Cooling Vest Module With Sealed Air Recirculation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Personal cooling garments fail to create a sealed recirculation space, leading to air leakage and reduced cooling efficiency and comfort.
Innovation Solution
A cooling vest module with a flexible back plate and annular gasket forms a sealed space, using thermoelectric coolers and fans to circulate cooled air, exhausting waste heat, and incorporating support pads to maintain the seal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a cooling device is mounted in a garment without a sealed space structure, then the device can be simply installed, but the cooled air leaks and recirculating cooling cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible sealing plate with annular gaskets that conform to the wearer's back contour, creating an airtight sealed space between the cooling device and the body. The flexible nature of the sealing plate allows it to adapt to body curvature while maintaining the seal, thus achieving both simple installation and effective cooling without air leakage.
2Reliability
If a sealed space is created between the cooling device and wearer's body, then recirculating cooling can be achieved, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is segmented into modular components: an annular gasket integrated into the flexible sealing plate, separate support pads positioned at specific locations, and a contoured design that divides the sealing function from the cooling function. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while maintaining overall system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible sealing plate is designed to automatically conform to the wearer's back contour when donned, creating the sealed space without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms. The support pads self-position to maintain the seal integrity, and the system adapts to individual body shapes, eliminating the need for complex fastening or adjustment systems.
3Reliability
If support structures are added to maintain the sealed space, then the seal integrity is improved, but the weight of the garment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible sealing plate acts as both the sealing barrier and the structural support element, eliminating the need for separate rigid support structures. This thin, flexible membrane maintains the sealed space through its elastic properties and contour conformance, providing structural integrity without adding significant weight to the garment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances cooling performance and comfort by delivering stable cold airflow and recirculating cooled air, while effectively exhausting waste heat.
Implementation Method 1
The cooler includes heat-dissipation apertures and an external air inlet communicating with the outside environment, and further includes, on the side facing the sealed space, a cold-air outlet and a recirculation air inlet that open into the channel. Ambient air is drawn through the external air inlet, cooled, and discharged through the cold-air outlet into the sealed space
Implementation Method 2
A fan is mounted in the intake chamber with an air outlet facing the heat-sink seat and the heat-conducting seat
Implementation Method 3
a hot-side heat-sink seat disposed on the hot side of the TEC element
Implementation Method 4
hot air is exhausted through the heat-dissipation apertures
Implementation Method 5
An annular gasket is molded to an inner surface of the flexible back plate, defining, together with the inner surface, a channel. When the back plate rests against a wearer's back, the gasket contacts the back to create a sealed space between the channel and the back
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling vest module includes a flexible back plate attachable to a garment and at least one thermoelectric cooler mounted thereon. An annular gasket on an inner surface of the back plate seals against a wearer's back to define a confined recirculation space. Each cooler draws ambient air through an external inlet, discharges cooled air into the recirculation space via a cold-air outlet, and exhausts waste heat through heat-dissipation apertures. A recirculation inlet returns part of the cooled air for further cooling, while mounting features, support pads, and optional twin coolers ensure secure installation and structural integrity. The module provides efficient, true recirculating cooling and is particularly suitable for safety vests worn by environmental sanitation workers.