KR20210099842A - Energy harvesting clothes - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to thermoelectric energy harvesting clothes and, more specifically, to thermoelectric energy harvesting clothes which introduce a thermoelectric energy harvesting system including a thin heat dissipation film and a thermoelectric element that can convert thermal energy into electrical energy and use it to increase usage efficiency of the thermal energy so as to minimize heat blocking felt and wearable equipment used as linings for firefighting or fire prevention clothes, thereby reducing the overall weight of clothes.

Description

Thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing {ENERGY HARVESTING CLOTHES}

The present invention relates to thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing including a thermoelectric element.

In general, firefighting clothing and chemical protective clothing corresponding to industrial special clothing protect the body of a worker from strong heat from a fire, water vapor continuously emitted from a hose, and chemicals harmful to the human body.

As shown in FIG. 1 , in general, fire fighting clothing including fire suits is composed of a total of three layers including a heat-blocking lining 100 , a moisture barrier 110 , and a flame-retardant outer material 130 .

Since the heat-blocking lining 100 is generally heavy and thickly woven in the form of heat-blocking felt to ensure maximum heat-blocking properties, it can dull the movement of firefighters whose mobility is important and induce exhaustion.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop a technology capable of free movement when wearing a firefighting suit by reducing the weight of the firefighting suit by reducing the weight of the heat-blocking lining.

In addition, wearable devices such as wearable helmets and emergency bells for the safety of firefighters are introduced into fire suits, and a battery is mounted together to efficiently utilize these wearable devices. However, there may be a problem in that the mobility of the firefighter is reduced due to the weight of the battery.

All of these problems may be caused by not efficiently using the heat transferred to the firefighting suit.

Recently, energy harvesting clothing in which an energy harvesting system is introduced into clothing that can efficiently use heat from clothing has been developed.

Korea Patent No. 1787193 relates to an energy harvesting system and energy harvesting clothing, and relates to a technology that converts various types of energy into electrical energy using solar power generation elements, thermoelectric elements, frictional energy generating layers, etc. it's about The technology is not specific to firefighting clothing, and it is intended to collect and utilize various types of energy from general clothing as electrical energy.

Therefore, in order to develop a lightweight firefighting suit necessary for the mobility of firefighters, by introducing the energy harvesting technology as described above, there is a growing interest in technology development that enables the efficient use of heat unevenly transmitted to the firefighting suit during a fire. .

Korean Patent No. 1787193

Accordingly, the present inventors have introduced a thermoelectric energy harvesting system including a heat dissipation thin film for uniformly distributing heat non-uniformly transmitted to the fire fighting suit and a thermoelectric element that can convert thermal energy into electrical energy and use it. It is possible to lighten the weight of other firefighting equipment provided in the , it was confirmed that it is possible to lighten the overall firefighting suit and improve the mobility of the firefighters, and completed the present invention.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, a flame-retardant outer fabric; moisture barrier; thermoelectric energy harvesting system; And it provides a thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing comprising a; and a lining for heat blocking.

The flame-retardant outer material may include one or more flame-retardant fibers selected from the group consisting of polybenzimidazole (PBI)-based fibers, polybenz oxazole (PBO)-based fibers, and aramid-based fibers.

The moisture barrier layer may include at least one selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Goretex, and a polyurethane membrane.

The thermoelectric energy harvesting system may include a heat dissipation thin film for uniformly transferring heat; and a thermoelectric element that converts thermal energy into electrical energy.

The heat dissipation thin film may include a metal selected from Cu, Al, Ag and Au; and a new material selected from the group consisting of graphene, carbon nanotube, and black phosphorus; may include at least one selected from the group consisting of.

The thermoelectric element may be a plurality of thermoelectric elements connected to an electrode and a battery.

The thermoelectric element may include at least one selected from the group consisting of an organic polymer and a carbon material.

The organic polymer is PEDOT: PSS (poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate), polypyrrole (polypyrrole), polyaniline (polyaniline), polycarbazole (polycarbazole), polythiophene (polythiophene), poly (3-hexyl) Silthiophene) (P3HT) and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) may include one or more conductive polymers selected from the group consisting of.

The carbon material may include at least one selected from the group consisting of graphene, carbon nanotube, graphite, carbon fiber, and fullerene.

