Cooling chair

Abstract

A cooling device includes an insulated cooler for holding cold fluid and ice. The device has a chamber, a cover, and a fill and drain valve. A tube connects the valve to a pump. The pump provides cold fluid to a bladder configured to fit a chair. The bladder can include a back portion, a seat portion and an internal manifold arranged in a closed loop for optimized cooling. The bladder can be reconfigured to cool a targeted portion of a user's body such as a leg, arm, neck, or torso.

Claims

1. A cooling device comprising: an insulated cooler including a fluid reservoir and a cover, said cooler containing a fluid including water or a water-ice mixture, said cooler having an integral fill and drain valve, said fill and drain valve including a handle for opening or closing said fill and drain valve; a first hose and a second hose, said first hose being connected to said fill and drain valve and to a reversible pump; said second hose being connected to said reversible pump and a bladder, said reversible pump having a first fill mode and a second drain mode, said first and second hose forming a reversible one-way fill or drain fluid path between said insulated cooler and said bladder depending on said mode of said reversible pump; said bladder including a back portion and a contiguous seat portion configured to fit a chair, said bladder including an internal manifold comprising a plurality of substantially rectangular interconnected chambers arranged in a unidirectional countercurrent arrangement between said cooler and said bladder, said manifold including a first peripheral rectangular chamber configured to channel the fluid from said seat portion to said back portion, said back portion including a first and a second rectangular longitudinal chamber connected by a first rectangular transverse chamber, said second rectangular longitudinal chamber being connected to a second peripheral rectangular chamber configured to channel the fluid from said back portion to said seat portion, said seat portion including a third and a forth longitudinal rectangular chamber connected by a second rectangular transverse chamber, said forth rectangular longitudinal chamber being connected to said first rectangular peripheral chamber, wherein said pump provides the fluid from said cooler to fill and or drain said bladder according to the unidirectional countercurrent arrangement of the plurality of chambers thereby providing efficient cooling to a user sitting in said chair.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said bladder includes an integral drain valve for draining said fluid after use.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said first and second hoses and said pump are configured to cyclically fill and drain said fluid between said cooler and said bladder.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein said manifold includes a thermostat for monitoring a temperature of said fluid.

5. A method of using a cooling device comprising the steps of: filling an insulated cooler with water, ice, or a water-ice mixture to form a fluid, said insulated cooler having a fluid reservoir, a cover and an integral fill and drain valve, said fill and drain valve including a handle for opening or closing said fill and drain valve; connecting a first hose to said fill and drain valve and to a reversible pump; connecting a second hose to said reversible pump and to a bladder, said reversible pump having a first fill mode and a second drain mode, said first and second hose forming a reversible one-way fill or drain fluid path between said insulated cooler and said bladder depending on said mode of said reversible pump said bladder including a back portion and a contiguous seat portion, said bladder including an internal manifold comprising a plurality of substantially rectangular interconnected chambers arranged in a unidirectional countercurrent arrangement between said cooler and said bladder, said manifold including a first peripheral rectangular chamber configured to channel the fluid from said seat portion to said back portion, said back portion including a first and a second rectangular longitudinal chamber connected by a first rectangular transverse chamber, said second rectangular longitudinal chamber being connected to a second rectangular peripheral chamber configured to channel the fluid from said back portion to said seat portion, said seat portion including a third and a forth rectangular longitudinal chamber connected by a second rectangular transverse chamber, said forth rectangular longitudinal chamber being connected to said first rectangular peripheral chamber; and circulating the fluid from said cooler to fill and flow through said bladder according to the unidirectional countercurrent arrangement of the plurality of rectangular chambers thereby providing efficient cooling to a user sitting in said chair.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said bladder is configured to be a seat pad and a back pad for a chair.

7. The method of claim 5, further including the step of draining said manifold by opening a manifold drain valve.

8. The method of claim 5, further including the step of periodically recirculating said fluid between said bladder and said cooler when said fluid is within a specified temperature range.

9. The method of claim 5, further including the step of cyclically recirculating said fluid between said bladder and said cooler.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 depicts an isometric view of one non-limiting embodiment of some of the elements of the instant cooling device.

(2) FIG. 2 depicts a front view of one non-limiting embodiment of a portion of the instant device.

(3) FIG. 3 depicts an isometric view of one non-limiting embodiment of the device as used for cooling a body part.

DESCRIPTION

(4) FIGS. 1 and 2 depict a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. The device 100, includes a cooler or ice box 2 having an insulated chamber 4 and cover or lid 6 for storing ice/water 8 and various sundries that require cooling. The cooler can be a Styrofoam cooler, a molded polymeric cooler, or any other water proof insulated container. The cooler 2 includes a fill and drain valve 10 for a fluid, such as ice water to flow into or out of the cooler. The valve can be opened or closed.

