WO2011124936A1

WO2011124936A1 - Cooling apparatus for cooled clothing

Info

Publication number: WO2011124936A1
Application number: PCT/HU2011/000032
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gábor PUSZTAY; Sándor SZÉKELY; József TEMESVÁRI
Original assignee: Pusztay Gabor; Szekely Sandor; Temesvari Jozsef
Priority date: 2010-04-09
Filing date: 2011-04-08
Publication date: 2011-10-13
Also published as: HU3854U; HU1000090V0

Abstract

A cooling device for cooled clothing (2), comprising a thermally insulated housing; a tank (3) for a fluid coolant, the tank (3) is formed in the housing; pipelines (5) for the coolant and with a coolant transporting pipe system (4) of the cooled clothing (2); a pump (15) inserted in one of the pipelines (5) for circulating the coolant; an electrical power source (10) powering the pump (15) for circulating the coolant and a heat exchanger unit (22) realized by one cold pack (23), a pipe coil (25) is arranged within the cold pack (23); the coil (25) is coupled with a quick coupling unit (24) arranged on the cold pack (23); an output (20b) of the second coolant circulation; a temperature sensor (27) is introduced in the tank (3) and the output of the temperature sensor (27) is connected to a control unit (28) driving the pumps (15, 20).

Description

Cooling apparatus for cooled clothing

Technical Field

The invention relates to a cooling device for cooled clothing, with a thermally insulated housing, a tank for fluid coolant arranged in the housing, several pipelines coupled to the tank for the coolant and a coolant-promoting pipe system of the cooled clothing, a pump inserted in one of the pipelines for circulating the coolant, an electrical power source providing energy to the pump for the circulation of the coolant and arranged in the housing, and a heat exchanger, wherein said heat exchanger is fixed in the housing and providing cooling of the coolant being in physical contact with the heat exchanger.

Background Art

In everyday life there are many situations in which an individual cooling rather than universal cooling of the whole area seems much more convenient, or just entirely possible. That is the purpose, among others, of the cooled garments, which are usually carried to being able to stay for a shorter or longer period in a pleasant environment - or is made possible only by the appropriate cooled clothing to exercise the proposed activity at all.

Various cooled garments known. Much of this clothing includes a tube system containing predominantly silicone tubes in which circulates any coolant. The coolant is cooled or a desired temperature is maintained by a cooling device, either forming an integral part of the clothing or attached organically thereto, or detachably connected to the clothing in any way.

Hungarian utility model U2768 describes a device for changing the temperature, assigned to a clothing and/or similar protective equipment that is in connection with a human body or covering at least a part of the human body, comprising means for generating heat energy as well as means for heat exchange thermally connected to said heat energy generating means for supplying heat energy to the human body or drawing heat energy from the human body. The means for heat exchange is formed as an insert built of elastic tubes containing and transporting a liquid heat transferring medium. Said insert is arranged as a coiled tube behind the lining of the clothes to be cooled and the heat transferring liquid formed of pure water or a mixture of water and antifreeze is led through a channel in a heat exchange block which is formed in a heat generating means implemented as a portable propane burner of small dimensions. The burner is in connection with one side of the water-air heat exchange block and is arranged in a housing, thermally isolated from the environment. A disadvantage of this known solution is that in many application areas heat production by open flame is prohibited, and in case of depletion of energy source, e.g. running out of gas, it can be difficult and time consuming to put back the device into service, for which often lack the time and possibility.

For a long time, a simple cooled clothing has been proposed where a container or tank is associated with the clothing. The tank contains mostly pure water and is capable to be filled up with ice. The water cooled by the ice will then be circulated by hand or in more contemporary cases with an electric pump inside the clothing. Neither the efficiency nor the handling of this solution today can be classified as desirable.

In a development of the above solution, use of so-called cold packs or ice packs has been proposed which are usually used in coolers, travelling ice boxes, etc. This has improved the situation such that one should be expected no more thawing ice, which can flow from the tank. A drawback of this solution is that it produces a cooling effect which depends strongly on the cooling capacity of the cold packs, which usually have a poor efficiency and usually allow for a use only over a period of 10 to 15 minutes. Disclosure of Invention

An object of the invention is to create a cooling device for cooled clothing ensuring a longest-term cooling effect at the highest possible efficiency. Another object is to create that kind of arrangement whereby the cooling effect can be extended with only few manual movements in a very short time and without special measures.

