BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It has been difficult effectively insulating air conditioners and sleeves holding the same on building structures, especially during the winter months. Wind and moisture can easily penetrate through the inadequately-insulated air conditioner sleeves, while rodents and wildlife can chew through plastic insulation, with even birds using such insulation to build nests in the air conditioner sleeves. At the same time, it is not easy to install and effectively secure insulation such as plastic to an outer air conditioner sleeve, especially at unsafe height. Such unsafe installation must repeatedly take place each winter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention eliminates such disadvantages and is extremely easy to both install before and remove after winter.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to improve insulating air conditioner sleeves, especially during the winter months.
It is also an object of the present invention to effectively prevent wildlife from breaching such insulation.
It is another object of the present invention to facilitate both installing a cover on an air conditioner sleeve before winter, and removing the cover after winter.
It is a further object of the present invention to improve safety of installing a cover for shielding and insulating an air conditioner sleeve.
These and other objects are attained by the present invention which is directed to a cover or cap for an air conditioner sleeve, having a frame secured around an outer exposed edge of the air conditioner sleeve protruding from a wall structure, and a panel seating within the frame and shielding the outer protruding interior of the air conditioner sleeve. The frame has three bent sections forming a U when secured to the outer exposed edge of the air conditioner sleeve. Additionally, a spacer is provided for positioning and securing the frame onto the outer exposed edge of the air conditioner sleeve, in a position to receive the cover and effectively shield the air conditioner sleeve from the elements.
With the present invention, an insulating panel is securely, reliably mounted on an exposed end of the air conditioner sleeve, to effectively insulate the interior of the sleeve and the concomitant building structure, and also shield the sleeve from penetration by wildlife during the winter months. The insulating panel can be easily and safely installed and removed, especially at great height. Furthermore, since the receiving track is permanently mounted on the end of the air conditioner sleeve, the covering panel can be easily installed and removed before and after each winter, eliminating the complicated, dangerous need to securely tie insulation such as plastic around the end of the air conditioner sleeve.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying figures, in which
FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing a separate panel and frame forming the cover for an air conditioner sleeve, along with a spacer for installing the frame in accordance with the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a left perspective view from above schematically illustrating positioning of the spacer against the end of an air conditioner sleeve, and bending the frame thereabout,
FIG. 3 is a right perspective view from above schematically illustrating removal of the spacer from the frame secured to the air conditioner sleeve,
FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of an end of the air conditioner sleeve after removing the spacer, and showing the frame secured thereto,
FIG. 5 is a left perspective view from above schematically illustrating the cover panel being slid into the frame secured to the end of the air conditioner sleeve,
FIG. 6 is a left perspective view from above, similar to FIG. 5, and showing the cover panel completely slid into the frame affixed to the end of the air conditioner sleeve,
FIG. 7 is a right side elevational view of a front portion of the air conditioner sleeve of FIG. 6 and showing the cover panel completely lowered into the frame,
FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of the encircled area 7A at the top of FIG. 7,
FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of the encircled area 7B at the bottom of FIG. 7,
FIG. 7C is an enlarged view similar to FIG. 7B and showing an additional member forming part of a bottom section of the frame,
FIG. 8A is a partial perspective view schematically showing the additional member being slid into place in the bottom section of the frame,
FIG. 8B is a partial perspective view schematically showing the additional member and bottom section of the frame pressed together after the additional member has been slid into the bottom section, and
FIG. 9 is a left perspective view of a corner of the frame showing the cover panel slid into both the frame and additional member.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in FIG. 1, the cover for the air conditioner sleeve has a panel 1, a frame 2 bendable around an outer exposed edge of an air conditioner sleeve protruding from a wall structure, and a spacer 3 for positioning the frame 2 onto the outer exposed edge of the air conditioner sleeve so that the frame 2 can be affixed to the sleeve for receiving the covering panel 1. The panel 1 has a laterally-protruding handle 4 at one end thereof, to allow the panel 1 to be grasped and guided into a track defined between the frame 2 and outer edge of the air conditioner sleeve, and also easily removed from the defined track. The spacer 3 is also provided with a similar handle 5 at one end thereof to facilitate removal from the track after the frame 2 has been secured to the air conditioner sleeve.
