Abstract:
A modular air-conditioning system is disclosed and consists of a power supply module, blower module(s), air-conditioning module(s), and an air-distribution module. The power module may be comprised of batteries, whereas the blower module provides ventilation through the air-conditioning system that extracts heat from the flow of fluid and directs the extracted heat to a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is a closed-low pressure system consisting of a liquid filled with a water adsorbing material. The heat is extracted from boiling liquid in a lower chamber of the heat exchanger and transferred to an upper chamber of the heat exchanger by way of heat and mass transfer.

Description:
ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention described herein was made in the performance of official duties by an employee of the Department of the Navy and may be manufactured, used, licensed by or for the Government for any governmental purpose without the payment of any royalty thereon. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1.0 Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an air-conditioning system and, more particularly, to an air-conditioning system that is portable and modular so that it may be capable of being carried and moved about and can be arranged into many configurations so as to meet various thermal, filtration and power requirements. 
     2.0 Description of the Prior Art 
     A person&#39;s ability to accurately and repeatedly perform assigned tasks is dependent, in part, on the temperature of the environment in which the person is placed. If the environment can be maintained at a relatively constant temperature at a relatively low humidity, such as achievable by air-conditioning systems, the ability of a person to successfully perform the tasks increases. 
     Air-conditioning systems that clean air and control the humidity and temperature of the air are well known and find plentiful usage in stationary buildings, as well as moving vehicles. However, once the air-conditioning system is situated at a location in the building or moving vehicle, it commonly remains there for its operational life. 
     In addition to stationary air-conditioning systems, man-mounted, portable air-conditioning systems find usage in domestic and commercial buildings, but once again, once the air-conditioning system is situated at a location it commonly remains at that location for the remainder of its operational life. It is desired to provide an air-conditioning system that is easily capable of being carried and moved about so that it may be easily relocated so as to satisfy various thermal requirements in various buildings. 
     Air-conditioning systems, both stationary and portable types, are commonly removed and replaced with other air-conditioning systems so as to meet various thermal, filtration and power requirements as the need thereof arises within a building. It is desired that an air-conditioning system be constructed with module units so as to provide flexibility to satisfy various thermal, filtration and power requirements. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning system having modular construction so that it may be configured to provide flexibility in satisfying various thermal, filtration and power requirements as the need thereof arises. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning system that is portable and man-mounted so that it is capable of being carried and moved about in order to satisfy various thermal, filtration and power requirements as the need thereof arises. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a modular portable air-conditioning system that inefficient in its operation while at the same time is modular so as to provide add-on capabilities for the air-conditioning systems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to an air-conditioning system that is portable and man-mounted as well as having a modular construction. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, an air-conditioning modular system comprises a heat exchanger, and means for transferring water from a reservoir to a heat adsorbing material. The heat exchanger comprises an upper compartment having entrance and exit ducts and containing a water adsorbing material. The heat exchanger further comprises a lower compartment having entrance and exit ducts and containing water and also housing heat-exchanging fins. The air-conditioning module utilizes tubes for interconnecting the upper and lower compartments of the heat exchanger. The pressures of the upper and lower compartments are maintained so as to reduce the boiling point of water therein to be near room temperature. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention, as well as the invention itself, will become better understood by reference to the following descriptions when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numbers designate identical or corresponding parts throughout and wherein: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates the modular and portable air-conditioning system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates further details of the blower module of the system of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the air-conditioning module of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the air-conditioning module of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 illustrates the support structure for housing the air-conditioning module of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6 schematically illustrates the air-distribution module of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 7 illustrates the overall airflow associated with the modular portable air-conditioning system of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a modular portable cooling system  10  existing of a series of modules and portable components that can be assembled in many configurations to meet various thermal, filtration and power requirements as the need thereof arises. The modular portable system  10  has overall and typical dimensions of 14 inches long, by 4 inches wide, and by 9 inches in height as viewed in FIG.  1 . The modular components of the system  10  comprise a power module  12 , a blower module  14 , and one or more air-conditioning modules shown as  16 A and  16 B, and an air distribution module  18 . The modular portable cooling system  10  preferably further comprises a filter module which may be a canister  20  or a flat plate filter device  22 . 
     The modular portable cooling system  10  further comprises a knuckle arrangement  24  that operatively cooperates with a pin  26 . The system  10  further comprises a plurality of latch mechanisms  28 . The knuckle arrangement  24  and pin  26  serve as an arrangement for interconnecting the modules  12 ,  14 ,  16 A,  16 B and  18  together and the latch mechanism serves as a snap arrangement so that the power module  12 , at least one air-conditioning module  16 , and the air distribution module  18  may also be connected to each other. 
