Ventilating system for garages and similar enclosed spaces

Abstract

The system embodying the invention is employed to cool the interior of a normally closed area such as a garage or storage area, and/or to remove any noxious fumes or undesirable odors from inside the garage by moving outside air into the garage and providing means for that inside air and the fumes or odors in it, if any, to be removed to the outside ambient atmosphere. The system includes one or more fans installed in the upper section of the garage door, and the garage door is opened or closed by moving it in any well-known manner either by rolling it's hinged panels upward to a horizontal position from its normally-closed vertical position, or, when it is a solid door, tilting the entire garage door so that it is substantially horizontal instead of vertical and is located above the garage floor a sufficient distance to drive vehicles that will fit into the garage though the door opening. Those fans have a power cord that extends from a power supply position generally near the garage door opener that is secured to the garage ceiling and powers the garage door from its closed position to its open position, and vice versa, and that power cord is also secured to the garage door in the vicinity of the fan or fans used to move air into and out of the garage when the garage door is closed. The power cord is spring-urged to minimize its relatively free section between the power source and the place where it is secured to the garage door in the vicinity of the fan or fans where it provides power to the fan motor or motors when desired and appropriate. In the preferred embodiment the power cord is wound on a reel that is spring loaded to urge the reel in the rotational direction to wind the part of the power cord that is between the reel and the fan motor or motors, keeping the relatively free section of the power cord in tension so that it does not form any dangerous hanging loops when the garage door is moving from its open position to its closed position. There are also lesser desirable alternatives to apply a spring-loading to the power cord to keep it sufficient tension that it does not form such loops when the garage door is being opened.

1 . A system for operatively moving ambient outside air into a garage or similar storage area, hereafter being referred to as a garage in the generic storage area sense, and for operatively removing air that is within the garage while replacing that air with air from outside the garage, said system having first vent means set in the upper part of a garage door and second vent means set in the lower part of the garage door, at least one electrically driven fan installed in at least one of said vent means sets, control means for controlling the operation of said at least one fan, and a power cord operatively extending from said at least one fan to a fixed source of power, and a force-exerting means exerting a tension force on the power cord from the location of the fixed source of power to keep said power cord sufficiently taut by exertion of said tension force so that said power cord has substantially no slack so that its does not form any intermediate loop or loops as the garage door is being opened, or is being closed, keeping said power cord safe from accidental harm a well as keeping it from becoming a hazard once the garage door is open. 
   
   
       2 . The system of  claim 1 , said system being more particularly for removing air in the garage interior that is at a higher temperature than the temperature of the air outside of the garage by pushing cooler outside air into the garage interior through one of said vent means and having that cooler outside air that is pushed into the garage interior through the other of vent means then causing hotter inside air to be pushed out of the garage interior. 
   
   
       3 . The system of  claim 2  in which the outside air is pushed into the garage interior by said at least one fan located at least vertically closely adjacent to the top of the garage door and the garage inside air is pushed out of the garage interior through the vent means adjacent to the bottom of the garage door, the garage door having vents at least horizontally closely adjacent to the bottom area of the garage door for that purpose. 
   
   
       4 . The system of  claim 1 , said system being more particularly for removing air in the garage that is at a higher temperature than the outside air by pulling hotter inside air through one of said vent means set to the outside of the garage interior with said at least one fan located in one of said vent means and, because the air pressure in the garage is then less than the outside air pressure, to also pull cooler outside air into the garage interior through the other of said vent mean set, thereby having the effect of having cooler air in the garage interior. 
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 1 , said force-exerting means being a spring means that continually exerts a tension force on said power cord tending to move said power cord. 
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 2  which has a reel that is mounted on a fixed area that is vertically clear of the garage door when the garage door is in its open position, said power cord being wound on said reel and said reel having said spring means therein which urges said reel rotationally toward taking up any slack in said power cord while the garage door is being opened and the distance spanned by said power cord becomes shorter, to hold said power cord with any slack in it being taken up, and to allow the power cord to be unrolled from said reel when the garage door is being closed while still keeping sufficient tension force on said power cord to keep the slack out of said power cord. 
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 1 , said power cord having said spring means formed as a coil spring integrally located therein which is normally closely coiled when in its free position, and which is stretched to spread the coils thereof increasingly further apart to increase the effective length of said coil spring and allow said power cord to be concurrently stretched sufficiently to maintain its power relation to the at least one fan and the power source when the garage door is being moved to its closed position from its open position, and to retract said power cord by decreasing the spacing of the coils of said coil spring and thus decrease the effective length of the power cord, keeping said power cord from forming one or more loose loops during the opening of the garage door and while the garage door remains in its open position. 
   
