Pump of waterproof specification for cooling clothing

Abstract

To provide a pump of a waterproof specification for cooling clothing, which allows a clothing body to be washed in a state where a tube and a pump are connected to the clothing body.SOLUTION: In a pump of a waterproof specification for cooling clothing, a container-like case body and a lid 104 are separately molded using a synthetic rubber which is a waterproof- and elastically deformable-material. When a pump body is housed in the case body, a cable 69a is in elastic contact with the inner peripheral surface of a cable insertion hole 103e. Further, when a protrusion 104a of the lid is fitted into an opening, a delivery pipe 80 and an inflow pipe 82 of the pump 69 penetrate a delivery pipe through-hole 104c and an inflow pipe through-hole 104d, respectively, in an elastic contact state. In addition, the lid closes the case body in a state where a flange part 104b of the lid abuts on the edge end surface of the opening of the case body. Thereby, the waterproof specification is formed. In addition, if a plug 69b of the cable is removed from a controller and is covered with a waterproof cap, the cable can be made waterproof. Thus, the cooling clothing in a state where the pump and the tube are attached can be washed in a washing machine.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a pump for cooling garments that circulates a cooling fluid through a cooling fluid circulation path of the cooling garment. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, a cooling garment has been developed that includes a cooling fluid circulation path on the inner side of the garment body as shown in Patent Document 1, and circulates a cooling fluid through this cooling fluid circulation path. A pocket is provided on the rear panel constituting the garment body of the cooling garment, and the pump is housed in the pocket and held by an expandable pump holder. The pump is provided with a cooling fluid delivery pipe and an inlet pipe, and one end and the other end of a tube constituting a cooling fluid circulation path are connected to the delivery pipe and the inlet pipe, respectively. The pump cable is detachably connected to a controller housed in a pocket on the left front body. The controller houses a battery and a microcomputer, and supplies power to the pump motor via the cable to operate the pump. When the pump is operated, the cooling fluid sealed in the cooling fluid circulation path circulates, cooling the body of the person wearing the cooling garment. Incidentally, cooling clothing is mostly worn by people who work in factories, construction sites, etc., and dust, oils, and greases often adhere to the clothing itself, and furthermore, the wearer's sweat adheres to the clothing itself, so it is desirable to wash the clothing itself frequently. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-11483 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The pump provided in the cooling garment is not waterproof, so when washing the garment, the pump must be removed from the garment. However, many people find it troublesome to remove and attach the pump every time they wash the garment, and are reluctant to do so. Also, when the pump is separated from the tube, both ends of the tube are opened. Therefore, if the tube is washed while still attached to the garment, loose threads from the garment, detergent, etc. may enter the tube and cause blockage. However, the tube is inserted sequentially through multiple insertion guides on the garment body and is wound around in a serpentine shape, covering the entire inner surface of the garment body, so that removing and attaching the tube to the garment body is an extremely troublesome task.

[0005] The present invention has been made in response to the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a waterproof pump for cooling garments that allows the garment itself to be washed while the pump is still connected to a tube attached to the garment itself. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is a pump for cooling clothing in which a tube is attached to the inner surface of the clothing body and the cooling fluid sealed in the tube is circulated by operating the pump, the pump being characterized in that it comprises a container-like body made of a waterproof and elastically deformable material, with a bottom at one end and an opening at the other end, and configured in a shape similar to the outer shape of the pump, and a lid that closes the opening, the bottom or the lid being formed with a cable insertion hole through which the cable of the pump is airtightly inserted, and the lid or the bottom being formed with a delivery pipe through hole through which the delivery pipe of the pump connected to the tube passes airtight, and an inlet pipe through hole through which the inlet pipe of the pump passes airtight, the pump body of the cooling clothing pump being housed in a waterproof case.

[0007] Preferably, the cover of the waterproof case is configured with a convex portion that fits into the opening of the main body and makes airtight elastic contact with it, and a flange portion that is formed integrally with the convex portion, arranged in the fitting direction, and when the convex portion fits into place, the flange portion abuts against the edge surface of the opening. Preferably, at the corner of the boundary between the protrusion and the flange of the waterproof case, the flange side is cut out in parallel to the axial direction to form an annular groove. Preferably, the cover of the waterproof case is configured to be thicker than the main body, and the inlet pipe through hole and the outlet pipe through hole are formed in the cover. Preferably, an annular groove is formed near the opening on the inner circumferential surface of the main body of the waterproof case, and when the protrusion of the lid body fits into the opening, the groove is located deeper than the protrusion.

