Abstract:
A body armor cooling system for law enforcement officers or military or security personnel having a hook-shaped nozzle attached to one end of a flexible hose member and a bellows assembly attached to the other end of the flexible hose member. The end of the hook-shaped nozzle is tucked beneath the protective armor that the law enforcement officer is wearing in order to provide a cooling effect. The bellows assembly is connected to the air conditioner vent opening on the dash of the vehicle. The bellows assembly makes an air tight seal with the dash of the vehicle and it can easily be attached and detached. A universal vent attachment system makes the present invention usable in any vehicle.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of the filing of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/949,213, entitled “Body Armor Cooling System Having a Universal Vent Attachment”, filed on Jul. 11, 2007. This application is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/239,580, entitled “Body Armor Cooling System, filed on Sep. 28, 2005, which application claims the benefit of the filing of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/613,642, filed on Sep. 28, 2004. The specifications and claims of all said applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     Technical Field 
     The invention relates to the cooling of an individual and more particularly to a law enforcement officer or military personnel when he is in his vehicle and wearing body armor. When law enforcement officers or military or security person working in warm climates or climates having high humidity, quite often they become hot and sweaty while riding in their vehicles. When a protective armor vest must be worn, the wearer is even more uncomfortable. In these situations, no amount of air conditioning coming out of the vehicle air vents can keep the wearer cool and dry. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a system for distributing air in a vehicle, the system comprising one or more catches sized to attach to a vent in the vehicle, a plate connected to the catches, a cover connected to the plate, and a hose for distributing air from the vent, a first end of the hose connected to the cover. Mating surfaces of the catches and the plate are preferably grooved or textured. The catches are preferably substantially rigid but flexible enough to clip to vent louvers. The plate preferably comprises an opening to transmit air from the vent. The cover preferably comprises sealing material, preferably weatherstripping, to surround and substantially seal the vent. The first hose end is preferably threaded and the cover preferably comprises a threaded connector for mating with the threaded end of the hose. A second end of the hose is optionally inserted between body armor and a vehicle occupant wearing the body armor, or is optionally connected to and delivers air from the vent to a rear area of the vehicle, the vehicle trunk, a vehicle compartment, behind a vehicle partition, a vehicle truck bed, a pet carrier, a kennel, or a pet bed. 
     The present invention is also a method for distributing air in a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of fitting one or more catches to a vehicle vent, attaching the catches to a plate, attaching the plate to the vent by inserting the catches into the vent, attaching a cover to the plate, attaching a hose to the cover, distributing air from the vent through the hose. The step of attaching the plate to the vent preferably comprises attaching the catches to vent louvers. The distributing step preferably comprises passing air through an opening in the plate. The method preferably further comprises the step of substantially sealing the vent, which may optionally be performed while the cover is attached to the plate. The step of attaching a hose to the cover preferably comprises screwing a threaded end of the hose to a threaded connector on the cover. The distributing step preferably comprises distributing air to a location selected from the group consisting of between body armor and a vehicle occupant wearing the body armor, a rear area of a vehicle, a vehicle trunk, a vehicle compartment, behind a vehicle partition, a vehicle truck bed, a pet carrier, a kennel, and a pet bed. 
     One embodiment of the body armor cooling system has three major components. They are the hook-shaped nozzle that is inserted on one end of a flexible hollow hose and the bellows assembly that is installed on the other end of the flexible hollow hose. The principal part of the bellows assembly is a soft plastic bellows member having a hollow interior chamber. A tubular neck portion is in communication with the hollow interior chamber and it also provides structure for attachment to one end of the flexible hollow hose member. The bellows member also has a bottom opening that would be in communication with and surround, preferably substantially sealing, an air conditioner ventilation vent on the dash of the vehicle. The bellows member has a closed loop inwardly extending flange member on its bottom and that would be pressed against the surface of the dash just surrounding the ventilation opening. The V-shaped spring clip is mounted in the interior of the bellows member and it has les members that can be compressed inwardly toward each other in order to insert the cam surface leg portions of the spring clip into the ventilation opening. After they passed through the opening, the cam surface leg members expand outwardly and the shoulder leg portion of the leg members press upwardly against the interior surface of the dash and seals the closed loop inwardly extending flange member of the bellows member against the outer surface of the dash. The structure for supporting the U-shaped spring clip inside the bellows member is a spring clip rt plate having a pair of laterally spaced mounting clips that would engage the cross member portion of the V-shaped spring clip. The spring clip support plate has apertures at its four corners that would receive the snap pins extending downwardly from a backing plate. The four snap pins are inserted through apertures in the top wall of the bellows member and then into the apertures in the spring clip support plate where they would expand and be rigidly secured. The bellows member would be made of a plastic or rubber material that is flexible enough so that the left and right side walls thereof can be squeezed inwardly to compress the leg members of the spring clip together for removal of the bellows member assembly from the dash. 
