KR102826552B1 - Cooling cloth - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to cooling clothing, and more specifically, to cooling clothing that can prevent health problems such as heatstroke, dehydration, and fatigue caused by a rise in body temperature in the summer simply by having workers wear the cooling clothing on their bodies in special environments such as various construction sites, industrial facilities, and agriculture, prevent discomfort and skin diseases caused by work clothes becoming wet due to sweat, and maintain a comfortable environment even in hot weather during daily life, sports, or outdoor activities, and further prevent decreased concentration and fatigue accumulation caused by a rise in body temperature for a long period of time, thereby ensuring the safety of the user and the efficiency of physical activities.

Description

Cooling cloth

The present invention relates to cooling clothing, and more specifically, to cooling clothing that can prevent health problems such as heatstroke, dehydration, and fatigue caused by a rise in body temperature in the summer simply by simply wearing it on the body of workers working in special environments such as various construction sites, industrial facilities, and agriculture, prevent discomfort and skin diseases caused by work clothes becoming wet due to sweat, and further maintain a comfortable environment even in hot weather during daily life, sports, or outdoor activities, and further prevent decreased concentration and fatigue accumulation caused by a rise in body temperature for a long period of time, thereby ensuring the safety of the user and the efficiency of physical activities.

Cooling clothing is a functional clothing developed to lower body temperature and maintain a comfortable state in a hot environment. Initially, the method of using highly breathable materials to promote the evaporation of sweat and release heat was mainly used. Later, technology was introduced to lower body temperature by inserting gel-type cooling pads or water-absorbing materials into the clothing.

In addition, a method to absorb heat when body temperature rises has been developed by utilizing phase change materials such as PCM (Phase Change Material), smart cooling clothing technology using temperature detection sensors and conductive fibers has emerged to provide customized cooling effects, and technology for emissivity-controlled fibers that reflect or emit heat of specific wavelengths is being developed in various directions.

These cooling clothing items are being actively applied in actual fields as they are effective in reducing fatigue and the risk of heatstroke caused by increased body temperature and improving heat management for people working in hot environments.

Meanwhile, recently used cooling clothing can be largely divided into cooling fluid circulation type and air blower type depending on the operating method. The cooling fluid circulation type has a structure that installs refrigerant pipes in the clothing and provides cold air to the body by circulating the cooled refrigerant through these refrigerant pipes.

Accordingly, the cooling fluid circulation method has the advantage of effectively lowering body temperature and providing a constant cooling effect for a long time, but has the disadvantage of performing cooling only in a limited manner to the area where the cooling pipe is located due to the structure in which the cooling air acts locally around the refrigerant pipe and the diffusion effect of the cooling air is insufficient. In addition, there was a problem in that condensation occurred around the refrigerant pipe, causing clothing to become wet.

In addition, since the blower type simply forces the air around the clothing to circulate inside the clothing, the effect of lowering body temperature in a high-temperature work environment is minimal, and there is a structural problem in that the cooling effect is significantly lower than that of the cooling fluid circulation type.

Publication patent 10-2021-0114615

The present invention has been created in consideration of the above-mentioned various problems of the prior art to solve them, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide cooling clothing that can prevent health problems such as heatstroke, dehydration, and fatigue caused by the rise in body temperature in the summer simply by being easily worn by workers working in special environments such as various construction sites, industrial facilities, and agriculture, prevent discomfort and skin diseases caused by work clothes becoming wet due to sweat, and further maintain a comfortable environment even in hot weather during daily life, sports, or outdoor activities, and further prevent decreased concentration and fatigue accumulation caused by the rise in body temperature for a long time, thereby ensuring the safety of the user and the efficiency of physical activities.

The present invention is characterized by including a means for achieving the above object, which comprises: a wearing part comprising an inner skin and an outer skin; a piping part installed between the outer skin and the inner skin; a cooling part connected to the piping part and circulating refrigerant into the piping part; and a blower motor connected to the piping part and injecting air into the piping part.

In addition, the pipe section is characterized by including a refrigerant pipe whose both ends are connected to the cooling section to form a refrigerant circulation path inside the wearing section; and an air pipe that is connected to the blower motor to form an air circulation path inside the wearing section.

In addition, the air tube is characterized in that a plurality of air outlet holes are formed penetrating along the longitudinal direction.

In addition, each of the plurality of air outlet holes is characterized in that it is formed to penetrate in a vertical direction with respect to the direction facing the body.

It is characterized in that at least one of the above inner and outer layers is formed of a mesh structure.

