Vehicle air conditioner ground wheel driven

An air conditioner system for bicycles and other vehicles, the system using a wheel of the vehicle as a source of power, air flow through an ice chamber being useable in the system as an optional further coolant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Air conditioning has been available on the market for almost any kind of 
vehicle, except bicycles. 
Fan systems have been proposed for bicycles, but for various reasons, have 
not been popular, often using dangerously exposed blades and gears. 
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an air 
conditioning system for bicycles in which the moving parts are all 
protected and housed and in which the flow of air is directed in a very 
concentrated manner, making use of the factor that the face of a cyclist 
is always centered directly above the plane of the wheels and with the 
maximum effect achieved by causing the cooling air to be directable at the 
cyclist's face, although the dispersion of the flow will cool other areas 
of the shoulders and chest to a substantial degree, also. 
The importance of air conditioning a bicycle is not always readily 
understood because, while cycling, there is a breeze from the motion of 
the bicycle. However, cycling is often done under the hot sun and on 
sweltering days and always without the shade of a roof. Cyclists can 
become drowsy in the hot sun and the great danger of serious accidents 
from the drowsiness is very important. 
The danger is particularly important when one considers that a cyclist is 
not protected, as is the passenger of an automobile. 
For these reasons, a practical and effective bicycle air conditioner has 
been much needed. 
A particular objective is to provide an effective way to hold an air 
conditioner system wheel firmly against the forward wheel of the bicycle 
to be driven thereby, the disconnection of the drive to the system being 
easily and quickly accomplished. 
Heretofore the only fans proposed for use in bicycles have been of the 
radial-bladed type operating in the open air. An objective hereof is to 
provide an air blowing accomplished by blowers on a cylindrical periphery. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 418,933, issued to C. W. Sommerville on Jan. 7, 1890, and 
titled Fan Attachment for Velocipedes or Other Vehicles, a single fan of 
the elongated radial-bladed type was used. A fan was disposed at a great 
height above the front wheel of the bicycle so as to fan a cyclist who is 
riding in a sitting-up position. A disadvantage is that the cyclist can 
pedal much more powerfully by bending forward into a position in which the 
flow of the air of the fan in this patent would pass over the cyclist's 
head and not cooling the cyclist. No adjustment is possible for the fan 
position because otherwise the belt would come out of position and would 
be slack. 
In the U.S. Pat. No. 645,482 issued to J. A. Mills on Mar. 13, 1900 and 
titled Fan Attachment for Bicycles, a similar arrangement to the 
Sommerville patent was used with similar disadvantages. Both Mills and 
Sommerville patents had exposed belting which was in danger of catching 
wind-blown scarves or the like. 
The U.S. Pat. No. 803,635 was issued to D. Stahlhut and titled Fan 
Attachment for Bicycles. In this patent the exposed fan of the elongated 
radial-blade type was down near the handle-bar and was exposed in a 
position where it would be in danger of being struck by the face of the 
cyclist in the event that the cycle hit an unseen obstruction and abruptly 
stopped. 
In all of the above-mentioned patents, the exposed fan presented the danger 
of being struck by the operator's face. 
U.S. Pat. No. 681,565 issued to O. B. McCune and C. Mull on Aug. 27, 1901 
and titled Bicycle Fan was the first provision of a housed blower of a 
cylindrical periphery type. The gearing to drive the blower at a high 
speed was exposed and in danger of catching scarves and other wind-blown 
clothing. In this patent the drive was from the central sprocket of the 
bicycle involving long belting in a particularly dangerous position for 
catching and entangling an overcoat, or a skirt, or a pant's cuff. The 
blower in this patent had an outlet facing in only one linear direction 
and unadjustable to the positions of riders of different body length and 
of different preferred riding positions, such as bent-over or sitting-up. 
The single large blower of U.S. Pat. No. 681,565 was necessarily bulky and 
disposed very close to the face of a cyclist who is bending over. Although 
a cyclist in this position can see most of the roadway that is of a 
substantial distance in front of the cycle, yet the position of the blower 
housing interferes to a degree with forward vision for a cyclist in the 
bent-over racing position because it is so close to his line of vision, if 
sometimes not in his line of vision. 
