US2946274A - Window closure for room air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

July 26, 1960 E. H. GRIMES, JR 2,946,274

WINDOW CLOSURE FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONER Filed Dec. 10, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l T M 1 F IG. I

27 26 zfs |s ZZ: F IG.Z 3

INVENTOR. EMORY H. GRIMES TR.

BY WWW H is ATTORNEY July 26, 1960 E. H. GRIMES, JR

WINDOW CLOSURE FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed D90. 10, 1958 INVENTOR.

EMORY H. GRIME5 79.. BY fl/W F'IG.3

H l5 ATTORNEY WINDOW CLOSURE FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONER Emory 'H. Grimes, Jr., Sellersburg, Ind., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 779,491 3 Claims. (CI. 98-94) The present invention relates to and has as its principal object an improved closure arrangement for blocking the openings between the case of a room air conditioner and the sides of an aperture or window in the wall of a room in which the case is mounted.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide, for closing the openings between the air conditioner case and the sides of a window, a closure arrangement which may be quickly adapted to fit windows of various sizes and which provides an effective seal between the window frame and the closure.

Further objects and advantages of the present inven-- tion will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed outwith particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

In carrying out the present invention there is provided a resilient gasket having upper and lower horizontal sections adapted to slide into a pair of gasket housing meme bers attached respectively to the top and bottom of the case. These sections connect at one end with a vertical section to form a three-sided frame structure the size of which may be adjusted by moving the horizontal sections inwardly or outwardly with respect to the case so that the frame structure fits the outer periphery of the space to be filled between the window frame and the side of the case. The gasket includes a base portion having a plurality of spaced-apart flanges which extend toward the interior of the frame-like structure, and a peripheral sealing portion on the opposite side of the base portion from the flanges which is adapted to provide a seal between the frame-like structure and the frame and sash of the window. Panel means inserted into the space between the flanges of the gasket fill the interior space of the frame-like structure thereby closing the entire opening between the case and the frame of the window.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view illustrating the manner in) which an air conditioner having the closure arrangement of the present invention is mounted in a window;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2--2 of Fig. l and illustrating the position of the gasket within the gasket housing members on the top and bottom of the air conditioner case;

Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1 illustrating the overlapping of the panel members which fit into the gasket; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the gasket shown partially in cross section.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is shown an air conditioner having the adjustable closure arrangement of the present invention arranged thereon. The air conditioner is of the self-contained type having a refrigeration system and an air moving means mounted within-a case or i 2,946,274 Patented July 26, 1960 housing 2 which is adapted to be mounted in a window frame 1 in the manner shown in Fig. 1. The case 2 of the air conditioner is preferably formed of a suitable sheet material or the like connected to form top and bottom walls 3 and 4 (seen best in Fig. 2), side faces or walls 6 (seen best in Fig. 4), a front wall 7 and a rear wall (not shown in the drawings). In operation, the rear wall is positioned externally of the Window opening and the front wall 7 is positioned in the room to be air conditioned.

The air conditioning unit includes a refrigeration compressor, heat exchangers, fans and filters (none of which are shown), all of which are mounted in a suitable man ner within the case 2. Suitable openings are provided in the front wall 7 through which room air is circulated into and out of the unit and in the rear wall for circula-i tion of outside air through the unit. Controls are preferably arranged on the front wall 7 for controlling the operation of the refrigerating and air conditioning components.

Air conditioners of this type are sometimes moved from window to window within a house and are therefore frequently mounted and dismounted from windows or apertures of varying widths. The closure arrangement 7 of the present invention is adapted to fill the space adjacent theroom air conditioner and may be quickly adjusted to fill almost any size rectangular space. In its most preferable form, the invention comprises a resilient gasket 8 (best'seen in Fig. 5) having upper and lower horizontally extending sections 9 and 11 which are connected at one end to a vertical section 12 to form a three-sided frame-like structure. Mounted on the top and the bottom of the case 2, and parallel to the front face 7. of the'case, there are provided a, pair of longitudinakgas'ket housing members 13 and 14. These mayrbest beseen in"Fig. 2. These members are approximately square and are mounted on the top and bottom of the case 2 in any manner. well known in the art, such as by means of screws or welding. The upper and lower horizontal sections 9 and 11 of the gasketslide freely into the housing members and the entire frame-like structure of the gasket 8 may be moved inwardly or outwardly with respect to the case 2 with the horizontal sections telescoping into or retracting from the housing members. By moving the vertical section 12 toward or away from the side of the case, the size of the frame-like structure is adjusted very conveniently to the size of the opening such as the opening in Fig. l which is bounded by the window frame 1, the lower sash 15 of the window and the side 6 of the case.

Referring again to Fig. 5, the gasket 8 comprises a base or central section .16 having a plurality of flanges or legs extending inwardly toward the interior of the three-sided frame. In the embodiment of the invention shown, there are three flanges with the outermost flanges 17a and canted slightly inwardly toward the center flange 17b. As may be seen in Fig. 5, the base section 16 and the flanges form a substantially E-shaped cross section. The flanges are formed around the entire three-sided frame structure and are directed toward the interior of the frame. In the embodiment shown, there is a space or slot 18 between the flanges 17a and 17b and a space 19 between the flanges 17b and 170.

