Patent Application
20230204233
The embodiment herein generally relates to the field of method of providing an outdoor equipment or outdoor furniture cover with a slope or dome shaped/with inclined surfaces. Any HVAC-related units such as condensers or evaporators are examples of outdoor equipment. The cover would be placed over an outdoor equipment or outdoor furniture with substantially flat top surfaces. The cover is configured to have varying thicknesses on its top surface or provide synthetic adaptor to be placed under the cover's top surface and above the equipment/furniture's top surface to create an incline to prevent accumulation of rain water or ice on the top surface of the cover. Moreover the cover is configured to prevent accumulation of any debris such as dirt, leaves, twigs etc. and may also shield the outdoor unit from the sun. Accordingly, it is the objective to provide durable, maintenance-free cover for protecting outdoor equipment.
The all weather air conditioner outdoor unit cover 100 is made from a synthetic fiber with an inclined a top surface to allow quick drainage of rain water and preventing water from collection on the top surface of the cover.
As shown in embodiment 100, the air conditioner unit 101 has a top surface 180 which is substantial flat. The air conditioner cover embodiment 100 can be offered to a customer with a separate incliner piece 115 to be placed on the top of the top surface 180 to create an incline in the top surface 105 when the air conditioner cover 100 is installed over. The air conditioner cover embodiment 100 can be offered to a customer with the incliner piece 115 secured to the inner (lower) surface of the top surface of the air conditioner cover embodiment 100 to create an incline on the top surface 105 of the air conditioner cover embodiment 100.
The top surface of the air conditioner cover embodiment can be a square, a rectangular, a circle, a hexagon, an octagon or any other shape to match the shape of the top surface of the air conditioner unit 101. The top surface 105 further can have vertical wall surface 110 peripherally attached to provide protection to the side walls of the air conditioner unit 101. The air conditioner cover further may have a synthetic rope and a channel sewed at the bottom part of the vertical wall surface 110 to squeeze and secure the bottom part to the bottom part of the air conditioner unit 101. The vertical wall surface 110 further comprises a vent 125 that opens downward to prevent air pressure build up inside the cover on a windy day. The vent can be present on any of the embodiment of this invention.
Embodiment 200 is similar to the embodiment 100 with some exceptions such as the incliner piece 115 is secured the secondary top surface 116 that is secured to the top surface 105 of the air conditioner cover embodiment 200 peripherally 180.
Embodiment 300 illustrates other embodiments of fastening mechanism such as straps that runs over the inclined (not shown) top surface 105 and two strap ends 141 are secured to one another around the bottom surface of the air conditioner unit. The straps also can be partial 140 where they are secured to the vertical wall 110 of the air conditioner cover.
Additionally the vertical wall can feature a vertical surface slit 150 to allow wiring or hoses to pass over. The edges of the vertical surface slit 150 can have Velcro or any other kind of mechanism to secure two edges together.
Additionally the rope ends 131 and 132 inside the lower channel can be secured at the bottom with a locking set up or can be connected to one another with connecting mechanism to disconnect two ends 131 and 132 prior to sliding over the hoses and connect afterwards to secure rope at the lower part of the air conditioner unit 101. One or more features discussed in embodiment 300 also can be mix matched with other embodiments 100 and 200.
A close up view of the vertical surface slit 150; rope for tightening the bottom, edge of the vertical wall 110 is shown in
In some embodiments, the protective covers have the dimensions of about 25″×25″×30″ to about 30″×30″×32″ . . . In other embodiments, the cover has the dimensions of 2″×½″×″¼″. In still further embodiments, the cover is a combination of these sizes.
The air conditioner cover 500 can be entirely made out of synthetic fiber that secured the air conditioner unit from water and or now. The air conditioner cover 500 also can have top surface 105 made out of water resistant or water proof synthetic fabric while part or entire of the vertical wall 110 can be made out of breathable synthetic mess. The top surface 105 prevent water accumulation at the top surface 180 of the air conditioner unit while the breathable vertical walls 110 can provide all year around use even when the air conditioner unit is being used without removal of the air conditioner cover 500. The incliner piece 115 cab be provided to the customer separate, can be glued to the top surface 105 or can be sewed to secondary top surface 116 as taught in the embodiment 200.
The incliner piece 115 can be made from synthetic material such as plastic, nylon, polyester or non synthetic material such as wood, cotton, etc. that serves the purpose of the inclining the top surface of the air conditioner cover. Both the incliner piece and the top surface of the air conditioner cover embodiments discussed rests on the top surface of air conditioner unit they are being placed over.