     The power module  12  preferably further comprises an indicator  30 , a variable switch  32  and an On-Off switch  34 . The blower module  14  preferably further comprises one or more inlet grills  36 , whereas the air-conditioning module  16  preferably further comprises an indicator  38 , a control valve  40 , condensation drain valve  42 , and a removable front base  44  having associated screw connectors  44 A. The indicator  38  is provided, in a manner known in art, to indicate the heat exchanger&#39;s (to be further described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4) conditioning efficiency and means that notify the user of the system  10  when the efficiency thereof falls below an acceptable level which, in turn, notifies the user that the heat exchanger needs to be replaced. The air distribution module  18  preferably further comprises a temperature control switch  46  and an exit port  48 . 
     The power module  12  has typical dimensions of 2 inches long, by 4 inches wide, by 9 inches high. The power module  12  further comprises a portable electric source  50  such as, batteries or fuel cells, and a transformer to supply power excitation to the blower module  14 . The transformer (not shown) is conventional and is used, in lieu of the batteries or fuel cells, when external power (e.g., aircraft power) can be exploited. Different operational environments present different external power opportunities. For example, a typical aircraft power operates at 115 VAC at 400 Hz, while ordinary household power operates at 110 VAC at 60 Hz and either may be connected to the transformer. Consequently, various power modules have specific transformers so as to provide for the desired input and output system requirements in a manner known in the art. 
     The On-Off switch  34  is operatively connected to the variable switch  32  so as to control the power (and speed) of the blower module  14 . A meter or indicator  30  is preferably utilized, in a manner known in the art, to indicate the level of the available power of the power module  12 , as well as to notify the user of the system when the batteries of the power source  50  need to be replaced. The electrical connectors (not shown in FIG. 1, but to be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3) are used to establish the interface between the power module  12  and the blower module  14 . The power module  12  transfers power to the blower module  14 . The blower module  14  has typical dimensions of 2 inches long by 3 inches wide by 9 inches high and has one or more grills  36  that serve as inlet ports for ventilation air. The blower module  14  can be further described with reference to FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the blower module  14  and shows the power source  50  of the power module  12  as being interconnected to the blower module by way of a cable routing  52  having connectors  54  and  56 . The connector  54  is connected to a blower or fan  58  having an  0  ring  60 , whereas connector  56  is connected to a blower or fan  62  also having an  0  ring  60 . The blower  58  may be operatively interconnected to a filter canister  64 , whereas blower  62  may be operative interconnected to a filter canister  66 . The filter canisters  64  and  66  are connected to a plate  68  which may be connected to the outer framing (not shown in FIG. 2) of the blower module  14  by way of pins (not shown) insert one into openings  70 . The filter canister  64  serves as an upper canister in that it is arranged above the lower filter canister  66 , whereas the blowers or fans  58  and  62  move air across the heat transfer surfaces of the air-conditioning module  16  which may be further described or referenced to FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the air-conditioning module  16  which has typical dimensions of 4 inches long, by 4 inches wide, by 9 inches high and consists of a heat exchanger  72  with an upper compartment  74  used for heating and a lower compartment  76  used for cooling. The upper compartment  74  has entrance and exit ducts  78  and  80  respectively. Similarly, the lower compartment  76  has entrance and exit ducts  82  and  84  as well as heat exchanging fins  86 . The upper compartment  74  is interconnected to the lower compartment  76  by means of the control valve  40  and a tube  88 . The heat exchanger  72  may be further described with reference to FIG.  4 . 
     The heat exchanger  72  shown in FIG. 4 mounts into the support structure of FIG. 5, to be described hereinafter, which connects via pins to other modules, thus providing for the heating and cooling airstreams also to be described hereinafter. 
     The upper compartment  74  contains a water adsorbing material, such as Zeolite and the cooling compartment  76  contains water. The cooling compartment  76  is heavily finned by means of heat exchanging fins  88  so as to maximize the heat exchange with ventilating air entering the blower module  14  in a manner as to be further described hereinafter with reference to FIG.  7 . The fins  86  also act as conduits to transfer the water vapor produced by the boiling, of the water in the lower compartment  76 , to the heating compartment  74  by way of control valve  40  and tubing  88 . The heating compartment  74  is also heavily finned and consists of a metal casing  96  containing the adsorbing material  98 . The lower cooling compartment  76  has a bottom portion wherein a condensing drain  100  is located. 
     The heat exchanger  72  operates in a normal matter in which heat is added or removed from a ventilatory airstream passing over the heated surface of upper chamber  74 , or the cooled surface of lower compartment  76 . The internal pressure of the heat exchanger  72 , is maintained at a pressure low enough to reduce the boiling point of water in a lower compartment  76  to be near room temperature. The air-conditioning module  16  as the quick-removable base plate  44 , shown in FIG. 1, which allows the heat exchanger  74  to be extracted and inserted into support structure  102  which may be further described with reference to FIG.  5 . 
