Garment with peltier unit

Abstract

To provide a washable garment with a Peltier unit of which only the Peltier unit can be easily removed and reattached with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A garment 1 using a Peltier unit 10 of the present invention has an enclosure 21, a Peltier element 24 which is housed in the enclosure 21 and cools or generates heat by receiving a supply of electric power, and a heat conducting part 26 which is arranged on one side of the enclosure 21 and receives cooling or generation of heat from at least the Peltier element 24. The garment 1 comprises a pre-fixed unit receiver 40 made of a soft resin material for accommodating the Peltier unit 10, and the unit receiver 40 has an engagement portion 43 that can engage with and fix the Peltier unit 10 in a removable manner.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to clothing equipped with a Peltier unit having a Peltier element that generates heat or cools when energized. [Background technology]

[0002] Work clothes equipped with cooling devices and heat generating devices have been available for some time. Among these, there are also clothes equipped with Peltier elements (Patent Document 1). The document described in Patent Document 1 discloses that a Peltier element unit is attached by screwing it onto a ring body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7365067 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The clothing in Patent Document 1 discloses that the Peltier element unit is attached using a ring, but it was not necessarily designed for repeated attachment and detachment. When using a ring, the screw connection can suddenly come undone due to vibrations during use, or the ring itself can be lost. Furthermore, while the initial attachment allows for free placement, the wiring makes it difficult to easily remove on a daily basis. Clothing must be used hygienically, and must be washed after use. In such cases, there was a need for a garment that allows for easy removal of the Peltier element unit alone and reattachment with a simple configuration.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide clothes equipped with a Peltier unit that can be easily removed and reattached with a simple configuration, making it washable. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The clothing using the Peltier unit of the present invention is clothing that is detachably equipped with a Peltier unit having a housing, a Peltier element that is housed in the housing and receives power supply to cool or generate heat, and a heat conducting part that is arranged on one surface of the housing and receives at least the cooling or heat generated by the Peltier element, a unit receiving member made of a soft resin material for accommodating the Peltier unit is fixed to the clothing in advance; The unit receiving member has an engaging portion that can detachably engage and fix the Peltier unit.

[0007] The housing also has a unit flange portion that protrudes outward from the outer circumferential surface, The unit flange portion is preferably detachably fixed by engaging with a groove-shaped engaging portion formed in the unit receiving member.

[0008] The unit receiving member has a receiving portion and a receiving member flange portion that protrudes outward from the receiving portion, The receiving flange portion preferably has an inner bottom surface that receives one side of the unit flange portion, and an upper flange portion that receives the other side of the unit flange portion and is made of a flexible resin material.

[0009] In addition, the receiving flange portion of the unit receiving member has a flange notch portion in which a part of the upper flange portion is cut out, The unit flange of the Peltier unit has a stepped portion that is partially raised, It is preferable that the step portion engages with the flange notch portion.

[0010] An opening is formed on the base end side of the step of the unit flange portion to lead out the wiring cable of the Peltier unit, It is preferable that the wiring cable is provided with a connector so that it can be attached and detached to the wiring cable arranged inside the clothing. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the invention of claim 1, it is possible to easily remove only the Peltier unit and easily reattach it with a simple configuration. In other words, by fixing the unit receiving material to the clothing in advance, the unit receiving material will not be lost even if the Peltier unit is removed many times, and the soft resin unit receiving material can also be washed, making it possible to provide hygienic clothing.

[0012] According to the invention as set forth in claim 2, by engaging the unit flange portion of the Peltier unit with the groove-shaped engaging portion of the unit receiving material, it is possible to easily attach and detach the Peltier unit with a simple configuration.

[0013] According to the invention described in claim 3, by using a soft resin unit support, the unit flange can be easily positioned to match the support flange, and it can be easily attached and detached by simply flipping over the upper flange of the support flange. Not only that, but the Peltier unit can be firmly and stably fixed because it is held in place by being sandwiched between the upper flange and the inner bottom surface.