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide not one blower 
large and bulky and in a high position spaced above the front wheel of the 
bicycle, but two smaller blowers having a combined air-blowing capability 
of the single large blower of proportionately larger size. In this way the 
two smaller blowers can have their uppermost ends farther downward to 
accommodate an air-flow directing housing portion thereabove and directing 
air-flow upwardly and rearwardly. 
A further objective is to provide for the two smaller blowers to be 
disposed one on each side of the front wheel of the cycle so that the top 
of the housing containing the blowers can be at as low a level as possible 
so as to distract the least from the forward vision lines of the sight of 
a cyclist riding bent over in the racing position. 
Yet another objective is to provide for the rearward end of the housing 
which channels the flow from the blowers to be provided with an 
air-directing adjustable control so as to direct the air higher for those 
who wish to ride in a higher position and a lower position for those who 
wish to cycle in the bent-over postion, such adjustment being quickly 
accomplished and changeable for the rider who wishes to alter his position 
from sitting more straight up to the bent-over racing or power cycling 
position in which the cyclist's body is stream-lined for less 
wind-resistance. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,652 was issued to Lawrence C. Volk on Dec. 11, 1979, 
and titled Refrigeration System. This Volk patent shows the use of 
ice-cooling to cool food compartments of a catering truck. However, it has 
not caused anyone to conceive of the use of ice-cooling in the driver's 
area of any vehicle, nor is there ice-cooling in the Volk patent in the 
driver's compartment, nor has ice-cooling been proposed in bicycles. 
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,590 to F. M. Gleockler issued July 14, 1964, and 
titled Air Conitioner for a Face Mask, shows cooling with a mask, but a 
cyclist or other vehicle driver wearing such as mask would be dangerously 
handicapped in his vision and such masks have not led anyone to conceive 
of ice-cooling of a cyclist. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An air conditioner for mounting above a ground wheel of a vehicle such as a 
bicycle and having blowers driven by a system wheel, the system wheel 
being disposed for engagement with a ground wheel, the blowers being 
received in a housing whereby their air is forced rearwardly, the housing 
having an upper portion removable from a lower portion, means for securing 
the two housing portions together releasably, the holding system 
comprising a pair of arms extending upwwardly from the axle of the forward 
wheel of the bicycle, a top-holding means section interconnecting the 
arms, a pressing means interconnecting the upper side of said housing and 
said connecting means and threadedly mounted on said connecting means and 
rotatably connected to said upper side of said housing in a manner such 
that when said pressing means is raised with respect to said connecting 
means then said housing will be lifted for raising said system wheel out 
of engagement with said bicycle wheel and whereby when said pressing means 
is lowered with respect to said connecting means said housing will be 
pressed downwardly for pressing said system wheel drivably against said 
bicycle wheel. 
There being a chamber between said blowing means and an outlet at the 
rearward end of said housing, said chamber having an ice-insertion opening 
through said housing and also having an outflow port for water melted from 
ice said port being at one side of said housing so as not to drip on the 
bicycle wheel, and a clamp bracket assembly attachable to the handle-bar 
of said bicycle and attached to and supporting the rearward end of said 
housing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an air conditioner and vehicle combination 
generally indicated at 10 in which the vehicle is specifically a bicycle 
20 having a frame 24. 
The air conditioner hereof is generally indicated at 40 in FIG. 1 and has a 
housing 42 for receiving a pair of blowers 50, as best seen in FIG. 3. 
The blowers 50 are disposed one on each side of the forward wheel 58 of the 
bicycle, the latter also being called a ground wheel of the vehicle, since 
the bicycle is broadly a vehicle. 
As best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the blowers are each of a type having 
blades, the outer edges of which are disposed on a substantially 
cylindrical configuration. 
The blowers 50 are both mounted on a single horizontal axle 60, which 
latter has a system wheel 66 attached to it midway between the blowers 50 
and in engagement with the front wheel 58 of the bicycle. 
The housing 42 has a lower section 82 which receives thereover an upper 
housing section 84. 
The lower section 82 has a large upwardly extending recess 94 in its 
underside 82 and which receives the system wheel 66 and also a pair of 
bearings 98, which latter carry the axle 60 and which are fixed to the 
outer side of the lower section 82 of the housing to the right and to the 
left respectively of the system wheel 66. 