     The support structure  102  is preferably made from non-heat conductive material, such as plastic, and serves to provide the passageways to allow airflow between the heating and cooling compartments  74  and  76  respectively. Support structure  102  has a plurality of openings  104  which allows for the insertion of the screws  44 A, shown in FIG. 1, and openings  106  and  110  which allow for the insertion of the control valve  40  and the indicator  38 , respectively, also shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The support structure  102  has an opening on its face  110  which allows for the insertion of a quick-removable base plate  44 , shown in FIG.  1 . The support structure  102  further comprises windows plates  112  and  114  that are respectively in line with entrance ducts  78  and  82  of the heating and cooling compartment  74  and  76  respectively. In addition, the support structure  102  has an opening  108  that allows for the isolation of the warm and cool airstreams as well as the tubing  88  both shown in FIG.  3 . The support structure  102  provides the passageways for fluid communication between the one or more air-conditioning modules  16 A and  16 B and blower module  14 , while the air-conditioning module  16  provides cooling and heating air to the air distributing module  18  which may be further described with reference to FIG.  6 . 
     The air-distribution module  18  has typical dimensions of 2 inches long by 4 inches wide by 9 inches high. It has an interior lodging a moveable manifold  118  which divides the interior into an upper passageway  120  and a lower passageway  122 , each having an entrance and an exit section, with the entrance section of the upper passageway  120  being arranged so as to be in line with the exit duct of the upper compartment  74  of the air-conditioning module  16  and with the entrance section of the lower passageway  122  being arranged so as to being in line with the exit duct of the lower compartment  76  of the air-conditioning module  16 . The manifold  118  is operatively connected to the control valve  46  by way of linkage  46 A schematically shown in FIG.  6 . The manifold  118 , in response to the control valve  46  may be raised to an upper position  118 A (shown in phantom) or a lower position  118 B (also shown in phantom). In operation, there are two airstreams entering the air distribution module  18 , one being a heated air stream from the heating compartment  74  of the air-conditioning module  12  and the other being a cooled air stream from the cooling compartment  76  of the air-conditioning module  12 . The control knob  46  moving the manifold  118  controls the mixing of the entering air streams so that the temperature of the discharge air can be regulated before passing through either a fixed filter  22  having a plate-like shape or the canister filter  20 . Waste conversion air is removed from the system by way of an exit port  48 . The air distribution module  18  further comprises a purging system, not shown, but known in the art, which provides the ability for the filter modules  20  or  22  to be changed during the operation of the system  10 , while still maintaining a clean environment for the system  10 . 
     The filter  22  and/or  20  removes noxious materials from the system  10  when the system  10  is operating in a contaminated atmosphere. The filter module  20  or  22  accommodates various filter media. For example, the filter canister  20  may comprise a NATO C2 CB filtration material. The overall flow of the module portable air-conditioning system  10  may be described with reference to FIG.  7 . 
     As seen in FIG. 7, an upper inlet air stream  124  and a lower inlet air stream  126  are drawn into the system  10  by the blower module  14  by way of one or more grills  36  (upper grill  36  only shown). The air stream  124  exits the blower module  14  at canister  64  (see FIG. 2) and in to the opening  112  (see FIG. 5) of the support structure  102  as well as the entrance  78  (see FIG. 3) of the air-conditioning module  16 A and, then, passes through the first air-conditioning module  16 A by way of exit duct  80  (see FIG. 3) of the air-conditioning module  16  which is also aligned to the opening  112  of the support structure  102  for air conditioning module  16 B and entrance duct  78  of the second air-conditioning module  16 B. 
     Similarly, the air stream  126  exits the blower module  14  at canister  66  (see FIG. 2) and into opening  114  (see FIG. 5) of the support structure  102  as well as the entrance  82  of the lower compartment  76  of the air-conditioning module  16 A and, then, passes through the lower compartment  76  and onto the exit duct  84  of the lower compartment  76 . The air stream  126  then passes through the opening  114  of the support structure  102  for air-conditioning module  16 B as well as the entrance port of the lower compartment  76  of the second air-conditioning module  16 B. The upper end lower air streams  124  and  126  respectively exit the upper compartment  74  and the lower compartment  76  of the air-conditioning module  16 B and respectively enter into the openings of  120  and  122  (see FIG. 6) of the air-distribution module  18 . 
     The air streams  124  and  126  are mixed by the operation of the air-distribution module  18 ; in particular the manifold  118  and the control valve  46 , shown by air stream  128 . The waste air leaves the system  10  by way of the exit port  48  and is shown as air stream  138 , whereas the conditioned air  132  leaves the forward face of the air-distribution module  18  in a straight through manner as shown in FIG. 7, with some of conditioned air  132  passing first through the canisters  20  and leaving the system  10  as the conditioned discharged air shown by directional arrows  134 . 
     It should now be appreciated that the practice of the present invention provides for a air-conditioning system that consists of a power module  12 , blower module  14 , at least one air-conditioning module  16 , and an air-distribution module  18 , as well as having a preferred filter device  20  or  22 . Because of the module construction, the different modules of the system  10  may be arranged in any fashion to satisfy various thermal, filtration, and power requirements. 
     It is understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments herein illustrated and described but may be otherwise without departing in a sphere in scope of the invention.