Abstract:
An improved misting bottle and fan apparatus capable of both convective cooling and evaporative cooling independent of either other. The operator can select to have the convective cooling effects of air being blown over the operator. The operator can select to have the evaporative cooling effects of pressurized fluid forced through a small orifice showered down at the operator. In the alternative, the operator is able to select both style of cooling using this device. The positioning and shape of the atomizing device in relation to the forced air is unique as well as the shaping of the air flow optimizes the cooling effects. Location of the atomizing device is proscribed as to prevent the occurrence of drips and runs commonly associated with misting fans.

Description:
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention is generally related to the field of personal misting devices whereby an individual will use this device to cool themselves or others in close proximity. The device works by a combination of convective and evaporative cooling principles. Though this device is hand-held, the principles disclosed and herein used can serve as a basis for larger applications. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    There are a multitude of different personal cooling devices. They generally fall into three classifications; 1) those devices that supply a mist of fluid, 2) those devices with only a fan and 3) those that have misting capabilities with some form of fan device. 
         [0003]    In respect to the development of those devices which supply a mist of fluid, it can easily be seen in the prior art disclosed that the concept is not unique to this invention. The vessel that is used to contain the fluid during pressurization can be in many shapes, from square (U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,056) to cylindrical (U.S. Pat No. 5,775,590) to product shaped (U.S. Des Pat. D439966)and the pressurization method can either come from a pump, manually driven (U.S. Pat. No. 6,371 ,388) or motor driven (U.S. Pat. No. 8,016,270), that pressurizes the fluid or that inflates a bladder (U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,056), that when pressurized or inflated thereby increases the volume of air in the vessel, thereby creating pressure according to Boyle&#39;s Law. Due to this pressure, when the fluid is released to the atmosphere, through a restrictive throttling where it is atomized, heat is extracted heat but not exchanged. This process is also known as the Joule-Thompson effect or evaporative cooling. It is obvious that motor driven pumps are either subject to increased weight for pump mechanism and power sources or failure of power when the device is most needed. 
         [0004]    Personal fans have been disclosed in many different shapes but all have a basic design whereby fan blades are attached to a central hub and air is exhausted therethrough. The purpose is primarily cooling through the evaporation of moisture on one&#39;s skin through an adiabatic process. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,782 and 5,667,732) 
         [0005]    It has also been disclosed by prior art that fans have been used to disperse the air that has been cooled through evaporative cooling. This convective cooling principle works where air, that has been cooled through evaporative cooling now flows over surfaces of greater heat, thereby cooling those surfaces. The rate of heat loss of a body is proportional to the difference in temperatures between the body and its surrounding as by Newton. Prior art has several methods of dispersing this air cooled through evaporative cooling. U.S. Pat. No. 2,079,117 details fluid being dispensed from a centralized hub along the blades of the fan. The problem with this approach is that the fluid will coalesce along the blades as the is the air pressure over the blades is much higher than the air immediately in front of the blade, causing a vacuum effect, very similar to the concept that propels sailboats going upwind. Mist will form up along the edges of the blades and will whip off circumferentially negating the cooling effects of the fluid. Other disclosures have the fluid emanate from behind the fan structure (U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,495)) or where the misting device is placed in front of the fan at varying distances away from the actual fan itself (U.S. Pat. No. 8,016,270 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,388). Both devices suffer from a deficient design that does not optimal utilize the cooling effect. Being behind the blade causes the blade to intersect the fluid stream causing drips and those devices that place the misting device in front of the fan suffer from the centripetal forces caused by the rotation of the air about the center of the fan hub. The main stream of the fluid flow from the fan rotates about the central axis of the fan whereby the fluid streams “rifle” away from the fan. This “rifling” of heavy moisture laden air causes the mist to be concentrated into a narrow beam of cooling. 
         [0006]    What is needed then is a device which has the ability to produce a cooling effect upon people through the use of evaporative and convectional cooling which does not have any of the negative attributes of the prior art. 
