cooled laterally within the area surrounding the support means. In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a cooling apparatus comprising a base for supporting the apparatus on the floor, a column extending upwardly from the base to a height greater than the average height of a seated person , a cooling means located in the upper part of the column and supported by it to cool the adjacent air and a fan means to direct the cooled air down into the area surrounding the column, where the apparatus is independent and autonomous . Conveniently, the column extends to a height greater than 102 cm (40 inches). Preferably the column extends to a height greater than the average height of a seated person, in particular, greater than 175 cm (69 inches). Conveniently, a housing can be provided on the top of the column to receive the cooling means. The housing can form an awning. The housing may comprise an upper conical section and a lower coaxial frustoconical section in which the maximum diameter of the upper section is larger than the minimum diameter of the lower section and the maximum diameter of the lower section is greater than the maximum diameter of the lower section. the upper section. The housing may contain an evaporator or a cooling coil and an associated fan and may also contain a cooling condenser and an associated fan. The evaporator and its associated fan can be located in the lower section of the housing and the cooling condenser and associated fan can be located in the upper section of the housing. The lower section of the housing can have a first set of ventilated louvers or blinds at its periphery for air conduction inside or outside the housing and can have a second set of ventilation grilles or louvers on its inner surface for air conduction inside or outside the accommodation. The first set of ventilation grilles or louvers may comprise an air inlet for the ambient air while the second set of louvers or ventilation louvers may comprise an air outlet for the cooled air or vice versa. The upper section of the housing can have a third set of ventilated louvers or blinds at its periphery for air conduction inside the housing and can have a fourth set of louvers or louvers on its upper surface for air conduction hot outside the accommodation. The column may be hollow and may contain pipe and electrical power for the cooling medium and the fan (s). The base may comprise a storage medium for a fluid of. cooling to supply it to the cooling medium and can be conditioned with a connecting means to connect it to a source of electricity supply. The apparatus may alternatively be constructed to supply hot air instead of cold air and may include a switching means for selectively reversing the operation of the condenser and evaporator to supply hot air instead of cooled air. The switching means can be controlled by a thermostat so that its operation depends on the ambient temperature and the thermostat can be regulated manually by the operator. The apparatus can be arranged to distribute the cooled air by about 360 °. Additionally, the invention may include some or all of the different features that will be described later. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the figures, in which: Figure 1 is a simplified front view of a form of the cooling apparatus according to the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic but more detailed cross-sectional view of the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view of the lower part of the upper part of the apparatus of Figure 2 with a lower cover removed. Figures 4 and 5 are partial views, similar to the upper portion of Figure 2, but show a second embodiment of the cooling apparatus according to the invention in which the supply is made by switching between a cooling operation and an operation of heating, Figure 4 shows the configuration for cooling and Figure 5 shows the configuration when switching for heating. Figure 6 is a schematic view of another embodiment of the invention, and Figure 7 is a schematic view of a mode which incorporates a heating unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring first to Figure 1, there is shown a cooling apparatus 1 comprising a base 3 for supporting the apparatus on the ground or the floor of a structure such as a patio, a column 5 extending towards up from the base 3 and an upper housing 7, which generally carries refrigeration and air distribution equipment, which will be described later in connection with Figure 2. Column 5 is of a height of at least greater than the average height of a seated person but preferably of a height greater than the average height of a stationary person. This means that the column 5 is of such a height that the lower surface of the upper housing is positioned on the ground (or on the lower extremities of the base 3) a distance greater than the average height of a seated person but preferably of a height greater than the average height of a person standing. Typically, this means that the height above the ground of the lower surface of the upper housing 7 is approximately greater than 102 cm (40 inches) and preferably greater than 175 cm (69 inches). In this way the device can be easily used, with the column of lower height, for fresh air in an area where people are sitting and with the column of higher height, the cooling area will be extended to refresh also people Stop in this area. The upper housing 7 is, as shown, with a generally circular construction having a pagoda as an awning and is composed of an upper section 9 of conical shape and a lower section 11 of a frustoconical shape which is then of an outer diameter greater than the upper section 9. As noted, the upper section 9 extends slightly beyond the inner edge of the lower section 11 to provide a concave junction section 13 which contains the ventilation louvres 15 which allow air to enter the upper housing 7. The upper section 9 contains vents or louvers 17 which allow the escape of hot air produced by the cooling equipment. Base 3, in addition to its support function, may contain the compressor and condenser tanks and may provide a location or connection point for a remote supply of packaged chilled water. Having these items in base 3 results in added weight to the base and greater stability for the independent structure. In view of the weight of the base 3, to make the apparatus more portable, it can be mounted on wheels (not shown). The connection between base 3 and upper arrangement 7 is made inside column 5 at the end, column 5 can contain pipes, power supply sources, etc.