[0008] Preferably, a waterproof cap is attached to the cable of the cooling garment pump so as to be detachably fitted over the plug of the cable. Preferably, the waterproof cap has a slidable attachment to the cable of the cooling garment pump.

[0009] The waterproof case may be provided separately. Effect of the Invention

[0010] In the present invention, the main body of the cooling pump is housed in a waterproof case, making it a simple yet reliable waterproof case. The plug side of the cable is also waterproofed by covering it with a waterproof cap. Therefore, it is possible to wash the garment body while keeping the tube attached to the garment body connected to the pump. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a state in which a pump body of a cooling garment pump according to an embodiment of the present invention is housed in a waterproof case to make it waterproof; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is a view showing, from the outside, a state in which the front part of a cooling vest according to an embodiment of the present invention is opened and laid out flat. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a view showing the cooling vest of FIG. 4 from the inside. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a rear body portion of the cooling vest shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 7] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of electrical connections between the controller and the pump in FIG. 4. [Figure 8] 2 is a perspective view of the cooling garment pump of FIG. 1 in a waterproof state in which a waterproof cap is attached to the cable side and the waterproof cap is placed over the cable plug to provide a waterproof configuration. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the waterproof cap of FIG. 8 removed from the plug of the cable. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A waterproof cooling garment pump according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, a pump body 70 of a cooling garment pump (hereinafter referred to as a pump) 69 is housed in a waterproof case 101 and provided in a cooling vest 1 as cooling garment, which will be described later. First, the configuration of the pump 69 will be described. The pump body 70 of the pump 69 is composed of a case in which a small-diameter cylinder and a large-diameter cylinder are coaxially connected, with the motor housed in the small-diameter part and the pump mechanism housed in the large-diameter part, and the outer surface of the case appears as the outline of the pump body 70.

[0013] A pair of terminals 72, 74 are provided on the end face of the pump body 70 on the side of the smaller diameter portion so as to protrude in parallel to the axial direction, and electric wires 76, 78 drawn out from one end of the cable 69a are respectively connected to the pair of terminals 72, 74. A plug 69b is attached to the other end of the cable 69a. An outlet pipe 80 and an inlet pipe 82 are provided to protrude parallel to the axial direction from the end face on the larger diameter side of the pump body 70. The outlet pipe 80 is positioned offset from the axis, and the inlet pipe 82 is positioned at the axis.

[0014] The structure of the waterproof case 101 will now be described. The waterproof case 101 is composed of a main body 103 and a cover 104, which are integrally molded from synthetic rubber, which is a waterproof and elastically deformable material. The main body 103 is configured with a cylindrical portion 103a, a bottom portion 103b closing one end face of the cylindrical portion 103a, and an opening portion 103c provided on the other end side of the cylindrical portion 103a, and has a container shape. The cylindrical portion 103a has an inner circumferential surface shape that is slightly smaller and similar to the outer circumferential surface of the pump body 70 of the pump 69, and an outer circumferential surface shape that is similar to the inner circumferential surface shape, and the small diameter cylinder and the large diameter cylinder are integrated coaxially. However, the boundary between the small diameter cylinder and the large diameter cylinder is tapered, and a gap is formed between that part and the pump body 70.

[0015] A tapered truncated cone-shaped protrusion 103d is provided from the center of the bottom 103b in parallel to the axial direction and outward, and a cable insertion hole 103e passes through this protrusion 103d and the center of the bottom 103 in the axial direction. Therefore, the cable insertion hole 103e communicates with the inside of the main body 103. Further, an annular groove 103f is formed in the inner circumferential surface of the main body 103 near the opening 103c.

[0016] The cover 104 is disk-shaped, and when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, a convex portion 104a that fits into an opening 103c of the main body 103 and a flange portion 104b that spreads outward in the radial direction from the convex portion 104a are arranged coaxially. In addition, at the corner of the boundary between the convex portion 104a and the flange portion 104b, the flange portion 104b side is cut out slightly parallel to the axial direction to form an annular groove portion 104e. An outlet pipe through hole 104c and an inlet pipe through hole 104d are formed parallel to the axial direction of the cover 104, and both ends are open. The outlet pipe through hole 104c corresponds to the outlet pipe 80 and is positioned offset from the axis of the cover 104, while the inlet pipe through hole 104d corresponds to the inlet pipe 82 and is located at the axis of the cover 104.