Panel means in the form of a plurality of flat panels are positioned in the spaces or slots provided between the inwardly extending flanges. More specifically, as may be seen in Fig. 4, a pair of panels 21 and 22 are positioned within the opening encompassed by the three-sided frame structure and the side 6 of the case. The panels 21 and 22 are slidably inserted into the spaces 18 and 19 respectively and panel 21 is retained against the side 6 of the case by means of an angle member 23 which is suitextending, portion of the right, angled member 23., Theflanges of the resilient gasket member surround the outer edges of the panels 21'. and 22 and completely sealthese edgesso that air cannot pass around the-panels. As can be seen in Figs. 3 and 4, the panelsin the spaces 18 and 19 displace the outer, flanges 17a and 17c from their normal position, and these flanges maintain a pressureagainst the surfaces of the panels and provide an effective seal. Between the panels 21 and 22 there is provided a strip of felt or sealing material 24 normally secured to one of the panels by an adhesive or a bonding agent. This sealing material 24 is compressed between the overlapping portion of the two panels and efiectively seals the opening between these two members.

Referring again to Fig. 5, the gasket includes an outer peripheral sealing portion 26 which may be easily compressed when the gasket is extended into abutting relationship with the frame and sash of the window. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the outer peripheral portion 26 of the gasket forms a semi-circular or G-shaped cross section and may be easily compressed upon the application of pressure against any portion of its outer surface. The peripheral portion 26 prevents the flow of air around the outer edges of the frame-like structure.

in Fig. 4, the vertical section 12 of the gasket is moved into abutting relationship with the side 32 of the window so that the peripheral portion 26 on the vertical section 12 is at least slightly compressed. Panel 21 is then attached to the angle member 23 and the panel 22 is positioned with one edge moved flush against the base portion 16 of the vertical section. 12 of the gasket. A portion of the panels 21 and 22n1ust still overlap. That is, the panels must be of sufiicie-nt. size so that when they are extended to fill the entire space between the frame-like structure and the side of: the case there is still a small amount of overlapping of the panels. The strip of sealing material 24 between the twO panels and prevents air from flowing between the adjacent panels. As was previously explained, the window 'is moved down onto the top of the upper gasket housing section 13 so that the felt strip 27 and the outer peripheral portion 26 of the upper horizontal section 9 seal the. structure along the entire length of. the window sash 15. Likewise, the felt strip- 29 and the outer peripheral portion 26 of the lower horizontal sectionv 11' seal the structure along the entire bottom of the window frame. Thus, the entire space hetween the case of the air conditioner and the frame and Whenever the horizontal sections 9 and 11 are removed from their housings 13 and 14, the outer peripheral portion of the gasket assumes its expanded state as shown in Fig. 5. However, whenever the gasket, or the sections 9 and 11 of the gasket, are moved into the gasket housing members 13 and 14, the outer peripheral portion 26 must be depressed in order for the gasket to fit into the housings; In other words, the overall height of the gasket including the flanges 17, the central portion or base 16 and the outer peripheral portion is greater than the height of the gasket housing inembers] Thus, whenever the gasket is moved inwardly with the horizontal sections h and 11 telescoping into the housings 13 and 14, the outer peripher'al portion must depress into the form shownin Fig.

2 in order to enter thehousing. As the horizontal sections 9 and 11- are pulled out of the housing members 13 and 14, the outer peripheral portion 26 of the gasket springs up or expands as it leaves the housing members and this makes the outer peripheral portion 26 extend above the upper portion of the housing member 13 and below the lowest portion of the housing member 14. As may be seen in Figs. 1 and 3, because the outer peripheral portion of the gasket extends slightly above the top .of the gasket housing section 13, whenever the window sash 15 is pulled down on the top of the gasket housing section 13, the sash depresses the outer peripheral portion 26 of the gasket to provide a seal between the upper portion of the closure means and bottom of the sash. This, as may also be seen in Fig. 3, is also true of the lower horizontal section 11. That is, as the lower horizontal section 11 leaves the gasket housing 14, the outer peripheral portion 26 expands downwardly so that it contacts and forms a seal with the upper surface '31 of the window frame. Strips of felt or sealing material 27 and 25 respectively are provided between the upper gasket housing section 13 and the window sash 15, and between the lower housing section 14 and the bottom 31 of the window frame. As may be seen in Fig. 4,'the outeriperipheral portion of the vertical section 12 is adjusted so that it is in sealing relation with the side 32 of the window frame and provides a seal for the structure in that portion of the window.

sash of the window is completely closed to prevent the air from the indoors from flowingto the outdoors.