[0014] According to the invention described in claim 4, a notch is formed in the upper flange portion and a step is formed in the unit flange portion of the Peltier unit, which makes it possible to position the unit while specifying its orientation, etc., and to fix the unit in place without it shifting out of position when engaged with the unit receiving material.

[0015] According to the invention of claim 4, there is an opening on the base end side of the step of the unit flange, and by leading out the wiring cable, the step can guide the wiring cable like a guide groove. In addition, by placing the wiring cable on the clothing side near the notch in the upper flange, it becomes possible to easily position the cable when connecting it. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of a garment according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the garment according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a Peltier unit and a unit receiving member according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a Peltier unit according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the Peltier unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] 1A and 1B are a perspective view and an enlarged cross-sectional view of a unit receiving material according to the present embodiment, taken along line AA in FIG. 1A; [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the state in which the unit receiving member according to the present embodiment is fixed to clothing. [Figure 8] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a state in which the Peltier unit according to the present embodiment is engaged with a unit receiving material, in which (a) is a cross-sectional view and (b) is an enlarged view of the circular portion shown in (a). [Figure 9] 10 shows the procedure for engaging the Peltier unit and unit receiving material according to this embodiment, where (a) shows the state in which the wiring cable on the clothing side is led out, and (b) shows the state in which the wiring cable of the Peltier unit is joined. [Figure 10] This shows the procedure for engaging the Peltier unit and unit receiving material in this embodiment, with the wiring cable omitted, where (a) shows the state in which the Peltier unit is accommodated in the unit receiving material, (b) shows the state in which the Peltier unit has been accommodated in the receiving section of the unit receiving material from the state in (a), and (c) shows the state in which the upper flange portion has been flipped up from the state in (b) and abutted against the unit flange portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this description, the upper side of the Peltier unit 10 and the unit receiving member 40 in Figures 5 and 6 will be referred to as "upper" and the lower side will be referred to as "lower."

[0018] 1 and 2, the garment 1 of this embodiment comprises a front body 2 consisting of a right front body 2a and a left front body 2b, and a back body 3, with the right front body 2a and the left front body 2b being supported by front belts 4, 4. The garment 1 is not limited to the vest type of this embodiment, but may be a blouson type that covers both arms or other types.

[0019] The garment 1 of this embodiment is provided with Peltier units 10 at appropriate positions on the garment 1. As shown in FIG. 1 , two Peltier units 10 are arranged horizontally side by side above the back body 3 and slightly below the neckline, and two more Peltier units 10 are arranged horizontally below that and slightly above the middle of the back body 3. Furthermore, one Peltier unit 10 is arranged on each side of the lower part of the back body 3. In other embodiments, in addition to the above arrangement locations, one Peltier unit 10 may be arranged on each of the right front body 2a and the left front body 2b, or a total of six Peltier units 10 may be arranged in three rows of two Peltier units on the back body 3, or other arrangements may be used.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the left front body 2b has a battery 12 connected to a wiring cable 11. The battery 12 is normally inserted in a pocket located in the left front body 2b. A switch unit 13 is also located near the chest area of ​​the left front body 2b. When the switch unit 13 is turned on, power is supplied from the battery 12 to the Peltier unit 10 through the wiring cable 11, which cools or heats a Peltier element (described later) to give the wearer a feeling of coolness or warmth.

[0021] The wiring cables 11 connecting the Peltier units 10, 10, the battery 12, and the switch unit 13 are covered with a textile material and are inserted between the outer and inner skins of the garment 1 so as not to be exposed. The wiring cable 30 of the Peltier unit 10, which will be described later, also has the same form, but for the sake of explanation, the wiring cable 11 inside the garment and the wiring cable 30 of the Peltier unit 10 are given different drawing reference numerals.

[0022] The Peltier unit 10 will now be described. As shown in Fig. 3, the Peltier unit 10 is housed in a unit receiving member 40, and is formed by combining a fan housing 21a and an element housing 21b vertically to form a single housing 21. A cooling fan 22, a heat sink 23, a Peltier element 24, and a pad 25 are arranged in this order inside the housing 21, and a heat conducting section 26 made of a metal plate is arranged on the outside of the element housing 21b.