[0017] The pump body 70 of the pump 69 is housed in the body 103, and the cable 69a is inserted through a cable insertion hole 103e and drawn out to the outside. The inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 103a of the main body 103, except for the tapered portion, comes into elastic contact with and adheres tightly to the outer peripheral surface of the pump main body 70 of the pump 69, which has a step, as described above. In addition, a groove 103f is formed near the opening 103c on the inner circumferential surface of the main body 103 to make the wall thinner, so that the opening 103c can be easily widened by pinching the edge of the opening 103c and pulling it outward. Also, a tapered portion is provided midway, so that the pump 69 can be smoothly pushed into the main body 103 to a predetermined position and accommodated therein.

[0018] In this stored state, a gap is left on the bottom 103b side of the main body 103, and the electric wires 76, 78 drawn out from one end side of the cable 69a are stored in the gap without being folded. This type of storage is possible because the plug 69b is attached to the cable 69a after the pump 69 is stored in the waterproof case 101. The inner peripheral surface of the cable insertion hole 103e is in elastic contact with the cable 69a and is in close contact with it, so that the airtightness of the main body 103 is ensured on the cable insertion hole 103e side.

[0019] Furthermore, the protrusion 104a of the lid 104 is fitted into the opening 103c. Moreover, since the groove 103f of the main body 103 is located deeper than the fitting depth of the protrusion 104a, the protrusion 104a does not come into contact with the groove 103f. When fitted, the delivery pipe 80 and the inlet pipe 82 of the pump 69 pass through the delivery pipe through hole 104c and the inlet pipe through hole 104d, respectively. The inlet pipe 82 elastically contacts the inner peripheral surface of the inlet pipe through hole 104d, and the delivery pipe 80 elastically contacts the inner peripheral surface of the delivery pipe through hole 104c as well, so that the hermeticity of the lid 104 is ensured on the delivery pipe through hole 104c and the inlet pipe through hole 104d side. In addition, the lid 104 closes the main body 103 in a state where the flange portion 104b of the lid 104 abuts against the edge surface of the opening 103c of the main body 103. In addition, the annular groove portion 104e is formed, so that the flange portion 104b is reliably abutted against the edge surface of the opening 103c without being inclined. Therefore, the hermeticity is ensured even at the boundary portion between the main body 103 and the lid 104. Furthermore, the aforementioned outlet pipe 80 and inlet pipe 82 penetrate through the body 103, making it difficult for the lid 104 to come off the body 103.

[0020] In this way, the non-waterproof portion of the pump body 70 of the pump 69 is housed in the waterproof case 101 while ensuring airtightness, thereby achieving a waterproof specification. Although this waterproof case 101 can be removed, it is usually left housed in the waterproof case. Furthermore, since the waterproof case 101 is formed thin-walled to fit the outer shape of the pump 69, even when the pump 69 is housed in the waterproof case 101, the overall size does not change significantly.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 4 to Fig. 6, the cooling vest 1 has the insert-type guides 5, 5, ... attached to the inner side of the garment body 3, and the cooling pocket 7 for accommodating the cooling medium and the pump pocket 9 for accommodating the pump 69 are provided on the outer side of the back body, and the inner side and the cooling pocket 7 communicate with each other through the insertion hole 11, and the cooling pocket 7 and the pump pocket 9 communicate with each other through the insertion holes 13 and 15. The cooling pocket 7 has not only an outlet for the cooling medium, but also an opening at the top for a cable outlet 7b. The cooling pocket 7 is made by sewing the edges of two pieces of bag cloth 7a, 7a together, and the shoulder part is not sewn together and forms the cable outlet 7b. The pump pocket 9 is made by sewing the edges of two pieces of bag cloth 9a, 9a together with the bag cloth 7a.

