Abstract:
A portable cooling device includes an elongated chamber supported on a surface at an angle. The preferably cylindrical chamber holds a cylindrical bottle where an annular air space surrounds the bottle. The high efficiency design provides for adjusting the air direction with a one-piece pivotable outlet vent. A clamshell chamber made from two half-tubes allows easy plastic molding and access to the chamber interior for cleaning and for removal of the condensate tray. The integrated monolithic shape of the device fully encloses the working parts for a clean sanitary look.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a device which uses a fan to force air over a cold object to cool the air for personal comfort. Various related devices have been developed. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,329, issued to Travis, shows in one embodiment a device using multiple chambers containing a frozen gel. In a second embodiment an elongated hollow cylinder contains a cold cylinder. Air can pass through an annular space around the cold object under the force of a fan. The cold object is a freezable jar containing a material such as water. Thin corrugated aluminum baffles are proposed to enhance heat transfer. The fan assembly is under the cylinder. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,938, issued to Liu, shows a portable air conditioning unit including multiple separate frozen or cold cooling elements. The device housing rotates on a stand to adjust the air direction. A condensate pan rests on the base of the stand, connected to the unit by a flexible tube. A heavy bearing and lock bolt hold the housing in an angular position. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,281, issued to Oliphant et al., shows a motorized cap that fits atop a cup of cold liquid such as an iced drink. The cap is a cylindrical housing that contains batteries and a fan. The fan blows air across the top of the cool liquid and out the top of the cap. The user may drink the liquid through a spout in the same cap. The moving air comes in direct contact with the liquid. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,819, issued to Wong, shows a housing containing batteries, a fan, an air inlet, an air outlet, an ice cube chamber, and an ice melt accumulation area. The air enters the inlet, passes through the ice cubes, and exits the outlet. Outlet slats are individually rotatable. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,301, issued to Holcomb, shows a box shaped device including an inner box containing frozen material such as ice, an outer box, and a space between the boxes below and beside the inner box. Air passes below, and then beside the inner box in a duct formed by the two boxes. Air does not directly contact the ice. Drain valves are provided for melted ice and condensate. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,590, issued to Gleockler, shows a gas mask like device, where the user draws cool air into the mask through canisters containing ice cubes. 
     The prior art do not disclose an effective solution for a tabletop personal air cooler. No simple, low cost methods to adjust the airflow direction are shown. 
     Many prior devices pass air over ice or liquid. These methods will add moisture to the air, which is not desirable for air-cooling. Other devices use coolant within a container. While this will prevent additional moisture in the air stream, condensate will form on the outer surface of the container. This condensate must be stored and/or removed. U.S. Pat. No. 5737938 shows a way to store condensate in a pan outside of the device. The pan is necessarily separate from the main element of the device because the device must rotate to adjust the angle of the outlet air. A self-contained pan would spill its contents if it were within a rotating housing. Further the airflow must not be aimed horizontally or lower since the condensate could not flow out of the housing. 
     The prior art further do not disclose a unit wherein the interior of the unit can be easily accessed to change cooling elements and to clean the interior. The ability to clean mildew and the like is important when moisture is present within any device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention includes a housing with an angled, elongated preferably cylindrical air chamber with a fan at the bottom rear, a pivotable outlet grill at the top, and a bottle holding a cold substance such as ice within the cylinder. Moving air is cooled as it passes lengthwise in a space between the bottle exterior and the chamber interior. The ice is separated from the air by the bottle so the air stays relatively dry. 
     The device of the invention preferably uses bottles containing a freezable liquid, typically water. Two types of bottles may be used. A first specialized bottle can have a mouth that is wide enough to fit common ice cubes. The specialized bottle is preferably the same size as a standard plastic water beverage bottle, except for an enlarged neck and cap area. Either style can work well for the device. In this manner several standard bottles can be frozen in a freezer so that one is always ready for use. But if a freezer is not available to freeze entire bottles, ice may be added to the special bottle. The special bottle allows the cooling device to be used wherever ice is available. However other types of cold objects may be used. For example an electric powered thermoelectric element using the Peltier effect may be used instead of frozen objects. 