The stated problem has been solved by a cooling device for cooled clothing, with a thermally insulated housing, a tank for fluid coolant arranged in the housing, several pipelines coupled to the tank for the coolant and a coolant-promoting pipe system of the cooled clothing, a pump inserted in one of the pipelines for circulating the coolant, an electrical power source providing energy to the pump for the circulation of the coolant and fastened in the housing, and a heat exchanger, wherein said heat exchanger is fixed in the housing and providing cooling of the coolant being in physical contact with the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is realized by one cold pack cooled in the solid state at the initial state of the cooling device, wherein a pipe coil is arranged within the cold pack, said pipe coil forming a part of the coolant pipeline; the pipe coil is coupled with a quick coupling unit arranged on the cold pack; a pipeline branch is inserted in the pipeline for the coolant in a section before the tank which provides for the mixing of the coolant, the pipeline branch is connected to an input of a second coolant circulating pump; an output of the second coolant circulation pump is connected to an input of the quick coupling unit communicating with the pipe coil of the ice pack; an output of the quick coupling unit of the cold pack is connected over a further pipe section to the tank for the coolant; a temperature sensor is introduced in the tank for the coolant in a liquid-tight manner; and the output of the temperature sensor is connected to a control input of a control unit driving the pumps independently from each other via control outputs.

In a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention the cold pack contains pure water or a saline solution.

In a further advantageous exemplary embodiment of the invention the electrical power source comprises single-use primary cells or rechargeable secondary cells.

In a further advantageous exemplary embodiment of the invention the pipelines of the cooling device are coupled via a further quick coupling unit with the coolant pipe system promoting the cooling of the cooled clothing.

Brief Description of Drawings

Features, nature and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings showing a non-limiting embodiment of the proposed cooling device and wherein:

Fig. 1 shows schematically an exemplary embodiment of the cooling device

according to the present invention, and

Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of a possible implementation and application of the cooling device according to the invention of Fig. 1. Description of Embodiments

A cooling device according to the invention shown only as a non-limiting advantageous exemplary variant is designed as a compact unit of small dimensions, which can for example releasably be attached to a belt. As shown in Fig. 1 , the cooling device has a housing 1 of plastic material that can withstand mechanical effects on higher temperatures between about 40 to 60°C as well and accommodates the different units of the cooling device in a fixed manner. Within the housing 1 a tank 3 is arranged, which receives a fluid coolant for a clothing 2 schematically indicated in Fig. 1. The coolant is in the simplest case of pure water or a salt-water (saline) solution. The tank 3 is either a separate or separately produced unit or the interior of the housing 1 can be formed in a manner known for a person skilled in the art such that a tank 3 is formed by a portion of the housing 1. The tank 3 also promotes the mixing and equalization of the temperature of the coolant contained, for example, by proper deflection elements arranged in the interior of the tank 3 and known in the field of heat exchangers for a person skilled in the art. The tank 3 may have heat-insulating properties, either due to the own material or by the aid of a thin thermal insulating layer not explicitly shown in the Figures, such as a polystyrene layer covering the outer surface of the tank 3.

The housing 1 of the proposed cooling device is, as already mentioned, attached to a clothing 2 to be cooled. The clothing 2 schematically illustrated in Fig. 1 is in the illustrated case some kind of an outerwear, e.g. a jacket, blouse, coat or coverall, to the inner side of which a pipe system 4 manufactured mostly of silicone tubing is attached, usually sewn in a manner known from prior art. For the majority of the previously known solutions, a tube system of the clothes is undetachably linked to a heat- generating or cooling unit, which is often strapped to the wearer's clothes. On the contrary, the proposed clothes 2 keeps the comfort of the person wearing the clothes 2 in view insofar the housing 1 and the pipe system 4 of the garment 2 are interconnected via a quick coupling unit 6 inserted into the pipeline 5, said quick coupling unit 6 ensures a sealed connection between said parts of the cooling device, in this case the housing 1 and the pipe system 4 of the garment 2 and provides a connection or disconnection by a single action. Said quick coupling unit 6 including as many quick connector elements as the number of the tubes building the pipeline 5 i.e., two quick connector elements in the exemplary cooling device shown.

On the housing, at the opposite side walls 7 thereof there are lugs 7 attached having an inner slot 8 through which e.g. a belt -not shown - can be led. The housing 1 of the cooling device is attached by means of the tabs 7 on the belt.