   
       8 . The system of  claim 1  in which said spring means is a coil spring having a short natural, unstretched, length and having a first end operatively attached to a fixed device and a second end operatively attached to said power cord near said power cord end that is electrically connected with an electrical power source, said coil spring being stretched from its natural unstretched length to at all times be applying a tension force to said power cord and being capable of increasing its effective length while maintaining a tension force on said power cord as said power cord is extended in its overall effective length extending from said power cord end operatively connected with the electrical power source, so that there is no loose loop of said power cord formed when the garage door is being opened, keeping said power cord from being either a danger to itself or to something else that may become engaged by any such loop if such a loop is allowed to be formed while the garage door is opening. 
   
   
       9 . A system in which an enclosed space such as a garage or other storage area has outside atmospheric air replacing the atmospheric air in said garage or other storage area by use of fan means moving the outside air into the interior of the garage or other storage area and moving the inside air out of said garage or other storage area, said fan means being installed on a garage door that has a closed position and an open position, and a power cord for said fan means having a first end and a second end, said power cord being used in that system wherein said first end thereof is relatively fixed and the said second end thereof is movable for a distance from a first position that is near said first end to a second position that is substantially further away from said relatively fixed first end when the garage door is moved from its open position to its closed position, and said power cord second end being moved back toward said power cord relatively fixed first end when the garage door is being moved from its closed position to its open position, said power cord being capable of loosely forming one or more loose loops when said second end is being moved back toward said first end should no tension force being applied to said power cord, and means keeping said power cord sufficiently taut to prevent the formation of one or more loose loops, said means keeping said power cord taut being a spring-loaded arrangement tensionally pulling on said power cord as the garage door is being opened to keep said power cord from becoming loose between said ends so as to form one or more loose loops that are potentially dangerous. 
   
   
       10 . The system of  claim 9 , said means keeping said power cord sufficiently taut to prevent the formation of one or more loose loops, said means keeping said power cord taut being a reel having a coil spring, said reel being mounted on a substantially fixed area that is clear of the garage door when the garage door is in its open position, said power cord being wound on said reel and said reel coil spring therein which urges said reel rotationally toward taking up any slack in said power cord while the garage door is being opened and the distance spanned by said power cord become shorter, to hold said power cord with any slack in it being taken up, and to allow the power cord to be unrolled from said reel when the garage door is being closed, still keeping the slack out of said power cord. 
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 9 , said means keeping said power cord sufficiently taut to prevent the formation of one or more loose loops, said means keeping said power cord taut being a coil spring integrally located in said power cord which is normally in its free position closely coiled, and which is stretched to increase the effective length of said coil spring and allow said power cord to stretch sufficiently to maintain its power relation to the at least one fan when the garage door is moved to its closed position from its open position, and to retract said power cord by decreasing the effective length of the power cord, keeping said power cord from forming one or more hanging loops during the opening of the garage door and while the garage door remains in its open position. 
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 9 , said means keeping said power cord sufficiently taut to prevent the formation of one or more hanging loops, said means keeping said power cord taut being a coil spring having a short natural length and having a first end operatively attached to a fixed device and a second end operatively attached to said power cord near said power cord end that is electrically connected with an electrical power source, and being capable of increasing its effective length as the power cord is extended in its overall effective length extending from said power cord end operatively connected with the electrical power source, so that there is no loose loop of said power cord formed when the garage door is being opened, keeping said power cord from being either a danger to itself or to something else that may become engaged by any such loop if such a loop is allowed to be formed while the garage door is opening. 
   