[0023] The Peltier unit 10 has a circuit board 27 mounted thereon, and can cool or generate heat by receiving power from the outside via wiring cables 11 and 30, which will be described later. That is, the Peltier element 24 has the property of cooling when current is passed through one side and generating heat when current is passed through the other side, and this cooling or heat generation can give the wearer a feeling of coolness or warmth via the pad 25 and the heat conduction part 26. For this reason, the heat conduction part 26 of the Peltier unit 10 is positioned facing the wearer, and the cooling fan is fixed to the clothing with its position facing outward.

[0024] The configuration of the Peltier unit 10 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5 in addition to Figure 3. Figure 4 is a perspective view of the Peltier unit 10 assembled from the exploded perspective view of Figure 3 with the heat-conducting part 26 facing upward, and Figure 5 is a bottom view of the Peltier unit 10 with the wiring cable 30 arranged therein.

[0025] The Peltier unit 10 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape of a predetermined height, with the upper surface on the heat conduction unit 26 side and the lower surface on the cooling fan 22 side being generally square, and has a unit flange portion 21c extending from the top of the element housing 21b toward the outer periphery. The surface of the fan housing 21a that forms the lower surface is slightly smaller in shape than the heat conduction unit 26. The unit flange portion 21c also has a generally square shape in a plan view with all four sides being the same, and has an outer shape that is slightly larger than the fan housing 21a and the heat conduction unit 26.

[0026] The unit flange portion 21c is a portion that protrudes outward from the side surface that surrounds the periphery of the Peltier unit 10, and a step portion 21d is formed in the center portion of one of the four sides, where the step portion 21d rises upward by approximately the vertical thickness of the unit flange portion 21c, and is groove-shaped when viewed from the bottom view shown in Fig. 5. An opening 21e is formed on the housing side, which is the base end side of the step portion 21d (see Fig. 8(a)), and this opens to the inside of the housing 21 while forming the flange-shaped unit flange portion 21c.

[0027] In this way, the step portion 21d is made groove-shaped when viewed from the bottom side (see Figure 5), and by forming the opening 21e (see Figure 8(a)), the wiring cable 30 connected to the circuit board 27 inside the Peltier unit 10 can be led out of the unit and guided by the bottom side following the groove-shaped step portion.

[0028] The wiring cable 30 is provided with a connector 31 at the tip of the wiring cable 30. The length of the wiring cable 30 extending from the Peltier unit 10 is less than half the length from the outer end of the unit flange portion 21c on one side to the outer end of the unit flange on the other side, and the length including the connector 31 is also less than the length from the outer end of the unit flange portion 21c on one side to the outer end of the unit flange on the other side. By shortening the length of the wiring cable 30 extending from the Peltier unit 10 in this way, it is also easy for the wearer to connect it to the wiring cable 11 inside the garment 1 as appropriate. The connection between the wiring cable 30 of the Peltier unit 10 and the wiring cable 11 inside the garment 1 will be described later.

[0029] Next, the unit receiving member 40 will be described. As shown in Fig. 3 as well as Figs. 6(a), (b), and 7, the unit receiving member 40 is a box-shaped member as a whole. The unit receiving member 40 is attached to an appropriate location on the garment 1 in advance (Figs. 1 and 2), and is molded from soft resin such as silicone. The material of the unit receiving member 40 is preferably a resin material, since it is assumed that the unit receiving member 40 will be washed while fixed to the garment 1. Furthermore, since the Peltier unit 10 will be fixed by turning up the upper flange portion 43b (described later), it is preferable to use a soft resin material. In this embodiment, the entire unit receiving member is integrally molded from silicone resin, but the upper flange portion 43b alone may be made of a different material.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 7, the unit is attached to the garment 1 by forming an opening of approximately the same shape in advance in the inner covering of the garment 1, and in this embodiment, the unit is attached by a joining method such as sewing recesses 42a, 42a formed in the receiving material flange 42 of the unit receiving material 40 to the edge of the opening. The recesses 42a, 42a make it easy to sew to the garment and prevent the sewing line from bulging, but other methods such as adhesive may also be used for attaching to the garment. Note that by using a mesh-like fabric for the outer skin of the portion of the garment 1 where the unit receiving material 40 is attached, the cooling function of the cooling fan 22 of the Peltier unit 10 housed in the unit receiving material 40 can be fully exerted.

