Abstract:
A battery-powered air conditioning unit is mounted in the trunk of an automobile and is controlled by controls located on the dashboard of the automobile. The air conditioning unit will cool the trunk interior volume when activated whereby perishable items stored in the trunk can be kept in an air conditioned environment without being stored in the passenger compartment of the automobile.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to the general art of refrigeration with a vehicle feature, and to the particular field of vehicle-contained refrigeration. 
   2. Discussion of the Related Art 
   Many people transport perishable items in their automobile. The most common form of such items are groceries. Many people, especially those living in warm climates, must rush home after completing a shopping trip in order to get perishable items into their refrigerator without exposing those items to the warm climate for a lengthy period of time. 
   Often, a total shopping trip includes a trip to one or more grocery stores as well as stops to other stores. However, if perishable items are purchased at one grocery store, a special trip home may be required before completing other stops. This is time consuming and wasteful of energy. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a means for protecting perishable items that are being stored in an automobile. 
   While many automobiles have air conditioning in the passenger compartment, the inventor is not aware of any automobile that has efficient air conditioning in the trunk of the automobile. Therefore, the trunk area of an automobile is likely to be very hot, especially so since it is a closed volume and there is no convection cooling available. Thus, the trunk area of an automobile is likely to be even hotter than an un-cooled passenger compartment. 
   Since most groceries are transported in the trunk area of an automobile, and the trunk is generally not exposed to the air conditioning of the automobile, the air conditioning does not reach the perishables stored in the trunk, and these perishables may be even more likely to spoil than if they were simply stored in the passenger compartment of the automobile. Many drivers also transport children on their errands. A child in a car seat may effectively remove most of the storage area in an automobile. This may make it very difficult to store items inside the automobile, and such items may have to be stored in the trunk, thereby raising the just-discussed problems. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a means for protecting perishable items that are being stored in the trunk of an automobile. 
   Fuel efficiency is a very important consideration in nearly all motor vehicles. It is well understood that most air conditioning systems associated with motor vehicles reduce the fuel efficiency of the motor vehicle. Thus, any added air conditioning system should not unduly tax the vehicle engine whereby fuel efficiency can be preserved as much as possible. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a means for protecting perishable items that are being stored in the trunk of an automobile without unduly affecting fuel efficiency of the automobile. 
   When perishable items are not being transported or stored in the trunk of an automobile, but the automobile is in use, it would be wasteful if the trunk were air conditioned. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a means for providing an air conditioned environment in the trunk of an automobile but only when needed. 
   PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a main object of the present invention to provide a means for protecting perishable items that are being stored in an automobile. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for protecting perishable items that are being stored in the trunk of an automobile. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for protecting perishable items that are being stored in the trunk of an automobile without unduly affecting fuel efficiency of the automobile. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a means for providing an air conditioned environment in the trunk of an automobile but only when needed. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   These, and other, objects are achieved by an air conditioning system that includes an air conditioning unit mounted in the trunk of an automobile and which is powered from the battery of the automobile. Controls for the air conditioning unit are located on the dashboard of the automobile so the unit can be turned on and off from within the automobile. 
   Using the trunk air conditioning unit embodying the present invention will permit the trunk area to be air conditioned when needed, and not at other times. Since the unit is battery powered, it will not unduly tax the automobile engine so fuel efficiency can be preserved. Therefore, someone transporting perishable items, such as groceries, can place those items in a cool environment during transport. The items can be stored in the trunk of the automobile thereby leaving the interior passenger area of the automobile free for other uses. 
   The unit embodying the present invention is easily retrofit onto an existing automobile and thus present automobiles can obtain the benefits associated with the unit of the present invention without requiring the car be returned to the manufacturer or placed in a special shop. 
   It is noted that while perishable items are specifically discussed, the scope of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to simply perishable items but can include any item that may be damaged, or may cause damage, due to overheating. For example, if aerosol products are stored in an environment that becomes too hot, damage may occur if the product explodes. Other examples will occur to those skilled in the art based on the teaching of the present disclosure. Such examples are also intended to be within the scope of this disclosure as well. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a trunk air conditioning system embodying the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a trunk air conditioning system embodying the present invention in place on an automobile. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
   Referring to the Figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in an air conditioning system  10 . Air conditioning system  10  comprises an automobile  12  which includes a trunk  14 , a dashboard  16  inside the automobile  12 , and a battery  18 . Trunk  14  has an interior volume in which items are stored in the normal manner. 