         [0007]    What is needed is a device that combines the best attributes of convective cooling and the best attributes of evaporative cooling effect while eliminating the problems associated with the prior examples of the art and then let the operator choose the desired effect. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The device herein disclosed is an optimized fan and misting device where the air flow is channeled through a specially designed shroud having a reverse rake angle and smoothed air flow lines which reduces the turbulent flow which reduces the cooling effects of the air. This design also introduces atomized water above and in front of the fan blades reducing drips and take advantages of the spiraling laminar flow. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The following description and the figures to which they refer are provided for the purpose of describing examples and select embodiments of the invention only and are not intended to exhaustively describe all possible examples and embodiments of the invention. Many specific implementations of the following described system will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  details a frontal oblique view of the device possessing the optional carabineer as a means for attaching the device to a person. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a frontal view of the device. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a left side view of the device showing the control buttons designed for one handed use. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a frontal view showing the cutting route for a cross-sectional internal view of the lower bottle portion of the device. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the bottle portion of the device where pressure check valve is shown above it&#39;s normal orientation for clarity purposes. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a frontal view showing the cutting route for a cross-sectional internal view of the upper portion or fan portion of the device. 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the fan portion of the bottle and  FIG. 7A  is a detail of the trigger mechanism that controls the flow of fluids. 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a view of solely the bottle portion of the device showing the extension of the pump handle away from the unit. 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is an oblique view of the bottle portion with the pump handle extended showing the interior detail of the pump handle. 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  shows the detail of the upper portion of the bottle detailing pressure relieving reliefs and O-Ring blowout preventers. 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional detail of the fan portion of the device the front part of the fan blade hub has been removed and the fan blade has been exploded out for clarity. 
       
    
    
       [0021]    It is understood that in this detailed description of the drawings that all devices will be presented in the singular form. The singular form is used generically to imply either a singular device or a plurality of similar devices can be used in the described situation, meaning, for example, that when a fluid flow release button is described, the scope of this invention covers a button or buttons. 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  shows the frontal view of the assembled device  1 . Device  1  comprises two main sections, bottle  200  and fan portion  100 . In this view, bottle body  201  is shown as a opaque solid color but a translucent body can be used if desirable. Body  201  is also shown as a completely radiused body where all surfaces contain a curvature. It is foreseen that this device can be used in many different forms, including those with flat surfaces where images or words can be attached through decals or pad-printing or advertising or promotional purposes. Bottle  200  has pump portion  210  on the distal end and bottle attachment collar  202  on the proximal end of the bottle  200  which interfaces with the lower mating edge of fan portion  107 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  also shows the exterior views of fan portion  100  and this view contains the optional personal attachment means  105 C which allows for attachment of device  1  onto another item, such as a person&#39;s belt or backpack. In this embodiment, a carabineer is used which attaches through personal attachments means slot  105  near the distal end  106  of fan portion  100 . 
         [0024]    Fan portion  100  has two main means to control the cooling functions of the device; 1) fan or convective cooling control  110  and 2) misting or evaporative cooling control  111 . Fan control  110  in this embodiment is a slide switch having basic bifurcated controls. It is also conceived that this switch possess alternate designs including but not limited to 3 position switches with alternate fan speeds. Misting control  111  is a spring return momentary contact flow switch controlling the flow of fluid from the bottle portion  200  into atomizing device  102 , whereby pressurized fluid emanates from orifice  1020 . Atomizing device  102  is protected by atomizing shield  103  where orifice  1020  is located at least perpendicular to or extends out from the outermost edge of shield  103 . Misting control  111  is located for ease of use in the front of the device but is not limited thereto that particular location. 
         [0025]    Fan shroud  104  circumferentially surrounds fan blades  108  which are centrally attached to fan hub  109  where leading edge of fan shroud  101  has a reverse rake angle attaching to atomizing shield  103  at the highest point. Lower shroud contact point  113  connects shroud  104  to fan portion  100  while upper shroud contact area  114  is molded into fan portion upper  120  as detailed in  FIG. 3 . It is also detailed that the trailing edge  112  of shroud  104  has a reverse rake angle greater than that of leading edge  101 , this is so as to increase the amount of surface area behind the fan facilitating more air flow that is not impinged or interrupted by the actual fan portion  100 . It should be noted that all surfaces of the fan portion  100  have a curvature that directs the flow of air into the fan itself and promotes as much as possible a laminar flow thereover and enables the air stream that is propelled or accelerate outwardly to have a tighter spiraling pattern. It should also be noted and is detailed in  FIG. 3  that the leading edge  101  trails rearwardly as it approaches the atomizing device  102 , thereby reducing the effects of turbulence of the air flow surrounding atomizing device  102 . It is found in the prior art that the location of the atomizing device in relation to the fan is critical to it&#39;s effectiveness. As aforementioned, this device has the atomizing device above and in front of the fan blades, an unique attribute that contributes to the increased cooling efficiencies of the device. The rearward sloping, or raked, shroud prevents turbulence of the air flow around the misting device  102  along with decrease the surface area upon which the atomized fluid can attach to causing drips. In this invention the atomizing device is commonly referred to as a mister, which is a device where fluid is turbulently stirred in an interior chamber prior to passing through an orifice of approximately 0.005″ to 0.01 5″ in diameter. 