     The present invention is optimized for efficient airflow while still providing an easy way to change the direction of the discharge air. Suited for tabletop use, the device allows the airflow to follow a relatively unbroken path toward the user. The bottle is coaxial within the cylindrical housing, forming an elongated tubular space surrounding the exterior of the bottle, through which the air can flow. The housing provides a generally fixed direction for the airflow, while adjustments to the airflow direction can be made with a rotatable vent grill at the outlet end. The vent grill is supported and held to a position with lightweight components. 
     The cooling device is optimized to facilitate flow and storage of condensate. Since the air chamber is fixed at an angle the condensate will flow quickly along the bottom of the chamber and into a collection tray. The tray can be entirely enclosed within the housing for a sanitary, integrated and pleasing appearance. 
     The cooling device includes a base portion and a top portion, with the base being under the bottle and the top being above the bottle. To provide for opening the chamber, the top is separable from the base. In a preferred embodiment the chamber opens in a clamshell manner whereby the top is pivotally attached to the base. Alternately it may be entirely removable from the base. In either case the interior of the chamber is fully exposed and accessible when the chamber is open. The cooling bottle can easily be removed and exchanged for a fresh one. With the bottle removed the chamber interior can be easily cleaned since the surfaces are well exposed. Since the bottle is a simple cylindrical or similar shape it is also easy to clean. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is side elevation of a cooling device, partly in section, showing internal components. 
     FIG. 2 is the cooling device of FIG. 1, showing a pivotable vent at the top end 
     FIG. 3 is a specialized wide mouth bottle without a cap attached. 
     FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the cooling device of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a rear elevation of the cooling device of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6 is the cooling device of FIG. 1, with the cover opened to expose the interior. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In FIG. 1 the elements of the invention are shown. A housing includes a base  10  and a cover  20 . Base  10  includes a supporting structure to hold the working portion of the device at a fixed angle. A tubular underside  16  is part of base  10  and surrounds the bottom of bottle  40 , forming the lower part or half-tube of chamber  100 . FIG. 1 shows the full length of underside  16 . Cover  20  defines the upper part or half-tube of chamber  100 . FIG. 6 shows base  10  and cover  20  separated. Base  10  may include small screws, jacks, or spacers, not shown, to slightly change the position or angle of the cooling device. However according to the invention the angle of chamber  100  is largely fixed relative to a supporting surface such as a tabletop. 
     The direction of the air stream is primarily adjusted by steering or moving vent  50  within air outlet  15 . In the illustrated embodiment rotating vent  50  about pivots  54  changes the position of vent  50 . The vent may be movable so that the air stream is aimed below horizontal or nearly straight up. Especially with the larger size bottle cap  42 , adequate clearance between the rear of vent  50  and cap  42  behind it must be provided to allow pivoting of vent  50 . At the extreme positions of vent  50  some loss in airflow efficiency may be expected. Pivots  54  are a lightweight support structure defining a rotation axis across a width of vent  50 , FIG.  4 . Pivots  54  are supported in cavities or openings of the housing. Or, in reverse, a pivot member of the housing may engage an opening or cavity in vent  50 . Alternately the slats comprising vent  50  may individually rotate about relatively fixed positions within outlet  15 . Such an alternate structure would require movable links to multiple element slats, or each multiple slat to be moved individually as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,819. Therefore the single element vent  50  as shown will be a simpler structure. Since chamber  100  is angled near 45° the air stream will usually not require a large change in direction to satisfy a user employing the device on a tabletop. 
     Vent  50  engages one or more stops  58  of the vent with one or more stops  18  of base  10  to limit the motion of vent  50 . Preferably both stop directions are part of the function of base  10 . If a stop functions as part of cover  20  it would not work when cover  20  is opened. Vent  50  could accidentally be moved out of position when cover  20  is opened. Similarly a method to hold vent  50  to base  10  independently from cover  20  should be provided. For example pivot  54  may be entirely surrounded by material of base  10  rather than only by bottom semicircular recess of base  10  as shown in FIG.  1 . In manufacture, the walls of base  10  at outlet  15  could be spread apart to securely retain vent  50  to base  10  if base  10  fully surrounds pivots  54 . Vent  50  should include a friction or detent engagement with the housing to hold a position. Since vent  50  is lightweight, a small amount of friction will serve to hold a position. The friction may be between the engagement of pivots  54  and the respective cavities in the housing, wherein a resilient interference fit creates the desired friction. 
