Neck Collar Cooling Apparatus with Fluid Heat Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
In extreme hot weather, existing personal cooling solutions often fail to effectively regulate body temperature, leading to heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke and cranial overheating, and may not provide adequate hydration or airflow to prevent these conditions.
Innovation Solution
A personal cooling apparatus comprising an air mover, a drinking fluid reservoir, and an air conduit configured for heat exchange, with a neck collar tube that expels cooled air around the user's face, integrated into a backpack housing with a drinking fluid reservoir and air conduit for efficient heat management and hydration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If air is expelled onto the user's face from outlets close to the face, then cooling effect is provided, but the system fails to effectively prevent cranial overheating and heat-related illnesses
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from expelling cooling air only onto the face (2D surface cooling) to delivering cooling air to the head and neck region in a manner that creates a vertical column of cooled air (3D volumetric cooling). This dimensional change allows the cooling air to envelop the head and neck, effectively preventing cranial overheating and heat-related illnesses while maintaining face cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The neck collar tube is divided into multiple outlet openings spaced about its periphery, creating multiple cooling zones. This segmentation allows cooling air to be distributed across different areas of the head and neck simultaneously, improving overall cooling effectiveness and reliability for preventing heat-related illnesses.
2Temperature
If a neck collar tube with outlet openings is used to expel cooled air, then a vertical column of cooled air is created around the head, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The neck collar tube serves multiple functions: it structures the airflow to create a vertical column, distributes cooling air through multiple outlet openings, and positions the cooling air around the head and neck region. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving effective head and neck cooling.
3Temperature
If air conduit is configured for heat exchange with drinking fluid reservoir, then cooling efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The air conduit is integrated with the drinking fluid reservoir to form a combined heat exchange system. The conduit is positioned within or adjacent to the reservoir, allowing direct thermal interaction between the circulating air and the drinking fluid. This merging of functions eliminates the need for separate heat exchange components, improving cooling efficiency while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
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 apparatus effectively cools the user by moving air through a heat exchange with a drinking fluid reservoir, providing a vertical column of cooled air around the head and neck, enhancing thermoregulation and reducing the risk of heat-related illnesses while maintaining hydration.
Implementation Method 1
move air from an external environment into heat exchange with a drinking fluid reservoir, of the personal cooling apparatus, to cool the air
Implementation Method 2
expel the air upward around a face of the user via a series of outlet openings spaced about a periphery of a neck collar tube
Data Source
AI summary
A personal cooling apparatus has an air mover; a drinking fluid reservoir; an air conduit connected to an outlet of the air mover and configured for heat exchange with the drinking fluid reservoir; and a neck collar tube connected to the air conduit and defining a series of outlet openings spaced about a periphery of the neck collar tube.