Additionally the air conditioner cover may feature the rope ends 131 and 132 (not shown in
As shown in
In every embodiment discussed here, a cover securing mechanism such as one of the following: a rope, elastic, strap, latching mechanism is essential in maintaining the inclined surface when the cover is placed and secured over the air conditioner unit. With enough support to incline the top surface, a securing mechanism may be eliminated. The incliner piece in every embodiment can be glued to the top surface prior to cover's sale to customer or the top surface may comprises a pocket to secure the incliner piece or the customer can be guided put the incliner piece on top of the air conditioner unit prior to covering the air conditioner unit with the cover comprising the top surface and peripherally downward vertical surfaces. The top surface of each of the embodiments may contain hard synthetic material such as a plastic in combination with a fabric. The top surface of each of the embodiments may contain a fabric acting as an incliner piece to create at least one inclined surface. The top surface may also be made of a hard material only. The incliner piece of every embodiment can be a one piece or a combination of multiple pieces to create incline in the top cover surface when its placed upon a substantially flat top surface of an air conditioner unit. The incliner piece of every embodiments discussed in this application may be substantially rigid or a solid structural component (ex. plastic/synthetic piece) with limited flexibility to provide at least one downward inclining surface towards one or more of the vertical side surfaces of the cover and vertical side surfaces of the air conditioner unit its being placed over.
Additionally the air conditioner outdoor unit comes in various widths, depth and heights. Any HVAC-related unit such as a condenser or evaporator is an example of outdoor unit. A compatibility guidance can be provided on an online marketplace listing with reference height and reference width of compatible cover or the Air conditioning outdoor unit. The cover may have rectangular top surface with only vertical side surfaces connected to two opposite sides of the rectangular top surface. The other two opposite side surfaces may be made same fabric or fabric mesh (breathable) or may be absent.
Every embodiments discussed here can be offered to a customer by displaying a picture or an illustration of a top cover surface (portion of cover or entire cover) of the air conditioner outdoor unit cover inclined on a webpage or a product packaging; providing compatibility information including at least a width and a height references for the air conditioner outdoor unit cover on a webpage or the product packaging; providing the air conditioner outdoor unit cover comprising a top cover surface with peripheral vertical downward side surfaces; wherein the top cover surface is configured to provide at least one inclined surface upon its installation over an air conditioner outdoor unit, wherein the at least one inclined surface inclines at a higher degree than a top surface of the air conditioner outdoor unit its being rested upon, to unable drainage of water from the top cover surface to any of the peripheral side surfaces.
Every embodiment discussed in the current application can have an elastic material secured on vertical peripheral surfaces to secure the cover to the unit. The elastic material can be secure on top portion of the vertical peripheral surfaces above the vertical slit and/or below the vertical slit. Each of the incliner piece in every embodiments discussed in the current application is non-pneumatic piece. Incliner piece can be foldable or configured to take up less volumetric space to save space for packaging and expandable or extendable during its use. The Top surface can be substantially rectangular with each edge being substantially similar in length and height of peripheral surface being the minimum of 1:1 ratio with the top surface to maximum of being 1:2 of the top surface. The top surface also can be substantially round in shape.
Each of the 4 pieces 990 shown in
The following definitions are included to provide a clear and consistent understanding of the specification and claims. As used herein, the recited terms have the following meanings. All other terms and phrases used in this specification have their ordinary meanings as one of skill in the art would understand.
References in the specification to “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular aspect, feature, structure, moiety, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes that aspect, feature, structure, moiety, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment referred to in other portions of the specification. Further, when a particular aspect, feature, structure, moiety, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect or connect such aspect, feature, structure, moiety, or characteristic with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.
The term “and/or” means any one of the items, any combination of the items, or all of the items with which this term is associated. The phrase “one or more” is readily understood by one of skill in the art, particularly when read in context of its usage.
As used herein, the term “about” refers to an approximately +/−10% variation from a given value. It is to be understood that such a variation is always included in any given value provided herein, whether or not it is specifically referred to.
From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that I have invented an improved protective cover for an outdoor unit. Further, it is readily apparent that I have invented an improved protective cover for an air conditioning unit which is easily installed upon the top surface of an outdoor air conditioning unit so as to prevent the entry of water and debris into the unit. It is to be understood that the foregoing description and specific embodiments are merely illustrative of the best mode of the invention and the principles thereof, and that modifications and additions may be made to the protective cover by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Such changes and modifications within the skill of the art are intended to be covered by the appended claims.
The current non-provisional application is continuation-in-Part of non-provisional application Ser. No. 17/571,842 which claims benefit of provisional application No. 63/293,741 filed on Dec. 24, 2021.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63293741 | Dec 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17571842 | Jan 2022 | US |
| Child | 18175561 | US |