The present invention is simply worn by workers working in special environments such as construction sites, industrial facilities, and agriculture, thereby preventing the occurrence of health problems such as heatstroke, dehydration, and fatigue due to rising body temperature in the summer, preventing discomfort and skin diseases caused by work clothes becoming wet due to sweat, and further providing a comfortable environment even in hot weather during daily life, sports, or outdoor activities, and further preventing decreased concentration and fatigue accumulation due to prolonged rising body temperature, thereby providing the advantageous effects of ensuring the safety of users and the efficiency of physical activities.

In addition, it provides the effect of maximizing cooling efficiency by suppressing condensation in refrigerant pipes and evenly distributing cold air throughout the body.

Figure 1 is a drawing showing the external configuration of a cooling garment according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a drawing showing the front configuration of a cooling garment according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a drawing showing the back configuration of a cooling garment according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is a drawing showing a state where the shoulder area of the wearable part is partially cut and the pipe part is exposed.
Figure 5 is a drawing schematically illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of a main part of a cooling garment according to the present invention.
Figure 6 is a drawing schematically illustrating a cross-sectional configuration based on line AA illustrated in Figure 4.
Figure 7 is an enlarged drawing of the branch pipe section.
Figure 8 is a drawing conceptually illustrating the main components of a cooling garment according to the present invention.

The above-described objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through the following examples with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific structural and functional descriptions below are merely exemplified for the purpose of explaining the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention, and the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention may be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in this specification.

Since embodiments according to the concept of the present invention can have various changes and can take various forms, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the present specification. However, this is not intended to limit embodiments according to the concept of the present invention to specific disclosed forms, but should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

The terms first and/or second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited to the terms. The terms are only intended to distinguish one component from other components, for example, without departing from the scope of the invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a first component.

When it is said that a component is "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly connected or connected to that other component, but that there may be other components in between. On the other hand, when it is said that a component is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between. Other expressions used to describe the relationship between components, such as "between" and "directly between" or "adjacent to" and "directly adjacent to", should be interpreted similarly.

The terminology used herein is only used to describe particular embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be understood that the terms "comprises" or "has" as used herein specify that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof implemented, but do not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries, such as those defined in common usage, should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined herein.

The attached drawing 1 is a drawing illustrating the external configuration of the cooling garment according to the present invention, drawing 2 is a drawing illustrating the front configuration of the cooling garment according to the present invention, drawing 3 is a drawing illustrating the back configuration of the cooling garment according to the present invention, drawing 4 is a drawing illustrating a state in which a shoulder portion of the wearing portion (10) is partially cut off to expose a pipe portion (100), drawing 5 is a drawing schematically illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of a main part of the cooling garment according to the present invention, drawing 6 is a drawing schematically illustrating a cross-sectional configuration based on the line A-A illustrated in drawing 4, drawing 7 is an enlarged drawing of a branch pipe (130) portion, and drawing 8 is a drawing conceptually illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of a main part of the cooling garment according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of cooling clothing according to the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

Outdoor workers in the summer frequently experience health problems such as heatstroke, dehydration, and fatigue due to working long hours in high-temperature work environments and excessive body temperature rises; their work clothes become wet due to sweat, causing discomfort and skin diseases; they are at high risk of sunstroke and burns due to direct exposure to the sun; and they suffer from difficulties such as decreased concentration and accumulated fatigue due to high temperatures, which reduces work efficiency.

Accordingly, simply by having workers wear cooling clothing in special environments such as construction sites, industrial facilities, and agriculture, it is possible to control body temperature, thereby improving safety and work efficiency, and further ensuring productivity.

In addition, wearing cooling clothing during daily life, sports, or outdoor activities can improve the quality of life by maintaining a comfortable environment even in hot weather, and as hot and humid climates increase worldwide, cooling clothing is becoming increasingly necessary as an important solution to respond to climate change.

As described in the background technology described above, cooling clothing can be expected to control body temperature by simply applying breathable and cooling materials and adopting a cooling fluid circulation and ventilation structure, but each has its own drawbacks.

The present invention complements the shortcomings of the cooling fluid circulation type and the blower type, and maximizes the cooling performance by mutually highlighting their advantages, thereby ensuring user satisfaction and maximizing the body temperature control function. Based on the basic development concept of the cooling clothing, specific examples of the cooling clothing according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings.

The cooling clothing according to the present invention can be broadly exemplified as including a wearing part (10), a piping part (100), a cooling part (20), and a blower motor (30).

