High-performing liquid-cooled apparel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current thermoregulatory apparel, such as cooling vests, are inflexible, bulky, and inefficient, limiting their ability to effectively regulate temperature and accommodate a range of movements, making them impractical for physically demanding tasks.
Innovation Solution
A cooling vest with integrated 4-way stretch fabric and tubing that allows for flexible movement, combined with modular Phase Change Material (PCM) cartridges for controlled temperature regulation, enabling efficient heat exchange and reduced weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional cooling vests use rigid structures to provide adequate cooling, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but flexibility and user mobility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling vest utilizes flexible fabric construction with integrated cooling channels instead of rigid structures. The fabric acts as a flexible shell that conforms to the body while allowing movement, eliminating the contradiction between structural rigidity needed for cooling and flexibility needed for mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling vest employs dynamic fabric materials that can adapt to body movements and changes in posture. The flexible construction allows the cooling surfaces to maintain contact with the skin during various activities, providing continuous effective cooling while accommodating full range of motion.
2Adaptability or versatility
If cooling vests are made looser to improve flexibility, then user mobility is improved, but cooling effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible fabric construction maintains intimate contact with the body surface through its conforming properties, ensuring effective thermal coupling between the cooling channels and skin even during movement. This eliminates the need for loose fitting that would compromise cooling contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling channels are designed with curved pathways that follow the natural contours of the body. This curved layout ensures continuous skin contact throughout the vest while accommodating body movements, maintaining cooling effectiveness without restricting mobility.
3Temperature
If portable cooling systems include vapor compression systems, then cooling capability is improved, but weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the heavy vapor compression system from the wearable vest and relocates it to an external portable unit carried in a backpack. This separation removes the bulk of the weight from the vest itself while maintaining the cooling function, resolving the contradiction between cooling capability and wearable weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system is segmented into two separate components: a lightweight vest with cooling channels and an external portable cooling unit. This segmentation allows the heavy mechanical cooling system to be carried separately, reducing the weight burden on the user's torso while preserving full cooling functionality.
4Temperature
If cooling vests are designed for adequate cooling, then thermoregulation effectiveness is improved, but flexibility and range of motion deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The vest utilizes dynamic flexible materials that adapt to changing body positions and movements. The fabric and cooling channels move with the body rather than restricting it, maintaining effective thermal contact during a full range of motions including bending, twisting, and stretching.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible fabric construction allows the cooling vest to conform to the body's changing shape during movement. This flexibility ensures continuous skin contact and effective thermoregulation without restricting the user's range of motion or agility.
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
The solution provides balanced thermoregulation with flexibility, allowing for effective cooling and heating while maintaining user mobility, reducing weight compared to traditional systems, and allowing users to control cooling duration and intensity.
Implementation Method 1
modular Phase Change Material (PCM) cartridges for controlled temperature regulation
Implementation Method 2
modular Phase Change Material (PCM) cartridges for controlled temperature regulation, enabling efficient heat exchange
Implementation Method 3
a cooling vest comprising a plurality of tubing incorporated into the fabric of the vest
Implementation Method 4
enabling efficient heat exchange
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, systems, and methods for cooling and/or thermoregulation are disclosed, including thermoregulatory apparel. Such thermoregulatory apparel includes a cooling vest for human users to reduce their body temperature and/or to keep their body temperature below a certain value. The cooling vest may include a plurality of tubing arranged within the four-way stretch fabric used for the vest. Coolant flows through this tubing, which is arranged so that it contacts a user's skin while the user is wearing the vest. The composition and arrangement of the tubing can be matched with the type of fabric so that both the tubing and the fabric stretch in similar ways, ensuring that the tubing stays in contact with the user's skin. Also disclosed is a cartridge with a phase change material that is configured to refresh or recharge the cooling ability of the coolant when the coolant is passed through the phase change material.