Apparatus for securing a grille to an air conditioning unit

Claim 1

An assembly for use with an air conditioning unit having at least one exterior surface which comprises: a casing having a plurality of walls defining a chamber wherein at least a portion of the components of the air conditioning unit may be located, said casing including a casing border forming a portion of the exterior surface of the unit, said casing border including a plurality of casing border segments each extending inwardly from the walls of the casing generally in the plane of the exterior surface of the unit, said casing border segments defining an air flow passageway therebetween and casing flanges connected to the inward edge of at least a portion of border segments, said casing flanges forming an acute angle with the casing border segments and extending into the interior of the chamber defined by the casing; a grille for allowing air to communicate with the chamber formed by the casing walls, said grille including a grille face forming a portion of the exterior surface of the assembly, said grille face extending between the casing border segments to cover the passageway therebetween, said grille having grille flanges extending from the edges of the grille face into the interior of the chamber defined by the walls of the casing, said grille flanges being generally parallel to the casing flanges; and means to secure the casing flanges to the grille flanges such that the grille face and the border segments form the exterior surface of the assembly and the means for securing the grille flanges to the casing flanges is not directly observable when viewing the exterior surface of the assembly and such that the grille may be secured to the casing from within the casing.