[0031] As shown in Figure 6, the unit receiving material 40 has a receiving material storage section 41 made up of surrounding sides and a bottom and having a storage area inside, and a receiving material flange section 42 that protrudes outward from the side of the receiving material storage section 41 and has an engagement section 43. In this embodiment, the receiving material flange section 42 protrudes outward from the upper edge of the receiving material storage section 41. The engagement section 43 consists of an inner bottom surface 43a of the protruding receiving material flange section and an upper flange section 43b that is positioned so as to rise one step from the middle of the protruding receiving material flange section 42, forming an engagement section 43 with a groove-like interior. The unit flange section 21c can be engaged and fixed by inserting it into this groove-like engagement section 43.

[0032] The upper flange portion 43b rises and folds back partway from the base end side of the receiving material flange portion 42 toward the outer tip end side, but since the folded tip edge does not reach the base end position of the receiving material flange portion 42, the area near the base end position on the receiving material storage portion 41 side is an inner bottom surface 43a exposed from above.

[0033] The receiving flange 42 also has a flange notch 42b, formed by cutting out a portion of the flange-shaped member, in the center of one of the four outer edges. The width of this notch is approximately the same as the width of the step 21d of the unit flange 21c. When the Peltier unit 10 is housed, the step 21d of the Peltier unit 10 is engaged with this flange notch 42b, making it easy to position the Peltier unit in a fixed state. In addition, an inner bottom notch 43c is also formed in the inner bottom 43a below the flange notch 42b of the receiving flange 42. The wiring cables 11, 30 can be inserted or led out from this inner bottom notch 43c, making connection easy.

[0034] A circular opening 44 is formed in the bottom surface of the unit receiving member 40. This circular opening 44 is open at the same position as the opening formed in the fan housing 21a of the Peltier unit 10. This allows the cooling fan 22 to exert its cooling effect.

[0035] Next, we will explain the state in which the Peltier unit 10 is housed in the unit receiving material 40. As shown in Fig. 8(a), the Peltier unit 10 is housed by being inserted into the receiving material housing portion 41 of the unit receiving material 40 from the fan housing 21a of the Peltier unit 10. In this state, the cooling fan 22 is close to the circular opening 44 of the unit receiving material 40, making it possible to take in outside air through the circular opening 44.

[0036] As shown in Figure 8(b), in the receiving member flange portion 42 of the unit receiving member 40, a groove-shaped engagement portion 43 is formed between the inner bottom surface 43a and the upper flange portion 43b, and the unit flange portion 21c of the Peltier unit 10 is inserted into this engagement portion 43 and engaged and fixed. The unit flange portion 21c is formed to protrude over all four sides, and the receiving member flange portion 42, which is also formed over all four sides, engages and fixes the periphery of the Peltier unit 10, allowing for stable fixation. In addition, the receiving member flange portion 42 is formed with an inner bottom surface 43a on which the unit flange portion 21c is placed, allowing for stable engagement and fixation.

[0037] The attachment of the Peltier unit 10 to the unit receiving member 40 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 9(a), the male connector 32 and wiring cable 11 inserted between the inner and outer skins of the garment 1 near the flange cutout portion 42b of the unit receiving member 40 attached to the garment 1 are pulled out. As shown in FIG. 9(b), the male connector 33 is further exposed and connected to the female connector 31 of the wiring cable 30 extending from the Peltier unit 10. The Peltier unit 10 is housed in the unit receiving member 40 while the connected connectors 31, 32 and wiring cable 30 are inserted between the inner and outer skins of the garment 1. Note that the connector 32 of the wiring cable 11 inside the garment is a male connector, and is preferably provided with a cap covering the conductive portion to secure the garment 1, but this is omitted from the drawing.