First, the wearing part (10) is a component responsible for the overall appearance of the cooling clothing according to the present invention, and has a typical clothing form so that it can be worn on the user's body.

For example, the wearable part (10) may be appropriately modified depending on the environment or purpose of use, such as having a top shape like a vest that is worn locally only on the user's upper body, or being implemented in the form of a suit that can widely cover the upper and lower body.

The wearable part (10) is composed of a double-layer structure of an inner skin (11) that comes into contact with the user's body and an outer skin (12) that is added to the outside of the inner skin (11), and has a structure in which a pipe part (100) is appropriately installed between the inner skin (11) and the outer skin (12).

At this time, part or all of the inner lining (11) and the outer lining (12) are implemented by combining appropriate materials in consideration of the usage environment of the cooling clothing. For example, part or all of the inner lining (11) and the outer lining (12) can be implemented with lightweight breathable materials, such as polyester, nylon, and cotton blended materials, that promote evaporation of sweat, facilitate smooth airflow, and quickly release heat and moisture to keep the skin dry.

As another example, part or all of the inner lining (11) and outer lining (12) may be made of known special cooling fibers that provide a cooling effect in the fabric itself.

As another example, part or all of the lining (11) and the outer skin (12) may be made of known emissivity-modulating materials that can reflect or emit heat of a specific wavelength to prevent heat accumulation in the body.

In particular, at least one of the inner lining (11) and the outer lining (12) may be implemented as a functional mesh fabric woven in a mesh structure with excellent breathability, for example, a mesh shape with holes. In a preferred embodiment, both the inner lining (11) that directly comes into contact with the user's body and the outer lining (12) that is added to the outer lining (12) may use mesh structured fabric, or the inner lining (11) may be made of mesh, and the outer lining (12) may be made of fabric with functions such as windproofing, waterproofing, and water repelling.

If the outer skin (12) is made of fabric having functions such as windproofing, waterproofing, and water repelling, the loss of cold air emitted from the space between the inner skin (11) and the outer skin (12) can be effectively prevented.

Next, the piping section (100) is a piping configuration that provides a conduit for the movement of refrigerant and compressed air provided from the cooling section (20) and the blower motor (30), and extends to the entire portion of the wearing section (10) to perform the function of transferring and diffusing cold air.

In particular, the piping section (100) in this embodiment is not a single piping structure that individually transports the refrigerant and compressed air provided from the cooling section (20) and the blower motor (30), but has a double pipe shape so that the cold air of the refrigerant and the compressed air can be mixed to provide sufficient cold air, which is its greatest feature.

That is, the cold air of the refrigerant provided from the cooling unit (20) and the compressed air provided from the blower motor (30) exchange heat with each other, thereby providing compressed air at a lower temperature, thereby creating a more comfortable environment.

For this purpose, the piping section (100) can be exemplified as including, for example, an air pipe (110), a refrigerant pipe (120), a branch pipe (130), and a drain pipe (140).

First, the air pipe (110) is a pipe configuration that is connected to the blower motor (30) and forms an air circulation path inside the wearing part (10).

The air pipe (110) has two ends connected to each other to form a closed path structure, and a single injection pipe (111) is formed by branching along the path of the air pipe (110) of this closed path structure and is directly connected to the blower motor (30).

Accordingly, when the blower motor (30) is operated to supply compressed air to the injection pipe (111), the compressed air passing through the injection pipe (111) is distributed to both sides of the air pipe (110) and supplied, while the air pipe (110) has a structure in which a plurality of air discharge holes (112) are formed through the length of the air pipe (110) to discharge the compressed air toward the outside.

At this time, if the air discharge hole (112) is formed in the direction of the inner skin (11) or outer skin (12) covering the outside of the air pipe (110), there is a problem in that the compressed air discharged from the air discharge hole (112) is directly blocked by the inner skin (11) or outer skin (12), or even by the body, thereby reducing the discharge pressure.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, each air discharge hole (112) is formed to penetrate in a vertical direction with respect to the direction facing the body as illustrated in FIG. 6, and has a structure that allows compressed air introduced into the air tube (110) to be smoothly discharged into the space between the inner skin (11) and the outer skin (12) without being blocked by the inner skin (11), the outer skin (12) or the body.

These air pipes (110) constitute the outermost part of the piping section (100), and since the refrigerant pipes (120) are installed inside the piping section (100), the air pipes (110) and the refrigerant pipes (120) have a double pipe structure.