On one side of the housing 1 there is a battery compartment formed having lid 9 which can be closed and opened without any tool and the battery compartment accommodates either single-use primary cells or rechargeable secondary cells, such as Ni-MH or Li- Ion or Li-Po batteries constituting a power source 10 of the cooling device. In the illustrated embodiment, the cooling unit comprises ten rechargeable Ni-MH batteries of the size "AA" having a capacity of 2700 mA, which allows an operation of about six hours for the cooling device.

The housing 1 is covered in the present case by a transparent or translucent, for example, smoke-colored cover 11, through which status and/or operation of the individual units and components of the cooling device can be observed and checked, however, such a design is not absolutely necessary.

At the top 12 of the housing 1 an opening 13 is formed, which allows insertion and removal of a new cooling element for the cooling device, discussed more detailed below.

Figure 2 shows the construction and operation of the cooling device according to Fig. 1 , wherein in all such cases where the construction and operation of the parts is well known for a person skilled in the art or form part of prior art, only respective blocks are schematically drawn.

Fig. 2 shows the clothing 2 in which a pipe system 4 including a connector segment 14 is arranged. The pipe system 4 is preferably built as an inner serpentine pipe behind the lining of the clothing 2. The connector segment 14 of the pipe system 4 is connected to the one side of the quick coupling unit 6.

An inlet 15a of a first coolant circulation pump 15 is connected over a line segment 16 to the coolant tank 3 arranged in the housing 1 and an outlet 15b of the first coolant circulation pump 15 is connected over a line segment 17 to an output 6a of the quick coupling unit 6 being in connection with the clothes 2. An input 6b of the quick coupling unit 6 is connected via a further line segment 18 to the tank 3 on the one hand and via a branch 19a inserted into a line segment 19 before the tank 3 to an inlet 20a of a second pump 20 on the other hand. An outlet 20b of the second pump 20 is connected through a further line segment 21 to an input 24a of a second quick coupling unit 24, said second quick coupling unit 24 is secured on the housing of a novel cold pack 23 used as a cooling and heat exchanging unit 22. The cold pack 23 contains a cooling medium commonly used in the cold packs available on the market as well as a pipe coil 25 of a material with good thermal conductivity, e.g. aluminum or copper. The terminals of the pipe coil 25 are led to the quick coupling unit 24. An outlet 24b of the other quick coupling unit 24 is connected via an additional line segment 26 with the coolant tank 3.

A temperature sensor 27 for detecting the temperature of the coolant in the tank 3 is introduced in the tank 3 in a liquid-tight, sealed manner and the terminals 27a of the temperature sensor 27 is led to a control input 28a of a control unit 28 serving for the operation of the pumps 15 and 20 via its control outputs 28b, 28c connected to an associated pump 15 and 20, respectively. The control unit 28 is in the simplest case, a two-point control unit that when reaching preset threshold on or off values switches the pumps 15 and 20 on and off, respectively. Using well-known circuits and components, the control unit 28 may provide a continuous control of the pumps 15 and 20. An adjusting element 29, e.g. a potentiometer connected to an input 28d of the control unit 28 allows proper adjusting the threshold values of the control unit 28.

In Fig. 2 there is illustrated the power source 10 powering the pumps 15 and 20 and the control unit 28 via power lines 30 in a manner known to one skilled in the art.

A major advantage of the proposed solution is that the cold pack 23 which is formed as a separate, independent unit so that it can be removed and changed anytime, in a very simply way, contains the cooling medium pre-cooled to a temperature of e.g. -23°C in its initial state. The high cooling capacity is achieved by a phase change of the cooling medium, because during a transformation in the solid state a multiple of energy than during a transformation in the liquid state at the same temperature can be stored.

To increase the service life of the cooling device, the cooling medium can be circulated not only continuous, but intermittent, periodically or even as a function of the temperature to be achieved depending on the configuration or programming of the control unit 28. The control unit 28 switches in response to the value measured by the temperature sensor 27 the second pump 20 circulating and driving the cooling medium returning from the clothing 2 through the pipe coil 25 of the cold pack 23 on and off, thereby ensures that always a strong pre-cooled medium enters the tank 3 which also ensures a mixing of the liquid components with different temperatures. If the temperature within the clothes 2 set by the person via the adjusting element 29 is reached, the second pump 20 will be switched off by the control unit 28. In this way, the internal temperature of the clothes 2 can be controlled with high accuracy even with a hysteresis of 1°C. In the case shown, the cooling medium in the clothes 2 is circulated continuously.