     Chamber  100  forms a relatively thin annular shape around bottle  40  defined by the spacing between bottle  40  and the interior of chamber  100 . The airflow induced by fan  70  will be fast in this area since bottle  40  creates a constriction in chamber  100 . To maintain the speed of air exiting the device, outlet  15  is reduced in area to form a constricted nozzle. Outlet  15  does not substantially change the air flow direction. The upper front end of chamber  100  approximately follows the shape of the upper end of bottle  40 , with allowance to fit both small neck and large neck bottles. This is seen in the Figures. Bezel or cone  72  is fitted between fan  70  and the bottom of bottle  40 . Further bottle  40  preferably has a rounded bottom end. The rounded bottle combined with cone  72  smoothes airflow around bottle. Cone  72  expands toward bottle  40  and is very near to bottle  40 , possible supporting the bottle. Shroud  78 , FIGS. 1 and 4, preferably surrounds fan  70  to increase the efficiency of fan  70 . Opening  79  in shroud  78  allows for condensate water to flow under the fan and into tray  80 . If the fan is large enough in diameter the interior of chamber  100  may serve as the shroud. The fan is preferably at the inlet end of the device behind bottle  40 , although it can function as well at the outlet side in front of bottle  40 , for example just behind vent  50 . 
     In FIG. 1, specialized bottle  40  is shown with cap  42  fitted. In the preferred embodiment the specialized bottle has an opening approximately one half the diameter of the main body of the bottle, while the bottle is about ¾ to 1.5 liter in size. Then ice cubes can be quickly added to the bottle. 
     Other standard bottles with smaller caps and openings may also fit within chamber  100 , but they must be frozen as a unit since ice cubes cannot easily be added. In this case a few such bottles can keep the cooling device operating continuously. For example if one bottle lasts 2 hours, and requires 6 hours to freeze, then four bottles will provide continuous operation. A solidly frozen bottle will last longer than an ice cube filled one since the density of ice is greater when solid. But an ability to use ice cubes is desirable if a freezer or drink bottles are not available while ice cubes are. Electrically powered devices may also serve as a cold object within chamber  100 . 
     Tray  80  fits in a substantially fixed position below underside  16 , immediately below lowest end  14  of underside  16 . Tray  80  may easily be removed from the cooling device when cover  20  is opened as in FIG.  6 . However when cover  20  is closed tray  80  is largely hidden from view, and securely held in position. A user may choose to keep tray  80  in place and tilt the entire device to empty tray  80 . Underside lower end  14  is always in the same position above tray  80 , independent of how the air stream is aimed. 
     In FIG. 6 it is clear that bottle  40  is very accessible so that a fresh bottle can be installed. Fresh ice can be added to the bottle if the bottleneck or opening is large enough. When bottle  40  is removed the interior of chamber  100  is widely exposed for easy cleaning, both the cover and underside portions. Preferably tray  80  is designed to hold enough water to last at least as long as one bottle so that tray  80  may be emptied at the same time as the bottle  40  is changed. 
     In the illustrated embodiment cover  20  is separable from base  10  by rotating about hinge or pivot  24 . Alternately cover  20  may pivot or hinge about other locations. The hinge may be along an edge such as between edges  13  and  23 . Or the hinge may be at the front of the device such as near vent  50 . In this case pivot  24  and  54  could be the same location. Or cover  20  may be simply removable from base  10 , where it is held in position by friction, snaps or other methods. In the preferred embodiment cover  20  hinges near the rear of base  10  as shown so that cover  20  does not interfere when open while it is easy to reclose. Inlet grill  25  is preferably molded as part of cover  20 . Grill  25  guards fan  70  and provides a structural function to tie pivot  24  to the body of cover  20 . This is best seen in FIG.  6 . Grill  25  is moved away from fan  70  when cover  20  is open to ease cleaning of the fan and as discussed, to ease removal of tray  80 . The top rear corner of cover  20  may contact a support surface such as a tabletop to hold cover  20  in a partially vertical position when fully opened. This corner of cover  20  is the lower right corner in FIG.  6 . No internal stops within the device are required. Cover  20  remains easy to grab and reclose. Cover  20  could be further opened if the device is lifted off the surface if no internal stops are used. 
