Abstract:
A portable air conditioner which has a container for holding an air cooling medium, a lid for the container and a plurality of outlets in the lid which permit flexible conduits to connected to the output from the lid. In addition, a cart is disclosed for transporting the air conditioner which will keep the top and bottom of the container parallel in order to keep any liquid from melting ice from spilling.

Description:
This invention claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional application No. 60/259,905 filed on Jan. 8, 2001. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a portable air conditioner that has a container with a lid for holding a cooling medium A plurality of outlets in the lid allow flexible hoses to be connected to the lid to assist in distributing the cooled air to a desired location. 
     Portable air conditioning units are known to the prior art. For example, such unit includes a container, a lid, a cooling medium and a battery operated fan and a water circulation conduit. Another invention discloses a portable air conditioning unit with a battery operated fan and a cooling medium. 
     Another portable air conditioner is known to have a container with a lid, a cooling medium and a battery operated fan that blows air through a separate compartment that holds the cooling medium. 
     There are also other units made up of a container, a lid, a cooling medium and a battery operated fan. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Portable air conditioner units are disclosed in a variety of configurations and sizes in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,495 to Ku discloses an air conditioner that has a container, a lid, a cooling medium and a battery operated fan and a water circulation conduit. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,329 to Travis, III discloses a portable air conditioning unit that has a battery operated fan and a cooling medium. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,301 to Holcomb discloses a portable air conditioner which has a container, a lid, a cooling medium and a battery operated fan that blows air through a separate compartment from the compartment that holds the cooling medium. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,165 to Biglow, Jr. discloses an air conditioner with a container, a lid, a cooling medium and a battery operated fan. 
     In the present invention a portable air conditioner has a container for holding a cooling medium, such as ice, a lid for the container and a plurality of outlets in the lid which permit flexible conduits to be connected to the output from the lid, all as will be detailed in the specification that follows hereafter. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a portable air conditioner which has a container for holding an air cooling medium, a lid for the container and a plurality of outlets in the lid which permit flexible conduits to connected to the output from the lid. In addition, a cart is disclosed for transporting the air conditioner which will keep the top and bottom of the container parallel in order to keep any liquid, from melting ice, from spilling. 
     The present invention is primarily designed to give one or more athletes, who rotate out of a game, or event, heat/stress relief. The present invention provides such persons easy access to a supply of cool and moist air of sufficient velocity and volume to provide a controlled level and rate of cool down so they may rotate back into the game at a high level of efficiency. 
     However, the present invention is not limited to use solely by athletes. It could also be used by persons engaged in any high rate of activity or normal rate of activity in a high temperature environment. It would especially be useful to persons engaged in a high rate activity in a hot environment. It would provide a temporary rest and/or heat/stress relief before resuming their activities. 
     The present invention is easily portable, uses an inexpensive, readily available, safe cooling medium and can be powered by inexpensive, rechargeable 12 Volt batteries (gel or wet). 
     It is the primary object of the present invention to provide for an improved portable air conditioning unit whose air output can be transported easily to a desired location. 
     Another object is to provide for such a unit wherein a cooling medium is located within a container having a lid with a plurality of outlets and flexible conduits are connected to one or more of these outlets to direct the air, as desired, by a user. 
     Another object is to provide for such a unit a cart for transporting the air conditioner. 
     Another object is to provide a supply of cooled air that is not at a maximum cold temperature with reduced volume and pressure. 
    
    
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to readers from a consideration of the ensuing description and the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention without any conduits attached. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross section view through the mid portion of the container and lid as in FIG. 1 with an opened outlet and a conduit added to one of the two opened outlets. 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a lid outlet with the outlet opened. 
     FIG. 4 shows how the blower is attached to the container side. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross section view of the mating surfaces between the lid and the container. 
     FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of an inside container corner. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the cart used with the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a side view of the cart used with the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention without any air outlet conduits attached to the container  1 . The container is closed on all sides and the bottom, but has a top which can be opened. A lid  3  is shown closing the top of the container  1 . Three aligned hinges  5  on one container side mount the lid  3  to the container  1 , and permit the opening and closing of the container top by lifting the lid. An uncovered or opened outlet  7  , in lid  3 , is shown for explanatory purposes, however, it is to be understood that the outlet  7  is normally covered by a discharge port cover such as the cover  9 . Covers  9  are shown covering the other five lid outlets which are the same as outlet  7 . 