[0022] The garment body 3 is constructed as described above, and incorporates a cooling fluid circulating mechanism that utilizes the tube 17 as a cooling portion. The tube 17 is made of plastic and is flexible, and is inserted into the insertion-type guide portions 5, 5, ... in order, and is wound in a serpentine manner along the inner surface, covering the entire inner surface. When the garment body 3 is worn, this serpentine portion comes into contact with the wearer's outerwear. Both ends of the tube 17 are passed through the insertion hole 11 and enter the cooling pocket 7. A flat-sack-shaped cooling bag 21 is accommodated in the cooling pocket 7. One end of the tube 17 is directly connected to the upper part of the cooling bag 21, and the other end is further passed through the insertion hole 13 and drawn out to the pump pocket 9. In addition, another tube 17 is connected to the lower part of the cooling bag 21, and this tube 17 is also passed through the insertion hole 13 and drawn out to the pump pocket 9.

[0023] A flexible pump holder 23 is provided within the cooling pocket 7. The pump holder 23 is formed by cutting a short length of rubber tape and sewing both ends of the lengthwise direction together to form an integrated unit. The pump 69 is held within the pump holder 23. The drawn-out ends of the tubes 17, 17 are fitted and attached to the delivery pipe 80 and inlet pipe 82 of the pump 69. The tube 17 connected at the bottom of the cooling bag 21 is connected to the inlet pipe 82, and the tube 17 passed directly from the garment body 3 side is connected to the outlet pipe 80.

[0024] The edge of the opening of the cooling bag 21 is integrated with the edge of the opening of the cooling pocket by a cap, and the cooling bag 21 can be opened by opening the lid 25. When the cooling bag 21 is worn, water is supplied as a cooling fluid to the cooling bag 21, and a plastic bottle containing a beverage as a cooling medium is placed in the bag with the beverage frozen. When the lid 25 is closed, it provides a closed flow path for the cooling fluid.

[0025] 7, water flows into the cooling bag 21 from the upper connection, hits the plastic bottle and falls while being cooled, and the accumulated water on the bottom flows out from the lower connection into the tube 17. Then, when the water reaches the part exposed on the inner surface of the garment body 3, it flows through the serpentine part before flowing back into the cooling bag 21 from the upper connection. Water circulates through the cooling fluid circulation path in this manner.

[0026] A cable 69a of the pump 69 is passed through the insertion hole 15, enters the inside of the cooling pocket 7, and is pulled out from the cable pull-out port 7b. On the left front body, through-type guide portions 27, 27, 27 are provided in a configuration similar to that of the through-type guide portion 5, and the pulled-out cable 69a is passed between these through-type guide portions 27, ... and is detachably connected to a controller 71 housed inside a pocket 29 provided on the left front body.

[0027] This controller 71 has an external shape as shown in Fig. 7 and is provided with an ON / OFF switch 71a on its outer surface; pressing this switch 71a supplies power to the pump 69, causing the pump 69 to operate, and pressing it again stops the power supply. A lamp 71b lights up while power is being supplied. Also, a USB connector 71c is provided for charging from an external source and supplying power to an external source. The controller 71 is stored in the pocket 29 on the left front body 7, making it easy to operate even while the cooling vest 1 is being worn. A cable 69a is detachably connected to the controller 71 via a plug 69b.

[0028] When washing the garment body 3, the plug 69b of the cable 69a is removed from the controller 71 and covered with a suitable commercially available separate waterproof cap to make the entire pump 69 waterproof. Therefore, in this state, the cooling garment 1 can be placed in a laundry net and washed in a washing machine. The waterproof case 101 can be attached to the pump body 70 of the pump 69 later, and the waterproof case 101 can also be provided to the market as a standalone item.

[0029] 8 and 9, a waterproof cap 106 that is fitted over a plug 69b of a cable 69a of a pump 69 is shown as being integrated with the pump 69. The waterproof cap 106 is integrally formed by connecting an attachment portion 110 to a bottomed cylindrical cap portion 108 via a string portion 112, and the entire cap is made of a waterproof elastic rubber material. The mounting portion 110 is annular, and the cable 69a is passed through the mounting portion 110. The inner ring surface of the mounting portion 110 is slightly larger than the thickness of the cable 69a, and the mounting portion 110 is slidable relative to the cable 69a.