     The present invention provides a body armor cooling system that can be used by law enforcement officers and military or security personnel to keep them from becoming overheated in their vehicle while wearing protective armor. 
     The present invention is also a method and apparatus for heating or cooling an area of a vehicle that does not have dedicated air vents, such as a pet, animal, or prisoner area behind a partition that blocks air circulation. The present invention may also cool mobile computer systems that are in the trunk of a vehicle, and heat or cool truck camper shells. The present invention may also be attached to a kennel, dog crate, pet carrier, pet bed, or the like in order to provide heating or cooling to an animal within. The animal carrier may be located inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle, for example on a pickup truck bed. 
     An advantage of the universal body armor or vehicle heating or cooling system of the present invention is that it is easily installed in any vehicle, such as a law enforcement or military vehicle. 
     Another advantage of the present invention is that the nozzle is quickly and easily removed from the area of the user&#39;s chest. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating one or more preferred embodiments of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view illustrating a law enforcement officer in a vehicle and being hooked-up to the body armor cooling system; 
         FIG. 2  is an elongated front perspective view illustrating the hook-shaped nozzle of the body armor cooling system inserted beneath the law enforcement officer&#39;s protector armor; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged bottom perspective view of the bellows member; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged top perspective view of the backing plate; 
         FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the bellows member with the backing plate removed; 
         FIG. 6  is a vertical cross section taken along lines  6 - 6  of Fig. 
         FIG. 7  is a rear elevation view of the bellows member assembly; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view taken along lines  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a bottom perspective view of the spring clip support plate; 
         FIG. 10  is a top plan view of the V-shaped spring clip; 
         FIG. 11  shows drawings of an embodiment of the universal attachment; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the universal attachment; 
         FIG. 13  shows various drawings of a base plate used in the universal attachment embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  shows various drawings of a catch used in the universal attachment embodiment; 
         FIG. 15  shows a side view and perspective view of the catch; 
         FIG. 16  shows various drawings of a cover used in the universal attachment embodiment; 
         FIG. 17  is a perspective view of the cover; 
         FIGS. 18-20  are various exploded perspective views of the universal attachment embodiment; and 
         FIG. 21  is a photograph showing the universal attachment installed on a vehicle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Custom Rapid Installation Embodiment 
     One embodiment of the body armor cooling system is generally designated numeral  20 . This embodiment is designed to fit a specific vehicle, and can be rapidly installed and removed from the vent of the intended vehicle. In  FIG. 1  a law enforcement officer or military person  22  is depicted seated in a vehicle  24  having a dash  31 . The major components of the body armor cooling system  20  are hook-shaped nozzle  26 , flexible hollow member  28  and bellows assembly  30 . 
       FIG. 2  is a close-up perspective view of the law enforcement officer or military person  22  showing that the outlet end of hook-shaped nozzle  26  has been inserted beneath the protective armor  32  that the officer is wearing. Protective armor  32  is normally a bullet proof vest. 
     Bellows assembly  30  will now be described by referring to  FIGS. 3-10 . The most prominent part of the assembly is bellows member  40  that normally be made of a soft plastic material. It has a front wall  41 , a rear wall  42 , a left side wall  43 , a right side wall  44  and a top wall  45 . Bellows member  40  has a hollow interior chamber  47  and it has an open bottom end. A tubular neck portion  49  having internal threads  50  extends from rear wall  42 . A closed loop shoulder portion  52  extends outwardly from the bottom ends of the respective side walls of bellows  40 . A closed loop inwardly extending flange member  54  is formed on the bottom end of closed loop shoulder portion  52 . Top wall  45  has four apertures  56  whose purpose will be described later. 
     The U-shaped spring clip  60  is best illustrated in  FIGS. 6-10 . It has a cross member  61  having a longitudinally extending X-axis. A pair of laterally spaced leg members  62  extend downwardly from the opposite ends of cross member  61 . The bottom ends of the respective leg member  62  have a shoulder leg portion  64  extending outwardly away from each other. A cam surface leg  66  extends downwardly and inwardly from the respective shoulder leg portions  64 . Each cam surface leg  66  has an upwardly extending toe portion  68  adjacent its bottom end. 
     Spring clip support plate  70  is illustrated in  FIG. 9 . It has a bottom surface  71 . A pair of mounting clips  73  extend downwardly from bottom surface  71 . Each mounting clip  73  has a pair of laterally spaced fingers  75  with an opening  76  formed there between. Fingers  75  are resilient enough to allow the cross member  61  to be pressed inwardly between them after which the fingers snap back together. A plurality of apertures  77  are located at the corners of spring clip support plate  70 . 
