Portable air conditioner

• US 3,961,496 A
• Filed: 10/30/1975
• Issued: 06/08/1976
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Paul H.Y. Ku
• Original Assignee: Paul H.Y. Ku
• Inventors: Ku, Paul H. Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): King, Lloyd L.
• Application Number:
  US05/627,197
• Time in Patent Office: 222 Days
• Field of Search: 62/420, 62/463, 62/464, 62/244, 62/421, 62/459, 62/424, 62/460, 62/332, 62/425, 62/422, 62/423
• US Class Current: 62/459
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00 Heating, cooling or ventilating [HVAC] devices heating, cooling or ventilating devices providing other air treatment, the other treatment being relevant, B60H3/00; ventilating solely by opening windows, doors, roof parts, or the like B60J; heating or ventilating devices for vehicle seats B60N2/56; vehicle window or windscreen cleaners using air, e.g. defrosters, B60S1/54
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/3235 using sublimation, e.g. dry ice cooling or melting ice
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 5/0017 using cold storage bodies, e.g. ice
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/14 Thermal energy storage

Abstract

In a preferred embodiment, a mateable upper and lower vessel having upper and lower compartments substantially isolated from one-another, of insulation light-weight material self-supporting, containable of water and ice in the lower compartment and having mounted fans adjacent upper ports of the upper compartment and therebeneath water-circulation conduits and heat-transfer fins with a connected pump mounted also within the upper compartment and circulatable of water from the lower compartment through the water-circulation conduits and heat-transfer fins which are located above air intake ports at a lower location within side walls of the upper compartment structure, with separate variable controls of speed for the separate fans, and with thermostat and manual activation switches in parallel with one-another both in electrical series with a variable speed control of the motor of the pump.

Claims

1. A portable air conditioning device comprising in combination:

container means for retaining water and for providing insulation against heat transfer through walls thereof and for providing support structure for elements mounted thereon;

said support structure including a dividing partition substantially dividing interior space of the container means into an ice compartment and a heat-transfer compartment, said ice compartment and said heat-transfer compartment being substantially segregated from one-another;

pump and motor means for pumping water in closed cycle from said ice compartment through said heat-transfer compartment and back to said ice compartment;

heat-transfer means for circulating warm air in heat-exchange relationship with cool water when circulated in said closed cycle, within said heat-transfer compartment, and for intaking said warm air from and exterior source and for evacuating cooled air from the heat-transfer compartment to an exterior location to be cooled;

said heat-transfer means including fans located above said closed cycle, the container means having intake ports within lower portions of walls of said heat-transfer compartment and having exhaust ports within upper portions of walls of said heat-transfer compartment and the heat-transfer means further including water-circulation conduits cycling water from and to the ice compartment, and said water-circulation conduits being mounted substantially above a level of said intake ports.

2. A portable air conditioning device of claim 1, in which said heat-transfer means includes separate activation circuits and variable speed controls, for respective separate ones of said fans.

3. A portable air conditioning device of claim 2, in which said water-circulation conduits include a plurality of substantially parallel water-circulation cooling fins adapted for circulation of hot air derived from said intake port therebetween in heat-exchange relationship therewith and for circulation of cooled air therefrom to and through said exhaust ports.

4. A portable air conditioning device of claim 3, in which said pump and motor means includes a variable speed control.

5. A portable air conditioning device of claim 4, in which said pump and motor means includes parallel electrical activation leads connected to alternately provide power to said variable speed control, a thermostat being in series within one of the electrical activation leads and a manual-activation switch being in series within the other of the electrical activation leads, adapted such that normal pump activation is controlled by said thermostat but such that the pump may be activated by by-passing the thermostat when desired.

6. A portable air conditioning device of claim 5, in which said electrical activation leads are connected each in series with an off-on switch adapted to turn on and off alternately all electrical power from a connected power source.

7. A portable air conditioning device of claim 6, in which said separate activation circuits and speed controls are in series electrically with said off-on switch, in parallel with said thermostat and said manual-activation switch.

8. A portable air conditioning device of claim 7, in which said container means includes an upper structure defining the heat-transfer compartment, and a lower structure defining the ice compartment, the upper and lower structures including mateable male and female structures adapted such that the upper structure is seatable on top of the lower structure, detachably including a releasable latching-on means for holding-together the upper and lower structures.

9. A portable air conditioning device of claim 1, in which said container means includes an upper structure defining the heat-transfer compartment, and a lower structure defining the ice compartment, the upper and lower structures including mateable male and female structures adapted such that the upper structure is seatable on top of the lower structure, detachably including a releasable latching-on means for holding-together the upper and lower structures.

10. A portable air conditioning device of claim 9, in which said heat-transfer means includes separate activation circuits and speed controls, for respective separate ones of said fans, in which said pump and motor means includes a variable speed control, in which said pump and motor means includes parallel electrical activation leads connected to alternately provide power to said variable speed control, a thermostat being in series within one of the electrical activation leads and a manual-activation switch being in series within the other of the electrical activation leads, adapted such that normal pump activation is controlled by said thermostat but such that the pump may be activated by by-passing the thermostat when desired, in which said electrical activation leads are connected each in series with an off-on switch adapted to turn on and off alternately all electrical power from a connected power source, and in which said separate activation circuits and speed controls of the heat-transfer means, are in parallel electrically with said thermostat and said manual-activation switch which are collectively in electrical series with an off-on switch adapted to turn on and off alternately all electrical power from a connected power source.