A remote control can be provided to control the different operations of the apparatus to allow sophisticated environmental control. The sensor for this remote control can conveniently be located in the column 5 or in any other part which provides adequate access. Now with reference to Figures 2 and 3, a more detailed version of the cooling apparatus of the invention will be described. The construction is basically similar to that shown in Figure 1. The upper housing 7 houses the cooling condenser (s) 21 with an associated fan (s) 23 and the evaporator (s) 25 and the fan ( is) associated (s) 27. It should be appreciated that there will usually be only one condenser and one evaporator with its associated fans, more than one of these devices can be included as desired. As can be seen, the condenser 21 and fan 23 are housed in the upper section 9 of the upper housing 7 while the evaporator 25 and its fan 27 are located in the lower section 11. As shown, these units and their fans They have a coaxial construction integrated with the units that are located outside and that surround the fans. Alternatively, in a manner not shown, the arrangement may be such that the condenser is mounted on top of its fan while the evaporator is mounted below its fans. For a complete understanding of the housing / awning construction 7, it should be mentioned that it comprises an upper conical section 9 and a lower coaxial frustoconical section 11 in which the maximum diameter of the upper section 9 is larger than the minimum diameter of the lower section 11 and the maximum diameter of the lower section 11 is larger than the maximum diameter of the upper section 9. During use, the air is sucked in through the perimeter of the ventilation louvers 15 by the fan 23 to which its speed is controlled and by the coil of the condenser 21, consequently, the air is expelled through the louvers or ventilation louvers 17 as indicated by the exit arrows above the upper section 9. The air it is also sucked inwardly by means of ventilation grilles or louvers 29 located around the perimeter of the lower part 11 by means of the fan 27, to which the speed is also controlled, through the evaporator coil 25. Accordingly, the cooled air is distributed downwards from the lower central part of the lower section 11 by ventilation grilles or louvers 31. As can be note, the apparatus as it is configured here can distribute fresh air by about 360 °. The upper housing 7 can be properly insulated to prevent the formation of condensation in some environmental conditions.
The base 3 provides a stable base for the apparatus and also houses the refrigeration compressor together with its conventional complementary assistance elements such as valves and appropriate strainers and a drained condensation reservoir. For this reason, the base may require some sound insulation. The condensation tanks 33 are also located in the base and will be emptied either manually or by means of an automatic condensate pump which is discharged through a drain of appropriate dimensions 35. The connection points of appropriate dimensions 37 can mounted to base 3 for use with either a remotely located water cooler or a condensing unit. The connection means for a power supply source are provided. Preferably, an appropriately formed cover or removable housing (not shown) is provided to cover the base and its components. Figure 3 shows a view of the lower part of the upper housing 7, with small circles in the column 5 representing the pipe and electrical wiring connections between the upper housing 7 and the components in the base 3. It should be appreciated that while the embodiment described above shows a form of the cooling apparatus according to the invention, the apparatus is suitable for a large number of variations within the basic concept of the invention. For example, the ventilation louvers 25 and 31 may be inverted to supply cooled air from the periphery of the lower section 11 of the housing 7. Where an external source of chilled water is used, only the evaporator 25 is needed with its fan 27. While the rest of the cooling apparatus has been indicated so that it is located in the base 3, it should be understood that, with an appropriate construction, part or the whole of this apparatus can be transported in the housing / awning 7. Some or all of the ventilation louvers or louvers can be controlled in a variable manner with respect to the direction of the air flow and / or the dimension of the opening. A remote control arrangement can be used to control any of the appliance's functions. Even when the housing / awning has been shown with a circular construction, other shapes may be used, such as a square or a polygon. In addition, while a pagoda-shaped accommodation has been shown, any suitable form of accommodation could be used. If the appliance is used internally or under an existing awning, the awning shape of the appliance may not be necessary.