         [0026]      FIG. 5  details a cross-section of the bottle portion  200 . The bottle portion contains the pressure inducing means as well as the actual fluid vessel. The pressure inducing means is interiorly located within the bottle. Centrally located is pressurization chamber  219  which is contained by chamber wall  213  which emanates from bottle bottom  215 . Interiorally located therein chamber  219  is plunger piston  212  which is adapted to fit tightly inside of chamber  219  and has a double o_ring seal,  221  and  222 , at the distal end of plunger  212 . Plunger piston  212  is fixably attached to pump portion  210 . Pump portion  210  is shaped so as to adapt to the heel of the users hand and contains contour  40  which is designed to interface the fingers and palm of the user. Plunger piston  212  is restrained by plunger cap  230  located at the proximal end of bottle  201  and prevents the detachment of plunger  212  from chamber  219 . Located also at the distal end of bottle  201  along with plunger  212  is plunger stop  214  which limits plunger travel. Plunger&#39;s height is the limiting factor that controls the amount of pressure generated and maintained inside bottle  201 . The size of pressurization chamber is defined by the top of plunger piston  220  and the top of chamber  223 . In this invention, the device is capable of handling up to 6 ATM of pressure safely. Flapper  216 , shown slightly above and purposefully out of location, provides a one-way check valve during pressurization. When the plunger is forcibly pushed towards the pressurization chamber, air is forced through exit holes  218 , which can vary in number to best allow for proper flow. Difference in pressure between the chamber and the interior of bottle  201 , seats flapper  216  onto chamber top  223  thereby sealing the flapper. Post  217  serves to center flapper  216  over exit holes  218  as it attaches through the central exit hole  218  with a reverse barb that secures it into the hole. Fluid tube  250  serves as the means to transport fluids from the bottle  201  to the atomizing device  102  and has filter  251  attached to the distal end of tube  250  to prevent solids from entering the tube and eventually clogging the orifice  1020  of atomizing device  102 . 
         [0027]    At the proximal end of bottle  201 , attachment collar  202  is located as seen in  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 8  shows pump portion  210  as it is partially withdrawn.  FIG. 9  details supporting fins  211  located interiorally in pump portion  210 , said fins contacting the proximal portion of bottle  201  when the pump is fully engaged into pressurization chamber  219 .  FIG. 10  details blown-up section C from  FIG. 9  which details O-Ring sealing groove  206  along with pressure relief slots and O-Ring dislodgement preventer  203 . Should the bottle be disengaged from the fan portion while the bottle is under a pressure greater than the atmosphere, the user could be harmed. In the purpose of the pressure relief slots  203  is to allow for a quick controlled release of pressure through the multiple slots around the circumference of the attachment means  202  once the user has slightly disengaged the two portions, preventing complete blowout once the attachment means can not contain the pressure. The attachment means in this example are threads  205  which mate with the attachment means of the fan portion. Relief slots  203  also are shaped to contain three sides, whereby there is a wall between the relief slot and the O-ring, thereby preventing harm to the O-Ring should there be a rapid de-pressurization by the user, when disengaging the portions while under pressure. Tests showed that the O-Ring suffered damage and dislodgement without the wall separating the relief slot from the O-Ring.  FIG. 11  also details the presence of air relief slots  127  having vertical orientation being radially dispersed about the perimeter of the male thread, each slot approximately covering 8-12 degrees of circumference. In this invention, the male threads are located on the fan portion of the device. It is equally capable of having the male threads on the bottle portion of the device and the female threads on the fan portion. In this device 2 air relief slots were used, but the number of slots are not limited to 2, nor is there size limited to that which is disclosed. Slots  127  further relieves pressure that is built up inside of the bottle with minimal disengagement of the threads. A slight disengagement will sent pressurized air through the slots relieving the greatest amount of pressure built up in the bottle, as a safety to the operator. 