Next, branch pipes (130) are installed in pairs on the path of the air pipe (110) and serve to introduce and guide the refrigerant pipe (120), which will be described later, into the inside of the air pipe (110).

For example, after segmenting a portion of the path of an air pipe (110), a branch pipe (130) may be installed at both ends of the segmented air pipe (110) to branch off a branch end (131) to guide the introduction of a refrigerant pipe (120) into the air pipe (110).

In other words, one end and the other end of the branch pipe (130) are each connected to the air pipe (110), and additionally, a branch end (131) formed by branching off in a different direction from the air pipe (110) can guide the refrigerant pipe (120) into the inside of the air pipe (110).

Next, the refrigerant pipe (120) is a pipe configuration in which both ends are connected to the cooling unit (20) to form a refrigerant circulation path inside the wearing unit (10).

At this time, the cooling unit (20) is installed on the outside of the wearable unit (10), and with respect to the cooling unit (20), which is an external configuration, both ends of the refrigerant pipe (120) are connected to the cooling unit (20), respectively, and are introduced into the inside of the branch end (131) of the branch pipe (130), so as to have a structure in which the pipe is extended along the longitudinal direction of the air pipe (110) within the air pipe (110).

In the refrigerant pipe (120), low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant that has been heat-exchanged by the action of the cooling unit (20) circulates, and due to the action of this refrigerant, strong cold air is discharged around the refrigerant pipe (120). At this time, since the refrigerant pipe (120) itself is structurally mounted on the inside of the air pipe (110), the compressed air injected into the air pipe (110) is heat-exchanged with the cold air around the refrigerant pipe (120) and then discharged at a strong pressure through the air discharge hole (112), thereby providing a cool feeling to the user.

That is, since the cooling effect is not limited to the refrigerant itself circulating in the refrigerant pipe (120), but a structure is realized in which the cold air provided from the refrigerant can be discharged at high pressure, heat exchange between the refrigerant and the blown air is more efficient, and the cooling effect delivered to the body can be further maximized. In addition, since the refrigerant pipe (120) and the air pipe (110) can be structurally integrated, the utilization of the space between the limited inner skin (11) and the outer skin (12) can be increased, and since the refrigerant pipe (120) and the air pipe (110) do not need to be arranged separately, the structure can be configured more simply, and the feeling of a foreign body on the user's skin can be minimized, thereby improving the wearing comfort.

In addition, since the refrigerant pipe (120) is located inside the air pipe (110), not only can heat loss due to the external environment be minimized, but the compressed air can also control the temperature of the surface of the refrigerant pipe (120) to suppress condensation.

Meanwhile, most cooling clothing is used in high temperature environments. At this time, in the case of the refrigerant pipe (120), the temperature of the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant pipe (120) is usually significantly lower than the dew point temperature of the moisture contained in the surrounding high temperature air. Therefore, it is obvious that even if compressed air is provided, condensation will form on the surface.

If the condensate that has leaked out is not properly disposed of, it can cause discomfort by wetting the wearable part (10), and if the wearable part (10) soaked in condensate is used for a long period of time, not only can the risk of skin disease or infection increase, but the wearable part (10) can be damaged or cooling performance can be reduced due to condensation around the refrigerant pipe (120), and if the condensate flows into the cooling part (20) or blower motor (30), there is a possibility that it can cause damage to electronic components or safety issues.

However, in this embodiment, the refrigerant pipe (120) itself is not structurally exposed to the outside as it is mounted inside the air pipe (110), and the air pipe (110) surrounding the refrigerant pipe (120) forms a closed path, so the condensate generated on the outer surface of the refrigerant pipe (120) is naturally trapped inside the air pipe (110), and the amount that randomly flows out toward the wearing part (10), the cooling part (20), the blower motor (30), etc. is minimal.

In addition, since the moisture inside the air pipe (110) is released to the outside by the pressure of the compressed air, the structure can maintain a dry state.

Furthermore, by using the drain pipe (140) to be described later to direct the condensate collected inside the air pipe (110) to be discharged in a certain direction, various problems caused by indiscriminate generation of condensate are solved.

More specifically, a sealing cap (150) for sealing the open branch (131) is installed in the branch end (131) of the branch pipe (130), and a drain pipe (140) is formed to extend a certain length outward from the sealing cap (150) so as to induce condensate to be discharged in a certain direction.

At this time, in the case of the branch pipe (130), it is placed approximately at the waist point of the user who wears the cooling clothing on the upper body, and the drain pipe (140) is formed to extend downward from the branch pipe (130) so that the condensate does not flow directly to the components such as the wearing part (10), the cooling part (20), and the blower motor (30), but is continuously discharged toward the ground.

