Portable air-conditioning unit, particularly a personal air-conditioning unit

Abstract

A portable air-conditioning unit, particularly a personal air-conditioning unit, comprises a small-format housing provided with a housing section that contains a latent heat storage. The housing comprises an inlet for a gaseous or liquid medium which is guided past the latent heat storage while exchanging heat therewith, and comprises an outlet for discharging the cooled or heated medium. The portable air-conditioning unit also comprises a delivery arrangement which can be operated by a power supply provided with the housing and which serves to deliver the medium for an autonomous operation of the air conditioning unit.

1 . A portable air-conditioning unit, comprising a housing section containing a latent heat storage unit, having an inlet for a gaseous or liquid medium, which is to be passed by the latent heat storage unit, exchanging heat there, an outlet for discharging the cooled or heated medium, conveying means at the housing which can be operated by way of an energy supply and convey the medium for an autarkic operation of the air-conditioning unit.  
   
   
       2 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein the medium is a gas and the conveying means is a fan.  
   
   
       3 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 2 , wherein the inlet is constructed as at least one aspiration opening for air from the surroundings, which is used as gas.  
   
   
       4 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 3 , wherein at least one outlet nozzle, leading to the surroundings, is provided at the outlet.  
   
   
       5 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 4 , wherein an outlet section of any shape and comprised of a deformable and optionally skin-friendly material and having several outlet nozzles, is provided at the outlet.  
   
   
       6 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 5 , wherein the outlet section is constructed essentially plate-like or half-plate-like and that the several outlet nozzles point in different directions.  
   
   
       7 . The air-conditioning units of  claim 2 , wherein connecting means for coupling with a pipeline, in which the gas is passed on, are provided at the outlet.  
   
   
       8 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 2 , wherein connecting means for coupling with, in each case, a pipeline carrying the gas, is provided at the inlet and at the outlet.  
   
   
       9 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein a liquid is used as medium, the conveying means being a pump, and connecting means for coupling each with a pipeline carrying the liquid are provided at the inlet and at the outlet.  
   
   
       10 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein the housing is thermally insulated at least in the region, in which the latent heat storage unit is provided, preferably, the whole of the housing being thermally insulated.  
   
   
       11 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein at a position downstream from the latent heat storage unit, an electrically adjustable flap-like control element is provided, by means of which the degree to which a first medium path, which passes the medium past the latent heat storage unit, and a second medium path, over which the medium, which is supplied to the housing, is not passed past the latent heat storage unit, are open, can be varied.  
   
   
       12 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein at least one cooling or heating device, which can be operated electrically, is provided in the housing at one position in the vicinity of the latent heat storage unit.  
   
   
       13 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 12 , wherein the cooling or heating device can be operated over the integrated energy supply, or that means are provided for connecting to an external energy supply for operating the cooling or heating unit.  
   
   
       14 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 11 , wherein at least one Peltier element for cooling or heating the latent heat storage unit is provided in a wall of the housing separating the first and the second medium paths.  
   
   
       15 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 12 , wherein the heating device is a heating coil.  
   
   
       16 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein an external station with a cooling or heating device for cooling or heating the latent heat storage unit is provided at or in which station the portable air-conditioning unit can be disposed.  
   
   
       17 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 16 , wherein the station has one or more Peltier elements for cooling or heating the latent heat storage unit or one or more heating coils for heating the latent heat storage unit.  
   
   
       18 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein the latent heat storage unit can be removed from the housing.  
   
   
       19 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein the amount of medium flowing through can be varied.  
   
   
       20 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 19 , wherein at least one sensor and one electronic evaluating system over which the conveying means can be controlled, are provided for detecting the amount flowing through or the temperature of the medium.  
   
   
       21 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein a display, indicating the extent to which the integrated energy supply is charged, is provided.  
   
   
       22 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein a display, indicating the extent to which the latent heat storage unit is charged, is provided.  
   
   
       23 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein accumulators, batteries, fuel cells or solar cells are provided as an energy supply.  
   
   
       24 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein at least one cooling or heating compartment for unrelated objects is provided, the temperature of which can be controlled over a further cooling or heating device, especially at least one Peltier element, which is assigned to the compartment.  
   
   
       25 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein the latent heat storage medium is water or paraffin.  
   
   
       26 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein a liquid medium, used in a closed system, has a freezing or sublimation point below the freezing point or above the sublimation point of the latent heat storage medium.  
   
   
       27 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein the or each housing opening can be closed off.  
   
   
       28 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 27 , wherein a common operating element is provided, which is lever-like and over which the closing elements of the housing openings and, optionally, the flap-like control element, assigned to the second medium path, can be actuated jointly.  
   
   
       29 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 1 , wherein a drain or collection device is provided for condensate deposited in the housing.  
   
   
       30 . The air-conditioning unit of  claim 29 , wherein the collection device is a section of the housing or an element absorbing the condensate.  
   
   
       31 . An air-conditioning system, comprising an air-conditioning unit according to  claim 1 , further comprising an article of clothing to be worn on the body of a person, at least one integrated pipeline for carrying the cooling or heating medium to the article of clothing, and connecting means at the inlet and/or at the outlet of the air-conditioning unit for coupling with corresponding connecting means at the inlet and/or at the outlet of the pipeline of the item of clothing.  
   
   
       32 . The air-conditioning system of  claim 31 , wherein the item of clothing is a complete suit or a part thereof.  
   
   
       33 . A method for cooling a person utilyzing an air-conditioning unit according to  claim 1 , comprising aspirating air from the surroundings, cooling said air in said air-conditioning unit, discharging said cooled air through at least one outlet nozzle, disposing said outlet nozzle at a person in such a manner that the air discharged from the outlet nozzle is discharged and blown underneath the outer clothing onto the underwear or the skin of the person, so that, aside from the cooling effect due to the cooled air from the surroundings, an additional cooling effect is achieved by utilizing the heat of evaporation during the aeration-induced drying of the natural moisture of the underwear or of the skin.