Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Ajw oc.~ling dPvic
BACKGROUND OF THE iNVMION :
Field of the inventiqn:
The invention relates generally to climate controlling devices but more
particularly to
an air cooling unit.
I0
Background of the invention :
There are many types of air conditioning units as weH as many types of fans
used for
cooling. Some inventions combine a fan with provision for ice or cold water so
that air
1.5 passing through the ice or cold water will be cooled.
Usually air conditioning unit need to be installed in a window or have some
sort of air
duct arrangement to take the air from the outside. This arrangement is of
course
elaborate in its installation There are also some types of portable air
conditioning
20 devices such as for example in Japanese patent JP2001132985.
There is still a need fnr a practical portable air conditioning unit which is
quiet and
unobtnisive.
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SIl1AMARY OfF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages iriherent in the known devices now
present in
the prior art, the present fnvention, which will be described subsequently in
greater
detail, is to provide objects and advantages which are:
To provide for a small compact air cooling device which does not require to be
installed in a window or require outside air.
To provide for a small compact air cooling device which is transporatble.
To provide for a small compact air cooling device which is quiet
To provide for a small compact air cooling device which does not require the
compressor to work as often as a standard air conditioning unit.
In order to do so, the invention works by first cooling a volume of liquid
down to a
temperature that can be below freezing. That volume of liquid can remain cold
for a
long period of time, requiTing very little work on the part of the compressor,
much like
a kitchen refrigerator. Even when in use for cooiing, besides the fan which is
on all the
time during use, the compressor is only required for short periods of time to
maintain
the cold temperaure of the liquid.
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The device comprises a compressor, a condenser, refrigerant liquid circulating
through refrigerant coils. The refrigerant coils are installed Inside a liquid
chamber
which is filled with a liquid. A fan pulls ambient air through an air tunnel.
The air tunnel
has an inpuk that is external to the body and outputs through the fan. The fan
then
blows the ambient air through pipes which pass through the liquid chamber.
These
pipes also have an input and an output with the input interfacing with the fan
and the
pipe output being at a location extemal to the body and distal from the air
tunnel input.
Insulating means insulate and seal the liquid chamber from within the body
which
keeps the liquid cold for a long period of time, thus reducing the frequency
by which
the compressor needs to work which reduces the amount of noise generated by
the
device_
The preferred cooling liquid in the liquid chamber is a brine solution so as
to be
cooled below the normal freezing temperature of water, but any other suitable
liquid
can be used.
In a preferred embodiment, the air tunnel input is diametrically opposite the
pipe
output but one can easily understand that there are a variety of possible
arrangement
all fauing within the scope of the invention, given that the shape of the body
can be of
a variety of designs.
In order to increase the effective length of the pipes they can, in some
embodiments,
be given a sinusoidal shape.
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Alternatively, the pipes can also be corkscrew in shape to further increase
their
effective lengths.
In a preferred embodiment, the air cooling device is supported by a stand or
any such
mechanical equivalent supporting structure.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of
the
invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be
better
understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be
better
t0 appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be
described
hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended
hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in
detail, it
is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to
the details of
construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the
following
description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other
embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it
is to be
understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the
purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon
which this
disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of
other
structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the
present
invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as
including such
CA 02550346 2006-07-06
equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and
scope of the
present invention.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various
features of
5 novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity
in the
claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better
understanding of
the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by
its uses,
reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in
which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF Da-CRIPTION di' THE P EFERRED F, BODtMENT
Figs.1 a-c Top, rear and side views, respectively, of the invention.
Fig. 2a Front view indicating cutaway line A-A.
Fig. 2b Top cutaway view along line A-A.
Fig. 3 Side cutaway view along line B-B.
QETAiLEp DESGRIpTION OF THE PREFERREn EMBOD~NT
An air cooling device (10) has a stand (12), a body (14), a control panel
(16), and a
power cord (18). The body (14) contains a compressor (20) with a condenser
(22)
located on an external face of the body. Refrigerant coils (24) are installed
inside a
iiquid chamber (26) filled with a liquid (28). The details of the compressor
(20) and the
CA 02550346 2006-07-06
refrigerant coils (24) need not be further discussed here since their workings
are well
known in the art.
An air tunnel (30), having a tunnel input (29) and a tunnel output (31), picks
up
S ambient air from behind the air cooling device (10) and blows it through
pipes (34) by
way of a fan (32). The fan (32) is preferably of the computer cooling fan
variety wifih a
built-in motor so as to easily pass air without being too bulky. The pipes
(34), which
have a pipe input (33) and a pipe output (35), pass through the liquid chamber
(26)
which has liquid (28) surrounding each pipe (34) as they spread apart. Passing
l0 through the cold liquid (28) cools the air within the pipes (34).
The liquid chamber (26) is kept cold and hermetic by way of insulating means
(36)
surrounding it. Cooled air exits the pipes (34) at the pipe output (35). The
control
panel (16) controls such parameters as room temperature, fan (32) speed,
etc... An
15 optional remote control (not shown) could also be a desirable oplaon.
The body (14) can be pivotally connected to the stand (12) so that it can be
oriented
In any direction. Also, a motor (not shown) can pivot the body (14) so that
the blown
ambient air can be spread across a wider area, as is known of oscillating
fans. This
20 feature could also be controlled via the control panel (16) or remote
control (not
shown).
As seen in fig 3, the pipes (34) are rectilinear but, in order to increase
their eff ectlve
length, they could adopt a sinusoidal shape which would have the ambient air
stay
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longer within the pipes (34) and thus cool even more. The same goes for the
top view
of fig. 2b wherein the pipes (34), besides spreading apart, could also have a
sinusoidel ondulation which, when taken together (side view, top view) gives
the pipes
(34) a three dimensional configuration akin to a corkscrew which would greatly
increase their effective legth.
Although the air cooling device (10) preferably comes with its own stand (12)
it Is
conceivable that it could work without it such as a desktop unit or that the
stand (12)
could be any of a variety made by third party manufacturers providing
releasably
attachable stands (12).
As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present
invenfiion, the same should be apparent from the above description.
Accordingly, no
further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be
provided.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the
optimum
dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include
variations in size,
materials, shape, form, funetion and manner of operation, assembly and use,
are
deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and att
equivalent
relationships to those iilustrated in the drawings and described in the
specification are
intended to be encompassed by the present invenfion.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles
of the
invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily
occur to
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those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the
exact construtfion
and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications
and
equivaler1 ts may be resorted to, failing r+vithin the scope of the invention.
JO
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