Next, the cooling unit (20) is connected to the refrigerant pipe (120) of the piping unit (100) and plays a role in circulating the refrigerant through the refrigerant pipe (120) of the piping unit (100).

At this time, the cooling unit (20) has a typical heat exchanger structure to which a refrigeration cycle is applied, for example, it acts as a physical passage through which the refrigerant circulates and repeats state changes (liquid → gas, gas → liquid), and includes a coil (21) of variable diameter to perform compression and expansion of the refrigerant to support continuous operation of the refrigeration cycle, a motor (22) to provide pressure for refrigerant circulation, and other valves, a condenser, a compressor, a power supply unit, a control unit, etc., and since the cooling unit (20) may further include configurations necessary for the refrigeration cycle other than the described configuration or may be implemented in various ways from known contents, a specific description thereof will be omitted.

The blower motor (30) can be packaged inside a casing (40) of a separate body structure together with the cooling unit (20), and the casing (40) is configured so as not to interfere with body movement while being connected to the outside of the wearing unit (10).

In addition, although not shown, an operation switch is connected to the casing (40) to control the operation of the cooling unit (20) and the blower motor (30).

At this time, basically, the operation switch supports a cooling mode in which the cooling unit (20) and the blower motor (30) operate simultaneously, and, if necessary, can support a blowing mode in which the operation of the cooling unit (20) is stopped and only the operation of the blower motor (30) is performed.

This blowing mode can be expected to save energy through the exclusive use of the blower motor (30) or provide a drying function inside the air pipe (110).

The interior of the air pipe (110) is difficult to access with cleaning tools due to its sealed structure, and since it is structured to be bent multiple times, there is a high possibility that condensate will remain, which increases the possibility of mold growth, making it difficult to maintain hygiene. However, if compressed air is continuously supplied to the interior of the air pipe (110) after use of the cooling clothing, a strong ventilation effect is applied to the interior of the air pipe (110), which effectively dries any remaining condensate remaining inside the air pipe (110) or on the surface of the refrigerant pipe (120), making it easier to maintain the hygiene of the interior of the air pipe (110).

In summary, the present invention prevents the occurrence of health problems such as heatstroke, dehydration, and fatigue caused by the rise in body temperature in the summer simply by having workers wear cooling clothing on their bodies in special environments such as various construction sites, industrial facilities, and agriculture, prevents the occurrence of discomfort and skin diseases caused by work clothes becoming wet due to sweat, and further maintains a comfortable environment even in hot weather during daily life, sports, or outdoor activities, and further prevents decreased concentration and fatigue accumulation caused by prolonged rise in body temperature, thereby providing the advantageous effects of ensuring the safety of users and the efficiency of physical activities.

The embodiments of the present invention described above are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible from the embodiments. Therefore, it will be readily understood that the present invention is not limited to the forms mentioned in the detailed description above. Accordingly, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims. In addition, the present invention should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes within the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the appended claims.

10: Wearing part
11: Endothelium
12: Outer skin
100: Plumbing
110: Air pipe
111: Injection tube
112: Air exhaust hole
120: Refrigerant pipe
130: Branch pipe
131: Branch
140: Drain pipe
150: Cap
20: Cooling section
30: Blower motor
40: Casing

Claims (5)

A wearable part consisting of an inner skin and an outer skin;
A pipe installed between the inner and outer skin;
A cooling unit connected to a piping unit and circulating refrigerant through the piping unit; and
It includes a blower motor connected to the pipe section and injecting air into the pipe section;
The above piping section,
An air pipe in which the two ends are connected to each other to form a closed path structure, but the injection pipe is branched along the path and is directly connected to the blower motor to form an air circulation path inside the wearing part;
A branch pipe installed in pairs of two on the path of the above air pipe; and
It includes a refrigerant pipe, each end of which is connected to a cooling unit to form a refrigerant circulation path inside the wearable unit, and which is introduced into the branch pipe and formed to extend along the length of the air pipe inside the air pipe;
A cooling garment characterized in that a plurality of air outlet holes are formed through the air pipe along the longitudinal direction. delete delete In claim 1,
A cooling garment, characterized in that each of the plurality of air outlet holes is formed to penetrate in a vertical direction with respect to the direction facing the body. In claim 1,
A cooling garment characterized in that at least one of the inner and outer layers is formed of a mesh structure.

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