A front face of the panel 1 has a bent pyramidical shape, and can be manufactured from any suitable metal, e.g., aluminum. Additionally, the frame 2 and spacer 3 can also be manufactured from similar material such as aluminum. The frame 2 has three separate sections 6-8 bendable with respect to one another, to form a substantially U or C shape and define a track for receiving the panel 1.
Assembly of the cover on the air conditioner sleeve is illustrated herein. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the spacer 3 for securing the frame 2 to the air conditioner sleeve is first held against the outer end of the sleeve while the frame 2 is bent around the outer periphery of the spacer 3. The frame 2 is then secured to the outer end of the air conditioner sleeve, e.g., with stainless steel self-tapping screws.
After the frame 2 is secured to the outer end of the air conditioner sleeve, the spacer 3 is vertically slid out from the substantially U-shaped frame 2 from above by grasping the laterally-extending handle 5 at the top thereof, as shown in FIG. 3. The frame 2 secured to the outer end of the air conditioner sleeve is seen in FIG. 4. Using the spacer 3 to install the frame 2 ensures the track defined between the frame 2 and end of the air conditioner sleeve, is properly dimensioned to receive the covering panel 1 to effectively insulate the building interior on which the air conditioner and sleeve are mounted.
Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the covering panel 1 is gradually slid down into the track defined between the frame 2 and outer end of the air conditioner sleeve, e.g., by grasping the handle 4 at the top thereof. The covering panel 1 completely slid down into the track defined between the frame 2 and the outer end of the air conditioner sleeve is shown in FIG. 6. As best seen in the partial side views of FIGS. 7 and 7A, the handle 4 of the covering panel 1 has an inner fold which acts as a weather strip minimizing water and air infiltration into the air conditioner sleeve, when the cover panel 1 is completely lowered into the track defined between the frame 2 and outer end of the air conditioner sleeve.
As also shown in FIG. 7B, a bottom edge of all said three sections 6-8 of the track 2 is bent over on itself in the shape of an upside down U, to define a track for receiving the panel and also act as a weather strip minimizing water and air infiltration into the air conditioner sleeve when the cover panel 1 is mounted thereon as shown in FIG. 7.
In FIG. 7C, an additional separate member 10 is slid into a bend 9 in the frame 2, e.g., the bottom section 7 thereof, to facilitate guiding and wedging the cover panel 1 into place. When viewed from an end thereof as shown in FIG. 7C, the additional member 10 is substantially in the shape of an S, with bends 11 and 12 at opposite ends thereof. The top part of the member 10 forms an angle of approximately 40° with respect to the bottom part thereof; in other words, the top bend 11 points in a direction at an angle of approximately 40° with respect to the direction the bottom bend 12 points.
FIGS. 8A and 8B schematically illustrate inserting and securing the member 10 to a section of the frame 2. Reference numeral 13 denotes a V-shaped miter cut between adjacent sections forming the frame 2. The angle formed by this V-shaped cut is approximately 45°. The frame is bent around the respective V-shaped miter cuts 13 as shown in FIG. 2 against the spacer 3, for securing into place.
After being slid into the frame section as shown in FIG. 8A, the member 10 and frame section are pressed or crimped together as shown FIG. 8B. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, when the cover panel 1 is slid into the frame 9, the member 10 serves to securely guide and lock the cover panel 1 into place. While the member 10 is shown secured to the bottom section 7 of the frame 2, the member 10 can also be slid into and secured to the side sections 6 and 8 of the frame 2.
The covering panel is preferably formed from aluminum, as are the frame and spacer, with the thickness of the metal being 0.032 gauge (although other metals can also be used). This avoids wildlife chewing and/or penetrating a plastic cover as in the prior air conditioner sleeve covers. The covering panel 1 can be additionally insulated, e.g., with foam, and has the bent pyramidical surface to eliminate any noise or rattling from wind deflection. The frame 2, spacer 3 and cover panel 1 are dimensioned to fit all standard air conditioner sleeves on the market.
The preceding description of the present invention is merely exemplary, and not intended to limit the scope thereof in any way.