Ceiling air deflector insert and method of assembly

Abstract

A square deflector insert for a drop ceiling made of four identical sides that can be simply field assembled and installed. In contrast to previous single-piece inserts, the new inserts provide much more compact packaging for shipping but can be assembled quickly just before installation. Although described in terms of a square deflector the invention is applicable to other polygonal shapes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air deflector insert comprising four plastic side members, each side member having a downwardly extending air deflecting portion and a unitary horizontally extending flange portion adapted to at least partially support the side member, each side member having at one end a socket and at its other end a complementary tongue configured for snap-fit connection in the socket of another side member, whereby the four sides can be joined at four corners by snapping the tongues into the sockets. 
     
     
         2 . The air deflector of  claim 1 , wherein the tongue comprises a plurality of tongues separated by slots and at least one tongue of the plurality of tongues includes a cusp, and the socket has at least one opening within the socket sized to receive the cusp upon assembly. 
     
     
         3 . The air deflector of  claim 2 , including a plurality of cusps on tongues and a plurality of complementary openings.