The electrode may include at least one selected from the group consisting of metal, conductive polymer, organic polymer, carbon material, black phosphorus, and phosphorin.

The battery may be a flexible battery including at least one selected from the group consisting of a polymer composite battery, a flexible fiber battery, a cable battery, and a small all-solid-state battery.

The heat-blocking lining may be a heat-blocking felt comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of polybenzimidazole (PBI) and aramid fibers.

The thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing may be a firefighting suit, a flame-retardant clothing, or a fire-proof clothing.

When the thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing according to the present invention is used as a fire fighting suit, a fire protection suit or a flame retardant clothing, the thermal energy density is high and thus excellent power generation performance can be exhibited.

In addition, the thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing according to the present invention converts thermal energy into electrical energy, thereby reducing the total amount of heat transferred to a person wearing the clothing, thereby providing comfort.

As such, when the total amount of heat transferred to the person wearing the clothing is reduced, it is possible to reduce the weight of the heavy-duty heat-blocking felt used as the lining.

In addition, the energy generated by the thermoelectric energy harvesting system is continuously supplied to the battery to provide a lot of power required for wearable firefighting equipment. It can be prevented, and it can help with digestion.

1 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a conventional firefighting suit.
Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

As used herein, the term “thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing” refers to clothing including a thermoelectric energy harvesting system capable of converting thermal energy into electrical energy and storing it, and utilizing the stored electrical energy.

As used herein, the term "thermoelectric energy harvesting system" refers to a fabric including a heat dissipation thin film that uniformly transfers heat transferred from the outside and a thermoelectric element that converts the transferred heat into electrical energy. can be

Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting Clothing

The present invention relates to thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing.

Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 2, the thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing is a heat-blocking lining 100; a thermoelectric energy harvesting system 130 including a thermoelectric element 131 and a heat dissipation thin film 132 , a moisture barrier film 110 ; and a flame-retardant outer fabric 120 . The thermal barrier lining 100 , the thermoelectric element 131 , the heat dissipation thin film 132 , the moisture barrier film 110 , and the flame-retardant outer fabric 120 may be sequentially stacked. In addition, each of the laminated layers may be in the form of a fabric including fibers or materials suitable for the function of each layer, and garments may be formed by pressing or hot pressing.

The thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing may be used as a fire fighting suit, a fire protection suit, or a flame retardant clothing.

In the present invention, the flame-retardant outer material functions to protect the human body from the external environment.

The flame-retardant outer material may include one or more flame-retardant fibers selected from the group consisting of polybenzimidazole (PBI)-based fibers, polybenz oxazole (PBO)-based fibers, and aramid-based fibers. The aramid fiber is excellent in tensile strength, toughness, heat resistance and heat dissipation, and exhibits high strength and high elasticity properties. The aramid fibers may be meta-aramid fibers or para-aramid fibers.

In addition, the flame-retardant outer fabric may be treated with a waterproof coating on the back surface.

In addition, micropores may be formed in the flame-retardant outer material, and in this case, water may be discharged to the outside.

Therefore, due to the Leidenfrost effect, in which water emitted from the surface of the thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing meets a hot environment and forms a vapor film, the risk of directly affecting the surface of the fire protection clothing is reduced, thereby protecting the body, It becomes possible for the person wearing the clothing to participate in the digestive activity for a long time.

In the present invention, the moisture barrier film prevents penetration of external liquids such as water and harmful compounds and discharges water vapor (sweat) from the body to protect the human body from moisture.

The moisture barrier layer may be at least one selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Goretex, and a polyurethane membrane.

In the present invention, the thermoelectric energy harvesting system comprises a heat dissipation thin film for uniformly transferring heat; and a thermoelectric element for converting thermal energy into electrical energy.

The thermoelectric energy harvesting system may be evenly distributed throughout the clothing, but may be applied only to a portion exposed to fire for relative efficiency.

In the present invention, the heat dissipation thin film layer functions to uniformly disperse heat that is non-uniformly transferred from the outside.