     Backing plate  80  is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . It has a top surface  81  and a bottom surface  82 . A plurality of snap pins  84  are integrally formed with backing plate  80  and they extend downwardly therefrom. Each snap pin then has four leg members  86  with slots  88  between them. Each leg member  86  has a beveled front end surface that allows them to be pressed into the respective apertures  77  and they snap outwardly when fully inserted in the apertures. The cross sections shown in  FIGS. 6 and 8  show the assembled interior structure.  FIG. 6  shows the ventilation opening  90  in dash  31 . When installing bellows member assembly  30  over ventilation opening  90 , the cam surface leg portions  66  of U-shaped spring clip  60  are compressed inwardly until they pass through the opening  90  in the dash. After that they spring backward and form an airtight seal between the closed inwardly extending flange member  54  and the outer surface of dash  31 . If there is a wish to remove the bellows assembly member from the dash, it is merely necessary to press inwardly on the flexible side walls of bellows member  40  that is made of soft plastic material. This will cause the leg member  62  to be compressed inwardly toward each other thereby allowing the cam surface leg portions  66  to be withdrawn from the ventilation opening  90 . 
     Universal Vent Attachment 
     The previously described embodiments of the invention require that a different bellows member assembly  30  be used for each size or type of vehicle vent. This means that dozens of different assemblies need to be manufactured and inventoried in order to conform to the many vent sizes of existing or planned vehicles. 
     As used throughout the specification and claims, the term “vehicle” means any vehicle whatsoever, such as a car, taxicab, police or other law enforcement vehicle, truck, van, military vehicle, tank, airplane, helicopter, boat, and the like. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a universal vent attachment which can fit virtually any vent, such as a heating or air conditioning vent. As shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , the attachment comprises cover  100 , base plate  110  preferably disposed within cover  100 , and a plurality of catches  120 . Cover  100  and base plate  110  are preferably sized to be larger than most or all vehicle vents currently in common use. Any number of catches  120  may be utilized in order to attach the attachment to the vent with the desired tightness. Catches of a variety of sizes may be utilized to ensure proper fit to any vent. The catch width is preferably chosen to be approximately the same width as that of the vent&#39;s louvers, and preferably is sufficiently long to extend beyond the surface of the dashboard or other surface in which the vent is set. 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , base plate  110  preferably comprises connectors  160  for receiving screws that hold cover  100  to the base plate. Base plate  110  also preferably comprises one or more slots  170  for receiving screws to fasten catches  120  to base plate  110 , as described below. Base plate  110  preferably comprises opening  180  for allowing passage of air from the vent to the user. Bottom surface  190  of base plate  110  preferably comprises grooves, or is optionally otherwise textured, for preventing slippage of catches  120 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 , catch  120  preferably comprises hook  200  for attaching to the interior of a vent opening. The top surface  210  of catch  120  is grooved or textured to mate with bottom surface  190  of base plate  110 . In this way, one or more catches  120  may be placed anywhere along the bottom of the base plate, in any orientation, in order to securely attach the base plate to any size vent. The grooved or textured surfaces thus preferably prevent slippage. Catches  120  are preferably aligned so that screw holes  220  are visible through slots  170 . (Therefore, the top of catch  120  is preferably wider than the width of slot  170 .) Once the correct positioning of catches  120  is achieved, screws are extended through slots  170  into screw holes  220  in order to secure base plate  110  to catches  120 . Catches  120  are preferably somewhat rigid, with very little flexure. The base plate is then preferably snapped into the vent, thereby engaging the catches with the vent louvers. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 16 and 17 , cover  100  preferably comprises seal  130 , which may optionally comprise weatherstripping or the like, for surrounding and substantially sealing a vent. Cover  100  also preferably comprises screw holes that receive screws  140  for attaching the cover to the base plate via receivers  160  after base plate  110  has been installed on the vent. Receivers  160  are preferably part of, or otherwise attached to, base plate  110 . Screw  140  may comprise conventional screws requiring a screwdriver or Allen wrench, or may optionally comprise thumbscrew  145  to permit installation and removal of the cover without requiring tools, or any other fastener known in the art. Cover  100  also preferably comprises extension  150 , which preferably comprises internal threads  300  for receiving the threaded portion of a hose for transporting cool, warm, and/or dry air to the user. However, any other means of connecting the hose to the cover may be employed, including but not limited to a simple press fit connection, quick connect, fasteners, etc. 
       FIGS. 18-20  show various exploded views of one universal attachment embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 21  shows the universal attachment installed on a vehicle and ready for use. 
     Although this invention has been described in connection with specific forms and embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that various modifications other than those discussed above may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, equivalent elements may be substituted for those specifically shown and described, certain features may be used independently of other features, and the number and configuration of various vehicle components described above may be altered, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.