Portable air conditioning apparatus

Abstract

An air conditioning apparatus is provided with an air plenum in fluid communication with an air inlet and an air outlet. A fan moves air through the air plenum. An interchangeable air conditioning core is removably installed within the air plenum and interposed between the air inlet and air outlet such that air moving along an air pathway is forced to proceed through the interchangeable air conditioning core.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioning apparatus, comprising:
 an exterior case comprising an air inlet and an air outlet;   an air plenum disposed within the exterior case in fluid communication with the air inlet and air outlet;   a fan communicating with the air inlet for moving air through the air plenum;   an interchangeable air conditioning core removably installed within the air plenum and configured such that air is forced to proceed through the interchangeable air conditioning core by operation of said fan; and   an air jacket extending adjacent the exterior case and located between said exterior case and the interchangeable air conditioning core, wherein air directed through the air jacket by operation of said fan does not pass through the interchangeable air conditioning core.   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one air conditioning device arranged within the interchangeable air conditioning core such that air moving through said core is conditioned by the at least one air conditioning device, wherein the least one air conditioning device is removable from the air plenum together with the interchangeable air conditioning core. 
     
     
         3 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one air conditioning device comprises a source of thermal energy. 
     
     
         4 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the source of thermal energy is an infrared emitter. 
     
     
         5 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the interchangeable air conditioning core comprises a heat exchanger comprising an inner duct and an outer duct, the inner duct being disposed adjacent and surrounding the source of thermal energy. 
     
     
         6 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the outer duct defines an intermediate space between the air plenum and the inner duct. 
     
     
         7 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 3 , further comprising a first temperature sensor located to sense the air temperature inside the air plenum, wherein the first temperature sensor is configured to disable operation of the source of thermal energy when the air temperature in said air plenum exceeds a first predetermined temperature. 
     
     
         8 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising a second temperature sensor located to sense the air temperature inside the air plenum, wherein the second temperature sensor is configured to disable operation of the source of thermal energy when the air temperature in said air plenum exceeds a second predetermined temperature that is greater than the first predetermined temperature. 
     
     
         9 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the first and second temperature sensors are electrically arranged in series. 
     
     
         10 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the second temperature sensor is a single-use fuse. 
     
     
         11 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one air conditioning device comprises a source of ultraviolet radiation. 
     
     
         12 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one air conditioning device comprises a humidifier. 
     
     
         13 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one air conditioning device comprises an ion generator. 
     
     
         14 . An air conditioning apparatus, comprising:
 an exterior case comprising an air inlet and an air outlet;   an air plenum disposed within the exterior case in fluid communication with the air inlet and air outlet;   a fan communicating with the air inlet for moving air through the air plenum;   an interchangeable air conditioning core having installed hterein an air conditioning device, said air conditioning core being removably installed within the air plenum and configured such that air moving is forced to proceed through the interchangeable air conditioning core by operation of said fan; and   a removable access panel defining at least a portion of the air plenum, wherein an interior of said interchangeable air conditioning core is accessible by removing the access panel;   said removable access panel being coupled to the interchangeable air conditioning core such that removal of the removable access panel causes removal of the interchangeable air conditioning core from said air plenum.   
     
     
         15 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 14 , further comprising an air jacket extending adjacent the exterior case and located between said exterior case and the interchangeable air conditioning core. 
     
     
         16 . An air conditioning apparatus, comprising:
 an exterior case comprising an air inlet and an air outlet;   an air plenum disposed within the exterior case in fluid communication with the air inlet and air outlet;   a fan communicating with the air inlet for moving air through the air plenum;   an interchangeable air conditioning core removably installed within the air plenum and configured such that air is forced to proceed through the interchangeable air conditioning core by operation of said fan; and   a plurality of sources of thermal energy installed within the interchangeable air conditioning core such that air moving through said core is heated by the plurality of sources of thermal energy, wherein the plurality of sources of thermal energy are removable from the air plenum together with the interchangeable air conditioning core.   
     
     
         17 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein each of the plurality of sources of thermal energy comprises an infrared emitter. 
     
     
         18 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the interchangeable air conditioning core comprises a heat exchanger comprising an inner duct and an outer duct, the inner duct being disposed adjacent and surrounding the plurality of sources of thermal energy. 
     
     
         19 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the outer duct defines an intermediate pre-heating chamber between the air plenum and the inner duct. 
     
     
         20 . The air conditioning apparatus of  claim 16 , further comprising an air jacket extending at least partially between the exterior case and the interchangeable air conditioning core, said air jacket being configured such that air passing therethrough by operation of said fan does not pass through said air conditioning core.