There are occasions when, while the original state of the ambient air is hot enough to require the supply of cold air, the ambient air temperature may drop to the point where more heated air is needed than cooled air. Such a situation can occur on a hot summer day which cools substantially during the night. The second embodiment of the invention rding to that shown in Figures 4 and 5 is designed to cover such situation. In this way, the arrangement of Figure 4, the arrangement is configured to supply cooled air. For this purpose, and similar to the arrangement shown in Figure 2, the upper housing 7 houses a cooling condenser 121 and its associated fan 123 and an evaporator 125 and its associated fan 127. rding to what can be seen, the condenser 121 and fan 123 are housed in an upper section 109 of the upper arrangement 7 while the evaporator 125 and its fan 127 are located in a lower section 111. rding to the shown, these units and their fans are of a construction coaxial with the units that are on the outside and that surround the fans. For complete compression of the mmodation / awning construction in this embodiment, it should be mentioned that it comprises a top conical section 107 which forms a "roof" structure, an upper section 109 in the form of a coaxial frusto-conical section and a lower coaxial frustoconical section 111 in which the maximum diameter of the upper section 107 is greater than the minimum diameter of the upper section 109, the maximum diameter of the upper section 109 is greater than the minimum diameter of the lower section 111 and the diameter maximum of the lower section 11 is greater than the maximum diameter of the upper section 109. In this way, the housing 7 expands conically in three rows. During the cooling operation, the air is sucked in through the perimeter of the louvers or louvers 115 by the fan 123 to which its speed is controlled and by the condenser coil 121. Consequently, the warm air, heated by the operation of the condenser 121, the air is expelled through the vents or louvers 117. The air to be cooled is sucked in through the louvers or louvers 129 located below the bottom 111 by means of the fan 127, which is also controlled for its speed, and passes the air through the coil of the air. evaporator 125. rdingly, the air cooled by the evaporator 125, is distributed downwardly from the lower section 111 by the ventilation louvers or louvers 131. When the ambient air ceases to be hot, the operation of the condenser 121 and the evaporator 125 is reversed by what the condenser 121 becomes converted into an evaporator and the evaporator 125 becomes a condenser rding to what is shown in Figure 5. This is carried out by means of a sufficiently known switching mechanism (not shown) He causes the flow of refrigerant gas to be inverted. Thus, in the arrangement shown in Figure 5, the ambient air is still sucked in through vents and vents 115 and 129, but the air emerging from vents or vents 131 will be heated. by the now condenser 125. The air that emerges from the vents or louvers 117, with this arrangement, will also be heated. The switching arrangement can be manually operated by the user when he or she feels that the ambient temperature is comfortable or can be automatically controlled by means of a room air-sensing thermostat. This thermostat can conveniently be controlled manually to set the switching temperature. Whereas a particular switching temperature can be set so that an overlap may exist. In this way switching from cold to heat can occur at a temperature, and the change from heat to cold can occur at a different temperature. Of course, it should be understood that modifications can be made to this last described modality, in particular, when applicable, these modifications can be according to what is described for the first modality. Figure 6 is a schematic side view with some visible interior parts of yet another embodiment of the invention. This embodiment, similar to the embodiment of Figure 2, locates the condenser / fan 21, 23 in the upper section 209 of the housing 207, the evaporator / fan 25, 27 in the lower housing section 211, the air inlets environmental in the grilles 215, the hot air outlets in the grids 217, the environmental air inlet 229 for the evaporator and the air outlet cooled in 231. The upper section 209 differs from that shown in Figure 2 in that the maximum diameter of the upper section 209 is not greater than the minimum diameter of the lower section 211 while the maximum diameter of the lower section 211 is even larger than the diameter maximum of the upper section 209. In this way, the large area awning is formed by the maximum diameter of the lower section. Even though it is not visible in Figure 6, the total configuration observed from the top is octagonal rather than circular. In the closed base 203, a sketch of the compressor 200 is visible. In this case, the condensed tanks 233 are built into the wall of the base 203. The number 240 is an access door for the components of the base, and the structure 242 represented in the column 5 can be a manual switch for the system or a sensor for a remote control (not shown). The pipe and internal electrical installation has been omitted for clarity. The height indicated by the reference number 244 is at least greater than the average height of a seated person to ensure that the air provided, which is distributed over a total range of 360 °, will encompass the people sitting around the cooler. Figure 7 illustrates an embodiment in which an electric heater has been added to the assembly to supply heat instead of cold weather where circumstances require it. The basic cooling apparatus can be assembled with an infra-red heating system. The configuration of this system will be such a form that it can be assembled during the manufacturing moment or later by the end user. In the embodiment illustrated schematically in Figure 7, which shows only a lower part 250 of the pagoda assembly 207 with the louvers 231, several infrared or emitting elements or lamps 252 are mounted in the lower part 250 whereby the emitters 256, inside a reflector 258, in turn housed in a housing 260, directed downwards and outwards. They can be supported on the lower part 250 by means of an appropriate adjustable support 262. Preferably, these heater assemblies 252 will be assembled to the assembly around its perimeter at a point lower than the first or lower row where the covers can be located. of the evaporator, of the inlet air filter. Heater control can be performed with the remote control or with its own designated switch / controller; The power source is mounted inside the assembly base. The operation of the heater can be activated automatically when the ambient temperature falls below the set point of the controller, the cooling function will stop and the heating function will start. As the environmental temperature increases then the opposite cycle will prevail. It is also possible that the end user will have the ability to select the percentage of the heating elements, by means of an integrated load compensation device, during the operation at any time. It is also possible to mount a condensate tray inside the inclined wall to catch condensate in the lower part of the housing, and mount the heaters on the underside of the condensate tray. When the assembly is octagonal with straight side edges, the heaters can be rectangular mounted on the straight sides. When the assembly is circular, curved heaters can be used. Alternatively or additionally, if desired, a vaporization unit may be added to the assembly in addition to, or in place of, the cooled or heated air. It should be noted that the modalities described above will provide an arrangement which will cool areas where people are sitting or standing and additionally will provide a shadow by virtue of forming the upper part of the apparatus in the form of an awning. The second embodiment additionally provides the possibility to heat the same area as the cooled area, when the room temperature is cooled to a degree where heating is required. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.