     The cover  9  for outlet  7  is shown in dotted line format over the outlet. Each separate cover  9  is biased to a normally closed position by a hinge spring, as best shown in FIG.  3 . As explained with respect to FIG. 2, one or more of the covers  9  for the outlets may be opened to connect a hose  31  to the outlets. There is also a container side outlet nearest the fan  17  that has a cover which can be opened. Both ends of the container  1  also have carrying handles  11  such as are found on ice chests, etc. At least one lower drainage hole  13  is located on the side of container  1 . Hole  13  extends into the interior of the container to allow melted liquids, like ice-water, to be discharged from the container. 
     Mounted to the container back wall  15  is a conventional electrically operated fan  17 . A surrounding flat flange  19  extends parallel to the back wall  15  and goes around a wall opening in the container  1 . Flange engaging screws, or other fasteners,  21  extend through the flange and into the back wall of the container  15 . The fasteners  21  hold the fan  17  to the container front wall  15  to mount the fan to a wall outlet (not shown, see FIG. 4) located directly behind the fan  17 . The wall outlet leads to the insulated interior of the container  1 . 
     Wires  23  are used to connect the fan  17  to a self-contained electrical power source, shown here as the battery  25 . Two color coded battery clips  27  are fixed to the free ends of the wires  23  and engage the positive and negative terminals  29  of the battery. When it is desired to turn the fan  17  off, at least one of the fan wires  23  would be disconnected from the terminal of the battery  25 . 
     FIG. 2 is a cross section view through a mid portion of the side  15  of the container  1  and lid  3 , as shown in FIG.  1 . In FIG. 2, the outlets of FIG. 1 are modified in that two of the outlets  7  are shown in opened positions with their respective covers opened. One particular outlet cover  32  is depicted in a raised or opened position. The outlet associated with raised cover  32  has a gas conduit or hose  31  (partially shown) connected to the associated opened outlet  7 . Any of the other five outlets  7  could also have a similar hose, like hose  31 , connected to it. The particular lid outlet selected to be connected with the hose  31  is the outlet which has the cover  32  (see FIG. 1) and is located nearest the top of the mounted fan  17 . 
     The sides of the container  1  and the lid  3  are made of a thermal insulating material, such as a foam plastic material. A conduit  33  is connect to the fan  17  and extends into the insulated interior of the container. A downwardly facing end segment on conduit  33  has an open end  35 . The end  35  is located within a cooling medium  37 , such as ice. As the air from fan  17  is forced into the medium  37 , the airflow exits from the end  35  and is injected into the cooling medium  37 . After the cooling of air takes place, the cooled and moist air exits from any of the opened outlets  7  in the direction of the arrows A. 
     One or more of the six outlets  7  may have their covers  9  opened, as shown, to discharge this cooled air. If a hose or other conduit  31  (partially shown) is connected to an opened outlet, the opposite opened hose end may be moved and directed to any desired location to discharge the cooled air. Also shown in this view is a protective fan screen  39  used to screen out insects and debris from entering along with the air drawn into the interior of the fan  17  and then into the container  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of one of the outlets  7  with the outlet covers  9  in an opened or raised position. Only a portion of the lid  3  is shown in FIG. 3. A conventional hinge spring  41  normally maintains the cover in a closed position to cover the outlet, however, when the cover is pivoted to an opened position, it remains opened due to the action of a conventional cam surface (not shown) located on the hinge base which works against the closing action of the spring. By depressing the cover, the opening force of the cam is overcome, and the spring pulls the cover down. 
     Also shown in FIG. 3, is a cover gasket  43  fixed to the inside surface of the cover  9  (or cover  32 ) that engages a gasket seal  45  that extends around the outlet opening  7 . The remaining structure  47  is the holding body used to support the cover and part of it extends into and around the outlet  7 . Fasteners  49 , for example, can be a bolt and flat head washer which extend through the structure  47  and the lid  3  to secure the structure  49  and the cover  9  to the surface of the lid  3 . 
