Refrigeration – Structural installation – Window connected or mounted
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-17
2001-05-01
Doerrler, William (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Structural installation
Window connected or mounted
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223547
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to air conditioners and, more particularly, to an arrangement for facilitating installation of a filter in the indoor grill of a room air conditioner.
BACKGROUND ART
Room type air conditioners typically have an indoor section and an outdoor section. The indoor section is responsible for cooling and dehumidifying the indoor room a while the outdoor section is responsible for exhausting heat into the outdoor environment. The indoor and outdoor sections each have a heat exchanger coil and a fan, and each has a return air opening and a discharge opening. A grill structure is normally installed over each section to prevent the entry of foreign objects, while allowing the free flow of air to and from the sections as well as for aesthetic consideration.
It is common practice to have associated with the indoor grill structure a filter element, through which the indoor air passing to the indoor coil must pass. Such a filter is designed to remove substantially smaller contaminants from the air than the indoor grill. Quite often the indoor grill must be removed from the air conditioner in order to gain access to the filter. Other air conditioners are known, which have a rectangularly shaped reusable filter which slides into a slot oriented above the inlet grill such that the filter may be installed or withdrawn from a location behind the grill and in front of the evaporator coil by vertically displacing the filter within the slot.
It is deemed desirable to have a filter assembly which easily slides into a slot provided in the indoor grill. It is also desirable to prevent the filter assembly from contacting and possibly damaging the fragile heat exchange fins of the evaporator coil as the filter is installed or removed from its mounting in an indoor grill.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a filter guide structure is provided for an air conditioner of the type having an indoor section which includes a housing having an evaporator coil. The evaporator has fins on its front surface and is mounted in a substantially vertical orientation. An indoor grill is adapted to be mounted to the housing in spaced relation to the evaporator coil. The grill includes a front wall having a return air opening to admit return air to be conditioned into the evaporator coil. The front wall has an elongated opening adjacent to an edge thereof to receive the filter for insertion and removal of the filter into the space between the indoor grill and the evaporator coil. The filter includes a rectangular frame having a leading edge and a trailing edge and laterally spaced edges interconnecting the leading and trailing edges. The filter guide structure receives the laterally spaced edges of the filter after the leading edge has passed through the elongated opening and slideably guides the filter along a path which prevents contact of the filter with the fins of the evaporator coil.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5065597 (1991-11-01), Farfaglia et al.
patent: 5379609 (1995-01-01), Matsumoto et al.
patent: 5679121 (1997-10-01), Kim
patent: 59-027138 (1984-02-01), None
patent: 59-183228 (1984-10-01), None
da Silva Regis Batista
Ramos Paulo Augusto Lisboa
Carrier Corporation
Doerrler William
Jones Melvin
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