Air conditioning for clothes

Abstract

To provide an air conditioner for a garment capable of withstanding use in an explosive atmosphere.SOLUTION: An air conditioner 1 for a garment is formed of a plurality of fan units 2 disposed on the back of a jacket, a battery device 3, and a plurality of connection cables 4 for connecting each fan unit 2 and the battery device 3. The battery device 3 comprises a battery unit 3a, a control unit 3b composed of an IC substrate connected to the battery unit 3a, and the same number of current limiting units 3c as the number of the fan units 2. The current limiting unit 3c is disposed between the control unit 3b and each independent connection cable 4. By adopting the fan unit 2 having a rated voltage and a rated current which are lower than an energy threshold value corresponding to an explosive atmosphere where an air conditioning garment W is to be worn, it can prevent a combustible substance from igniting due to instantaneous heat generation of a component of the air conditioner 1 for a garment when power is turned on.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a clothing air conditioning device that is attached to an air-conditioning garment to be worn in an explosive atmosphere. [Background technology]

[0002] As shown in Patent Document 1, air-conditioned clothing is known that is worn by workers when working in high-temperature environments and draws outside air into the clothing using an attached fan. There is also a need for this air-conditioned clothing in environments where the air contains vapors of combustible substances, such as flammable gases and combustible dust, such as oil refining, petrochemical, and chemical synthesis plants. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-65861 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, ordinary air-conditioned clothing such as that shown in Patent Document 1 is not explosion-proof so that it can withstand use in the explosive atmospheres described above, and does not provide any measures to prevent ignition of flammable materials in an explosive atmosphere due to a short circuit in the cable connected to the fan, etc.

[0005] When the above-mentioned conventional air-conditioned garment is used in an explosive atmosphere, there is a risk that some malfunction will occur in the clothing air conditioning device, causing a spark or the like to ignite flammable materials in the explosive atmosphere.

[0006] In particular, when using a connection cable that branches off midway as shown in FIG. 16 of Patent Document 1, if a short circuit occurs near the base of the cable where a large current flows, a large spark may be generated instantaneously due to an overcurrent, which may ignite flammable materials in an explosive atmosphere.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a clothing air conditioner which overcomes the above-mentioned problems and is provided with explosion-proof measures so as to be capable of withstanding use in explosive atmospheres. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a clothing air conditioning device comprising a plurality of fan units, a battery device, and a plurality of connection cables connecting the respective fan units and the battery devices, the plurality of fan units blowing a required amount of air into the clothing, When used in an explosive atmosphere where flammable substances are present in the air, Each of the fan sections The rated voltage and rated current are set so that the transient energy equivalent to the energy required to ignite the flammable material when an inrush current occurs falls below the energy threshold value corresponding to the explosive atmosphere. The present invention relates to an air conditioning device for clothing, and is characterized in that the battery device includes a battery unit, a control unit connected to the battery unit, and current limiting units in the same number as the number of fan units, and the current limiting units are each disposed between the control unit and the connection cable which is independent for each of the fan units. Effect of the Invention

[0009] In the clothing air conditioning device of the present invention, a rated voltage and a rated current for each of the multiple fan sections are set so that the transient energy of each of them is equal to or less than a predetermined energy threshold, and independent connection cables and current limiting sections are provided for supplying power to each fan section. This makes it possible to obtain the required airflow even in an explosive atmosphere and to use the device safely. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the air-conditioning garment from the front. [Diagram 2] This is an explanatory diagram of the air-conditioning garment as seen from the back. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of the clothing air conditioning device. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a graph showing a change in inrush current over time. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram seen from the front of the air-conditioned garment W, and Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram seen from the back. The air-conditioned garment W has a clothing air conditioner 1 attached to a jacket W2 equipped with a zipper W1 for opening and closing on the front.

[0012] The clothing air conditioning device 1 is composed of multiple, for example two, fan units 2 fixed to mounting holes (not shown) provided on the back of the jacket W2, a battery device 3 stored in an inner pocket or the like of the jacket W2, and multiple connection cables 4 connecting each fan unit 2 and the battery device 3.

[0013] The disk-shaped fan unit 2 is disposed symmetrically with respect to the jacket W2, and the blade unit 2a is housed in the housing. Power is supplied to a motor that rotates the blade unit 2a via a connection cable 4, and the blade unit 2a is rotated at high speed to draw in outside air into the jacket W2. When the zipper W1 is closed, airflow F is generated in the jacket W2 in the direction of the arrow, and the air inside the jacket W2 is exhausted to the outside through gaps around the neck and wrists.