The heat dissipation thin film layer may include a metal selected from Cu, Al, Ag and Au; and a new material selected from the group consisting of graphene, carbon nanotube, and black phosphorus; may include at least one selected from the group consisting of. When the heat dissipation thin film layer is a metal, the heat dissipation thin film layer may be in the form of a film, and in the case of a new material, the heat dissipation thin film layer may be in the form of a fabric or a film.

In addition, the heat dissipation thin film layer may be in the form of a porous thin film. When the heat dissipation thin film layer is in the form of a porous thin film, it is possible to solve the problem of low air permeability, which is a chronic problem of conventional firefighting suits.

In the present invention, the thermoelectric element may have a form in which a plurality of thermoelectric elements are connected to an electrode and a battery. For example, a plurality of thermoelectric elements are scattered in a checkerboard pattern, electrodes are connected to the plurality of thermoelectric elements, the plurality of thermoelectric elements are connected by wires, and a battery may be connected between these elements. In this case, the number of electrodes and the battery may be the same as or less than that of the thermoelectric element, respectively.

When thermal energy is converted into electrical energy in the thermoelectric element, the electrical energy may be stored in a battery.

In general, the thermoelectric element has a structure in which p-type and n-type thermoelectric materials are alternately connected. Since the thermoelectric element can convert thermal energy into electrical energy by the Seebeck effect, it can be utilized as a device for harvesting energy from waste heat.

In the past, inorganic semiconductors such as bismuth telluride were used as thermoelectric elements. In this case, although the electrical conductivity is excellent, it is difficult to introduce into wearable devices and clothing because it is heavy and fragile due to bending impact. There were downsides.

Accordingly, in the present invention, the thermoelectric element may include at least one selected from the group consisting of an organic polymer and a carbon material.

The organic polymer has a relatively low Seebeck coefficient compared to an inorganic semiconductor, but is flexible without being broken even by an external impact, so that it can be introduced into clothing. The organic polymer is PEDOT: PSS (poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate), polypyrrole (polypyrrole), polyaniline (polyaniline), polycarbazole (polycarbazole), polythiophene (polythiophene), poly (3-hexyl) silthiophene) (P3HT) and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) may include one or more conductive polymers selected from the group consisting of.

The carbon material has the advantage of having excellent mechanical properties and high electrical conductivity compared to organic polymers, so that it can be used integrally with the electrode. The carbon material may include at least one selected from the group consisting of graphene, carbon nanotubes, graphite, carbon fibers, and fullerenes.

The battery may store electrical energy converted by the thermoelectric element. The battery may be connected to the thermoelectric element by an electric wire, or when a carbon material having excellent electrical conductivity is blended in the thermoelectric element, the battery may be integrally formed in the thermoelectric element without an electric wire. In this case, the electric wire is not particularly limited as long as it is made of a material applicable to clothing, and may be, for example, a carbon electric wire. The battery may be located scattered throughout the clothing, or may be located at the end of the clothing.

The batteries used in the past are not suitable for clothing requiring flexibility because they are made of inorganic compounds and lack flexibility.

Accordingly, the battery of the present invention may be a flexible battery. The flexible battery may include at least one selected from the group consisting of a polymer composite battery, a flexible fiber battery, a cable battery, and a small all-solid-state battery, and preferably, the battery may be a cable battery.

The cable battery may include at least one selected from the group consisting of metal fiber, graphene, and carbon nanotubes, and in the case of such a cable battery, it can be freely bent when applied to a firefighting suit with a lot of movement. There is an advantage that

The electrode may be directly connected to the thermoelectric element and the battery, and electrical energy generated by the thermoelectric element may be stored in the battery connected to the electrode.

Since the electrode is applied to clothing, it may be made of a flexible conductive material that is flexible and stretchable.

For example, the electrode may include at least one selected from the group consisting of metal, conductive organic polymer, carbon material, black phosphorus, and phosphorine, and preferably, the electrode is graphene, carbon nanotube, graphite, carbon fiber. And it may be a carbon material comprising at least one of fullerene. In particular, since the graphene and carbon nanotubes can be pulled out like threads, an electrode integrated with a thermoelectric element and a battery can be manufactured. In addition, when a conductive organic polymer, for example, a conductive organic polymer blended with a carbon material is used as the electrode, it may be advantageous in terms of high efficiency and cost reduction.