[0038] 10(a), the Peltier unit 10 is housed in the unit receiving material 40 with the heat conducting portion 26 of the Peltier unit 10 facing upward and the cooling fan 22 facing downward, and housed in the receiving material housing portion 41 of the unit receiving material 40. At this time, the unit flange portion 21c is fixed by inserting the tip side of the unit flange portion 21c into the groove-shaped engagement portion 43 of the unit receiving material 40 while the base end side of the unit flange portion 21c is in contact with the inner bottom surface 43a of the unit receiving material 40.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 10(b), the Peltier unit 10 is fixed in position by bringing the step 21d formed on the unit flange 21c into contact with the flange cutout 42b of the unit receiving member 40. Next, as shown in Fig. 10(c), by flipping up the upper flange 43b to cover the upper side of the unit flange 21c, the unit flange 21c can be inserted into the engaging portion 43, allowing for easy engagement and fixation.

[0040] The Peltier unit 10 can be removed by reversing the procedure for fastening it. That is, the upper flange portion 43b is flipped up to release the support of the unit flange portion 21c that is engaged and fastened to the engagement portion 43. When the Peltier unit 10 is removed away from the unit receiving material 40, the connectors 31 and 32 connected to the wiring cable 30 come out from between the inner and outer layers of the garment 1. The connectors 31 and 32 are disconnected, and the male connector 32 is capped to complete the removal. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1...Clothing, 2...Front body, 2a...Right front body, 2b...Left front body, 3...Back body, 4...Belt, 10... Peltier unit, 11... wiring cable, 12... battery, 13... switch section, 21... Housing, 21a... Fan housing, 21b... Element housing, 21c... Unit flange portion, 21d...step, 21e...opening, 22...cooling fan, 23...heat sink, 24...peltier element, 25...pad, 26...Heat conduction part, 27...Circuit board, 30...wiring cable, 31...connector, 32...connector, 40...unit receiving material, 41...receiving material storage section, 42...receiving member flange portion, 42a...recess, 42b...flange notch portion, 43...engagement portion, 43a...inner bottom surface, 43b...upper flange portion, 43c...inner bottom surface notch portion.

Claims

1. A garment detachably equipped with a Peltier unit having a housing, a Peltier element housed in the housing and receiving power to cool or generate heat, and a heat conducting part disposed on one surface of the housing and receiving at least the cooling or heat generated by the Peltier element, a unit receiving member made of a resin material for accommodating the Peltier unit is fixed to the clothing in advance; The garment is provided with a Peltier unit, wherein the unit receiving member has an engaging portion to which the Peltier unit can be detachably engaged and fixed.

2. The housing has a unit flange portion that protrudes outward from the outer circumferential surface, 2. The garment equipped with a Peltier unit according to claim 1, wherein the unit flange portion is detachably fixed by engaging with a groove-shaped engaging portion formed in the unit receiving member.

3. The unit receiving member has a receiving portion and a receiving member flange portion that protrudes outward from the receiving portion, 3. The garment equipped with a Peltier unit according to claim 2, characterized in that the engagement portion of the receiving flange portion has an inner bottom surface that receives one side of the unit flange portion, and an upper flange portion that receives the other side of the unit flange portion and is made of a flexible resin material.

4. The receiving member flange portion of the unit receiving member has a flange notch portion formed by cutting out a part of the upper flange portion, The unit flange of the Peltier unit has a stepped portion that is partially raised, 4. The garment equipped with a Peltier unit according to claim 3, wherein the step engages with the flange notch.

5. An opening is formed on the base end side of the step of the unit flange portion for leading out the wiring cable of the Peltier unit, 5. The clothing equipped with a Peltier unit according to claim 4, wherein the wiring cable is provided with a connector so that it can be attached and detached to a wiring cable arranged inside the clothing.

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