said latched position and hold said closure in said closed position against the outer side of said frame, one of said shoulders being released from its associated tab and the other shoulder remaining engaged with its associated tab when said latch is in one of said released positions whereby the released shoulder permits swinging of said closure to one of said open positions while the engaged shoulder helps confine the closure for swinging about the corresponding margin, first and second fingers of resiliently yieldable material cantilevered on said frame adjacent the respective margins and each positioned for lateral flexure toward the adjacent margin, said fingers engaging the edges of said latching plate during swinging of said closure between its positions thereby to help confine the closure for swinging about said margins.

Claim 17

A ventilator comprising a frame having inner and outer sides and having an opening therethrough, a closure located on the outer side of said frame and swingable outwardly and inwardly about a first margin of the opening between a closed position and a first open position and about a second and opposite margin of the opening between said closed position and a second open position, first and second tabs of resiliently yieldable material cantilevered on the inner side of said frame and adjacent the respective margins, a latching plate mounted to swing with said closure as the latter is moved between its positions and also mounted to move relative to the closure between a latched position and first and second released positions on opposite sides of said latched position, said latching plate including first and second outwardly facing shoulders which engage the respective tabs when said plate is in said latched position and hold said closure in said closed position against the outer side of said frame, one of said shoulders being released from its associated tab and the other shoulder remaining engaged with its associated tab when said latch is in one of said released positions whereby the released shoulder permits swinging of said closure to one of said open positions while the engaged shoulder helps confine the closure for swinging about the corresponding margin, first and second fingers of resiliently yieldable material cantilevered on said frame adjacent the respective margins and each positioned for lateral flexure toward the adjacent margin, said fingers engaging the edges of said latching plate during swinging of said closure between its positions thereby to help confine the closure for swinging about said margins.

Claim 18

A ventilator as defined in claim 14 further including a support plate anchored rigidly to and projecting inwardly from said closure and mounting said latching plate for swinging with said closure and also for movement relative to said closure, said fingers engaging the adjacent edges of said support plate when said latching plate is in said latched position and said closure is in said closed position.

Claim 19

A ventilator as defined in claim 15 in which one of said fingers remains in engagement with the adjacent edge of said support plate and the other finger engages the adjacent edge of said latching plate when said closure is in one of said open positions.

Claim 20

A ventilator as defined in claim 16 in which notches are formed in and spaced along the edges of one of said plates and sequentially receive said fingers during swinging of said closure.

Claim 21

A ventilator as defined in claim 17 in which said notches are formed in the edges of said latching plate.

Claim 22

A ventilator as defined in claim 17 in which said notches are formed in the edges of said support plate.