In the present invention, the heat-blocking lining may also absorb heat, and may function to protect the human body by blocking external heat from direct contact with the human body.

The heat-blocking lining may be in the form of a felt.

The heat-blocking lining may be at least one selected from the group consisting of polybenzimidazole (PBI) and aramid fibers. The aramid fibers may be meta-aramid fibers or para-aramid fibers, preferably meta-aramid 100% nonwoven fabric.

The heat-blocking lining included in the thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing of the present invention may be lightweight compared to fire fighting suits or fire fighting suits that do not include a conventional thermoelectric energy harvesting system. This is because, as thermal energy is converted into electrical energy and used by the thermoelectric energy harvesting system as described above, heat absorption and heat blocking functions are less required by the thermal barrier lining.

The thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing as described above converts thermal energy into electrical energy by applying it to clothing that receives excessive heat, so that energy can be efficiently used. For example, the thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing may be applied to a firefighting suit or firefighting suit required in an environment exposed to fire. In addition, it can be applied to industrial flame-retardant clothing exposed to strong heat.

When the thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing according to the present invention is used as a fire fighting suit exposed to fire, the thermal energy density is high and thus excellent power generation performance can be exhibited.

In addition, the thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing according to the present invention converts thermal energy into electrical energy, thereby reducing the total amount of heat transferred to a person wearing the clothing, thereby providing comfort.

As such, when the total amount of heat transferred to the person wearing the clothing is reduced, it is possible to reduce the weight of the heavy-duty heat-blocking felt used as the lining.

In addition, the energy generated by the thermoelectric energy harvesting system is continuously supplied to the battery to provide a lot of power required for wearable firefighting equipment. It can be prevented, and it can help with digestion.

In the above, although the present invention has been described with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is described below with the technical idea of the present invention by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. Of course, various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of equivalents of the claims to be made.

100: lining for heat blocking
110: moisture barrier
120: flame retardant outer material
130: thermoelectric energy harvesting system
131: thermoelectric element
132: heat dissipation thin film

Claims (13)

flame retardant outer fabric; moisture barrier; thermoelectric energy harvesting system; And thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing including; lining for heat blocking. According to claim 1,
The flame-retardant outer material comprising at least one flame-retardant fiber selected from the group consisting of polybenzimidazole (PBI)-based fibers, polybenz oxazole (PBO)-based fibers and aramid-based fibers, thermoelectric Energy harvesting clothing. According to claim 1,
Wherein the moisture barrier layer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Goretex, and a polyurethane membrane, thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing. According to claim 1,
The thermoelectric energy harvesting system may include a heat dissipation thin film that uniformly transfers heat; and a thermoelectric element that converts thermal energy into electrical energy. 5. The method of claim 4,
The heat dissipation thin film may include a metal selected from Cu, Al, Ag and Au; and a new material selected from the group consisting of graphene, carbon nanotube, and black phosphorus; thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of. 5. The method of claim 4,
The thermoelectric element is a plurality of thermoelectric elements connected to the electrode and the battery, thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing. 5. The method of claim 4,
The thermoelectric element will include at least one selected from the group consisting of organic polymers and carbon materials, thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing. 8. The method of claim 7,
The organic polymer is PEDOT: PSS (poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate), polypyrrole (polypyrrole), polyaniline (polyaniline), polycarbazole (polycarbazole), polythiophene (polythiophene), poly (3-hexyl) Silthiophene) (P3HT) and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) will contain at least one conductive polymer selected from the group consisting of, thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing. 8. The method of claim 7,
The carbon material is graphene (Graphene), carbon nanotube (Carbon Nanotube), graphite, carbon fiber, and thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of fullerene. 7. The method of claim 6,
The electrode is a thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of metal, conductive polymer, organic polymer, carbon material, black phosphorus, and phosphorin. 7. The method of claim 6,
The battery is a polymer composite battery, a flexible fiber battery, a cable battery, and a flexible battery comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of a small all-solid battery, thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing. According to claim 1,
The heat-blocking lining includes a heat-blocking felt comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of polybenzimidazole (PBI) and aramid fibers, thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing. According to claim 1,
The thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing is a firefighting suit, flame retardant clothing or fire protection clothing, thermoelectric energy harvesting clothing.

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