Collapsible Evaporative Cooler Housing for Portable Air Cooling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional evaporative cooling systems require a large amount of space for operation and storage due to their rigid structures, making them difficult to transport and store, especially for portable systems.
Innovation Solution
An evaporative cooling system with a collapsible and expandable housing that allows for compact storage and easy transportation, featuring a water reservoir, air inlet and outlet, evaporative media, and a water distribution subsystem connected to a collapsible support structure, which can be expanded for operation and contracted for storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a large cooling area is provided to improve cooling effectiveness, then the cooling performance is improved, but the system becomes more difficult to store and transport
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed to be dynamically transformable between an expanded configuration for operation and a collapsed configuration for storage and transport. This dynamic structure allows the system to adapt its size based on operational needs, resolving the contradiction between requiring large cooling area for effectiveness and needing compact form for ease of storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is divided into multiple collapsible sections that can be folded or compressed together. This segmentation allows the large surface area housing to be broken down into compact segments for storage while maintaining the full expanded surface area when deployed for cooling operation.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid enclosure is used to maintain structural integrity, then the system stability is improved, but the system occupies more space during storage
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic collapsible structure that maintains rigidity and structural integrity when expanded for operation, but can be collapsed to reduce storage volume. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction between needing structural stability and minimizing storage space.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure utilizes flexible yet structurally sound materials or designs that allow the housing to collapse without compromising its ability to maintain structural integrity when in the expanded operational state. This enables the housing to adapt its volume while preserving necessary structural properties.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively cools air through evaporation and can be easily transported and stored in a compact form, addressing the space constraints of traditional systems while maintaining cooling efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
As the air flowing over or through the evaporative media, the air is cooled by evaporation of water from the media
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for evaporatively cooling air wherein a cooling system enclosure is alternately expandable and contractible. The housing is expandable for operation and contractible for storage or transportation. A water distributor delivers water from a source to evaporative media within the enclosure. Air is circulated over the evaporative media to cool the air. The enclosure may be expanded by creating a positive pressure differential between the interior and exterior of the enclosure. The water distributor and evaporative media may be configured to move from storage to operating positions within the enclosure as the enclosure moves from the contracted position to the expanded position. The enclosure may include substantially rigid portions that form a protective housing for the internal cooling components when in the contracted storage position. Wheels and stowable handles may facilitate transportation of the system.