     Latch  27  is fitted near the front of the housing to latch cover  20  to base  10 . Latches  27  may be a symmetrically positioned pair as in FIG. 4 and 5. Further latches  27  may be pushbuttons and be permanently attached to cover  20  while releasably engaging base  10 . Then with one hand a user can easily squeeze the two buttons  27  together and pull cover  20  open, where buttons  27  are resiliently movable relative to base  10 . 
     Motor  74  powers fan  70 . Motor  74  may extend into the enclosure formed by cone  72 . Preferably motor  74  is provided an at least partial enclosure to protect it from direct exposure to the moisture on the surface of bottle  40 . Motor  40  is preferably supplied with a low voltage power source. The power source may include a built-in battery, or an AC adapter. A 12-volt or other vehicle power supply may be used. A household voltage power source may be used if the system is properly insulated. The support structure of base  10  provides adequate interior space to fit “D” cell or other batteries, not shown. In FIG. 4 on/off switch  90  is shown. Switch  90  is conveniently accessible, facing a user, under the cantilevered portion of chamber  100 . Base  10  may extend further forward under chamber  100  if desired. Base  10  and half-tube underside  16  are preferably molded as one piece. 
     When cover  20  is closed against base  10 , respective edges  23  and  13  are substantially touching each other to form a reasonable seal for chamber  100 . A tongue and groove engagement at edges  13  and  23  may be used. However since the air pressure is low in chamber  100  for a personal cooler device, a very tight seal is not needed to guide the airflow. 
     Since chamber  100  is substantially cylindrical in a preferred embodiment a consistent spacing is maintained around a common cylindrical bottle. Other cross sectional shapes may be used for chamber  100 , such as triangular, square, star, or others. But the closer to circular the sectional shape of chamber  100  is the better it well fit standard bottles. Spacer ribs  12  hold bottle  40  a predetermined distance away from underside  16  to allow airflow under bottle  40 . Spacer ribs  12  extend from the interior of underside  16  and are elongated longitudinally within chamber  100  to provide a substantial rib structure while minimally affecting airflow. Ribs are not required on top of bottle  40  since the weight of bottle  40  will hold it in place. However if the device is expected to be moved around often, top ribs attached to cover  20  may provide a benefit to hold bottle  40  in position. 
     According to one feature of the invention the joint line defined by edges  13  and  23  extends nearly centrally along the length of chamber  100 . This clamshell design allows two half-tubes to be fitted together to form cylindrical chamber  100 . These two half-tubes or other partially enclosing shape can easily be molded with ordinary plastic forming methods. No undercuts or mold slides are needed to form the basic shape of chamber  100 . Further the rounded shape provides a neat clean appearance. Any separable top and bottom elements that both include a recess to partially surround a bottle will provide a benefit according to the invention. The chamber need not be specifically cylindrical. 
     According to the invention a simple angled chamber provides smooth, relatively laminar airflow through an annular chamber space. This provides efficiencies like a jet engine where a fan moves air around a core. The efficient low speed air flow of the cooling device allows quiet operation. A single monolithic housing contains all the elements of the cooling device. A small vent is steerable to change the outlet air direction. This is preferable to moving the entire cooling chamber to change air direction since moving the entire chamber requires more effort and support structure and importantly, is disruptive to other nearby objects on a table top. The vent is able to be small and simple because it is at the narrow discharge end of an elongated tubular chamber. Because it is small it is practical to use a single pivot location, pivot  54 , to steer the vent. A larger vent would be clumsy to adjust this way. The large vent that is typical of some other designs must use the multilinked slats discussed earlier to change air direction. 
     From the foregoing detailed description, it will be evident that there are a number of changes, adaptations and modifications of the present invention which come within the province of those skilled in the art. However, it is intended that all such variations not departing from the spirit of the invention be considered as within the scope thereof as limited solely by the claims following.