In a further developed embodiment of the cooling device the current temperature of the ice pack 23 can also be detected by the temperature sensor 27 and used by the control unit 28 and displayed for the wearer of the garment 2, numerically or even

alphanumerically.

As a very important advantage of the proposed cooling device can be pointed out that in case of properly stored cool packs 23, a virtually uninterrupted operation of the cooling device and the supply of the clothing 2 with a cooling medium of correct temperature can be guaranteed by simple replacement of the cool pack 23 got warm by a new pre-cooled cool pack 23. As already mentioned, the housing 1 can be

supplemented with additional thermal insulation. The material of the tank 3, the pipelines 5 and the pipes 16, 17, 18, 21 and 26 consists of a heat-insulating plastic or some plastic of less heat conductivity, e.g. use of silicone tubes has proven to be advantageous.

Tests and measurements have shown that when using a single inventive ice pack 23, proper cooling in a hot environment can be secured over two hours wherein a temperature of between 20 to 35°C has been measured within the clothing 2.

Industrial Applicability

The cooling device according to the invention can be used not only for cooling garments, but for cooling other objects that are used or worn by people, such as for cooling or cold holding of blankets that are used in disasters, rescues or other applications or cooling or cold holding of special clothes, for example, boiler cleaning, fire-fighting, etc.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiment is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

List of reference signs

I housing

2 clothing

3 tank

4 pipe system

5 pipeline

6 quick coupling unit

6a output

6b input

7 lug

8 slot

9 lid

10 power source

I I cover

12 side

13 opening

14 connector segment

15 pump 15a inlet

15b outlet

16 line segment

17 line segment

18 line segment

19 segment

19a branch

20 pump

20a inlet

20b outlet

21 line segment

22 cooling and heat exchanging unit

23 cold pack

24 quick coupling unit

24a inlet

24b outlet

25 pipe coil

26 line segment

27 temperature sensor

27a terminal

28 control unit

28a control input

28b control input

29 adjusting element

30 pipeline

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A cooling device for cooled clothing (2), comprising:

- a thermally insulated housing ( 1 ) ;

- a tank (3) for a fluid coolant, the tank (3) is formed in the housing (1);

- pipelines (5) being in connection with the tank (3) for the coolant and with a

coolant transporting pipe system (4) of the cooled clothing (2);

a pump (15) inserted in one of the pipelines (5) for circulating the coolant;

- an electrical power source (10) powering the pump (15) for circulating the coolant, the power source (10) is mounted in the housing (1); and

- a heat exchanger unit (22), said heat exchanger unit (22) is arranged in the housing (1) serving for cooling the coolant by physically contacting the coolant;

characterized in that

- the heat exchanger (22) is realized by one cold pack (23) cooled in the solid state at the initial state of the cooling device,

- a pipe coil (25) is arranged within the cold pack (23), said pipe coil (25) forming a part of the coolant pipeline (5);

- the coil (25) is coupled with a quick coupling unit (24) arranged on the cold pack (23);

a pipeline branch (19a) is inserted in the pipeline (5) for the coolant in a section (19) before the tank (3) which provides for the mixing of the coolant,

- the pipeline branch (19a) is connected to an input (20a) of a second coolant

circulating pump (20);

- an output (20b) of the second coolant circulation pump (20) is connected to an input (24a) of the quick coupling unit (24) communicating with the coil (25) of the ice pack (23);

- an output (24b) of the quick coupling unit (24) of the cold pack (23) is connected over a further pipe section (26) to the tank (3) for the coolant; - a temperature sensor (27) is introduced in the tank (3) for the coolant in a liquid- tight manner; and

- the output of the temperature sensor (27) is connected to a control input (28a) of a control unit (28) driving the pumps (15, 20) independently from each other via control outputs (28b, 28c).

2. Cooling device according to claim 1 wherein the cold pack (23) contains pure water or a saline solution.

3. Cooling device according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the electrical power source (10) comprises single-use primary cells or rechargeable secondary cells.

4. Cooling device according to claims 1 to 3 wherein the pipelines (5) of the cooling device are coupled with the coolant pipe system (4) of the cooled clothing (2) via a further quick coupling unit (6).