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Vertical self-contained air conditionerRelated Patent Categories: Refrigeration, Automatic Control, Of External Fluid Or Means, Air Controller Or DirectorVertical self-contained air conditioner description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070180840, Vertical self-contained air conditioner. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to portable air conditioning units and specifically for use as attachments to the rear of chairs or seats. Specifically, the air conditioning unit cools the surrounding air by ingesting ambient air, and cooling it by fanning the air across a surface area of a thermally conductive material. The thermally conductive material is in direct contact with a cooled substance having a temperature that is much lower than the surrounding air. By doing so, that the surface area temperature approaches that of the liquid. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Outdoors seating, whether in an open-air stadium, at a park, or on a patio is often subject to extreme temperatures during the summer months. It is desirable to be seated in air-conditioned comfort regardless of the temperature. One approach to address the problem would be to install a portable air conditioner on the rear of the seat capable of providing a personal cooling system. [0003] The main problem with manufacturing a portable air conditioning unit is cost. Most air conditioning units are very expensive, bulky, contain elements that are potentially harmful to the environment, and often require an AC external power source to operate. An air conditioning unit that is small and efficient enough to operate on its own power source and be secured to a seat would be highly desirable. The present invention addresses each of those obstacles using a device that ingests ambient air into a thermally conductive path containing fins that are cooled by a reservoir containing substances cooled to a low temperature. It is desirable that ice is used, but any chilled substance would be permissible. [0004] It is known in the prior art that the use of frozen liquids, namely ice, can be used to cool ambient air when the air is fanned across the surface area of the ice or other conducting surface areas that come in contact with the frozen liquids. When the ambient air contacts a low-temperature surface area, the air is instantly cooled several degrees. However, many of these prior art systems do not efficiently lower the temperature of the air as the present invention is capable of doing. [0005] The present invention addresses the efficiency concerns by providing a portable air conditioning unit that cools the surrounding air near a seat for use in warm environments. The present invention makes use of a portable apparatus that includes a reservoir for cooled liquid or ice that surrounds an air duct. The air duct receives ambient air on one end and expels it into the general area at the top of the seat. The reservoir should be insulated as much as possible from the ambient air temperature. [0006] The air duct contains a series of fins that are assembled so they are in contact with other thermally conducting fins outside of the air duct and exposed to the contents of the reservoir. This creates a heat exchange system designed to maximize the exposure of the air to the exposed surface area of the fins in the air duct. The only air that is cooled is the air that comes in direct contact with the fins in the air duct. [0007] The entire external surface of the unit should be heavily insulated in order to prevent unwanted heat from coming into contact with the reservoir's contents. When the reservoir is filled with cold liquid or ice, the exposed surface area of the fins is cooled to the temperature of the reservoir's contents. The air duct is connected on one side by an air intake chamber and by an air exhaust chamber on the other. Warm air is drawn into the intake chamber from a battery-powered variable-speed motorized fan that creates a vacuum in the chamber. The fan then pushes the warm air through the air duct and is dehumidified and cooled when it contacts the exposed surface area of the fins that extrude either in a louvre or coil style relative to the surface of the air duct. The fins provide resistance and vary the direction of the air thereby creating turbulence. The temperature from within the reservoir is transferred down through the outer fins which indirectly come in contact with the fins inside the air duct. The turbulence greatly enhances the thermal conductive capacity of the system so that the heat transfer can occur at an efficient rate and maximizes the time that the temperature of the exposed surface of the reservoir remains cold. The turbulent air molecules bounce off of the adjacent surface areas of the inner fins as they move up the air duct. The cooled air is then propelled into an exhaust chamber where it is thrust into the external environment and may be used to generally cool a surrounding area of the seat. [0008] Over a period of time while low temperature substances come in contact with the surface of the fins that are exposed to the interior of the reservoir or container, a narrow region next to the surface of the heat exchanger exists where the velocity of the fluid is zero and rapidly changes to a finite number as the distance from the surface increases. This is known as the boundary layer. The fluid's velocity is zero due to a variety of factors ranging from molecular attraction to surface tension to friction. When a boundary layer forms, it may prevent the surface area of the fins from efficient thermal conductivity between the inner reservoir to the surface area of the fins. This lack of conduction is due to the layer of insulation the boundary layer creates from the fluid directly adjacent to the exposed surface of the heat exchanger. The present invention helps reduce the negative affects of the boundary layer on the efficiency of the system. [0009] Another feature of the apparatus is that the airflow may be directed by means of a nozzle, which is attached to the exhaust valve of the unit. It is also understood that to a person of reasonable skill in the art that the underlying claimed invention for a portable air conditioner can be utilized in other applications such as seating for automobiles, boats, RVs, trucks, or any similar application. Discussion of the Prior Art [0010] The use of air conditioners is known in the prior art. More specifically, air conditioners that cool the surrounding air that exchange heat while passing outside air over cooled surfaces is discussed in the prior art. Other similar portable air conditioning devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,427,476; 6,227,004; 6,119,477; 5,953,933; 5,062,281; 5,046,329; and 4,841,742 and 5,724,824. [0011] While these devices aim to function as air conditioners, and while each invention disclosed in the respective patents may disclose a feature of the present invention, none of the above-listed patents disclose the combination of features in the present invention either individually or in combination with each other in such a way that it would have been obvious to do so at the time the present invention was conceived. [0012] In addition, there is a need in the art for a device which can function as a portable air conditioner when secured to the rear of a seat that maximizes the time that ambient air may be cooled to a temperature much lower than the ambient air temperature. Furthermore, there is a need to acomplish these tasks utilizing a removable cooling source in combination with a directed application of the cooled air. A device of this type is disclosed by the present invention. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable air conditioner that utilizes a motorized fan to ingest outside air and cool it by passing the air over the surface area of thermally-conductive fins in an air duct before propelling the cooled-air back into the environment. [0014] It is a further object of the present invention to minimize the temperature of cooled air by passing the air through a turbulent environment with an air duct. [0015] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of cooling outside air that efficiently ingests outside air, and cools it by passing the outside air in a turbulent manner over and through a cooled surface area within an air duct and expelling the cooled air into the environment. [0016] It is a further object of the present invention to utilize a series of fins secured generally perpendicular to an air duct capable of transferring the temperature inside a reservoir to additional conducting fins inside the air duct. [0017] It is a further object of the present invention to maximize the efficiency of heat exchange by minimizing the effects of the formation of a boundary layer on the thermally-conductive material. [0018] It is a further object of the present invention to use the portable air conditioner in conjunction with a chair or seat such that the air conditioner can be switched on whenever a person is seated in the chair. [0019] The description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings should not be construed as limiting the invention to the example shown and described, because those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains will be able to devise other forms thereof within the ambit of the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Continue reading about Vertical self-contained air conditioner... Full patent description for Vertical self-contained air conditioner Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Vertical self-contained air conditioner patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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