[0014] In this way, the inside of the jacket W2 is kept cool by driving the motor of the fan section 2. Note that the fan section 2 may be an axial fan that operates on direct current, or may be a centrifugal fan or other suitable fan.

[0015] The housing of the fan unit 2 consists of a main body and a fixed frame, which are fixed by clamping the mounting holes of the jacket W2. In the event of a malfunction of the fan unit 2, the fixed frame can be separated from the main body to easily remove the fan unit 2 from the jacket W2.

[0016] The battery device 3 is a box-shaped body to be stored in an inner pocket or the like provided in the jacket W2. As shown in the block circuit diagram of Fig. 3, the battery device 3 includes a battery section 3a consisting of a lithium ion battery or the like, a control section 3b consisting of an IC board connected to the battery section 3a, and current limiting sections 3c in the same number as the number of fan sections 2 attached to the jacket W2. The current limiting sections 3c are disposed between the control sections 3b and the connection cables 4 independent for each fan section 2.

[0017] The battery unit 3a may be, for example, a number of connected lithium ion batteries with a nominal voltage of 3.7 V and a rated capacity of 1.88 Ah. Disposable dry batteries may also be used for the battery unit 3a instead of rechargeable batteries, and batteries of an appropriate capacity may be used depending on the duration for which the air-conditioned garment W is to be worn.

[0018] The battery device 3 is arranged on the outer surface of the box-shaped housing beyond each current limiting unit 3c, and is provided with a plurality of connected ends 3e that connect to the current limiting units 3c, a charging input unit that can charge the battery unit 3a (not shown) from a commercial power source or the like, and a power switch unit.

[0019] If the above-mentioned dry cell is used as the battery unit 3a, the charging input unit is not necessary. Also, by turning the power switch unit from off to on, power is supplied to the fan unit 2 via each connection cable 4.

[0020] One end of the connection cable 4, which is disposed independently for each fan unit 2, is provided with a connection terminal portion 4a that connects to the connected end portion 3e. The other end of the connection cable 4 is illustrated as being connected to the fan unit 2, but may be detachable like the connected end portion 3e and the connection terminal portion 4a.

[0021] The current limiting units 3c arranged in parallel, the number of which is the same as the number of fan units 2, each have two current limiting circuits 3d arranged in series to control the output current so as not to cause an overcurrent.

[0022] These current limiting circuits 3d employ semiconductor switching elements such as field effect transistors (FET elements) that control the current between the source and drain by the gate voltage applied to the gate, and limit the output current so as not to exceed the limit current value by setting an appropriate gate voltage. This limit current value is set to be equal to or slightly higher than the rated current value Ia when the blade portion 2a is stably rotating.

[0023] In addition, by configuring the current limiting circuits 3d in a dual system in series, even if one of the current limiting circuits 3d fails and is no longer able to limit the output current, the other current limiting circuit 3d that is not faulty will keep the limited current value from being exceeded.

[0024] 4 is a graph showing the time change of the inrush current when a voltage is applied immediately after the power is turned on by the above-mentioned power switch unit provided in the battery device 3. When the power is turned on, a current starts to flow to the fan unit 2, but the current that flows for a short time immediately after the power is turned on reaches a peak current value Ip that is larger than the rated current value Ia. The current control by the current limiting unit 3c does not have an effect on this short time immediately after the power is turned on.

[0025] After that, the current value gradually decreases and stabilizes, but the current in the shaded area until it reaches the rated current value Ia is the inrush current. The peak current value Ip and the magnitude of the waveform shown in the figure change depending on the rated current value Ia of the fan unit 2 used and the air volume based on the rated voltage, which is the voltage applied to drive the fan unit 2.

[0026] If the area surrounded by the rated current value Ia and waveform H when an inrush current occurs when the power is turned on is defined as a transient area S, the transient energy En equivalent to the energy required to ignite a flammable material can be expressed by the following formula. Transient energy En [J] = voltage [V] × transient area S [A s] (1)

[0027] The transient energy En, which is the energy released into the explosive atmosphere, can cause the energy flowing after the current limiting unit 3c to cause ignition in the explosive atmosphere, so an explosion-proof energy threshold is determined according to the explosiveness of the flammable material.

[0028] For example, in an atmosphere containing a group of highly explosive and flammable substances, the energy threshold for the transient energy En is 20 μJ, and the energy threshold increases as the explosiveness of the substances decreases, to 80 μJ, 160 μJ, and 240 μJ, respectively.