         [0028]      FIGS. 7 and 7A  are the cross-sectional detail of the fan portion  100  of device  1 . Fan portion  100  contains controls for the delivery of fluid to the misting device  102  and control of fan blades  108 . Fan portion is designed in two vertically split halves fastened together with fasteners  121 , each half provide support to the mechanisms located therein. Fan portion  100  is attached to the bottle portion  200  through the intermeshing of bottle threads  205  and fan portion threads  124  to such an extent so that collar  202  and mating edge  107  are in forcible contact. Sealing means  206 , in this case an O-Ring is used, either circular or square cut in nature, provides a fluid tight fit between the two portions. Fluid delivery from the bottle portion of the device is accomplished through fluid supply tube  250  which is attached at the proximal end to barbed inlet  252 . Optional tubing collar  253  can be slipped on over the tubing prior to insertion upon inlet  252  and is slipped into place afterwards to insure a tight fit between the outside of the barbs and the inside of tube  250 . Fluid exit tube  250  into reservoir  130  whereby it remains until the operator pressing misting button  111 . The misting button assembly is located in this disclosure in the front of the device is the flow controlling means that regulates the flow of fluid from said bottle portion to the atomizing device  102 . Nothing in this disclosure limits the location of the misting button  111  nor the operator power switch  110  to any particular location. The misting button assembly is held in place by misting button carriage  126  located on one of the two halves of the fan portion  100 . The pushing of button  111  inwardly is resisted by spring  133  and is responsible for relocating flow pin  135  into the reservoir until contact with stop block  134 . Located on pin  135  is flow channel  131 , which when pin  135  is laterally displaced, allows fluid flow from reservoir  130  into misting tube  115  through barbed outlet  132 . The amount of fluid that passes through is variably regulated by the extent that pin  135  is displaced from it&#39;s resting position until it contacts block  134 . There exists seal means  136  on either side of channel  131  which prevents the escape of fluid out of reservoir  131  into the button area, preventing unsightly drips out of the button cavity and also prevents the escape of pressurized fluid into the misting device. Misting tube  115  vertically transits the fan portion from the lower sealing end to the upmost portion of mister shield  103  until engaging onto misting inlet barb  125 . Misting barb  125  has an external barb onto which tube  115  is slipped onto and an interiorially located female threaded portion which is designed to accept misting device  102 . 
         [0029]    Control of the fan blades comes from two sources, One is the operator switch  110  which controls the on-off function of the fan motor  119  and the other is the power supply coming from batteries  116 . Switch  110  is exterior located and can be a slide switch as is show in  FIG. 1  or can be a push button style. Batteries  116  are located in a cavity  117  to the rear of the fan portion and are held in position through batteries holder  122  and battery access door  106 . Battery contacts  118  electronically connect the flow of power to fan motor  119  through either a series of solid contactors or flexible wires. Fan  119  is held in place with fan motor mounts  120  and is held in location to directly connect to fan hub  109  through shaft  119   s.    FIG. 11  details the hub assembly of the fan. Hub  109  consists of two pieces, blade mount section  109   b  and front hub  109   f.  Blade mount section  109   b  has an exterior portion which accepts shift  119   s  and an interior portion which provides a contoured edge  109   r  and stop  109   s  for placement of the blade. Blade mount section  109   b  contains post  109   p  which accepts the blade centering hole  108   p.  Blade  108  is a continuous blade which is made of a flexible polymer material stamped or molded into any particular shape desired. Blade  108  has a centering hole  108   p  in this case has piloting ridges along the circumference of the centering hole  108   p  as an assembly aid. The contour of blade  108  also contains a cutout  108   s  which will interface with hub stop  109   s , holding the blade securely in place by centripetal force during use. Slope  109   s  has a matching slope located upon hub front  109   f  (not shown) which sandwiches the blade between the two halves shaping the blade into a particular contour. It is noted that in this invention the blades are contoured to obtain maximum acceleration of the air through the shroud, where the shroud, due to it&#39;s shape and angle, is able accelerate the air in a spiraling pattern. This spiraling pattern is more able to integrate the fluid from the mist and propel it forward then devices in the prior art. 
         [0030]    It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that the invention is herein described with reference to certain examples or preferred embodiments as shown in the drawings. Various additions, deletions, changes and alterations may be made to the above-described embodiments and examples without departing from the intended spirit and scope of this invention which is to provide a single unitized structure or assembly that enables the convenient implementation of evaporative and convective cooling in a personal cooling device. Accordingly, it is intended that all such additions, deletions, changes and alterations be included within the scope of the following claims.