As best seen in FIG. 2, air is admitted into the interior of the housing 42 
at the right and left ends of the housing 42 and specifically through the 
lower section 82 of the housing through air intake ports 100 covered with 
screen 102. Although there is an air intake port on the left side of the 
housing for the left blower and one on the right side of the housing for 
the right blower, yet for convenience of illustration, since they are 
identical, only a single inlet port for air is shown, and that one is seen 
in FIG. 2. 
The air coming in the ports 100 will be thrown rearwardly from the tops of 
the blowers in a direction of an arrow 110 in FIG. 2 toward an outlet port 
120, which latter has an adjustable louver system on it which can be 
called a wind deflection system 124 having louvers or vanes 126, the angle 
of which is controlled by a knob 130 by the driver of the bicycle so as to 
direct the air from the outlet port 120 upwardly or downwardly as desired. 
As best seen in FIG. 2, air is prevented from being thrown in undesirable 
directions by a wall 138, which latter extends from right to left of the 
housing 42 and extends from the bottom of the housing upwardly beyond the 
axis 140 of the axle 60 a substantial distance. 
The wall 138 also has the advantage, when ice is used, as in FIG. 2, of 
retaining the ice 160 rearwardly thereof. The ice melts and water 
therefrom passes out an outlet port 180 at a side of the housing 42 out 
the bottom of the area immediately rearwardly of the wall 138. 
The ice cubes 160' are inserted into the housing 42 through a threaded 
opening 194 in the upper side of the upper housing section 84 toward the 
rearward end thereof, the opening 194 threadedly receiving a cap 196, all 
as best seen in FIG. 2. 
The housing must be pressed downwardly in order to hold the system wheel 66 
against the bicycle wheel 58, and for that purpose, a system wheel forcing 
assembly is provided and is generally indicated at 150 and comprises a 
pair of arms disposed on the right and left sides of the wheel 58 and 
suitably connected to the axle 164 of the wheel 58 in a manner such that 
the arms 160 are firmly held from upward movement with respect to the axle 
164. 
The upper ends of the arms 160 can be seen in FIG. 5 to incline from 
vertical lower portions 168 through outwardly inclining portions 170 to 
vertical side portions 172 which can be seen in FIG. 3 to extend upwardly 
alongside of the housing 42, being joined together by a horizontal upper 
transverse portion 200. 
The portion 200 is reinforced at 202 at its center and a threaded opening 
204 receives a threaded shaft 206 attached at its upper end to a knob 220. 
The lower end of the shaft 206 is attached to a flat circular disc 224 
received in a receiver 230, which latter permits the disc 224 to rotate 
and the shaft 206 to rotate, but retains the disc from motion toward and 
away from the housing, the receiver 230 being fixed to a substantially 
C-shaped brace 240 having a horizontal section 242, which latter is fixed 
to the upper housing portion 84 by rivets 250. The brace 240 has 
downwardly extending legs 246 extending downwardly on the right and left 
sides of the housing portion 84 and serving to support studs 260 around 
which latter latches 270 can be hooked, there being a right and a left 
latch, each one being rotatably secured by a rivet 270' at its lower end 
to the lower housing section 82 so that when the latches 270 have their 
upper ends 276 received around the studs 260, then the lower housing 
portion 82 and the upper housing portion 84 are thereby securely held 
together. 
Each latch 270 has a notch in its rearward side for receiving a shank of 
the respective stud 260 and by simply swinging the latches 270 forward at 
their upper ends, the releasing of the upper housing portion 84 from the 
lower housing portion 82 can be achieved. 
In FIG. 7, a latch 270 is shown with its notch 284 for reception on the 
stud 260. 
Referring to FIG. 4, the rearward end of the housing is supported by a 
clamp-bracket assembly 300 having a pair of clamp 302 which can be 
attached one to the left side of the handle-bar 310 of the bicycle and one 
to the right side thereof, a connector 320 being attached to the clamps 
302 and extending forwardly to the underside of the housing and to which 
latter it is attached at the forward end of the housing by suitable rivets 
322.