Patent ID: 7350759

Claim:
The combination of a quick release mounting apparatus, an air conditioner and a window opening, the quick release mounting apparatus holding the room air conditioner unit, in the window opening of a room having an interior, in a cantilevered condition and releasing it therefrom in an emergency, the window opening bordered by vertical surfaces at laterally opposed sides, a window sill at the bottom, and a window sash of a sliding window, the air conditioner unit having an indoor portion resting on the window sill, an outdoor portion disposed exterior of the room and an upstanding guide rail extending across a top surface, the mounting apparatus comprising: a crossbar transversely spanning the window opening, having opposed outer ends removably engaging the vertical surfaces at laterally opposed sides of the window opening on the interior of the room and an aperture formed therethrough intermediate said opposed ends; a bracket member having a rear portion engaging the upstanding guide rail of the air conditioner unit, and a tongue portion extending slidably through said aperture in said crossbar, said tongue portion having a slot near an outer end; and a removable latch member having a tang portion received through said slot in said tongue portion for releasably holding said bracket in place on the upstanding guide rail in a latched condition, and removable from said slot in an unlatched condition for allowing withdrawal of said bracket tongue portion from said crossbar aperture and disengagement of said bracket from the guide rail in an unlatched condition; in the latched condition, said crossbar, said bracket, and said latch member holding the indoor portion of the room air conditioner unit resting on the window sill with its outdoor portion disposed outside the room in a cantilevered condition such that the weight of the outdoor portion of the room air conditioner unit creates a rearward moment arm or rotational force that biases said crossbar into engagement on the vertical surfaces at the sides of the window opening to hold the air conditioner unit in the cantilevered condition in the window opening; and in the unlatched condition, upon opening the window and removing said latch member tang portion from said bracket tongue portion slot to allow withdrawal of said bracket tongue portion from said crossbar aperture, the rearward moment arm or rotational force that biases said crossbar into engagement on the vertical surfaces at the sides of the window opening is removed the crossbar falls away from the window opening, and the air conditioner unit topples rearwardly from the window opening exterior of the room to provide an escape route through the open window.