Portable refrigerator
OwnerHarry J. Keefeinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Refrigerating apparatus including a portable container and a manually operated refrigerating system which is intermittently operated to extract air from the container, compress, cool, and expand the extracted air, and return the cooled expanded air to the container to maintain a predetermined low temperature within the container.
Claims10
Apparatus for cooling air following removal of the air from a portable food storage container or the like and prior to recirculation of the air through said container comprising:
- air outlet means for communicating air at a predetermined temperature from said container and air inlet means for communicating cooled air at a lesser temperature to said container;
- compressor means connected to said air outlet means for receiving air from said container and compressing the removed air to heat the removed air;
- heat exchanger means receiving a flow of compressed air from said compressor means and reducing the temperature of said compressed air;
- high flow, low suction, air amplifying means, responsive to a small primary flow of compressed air for driving a relatively large flow of ambient air over said heat exchanger means to cool said compressed air;
- means for mounting said compressor means, said heat exchanger means, and said amplifier means on said container;
- and
- conduit means connected to said inlet means and said air amplifying means for returning cooled air from said heat exchanger means to said inlet means to cool said container.
The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein said compressor means and said expander means are unitary, said heat exchanger means having an inlet port connected to said compressor means and an outlet port connected to said expander means, said compressor means including an air intake port connected to said outlet means and said expander means including an exhaust port connected to said conduit means.
Refrigerating apparatus for cooling air in a portable food storage container following removal of the air from the container and prior to recirculation of the air to said container comprising:
- fluid outlet means for extracting air at a predetermined temperature from said container and fluid inlet means for communicating refrigerated air at a lesser predetermined temperature to said container;
- compressor means connected to said fluid outlet means for receiving air from said container and compressing the removed air;
- heat exchanger means for receiving compressed air from said compressor means and reducing the temperature of said compressed air when ambient air is passed over said heat exchanger means;
- means for mounting said compressor means and said heat exchanger means on said portable container for movement therewith;
- means coupled to said compressor means for receiving a portion of said compressed air to provide a flow of compressed air;
- means responsive to said flow of compressed air for producing a relatively large flow of ambient air over said heat exchanger means;
- and
- conduit means connected to said heat exchanger means and said inlet means for communicating cooled air from said heat exchanger means to said inlet means to cool said container.
Refrigeration apparatus for a portable container for food and the like comprising
- unitary air compressor means for compressing air, at a predetermined temperature, received from said container and air expander means for permitting compressed air to expand and be returned to said container at a lesser temperature;
- a heat exchanger having an inlet port connected to one side of said unitary means and an outlet port connected to another side of said unitary means;
- air directing means, responsive to a small flow of compressed air, for directing a relatively large flow of air over said heat exchanger to cool the compressed air therein;
- and
- bleeder means connected to said compressor means and said air directing means for bleeding off a portion of the air compressed by said compressor means to provide said small flow of compressed air to operate said air directing means.
A method of refrigerating comprising the steps of removing air having a predetermined temperature from a container to be cooled;
- compressing the removed air to elevate the temperature thereof;
- passing the compressed air through a heat exchanger to reduce the temperature thereof;
- bleeding off a portion of the compressed air to produce a flow of air;
- utilizing the bled off portion of said compressed air to produce a relatively larger flow of ambient air and directing the larger flow of ambient air over said heat exchanger to cool said compressed air;
- and
- expanding the cooled compressed air and returning the expanded air to said container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.