(5) A hose 12 for transporting fluid can be connected to the valve 10 on one end and connected to a pump 14 on the other end. The pump can be a single direction flow pump for pumping cold water from the cooler or a dual flow pump for pumping water in either direction to recharge the device with cold water as necessary. The pump can be operated by any known power source such as a battery or a solar cell.

(6) In some embodiments, the pump has a switch for manually turning the pump on or off. In other embodiments, the pump can be operated automatically by a thermostat in that can be set by a user to sense when the fluid is too warm or too cold in order to control the operation of the pump. When more cooling is demanded, the pump can operate continuously, when less cooling is required, the pump can operate intermittently.

(7) In this embodiment, cold water 8 can be pumped via outlet hose 18 through chair pad bladder 20. Flow lines 16 indicated the direction of fluid flow in one particular embodiment. In this embodiment, bladder 20 include chambers 20A-20G. The cold fluid enters the bladder 20 and into chambers 20A, 20B, and 20C, respectively in the top or back portion of the bladder/pad. Fluid then exist chamber 20C and enters 20D which connects to 20E in the bottom or seat portion of the bladder. Fluid then moves through 20E-G, before returning to the entry point at the exit of hose 18. The bladder can include a drain valve 24 so that warm or used fluid can be emptied and replaced with fresh cold fluid as the user desires.

(8) The seat pad bladder 20 can be placed on a chair 22, such as a folding portable chair. The bladder can be connected or disconnected from the chair as required by a user. In some embodiments, the bladder is an open structure that can be filled or drained. The seat pad bladder 20 can be built into the structure of a chair 22 or can be a separate pad that is placed on top of an existing chair pad and seat back in order to provide maximum contact with a user's body (See FIG. 3 for example).

(9) The pump can be shut off leaving cold water inside the chair pad bladder. A temperature sensor can be used to determine when the water becomes too warm or the user can manually operate the pump for additional cooling. When the water becomes too warm, the water can be pumped back into the cooler through hose 12 where it can mix with cold water or ice. A fresh supply of cold water can then be pumped back into the pad. In some embodiments, once the water in the pad becomes too warm, it can be eliminated through a manual drain valve 24 and discarded.

(10) In some embodiments of the invention, no pump is required. In this case the cooling device is operated by gravity. The cooler is placed in an elevated position which allows flow of cold water into to the bladder and, after use, allows warm water to be eliminated from the drain valve.

(11) In other embodiments of the invention, the bladder can be shaped in a variety of useful shapes for cooling. For example, a chair seat pad, a bed pad, or a chaise lounge pad.

(12) In some embodiments, the bladder can be fashioned into a cooling device for a specific part of the body such as, for example, a head, neck, wrist, or ankle bladder that can be wrapped around and secured to a specific part of the body with fasteners, such as hooks and loops, for maximizing contact pressure and cooling.

(13) For example, FIG. 3 depicts a device 200 including for targeted cooling of a user's 224 body part, such as a leg 226. The device includes a cooler 202 having a chamber 204, and a lid 206 for insulating cold water and ice 208. Fill and drain valve 210 is connected to a hose 212. The hose connects to pump 214 which connects on the outputs side via hose 218 to cooling bladder 216. In this embodiment, the bladder 216 can include the same features as the bladder shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, including the flow chambers 220 and a drain valve (not shown). The bladder can be configured to be used as a seat pad in a chair (See FIGS. 1-2) and then removed from the chair 222 and reconfigured to be used as a leg cooling device for the user 224. The bladder can be wrapped around the user's leg 226, and secured with hook and loop fasteners 220 or any known fastening means.

(14) The bladder can include a variety of configurations for efficiently cooling the user or a part of the user's body. For example, a radiator type chair pad bladder can include parallel tubes. The cold fluid flows down the length on one tube and back down the length of the next adjacent tube, then down the length of the next adjacent tube, etc. thus maximizing cooling of the user.

(15) Alternatively, cold fluid can be pumped through a first manifold then down a length of parallel tubes or chambers connected to the entry side of the first manifold to a second manifold connected to the exit side of the tubes or chambers for certain applications.

(16) In some configurations a single direction flow pump is used. The cooling fluid is drained and discarded before refilling with cold fluid, while other configurations include a dual direction or recirculation pump so the fluid in the bladder is returned to the cooler and mixed with the cold fluid before recharging the manifold. A constant recirculation configuration can be used where the fluid is constantly pumped from the cooler to the manifold and returned through a two-way hose or a separate return line.

(17) One or more pumps may be utilized. The pumps can be operated by battery, solar power, or any other known power source. The pump can be a powered pump or a manually operated pump. For example, a siphon can be used or a bulb type pump that the user operates by hand or by foot to fill the bladder with water, empty the water, or recirculate the water. Any known pump means is contemplated.

(18) The device may include a thermostat for sensing and controlling the temperature and causing the pump to active upon a cooling demand or deactivate when no cooling demand is present.

(19) Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the disclosure herein.