     FIG. 4 shows how the fan  17  or blower is attached to a back side wall  15  of the container  1 . A circular outlet  51 , in wall  15 , has a fitting collar  53  shaped to fit within the outlet. The exterior flange  19  from the fan  17  has fasteners  21  extending through the flange and into the collar  53  to retain the flange  19  and fan  17  to the wall  15 . External ambient air enters through the screen  39  into the interior of the fan  17  where it is propelled into the tubular extension  33  within the container as shown in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 5 is a view of the mating surfaces between the engaged, or contacting, edges of the lid  3  and the edges of the top opening of the container  1 . The engaged surface edges on both the container and the lid are alternately convex  55  and concave  57  to provide for an air tight seal around the top opening of the container when the lid  3  is placed down (closed) to engage the container edges. 
     FIG. 6 shows an inside interior corner of the container  1  in cross section. The container inside wall  59  meets the inside bottom  61  of the container. A curved corner  63 , which is slightly concave, is located at the interior side where the wall and bottom meet. This corner  63  prevents ice from accumulating at that particular location and makes the cleaning of the container  1  easier. 
     FIGS. 7 and 8 show a dolly or cart that can be used to transport the container  1 . The cart has a back comprising vertical rods  91  and cross rods  89  which are secured together in any conventional manner. A handle  90  with a supporting rod  92  is secured to the back and can be used to maneuver the cart. Attached to the back is a horizontal platform comprising a pair of horizontal rods  83  which will support the container  1 . Attached to the front portion of the horizontal platform is a pair of front legs  89 , and a cross brace  72  secured there between. Each of the legs  89  has a support pad  78  secured thereto. 
     The cart also has a pair of back legs  92 , which are secured adjacent wheels  76 . The wheels  76  are supported by an axle  88  which is secured to the cart in any conventional manner. The back legs each have a brace, comprising supports  81 ,  87 , attached thereto to provide stability to the cart when it is in the upright position as shown in FIG.  7 . 
     Mounted below the horizontal rods  83  is a pivoting battery carrier which will support the battery  25  used to operate the fan  17 . The battery carrier has a first arm  75  attached to each of the horizontal rods  83  in any conventional manner. The arms  75  are L-shaped with a horizontal and vertical section. Attached to the vertical section of the arms  75  is a U-shaped bracket comprising two vertical supports  74  and a bottom support  93 . The vertical supports  74  are attached to the arms  75  so the vertical supports  74  and the bottom support  93  are free swinging with respect to the arms  75 . This will keep the battery level no matter what orientation the cart is in. 
     As shown in FIG. 8, the horizontal bars  83 , upon which the container  1  rests, are hinged at  95  to the bars  91 . Therefore, when the cart is in the upright position, as shown in FIG. 7, the front legs or bars  89  will keep the bars  83 , and the container if it is resting on the bars, level. That is, the top and bottom of the container will be parallel with the ground the cart is resting on. When the cart is tilted into the travel position, shown in FIG. 8, the bars  83 , and the container, if it is resting on the bars, will remain in a level condition, since the bars  83  will pivot about the hinge  95 , until the bars  82  contact the underside of the bars  83 . This will keep the container  1  level at all times and will prevent any water, from melting ice, from spilling. 
     The invention was designed using a modified fully insulted ice chest. Other containers specifically designed as outlined above could also be used. Within the container the cooling medium selected was ice. Clearly, ice cubes, crushed ice, block ice and cold water could also be used for the cooling medium. Any other safe cold medium could conceivably be used. 
     The electric power source  25  selected for running the fan  17  was a 12 volt rechargeable battery. Any other safe 12 volt DC source of power with sufficient capacity could also be used. In operation, 376 cubic feet per minute of air was generated by a squirrel case blower fan. Clearly, this could varied along with the battery capacity as desired and needed. 
     Once the cooled air is discharged from the opened end of hose  31  it may be directed as desired. For example, on a hot day the discharged jet of cool moist air could be used to cool football players on the sidelines. Clearly other outdoor and indoor sports could also employ the same principles to cool the players. This cooling would help prevent heatstroke, restore the player&#39;s efficiency and avoid exhaustion. 
     Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the method of using the same has been described in the foregoing specification with considerable details, it is to be understood that modifications may be made to the invention which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims and modified forms of the present invention done by others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be considered infringements of this invention when those modified forms fall within the claimed scope of this invention.