[0030] 8, when the cap portion 108 is placed over the plug terminal 69b-1 of the plug 69b, a cylindrical inner surface 108a of the cap portion 108 elastically contacts the plug terminal 69b-1, and an end surface 108b of the cap portion 108 abuts against an end surface of the plug body 69b-2 on the base side of the plug terminal 69b-1, and is pressed against the end surface of the plug body 69b-2. The plug body 69b-2 is made of resin like the waterproof cap 106, and is therefore airtight when pressed against the plug. Therefore, the plug terminal 69b-1 is airtightly covered with the cap portion 108 and is waterproof. Since the pump main body 70 side is waterproofed by the waterproof case 101, the entire pump 69 is waterproof. 9, when the cap portion 108 is removed from the plug 69b, the plug terminal 69b-1 becomes exposed, and it is possible to connect it to the controller 71 and operate the pump 69. When the mounting portion 110 is slid toward the waterproof case 101 as shown by the dashed line, it can be stored in the pump pocket 9 together with the waterproof case 101 placed over the pump body 70, so that it does not get in the way. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1...Cooling vest 3...Garment body 5...Insertion guide part 7...Cooling pocket 7a, 7a...Bag cloth 7b...Cable outlet 9... Pump pocket 9a, 9a... Bag cloth 11... Insertion hole 13...Through hole 15...Through hole 17...Tube 21: cooling bag; 23: pump holder; 25: lid; 27...Through-type guide section 29...Pocket 69...Pump 69a...Cable 69b...Plug 69b-1: Plug terminal 69b-2: Plug body 70: Pump body 71: Controller 71a: Switch 71b...Lamp 71c...USB connector 72, 74...Terminal 76, 78...Electric wire 80...Outgoing pipe 82...Inflow pipe 101: waterproof case; 103: main body; 103a: cylindrical part 103b...Bottom 103c...Opening 103d...Protrusion 103e: cable insertion hole; 103f: groove; 104: lid; 104a: protrusion; 104b: flange; 104c: delivery pipe through hole 104d... Inlet pipe through hole 104e... Annular groove 106: waterproof cap; 108: cap portion; 108a: cylinder inner surface 108b: end surface; 110: attachment portion; 112: string portion

Claims

1. A pump for cooling garments, the pump comprising: a tube attached to an inner surface of a garment body; and a cooling fluid sealed in the tube that is circulated by the operation of the pump, the pump comprising: The pump is made of a waterproof and elastically deformable material, and is configured to have a shape similar to the outer shape of the pump, with a bottom at one end and an opening at the other end, and a lid that closes the opening. A waterproof pump for cooling clothing, characterized in that the pump body of the pump for cooling clothing is housed in a waterproof case in which a cable insertion hole through which the cable of the pump is airtightly inserted is formed in the bottom or the cover, and a delivery pipe through hole through which the delivery pipe of the pump connected to the tube passes airtightly and an inlet pipe through hole through which the inlet pipe of the pump passes airtightly are formed in the cover or the bottom.

2. 2. The waterproof cooling garment pump according to claim 1, A pump for cooling garments, characterized in that the cover of the waterproof case is configured with a convex portion which fits into an opening of the main body and makes airtight elastic contact therewith, and a flange portion which is formed integrally with the convex portion, arranged in the fitting direction, and when the convex portion fits into the opening, the flange portion abuts against the edge surface of the opening.

3. 3. The waterproof cooling garment pump according to claim 2, 1. A pump for cooling clothing, comprising: a waterproof case having a flange and a projection, the flange being cut out in parallel with the axial direction at a corner of the boundary between the flange and the projection;

4. 4. The waterproof cooling garment pump according to claim 3, 1. A pump for cooling garments, comprising: a cover for a waterproof case that is thicker than a main body, and an inlet pipe through hole and an outlet pipe through hole are formed in the cover.

5. 5. The waterproof cooling garment pump according to claim 4, A pump for cooling garments, characterized in that an annular groove is formed near an opening on the inner surface of the main body of the waterproof case, and when a convex portion of the lid body is fitted into the opening, the groove is positioned deeper than the convex portion.

6. 6. The waterproof cooling garment pump according to claim 1, 1. A pump for cooling garments, comprising: a waterproof cap attached to said cable, said waterproof cap being detachably fitted to a plug of said cable.

7. 7. The waterproof cooling garment pump according to claim 6, A cooling garment pump, characterized in that the waterproof cap has an attachment portion that is slidable relative to the cable of the cooling garment pump.

8. 6. A waterproof case for housing the pump body of the cooling garment pump according to claim 1 to make it waterproof.

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