   As above discussed, if trunk  14  is used to transport and store perishable items, the interior volume should be as cool as possible. To this end, system  10  includes an air conditioning unit  20  which is located in the trunk of automobile  12 . 
   Air conditioning unit  20  includes a housing  24  having mounting brackets  26  thereon. Mounting brackets  26  are fixed to automobile  12  in trunk  14  when air conditioning unit  20  is mounted on automobile  12 . Preferably, housing  24  is mounted in a top area of the trunk  14  to be out of the way. 
   An air intake port  30  is located on housing  24  and is fluidically connected to the interior volume of the trunk when air conditioning unit  20  is mounted on automobile  12 . 
   An air exhaust port  32  is substantially identical to the intake port  30  and is mounted on the opposite side of housing  24  that is opposite to intake port  30  and is fluidically connected to the interior volume of the trunk when air conditioning unit  20  is mounted on automobile  12  as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
   An air cooling unit  40  is located inside housing  24  and is fluidically connected to air intake port  30  and to air exhaust port  32  whereby air flowing from the air intake port  30  to the air exhaust port  32  is cooled by air cooling unit  40  when air conditioning system  20  is operating. Air cooling unit  40  is known and the particular details of the air cooling unit  40  are not claimed as part of the invention. Accordingly, the details of the air cooling unit  40  will not be presented in detail. 
   An on/off switch  50  is located on housing  24  and is connected to air cooling unit  40 . The air cooling unit  40  is turned on using switch  50  when the trunk interior volume is to be cooled. Otherwise, switch  50  is used to keep the unit  40  turned off. 
   A temperature sensor  54  is fluidically connected to the interior volume of the trunk and is mounted on housing  24 . The temperature sensor  54  can be connected to the air cooling unit  40  to de-activate that unit  40  when the temperature in the trunk falls to or below a set value, or to activate the unit  40  when temperature in the trunk reaches or exceeds a pre-set value. 
   An air conditioning unit control system  60  is located on dashboard  16  of the automobile and is used by a driver or a passenger to control the climate of the interior volume of the trunk via control of the air conditioning unit  20 . System  60  includes an on/off switch  62 , a temperature control switch  64 , and a readout display screen  66  which is electrically connected to temperature sensor  54 . Thus, the temperature of the interior volume of the trunk will be displayed for the operator to monitor. Control switch  64  is used in conjunction with display screen  66  to set a temperature in the trunk of the automobile, and temperature sensor  54  can be used to maintain that set temperature. 
   An electrical connection  70  electrically connects air conditioning unit control system  60  to air conditioning unit  20 . In the form shown in  FIG. 2 , connection  70  is an electrical lead. 
   An electrical connection  74  electrically connects air conditioning unit control system  60  to battery  18  of automobile  12  and has a fuse  76  interposed between system  60  and battery  18  to protect against surges, shorts and the like. On/off switch  62  on the air conditioning unit control system  60  is electrically interposed between battery  18  and on/off switch  50  on housing  24  of the air conditioning unit  20 . This permits a driver to override the operation of the air cooling unit  40  if desired. 
   Operation of system  10  can be understood from the foregoing disclosure and thus will not be presented in detail. Once a perishable item is placed in the trunk of the automobile, on/off switch  50  is moved into an “on” position, and the trunk closed. Then, on/off switch  62  is moved into an “on” position to activate air cooling unit  40  to cool the interior volume of the trunk. As can be understood, unit  40  is powered from battery  18  and thus should not significantly reduce the gas milage of automobile  12 . The temperature inside the trunk is monitored via display screen  66  and the air cooling unit  40  is controlled using temperature control switch  64  to cool the trunk or allow temperature in the trunk to increase as suitable. Air conditioning system  20  can be turned off using either switch  50  or switch  62  so an operator need not remember to de-activate the system using switch  50 . Since a person will be concentrating on removing items from the trunk and placing those items in the proper storage facility, it is possible that de-activation of the system via switch  50  can be forgotten. However, it is easy to remember to de-activate the system using switch  62  and thus desired de-activation is likely. 
   It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.