. In the mounting arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1, the air conditioner is positioned in one side of thewindow. A second gasket 8&1 is arranged" on the left hand side of the air conditioner and positioned with its horizontal sections completely telescoped into the upper and lower gasket housing members 13 and 14. Only the vertical section 12a is exposed and this seals the left hand side of the case and the left side of the window frame. While the air. conditioner is shown to be mounted in the left hand portion of the window, as seen in Fig. 1, it obviously could be mounted more in the center of the window with panels inserted into gasket 8a to close the space between the case and the left side of the window frame.

'. By thelpresent' invention there has been provided a closurea ss ernbly which may be very quickly installed in windows of varying widths to provide a complete closure between the sides of the .air conditioner and the frame and sash of a window. In addition this closure assembly carries as an integral part thereof a means for providing a substantially tight seal between the frame and sash of the window and the closure means.

While in accordance with the patent statutes there has been described what at present'is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore, the aim of the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

'1. An adjustable window mounting arrangement for closing the space between the case of a room air conditioner and the frame of a window comprising a resilient gasket having upper and lower horizontal sections each connecting at one end with a vertical section to form a three-sided frame structure, said gasket including a base portion having a plurality of spacedrapart flanges extending toward the interior of the frame-like structure and a peripheral sealing portion on the opposite side of said base portion from said flanges adapted to provide a seal between said gasket and the frame and sash .of'the I window, said peripheral sealing portion being depressible In order to mount the air conditioner in a window, the

gasket Sis pulled outwardly from the side-6 of the case and the panels 21 and 22 are inserted into the slots or spaces 18 and 19 between the-flanges of the gasket. These panels'are placed with one overlying the other so that they do not completelyfill the space between the side of the casennd the frameof the window. Then, as shown portion when said upper and lower horizonatal sections of said gasket are moved into said gasket housing members and so that said peripheral sealing portion extends outwardly beyond said upper and lower gasket housing members respectively when said horizontal sections of said gasket are moved outwardly from said gasket housing members, and panel means adapted to fit into the space between said flanges of said gasket to fill the interior space of said frame-like structure with said flanges of said gasket sealing against the front and rear surfaces of said panel means.

2. An adjustable window mounting arrangement for closing the space between the case of a room air conditioner and the frame of a window comprising a resilient gasket having upper and lower horizontal sections each connecting at one end with a vertical section to form a three-sided frame structure, said gasket including a base portion having at least three spaced-apart flanges extending toward the interior of the frame-like structure and a peripheral sealing portion on the opposite side of said base portion from said flanges adapted to provide a seal between said gasket and the frame and sash of the window, said peripheral sealing portion having a generally semi-circular cross-sectional shape and being adapted to collapse inwardly toward said base portion upon the application of pressure against the outer circumference thereof, gasket housing members attached to the top and bottom of said case in which said upper and lower horizontal sections of said gasket are slidably inserted with said gasket being movable to expand or retract the area between said frame-like structure of said gasket and said case, said gasket housing members having a height less than the overall height of said gasket so that said peripheral sealing portion is depressed toward said base portion when said upper and lower horizontal sections of said gasket are moved into said gasket housing members and so that said peripheral sealing portion extends outwardly beyond said upper ad lower gasket housing members respectively when said horizontal sections of said gasket are moved outwardly from said gasket housing members, and two panel members adapted to fit into separate spaces between said flanges of said gasket, said panel members being adjustable within said spaces between said flanges so that said panels fill the space formed between the side of said case and the three-sided 6 frame structure of said gasket, one of said panels overlapping a portion of the other of said panels, and a strip of sealing material disposed between the overlapping portions of said panels.

3. An adjustable window mounting arrangement for closing the space between the case of a room air conditioner and the frame of a window comprising a resilient gasket having upper and lower horizontal sections each connecting at one end with a vertical section to form a three-sided frame structure, gasket housing members attached to the bottom and top of said case in which said upper and lower horizontal sections of said gasket are slidably inserted with said gasket being movable inwardly and outwardly with respect to said case, said gasket including a base portion having a plurality of spaced-apart flanges extending toward the interior ofthe frame-like structure and a peripheral sealing portion on the opposite side of the base portion from said flanges adapted to provide a seal between said gasket and the frame and sash of said window, said peripheral sealing portion having a generally semi-circular cross-sectional shape and being adapted to collapse inwardly toward said base portion whenever pressure is applied to the outer circumference thereof, said overall height of said gasket being greater than the height of said gasket housing members so that said peripheral sealing portion of said gasket extends upwardly and downwardly beyond said gasket housing members in the portion of said gasket not contained within said housing members, said peripheral sealing portion of said horizontal sections of said gasket being depressed toward said base portion of said gasket in that portion of said gasket contained within said gasket housing members, and panel means adapted to fit into the space between said flanges of said gaskets to fill the interior space of said frame-like structure with said flangesof said gasket sealing the front and rear surfaces of said panel means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,781,717 Hord Feb. 19, 1957 2,799,062- Callan July 16, 1957 2,814,244 Hord Nov. 26, 19 57

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