   
       13 . A kit for installing a ventilation system to be used in conjunction with an enclosed space such as a garage that is opened to the outside atmosphere by opening a door that is moved vertically and horizontally from its closed position to its open position by a door opener when access to that space is needed, and the door is moved from its open position to its closed position so as to close the enclosed space from the outside atmosphere when the door opener is actuated to move the door from a substantially horizontal position to a substantially vertical position, said kit comprising:
 at least one fan having an electric motor, said fan with its motor being mounted on a support member for installation in an opening in the upper part of the door;   a device for creating the opening in the upper part of the door through which said at least one fan and said support member for said fan is mountable;   said at least one fan motor selectively running said fan in accordance with sensed conditions of the atmosphere within the closed space and the atmosphere outside of the enclosed space, and when running with the door closed normally causes cooler air from the outside being brought into the interior of said closed space so that the interior of said closed space is cooled;   a connector box adapted to be secured to the door, said connector box having an electrical power receptacle thereon and at least one wire extending therefrom and leading to said fan electrical motor to provide electrical power thereto;   a power cord having one end adapted to be connected to an electrical current power source and its other end adapted to be operatively connected to said at least one fan electrical motor through said connector box, the overall length of said power cord being sufficient to maintain such connection between the electrical current power source and said connector box when the door is in its closed position and to require a lesser overall length when the door is in its open position, leaving a middle part of said power cord likely to become a hazard because it may become temporarily located well away from a substantially horizontal and straight line between said power source and said connector box when the door is in its open position, and tensioning means operatively acting on said power cord to tension said power cord and thus maintain said power cord location to be on a substantially straight line extending between and beyond said power source and to said at least one fan motor connector box, once said kit is installed, so that there is no loosely located part of said power cord between said electrical power source and said connector box creating a possible hazard if it were to be loosely located.   
   
   
       14 . The kit of  claim 13 , in which said tensioning means operatively acting on said power cord to tension said power cord includes spring means adapted to tension said power cord to substantially eliminate the possibility of said power cord having a loose section that may be a hazard when said power cord is attached to an electrical power source and the connector box for said at least one fan motor with a substantially longer effectively-required power cord length when said than the minimum power cord effective length that exists when said door is fully open. 
   
   
       15 . The kit of  claim 13 , said spring means including a reel that is adapted to be mounted on a fixed area that is clear of the garage door when the garage door is in its open position, said power cord being wound on said reel and said reel having said spring therein which urges said reel rotationally toward taking up any slack in said power cord while the garage door is being opened and the distance spanned by said power cord become shorter, to hold said power cord with any slack in it being taken up, and to allow the power cord to be unrolled from said reel when the garage door is being closed, still keeping the slack out of said power cord. 
   
   
       16 . The kit of  claim 13 , said power cord having a coil spring integrally located therein which is normally in its free position closely coiled, and which is stretched to increase the effective length of said coil spring and allow said power cord to stretch sufficiently to maintain its power relation to said at least one fan when the garage door is moved to its closed position from its open position, and to retract said power cord by decreasing the effective length of the power cord, keeping said power cord from forming one or more loose loops during the opening of the garage door and while the garage door remains in its open position. 
   
   
       17 . The kit of  claim 13  in which said tensioning means is a coil spring having a short natural unstretched length and having a first end operatively attached to a fixed device and a second end operatively attached to said power cord near said power cord end that is electrically connected with an electrical power source, and being capable of being stretched, increasing its effective length as the power cord is extended in its overall effective length extending from said power cord end operatively connected with the electrical power source, so that there is no loose loop of said power cord formed when the garage door is being opened, keeping said power cord from being either a danger to itself or to something else that may become engaged by any such loose loop if such a loose loop is allowed to be formed while the garage door is opening. 
   
   
       18 . The kit of  claim 13 , further including control means for selectively electrically connecting and disconnecting said power cord from the electrical current power source; said control means comprising:
 a first thermostat adapted to sense the temperature of the air in the enclosed space, and   a second thermostat adapted to sense the temperature in the outside air immediately beyond the door;   said thermostats being so connected to control the electrical connection between said electrical power source and said at least one fan motor to keep said electrical power source disconnected from said at least one fan motor when the temperature inside said enclosed space and sensed by said first thermostat is less than the outside air temperature sensed by said second thermostat, and an “on-off” switch connected to permit the electrical connection between said electrical power source and said at least one fan motor only when the door is at least substantially closed.   
   
   
       19 . The kit of  claim 18 , said control means also including a garage door-position sensor switch which includes an “on-off” switch positioned so that said door-position sensor switch is in its “on” position only when and while said door is at least substantially closed;
 said “on-off” switch having a manual “off-on” override for overriding said switch's “off” position when the electrical connection between and said electrical source and said at least one fan motor is desired even when the door position is not substantially closed, and for overriding said switch's “on” position when it is desired that the electrical connection between said electrical source and said at least one fan motor be connected even though the sensed door position is sensed as being more open than other than being substantially closed.   
   
   
       20 . The kit of  claim 17 , said control means also including a first manual override switch for said thermostats so that said thermostats can be rendered ineffective to manually interrupt the electrical connection between said electrical source and said at least one fan motor, and that electrical connection can selectively be interrupted and established independently of said thermostats.