Patent ID: 8117864

Claim:
A modular and compact air conditioning system which detachably connects to a port on an airplane and which is designed to be conveyed by a ground support equipment cart and to occupy minimal space within the cart, the system comprising: a rectangular frame supporting top, bottom, left side, right side, front side, and back side panels, the top and back side panels containing and supporting thin air conditioner condensers, one of the left and right side panels containing an air outlet, and the other of the left and right side panels containing an air conditioner air intake and filter and a coupling adapted to be connected to one end of an air duct or hose the other end of which is adapted to be connected to an airplane's port to provide cooling air to an airplane, the rectangular frame and its side panels forming a compact air conditioning module; a condenser fan mounted within said rectangular frame and positioned to draw outside air in through the two condensers and to blow the air out through the air outlet; first and second air conditioners mounted within the rectangular frame, each air conditioner comprising a circular refrigerant conduit channeling and recirculating refrigerant through a compressor, one of the condensers, an expansion valve, and an evaporator, one of the two evaporators being mounted near the air inlet and filter and the other of the two evaporators mounted near the coupling within the air conduit; a blower mounted near the air inlet and the coupling; and an air conduit routing air from the air inlet, through the filter and the nearby evaporator, narrowing and routing the air through the blower, widening and routing the air through the evaporator near the coupling, and finally narrowing and channeling the air through the coupling to the air duct or hose, the air conduit bending to reverse the direction of air flow so the air enters and leaves the same side panel of the module wherein each evaporator coil is a rectangular assembly of four smaller, conventional plate fin evaporator coils mounted in an essentially square frame that directs moisture into a drain, where the plates are held in place by a horizontal cover plate, and wherein the air conduit expands to the size of the essentially square frame and joins the frame as needed to provide uniform distribution of air flow over the plate fin evaporator coils.