[0029] For example, if a fan unit 2 having a rated voltage of 8.7 V and a rated current value Ia of 0.8 A is used, the peak current value Ip during inrush current is measured as 2.0 A, and the time Ta during which the inrush current occurs is measured as 1 μs, then if the transient region S is simply calculated as (peak current value Ip - rated current value Ia) × time T, the transient energy En in equation (1) will be 8.7 V × 1.2 A μs = 10.44 μJ.

[0030] Since this calculated transient energy En is below the aforementioned energy thresholds for any of the flammable substance groups, it is determined that the clothing air conditioning device 1 can be used in an explosive atmosphere in which any of the flammable substances is present.

[0031] In this way, by setting the rated voltage and rated current in the battery device 3 so as to be below the energy threshold corresponding to the explosive atmosphere in which the air-conditioned garment W is worn, and by adopting a fan section 2 that complies with these settings, it is possible to prevent flammable materials in the explosive atmosphere from being ignited by momentary heat generation from the components of the clothing air conditioning device 1 when the power is turned on.

[0032] Furthermore, when wearing the air-conditioned garment W, a certain amount or more of air needs to be blown into the jacket W2 in order to ensure comfort, so the required number of fan units 2, each set so that the transient energy En when an inrush current occurs is below an energy threshold value corresponding to an explosive atmosphere, needs to be placed on the jacket W2.

[0033] In other words, each fan unit 2 is driven at the rated voltage and rated current set by the battery device 3 so that the transient energy En is below a predetermined energy threshold, thereby preventing an inrush current that could cause a fire at start-up. By arranging multiple fan units 2 in a number sufficient to achieve the required air volume, a comfortable, predetermined air volume can be obtained inside the air-conditioned garment W and the risk of fire due to inrush current is eliminated.

[0034] In addition, the current limiting units 3c, the number of which is the same as the number of fan units 2 in the battery device 3, are connected to each of the fan units 2 by a connection cable 4 having an independent current output, as in the conventional case. Therefore, even if both poles of the connection cable 4 are short-circuited due to poor contact, no current will flow that exceeds the limit current value set by the current limiting units 3c, and therefore no sparks will be generated that could ignite flammable materials in an explosive atmosphere.

[0035] In addition, each independent connection cable 4 can be bundled together by covering each cable at both ends with an insulator, and then bundling the entire set of cables together with an insulator to form a single cable.

[0036] Both ends of the connection cable 4 thus bundled are branched, one end being connected to the fan unit 2, and the other end, which is the connection terminal unit 4a, being connected to the connected end 3e.

[0037] Thus, according to the clothing air conditioning device 1 of this embodiment, the rated voltage and rated current for the airflow that keeps the transient energy En of each of the fan sections 2 below a predetermined energy threshold are set, and an independent connection cable 4 is used to supply power to each fan section 2. This makes it possible to obtain the required airflow even in an explosive atmosphere and to use the device safely. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1 Clothes air conditioner 2. Fan Section 2a Wing 3 Battery device 3a Battery section 3b Control section 3c Current limiting section 3d Current limiting circuit 4 Connection cable

Claims

1. The battery device includes a plurality of fan units, a battery device, and a plurality of connection cables connecting the fan units and the battery devices, a clothing air conditioning device which blows a required amount of air into clothing using the plurality of fan units, and in the case of use in an explosive atmosphere in which flammable materials are present in the air, has a rated voltage and a rated current set for each of the fan units so that transient energy equivalent to the energy that ignites the flammable materials when an inrush current occurs falls below an energy threshold value corresponding to the explosive atmosphere, The battery device includes a battery unit, a control unit connected to the battery unit, and current limiting units in the same number as the number of the fan units, and the current limiting units are each disposed between the control unit and the connection cable that is independent for each of the fan units.

2. 2. The clothing air conditioning device according to claim 1, wherein the current limiting unit comprises a plurality of current limiting circuits arranged in series to limit the output current so that the output current does not exceed a limited current value.

3. 3. The clothing air conditioning device according to claim 2, wherein the current limiting circuit limits the output current by using a semiconductor switch element.

4. 4. The clothing air conditioning device according to claim 3, wherein the limiting current value is set to be equal to or slightly higher than a rated current value when the fan unit is operating stably.

5. The clothing air conditioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each of the independent connection cables is bundled together by covering each of the cables at both poles with an insulator, and the entire bundle is further covered with an insulator to bundle together the multiple connection cables into a single cable.

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