Leak-free furnace air filter mounting assembly

Claim 1

A mounting assembly for a replaceable air filter panel in a forced air heating or air conditioning unit having an entry portion defining an air intake opening, said filter panel being substantially rectangular in shape and having a peripheral edge including a leading edge portion and a trailing edge portion interconnected by a pair of spaced-apart guide edge portions, said mounting assembly comprising, in combination: a filter housing having a plurality of perimeter walls defining a substantially rectangular internal cross section and an air flow passage therethrough having an entrance end and a discharge end, said discharge end of said housing being dimensioned to surround said air intake opening and including means for connecting said housing in substantially sealed relation to said entry portion of said unit; one side of said perimeter walls having an access opening therein dimensioned for slidable insertion and retraction of said air filter panel therethrough; internal sealing means disposed in said air flow passage and dimensioned for sealing engagement with said peripheral edge of said air filter panel; guide means mounted in said air flow passage inwardly of said access opening, said guide means being disposed to urge said leading edge portion of said air filter panel into sealing engagement with said internal sealing means when said panel is slid substantially completely through said access opening and across said air flow passage, said guide means also being disposed and arranged to accommodate and effectively seal air filter panels of different thicknesses; a door closure member for sealingly closing said access opening, said closure member being removably attached to said perimeter wall having said access opening therein; and panel securing means mounted on the inner face of said closure member and projecting inwardly therefrom for urging said trailing edge portion and the balance of said peripheral edge of said air filter panel into substantially leak-free sealing engagement with said internal sealing means when said panel is slid completely across said air flow passage and said closure member is attached to said perimeter wall to sealingly close said access opening, said panel securing means also being disposed and arranged to accommodate and effectively seal air filter panels of different thicknesses.